SSS-Rank Talent (1)

Kim Dokja stopped looking down at Yoo Joonghyuk, suddenly hoisted her onto her back, and started sprinting straight toward me.

"Park Jinwoo!"

"Huh?"

"Hurry up and open the My Room door!"

Out of nowhere?

I stared at her with a blank look at the sudden demand, but figured Kim Dokja wouldn't ask for something like that without a reason. So I obediently generated the door to My Room.

The moment she saw it appear, Kim Dokja shouted toward Han Sooyoung and Shin Yooseung.

"Han Sooyoung! Yooseung! You two get inside My Room, now!"

"Wh—huh? Okay!"

Han Sooyoung froze for a second at Kim Dokja's yell, then snapped out of it, grabbed Shin Yooseung's hand, and bolted for the door.

Before long all four of them were inside, and Kim Dokja slammed the door shut with a bang.

"…………?"

What the hell was that about? Weren't we supposed to go meet Lee Seolhwa (Entinus) next? Why did everyone just pile into My Room without me?

I stood there staring blankly at the spot where the door had been. Then a window materialized in empty air and slid open with a rattle.

Kim Dokja poked her face out through it and yelled at me.

"Park Jinwoo! Run toward Gangdong-gu! No—fly!"

"………Excuse me?"

Dokja. Dokja, what are you even saying right now? Fly toward Gangdong-gu?

I looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Kim Dokja's face twisted with frustration as she shouted again.

"You're the fastest person here right now, and thanks to Flight Maneuver you can fly! I'll explain later—just get to Gangdong-gu as fast as you can!"

"……………."

So now I'm a taxi driver? No—a designated driver? Actually, in this situation, "chauffeur" might be the right word.

I gave her a thoroughly unimpressed look. Kim Dokja flinched a little at my expression.

"Hey, we don't have time! The Disaster of Questions is waking up right n—"

"Payment."

"What?"

"I'll fly. Give me payment."

"Payment? In coins?"

Kim Dokja's face scrunched up as she tilted her head. I shook my head firmly.

With a completely serious expression, I stated the compensation I wanted.

"Bunny ears."

"……Ha?"

"Put bunny ears on all four of you."

"……………."

Kim Dokja's face crumpled as she stared at me like I was insane. She took a small breath, then asked again through trembling lips.

"…I misheard that, right? You want bunny ears as payment? On all four of us?"

Nod nod!

I nodded at her question and held up the brown, white, and black (two pairs) bunny ears I'd just freshly purchased, staring at her with sparkling eyes.

"……I'm actually going to lose it. Fine, fine. Just get to Gangdong-gu first, as fa—"

Clunk.

I ignored her completely, regenerated the My Room door, and stepped inside.

Then I quickly set the white bunny ears on Kim Dokja's head, the black ones on Han Sooyoung and on Yoo Joonghyuk lying in the bed, and the brown ones on our adorable Shin Yooseung.

"Per! Fect!"

Click! Click! Click! Click!

Without a care for the utterly speechless glares Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja were giving me, I pulled out an instant camera and snapped photos of their adorable faces.

…Grrrind!!

Of course the fierce beast lying on the bed—no, Yoo Joonghyuk—was grinding her teeth and glaring at me with murder in her eyes. I ignored her. She was a patient right now, so she couldn't touch me anyway.

What about after she recovered?

I firmly believed Future Me would handle that.

Anyway, I patted the head of Shin Yooseung, who was looking up at me with a dazed expression after I'd (forcibly) put brown bunny ears on her, then stepped back outside My Room.

Rattle!

The moment I came out, the window opened beside my face again. Kim Dokja leaned out and glared daggers at me.

I checked her mood for a second, then clasped my hands together in a pleading gesture and spoke to her in a bright, sunny tone.

"Where to, miss? I'll do my absolute best—no, I'll stake my life on it—to get you to your destination at top speed and in total comfort!"

"……Gangdong-gu."

"Yes ma'am, right away! Although…"

"What now?"

"I don't actually know which direction Gangdong-gu is…"

"…Haa."

Kim Dokja let out a small sigh and pointed the way with her index finger.

"Alright, departing now."

"Go as fast as you can. I'm serious—this is urgent."

"Leave it to me."

