Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Fwoosh!
As the white light faded, Sang-hyeok stood in the center of a circular stone chamber.
The light surrounding the area vanished almost simultaneously, revealing the three teammates assigned with him.
The four of them checked each other over, naturally inspecting their equipment first.
At the front stood a man holding a square shield the size of his torso.
When he set the shield, reinforced with thick monster-hide leather, down on the floor, a heavy sound rang out.
[Public Name: Blocking Again Today]
[Lv.20]
Beside him, a woman drew her bowstring to test the tension.
Two quivers of different sizes hung from her back.
[Public Name: Arrow Prices Went Up Again]
[Lv.20]
The last man was pressing the three blue mana stones set into a short staff, one after another.
[Public Name: Heal Is Off Cooldown]
[Lv.20]
The three of them swept their gazes over the black mask and empty hands.
Soon, Sang-hyeok's public information appeared before their eyes.
[South Korea / Lv.20]
[Public Name: Undisclosed]
Arrow Prices Went Up Again looked at Sang-hyeok and smiled with her eyes.
"Your public name is Undisclosed. You're not Impossible One, are you?"
Sang-hyeok lightly shrugged one shoulder.
"Who knows."
At Sang-hyeok's ambiguous answer, Heal Is Off Cooldown let out a short laugh.
"I heard going private is trendy these days, and now we've got one on our team too."
After the record of the Impossible One reaching Lv.20 was made public, the number of Korean players hiding their public names and entering the Rookie League had surged.
Heal Is Off Cooldown apparently assumed Sang-hyeok was one of them.
Blocking Again Today adjusted his grip on his shield and spoke.
"We'll find out once we start, whoever it is."
Arrow Prices Went Up Again didn't press further and changed the subject.
"Then let's go over what each of us can do."
Blocking Again Today tapped the handle of his shield.
"I'm a defense type. My Authority is <Impact Rebound>. I can store the impact my shield absorbs for a while, then return it once with my next shield attack."
Arrow Prices Went Up Again took out an arrow.
"Mine's <Pinpoint Pierce>. If I keep hitting the same spot, the arrow's penetration keeps increasing."
Heal Is Off Cooldown pointed at the three blue mana stones in turn.
"My Authority is <Triple Healing>. I've stored three major heals in advance. I can use them back-to-back, but once all three are gone, that's it."
The three of them turned their attention back to Sang-hyeok.
"Undisclosed. I'll take close range."
Sang-hyeok raised his empty right hand.
"Anything this hand touches, I can erase."
Arrow Prices Went Up Again raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Erase anything?"
Sang-hyeok nodded lightly.
A moment later, all three of them let out short laughs.
Erasing anything with a Lv.20 Authority.
It was too absurd a claim to take at face value.
On the lower floors, there were often players who exaggerated their Authorities.
Blocking Again Today nodded as if he'd gotten the gist of it.
"So it's a close-range Authority with high destructive power. Got it."
Sang-hyeok didn't bother correcting him.
They'd understand what he meant once they saw it for themselves.
Blocking Again Today soon sorted out the formation.
"Then I'll take the front. Undisclosed, you're on my right. Archer on the left; healer, stay behind me."
He looked around at the three of them and added.
"Our opponents are the True Dragon Society, so winning won't be easy. Still, we can't just lose helplessly. Let's do what we can."
The True Dragon Society was a fixed team sponsored by the 16th Celestial Seat <True Dragon>, with long experience fighting together.
This side, on the other hand, was an improvised team that had only just learned each other's names and Authorities.
For the three teammates, victory was not a realistic goal.
Except for Sang-hyeok.
Just then, the center of the stone chamber brightened.
「Drawing the battlefield for the first match.」
Ding.
[Battlefield: <Red-Rock Gorge>]
[Match Type: 4 vs 4 Team Annihilation]
[Victory Condition: Eliminate all members of the opposing team]
[South Korea Victory Reward]
- South Korea Rookie Season Score +3
[First Match MVP Special Reward]
- <Authority Factor> x1
Sang-hyeok's gaze lingered on the last item.
