Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I'm World-Class Now
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As soon as I came out through the gate, a crowd of people came into view.
Heroes, cameramen, onlookers....
It was absolute chaos.
I spoke softly, so no one else could hear.
“Laura. I'll just use the skill book.”
[Yeah. The analysis is roughly done.]
I opened the skill book and read it.
No need to read the whole thing.
Just open it, think 'read', and it's done.
<[Skill Acquired]>
-------------<Skill>-------------
◈ Name
Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts
◈ Rank
A
◈ Description
A martial art created by the 'Nameless Supreme' right before his death. As an incomplete martial art, after the battle ends, it inflicts damage equal to 8*n% of maximum HP over 24 hours.
(n is a random number between 1 and 30)
一. Mist Form - The body turns into mist.
二. Throat Slash - Turn into mist, appear behind the opponent, and deliver a 'fatal strike'.
三. Illusion Thousand Kills - Multiply into several forms and deliver 'unavoidable' attacks to the opponent's heart.
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'The skill description is ridiculously long, just like some League of whatever game.'
Hero 'Metal Man' approached.
He was a man who looked like an iron statue made entirely of metal.
“Greetings, 'Dark Knight'. Your evil deeds end here.”
It sounded ridiculous.
I didn't recall doing anything bad enough to call evil deeds.
“What evil deeds... what are you talking about.”
Irritation made my voice come out lower than usual.
The 'Hermit's Leather' distorted it into a horrific metallic rasp.
“Didn't you mercilessly kill villains! They have lives too. They have the right to proper judgment under the law.”
“Can you say that in front of the victims?”
“....”
'Metal Man' was at a loss for words.
He wasn't the type for long talks to begin with—a brute who just smashed everything.
'Office Lady' cut in at the right moment.
She often wore office attire and was a hero who made villains surrender through brainwashing.
“We can. If private sanctions spread, law and order will collapse, leading only to greater chaos. It's not too late for you. Surrender now and your sentence will be lighter—you can make a comeback. You're an awakener, right?”
That was true.
Being an awakener was a massive advantage.
Even at a construction site, you'd be treated like a top ace.
Unlike ordinary people, your body didn't break down easily.
There was no need for me to judge villains.
If I just stopped now and surrendered....
'Right. I just need to defeat the Demon King.'
It felt strangely persuasive.
[What are you doing?]
Laura's single remark snapped me back to reality.
Was this the power of 'Office Lady'?
Surrender and sentencing had nothing to do with me.
I wasn't even a resident of this world to begin with.
The mere fact that I'd entertained such irrelevant thoughts for even a moment seemed to be her ability at work.
“Enough talk.”
“Just what I wanted. You gloomy sackcloth creep.”
'Metal Man' kicked off the ground and charged at me.
His speed was impressive.
With cameras everywhere, facing off head-on against two A-rank heroes....
'No way I'd do something that stupid.'
Time to test the new skill.
Mist Form.
'Metal Man''s fist slammed into my abdomen.
No—it passed right through.
The moment his fist made contact, my body dispersed like mist.
He wore a bewildered expression.
Using 'Mist Form' drained an enormous amount of mana.
A normal person wouldn't have lasted.
But thanks to my 'Dragon Heart', I had near-infinite mana reserves.
I activated 'Throat Slash' to slip behind 'Office Lady'.
I pressed the Dragon Flame Sword against her throat.
“Your ability is dangerous, alright. I almost forgot what I have to do.”
I hesitated.
Should I kill this woman?
'Office Lady' had reached A-rank thanks to S-rank intelligence.
Her strength, agility, and other stats were low.
One slash to the throat, and she'd die right there.
Her trembling transmitted through the blade at her neck.
“Are you scared?”
In the distance, 'Metal Man'—having swung at empty air—was charging over to rescue her.
She hadn't committed any crimes.
Game world or not, these were real people living in this world.
Killing her on a whim felt wrong.
I retreated, using 'Throat Slash' on the onlookers.
It consumed massive mana again, but I was unfazed.
The heroes couldn't catch me as I teleported in an instant.
'Isn't this way too broken?'
Even I was stunned by how overpowered the skill was.
I could only imagine what the heroes felt, watching helplessly as I escaped.
