Chapter 122: Solo. Battle in Broad Daylight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: Solo. Battle in Broad Daylight
The sun-drenched city looked so familiar that it felt jarring to remember I was currently logged into Cloyd.
As I stepped out of the subway, the long-awaited sunlight made me instinctively knit my brows. After growing accustomed to moving under the cover of Stealth at night, being exposed in an open area in the middle of the day felt incredibly uncomfortable.
Just in case, I scanned the surrounding buildings, but no enemies caught my eye.
There’s no way any idiot would be watching me out in the open.
Shaking my head to clear the unease, I focused on the task at hand.
Find Nam Sa-gwang and the Heavenly Demon.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I instinctively rolled forward. Only then did I look back at the spot where I had just been standing.
Crack!
With a sharp snap, a whip lashed the air before being pulled back up toward the roof of a nearby apartment building.
From that height all the way down here…
I briefly scanned the rooftop, but no one was visible.
As I watched the roof, my form suddenly vanished, as if sinking into the ground. My feet moved busily, darting between the shadows of roadside trees and the long silhouettes cast by the buildings.
They’re definitely nearby.
I didn't know what they were thinking, attacking with a whip from such a distance, but if they were attempting an strike from that far away, there was a high probability the whip was rigged with something.
It’s likely poison, or the whip has a unique skill.
Just as I circled around the apartment and entered the lobby, Hamit shouted a warning.
—Stop!—
I skidded to a halt, planting my feet like an arrow thudding into the earth. Hamit quickly explained.
—It’s a Mana Explosion Scroll. You’d better not step on these stairs.—
At those words, I bypassed the stairs and began scaling the floors by running up the outer walls. As I neared the roof, Hamit spoke again.
—From here on, Alarm Magic is active.—
Tsk. They’re being damn cautious.
There was nothing I could do once Alarm Magic was spread across such a narrow space. Unlike a Mana Explosion Scroll, Alarm Magic senses the entire area; it’s designed to trigger the moment it detects someone entering the space.
Left with no choice, I cautiously opened the stairwell window, expanded my energy sensing to its limit, and crawled up the outer wall.
I don’t feel anything.
After a quick peek at the roof, I moved into the center of the empty space.
Did they run away after all…
Just as that thought occurred, I felt a surge of mana accompanied by a wave of sweltering heat.
—Kieeeeeee!
Seeing a Flame Bird expanding in size as it spread its wings, I didn't even stop to think. I threw myself to the side, dodging the spell.
At that exact moment, the same sensation I’d felt earlier returned as a whip came flying toward my face.
I can’t dodge this.
The moment I made that judgment, I crossed my arms to protect my vitals.
Whish!
I braced myself for a sharp pain across my forearms, but instead, I felt something wrap smoothly around my waist. My brow furrowed.
[Ding! You have been bound by Irresistible Capture. You cannot resist until the whip is broken or the movement toward the skill user is complete.]
Along with the notification, a sickening sensation of losing control over my body took hold as I was dragged away.
The moment I regained my senses after being pulled onto the roof of a taller building next door, I ducked my head.
Swish!
A cold chill ran down my spine as a brutal, machete-like blade grazed the back of my head with sharp momentum.
Clang!
I blocked the follow-up swing of the massive blade with my Blood Bone Claw. The man leaped backward, eyeing me warily as he flicked his whip.
Looking at the whip that had just glowed with a golden light while dragging me, my eyes filled with greed.
A whip with a grab skill.
The way Nam Sa-gwang had been kidnapped was undoubtedly through a similar type of grab skill. If I had that whip, I could create many more advantageous variables in the future. With that thought, I lunged at him.
Clang!
As my fingers, imbued with Aura, began to leave fine cracks on his machete, the man grimaced and lashed his whip backward. In an instant, the whip embedded itself into the outer wall of the adjacent building, pulling him away and allowing him to escape my reach.
Clang! Clang!
Without hesitation, I pursued him, throwing a Flying Dagger.
The man pulled a fresh machete from his Subspace and used it to deflect the dagger while kicking off the wall of the neighboring building to head for its roof.
Just as he reached the rooftop railing, an Ice Lance flying from behind struck him in the back. A beat later, I followed him over the railing.
Clang!
The moment I cleared the railing, he swung his machete, but I had already anticipated it.
Seeing more cracks appear on his blade, the man’s shoulders and legs suddenly erupted in golden light.
Thud!
I blocked his heavy body slam with my Aura-imbued hands, but he didn't care and kept pushing me back. My fingers dug into his shoulder and side, drawing blood, yet he didn't flinch.
