Chapter 313
Chapter 313
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 313
Chapter Title: Super Magical Jang Hyun-deok
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Drrrrrrrrt!!
A Gatling gun spinning furiously and spewing fire.
“Woooow!! Grrrrowl!”
A beastly howl.
KABOOM!
“Hee-hee-hee-hee-neigh!”
The impact rang out alongside a horse’s whinny.
“Whoa!! It can do that too!?”
Jang Hyun-deok’s exclamation laced with shock.
“What? What happened?”
“The furry cowboy grandpa’s got his horse tucked under his arm and he’s sprinting around!”
Jang Hyun-deok sounded pissed, but it must have been some damn precise shooting to force the guy to ditch riding and pull off acrobatics like that.
“Why even ride a horse if he’s gonna do that?”
Kid had the ability to shapeshift into a half-human, half-beast form.
In that state, he could move way more nimbly than the black steed he rode, and if he wanted, he could scoop up that massive horse and leap around with it anytime.
So why the hell did he stubbornly keep riding?
“Probably the same reason I wear a mask.”
The guy was a veteran fixer who’d been at it for years.
In this mad world, anyone tagged with “veteran” deserved caution.
They were bound to be incredibly skilled—and more often than not, suffering from some severe mental disorder.
“Makes sense—uwaaah!!”
I cracked one eye open just a sliver to check on Jang Hyun-deok as he worked the van’s controls.
Dr-rt! Clunk! Scrrch!
His hands moved like a pro gamer’s, juggling complex levers and the steering wheel at once.
‘Impressive as hell.’
A feat most people couldn’t even attempt.
He was driving a vehicle at 200 kph through rough off-road terrain—
while countering attacks from enemies leaping all over the place—
and manning the three Gatling guns jury-rigged onto the vehicle.
“Hiya!”
A super stereotypical ninja shout.
The ninja had shown up with three ninja dogs a while back, introducing himself with some “Gonichi~” spiel (name was Inukaze or something?)—and making it clear he was more than just a dog trainer.
Shwwiiiip!
The sound of shurikens slicing through the air.
“Wizard!”
“Already cast it!”
[Distortion Field]
Heck, right now Jang Hyun-deok was even pulling double duty as a spotter for some mage.
“That way?”
Shwwiiiip!
I shifted the distortion field to fling the shurikens back toward where I sensed Inukaze’s presence—
“He dodged!”
“Damn it, knew he would.”
My phobia had my eyes squeezed shut, and I’d dialed back my detection ability too. No room for precise spellwork here.
“Gotcha! Hraaah!”
Jang Hyun-deok let out a weird kiai as his hands and feet danced in a frenzy.
Dr-rt—clunk! Screeeeech!
The van lurched hard as it braked—
then—
VROOOOM!
—he fired up the mana stone boosters for a burst of acceleration.
WHAM!
“Grahk!”
A jolt.
Not an attack on us. We’d just rammed somebody!
“Hee-hee-hee-neigh!”
Kid’s groan mixed with the receding whinny of his horse at high speed.
“Whoa! He’s carrying the horse again!”
Jang Hyun-deok didn’t let up, barking his next order.
“Wizard! Smoke screen this time!”
“Where? How?”
“Outside the van! A ton of it!”
“Oh, yeah—super clear and precise directions!”
Damn. How’d I end up taking orders from Jang Hyun-deok?
“Arf! Arf-arf! Arf-arf-arf!”
Ugh!
The barking closed in fast before I knew it.
Realizing too late what he wanted, I hurriedly triggered my spell.
Fwoooosh!
I conjured a tear gas fog outside the van—lethal to anyone with a keen nose.
“How’s that? Should be—”
Shhhhrrrrk!
A creepy noise that sliced right through my words.
“Waaah!”
Jang Hyun-deok screamed and floored it.
Rumble-rumble—crash!!
The van rattled like hell on the unpaved path, and I bit my tongue to keep from chomping it while asking Jang Hyun-deok,
“What now!?”
“Grandma! Grandma! Grandma’s slicing through the fog with her sword!”
“Ah, that grandma’s ruthless.”
She was the chairwoman of the Evergreen Mountain Society, a bounty hunter for the Hunter Association, and [the Conqueror].
