Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Charging Spear Awakens
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The Founder was smaller in size compared to the Magma Golem they had faced last time.
But in terms of speed, it was overwhelmingly superior.
Whoosh—!
Kang Han watched the Founder's fist graze past right in front of his face, finalizing his assessment of its explosive power.
Now, all that remained was to judge its hardness and durability.
Thud!
He kicked off the ground once more, leaping high into the air, his hair whipping in the wind.
As his sturdy frame, clad in white workout clothes, reached its peak and began to fall, Kang Han gripped the long shaft of his spear with both hands and drove the black spear tip—imbued with the full force of gravity—straight into the Founder's shoulder.
Krunch!
It felt like stabbing into a massive boulder, and cracks spiderwebbed across the entire white statue's arm.
'Soft.'
Kang Han calmly noted the observation that would shock anyone who heard it, deliberately not pulling the spear back. Instead, he slashed downward while planting his feet on the ground.
"Kraaaak!"
A bizarre scream erupted, as if multiple people were shrieking at once, and a massive hand reached out toward Kang Han.
It was clear the intent: to crush the intruder who dared attack the campus guardian in its grasp.
Kang Han didn't retreat from the attack coming his way.
Instead, he charged forward, slamming the spear into the Founder's instep.
Krunch! Chunks of statue flesh flew as a system message blinked overhead.
The change in his status window—something he checked habitually every morning upon waking—had first appeared three days ago.
Yet even after increasing training time with Yu Jin-rok or ramping up the intensity, there had been no further changes.
And today, the moment he stepped into the guerrilla gate.
That system window had popped up before his eyes.
Boom!
The Founder's massive fist slammed into the spot where Kang Han had just dodged away from.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With its feet pinned by the black spear, the Founder hunched its enormous body, desperately trying to strike Kang Han.
The attacks were fast and destructive enough to make the wind lag behind, but none so much as grazed Kang Han's clothes.
Just like when he struck the shoulder earlier, he smoothly retracted the spear while slashing, stepping onto its shin and climbing upward.
Passing the knee, torso, shoulder, and finally reaching the top of its head.
Kang Han didn't stop.
And the moment he faced one of the randomly protruding faces.
Whoosh—krunch!
Kang Han stepped forward and delivered a blow.
"Kyaaaaak!"
A woman's ear-piercing shriek burst from the bearded old man's face.
It was a scream loud enough to make the distant guild members clap their hands over their ears, but Kang Han didn't hear it.
He simply spun his body, smashed the next face, and used its scream as background music to move on to the next.
Each time, the system window flashed, signaling that skill activation was imminent.
As if urging him to keep going just like this.
It was when he had smashed four faces.
That's when he noticed the system text growing bolder, and a faint giggling sound brushed his sensitive ears.
"Hee hee."
It came from the fountain boy's face, hidden at the very bottom among the countless protruding ones.
Kang Han furrowed his thick brows at its smirk.
And then the Founder began charging at tremendous speed.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The direction it headed.
There, the guild members were gathered.
Since Kang Han had climbed onto its body and smashed its faces, it now aimed for the guild members—its own flesh and blood, so to speak.
"You bastard."
He ground out the uncharacteristic curse through gritted teeth.
Confirming Jang Su-ho swiftly raising his shield to protect the rest of the guild, Kang Han continued climbing up the Founder's head.
And the moment he reached the highest point, the crown of its head, Kang Han hurled himself forward.
'I don't care if I can't break through today's wall.'
But he couldn't tolerate it targeting his guild members.
Whoosh—!
He spun once in midair to build speed.
And thrust the spear with all his might.
Kraaack—!
"...Kek."
The black spear sank deep into the throat of the Founder, which had been screaming nonstop.
Graaah—!
Kang Han swung the spear purely with physical strength, slashing across.
Thud!
The Founder's head rolled across the ground.
Kruuung—!
Its body, indistinguishable limbs and all, collapsed to the floor.
"Everyone okay?"
As Kang Han turned back, confirming the Founder beginning to oxidize slowly.
"Ah."
Kang Han stared blankly at the system messages, then smiled at the guild members rushing toward him from beyond.
