Chapter 26
Chapter 26
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: ACT.5 Disintegration (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stat limit.
I don't have that system because of my special privilege, but normally, it's the biggest obstacle.
Originally, the main character at this point is, at best, a mid-to-low D-rank.
In a situation where key supporters like Kim Ji-hyeon and Lee Seon-yul are powerless, the player has to face a C-rank monster practically alone.
How could that be possible?
That's why people curse and quit at this stage.
Even if they stubbornly try a few more times, the outcome is always the same.
And for good reason. The only thing that can block its initial swallowing attack is fire.
The Death Worm is extremely vulnerable to fire.
Once swallowed, its insides are coated with a slimy fluid that repels most physical attacks. The moment you're eaten, there's no way to escape.
So, you have to avoid being eaten to even think about the next step, and the way to do that is with the Authority of Flames.
'But if you don't board the train, you can't handle the increasingly overwhelming monster waves.'
Freedom with set limits.
If you try to use tricks to bypass the crucial, predetermined parts of this chapter, it invariably leads to death.
You have no choice but to proceed, even knowing the obstacles that lie ahead.
And this was the best solution I'd found.
'Using that power to get through, while also building a relationship with the best possible ally, Han Hyeok-jun, in advance.'
"Thankfully, I wasn't too late."
Han Hyeok-jun, too, raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at me.
"For some reason, I had a feeling you were in danger, so I rushed over. I really don't know why, but I even had a rough idea of where you were. It was a strange sensation."
"That is strange."
"One strange sensation like that is enough."
With that, he plucked the tracking device from his collar and crushed it.
Pretending not to know about it, even though he knew everything, was just like him.
Han Hyeok-jun and I turned our eyes toward the Death Worm at the same time.
Its movements were growing sluggish, a sign that the neurotoxin was slowly spreading.
"With this, I've repaid my debt from last time."
"Oh? I'm the type who collects with interest."
"I'll help you take that thing down. How about it?"
"Sounds good."
[The main quest objective has been updated.]
[Objective: Defeat the Death Worm]
Just then, the quest details changed.
It was what I was going to do anyway. No reason not to.
I faced Han Hyeok-jun and grinned.
Then we charged toward the Death Worm together.
"The neurotoxin is spreading, so its movements should be much slower!"
"Got it!"
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from Han Hyeok-jun's hand, coiling around the Death Worm like a serpent.
His control was admirable. To wield such notoriously difficult flames like that.
It hadn't even been two days since he'd obtained the Authority of Flames.
And yet, he handled it with a proficiency that suggested complete mastery.
He really is a man of immense talent. It would be a loss not to have him as an ally.
[Character Information]
Name: Han Hyeok-jun
Gender: Male (26)
Strength: 20 | Stamina: 18 | Agility: 19 | Mana: 30
Unique Ability: Line of Scorching Heat (S)
Traits: Authority of Flames (S), Fighting Spirit (C), Beyond the Limit (C), One Who Climbed Up (A)
Skills: Sword of Fire (A)
I couldn't help but be impressed as I checked his information.
After getting an S-rank trait, he'd already acquired an S-rank unique ability and an A-rank skill.
He's definitely a character, along with the twins, that you must have as a companion in this game.
A different class of genius from Hwang Chan-jin.
My stomach churned.
I still hadn't acquired any notable traits or skills.
An opportunity to get some would arise soon enough, so I just had to be patient until then.
[Kuaaaah!]
Entangled in the chains of fire, the Death Worm struggled and turned its head toward us.
The rippling of its densely packed teeth was a habit the Death Worm displayed when enraged.
It was a creature that loathed getting hurt, but in this state, it adopted a mindset of 'I'll eat that thing even if I get injured.'
'That makes it easier to deal with.'
Boom!
A huge crater formed where I had just been.
Surprise attacks by burrowing underground and re-emerging were its specialty.
There were tells, so it was easy to dodge as long as your reaction speed was fast enough.
