Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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Han Bom lifted her pale face, looked at me, and screamed.
"G-get away from me!"
"Wait! Urgh!"
Han Bom threw a blinding bomb at me and whipped out a dagger, stabbing it straight into my thigh.
Even if it was just a small dagger, the pain was inevitable.
Fortunately, the blinding bomb didn't manage to block my vision, so the dagger missed any vital spots.
'What the? Did she even use a blinding bomb?'
[Blindness has been instantly cured using Enel. 6,000 Enel consumed.]
'Oh! Nice!'
Seeing that it cost 6,000 Enel just to treat a status effect, it seemed the "top-grade" designation wasn't for show.
But the problem came next.
After plunging the dagger into my thigh, Han Bom screamed and began sprinting away.
'Dammit!'
The silver lining was that the dagger hadn't sunk deeper than expected.
A woman who had never learned a lick of swordsmanship was never going to leave a proper wound, even with a dagger.
However, this wasn't a situation I could just casually ignore.
Because of the dagger Han Bom had used, a bleeding curse had been triggered in my thigh.
'This isn't good! I have to chase Han Bom first!'
I pulled out the dagger, tucked it away, and pursued her.
One thing I could be sure of was that the Red Crescent wouldn't kill Han Bom.
By now, they were probably swarming this way, having heard her voice.
They were coming to capture her...
But the real priority was my own life.
From their perspective, the only way to fully turn Han Bom into a Red Summoner was to kill me.
Above the head of the fleeing Han Bom, an orange diamond was already spinning.
If the Red Crescent killed me in this state, Han Bom would immediately become a Red Summoner.
This was because she had directly contributed to my death.
Clutching my bleeding leg, I ran toward Han Bom.
-Guardian of the Gay Little Dick
Lmao, looks like the plan is going sideways.
"I'm struggling to stay alive here, and you find this funny?"
-Guardian of the Gay Little Dick
You've been walking a flower path until now. Guess it's time to walk a path of fire lol. Someone like you would probably survive a path of hellfire just fine lol.
"Ah, seriously..."
-Guardian of the Gay Little Dick
By the way, you cleared the blindness, so why aren't you clearing the curse?
"Because that's hard for me too!"
In truth, removing the bleeding curse was possible.
It was just that the moment Armonia told me how much Enel it would cost, I rejected it immediately.
[Su-ho-nim! I believe it would be better to spend 50,000 Enel to treat it first—]
'No! The wound itself won't heal, but I can just keep refilling my blood!'
Treatment could wait until later.
Although the knife had pierced my thigh, it hadn't hit anything critical like an artery, so it wasn't an immediate problem.
It just hurt like fuck...
While chasing Han Bom was grueling, it wasn't enough to make me lose her.
I shouted at her, but my voice only seemed to freak her out more, making her run even faster.
Luckily, she was staggering as if intoxicated, so the distance between us didn't widen.
But distance was no longer the issue.
Thud!
Five masked figures appeared, blocking Han Bom's path.
If there was any consolation, it was that Han Bom seemed to view every human—including me—as an enemy, so she didn't approach the masked men.
She just stood there, trembling in terror as she looked around.
"So you were here... Is that guy the one they call Seong Su-ho?"
"Yes!"
It was obvious that the man in the center was the leader of the group.
I scanned the five of them, checking their Traits.
Most of them had main weapon skill levels around 8 to 10.
The one who looked like the leader was at 11.
Fortunately, all the masked men here specialized in close-quarters combat.
'This should be no problem.'
[I will stand by to activate the warp if necessary.]
As long as my head wasn't pierced and I didn't die instantly, I could heal everything with Enel.
But that was the amateur's way.
I began swinging my head around blindly, like a man who had lost his sight, and shouted.
"What!? Who the hell are you people!?"
"Looks like the smoke screen worked well."
"Let's just kill him now!"
'These fuckers are suddenly talking about killing me.'
I immediately drew my bow, notched an arrow in a flash, and drew the string.
However, they showed no sign of fear at my threat, merely snorting and muttering.
"No. It's a contract. He requested that the target be killed miserably."
"What a pain... why bother with a contract like that..."
"It's not about the cancellation fee; our credibility is on the line."
"Understood..."
The smirking one had a swordsmanship level of 10 and seemed to be the most skilled among them.
Moreover, his rude tone of voice suggested he didn't particularly respect his superior.
The man in the center, perhaps used to this, didn't seem bothered and murmured quietly.