He currently held two Authority Factors.
If he secured that reward as well, he could check a new Authority candidate.
He had no intention of missing the MVP, let alone the victory.
「Confirming registered equipment.」
「Equipment change window: 60 seconds」
Sang-hyeok looked down at the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> on his left wrist.
If Yun Chae-rin recognized this equipment, it could become a decisive clue linking the Impossible One and Kim Sang-hyeok.
But after the curse was lifted and it had grown a stage, the Spirit Vein Bracelet's appearance had changed from before.
Item information wasn't revealed to spectators either, so it would be difficult to recognize it from appearance alone.
'No problem, then.'
Sang-hyeok closed the equipment window, leaving the Spirit Vein Bracelet equipped.
A moment later.
「Equipment change time has ended.」
「Registered equipment has been confirmed.」
VMMMM!
The black wall on one side of the stone chamber turned transparent.
The four members of the True Dragon Society standing in the waiting area on the opposite side came into view.
They were all wearing equipment engraved with golden dragon patterns.
[Japan Fixed Team: True Dragon Society]
[This Season 4 vs 4 Team Annihilation: 4 Wins, 0 Losses]
[Cumulative Team Member Eliminations in Team Annihilation: 0]
Arrow Prices Went Up Again's expression stiffened.
"Not a single elimination across four annihilation matches?"
"That means every match was a total blowout."
Heal Is Off Cooldown swallowed hard.
Blocking Again Today gripped his shield handle even harder.
"It's a rookie fixed team personally raised by the 16th Celestial Seat <True Dragon>. Their teamwork alone is on a different level from a team like ours that just formed."
Arrow Prices Went Up Again glanced at Sang-hyeok.
"At times like this, it'd be reassuring if the Impossible One really were on our team."
Her voice was thick with disappointment.
Sang-hyeok didn't bother answering.
His gaze was fixed on the man standing at the center of the True Dragon Society.
A red coat and golden eyes.
On the skin exposed below his neck, a small dragon pattern was etched.
[Public Name: Tokyo Golden Dragon]
[Lv.20]
The moment he looked at that pattern, the <Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon> in his chest reacted strangely.
Sang-hyeok's eyes narrowed.
'This is...'
「Moving to the battlefield <Red-Rock Gorge>.」
Before he could identify the nature of that reaction, light surged up from beneath both teams' feet.
Fwoosh!
* * *
Tap.
Sang-hyeok's feet touched the red dirt ground.
Sheer cliffs rose on both sides, and a single straight path stretched between the two teams.
There was nowhere to hide or flank.
It was a battlefield where the teams had to push the enemy back head-on.
[Battlefield: <Red-Rock Gorge>]
[South Korea Remaining: 4/4]
[Japan Remaining: 4/4]
「The match will begin in 30 seconds.」
As the match-start preparation message appeared, Blocking Again Today moved to the very front and planted his shield.
Arrow Prices Went Up Again and Heal Is Off Cooldown took positions behind him.
Sang-hyeok stood to Blocking Again Today's right.
Since this was the first annihilation match, he intended to observe how the enemy fought before sizing them up.
On the opposite side, the four enemies' public information appeared one after another.
[Public Name: Kongo]
[Lv.20]
[Public Name: Ryuga]
[Lv.20]
[Public Name: Kagura]
[Lv.20]
[Public Name: Tokyo Golden Dragon]
[Lv.20]
On the opposing side, Kongo, holding a square shield set with a golden dragon pattern, stood at the front.
Ryuga with a longbow and Kagura with a staff set with golden gems positioned themselves side by side behind him.
Only Tokyo Golden Dragon stood far off to the right of the shield.
Unlike the other three, his movement wasn't tied to a fixed stance.
「The match begins.」
Boom!
As the match began, a golden barrier spread from Kongo's shield.
The spreading light formed a broad barrier that completely covered the space in front of them.
It was Kongo's Authority, <Vanguard Rampart>.