Following her request, I activated every skill I had that would boost flight and movement speed so I could reach Gangdong-gu as fast as possible.

The moment Flight Maneuver kicked in, my body floated gently into the air. Path of Wind wrapped a current around my entire body, and when Acceleration and Agile Footwork stacked on top of that, a system message flashed before my eyes.

KWAANG!

With everything ready, I shot off in the direction Kim Dokja had pointed.

Watching the whole thing through the My Room window, Kim Dokja muttered under her breath with a stunned look.

"What the hell… how many movement-speed skills do you even have?"

"Path of Wind that I just learned, Acceleration that Song Minwoo had, plus Agile Footwork that I already owned—so about three?"

"…Whoa."

Kim Dokja looked genuinely impressed. I watched her face for a second, then put on a mischievous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grin and kept going.

"But I still haven't used all my skills yet."

"What? What do you mean—"

Figuring a demonstration would work better than an explanation, I slowly opened my mouth.

"Blackening. Double Fire-attribute Enchant on the gloves."

And finally, I'd activate Flame of Destruction.

I'd been thinking about this combo for a while. Use Flight Maneuver, then fire Flame of Destruction like a fighter jet's thrusters. Could it work?

And right now, I was going to test it.

If it succeeded, I'd get to Gangdong-gu fast. If it failed, I was the only one screwed, right?!

"Dokja! Close the window! Full throttle from here on!"

"What the hell—?!"

At my warning, Kim Dokja slammed the window shut with a look of pure horror.

Ziiing—!

I concentrated mana into my hands, condensing power to push Flame of Destruction to its absolute limit. A moment later, I unleashed the fully charged Flame of Destruction.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA——!!!

"Ughghk…?!"

Using Flame of Destruction like a jet engine, I tore through the sky at a speed that made everything before feel like a crawl.

"I-it worrked (It worked)!!"

But this thing burns through an insane amount of mana!

Words I couldn't say out loud swirled in my mouth. I sighed quietly to myself, popped the lid off a mid-grade mana recovery potion inside My Room, and shoved the bottle into my mouth.

Alright, it wasn't the most dignified look—but I was flying toward Gangdong-gu as fast as Kim Dokja wanted. Everything was fine, right?

"That crazy bastard…. Is he actually insane? Using skills like that?"

"…I can't even argue with you this time."

Kim Dokja gave a bitter smile at Han Sooyoung, who was standing beside her clicking her tongue while watching Park Jinwoo through the window.

She turned her head and looked at Park Jinwoo using the Disaster of Flames, Igneel's area skill Flame of Destruction, like a fighter jet thruster.

…I've felt it over and over, but Park Jinwoo's skill utilization is on a level that completely transcends other Incarnations.

People who could chain skills together that smoothly were extremely rare even in Ways of Survival.

Even the ones called elites inside the Dome usually managed to weave two or three skills at most. Right now, Park Jinwoo was bundling a full seven skills into one continuous combo.

Is that what talent looks like?

While Kim Dokja was staring blankly at Park Jinwoo, Han Sooyoung turned and asked her a question.

"Hey, I was too flustered earlier to ask—are we just leaving that wolf behind?"

"The Imuntar race can sense their Lord's master. Once he wakes up, he'll find us on his own."

After answering Han Sooyoung, Kim Dokja turned to look at Yoo Joonghyuk.

More precisely, she looked at Shin Yooseung, who had brought a towel from the bathroom, dampened it with clean water, and was carefully wiping the blood off the blood-soaked Yoo Joonghyuk.

Yoo Joonghyuk watched Shin Yooseung wipe the blood from her body without so much as a frown, then activated Midday Tryst toward Kim Dokja.

Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes flew wide as she clenched her teeth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hard. Mid-wipe, Shin Yooseung saw the murderous look on her face and flinched.

Thinking it might be her fault, Shin Yooseung became even more careful as she wiped the blood from Yoo Joonghyuk's body.

Noticing that, Kim Dokja spoke.

Kim Dokja paused mid-sentence in Midday Tryst and glanced at the bunny ears dangling from her own head.

This bitch is making me nervous by not answering? I was half-joking….

When Yoo Joonghyuk gave no reply to her half-joking question, Kim Dokja sighed quietly and continued.

Fwoosh!

"Kyaa?!"

Oh crap?!

