Choi Ji-won Is Too Strong (5)
Choi Ji-won Is Too Strong (5)
"Fighting her unprepared would be suicide."
Before challenging the City Master.
Park Cheol-jin, Choi Ji-won, and I gathered in a small inn for a strategy meeting.
"For starters, she wields lightning. She also has a movement technique that's practically teleportation... In a direct fight, we stand no chance."
"Hm..."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin and Choi Ji-won nodded without much doubt. Since I'd never actually fought the City Master myself, they might've thought my words lacked weight—and honestly, they had no real reason to believe me.
"That's what the American powerhouse Michael Jeter told me. You've seen the wall poster in the plaza, right?"
"I see..."
So I piggybacked on his reputation. I lied and said I was friends with Michael Jeter.
Actually, since I'd read Michael Jeter's post, aren't we already friends? If not, oh well.
"Anyway... we're civilized people from the modern world. We need to use that to win."
When I gave the signal, the two men who'd been waiting hesitantly approached us.
"We want to help! We don't care if we die!"
"I want to get at least one solid hit on that woman!"
The two men spoke with their own resolve, but Choi Ji-won looked slightly bewildered.
"These people are..."
"The one on the left had to live as a beggar because of a Bronze Badge. He was originally a hunter and a tanner."
"And the other one?"
"Because of a Silver Badge, he was forced to live as a hunter and a tanner."
Once their Badge Boxes were taken away, the city residents recovered their true natures. Moreover, the experience they'd accumulated while under the badges' influence didn't vanish, which was how I'd managed to secure two skilled tanners.
They were specialists in handling leather. If I just asked, they'd whip up whatever I needed. Where did I get the leather, you ask? I used the Gold Badges as bait to buy off some players, purchasing the leather armor right off their backs.
So we had plenty of leather to use as material.
My first idea: use leather to insulate against electrical damage.
"We wrap the leather armor around the entire body. What do you think?"
"...That actually sounds terrible."
But Choi Ji-won looked reluctant.
"My strength is precise sword control. If I wrap my body in thick armor, it'll just get in the way."
"..."
"I'd prefer just a custom pair of gauntlets, thicker than standard, and some arm guards."
"...Understood."
My plan of wrapping her entirely in leather was rejected... but we decided to make the gauntlets and arm guards anyway.
"Then how about this?"
But that wasn't the end of it. This time, a middle-aged man walked toward us with dignified strides.
"...A pleasure to meet you. My name is Baron Licht."
Not the Baron Licht I'd persistently met before, but the real Baron Licht, who had been forced to live as a commoner because of a Silver Badge.
My second plan: use the nobles freed from the boxes' curse.
Other former nobles were uncooperative, but Baron Licht was different. After experiencing commoner life, he'd expressed a desire to reflect on his past debauchery and atone for it. In a sense, you could say he'd been reformed exactly as the City Master intended.
"But... how can this person help?"
Choi Ji-won tilted her head.
Instead of answering, Baron Licht spread his palm wide and created a glowing orb of light above it.
"I am a mage. I specialize in handling mana."
"...And?"
"Since you are far stronger than I, Miss Climber, I cannot directly assist you in combat... but I can provide indirect assistance. May I touch your body for a moment?"
When Baron Licht lightly placed a finger on Park Cheol-jin's wrist, the firefighter's expression turned strange.
"This is..."
"Do you feel the mana moving within your body? You climbers all possess mana, but you don't seem to know how to use it. You only 'have' it."
"Oh-ho..."
"But with me here, I can control that mana on your behalf. As I am a mage, I cannot use high-level techniques like sword aura, but... it will certainly help."
"This... this will help. It feels like vitality is surging through my body."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin's expression brightened, but in contrast, Choi Ji-won's expression darkened.
"...That doesn't seem usable in actual combat."
She was right. During an intense battle, Baron Licht couldn't exactly follow Choi Ji-won around and control her mana on her behalf.
But Baron Licht, as if he'd anticipated this, immediately answered Choi Ji-won.
"Before you fight, I'll activate your mana in advance. Simply having mana circulate within your body will enhance your physical ability and raise various resistances."
"...In that case, fine."
We left Baron Licht behind, delighted to be of help.
"And lastly... a method for creating a single instant of vulnerability."
All we needed was a single instant of vulnerability.
Back in the plaza.
BOOM!!!
Choi Ji-won's body skipped across the ground like a stone on water three times before she just barely managed to regain her stance.
'...This is insane.'
Flash Step. She'd heard about the concept from Kim Jun-ho beforehand, but facing it directly left her dumbfounded.
The City Master steadied her stance for about two seconds, then instantly closed a gap of over thirty meters and swung her sword. The fact that she'd managed to block it at all, even clumsily, felt miraculous.
The stinging numbness in her arm from that brief sword contact was a bonus.
And this was with the damage reduced by the leather gauntlets and arm guards. No matter how tough Choi Ji-won's body was, if she'd taken that attack head-on, she never would've walked away unscathed.
"...!"
Far away, the City Master flicked her sword, and magical lightning erupted from the blade's tip at an absurd speed.
Since it was a move she'd already seen, Choi Ji-won dove aside on reflex.
BOOM!
"Hup!"
After narrowly dodging the lightning by throwing herself aside, Choi Ji-won sprinted straight ahead.
She had no means of ranged attack. She had to close the gap before she was whittled down.
But seeing this, the City Master's lips twisted slightly as she flicked her sword again. Choi Ji-won reflexively threw herself to dodge the lightning.
"Ah."
Only after her body was in the air did she realize she'd been tricked.
The City Master had only feinted a sword swing; she hadn't released any lightning.
She waited until her opponent, having already thrown herself, was in a helpless, vulnerable state.
CRACKLE!
