## Chapter 223 – Etana
‘Etana’s [Steal] is a numbering ability that ranks among the best of the transcendent ones.’
She can steal the abilities of anyone she touches.
Just by possessing that skill, she can become infinitely stronger.
Rushing in recklessly would only make it easier for her to counterattack.
My strategy for taking her down was simple.
‘Replicate [Time Stop] and use it before Etana does. Attack Etana while she’s frozen.’
Etana, having spotted Scarlet, strode towards us.
“Eek! Master! Etana’s here! Uh, how long do I have to stand here…!”
Thud. Thud.
“M-Master?”
I focused on Etana and replicated Park Jimin’s [Time Stop], which had been transferred to her.
“Master!!!”
[You have used 〈Time Stop〉.]
The world stopped.
The people walking down the street, the cars on the road, the traffic lights, even the wind…
Everything completely froze. Even Scarlet, who was screaming with her eyes tightly shut, and the voice coming from her mouth.
“……”
However, there was one being who moved even with time stopped. Etana looked around at the frozen world, bewildered.
‘How?’
[If someone uses 〈Time Stop〉 without being aware of it, the ability activates as a form of resistance.]
In other words, the ability automatically activates to protect its master.
‘Is it a similar principle to resisting [Hypnosis]?’
Etana, who had paused for a moment, began to move towards Scarlet again.
Even though she was puzzled by this strange phenomenon, it seemed she was going to hunt down the target she had been missing for so long first.
‘This isn’t good.’
I couldn’t release [Time Stop] now.
It was possible that only I would be released, while Etana remained frozen.
But I couldn’t just stand by either.
Scarlet was unaware that Etana was approaching because time was stopped.
At this rate, she was destined to have all her abilities stolen, suffer in agony, and then die.
‘I have no choice. I’ll have to revise the plan.’
I put strength into my legs.
I wanted to summon a clone and send it, but time was running out.
Etana was already about to touch Scarlet.
‘Summoning a clone is too late. Then…’
Bang!
I shot out towards Scarlet and Etana.
I had taken a potion beforehand, just in case, and thanks to that, my agility, which had skyrocketed by 1,000%, quickly closed the distance between us.
I arrived just before Etana touched Scarlet and snatched her away.
“?!”
Then, I took Scarlet and left the scene.
Etana, momentarily taken aback by my sudden intrusion, quickly chased after us.
Swish-
Swish swish-
A chase began in the time-stopped city center.
‘She’s really fast.’
Even with agility at 261.8, about 26 times that of an average person, it wasn’t easy to shake off Etana.
〈Status Window〉
Name: Etana
Strength: 402.7
Agility: 272
Stamina: 1,051.9
Physical Resistance: 254%
Etana’s stats were generally decent.
Thanks to the potion that boosted my strength tenfold, I was slightly stronger, but my agility was still lower.
Even though her total stats were lower than Nora’s, her overwhelming agility and [Steal] made the opponent’s spine tingle.
‘This is going to be tough.’
I took out three more potions and created a little more distance.
Swish swish swish swish swish-
As if determined not to let us get away, Etana increased her speed and chased after us like crazy.
The annoyance had disappeared from her face.
Her eyes were sharp and menacing, as if she had found an interesting prey after a long time.
Whoosh!
She attacked from behind every now and then, and the more I shook her off, the more joy filled her eyes.
Wriggle. Swoosh!
‘Shadows?’
Sharp thorns suddenly protruded from the all-around shadows and rushed towards me.
They grazed my body in various places.
‘They’re sharp, but they don’t do any damage.’
It seemed to be based on physical force, as it didn’t even leave a scratch. However, the movements were too fast, and if I was hit head-on, my posture could collapse or I could fall.
‘Minimize the hits.’
I ran forward, minimizing the number of thorns I was hit by.
I deflected the ones that were hard to avoid with my hands. Thanks to my high agility, it wasn’t that difficult.
But Etana’s attacks were just the beginning.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As if testing which tool was suitable for the prey called me, Etana constantly chased after me, unleashing various abilities.
Sometimes she would burst light, sometimes she would explode the ground to prevent me from running on the road, and in an instant, she would ensnare me in hundreds of ways.
‘Ugh?!’
And among them, there were some that could be effective hits against me. Suddenly, one side of space twisted, and a part of my arm that was there was torn to shreds.
[〈Space Distortion〉 is an ability that cannot be blocked with physical resistance alone.]
Of course, not all [Space Distortion] techniques were effective against me.
[You are currently immune to other players’ abilities.]
[You have completely resisted the opponent’s 〈Space Distortion〉.]
