Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: ACT.26 Corrupted Flame (1)
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[Looks like the angels' sponsorship has driven you mad. So, was the sponsorship sweet?]
The succubus, who had been glaring at me for a while, scoffed.
It was sweet.
For that many coins from just one token.
The Angel of Benevolence wasn't the only one who sponsored me.
I deleted the messages because so many popped up, but I'd guess the coins I received easily surpassed several thousand.
[What good will that do? You'll die the moment you step out.]
“You talk too much. Do you want me to live that badly?”
[...If you're that eager to die, then by all means.]
The succubus crossed her arms and looked down at me coldly.
[Tallying results.]
[Rank]
1. Hwang Chan-jin
2. Jo Min-woo
3. ...
The results were announced.
First place was Hwang Chan-jin, as expected.
As for the rankings from second place down, while the exact order varied, all the usual top contenders were there.
It seems Hwang Chan-jin is planning to follow the standard strategy.
Following the standard strategy does make it easier to defeat the boss.
If I had to pick the 'correct' answer, that would be it.
I needlessly adjusted the sword hanging at my waist.
'That's not always the case, though.'
Sometimes, you have to take the path that looks like the wrong answer to get the hidden reward.
[Hilarious. Kim Se-hyeon. No matter how I look at it, you're not in your right mind.]
“I'm perfectly sane.”
I replied nonchalantly.
The succubus narrowed her eyes.
She couldn't possibly think I did all that just to get sponsorships without any other plan.
But it was a fact that I didn't have the required number of tokens.
According to the pact, I had failed the mission and was about to be banished to the Red Zone.
In the end, the succubus set aside her suspicions and proceeded with the formalities.
[See you in hell. I'll be sure to dote on you.]
To hell with that.
Hell?
I had no intention of going there after I die.
Though I might have to pay a visit while I'm still alive.
[Retire: Kim Se-hyeon]
[You have failed the mission.]
[A penalty will be activated.]
[You are being banished to the Red Zone. You cannot return to the Safety Zone.]
A red light enveloped my surroundings.
It felt similar to when Jun Bo-ra used Teleport.
I hadn't even been moved yet, but I could already feel the heat.
“Se-hyeon-ssi!”
Jeong Ha-yeon, who had been watching me with her lips pressed tightly together, urgently reached out her hand.
She tried to grab my hand, but I was teleported away a split second too soon.
Not that it would have mattered; she wouldn't have been teleported with me even if she had.
[I don't know what you're plotting, but I wonder how long you can last, unable to return to the Safety Zone.]
Whoosh!
As the succubus's words echoed in my mind like a telepathic message, a suffocating heat washed over my entire body.
It was incomparable to the heat I'd felt right after returning to Earth.
I had expected it, but I couldn't help but frown.
[The effect of your 49 remaining tokens will be altered.]
[Consuming 49 tokens, your Fire Resistance will increase by 24.5% for 6 hours.]
'Still, it's not enough to kill me.'
I drank the fire resistance potion I'd bought in advance.
The heat then subsided to the level of a sauna.
The potion's effect wasn't permanent.
While the effect lasted, I immediately moved on to the next step.
I opened the Shop and entered the Angel's Shop.
As I was scrolling down the item list, Uriel cautiously asked.
[Is there something you're looking for?]
“The Salamander's Breastplate.”
The items that appear in the Angel's Shop change depending on the current situation.
Right now, I was in a dangerous situation due to the heat.
So, there was no way 'that item' wouldn't appear in the Angel's Shop.
In other words, it would have been impossible to buy it beforehand, even if I had wanted to.
[Huh? Th-That one is quite expensive...]
“You saw earlier. I'm rich right now.”
Uriel let out a short 'Ah' and nodded.
[If it's that one, given the price, it should be pretty far down the list...]
“Found it.”
[...You're fast.]
Uriel looked dejected.
Was she disappointed because she wanted to help but couldn't?
“If you want to help, give me a discount.”
[Th-That's not within my authority...]
“I know. I was just kidding.”
I took my eyes off Uriel and checked the item.
