Chapter 146: A Welcome Ill-Fated Encounter?!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146: A Welcome Ill-Fated Encounter?!
"Wielding Hellfire carries a heavy price."
At Hamit’s warning, Seo-un recalled the moments before he had gone to meet Gi-chan.
In truth, he had planned to return to Wonju immediately after seeing his parents to research Hellfire. However, the sudden news from America and his mother’s distressed state had forced his hand. He’d had no choice but to attempt to master Hellfire inside the car on the way to meet Gi-chan.
[Ding! Would you like to use Hellfire? Warning: This may incinerate the user. If consumed by Hellfire, your soul may be scorched, leading to eternal annihilation.]
He had hesitated for a moment at the terrifying warning, but he couldn't give up on an item that had cost him a staggering 800 coins.
The moment he pressed the 'O' button, the Bentley Juriel was driving swerved violently across the road, tires screaming as it came to a dead stop.
Screeeech!
Fortunately, the road wasn't crowded, so there were no collisions. Juriel and Li Lingwei scrambled out of the stalled car. At that same moment, crimson flames shattered the windows and erupted outward, leaving both women paralyzed with shock.
[Ding! The Trial of Hellfire has begun.]
Even as he watched his own body ignite, Seo-un endured, channeling both his Internal Power and Immortal Demonic Energy.
A trial.
Focusing on those two words, he refused to believe that Hellfire would truly consume him. He endured for a single minute that felt like a century, never letting out so much as a whimper. He knew instinctively that the moment he screamed or let his agony show, he would fail.
Having thrown himself into searing flames once before, he was able to withstand that hellish minute. Just as he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, the roaring flames vanished as if they had never existed.
[Ding! You have passed the Trial of Hellfire.]
As a result of the trial, the back seat of Juriel’s Bentley was scorched black, but miraculously, the car itself hadn't burned down. Thanks to that, Seo-un was finally able to wield Hellfire.
[-You can now use the first stage of Hellfire: Yeomhwa. Using it for more than 5 minutes may incinerate the user’s physical body.]
[-Fire Resistance increases by 99% due to the influence of Hellfire.]
[-The second stage, Blue Flame; the third stage, White Flame; and the final stage, Black Flame, are life-threatening the moment they are used.]
Recalling that moment, Seo-un ignored Hamit’s warning and ignited Yeomhwa. Crimson flames erupted from his hand, instantly surging up to his shoulder. Charging toward the gathering enemies, Seo-un thrust his fist forward.
Whoosh!
With a roar, the flames expanding from his fist swallowed the swarming players. Despite the power of the flames, which melted several barriers in an instant, the players huddled together to defend. Expecting this level of power from an Epic Monster, they prepared to counterattack the moment the flames subsided.
However, the moment the fire vanished, Seo-un—now split into twelve clones—pounced on them.
“He can use clones! Watch out!” one of them shouted, clearly aware of his abilities.
Seo-un’s lips curled into a smirk. They seemed to know about his clones, but in reality, they knew nothing at all.
The reason Seo-un had used Hellfire after deploying his clones was to conserve his Immortal Demonic Energy and to overwhelm the enemies so they wouldn't draw aggro toward the firefighters performing rescue operations behind him. The fact that they only had superficial information about his clones proved they didn't realize he was alternating and mixing them with Muryeong Phantom Step.
This gave Seo-un a massive advantage.
As the twelve versions of Seo-un spread out in a fan shape and exhaled flames simultaneously, the enemies, who were tightly bunched up, couldn't counterattack. They could only huddle together and solidify their defenses against the fire flying in from the flanks.
Idiots.
Their rank was obvious from this alone. When a small number of enemies launched a heavy assault, it was basic for a larger group to divide roles between defense and offense. These people had forgotten the basics, blinded by the appearance of an Epic Monster and relying solely on their numbers.
“I-It’s a fake!”
“This one too!”
As Seo-un’s illusions, which had been swinging fists wreathed in fire, began to vanish, frantic reports broke out everywhere.
“Attack!”
At that moment, the man who appeared to be the leader shouted, unleashing a barrage of ice magic.
—Gi-chan!
—On it!
Gi-chan, who had been working hard to clear an entrance through the debris, swung his staff repeatedly. Double Chain Lightning and Double Call Lightning crashed down.
Rumble!!
Crackle!
As lightning struck the clustered players, using them as conductors, the voltage surged instantly.
Zap!
Shatter!
The Mirror Magician item Gi-chan had pulled from a vending machine in the previous round had the function of copying and casting the user’s magic. Gi-chan smirked, satisfied with the item's power.
Simultaneously, Seo-un, who had dived into the enemy formation while being electrocuted along with them by the Chain Lightning, extended ten streaks of Aura from his fingertips.
“Knights!” the mages desperately called out.
