Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Chapter 26: Grudge, and Another Grudge (4)
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“Looks like there really was a government Player here after all?”
Her tone carried a mix of dismay and some strange amusement.
“I was trying to finish this before you showed up... but I blew it?”
But Yoon Ji-hye’s eyes remained utterly cold as she said it.
I let out another sigh as I watched her, then took a step forward.
“If you know you blew it, then just behave...”
“Take one more step, and this bastard dies.”
Yoon Ji-hye pressed the dagger even closer to Lee Jun-mo’s throat.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Not because her threat had worked on me, of course.
It was just so ridiculous it was almost funny, bringing my steps to a natural halt.
“Ha.”
I let out a hollow laugh, curling my lips as I cracked my neck side to side.
“Do I look that stupid to you...?”
She was making a threat that wouldn’t land even if she tried her hardest, so yeah, probably.
“...What did you say?”
Yoon Ji-hye’s voice was a touch stiffer than before.
Her body was more rigid now, too.
“If you come closer, he’ll...”
“Cut the empty threats.”
No need to be polite to someone who’d jumped straight to informal speech on first meeting.
I pulled out a spare barrier stone I always carried, then stowed my padding jacket in the inventory.
I’d gotten the call from Team Leader Yang Jo-cheol and ended up buying the expansion pack after all.
Thanks to that, I had plenty of room for my bag and even clothes.
After putting my jacket away, the standoff with Yoon Ji-hye resumed.
‘Doesn’t look like she’s planning to surrender quietly.’
Which meant a clash was inevitable.
And in a fight between Players with attribute mana, excluding magic wasn’t an option.
But we couldn’t just go all out in the open here on Earth.
‘Gotta hide as much as I can.’
That way, it’d be easier for Team Leader Yang Jo-cheol to clean up afterward.
Right after crushing the barrier stone, I closed the distance to Yoon Ji-hye.
She wasn’t just standing around, either.
A chilling cold hit me, followed by sharp ice shards raining down on me.
I expanded my senses, and everything around me slowed while my thoughts sped up.
‘A rank-3 spell.’
The scent was thick, so her mana itself seemed rank-4.
But the element in the spell was just ice.
Of course, that didn’t make it an easy spell by any means.
‘It’ll pierce my barrier.’
A spell manifested with rank-2 mana could only block up to basic rank-2 elemental spells.
So I had two options.
Overwhelm her with a higher-rank spell, or counter with an element that countered hers at the same rank.
Of the two, I went with the second first.
‘Same rank, superior element spell.’
At the same rank, spells had elemental advantages over each other.
Like rock-paper-scissors, you could say?
And in this matchup, I’d be the winner.
I’d focused on mastering fire spells, which countered ice.
‘Flame Storm.’
The flames, infused with wind, raged even fiercer, painting the air in fiery hues.
Yoon Ji-hye’s ice began melting rapidly.
The resulting water dampened the flames a bit, but it wasn’t a big deal.
I could just pour in more mana and burn the water away too.
‘Not many Players have more attribute mana than me.’
From the start, my odds of losing to Yoon Ji-hye were low.
You could tell just from how the melted water pooled on the ground, bubbling and boiling.
In this situation, water-element spells wouldn’t pack much punch.
“...That your only area spell? Please tell me it is.”
Yoon Ji-hye seemed to grasp that, buying time with a voice laced with desperation.
But I had no intention of playing along with her obvious ploy.
“Sadly, reality isn’t that forgiving.”
This time, flames erupted from the ground at my feet.
‘Hellfire.’
Unlike Flame Storm, which combined fire and wind, Hellfire layered fire and earth.
It didn’t just dance through the air like a living thing—it claimed the very ground beneath our feet. The flames blazed brighter, heedless of anyone’s gaze.
It wasn’t enough to threaten Players with rank-4 or 5 elemental mana.
“Haah, hot, it’s hot!”
But for the civilian caught between two Players, it was different.
Lee Jun-mo, a normal guy who couldn’t survive in flames, screamed and begged.
Pleading to be spared.
The one who responded wasn’t me.
“Put out the fire? What, you gonna kill him anyway?”
“You’re contradicting yourself. Didn’t you say you were gonna kill him?”
I dug in my ear and gave a half-hearted reply, making Yoon Ji-hye grit her teeth.
Soon after, a thin layer of ice encased Lee Jun-mo.
‘Saying that while protecting him so well.’
Yoon Ji-hye had never planned to kill Lee Jun-mo in the first place.
Far from it—she’d been figuring out how to keep him alive.
That much was obvious, which was why her earlier threat to kill him had been laughable.
I let out a scoff and shook my head.
“If you’re just gonna fret over him, hand him over. I’ll send him outside the barrier.”
I reached out to exclude Lee Jun-mo from this.
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Yoon Ji-hye shot back sharply.
No intention to kill him, but no plan to let him go either?
Frustration and irritation mixed, drawing a sigh from me.
“Fine, do whatever.”
I had no patience for her pointless stubbornness dragging this out.
I kept the flames covering the barrier’s interior and drew my spear.
「Enhancement in progress: 14.95%」
Kerax’s spear, still reinforcing at a turtle’s pace.
At first, I’d been careful and used my old cross-shaped spear.
But after checking the status a few times, it seemed fine to use.
Swinging it didn’t speed up or slow the enhancement.
So I was just using it casually now.
‘Feels more natural in my hands anyway.’
I shook the spear wide and thrust it forward, prompting Yoon Ji-hye to draw her sword.
