Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: Hero for the Little Ones (3)
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“What the…?”
Namgoong Hwi stared down at Oh-jin, who was submerged in the rapids, his expression one of utter disbelief.
As far as he knew, the power of the Lyra Stigma was to control ‘lightning’.
There shouldn't be any ability that allowed one to move so freely in the water.
“So, why.”
Was Oh-jin swimming through the water with such a relaxed demeanor, as if he were soaking in a calm, heated pool?
“What are you…”
Was this what it felt like to see a fish you'd caught suddenly stand on its fins and walk casually on land?
Namgoong Hwi looked down with bewildered eyes at Oh-jin swimming through the rapids.
Of course, with the superhuman body of a high-ranking Awakened, he too could swim in such currents, but moving as leisurely as Oh-jin was impossible.
“Kirrrrrk!”
A swarm of monsters cut through the water, circling Oh-jin.
Submerged deep in the river, Oh-jin spread his arms wide.
‘Explosive Lightning.’
*Kzzzzzzzzzt!*
Blue lightning spread out like an explosion, sweeping through the approaching swarm of monsters.
He didn't even need to aim at the charging monsters.
This was the water, where the power of lightning was at its strongest.
‘Even if I just unleash attacks indiscriminately.’
*Crackle! Sizzle!*
He recklessly detonated his lightning.
“Kurrk. Kerk.”
The monsters, caught in the torrent of blue lightning, floated to the surface, their eyes rolled back white.
-Ding!
[You have defeated a Green-grade monster.]
[You have defeated a Blue-grade monster.]
[You have defeated a Blue-grade monster.]
[You have defeated a Green-grade monster.]
The points shot up in an instant.
‘Sweet, so sweet!’
Oh-jin, smiling brightly as he looked at the silver bracelet on his wrist, glanced up at Namgoong Hwi, who was staring down at him from the air.
Since he was submerged in the rapids, Namgoong Hwi wouldn't be able to see him clearly.
‘It would be shameless to just keep receiving gifts.’
Oh-jin grabbed a monster with scales as sharp as blades.
‘Charge.’
*Sizzle, crackle!*
He directly infused lightning into the monster's body.
The monster's body, now filled with lightning, began to swell like a balloon.
The monster's belly became taut like a pufferfish.
‘Now!’
Just before the monster's body exploded.
Oh-jin threw the monster with all his might.
*Fwoosh!*
The monster's body shot up with terrifying speed, like a fired cannonball.
“Kgh?!”
Namgoong Hwi, who had been riding the wind while looking down at the submerged Oh-jin, hastily raised his fan.
*Kzzzzzzzzzt!*
The lightning condensed inside the monster exploded, sending its sharp scales scattering in all directions like a Claymore mine.
“Wind!”
As Namgoong Hwi unfurled his fan, a gust of wind swept in, deflecting the scattering scales.
While Namgoong Hwi was distracted with deflecting the scales.
*Fwooooosh!*
Oh-jin leaped out of the water like a dolphin and closed in on Namgoong Hwi.
*Thwack!*
“Keoheok!”
A clean straight punch landed right on Namgoong Hwi's philtrum.
With a dull thud like a club hitting leather, Namgoong Hwi's body, which had been floating in the air, was slammed into the rapids.
“Cough! Cough! Ugh!”
Even if he was suddenly swept into the rapids, he was still an Awakened who had reached the entry-level of 10-Star.
He quickly summoned the wind again, escaped the rapids, and rose back into the air.
“Wh-what do you think you're doing!”
“You said it yourself, sometimes unavoidable accidents happen in life, right?”
Oh-jin dusted off his fist, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
“For example, a fist swung by chance might just happen to smack some buzzing little fly right in its gob.”
“You…”
Namgoong Hwi's eyes widened fiercely as he glared at Oh-jin.
Just as a chilling killing intent began to rise and he was about to flap his fan.
-Chzzk! Chk!
An urgent voice came from the square radio on Namgoong Hwi's hip.
-Mr. Namgoong Hwi! We've found it! It's a Black-grade monster!
Before the voice could continue, Namgoong Hwi quickly turned off the radio.
“It's a shame, but I must be going now.”
*Whoooosh!*
A powerful gust of wind enveloped Namgoong Hwi's body.
Wrapped in the wind, Namgoong Hwi's body soared high into the air.
“Using a tracking skill like before will be meaningless.”
Just as Namgoong Hwi said.
Because he had wrapped the wind around his body like a barrier, his scent was completely blocked from escaping.
And since he was flying through the air, he wouldn't leave any tracks, making pursuit impossible.
“Once I become one of the Seven Stars… I will come for you again.”
Namgoong Hwi shot Oh-jin a sharp glare, then turned and disappeared into the distance.
“Did that bastard get to 10-Star just by running his mouth?”
Oh-jin let out a dry laugh as he watched Namgoong Hwi retreat.
“Mister!”
Io came running and hugged Oh-jin.
“A-are you hurt anywhere, Mister?”
“As you can see.”
Oh-jin shrugged and gently patted the sniffling Io's head.
Io glared at the spot where Namgoong Hwi had flown off, her expression indignant.
“How could someone like that be chosen as a candidate for the Seven Stars?!”
“I know, right?”
