Things That Cannot Be Changed (2)

Lee Jihye stared blankly at Park Jinwoo, who had so effortlessly sent flying the Shin Yooseung she herself had struggled against.

"O-Oppa?"

"Hm? What's up, Jihye? Want me to stretch your cheeks again?"

Squish.

Park Jinwoo plopped down right in front of Lee Jihye and once more pinched her soft, squishy cheeks, pulling them wide.

"Augh! Is thith really the time for that?!"

Even with her words coming out all garbled thanks to Jinwoo stretching her cheeks, Lee Jihye still managed to glare daggers at him.

"Heheh. So why'd you call me, Jihye?"

"...Oppa, when did you get this strong?"

"Me? I got a lot stronger after we took down the Disaster of Ice with you guys."

After obtaining the heart of the Ice Ghost Dragon, the heart of Orcanox—which had been mid-transformation into a dragon—and the Water-Calming Pearl, he really had grown far stronger.

Well, in the end it's all just elixir and relic carry. But that doesn't change the fact that I got stronger, so who cares?

Park Jinwoo snickered at Lee Jihye, who was looking up at him with a complicated expression, then turned and fixed his gaze on the spot where Shin Yooseung had been sent flying.

"How long are you planning to just lie there? I'm curious what the 41st-turn Yoo Joonghyuk would say if she saw you looking like that right now."

"...Shut your mouth."

Rumble.

Shin Yooseung roughly wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, shoved aside the tree that had been pinning her down, and sprang to her feet.

Then she locked eyes with Park Jinwoo and spoke.

"...Fine. I'll admit it. I got careless. I never even considered there could be an Incarnation stronger than Yoo Joonghyuk."

Magic power surged once more from every part of Shin Yooseung's body. But compared to the wild, thrashing waves from earlier, it was far more stable now.

She already calmed herself down? She reined in her emotions pretty fast.

Park Jinwoo narrowed his eyes as he watched her.

Earlier he had deliberately scratched at her reverse scale, using the very words she had desperately wanted to hear just to get under her skin.

Now, as Shin Yooseung began drawing up her magic power in earnest to face him properly, Jinwoo shot her a sidelong glance and wore a sly smile.

At the same time, he slowly began drawing up his own magic power to deal with her.

"That's our Yooseung for you. Just like a Beast Lord—quick to settle her feelings. Congrats, Yooseung."

"...I don't know where that confidence of yours is coming from, but from now on I'm going to crush you for real."

Grrrrr...!

Hearing the roar of a beast behind him, Park Jinwoo turned his head toward the sound.

There stood King Masswood, drooling as it glared at him.

Jinwoo stared straight back at the creature for a moment, then turned his head again to face Shin Yooseung and opened his mouth.

"What's a measly water snake supposed to do?"

"A water snake? You're probably the only person in existence who would call a minor disaster that. But you know..."

When did I ever say I only brought out one monster?

Whoooosh—!

"!"

Hearing a sound above his head, Park Jinwoo looked up at the sky.

A monster shaped like a pterosaur was diving straight toward him at high speed.

But it wasn't just one. Even a rough count put the number at several dozen, all flying directly at him.

Shin Yooseung smiled as she watched the monsters she controlled rapidly surround Park Jinwoo.

"You're the one who got careless, aren't you? I hope you get torn to shreds by the monsters I tamed."

"..............."

Seeing Park Jinwoo freeze while staring blankly at the sky, Shin Yooseung beamed with a witch-like smile, thoroughly delighted.

However.

"You think those little bird bastards can actually kill me?"

Park Jinwoo muttered in a thoroughly unimpressed tone as he watched the pterosaur-like monsters streaking toward him like missiles.

"What?"

Shin Yooseung's eyelids twitched at his words. She stared at him in silence, but Jinwoo paid her reaction no mind and quietly moved his right hand.

Hundreds of razor-sharp ice spears materialized around Park Jinwoo and immediately began shooting toward the wings, heads, and bodies of the flying monsters diving at him.

Crunch—! Crack—!

Kyaaaaak...?! Kueeeek...!!

The ice spears Jinwoo launched tore through the flying monsters' wings and punched clean through their heads and bodies. Dozens of them plummeted from the sky in a rain of corpses.

"............"

