Into the Dungeon (6)
With a metallic clash, White Revenge was knocked away.
Nike Instructor had batted my blade aside.
The rebound dragged the hilt across my forehead.
My brow went hot a split second later, and blood began to run down my face.
I had charged in with confidence, only to be the one taking damage.
Nike Instructor spun his sword half a turn in his hand, looking completely at ease.
"Hunter Choi. What exactly was that ability you just used?"
He pointed with the tip of his blade toward where I had been standing.
"You appeared in the blink of an eye. Was that some kind of teleportation talent?"
Infinite Acceleration compressed time and space with sheer speed.
From his perspective, I must have looked as if I had blinked across the distance.
He didn't catch on to the ability. But still.
I hadn't just been charging at him like an idiot.
I had used Infinite Acceleration to attack with efficiency.
I meant to cut his throat in one stroke.
Nike Instructor had somehow blocked my killing blow.
How?
Did he really have the speed to react to a hero's ability?
"You're hesitating. Of course you are. You shouldn't rush in blindly without information on your enemy. Very good. You're doing well."
As if he hadn't forgotten his role as an instructor, he began lecturing me.
That only made me angrier.
"Try blocking this one too."
I kicked off the ground and activated Infinite Acceleration again.
This time, it wasn't a single burst.
With the white sword held reverse-angled in my grip, I attacked without restraint.
Crown, eyes, temples, nape, heart...
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!!!!!!!
In barely a second, eighty-seven exchanges flashed past.
I exhaled the breath I had been holding and widened the distance between us.
Blood welled up in the cuts on Nike Instructor's cheek, beading at first before the wounds slowly split wider and spilled red down his face.
Fresh scars opened all over his body, and strips of his clothing were torn away.
The ring finger on the hand holding his sword had been nearly severed, the bone exposed and dangling by a thread.
By contrast, I was almost perfectly fine, aside from the cut on my forehead and a few tiny scratches.
Nike Instructor looked genuinely rattled.
"...What is that ridiculous speed?"
I had injured him badly, but at the same time, I couldn't help but admire him.
Impressive.
To withstand Speeder's Infinite Acceleration...
Nike Instructor rotated his sword half a turn and straightened it out.
He's not fast in the same way I am. There may be another reason.
My breathing grew rougher and rougher, as if a thorn were lodged in my throat.
Hummingbirds beat their wings more than sixty times per second, and their hearts race at six hundred beats a minute.
That's why they have such short lives.
Infinite Acceleration ate away at the body every time I used it.
If this dragged on, my stamina would be shredded in no time.
The longer this lasts, the worse it is for me.
While I kept Nike Instructor pinned down, Bang Su-hwan supported the fallen Ha Se-na.
Lee Ji-jun, who had fled earlier, returned to his position as well.
They stood behind me, taking on a combat stance.
At the same time, they looked restless.
They must have wanted to jump in, but Nike Instructor was leaving almost no openings.
No sloppy team attacks. That would just make things worse.
Blood from my forehead ran through my eyebrow and pooled in my eye.
The world reddened, and my vision began to blur.
I used Regeneration to stop the bleeding.
As money was deducted, the wound closed up.
Awakener's Balance
: ₩959,094,655.
I had already used Infinite Acceleration, a ten-million-won skill, twice, so the amount had dropped sharply.
"No way... How..."
Ha Se-na covered her mouth, stunned.
She had just watched me recover my forehead in an instant.
The treatment had been completed at a speed that only the best S-class healers could manage with effort.
To her, I must have looked like I was wielding some bizarre power.
Nike Instructor tilted his head as well.
"The more I look at you, the more surprised I am. You really don't seem like an F-class hunter at all. Have you actually been hiding your real ability all this time?"
Behind him, I could see the two interns who had collapsed.
They were cold, lifeless corpses now.
"Why."
I forced the word out.
"Why are you going this far? Is that damn cult really more important than your responsibility as a hunter?"
Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Hunter Regulations of the Republic of Korea.
First, protect civilians from monsters.
Second, do not turn power into privilege.
Of course, not every hunter actually followed that.
There were definitely people like Seo Gwang-pal, who treated awakening like a special privilege and ran wild with it.
"Don't you have any pride as a hunter?"
"I don't."
Nike Instructor didn't hesitate.
"My school is Ganro-ryu. It's a sword style meant solely to protect the Cheonyang-ji cult leader. My master used to say, 'We were born to protect him.'"
Ganro referred to a shield used to block an enemy's blades and arrows.
Ganro-ryu.
I had heard of it.
A sword style forged by a man known as a master of the blade after he began believing in Cheonyang-ji, dedicating his entire life to protecting the cult leader.
Rumor had it that his skill was on par with that of an S-class hunter.
I already knew Nike Instructor was a swordsman of real caliber.