He'd met all sorts of people in his life, but it had been a while since he'd seen someone so perfectly, textbook-level pathetic as Namgoong Hwi.
“Someone like him will ne~ever be chosen for the Seven Stars! I guarantee it!”
Io pounded her chest and exclaimed with an angry face.
Amused by her cute display, Oh-jin let out a small chuckle and nodded.
“No! I'm not just saying that! Even if that person gets first place in the tournament, I'll have him disqualified!”
“Alright, alright.”
Oh-jin patted the fuming Io on the back and lifted her into his arms.
He'd had a sweet round of point farming; now it was time to get her to the safety zone.
“Hold on tight.”
“Aah!”
*Thwang!*
Oh-jin fired his wire shooter at a rock on the opposite side of the river and jumped high.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Io screamed, hugging Oh-jin's neck tightly.
After crossing to the other side of the river, Oh-jin set Io down.
“Wow! Wow! That was super fun, Mister!”
Io's eyes sparkled as she jumped up and down.
“One more time! Please do it one more time!”
“No, it's dangerous.”
Leaving behind the fussing Io who was tugging at his collar, Oh-jin started walking in the direction of the safety zone.
***
“So that's the safety zone.”
The place he arrived at by tracking Namgoong Hwi's scent was an area covered by a green protective barrier.
Oh-jin tapped the barrier, which was emitting a faint green light, with the back of his hand.
‘It's tough.’
The barrier was so strong that even Oh-jin would have a hard time breaking it.
A barrier this sturdy would never be broken by the power of just one or two monsters.
“Huu. We're already here.”
Io kicked at a small stone with the tip of her shoe, as if reluctant to part with Oh-jin.
“I'll come see you once the tournament is over.”
“Ah! Really, Mister?! You promise me!”
Io's eyes shone as she held out her pinky finger to Oh-jin.
“Yeah, it's a promise.”
Oh-jin linked his pinky with Io's.
Io smiled shyly and took out a square device from her pocket.
“Then, Mister's score is… drumroll please!”
Muttering the loud sound effect with her mouth, Io threw her arms up.
“Ta-da! A perfect score! It's a perfect score!”
-Ding!
[You have safely guided 'Civilian No. 2' to the safety zone.]
[You have acquired 1000 points.]
1000 points in one go.
Considering that the Blue-grade monsters, which were tricky even for Oh-jin to catch, were only worth 30 points, this was an enormous score.
‘Maybe focusing on rescuing civilians to rack up points isn't such a bad idea.’
Of course, there was no telling if other civilians would give him a perfect score like Io did.
Still, the ability to earn a massive number of points at once was quite appealing.
“Hehe. Well then, I'll go inside now.”
“Once you're inside, don't come out. Stay put until it's over.”
Oh-jin took out another calorie bar and handed it to Io.
Io accepted the calorie bar and nodded vigorously.
“Okay! But in return, you have to promise to play with me after the tournament, okay?”
“Alright.”
Io ran and entered the safety zone.
Inside the safety zone were nine other civilians, presumably rescued by other candidates.
‘They all have green highlights in their hair.’
Was it some kind of matching theme?
The hair of the civilians sitting quietly inside the safety zone had the same green highlights as Io's.
After glancing over the civilians sitting in the safety zone with bored expressions, Oh-jin turned away.
‘This is no time to be standing around.’
The fact that nine civilians were already in the safety zone meant that up to nine candidates had succeeded in rescuing someone.
Of course, not all of them would have received a perfect score like he did, but if there was a candidate who had rescued two or more, it would be difficult to catch up in points.
“Do I really have to go after a Black-grade monster?”
Oh-jin crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
But even if he wanted to hunt a Black-grade monster, he didn't know its exact location.
‘Namgoong Hwi flew off… in that direction, I'm sure of it.’
Looking at the map, it was a place with glacial terrain.
“Guess I'll check it out.”
Oh-jin activated the Stigma of Canes Venatici and ran quickly toward the glacial region.
*Whoooooosh!*
The closer he got to the glacial terrain, the more a frigid, skin-piercing wind blew.
‘They did a good job making this, I'll give them that.’
He'd only been running for a few minutes, but his surroundings had instantly transformed into a snow-covered field.
“Hm?”
Something caught the senses of his Canes Venatici Stigma.
Oh-jin sniffed the air as he walked across the cold glacier.
“…Blood?”
He could see drops of blood on the transparent ice.
Oh-jin turned his head toward where the blood trail led.
The trail led to a massive ice cave, about fifty meters high.
‘It didn't go into the ice cave.’
It was the opposite.
The owner of the bloodstains had ‘escaped’ from the ice cave.
Fleeing from something inside.
“……”
Oh-jin followed the trail of blood into the ice cave.
A cave made of crystal-clear ice.
And at the entrance of that cave.
“…Namgoong Hwi?”
A battered Namgoong Hwi was collapsed on the ground.
“What's with this guy?”
He nudged the fallen Namgoong Hwi.
“M-monster… inside, a m-monster…”
Namgoong Hwi, who had been trembling uncontrollably, rolled his eyes back and fainted.
Red blood seeped from a wound that looked like a sharp sword cut, staining the ground.
“……”
Oh-jin swallowed dryly and stared deeper into the cave.
Namgoong Hwi being here meant one thing.
‘Inside here.’
Is a Black-grade monster.