[Salamander's Breastplate: 200,000 Coins]
The Salamander's Breastplate.
This was it.
200,000 coins for a single item.
It was daylight robbery, but considering its performance, the equipment was worth the price.
Besides, equipment items were rare to begin with.
'I'll have plenty of use for it in the future, so...'
I paid the 200,000 coins and completed the purchase.
As soon as I equipped it, it materialized around my body as if summoned.
A light yet sturdy material.
But the truly important feature was something else.
"Hooo."
I took a deep breath in and out.
The heat had subsided so much that it felt like nothing more than the air of an early summer day.
To be precise, my fire resistance had increased significantly.
'The prerequisite is met.'
While interpretations of the salamander vary, in 'End of Apocalypse' at least, it was a lizard that could wield fire.
They called it a lizard, but its scales were tough enough to deflect a sword, and it was the size of a tiger, making it anything but an easy catch.
The point was, equipment made from a salamander's hide and scales boasted considerable fire resistance.
I had essentially nullified the greatest threat of the Red Zone: its lethal heat.
[Item 'Salamander's Breastplate' is being assimilated by 'Black Flame'.]
[The item is transforming.]
Just as I was about to move, a system message suddenly appeared.
The breastplate, once a passionate red that looked hot to the touch, slowly turned black.
It had been the only color that stuck out from the rest of my clothes, but now it matched.
[Blackened Salamander's Breastplate]
Fire Resistance +40%
Mana consumption for Fire-type abilities -10%
'Its performance improved slightly, too.'
The fire resistance was higher than before.
With the penalty mitigated by the tokens and the potion's effect still active, my fire resistance was extremely high.
The HP I was losing from the heat had decreased to a point where I barely had to worry about it.
And on top of that, a new option.
'Reduced mana consumption.'
It was a resource consumed when using abilities, and if you kept using them, you'd eventually run out.
Especially since I was constantly fighting monsters and using mana.
If you find an item that reduces mana consumption, you equip it, no questions asked.
That's how good of an option it was.
'Not bad.'
A good start.
I grinned and raised my gaze.
The boundaries of the Red Zone were displayed in the air.
The Red Zone always expands in a circle.
Which meant.
'By looking at the boundary, I can tell where the center is.'
I confirmed the direction and immediately started running toward it at full speed.
At the center of a Red Zone is the monster that creates it.
Starting from Chapter 12, the goal is to uncover the truth of the Red Zone and defeat the monster that creates it.
To do that, you have to go through preliminary steps to weaken the Red Zone and the monster.
And that takes a total of three chapters, all the way up to Chapter 14.
However.
'If you defeat it right away without doing any of that prep work, the rewards are maximized.'
The difficulty of a challenge and its rewards are always proportional.
If you take it down when it's at its strongest, you receive the maximum reward.
That's why I needed to fail the mission on purpose.
'Especially if I want to get *that* reward.'
My eyes gleaming, I picked up my pace.
Getting banished to the Red Zone cut down on travel time, and by defeating it before the next chapter even began, I could effectively skip all the way to Chapter 14.
Using this method, I could secure a lot of time before the 'Second Disaster' appeared.
And that wasn't all.
I could even obtain a special achievement and reward. Suddenly, the image of Jeong Ha-yeon came to mind.
The way she tried to grab me, her suspicious gaze almost completely gone.
The corners of my mouth twitched.
She left me once, but she's slowly showing signs of returning.
Good. The situation couldn't be better.
If I can just keep her by my side, I'll be able to use her formidable power, 'Judgment'.
I can always set the stage to make the situation look plausible.
With Choi Yeon-soo, who's skilled in disguise, it wouldn't even be that difficult.
There was no reason not to use her.
"...There it is."
I arrived at my destination and slowed down.
I could see its form from a distance.
"It's huge."
A mane and fur made of flames.
An S-rank monster in the shape of a wolf, its entire body composed of fire, resembling a spirit.
Corrupted Ignis.
If you weaken it by progressing through the chapters normally, it's about 1.5 meters tall, but at its maximum strength, it's nearly 5 meters.