Her name was Jeong Bok-ja, FYI.
Her surreal dual-wield swordplay was tough and sharp enough to cleave through spell structures.
“Damn it, then I’ll flood ’em!”
[Exploding Smoke]
[Lüe’s Mist]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
No point aiming anywhere specific.
I blanketed every direction around us with explosive smoke and detection-jamming fog.
But then a shout from an unexpected angle.
“Feel the power of the sea!”
Oh, right—Yong-su was in the mix too.
Ruuuuumble!!
A massive wave crashing in from the side.
“Hyah!!”
Screeeeech!
Thanks to whatever Jang Hyun-deok did, we avoided flipping, but damn, we’d just tilted damn near 40 degrees.
“Hyun-deok, this ain’t working! Let me just—”
This plan was toast. No way his driving alone could shake these guys.
“No! We can do it!”
VROOOOM!
“7 o’clock! Any attack spell!”
Jang Hyun-deok’s voice rang out firm.
Ugh…… fine. Let’s see how far this goes.
I shut my eyes again and conjured magic circles outside the van.
[Chain Lightning]
[Burning Wrath]
[Chilling Shriek]
[Phantom’s Grasp]
Ruuuumble! Roooar! Screeeee! Woooo!!
Spells that spread wide or homed in on foes even without a target.
Wait—didn’t Jang Hyun-deok just say something? “We can do it”? Not “we can”—he said “it says we can”? Like……
“Arf-arf-arf-arf!”
“Gah!?”
A bark from the window snapped me out of it.
KABOOM! Bang! Some explosion.
Shhrrk! Spell getting sliced.
“Awoooo!!” “Kim Shin-hwaaa!!” “Hee-hee-neigh!” “Arf-arf-arf!”
An endless cacophony of yells.
* * *
This is gonna make me dizzy.
For real.
Right now, eyes shut, I’m fleeing under Jang Hyun-deok’s protection.
Even my barely-contained madness has calmed down a bunch.
‘What’s this feeling?’
I channeled mana to brace myself against the van’s horrific shaking—and cracked my eyes……
[System: Inspired by your comrade’s heroic actions. Reason score recovers slightly.]
My eyes flew wide.
“Me? Inspired by Jang Hyun-deok!?”
“Huh?? What’d you say, wizard!?”
“N-no! Nothing!” “Groooowl!”
A massive tentacle surging right at us.
“Oh, that squid! That one!”
I whipped around and triggered a spell in a panic.
[Crown of the Earth]
KABOOM!
Massive stone pillars erupted perfectly from the ground, shredding the tentacle as they grew.
“Gaaaah! Kim Shin-hwaaa!”
The others were clearly placed with intent, but why the hell was that squid-shark-thing in the lineup?
No……
The theme was skewed, sure, but not a single one had popped up out of nowhere.
“Yeah, all my karma.”
“Shoulda been nicer—ack!”
Screeeeech!
Jang Hyun-deok yanked the wheel hard while talking.
Our sudden swerve turned a head-on into a sideswipe from the driver’s side—with white fur—wait, that’s—
“We’re screwed—wiz-ard! Close your eyes!”
A ninja dog charging with a katana in its mouth!
“Grrrrowl!”
Jang Hyun-deok thrust his right hand out the window.
“Gomoniim!!”
Jang Hyun-deok had taken in the ghost of Heo Ji-hyeon—Heo Sang-hyeon’s aunt and a puppetmaster who’d died long ago—to control his mana.
—Kekekekekeke!
An eerie cackle from inside him.
Shhhrrrrk—
Mana pouring from Jang Hyun-deok’s hand.
It let him release his mana as threads.
The [Smiler] had pointed it out before, but honestly, it was barely a 0th-circle ability—hardly more than beginner mana control.
But—
Shhhrrrrk!
Golden flowers bloomed from his fingertips, along with a massive web of golden threads.
A sticky-sweet scent filled the van.
“Arf!”
The ninja dog, wrapped in golden mana, staggered and collapsed. Dead?
No, that state……
‘Forced sleep.’
Gave me the chills somehow.
“Auntie! One more time!”
—Kekekekekeke!
