Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: ACT.30 The Progressor (2)
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It wasn’t a ricochet.
The bullet literally curved, flying in an arc.
It wasn't just curves; there were also straight trajectories, each with a different velocity.
A physical impossibility, but that was a meaningless distinction now that the world had turned into a fantasy.
‘Kreuz Schweitzer.’
The name of the NPC who was originally supposed to have that gun, trait, and skill.
He must have been obsessed with westerns or something, always spouting nonsense about the romance of being a gunslinger, but his skills were the real deal.
And I had plenty of experience competing against him.
*Swoosh.*
One step to the upper left. One step back. Finally, I ducked and moved to the upper right.
With just three steps, all the bullets that seemed to leave no blind spots missed completely.
“Hmm?”
Seeing me fend off his attack so easily, Jacob frowned in confusion.
He might have been serious about killing me, but there was no way I’d fall for it.
“Did I aim wrong?”
“Western Fire. It's a tricky skill to face for the first time. Bullets that curve, each with a different speed, arriving at different times.”
Jacob's expression grew increasingly uneasy.
“But that skill has a set pattern, you know.”
Anyone facing an attack like this for the first time would be flustered.
But you only panic the first few times.
After dozens of repetitions, you figure out the pattern and find yourself deflecting them all as if you're playing a rhythm game.
‘Though you need the stats to back it up.’
At least I didn't have to worry about stats.
“A pattern...?!”
Jacob couldn't hide his shock, as if he'd never heard of such a thing.
As I thought, he didn't know.
Of course. It only looks good from a beginner's perspective.
By the mid-game, you realize it's nothing more than a skill for stomping newbies.
“It's not something you can rely on as your main skill.”
It might have worked until now because his opponents either didn't know the pattern or lacked the power to block it even if they did.
But for a veteran like me, it was just a cheap trick.
*BANG!*
Once again, the muzzle flashed.
The attack seemed to reflect Jacob's desire to scream that it couldn't be true.
‘The third pattern.’
I identified which pattern it was by the sound of the gunshot and moved my sword accordingly.
The ‘Western Fire’ skill has three main patterns.
The third pattern is easier to block than to dodge.
Even with the Pioneer's Rifle's significantly increased attack power, it couldn't even scratch the Black Moon Sword, which boasted overwhelming durability.
“Damn it...!”
Jacob grit his teeth.
Once could be a coincidence, but not twice.
He looked anxious, realizing that Western Fire was truly useless against me.
But soon, his face scrunched up for a moment, and then he pouted as if displeased.
“...Yeah, I get it, I get it.”
A noticeably unnatural change.
And though he probably thought I couldn't hear it, it was clearly a response to someone.
‘A communication item.’
I knew I felt a strange flow of mana.
There's no way a punk like that is the leader.
I did expect there to be someone else in charge.
Is someone watching the situation from somewhere?
‘No.’
If that were true, they would have shown themselves the moment I easily blocked Jacob's attack.
But the fact that they hadn't appeared and my detection hadn't picked them up meant they weren't ‘watching’.
It was more likely they simply heard Jacob's muttering during our fight and issued further instructions.
“Hoo, Kim Se-hyeon. Let me ask you something. Have you ever thought about what comes after the apocalypse?”
“Not yet.”
“That's why you'll fail. Tsk tsk. You think just stopping the apocalypse is enough? The world has already changed. It's not going back. So, of course, you have to prepare for what comes after. A good design makes everything much easier, don't you think?”
I think I knew what Jacob was getting at.
It was similar to the motive of the unofficial guilds, yet different.
The unofficial guilds want to prevent complete destruction but maintain a state of threat to Earth for their own gain.
Jacob's side, on the other hand, wants to stop the apocalypse, then use the power of players to seize all power and profit in a world different from the old one.
In other words, ruling over the new world.
If players are still around after the apocalypse is averted, they will naturally hold the most power.
The concept of ‘nations’ is already starting to crumble worldwide.
People are gathering and operating around guilds rather than governments.
Add to that the existence of someone else close to the ending besides the Strategy King, as Jacob mentioned.
There was no way Jacob could have orchestrated all this alone.
‘That person gathered the progressors and formed a massive organization.’
Thinking that, all of Jacob's words and actions fell into place.
‘And the goal of that organization is...’
To change the world from its very roots so they can reign after the apocalypse.
All the information connected to form that conclusion.
“And you think you can stop the apocalypse and do as you please that way?”
“It's possible. Dozens of progressors share the same goal.”
Jacob's answer was enough to confirm my suspicions.
He was giving up information so easily that it made me wonder if he was setting a trap.
‘And they don't even know what methods the final boss will use?’
It was so absurd I couldn't even laugh.
Even more so because it resembled how I was a few regressions ago.
If I don't stop it, this world, with no chance for a do-over, is doomed to destruction.
“It seems I'll have to stop you after all.”
“That works out well.”
Jacob's expression changed completely.
“I was ordered to kill you on the spot, by any means necessary, if you didn't join us.”
[Character ‘Jacob Rodriguez’ uses the skill, ‘Ultimate Headshot’.]
I thought he might have another trick up his sleeve, but this was a bit unexpected.
That skill isn't easy to acquire. So that was the source of his confidence.
The gun barrel turned red.
Ultimate Headshot, true to its name, is an attack skill designed to unconditionally put a hole in the target's head.