But the knights, paralyzed by the high-voltage magic, were sluggish. It was the natural result for those who lacked magic resistance comparable to Seo-un’s.
That brief opening was an eternity for Seo-un.
“Aaaargh!”
“Block him! Block h—Aaaagh!”
By the time two knights using Aura stepped forward to protect the mages who were being literally diced into cubes, most of the casters had already been cut down.
[-You can only withstand the flames for about 10 more seconds!-]
Seo-un’s lips twisted at Hamit’s guidance.
—That’s more than enough.
The people who had rushed to hunt him, relying on a mere two Sword Emperors, seemed utterly pathetic. Watching the two knights charge, Seo-un withdrew his Aura, and the flames rising from the back of his hand to his shoulder flared up violently.
Fwooooosh!
The flames swallowed the surroundings, spreading among the players who hadn't yet managed to fix their barriers.
“D-Don’t come near me!”
The fire jumped from person to person, consuming the players' bodies in an instant. Stage 1 Hellfire, when undefended, was on a different level from ordinary fire—the perfect attribute for dealing with groups.
By the time most of the players had burned to death and the situation was settled, Seo-un had withdrawn his Hellfire, and his clones surrounded the survivors. The remaining eight men gritted their teeth as they looked at the twelve versions of Seo-un.
“Eleven of them are fakes!”
The moment the man who shouted that prepared a wide-area spell, thick tree roots snared the ankles of all eight survivors. Juriel had cast a wide-area crowd control spell from a distance.
Before they could even react to her spell—she had also placed several layers of barriers around the firefighters just in case—Seo-un swept through them.
“Guh.”
“Ack.”
With two short gasps, six heads fell to the ground. Four players died instantly without even being able to scream. Only the two Sword Emperors barely managed to block Seo-un’s attack, but their armor was torn in five long gasps. Seeing the marks that looked like animal claw wounds, the color drained from the two knights' faces.
After holding out a bit longer against Gi-chan and Seo-un’s combined assault, the knights' heads eventually hit the dirt as well.
“Except for the two knights, they were all Wing Rank.”
“That’s how guilds are. There aren't many high-ranking players. That’s why they huddle together and try to win with numbers.”
While that wasn't always the case, from the perspective of a Crown Grade player, it wasn't far from the truth. Anyone who wasn't a fellow Crown could be considered lower-tier. Unless they were at least high-tier Sword Rank, it was nearly impossible to stop a top-tier Crown. The difference in coins was that vast, and unless one possessed exceptional real-world skills, it was difficult to overcome that gap. If they had that kind of skill to begin with, they wouldn't be in the lower ranks.
“It’s a shame we can’t farm them.”
Seo-un smiled at Gi-chan’s words. With that smile, he upturned an old pouch he had been wearing at his hip for some time. Gi-chan’s eyes widened as items came tumbling out.
“W-What is this?”
“One of Hamit’s skills turned out to be useful.”
When he first launched his attack, using the flames to obscure their vision, Seo-un had spun Hamit’s skill wheel just in case. The entity that had spat out nothing but useless skills during every major battle until now had finally given him something worthwhile.
[Hamit’s Hand is Faster than the Eye: Upon a successful attack, there is a certain probability to randomly steal an unequipped item from the target and place it in Hamit’s Pouch. If the target is killed in the first attack, a random equipped item is stolen.]
As Seo-un explained the skill, Gi-chan’s grin widened. It made sense, as the proportion of mages among the players Seo-un killed in his first strike was overwhelmingly high.
“Don’t get too excited; I’m going to charge you full price for these items.”
“I’m still happy. It’s a win if I can get some decent accessories to sell for cash. But... there are only low-level items this time.”
“The players were low-level, after all. Still, this sword and breastplate should be useful.”
Seo-un held up a broken breastplate and a chipped sword with decent options, but Gi-chan shook his head.
“I’m not into knight gear. It’s just heavy and uncomfortable.”
Seo-un agreed, but in a situation like this, he couldn't just leave it at that. After quickly checking the items, Seo-un approached the firefighters who had rescued the children.
As soon as Gi-chan had opened the entrance and joined the battle, they, along with Li Lingwei, had rescued the children and were now checking their condition. There were eight young children in total and two unconscious adults breathing faintly.
“The situation being what it is, we can’t keep helping you. This will be of use. Please make sure to return them when you’re done.”
Milo, on the other side of the earpiece, translated his words. The firefighters looked confused as Seo-un handed them accessories and armor.
“These are items that increase strength and agility. This ring alone increases strength by 20. If you wear it, you’ll probably be two or three times stronger.”
By now, there were few people on Earth who didn't know about Cloyd, but that didn't mean such items were in common use. With a look of half-disbelief, one firefighter put on the ring Seo-un gave him.
