.

As we moved closer to the bottom of the pool, the surrounding area was filled with a mysterious light, and a strong metallic taste filled our mouths.

It was radiation exposure from the uranium in the nuclear fuel rods.

Although we didn’t feel immediate pain, it was clear that this was not a suitable environment for a prolonged battle.

“Serena, we need to end this quickly. Finish it in one go.”

“Understood.”

Her armor and sword, already blessed by celestial grace, glowed brightly in white and black. With the buff that was more effective against evil attributes, cutting through the mermaid monster’s flesh would be like slicing through cake. The tough-looking carapace seemed to be only on its back, so it shouldn’t be a problem to slice through.

Or so we thought.

Clang!

Serena’s Zweihänder was blocked by the mermaid monster’s arm.

“Krrr, kkk!”

Crrrrrr, Clang!

She exerted force to push her sword, but the creature was pushed back instead of getting sliced.

“What is this…?”

Upon closer inspection, elongated, blade-like protrusions were along the mermaid monster’s arms and hands.

It looked like the rough, black, chitinous material on its back. It seemed the mermaid monster had evolved after consuming uranium.

“Master, cutting through that black shell with my sword seems difficult.”

While Serena’s Knight Armor was unmatched in terms of defense, its offensive capabilities were lacking.

It looked like this battle was going to take a little longer than expected.

.

Swoosh!

“Kyrrrr-!”

It was the last cry of a mutant zombie.

Even as Ryu Sein beheaded the last remaining mutant zombie, her gaze remained fixed downwards.

“Krr! Krr! Krrrr!”

“—Hmph!”

Clang! Clang! Krrrng!

A minute had passed since the Knight and the mermaid monster began their battle.

The blade-like, black, chitinous material protruding from the mermaid monster’s arms had blocked even the condensed martial arts skill, which Ryu Sein had created with full concentration.

Unsurprisingly, the Knight’s attacks had repeatedly failed against the incredible defense of that material.

Though the Knight seemed to have the upper hand in strength, she couldn’t finish off the mermaid monster. It was an endless back and forth with no resolution.

Kang Minki, who was watching this, sighed.

“This is too dangerous… She’s fighting while taking direct exposure from the surrounding uranium’s radiation! If this continues…”

Evidence of intense radiation, the mysterious glow of Cherenkov light.

Unless someone wished for their own demise, very few would willingly step into a battlefield surrounded by uranium.

Just when everyone was hesitating…

“I’ll go.”

Ryu Sein’s father, Ryu Jinyong, stepped forward.

Even before the world came to an end, he had been the Master of a kendo dojo. He was a middle-aged man with an uncompromising sense of justice.

Watching his daughter’s contemporary fight for his life from a distance—his conscience wouldn’t allow that.

“No, don’t go, Dad!”

From Ryu Sein’s perspective, it was a stifling situation.

Ignoring his daughter’s pleas, Ryu Jinyong moved toward the mermaid monster.

“If it’s come to this…!”

Ryu Sein once again grasped her sword and closed her eyes.

Kim Doha, Serena, Ciel, and her own father were struggling against the mermaid monster amidst the uranium.

The single hope that could save them all:

The only attack that could destroy the black chitinous material.

Concentrated energy.

She focused all her mind on the tip of her sword once again.

.

The sight of a 1.7m tall Knight overwhelming a 5m tall mermaid monster was indeed spectacular.

“Krr, Krrrrr—!”

Clang, Kaaang-!

Yet, she couldn’t finish it off.

The reason Serena couldn’t finish off the mermaid monster, even while having the upper hand…

It was because the creature continuously blocked her attacks with its black chitinous material.

In other words, if she could attack while avoiding those black chitinous areas on its arms and back, she could take down the mermaid monster.

“…Good.”

About a minute.

That was how long I had observed the fight between Serena and the mermaid monster.

It wasn’t a long time, but I had roughly grasped the creature’s behavioral patterns.

The creature was lax in responding to wide, sweeping attacks but diligently blocked stabbing attacks with both arms.

Probably because even a slight graze from a stab could bypass the chitin and penetrate, it was more cautious.

“Ciel, you said high-speed flight using magic was possible underwater, right?”

“Yes, it is possible.”

“Hold me from behind and fly at top speed when I give the signal. The target is the mermaid monster’s neck.”

“Understood, Master.”

Ciel secured herself firmly behind me, putting her arms through my armpits.

The flying skill Ciel had honed while searching for cracks over nearly a month was now incomparable to what it had initially been.

What surprised me most was the rapid acceleration during high-speed flight using magic.

It boasted almost instantaneous speed over short distances.

“Whew…”

I took a deep breath and lifted my sword at an angle.

I focused my mind and observed Serena’s movements.

The movement of arms and legs, the center of gravity, the angle of the moving sword.

I naturally began to predict her next move.

Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. And next—

“Now.”

—Stab.

Kaaang—!

The mermaid monster blocked Serena’s thrust, which extended both its arms covered in chitin.

And at that vulnerable moment, my radiant sword, blessed with the ‘Heavenly Blessing,’ cut through the creature’s exposed neck.

It was an instantaneous slash, taking advantage of Ciel’s rapid acceleration.

“Krrrr…!? Krrr…”

Unaware of what had just happened, the mermaid monster let out its final groan.

“Hiyap—!”

Serena deeply slashed the defenseless body of the creature.

The 5-meter behemoth, now headless, collapsed on the spot.

Fortunately, it seemed not to be the kind of monster that could regenerate even after being beheaded.

“Whew…”

I let out a long sigh.

The mermaid monster was a tricky opponent due to its robust defense.