"Gah...!"
This time, Choi Ji-won's body was struck directly by lightning, and she tumbled ungracefully across the stone floor.
"..."
She barely managed to get back on her feet, but her complexion was far worse than before. Her legs were even trembling faintly.
Thanks to her unity of body and sword, Choi Ji-won was far tougher than most, but this lightning wasn't the kind of thing you could just endure.
"Will you give up?"
In contrast, the City Master was brimming with composure. She even seemed to be holding back her strength. All it took was her starting to properly use mana, and the gap was this vast. The woman in front of her, who'd seemed manageable, was starting to look like a monster.
"..."
The more the fight dragged on, the darker her odds of defeat became. Slowly steadying her stance, Choi Ji-won signaled with her eyes to Park Cheol-jin and Kim Jun-ho, watching from afar. Now was the time to execute the decisive move.
After confirming that Park Cheol-jin and Kim Jun-ho each had a sword ready in their hands.
"Hup!"
With a shout, Choi Ji-won began to run. She saw the City Master shake her head and flick her sword to release lightning.
But instead of throwing herself aside to dodge the lightning, Choi Ji-won spurred her sprint faster.
"...?"
The City Master's moment of puzzlement was brief.
Shiiing!
A single sword, hurled with perfect timing, warped the lightning's trajectory.
"What?!"
The City Master was startled.
She likely knew that metal could attract lightning, but she probably hadn't expected it to be exploited so aggressively.
Since the sword lacked a proper grounding, the lightning scattered chaotically in all directions...
But simply avoiding a direct hit was enough for Choi Ji-won.
The swordmaster closed the distance with superhuman speed.
The City Master's brow furrowed.
It was too late to activate the Flash Step. As for blocking the attack with her sword, another blade, coming from the right, was bothering her peripheral vision. Had they thrown two swords in staggered timing?
The situation was complex, but her judgment was swift. The City Master took a step back, moving out of the trajectory of the sword flying from the right.
CRACKLE!
Simultaneously, she emitted electric currents from her body and held off the approaching Choi Ji-won with her sword.
A truly exemplary response.
"?!"
But her mistake was never imagining that Choi Ji-won would catch the thrown sword with her left hand and hurl it right back at her.
Judging it too late to dodge, the City Master swung her own sword and batted away the incoming projectile.
And so, despite the overwhelming difference in power, a single instant of vulnerability was created.
The very opening Choi Ji-won had been aiming for all along.
'Now, Boongboong-yi.'
Her body trembled uncontrollably, and there wasn't a single part of her that didn't ache. But she clenched her teeth and focused her mind. Perhaps thanks to the mana flowing within her, her mind remained clear.
LARGE. HEAVY. FAST. LIGHT.
It was the core principle emphasized when training consecutive attacks in kendo.
Large: The swinging motion must be a large motion.
Choi Ji-won's full-power downward slash smashed into the City Master's guard, and as she blocked it off-balance, her knees bent slightly.
Heavy: The sword must carry heavy force.
Without delay, Choi Ji-won swung her sword powerfully in a horizontal slash. As the price for clumsily blocking the attack, the City Master's stance completely collapsed.
"Damn it...!"
The City Master gritted her teeth. Electric currents were still streaming continuously from her body, but Choi Ji-won endured with sheer mental fortitude and pressed the attack. The City Master was holding back on strong techniques, since at such close range she risked hitting herself too. But now that the situation had come to this, she had no choice but to accept the damage and subdue her opponent in one blow.
Just as the City Master was drawing up her mana and preparing to unleash a powerful lightning strike.
Fast: The motion must be large and fast.
Choi Ji-won did not miss that split-second opening when her concentration wavered from gathering mana.
Thwack!
In a single breath, she cut both the wrist and the torso. A sword isn't an ideal weapon against armor, but with Choi Ji-won's level of strength, it was a different story.
"Kgh...!"
The City Master's grip on her sword loosened, the armor crumpled inward, and the impact against her ribs scattered the mana she'd been building up.
It had been only a single instant of vulnerability, but Choi Ji-won had succeeded in tearing it wide open.
There was no path of escape. Her stance was shattered, her sword-hand had lost its strength, and her gathered mana was in disarray.
Light: The motion must be light, flexible, and above all, precise.
"It's over."
Just as Choi Ji-won's sword was thrusting precisely toward the City Master's waist.
CRACK-BOOM!!!
A single bolt of lightning struck down from the sky toward the City Master, and Choi Ji-won's body was flung back like a marionette with its strings cut.
Starting from that moment.
The air in the plaza changed.
"...I didn't want to go this far."
The City Master's eyes blazed with piercing blue light. The stone floor began pulverizing and slowly floating into the air, and the surrounding space vibrated violently.
"Wait! Wait a second! Calm down!"
From somewhere, an Angel's horrified voice rang out, but the City Master showed no sign of stopping.
"It's not my fault. You all brought this on yourselves."
Streams of blue lightning streamed from her armor, and the sword in her grip glowed blue, radiating a murderous aura.
This was different.
The pressure was on an entirely different level than before.
That wasn't an enemy you could resist. A natural disaster wasn't something you fought and defeated; it was something you endured and adapted to. That thing couldn't be beaten.
"...Crazy."
I knew this phenomenon intellectually. I just never imagined I'd see it with my own two eyes in reality. I should have accounted for this possibility...
My entire body broke out in goosebumps, my scalp prickled with an itchy sensation, and strands of my hair began to lift.
"...Cough, cough."
Choi Ji-won, collapsed on the ground, struggled to breathe.
"Uh, uh..."
"What in the world..."
Leaving the horrified players behind, the human-shaped natural disaster made her declaration.
"I won't kill you. Not a single one of you."
The City Master had activated the Heart of Lightning.