Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Chapter 79: The Assault (1)
Translation: godtl
"Ugh! This is so annoying!"
The woman's sharply upturned eyes were undeniably captivating.
"The misunderstanding's been cleared up. What's the problem?"
"Cleared up, sure. The problem is why that misunderstanding happened in the first place."
Go Mal-suk crossed her arms and gnashed her teeth.
"Where exactly did they get the idea that we're dating?"
"I was surprised too."
Kim Si-mun chuckled with a wry smile.
They hadn't bet their lives on it, but still—
Who would look at two people who'd fought so fiercely and think they were dating?
And besides—
'Saying we had some "hot time" together? That doesn't even make sense.'
If Park Jin-uk or Kim Si-hyeok had made those comments, he could've understood. He'd have brushed it off as guy talk.
But—
'I never dreamed even Yu-jeong would think that way.'
How to put it...
The very embodiment of sincerity?
Coming from Yu-jeong—always so rational and straightforward—the misunderstanding had hit Si-mun like a shockwave.
Still—
"Looking back, it was kind of a situation ripe for misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding my ass! Since when does beating each other up count as dating? Huh? Did we sleep together or something?"
"Think about it, Mal-suk. Just think."
Si-mun flicked her forehead as she fumed.
"If you came out of a room wearing nothing but my shirt—no pants—wouldn't people misunderstand?"
Perhaps because even she found this reasoning plausible—
"...It's not like I could go out naked."
Mal-suk's anger deflated slightly at Si-mun's words.
"You could've waited or called for me."
"How was I supposed to hear you over all that noise?"
"Don't you have a phone?"
"......"
Mal-suk fell completely silent.
Most people saw her as stubborn and argumentative, but—
"You're right. Now that I think about it, it was pretty understandable."
The moment solid reasoning appeared, she was remarkably quick to concede.
Watching Mal-suk scratch her cheek in awkward realization, Si-mun chuckled and started walking.
"At least it all worked out. You even got some clothes out of it."
"Yeah. Though I feel bad taking such expensive stuff—she's really sweet."
The moment the misunderstanding cleared, Lee Yu-jeong had warmed up to Mal-suk instantly, quickly whisking her away to dress her in her own clothes.
'This is the first time I've seen Yu-jeong be this nice to a complete stranger.'
Despite appearances, Yu-jeong was strict about boundaries with others. Her life experiences had made her deeply cautious.
Yet right after the misunderstanding—
For some reason, she'd treated Mal-suk with unusual familiarity.
'Is there some secret world of women I don't understand? They are the same age...'
Though to be fair, only Yu-jeong was being warm. Mal-suk actually seemed flustered by her sudden friendliness.
In any case—
"So you two get along after all? But why go clothes shopping at this hour?"
"I told you—this outfit is crazy expensive."
"Feeling guilty?"
"Yeah. I'm terrified I'll spill something on it—my skin's practically crawling."
"Really? For something so..."
...You seem perfectly comfortable.
Si-mun swallowed the rest of that sentence.
"For something so what?"
"Nothing. Let's hurry—the department store's about to close."
"It's right there. And Yu-jeong said she called ahead."
Was it because she was the Seongsam Guild's granddaughter?
Or because she was one of Korea's most popular Rankers?
With one phone call, Lee Yu-jeong had performed the miracle of delaying Gangnam's department store closing time.
"Didn't she say she knows someone there? Anyway, she told us to take our time."
"True, but what about the employees stuck waiting because of us?"
"Well, well. Look at you, Kim Si-mun. Worrying about retail workers? That's unexpected."
"Since when is that surprising coming from me?"
"Then does it sound natural coming from someone who lives in Ranker Palace?"
Come to think of it, that was true.
Si-mun nodded in agreement, but his steps grew even faster.
"Still, we should hurry up and get this over with. I have a lot to do. I need to run the Arena too."
"True. I'm itching for the Arena myself. Feels like I've been completely reborn this time."
Go Mal-suk, who had gained the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts through the Constellation's patronage and could now fully wield her SSS-rank trait, the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
Of course, she'd be eager to test just how powerful her newfound strength was.
Si-mun spoke.
Or rather—
"Mal-suk, I can guarantee you'll have a free pass up to Gold—"
He was about to say.
—Oppa!
A chilling sensation ran down his spine.
But only until he sensed the killing intent.
Snap.
Si-mun spun around instantly and flicked his finger toward the direction of the murderous aura.
Whoosh—
A sharply condensed pillar of energy surged toward the source.
BOOM!
A violent explosion.
The pillar shattered, and someone landed not far away.
"As expected, you're not just at Gold level."
A man in his thirties, perhaps, with a low voice, swept back his hair, marked by a distinctive snake-like scratch on the side.
Si-mun frowned.
"Hey, are you out of your mind? There are civilians around—you pull this kind of stunt?"
One.
"Sing!"
Ignoring Si-mun's words, the man shouted toward the empty air he had descended from.
"I know."
