Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Things Hidden, Things That Must Be Hidden (4)
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“Damn it, he's a summoner type...!”
Lee Sang-yoon bared his teeth and clenched them.
Alpha and I, blocking him from the front and back.
I could summon more soldiers to pressure them, but there's a limit. Pushing too hard might force them to use extreme measures.
Besides, Alpha is more than enough.
I stared silently at Lee Sang-yoon and Shin Hae-yoo.
[Activating skill, ‘Extreme Eye’.]
'There it is.'
As I scanned their bodies with Extreme Eye, a 'mark' appeared on each of them in a different location.
A 'P' that was flipped upside down.
There's only one group that uses that as their mark.
A collective of players who hunt other players.
The anti-player alliance, 'Paradise'.
“Right. With this kind of confidence, no wonder he walked out so boldly.”
Lee Sang-yoon's face twisted into a scowl.
Even so, he couldn't stop glancing at Alpha.
Appearing without a trace and killing Kang Jae-hwan in a single blow, it was natural for him to be wary.
I could see him exchanging a strange look with Shin Hae-yoo.
One good thing about them mistaking me for a summoner is the common perception that summoners themselves aren't very strong.
Especially when the summon is as powerful as that one appeared to be.
Plus, if the summoner falls, the summon naturally disappears.
They're probably trying to time a pincer attack on me.
“Seoul is already in a bit of chaos because of a certain faction.”
I cut them off before they could act, looking back and forth between Lee Sang-yoon and Shin Hae-yoo.
“So you are connected to them after all, ‘Paradise’?”
“...”
The expressions on both their faces turned cold.
Not a trace of a smile remained on their faces.
“How do you know about Paradise?”
'Paradise' is an enemy outside of monsters, alongside the Order and the unofficial guilds.
Their patterns of behavior are similar to the unofficial guilds, but with slight differences.
The unofficial guilds are in conflict with regular guilds simply because they commit crimes as a matter of course.
Still, at least they sometimes close gates.
But Paradise is different.
They have almost no interest in closing gates; instead, their main goal is to kill other players.
The reason is simple.
They want gates to keep opening and the world to remain a mess, because then people like them—the powerful—become the authority.
This point is somewhat similar to the unofficial guilds, but Paradise is more extreme.
'The most difficult time was when the goals of those three groups happened to align, and they formed an alliance.'
Fighting only monsters, or only people.
Dealing with just one would be easier.
When both come at you at once, you have to worry about so much, both in terms of strength and strategy.
Come to think of it, isn't that event less than a month away?
I felt a deep sigh coming on already.
“Speak. How did you learn our identities?”
“And if I ask you something, are you going to answer properly? No, you're not, are you?”
Lee Sang-yoon's face crumpled.
For Shin Hae-yoo to address him so formally, he must be at least an executive.
Cutting down Paradise's forces here and now would be quite meaningful.
Shin Hae-yoo narrowed his eyes and then spoke as if he'd just realized something.
“Lee Sang-yoon-nim. Based on his description, I believe this man is Kim Se-hyeon.”
“What? So that's why he showed himself. He must have heard us talking about killing him.”
Lee Sang-yoon snorted.
“This works out perfectly. We were going to kill him anyway, and he came to us himself. Most importantly, he knows about Paradise. We can't let word of this get to the Seoul guilds. Don't let him live.”
“Understood.”
Shin Hae-yoo slowly closed the distance.
Meanwhile, Lee Sang-yoon himself aimed his weapon at Alpha.
I see. So the plan is for him to hold Alpha off and buy time for Shin Hae-yoo to kill me.
'They must be guessing I'm an A-rank at best.'
Shin Hae-yoo's stats are in the high 60s on average.
Comparable to a relatively weak S-rank.
Enough to understand what Lee Sang-yoon meant by 'practically S-rank'.
'Bullshit.'
I scoffed inwardly.
The reason Shin Hae-yoo is A-rank despite his high stats is because the rank of his trait isn't very good.
Stats? Of course they're important.
But having high stats with a low-rank ability means your floor is high, but your ceiling is low.
He'd be utterly defeated if he fought even a mid-tier S-rank player.
