Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: ACT.47 Future and Past (1)
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The good thing is, the warp gate isn't something that can be used frequently.
The amount of mana required for each activation is substantial, and the warp gate itself is too unstable to be used nonstop.
‘In the end, a warp gate is still a type of gate.’
I took out an unenchanted dimension stone and threw it into the warp gate.
It was a waste, but dealing with this was the priority.
*Crackle!*
“The gate is…!”
The light-blue gate became unstable, then sputtered with sparks before losing its light.
Forcing the gate to overload using a dimension stone.
I was just copying the method used by the Order and the Geumeumdal Guild.
With this, Pentagon Eagle's support would be cut off.
If they had other warp gates, it'd be a different story, but no matter what tricks they had up their sleeves, they couldn't possibly have created multiple warp gates.
“Is that it?”
“It won't work for a while.”
Gates where monsters appear close on their own once cleared, but warp gates are a different concept.
If the dimension stone I threw in is retrieved, it will start working again.
‘I've made arrangements so it can be retrieved at any time.’
It wasn't impossible to destroy it completely, but I had no reason to.
It was a way to achieve the 'intercontinental travel' I'd been searching for.
Once this was all over, I planned to call Min Gyeong-hoon and have him modify it for our use.
Knowing Min Gyeong-hoon's personality, he'd probably jump at the chance with eyes blazing, even if I didn't ask.
“Then let's return quickly. Before those bastards catch our scent and swarm in…”
*Clank!*
Before Jeon Do-jin could finish his sentence, a mechanism activated, and all the exits were sealed shut.
“Everyone, on guard! It's the enemy!”
The master of another small guild immediately raised his voice.
As they were all elites, they prepared themselves in an instant, but no follow-up attack came.
Instead, they simply revealed themselves.
“Where are they!?”
“There! Up above!”
From the ceiling, which was so damaged it could no longer serve its original purpose, over a hundred people were looking down at us. It was unclear how long they had been there.
“Where did so many of them come from…!?”
“N-No one was picked up by detection!”
Jo Min-ah said in a fluster.
I knew. If Min-ah had detected anything, she would have told me immediately.
It wasn't because Min-ah lacked skill.
Even my own search, spreading my mana wide, hadn't found any trace of players.
“Ninjutsu, Obscuring Mist.”
The one who had been squatting and focusing on me from the start opened his mouth.
“It's a wide-area barrier that prevents detection by mana. You let your guard down, Kim Se-hyeon.”
[Character Information]
Name: Himura Kuroko
Gender: Male (25)
Strength: 72(+3) Stamina: 70(+5) Agility: 77(+10) Mana: 70(+5)
Unique Ability: Acceleration (S)
Traits: Super Speed (S), Assassination Arts (S), Kachōfūgetsu (A), Limit Sense (S)
Skills: Ten Thousand Blossoms (S), Ninjutsu (S), Shadow Bind (A)
The moment I saw his information, I was certain.
Himura was a member of Salvatio who had infiltrated the Yamato Guild.
“Why is the Yamato Guild involved in this?”
“How absurd, Kim Se-hyeon. You, of all people, should know the reason.”
Damn it. Of course.
I never imagined there would still be Yamato Guild members left on Korean soil.
The disaster should be stirring in their homeland by now, so why was an S-rank player still here?
I quickly scanned the information of the others.
All Japanese.
Not a single Westerner in sight.
Which means Team A and the rest of Pentagon Eagle weren't here...
“A feint.”
“You catch on quick.”
Himura's lips curled into a slight smile.
“Pretending to have this conversation is also a way to stall for time.”
Most of the elite forces are gathered here.
A head-on fight would cause them significant losses, so there was no reason to engage.
Just holding us here would be enough for our main base to be decimated in the meantime.
That was the Yamato Guild's goal.
“Jeon Do-jin-nim! A message just came from the main base! They say it's under attack!”
“What!?”
“We have to go back! We've already accomplished our objective here!”
“No, no. You'll have to stay trapped here.”
Himura snapped his fingers.
But since nothing changed, the people flinched for a moment before taking action.
“Did you really think a mere iron door could stop A-rank and higher players!”
*CRASH!*
A man slammed a brutish-looking axe against the iron door.
Normally, the iron door should have been crushed beyond recognition.
However, the iron door was unscathed.
Instead, the man who attacked ended up clutching his aching hand and dropping his axe.
“It's useless. A formation that disrupts mana has already been set up here. You can't use mana anymore.”
Suddenly, my head started spinning, and I felt dizzy.
This feeling.
It was the same sensation I felt when I was practicing 'Playable Character'.
Mana deficiency.
“How did you disable the warp gate?”
His voice, perhaps imbued with mana, was so clear it sounded like he was right next to me.
“What did you just do?”
“How did *you* manage to create a warp gate at this point in time?”
“I asked first.”
*Thwack-thwack-thwack!*
Dozens of shurikens embedded themselves in the surroundings.
Not a real attack, just a simple warning.
To throw so many with what looked like a single hand movement.
The speed was befitting of S-rank Assassination Arts.
“Jeon Do-jin-nim. I'll handle things here, so please return to the base.”
“What? How do you plan to face so many enemies alone! Don't be ridiculous!”
“Aren't you worried about Eun-ha?”
“That child can take care of herself. There are plenty of people over there, so it won't be that dangerous. I trust Eun-ha.”
“Really?”
As our eyes met, Jeon Do-jin twisted his lips.
“…Besides, it's not like we can escape from here anyway, is it?”
“We can escape.”
Jeon Do-jin's gaze sharpened intensely.
