Chapter 119: Duo. The Start of the Hunt
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: Duo. The Start of the Hunt
Nam Sa-gwang, who had been following in silence, finally couldn't contain his curiosity any longer.
“Where on earth are we going?”
“Shh!”
Seo-un stopped in his tracks, bringing a finger to his lips.
He had been walking silently while staring at his map, his eyes fixed intently on the ceiling of the dark tunnel. It was such eccentric behavior that Nam Sa-gwang looked up as well.
To an ordinary person, it was a pitch-black passage where one could hardly see an inch ahead, but to Nam Sa-gwang’s eyes, it was merely a tangled mess of black power lines and thick dust.
Seo-un communicated through a clumsy voice transmission as he pulled a black cloak from his subspace and wrapped it around himself. Nam Sa-gwang followed suit, donning his own Cloak of Stealth.
When Seo-un turned back with a smirk, Sa-gwang crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.
At those words, Nam Sa-gwang stared intently at the ceiling.
He felt nothing.
In fact, ever since they had hurriedly evacuated to this underground area, he hadn't sensed any of the presences that had occasionally tripped his senses before.
His voice trailed off as he retraced the path they had taken while running down. Only then did his eyes widen.
Leaving it at that, Seo-un dashed forward.
Nam Sa-gwang, who placed absolute trust in Seo-un’s playstyle, followed quickly, sensing that Seo-un was up to something again.
Whenever Seo-un wore that expression—one that looked like a mischievous child yet burned with a fierce competitive spirit—he had always toyed with his enemies or lured them into traps with brilliant strategies.
'What is he planning this time?'
The corners of Nam Sa-gwang’s mouth curled up, mirroring Seo-un’s expression as anticipation began to swell in his eyes.
Returning to where they had first descended, they cautiously climbed up toward the brightly lit subway station. Gray dust still hung thick in the air, obscuring their vision.
Nam Sa-gwang asked, spotting a place where bright lights shone through the gray haze.
As Seo-un finished speaking and leaped forward, Nam Sa-gwang followed close behind, expanding his senses to the surroundings. His vigilance against potential enemies was the mark of a veteran player.
As they pushed through the department store's revolving doors, Nam Sa-gwang’s eyes darted around, taking in the brilliant lighting and the countless stalls and goods.
Urged on by Seo-un, they moved toward the department store's basement. As expected, the dark basement was filled with various massive pieces of equipment.
“Phew. Luckily, no one else found this place first.”
Confirming there were no hidden players, Seo-un spoke aloud instead of using voice transmission. Nam Sa-gwang looked at the machinery filling the basement with a confused expression.
“What is all this?”
“Well, I don’t know the details, but the important thing is that this place supplies power to the interior of the department store.”
“Power?”
“The energy for the lights.”
“Ah!”
Only then did a light bulb go off in Nam Sa-gwang’s head, and the questions that had been pestering him began to clear.
“We have about 20 minutes left. This department store, the outlet across from it, and that other department store over there—these three are among the largest buildings in this area. In 20 minutes, the sun will start to set, and once it gets dark, people will definitely flock to these three buildings.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Nam Sa-gwang drew his Hand Aura.
“Should I just smash everything?”
“No. Just cutting those thick power cables over there will be enough.”
After that, they cut the power to the outlet building and the other department store as well. In the middle of a city that remained as bright as day even at night, darkness fell over only those three buildings.
On the first floor of the first department store, the two men, hidden under their Cloaks of Stealth, stood up. They had begun to sense the movement of their first prey.
A player entered, visibly tense and floating a sphere of light. Seo-un and Nam Sa-gwang leaned against a wall, hiding in the shadows to avoid the illumination.
At Seo-un’s remark, Nam Sa-gwang evaluated the man’s prowess with a cold gaze.
From Nam Sa-gwang’s perspective, it wasn't particularly impressive, but the fact that the man practiced martial arts alongside magic made him a tricky opponent. Especially if he was a Crown, there was bound to be a reason for it.
