Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Avenger (2)
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Using a skill would risk exposing my identity in the long run.
Park Ha-yeon would become a hero someday too, and she'd inevitably cross paths with the 'Dark Knight' eventually.
I was deep in thought when I sensed a familiar presence behind Hwang Ha-rin.
Come to think of it, I'd completely forgotten about her.
'Figures. She's got a real knack for this.'
I skipped Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts.
Instead, I jabbed at her eyes with telekinesis and charged straight in.
Hwang Ha-rin's venomous eyes squeezed shut.
But the petrification didn't stop.
She wasn't some Medusa.
Before long, even the hilt of my sword had turned to stone.
Soon, the petrifying power would reach my wrist.
“Guhk.”
That's when something burst through Hwang Ha-rin's solar plexus.
It was the tip of the knife the thugs had been using.
I flashed a small smile.
"Good job. Ji So-yeon."
Ji So-yeon dropped her invisibility and collapsed to her knees.
It must've been her first time stabbing someone.
I trusted her, though.
In the original story, she ended up as a pretty successful assassin.
She must've ditched her coat and hidden away the moment the fight started.
Either waiting for an opening like this or just too scared to act.
I didn't know the truth, but the result spoke for itself.
The bystander mission was over now too.
The description said to kill Jang Seo-yoon and help cover it up, but that was a trap.
Protecting Jang Seo-yoon was the best route. Failing that, you had to at least stop the cover-up.
Park Ha-yeon’s personality made it obvious she’d handle it that way, so I wasn’t worried.
With that, all three had cleared their roles.
The final boss left: Jang Seo-yoon.
She pushed open the door to the gym storage room and stepped inside.
Without her corruption (awakening), she wouldn’t be tough.
Awakened, she was A-rank.
Even going all out, I wasn’t sure I could beat her.
Laura spoke up first after a long while.
[So that’s how it was. Now I see. That vermin was blocking my intervention.]
Her tone dripped with irritation.
Just like when I’d told her I could see the future.
“No worries.”
I added quietly.
I had a plan.
Jang Seo-yoon spoke first.
“Enjoy the game?”
Straight out of the original script.
They’d chat like this until she suddenly snapped and battle began.
That’d be a hassle.
'Laura’s out of commission, and I don’t know how long the sword can hold. No room for a boss fight.'
I pulled the knife from Hwang Ha-rin’s chest and slipped it into my pocket.
In the game, dialogue locked your viewpoint—you couldn’t do shit. But this was reality.
No such limits.
What Jang Seo-yoon needed right now was comfort.
Sympathy for her painful situation.
I forced a troubled expression and replied.
“This isn’t a game.”
“This some kinda joke, security guard?”
“You don’t have to pretend. You’re suffering. You just want someone to understand how much it hurts.”
“……. Is that so bad?”
Tears streamed down Jang Seo-yoon’s face.
I approached and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry. For not saving you sooner.”
“You never even had the chance.”
She started sobbing openly.
I patted her back, consoling her.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t end this pain sooner.”
Now.
I secretly drew the knife and plunged it into her heart.
“Haaak.”
Pity welled up in me.
To lose her life so tragically, then suffer endlessly in the toilet pipes even after death.
Regrettable, but as a monster now, there was no saving her.
I couldn’t bear to look at her face.
Would she be trembling with betrayal?
I twisted the knife.
To make sure she was gone.
"Sorry."
“Hnng. It’s… okay.”
Against my expectations, Jang Seo-yoon wore a bittersweet smile.
She grabbed my forelock, pulling my head down as if to bow it.
I knelt, meeting her eyes.
She whispered in my ear.
“Thank you… for ending this life. ‘Dark Knight’.”
“How did you know?”
I was stunned.
Jang Seo-yoon pleaded desperately.
Her voice choked with tears.
“But… I have one request… Hwang Ha-rin… please make her pay…”
The dying wish of the departed.
I gave a wry smile.
“Yeah.”
“…….”
Jang Seo-yoon collapsed into a pile of rubble in my arms.
----------[End of Waiting]-----------
[You have defeated ‘Jang Seo-yoon.’]
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I sifted through the rubble without a word.
In my hand: a single book and several small orbs.
<[Item Acquired]>
-------------<Item>-------------
◈ Name
Skill Book: Phasing
◈ Rank
--- B
◈ Description
A forbidden technique that turns your body ethereal for a set time.
※Restriction: Cleared one or more roles in the ‘End of Waiting’ dungeon.
