Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Victory in the Avatar Survival Game
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10 hours ago, during the base sudden event.
The maze of the "Avatar Survival Game."
In the midst of his clash with Yu A-ra, Kim Chang-hyun manifested a spell and unleashed it straight at the wall.
Boom!
The wall crumbled from the spell's aftermath. Kim Sun-woo, who had been hiding inside, revealed himself.
"......I never imagined you'd have detection abilities."
Kim Sun-woo muttered quietly, his face filled with surprise.
Yu A-ra stared at him, then narrowed her eyes.
"Kim Sun-woo?"
At Kim Sun-woo's sudden appearance, Yu A-ra gathered her mana, bracing for a surprise attack.
She had already consumed a lot of mana in her fight with Kim Chang-hyun. Even a moment's carelessness could mean defeat at his hands.
And Kim Sun-woo, the instant his position was exposed, shifted into combat stance.
There was no escaping a fight now that he'd been spotted.
In that case, this was the perfect timing—while they were worn out from prolonged battle.
Kim Sun-woo charged straight at Yu A-ra.
Flash!
Facing his rush, Yu A-ra calmly manifested a curtain of flames.
She already knew that Kim Sun-woo, despite being a Manifestation wizard, enjoyed close-quarters combat. And having studied him for a long time, she could predict his moves to some extent.
Boom—!
A curtain of flames spread widely from Yu A-ra's body.
The curtain didn't just block spells—it also repelled anything approaching with force.
Kim Sun-woo's body was pushed back by the rapidly expanding curtain.
"......Hoo."
Yu A-ra exhaled as she watched him retreat.
It had been a close call.
She had anticipated his charge, but experiencing it firsthand, his speed was far greater than expected.
If she'd been even half a second slower, she would've taken a heavy hit from his spell.
Though it was her first time facing him, the pressure she felt was no different from clashing with Lee Seo-jun.
......I don't want to lose.
Not to Lee Seo-jun, not to Kim Sun-woo.
She absolutely refused to lose—but her duel with Kim Chang-hyun had burned through too much mana.
At this rate, she'd run dry soon and lose.
It felt unfairly bitter.
If only she'd been at her peak condition against Kim Sun-woo, she could've accepted defeat.
Yu A-ra glanced at Kim Chang-hyun.
He watched the scene with an unchanging blank expression.
Unlike her, he seemed utterly relaxed, which only soured her mood further.
At that moment, Kim Sun-woo charged at her again.
'Why is he only targeting me!'
Yu A-ra tried to deploy the curtain once more. But Kim Sun-woo halted briefly, then manifested a magic orb above his hand.
The orb's mana grew steadily stronger.
Kim Sun-woo's signature Compression Manifestation Technique had begun.
'......I fell for it.'
Yu A-ra, maintaining her curtain, felt cornered.
If she dropped the curtain to cast her own spell, he'd fire that compressed orb straight at her.
Even if she held it, blocking his increasingly compressed magic with the curtain would be tough.
She might even run out of mana first and fail to sustain it.
'If only I were better with Reinforcement magic......
I could've dropped the curtain and dodged somehow.
Or if I could handle dual-form manifestation.
Regret welled up, but there was nothing for it.
As time passed, Yu A-ra hit her mana limit and released the curtain.
As if waiting for that exact moment, Kim Sun-woo unleashed his spell at her.
Bang—!
The compressed magic orb shot toward Yu A-ra at high speed.
With her mana depleted, she couldn't respond.
Yu A-ra took the spell head-on and vanished into dust.
"Hoo."
Kim Sun-woo watched her disappear, letting out a sigh of relief.
Thanks to Kim Chang-hyun just standing by, he'd taken her out quickly.
Now, only the 3rd Year #1, Kim Chang-hyun, remained.
Kim Sun-woo gathered mana again, preparing for battle.
Kim Chang-hyun stared at him intently, then manifested a spell.