As Seo-un began to count, Nam Sa-gwang listened to the approaching footsteps and prepared to strike.
The moment the man passed by the escalator, Seo-un and Nam Sa-gwang lunged at him.
— Clang! Shatter!
— Kakakang!
Seo-un’s attack shattered the barrier protecting the man. Nam Sa-gwang expected to finish him then and there, but to his surprise, an unexpected metallic clash rang out. The man retreated rapidly and cast Flame Burst.
— Boom!
The air flashed, and though they managed to pull back in time, a scorching blast swept past them.
Seo-un’s expression soured at Nam Sa-gwang’s briefing.
They had to catch this prey that had walked right into their trap, no matter what.
'I wanted to end this quietly...'
The moment the Flame Burst exploded, the commotion would have surely spread to the surrounding area.
Seeing Seo-un rushing toward him, the man tried to turn and flee, his face stiff with fear as he swung his staff downward.
— Cr-crack!
Trees grew rapidly out of the floor, lunging at Seo-un to protect the mage. At the same time, as the man turned around, Seo-un appeared right in front of his eyes.
The man’s eyes widened in shock. Seo-un tore through his barrier once more, his Blood Bone Claw reaching for the man’s head.
With a whoosh, Seo-un’s hand cut through the air. Seeing the man vanish in the blink of an eye, Seo-un brought both hands to the crown of his head.
— Clang!
The man had instantaneously moved above him and was thrusting down with a soft sword. As soon as Seo-un blocked the sword, Nam Sa-gwang lunged with his Hand Aura drawn, but the man escaped the crisis by teleporting back once more.
Seo-un’s eyes narrowed as he watched the man teleporting only a few meters at a time.
That small piece of information was a huge advantage for Nam Sa-gwang, and conversely, a fatal weakness for the man.
In a two-on-one situation, the man was desperately looking for a way to escape. The moment he pulled out a scroll, Seo-un reached for his throat. Without even a moment to tear the scroll, the man was forced to block Seo-un’s attack, which came with five fingers imbued with Aura.
And in that moment, Nam Sa-gwang caught him from behind.
At Nam Sa-gwang’s voice transmission, Seo-un dropped flat without a second thought. Simultaneously, as the man’s figure vanished, Nam Sa-gwang closed his eyes and thrust his Hand Aura toward the new presence appearing in his senses.
— Thwack.
“Gah... cough...”
Pierced accurately through the neck, the man coughed up blood, his hand gripping the scroll so hard it crumpled. As Sa-gwang took the man’s head, the notification rang out without fail.
[Ding! Nam Sa-gwang - Dale Gomer (Kill with Aura.) Remaining Survivors: 148/150]
“Let’s finish farming before we move.”
As soon as the corpse vanished, Seo-un opened the box.
[Ding! High-grade Orichalcum Breastplate. Greatly increases Agility when worn. The special skill 'Absolute Defense' can be used once per day.]
“Was it this? The thing that blocked the Aura.”
It was a compact, silver-white piece of armor that protected only the torso, making the name 'vest' more appropriate than 'breastplate.' Being made of Orichalcum, it had an option that increased Agility—and by a large amount at that.
When Seo-un held out the breastplate to Nam Sa-gwang, the latter shook his head.
“I have no intention of wrapping myself in something so stifling.”
At his words, Seo-un pulled the Black Dragon's Armor from his subspace and put it on.
“Nothing is more important than survival.”
Watching Seo-un, Nam Sa-gwang donned the breastplate with a look of annoyance.
“Comfortable, isn't it? I know from experience that the material feels good against the skin.”
Indeed, it felt as if he wasn't wearing anything at all, and Nam Sa-gwang nodded in approval.
[Ding! Lowest Grade Blink Ring. Allows the use of Blink up to 5 meters, 12 times a day.]
“So it was this.”
Nam Sa-gwang nodded as he caught the ring Seo-un tossed to him.
“It would be more efficient for you to use this.”
Nam Sa-gwang yielded the ring, thinking that Seo-un, who used Yoseonsul, would have better synergy with Blink.
