Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Kim Min-kyung VS Im Ji-hyun
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Only then did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"First off, let's distribute the coins."
Dokgo Hyun had overcome the Outer God Incarnate mission and racked up plenty of small bonuses, so he handed out a bit more generously to his team members.
His teammates accepted the coins from Dokgo Hyun, but they couldn't shake their worry for him.
"Are you really okay?"
"As you can see, I'm in fine shape. Nothing happened to you all while I was gone, right?"
"We're good! But you... your face is pale as a ghost."
"Hm. Is it?"
Dokgo Hyun touched his face.
Even after receiving the full recovery bonus, his complexion remained ashen. That meant the fight with the Outer God Incarnate had truly been perilous.
"Here, follow my lead. Nothing beats clapping for blood circulation! Come on! Clap clap clap!"
"......"
Dokgo Hyun forced himself to clap along, then turned his gaze to the stage.
Up on the stage, two teams were gearing up for battle.
From the perspective below the stage, the left side was Team 3, led by Kim Min-kyung with the [Mother of Parasites] skill.
The right side was the unknown Team 38.
Team 3 had eight people plus one ogre.
Team 38 had six.
Team 3 held the numerical advantage.
Especially since Kim Min-kyung had most of her underlings under control with [Nerve Parasites], they'd move with perfect coordination.
'What could Team 38's leader's skill be?'
"Let's begin."
The TV Girl announced.
Taat!
Team 3 seemed to plan a frontal assault. Everyone except Kim Min-kyung and Namgung Hyeop charged straight ahead.
"Kuooh!"
The twin-headed ogre's presence was especially intimidating.
Team 38's leader, Im Ji-hyun, shouted.
"I need you all to buy time!"
"We can't hold out forever!"
Team 38's members unleashed a barrage of skills.
They held off Team 3 with a solid array of skills overall.
But Team 3 wasn't pushovers either.
A full-scale clash of large-scale skills erupted across the stage.
Fireballs flew, only for someone incredibly fast to dodge them.
Sharp icicles surged from the ground and plummeted from the ceiling, met by concrete barriers that blocked them.
When the enemy distorted vision with a debuff skill to halt movement, allies conjured a mystical grass field that swiftly cured the debuff and protected their side.
The moment foes charged to shatter the barriers, a powerhouse with immense strength countered.
Flaash!!
Kaboom!!
Shooo!!
A group battle among players now skilled in their abilities.
It was a dazzling feast of skills, and overall, Team 3 held the edge over Team 38.
Even accounting for Kim Min-kyung and Namgung Hyeop hanging back, it should have been even, but Kim Min-kyung had tamed the twin-headed ogre as a minion from a previous dungeon mission.
The ogre's overwhelming pressure gradually pushed back Team 38's players.
"Krahk!"
"Just a bit longer! It's almost ready! Hyaah!!"
Flaash!!
A red flash momentarily bathed the gymnasium.
As the light faded, a red dragon materialized before Im Ji-hyun.
"Kuooh!!!"
An earth-shaking roar reverberated through the entire gym.
Even the twin-headed ogre hesitated.
"Whoa!"
"W-what's that?!"
The players below the stage gasped in shock.
The red dragon's body, straight out of a fantasy novel, was about the size of a delivery truck, but its massive wings made it feel far larger.
Screeech!
The red dragon hovered grandly in the high-ceilinged gym.
Spotlights dimmed as its shadow blanketed everyone below.
"Uwah......"
"A skill that summons something like that?"
"No wonder it takes so long to call it out......!"
The spectators below felt intimidated by the red dragon and Im Ji-hyun mounted atop it.
The stage was no different.
"Kuhuhu... finally......!"
"W-we may die, but our leader will wipe you all out......!"
"Long live Team 38......!"
These were the dying words of Team 38's players, who had bought time at the cost of their lives.
"T-that thing."
"It's insane."
Even Team 3's players faltered.
Despite the parasites in their brains dulling fear, the dragon's innate aura alone made them hesitate.
"Get out of the way; it's landing."
Im Ji-hyun called out, and those at the gym's center scattered in all directions.
Thud.
The dragon landed on the gym floor.
Im Ji-hyun atop it declared,
"Team 3 on the stage, gather up."
Team 3's leader, Kim Min-kyung, responded.
"Gather? Why?"
"So I can kill you all at once. No resistance, and I promise a painless death."
"......!"
Kim Min-kyung's eyebrow twitched at the arrogant proclamation.
But instead of snapping back, she addressed the TV Girl safe below the stage.
"Isn't that cheating? Ring-out or whatever."
"Ring-outs apply only to participating players who fall to the floor below the stage. Player Im Ji-hyun landed while mounted on her summon, so no rule violation."
"Tch......!"
Kim Min-kyung swallowed her anger, while Im Ji-hyun smirked.
"Getting mad? No way to kill the dragon down here, right?"
It was exactly as Im Ji-hyun said.
Team 38 was down to just her, but Team 3 was riddled with injuries.
Only Kim Min-kyung, Namgung Hyeop, and the twin-headed ogre could still fight properly; the rest were wounded.
"If you won't gather, I'll have to roast you slowly and painfully."
Whoooosh......!
The red dragon inhaled deeply.
Red heat gathered at its maw.
"Kuooh!!"
It unleashed a true flame breath.
The blaze covered a third of the stage, dense and sticky with intense heat.