With its homing ability and near-light speed upon firing, it's a technique that's practically impossible to dodge.
In other words, blocking is the only option. The problem is, a half-hearted block will only result in your equipment being destroyed by its insane power; you'd still die either way.
“I was saving this so I could get that sword, but I guess you'll just have to die here. Kim Se-hyeon!”
Jacob's breathing stopped.
Immediately after, his finger squeezed the trigger.
*KRA-KOOM!!*
Faster than the roar that sounded like it could bring down all of Gyeryongsan.
*Shhhk!*
The Black Moon Sword shattered the moonlight.
“K-hk!?”
Shattering Moon.
The strike, swung with the power of the Black Flame, crushed the Ultimate Headshot and still had enough force left to hit the gun Jacob was holding.
The force still wasn't completely offset, sending Jacob flying.
I closed the distance with the flying Jacob, moving through the scattering fragments of the ‘Pioneer's Rifle’ as it shattered to pieces with a *thud*.
My intention was to press my advantage to the very end.
“You split the Ultimate Headshot bullet!?”
He seemed more shocked by that than by his Pioneer's Rifle being destroyed.
His face hardened as he drew a pair of pistols mid-air and aimed.
The Pioneer's Rifle only gets a large attack power boost in ‘other regions’.
Of course, he would have other weapons he normally used.
‘Falcon Hunt.’
That was the name, I think.
I remember it because it's one of the top-tier pistols.
It only looks like a pistol; if you can handle the high mana cost, each shot has the power of an anti-tank cannon.
*Rat-a-tat!*
Jacob landed and immediately opened fire.
The trajectories were all straight, but each bullet packed terrifying power.
No need to bother swatting each one away.
By angling the flat of my blade, the bullets deflected on their own, their trajectories bending away.
Without slowing down in the slightest, I closed in on Jacob and struck.
“You crazy...!”
[‘Outlaw's Luck’ has been activated.]
[Damage taken is greatly reduced.]
I cut him.
The sensation in my hand was definite.
However, Jacob, seemingly unharmed, gave a twisted smile and immediately moved the hand holding the gun.
“Did you think I'd be helpless if you got in close, bastard!”
There was a blade at the bottom of the gun.
I see. Stun the enemy who closes in with ‘Outlaw's Luck’, then catch them off guard with Gun Kata.
Not a bad strategy.
“You're the one being complacent.”
*Fwoosh.*
Jacob's hand was engulfed in the Black Flame that had spread from his clothes.
Stunned for a moment, Jacob soon screamed and dropped the gun.
“The Black Flame isn't something you can block just by blocking the attack.”
I grabbed Jacob's chin and slammed him straight into the ground.
*KRAAANG!!*
“Kuaargh!!!”
‘Outlaw's Luck’ is a one-time use skill.
Once activated, it has a considerable cooldown. The moment he missed that single opportunity to catch me off guard, Jacob had no chance of winning.
I looked down at Jacob, who was coughing dryly and spitting up blood.
“You're going to have to spit out more information than you already have, Jacob.”
“Kh, khkh. So there was... another monster in Korea. Korean gamers, I swear.”
-Jacob! Jacob! What's wrong! Dammit, what's going on!?
The communicator was close enough for me to hear.
In the brief moment my eyes flickered toward Jacob's ear.
A crunching sound came from inside Jacob's mouth.
Instantly, his face turned purple.
He had crushed a poison capsule in his mouth.
I let my guard down.
I never imagined he would choose suicide without a moment's hesitation.
“When they find out what happened to me, the L Team bastards will definitely come.”
“L Team?”
“...See you in hell soon, you son of a bitch.”
With those last words, Jacob's face turned black and his head slumped.
He was dead.
Besial muttered softly.
[I just got back from hell, though.]
“Wait. Be quiet.”
Jacob was dead.
But a strange feeling lingered.
I heard a sound.
A familiar sound.
But one that contained a sense of foreboding.
‘A bomb...!’
*KABOOOOOM!!!!*
Almost simultaneously with my realization, a massive explosion erupted.
On a scale similar to when I detonated the stigma to fight the Disaster of Solitude.
“...That was a surprise.”
*Swoooosh...*
The moment I realized it was a bomb, I surrounded it with darkness, absorbing the explosion.
It had no effect on me or my surroundings, but in the aftermath, Jacob's body had vanished without a trace.
[It's a bio-linked bomb. Designed to detonate when the wearer dies.]
A voice crackled out from the communication device lying on the ground.
No wonder he was only wearing one just before he took the poison.
It seems one of them fell out when I grabbed his head.
As I approached with a hardened expression, the deep, somber voice continued.
-Kim Se-hyeon. I will remember your name.
“...Likewise. I'll be paying you a visit soon. Pentagon Eagle, no.”
Pentagon Eagle is a cover.
I recalled my deduction about why Hwang Chan-jin and Jun Bo-ra had bothered to join a guild.
In the beginning, they'd reap the various benefits of being in a large guild while steadily preparing to overthrow it.
Then, they'd seize control from behind the scenes and swallow the guild whole.
It was a way to make the power of a large guild their own while preserving its strength.
For bastards with the ambition to rule with absolute power in the post-apocalyptic world, that would be the correct reason for them to be in Pentagon Eagle right now.
“...The progressors.”
*CRUNCH!*
I lifted my foot and crushed the communication device, which resembled a wireless earbud.