Past Life Skills I Really Didn't Want to Use
I really didn't want to use it—past life memories and all—but after hearing Karon say he was starting, I exhaled a cloud of cigar smoke and headed toward the city center.
Karon said this city used to be a major trade hub back in the day, right?
True to his word, countless buildings came into view.
A forest of structures packed tightly across the entire abandoned city.
"Urban warfare..."
The word slipped naturally from my lips as I took in the sight.
As technology advanced, siege warfare against castles and fortresses was fading into obsolescence.
But in its place, a new kind of battlefield had emerged.
Countless buildings, each one serving as its own wall—an evolved form of siege combat.
The kind of fighting even seasoned tacticians dreaded most.
Urban warfare.
"..."
No matter how I looked at it, my genre felt all wrong.
With that thought, I slowly exhaled the cigar smoke filling my mouth.
In this situation, the most efficient technique had to be this one.
Smoke Clone.
"Let's start light—maybe fifty or so?"
Fwooooosh.
The exhaled smoke coalesced into about fifty human-shaped Smoke Clones.
Controlling all of them with precision was practically impossible.
They moved by my will alone, after all.
Expecting pinpoint control over fifty clones? Multitasking has its limits.
So it was far easier to preset their movements—like robots following programmed patterns.
Mist was already positioned on a cliff overlooking the city from the outskirts.
Which meant the only living people left in this ghost town were me and Karon.
That simplified commands immensely.
Attack anyone who's not me.
A very straightforward order. The Smoke Clones with that input scattered in perfect unison, fanning out in all directions.
...
As expected...
Spotting Abel produce a swarm of Smoke Clones from atop a building rooftop, Karon nodded lightly.
In urban warfare, that's the textbook play.
Every building in a city naturally had durability-enhancing magic arrays etched into them.
Magic's widespread adoption and commercialization made it possible.
Blasting through all those reinforced structures with firepower was wildly inefficient.
Thus, the standard urban assault relied on elite infantry or knights clearing buildings one by one.
In that light, Abel's choice was optimal, in Karon's judgment.
Whoosh.
Confirming the Smoke Clones spreading across the city, Karon maintained stealth and darted between buildings.
What was the deadliest threat in urban warfare?
Knight? Mage? Ability user? Otherworldly warrior? No, no.
For now...
The most dangerous presence in urban combat was none other than...
Slash!
An assassin.
One.
Karon cleaved a Smoke Clone cleanly in half, then kicked off the ground and vanished from the spot.
Not even a speck of dust stirred in his wake—stealthy and swift.
The dense cluster of buildings unique to cities provided perfect cover.
Hide your body, suppress your presence with stealth techniques, and strike from the enemy's rear—the ideal conditions.
That's why urban warfare was an assassin's perfect playground.
Relocating swiftly, Karon sliced through the heart of another clone on a nearby rooftop.
Slash!
Two.
The second clone dissipated into smoke.
But the approaching footsteps alerted him, and Karon smirked faintly.
He'd half-expected it—the user would detect clone destruction sites.
Otherwise, clones couldn't converge this quickly.
Slash!
The [Baekyeong] had rated these clones at knight-level strength.
Spot on. Or perhaps because they were made of smoke, their speed even surpassed standard knights.
Dodging and dispatching the swarming clones while leaping between buildings, Karon suddenly faced a horde charging from an alley.
Oh, come on...
...
"Hoo..."
In the city center, calmly smoking my cigar, I sensed the signals of clones winking out and glanced toward the east—Karon's presumed direction.
Smoke Clones had endless uses.
Incredibly handy for enemy scouting or tactical ops.
Since I'd made the technique myself, I could feel their cores shatter.
Simple strategy: Spread clones from my position, lure the enemy to suspected spots, then ambush.
Straightforward and efficient.
But.
"It won't end there..."
He was a member of the Nebula Ducal family's elite assassin unit.
Falling for such a shallow trick would only disappoint me.
Even if I'd baked a single trick into the clones.
"Boom."
KABOOM!!
The street lay in ruins from the sudden blast.
"Hahaha!"
Standing amid the wreckage, Karon brushed dust from his explosion-caked clothes and laughed.
About thirty Smoke Clones had swarmed him.
Probably a clone-based lure tactic.
Detect destruction, send distant clones in sequence.
Lure the foe, then overwhelm at a designated spot. Basic stuff.
But.
That last one.
The real twist wasn't there.
The final clone—packed with substantial power—was no ordinary knight-level construct.
Elite knight?
Yeah, not captain or vice-captain tier.
The technique had limits; compared to Abel's full strength, it was feeble.
But its movements were different.
Fluid and elegant, like Abel puppeteering it directly—unlike the golem-like others. Karon had faltered briefly.
Still, manageable. Just knight-level, after all.
But it was all bait for the final move.
The real deal: Clones rigged as bombs, detonating grenade-style on destruction.
"Whoa, blind spot hit."
He'd seen Abel wield smoke-forged weapons against Kaizen and Bella.
Of course he'd turn clones into bombs. No, wait.
They were knight-grade from the start.
