Stealth and Projectile Mastery.
The achievements of the two newly honed martial arts were exceptional.
They were techniques effective even against Murim warriors.
There was no reason to struggle against the gaunt, mummy-like Yokai.

‘It seems the easy path ends here.’

From the massive city gates, resembling the capital of the Yokai realm,
the physiques and blood hues of the Yokai began to change.
Unlike the near-death, mummy-like Yokai,
the creatures here only looked a bit lean.
Yokai in their prime, with physiques almost indistinguishable from their peak.
On their neck chains,
a few half-Yokai and humans were tightly bound,
like pets.

‘They’re scared.’

They shouldn’t be showing such signs—
their unwillingness to move, like livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse,
was evident in their eyes.
The half-Yokai and humans, tied up with necklaces,
were being led to a massive arena at the corner of the city.

“Go, Oboroguruma. Headbutt!”
“Oboro!!”
“No way. Dung Shark, lift it up.”
“Shark-shark.”

A cart with a human face attached to Oboroguruma,
and a Dung Shark digging through the ground.
In the arenas spread across the coliseum,
the six half-Yokai and humans dragged by each Yokai
fought under the orders of their masters,
like Pokémon, clashing in battles.

‘What exactly am I watching?’

She hadn’t expected to see anything normal entering the heart of the Yokai realm.

Hahahahahaha
Yokai Pokémon, f***ing hahahaha
Was this a thing? Why didn’t I know?
What’s that? I want to do it too.
Watching the "Yokai Ending" fans immediately get their blood boiling, hahaha.
The sight was absurd yet thrilling,
so much so that even the viewers couldn’t suppress their laughter.
However, seeing humans fighting wasn’t nearly as amusing or exciting.

“Stupid human, use more weapons!”
“End it. Hegh, put the ingredients in.”
“Hegh-hegh!”
“No, stop! Please, don’t come any closer, you crazy old hag, AAAAAHHHH!!”

A Yokai resembling an old crone with a spade-shaped jaw and a hunched back
yanked a struggling human with a long pole
and tossed them into a boiling cauldron.
The horrifying scene made the once-festive chatroom,
which had been cheering for the "Yokai Pokémon" era,
chill into a silence.

Wow.
This is a bit much.
Ah, right, they were Yokai…
The human, who had been dragged into the arena,
was nothing more than a slave, forced to fight against other Yokai and half-Yokai.
It was a public execution in every sense.

‘This strange Yokai culture is making things difficult.’

She wanted to infiltrate the palace right away,
steal what she needed,
but there were also guards with leashes,
leading multiple minions around.

‘I’ll have to find a way.’

While she was hiding in the shadows, alternating her gaze between the arena and the palace,
she saw the winner of the arena match being invited into the palace.
At that moment,
a rather bizarre idea came to her.

‘If I win a match in the arena, I can enter the palace.’

The time until the next arena match was about three days.

‘I need to find a Yokai to team up with. A special kind of Yokai that can help without putting a real collar on me, despite being human.’

The Silent Swordmaster’s strategy was entering a new phase.

After observing the Yokai for some time,
Ha Eun-eung was able to learn a few additional facts.

‘Yokai with legends or backgrounds are generally stronger.’

For example, the two-headed dog with a snake’s head instead of a tail,
the twin-headed hound <Orthros>.
In the twelve labors of Hercules, this Yokai was killed by a club,
and despite its legendary status, its combat power was rather weak.

‘Some Yokai, however, can grow stronger through special development, despite their weaker legendary histories.’

A <Kappa>—a creature with the face of a monkey with a bald head, a bird’s beak, a turtle shell, and webbed feet—
was traditionally depicted as a water-dwelling opportunist,
stealing cucumbers and attacking drowning children to drink their souls.
But the Kappa in the arena, having undergone special growth,
used a giant cucumber like a wooden club
to mercilessly beat down Orthros.

“Kkaeng kkaeng kkaeng”
“Kappa Kappa!”

The Orthros, who had been beaten like a dog on a hot day,
fell to the ground, a cold corpse,
showing that even Yokai and half-Yokai could grow stronger with time.
But only Yokai could enjoy such growth benefits.

“Master, please, give me Yokai bloodlines!!”
“Shut up. My sponsors want to see human warriors, not Yokai. If you turn into one, why would they continue sponsoring you?”
“Next opponent is the Kappa with the giant cucumber!!”
“Do whatever you want. Humans like that are a dime a dozen.”
“Aaaah, I don’t think I can eat lunch!!”