Even though it was night, it felt like midday.
I wondered if this was what it felt like to face the sun up close.
[Grrrr...]
Having spotted me as well, Ignis let out a low growl, its hackles raised.
It should have the intelligence to speak.
Is it planning to kill me on sight, forgetting all about conversation?
"I like that."
I drew the Saingeom.
The moment the 'Corrupted' modifier was attached, the Saingeom's passive effect, 'Power to Cut Down the Unholy,' would activate.
Since it's an S-rank monster, the power won't be fully effective, but it's still better than nothing.
Upon seeing the Saingeom, Ignis's face twisted more ferociously.
Now I get it.
It must have sensed the Saingeom's presence early on, which explains its unusual hostility from the start.
Fwoosh!
Seven boulder-sized fireballs materialized around Ignis.
They blazed so intensely, they looked like clumps of boiling lava.
Just looking at them made me feel hot.
'Two at first.'
I dodged the fireballs aimed at my flanks and charged forward.
'One from the front, two from above.'
I swung the Saingeom.
The one from the front split in two and exploded, and I ignored the resulting blast of hot air as I lunged forward.
The ones arcing from above naturally fell behind me.
'As expected, this is hot.'
The hot air that momentarily filled my lungs made it hard to breathe.
I'd raised my fire resistance considerably, but S-rank monsters have the power to partially ignore such resistances.
Otherwise, they wouldn't deserve the S-rank title.
Still, I had to do it this way.
To properly counter this pattern it uses at the start of the fight.
'Finally, two diagonally. Followed immediately by its breath attack.'
The pattern was exactly as I remembered.
I accelerated in an instant, dodging the last fireballs and closing in on Ignis.
Ignis had its mouth open, nearly ready to fire its breath, but my approach was so fast that the situation became awkward for it.
It's a devastating opening pattern where it charges its breath while the fireballs obscure your vision, so if you block the fireballs and then try to advance, you get hit by the breath with no time to defend, taking critical damage.
'But as long as I know how to counter it, there's no way I'll fall for it.'
In the end, Ignis seemed to decide to fire its breath anyway, thrusting its head forward.
At that moment.
I moved the darkness I had already gathered.
[Kuaaargh!?]
KWAAAAA!
Unable to properly lock onto its target, the breath attack went wide.
The darkness had coalesced around its eyes, robbing it of its sight.
The most basic application of darkness.
A technique to block the enemy's vision.
"First, its mobility."
It's the basic strategy for fighting large monsters.
I ducked under Ignis's chin and swung my sword at its foreleg.
[Kyaaaaak!!]
The Saingeom's power to cut down the unholy.
Combined with the annihilating power of the Black Flame, Ignis's leg, which was made of fire, was helplessly destroyed.
The beast tried to crush me with its massive body, so I quickly got out of the way.
I should probably summon my soldiers to split its aggro.
Just as I made that judgment and was about to use Army of Darkness, I saw someone rushing toward me from the distance.
"Kim Se-hyeooooon!!"
A familiar voice.
It was Hwang Chan-jin.
'What?'
This was the Hwang Chan-jin who had left the residential area.
In the opposite direction of the Red Zone, no less.
Even if he had started running the moment he saw the system message about my banishment to the Red Zone, this speed was inexplicable.
And yet, the fact that he caught up at this speed meant...
"Don't tell me you didn't choose the Jade Orb for the first-place mission reward and got Chukjibeop instead?"
"I can get a Jade Orb some other way, but I won't yield when it comes to subjugating Ignis!!"
The Jade Orb.
It was the best item you could choose for the first-place reward.
Just by possessing it, all your stats increase by 4, so it was a must-have item if you could get it.
Hwang Chan-jin had forgone that amazing item and obtained Chukjibeop just to chase me.
Did he think I might kill Ignis faster than him even if I didn't take this route?
I let out an incredulous laugh and said.
"You're one crazy bastard yourself."
"Look who's talking, Kim Se-hyeon! The one who got himself banished to the Red Zone on purpose!"