Chapter 275
Chapter 275
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: Lightning Storm Annihilation
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Countless bolts of lightning lit up the dark sky as they rained down toward the earth.
The predators and monsters struck by the thunderbolts burst into flames without even a chance to scream. The monsters around them collapsed, electrocuted by the currents flowing through the rainwater.
The endless legion dwindled at a rapid pace.
As my mana reserves bottomed out, I activated the Heart of Great Nature right on cue.
Thump!
[Activating the user effect: Heart of Great Nature.]
At the same time, my depleted mana surged back to full.
Amid the dark night sky, faint moonlight filtering through the fog infused mana into my moonstone pendant, aiding my recovery.
The lightning-attribute downpour devoured an enormous amount of mana, but with the overlapping recovery effects, I found the strength to endure.
Flash! KABOOM——
Flash! KABOOOOOM—
—Kaaaaah!
—Gr, grrrk! R, run away!
The predators and monsters had already lost their will to fight amid the relentless barrage of lightning.
Gone was their earlier momentum; now they screamed in terror as they tried to flee.
But escaping the currents spreading through the puddles on the ground was impossible.
Ruuuuumble!
KABOOOOOOM---
...And so the storm of lightning raged without respite.
After about three minutes, all my mana ran dry, and silence descended.
“......Hoo.”
I slowly exhaled and surveyed the scene before me.
Crackle....
Zap, zap....
The ground was covered in heaps of thousands of corpses. Sparks danced across the surrounding puddles, and not a single trace of life could be felt anywhere.
Total annihilation.
The original plan had been to hold them off for thirty minutes, but an unexpected turn forced a change—and I wiped them out instead.
Seeing the result of my own handiwork, I felt a mix of pride, disbelief, and emptiness.
The synergy between the rainy environment and the lightning-attribute downpour.
...Terrifying.
[You have annihilated an army with a single spell!]
[Mana Control Technique proficiency increases by 5%!]
[You have annihilated an army using attributes and the surrounding environment!]
[Lightning Attribute Control proficiency greatly increases!]
[You gain additional proficiency thanks to the Blessing of Great Nature effect.]
[Lightning Attribute Control rank rises to 2!]
[You have achieved the 'Enemy Annihilation' feat.]
[You acquire 10,000 points as a reward.]
[You have achieved the 'Victory in Battle Using Weather' feat.]
[You acquire 3,000 points as a reward.]
[Changes in the future have been detected.]
[Karma rises by 1.0.]
A flurry of messages appeared before my eyes.
My Mana Control Technique proficiency had risen,
and my Lightning Attribute Control rank had increased.
Hitting rank 2 in an attribute control for the first time—outside of light attribute—caught me off guard.
I hadn’t expected it to reach rank 2 faster than light attribute.
Wide-area spells really do boost proficiency a lot.
“......Sunbae-nim?”
Just then, Choi Seoyoon’s voice snapped me back to reality from behind.
Turning around, I saw her soaked in the rain, staring at me with a blank expression.
Seeing her face made me realize what I’d just done.
Using lightning attribute.
From her perspective, the scene she’d witnessed must have been quite shocking. Now she’d seen me use three attributes right in front of her.
How should I explain this?
“......I got bored only handling neutral mana, so this is something I’ve been practicing steadily on the side.”
But Choi Seoyoon cut me off before I could finish.
“Sunbae-nim, you’re a triple attribute user......?”
Triple attribute user.
A term for wizards who wield three extremely rare attributes in the wizarding world. There were only a handful across the globe.
Not to mention, no wizard in history had handled three attributes at the age of nineteen.
Since it was already out, I decided to own up.
“Yeah. I’m a triple attribute user.”
In reality, I’m a quadruple with light attribute too.
Choi Seoyoon looked stunned. A triple attribute user at nineteen.
A perfectly normal reaction.
She might faint if she learned about light attribute.
“......Since when? You seemed pretty proficient with lightning attribute too.”
“Less than a year. I started picking up wind attribute around the time the Holy War began.”
She nodded slightly at my casual words.
“I was already surprised at how well you handled wind attribute...... I never imagined you could wield lightning too.”
Muttering to herself, she then asked me.
“But why hide that you’re a lightning attribute user?”
“......Every wizard keeps an ace up their sleeve.”
I reused the same excuse I’d given to Yoon Hayoung. It was the perfect one.
“Anyway, what you saw today is our little secret. Got it?”
At my words, Choi Seoyoon pondered for a moment before smiling faintly and nodding.
“Yeah. I’ll keep it secret.”
I gave her a small smile in return and turned away.
“Then we’ll talk about the rest later.
For now, let’s go to Lee Seojun.”
—......Grrk, as expected...... blood of that human....
In an empty space hidden within the mountain.
At its end sat a massive throne, surrounded by the corpses of predators.
In the center, Lee Seojun gazed at the predator seated on the throne, his blade radiating light aura.
“You’re the king of the predators?”
The predator chuckled lowly at Lee Seojun’s question.
—......Indeed. I am the ruler of the Boundary World. I am called ‘Durpe.’
The predator king, Durpe, rose from his throne.
As the over 3-meter-tall figure moved, massive footsteps echoed through the space.
Lee Seojun felt tension staring at him.
He’d seen many predators since entering the virtual world, but this one’s aura felt entirely different.
If ranked, it’d be close to S-Rank.
Lee Seojun gripped Sowol Cheon tightly, glaring at Durpe. At the same time, his light mana glowed even brighter than before.
—......Blood of that dangerous man. What is your name?
“Lee Seojun.”
With those words, a blinding flash erupted from Lee Seojun’s body and vanished.