Shin Yooseung watched the scene unfold right before her eyes and simply glared at Park Jinwoo without a word. He flashed her a rotten grin and opened his mouth.

"Your bad orders are just getting innocent monsters killed, huh? That's on you, Yooseung!"

Grind.

At Jinwoo's provocation, Shin Yooseung ground her teeth hard once more.

She glared at him through his blatant yet impossible-to-ignore taunts and spoke.

"Just what the hell are you? I have zero memory of ever seeing a powerhouse like you in the 41st-turn worldline."

"Who knows? Do I really need to tell you?"

Shing.

Park Jinwoo pulled Barisada out of My Room and leveled the blade straight at Shin Yooseung.

"You're a Disaster. I'm an Incarnation clearing scenarios. Do we need any more words than that?"

"...Fair enough. Fine. Now I'll face you for real..."

"My name is Park Jinwoo. Twenty-six years old this year. I've got two years of work experience at a ★★ factory. For the record, I'm not from Seoul—I'm a country boy. Want me to keep going?"

"..................."

"..................."

Shin Yooseung and Lee Jihye both stared at Park Jinwoo with utterly dumbfounded faces.

"Oppa... are you actually insane? You just said you wouldn't tell us."

"...Crazy bastard."

Under Lee Jihye's scolding and Shin Yooseung's scathing insult, Park Jinwoo simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Just felt like saying it. So, want more info? Just say the word, Yooseung."

"...Haa. Fine. So how the hell did you end up becoming Yoo Joonghyuk's companion?"

"Ah, that?"

Park Jinwoo scratched his head with a look that said it was complicated, then slowly opened his mouth.

"I'm not telling."

".............?"

Shin Yooseung tilted her head slowly, wearing an expression that said she couldn't understand a single word.

"You just said you'd tell me."

"You trust an enemy's words? Our Yooseung still has a pure side even after growing up. What a cute kid."

"Oppa really is crazy. I'm sure of it now."

Shin Yooseung belatedly realized that Park Jinwoo was toying with her. Her face crumpled as she glared at him with all her might.

Then she let out a small sigh, clutched her head with one hand as if it hurt, and moved her lips.

"Forget it. Just die already."

Shin Yooseung suddenly drew in a deep breath, and a moment later a breath shaped like a black tiger shot from her mouth straight toward Park Jinwoo.

"Ooh. So that's the Beast King's Breath? Pretty cool."

Park Jinwoo simply watched the Beast King's Breath racing toward him at high speed with an innocent smile, making no move whatsoever.

"Oppa, are you crazy?! Dodge or block—do something already!"

"It's fine, it's fine. Our Jihye worries too much, huh?"

"You fucking—! Oppa! Jinwoo Oppa!!"

Watching from behind him, Lee Jihye desperately shouted Park Jinwoo's name. Shin Yooseung eyed his behavior with open suspicion.

KABOOOOOM—!!

A massive explosion erupted where Park Jinwoo had been standing, and smoke billowed upward.

An ordinary Incarnation would have died from the aftershock of the Beast King's Breath alone. But Shin Yooseung already knew the man in front of her was no ordinary Incarnation.

So she narrowed her eyes and quietly watched the dust cloud.

...As expected. That alone wasn't enough to kill him.

When the dust cloud was blown aside by the wind to a certain degree, Park Jinwoo's silhouette became visible within it.

Shin Yooseung stayed on guard, ready to react at any moment in case he launched a surprise attack.

"Whoa~ that actually stings a bit? Guess it's because our Yooseung's breath is level 10. Pretty painful."

At last the dust completely cleared, revealing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Park Jinwoo walking out slowly with dragon scales covering his entire body.

Shin Yooseung's eyes went wide as she stared at the dragon scales wrapping him.

"...Dragon scales? How do you have a high-grade skill like that in the early scenarios?"

"Curious?"

"No, forget it. You're just going to provoke me with some weird nonsense again anyway."

"Our Yooseung's gotten pretty good at reading me, huh? But shouldn't you watch your back?"

"......?!"

At Park Jinwoo's words, Shin Yooseung flinched and hurriedly whipped her head around.

But there was nothing there.

"What...? There's nothing..."

"Of course not. I was lying."

"?!"

Hearing Park Jinwoo's voice right beside her, Shin Yooseung urgently crossed both arms to block his attack.

