Regional Balance (2)
Maybe it was around the third round?
Even Julian had fought with a fairly upright and honorable approach back then.
When insulted, he got angry.
When angry, he expressed it.
Fight me! Risk your life and come at me!
He seemed to have said whatever came to mind.
It was because he was worked up.
After all, combat is originally a process where emotions clash first, eventually leading to drawing blades, right?
So once the fight actually began, his eyes would roll back and he’d simply act on instinct.
But as the rounds progressed, things changed.
There was no longer any room for emotions to intervene.
He could instinctively grasp who needed to die and who absolutely should not.
It had become a matter of interests, not feelings.
The scale in Julian’s mind could now perfectly determine who to kill and who to spare.
Once the judgment was made, he simply carried it out.
In Julian’s own words, this was what it meant to have become dulled.
Shhhk!
“Guh…!? S-suddenly!”
It was then that he learned.
Why tactics like deception and surprise attacks were so effective in war.
Most enemies couldn’t handle Julian, who would suddenly smile and slice them apart at a timing they never expected.
“N-no way… that I’d lose to a guy like… guh…!”
In this manner, he had slain many foes three times stronger than himself in a single blow.
The story’s pace quickened, and the Constellations were satisfied.
After that, upon returning to the modern era, he made time to read texts like The Art of War and began actively refining these techniques.
They would later be compiled and called Julian’s Art of War.
The very first chapter of that manual was dedicated to Deception Tactics.
The art of lulling the enemy into complacency and killing them in an instant.
In battle, a 0.1-second judgment could decide life or death.
The moment the porter became Sagosul.
Clack!
“S… Sagosul?!”
For a split second, their minds went blank. They couldn’t think at all.
The brain is efficient at handling familiar information, but terrible with new data. Processing speed drops dramatically.
On top of that, these men had been completely fooled by the porter’s acting. They hadn’t even considered the possibility that the situation would escalate into combat.
They had zero preparation.
The world inside their perception was far too slow compared to Junil’s.
Shiiiiing…!
Mana Blade - Extension
The moment Junil’s right hand moved.
They didn’t even realize what it was.
After all, Narrative Trick Crescent Slash was invisible to them.
‘Huh?!’
At best, one of them.
He barely noticed a beat too late and tried to shout a warning.
“D-dodge! There’s some—”
——Shhhhhhhk!!
His neck was already sliced clean in half.
Experience +230
High Rank Bonus X3
This was only the beginning.
Next, the necks of every Awakened on the right side were severed in one clean sweep.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…!
A line of blood fountains.
Experience +134
High Rank Bonus X2
Experience +131
High Rank Bonus X3
Experience +176
High Rank Bonus X2
.
.
.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
“W-what the hell is this?!”
“What the fuck are we even getting cut by?!”
To the gang members, it was no different from a horror movie.
Suddenly an arm would swing through empty air, and half their comrades’ heads would fly off.
Everyone on the left lived. Everyone on the right died.
The reason?
There was none.
Junil was simply right-handed, so the right side died first.
It was pure coincidence.
Like a natural disaster.
“What the…!”
The boss, who had confidently summoned lightning in his palm, stumbled backward in panic.
“Y-you’re Sagosul?!”
Pfft.
Junil couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
In this situation, the fact that the guy was still curious enough to ask that question was just too ridiculous.
Humans really were this fragile.
Their bodies were weak, but their minds were even weaker.
Even as he asked if Junil was Sagosul, the boss’s feet were already retreating.
He tried to act tough, but his body was honest.
“Why? The porter was fine, but now that I’m Sagosul you’re scared?”
He had struck the thug’s pride.
The boss’s face flushed red and purple as he roared.
“S-scared?! You son of a—! Even Sagosul is crawling in here like a lucky bitch!”
It was a desperate cry, an attempt to overcome his terror by turning it into humor.
“What are you idiots doing?! All of you, swarm him and beat him to death!”
The moment he gave the order to his subordinates, the boss activated his skill.
Plasma Storm
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang!
The entire world flashed as if struck by lightning.
‘With this… with this he’ll die!’
The boss’s level was a whopping 45.
Among all Awakened, he was probably near the top.
Plus, lightning magic’s greatest advantage was its instant cast.
No matter how fast the enemy reacted, they would inevitably get hit.
‘Even if you are Sagosul, you can’t possibly be better than me in personal combat.’
Most Awakened were only good at hunting monsters. They couldn’t show their true strength in fights between Awakened.
Surely the famous Sagosul was the same.
After all, the origin of the name Sagosul was the 4th Line Goblin Slayer, wasn’t it?
‘In the end, you’re just another monster hunter!’
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
The massive lightning struck the bastard, and with his subordinates charging in, he should have been torn into sixteen pieces by now.
That’s what the boss had thought.
‘Huh?’
The boss realized something.
‘What the hell.’
The flashing lightning was exploding not from his own hand, but from somewhere else.
‘Why is it…’
The location was wrong.
It was shooting out from far below where his hand should have been.
‘My foot?’
It wasn’t his foot.
“My… my hand!”
His hand had fallen to the ground.
Watching the red cross-section spurt blood like a fountain, he collapsed backward.
Thud.
“W-what?! When?!”
Only then did he look around.
“!”
The Awakened who should have been fighting alongside him all had their necks severed.
