Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

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Thud-! Wham-!

“Gah…!”

“Uaaah!”

In the darkness that spanned a few dozen square meters, the groans of the knights echoed.

Yoo Chaerin quietly watched the scene unfold. Not just her, but many Otherworlders gathered here as well.

After all, this was where the most power was concentrated, and both sides’ key figures were clustered together.

Worried that something might happen, and indeed it did.

Suddenly, the darkness engulfed the area where Yor was surrounded, leading to indiscriminate violence.

Though obscured from sight, it was obvious who the source of that violence was.

It was because Yor’s screams could not be heard from over there.

Admiration poured out in the chatroom.

[Hey]

[What skill is that? Looks amazing!]

[Nah, it just looks good because they use it well; it’s trash, don’t learn it;;]

[So that’s how you can use illusion magic like that]

[Seeing that makes me think they’re pretty clever, for real]

[You can see how panicked those knights are, lol]

However, such a situation did not last long.

“Everyone, break the encirclement and move to a visible area!”

Unlike the widespread fog that covered the entire forest, Im Haneul’s magic was limited to a specific area.

They had to break the formation they had struggled to maintain, but retreating just a little would allow them to escape the darkness quickly.

Not only that, but the knights weren’t idiots; they understood what the magic was likely about.

And the caster did too.

“It’s you, take this!”

“Ugh…!”

Immediately, a knight burst out and struck Haneul in the chest.

Swoosh-!

With a chilling sound, blood splattered. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but it was definitely a serious injury. Thanks to that, the illusion magic she had desperately cast was dispelled.

She would surely be unable to use magic during the battle anymore.

Instantly, the area hidden by the darkness was revealed.

Some Otherworlders couldn’t help but gasp.

“Wow…”

In the revealed area lay dozens of knights sprawled on the ground.

No matter how strong one was, it was the same when visibility was completely cut off.

They were strong, but even so, their power was truly impressive on closer inspection.

Unlike when they had assembled in formation, he was displaying overwhelming force in the chaos.

Once in the morning when the fog rolled in, once when they were taken out one by one as they formed up, and now yet again with this one move.

Before they could even finish organizing themselves properly, most of the knights were laying down.

Now only about 50 knights remained. While that was still a decent force, it seemed quite pathetic in comparison to the beginning.

‘…Damn.’

Rayleigh clenched his teeth at the sight.

It was truly a painful loss of power.

Unlike Yor, Rayleigh had no way of knowing that Yor had mercy in his hand.

Thanks to that, all the knights sprawled around looked like casualties.

How many of them could actually be classified as wounded or dead? Surely, a significant number had perished.

But precisely because of this, he couldn’t back down.

For the sake of honoring the sacrificed souls, he must annihilate the foe.

Thus, Rayleigh gripped his sword again and opened his mouth once more to his knights.

“…It’s all because of my incompetence that everyone is suffering. I’m sorry, everyone.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Don’t say that!”

The knights’ morale was still ample.

They hadn’t even properly fought yet, and their loyalty towards their commander was quite high.

Honestly, being a ‘man’ helped a bit, and there weren’t many commanders who cared about their subordinates this much. Which commander would apologize to their troops first?

Taking a moment to clear his thoughts, Rayleigh then issued commands to the knights again.

“All troops, advance. And encircle like before, maintaining a certain distance. I’ll handle him myself.”

The morale was sufficient, and his knights were well organized. Thus, the odds appeared favorable.

He thought this way and charged toward Yor once more.

After exiting the darkness, I took a moment to catch my breath.

“Hah… Hah…”

Fueled by the determination to reduce their numbers, I had been rampaging since morning, so I was naturally winded.

Still, a lot had been taken down in that short time. The problem was that many still remained.

I glanced around to assess the situation.

‘The tide of battle… is definitely becoming slightly unfavorable.’

Even if I claimed to have tied up all the knights, that was still true.

There were far more Otherworlders aligned with the extermination squad than those helping me.

Since the quest came with risks, there was no way around the disparity in numbers.

If this situation dragged on, the Otherworlders on Yoo Chaerin’s side might very well be suppressed.

Time was no longer on my side.

Step, step, step!

As I had those thoughts, once again, the knights began to surround me.

They were trying to form an encirclement again.

Should I call this stubbornness or ignorance?

Sadly, this time it felt like the former.

Slowly, I was running out of options.

‘The fog has lifted, and Haneul has also retired…’

The knights had huddled together and were all set. It meant I no longer had a way to disrupt them. At least I was glad to have taken down so many.

‘If I have no tricks left…’

There was only one method. A direct assault. I had no choice but to fight head-on.

Thinking that, I took a deep breath and slowly composed myself. I regulated my breathing and adjusted my stance. I also thought of a couple of moves I could use.

Even though the knight order was slowly closing in, I didn’t worry.