The moment I was pushed back by his immense strength, he raised his glowing golden leg high.
Don't tell me…
With a look of realization, I barely managed to steady myself against the railing, but he brought his leg down with full force.
Boom! CRACK!
The rooftop cracked wide open. With a tilting sensation, the section of the roof I was standing on collapsed entirely.
My eyes narrowed as my legs moved frantically.
Stepping off the falling debris amidst a dizzying sense of weightlessness, I climbed the outer wall, swinging my Aura-imbued hands. Every time I swatted away the sword qi he fired from above, deep gouges were carved into the apartment wall I was climbing.
The man grit his teeth and tried to leap backward to avoid me as I neared the top, but I used Teleportation to appear right in front of his face and thrust my Blood Bone Claw forward.
He crossed two new machetes to block the strike, and as he was pushed back, my form flickered.
Soon, twelve versions of me surrounded him.
Before the panic on his face could even settle, I charged at him.
Whoosh!
This time, the twelve figures that lunged at the man—whose body was once again bathed in golden light—vanished in an instant.
The moment the golden light faded and his body returned to normal, a new version of me dashed toward him.
I knew you’d have a trick up your sleeve.
Instead of blocking the lunging Blood Bone Claw like before, the man’s machete glowed fiercely as he met the attack head-on.
Pop!
Squelch!
He cut down the enemy in front of him, but as the figure vanished, he didn't even have time to be bewildered before a heavy pain bloomed in his back.
I had appeared behind him and driven my hand into his spine.
He actually twisted his body in that split second.
At the moment I thought was perfect, he had shifted, causing the hand aimed at his heart to pierce through his opposite shoulder blade instead.
However, it made little difference; it was still a fatal wound.
Crunch.
The man’s head was crushed as he tried to turn around. His body collapsed before he could even tear the scroll he had been secretly pulling out.
Can’t let my guard down for a second.
With that thought, I opened the box that appeared in place of the corpse.
[Ding! Jin Seo-un vs. Kaino Fight. (Kill with Claw Technique.) 97/150]
[Paladin's Whip: A whip that can extend up to 2 kilometers. When used, it increases Agility by 30 and Stamina by 30. The special skill ‘Pull’ can be used 8 times a day. ‘Pull’ is a skill that can drag an enemy touched by the whip right in front of the user.]
In addition to the Paladin's Whip with its lengthy description, five more items called Ghost Faction's Machete appeared. As I rummaged through the remaining items, a dagger with an ominous red blade caught my eye.
[Cursed Giant's Dagger: Returns damage received by the user to the enemy at a random probability. If the Damage Mirror is successful, this dagger will break and disappear.]
What a twisted taste.
That was my brief impression after seeing the intended use of the Giant's Dagger. To use this dagger properly, one would have to take fatal damage directly, and it wouldn't be easy to successfully land an attack with this dagger while sustaining such damage.
On top of that, the success rate of the Damage Mirror was random. I wondered if there could be another item so difficult to use.
Nevertheless, I carefully tucked the Giant's Dagger into my Subspace.
After obtaining a few useful accessories and a belt in addition to the whip and dagger, I finished looting and moved on.
My steps felt aimless as I moved to find Nam Sa-gwang and the Heavenly Demon. I had come out, but I had no idea where to look for them.
Let’s check near the tunnel first.
Since the Heavenly Demon was someone I was meeting for the first time, it was difficult to predict his playstyle. The only clue was that he hadn't moved from the start and had only begun playing after a week had passed.
Could he be… like me?
The thought of Jang Do-cheon overlapped with him, but I shook my head. My form moved like a streak of light toward Munhak Tunnel.
—Wait!—
Hamit suddenly shouted urgently.
I came to a dead stop and hid under a roadside tree, looking at Hamit.
—I feel a disgusting energy.—
Energy, not a gaze?
—Yes. This feeling… it’s Merti’s foul energy.—
Merti? Who’s that?
—A notorious bastard famous for forcibly absorbing others' souls to create items. Using an item he made is considered a great sin; they should have all been sealed 300 years ago…—
Hamit’s voice trailed off as his thoughts turned to Cloyd.
Could that item be related to Nam Sa-gwang’s disappearance?
—Maybe. Maybe not. He made so many items that I can’t say for sure.—
After standing in thought for a moment, I asked Hamit.
Where do you feel that energy?
—It’s underground, right beneath us.—
Looking down at the ground, I opened the map.
Seonhak Station.
To be precise, it was the midpoint between Seonhak Station and Sinyeonsu Station. I quickly ran to Seonhak Station and leaped down into the station without hesitation.
