Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Something's Off
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Chapter 82
Chapter 82
'Something feels off...'
Jeong-hyeon tilted his head.
Clearly, their side was in a far from favorable situation.
But if asked whether this was the absolute worst, the answer was no.
If each of those puppets was just a notch above the hunter they were facing, then the one throwing daggers should be the same.
Yet somehow, it was showing a pathetically inadequate performance compared to Jeong-hyeon.
Sure, the two Throwing Skill strikes had turned the tide dramatically.
But from Jeong-hyeon's perspective, having blocked the attacks directly, the daggers weren't all that sharp.
As a result, they hadn't inflicted any real damage and were overly passive.
'It might just be a test, but what if my hunch is right?'
One suspicion lingered in Jeong-hyeon's mind.
If it was correct, this battle would flow far more easily than expected.
After all, the game's objective was to take down the king.
But perhaps this puppet, like Jeong-hyeon, had decided to hold back early on.
With that in mind, rather than act immediately, he chose to observe the enemy closely.
Shick-
Clang-
The dagger Jeong-hyeon threw flew straight at the axe-wielding puppet.
It aimed for the head, but the puppet barely pulled its axe in time to block.
The attack failed, but it bought Ga-yoon some breathing room.
A back-and-forth struggle repeated for a moment.
In the air, the mages' massive spells clashed, each probing for openings.
Junwon had seemed overwhelmed at first, but once focused, he matched the puppet evenly.
With sufficient mana, he wouldn't be pushed easily.
Sweat trickling down his cheek suggested he didn't have much margin, though.
Meanwhile, the vanguard continued its bloody melee.
In a way, it was the current crux of the battle.
Both Jeong-hyeon's Throwing Skill and Junwon's spells were focused on securing an edge there.
A single missed movement could lead to a grievous wound.
Whenever a dagger flew in occasionally, it almost always landed.
That was why the healer Park Ji-woon could barely catch a break.
One silver lining: the puppets' activity dropped noticeably until their healer puppet treated wounds.
Until then, Jeong-hyeon had been using Black to harass their vanguard and maintain balance.
Now, though, he could confirm the oddity he'd sensed earlier.
He didn't know how their behavior mechanics worked, but wasn't it strange for them to just watch this long?
Jeong-hyeon waited for Black's return while eyeing the king's puppet on the platform.
It attacked once, paused, then threw another dagger—the timing felt familiar to him.
'It's a bit better than when my Throwing Skill was level 1.'
He always factored that in during fights back then.
The time to concentrate and steady his breath for the perfect throw.
Did puppets need that? It seemed unlikely, yet too coincidental to dismiss.
And assuming they did have such a cooldown, another thought struck him.
One only he, knowing his own traits, could have.
The now-familiar hilt of Black settled into Jeong-hyeon's right hand.
After a deep breath, he hurled the dagger.
Not at their vanguard this time.
Shick-
Straight at the king puppet lurking silently in the back.
Black streaked with sharp dark gleam, flying stealthily like a submarine.
'That's a hit.'
Jeong-hyeon was certain.
The puppet hadn't even noticed the single dagger coming for it.
Of course, daggers didn't curve mid-flight like spells.
Simply stepping aside would dodge it, especially from backline to backline with ample distance.
But standing there obliviously meant it hadn't registered at all.
Aimed squarely at its head, failure to dodge would likely trigger a death judgment.
'It can't be some "doesn't die unless shattered" gimmick, right?'
He'd grabbed an extra dagger just in case, but he was confident the king puppet wouldn't evade Black.
As long as no external interference.
Clang-
Just before Black embedded in the king's forehead, something deflected it.
"Damn it."
Jeong-hyeon growled low.
It was the mage puppet.
Normally, it should've fired at the front alongside Junwon's Mana Bolt barrage.
But sensing the king in peril, it redirected nearly half to intercept the dagger.
Junwon's spells pummeled their vanguard as a result, but it prioritized the king's survival.
Jeong-hyeon hadn't expected it to sacrifice frontline advantage just to block.
Stunned briefly, he moved to his next play.
Now the mage and healer puppets firmly guarded the king.
Throwing Skill wouldn't cut it anymore.
His presence faded faintly.
"Where are you going?!"
Junwon and Ji-woon gaped, noticing Jeong-hyeon leave his spot.
Where was he headed when the king needed protection most?
But Jeong-hyeon had already brushed past the fierce vanguard melee.
Combat nullified movement speed traits, which was a shame, but his agility traits—even bolstered by D-rank synergy—shone fully.
No one among the five hunters or five puppets here had agility traits, so none could track him properly.
Past the vanguard, he veered diagonally straight for the king.