While the shield was fixed in place, he could project a wide barrier to the front.
The barrier only allowed attacks to pass from the inside out.
Ryuga planted both feet and drew his bowstring.
'<Chain Shot>.'
Twang!
The first arrow passed through the barrier, aimed at Blocking Again Today's face.
Clang!
Blocking Again Today raised his shield and deflected the arrow.
But as the barrage continued without pause, Ryuga's hands moved even faster.
Twang! Twang!
The second and third arrows flew in almost at once.
Clang-clang-clang!
The arrows striking in succession hammered the shield fiercely.
Through that opening, three golden mana bolts poured from Kagura's staff as well.
Boom-boom-boom!
Blocking Again Today's feet slid backward.
Red patterns lit up across the monster-hide leather on his shield as the absorbed impact began to accumulate.
"Arrow Prices!"
"I know!"
Arrow Prices Went Up Again nocked an arrow.
Her target was Ryuga, who kept firing without stopping from behind the barrier.
'<Pinpoint Pierce>.'
Blue light gathered sharply at the arrowhead.
If only the first arrow landed, each subsequent shot at the same spot would increase penetration.
Twang!
The arrow soared high, over Kongo's barrier, falling toward Ryuga's chest.
At that moment.
VMMMM!
The pattern etched on Tokyo Golden Dragon's chest blazed with light.
Behind his back, a massive golden dragon's head and two forelegs rose up.
When Tokyo Golden Dragon raised one hand, the golden dragon's foreleg moved the same way.
Crunch!
The massive claws seized the incoming arrow in midair and crushed it.
Thump.
Inside Sang-hyeok's chest, as he watched the scene, the Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon beat heavily.
More than the golden dragon's form, the pattern etched on Tokyo Golden Dragon's chest stood out more clearly in his awareness.
'That's...'
While Sang-hyeok traced that sensation, the golden dragon's other foreleg swept through the air.
Boom!
The massive golden claws slammed into Blocking Again Today's shield.
"Ugh!"
One of Blocking Again Today's knees hit the dirt.
Ryuga's arrows and Kagura's mana bolts poured down on him again.
Heal Is Off Cooldown pressed the first blue mana stone.
"Heal incoming!"
Blue light began gathering toward Blocking Again Today.
As if waiting for that exact moment, Kagura swept the staff downward.
Flash!
A sharp golden light cut through the blue light, scattering the healing as it unfolded.
The light of the first mana stone went out along with it.
[<Triple Healing> remaining uses: 2/3]
"The heal got cut off!"
Kagura's <Spell Severing> cut off even Heal Is Off Cooldown's first heal after it had already activated.
The counterattack was blocked by the golden dragon, and even the healing was cut off by Kagura.
Meanwhile, the True Dragon Society didn't need to advance a single step.
Kongo held the line while Ryuga and Kagura poured attacks from behind him.
Whenever Arrow Prices Went Up Again counterattacked, Tokyo Golden Dragon's golden dragon snatched the arrows out of the air.
And when the attacks thinned out, it slammed Blocking Again Today's shield with its massive foreleg.
It was a tactic of locking down the defense while steadily driving the opponent back.
Clang!
Clang-clang-clang!
Ryuga's arrows grew faster and faster.
The next arrow flew before the previous one had even struck the shield.
It was <Chain Shot>, which gained speed the longer he kept firing from one spot.
Crack.
A crack formed on one side of Blocking Again Today's shield.
His breathing had also grown visibly ragged.
"I can't hold."
Blocking Again Today spoke through gritted teeth.
"At this rate, the shield breaks first. I'll open a path, so target the two in the back."
The moment he advanced with his shield, he would take concentrated fire.
Still, he apparently decided that was better than crumbling in place.
"Hold on a little longer."
Sang-hyeok spoke up.
Blocking Again Today turned, breathing hard.
"You have a plan?"
"I do."
Sang-hyeok gathered mana into both eyes from behind the Black Mask.
'<Demonic Dragon’s Eye>.'