Kim Dokja had been so focused on Midday Tryst with Yoo Joonghyuk that she'd completely forgotten about Shin Yooseung, who was still wiping Yoo Joonghyuk's body with a towel.

While cleaning her off, Shin Yooseung suddenly saw blue flames bloom across Yoo Joonghyuk's body and let out a startled scream.

Kim Dokja hurriedly stood, scooped Shin Yooseung into her arms, and patted her back while whispering.

"Yooseung, unnie's sorry. That scared you, didn't it? Those flames are fine even if they touch you… wait, maybe that's not the best way to put it. Anyway, that unnie will be okay. So let's calm down."

"Y-yes…"

Fortunately, Shin Yooseung settled down quickly. Watching her, Kim Dokja let out a small sigh and looked back at Yoo Joonghyuk.

Yoo Joonghyuk turned her head slightly and fixed Kim Dokja with a murderous stare as she spoke.

"…………."

Petty bitch….

Kim Dokja sighed quietly at Yoo Joonghyuk's words, then nodded and replied.

If taking just one hit could repair her relationship with Yoo Joonghyuk… she wouldn't die from it, right?

For the next few minutes, Kim Dokja continued talking with Yoo Joonghyuk through Midday Tryst.

About Yoo Joonghyuk's regressions, the Absolute Throne, Poisonous Joy Lee Seolhwa, and finally the "protection" (kidnapping) of Yoo Joonghyuk's little sister.

Every so often Han Sooyoung would look at something and fire a question at Kim Dokja, and Kim Dokja answered each one diligently.

Then Han Sooyoung, staring out the window, called to Kim Dokja in an urgent voice.

"Hey, hey?! Get over here!"

"What is it?"

"Ah, shit! There's chaos outside the window right now?!"

"What?"

Kim Dokja pushed herself up from the edge of the bed and hurried over to the My Room window.

She turned her head toward where Han Sooyoung was looking, peered through the glass—and her face went pale with shock.

Outside the window, a massive number of Chronos's beast-type monsters were pouring through the Great Hole spread across the sky.

Damn it, already all the way to Gangdong-gu….

"Hey, hey. Isn't this bad? Should we tell Park Jinwoo to stop flying? If he keeps going through the sky it's going to be dangero—?"

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA——!!

""Uh…?""

Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung both froze as the view beyond the window was suddenly flooded with dark crimson light.

And then.

Park Jinwoo's voice came from outside.

—Insects and plant bastards think they can contest someone else's airspace? You wanna die?

Thud-thud-thud!

When the dark crimson light filling their vision cleared, the window showed the beast-types that had been crossing through the Great Hole into Gangdong-gu plummeting with their entire bodies charred black.

"As expected. Flame of Destruction, baby."

Performance is insane, holy shit.

About twenty seconds earlier: insect-plus-plant bastards had appeared above me, so I'd just blasted them with Flame of Destruction.

And just like that, the fire-vulnerable insects and plants were currently freefalling with their whole bodies charred black.

"Coin jackpot."

I hoped a few more waves would show up. I'd burn them all and gulp down the coins.

Rattle!

"Huh?"

While I was hovering in place because of the insect and plant bastards, the sound of a window opening came from beside me.

"Hey, Park Jinwoo!"

"We haven't arrived yet, miss."

"Is that the problem right now?! What if there had been a Grade 5 beast-type among them?!"

"Even if it's Grade 5, if it's insect- and plant-based, isn't it weak to fire?"

Just burn them all. What's the issue?

Kim Dokja looked at me like she was about to lose her mind.

I ignored her stare and activated Clairvoyance.

The white rose-pattern mark is… ah, found it.

I flew toward the place on the ground marked with a white rose pattern.

Just then, I spotted people running this way from the distance.

"Dokja, a lot of people are running over here."

"Looks like they're fleeing from something."

I pulled HK416 out of My Room. Some of those people would get hit by the poison arrows fired by Entinus's underlings.

So I'd shoot down every single one of those arrows and save them.

And in the process, I'd earn coins from the Absolute Good Constellations and show off a cool side to Yoo Sangah and Shin Yooseung.

Right on cue, Yoo Sangah's clear voice carried from far away.

"Everyone, run toward Cheonho Bridge!"

At the same time, countless screams erupted from the crowd.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

"S-save me!"

