Chapter 303
Chapter 303
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 303
Chapter Title: Vile and Evil Kim Shin-hwa
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Rumble rumble rumble!
Thunder crashed from the sky.
Splatter splatter! Thud thud thud thud!
Hail poured down, piercing through the mist I had conjured.
A sudden freak weather change.
It was a phenomenon caused by Yang Seo-ho.
‘You might call it crazy, but!’
She could fly at high subsonic speeds by kicking off the air itself. However, the shockwaves from that battered the clouds and atmosphere—
Vigorously churning and compressing the clouds until they spat out intense lightning and hail.
[Protection Circle]
I blocked the hail with magic and circulated my mana.
Ziiiiing—
A complex, dazzling magic circle spread out through the mist.
Dokgo Gyeom spotted it and shouted at me.
“Just let me go! I’ll handle my own escape!”
Dokgo Gyeom was bound in chains thick and sturdy enough for securing ships. A gag muffled his face to prevent any mad outbursts.
“No, I think you’ve misunderstood me. I’m not here to rescue you.”
I wasn’t a villain or a hero of justice.
I had come to snatch Dokgo Gyeom away for my own selfish gain.
Ziiiiiiing—
The spell activating was the [Gate Creation] incantation. It wasn’t a difficult magic...
But even though I had clearly requested his cooperation, Dokgo Gyeom still radiated suspicion and hostility toward me.
‘This guy... He knows exactly what I’m doing...’
This spell carried a penalty if the target wasn’t friendly.
Forcibly relocating a high-level hostile target.
‘Damn it, I’ll remember this.’
On top of that, the custom armored truck imprisoning Dokgo Gyeom was enormous—and the sealing runes designed to block magic and abilities rejected my spell.
Penalties stacked double and triple.
‘Even so, about 10 seconds should—’
Let me complete the ritual.
Screeeeech!
As long as nothing interrupted me.
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ activates.]
My brain detected the crisis and dramatically heightened my perception.
My senses sharpened exponentially, and my thoughts spun at tremendous speed.
Thanks to the [Parallel Thinking] that kicked in, I activated a new spell separate from the ritual in progress.
Any spell needing rituals or prep would get me killed.
[Hyperacceleration]
Yang Seo-ho could fly 300 to 600 meters per second.
It varied slightly with air density and temperature, but in this weather? Roughly 400 m/s.
Yang Seo-ho’s current altitude: about 50 meters.
Calculate the time for an enraged Yang Seo-ho to smash Kim Shin-hwa to pieces.
‘Not the time for math.’
I braced for the imminent Yang Seo-ho storm, drawing up mana—but
KABOOM!
Instead of crashing right on my head, she landed a short distance away.
Her travel time? About one second? No, maybe a few tenths more?
‘Lucky.’
At the same time, I realized the first major risk to this plan had been neutralized.
‘In a game, she’d just attack blindly.’
The in-game Yang Seo-ho unleashed AOE attacks regardless of allies in combat.
Not because she was merciless.
‘Well, she is merciless, but...’
Her ruthlessness was highly selective.
She targeted “illegal aliens”—otherworldly beings—or the cultists dragging them into this world (specifically, Korea).
To everyone else (especially Koreans), Yang Seo-ho was nothing more than a kind, diligent civil servant.
So why did the game version ignore allies and spam AOEs?
‘Probably because devs assigned her overly broken stats, against their intentions.’
No time for chit-chat, so I triggered the prepped magic circle.
Splash!
“Gah!” “Urk!” “T-Team leader!”
Figures dragged out from the pale mist.
Golden mana chains from the magic circle looped around the necks of civil servants.
In other words, Yang Seo-ho’s precious colleagues—prime protected assets, citizens of the Republic of Korea.
No helping it if you called Kim Shin-hwa a despicable bastard.
Yang Seo-ho saw them and spoke curtly.
“Want to die?”
Rumble rumble!!
Fierce lightning arced from her body.
Static buildup from friction with the air during high-speed flight.
