Chapter 280: Chapter 280

The moment Aren clashed, a tremendous roar echoed through the air.

But not to the point of being unmanageable.

No—in all honesty, it was entirely manageable.

He was a top-tier palace knight at level 199, but with his stats weakened by 20% and Su-ho’s own abilities massively inflated through buffs, he was nothing more than a regular soldier #1... no, a strong soldier #1 at best.

So Su-ho slashed him immediately.

Time is gold, after all.

[Steel Severance is activated.]

[Enhancement applied.]

[The power of Steel Severance has increased.]

After pushing Aren back once, Su-ho cleaved through him entirely while Aren was still staggering.

Amazingly, Aren was bisected from his left shoulder blade to his right pelvic bone—cleanly, along with the sword.

“I’ll... never let you reach... the two of them...!”

Aren was still alive.

What other explanation could there be?

Irritated, Su-ho swung his sword again and finished Aren off completely.

[You have slain Knight Aren.]

With the second strike, Aren died meaninglessly, unable to mount even the slightest resistance.

What could anyone possibly do after being split in two?

But what was that earlier?

Sotron and the queen shouted Aren’s name in grief.

But it didn’t matter.

Flicking the blood off his sword, Su-ho charged straight at Sotron.

“Not a step further! Fire—!”

Just as Sotron began casting a spell, Su-ho hurled the Guiyeong Spear at his face.

But instead of piercing his head, the Guiyeong Spear struck something like a glass wall and bounced off right in front of his eyes.

The sound of something cracking.

On closer inspection, it wasn’t “like” glass—there was something actually there.

Something akin to Magic Shield or Barrier.

Su-ho couldn’t tell exactly what.

But that wasn’t important.

It was a barrier spell that cracked just from a single Guiyeong Spear throw.

One more throw, or a direct slash with a sword, and Sotron would be dead.

Su-ho stared at Sotron with an emotionless expression.

Sotron, who had just been chanting a spell, looked startled by the sudden ambush, his incantation interrupted and struggling to regain composure.

And not just his mind—his body too was reeling.

‘A spell cancellation backlash, maybe.’

Su-ho had heard from Mage Players that canceling an active spell midway inflicted penalties.

Most of the time, it dealt physical backlash.

And since Sotron was a traditional mage rather than a skill-based caster, the penalty would be more severe.

‘Not that it really matters.’

Su-ho hurled the Guiyeong Spear again.

The sound of shattering glass.

This time, the Guiyeong Spear pierced Sotron’s chest without resistance.

“Khh...! You bastard...!”

But even then, it didn’t kill him in one blow.

Guess they really were top-tier figures within the palace.

Feeling slightly apologetic, Su-ho promptly finished Sotron off.

The queen screamed his name in anguish.

Jeez, they make it sound like I’m some kind of serial killer or something.

Not that Su-ho felt any guilt.

So of course, there was no remorse.

They were just going to revive next turn anyway—and even if they didn’t, they were NPCs created for the Gate system.

There was no reason to feel sorry.

Su-ho was about to end the queen and princess when a thought crossed his mind.

‘Wait, can I use Blood Drain on them too?’

If something has blood, it can be drained.

He’d used it on people before, but those were folks outside the Gate—not from within it.

No better answer than trying.

Su-ho extended a hand toward Aren and activated Blood Drain.

[True Blood Drain is activated.]

As the skill activated, mist-like blood streamed from Aren’s corpse into Su-ho.

[You have successfully copied the skill ‘Indomitable Chivalry’ from the target.]

[Your Blood Prison already contains two copied skills.]

[To copy ‘Indomitable Chivalry’, you must remove one existing skill.]

[Would you like to delete a previously copied skill?]

Su-ho looked at the notification in surprise.

But Indomitable Chivalry?

He’d never seen a skill like that in his previous life. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩

Quickly, he pulled up the details.

[Indomitable Chivalry]

A noble chivalric spirit possessed only by truly virtuous knights.

A knight with unwavering resolve can push through limits and uphold their will.

Grants an Undead effect for up to 10 minutes after death, during missions.

After reading the skill info, Su-ho nodded.

‘So that’s why he was still alive earlier.’

No wonder he looked like a zombie.

After a brief pause, Su-ho chose to abandon Indomitable Chivalry.

It seemed good at first glance, but the activation condition wasn’t ideal.