This was Jeon Do-jin, who doted on Cha Eun-ha terribly.
No matter what he said, he couldn't help but be worried.
“Is it possible?”
“It is.”
*BOOM!*
I stomped my foot, imbued with mana, and a crack formed in the ground.
Something round buried beneath was revealed.
The mana core that sustained the mana-disrupting formation.
Without giving anyone a chance to interfere, I immediately thrust the Black Moon Divine Sword into it, destroying the core.
Himura, who had been watching the situation, shot up from his spot.
“Huh? M-My mana is coming back!”
Having your mana sealed is like being unable to use more than half of your power.
They had been intimidated by the numerical disadvantage, but as the situation changed, vitality began to return to their faces.
“You, how on earth did you find it!?”
“Isn't there something more important right now?”
“…I'm counting on you!”
After a moment of hesitation, Jeon Do-jin turned his back.
Before the Yamato Guild could stop him, lightning struck from above, completely shattering the area where the entrance had been.
‘Hey, Oppa. I feel something strange in the floor here.’
There was hardly a method to it.
Jo Min-ah had discreetly tipped me off about what she found with her detection, and I used Extreme Eye to pinpoint its exact location.
“You're not going anywhere!”
The Yamato Guild moved.
Himura, leaping down first, threw hundreds of hidden weapons, living up to the name Ten Thousand Blossoms.
I had expected it, so I immediately jumped into the fray and swung my sword.
*Swish!*
I parried what I could and created darkness to absorb the ones outside my attack range before they could reach me.
Himura's face hardened as not a single one got past me.
“Your target is me, right? Stop messing with innocent people and deal with me.”
The other Yamato Guild members also scattered to block the others, but as long as I kept Himura occupied, there was no way they could succeed.
How could they stop Jeon Do-jin and the others with their only S-rank player out of the fight?
After being repeatedly struck and knocked down, the Yamato Guild members could no longer actively try to stop Jeon Do-jin's group.
“…Why did you two stay behind?”
“If we leave too, who's going to help you, Hyung?”
“That's right. We'll help too!”
These kids.
I smiled lightly.
“I trust you can handle yourselves.”
The twins grinned brightly and high-fived.
I couldn't completely let my guard down, so I'd keep an eye on them, but I planned to keep it to a minimum.
“Stop.”
Himura lightly raised his right hand, giving a signal.
At that, the Yamato Guild members stopped chasing Jeon Do-jin's group and immediately returned.
The Yamato Guild definitely had a unit composed solely of ninjas.
These guys seemed to be that unit.
“How did you use your mana?”
Himura stared at me intently.
“Even if the mana is dispersed, if you have a large enough reserve, you can still control some of it at will.”
“…I see.”
Himura instantly drew a pair of daggers and formed a hand sign.
“As expected, you're dangerous. I'll have to kill you here.”
*BOOM!!*
The shurikens stuck in the ground exploded all at once.
There was nothing attached to the shurikens.
The reason they could still explode was purely because his 'Assassination Arts' trait was S-rank.
Before reaching S-rank, it was a trait that was average at best, usually not even that.
But the moment it became S-rank, the option to remotely detonate all hidden weapons was added, causing its value to skyrocket.
“Right back at you.”
I swung my sword, sending out black smoke.
There was no reason to fall for something I already knew about.
I had already wrapped my body in darkness in preparation for the explosion, so I took almost no damage.
Whatever damage I couldn't absorb wasn't enough to pierce my Diamond Body.
“As long as you're a member of Salvatio, I won't let you escape.”
“…You bastard.”
The number of enemies surrounding us on all sides was well over a hundred.
On our side, there were only three.
It was a situation where we were clearly and overwhelmingly outnumbered, but the twins didn't seem to think we would lose.
That's how much they trusted me, I guess.
“Alpha.”
[You called, Lord.]
“Protect the kids. That's your top priority this time.”
[As you wish, Lord.]
The moment Alpha's eyes flashed, darkness began to take form all around.
I must have invested a good amount of mana, as the number of entities reached nearly fifty.
I could see the Yamato Guild, who had been triumphant in their numerical superiority, flinch.
“Tenebris One…!”
Himura's face hardened.
Many knew about the Lord of Darkness but were unfamiliar with the Army of Darkness.
For him to react like that the moment I summoned Alpha meant that Himura was at least a mid-tier member of Salvatio.
“Focus your attacks on Kim Se-hyeon! B-rank and below, concentrate on neutralizing the dark soldiers! They regenerate even if you cut them down! But, they consume mana to revive, so the faster and more you neutralize them, the weaker Kim Se-hyeon will become!”
[He knows a lot, doesn't he?]
“That's the obvious strategy. The other guys I've met so far were just terrible at dealing with it.”
Himura's orders were the most standard method for leading troops against the Army of Darkness.
However, a standard method only works when the opponent is also standard.
*Clang!*
Those hidden in the shadows clashed with one another.
When the cold glint of steel flashed, a dark soldier's body was pierced, and when darkness was swung, red blood splattered.
Blue flames danced between them.
I wasn't just standing around either.
Himura moved at a tremendous speed, enough to create a sonic boom, throwing all sorts of hidden weapons, and I parried them slowly, without overextending myself.
Himura muttered in a trembling voice.
“Why...”
The Army of Darkness rises again.
No matter how their bodies were cut, pierced, or decapitated.
The darkness squirmed and restored their original forms as if nothing had happened.
The Yamato Guild, which seemed to have the upper hand at first, slowly began to crumble.
“Why are you still perfectly fine!?”