"...It's your specialty, so I'll leave it to you."
"Hehe... just leave it to m—KYAAAAAAH!!"
"Wha- what happened!"
The arrogant man let out a bizarre scream the moment he took a single step forward.
The scream he uttered sounded almost like the wail of the dead.
"Hgg-aaagh-uuugh!!"
He had been hit by my arrow while his head was turned to the side; consequently, the arrow had pierced straight through his cheek.
I had intentionally adjusted my strength so the arrow would lodge perfectly in his cheek.
The others were startled and drew their weapons, while I aimed another arrow and murmured quietly.
"When you're making that much fucking noise, I can't miss even if I wanted to."
"You little piece of sh—PHGUKKK!"
Another one rushed me, and I pierced his jaw, ensuring he wouldn't be able to close his mouth.
With two critically wounded men in an instant, the leader in the center began to hesitate, visibly flustered.
And that was the moment.
"Dammit!"
Swish!
I fired an arrow at the man who shouted, but I missed.
Or rather, I pretended to miss.
Excluding the two wounded, the remaining three hid behind nearby trees and rocks.
'Contracts are scary... I guess they don't want to kill me too easily.'
[Please remain cautious. If they feel their lives are in danger, they will certainly attack, even if it means breaking the contract.]
At the time of the contract, Han Yeo-reum had requested that I be killed cruelly and miserably.
If that wasn't fulfilled, even for a group of Red Summoners, it would be a violation of the organization's contract, which would severely damage their credibility. Thus, it was a requirement they had to follow to some extent.
For now, I had no intention of killing them all.
God only knows how things would turn out.
If, by some chance, Han Yeo-reum didn't commit suicide, I would have to face Yang Ji-hyeon after having massacred all these people.
'In the next regression, I'll have to use Yang Ji-hyeon differently.'
Vowing this to myself, I aimed my bow around the perimeter and muttered.
"I can hear it... the footsteps... I can hear them!"
Whiz!
Perhaps because they were under the illusion that I was blind, I managed to put an arrow right in the eye of one who was watching me from cover.
"GAAAAAH!"
I shouted and turned my head toward the collapsed man.
"You guys are perfect for target practice."
Three out of the five were already down, letting out groans that sounded like screams.
On the surface, the situation was in my favor, but I couldn't afford to be completely relaxed.
According to Yang Ji-hyeon, all the Red Summoners and Red Crescent members who had been active on the first floor had been deployed here.
It was only a matter of time before the others swarmed in.
"Now... let's take care of the rest..."
"Mmm, mmm-hyeo!"
"...? What? What was that?"
Pretending to be blind, I turned my head toward the sound.
There, the masked man with the arrow in his cheek was holding Han Bom as a human shield.
Han Bom had already fainted and was hanging limp.
"S-stay, s-stay back, o-or else!"
"No, seriously, what the fuck are you saying...?"
"If you want to save your companion, stay put."
"...."
The man who appeared to be the leader revealed himself, keeping a wary eye on me.
"Your comrade is in our hands. You seem to be blind, so why don't we end this here without any more bloodshed?"
"Bullshit. Based on that contract talk from earlier, you said I had to die, right?"
"...Your mouth is always the problem."
The leader sighed and shook his head.
He probably never imagined a blind man could shoot arrows this well.
As silence stretched between us, one of the men checked the wound on my thigh and exchanged glances with another masked member.
It was obvious they intended to exploit the bleeding curse affecting me.
'Armonia, how much Enel does it cost to refill blood?'
[It costs 1,000 Enel per liter.]
'Not that much.'
The amount of blood loss wasn't that great, and my mind was still clear.
However, if another item like that cursed dagger appeared, the story would change.
Those guys would surely be carrying items for emergency situations.
"This state isn't beneficial for either of us. Shoot if you want. If you don't mind hitting your own comrade..."
"...."
The one with the arrow in his jaw seemed dead.
The two with wounds to their eyes and cheeks were groaning while using Han Bom as a shield, and the other two uninjured men were standing behind the wounded.
Anyone would hesitate if they knew their comrade was directly in the line of fire while they were supposedly blind.
But I pulled the bowstring without hesitation and threatened them.
"You'd better put that girl down. If you want to leave this place alive."
"You really are a confident brat. I've heard roughly how skilled you are. What a shame... you actually seem more competent than that idiot."
"...Idiot?"
The leader chuckled and began to scold me condescendingly.
"I don't see any reason to tell you that. You have skill, but to make an enemy right beside you... that is the reason for your death. Farewell."