That thought shifted as I removed the 'Hermit's Leather' in a deserted spot.
-------------[Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts]-------------
[Battle has ended. 'Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts' penalty activates.
Luck F influence: n=30.
You will take 240% of maximum HP in damage over 24 hours.]
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My body grew heavy.
Pain like my entire body being shredded by knives.
The problem was that this pain would continue.
'Endure this for 24 hours?'
240% of max HP in damage.
I'd die without potions midway.
What a massive price.
Even ignoring the risk to my life, the potions alone would cost twenty million won.
'Guess I need to loot villains hard.'
Before I knew it, I'd arrived at the officetel.
Snore, snore.
Park Ha-yeon was asleep on the sofa.
I gave a faint smile and stowed my gear in the room safe.
After a quick wash, I noticed dinner laid out on the table.
All of it cold.
Probably Park Ha-yeon's doing.
'Now that I think about it, the protagonist was supposed to be decent at cooking. Might as well try it.'
I'd filled up on chocolate bars and junk in the dungeon, but suddenly I was starving.
I sat at the table and picked up the chopsticks.
The stir-fried pork was cold but delicious.
The miso soup had cooled completely but hadn't lost its flavor.
***
A few days later, 'Dark Knight' had gone from a villain known only to a select few to a global villain recognized by the entire world.
The gate's reappearance was shocking news broadcast worldwide, so it was only natural that its clearer drew massive attention.
'Dark Knight' fever swept the globe, spawning special programs.
[MZ Generation's Obsession with 'Dark Knight']
[Korea's Dark Hero 'Dark Knight']
[Amateur Villain 'Dark Knight' Got Citizens Killed.]
[World's Eyes on 'Dark Knight'—US and Japan Stunned!]
There was even a TV debate show featuring 'Office Lady', who had clashed with him.
The host asked her,
“You've had the most conversations with 'Dark Knight' so far, Office Lady! What did you talk about?”
“He seemed to have strong convictions about what he's doing. I could feel him hesitating over whether to kill me with the sword at my throat.”
“Ah. So he has a code—not killing the innocent?”
“Well. The fact that he's even debating killing a hero shows how unstable he is. He could turn into an indiscriminate murderer at any moment.”
The host brought up the hottest controversy.
“There's this big issue lately: some say 'Dark Knight' rushed into the gate recklessly, causing citizen deaths. Your thoughts...?”
'Office Lady' was a second-generation awakener, not from a hunter background.
She shook her head, demurring.
“That might be better for an expert. I'm not ex-hunter, so I don't know much about gates.”
“Ah, I see.”
She also wanted to avoid controversy.
Personally, she figured hero response times meant the citizens' fates were sealed anyway—but there was no upside to saying it.
Ironically, this very program convinced netizens.
'Dark Knight' really is a dark hero!
Praise for him surged across online communities.
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[Dark Knight came up in assembly today lololol]
Silent when villains slaughter citizens and shit hits the fan, but suddenly pushing to expand and toughen ability criminal punishment laws lololol
In bed with big villains, right?
Scared Dark Knight might show up to kill 'em without bribes, so they're barking mad lol
Law changes are straight-up sniping Dark Knight lololol
Existing villains exempt lol
While commoners scrape by on triangle kimbap and conbini lunchboxes, they make no real laws—just busy saving their own asses heh
Pls Dark Knight wipe out the assembly
Recommendations-7712 Dislikes-1114
(Comments)-12447
[Didn't look into it but if you say so, upvote lolol]
[In the vid Metal Man boomer dude wouldn't listen and just attacked]
ㄴ[Metal Man's brain prob metal too dd]
[This real hero? This real hero? This real hero? This real hero? This real hero? This real hero? This real hero? This real hero?]
[Assembly candidates hilarious—all have records, draft dodgers lol but no normals so gotta pick 'em]
[Dark Knight massacre ending pls lol]
[More Dark Knight simps, basement dwelling losers,, still a murderer gonna get nabbed soon^^*]
ㄴ[Closet D-rank hero exposed]
ㄴ[Boomer?]
ㄴ[Dark Knight ever hurt good ppl?? Honestly heroes just scared he'll steal their ricebowl and hate guilty ones lol]
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