Golden mana flowers bloomed on Jang Hyun-deok’s shoulders and arms.
And with them, threads of golden mana.
Shhhrrrrk!
The golden threads coiled around the stone pillar I’d just made. Then Jang Hyun-deok—
Screeeeech—
jerked the van into a hairpin turn without warning.
Black smoke billowing from the tires. A drift even pros struggle with on pavement.
Dr-rt-dr-rt!
Gatling guns blazing in a ridiculous direction.
“Chikko! Fall back!”
“Cough!”
The Conqueror retreating in confusion from the erratic driving.
‘This driving skill……?’
Jang Hyun-deok was a solid driver, but not *this* good.
Level up maybe? Or something from the An-san incident?
“H……hey, that way?”
Jang Hyun-deok mumbled low.
“Hey, who were you just……”
“Raaaaah!”
Jang Hyun-deok tensed up, veins bulging on his forehead.
BOOM!
The pillar shattered—and fragments flew at Kid, who’d closed in.
“Woooowl!”
Kid leaped back to dodge.
VROOOOM!
Mana stone boosters roaring again.
The RPM gauge maxed out. A yank backward. The van accelerating to insane speeds.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Groooowl!
Yong-su’s shout exploded like a scream.
Our move must’ve caught them off guard.
Jang Hyun-deok had picked…… a cliff?
“Huh?”
Sudden weightlessness.
The boosters’ momentum kept us airborne a good while, but soon we plummeted off the edge!
“Ha! See? Wizard!”
Jang Hyun-deok shot me a smug look, like *plan’s working!*
What? What the hell are you doing, you lunatic!
“Like last time—ice road bam-bam-bam! Do that!”
Make a road of ice?
“Tell me ahead of time! You idiot!”
“Huh? Can’t do it?”
“There’s no water here! Plus this van’s got that magic-resistance barrier—”
We were already falling.
Jang Hyun-deok, who’d looked competent seconds ago, reverted to his usual dopey voice.
“Uh…… wizard, did I screw up big time?”
The ground rushed up helplessly.
“Nah! I got this!”
Yeah, like that’s the issue now?
If we escape this hell, I’ll do anything!
“Raaaaah!”
[Creation: Pure Water]
[Ice Path]
[Glacial Wall]
[Chains of Dominion]
[Giant’s Grasp]
Ruuuumble!
The barrier on this van was strong enough to hold even Dokgo Gyeom.
I strained to avoid wrecking the mana-repelling device while grabbing the van and setting it down on the ice path I’d made—
“You’re not escaping!”
“Hee-hee-hee-neigh!”
Kid boldly charging onto the ice.
“Yeah, knew somebody’d jump!”
I reshaped the ice path we’d passed—
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
[Forced Phase Change]
Fwoooosh!
I turned the solid ice to gas. Kid, who’d leaped in rashly, screamed “Uwaaah!” as he tumbled off the cliff.
“Kim Shin-hwa! It ain’t over yeeet!”
Yong-su’s voice dogged us endlessly.
“It is! You moron!”
I conjured a ton of magic circles and infused new power into the massive clouds billowing everywhere.
[Thundercloud]
Ruuuuumble!!!
The path we’d taken instantly became a towering thunderhead roiling with lightning—
[Thunderbolt]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximized]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
Ruuuumble! KABOOOOOM!
Bolts rained down on the enemies reaching the cliff.
They wouldn’t go down to this, but with this distance……
“Whoa! We did it!”
Jang Hyun-deok whooped.
Yeah, we did.
Escape successful.
“How ’bout that? I’m trustworthy sometimes, right?”
“Hey, that’s not the point. Earlier, you—”
Something was off.
“C’mon, trust me a little!”
Jang Hyun-deok grumbled with a pout.
“I did trust you?”
That’s why I hunkered down in the van, eyes shut, firing spells on command. But he sulked anyway.
“I was Super Magical Jang Hyun-deok, right? Trustworthy? Admit it? Awesome?”
“Uh…… yeah. Trustworthy…… gotta admit that. You were awesome.”
“Haha!”
“…….”
Fair enough—no deep analysis mid-chase.
“Alright, no time. Busan it is.”
“Yes, sir!”