‘Sure, you get Undead status—but only after you die.’

It’s clearly designed as a last-ditch card, a hidden trump, or a safety net. But if you don’t die in the first place, it’s pointless.

‘Still, it’s kind of a shame.’

A skill like that implied Aren had other good abilities, but of all things, that was what got copied.

Even so, he had no intention of trying again.

Judging by the results, anything better than this probably still wouldn't top what Su-ho already had.

Su-ho drained Aren until his body was a dried husk, then extended a hand toward Sotron.

[True Blood Drain is activated.]

[You have successfully copied the skill ‘Memorize’ from the target.]

[Your Blood Prison already contains two copied skills.]

[To copy ‘Memorize’, you must remove one existing skill.]

[Would you like to delete a previously copied skill?]

Su-ho’s eyes widened as he saw the skill info.

Could it be that Memorize?

Not trusting it, he immediately pulled up the details.

A fundamental spell required for battle mages.

Magic typically requires preparation time to cast.

With this spell, a mage can pre-load up to 4 spells and cast them instantly.

It was what he thought.

The very Memorize he knew.

Su-ho unknowingly clenched his fist.

‘To think I’d get Speed Mage’s Memorize .’

“Speed Mage” had been the nickname of a magic-user in his past life, known for fast spell-casting.

That nickname came from “rapid-fire shooter”—because of this very Memorize skill.

‘Mage players normally waste so much time casting, but that guy always had the upper hand in fights thanks to this.’

And now Su-ho had it.

‘Of course, I don’t have much use for it right now. But still...’

Not much use didn’t mean no use.

Grinning, Su-ho deleted Animal Communicate from his Blood Prison.

[‘Animal Communicate’ has been deleted.]

[‘Memorize’ has been copied.]

What use was talking to animals when he now had Memorize?

It’s not like he had a dog or anything.

Worst case, he could always visit Kim Noah in prison again.

Having eliminated the two guardians, Su-ho finally turned his gaze to the queen and the princess.

They were trembling in fear.

Su-ho stared at them impassively, then turned away and activated Memorize.

[Memorize is activated.]

He began slowly storing skills into all four slots of Memorize.

In preparation for the next quest.

Time passed, and by the time he finished filling all four slots—

“Find the queen and princess!”

“They must be somewhere around here!”

Commotion erupted outside.

It seemed the royal army, which had been under siege, had lost and the path was breached.

Having wrapped up his business anyway, Su-ho raised his sword and struck down both the queen and the princess.

[The Queen has died.]

[The Princess has died.]

[No royal family remains in the castle.]

[The palace has fallen.]

System alerts popped up.

And the moment the “quest complete” alert appeared, Su-ho’s vision shimmered and changed.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing atop the castle wall.

“Today, we will drive out those vile invaders and defend this castle no matter what!”

A dignified voice rang out.

Turning his head, Su-ho saw a man overflowing with majesty and authority rallying the soldiers.

It was the king of this place—the one Su-ho hadn’t even gotten to see before dying in the first quest.

Beside him stood the princes, faces set with grim determination, just like the other generals and soldiers.

Su-ho was just a regular soldier.

His uniform was identical to everyone else’s.

That’s when the system alert appeared.

[A quest has appeared.]

You are now defenders of the palace.

Work together to protect the palace from the invaders.

The second quest began as the turn changed.

Su-ho looked down from the wall and saw the invaders—eyes gleaming like starving wolves.

He hadn’t realized when he was the invader, but now that he stood among the defenders, the number of enemies looked overwhelming.

‘No wonder the defenders got wiped out.’

In typical siege warfare, breaking through a fortified defense is incredibly difficult.

Beyond manpower, the geographical advantage is overwhelmingly on the defending side.

Yet the wall had been breached...

‘Guess it was # Nоvеlight # doomed to fall no matter what.’

The shout came from the invaders.

The real siege had begun.

Su-ho immediately used a skill.

[Achromatic Solitude is activated.]

Using Achromatic Solitude, Su-ho dashed into the castle.

If he hadn’t, he would’ve gotten hit by a superior for breaking formation.

After a long run, he arrived at the castle’s top floor.

The sound of something breaking.

Someone infiltrated through the window.

Seeing the figure enter like an assassin, Su-ho grinned.

“So it really does copy everything.”

The intruder Su-ho grinned at—

Was none other than himself from the previous turn.