Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Bodyguard's Betrayal
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"Haha, it's literally a 'light bet.' Fight this guy. If Lee Han wins, it's like it never happened. If you lose, I'll take one arm. Oh, if you die by accident, can't be helped."
Once Cha Mu-hyuk finished speaking, the black-sporty-haired man who had been holding weight at the very back stepped forward naturally.
As if this wasn't his first or second time.
Confident even after hearing my level?
'At least level 30? Or a Heroic trait holder?'
Maybe both.
"Why not teach me how scary the world is yourself?"
"That's why this guy gets paid."
Definitely a bodyguard assigned separately by the Sun Group.
I calmly assessed the situation.
A one-on-one duel?
'Ridiculous. The moment he shows any sign of struggling, they'll all jump in.'
Cha Mu-hyuk was trying to kill me just because he was in a bad mood.
So I had to fight with the intent to kill all seven of them.
'Assuming the group members are at least level 20, and the bodyguard is 30 or higher...'
My level was only 7 because I'd shared EXP with Kkaebi, and there was a huge gear gap too.
Even so, I had no doubts about winning.
It would be tough, sure, but there were too many ways to handle them if I accepted some losses.
'Time's almost up.'
But right now, I didn't even need to take losses.
I'd soon have sturdy allies on my side.
"Huh? Mu-hyuk oppa! The shaman here is disappearing?"
Right on cue, the token woman in Cha Mu-hyuk's group shouted.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Cha Mu-hyuk stared in surprise at the orc shaman's corpse slowly vanishing.
"For real? Why now? It should last 24 hours, right?"
Then he turned to me with disbelief.
"Ha, don't tell me Lee Han didn't kill it?"
No one in their right mind would wait 24 hours next to a monster they'd killed.
"Who knows."
I shrugged and instantly drew my sword.
Target: the bodyguard's neck, as he stood confidently looking away.
Swoosh!
Even though I'd timed it when their attention was on the orc shaman.
Clang!
The bodyguard had already drawn his sword and deflected mine.
"Cowardly."
The bodyguard glared at me, furrowing his brow.
"Cowardly? That's pretty naive. But you sure that's okay?"
"What do you mean?"
I glanced sideways with my chin, and his gaze followed.
"Orc Shaman. Ever fought one?"
Behind the group, the orc shaman had already regenerated up to its waist.
"Hey! Handle the orc shaman first!"
Having heard me, Cha Mu-hyuk urgently ordered the bodyguard.
The easiest way to kill a regenerating monster was to ambush its rear vital spots, like I had.
The bodyguard hurriedly tried to move behind the orc shaman.
But.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Kkaebi is trying to use the Path of Wind in a different way.] A black skeleton appeared, and bewilderment crossed Cha Mu-hyuk's face.
It was only natural.
No matter how lawless Utopia was, the common sense was to set aside conflicts and cooperate first when facing monsters that unconditionally targeted humans.
"You mad bastard...!"
"Why, scared now?"
Utopia wasn't a game. It just took a game-like 'system' form—death was the end.
That's why powerful people like chaebol heirs always prioritized safety.
They never bothered with uncharted zones or unknown monsters.
They only leveled up safely in controlled situations, hiring high-level bodyguards.
"Rampage as you like. Kkaebi."
Cha Mu-hyuk stared at me with a face that couldn't comprehend it at all.
As if screaming, 'I was just lightly joking, so why go this far?'
In response, I grinned and said,
"Light bet. If you win, it's nothing. If you lose... hmm, yeah. I'll mourn you deeply. Too kind?"
"Damn it! Hey! Forget the shaman—kill the skeleton first! We'll handle the shaman."
"Unknown" things instilled vague fear in everyone.
Especially cooking guys who entered Utopia just for simple amusement was all too easy.
Despite Cha Mu-hyuk's flustered orders, the bodyguard moved steadily. He halted, turned, and swung his sword at Kkaebi.
As I moved to act, a message appeared above Kkaebi's head.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You can now see the Tremors of the Wind.] [Kkaebi shows its will to its master.] Huh?
Use the Path of Wind differently?
I briefly glanced at Kkaebi due to the successive new messages.
I'd just hoped it'd use Wind Step to keep distance.
'Did I stimulate it somehow?'
Kkaebi was dodging the bodyguard's insanely swinging sword with simple body twists.
My guess was right.
That it could help me even with low HP.
'Seeing the Tremors of the Wind means reading attack trajectories.'
The Agility stat boost from leveling up played a role too, but Kkaebi was showing more than that, proving it wouldn't die easily.
Meanwhile, as Kkaebi effortlessly evaded the attacks from the bodyguard he trusted, Cha Mu-hyuk grew anxious and started yelling.
"You two, help kill the skeleton too!"
The two men who had first blocked my path charged at Kkaebi.
Then Kkaebi, as if waiting, used Wind Step to slip between them like the wind.
I quietly watched Kkaebi instead of my original plan.
'Huh? Why head there? Even swinging fists with Strength 7 won't work.'
Target: Cha Mu-hyuk.
Kkaebi instantly closed in on him, shoved its face close, and grinned grotesquely.
A blatant sneer.
"You insolent skeleton bastard! Ignoring me?!"
Kkaebi had no weapon in hand, but if it had even a small dagger, Cha Mu-hyuk would've been as good as dead.
Realizing that, the panicked Cha Mu-hyuk bellowed.