As a series of geometric patterns flowed from the hands of the woman called Sing—
Hum.
Si-mun and everyone in the vicinity vanished as if they had never been there.
Gangnam streets.
"What the hell? Nothing's happening. Were those bastards just bluffing?"
The surroundings, even the view of Ranker Palace, were no different from before the mysterious barrier had descended.
But.
"No, it's here."
Si-mun could tell.
That an unknown energy had filled the space around them.
More precisely, it had completely sealed off the entire area.
—Oppa, this is—!
Yeah.
At the Philosopher's Stone's urgent voice, Si-mun nodded in agreement.
"Didn't expect to run into such a rare barrier specialist."
"Huh? A barrier? This?"
Go Mal-suk blinked in confusion before her eyes widened.
In contrast—
"Oh-ho. You recognize barrier traits?"
The woman who had cast the barrier—Sing—gazed at Si-mun with intrigued eyes.
"You know quite a few traits, don't you? Judging by that, you must have at least an S-rank barrier trait."
"Hoho! You figured that out too? Impressive. You're right."
Sing pushed her hollow cheek out with her tongue and smirked.
"S-rank trait, Mirror Illusion. That's my ability."
"Sing."
"What's the harm in telling them? They're gonna die soon anyway."
The man with the snake scratch muttered lowly, and Sing retorted in a sharp voice.
Are they using an Arena translator?
Si-mun noticed that their lip movements didn't match the words he was hearing.
Combined with their distinctly East Asian features and lip patterns—
The mastermind was obvious.
The Continent Guild? Well, they've been quiet since the last Desperado incident.
Whether they realized their identities had been exposed or not—
The woman called Sing licked her lips and scanned Si-mun head to toe.
"But damn, it'd be such a waste to kill you. Such a waste."
"Sing. We're on a mission."
"I know. But can't I at least have a taste before we kill him? It's not like anyone outside can interfere now."
Sing lazily shook the orb clutched in her left hand.
Si-mun instantly recognized it as the core of the barrier.
"Ooh~ Look at him. He's already figured out the barrier's core?"
"Sing, I won't tolerate this any further."
"Gong Geol-ryun, don't be stingy. Just cut the chatter. Let me have a little taste, hm? I'll owe you one next time."
"Haa. Fine, have it your way."
The man called Gong Geol-ryun from Viper Scratch let out a small sigh.
"Hehe! I knew you'd come around, Geol-ryun~! I'll make sure to document it properly when we're done!"
Sing, recognizing this as consent, curled her lips upward with a sinister smile.
Gong Geol-ryun stepped forward, took out his phone, and read aloud:
"Name: Kim Si-mun. Age: 28. Korean nationality. Gold-rank. Correct?"
"You already knew all this before making your move, didn't you?"
They'd already ambushed him and trapped him within a barrier. What was the point of confirming now?
But perhaps this wasn't a question meant to be answered in the first place.
"Confirmed."
Gong Geol-ryun simply spat out his words and pocketed his phone.
Simultaneously—
BOOM!
An explosive sound erupted.
It was the noise created by Gong Geol-ryun's descending strike, which had already reached Si-mun's position in an instant.
Followed by—
WHOOSH!
A tearing sound through the air as Gong Geol-ryun's spinning kick arced through empty space.
Having failed to land a single hit, he smoothly returned his leg to its original position and brushed back the snake-scratched hair near his temple.
"Fast, just as reported."
His gaze shifted toward Si-mun, who had landed a short distance away with Go Mal-suk tucked under his arm.
"Fuck! That scared the shit out of me!"
Go Mal-suk spat out a thick curse.
Having narrowly escaped the attack by clinging to Si-mun's side, she naturally disentangled herself from his hold.
"Hey. That bastard's fucking fast. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."
"Yeah. Looks like he's Diamond-rank."
"No fucking way!"
Go Mal-suk couldn't help but exclaim at the mention of Diamond.
"A Diamond Ranker personally coming to assassinate someone? What the hell did you do?"
"Does it look that way?"
Even in this situation, Si-mun answered with ease.
"Then again, you're not the type to make enemies easily."
Go Mal-suk glared at Gong Geol-ryun with a grave expression.
"So, what's the plan now?"
"There are two options. First, we destroy the barrier core that Sing woman is holding."
If an Awakened battle broke out in the middle of the night, the specialized Awakened response unit would mobilize immediately.
And if things escalated that far, even the Continent Guild would be in trouble.
"And the second?"
"We kill the assassins instead."
"Ha!"
Even after just acknowledging that their opponent was a Diamond-rank player,
Si-mun shrugged nonchalantly, drawing a disbelieving laugh from Go Mal-suk.
But then—
"Fuck, I like the second one better."
Go Mal-suk spat to the side.
"Still, might as well do both, right? Given who we're dealing with."
She muttered under her breath before shuffling forward with an unsteady gait.
The assassins' eyes instantly snapped toward her abrupt movement.
"Hey."
Go Mal-suk jerked her chin, pointing to one side.
There stood—
"Me?"