“Don't blame me. This was your choice.”
*Crackle!*
Sky-blue currents sparked from Shin Hae-yoo's sword.
As the sword moved, it discharged electricity into the air.
'A magic swordsman type who wields the power of lightning.'
Similar to Cha Eun-ha.
If we clashed swords normally, the current would travel right through my blade.
That's the annoying thing about those who wield lightning powers.
'However.'
*Pfft.*
As I let out a small laugh, Shin Hae-yoo's eyebrow twitched.
“A contemptuous laugh. Is that confidence?”
“It's because I know a lot about lightning abilities.”
Elemental abilities like fire, water, and lightning are relatively common, so I know all their strengths and weaknesses. And when it comes to lightning, I even have direct experience, having borrowed Jeon Do-jin's power before.
The fact that its effectiveness drops significantly when countered with something that has non-conductive properties.
Furthermore, sky-blue lightning like Shin Hae-yoo's has a 'piercing' property.
Yellow lightning, like Jeon Do-jin's, can radiate power over a wide area, but sky-blue lightning can't do that.
Its destructive power upon impact is considerable, but its utility is extremely low.
“...Then see if you can take this.”
Shin Hae-yoo's form seemed to stretch out, and in an instant, he thrust his sword forward.
This was not the speed of an A-rank player.
'This is how S-rankers get caught off guard and taken down.'
However, he'd picked the wrong opponent.
*Swoosh.*
I drew up the Black Flame, imbuing my sword with it as well.
And just as I was about to swing.
*Fzzt.*
Just before entering my range, Shin Hae-yoo transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot away.
'He noticed?'
Shin Hae-yoo was visibly flustered, breathing heavily.
If my memory serves, that was Lightning God Flash Step.
It's a top-tier evasion skill that allows one to instantly withdraw, either to dodge an unavoidable attack or to escape after realizing a mistake mid-attack.
In other words, it lets you 'forcefully cancel your current action' to evade.
A skill you can't learn unless your proficiency with lightning abilities is exceptionally high.
I once tried to get a lightning ability just for that skill.
“Good instincts. If you'd come straight in, you would've died.”
Shin Hae-yoo broke out in a cold sweat, unable to say a word.
He didn't dare charge in boldly like before, instead standing still and observing me for a long while.
“What are you doing, Shin Hae-yoo!”
Seeing no change in the situation, Lee Sang-yoon shouted irritably.
Lee Sang-yoon, who had been dodging Alpha's attacks by a hair's breadth, was drenched in a cold sweat.
“You should be able to handle a guy like that in an instant! Is that all the power an elite of our 'Paradise' has? I'm even keeping the summon busy!”
“...Hk.”
Shin Hae-yoo bit his lip and corrected his stance.
Lee Sang-yoon was too preoccupied with Alpha to know the details of what was happening over here.
Normally, there's no way Lee Sang-yoon could dodge Alpha's attacks so well.
'Play with him for a bit. Don't kill him. If he tries to run, subdue him.'
It was because of the orders I'd given Alpha.
An executive would surely have a lot of information.
Naturally, I have to capture him alive.
“Think carefully before you come at me. Lightning God Flash Step has a long cooldown. There won't be a next time.”
*Swoooosh...*
Starting from my feet, darkness slowly began to spread.
He could tell I was preparing something, but he couldn't know exactly what it was.
After hesitating for a long time, he seemed to make a decision. Shin Hae-yoo took a deep breath and readied his stance once more.
“...I'll show you why they call me the Lightning Wheel Sword.”
*Crackle!*
An even greater amount of electricity sparked than before.
It was a technique into which he poured all his strength, to the point that the veins on his hand bulged.
“Haaaah!!”
He spun his body in a large circle, starting from behind his back.
As he spun the sword, a massive, donut-shaped wave of sword energy surged forward, scorching its surroundings.
It was so powerful that plants nearby were charred black just from proximity, without even being touched directly.
“Not bad.”
I raised my black-flaming sword.
“But that's all it is.”
*KWWAAAAANG!*
A wave of black fire swallowed the lightning wheel.
As if that wasn't enough, the Black Flame writhed and flew towards its next target.