But that wasn't enough.
"Hyung! I'll help you!"
"Stay back!"
Jo Min-woo, who must have fallen to the floor at some point, had been about to step out of the train, which was faintly covered by a protective barrier. He froze, then quickly pulled his foot back in.
It was a harsh thing to say, but aside from Kim Ji-hyeon and Lee Seon-yul, everyone else on the train would just be a burden in this situation.
It was an unavoidable judgment.
Kraaaash!
The Death Worm thrashed violently.
Given its size, every single one of its movements was a threat.
Buildings crumbled, and debris rained down from above.
Plenty of time should have passed for the neurotoxin to spread.
Normally, it should have been reduced to just thrashing its tail in place by now.
Could it be that the difficulty of even this has increased?
Clang!
I batted away the falling chunks of concrete one by one.
My stats were high, but without any decent traits, this was all I could do.
Han Hyeok-jun, on the other hand, was composed.
He had surrounded himself with a protective barrier of flames, blocking the collateral damage.
Back when I played the game, with a mana stat over 100, I could demolish buildings with a single wave of my arm, as if I were a mage.
I felt a strange sensation, like a top-tier player who had suddenly lost all their power.
"Han Hyeok-jun!"
I deliberately began to run, stomping my feet.
He flinched and furrowed his brow for a moment, then nodded and summoned flames to his left hand.
The Death Worm tracks its prey through vibrations in the ground.
In other words, by running around deliberately, I could bait it into emerging at a specific location.
It can sense vibrations, but it can't tell what's actually happening.
Exploiting that was the standard strategy for defeating the Death Worm.
"Now!"
The moment the ground bulged and swelled upwards, I stopped running and threw myself to the side.
By a hair's breadth, the Death Worm burst through the ground and shot into the air.
At the same time, Han Hyeok-jun activated his ability.
[Character 'Han Hyeok-jun' uses the unique ability 'Line of Scorching Heat (S)'.]
The summoned flames enveloped his sword, and the blade danced through the air.
Several brightly glowing red lines appeared.
Each one was a line of superheated energy, fire compressed to its absolute limit.
The Death Worm sensed something was wrong and tried to escape back underground, but it couldn't move its airborne body that quickly.
"Burn!"
Fwoooooosh!
The condensed flames erupted from the red lines all at once.
Instantly engulfed in fire, the Death Worm let out a piercing shriek, crashed to the ground, and began to tremble violently.
An incredible amount of attack power.
What would happen if that were used on a person?
The mere thought of its power sent shivers down my spine.
For the Death Worm to take a direct hit like that and still be alive was also quite remarkable.
No, in fact, I was grateful.
[The energy of the Sa-in-geom overflows.]
[Ignores a certain amount of the monster's defense.]
[The power of white flame is temporarily imbued in the Sa-in-geom.]
Because thanks to that, I would be the one to get the achievement for defeating the Death Worm.
"Rest now, monster."
It raised its head, mustering its last bit of strength to struggle, and I cleaved it in two.
The brilliance of the Sa-in-geom traced a long arc through the air, and along that line, the Death Worm's head began to separate from its body.
[Achievement, 'First C-Rank Monster Defeated' has been accomplished.]
[1000 coins have been awarded as a reward.]
The Sa-in-geom's power to sever impure energy.
Added to that was the increased attack power from borrowing some of the strength it had absorbed from the remnants of the white flame.
Since I'd mobilized all the mana I had, a considerable wave of exhaustion washed over my entire body.
"Hoo..."
I let the strength drain from my body and collapsed on the spot.
The debuff that reduced my stamina stat was still active.
After only a short rest, I'd moved violently again, so it was no wonder I was reaching my limit.
[The main quest has been cleared.]
[1500 coins have been awarded as a reward.]
[Coins are being settled.]
[5000 coins have been awarded.]
Just then, as if it had struck midnight, several system messages popped up at once.
