The God of Control's One-Coin Clear: Bead Hunt (2)
Seven players who had been coveting Taeyang's card and secretly tailing him.
Tap-tap-tap!
Taeyang charged straight at them.
"Prepare for battle!"
The bald man and the rest of the players drew their blades.
No reason I should lose.
Taeyang had climbed the floors devouring three achievements each. Among players that was considered impossible, and even counting NPCs only a tiny fraction had ever managed it.
As for other variables, there was the bead. But judging by how recently the stage had opened, the odds that the enemy had secured it were nearly zero.
In short, he held the lead in growth. The other players had three achievements each. Five at the absolute most. Taeyang, however, had nine.
It wasn't a crushing gap, but the scales were clearly tipped in his favor. And he possessed the skill to turn that advantage against multiple opponents at once.
Swish.
The player at the front awkwardly thrust out his sword. Less an attack than a probing check to keep the incoming threat at bay. Taeyang's speed had far surpassed his expectations; the man had probably felt he had to do something, anything.
Taeyang lightly twisted his upper body.
Whoosh.
The blade grazed his shoulder by a hair.
"Keep whiffing like that and I'll thank you for it."
Taeyang stepped forward without hesitation.
Transcendental Jin-gak - Rising Dragon Fist
Crackle!
Electromagnetism, infused with divinity, coiled around Taeyang's fist.
"What the—!"
Crunch!
The Rising Dragon Fist was an uppercut that smashed upward from below. The player's jaw shattered on impact.
Good. One down.
Whoong!
The second player swung his sword a beat too late. This one was trickier. The distance was tight and the horizontal slash aimed to carve through his entire torso. Dodging cleanly wouldn't be easy.
Taeyang's eyes sharpened. He could evade, but that would give the enemy time to regroup. In an already unfavorable one-versus-many fight, the smart move was to trim their numbers while he still could.
No point letting this drag on.
Taeyang closed the gap until he was practically glued to the swordsman. His body slipped inside the blade's arc. A dangerous gamble, but one worth taking.
"Bastard!"
Before the sword could land, Taeyang seized the man's wrist.
Mid-level knee strike.
Thud!
"Kheok!"
The second player folded at the waist and collapsed.
The remaining players froze at the sight.
"He's this strong?"
"Hey! Nobody said he was this strong!"
The bald man snarled at the other players' protests.
"If he managed to get a rare-grade card, of course he's strong! Did you idiots follow him without even considering that?!"
"W-well..."
"If you're scared, then get lost right now! I can handle him just fine without you lot!"
At the bald man's words the other players hesitated, shifting uneasily.
"Can we really take him?"
"Seeing how strong he is, the card really must be important."
Greed was gnawing away at their fear. Still, Taeyang's overwhelming display made it hard for that fear to disappear completely. No matter how they looked at it, they still held the numerical advantage, so their calculations remained complicated.
Watching the wavering players, Taeyang felt certain.
Halfway there.
The moment one side began to feel fear, the outcome of a small-scale fight like this was already decided.
Taeyang charged again.
"Don't fall back! I said don't fall back!"
Despite the bald man's shouts, the players scrambled backward in panic. He couldn't blame them. They had watched two of their own die right in front of their eyes. Even battle-hardened NPCs couldn't help but flinch at the sheer momentum.
Transcendental Jin-gak - Yanluo Kick
Transcendental Jin-gak - Whirlwind Fist
Two more players went down. Only three remained. The tide had completely turned.
"Useless idiots."
Finally the bald man drew his sword and stepped forward. Taeyang's gaze locked onto the weapon. The hilt looked antique, and the blade itself was a deep red.
"An artifact?"
Artifacts were equipment that held special powers. Cloaks that erased presence, boots that made no sound, blades that could cut through anything. They didn't come with synergy effects, but their unique options made them incredibly valuable. High-grade artifacts were often considered more important than decent cards.
It wasn't common, but there were cases where high-grade equipment cards carried both synergy and artifact properties.
"So that's why he had the guts to come at me."
This was only the fourth floor of the dimensional labyrinth. High-grade artifacts had almost never appeared as stage rewards so far. Besides, the bald man's appearance screamed "common mercenary." A high-grade artifact was far too valuable for some low-tier hired sword to own.
As they faced off, heat haze began to rise from the sword.
"Flame?"
"Haha, not just any flame. This is a magic sword with Fire Storm sealed inside!"
