Chapter 54
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 054
Chapter Title: Gyeoyang-gu Baron Kim Seok-hui [5]
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After a long-distance teleport, I arrived in front of my fan's house. I knocked on the door, and when my fan came out, he looked shocked to see my face.
"Uh, Kim Geuk? What brings you here at this hour?!"
"I've got to fight some gangsters starting now. Mind filming it for me? If you're up for it..."
I planned to explain that I'd upload the video to my YouTube account anonymously to avoid any retaliation or charges of aiding and abetting later on, and that I'd give him all the ad revenue instead.
But it turned out I didn't need to bother. Before I could even finish explaining, he was nodding his head furiously.
"Gangsters? Oh, those bastards are finally getting what's coming to them! I'll grab the camera right now!"
Seong Mun-yeong seemed to suspect this guy was just tailing me for the cash, but as far as I could tell, he was a true fan.
I shared a friendly laugh with him before teleporting again. I dropped him off on the rooftop of a nearby building with a good filming angle, then teleported once more. Angry shouts immediately pierced my ears.
"Hands up! Put 'em up if you don't wanna die, you bastard!"
One of the gang members was yelling. He was wielding a K-2 rifle, the kind every thug seemed to carry these days. Visibly rattled by my disappearance, he was swinging the barrel around wildly while screaming.
I could ignore that idiot. I was standing right behind the guy who'd just fired at me with the anti-materiel sniper rifle.
I kicked the back of his knee.
I'd figured anyone lugging around a weapon that big must be a Physical Enhancer, but nope. A single kick sent his leg twisting grotesquely as he toppled backward.
"Guh..."
His upturned face wore the funniest expression.
Some incomprehensible roar escaped his lips, and he started convulsing before passing out.
"You bastard!"
The guy who'd been yelling about hands up finally spotted me. He aimed his rifle and pulled the trigger.
It was set to burst fire. Bang, bang-bang! The shots rang out in rapid succession, but I didn't care. I raised my forearm to shield my face, and the bullets—fired from close range—embedded in my skin. That was it.
The moment they hit, my Super Regeneration pushed them out. Plink, plink. They popped free one by one and clattered to the ground.
"Wha..."
The shooter's eyes shook with shock. I could guess what he was thinking just from his face. Probably something like, What the hell?
Want to see something even cooler?
I plucked a bullet still lodged in my skin with my thumb and index finger, then flicked it at him.
Thwack. It nailed him in the gut. Flung with a Physical Enhancer's strength, it must've hurt. He clutched his stomach, groaning, and stopped moving.
The guy who'd been about to charge with a bat froze, his face full of shock at the sight.
I flicked another bullet pulled from my skin his way. He let out a hilarious yelp and flopped over.
Until all the bullets were out of my skin, I kept at it. The gang members, already losing the will to fight, started fleeing—only for me to ping their calves and thighs. Watching them drop one by one was somewhat amusing.
But it wasn't exactly thrilling.
It felt like rampaging through a flock of sheep as an 800kg gray bear. Blocking a ram or slashing one with a claw swipe? Nothing to brag about for a bear.
"No Awakeners here? I heard there were plenty. Not even one?"
I shouted to send the weak non-Awakeners packing, and sure enough, one came charging at me.
He didn't come at me head-on with any bold war cries.
He rushed from behind at blinding speed—no "Die!" or anything. Faster than Usain Bolt, so probably a Physical Enhancer or Force Field Exoskeleton type.
My mental web even picked up what he held: an aluminum bat. Disappointing. At that speed and power, he should've grabbed a cavalry lance instead of playing gangster with something so uncreative.
I didn't even bother checking the bat's power. Without turning, I just swung my arm back and grabbed his head.
I hadn't even gripped hard, but it seemed to terrify him. He dropped the bat and flailed his arms, screaming to escape my grasp.
"Agh! Agh!"
Right then, another came at me from the front. A Western medieval longsword in his hand shimmered with heat haze—likely bought overseas.
Force Field Edge ability. It could kill anyone regardless of class, but it didn't faze me. Deathclaws are scary because of their insane leap power combined with blades that cut anything. This guy? Just the edge power. Pathetically slow.
I hurled the guy whose head I was holding at him. Would've been fun if the sword sliced him, but no dice.
"Shit!"
The swordsman panicked and swung his blade aside. The thrown guy slammed into his torso.
Direct hit.
Both tumbled across the ground. I teleported in front of them as they tried to stand.
I kicked the leg of the one rising— the Force Field Edge guy. His physical stats were plain human-level; he couldn't withstand even one kick.
His leg twisted in a way that'd get me hate online as a gruesome photo. Screaming incoherently, he flipped out completely when I stomped it again.
The other one, whose legs were still fine—untouched even after rolling on the ground, so likely Force Field Exoskeleton—locked eyes with me.
I glanced at his legs, and his eyes started trembling wildly. His quivering lips parted.
"S-stop, please... Have mercy. I can't be crippled. I need to become a Hunter..."
Guess he wasn't wanted. I stared him down and said,
"Promise to sign with Incheon, and I'll let you go."
"Y-yes? Yes!"
"And vote for Park Mi-hyeong, Incheon mayoral candidate number two. Got it?"
"Yes, I promise..."
I patted his shoulder with a smile, and he grinned back through teary eyes.
I whispered for him to go home now, and he bolted. As I chuckled watching him flee, someone yelled from the side.
"That traitor's a bastard!"
Shouting that, another charged at me.