In that short time, I had earned a total of 7,500 coins.
I immediately opened my status window and used them to raise my stats.
[Character Information]
Name: Kim Se-hyeon
Gender: Male (26)
Strength: 34(+9) | Stamina: 30(+9) | Agility: 40(+9) | Mana: 20(+9)
Unique Ability: ???(EX)
Traits: One Who Started from the End (S), Accustomed to Battle (C)
Skills: Extreme Eye (S)
[Remaining Coins: 600]
Raising my stamina made my heavy body feel much better.
I hadn't obtained any traits or skills yet, but it was about time to start raising my mana too.
There are many ways to use mana on its own, so I need to start practicing to get the hang of it.
They'll definitely collect the usage fee today.
Considering that, I'd left enough coins for two days, just in case.
"Still as skilled as ever."
Unlike me, Han Hyeok-jun was perfectly fine.
In fact, though his words were complimentary, his gaze held a hint of chiding, as if to say, 'What did you even do to be tired already?'
It felt pathetic to blame it on the debuff, so I just laughed it off.
"You, on the other hand, have gotten incredibly strong."
"I had some good luck after that. Things were also resolved perfectly."
"...Perfectly?"
"Hm? Is there a problem?"
"No, it's nothing."
That can't be right.
Han Hyeok-jun had only dealt with the surface-level issues before coming to help. Afterwards, I was supposed to help him finish the job completely.
Only then could I become a true ally to Han Hyeok-jun and get involved in future events.
'It's already been resolved?'
I instantly knew who was behind it.
I turned my head toward the train.
"There was a way to clear it like this...?"
"Don't you think what that guy said was true?"
Someone like them, who has experience playing 'End of Apocalypse' to some extent.
Suddenly, I remembered what the person who cursed and left on their own after we rescued Han Hyeok-jun had said.
The Strategy King.
He'd definitely said there was someone impersonating me.
A simple impersonation would be exposed quickly.
It was likely a ploy they used because they knew enough to impersonate me with confidence.
There was a high probability that this person had resolved Han Hyeok-jun's business.
An unpleasant sensation, like chewing on sand, filled my mouth.
My plan had been twisted.
At this rate, I wouldn't be able to build enough of a rapport with Han Hyeok-jun to proceed with that matter.
[Wow, you're still alive.]
...As if my mind wasn't troubled enough, a creature whose very appearance was troubling decided to show up.
I looked up at the devil with annoyed eyes.
[Whoa, whoa. Don't glare at me like that. You were doing unexpectedly well, so I just adjusted things accordingly. You earned a lot of coins because of it, right? Right?]
"Are you going to keep pulling these cheap tricks?"
[Well now...?]
The devil grinned, evading the question.
Fortunately, it seemed no one else could hear it.
Han Hyeok-jun... he must have heard something, but he looked like he didn't know what we were talking about.
[Anyway, it's that time! Time to pay up! I forgot yesterday and let it slide, but today there are no exceptions. You have to pay. You just got your payout, right? You can afford it, can't you? If you don't pay, it's confiscation!]
The people who had exited the train and were watching the situation sighed and handed their coins to the devil.
Han Hyeok-jun, who had paid immediately upon the devil's appearance, just watched with his arms crossed.
At least it wasn't demanding two days' worth.
I rubbed my aching neck and handed 300 coins to the devil.
[Great! All accounted for! Well then, customers, see you again tomorrow at the same time!]
The devil vanished, still giggling and counting its money.
As long as you were active, the amount you earned was far greater than the usage fee, so it didn't matter. But conversely, it meant you had to risk your life every single day.
To have to risk your life just to live.
It seemed ironic, but for now, that was the only truth.
[The effect of the trait 'One Who Started from the End (S)' is activated.]
[The usage fee is waived.]
[300 coins have been returned.]
"...?"
['One Who Covets Treasure' struggles, claiming it as its own.]
['Devil Who Mocks the Heavens' looks on with pity.]