A moment later, he reappeared before Durpe and swung his sword.
Whoosh—!
Durpe swung the massive black spear in his hand to block the attack.
Clang—!
The clash of weapons rang out loudly. Mana waves swept through the surroundings, sending the corpses on the floor tumbling in the aftermath.
Though Durpe successfully blocked, he was pushed back slightly, overpowered in strength.
—Kuh!
Then Lee Seojun’s body flashed again and vanished, infiltrating the empty space to Durpe’s left.
At once, a flurry of sword strikes poured from his hands.
A feat impossible to witness normally—but with the 'Nemesis—Predator' blessing, he could unleash greater power than usual.
—Kraaak!
Unable to block the strikes, wounds began multiplying across Durpe’s body.
Its hide was tough enough to resist even S-Rank spells easily, but the relentless barrage carved deeper and deeper cuts.
Durpe gritted its teeth and expanded a wide mana barrier.
Whoooong!
Lee Seojun’s body was repelled.
....Grrk, not bad for a young one...... A strength that reminds me of ‘that human’ in the past....
“......Have you ever clashed with Jin Cheonwoo?”
—......Yes, a man like a nightmare. His strength was incomparable to yours...... Grrk, though if you reach his age, who knows......
Lee Seojun paused in thought, then gripped his sword and assumed stance again.
Durpe felt a momentary fear and reached out a hand.
—Wait......
“......?”
Durpe chuckled lowly.
—I already know your comrades are here......
At the word 'comrades,' Lee Seojun froze for a moment.
—I’d already figured out your plan to some extent. Your comrades drawing attention while you infiltrate, right?
Lee Seojun fell silent.
—Grrk, so I ambushed the retreat path to prevent their escape. Over three thousand in the legion await, so your comrades are likely surrounded by now...... Heh heh.
Lee Seojun felt a twinge of unease at those words.
It knew our plan.
That’s why, when Kim Sunwoo was drawing attention with magic, nothing seemed to change—it had felt off.
What now?
Even for Kim Sunwoo wielding wide-area rain magic, handling three thousand alone was impossible.
Lower monsters might be one thing, but predators were at least B-Rank.
And with the insane mana consumption, he couldn’t hold out.
—If you want to save your comrades......
That was when it happened.
—Grrk! Your Majesty!
A predator burst in from behind with a frantic voice. Its body was covered in wounds, on the verge of collapse.
—The legion has been annihilated—!
BOOM!
An explosion rang out, and the predator tumbled forward.
Lee Seojun stared blankly at the familiar face of the man who appeared behind it.
“......K, Kim Sunwoo?”
Kim Sunwoo, arriving late.
Durpe recoiled in shock upon seeing him.
—......I, impossible! How are you here?
Three thousand legion. Even Jin Cheonwoo couldn’t stop it, he’d thought.
Yet this man had broken through alone to reach here.
And from what it just said, the legion was wiped out.
—Grrk, what trick did you use......?
Lee Seojun looked at Kim Sunwoo with the same disbelief as Durpe.
He knew the destructive power of Kim Sunwoo’s rain magic, but he’d thought this time it’d be too much.
What the hell happened there?
Just then, Choi Seoyoon arrived late.
“Everything behind is taken care of.”
“Good work.”
Kim Sunwoo said in a gentle voice. Then he turned to Lee Seojun.
“Five days. You holding up okay?”
At the sudden greeting, Lee Seojun stared blankly before giving a wry smile.
“......Eh, so-so. You?”
“Monsters howling every night made sleep rough, but not bad.”
Kim Sunwoo shrugged.
Durpe felt absurdity listening to their casual exchange.
They were chatting peacefully right in front of the Boundary’s master.
Then Kim Sunwoo’s and Durpe’s eyes met.
Durpe met his gaze and felt a chill run down its spine.
Kim Sunwoo chuckled lowly and conjured a neutral mana orb above his hand.
“Let’s take care of that thing first.”
[You have defeated the S-Rank villain, ‘Durpe.’]
[Karma rises by 1.0.]
[You have achieved the 'Predator King Defeat' feat.]
[You acquire 5,000 points as a reward.]
“......Hoo.”
Seeing the messages, I sat down on the floor, satisfied.
I’d believed Lee Seojun could handle it alone, but jumping in late turned out right.
Thanks to it, I got points and karma.
Of course, right after the mana downpour and Heart of Great Nature, I lacked mana to help much in combat—but the result was good, so I was plenty satisfied.
“What the hell happened?”
Then Lee Seojun walked over and asked.
“What?”
“The legion. You annihilated them? How?”
“Oh.”
I chuckled.
“A bunch of lucky breaks.”
“......What luck?”
“It was raining. Amplified my ice attribute magic, made it easy. Right?”
I glanced slyly at Choi Seoyoon. She flinched at my brazen look, shrugged in surprise, then nodded.
“Y, yeah. Th-that’s right?”
Lee Seojun gave her awkward tone a bewildered look before nodding.
“......Guess there’s some secret you can’t talk about.”
“What secret.”
As I chuckled lowly, Lee Seojun sighed deeply.
“Fine. Situation’s over, so let’s find the Secret Crystal first.”
Lee Seojun stood and headed toward the throne.
Choi Seoyoon glanced at me, approached, and whispered.
“......Sunbae-nim, but do we really need to keep it secret from Seojun-sunbae too?”
I thought for a moment before replying.
“Yeah, circumstances.”
“......Circumstances?”
Choi Seoyoon’s expression turned serious.
I smiled lightly as if it was nothing and followed Lee Seojun.
Then a tiny voice came from behind, barely audible.
“Come to think of it, something similar happened before...... So you always pull it off like this......