But to think he was a successor of Ganro-ryu...
Now I understand.
I lowered my gaze and looked at the ground beneath his feet.
A faint circular formation drawn in mana was visible there.
Roughly 2.5 meters in diameter.
The secret was becoming clear.
Ganro-ryu wasn't a sword style meant for attacking anyone in the first place.
It was a sword for protecting someone.
Which meant that once you stepped inside that circle, any attack became meaningless.
In that case...
I quickly formulated another plan.
What if I used Divine Aura, the barrier that covered my entire body?
I would somehow block Nike Instructor's strike, then finish him off with Judgment of the Superhuman while he was open.
Even if his defense broke through and I took damage, it didn't matter as long as I didn't lose consciousness.
I could just heal with Regeneration.
Good. Let's go.
The moment I decided and moved to act, pain struck.
"Gh."
Agonizing pain clamped around my heart.
Before I knew it, I was clutching my chest and dropping to one knee.
Seeing that, Nike Instructor spun his sword once and laughed.
"So it finally took effect. I suppose my training was lacking compared to my master, so the medicine is taking longer to work."
Medicine?
Had he poisoned me?
Without thinking, I clenched my fist tight.
Only then did I realize something was wrong.
No mana is coming out.
It felt like I had been thrown back to before I became an Awakened.
"You mentioned responsibility earlier, didn't you? I have my duty too. Ganro-ryu has two objectives. First: protect the Cheonyang-ji cult leader. Second..."
He pointed the tip of his sword at me, still kneeling.
"Crush anyone who defies the leader."
Nike Instructor went on.
"Anyone whose blood stains my sword cannot use any of the skills they've accumulated for twenty-four hours. In other words, you're no different from an ordinary person."
A talent that neutralized all mana-based skills.
This was...
Lethal.
My strength came from Purchase.
I spent money to buy powers that could manifest as cheating-level abilities in the real world.
Using that, I had beaten Big Lava, Seo Gwang-pal...
Even S-class hunter Go Ju-hun.
If I couldn't use hero abilities themselves, I had no way to stand against Nike Instructor.
This is bad.
I tried not to show it, but cold sweat ran down my spine.
"You're getting anxious. Well, good. Fear is also a fine quality for a hunter to have. In truth, I quite liked you, Hunter Choi. It's a shame that our relationship must end here."
Our eyes met.
For some reason, memories flashed through my mind of the advice Nike Instructor had given me, and the moments when he had genuinely helped me train.
Was Nike Instructor really such a monstrous villain?
Then I remembered something he had once said.
"My family matters more to me than anything. I could even give my life for them if I had to."
Nike Instructor had been an orphan.
There were countless people who had lost their parents after the Great Cataclysm.
Back then, I had let his words pass over me.
The family he had meant was...
The followers of Cheonyang-ji and the cult leader?
Nike Instructor must have been slowly consumed by the shadow of that sect.
Out of the tragedy of the dark,
that was the kind of monster that had been born.
"I can't help it either. The cult leader's orders are absolute..."
"Cut the crap. No matter how much you try to justify it, you're still a murdering bastard."
"...""
At my words, Nike Instructor paused, then gave a small nod.
"Very well. Then let's do this."
He slid his sword back into its scabbard.
"I asked you once before, didn't I? What matters most inside a dungeon."
If Nike Instructor had answered trust, then I...
"Survival."
He pointed toward the open gate.
"I'll let you live. I'll recommend Hunter Choi to the cult leader. Someone of your level would be a tremendous asset to Cheonyang-ji. So let's leave this place together with Hunter Ha Se-na. We'll call this an accident."
Nike Instructor lifted the orc's head, which was lying in the dirt.
"The boss monster mutated, suddenly jumped in level, and massacred the combat team. Only the three of us survived. How does that sound? Pretty convincing, right?"
He looked between the orc head and me and smiled.
"So, make your choice. You always care most about getting out alive, don't you?"
He wasn't wrong.
Then and now, survival had never meant merely pocketing money or scraping together loot.
I wanted to fulfill my duty as a hero.
I wanted to close the gate that threatened humanity and return safely to my family.
Ironically, Nike Instructor's question from class fit the present situation perfectly.
Would I kill the many and beg shamelessly for my own life?
Or would I die honorably with everyone else?
My answer was:
"Go to hell."
Nike Instructor's expression hardened.
"Survival doesn't mean I alone get to live."
"Then what does it mean?"
"That we all survive."
Nike Instructor shook his head and drew his sword again.
"No. You're wrong. Your foolish choice will get everyone killed."
He hurled the orc's head into the air.
Blue fluid sprayed from the brain matter and splattered over me.
Bright red blood and the orc's blue gore mixed together.
Before I knew it, my face had been stained purple.
It looked almost as if the Purple Devil himself had put on a mask.
