Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: New Skill
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BOOM!!
'Ugh.'
My joints screamed in unison.
Because I'd taken the full impact of the landing with my bare body.
If the skill hadn't compensated for it, my bones and flesh would've literally torn apart.
I circled around the building without drawing attention and made it to where Bo-ra was.
I couldn't waste skill usage time on unnecessary fights.
"How's it going?"
"Some people just ran out a bit ago. But I don't know which one's the cult leader."
"Doesn't matter. I'll go check it out, so don't go anywhere. You might need to use the shield."
"Got it."
[Remaining Time 06:52]
The church door was half-open.
As I stepped inside, I spotted a burly guy guarding the stairs.
If they had a guard posted like that, those stairs must lead down to the basement.
Crack!
The guy spotted me and charged. I grabbed his neck, snapped it clean.
Down the stairs to a hallway. Another one at the end.
He came at me swinging a steel pipe, so I snatched it and jammed it into his skull.
Door was locked, but no big deal.
I just ripped the whole thing off its hinges.
[Remaining Time 05:02]
The basement reeked of mold and piss.
I wrinkled my nose, scanned the room, and locked eyes with Yun-ji behind the iron bars.
Huddled next to her was another woman.
The second celebrity I needed to rescue.
"Oppa, oppa~ Over here, over here!!"
She acted like we were lovers reuniting at an amusement park.
Wrong vibe for right now.
I tore the bars open, and Yun-ji flung herself onto my arm, expressing her joy with her whole body.
"Why'd you take so long! I knew you'd come, I knew it... Hng, but you're so late..."
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Pretending to be tough, but she'd been anxious deep down.
"Had to prep. No time now, let's move. You there! Get up."
Only then did she look up at me.
Her eyes were completely dead.
No virginity loss message popped up. Why's she like that?
"...I'm not going."
"What?"
"I'm not going!! I said I'm not!!"
She bolted to the corner like a startled animal.
What's her deal?
No time for this.
[Remaining Time 04:11]
Yun-ji ran over and tried talking to her, but no dice.
Fed up, I grabbed her arm and yanked.
Forced rescue it is.
"I said no time!"
"I'm not going! You show up alone—what the hell are you gonna do? If we go out, they'll catch us and make us do more weird shit. They won't even let us shit right. You fucking bastards, just kill me... Kill me!!"
She'd gone full crazy bitch.
She tried shaking me off, then started clawing wildly when she couldn't.
You son of a bitch, fucker, goddamn asshole... Pretty face wasted on that filthy mouth.
Like wiping years of grime off a rag till it's pitch black.
[Remaining Time 02:53]
Already short on time, and now this bitch I had to rescue was spewing curses and digging in her heels.
Something snapped in my head at the sheer absurdity.
The fragile thread of 'patience' I'd been clinging to.
"Hey, you fucking bitch, shut your goddamn mouth!!"
It wasn't just a louder voice.
It was the Dominant trait amplifying a ruler's roar.
The thick undercurrent of charisma left no room for defiance.
The woman, who moments ago had been thrashing her head and screaming like a maniac, went dead silent as if by magic.
"Why the fuck are you cursing? I'm here to save your ass. Just follow me—why fight it? What, you wanna die? You shitty bitch, trying to drag me down with you? If you wanna die, do it alone. You think I'm doing this for fun?!"
Snap!
Crazy bitches need a crazy bastard to handle them.
She doesn't know any better curses, that's all.
[Remaining Time 01:41]
Now we were really out of time.
I yanked her arm, and this time she followed obediently.
Blasted down the hall and up the stairs.
No one on the church's first floor.
Flames from the mart were still raging unchecked.
'Okay, just escape like this.'
But when I opened the door and stepped out, an unexpected scene unfolded.
A few guys I thought were at the mart were waiting for us.
Next to Jeon Gwang-tae stood a skinny man scowling.
He must be the cult leader.
"Seo Deacon was right. The guy from the one-room, huh?"
"Yes, Cult Leader. It's the man who was with the Saintess."
One of the guys who'd kidnapped Yun-ji must've recognized me.
I hadn't anticipated this curveball.
"If you wrecked the hunting squad like that, you're no ordinary punk. Elder Jeon, time to flex a bit."
"Yes, Cult Leader. Leave it to me."
A yellow ticket appeared in midair.
Sure enough, the cult leader was using the Point Shop.
'What was the top stat ticket? Nothing for maxing out, I think.'
The ticket vanished, and Jeon Gwang-tae's eyes changed.
At the same time, the skill timer hit zero.
[Remaining Time 00:00]
'Fuck. Of all the timings, it ends now. If we hadn't argued in the basement, we could've held out. Damn that shitty bitch.'
His piercing glare was too much; the crazy bitch hid behind Yun-ji.
The aura from these guys was way stronger than the second wave.
With my current stats, honestly, no chance of winning.
"Haat!!"
He leaped at insane speed, so I deployed the shield.
Blocks incoming attacks for 10 minutes. If damage exceeds durability, the shield may break early. Proceed with caution.
A translucent barrier sprang up between me and Jeon Gwang-tae.
BOOM!!
His thrusting fist collided with the barrier, unleashing a massive shockwave.
'Blocked it!'
But only for that moment.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier before it shattered and dissipated into the air.
The barrier couldn't withstand his punch.
No time to react—his second fist came flying at me.
Thud!
"Gah!!"
I went sailing, crashing into the church stairs.
Worlds apart from the punks in the one-room.
"Kuhahaha! As expected of Elder Kim."
The cult leader snickered vilely from behind.
He figured he'd won watching me fly.
Without skills, I couldn't beat that guy for real.
I moved, testing—bones intact, luckily.
But with my current stats, defense was a struggle, let alone offense.
"What do we do, what do we do! Oppa, it's torn here. Blood, blood..."
Yun-ji rushed over, grabbed my arm, and started sniffling.
Rash was bad, but I could still move.
I brushed it off and stood.
Not that unscathed, but I had to keep face.
Hot girl clinging and crying like this.
"Stay back. That fucker's gonna charge again."
"B-but..."
"If you or that girl get hurt, it's all pointless. After I came this far."
"Oppa..."
Her eyes glistened.
If that face sucked me off, it'd be even more touching.
I came twice with Bo-ra earlier, so one more blowjob should let me use a skill, right?
'Hope that fucker stays put while she blows me. Enemies wait for transformations too.'
As these insane thoughts crossed my mind, a message appeared in midair.
The player has awakened to 'Need.' A new skill is unlocked.
'New skill?'
A real new skill had appeared.
【Celebrity Barrier】
Forms a barrier around the player and celebrities. Time stops within the barrier. Higher levels allow non-celebrities to enter/exit. Duration scales with skill level.
'Whoa, what kind of skill is this?'
The system responded to my crazy thought from earlier.
A skill that stops time and seals off the outside world!
I activated it, and everything around us vanished.
All that remained: me, Yun-ji, the crazy bitch, and a vast white expanse.
Couldn't tell if it was a white room or an open field.
"O-oppa... What is this? Another one of your powers?"
"Kinda, but first time using it, so no clue how it works."
Said that, but what else can a guy and girls do in a sealed space?
The crazy bitch fidgeted, putting distance between us.
After the harsh words and weird power, she was scared.
Another message in midair.
Time stops for 1 hour. Barrier can be dispelled anytime, but uses will be deducted.
One hour to do whatever without outside interference.
Like being locked in a room where you can't leave without sex.
Survival game or porn game? Who knows anymore.
But the system tossed me exactly what I needed right now.
Not using it would be ungentlemanly.