"Everyone, kill that skeleton first! Hurry! Use skills!"
With Cha Mu-hyuk's yells, all eyes turned to Kkaebi.
'So this is why the Sun Guild fell.'
Even if it was the early Cataclysm before Utopia's dangers fully emerged.
Cha Mu-hyuk had no idea of priorities, acting only on his mood and safety.
I had no intention of sparing him anyway. Even if left alive, he'd be no help—just liability—in the war against the Demon Realm.
I positioned myself far behind the orc shaman, now regenerated up to its chin.
'At least I'd handle anyone coming for the shaman myself.'
EXP was a shame, but they were self-destructing, saving me effort. Grateful, even.
"Grrruk! Grrruk!"
The orc shaman fully regenerated.
"Fireball."
I quietly issued the command from behind, knowing it wouldn't hear.
"Sword of the Heavens!"
"Dark Spear!"
"Strength Up!"
At Cha Mu-hyuk's command, his crew started targeting Kkaebi with skills.
But most were single-target, not AoE.
Kkaebi dodged here and there using Wind Step.
'Perfect evasion tank. Good enough as bait.'
Not content with fleeing, it maintained a tantalizing distance from Cha Mu-hyuk's group.
As if urging them not to give up the chase.
"M-Mu-hyuk hyung!"
Kim Seong-jun was first to spot the fireball forming on the orc shaman's staff.
Too busy glaring my way due to our grudge, he'd spotted it glancing over.
"What!"
"O-Orc shaman! Dodge!"
At Kim Seong-jun's urgent shout, everyone froze as if on cue.
"Damn it!"
"What do we do, oppa!"
Only then did they notice the fireball on the staff.
"Fuck. Hey! What are you doing, you bastard! Protect me!"
Cha Mu-hyuk immediately cursed and called the bodyguard chasing Kkaebi. Missed it because he was focused?
The bodyguard chased Kkaebi's back without responding.
"That crazy fucker!"
"Hyung! Dodge first!"
Kim Seong-jun yelled again at Cha Mu-hyuk.
The reason for their panic was obvious.
Without the bodyguard, they had no way to block the orc shaman's fireball.
Orc shamans were infamous glass cannons with killer DPS.
Guys who hadn't even properly faced orc soldiers couldn't dodge a fireball rivaling level 30 power.
'If not for the lake, I wouldn't have touched it either.'
The fireball flew instantly, engulfing them.
Boom!
"S-Save me! Hyung! It burns!"
"Kuaaagh!"
Two who couldn't dodge rolled on the ground, screaming in agony from the massive explosion and searing flames.
'Kkaebi?'
Worried it'd been caught, I searched—Kkaebi had evaded the blast radius and was even luring more fireballs.
Successive fireballs from the shaman.
Kim Seong-jun and the three nameless ones charred black instantly.
"S-Save me! Fuck! I'll give you whatever money you want! Lee Han!"
Cha Mu-hyuk, legs charred to charcoal, crawled desperately with his hands, screaming.
Letting an orc shaman attack freely made it this terrifying.
After Kkaebi lured all 11 fireballs. I slowly approached the exhausted shaman.
"Good work. See you in 10 minutes."
'Thanks to Kkaebi, no need to dry clothes again.'
No lake dive needed, I turned from the collapsing shaman to Cha Mu-hyuk.
Worthless to keep alive.
As I walked to finish him.
'Huh? He didn't run?'
The black-sporty-haired bodyguard chasing Kkaebi returned.
'Lucky. No need to hunt him down.'
If he'd fled outright, it'd be trouble back on Earth.
'Hmm?'
Something off.
No urgency in the bodyguard's steps.
"Hey! Ugh... What are you doing! Get me back to Earth quick!"
The bodyguard slowly knelt on one knee before the yelling, crawling Cha Mu-hyuk.
"Executive Director."
"What! You bastard! Hurry and carry me!"
"Do you know my name?"
"What bullshit is this all of a sudden! How would I know your name!"
"My name isn't 'bastard'—it's Lee Seong-un."
"So what!"
Dense, huh?
I could guess what the bodyguard wanted.
"Told you so you'd know before dying."
"Huh? Before dying? What are you talking about! Get me to Earth now!"
"If you'd treated me like a human even once, it wouldn't have come to this. Farewell."
Instantly, Cha Mu-hyuk's end.
The bodyguard mercilessly thrust his sword into the back of the struggling Cha Mu-hyuk looking up.
It pierced his black-clad back with a sharp sound and stabbed into the ground.
"Kuugh... You son of a... bitch..."
Lee Seong-un watched the cursing-to-the-end Cha Mu-hyuk with a complex expression for a while.
Lee Seong-un slowly pulled the sword from Cha Mu-hyuk's body and stood.
"Lee Han."
Then he called me.
"I'll keep today's events secret. So please keep what I did secret too."
"Hmm..."
'If that guy goes to the Sun Group and says I killed Cha Mu-hyuk.'
On Earth, they'd trust him over me.
For me, who needed absolute time, this was a big risk.
If wanted posters went up and I became a fugitive, countless options would vanish.
'Killing him is obvious, but how...'
From blocking my ambush easily, his level was at least 30.
Plus, sinister enough to stab his boss the moment an opening appeared.
Right to assume he hid Rare or Heroic traits or aces.
"Guess we need to talk first?"
Hiding my thoughts, I sheathed my sword and walked toward Lee Seong-un.