Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The White Skeleton's Retreat
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Splash!
Water sprayed up like rain. In the midst of it, Yuseong hurriedly retreated.
‘I barely survived.’
Yuseong checked the armor on his arm. It was badly dented. Not completely shattered, but anyone could see its durability was like a sheet of paper now.
‘It’ll hold for maybe two more hits at best….’
Yuseong chugged a potion as he thought that.
He didn’t even bother checking his HP. If one hit had left his armor like this, it’d be shameless to expect his health to be fine.
‘Just two of them did this to me.’
For the first time, he felt the wall of high-level foes.
Cooking Day and Western Flower had been allies. Plus, Cooking Day wasn’t even a combat class.
Python was impressive, but he’d only taken one hit from him.
Hers Guild had no one at ranker-level.
In truth, the White Skeleton was the strongest opponent Yuseong had ever faced.
The encirclement was complete. The remaining six Dullahan closed in on Yuseong from all sides.
And the two in front charged at him again.
Whoosh!
A chilling whoosh cut through the air. Yuseong, having reloaded his bullets, aimed at the Dullahan’s feet.
Bang bang bang!
Crack!
White frost crept up the Dullahan’s legs, freezing the water’s surface around it.
Freezing bullets.
Crunch!
Unfortunately, the frozen surface didn’t hold the Dullahan’s legs for long. Still, it created a slight opening.
Whoosh!
The first Dullahan’s sword swept forward. Then the second grazed past from the side.
Dodging the two blades through the hard-won gap, Yuseong leaped. His legs pulled free from the marsh. He immediately drew a new gun and fired at the water beside the Dullahan.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Six shots rang out in an instant.
Crackle!
Bright yellow sparks danced across the water.
Lightning bullets.
Special ammo he’d gotten from Cooking Day but never used until now.
Given the marsh’s nature, they must have dealt extra damage compared to normal attacks. Regrettably, though smoking from the legs, the Dullahan pressed on vigorously, attacking Yuseong.
* * *
‘Impressive.’
The White Skeleton watched the fight in awe, again and again.
He had to admit he’d underestimated this Yuseong guy.
No matter how great someone’s physical skills, there’s a limit to bridging a level gap. The difference between him and Yuseong wasn’t something that could be overcome.
It was like a top-bred dog with rigorous training facing an elephant—no matter its combat prowess, it meant nothing.
Yet right now, Yuseong was desperately holding out amid his prized Dullahans.
Of course, he was chugging potions like crazy, and most of his armor was in tatters. He probably wouldn’t last another minute.
But enduring this long against such a level disparity was miraculous in itself.
And what about his tenacity?
Most players would just die against that kind of power gap. No chance of winning—why waste the effort? It’s a game; you don’t really die.
Sure, there was spectator loss, dropped EXP, money—but you could recover EXP and cash, and items didn’t always drop expensive ones.
If it’s too much to handle, better to die cleanly.
But Yuseong was resisting with utter desperation.
‘No wonder he’s famous, and no wonder both C.O.T.S and My Way Guild want him.’
Honestly, he didn’t want to sour things with Yuseong like this. Had to consider My Way Guild’s feelings, and who knew how strong Yuseong might become later.
If Yuseong still held a grudge then? It’d be a real headache.
‘But promotion comes first.’
Items like the Necronomicon copy were made impossibly rare by damn Utopia.
If he didn’t snag one here, who knew when the next chance would come.
Sure, they’d eventually hit the market over time, but that meant delaying promotion until then.
Which meant he could forget about reaching Arc’s top levels.
‘He seems clean, though.’
Yuseong’s words were probably true. He wouldn’t carry a Necronomicon copy around himself.
Maybe if transporting for disposal, but waiting for a specific target? No way.
Still, slim chance Yuseong had it and was lying for some reason.
‘Gotta bet on that.’
It was worth it for the only known Necronomicon copy out there.
‘It’s about to end.’
That’s when it happened.
Boom!
“Huh?”
A massive spray erupted far across the marsh, heading straight their way.
‘Someone’s coming.’