◈ Effect
Acquire the skill ‘Phasing’.
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Phasing.
The undisputed top-tier skill, an upgrade over my own Mist Form.
Its effects: increased movement speed, nullifies all damage (except attacks targeting the soul directly), ability to fly or pass through solids.
Even if Park Ha-yeon took it, her mana shortage would limit its use for now.
You needed A-rank intelligence to wield it properly.
It was tempting as hell, but I already had Mist Form, and Park Ha-yeon’s growth mattered more.
Park Ha-yeon apologized as I looted the spoils.
“Sorry. I thought these people… no, monsters were humans like us, dragged here or something. I didn’t know they were monsters.”
“I get it.”
Most aspiring heroes and active ones were second-gen Awakeners who’d never even peeked inside a gate.
Dungeons and monsters were just movie stuff. Normal not to know if you hadn’t seen those flicks.
I handed all the dungeon loot to Park Ha-yeon.
“Use this.”
She waved it off.
“You did all the work. How could I….”
I bullshitted an excuse.
“Killing that girl earlier left a bad taste. Just take it.”
“Then I’ll share with Ji So-yeon over there?”
“I gave it to you.”
“Ah, got it.”
Sorry, Ji So-yeon, but no handouts for invisibility that’s useless against the Demon King.
I headed out of the warehouse first.
“Eat up and come out.”
The gate for this dungeon was in the annex’s second-floor women’s restroom.
We headed straight there.
No awkward humans or ghosts in sight.
Back to the real world.
Dungeon cleared.
Sunlight streamed through the restroom window.
Morning already here.
Just as expected—a full day had passed.
We slipped out of the academy annex.
Planned to return the sword to the main building first.
But noise erupted from the sports field.
“Why’s it so rowdy?”
“Some kinda sports day?”
♫♪♫.
An upbeat melody drifted from afar.
Curiosity pulled us toward the sports field.
“What the hell….”
“That’s really at our academy, right? We’re not still in a dungeon?”
A shocking scene.
Dozens of thugs were attacking teachers and students.
The attackers wore K Group’s mascot bear masks—utterly bizarre.
I knew who they were.
'K Pharma Villain.'
[K Group, Korea’s leading company pursuing endless progress.]
♫♪♫.
Kinda sudden, honestly.
'Why’s this guy showing up already?'
I figured we had more time.
In the original, it happened weeks after ‘Gigantic Ancient Forest’ shut down.
But this blew up after just a few days.
Butterfly effect, maybe.
I checked Park Ha-yeon and Ji So-yeon’s faces.
Fresh from a dungeon, they weren’t panicking much.
Then I remembered something seeing Ji So-yeon.
'Yang Min-seo…!'
The ‘K Pharma Villain’ attacked the academy to kidnap Yang Min-seo.
And kill aspiring heroes while at it.
‘Damn.’
Had to confirm Yang Min-seo’s safety fast.
Too late, and it might be irreversible.
I called her.
We’d swapped basic contacts when forming the team.
The line rang on endlessly.
No answer.
“Fuck.”
Park Ha-yeon and Ji So-yeon asked, “What? Why?”
I ignored them and asked Ji So-yeon.
“Got Yang Min-seo’s emergency contact? Bodyguard or secretary?”
“Uh… I have her driver’s number. He handles all the random stuff. Why?”
“Gimme it. Need to reach her quick.”
Ji So-yeon handed it over without fuss.
I dialed.
[Yes, this is K Group’s Lee Jin-hyung, Section Chief.]
“I’m Shin Noda, academy student and Yang Min-seo’s friend. You with her?”
[No. She was supposed to come through the front gate, but she hasn’t shown.]
“Got it.”
Unease grew.
She might’ve already been snatched.
“I’m heading out first. You return the sword for me.”
I handed the sword to Ji So-yeon.
No expectations from Park Ha-yeon.
Zombies tangling with teachers on the sports field? She wouldn’t sit it out.
Story-wise, school raid came before Yang Min-seo’s kidnapping.
Looked like she’d already been taken, and time was short.
I rushed home to gear up.
Even in the original, ‘K Pharma Villain’s’ hideout wasn’t specified.
Couldn’t track him down right away.
But I knew where he’d definitely show.
K Comprehensive Tech Institute, where the K Group chairman worked.
That’s where Ma Bo-seong’s twisted hatred was aimed.
Yang Min-seo gets executed miserably in front of him.
I headed straight there.