That's when Namgung Hyeop stepped forward.
He extended both hands, mimicking grasping and compressing something.
Pak!!
The flame breath vanished.
More precisely, it shrank to torch size, veering far off course from Kim Min-kyung and merely scorching the stage.
Murmurs rippled......!
"Huh?!"
"What just happened?"
Kim Min-kyung smiled and patted Namgung Hyeop's shoulder.
"Well done."
"Thank you, sis. Glad my [Space Compression] could help."
It was Namgung Hyeop's B-grade spatial manifestation skill, [Space Compression].
It crushed the erupting flames within space itself, nullifying their power.
"S-something like that is possible?"
Im Ji-hyun panicked.
Seizing the moment, Kim Min-kyung ordered the twin-headed ogre.
"Now! Charge!!"
"Kuooh!!"
The twin-headed ogre leaped off the stage toward the red dragon.
"Ack?!"
Im Ji-hyun glanced desperately at the TV Girl.
The TV Girl replied infuriatingly.
"Players descending below the stage results in ring-out. But the twin-headed ogre isn't a player, so no ring-out."
"Tch! Fight back!"
Im Ji-hyun yelled at the red dragon.
The twin-headed ogre and red dragon collided.
Kaboom!!
Crunch!!
The two monsters tangled in fierce combat.
"Ugh!"
"Dodge!"
Those below the stage scattered every which way.
Getting caught between those behemoths would be like a shrimp caught in a whale fight—back broken for sure.
"It's over."
Dokgo Hyun told his team.
"Over? Isn't it even?"
Choi Han-pung asked, but Dokgo Hyun shook his head.
"Even would be abnormal."
The red dragon should have dominated, yet it was neck-and-neck.
The reason? Im Ji-hyun riding its back.
"The dragon can't fight properly protecting Im Ji-hyun on its back. Bad stage choice from the start."
If summoning a dragon, the player should hide safely while letting it battle in the open sky.
But she chose indoors—on the stage no less—forcing her to cling to its back.
Thus, the dragon couldn't unleash full power.
"It'll probably beat the ogre, but Team 3 still has Kim Min-kyung and Namgung Hyeop on stage with reserves. Team 38 has none."
Indeed, Kim Min-kyung was bustling on stage.
One minute later.
Thud!
The twin-headed ogre toppled.
Thud! Thud!
The red dragon pinned both heads under its forepaw.
Krunch!! Krunch!!
Both skulls burst simultaneously, ending it.
"Haa, haa......!"
Im Ji-hyun caught her breath.
With the ogre dead, only Kim Min-kyung and Namgung Hyeop remained on stage.
But that assessment was wrong.
"Too late."
Kim Min-kyung declared.
Twelve figures surrounded her.
Including Team 38's already-dead players.
"Huh?"
"No way."
"Even the dead ones?!"
Shocked voices rose from below.
Kim Min-kyung grinned.
"[Mother of Parasites]' special move. [Corpse Parasite]."
Yes.
If [Nerve Parasite] controlled the living, [Corpse Parasite] manipulated corpses within ten minutes of death.
Mana-intensive and inefficient usually, but perfect here.
"Huuuuh......"
"Uuuuh......!"
Zombie-like, intelligence diminished, but physical functions intact.
"C-crazy......!"
Im Ji-hyun reeled.
Not just her team—Kim Min-kyung had killed her own injured minions and infected them too.
'The ogre was bait from the beginning!'
While Im Ji-hyun desperately clung to the dragon's back, Kim Min-kyung bought time to activate [Corpse Parasite].
Laying the groundwork for victory.
"Go!"
At Kim Min-kyung's command, the parasite-infected minions leaped off the stage without hesitation.
"R-referee!"
Im Ji-hyun screamed at the TV Girl.
The TV Girl replied calmly.
"Obviously, the dead aren't subject to ring-out rulings."
No choice—Im Ji-hyun ordered the dragon.
"Dragon! [Wing Gust]—blow them all away!!"
Whoosh!
Whoooosh!!
A gale erupted just from flapping in place.
"Huuuaah!"
"Uuuuh!"
Half of Kim Min-kyung's zombified minions were hurled into the crowd below; the rest braced with skills but couldn't close in.
Onlookers who dodged exclaimed in admiration.
"Impressive. They can still use skills under [Corpse Parasite]."
"Then the kid on the dragon's at a disadvantage?"
Im Ji-hyun knew she was losing ground.
"Fly!!"
Whoosh!!
Fighting on the ground meant encirclement and defeat. She had to take to the skies.
The instant she focused on flight.
"Just as expected, right?"
"Yes, sis."
Kim Min-kyung was now piggybacked on Namgung Hyeop, who reached one hand to the ceiling, carefully gauging the distance.
Snap!!
Compressing space between stage and ceiling, Namgung Hyeop leaped.
He and Kim Min-kyung on his back shot up to ceiling height in one bound.
"Perfect! Now!"
"Yes, sis!"
Namgung Hyeop released Kim Min-kyung from his back; she dove.
Directly above Im Ji-hyun's head.
"Ah......!"
Feeling the shadow overhead, Im Ji-hyun knew defeat was certain.
Even with the dragon's long neck, protecting its rider right behind was impossible.
"Infect her!"
Kim Min-kyung hurled the [Nerve Parasite] clutched in her hand straight into Im Ji-hyun's startled eyes.
Puk!