Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Under World (6)
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“Aaaahhh!!”
“H-Help me!!”
People fled, their faces pale.
The ten-meter monster that appeared in the middle of Seoul Station was a catastrophe in itself.
And to make matters worse.
“Kuruaaaa!!”
A swarm of Reptilians, who knows where they were hiding, crawled out of the passageways and began to attack people.
*Damn it!*
Oh-jin bit his lip, his expression anxious.
*This is bad.*
He couldn't care less if the flesh monster rampaged and destroyed Seoul Station, or if the swarm of Reptilians tore innocent civilians to shreds.
*But right now, I have to protect them.*
If he ignored the victims here, his relationship of trust with Vega would shatter.
After all, she believed him to be a 'hero' who would change the world's fate.
“Hup!”
Oh-jin kicked off the giant's shoulder and jumped.
*Shing!*
He cut the wire connecting him to the flesh giant with his knife.
“Kyaa!”
*Thud!*
A child, who looked to be about elementary school age, was pushed by the fleeing crowd and fell to the ground.
Textbooks spilled out of the backpack on their back.
“KarrrRRaaa!!”
“Hi-hiik!”
A Reptilian strode toward the child.
It flicked its dark red tongue, aiming a sharp, awl-like bone at its weak prey.
“P-Please... h-help me.”
*Shiver.*
The child pleaded pitifully, tears streaming down their face.
But such a plea would never work on an inhuman monster.
The Reptilian thrust its pointed bone without hesitation.
And then.
-Twang!
“Kiiiiiii!!”
The weight on the end of the wire pierced the Reptilian right between its eyes.
“…Huh?”
The crying child looked up.
*Fzzt!*
Enveloped in blue lightning, Oh-jin landed in front of the child.
“Th-thank…”
“Get out of here. Now.”
There was no time to leisurely accept thanks.
*Tap!*
Oh-jin rushed forward, aiming his wire shooter at the Reptilian swarm.
*Twang! Twang! Twang!*
Having cut one line to make five, the wires shot toward the rampaging Reptilians.
-Fzzzzzzzt!!
Blue lightning erupted.
The Reptilians charging at the people convulsed and collapsed.
*There aren't many of them.*
Perhaps it was because he had killed so many on his way to find the flesh giant.
The number of Reptilians that had come out of Seoul Station wasn't that large.
*The problem is…*
Oh-jin clicked his tongue and turned his head toward the flesh giant.
“GaRara! Gruuuuu!”
*Boom! Crash!*
The giant clutched the back of its neck, where it had taken a direct hit from the Thunderclap, and slammed its body against the building walls.
But that was only for a moment.
It removed its hand from its neck and glared fiercely at him.
“Damn it.”
Oh-jin let out a short, disappointed sigh.
He should have finished it then, but he'd missed his chance while saving people.
*Can't be helped.*
But he couldn't just let the Reptilian swarm massacre the fleeing civilians.
*Back to square one.*
*Grip.*
He gripped his spear and took a stance.
Even if it was back to square one, everything he'd done so far wasn't meaningless.
“Krrrrr….”
“Hurts a little, doesn't it, you bastard?”
Oh-jin smirked, the corner of his mouth twisting up.
The Thunderclap had definitely left a wound that it couldn't easily recover from.
*Now that I know my attacks work…*
...all that's left is to hammer it with Thunderclaps until it's completely destroyed.
[My child. Do you not still require a blessing?]
*Twinkle.*
Vega flew to his side and asked in a worried voice.
“I told you, I'm fine.”
This wasn't some pointless bravado.
If he had thought a blessing was absolutely necessary, he would have dropped the act and asked for one himself.
But.
*I can do this.*
The exhilarating thrill he felt when he successfully used Thunderclap.
The ecstasy of controlling mana exactly as he wanted, the moment when the flow clicked into place like interlocking gears, heated his body.