In the gray-settled vision, the golden dragon's movements became even clearer.
The golden dragon was blocking Arrow Prices Went Up Again's counterattacks while simultaneously hammering Blocking Again Today's shield.
If he handled that thing himself, the three teammates could create an opening to counterattack.
Having made his decision, Sang-hyeok stepped out from behind Blocking Again Today's shield.
"Undisclosed!"
Blocking Again Today shouted urgently.
"Get back! That's exactly what they're waiting for!"
"What are you doing going out alone? You'll just get surrounded faster!"
"Wait there."
Arrow Prices Went Up Again tried to stop Sang-hyeok too, but he didn't halt his steps.
Seeing that, a light smile spread across Kagura's lips.
"Another one couldn't hold back and came out."
Ryuga drew his bowstring and let out a short laugh.
"Same as always."
The True Dragon Society's previous four matches had ended the same way.
The moment an opponent who couldn't endure the attacks pouring from behind the shield broke formation, Tokyo Golden Dragon stepped forward personally and took them down.
Tokyo Golden Dragon turned his body toward Sang-hyeok.
"Keep firing. I'll handle this one."
The golden dragon floating behind his back rapidly blurred.
The massive head and two forelegs dissolved into golden light, then layered over Tokyo Golden Dragon's arms.
VMMMM!
Golden forelegs several times larger than human arms wrapped around his fists.
As Tokyo Golden Dragon took a step forward, the red dirt beneath his feet burst apart.
<Golden Dragon Projection>.
The moment he layered the golden dragon, which he'd kept at a distance, onto his own body, Tokyo Golden Dragon's close combat changed completely.
"Come back! You can't beat that!"
At the same moment as Heal Is Off Cooldown's urgent shout, Tokyo Golden Dragon surged directly in front of Sang-hyeok.
"Couldn't even hold out this long before coming out."
Tokyo Golden Dragon clicked his tongue.
"Though the result would've been the same even if you'd held out a little longer."
With that, Tokyo Golden Dragon brought the golden dragon's foreleg down over Sang-hyeok's head.
The massive claws looked ready to tear through the black mask and his upper body all at once.
But Sang-hyeok didn't dodge.
Instead, he raised his right hand and caught the golden claws head-on.
'<Erasure>.'
Hsssss!
Black energy covered the golden claws.
The Authority of erasure that began at his fingertips rapidly devoured the golden dragon's massive foreleg.
Fsssssh!
The golden foreleg wrapped around Tokyo Golden Dragon's right arm vanished without a trace.
"...What?"
For the first time, the composure vanished from Tokyo Golden Dragon's eyes.
Kongo, Ryuga, and Kagura also stared this way with expressions of disbelief.
The three Korean teammates were just as stunned.
"...!!!"
"The golden dragon... disappeared?"
Blocking Again Today stared in shock over the top of his shield.
Only then did the three of them recall what Sang-hyeok had first said.
- Anything this hand touches, I can erase.
Those words hadn't been bluster.
The golden dragon's foreleg that Sang-hyeok's hand had touched had truly vanished without a trace.
At that moment.
Thump!
The Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon beat powerfully once more.
The pattern etched on Tokyo Golden Dragon's chest also blazed brightly, as if responding to it.
Inside his inventory, a dark-red key trembled violently.
[<Seal Key of the Demonic Dragon Treasury> is reacting to a Throne Mark.]
[A pattern identical to the first seal on the key has been detected.]
[The seal pattern is at the center of the Throne Mark.]
[Direct contact with the mark is required to confirm.]
Sang-hyeok's gaze turned toward Tokyo Golden Dragon's chest.
The source of the sensation that had been pounding in his heart since a moment ago was that very pattern.
'So that's what it was.'
What the key wanted was exactly that mark.
If he touched it directly, he could confirm more precisely.
Sang-hyeok took another step forward, past where the golden dragon's foreleg had vanished.
Tap!
He closed to within reach of the Throne Mark etched on Tokyo Golden Dragon's chest.