Stealth didn't fully conceal; time was limited before detection.
Better to rush in a second faster.
Creak-
As expected, the mage and healer puppets' heads snapped toward him.
In an instant, crimson lines densely marked threats around Jeong-hyeon.
Incoming attacks.
He grasped their nature.
The moment the lines appeared, he launched himself.
Opaque Mana Bolts rained like bombs over his rolling body.
He dodged optimally, but their number meant eating a couple.
Dull pain thudded through his nerves.
"Hngh."
To Jeong-hyeon, veteran of countless adaptation pains, it felt like a clubbing.
'Never thought I'd thank adaptation pain someday.'
Half-joking, he bit his lower lip.
The puppets reacted faster than expected.
He needed another 30 meters.
A second spell was already forming, and the healer positioned itself before the mage and king, ready for melee.
Before he took steps, new crimson lines slashed menacingly.
Having seen his dodge, the pattern was trickier now.
Stealth's effect had worn off completely.
'Turn back?'
Retreating seemed feasible, but closing distance would bring faster, stronger spells—pushing forward looked impossible.
Weighing options in his racing thoughts.
As the puppet's spell fired again.
"Han Jeong-hyeon, Hunter!"
Junwon's shout rang out.
With it, the lines began vanishing rapidly.
Thud- Thud-
Dull clashes of spells followed.
Junwon's magic, usually intercepted, now countered the mage puppet's.
Unclear if it meant "charge ahead" or "fall back, I'll buy time." Interpretation was subjective.
With half the spells nulled by Junwon, advancing was viable.
Plus, Junwon abandoned frontline superiority to support him.
Too much invested to quit now.
Whoosh-
Several Mana Bolts grazed Jeong-hyeon, but damage was lighter.
The mage puppet's cast slowed slightly, disrupted by Junwon's interference.
And with the healer close, it couldn't spam recklessly anymore.
'Good, now...' Huh?
Jeong-hyeon had no intention of letting the healer puppet—holding just a book—stall him.
Simply blow past without giving it a chance.
But as he surged forward with that mindset.
He could only gape in shock.
No wonder the spells lagged—this wasn't Mana Bolts.
Junwon's first spell.
A Mana Wave swept toward Jeong-hyeon, bulldozing everything in its path.
Of course, the allied healer puppet stood between it and him.
Yet the mage puppet unleashed it anyway—the surest way to halt him.
Crunch-
Something shattered, and the healer puppet vanished into the wave.
Without a healer, their vanguard would crumble instantly—yet it bought time to delay defeat.
Jeong-hyeon, pondering briefly, leaped upward without slowing.
The wide Mana Wave was hard to dodge sideways on the ground.
No facing that raging bull head-on either.
Only up remained.
His momentum carried him over the wave adequately, but...
'Trouble's next.'
Midair, he couldn't evade aerial attacks—the next barrage would hit full-force.
Sure enough, a thick crimson line, incomparable to Mana Bolts, slashed across his torso.
Mana Strike pattern.
"Hang on!"
Junwon's scream-like shout.
Mana Strike's cast scaled with distance.
Jeong-hyeon was airborne but nearly on top of the mage and king puppet.
Too far from Junwon for countering with the same spell.
Junwon fired Mana Bolts instead.
Lower-tier than Mana Strike, so no full cancel, but it'd prevent instant death.
The mana blade swung with opaque edge gleaming.
Dozens of Mana Bolts collided, blunting it somewhat and slowing it.
Jeong-hyeon tilted his torso left, tucking his right arm inside.
Unable to close his eyes, he watched the massive impact hit with his own.
"Grk!"
Pain on another level from Mana Bolts crushed him.
Meanwhile, Junwon, watching, despaired.
'Straight hit by Mana Strike...'
Armor or not, no surviving that.
If tanky like Sun-il, maybe—but Jeong-hyeon was agility-focused, as far as he knew.
His bolts mitigated damage, but not bisecting.
The other party members, fixated on him while holding their roles, thought similarly, hearts in throats.
'That bastard's finally screwed up.'
Must've had a plan to charge, but tanking Mana Strike?
His moves were insane up to then.
Pure evasion? Unmatched in a level 5 gate.
But meaningless if dead.
Even level 6 or 7 hunters could die to a goblin's blind axe.
Overconfidence in his agility, nothing more.
'If he dies dragging the king and us down, I won't let it slide!'
Unfair to get wiped by his recklessness.
But the next instant, Junwon and the party gawked, eyes wide.
"Huh?"
Jeong-hyeon, blasted upward by the Mana Strike's shock.
Far from bisected, plummeted back down brazenly alive.