Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Reuniting with Chakan i
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Chakan i—no, Jo Youngki's main class was wizard.
The spot he'd always picked as his hideout whenever he got into a pinch in the old PC game.
Right here.
[Cathedral]
A place that rapidly restored a player's mana.
Every city had one, designed to scale with the city's size.
Judging by the look of it, about the size of Myeongdong Cathedral...
Thud.
He pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside.
Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass rainbow windows, shining down on the massive cross atop the altar.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Chaka—no, Jo Youngki. Mr. Jo Youngki?"
My voice echoed through the cathedral, and a bald head poked out from behind the cross.
"Who's there."
"Kim Cheonjae."
"...Kim Cheonjae?"
He leaned out to show his face.
"Huh? Kim Cheonjae!"
"Figured you'd be here."
Jo Youngki hurried over with a delighted stride.
"Hey, Kim Cheonjae. How the hell did you find me? Wait, how'd you even know I was here?"
"I ran into Yeonhui and heard about you from her."
"About me?"
"Yeah, she said you split up near the barracks, so I checked out the buildings around here."
"Oh... really? The Japanese surveillance must've been no joke."
I shrugged.
"Piece of cake.... Anyway, you holding up okay?"
"Yeah. Clothes got a little ripped, but nothing else wrong."
"Then let's head out? I've got a spot where the other players are holed up—"
Boom!
A shell exploded outside the cathedral. Something must've hit the ceiling—debris rained down.
"W-what the hell? You bring other players here too?"
"Nah, just me.... Sounds like Japanese and Chinese players throwing down."
"...Japanese? Chinese? They're actually fighting each other?"
"Yeah. I'll fill you in on the way out."
Jo Youngki nodded.
We stepped outside to find Chinese players squared off against Japanese military NPCs.
Bang! Bang bang!
NPCs or not, they were holding their own against the players.
The ramped-up difficulty had leveled up the NPCs too, and the Chinese players' average skill was pretty low—that was the result.
Of course.
They weren't even blips on my radar.
"Chakan i, up top!"
I kicked off the ground and leaped onto the roof. Come to think of it, Jo Youngki hadn't gotten any injections—his leg strength wouldn't be that enhanced.
Had I asked too much?
Right as the thought crossed my mind, Jo Youngki started chanting.
"Ground Wave."
Rumble!
The earth rippled like ocean waves, launching him up onto the roof.
Whoosh—
He landed lightly beside me.
"Where to?"
"Eh?! Earth magic?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"Thought you were a fire-type mage."
"Fire? You mean like this?"
He flexed and unflexed his fingers over and over—lightning flashed.
"...Attribute item?"
"Yep. Found one with lightning power."
Stone and electricity combo.
"...Impressive."
Shouts rang out from the Japanese soldiers.
-There! That's him! The Korean bastard who ran yesterday!
-Report to Mukai-san and Noda-san quick!
-I'll go!
Mukai and Noda?
"Earth Field."
Jo Youngki chanted again, and the ground surged up into a wall, blocking their path.
-That fucker's using magic again!
-Shoot, shoot. We can hit 'em from here!
Bang! Bang!
Jo Youngki, all hyped up, flipped them off.
"You worthless shits. Come get some!"
I grabbed his sleeve.
"Let's bounce."
"Oh, right."
We turned to run—
-Can't go.
-Yeah, nowhere to go!
Two guys blocked the way.
Jo Youngki hissed through clenched teeth, eyes narrowing.
"Mukai.... Noda...."
"Those the Mukai and Noda?"
"...Yeah. You know 'em too?"
"Yeah. Heard they're no pushovers."
Mukai and Noda replied in perfect sync, like twins.
"Bro, I'll take the bald Korean."
"Got it. Then the slicked-back one's mine."
Dash!
They charged at us.
No clue how fast they'd be sword-swinging, but their running? Laughable.
"Youngki, I'll handle the right one."
"Then lefty's mine."
The showdown kicked off on the rooftop.
Distance closing—Mukai went for his sword. Before I could blink, I slammed my fangs into his skull first.
Crack!
"Argh!"
He stumbled, crashing backward.
I curled my lip in a grin, eyeing him.
"What? That all you got—"
A sharp sting in my gut.
Glanced down—my shirt sliced clean across. Blood soaked my abs.
How?
He hadn't even drawn his sword. So why the tear?
Good news: shallow cut.
My regen could handle the bleeding, no sweat.
I swiped the wound—blood clotted instantly.
"Not bad."
"Your gut... got sliced, didn't it?"
"Sliced? Healed up already."
"What?! You a necromancer or something? Defense that tanky?"
I just chuckled.
All thanks to Park Gyuhwan's stat share and Yoo Sora's injections. As long as I kept quiet, no way he'd figure it.
Beep.
The radio on his belt crackled.
-All standby personnel at barracks, move to west prison NOW. No dawdling—hurry!
Mukai snatched it up.
Beep.
"Mukai here. Handling high-threat Koreans right now—will move after."
-Cut the crap, get to the prison. Time's critical.
"...One of these Koreans is the guy Hanjo-san's been hunting."
The radio went dead silent.
Mukai and Noda halted the fight, snapping to alert.
They lunged again—then the radio buzzed back on.
-...Mukai?