A gaunt woman.
Sing, holding the barrier core in her hand.
"Who the fuck else is there besides you, dumbass?"
"What? The fuck?"
"Or should I call you 'Your Highness'? Stop acting clueless and crawl your ass over here."
"Hah. Are you insane?"
Sing's voice was utterly dumbfounded.
And for good reason.
"A Bronze-Silver-Gold dares to pick a fight with me?"
Unlike Kim Si-mun, a high-priority target,
She wasn't even worth listing in the guild's records.
A mere Bronze-Silver-Gold player.
And yet, she had the audacity—
"I'm Platinum. You hear me?!"
—to talk back to her, a Platinum-rank player?
But as if that fact meant nothing—
"So what?"
"What?"
"You're Platinum, so fucking what, Your Highness? I said get over here. Don't tell me you're scared?"
Go Mal-suk just cocked her head insolently.
"That bitch has lost her mind!"
Sing's eyes nearly rolled back as she gnashed her teeth and stormed toward Go Mal-suk.
"Sing, it's a trap."
Gong Geol-ryun tried to stop her in a low voice, but—
"Don't you dare touch her, you damned deep-sea bitch! I'll tear you to fucking pieces!"
Sing was already oozing murderous intent as she strode forward without hesitation.
Gong Geol-ryun, who had been watching Go Mal-suk, sighed softly and turned his head.
"A Bronze-Silver-Gold daring to provoke a Platinum..."
"Kim Si-mun, you really keep some crazy bitch by your side."
"Says the one who shouldn't even be talking."
"......"
Perhaps he hadn't expected the retort to come back at him like this.
Gong Geol-ryun fell silent.
Meanwhile, Si-mun observed the figures positioned behind Gong Geol-ryun.
'That woman Sing is Platinum, and the rest are all Golds.'
Dressed in black suits, they stood back, merely watching.
The Qi Waves emanating from them were all Gold-tier.
Si-mun's gaze grew calmer.
'Gong Geol-ryun being Diamond is a bit troublesome, but if I go all out, they shouldn't be too difficult.'
Hadn't he already taken down two of the highest-tier Dragonkin, the Naga?
With Mythic-grade equipment, even a Diamond wouldn't be that hard to handle.
'The real problem is the civilians, though...'
Si-mun glanced around.
Even the infamous villain organization, Desperado, hesitated to harm civilians so easily.
Yet these bastards had no fear—they'd trapped dozens of civilians in a Barrier without a second thought.
'If we fight at full power here, it'll be a disaster.'
As that thought crossed his mind—
'Wait.'
Si-mun's brow twitched as he scrutinized the civilians.
'They got caught in an Awakened battle, yet they show not a single flicker of panic?'
No screams of terror.
No desperate attempts to flee.
Shouldn't they be reacting in some way?
Yet the civilians around them simply watched in silence.
'Don't tell me... these civilians are in on it too?'
"Seems you've noticed."
A low voice whispered in his ear.
Si-mun instantly activated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's incantation and drove his elbow backward.
BANG.
A shockwave erupted.
Using the momentum, Si-mun swiftly created distance.
"Fast for a Magic Class, and your Strength is no joke either."
Gong Geol-ryun brushed his temple and shook his head.
"We'll have to go all out. Everyone, move."
At his command—
Whoosh.
The group of Golds behind him drew their weapons and charged in unison.
Si-mun's eyebrow twitched slightly as he watched them advance in perfect formation.
"A coordinated battle array?"
"Sharp-eyed for a Gold. Now I see why the higher-ups are so fixated on you."
Gong Geol-ryun, now clad in elongated claws, settled into stance.
Then—
"I'll make sure you die here."
Gong Geol-ryun shot forward in an instant.
Did he have a speed-related trait?
SWOOSH—
He tore through the air like a gale.
One.
Snap.
With a crisp sound from his fingers—
CRACKLE.
"Tch!"
A sudden bolt of lightning forced Gong Geol-ryun to halt his charge.
A rod so white it was blinding.
'That's—!'
Gong Geol-ryun's eyes widened in recognition.
But that wasn't all.
"Doesn't matter!"
He resumed his charge, stepping back into his stance.
'We already knew you wield supreme lightning magic.'
The Continent Guild had thoroughly analyzed Kim Si-mun's capabilities.
And they'd prepared countermeasures.
CRACKLE.
Fierce lightning surged toward Gong Geol-ryun.
Yet he threw himself into the storm defiantly.
Swoosh—
His form flickered.
Passing through the lightning of Astrapē, Gong Geol-ryun swung his claws at Si-mun, whose expression flickered with surprise.
"Die now!"
Then—
Snap.
Another bolt struck down.
"Useless!"
"I know."
This time, the lightning didn't hit Gong Geol-ryun—but Si-mun's own palm.
"But this one's different."
With a smirk curling his lips—
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Annihilation Cannon.
The white rod in his hand transformed into a beam of light.
KWA-ZZZZZZAAAK!
The dim Barrier lit up in a blinding flash.