Even for Karon's caliber, not trivial to dispatch.
Who'd predict a suicide bomb from one laden with that power?
Karon hadn't.
Chuckling in admiration at Abel's ploy, he caught the patter of clone footsteps.
Thud. Thud.
Nearly as many as the initial fifty.
Dozens of smoky figures encircled him from rooftops, walls, alleys—encircling one man.
A chilling sight that could faint the faint-hearted.
And knowing they were all bombs? Doubly terrifying for Karon.
"Oh dear..."
Then, the dozens charged him at once.
. . .
————!!!!
A colossal explosion rocked the entire city.
A fierce gust slammed into me simultaneously.
"..."
Without my smoke barrier, I'd have been knocked flat.
Watching via one clone, I pocketed the cigar stub—now just a roach—in my portable ashtray, having burned through mana on the swarm.
"Hmm..."
The blast's echoes faded slowly.
Gazing at the dust-choked sky, I pulled a fresh cigar, clipped the end.
Against a normal foe, that would've ended it.
But this was an [Shadow] elite from the ducal house.
No way he'd drop to that. I was certain.
Flick.
I lit up with my trusty lighter—then sensed it.
Flick.
A subtle disturbance in the smoke layered across nearby buildings.
Flick.
Like a radar.
Range: about 500 meters.
Pathetic for a Nebula [Shadow] member.
Clang!
"So, how was it? My little greeting gift?"
I asked casually, despite Karon's dagger at my nape.
Just a hello, so he looked unscathed.
Grinning brightly, he replied.
"Thrilling!"
He retreated half a step, then whipped around savagely.
Even my mana-awakened reflexes struggled to track the hyperspeed.
Soon, he went into a trance, targeting vitals.
Crack!
Carotid.
Clang!
Spine.
Crunch!
Temple.
Eyes, nose, ribs, solar plexus, groin, Achilles, shin—every lethal spot.
But his strikes couldn't pierce my defenses.
Expecting an assassin, I'd layered them extra thick. Smart move.
"Tch!"
Realizing it, Karon clicked his tongue and bolted into a building, escaping my range.
"Hah... hah... cough..."
Breath ragged to his jawline.
Thighs, mana-drained to the limit, spasmed.
"Hoo... hoo..."
One more—no, two at most.
Assessing himself, Karon peered through a window at me—still standing calmly, puffing away.
Like a man enjoying a leisurely moment.
"Haha..."
His resolve nearly wavered, but he steeled himself.
If he meant to stop, he wouldn't have started.
Right. No stopping now.
Once begun, see it through.
With that, he stood, strolled out the window toward me.
"What? Tag's over?"
"Ahaha. Yes. I figured breaking your defense head-on was the only way, so..."
Casual tone.
But his eyes scanned my pervasive smoke relentlessly.
"Then..."
Fwoom!
With his words, sword aura erupted from the dagger.
He'd redirected all body-enhancement mana into blade aura.
Solely to breach my guard.
Naturally, my gaze locked on the blazing dagger.
"Here I come."
Tap.
Smirking faintly, he lunged at blinding speed.
"Hup!"
BOOM!!!
His aura clashed with my smoke.
Everything per his plan.
. . .
My vigilance never slipped.
Why else the thick defenses?
Karon was going all-out too—his near-sonic vital strikes proved it.
So his aura surge to crack my guard made sense.
Recovering body mana for offense? Seamless process.
Thus, I never suspected.
It was all bait.
Every full-power assault, just to create this one opening.
"..."
RUMBLEEEEEE!!!!
As his aura ground against my smoke, Karon slowly opened his mouth.
Tucked inside his cheek: a bomb custom-made by the [Shadow] boss at his request.
Tiny enough for the mouth, sacrificing range for max lethality.
————!!!
Karon's ability: [Absolute Defense].
As long as conscious with mana remaining, an impenetrable barrier against physical, magical, or mental attacks.
Yet he'd never used it before Abel.
His ultimate trump card—desperate to hide it.
Crash!
Hence, this kamikaze choice.
For one goal.
Shatter Abel's defense, force ultra-close quarters!
See how Abel escaped this!
Feeling his [Absolute Defense] crack, Karon faced forward.
He's flustered.
Abel's perpetual composure cracked—eyes wide in shock for the first time.
Elation surged; plan perfect. He charged.
What the—?
Next he recalled: Me intercepting his off-balance rush with a familiar stance.
Gahk!
Knife-hand to the throat for instant choke.
Strike the Achilles as he staggered, grab the wrist of his crumbling form, fling him away.
Fluid, seamless—one instant.
This is...?
That sequence.
Efficient takedown, ruthless vital strikes—assassin close-quarters hand-to-hand.
Karon stared blankly mid-flight.
[Baekyeong] reports, old records, even vs. Kaizen and Bella.
Abel never struck personally.
Never imagined hand-to-hand breakthrough.
Crash! Thud!
He smashed through a wooden door far off.
"Ah, damn it."
I scowled toward Karon's crash site.
"I really didn't want to use it..."
Using this dredged up past life memories inevitably.
Back when I was a company agent.