I slowly rose to my feet.
My opponent was already charging at me with his sword leveled.
I could no longer use Super Kid's ability.
I could no longer use Speeder's power either.
But only the existing abilities were gone.
What if I gained a new one?
I couldn't just pick up a fresh skill on the spot.
Skills had to be earned through endless training, or gained after a lifetime of effort.
But I already had a trump card.
The third hero.
Mr. Edenbright.
Also known as Mr. Eden.
The strongest magician in the world of comics had appeared.
[ Hero Skill Shop ]
1. Mr. Eden Series.
1) Allusia
: ₩2.75 million per second.
......
I clicked without even giving myself time to hesitate.
Allusia has been activated.
Like water rushing into dry earth, mana surged up from the deepest part of my core.
I closed my eyes.
With both hands, I drew separate circles.
Two orange magic circles formed.
Nike Instructor, who had been charging at me, faltered.
"That pattern... don't tell me."
The magic circles were sucked into his pupils.
For an instant, he gaped as if he had seen a ghost.
Then, all at once, Nike Instructor frantically drew his sword.
Slash.
His blade split the air.
There was no one there.
"D-don't come any closer!"
He screamed and swung again.
Shwaaaack!!!
Sharp sword energy whirled around inside the circle.
"Cult leader, you're in danger! Please, flee at once!"
Bang Su-hwan, Ha Se-na, and Lee Ji-jun too.
All of them stared at Nike Instructor from where they stood, as if he had lost his mind.
Allusia was divided into two forms.
Hallucination, which showed false images.
And Brainwashing, which forcibly made the target obey a specific command.
Only I could understand what was happening.
He fell for the hallucination!
He was fighting an enemy that didn't exist, under the spell's influence.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Nike Instructor unleashed a relentless assault against the imaginary enemies that had entered the circle.
The force of it was so brutal.
The bombardment of sword strikes traced a perfect sphere and glowed a searing red, like molten lava.
If you got caught in that by mistake, you'd melt away without leaving a trace.
There isn't even a gap to slip through.
I couldn't wait forever.
Awakener's Balance
: ₩959,094,655.
Awakener's Balance
: ₩956,344,655.
Awakener's Balance
: ₩953,594,655.
......
Every second, the amount dropped by ₩2.75 million.
No matter how much money I had, even a billion won...
At this rate, it'll run dry in no time.
But there was nothing I could do.
I couldn't use any hero skill other than Allusia.
"Hah! Haaah!"
Nike Instructor seemed to be reaching his limit too.
The speed of his sword had slowed noticeably.
In that instant, I seized the opening.
"Lee Ji-jun! It's barium!"
At my desperate shout, Lee Ji-jun jumped forward in confusion.
"What?"
"Hurry! Barium alloy!"
The exact name was barium titanate tin alloy.
It was ten times harder than diamond and incredibly durable, able to withstand most high temperatures.
"Ah!"
Realizing my intent at last, Lee Ji-jun sliced open his own artery.
Blood gushed from his split wrist like a fountain.
Frowning in pain, he used his talent to control the blood.
"How much do you need?"
"As much as you can manage! It has to be at least three meters!"
The safe amount of blood to draw was around 500 milliliters.
Go beyond that, and his life would be in danger.
"Ghk."
Lee Ji-jun kept drawing blood without pause, and his body began to sway.
"Ha Se-na!"
This time, Ha Se-na moved without needing an explanation.
She used her healer abilities to support Lee Ji-jun, making sure the blood kept flowing.
At last, a long red spear made from Lee Ji-jun's blood took shape.
The moment Lee Ji-jun collapsed, Ha Se-na grabbed the spear and threw it.
"Catch!"
I snatched it out of the air.
Nike Instructor was still locked in a battle with his hallucinations inside the circle.
Now.
I gripped the spear tightly and charged straight in.
The spearhead bored into the ring of burning light.
"How dare you lay a hand on the cult leader!!!"
Nike Instructor twisted his sword and blocked the spearhead with the broad back of the blade.
Though his mind had collapsed, the madness of his faith was still intact.
"Ugh!"
I ground my teeth and shoved the shaft forward, but I didn't have enough strength.
"I'll protect him. I will protect the cult leader no matter what! And for that, I'll kill you all! Every last one of you!!"
Veins bulged fiercely in Nike Instructor's eyes.
No. I'm getting forced back.
Then someone behind me poured strength into the spear.
"Hyung-nim, don't leave me out."
Our team's massive shield.
My reliable comrade.
Bang Su-hwan laid his thick palm against the end of the spear.
For an instant, Nike Instructor looked as if he had slammed into a wall.
"W-wait. If you all just devote yourselves to Cheonyang-ji, you'll gain eternal life..."
"Die."
Nike's sword shattered to pieces.
The red spear pierced straight through the fanatic's body.
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