[Lightning Rod]
I silently conjured a spell to divert the bolt while expanding the ritual for [Gate Creation]. Progress: still just 20%.
Eight more seconds needed.
And eight seconds...
If Yang Seo-ho got serious, she could kill a 7th-circle mage eighty times over.
Bang!
An explosion at her feet.
Yang Seo-ho’s body hurtled forward at absurd speeds.
‘Ah, damn. Just hesitate a little.’
Her strategy against a mage with hostages? Simple.
*Smash them before the hostages get hurt.*
[Time Stop—]
If the opponent tried casting?
*Smash them before the spell activates.*
Shrieeeek!
Ugh, no! No time to stop time!
[Counter]
With no time, I extracted only the core verse of a defensive spell to block her attack.
BOOOOOOM!!
“?”
Yang Seo-ho stared at me, her expression saying, ‘You blocked it?’
‘Yeah. I blocked it.’
I nodded silently.
She wasn’t at full power right now, and I wasn’t some average 7th-circle mage. I could hold out for eight seconds.
‘Can’t let her create distance.’
A mage versus a brawler.
Normally, distancing would favor the mage. Not here.
Unless we separated by kilometers, having hostages nearby worked in my favor.
Plus, with [Hyperacceleration] active, I could track her movements to a degree.
“-!”
I let out a grunt-like noise and leaped into her guard—while conjuring a spell.
[Thunderstrike—]
“Hah!”
She whipped her hips in a classic straight punch setup—pulling her left hand to her waist, thrusting her right fist forward.
WHOOOOM!!
No time to finish the spell again.
I urgently recalled the mana for thunderstrike—no, no time for that. I abandoned the incomplete spell and rapidly formed a new one.
[Repel]
Fwoooom—
“Huh—?”
Yang Seo-ho’s face said, ‘Blocked twice?’
She’d slowed for the hostages’ sake, but this wasn’t common.
Meanwhile, I had an epiphany.
‘Ah. This is...’
The effect of [Spell Proficiency: Warding] from the grimoire [Sealed Rock Chronicles] intertwined with my general [Spell Proficiency]—unlocking a new realm of magic.
A strange euphoria washed over me.
My mind cleared.
‘Ah, this is that martial arts trope.’
No, focus.
Killing intent sensed not visually, but intuitively.
Yang Seo-ho’s focus shifted to her left hand, drawn to her waist.
Nothing in her left hand. But she curled her thumb with her index finger—and snapped it hard.
‘Come on, do something reasonable!’
The air propelled by her thumb became a bullet-like shockwave hurtling at my neck.
[Deflect]
The barely completed ritual warped the shockwave’s trajectory.
“Hah—!”
Yang Seo-ho bared her teeth in a grin.
A savage, predatory smirk, like a massive carnivore facing prey.
“And this too!”
Yang Seo-ho’s shout.
Huh? What now? Taunting me to block it?
Wait! Hostages! HOSTAGES!
She rarely used it because she didn’t need to. Yang Seo-ho had a special ability too.
Grooooowl—
In game terms, she could burn a ki slot for a supernatural attack. Her ki slots equaled her mental stat +1, recharging on long rest...
No, not that! What’s she using now?!
Phoenix Kick? Dragon Fist? Vajra Strike?
I hurriedly focused mana into my eyes, maxing out my insight.
Yang Seo-ho’s motions captured frame by frame. Foot sliding back slightly. Weight shifting downward.
[Willow Step] into footwork, layered with [Path of Elements - Flame Breath]. [Mastery] title skips prerequisites, [Amazing Feats] enables instant activation—so that’s!
‘Ultimate: [Phoenix Amidst Winds and Moon]?!’
Gah! You think I haven’t seen this before!?
[Inferno]
KABOOM!
“Parried!!”
My cry. Nearly bit my tongue.
I wanted to yell “Parry!”
Incredibly, I calculated the ritual at unbelievable speed, striking [Phoenix Amidst Winds and Moon]’s weakest point before its ultimate triggered—halting her technique.