Because it was one of the numbering abilities, it occasionally dealt damage to me, but it often failed as well.
If I avoided the fatal blows, I could somehow endure it with my recovery power.
‘I just have to buy time and endure.’
I glanced back.
Etana’s expression had changed so grotesquely that you could consider her a completely different person.
The eyes that had been full of annoyance had turned into crescent moons, and the corners of her mouth were hooked on her ears as she grinned.
‘Is that Etana’s true self?’
Well, she’s lived for over 4,000 years, so there’s no way her mentality would be normal.
She’s the kind of person who would yawn nonchalantly even as people died next to her and screamed in agony.
And now, she’s chasing after us like a madwoman, cackling as if she’s going to hunt us down no matter what.
Hum-
Etana, who had slowed down my speed with [Space Distortion] and shadows, swung her hand behind me.
Her hand almost touched me, but barely grabbed the air.
‘If I even graze it, it’s over.’
I immediately took additional potions and widened the distance.
Kihikihik.
The silent, bizarre smile began to chase closely behind me again.
Even if killing intent didn’t actually exist, I could clearly feel Etana’s gaze.
When I turned into an alley, the stinging sensation disappeared for a moment, but at some point, my skin tingled and stung again.
‘The moment I touch her, my abilities will be stolen. Then it’s over.’
My heart was pounding.
It was a tension I hadn’t felt in a while.
But it wasn’t all that bad.
After my physical resistance exceeded 100%, I hadn’t experienced any dangerous moments.
Since then, it had been peaceful days.
It was as if an animal with no natural enemies was walking around leisurely, and I was exactly in that situation.
But right now, I was very excited.
I could clearly feel that I was still alive and breathing.
The cold sweat that had formed on the inside of my palms was unfamiliar and welcome.
Even though I could lose everything in an instant, I was even more excited because of it.
The attachment to life that I had lost at the International High School and hadn’t particularly coveted even after going to the island was now resurfacing.
Because of the fact that I could lose everything I had achieved so far.
‘Of course, dragging the risk along is foolish.’
A large mart came into view. I increased my speed and immediately ran into the mart and summoned a clone.
Then, before Etana could rush in, I switched roles with the clone.
And I hid and waited quietly-
Thud thud thud thud.
Etana, thinking that the clone carrying Scarlet was me, fiercely chased after it.
‘…If I just buy time, it’s advantageous for me.’
『Time Stop: You can stop time for as long as you hold your breath. The user can move freely in that bizarre flow that defies the laws of science. Can be used once per day.』
[Time Stop] has a duration and a limit to the number of times it can be used.
Since I stole it from Park Jimin, I thought I would be able to use it three times, but the number of uses had been reduced to one, as if the enhancement had been reset.
‘My duration is overwhelmingly longer.’
There is a huge difference between Etana and me in terms of stamina.
Even if Etana had a special ability that allowed her to hold her breath better than me, I had the [Rune of Complete Recovery].
Using that would allow me to increase the duration.
In other words, if I endured until Etana’s [Time Stop] ended and Etana stopped moving, then attacking her unilaterally would mean game over.
‘Until then, I just have to buy time.’
By adjusting the distance appropriately and provoking her so that Etana wouldn’t give up the hunt.
That was why I had been walking a tightrope with Etana until now.
I could have shaken her off as much as I wanted.
Bang! Bang!
But I didn’t. I waited for the time to be advantageous for me.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
Space twisted. Countless sharp thorns poured out from the shadows, hindering my movements.
Thwack. Thwack thwack.
At first, the techniques were aimed at my clone, but now they were indiscriminately striking the entire area.
She didn’t care if the buildings collapsed.
She didn’t care if people died.
Rather, if they got in the way of her approach, she would tear them apart as if they were pieces of paper and chase after me.
Kihikihikihik.
Now I was even afraid to look at her face.
Her face, covered in blood, was close to madness.
[That is Etana’s true nature.]
[For a long time, she has crossed the line between life and death and enjoyed the moments that determined her fate. But at some point, those battles stopped happening. Because she had become too strong.]
Etana used an ability. The seventy or so people between her and my clone instantly turned into chunks of meat, and the fragments floated in the air.
[She wished and waited for a stronger person to appear and surpass her. For a very long time. But no rivals appeared, and she became bored.]
[Then ■■ appeared and told her. If she had more than 5,000 abilities, he would open a door to another world. There would be many strong people there, so she would never be bored.]
Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble!
At Etana’s gesture, buildings collapsed.
The fallen buildings knocked over other buildings, and soon a chain reaction occurred, engulfing the entire city in an earthquake.
Crumble crumble crumble crumble crumble.