Shin Hae-yoo was in its path.
“N-No way...!”
Usually, a person's title is related to their specialty or ultimate skill.
In other words, that last attack was Shin Hae-yoo's ultimate technique.
Despite that, it was easily blocked and even countered, so Shin Hae-yoo's defense was a beat too slow.
*KWABOOM!*
“...Cough.”
He stabbed his sword into the ground to barely support himself, spitting up blood.
Somehow, he had managed to offset the Black Flame, as he wasn't on fire.
But to pour out enough power to negate the Black Flame must have taken a heavy toll.
Shin Hae-yoo's body was clearly not in a normal state.
“How... can a summoner be this strong?”
“Stupid question. If a summoner isn't stronger than their summon, how could they make it obey?”
“...”
With a look of defeat, Shin Hae-yoo collapsed to the ground.
He must have fallen because he had no strength left in his body.
“Sh-Shin Hae-yoo was defeated that easily?”
Lee Sang-yoon's eyes trembled, his face a mask of bewilderment.
In that brief moment of distraction.
*THWACK!*
Alpha's kick landed squarely on Lee Sang-yoon's back, sending him rolling to my feet.
“Finally, we can talk. Right?”
The sudden closeness to me made him gasp and swallow hard.
But only for a moment. Lee Sang-yoon hardened his gaze and met my eyes.
“You let your guard down, you bastard!”
[Character ‘Lee Sang-yoon’ activates the skill, ‘Petrifying Evil Eye (A)’.]
'I see.'
So this is why he was the superior despite being weaker. He had a special ability like this.
Petrifying Evil Eye.
A very powerful suppression skill that turns anyone who meets its gaze to stone.
But it has a clear limitation.
[Activating skill, ‘Extreme Eye’.]
*Shhhk!*
I located the thread of mana and severed it.
A Petrifying Evil Eye that isn't S-rank isn't an instant activation skill; it fires in the form of a 'laser,' making it possible to dodge or neutralize.
That said, without Extreme Eye, I wouldn't have been able to block it so easily.
“Y-You blocked the Petrifying Evil Eye with a sword...?!”
“Never seen it blocked before?”
“Who would even think of blocking a laser with a sword!?”
“To be precise, it's not a laser. It just looks like one.”
*THWACK!*
I kicked him in the stomach, and he let out a grunt as he lost his balance and fell.
I stabbed my sword into the ground right next to his head, and his anxiety-filled eyes shook violently.
“An A-rank Petrifying Evil Eye... you must have gotten that power from killing a Basilisk. That means you're from Daegu.”
“You even know that...?!”
Unfortunately, due to various incidents, Daegu has by now completely turned into a desert.
In other words, a place where it's difficult for survivors to live.
Paradoxically, that also makes it a good place for hostile factions like this to hide.
Paradise's main headquarters is near Seoul. These guys are players from the Daegu branch.
This meant that Paradise was slowly extending its grasp toward Seoul.
“Damn it, the intel was wrong. There's no way he's just a 'slightly skilled player'! He's at least guild master-level! Shin Hae-yoo, cancel the operation! Pass it on!”
*Grab.*
Suddenly, Lee Sang-yoon grabbed both my arms and shouted at Shin Hae-yoo.
Shin Hae-yoo, who must have drunk a recovery potion as some color had returned to his face, moved swiftly without a backward glance.
However, Shin Hae-yoo's feet couldn't leave the ground.
“Who said you could?”
The darkness I had spread out beforehand rose up and bound Shin Hae-yoo's legs.
Simultaneously, the Army of Darkness rose, aiming their swords at Shin Hae-yoo's neck from all sides.
Shin Hae-yoo's face stiffened as he broke into a cold sweat.
“You didn't think I'd let you live without taking any precautions, did you?”
Even Alpha moved over to surround Shin Hae-yoo.
They had both felt how powerful Alpha was.
Even if they weren't on the same level, the mere presence of four more similarly-looking soldiers was intimidating enough.
I turned my gaze to Lee Sang-yoon, who wore a look of utter defeat.
“Anything else left?”
“You son of a bitch...”
With nothing going his way, Lee Sang-yoon gritted his teeth and cursed.