Chapter 33
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Kage Bunshin Jutsu
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Even in real combat, there are times when you absolutely can’t throw your weapon.”
Like when you’re completely surrounded by enemies on all sides, or the enemy’s too fast to let go of your weapon even for a second. In those cases, you had no choice but to fight up close.
“You’ve gotta prepare for that ahead of time. Listen up. Starting today, you’ll be sparring with me every day.”
With that, Assistant Song handed me a tomahawk axe.
The tomahawk axe was about 50 cm long including the handle—small for an axe. But it was made for throwing in the first place, so that couldn’t be helped.
Its range was a bit short, but it wasn’t bad at all. No, the shortness actually had its advantages.
Axes and maces like this had their center of gravity forward, so the longer the handle, the harder they were to wield. That’s why these heavy weapons had shorter reach than swords.
Thanks to that, it was easier to handle than I’d expected. My higher Strength stat probably helped, too.
At first, I fought with just one axe. Once I got the hang of it, he had me hold tomahawks in both hands.
I thought dual-wielding would let me fight better, but it actually split my focus, making me worse off than with one hand.
“Can’t I just hold a shield in my left hand?”
Assistant Song shot down my question.
“You gonna throw darts with only your right hand? Get your head in the game. Close combat’s just backup for when you can’t throw.”
Close combat was purely for emergencies. For when the front line collapsed and monsters reached the back line—you learned it so you wouldn’t just die helplessly.
Truth be told, you didn’t need to train that hard. If monsters made it to the back, the front line was already wiped out.
No way a ranged DPS could take down monsters that even close-combat specialists couldn’t handle. Usually, you just prayed it never happened and learned the basics.
But I was different. I had to handle everything myself. Ranged attacks, close combat—it was all on me. No slacking on backup skills.
“Can I ask for one more round?”
Even when he said that was enough, I kept requesting spars. I still wasn’t good enough. At this level, I couldn’t handle a hobgoblin pack.
My benchmark was whether I could face a pack of enraged hobgoblins.
“I never put this much into close combat myself… Guess I need to reflect on that. Alright, let’s keep going!”
Assistant Song agreed, saying it’d fill his own gaps. From then on, we sparred like it was real combat every day.
At first, I struggled a lot. I’d always fought with throws, so close range threw me off.
Plus, my opponent was a 2-star Hunter. I had to hide my strength, so I lagged in speed, and my close combat experience was worlds apart.
Axes kept coming at my neck, and my wrists or ankles were constantly in danger.
“Your wrist just got sliced off.”
Luckily, Assistant Song stopped whenever it got dangerous. The problem was his idea of “dangerous” was my wrist nearly flying off or my chest about to split open.
“But all that tough training paid off.”
I wildly slashed through the goblin limbs surging toward me like waves.
At first, it felt like I was just blocking attacks, but at some point, I started pushing forward. The goblin resisted with its dagger, but it couldn’t stop the tomahawk.
“Kyak!”
Axes definitely had that heavy, satisfying heft worthy of a heavy weapon.
With a machete, it felt like quick strikes to vitals, but now I swung with the mindset of smashing anything in my way—and that’s exactly what happened.
“Grr…”
It didn’t take long to wipe out the goblin pack. I’d thrown down about 60 with throws, so roughly 40 fell to close combat.
Now, only ten hobgoblins and the goblin shaman remained.
“Unbelievable. Just watching while all their minions die…”
Even I got mad when Gobling and the others got hurt, but these guys didn’t seem pissed at all despite their kin dying.
As if their job was just to stall from the start, they chanted the enrage spell without batting an eye.
“Well, expecting human emotions like pity from monsters is ridiculous to begin with.”
These weren’t like Gobling or Moemoe-chan. I felt no emotions from them. Just one thing: killing intent.
“Kuooh!”
The enraged hobgoblins charged one after another. I hurled my axe at the first one’s head. It split open like a watermelon, and it crumpled backward.
Meanwhile, the second swung its machete. I blocked with my axe, reached into empty air to pull one from my Inventory, and smashed its wrist.
“Kyaak!”
I kicked the staggering one holding its wrist, toppling it—and the line behind it fell like bowling pins. I threw another axe to take out one more.
‘Seven left.’
I topped off axes from my Inventory and wiped sweat from my chin. Back-to-back fighting had drained my stamina like crazy. First time I’d felt this wiped since Vitality hit 30.
I wanted a breather, but they sensed my fatigue and rushed in.
No time for second thoughts. I blocked, smashed, dodged, threw—frantically.
‘Two left?’
As I rummaged my Inventory facing the hobgoblin in front, a roar came from behind. A hobgoblin cry.