Poke.

But the attack that should have come never arrived. Instead, Park Jinwoo simply jabbed a finger into her cheek. Shin Yooseung stared at him with a blank expression.

"Our Yooseung's so cute. Did you throw up a guard that fast because you thought I was going to hit you?"

"...Y-You—!"

Her face flushed red at being toyed with. She hastily uncrossed her arms and swung at Park Jinwoo.

"Whoops~ close one, close one!"

In that instant the figure that had been right in front of her nose vanished. Startled, Shin Yooseung whipped her head around searching for him.

And finally she found him.

"How? How did you slip past my eyes and move right in front of Jihye Unnie in a blink...?"

Shin Yooseung stared in utter bewilderment at Park Jinwoo now standing right in front of Lee Jihye's nose. He shrugged at her words and provoked her further.

"Our Yooseung only just now found this Oppa? Way too slow. This Oppa was so bored he almost went home."

"..............."

Shin Yooseung felt fierce rage at the man who kept taunting and toying with her. At the same time, she felt something was off.

That man... something's wrong with him.

Overall stats that far surpassed her captain Yoo Joonghyuk. Ice spears that handled multiple enemies at once. And finally, speed so close to instantaneous that almost no magic power waves could be felt.

All of it was abnormal.

Shin Yooseung narrowed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her eyes and carefully observed Park Jinwoo.

Those ice spears just now felt familiar somehow. And that near-instantaneous speed. No—it's not a skill that boosts his own movement speed. Does he have a spatial movement type skill?

Having roughly grasped the nature of Park Jinwoo's skills, Shin Yooseung smiled faintly and spoke.

"I never expected an Incarnation this strong in the early scenarios. And one with a spatial movement skill, no less."

"Oh? You figured it out? Yeah. I've got a spatial movement type skill."

Park Jinwoo looked at her with mildly surprised eyes, then nodded and readily confirmed it.

Shin Yooseung's expression nearly twisted at his easy admission, but she held it back with superhuman patience and continued.

"Having a spatial movement skill is certainly praiseworthy. But that alone isn't enough to beat me. I won't fall for it again."

"Really? I don't think so."

"What?"

Whoosh!

Park Jinwoo's figure vanished from right in front of her. Confirming it with her own eyes, Shin Yooseung spread magic power around her and rolled her eyes, searching for his form.

No more carelessness. The moment I catch even a glimpse of him, I'll pierce his heart and kill him.

Come on, Park Jinwoo.

Just as she was scanning her surroundings with a tense expression—

Clatter-clatter-clatter—!

Clatter-clatter-clatter—!

Clatter-clatter-clatter—!

"What?!"

Countless ice chains erupted from the entire surrounding forest and began wrapping around Shin Yooseung's body.

Then Park Jinwoo's voice rang out from within the woods.

"Did you really think I'd be dumb enough to use spatial movement to appear next to you and attack?"

"............?!"

"Yooseung. Just like you kindly advised Jihye earlier, I'll give you one piece of advice too."

Clatter!!

The ice chains binding Shin Yooseung's entire body squeezed hard, hoisted her high into the air, then slammed her toward the ground at high speed.

KABOOOOOM!!

"Don't get careless against me. Suspect everything around you no matter what. That's the only way you'll ever beat me."

Park Jinwoo slowly emerged from the forest behind Lee Jihye and quietly spoke as he looked down at Shin Yooseung, who had been smashed hard into the ground.

Lee Jihye, who had watched the entire fight, stared at him with a dazed expression.

"Oppa... looking at it like this, you're seriously fucking strong."

"Seeing me in a new light? This is who I am."

"...Don't get all cocky over one compliment."

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

At that moment, a massive wave of magic power overflowed from the spot where Shin Yooseung had been slammed down.

Confirming it quietly, Park Jinwoo suddenly glanced up at the sky once, then spoke to Lee Jihye.

"Jihye. If you head north from here, Hyunsung-ssi should be fighting some gorilla right now. Go help him out and hold back the monsters coming from the monster gate."

"...Got it. Sorry for being weak, Oppa."

"What are you talking about? You might be weaker than me, but you're still a top-tier powerhouse inside the Seoul Dome."

"..............."

When Lee Jihye still bit her lip tightly and looked frustrated even after his praise, Park Jinwoo roughly yanked off her hat and ruffled her hair with a rough hand.