Crackle......
A spear of lightning formed above Kim Chang-hyun's hand.
The manifested spear elongated, soon taking the shape of a long spear.
Bang!
The electric spear shot toward Kim Sun-woo at high speed.
Kim Sun-woo fired an orb at the incoming spear.
Boom!
The spells collided in midair, sending mana waves rippling over Kim Sun-woo and Kim Chang-hyun.
And then.
Kim Sun-woo swiftly closed in on Kim Chang-hyun. Dragging things out wouldn't help.
But as befitting the 3rd Year #1, Kim Chang-hyun barely dodged his attack.
That's when Kim Sun-woo used "Instant Acceleration."
His body exploded in speed, closing the distance to Kim Chang-hyun's face in an instant.
Even an S-Rank wizard would struggle to react the moment Instant Acceleration activated—it was that fast.
A mere 19-year-old like Kim Chang-hyun couldn't possibly handle it.
That was when.
Crackle-crackle!
Intense currents surged from Kim Chang-hyun's entire body and spread outward.
"Urk!"
Kim Sun-woo felt the shock course through him and retreated.
His electricity resistance had risen since he started handling lightning attributes, but his body still tingled fiercely.
Staring at Kim Chang-hyun, Kim Sun-woo felt a flicker of doubt.
Lightning magic consumed more mana than most.
And releasing raw, unrefined electricity over his whole body like that required an absurd amount of mana—impossible to describe.
He'd thought Kim Chang-hyun had burned plenty fighting Yu A-ra.
This mana reserve rivaled—no, surpassed—hers.
His expression still screamed composure.
Then, a sudden thought struck Kim Sun-woo.
That Kim Chang-hyun was testing him.
He didn't know why that idea popped up.
But deep in his chest, it kept nagging him.
He'd just watched idly during the fight with Yu A-ra, which was suspicious too.
'......Probably just my imagination?'
Testing me? Must be tension playing tricks.
With base capture on the line, no reason for that.
Kim Sun-woo shook it off and quickly manifested orbs to harass him.
Kim Chang-hyun blocked them effortlessly with a curtain, then fired an electric spear.
This textbook back-and-forth wouldn't beat him, Kim Sun-woo realized.
His fundamentals in attack and defense were rock-solid.
Kim Sun-woo wasn't lacking in basics either.
But he preferred disrupting foes with close combat or mind games over pure fundamentals.
To do that, though, he needed to get close.
If only he could use "Heart of Great Nature" or "Fighting Spirit," he could've dominated easily. But he had to save those until he captured the base and unleashed "Mana Storm."
Only one option left.
Wear down Kim Chang-hyun's mana until he exhausted it.
Kim Sun-woo charged again.
Kim Chang-hyun fired multiple electric spears to keep him at bay.
But Kim Sun-woo shot them down with spells or dodged via body reinforcement.
As the gap narrowed, Kim Chang-hyun released electricity over his whole body again.
Crackle!
"Grk!"
Kim Sun-woo fell back, staring in disbelief.
He still had mana for that?
Kim Chang-hyun pressed the attack without a hint of fatigue.
He couldn't spam whole-body discharge like before—the spears he manifested were fewer, though.
About three minutes passed like that.
"Instant Acceleration's cooldown was up.
Kim Sun-woo feigned another close-combat rush, just like always.
The moment Kim Chang-hyun prepared to discharge electricity again—
Kim Sun-woo stopped and activated Instant Acceleration.
His body surged forward explosively.
He closed in on Kim Chang-hyun's face, manifested an orb, and slammed it into his gut.
Boom!
Kim Chang-hyun's body turned to dust and vanished.
Victory after a hard-fought battle.
"Whew."
Considering the fight, it felt anticlimactic.
In the magic world, where skill gaps widened yearly, the 3rd Year #1's prowess rivaled Lee Seo-jun's.
Pure skill victory without Heart of Great Nature or Fighting Spirit? He'd take it.