‘Oh… three.’
Turning, one raised its machete high.
I hurried to grab an axe from Inventory—nothing. I’d run out of prepped ones. It swung.
Instinctively, I dove forward. A bit late—something dull thudded into my side.
My neck prickled. Felt like that time I glanced off an orc’s tusk.
Checking my side in a panic: surprisingly fine. White scrape mark from the blade, but no cut.
Orc hide for the win! Saved my ass. The impact still got through, though—my side throbbed with every move. Probably cracked ribs.
“Damn it. Gotta chew that bitter crap again?”
Thinking of Madecassia herb soured my face.
I glared at the hobgoblin and scanned the floor quick. Tomahawks stuck in foreheads of dead ones littered everywhere. Weapons first.
I moved shortest path to axes, picking and throwing repeatedly. Bending hurt my side like hell, but I gritted through.
After several throws, soon only me and the goblin shaman remained in the boss room.
“Whew. Tough. Let’s end this.”
Panting, I headed for the pyramid peak where the goblin shaman cowered. Already beat, climbing the 5-floor-sized pyramid nearly killed me.
The minion-less goblin shaman was weak for a 2-star. It swung its bronze sword in resistance, but compared to enraged hobgoblins, it was a joke.
“Whew. Without this orc leather armor, I’d be screwed.”
Rubbing my throbbing side, I reached for the Dungeon Crystal. Then a voice from behind.
“Who the hell are you, punk?”
* * *
“Damn. How’d I end up like this?”
Kim Jun-su still couldn’t believe it no matter how he thought about it. He hadn’t closed the gate—it was just an anomaly report. But they pinned the blame on him just for being there.
Any other guild would’ve investigated properly and found the culprit.
Unfortunately, All-Kill Guild was a yakuza outfit at heart.
They pretended to be upstanding publicly, but Lee Chun-bae decided everything. Rational or not, members followed orders. Defiance wasn’t tolerated.
“Those bastards, not even defending me—egging on the big boss instead.”
Worse, other execs wanted him gone, talking chop off his head or arm. If he hadn’t cut off his own pinky, who knows what’d happened.
“At least it’s my left hand.”
He wore a shield on that hand, so losing a pinky joint barely hurt his combat power.
The real loss was his pride, severed with the finger. After, he lost exec status and got demoted to patrolling 1-star dungeons.
“Can’t even hunt. What’s the point?”
Even at 2-star cap, he couldn’t solo a boss room.
All he could do was check the boss room from afar for issues and leave.
He’d cull stragglers in passages sometimes, but that was pocket change for him.
‘Probably just stamp boss room and head out like always today.’
That’s what he thought entering… but what the hell? The distant boss room was piled with goblin corpses.
Plenty of time for respawn, yet bodies meant someone came in and “hunted.”
Culprit’s probably that “person” there.
“Who the hell are you, punk?”
“Huh?”
The guy wore a mask hiding everything but his eyes, like some ninja. Hard to make out features.
Voice sounded young, height a bit short. Maybe 170 cm? Age mid-20s tops.
‘Soloed the boss room, so at least 3-star Hunter… Can I take him?’
Even at 2-star cap, no beating a 3-star. Rank gaps were huge.
That’s why he didn’t rush in rashly.
“Damn punk! Know what you did to my finger?”
“…Why’s everyone on about hands with me?”
The culprit muttered baffled, grabbing the Dungeon Crystal.
“Stop!”
He bellowed seeing the hand reach. Another gate collapse, and it wouldn’t end at one finger.
“You think I’ll stop?”
Brazenly, the guy stole the crystal and bolted down the pyramid.
Kim Jun-su blocked the passage quick. Couldn’t let him escape, but knowing the foe was stronger, he took a defensive stance.
Shield tight to body, glaring—pure defense. Solid, but low mobility. The enemy exploited it perfectly.
“Kage Bunshin Jutsu!”
Like amoebas splitting, the culprit’s form multiplied one by one. By the time they reached him, dozens.
All identical—who was real, who illusion? No telling.
‘Mental magic user!’
Kim Jun-su tensed, hunching more. Ready to block anytime, anywhere.
But no attack came despite waiting. The guy circled, probing gaps, no dive-in.
Rumble—!
Meanwhile, the gate shrank. Void boundary down to 1/3. More delay, and even winning meant no escape.
‘Guess it’s do or die.’ That’s when the circling figures dissolved into smoke one by one.
“W-What?”
“Sorry, but I’m busy. Catch you later.”
Even the last illusion vanished into smoke. No one left beside him. Kim Jun-su realized he’d been totally duped.