His muscular build gave it away. Physical Enhancer. Over 190cm tall, bulky and burly— this one might actually be decent.
Couldn't let my guard down, then.
As the brute swung at me, I stepped forward and teleported. The instant I appeared behind him, my fully extended leg swept his calf.
Indeed, a solid Physical Enhancer. He grunted and dropped to one knee but didn't fully collapse.
He even spun on that knee, swinging his arm at me. Sloppy, untrained form.
I countered instantly. My straight to his face connected. His yellowed teeth flew from his bloody mouth.
Even as he desperately punched, I blocked with my hard head. He screamed.
I followed with a kick to his gut, dropping him. But he still wouldn't yield.
"You fucking bastard, you piece of shit, I'll kill you..."
His spirit was commendable, but with no skill to back it, it grated on me.
He should've knelt immediately against someone stronger. Trying to protect his pride instead? That's not a weakling's right.
Show respect to clear superiors. That's how you survive in Sowol. Weakling.
Time for a lesson. I mounted him and rained down punches.
One punch: more teeth scattered from his mouth. Two: his face caved in. Three: he convulsed.
His legs were still intact amid all this. Annoying, so I stomped. Seemed like he had Super Regeneration too—thought he'd endure better. I crushed the bone completely, over and over, until he let out a horrific wail and passed out. Satisfying.
Someone nearby gasped sharply.
I turned to see another man with a curved sword, its jagged blade already lacking the courage to stab me.
"You an Awakener too?"
He looked terrified from the fallen brute. So probably weaker than that guy.
"No Hunter Rifle? Bet you have one. I'll wait—go grab it."
No answer. Not ignoring me; frozen solid. His legs shook. He shook his head.
"N-no, no..."
His submissive attitude pleased me, so I softened up.
"You need one to fight properly. Why's no one bringing them? I told you to."
As I approached, he backed away. My controlled low kick made his body shudder.
"Agh!"
But he seemed fine despite the scream. Force Field Exoskeleton, then. Like the one I'd grabbed earlier—shouldn't hurt much, yet they all yelped the same.
Liked his sense of place. No need to traumatize. I got his pledge to become an Incheon Hunter too, sent him home, and that's when their boss arrived.
"Kim Geuk?"
New voice, new face, but I knew who. I greeted the astonishingly ordinary-looking man warmly.
"You must be Kim Seok-hui, Gyeoyang-gu's border baron. The Incheon duke has come to this frontier."
He ignored my noble courtesy.
Busy scanning the scene, eyes flicking between me and the carnage.
His pupils shook violently. Probably taking in the broken, twisted legs; the brute's battered, bleeding face; the convulsing underlings everywhere. And realizing I did it all.
A shocked voice leaked from Kim Seok-hui.
"How..."
I got the gist. Why'd you come here?
He'd hoped to piss me off, but not this much. Enemies hate what you do next—so I did this.
Soon, he regained composure. Battle fire lit his eyes.
Grinding his teeth, he slowly raised the massive machine gun in his hand toward me.
"I'll kill you, bastard."
I inwardly admired the 55kg Hunter Rifle. I carried one daily, so I hadn't noticed, but damn, it looked badass.
"Hunter Rifle... I told you to bring it so many times, and you finally did."
"I'll kill you, you bastard."
He growled. I urged him on.
"Yeah, go ahead and shoot."
"Think I won't?"
"If you haven't forgotten how, sure. Hurry up. Gotta make it legit to kill you back."
I beckoned with my fingers. Mental web out, ready to teleport the instant that 30mm cannon fired.
Kim Seok-hui never pulled the trigger.
Maybe scared I'd kill him if he shot. Or lacked the guts to fire at a person. Probably both.
He slammed the Hunter Rifle down and glared.
"Fighting a teleporter with a gun? Fucking stupid."
His excuse irked me big time. He looked unsure, yet insisted on bare hands?
Of course. He wasn't from Sowol. Hit me anew.
Woo So-ri from Sowol dropped his sword against me—a tactical choice fearing my Hunter Rifle. Believing his strength superior, he fought bare-fisted. Not this guy.
Kim Seok-hui knew dropping the rifle tanked his odds, yet did it. Eager to fight disadvantaged.
A Sowol Awakener would've shot, fled, or submitted in clear inferiority.
Act like Sowol folk, but you're not. Strength is power and status—Earth's civilized forget, acting above their station.
In Sowol, holding your head high against superiors? Unforgivable. Woo So-ri, near my level, could—but not this one.
The academy head who struck me, the instructor who provoked? They paid. This guy would too.
When Kim Seok-hui charged, dodging felt unnecessary.
"Die, you ba—"
I teleported behind and drove my fist into his back.
My blow didn't twist his face in pain.
SWAT couldn't subdue him—strong Force Field Exoskeleton indeed. Rock solid. He turned confidently unscathed, swinging his right fist.
Blocking it numbed my hand. I smirked slightly.
Force Field Exoskeleton and Physical Enhancement? Way stronger than expected. Head held high justified.
I caught his left hook too. Then hurled his whole body skyward. He screamed.
"Shit—!"
Kim Seok-hui, airborne ten meters up, plummeted.
Vertical when thrown, horizontal on descent.
I kneed his gut, teleported, and double-stomped his back. Cheers erupted from afar.
"Fucking awesome! Kill that prick!"
I thumbs-upped him, thinking: Won't kill, but lesson time. Teach Sowol etiquette proper.
I'll make him submit. If not? Then I'll really kill him.