Just then, as they wrapped the encirclement around me, the commander of the knights approached.

Covered head to toe and weapon drenched in holy water, he radiated a dazzling aura.

The knights nearby looked at him with expressions full of anticipation or desperation.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but smirk.

From this angle, it felt like watching a competitive arena.

Once in the ring, swords would inevitably fly, and if I showed even the slightest opening, support fire might come raining down.

The Otherworlders were too busy fighting among themselves, leaving the resolution entirely up to me.

Honestly, while it was a serious situation, I wasn’t scared at all.

Instead, I quietly summoned my aura as the approaching figure came closer.

‘Winning is all that matters.’

I thought to myself. This was likely the turning point of the match.

They had suffered significant losses. Though they had numerical superiority, the damages were piling up to a level that couldn’t be ignored.

If I could take down the knight commander here for sure, they wouldn’t be able to fight any longer.

Whoosh-!

At last, his sword lunged at me.

A luxurious longsword intertwined with deep mana. I raised my spear to block it, but naturally, I was pushed back slightly.

Compared to his blade, mine still felt shallow and crude.

Thanks to the food I had eaten in the deep layer and elixirs, my mana had increased, but it couldn’t close that gap instantly.

The knight commander, a culmination of techniques, was worlds apart from me, a noob without any formal training.

The same went for our combat styles.

He didn’t simply take my thrust. He read my moves, evaded them, or used his shield to deflect my attacks.

Perhaps because he was donned in armor, piercing through was no simple task.

Slash-! Slice-!

Meanwhile, his sword grazed my body more than once.

Even when weapons clashed, his blade could veer anywhere it pleased.

With the added effect of holy water on his blade, directing my blood was a challenge as well. Whatever flowed out was instantly purified by the holy water.

To make matters worse, that holy water was even slowing my regeneration slightly.

But.

‘…Doesn’t matter.’

I kept matching his sword with mine nonetheless.

After all, my fighting style was about taking damage to deliver a single heavy blow.

If I could manage to land a decisive hit on my opponent, I would gladly endure this bodily harm.

“Oh.”

“Ah.”

At one point, my upper clothing was severely torn from our clashes, but I simply ignored that.

Instead, I turned my focus inward.

…I did have one idea that came to mind.

Using Seere’s arm that I had wrapped around my waist, I intended to knock his intrusive shield aside and stab in with my spear. It might destabilize his posture momentarily.

‘But it probably won’t work.’

He had seen me using Seere’s arm before.

He would probably be taken aback for a split second but then immediately raise his sword to intercept my thrust.

Even if his stance was disrupted, with the blade he’d lifted, he would manage to block adequately.

Thus, a move beyond that was required.

Swoosh-! Slice-!

I quietly gathered my blood dripping from the wounds into my spear.

No matter how much it was purified by holy water, it was enough to collect a decent amount for my spear.

Suddenly, I recalled the conversation I had with Shin Hanbyeol in the deep layer.

– What I heard was that the aura is an extension of the weapon.

When I asked why I couldn’t apply aura over my spilled blood, I had simply replied, ‘Well, I guess…’

She had lightly explained it to me.

– It’s just difficult at first, but it’s ultimately a matter of skill. The more proficient you get and the more experience you gain, the stronger it becomes, and you can infuse it into any weapon.

There’s no limit to where you apply the aura.

That was true. Now that I thought of it, I had infused mana into various weapons like daggers and axes, not just my spear.

‘But why couldn’t I apply it to my blood?’

The reason was quite simple. I hadn’t considered the blood flowing through me as anything other than basic weaponry.

It was a part of my body and simultaneously a source of magical power.

Using both simultaneously could be somewhat complex.

That was why I had never even thought about trying it.

Why had I thought that… It dawned on me that my strongest weapon could very well be this ability.

Whoosh-!

It was time to attempt it once more.

With a red-stained spearhead, once again the aura enveloped it. On top of the powerful lethality created from the blood, the durability of the aura was added.

No matter how much I was granted the grace of holy water, as long as I had to pierce through the aura, it wouldn’t be easily nullified.

Thus, I got into a thrusting position toward him.

The spearhead turned crimson, gradually enveloping the whole spear in blood, starting to morph into a shape.

It became a sharp, pointed tip capable of piercing through anything.

“!”

The knight sensed danger and lifted his shield.

However, that was useless.

Swish-!

In an instant, Seere’s arm moved, snatching the knight’s shield away.

“What!?”

Startled, he hastily prepared to defend himself, lifting his sword.

At last, the clash of his sword and the tip of my spear met.

Kaang-!!!

A thunderous metallic sound resonated as we grappled for strength.

The shockwave momentarily pushed the air away.

But that lasted just a fleeting moment.

Bang-!

His sword shattered into two pieces.

My spear didn’t stop there and pierced straight through his side.

Thunk-!

With a chilling sound, blood erupted from his side.

 

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