Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 40
>Chapter Title: Jihad Black
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Chapter 40
>40.
>Jihad Black.
>He was the ruler of the western forest. Or more precisely, he used to be.
>Every monster in the forest couldn't withstand his overwhelming presence, and the city's residents lived in fear of him.
>The worst, most vicious forest that no one dared even approach.
>That was what the western forest looked like under Jihad Black's rule.
>Until a monstrous man appeared.
>‘To think I have to hide out in a place like this...’
>Jihad couldn't accept that reality.
>He, the former master of a glorious throne, was now skulking in this decrepit underground lair.
>But what could he do?
>That monster was still alive, and if they crossed paths again, even this underground hideout wouldn't be safe.
>Was it because he was born a goblin?
>He surrendered to reality relatively quickly and adapted just as fast, soon finding a sense of stability.
>Time passed like that, and just as he was growing accustomed to life here.
>‘Hm...’
>Jihad felt bored.
>He had hidden so well that no new lifeforms ever came around anymore.
>In the beginning, he ventured out occasionally, but once he had his fine minions, there was no need to go out.
>Why take unnecessary risks and invite trouble?
>Living so safely, he even started forgetting what he had set out to do in the first place.
>It felt like he was forgetting something important...
>‘Eh, whatever.’
>Jihad brushed it off.
>After 100 years? No, 150 years of this life, he was fully adapted.
>He had become a man who could let anything slide!
>But even that had its limits, and lately, Jihad had been feeling off.
>‘Stifling. Too stifling!’
>Living here brought stability, but it couldn't quench the deep boredom welling up from his chest.
>Occasionally making new undead as a hobby was fun enough, but it couldn't slake this intense thirst.
>‘Maybe I should head out?’
>It's been so long, it should be fine, right?
>No, better not risk it.
>But still, it's so boring...
>Boredom made his body lazy, while his mind grew cluttered.
>He pondered for years what to do.
>[Someone is entering the hideout.]
>“Someone's coming in?”
>The voice came while he was sitting there in a daze as usual, and Jihad doubted his eyes.
>This was the hideout he had meticulously concealed to escape that monster.
>No one had found it for centuries. For someone to enter now—it made him tense at first.
>‘No way it's that guy...?’
>He told himself it couldn't be, yet anxiety gnawed at him.
>So he chanted his spells and waited, and the moment the human man appeared in the hideout.
>‘Ah.’
>His anxiety washed away.
>It was someone he'd never seen before.
>Relief that it wasn't who he feared gave way to curiosity. A strange thrill followed.
>‘I have a new toy!’
>A being to bring fresh fun to this dull life had appeared!
>And this toy was somehow unique.
>[I sense no explorer's aura... yet it's mixed with so many auras. What a peculiar existence.]
>The strength he felt wasn't overwhelming, but the aura was unlike any he'd sensed before—like a harmonious blend of various energies. It was a fresh shock.
>‘Perfect for experimenting and playing around.’
>He could turn it into a corpse for fun, test its durability with all sorts of spells.
>If he got bored, he could just make it an undead.
>Either way, it would free him from this tedium for years.
>‘I need to capture it without damaging it too much.’
>That's why he planned to use his monsters to subdue the toy gently.
>He never imagined any variables arising.
>This was his nest, where he'd lived for centuries. Nothing here escaped his knowledge.
>Yes, that's what he thought.
>Until the toy vanished from his sight.
>[Mark has been applied.]
>Swoosh-.
>[......?]
>Until that inexplicable message appeared, along with a chill on his back.
>Jihad finally grasped the situation and moved swiftly.
>Whoosh- Boom!
>[Corpse Manipulation activates.]
>[Trait 'Swift Hand Movements' greatly increases speed.]
>[Corpse Explosion activates.]
>[Trait 'Swift Hand Movements' greatly increases speed.]
>He hurled the nearby monsters—er, the insolent human—and detonated them simultaneously.
>It all happened in the blink of an eye.
>A speed no one could react to without prior knowledge.
>But the human didn't get hit.
>He had slipped away somehow, retreating far off.
>[......You rat-like bastard.]
>Jihad spoke calmly, but he was flustered inside.
>[Critical spot pierced. Status ailment 'Bleeding' activates.]
>‘When the hell did he stab me?’
>Not only had he widened the gap in that brief moment, but he'd secretly pierced a vital spot.
>It was swiftness unbelievable for a swordsman.
>What came after was even more so.
>Tap. Whoosh-.
>Boom!
>The human's steps were odd as he lightly stepped and charged in.
>He seemed to rush in fast, but when Jihad flung the corpses, he was farther back than expected.
>Seem like he moved slow, and delaying the throw let him close in quick.
>‘Why won't he get hit!’
>A bizarre phenomenon where perception and reality were reversed.
>‘Was there ever a human with such abilities?’
>Jihad had lived centuries, but he'd never heard of such a human.
>He'd thought the mixed auras meant various energies, but now he wondered if it was mixed races.
>Boom! Boom!
>[Eek......!]
>Do-hyun smirked as he watched Jihad wildly swing corpses in excitement.