Although it wasn’t a difficult foe when fighting 3 against 1, who knew how long it would have taken if Serena were to face it alone.

This, too, was a valuable experience.

“…Master, you’re amazing.”

Turning my head, I saw Ciel’s golden eyes sparkling as she looked at me.

“… What’s with you all of a sudden? You’re making me blush.”

“I fell for you again. You truly are my and my sister’s Master.”

Her voice was calm, devoid of humor, almost like a sincere confession.

I was taken aback by Ciel’s sudden change in demeanor.

She still held me tightly, refusing to let go.

“…”

An odd atmosphere enveloped us.

Just then, a male voice intruded from above.

“How could this be…!”

“…?”

Turning my head, I saw that it was Mr. Ryu Jinyong.

Given that everyone else was further away, it seemed he had approached to offer assistance.

“Was that you, Mr. Kim Doha, who just slew it?”

“Yes, all that’s left is to destroy its core.”

“Wow, you were so fast I couldn’t even see! Truly deserving of the Rank 1…!”

“Haha….”

I awkwardly laughed it off.

What I did was merely swing my sword in time with a signal; the high-speed movement was all thanks to Ciel’s rapid flight.

But there was no need to go into such detail.

“Master! Something strange has come out of this monster!”

Serena, who had by now deactivated her White Knight armor, waved towards me.

In her hand was a black orb, about 3cm in diameter.

What was this? I was not sure, but…

“Just keep it for now!”

“Yes!”

It might be something valuable. I would have to investigate it later.

“Then….”

I approached the core with my sword raised.

This core was much larger than the 2-meter ones we had seen so far, perhaps about 3 meters in size.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—!

The repulsive veins that spread between the nuclear fuel rods pulsed violently.

Without hesitation, I slashed deeply into the core.

Swoosh—!

“Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech—!”

As the core emitted its death wail, a red vortex engulfed us.

The next moment…

All 11 of us, the party that had set out to seal the B-rank rift, found ourselves back where we first reached into the rift.

Where the rift had originally been, there was now nothing.

“Whoa—!”

Turning my head at the sound of jubilant voices, I saw Commander Seon Jongyoon looking at us with eyes twinkling in a way that didn’t match his age.

“Success—!!”

“Haha, of course.”

I was the only one who wore a faint smile, while the expressions on the faces of the others in our party were tense.

Well, it was understandable.

Technically, all they had done was deal with mutated zombies; it was Serena, Ciel, and I who had fought the mermaid monster.

But it should still be a good experience for them.

If this experience allowed these Rankers to better prepare for rifts in the future, then I was satisfied.

And just as I didn’t even have time to catch my breath—

Ding—!

A system notification sounded.

[You have sealed a B-rank Asimone rift.]

[Calculating contribution…]

[‘Serena’ and ‘Ciel’ are identified as being subordinates to ‘Kim Doha’. Contribution is combined to ‘Kim Doha’.]

[‘Ryu Jinyong’ and ‘Seo Inho’ are partially subordinated to ‘Ryu Sein’. A portion of the contribution is combined to ‘Ryu Sein’.]

[‘Bae Seongjun’ is partially subordinated to ‘Nam Hyesung’. A portion of the contribution is combined to ‘Nam Hyesung’.]

“…What?”

I thought I had read it wrong for a moment.

Why were there so many subordinate relationships…?

[Measurement result, ‘Kim Doha’, 72%.]

[‘An Jiwoo’, 12%.]

[‘Ryu Sein’, 9%.]

[‘Jang Sawoon’, 3%.]

[‘Hyun Seohee’, 2%.]

[‘Bae Seongjun’, less than 1%.]

[‘Ryu Jinyong’, less than 1%.]

[‘Seo Inho’, less than 1%.]

[‘Kang Minki’, less than 1%.]

[‘Nam Hyesung’, less than 1%.]

Who the heck was this Nam Hyesung…?

Considering Serena, Ciel, and I didn’t really deal with the mutated zombies. Yet, I had a 72% contribution; the majority of the B-rank rift’s contribution must be focused on the mermaid monster.

And An Jiwoo getting 12% was probably…

‘Due to Undine’s Blessing.’

The conditions in this rift were quite challenging.

The risk of radiation exposure and the core of the rift and the enemies were all located deep underwater.

Thanks to the blessing of Undine that An Jiwoo shared, we could act freely underwater, which was undoubtedly a significant aid in the overall combat.

That must be why her contribution came up as 12%.

Ryu Sein’s 9% must have been due to the decisive strike she inflicted on the mermaid monster with her Qi blast.

Jang Sawoon’s 3% and Hyun Seohee’s 2% were purely from their efforts against the mutated zombies.

The problem was Bae Seongjun.

A man in his late twenties with pomade in his hair, a sloppy attitude, and a mouth full of profanities.

This rank 97 character, who had the ability to transform into a werewolf, had a subordinate relationship.

He was partially subordinated to someone named ‘Nam Hyesung’ who wasn’t even here.

“……”

I looked at Bae Seongjun silently.

But most of our party were looking at me.

No, to be exact, they were looking at Serena, Ciel, and me.

‘Ah…’

I realized that not only Ryu Sein and Bae Seongjun but I also had my subordinate relationships revealed.

From the perspective of the others, information about me, the top ranker, would be the most interesting.

As everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say, an awkward silence filled the air.

“Everyone remembers that we agreed to keep each other’s abilities a secret, right? If you break the oath and your magic dissipates, don’t blame me…”

Upon hearing Hyun Seohee’s words, everyone nervously nodded their heads.