"......Now just Choi Seo-yoon and Jeon Min-gi left?"
No time to relax. Kim Sun-woo moved to find them.
Time passed, and Kim Sun-woo won the base sudden event "Avatar Survival Game."
As it ended, he arrived on the 4th floor where he'd started.
In his hand was a golden ticket to the next floor.
To capture the base, he needed the 5th floor—this sealed it.
Things were going to plan. Kim Sun-woo felt relieved.
No need to dawdle, so he infused mana into the ticket.
Whirr......
The ticket absorbed it, bathing the surroundings in golden light.
It crumbled to powder, then coalesced into a small door before him.
"Oh ho."
Kim Sun-woo opened it.
[Entered the 5th floor.]
He'd finally reached the base control room on the 5th floor.
The 5th floor looked unique—like some rundown control room from somewhere.
Then the surroundings shifted abruptly.
Kim Sun-woo looked around.
A pure white space.
Opposite color to the cosmic void from the Eunwol Household's "Mystic Trial," but the aura felt similar.
Instinctively, he realized.
This space was created by a "Mystery."
[Sorry. Did summoning you suddenly startle you?]
A black silhouette appeared in the white space.
Identical to the Mystery from the Eunwol Household.
"......A Mystery?"
[Mystery? Oh, right—you humans call us that. Yep, that's me. You're quick on the uptake!]
The Mystery giggled.
Kim Sun-woo stared at it.
The one from Eunwol was the same—all Mysteries had this childish side.
"Why'd you call me?"
[Just curiosity. Your "Chaos" is so intense. And hey, no freakout from a sudden invite.]
Like the last one, its words were hard to parse.
"......Nothing to say? Send me back. I'm in the middle of an exam."
The Mystery shook its head at his words.
[Don't worry. Time here flows differently from your world—no big issue.]
"Yeah?"
Kim Sun-woo learned something new.
Seizing the chance, he asked about unknowns from the original story.
"Got a question. Mind if I ask?"
[What? Depending on the question, I might charge info fee.]
"Do Mysteries each have different powers?"
[That's freebie territory. Yep—we're one, yet different. Powers vary, naturally.]
Different powers per Mystery.
He didn't know exactly which created this virtual world, but it involved a "Sacred Relic."
Which meant this one was likely a high-tier specimen.
"So you're pretty strong, then?"
[Upper tier, yeah.]
"Hmm."
Kim Sun-woo nodded.
"What powers can you use?"
[Can't say. Want it? Pay the info fee.]
"What do you want?"
[Hmm? Oh! A human soul with 10x your mana. Then I'll tell.]
Kim Sun-woo narrowed his eyes.
A soul with 10x his mana?
Even a plain S-Rank wizard couldn't manage that.
[Why? No good?]
"Nothing else?"
[Fine—1,000 humans over 70, then.]
Deals with Mysteries always demanded the bizarre.
Especially for their exclusive info—the price got weirder, more convoluted.
In the original, one guy actually paid such a fee for info.
It'd seemed whatever in the novel, but now? Total lunatic.
"Nah, not curious."
[Your loss.]
The Mystery scratched its head, disappointed.
[Oh, right. Who was that kid fighting you in the maze?]
Kim Sun-woo tilted his head at the question.
Fighting me? Yu A-ra?
"Yu A-ra?"
[Nah, not her. That one like you—no visible roots.]
......No roots, like me?
"What're you talking about?"
His voice turned grave, but the Mystery looked puzzled.
[You don't know?]
"No. Explain properly."
[There's someone else with no visible roots like you. Slightly different up close, though.]
"How so?"
[You're pure Chaos—total blank, empty void. That one feels a bit familiar to us.]
Kim Sun-woo's expression chilled.
Couldn't grasp the full meaning, but he had a hunch.
"Who do you mean?"
[Kim Chang-hyun? Yeah, that kid.]