>Freely manipulated like telekinesis, with explosions rivaling a fire mage's power.
>A textbook blaster necromancer—tricky up close, but pointless if he couldn't land hits.
>Stab-.
>[Critical spot pierced. Status ailment 'Bleeding' activates.]
>[Attack lands. Inflicts 'Bleeding' on opponent.]
>Close in and stab, retreat when corpses fly.
>Feint closing distance, then truly close and thrust his sword. When bleeding's cooldown hit, switch to assassin's dagger.
>If lucky, the dagger's bleed stacked for double damage.
>Even more amazing, he dodged the encircling undead explosions with ghostly movements, dominating space.
>Jihad raged at the vicious hit-and-run play enabled by overwhelming multitasking.
>[You insolent......!]
>Ranged dealers hated assassins for this exact playstyle.
>Assassins never fought fair.
>They poked, retreated, applied debuffs, and grated nerves.
>Of course, Do-hyun's skill set was still lacking for full assassin play...
>[What the hell is that movement! Why won't my attacks land?]
>But Do-hyun's unique movements and evasion made it possible.
>And that was just the start.
>[Trait 'Hero' blocks mental corruption.]
>[Curse Sphere's effect is nullified.]
>No matter the dark vision or curses, that strange power blocked them all.
>Do-hyun smiled slyly at the bewildered Jihad.
>‘It works after all.’
>Ask users who fought Kaiser what was hardest, and many answers came, but seven in ten said the same.
>- Movement.
>Unlike PC games where mouse clicks sufficed, VR movement involved psychological warfare and high difficulty.
>But with top agility and senses transcending human limits, adaptation made anything possible.
>High-rankers treated it like breathing.
>Finding a ranker bad at movement was harder.
>So why was it Kaiser's trademark?
>Simple.
>-Fuck, this is so fucking annoying. You're the only one who moves this infuriatingly. You shitty bastard......
>-Why are you mad?
>-Does this look not mad-worthy? I'm speaking for ten million Demlock users right now.
>-......I agree with him this time.
>Kaiser's movement differed from the norm.
>Movement's core was psychological warfare.
>Rankers reacted with dynamic vision, but limits forced prediction.
>Kaiser—Do-hyun—exploited that.
>-Looks like he's stopping, then suddenly charges; seems charging, then half-beat late. Drives me insane. How does he do it? Physically possible?
>-Weird to nitpick physics in VR, but... honestly curious. How?
>Sometimes upper body froze while lower moved, or vice versa; feign stop then explode forward; posture for speed but relax for delayed entry.
>Impossible in reality's physics and body limits.
>But freer in Demlock and God Ose, it was doable with effort.
>-......So he controls body parts independently? While mindgaming and multitasking? I can't. Give up.
>-Who does that crazy shit?
>-Is that even movement? It's beyond that.
>Just that it was insanely hard.
>Even simple left hand up-down, right left-right stumped most humans.
>Add stop patterns? Forget it.
>Two hands were tough; full body control?
>Only Do-hyun could do it.
>‘Even Kkukku Dak Kkukku said he couldn't.’
>One of the top physical specimens Do-hyun knew had surrendered.
>That was why Kaiser was called an unprecedented genius.
>In mind games, he had exponentially more options for dominance.
>Unlike instinct-driven monsters, this boss knew psychological warfare—perfect to exploit it.
>And his prediction hit perfectly.
>‘I see it.’
>What it would do, where it'd aim.
>How the surrounding undead would encircle.
>All visible to Do-hyun.
>Half-beat disruptions made him untouchable, like a mirage.
>Boom! Boom!
>Kreeee...... Kre......
>[Eek...... You fly-like pest!]
>In such situations, opponents always chose the same.
>Chin.
>[Kekeke...... Foolish fool. Luring flies without knowing.]
>One massive hit.
>A game-changer ultimate.
>Jihad grinned vilely at Do-hyun pinned against the wall, unable to retreat.
>Robe hid his face, but goblin slyness surely showed.
>[Secret Dungeon Boss 'Jihad Black' uses Great Corpse Technique: Massive Corpse Explosion.]
>[Trait 'Swift Hand Movements' accelerates cast speed.]
>Massive Corpse Explosion, or Big Boom.
>The pinnacle of blaster necromancers—all undead detonated at once in a spectacular skill.
>Stacking damage made it the strongest AoE burst if timed right.
>------!!
>Undead burst, shaking the cave violently.
>Wall-engulfing power rang ears with tinnitus as Jihad clicked his tongue.
>Dozens of undead used, many his prized ones.
>Even a troll wouldn't survive.
>[A rare test subject, I meant to handle gently... but you forced my hand.]
>Jihad had no doubt Do-hyun was dead.
>His strongest attack, after all.
>Pity about the toy and materials lost, but satisfying to crush the pest.
>[Mark disappears.]
>“......?”
>Until the odd message and presence behind him.
>He instinctively turned.
>There was Do-hyun, sword thrust forward, smirking faintly.
>“Dodged the big boom? If you dodge, you gotta hit.”
>[......Ah.]
>Checkmate.