"Aaaagh!"

Terror was written clearly on the faces of the people fleeing toward us.

Some kept glancing behind them with fear-stricken expressions; others squeezed their eyes shut and focused only on running.

Among that mass of people, a survivor who spotted me shouted at the top of his lungs.

"M-move! Hurry!"

Whoosh!

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a rain of arrows poured down toward the survivors from the distance.

I locked onto the arrow rain falling with perfect aim at the survivors, a gleam flashing in my eyes.

"Rapid Fire, Magic Bullet, Perfect Accuracy—activate."

I aimed the muzzle precisely at the arrows that were about to hit the survivors and opened fire.

Tudududududu—!

The survivors saw the arrow rain falling toward them and their faces filled with despair—then their expressions changed.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

"Waaaaah?!"

"W-what is this…?"

The poison-coated arrowheads snapped and bounced away under my rounds.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The survivors stared blankly at the arrow shafts falling toward them.

Some of them didn't even realize they were arrow shafts and screamed in pure terror.

Others looked dazed or outright shocked at my shooting skill—aiming only at the arrowheads with perfect precision.

"Whew~♪ Guns really are cool as hell."

They were nowhere near enough for named enemies, but against other Incarnations they were still a solid weapon. The problem was that they'd lose power the further into the later scenarios we went.

I shouted at the top of my lungs at the people who had stopped mid-flight to stare at the arrow shafts lying limp on the ground, or who were just gawking at me.

"Hey, you bastards—!! Stop zoning out in the middle and run already—!!"

"O-oh?! Y-yes!"

"Th-thank you for saving us!"

At my yell, the people snapped back to their senses and put power into their legs again, resuming their escape.

A few of them passed me by with words of thanks for saving them.

As expected, my cash cows… ahem! As expected of our Absolute Good Constellations.

They recognized my pure, kind heart for the people, huh? And even sponsored coins for it.

"Hehehe…!"

I broke into a pure, sunny smile at the Absolute Good Constellations' sponsorship.

"Wow… how can a person make a smile that greedy and evil?"

Han Sooyoung's voice of admiration (disgust) floated out from the window. I ignored it.

Because right in front of me, Entinus's underlings were already drawing their bows and aiming arrows at me.

"Kill that bastard first!"

Paht! Paaat!

Piiiiing!

Dozens of group members loosed arrows at me all at once.

I calmly watched the arrows flying toward me—because I'd just spotted a long-brown-haired beauty starting to run this way.

Shhhraaak!

Golden mana threads stretched out toward the buildings, weaving into a spiderweb shape, then solidified into a massive spiderweb-form barrier glowing gold.

Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung stared blankly at it from inside the My Room window, and I let out a small whistle at the arrows stopped dead by the spiderweb barrier.

Then a woman burst out from between the buildings and landed on the ground in a perfect superhero landing pose.

She—no, Yoo Sangah—began drawing mana threads from her hands and started planting them around the group members' ankles without them noticing.

Oblivious, the group members glared at me and shouted.

"Catch him! Don't let him get away! Kill that thing in front of you first!"

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The group members charged at me en masse with their weapons raised. I looked at them, kindly pointed a finger downward, and smiled.

"Might want to watch your feet while you run, friends."

"Below?"

At my kind advice, a few of them looked down—but it was already too late.

Slash!

"Aaaagh!"

"W-what the hell! Something's under—!"

"Idiots. Putting on a whole show."

Tududududu!

Thud! Crack! Thud!

A large number of group members tumbled across the ground with their legs cleanly severed by the razor-sharp ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana threads Yoo Sangah had set, and I snorted at the idiots as I sprayed them with gunfire.

I sighed quietly at the group members staring at me with blank faces, then kindly pointed out both their feet and the space behind them.

Belatedly discovering the mana threads around them, the group members turned to look in the direction I'd indicated.

There stood Yoo Sangah, wearing a tight black combat suit that showed off her figure perfectly.

"Hey, that woman…"

"Yoo Sangah…?"

Only now recognizing her, Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja muttered under their breath as they stared blankly at Yoo Sangah.

I covered my mouth with both hands, eyes welling up at the sight of Yoo Sangah after several days apart.

Our blackened Sangah is beautiful too… but she looks like she's been through a lot these past few days. Look at those dark circles….