With those words, the others began to back away.
'Hmm... what should I do? Should I just kill them with arrows?'
If I used curved shots, I could easily neutralize all five.
The problem was mana and lives...
A hit from a Superconductor Arrow was guaranteed to be fatal, so I might accidentally kill them. Plus, it consumed a lot of mana...
Given the noise already echoing, enemies stationed everywhere would keep coming. I might run out of mana if I had to deal with all of them.
Furthermore, since they were human, if all their allies died, there was a high chance they would harm Han Bom.
[It is important to secure Han Bom first. I suggest eliminating them under the guise of a mistake—]
'Ah! Let's try using that.'
[...?]
I had forgotten about it until now.
The skill I had used on Beatrice before, which had backfired spectacularly... I decided to use it.
"Just try to stop your own bleeding. Later... huh?"
Thump.
The uninjured subordinate next to the leader suddenly lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
"What? Wake up... wh- what!"
Thump, thump...
Everyone around them began to collapse, falling face-first onto the ground.
The terrified leader hoisted Han Bom up as a shield and screamed at me.
"Wh- what did you do!"
"That..."
"...?"
"I don't think there's any reason to tell you."
"Damn it! Our comrades are heading this way right now. I don't know what you're doing, but if something happens to me, you are absolutely dead!"
The man who looked like the leader began to threaten me, pointing his sword at Han Bom's throat.
At this point, whether my eyes worked or not didn't matter to him.
Whether out of fear of the sudden phenomenon or sheer panic, he had mistaken his sleeping comrades for dead ones.
'Well, if they just drop dead like that, he'd think they were gone.'
[Is your mana for the sleep spell sufficient?]
'Yeah. It doesn't cost as much as I thought.'
The guys here had almost no magic resistance, so it wasn't a problem at all.
It seemed their resistance had been chipped away as they descended to the lower floors.
I should make better use of sleep when I regress and fight the inn gang.
Practice is everything, after all.
"If you try anything funny with me..."
"B-Boris-nim! Wh- what is this..."
The Red Crescent comrades, sensing the commotion, began to swarm in.
The leader, still using Han Bom as a shield, shouted to the newcomers.
"Kill that bastard right now!"
"U-understood! ..."
The men, unable to even finish their response, slumped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.
Watching everyone collapse, the man who looked like the leader completely lost his composure and began to scream.
"Fuck! Fine, I'll just kill this woman!"
He raised his sword to strike down at Han Bom's neck.
Swish! Crunch!
"GAAAAAH!"
But before he could strike, an arrow pierced the hand he had raised, sending him crashing backward. Han Bom slumped to the ground.
I trudged toward the man with the arrow in his hand.
The masked man was trembling, yet his eyes remained fierce.
=====
Boris
[Martial Arts], [Stealth LV 8], [Single-minded Devotion], [Composure], [Rigid]...
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I can understand everything else, but what the hell is "Single-minded Devotion"...
I almost laughed at the absurdity of the Trait.
I aimed my arrow at him and whispered quietly.
"Who are you people?"
"You... who the hell are you... you're blind..."
"Should I answer with an arrow? Just answer the question."
"Kgh... I c-can't tell you."
I let out a hollow laugh and muttered to myself.
"Yang Ji-hyeon really raised these kids poorly..."
"H-how do you know about her..."
I deliberately ignored Boris's words and murmured in a low voice.
"Her face is much better than her ability; I might have to have some fun with that."
I didn't have any real interest in these guys. I had already predicted that a few would die.
Therefore, even if Han Yeo-reum didn't commit suicide and I didn't regress, it wouldn't be a huge problem.
No matter what I said, if I just told Yang Ji-hyeon I was testing things out, she'd let it slide.
However, this Boris guy didn't let it go.
"If you touch a single hair on her head, I will kill you."
"Oh..."
Despite it being daytime, he was glaring at me with a blue light in his eyes so intense it was clearly visible.
'This bastard likes Yang Ji-hyeon!'
It didn't feel like loyalty toward a superior in an organization.
Just based on the way he threatened me, I could feel his affection for Yang Ji-hyeon.
"What a mess... Is the Red Crescent a dating agency or something?"
"Wh- what..."
"Just go to sleep."
I didn't kill him; I simply put him to sleep.
I helped Han Bom, who was lying collapsed in front of me, to her feet and wore a thin, predatory smile.
"I wonder if Han Bom will follow my plan..."