The match was set to take place before lunch.
It was tragic for the humans who were slaves in the arena, crying bitterly,
but Ha Eun-eung couldn’t save them all.
There were simply too many of them.

‘Only 36 fighters participate in the arena.’

Considering the average of four slaves each,
there were 144 slave fighters.
And when adding the viewers,
over a thousand Yokai filled the arena.

‘I can’t possibly take them all out, even if I wanted to.’

Like the saying goes, "One hand can’t block ten,"
with only five years of cultivation,
she would be the first to fall.
She began to seriously consider if finding another way into the palace might be quicker,
when suddenly a Story Mode event was triggered.

[Story mode]

As she entered an alley,
the Story Mode was activated again after a long time.

[Don’t even dare come near, you who has no soul!]
[You, mixing water into wine, how dare you speak so loudly!]
[So do you even have a soul to speak of?]
[That... will come soon. Once I decide, I’ll do whatever I want to other half-Yokai or humans!]
[What a waste of the Yokai King's blood. A lowly bastard mixed with human blood.]

A Yokai, openly despising her,
was kicked out of the store.
As the creature rose from the ground,
its eyes met those of the Silent Swordmaster, who had been hiding in the shadows.

[You, could it be…]

Its pupils dilated as if it were about to call out for other Yokai at any moment.

Interaction Choices
[Seeing the startled half-Yokai in front of you, you...]

Knock them out and steal their belongings. (Robbery)
Force them to be your slave. (Half-Yokai Warrior Acquisition)
Force them to be your warrior master. (Unlock Hidden Event)
(Choose to kill them.)
Humans enslaving half-Yokai and Yokai.
The idea stirred excitement in the chat.

22222
eeeeeee
2
2
1
4
Given Silent Swordmaster’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t choose the murder option.
How could she become a slave master?!
[Umgildong’s mortgage loan: 50,000 KRW donation!]
Considering the history and tradition of humanity, shouldn’t we follow the path of a slave trader?

Wake up, back then, we were all serfs or slaves.
What if the master is Silent Swordmaster?
Master, please take my collar!!
Voluntary slaves, hahahaha
The human landlord has become the Marjo Collar Tribe, hahahaha
The poll narrowed to options 2 and 4,
but Silent Swordmaster, a one-note reaction streamer,
was too focused on the game to notice the chat,
and no one could influence her choice.

[▶You, be my warrior master.]

The half-Yokai was stunned.

[You’re not being dragged in, and you, a normal human, want to be my warrior slave willingly?]
[Have you lost your mind? The arena was originally created to brutally kill humans for the amusement of Yokai.]
[Besides, you’re… a woman. I’ll turn a blind eye, so just disappear somewhere.]

Sweet yo man, ㄷㄷ
This guy’s so crafty.
Are you crazy? Hahaha, so this is what Yoga means?
Are you my master?
A beautiful human female slave wanting to be chosen. Wow, this is harder to refuse than being chosen by a stray cat.
But she was rejected, right?
That half-Yokai is definitely a virgin, that’s why.
Hahaha.
Whether due to his virginity or because he was a sweet yo man,
Ha Eun-eung felt a sudden need to persuade this half-Yokai.

Interaction Choices
[To persuade the half-Yokai, you...]

Threaten them with your sword. (Threat)
Convince them with honor. (Rhetoric)
Bribe them with your soul. (Bribe)
Take off your straw hat. (Seduction)
The ideal choice was persuasion.
Even in Story Mode,
despite being mute, her words were automatically recognized,
allowing free use of rhetoric,
but there, in the muddy alley,
sitting down with lifeless eyes,
the memories of the Yokai King’s bloodline suddenly triggered something in her.

I’ve heard your father plans to take you as his new wife.
That cannot be. You, too, will be imprisoned in this palace.
If the chance ever comes, could you take me with you?
The Emperor’s son,
with unchecked power,
having witnessed the cruel and vile politics of his parents,
became too mature for his years,
living a sorrowful life never experiencing a childhood.

‘The situations are different, but back then, I couldn’t keep my promise.’

A faint memory resurfaced of the time she failed to meet a promise.
Now, facing the new Emperor who had become twisted with hatred and betrayal,
a new ruler of the Empire born from the union of a Yokai and human,
the similarity felt almost uncanny.

[▶Take off your straw hat. (Seduction)]

As she removed her straw hat
and silently gazed at the half-Yokai before her,
he looked up with confusion in his eyes.

[Mother?]

Huh? Mother?
Why is mom coming up here? Hahaha.
The story is so messed up!
And thus, the half-Yokai revealed he was a mama’s boy.