Accepting it without hesitation, Seo-un slipped the ring onto his ring finger, meaning he now had rings on all ten fingers.
'I wonder if it still works if I put them on my toes?'
The thought crossed his mind as he realized he had no more fingers left for rings.
Besides that, they obtained some useful consumables and two 7th Circle magic books, but there didn't seem to be many other items the two of them needed.
“The night has only just begun.”
At Seo-un’s words, Nam Sa-gwang curled his lip into a smirk and nodded.
With a final gasp, a knight collapsed, his eyes wide with a mix of complex emotions as he breathed his last.
After that first mage, hunting players became much easier. Since they were ambushing enemies who couldn't see them while they were hidden in stealth, it was only natural that it would be smooth sailing.
Nam Sa-gwang, who had already killed his fourth player, retracted his Hand Aura and spoke.
“But why are you giving all the kills to me?”
“I’m making you a 'Named' player, Nam Sa-gwang. Once you pass ten kills, every remaining player will remember your name clearly. Someday, that name will surely pay off.”
Nam Sa-gwang’s eyes deepened at Seo-un’s words. The fact that even the smallest, seemingly insignificant action was a calculated move linked to the game was exactly why he had chosen to join forces with Jin Seo-un.
After staring at Seo-un with a profound gaze for a moment, Nam Sa-gwang spoke in a serious voice.
“Do you think we can catch the Heavenly Demon this time?”
Seo-un’s hand, which had been rummaging through the knight’s box, came to a sudden halt.
“How strong did you say that Heavenly Demon guy was?”
“Strong enough to lightly deflect all the internal energy I gained from Rejuvenation.”
“Exactly how strong is that?”
“I can only vaguely guess that he’s at the beginning of the Nature Realm.”
“...”
Seo-un couldn't give a definitive answer. After thinking for a long time, Seo-un nodded and spoke as if he had reached a conclusion.
“Let’s just pray we don't run into him.”
At Seo-un’s honest words, Nam Sa-gwang, who had been looking at him with expectant eyes, burst into a short laugh.
As the long night drew to a close, Seo-un and Nam Sa-gwang were busy farming the outlet building. Since there were no more players visiting the department store or the outlet, the two of them were farming while changing into fresh clothes to replace their torn and burnt ones.
The sight of them wearing the breastplate and Black Dragon's Armor over Nike tracksuits was strangely fitting.
[Survivors: 143/150]
Out of the seven eliminated, the two of them had taken out six.
“The sun will be up soon.”
Even though he omitted the question of what they would do next, Seo-un understood what he meant.
“Cutting the power, stealth, and ambushes. How was today’s strategy?”
Seeing Seo-un ask back, Nam Sa-gwang’s lips curled up. He knew well by now that this was Seo-un’s characteristic way of speaking whenever he had a new idea to explain to his teammates.
“It was brilliant, needless to say.”
“Then what if we expanded this operation on a large scale?”
At his words, Nam Sa-gwang tilted his head and spoke.
“Are you saying we should cut the power to buildings players might visit during the day and ambush them at night?”
“That wouldn't be very efficient. In a city, there are specific places that supply power to each district. If you cut the power there, all power to the area they cover is naturally cut off. We call those places KEPCO.”
“Cut the power at those KEPCO places during the day and use that to hunt at night? Didn't you say you were going to quietly camp out until the TOP 100?”
At Nam Sa-gwang’s question, Seo-un replied with an awkward expression.
“I did, but if we run into the Heavenly Demon while camping, we’re screwed.”
Though he subtly shifted the blame to the Heavenly Demon, Nam Sa-gwang didn't miss the fact that underneath it all, Seo-un possessed an irrepressible bellicose nature. No matter what anyone said, the man he saw as Jin Seo-un was a martial artist with a disposition similar to his own.
'He’s a guy with the nature of a natural-born apostle. I wonder if that old man from the Yugok Sect even knows what kind of monster he raised?'
The smile on Nam Sa-gwang’s face deepened at the thought.