"...Ow! Ow?! Oppa! You can't just mess up a girl's hairstyle like that—it's her life!"

"Shut it. Who told you to look all gloomy in front of this Oppa? It's all your fault."

"Ugh...! F-Fine! Just give me my hat back!"

Lee Jihye flushed red, roughly snatched her hat from Park Jinwoo's hand, and sprinted off toward Lee Hyunsung's location without looking back.

Watching her go with a quiet smile, Park ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jinwoo slowly turned his body and opened his mouth.

"Thanks for waiting. Shall we start for real now?"

"................"

Shin Yooseung had already risen and was concentrating her magic power. Park Jinwoo flashed her a grin and drew up his own magic power as well.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE——!!!

Under the auras of the two powerhouses, the forest of Nodeul Island began to tremble violently.

The two of them glared at each other, watching for an opening, quietly observing the opponent before them.

Then Park Jinwoo opened his mouth with a rotten smile.

"Ladies first—want me to give you the first shot?"

"I'm not falling for your provocations anymore."

"And yet you've already taken the bait several times."

"...Shut up."

Shin Yooseung's face twisted at the factual hit. A moment later space warped behind her, and all sorts of monsters poured out from within.

"Kill him."

Kyaaaaak...?!

Kwoooooar!!

Kik! Kik! Kiiik!

At their master's command, the monsters' eyes lit up and they charged toward Park Jinwoo.

"No matter how strong you are, can you handle this many monsters?"

"...This? Just that much............?"

Park Jinwoo muttered quietly as he looked at the horde of nearly several hundred monsters before him.

Shin Yooseung frowned, certain he was plotting something again, and stayed on high alert.

But soon Park Jinwoo wore an expression full of pure dissatisfaction and opened his mouth.

"Yooseung. You really think that much is enough to kill me?"

With those words, a powerful wind began to blow from his entire body.

Whoooooosh—!!!

The wind swirling around Park Jinwoo grew until even his form was no longer visible, becoming one massive vortex.

Shin Yooseung's eyes went wide as she recognized the skill. She stared at the vortex in front of her with a panicked expression and shouted.

"No way?! Path of Wind?! And the skill level is already at 10...?!"

She watched in anguish as the monsters she had summoned were shredded by the vortex, then crouched low so she wouldn't be sucked in herself.

"Didn't I clearly warn you not to get careless against me? You're a slow learner, Yooseung."

Park Jinwoo's voice boomed from within the vortex. Shin Yooseung bit down hard and glared at it with eyes full of hatred.

"Shut up! Fuck! I said shut up!"

KABOOOOOM!!

The Beast King's Breath that shot from Shin Yooseung's mouth slammed hard into the vortex Park Jinwoo had created. A large hole opened in the middle of the whirlwind, and the moment she confirmed his form inside it, she charged straight at him.

"Die!"

"............"

Park Jinwoo watched Shin Yooseung throwing punches and kicks in a full close-quarters assault with calm eyes, falling silent.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Crunch! Boom!

Whether it was because his excessive provocations and teasing had finally pushed her past the boiling point, Shin Yooseung relentlessly threw magic-reinforced fists and kicks at him without rest.

"Hmm. Did I tease and provoke her too hard? She's throwing a full-blown hysteria fit."

"Shut up and die!"

Park Jinwoo activated every skill related to movement speed and every skill that amplified their power, then dodged every single one of Shin Yooseung's attacks by a hair's breadth while continuing to toy with her.

"Our Yooseung, if you get that worked up you won't land a single hit, you know?"

"Shut up! Shut up! Please just shut up!!"

"Right, left, left, groin, heart, head, neck, elbow. Way too predictable. So obvious."

"Uwaaaaaaah...!!"

Thanks to the movement-speed skills and the buffs amplifying them, Park Jinwoo's Agility was currently at 85.

His Agility had temporarily spiked from the buffs, but under normal circumstances, if Shin Yooseung kept her reason and focused, she should have landed at least one solid hit.

The problem was that right now her reason had completely collapsed under Jinwoo's mockery, teasing, and provocations. She was only throwing simple attacks, so she couldn't even graze his clothes.

Hmm. I should take one hit soon and make my exit.

