Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Team L (4)
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Wooooong...
A blue barrier was protecting Roberto.
Even though he somehow managed to block my strike, Roberto's expression was grim.
'Of course it is.'
I let out a smirk and said to Roberto.
“You used something expensive.”
Absolute Defend Necklace.
An S-rank item that, when used, nullifies any one instance of damage dealt to the user.
However, its 30-day cooldown meant it was an item people were reluctant to use unless they were truly about to die.
It was one of the top S-rank items obtainable in the United States.
Having it at this point in time meant that Roberto, without a doubt, was also a 'Progressor'.
And not just some nobody like Jacob, but one who had progressed 'quite' far.
“You're strong.”
Roberto staggered to his feet.
He didn't look intimidated.
Although he was tense because it was harder than he expected, his face said he could still fight.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Roberto.
'Even considering he's a Progressor, his raw power is considerable.'
His stats can't be higher than mine.
His level of attack power must be due to possessing traits with high offensive capabilities, like antimatter.
Even so, it was strange that we could exchange blows to this extent, as if his stats far exceeded the limit.
'No way.'
As far as I know, there is one way.
A method I had originally planned to use before the shop removed the stat limit.
“You, did you use a bug?”
The only way to remove the stat limit in the original game.
That bug had one fatal flaw.
Because of that flaw, I had never been able to trigger the bug intentionally, aside from one time I succeeded 'by chance' while playing the game.
But coincidentally, now that this was reality, there was a perfect item that could solve that problem.
'A Dimension Stone.'
In other words, if they had used the bug, it meant they also knew the true nature of the Dimension Stones.
My mouth felt dry, as if filled with sand.
Just the Dark Moon Guild alone had run rampant to an incomparable degree after getting their hands on a Dimension Stone.
If those bastards with ambitions to rule the entire world had also obtained one, I couldn't even begin to imagine how troublesome things would become.
“...”
Roberto remained silent.
The moment I felt something was off, I realized what it was.
He isn't silent because he knows.
He's silent because he doesn't know.
To create confusion.
'If it's not a bug.'
Ah, there was that.
I recalled a certain drug being distributed in Busan.
If Paradise had obtained and used the 'Red Pills' through the Phoenix Guild, Pentagon Eagle was distributing its own drugs with doping effects.
“Drugs, then.”
“Using doping items to get stronger is a basic part of gaming, isn't it?”
A statement that turned all game characters into drug addicts in an instant.
I glanced around to check on the other fights.
None of them had been clearly resolved.
The guild masters. Hwang Chan-jin. The ones targeting Min Dan-ah and the ones protecting her.
No, to be precise.
The enemies were focusing more on evasion than attacking.
“Korea, just as expected. It was true that there would be many strong people here, since it's the main stage of the game.”
Roberto spread a strange-colored, shimmering smoke around himself.
All of it was antimatter.
The moment Roberto willed it, it would change to have the opposite properties of any nearby matter and cause an explosion.
His intention was blatant.
Just stall for time, as long as they don't lose.
That naturally meant they had something else they were counting on.
Another objective they were aiming for by stalling, where the outcome of this battle wasn't the important part.
“Looks like you're the one forgetting something.”
“...!”
Roberto immediately turned his head.
The body of Kang Dae-ho, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, was now almost invisible, swallowed by darkness.
“Damn it...!”
“It's obvious what you're after. The Guide of the Abyss and the Guide of Madness. And the Disaster of Defiance that comes after.”
I rushed at Roberto and swung the Black Moon Divine Sword.
The antimatter changed into various forms.
It was a ploy to figure out the material of the Black Moon Divine Sword and destroy it somehow, but it wouldn't work.
Fwoosh!
Black flames erupted on the surface of the Black Moon Divine Sword.
Anything that tried to touch the sword was annihilated by the black flames before it could make contact, so there was no way the sword could be destroyed.
Antimatter, in the end, was still made of particles.
It couldn't be unaffected by the black flames that erased everything.
“Black flames, too!?”
Roberto flinched in surprise and backed away.
I pursued him relentlessly, giving him no room to breathe.
If he tried to recklessly use an antimatter bomb at such a short range, he'd get caught in the blast himself, so that wasn't an option.
With no other clear options, Roberto drew a sword and began to counterattack.
'In the end, their objective boils down to one thing.'
If the Progressors view Korea as a thorn in their side, as Jacob said, there's only one thing for them to do.
Make it so we can't easily deal with the enemies that exist in the story.
To be precise, they're trying to stop us from using our foreknowledge to easily progress through the original story.
Min Dan-ah, who was supposed to become the Guide of Madness but was rescued and is now living a normal life.
Kang Dae-ho, who was easily subdued because Hwang Chan-jin and I knew how to defeat him.
Their scheme is to return those two to their original places, thereby making it trickier to face the impending Disaster of Defiance.
'If this is how they want to play.'
I won't just stand by.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Kwoooang!
“Ugh!”
Unable to dodge the downward strike, Roberto groaned as he took the hit.
Though his face rarely showed emotion, I could see him gradually growing tired.
Roberto had probably never faced an opponent with higher stats than him before.
Stats have a limit, and at this point, pure invested stats couldn't exceed 60.
Even with bonus stats from traits or items, raising them by just 20 would be a huge feat.
But I had completely shattered that wall.
My stats were over 90, nearing 100, and receiving an efficiency boost.
By preventing him from using his abilities properly and forcing him into a close-quarters battle where stats were everything, no one could beat me.
“Don't think you can just go home quietly after threatening to destroy another country.”
I momentarily relaxed my strength, and the instant Roberto lost his balance, I slashed him multiple times.
They weren't deep.
Just before being cut, a suit of armor made of blue energy appeared, momentarily increasing his defense.