He knew the right side had died, but somehow the left side had been wiped out too.
‘When the hell?’
But Sagosul was nowhere to be seen.
Where was he?
The boss’s head whipped around frantically.
“What are you looking at? I’m right here.”
Behind him.
Whip!
The boss spun around.
There stood Sagosul.
Blood dripped from the transparent blade in his hand.
Drip… drip…
He had slaughtered every subordinate on the left, then come here and cut off the boss’s hand as well.
In other words, everything had already happened far faster than the boss’s perception could process.
It was an absurdly fast speed.
“You… w-what the hell are you?”
He had never seen combat at this level.
It wasn’t simply that his body was fast.
There was zero hesitation in his strikes.
His judgment was instantaneous.
His mind was already perfectly optimized for battle.
This was…
‘A genius.’
A true combat genius.
A talent who would have been wasted if the world of Awakened had never arrived.
That was why he asked.
Just what the hell was his true identity?
“You already saw it. I’m the porter.”
“Before that! What were you before that?! There’s no way a guy like you is just a porter!”
“I’m not just a porter. I’m Sagosul, dumbass.”
“…….”
It was an endless loop of sophistry.
But every word was technically correct.
“Now, stand up. Choi Kkang-pae.”
“……What?”
“I said stand up.”
“Ah, no, I’m actually Kim, not—”
“Stand.”
“Yes sir.”
The boss stood up in a daze.
Junil had a reason for deliberately sparing this man.
* * *
Riiiiip.
Junil wrapped duct tape around every one of the boss’s bleeding wounds.
It must have been incredibly painful.
The powerful adhesive would mercilessly dig into the already agonizing injuries.
On top of that, he had embedded tiny pebbles so the man couldn’t move freely.
“G-guuuuhhhhhhh!”
It was only natural that he screamed so loudly.
“Ah, shut up.”
Riiiiip!
He even taped the man’s mouth shut.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!!”
Choi Kkang-pae flailed like a fish, shouting through the tape.
“Mmmph! Mmph!?”
Why did you spare me?! Kill me!
Junil roughly understood what he was trying to say.
It wasn’t that he could actually hear it; it was simply a predicted phrase inferred from the massive amount of accumulated data.
“Why did I spare you…? Because you’re still useful, that’s why. So shut up.”
The reason Junil had kept Choi Kkang-pae alive was because he wanted to learn more about the organization the man had built.
‘The weapons these bastards use… the organizational power to even mobilize helicopters… this isn’t normal infrastructure.’
If things went well, it wouldn’t end at just gathering information.
He might be able to swallow the entire system Choi Kkang-pae had built.
Junil called this a medieval-style M&A.
“Mmmph! Mmph! Mmph?!”
(If I show you what use I can be, will you spare me?)
“Yeah. That’s right. I’ll spare you. Don’t worry.”
“Mmmph……!? Mmph!?”
(How the hell do you understand me?)
“I can read minds.”
“……Mmph!?”
(No way)
“No way? Sure it is.”
“Mmmph?!”
(For real?)
“Yeah. Sparing you is real too. Instead, I’ll erase your memories. You don’t mind that, right?”
“Mmph!”
Choi Kkang-pae nodded frantically.
“Then stay still.”
“Mmph!”
Junil had quite the talent for lying with complete sincerity.
Because of that, even some of the Constellations fell for it.
They seemed to be new Constellations.
The veteran ones caught on immediately.
These Constellations knew.
They knew very well that there was no such thing as a memory-erasing technique, and even if there was, there was no way he would go through the trouble.
‘Back to being the porter again.’
Swoosh.
Junil took off his mask and stored it in his inventory.
Then he walked over to Kang Hae-il, who still showed no signs of consciousness.
“Hae-il hyung! Kang Hae-il!”
He shook him roughly, but there was no response.
“Hmm… his battery must’ve completely died.”
There was no sign he would wake up anytime soon.
It was the coma-like state that often followed Awakening.
Even Julian had been bedridden for two full days after his first Awakening.
“Well, that’s convenient.”
He considered it fortunate.
It meant he could move freely for a while without any issues.
He approached Choi Kkang-pae and ripped off the tape covering his mouth.
Riiiiiiip!
“K-khhk…!”
“Shh.”
Junil pressed a dagger to the man’s throat and raised a finger to his lips.
“For now, just answer my questions.”
“Y-yes, understood.”
Choi Kkang-pae’s eyes showed complete cooperation. He looked ready to answer anything.
But the first question wasn’t easy.
“I’ve killed more than a couple Awakened before. Other times, I didn’t get any experience. Why am I getting it now?”
Black mages were clearly Awakened too.
But killing them hadn’t given him experience.
If it had been the monsters they summoned, maybe.
But this time it was different.
Killing them actually raised his experience.
“Are you guys monsters or something?”
“N-no, that can’t be.”
Choi Kkang-pae squirmed, adjusting his posture as he explained.
“This… this only applies here.”
“Here?”
“Incheon.”
“?”
“It’s a rule that only applies in Incheon.”
It was then.
Ding!
Condition Unlocked: Mass Killing and Rule Recognition
Regional Balance Development Rule Discovered!
Region: Incheon Metropolitan City
Content: Killing Awakened grants rewards.
The higher the rank of the slain Awakened compared to yourself, the greater the reward multiplier.
It was absurd.
‘……They made something like this?’