Park Jinwoo glanced at Shin Yooseung, who was going berserk with an extremely agitated expression just to land a single blow on him, and thought.

Kim Dokja would revive soon, and the other Incarnations of the Seoul Dome would gather around Nodeul Island. That meant Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk would be heading this way before long.

The second part of Park Jinwoo's plan to save the Shin Yooseung in front of him.

That was to wear down her stamina a bit. So he had teased, mocked, and provoked her for a while...

I never expected it to work this well.

He had planned to drain her stamina moderately, then withdraw from the battlefield and support the Seoul Dome Incarnations from behind. But a variable had already appeared in the plan.

Tsk... if I take a hit right now it's gonna hurt like hell, isn't it?

Should he just take a hit now and pretend to retreat?

But here was the dilemma.

Glance.

Park Jinwoo looked at Shin Yooseung, who was tirelessly throwing punches, kicks, Beast King's Breath, and the abilities of the monsters she had tamed just to land even one hit on him.

Our Yooseung's hit feedback is just too good...

There weren't many people who reacted this well.

So he was seriously conflicted. Should he mess with her a little more? Or just take one hit and pull back?

If he teased her any further she might collapse from rage-induced illness, but if he took a hit and retreated right now, the attacks she was throwing looked like they would hurt tremendously.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Park Jinwoo turned his gaze to Shin Yooseung's face, which was radiating thick killing intent and murderous aura.

Looking closely at her face, he saw a tiny teardrop clinging to the corner of her eye.

...Ugh. Seeing that tear just makes me soft. Fine. I'll just take one hit and act my way out of here.

Confirming the fist flying accurately toward his abdomen, Park Jinwoo chose not to dodge and took it head-on.

KABOOOOOM—!

"Keheuk...!!!"

The moment Shin Yooseung's fist successfully buried itself in his gut, Park Jinwoo put maximum strength into his legs and thighs, kicked off the ground, and went flying at high speed into the forest of Nodeul Island.

Bang! Boom! Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom!

Completely failing to notice that Park Jinwoo was acting as he smashed through the trees of the Nodeul Island forest one after another, Shin Yooseung panted heavily and stared blankly at the woods where he had flown.

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Thud.

In just a few minutes she had thrown hundreds of punches and kicks just to land a single hit on Park Jinwoo. Realizing she had finally struck him, Shin Yooseung smiled with joy and teared up.

"...You son of a bitch. Serves you right. Ha, haha, hahahaha, hahahahaha...!!"

Then she burst into mad laughter like a lunatic.

After laughing for a long while, Shin Yooseung pushed her body up from the ground and glared at the forest where Park Jinwoo's form had vanished with eyes that had grown a little calmer.

With her reason returning somewhat, she realized it was unlikely that bastard had died from just that one punch. She kept a sharp watch on the forest.

But even after several minutes, Park Jinwoo's form never appeared, and no matter how much she searched her surroundings, she couldn't find any trace of him.

There's no way that damn bastard died from just that one hit just now...

Shin Yooseung glared at the forest with eyes that still held a bit of unresolved anger. Then she heard the roars of monsters and the voices of Seoul Dome Incarnations from the edge of Nodeul Island. After shooting one more look at the woods, she began to move.

"It's a little worrying that the most annoying human is out of sight, but I can clean up the other Seoul Dome Incarnations first and kill him later."

She had forgotten because of Park Jinwoo, but right now she needed to kill Yoo Joonghyuk's companions in this turn in order to drive Yoo Joonghyuk into deep despair.

I'll kill Jihye Unnie, Seolhwa Unnie, and Hyunsung Oppa first—then I'll definitely kill you, Park Jinwoo.

She would remember his name for certain. And she would bury it deep in her heart.

You fucking bastard...

She would kill him with her own hands. Without fail...!!

Shin Yooseung shot one last glare at the forest, then sprinted toward the place where the fighting was happening.

As Shin Yooseung ran toward Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung, a door suddenly appeared in the middle of the forest.

Creak.

"Mmm~ this burger's delicious."

Inside My Room, Park Jinwoo polished off two bulgogi burgers, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then finished the fries and cola as well, taking a short rest. He looked toward the direction Shin Yooseung had vanished and wore a rotten grin.

"Now, how should I mess with her next? Think word will get around that I did a good job of tormenting her?"