The White Skeleton tensed. Just moving shouldn’t cause that much spray. Whatever it was, no pushover.
He hoped it was just a high-level player passing by.
‘Yeah, right.’
He was already clinging to faint hope for the Necronomicon copy—expecting this too was asking too much.
‘At least not Yuseong’s ally.’
That’d make it a three-way fight, better than 2v1.
But the moment he spotted the newcomer, the White Skeleton sighed deeply.
‘Western Flower.’
My Way Guild’s top ranker. Obviously Yuseong’s reinforcement.
‘Why her, though?’
Wasn’t she the one who saved Cooking Day and Yuseong last time? He’d thought it was for her tie to Cooking Day, costing her time.
Yet here she was again.
‘It’s not even profitable.’
My Way Guild folks were famous for their strong personalities.
Western Flower was one of them, renowned for her money obsession.
“Money-crazed bitch.”
What haters always called her.
Yet she dove into another unprofitable mess?
‘Loyal to guildmates, maybe?’
But no time to ponder now.
‘Fight?’
He considered it briefly, then shook his head.
‘Can’t win.’
He was ranker-caliber himself, but she was an actual ranker. Plus Yuseong was there—low level, but physical skills like art, and combat sense no joke.
Could be a threat.
‘No choice.’
The Dullahans attacking Yuseong halted. Five charged at Western Flower. He recalled the rest.
‘Run!’
Five Dullahans should stall her long enough to escape.
They’d be wrecked, sure. But he needed distance before she caught him.
Grab!
One Dullahan scooped up the White Skeleton with the arm holding his face. The others braced for Yuseong’s shots.
Splash! Splash!
The Dullahans bolted. The White Skeleton glanced back at the scene.
Boom!
A massive explosion sent marsh water sky-high, dwarfing his Dullahans’ sprays.
Through it, he saw his Dullahans battered by Western Flower’s greatsword.
A bitter sight.
‘Damn, total mismatch!’
How many resources and hours had he poured into those Dullahans? They weren’t like basic undead you could raise from any corpse.
But no helping it. Throwing all ten at her would just mean more wreckage under her blade.
‘And I’d die too.’
Better to save what he could and abandon the rest cleanly.
Boom!
Another roar and spray. Amid the scattering droplets, fragments of a Dullahan flew.
“…Hoo~!”
He couldn’t help but sigh. But quick thinking had saved his skin.
* * *
“It’s over.”
Yuseong said to his viewers.
He’d been crouched in the water, enduring the relentless sprays, eyes fixed on one spot.
The battle site between Western Flower and the Dullahans—or what had been the battle site.
As if the chaos had never happened, the water lay calm again.
Only floating debris and Dullahan remnants showed a fierce fight had raged moments ago.
And even those soon vanished, restoring the marsh fully.
[Groan, Western Flower lives up to the hype]
[Total ranker vibes! That fight intensity]
[Shattering those Dullahans like toys]
Viewers watching Western Flower’s battle with Yuseong poured out admiration.
“That guy’s no slouch either. Soon as things turned sour, he used his Dullahans as bait and bailed.”
[LOL if that’s impressive, sure]
[Cockroach-level escape skills!]
The viewers ridiculed the White Skeleton’s frantic flight. But Yuseong didn’t side with them this time.
“Surviving and escaping is impressive and crucial. He got off the battlefield with minimal losses, at least. Compare that to folks who can’t even flee properly.”
Having always prioritized survival in reality, Yuseong saw no shame in running.
He highly respected the White Skeleton for recognizing his disadvantage and making the smart call to minimize damage and live.
[True, when you think about it]
[Fleeing from Western Flower ain’t easy]
“Anyway, he got away with his life.”
Yuseong stood. His soaked body emerged from the water.
He wore beginner clothes now. Precisely, all other armor was shattered.
Even a gun had broken blocking a Dullahan sword.
One gun left. Its barrel cracked here and there—durability at its limit, clearly.
‘But I survived in the end.’
Game or not, death held no terror for Yuseong, who’d fought for survival his whole life. Above all, having lived filled him with deep satisfaction.