*If I receive a blessing here…*
...the temporary power gained from it will eventually vanish like a mirage.
Perhaps even this thrill and ecstasy he was feeling now…
...could all scatter like grains of sand.
*I can't let that happen.*
Focusing on the sensation heating his body, he tightened his grip on the spear.
“KaRaaaaaaAA!!”
*Thump! Thump!*
The giant stomped its feet.
“Hup!”
He charged toward the approaching giant.
Its four arms swung with enough force to crush him to a pulp.
-KABOOM!!!
“Keoheok!”
Even though it was just a graze.
He rolled across the ground from the body-shaking impact.
*A little more.*
He pushed himself up.
His entire body screamed in terrible pain, but he ignored it.
-Boom! Thud! KABOOM!
“Kugh!”
The opponent was too fast.
Its attacks were so fast he couldn't even see the fists, raining down like a storm.
“Hah! Hah!”
He barely dodged the attacks.
A dizzying situation where one wrong step would mean his entire body being crushed.
A distant fear encroached upon his mind.
-Boom!
“Keoheok!! Gack! Cough! Cough!”
Once again.
A fist grazed him, sending his body flying.
His vision blurred.
“GuRaaaaarRRRR!!!”
Did it think it had seized victory?
The flesh giant roared and charged even more ferociously.
“Hah, hah, hah!”
His breath came in ragged gasps.
His legs gave out, and his steps faltered.
The worst possible situation.
A situation where it wouldn't be strange to immediately beg Vega for a blessing.
“Hah, hah. Ha.”
Why.
“Ha, hah.”
—could this be so joyful?
“Ha, haha!”
How could it overflow with such ecstasy and thrill?
-KABOOM!!!
“Hup!”
He rolled to dodge the savagely descending fist.
Without a moment's rest, the giant closed in.
Fists rained down like falling meteors.
-Boom! Thud! Kaboom!
Dodge, dodge, and dodge again.
A pungent smell.
The scent of iron, blood, and sweat mixed together stimulated his nostrils.
His senses expanded as if he had used the Stigma of Canes Venatici.
The giant's movements, which had been impossible to follow, gradually came into view.
His faltering legs regained their original pace.
*Now, then.*
Things he couldn't see before began to appear.
“My turn.”
He stopped dodging and swung his spear.
-Fz-zz-zz-zz-zzt!!!
A Thunderclap exploded from the tip of the spear.
“KaRaaaa!!!”
One of its four arms was blown to pieces.
“This is just the beginning, you bastard.”
*Fzzt! Fz-zz-zzt!*
He unleashed Thunderclaps in succession.
The giant staggered backward.
He pursued it, relentlessly hammering it with Thunderclaps.
Even if he had an abundance of mana, using a skill with such poor efficiency and consumption repeatedly would inevitably take a toll on his body.
*My mana isn't decreasing.*
It was the same situation as before.
In fact, the more mana he used, the more violently it refilled.
The sensation was like bailing water with a bucket from a boat with a hole in it.
*If it doesn't decrease no matter how much I use…*
Oh-jin smirked.
He poured the maximum amount of mana he could use at once into a single Thunderclap.
-Fzzzzzzzzzt!!!
“KaaRaaaaaa!”
Unable to withstand the feast of lightning, the flesh giant turned its body.
“Where do you think you're going?”
Oh-jin spread his arms wide.
He fired his wires at the building debris that had fallen when the giant was rampaging.
-Twang! Twang!!
The five wires stuck to the debris.
“Huuup!!!!”
He took a deep breath and crossed his arms in an X.
The building debris attached to the wires wrapped around the fleeing giant.
*Now!*
To the limit.
No, he unleashed mana beyond his limits!
-KABOOOOOOOM!!!
A total of five blasts.
Five Thunderclaps exploded simultaneously, traveling through the wires.
-Ting!
[The skill 《Thunderclap (爆雷) Lv1》 has risen to 《Thunderclap (爆雷) Lv2》!]