“Huh?”
Creeeeak, thud!
The firefighter, who had just managed to lift a torso-sized piece of concrete connected to rebar and set it aside, looked down at the ring in astonishment.
“T-This is incredible!”
“I hope this helps you get out of here safely. We can’t escort you to safety.”
“This is more than enough help. Even now, our colleagues are breaking through police lines to get here. Off-duty firefighters from all over California are coming with one heart to help with the rescue. These items you’ve given us will surely save many lives. May I know your name?”
“Jin Seo-un. I hope... you stay safe.”
“Don’t worry. We heard that a special ability user unit, secretly trained by the government, is scheduled for the fifth wave of deployment soon.”
Seo-un didn't know how many ability users they had trained, but he didn't think they would be of much help.
It’s hard with just Stockpiles.
No matter how many lower-tier ability users there were, the gap between a Player and a Stockpile wasn't something that could be bridged in a short time. A long time was needed to close the distance between a Player, who learned abilities instantly through items, and a Stockpile, who had to spend a long time learning a single technique.
But there was no need to tell the firefighters that. In fact, he had originally intended to warn them never to set foot in a Map again. However, seeing those who spoke of saving lives with unwavering eyes even amidst piles of corpses, risking their lives with only the goal of rescue in mind, Seo-un couldn't bring himself to say it.
The fact that they, who were only slightly more robust than average civilians, were conducting rescue operations in this dangerous survival game map without any special abilities seemed no different from their usual work of charging into flames to save people. He had no right to stop those who naturally displayed such a sense of duty.
As they parted ways, Gi-chan used Carmen’s Eye to scout their retreat path as much as possible.
“There are no players nearby for now. But please be careful.”
The firefighter, hearing Gi-chan’s words through the translation, spoke with a sincere voice.
“Yes. May God’s grace be with you as well.”
With that, the firefighters, now equipped with various otherworld accessories, breastplates, and belts, began to evacuate with the children.
After watching their backs with an uneasy gaze for a moment, Seo-un’s group moved out again.
How far had they run? About 20 kilometers later, Seo-un came to a sudden halt. Naturally, Juriel, Gi-chan, and Li Lingwei, who were following behind, stopped as well.
Seo-un furrowed his brow and glared at a group in the distance that had locked eyes with him while keeping watch on their surroundings.
“Let’s clean this up quickly and move on.”
At his cold voice, Li Lingwei was the first to nod, pulling out a secret poison her grandfather had given her during the last game from her Subspace. It was a Blood Poison said to be passed down only to the Valley Master who succeeded the family line. This poison, which strengthened the toxic energy of one who practiced the poison arts of Jindok Valley by infecting their blood, was essential for the family’s secret training.
Though she wasn't the successor to the Valley Master, she thought of her grandfather, who had secretly handed it to his granddaughter heading to another world. Just as she was about to open the bottle, the group on the other side raised their hands first, signaling they had no intention of attacking.
“We have no intention of fighting! Jin Seo-un! Please listen to us!”
At the man’s loud shout, Seo-un suppressed the aura he had been building and approached within 10 meters of them. Just in case, he didn't close the distance further and maintained their formation.
“We are not civilian hunters. You clearly came here to help the people of your world, didn't you?”
When Seo-un nodded instead of answering, the man, whose main strength was hard to predict as he wore leather armor and a thin rapier, breathed a sigh of relief.
“We are on the side of protecting civilians. We are currently guarding this shelter in place of our guild members who went out to rescue nearby civilians.”
At the man’s words as he looked back at the modest gymnasium, Seo-un looked at Gi-chan.
—Check it.
Gi-chan’s eyes, which had briefly turned green, returned to normal, and his voice came through the team chat.
—There are over 200 civilians inside.
Only after hearing the briefing did Seo-un approach the man.
“I’m Jin Seo-un.”
“I know. You’re a ranker and... an Epic Monster. I was quite surprised to see a player designated as an Epic Monster.”
“I’ve already finished the same game in another world, so I wasn't that surprised. It was actually expected.”
At those words, the faces of the man and the players behind him turned pale.
“Which world was it?!”
Seo-un, who understood their feelings better than anyone, looked at their faces for a moment before answering.
“It was a world of martial artists.”
The players' reactions were mixed with hope and despair. Seeing them, Seo-un added, “There’s a high probability that the same game with the same rules is being played in your worlds as well.”
“If it was our world, where was it?!” a slender male martial artist stepped forward, asking with a desperate expression.
“It was the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk.”
At those words, the martial artist’s expression crumpled. Seo-un couldn't tell him anything more detailed. He didn't know much more than that, and he didn't want to give him any more despair.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, the man stepped forward and spoke.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Jin Seo-un, from Captain Jurokuana.”