"Hyung, you okay?"
"You didn't even use any skills—are you hurt?"
Not a trace of falsehood in the eyes of these S-rank hunters worrying about him.
"I'm fine."
Kang Han replied with a relaxed smile.
Whoa, it actually worked.
Kang Han's status window had changed.
Now Kang Han was truly S-rank.
No, that didn't mean he had been a fake S-rank before.
Simply, one of his two S-rank skills had been sealed, preventing him from performing at full potential.
'He's growing even faster.'
I proudly gazed at Kang Han's status window once more.
Kang Han was growing at a pace that made even Sejong Wall look slow.
"Heh."
Not that I could say it was all thanks to me... but still, I'd changed a lot of things.
"Oh, a mana stone!"
Where the Founder statue had vanished, a single mana stone lay there.
C-rank.
We'd gone from a photoshoot to haphazardly clearing a gate, but with Kang Han's skill reawakening and now a mana stone to boot.
Unexpected gains always feel even better.
Buoyed by the good mood, I approached Kang Han and tossed him a line.
"Good work. Looks like you could handle a C-rank dungeon boss without skills now."
"Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Kang Han, who had been talking with Han Ji-seong, turned to me.
"Why are you smiling like that? It's making me attached."
Only with me could he say something like that so casually.
Anyone else might have had their heart racing and legs giving out.
Kang Han was smiling genuinely.
Dressed all youthful like a college kid, too.
I could almost hear the viewers of the raid broadcast fainting en masse.
Normally, he'd brush off my teasing joke with a smirk, but.
He must be pretty excited about the skill reawakening.
"Not attached yet?"
"Nope. Not yet."
"Too bad. I've gotten pretty attached."
Look at this guy?
I gave him a flounder-eyed glare and warned the still-smiling Kang Han.
"Don't say stuff like that lightly. Aren't you Kang Han, the responsible type?"
"I'll take responsibility."
"What?"
"Nayeo-ju-ssi, I plan to keep taking responsibility from now on."
"...What are you saying."
Who's taking responsibility for who?
I'm the one whose back is about to break from shouldering this world.
I shot a glare at Kang Han, who was still grinning at me, then checked the broadcast camera's position.
'Veterans, as expected.'
True to their seasoned crew, the camera had crept close, capturing Kang Han's smiling face perfectly.
Good. His handsome face broadcasts well enough.
I nodded, then noticed the sneakers I was still wearing.
Guess I'll have to squeeze more ad money out of this.
With the boss dead, and rumbling signs of collapse echoing here and there, we exited the dungeon and headed straight into the Association's tent to complete the gate clear report.
"That's all the reports done, right?"
"Yes. Shall we head back?"
At Kang Han's suggestion, I nodded eagerly.
Still caked in makeup, uncomfortable clothes, messy hair.
I wanted to strip it all off and roll around in bed with Baekho.
If we left now, we could avoid rush hour, I thought, striding out of the tent at the front.
"...What the."
I'd assumed the area around the tent would be empty now that the raid was over and there was no more spectacle, but a cloud of people still swarmed the place.
And they were all staring at us.
Fine, up to there, understandable.
But why were their eyes all so wide?
I froze just a few steps from the tent, causing the Justice Guild members following behind to bunch up.
Eventually, Im Cheong-su bumped into my back and grumbled.
"Why'd you stop and block the way... What is it?"
"Everyone's... staring at us?"
The other guild members reacted the same as me.
Yeah, I'm not the weird one here, right?
"...Justice Guild... sponsor..."
"What's going on. First time seeing..."
The common thread among the wide-eyed crowd: they kept glancing between us and their phones.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
The one thing that could tank a rising guild in one shot.
Rumors and scandals.
"Yu-chan, quick—search our guild name."
"Why search all of a sudden... Huh?!"
Damn.
Lee Yu-chan's reaction wasn't good.
I squeezed my eyes shut then open, grabbed his hand, and checked the phone screen.
Fresh articles featuring "Justice Guild" flooded the results.
And at the top was a breaking news post from 15 minutes ago.
The headline:
Jeong Je-hwa, you madman!