“Uh—?”
Yang Seo-ho’s brief grunt.
For a split second, her disrupted stance faltered. I hurriedly—no complex spells! Instant-cast basics only!
[Flashbang]
[Oil Slick]
[Chains of Dominion]
Splaash—
[Oil Slick] drastically reduced surface friction as I yanked the nearby hostages—and hurled them at Yang Seo-ho.
She wouldn’t normally trip on this, but...
The shock of her ultimate being parried pre-activation, blinding flash in her vision, incoming hostages—
Yang Seo-ho couldn’t react properly, wasting a full three seconds.
“Ha, you ridiculous bastard!”
Yang Seo-ho caught the hostages and retreated slightly.
And that was it.
Ziiiiiiing—
Eight seconds since Yang Seo-ho’s arrival.
[Gate Creation]
Craaaack—
The [Dimensional Gate] forming on the ground swallowed the armored truck imprisoning Dokgo Gyeom whole.
“Kim Shin-hwa!”
Yang Seo-ho called my name. She tossed the hostages aside and charged me.
But this time, I was faster.
The moment the truck vanished, I slashed the [Dimensional Gate] with [Flesh Sword]—
Ziiiiing—
[Sword Realm]
“Nice, it works!”
I thought it only worked outside managed zones, but it activated here too. A spell altering space itself.
[Sever]
Slash, cut, tear, pierce, shatter—forcing a specific state onto the enemy’s body. Death.
The realm surged at Yang Seo-ho.
Not an element or mana. A twisted, reconstructed law of the world...
“Fun!”
Yang Seo-ho swung a fist-sized mana crystal—procured from who-knows-where—at the oncoming space.
CRACKCRACKCRACK!!
Mana in the crystal exploded, repelling the space itself.
“Ah, that’s just too much!”
But I didn’t need to hold out longer.
My goal wasn’t defeating Yang Seo-ho.
I let the [Sword Realm] dissipate on its own and triggered new spells.
[Mirror Image]
[Flight]
Fwooooosh—
My robe billowed wildly at extreme speed.
I spawned dozens of illusions in an instant and rocketed into the sky.
If Yang Seo-ho pursued seriously, this wouldn’t buy time—but innocents still surrounded her.
‘Time to wrap this up?’
[ sonic Shock]
[Spreading Impact]
I infused [Sonic Shock] with spreading properties and bellowed.
『Listen up, Foreigner Management Agency and Eternal Unity Church!』
『Dokgo Gyeom is with me now.』
『If you want him back, no matter which side.』
『Come to Busan in six days.』
『That day, with Cure Medical Care, I’ll unseal the lid of the Boundless Abyss. Ravenous swarms of yellow worms, beastly hordes from that pitch-black void, will pour forth.』
“Who’re you to order us around!”
Yang Seo-ho’s shout.
KABOOOOOM!!
Armored trucks flew like missiles.
Not just one.
She hurled dozens at blinding speed—one aimed dead at me... Ugh, can’t dodge!
[Unique function of S-rank accessory ‘?? Mask’, ‘Dreamlike Blur’ activates.
// Dreamlike Blur: Auto-cast ‘Blink’ spell.]
Only with the survival tool’s help did I escape the kill zone.
[Blink complete. Cooldown: 864,000 seconds]
Rumble rumble!
The massive vortex Yang Seo-ho conjured.
Clouds from god-knows-where twisted grotesquely, birthing thunder, hail, and torrents.
“Kim Shin-hwa! Where are you!!!”
RUMBLE!!
Her shout unleashed a shockwave bigger than lightning.
“Wow, she’s relentless.”
[Sword Realm] already dispersed? I cut the mana, so it faded fast—but this quick?
“Still, I succeeded in drawing their attention.”
Jang Hyun-deok stared at me in disbelief.
“Mage.”
“Yeah?”
“You suck at making friends, huh? Even elementary kids these days...”
Jang Hyun-deok sighed.
“Shut up! Just drive already.”