[The skill 《Thunderclap (爆雷) Lv2》 has risen to 《Thunderclap (爆雷) Lv3》!]
Along with a message window stating that two levels had risen at once.
-Thud!
The giant's body collapsed to the ground.
“…”
“…”
A brief silence.
And then.
“W-Wow.”
“Woooooaaaaahhh!!!”
“H-He killed that monster!!!”
“Wh-Who is that Awakened? Which guild is he from?!”
A thunderous roar erupted from the crowd.
[M-My child. Are you all right?]
Vega flew over urgently and asked.
Oh-jin gave her a wide grin and a thumbs-up.
“See? Didn't I tell you to just wait?”
[…]
In truth, his body wasn't in great shape.
But he put on a brave face, acting as if nothing was wrong.
[Hmph… Really! Do you have any idea how worried I was!]
“Hehe. But I won, didn't I?”
[Hmph! You said it would be over quickly, but it took quite a while!]
Vega pouted, crossing her arms and turning her head away sharply.
*Man, when did my goddess get so cute?*
Where did the noble Vega, who was like a flower blooming on a cliff when they first met, go?
*That aside.*
He turned his head and looked at the crowd surrounding them.
“Sob! Thank you!! Thank you so much!”
“A picture! Quick, take a picture!!”
The crowd that had gathered due to the commotion already numbered in the hundreds.
*Well, I guess hiding my identity is out of the question now.*
After single-handedly defeating a monster in front of this many people, information about him would spread like wildfire.
*Then the fact that I'm the Apostle of Polaris will naturally be revealed too.*
He didn't particularly regret it.
He had expected this to happen eventually anyway.
The timing was just a little earlier than planned.
“E-Excuse me.”
Just then, someone stepped out from the crowd.
It was a middle-aged man in a shabby suit.
He took a business card from his pocket, offered it, and spoke.
“I'm Go Gwang-hyun, a reporter from the Cheonrian Ilbo. May I ask… which guild you're affiliated with, sir Awakened?”
“I'm with the Association.”
*Smile.*
He replied with a friendly smile.
*Since it's come to this, I might as well build a good image.*
Projecting a likable image to others was extremely important.
*The better the image, the easier it is to earn trust.*
And that trust always becomes a good source of nourishment to suck dry.
“The A-Association had an Awakened like that?”
“Wow… The Association, I never would have guessed.”
“But he seems like a really nice person, right?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Gasps of admiration came from all around.
*Good.*
Oh-jin grinned in satisfaction.
“Thank you!”
“Whoo! You're so cool!!”
Thunderous applause and words of thanks came from everywhere.
*Time to be a little humble here.*
To come across as likable, there was nothing better than humility.
“It was nothing. I was just doing my job—”
[Huhu! Did you all see that with your own two eyes?!]
“Huh?”
Vega stepped forward, planting her hands firmly on her hips.
[The hero who saved you is none other than my proud child!!!]
*Hmph!!*
She puffed out her chest and shouted boastfully.
Like a doting mother bragging about her son.
[…Ah!]
*Clap!*
Just then, as if a good idea had struck her, Vega beamed.
*What is it?*
A sense of unease washed over him.
[By the way… you are all expressing your gratitude with words alone.]
What?
[How can you stand before the benefactor who saved your lives and only say thank you with words!!!]
What is she trying to say?
[My child is very fond of money!!]
No.
[—Hurry and offer your money to my child!!!]
Stop it, for fuck's sake.
*I'm trying to go for a humble image!!!*
His jaw dropped in disbelief.
“Uh… money?”
“Uhm. W-Well, right? He's our savior.”
With reluctant expressions, people opened their wallets and handed money to Vega.
[Huhu. How about that?]
Vega puffed out her chest proudly and held out the bills she had collected.
[I have procured money for you!]
“…”
I'm going to lose my mind.