"Yes."
A heavy sigh leaked out first.
-Haa... Don't make me repeat myself. Securing the prison beats grabbing those punks right now.
"But—"
-No buts. Chinese are priority—lock down that prison.
Mukai flicked a glance my way, then replied.
"Copy. Moving to prison ASAP. Hey! Noda! You hear that? Prison, now."
Gunkichi the shadow boss?
Mukai was sweating bullets.
Noda, mid-clash with Jo Youngki, whipped his head around.
"Bro, for real? These are the ones Hanjo-san's after—"
"Gunkichi-san's orders."
"...."
"Move out. Kim Cheonjae, Jo Youngki—you two got lucky."
Jo Youngki bolted after them, roaring.
"Quit your bitching and fight, you slant-eyed fucks!"
"Lucky bastards...."
"No horseshit—bring it now!"
Jo Youngki started chanting—
Mukai and Noda vaulted off the roof.
"Stop right there!"
I threw out an arm, blocking him.
"That's enough."
"What? Get outta the way."
"Stand down."
"Why? We can waste 'em now."
"All the Japanese players are at the prison. Too risky."
"...."
"They're elites to make it this far. You solo the whole crew?"
Jo Youngki didn't like it, but he nodded anyway.
"But you. Why'd you come looking for me?"
* * * * *
Heading back to the hideout, we spotted Ma Jeongwoo rampaging deep in enemy turf.
Lost to bloodlust berserker mode, ripping through Japanese and Chinese players alike.
"Hey, Ma Jeongwoo!"
My yell snapped him out of it.
"Huh? Whoa!"
"Found Chakan i—no, Youngki! Let's head back."
Ma Jeongwoo looked bummed.
"...Already?"
"Already my ass. Move it."
"Aw... Little longer and I'd hit red skull."
"Later. Not urgent. Injections wearing off soon anyway."
"...Fine."
Whoosh—
Jeongwoo swung his axe in a massive arc—enemies scattered.
-That fucker! Can't let him live.
-Shut it. Gunkichi said everyone to the prison. Ignore 'em—move out.
-Yeah, Mukai's heading straight there, right?
The fight ground to a halt.
Chinese players bolted every which way.
The apparent Japanese commander raised his rifle to the sky.
Bang! Bang!
"Ignore the enemy—all hands to west prison!"
Japanese players hustled westward.
We just watched 'em go.
If Japanese and Chinese mauled each other? Thank you very much.
Jeongwoo wiped the sweat from his brow and regrouped with us.
"Yo, Jo Youngki. Been a minute."
"...Packed on some size in just a few days, huh."
"Height too—I'm taller."
"Hah—yeah?"
They traded grins.
I led 'em back to the hideout.
Battle scenes dotted the route—Japanese vs. Chinese everywhere.
"Ma Jeongwoo, anything weird during the fight?"
"Weird? Yeah."
"What?"
"For players making it this far... they were way too weak."
"You cherry-picked the weaklings."
"Nah! You think I got to choose who to fight back there?"
"...Huh."
Weak enemies.
Didn't add up.
Difficulty cranked up—players here should've been beasts.
Only one explanation.
Enemies weren't weak.
We were strong.
Relatively speaking.
We climbed a tall building on the way back, scoping the west prison.
Massive battle raging—fires erupting everywhere, screams filling the air.
Chinese goal was obvious: spring the prisoners.
So why not hit 'em while lax with an ambush?
Why the sudden head-on assault from the Chinese?
And only the west prison.
Even if they took it, casualties would be brutal.
'...No way.'
Our doing?
Spooked by our south prison raid last night?
Dumb as rocks, but that's them to a T.
Jo Youngki stroked his chin, muttering to himself.
"Oh ho. Smarter than they look? Feint west, hit east."
What?
I turned to follow his gaze.
With most Japanese players diverted to the west prison, Chinese who'd been lying low popped up from the east.
They swarmed in seconds, launching the assault on the prison.
Breaking into an empty house.
I clicked my tongue.
"What the fuck are those guys? Youngki, when'd they hide there?"
"No clue. Popped out just now. Damn—ants everywhere."
West prison already had 500+ Chinese. East matching that?
Mind-blowing.
Jeongwoo eyed them and smirked.
"Those idiots wanna die before the main event even starts?"
"Yeah. What kinda suicide run is that?"
"Chinese."
That one word said it all.
Yeah—they're Chinese.
* * * * *
Back at the hideout, I brought Jo Youngki up to speed on everything.
Then I made my pitch.
Join the Korean alliance.
"...So, what do ya say?"
"Not a bad deal. Get to smack some Chinese around, hunt down the Japanese throne too."
"Right?"
"Only hitch is... we fail, we're all dead."
I tapped the map with my finger.
"We won't lose."
"How can you be so sure? They're outnumbered us like ten to one."
"Ants are ants, no matter how many."
"...Ants?"
"Yeah. Monkeys are monkeys, numbers or not."
"...And you?"
I smirked, quirking one corner of my mouth.
"Tiger. Even a weakened tiger loses to ants and monkeys?"
Jo Youngki mulled it over, puffing on his cig for ages.
"You said Kim Cheonjae, right?"
"Yeah."
"...Sorry, Kim Cheonjae. Think I'll roll solo."
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