—Alarm Magic is installed from here on.—
Despite the warning, I dove straight in.
Pshhh!
Before I could even take a few steps past the alarm, I swatted away an incoming arrow, the corners of my mouth curling up.
I had planned to turn around and run if it wasn't the enemy I expected, but the sight of that familiar arrow gave me the certainty that I had found the right place.
As I scanned the surroundings and heightened my energy sensing to find the hidden enemy, Hamit gave me a direction.
—130 degrees.—
At those words, I dashed forward like a bolt of lightning.
Shuck! Boom!
I realized the arrow was an explosive type even before I swatted it away. However, I didn't care and knocked it aside anyway.
The man, who had been smiling while being pulled back by a wire, suddenly saw his expression contort. Through the flames, two versions of me with cold eyes had appeared.
And with every step I took, my form doubled. Seeing this divine technique, the man’s face hardened further.
The moment he stopped moving, new wires shot out from his back, connecting to various walls. Once anchored, he began firing arrows in rapid succession.
But his arrows didn't scare me much.
Compared to Jurokuana, his speed and power are nothing.
The only thing he had over the other was the mobility provided by the item on his back.
Just as he was about to be pulled back again, my real body, which had been hiding behind a wall, lashed out with the newly acquired whip.
Predicting his movement based on the direction of the wires, the whip accurately coiled around his body. Seeing him being dragged toward me, I went out to meet him.
Clang!
My brow furrowed as he twisted his bow to block my Aura-imbued hand.
“So the bow isn't your specialty.”
“Obviously.”
Following the brief exchange, he blew on the bowstring, and the bow limbs straightened, transforming into a staff.
Clang! Clang! Thud!
Using the elasticity of the weapon, he unleashed a flurry of staff techniques. I ended up taking a hit to my left thigh, and my expression soured further.
The energy gathered at the tip of the staff was no joke. If I hadn't sent internal energy to protect my leg, my femur would have surely shattered.
The man ignored all the illusions lunging at him from every direction and focused solely on the real me in front of him. As he expected, most of the figures vanished after landing harmless attacks.
Just as his smile deepened, heavy blows landed on the back of his head and both his legs. I smiled as I lunged at him.
Clang! Thud!
Even though my Blood Bone Claw struck his chest while he was distracted by the clones, I couldn't tear out his heart.
“Nice breastplate.”
At my words, he stroked his dented breastplate once and scowled.
—Aim for the back of his right hand. There’s a monstrosity embedded there.—
Hearing Hamit’s words, I finally realized the source of the strange dissonance I’d been feeling. When he used the bow or the staff, his left hand was always in front.
Having confirmed this, I memorized the exact location on the back of his hand that Hamit had pointed out.
Thud! Thud!
I intentionally took his attacks on my forearms instead of my hands as I backed away. The man smiled and pressed his advantage.
“You’re running out of internal energy, you bastard! That’s the price for using Aura when you don't have the capacity!”
He shouted as he thrust his staff, a sharp point of Aura flickering at its tip.
At that moment, I unleashed the Spinning Strike of the Boundless Fist for the first time in a while.
The staff, which looked like it would pierce straight through my chest, was suddenly swept aside. Bewilderment flooded the man’s face.
I slid along the staff like a snake, my hand moving naturally toward him. He dropped the staff and raised his left hand to defend.
Crack!
Instead of his left arm, I twisted my body and struck the back of his right hand. A dull, crushing sound echoed.
Crunch!
“Aaaaaagh!”
Simultaneously, a terrifying energy erupted from the back of his hand. Having mastered the Great Blood-Born Demon Method, I could tell that a significant amount of vitality was contained within that chaotic, massive energy.
I didn't kill the man immediately as he rolled on the ground in agony. I instinctively knew that his item’s effect was tied to the jump rules.
I waited for his strength to drain completely before finishing him, but then a red-faced Nam Sa-gwang came charging out from the inner area.
Seeing the man writhing on the floor, he immediately threw a kick. It looked like he intended to crush the man’s head and kill him instantly.
Thud!
My foot blocked Nam Sa-gwang’s. Only then did he realize I was there. It was a testament to how much his vision had been narrowed by rage.
“Why?”
“It won't be too late to kill him after his strength is gone. If you kill him now, he’ll probably bow and thank you.”
Only then did Nam Sa-gwang, sensing the murky energy dissipating into the surroundings, regain his composure.
“You miserable piece of shit! I’m going to make your death excruciating!”
Looking down at the man writhing on the ground, I chimed in.
“He’s telling the truth. He’s a natural at that sort of thing.”