Even as she did, her eyes fixed on my spear trembled slightly.
“Damn... no way, you’re K? Wait, no, you’re not, right?”
Lightning mana and a spear.
Only now did it seem to click—the most common descriptors tied to me.
“And if I am, you gonna set that down nicely?”
“You think I’m crazy?”
“Then why ask?”
Knowing wouldn’t change a thing.
My quiet mutter ended the brief psychological standoff.
In that short gap, Yoon Ji-hye and I assumed optimal stances to swing our weapons.
This time, I struck first.
Gripping the spear long, I closed the remaining distance in one go.
“Hmph!”
Yoon Ji-hye blocked the spear tip entering her range and stepped back.
But I pressed forward.
The sharp tip slid along her blade, slipping inward.
“Damn...!”
Yoon Ji-hye urgently arched her back to dodge the spear tip.
I dragged the spear downward from there.
Aiming to slice open her chest.
But she rolled across the ground first.
I chased after her, taking another step.
‘Wrapping this up won’t be hard.’
I knew after just two exchanges. Yoon Ji-hye had never fought anyone skilled with a spear.
‘Her reflexes are good enough to dodge my attacks.’
But that was all. Without third awakening, her physical stats couldn’t keep up with mine.
Before I could take another step, Yoon Ji-hye sprang up and launched herself backward.
Even as she glared at me fiercely, sharp ice spikes erupted from all directions.
‘A hint of wind in the scent too.’
Light for rank-5, definitely rank-4.
Seemed like rank-3 ice layered with wind affinity.
‘She handles her mana well.’
My heightened senses caught Yoon Ji-hye’s mana flowing smoothly.
Unlike me, where separating water tanked efficiency.
Made me want to learn from her sometime.
Though that chance probably wouldn’t come.
Swallowing a sigh of regret, I poured plain mana into the spear and swung wide.
Yoon Ji-hye’s ice shattered, clearing a path.
Right after, her attack pattern shifted.
Realizing a prolonged fight would just be pointless attrition, she closed in instead of pulling away.
Normally, I’d have kept her at bay per my training.
To leverage the spear’s reach advantage.
But not this time.
Her approach was exactly what I wanted.
I didn’t retreat even seeing her blade climbing the spear shaft.
I even stepped closer.
Yoon Ji-hye’s eyes widened in surprise.
But before she could react.
Boom-!
The blade, swinging to decapitate me in one stroke, was stopped by my barrier.
If she’d infused attribute mana into the sword, it might’ve pierced.
But I was certain she’d use plain mana.
And sure enough, her blade was coated not in ice, but red mist.
‘She knows I’m lightning affinity.’
No point using attribute mana when outmatched in ranks.
I’d predicted she’d go plain mana for close-quarters combat instead of spells—and I was right.
I’d even baited her into it by using plain mana on my weapon first.
As her sword bounced off, I dropped the barrier and reached out.
My target: the baggage she’d been lugging around, Lee Jun-mo.
The moment my hand touched him, Yoon Ji-hye’s face twisted in realization.
Now I was sure.
‘She’s weak in PvP.’
Not just inexperienced with spears—she lacked PvP experience altogether.
‘Type who grinded pollution zones and monsters non-stop.’
Her swings had power, but the paths were too straightforward.
No cunning or vicious feints.
Just slash, thrust, block. That was it.
Sparring required mind games, but she had zero experience or data from that.
So she panicked the moment our exchanges broke pattern.
It ended easier than expected.
“N-No!”
Yoon Ji-hye panicked, dropping her sword to shove me away.
But I’d never planned to take Lee Jun-mo.
Why target him when grabbing her would end it all at once?
My reach had been a feint.
‘The real attack’s with my foot.’
By the time she swung at my hand, my leg was already halfway up.
Then—thwack.
“Guhk!”
I threw a full-force roundhouse with no mercy.
A mere silver medalist like Yoon Ji-hye couldn’t handle the pain.
Her grip on Lee Jun-mo loosened.
She flew back like a rubber ball.
I shook off Lee Jun-mo and pursued her.
“Hiiiiaaak!”
Lee Jun-mo’s screams echoed alone in the flames without her protection, but I didn’t pay much mind.
‘I can adjust the flames.’
He wouldn’t die.
I focused on Yoon Ji-hye.
I grabbed her throat as she tried twisting mid-air using ice platforms.
Then slammed her down—boom—cracking the ground.
“Guh!”
Yoon Ji-hye couldn’t withstand the impact and vomited blood.
Even then, grabbing my collar for a counterattack was admirable.
“Enough already.”
To quell her struggling, I choked off her airway.
But Yoon Ji-hye showed no sign of complying.
“Khup, l-Lay... down!”
“Huh?”
She clutched my arm and clothes desperately, trying to force out words.
Her frantic movements made me ease my grip slightly.
“That bastard’s remaining eye—just let me gouge it out!”
What a bombshell.
“Th-The barrier blocks the outside anyway! I won’t say you let it slide, so please, just one eye more...!”
“Shut up and sleep.”
I didn’t even hear the rest, raising my left hand.
Then punched her gut.
“Guh!”
Yoon Ji-hye vomited blood again and went limp.
I dismissed the flame spell, hoisted her over my shoulder, and stood.
My footsteps led me to the tree where Yoon Ji-hye had tied Lee Jun-mo.
I sighed at his singed fingers, then bent down.
And picked up the object lying beside them.
Damn System