The bald man shouted triumphantly. It was a one-use weapon that would become ordinary steel after firing the spell once, but once was enough. Moreover, they were inside a snake tunnel. The space was narrow and completely enclosed. There was almost no way to avoid the magic.
Taeyang dashed forward instantly.
"Stop him!"
At the bald man's order the remaining two players moved to intercept. One carried a large war hammer, the other a sword. Taeyang didn't slow down at all. He had already gauged their level.
The war hammer's trajectory as it tore through the air was obvious. It slammed uselessly into the tunnel wall instead.
Crack. Rumble.
Part of the wall collapsed.
"What a waste of a good hammer, dumbass."
Thud!
A flawless straight punch buried itself in the hammer-wielder's jaw. The last player flinched backward at the sight.
The bald man clicked his tongue. Six men had gone down in sequence because they couldn't even pin down a single opponent. Pathetic.
Well, doesn't matter.
Using the crude mana manipulation he'd learned during his mercenary days, the bald man activated the magic sword.
Vooooom.
The blade hummed. Casting complete. Without hesitation he swung it.
The player still standing between them? He'd been a discard from the start.
"Die!"
Fire Storm.
The remaining player screamed in panic.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Roarrrrr!
Scarlet flames filled the snake tunnel.
* * *
When the flames finally receded, the bald man—Clark—wore a vile smile.
"No matter how much he flails, he can't beat magic."
The magic sword had used up its lifespan and become scrap, but Clark didn't care. The rare-grade card the bartender had shown him back at the shelter—the Seeker's Belt with three synergy effects—would make him far stronger.
Clark's eyes swept across the tunnel. Charred corpses lay scattered on the ground. One, two, three, four, five, six. Six bodies.
"Why only six?"
Six players he had brought. Plus Taeyang. There should have been seven corpses total.
"Why? Because I'm not dead, obviously. Ptoo!"
Thud.
Taeyang, who had been lying flat against the tunnel wall, spat dirt from his mouth and stood up. He was covered head to toe in soil.
The bald man's face filled with shock.
"H-how?"
"How? Because your aim was absolute garbage. Ugh, the taste of dirt in my mouth is seriously annoying."
It wasn't really an aiming issue. The fire storm had engulfed the entire nearby section of tunnel. The reason Taeyang had survived was because this was a snake tunnel. The giant serpent Aksharon's bodily fluids possessed magic resistance. The walls of tunnels the creature constantly rubbed against were naturally soaked with that fluid. Taeyang had simply scooped up that soil and used it to resist the flames.
The war hammer smashing the wall earlier had made the task much easier.
"Still, that was unexpected. I figured magic might show up, but I didn't think you'd actually use it."
This was the second reason Taeyang had come to the snake tunnels. In the very early stages when growth and item farming were still lacking, exposure to magic attacks could be fatal. The soil here made for excellent protection against them.
Taeyang approached the bald man.
"The magic sword was one-use, I'm still alive, and now what?"
"S-shit!"
The bald man lunged. He was certainly better than the six who had gone before him. Solid fundamentals. Skill that matched his rough appearance. Still not enough to be Taeyang's opponent.
"High right slash, left slash, high right slash again. You're so damn predictable."
Taeyang kicked out, striking the man's wrist.
Clang.
The sword clattered to the ground.
"I'd love to play with you longer, but I don't have time, bro. Understand?"
Taeyang closed in with quick steps. The situation had grown slightly urgent after the bald man used a mid-scale spell. The small disturbance it caused in the depths of the snake tunnel had irritated the giant serpent Aksharon.
"S-spare—"
"Spare? It's the 'kill' character for murder, dumbass!"
Thud!
The bald man's jaw caved in.
After confirming the bald man's death, Taeyang sprinted toward the hole he had entered through.
Rumble rumble rumble.
A faint vibration ran through the snake tunnel. It seemed Aksharon had begun to move.
Outside the tunnel he could at least try to run, but meeting it inside meant instant death. Fortunately the hole Taeyang had entered from wasn't far.
Swish.
He leaped through in a single bound.
Once outside the tunnel, Taeyang stopped moving right in front of the hole.
Taeyang glanced at the chat window and let out a small laugh. Of course he knew.
"All right, come on out~."
Kshaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
A massive serpent burst out of the hole.
Good. So far it's all going according to plan. According to plan.