Seo-un’s eyes narrowed at that name. “Jurokuana?”
The man gave a bitter smile and nodded. “He said your record against each other as enemies is one win and one loss. But the Captain said that in this game, at least, he doesn't want to meet you as an enemy.”
Seo-un understood the meaning behind those words immediately. “I... feel the same way. That probably won't happen, so it’s a needless worry.”
The man smiled and nodded. While they were asking about local information and the current situation, an interesting story came from the man’s mouth.
“There are quite a few players who oppose hunting civilians, but even among them, factions have split. Our Guardian Squad, gathered around Captain Jurokuana, and the Attack Squad, gathered around the Madman of the Battlefield, Senrurk. There are players in both groups, so please be careful.”
“The Madman Senrurk is here?!”
“Yes. His participation in this round was a great stroke of luck for Earth. His influence is truly immense, and many players couldn't refuse him and joined his command. If not for him, it would have been an even harder fight.”
Seo-un didn't know whether to be happy or not about this new information. The memory of his fierce final battle with Senrurk flashed before his eyes.
“Sigh.”
“Our ideologies differ, so we aren't working together, but... lately, there have been frequent talks within our own group about needing to change our course to match his. There are quite a few players who sneak into our side, pretending to protect civilians while actually taking their lives.”
At those words, the expressions of Seo-un’s party hardened. It seemed that because such prominent figures were binding players together with their powerful influence, intelligent criminals were appearing, pretending to go along with it while looking for openings to kill civilians. This was a headache because there was no way to deal with it until they were caught.
The moment the man finished speaking, Seo-un’s left eye turned red. Through his left field of vision, he could see the auras of the players before him. As he concentrated his Immortal Demonic Energy further, he saw the blood they had shed in this world.
He focused one step further. At that moment, among the blood they were covered in, he saw one person who was particularly stained with blood carrying intense resentment. As Seo-un focused on the resentful aura lingering around him, he saw a short fragment of a memory held by that resentment.
*
—You should have just died quickly! You bitch!
—Please... spare me.
*
It was incredibly brief, but after confirming the energy of resentment lingering on him with just that memory fragment, Seo-un’s eyes returned to normal. The man tilted his head.
“What did you just do? Why were you looking at our teammate like that...?”
“The blood on his body bothered me, so I did a little projection.”
“You have that kind of ability too?!”
Rather than answering, Seo-un simply gave a slight nod, and the man didn't ask any more about the ability. Swallowing hard, the man looked back at the teammate Seo-un had been glaring at with red eyes and asked.
“So... that friend shouldn't have any problems, right?”
As he spoke, the man’s hand subtly moved toward his rapier. The teammate, seeing this, raised both hands and spoke before Seo-un could.
“T-That’s ridiculous! There’s no way he has an ability like seeing the past!”
“Cale. You know very well it’s not impossible, considering there are priests who see the future.”
At his words, Cale trembled and approached the man with exaggerated movements, claiming his innocence. “It’s unfair! I’ve never killed a civilian, I swear?!”
Thwack!
“Gah!!”
The moment the approaching man collapsed to the floor, coughing up blood, the leader had already returned his rapier to its sheath and shook his head.
“Cale. He never said you killed a civilian yet.”
At the man’s words, the man with holes in his neck and heart, bleeding dark blood, barely managed to lift his head and look up at Seo-un.
Thud.
At that same moment, his head fell to the floor. While the man’s teammates looked on in shock at the sudden turn of events, Seo-un recalled the movement of the man who had wielded his rapier with an expressionless face.
The speed of the draw and the thrust was instantaneous, and for a fleeting second, a sharp flicker of flame flared over the blade the moment it pierced the body. Then, with a motion that felt entirely natural, he swiftly sheathed the weapon.
To someone like Juriel, who lacked formal training in martial arts, the movement was so blindingly fast it seemed as if the man had simply brushed past Cale.
Impressed by such high-level skill, Gi-chan spoke up. “Dump told me to be wary of those who carry a sword but wear flimsy armor. Seeing it for myself, I understand why.”
“I’m a bit embarrassed to show off in front of Crown Rankers.”
“That technique... I’ve seen it before. I’ve fought countless knights and met even more, but I’ve only ever seen one who used a rapier. What’s your connection to Gwang-gun?”
Seeing Seo-un suddenly drop his formalities and release a surge of pressure, the man raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.
“Please, don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t trying to hide it. It’s not exactly common for players to go around broadcasting their abilities, is it? I’m just his half-brother. We’re practically strangers—worse, actually—so there’s no need to be so guarded.”
Seo-un caught the flicker of a complex, subtle emotion on the man’s face and let his pressure dissipate.
“It seems you have your reasons. We’ve lingered here longer than intended, so we should part ways now.”
With those final words, Seo-un turned and began to move out with his group.