He's decked out in defensive items.
I frowned and tried to continue my attack.
“Stop!!”
Woooong.
I felt a strong pull from below, and my legs became as heavy as lead.
Gravity concentration.
The power of a Graviton ability.
The Graviton user should have been fighting Kim Hyo-jong.
Does she have enough leeway to pay attention to me while fighting Kim Hyo-jong?
Roberto's eyes glinted, and an explosion erupted from the ground.
KABOOM!!
'The ground is already a space made of matter.'
I had been instantly erasing the antimatter with my black flames until now, but because of the Graviton, my feet were momentarily tied down, and I couldn't act first.
I absorbed the entire explosion with darkness, so I took no damage, but...
“Roberto! Are you okay!?”
“...It hurts.”
“For you to be pushed back like this... Just how strong is that Kim Se-hyeon guy? No, if a nobody is this strong, then just how powerful is the Strategy King!?”
The woman who seemed to be the Graviton user shuddered.
So my growth, while letting the Strategy King be impersonated, is causing this kind of misunderstanding.
I hadn't planned for this part.
“Ah, damn it! Are you really going to fight so dirty!? Get back here!”
I let out a hollow laugh watching Kim Hyo-jong move awkwardly due to the gravitons placed everywhere.
They were also well-informed about the guild masters.
That woman must have stepped in because she knew how to easily handle Kim Hyo-jong with her power.
She had been stalling for time, and when it looked like Roberto was in danger, she properly tied down her opponent and came to help.
“It seems we need to change our plan. We have to report back to HQ, too. We haven't even met the Strategy King yet, but Kim Se-hyeon and that ice-using man are too dangerous.”
“Ah...”
At Roberto's words, the woman's gaze turned behind her.
To the place where Hwang Chan-jin was fighting the person with the power of light who had sniped at Min Dan-ah.
It was too far to see clearly, but the ice pillars rising everywhere didn't give the impression that Hwang Chan-jin was losing.
“Got it. Let's retreat. If we drag this out any longer, it'll complicate our progress back home.”
“Dwayne! We're retreating! Just give up!”
As Roberto shouted, the huge teleporter leaped a great distance.
Then, as if on cue, the members of Team L who had been fighting all over gathered in one spot.
Their movements were swift, as if they could retreat with the teleporter's power the moment the signal was given.
As expected, they had just been stalling for time.
While the others stalled, the teleporter would either kidnap Min Dan-ah, or the sniper would kill her on the spot.
Since both plans had failed, they decided there was no reason to stay any longer.
“As if I'd let you escape!”
I forcibly broke free from the Graviton's pull and poured as much darkness as I could into the Black Moon Divine Sword.
Just as I was about to use Lesser Darkness.
Kkigigik.
Something like invisible spiderwebs bound my body from all directions.
They looked like threads, but their strength was that of steel wire, or even greater.
I immediately used my black flames to burn the threads and tried to move again.
But in that brief moment, Roberto aimed his sword at me and used his power.
Pachang!
With the sound of shattering metal.
Pyupyupyut!
Thousands of metal fragments spread out in a fan-shaped arc.
'He reacted antimatter with the sword he was holding to make it explode...!'
I swung my sword in a wide arc.
A wave of sword energy shot forward, annihilating the sword fragments so no one else was hurt, but I couldn't stop the teleporter from teleporting.
“We'll retreat for now, but we'll meet again. Kim Se-hyeon. And you, frozen man.”
Kwajik!
A giant spear of ice fell.
Right where Team L had been moments ago.
If it had been just a little faster, the attack would have hit, but it was late by a hair's breadth.
“They got away.”
Hwang Chan-jin descended from the top of the ice spear.
He had a displeased look on his face.
It was understandable. His Four Dragon Sword had been shattered, and he hadn't even caught the enemy.
I could feel his gaze, as if blaming me for not catching them.
“You didn't catch the sniper either. If you had finished quickly, you could have joined me and we would have surely captured them.”
“His stats and mine were similar, so it wasn't an easy fight. I can reflect light, but he could also melt my ice with light.”
Come to think of it, this was Hwang Chan-jin's first time fighting a Progressor.
He had fought me before, but that was before I had properly grown.
“I was interrupted by the Graviton user next to me.”
“Wasn't Kim Hyo-jong dealing with the Graviton user? He must be quite weak.”
“...You, don't say that in front of Kim Hyo-jong.”
He'll actually try to kill you.
Knowing Kim Hyo-jong's personality, it's bound to happen.
“I managed to injure him, though.”
The sensation remained in my hand.
It was a clean cut, and even as he teleported, blood was flowing from the wound he was covering with his hand.
Even though the mana armor blocked it, the attack was imbued with black flames.
A simple potion won't be enough to heal it, so he'll have to return to the US to get proper treatment.
Personally, I wanted to chase them to the end and catch them, but the next disaster was approaching, so I had to give up.
“Still, it's a relief there were no casualties.”
“...Right.”
If any of the guild masters had been defeated and died.
The thought of the Disaster of Defiance's difficulty skyrocketing made me frown.
Hwang Chan-jin also nodded silently.
“Dan-ah! Are you okay!? You're really okay, right!?”
“Ugh, yeah. I'm fine, unni. Calm down. Stop shaking my head.”
“That's right. You should try to calm down a little.”
I watched Min Ji-ah, unable to calm down as she hugged her only sister.
The person who was originally supposed to awaken as the Guide of Madness, leave countless victims in her wake, and ultimately die at the hands of the players.
And Min Dan-ah, who was supposed to be brutally murdered while searching for her missing sister, becoming the trigger for Min Ji-ah's awakening.
Hwang Chan-jin watched the two of them with a complicated expression.