Legacy of the Lost: forbidden heir

{Swift Hunt – Silent Forest Execution}

The stick in Jin-Seok's hand didn't look like much—worn, nondescript, no edge, no shine. Just a length of tempered wood he'd picked up back on Floor 1.

But in his hands, it was a weapon.

Without slowing his pace, Jin-Seok flicked his wrist and hurled it upward.

Thuck!

It sailed clean through the air—and pierced the throat of the nearest goblin archer. The creature gave a wet gasp, eyes bulging, before tumbling out of the tree like a rag doll.

Before its body hit the ground, Jin-Seok was already in motion.

His foot slammed into the trunk of the nearest tree and launched him upward. He caught the same branch, spun around it, and kicked off again—a blur of motion.

His fingers caught the wooden shaft still embedded in the goblin's neck. With one fluid twist, he tore it free—then brought it down in an arc, cleanly slicing through the second archer's throat mid-branch.

Snap!

The goblin's head jerked back violently. Blood sprayed the leaves like red mist.

Jin-Seok landed silently, knees bent.

He didn't look back at the stunned climbers still struggling against the goblin warriors. Their shouts, their panic, their desperate clanging weapons—it all faded behind him as he stepped deeper into the forest.

He adjusted his grip on the stick, now slick with goblin blood.

The fog thickened.

The trees stretched taller.

Somewhere ahead, more goblins waited—snarling in the underbrush, perching in trees, eyes gleaming from the shadows.

Jin-Seok welcomed it.

He moved through the woods like a shadow, cutting down goblins as he went—not rushing, not delaying. Just calmly, efficiently, one by one. A step here. A breath. A kill.

No noise. No wasted motion.

Only rising numbers.

> [Tower Quest Updated]

Goblins Defeated: 4/10

Goblin Archers Defeated: 5/10

---

{The Jackal Pit – Dread Sovereign Descends}

Jin-Seok crouched silently atop a moss-covered ridge, eyes narrowed at the crude goblin camp below.

He had already passed ten dead goblins. Archers included. The Tower had logged them cleanly.

> [Tower System Notice]

Floor 2 Objective Complete.

✅ Goblins Defeated: 10/10

✅ Goblin Archers Defeated: 10/10

You are now eligible to ascend to Floor 3.

But what lay ahead was no longer about goblins.

Half-burnt tents. Bone fences. A sickening stench of blood, rot, and something worse. At the heart of it, near a crackling fire, five climbers lay bound—barely conscious.

They weren't guarded by goblins.

They were guarded by men.

Ten of them.

Jackals.

Predators who'd stopped climbing and started hunting instead.

One of them knelt beside a goblin and carefully injected something into its neck with a syringe. The goblin gurgled, twitched—and moments later, its skin began to swell unnaturally. Veins bulged. Then—

Bang!

It exploded messily into gore.

The man hissed in irritation and wiped blood off his coat.

"Another failure."

A second Jackal snorted. "We'll just report it. Higher-ups will take care of it… again."

Another one—leaner, twitchier—glanced at the bruised female climber.

"What about these ones?"

The biggest of them—clearly the captain—grunted. "Why are they still alive?"

The twitchy one grinned, stepping closer to the girl.

"Was hoping for a little fun before we—"

Smack!

The captain backhanded him. "You idiot. Do you know how secret this mission is? One slip, and we're all dead."

He turned to the others. "Clean it up. Fast. Then we relocate the base."

Four of the Jackals began to walk away with the captain, leaving five behind—the twitchy one still licking his lips as he stepped toward the girl.

From his perch on the jagged cliff, Jin-Seok watched the makeshift camp far below—silent, unmoving, eyes cold.

A faint shimmer beside him.

A translucent figure drifted into view, floating just off the edge—hooded robes, glowing eyes beneath a bone-white crown.

『Who are those people?』

Aris peered down at the encampment with mild curiosity. His form was smaller here—miniaturized, like a spirit projection.

"Jackals," Jin-Seok said, not turning. "Rogue climbers who've abandoned the Tower's path—and chosen to hunt weaker ones."

Aris narrowed his glowing eyes.

『Disgusting.』

Then, with a faint pop and swirl of alchemical vapor, a second figure shimmered into existence—this time on Jin-Seok's other side.

"Yo," Malen said cheerfully, brushing dust from his sleeves. "You brought me here to watch live experiments? I knew we'd get along."

Jin-Seok didn't look away.

"You understand what they're doing?"

Malen leaned forward, eyes gleaming as he scanned the crude tents and butcher tables below.

"Not exactly. But I know madness when I see it. They carve up bodies like I used to carve herbs."

A sharp grin spread across his face.

"It's… poetic."

Aris scoffed.

『Poetic? There's nothing poetic in mindless butchery. It's barbaric.』

Malen tilted his head, mocking.

"Oh no, how tragic. The floating skull doesn't like the messy bits."

『I am not a skull.』

"Right, right. You're a dignified, soul-hollow death king," Malen smirked. "With no skin."

『What does that have to do with anything?』

"Well, maybe you'd appreciate the art of fleshcraft if you actually had some."

Malen gestured lazily toward the camp.

"Skin's important, you know. Texture. Stretch. Flavor."

Aris actually flinched.

『That's… grotesque.』

Malen leaned closer with a grin.

"Or are you just jealous because no one ever tried to flay you properly?"

『Why would anyone— What is wrong with you?!』

Jin-Seok sighed as the two bickered beside him like mismatched devils on each shoulder.

He muttered under his breath, eyes never leaving the camp:

"…This is going to be a long day."

---

{One Breath, Five Dead}

Jin-Seok stood.

The captain and four Jackals were vanishing into the trees. The twitchy one was stepping toward the female.

Jin-Seok vanished in that same breath.

And that's when it happened.

Five Jackals remained.

In the span of a breath.

None of them saw death coming.

Crack. The first fell with his neck twisted backward.

Snap. The second's spine broke from a single blow.

Shnk. Shhk. Thump.

A stick slid clean through two throats in the blink of an eye.

A whisper in the air.

The last one blinked—then looked around in confusion.

His partners… were slumped to the ground, necks twisted at grotesque angles.

"Wha—?"

He spun around—

And Jin-Seok was standing there.

Calm. Silent. Eyes unreadable.

"Who the hell are you?!"

He lunged forward, blade swinging wide.

Jin-Seok didn't even blink.

Snap. Crack. Thud.

Three movements. One breath.

The Jackal collapsed.

---

{Judgment Falls}

Jin-Seok turned.

Leaves rustled.

Three Jackals had returned from the woods, muttering to each other.

"Boss sent us back—said to hurry it up—" one said, then stopped.

Jin-Seok stood alone, surrounded by corpses, releasing the tied climbers.

The three froze.

"Who the hell are you?" one snarled. "Do you even know who we are?!"

Jin-Seok didn't reply.

He bent down and picked up a fallen dagger.

"I don't care."

And with one smooth movement, slit the speaker's throat.

Jin-Seok stepped into the clearing, his coat fluttering in the dry wind. The two Jackals—bloodied, staggering—turned in panic to flee.

Too late.

His hand rose slowly to his face, two fingers dragging across his right eye.

A low pulse thrummed through the air like a heartbeat from the abyss.

> [Active Skill Unlocked: Dread Sovereign's Gaze]

[Passive Effect: Death Pressure — Activated]

The world dimmed.

Sound vanished.

The air froze.

A sharp whisper echoed through the air.

> [Death Pressure — Applied to All Hostile Targets Within Range]

The world shifted.

A suffocating cold dropped over the clearing like a lead curtain.

The Jackals froze mid-step.

Their limbs began to tremble—first their hands, then their knees.

One staggered. The other gasped like something was crushing his chest.

And then—

BOOM.

Both were slammed into the dirt, face-first. Bones cracked. Dust shot upward.

Like the earth itself had risen to punish them.

They screamed—but no sound came.

Jin-Seok walked forward, slow and inevitable.

The pressure didn't fade. It deepened, holding them down like a divine verdict.

They had already seen him kill.

Already watched their allies fall like insects.

And now they knelt—forced to kneel—before something they couldn't fight.

He didn't waste words.

Didn't gloat.

Just extended his hand.

And ended them.

Two quick motions.

Two silent deaths.

The pressure lifted.

---

{A Ghost Leaves No Name}

Later, as the sun dipped below the trees, four unconscious climbers were laid gently near the portal gate—just outside the Safe Zone.

No one saw who carried them.

But Tower Guards found them an hour later, wrapped in cloaks, wounds bound, breathing.

Someone had left them behind.

Someone who didn't care for thanks.

_______________________________________________

{An Original Series by Celestial Raven}