In an instant, even the high-rise buildings swayed and then collapsed one by one.
I could feel Etana’s determination not to let me get away. I could feel the madness and obsession towards her wish.
The city situation, as if a natural disaster had struck, naturally narrowed the distance.
At this rate, it would be over in 5 minutes.
But after watching Etana’s breathing, I was convinced.
‘Good, this is the limit. It’ll be over soon.’
Etana’s breathing was already at its limit. She was no longer in a state where she could maintain [Time Stop].
The moment her [Time Stop] was released, the counterattack would begin.
The chase was ending in a different sense, and that moment was now just around the corner.
‘It’s over.’
Etana suddenly stopped running.
She exhaled rough breaths.
But what I thought would happen didn’t happen. A strange wind blew around Etana.
[The replicated 〈Time Stop〉 has disappeared.]
What?
[Etana has destroyed the 〈Time Stop〉 she possessed.]
“!!”
In other words, Etana, who had [Time Stop], had removed that ability, and I and my clone, who had replicated it, were no longer able to use [Time Stop].
Swish swish swish-
The stopped world began to move again.
The wind blew, and people and objects moved.
Blood droplets and pieces of meat fell to the ground, and the fragments of buildings that had been destroyed by Etana’s power and had been floating in the air for a while all tumbled to the ground.
“Aaaaaah!”
I could hear the screams of people.
Car horns and sirens began to sound everywhere.
“Huh? Master? Where am I?”
Scarlet blinked and looked around.
“Oh, did she steal my hypnosis ability too?”
“Calm down. You saved your life. You would have died if I hadn’t stepped in.”
“!!”
Scarlet, who was quick to notice, made her eyes sparkle.
“As expected, Master! I believed that Master wouldn’t abandon this Scarlet! Of course! There’s no way our Master would abandon me as bait!”
I didn’t know if she believed it or if she was begging me to do so…
I ignored Scarlet, who was flattering the clone, and looked at Etana.
Etana was staring directly at me, who was on top of the building, not my clone.
She smiled as if she already knew my shallow tricks.
‘The decisiveness to destroy her own abilities without hesitation.’
If it were me, I would have hesitated and worried for a moment because it would have been a waste, but in some ways, it gave me goosebumps.
‘Unlike some people, she didn’t just eat her age for free.’
Anyway, it was the first time.
I had looked through all the memories of the wraith who had become my bitch, but I had never seen Etana show such a motivated appearance.
It felt like I had seen the final boss’s phase 2 in a game.
Etana raised her index finger at me.
-Just wait a little. You’re next.
Etana, who had said that to me with her lips, turned her gaze back to Scarlet and the clone who was carrying her.
“M-Master, she’s coming towards us. What do we do now?”
I didn’t know what trick she had used, but Etana’s stats had suddenly jumped by nearly 3,000%.
『Ability Destruction: Destroys an ability you possess and drastically increases all stats for one day. The rate of increase varies depending on the value of the ability. Can be used once per day.』
[Time Stop] had disappeared.
Her speed was also overwhelmingly superior due to the stat difference.
I could no longer run away on foot.
In some ways, it was the worst situation, and the opponent was aware of all of this and was confident of victory.
Her leisurely steps towards Scarlet proved it.
But I smiled instead.
[Time Stop] was just a safe route.
To defeat the opponent without risk.
But even if that path was blocked, the winner of this stage would not change.
‘[Time Stop] or not, I was planning to use this method from the beginning.’
After taking a deep breath, I summoned a large number of [Clones].
Easily thousands of clones.
“!!”
Etana, who had noticed the existence of the clones before they had even descended to the ground, turned her head and looked up at me.
‘We’ smiled at her.
“Judging by her surprised expression, it seems Etana doesn’t have the clone ability?”
“Even if she has it, she can’t use it. The stamina consumption is hopeless. We can use it because it’s us, but no one else can use clones like this.”
“Ah. Even our main body has 160,000 stamina, but we wouldn’t be able to use it like this without the [Rune of Complete Recovery].”
“This is going to be an easy fight.”
Something that Etana didn’t have but I did.
That was stamina.
In other words, if we fought based on stamina, this tight battle would be 100% my victory.
It was a bait that I had thrown from the beginning with that in mind, and it was a fight that I had started believing in that.
I raised my hand.
“Okay, okay, let’s stop the chatter and resume the hunt. By switching positions with them.”
“Are we the hunters this time?”
“Yes, we’re it.”
“Ha, this is going to be fun?”
“Is everyone ready?”
The clones nodded.
“Then go.”
The clones charged at Etana.
Scarlet, who was late to sense the presence and raised her head, opened her mouth wide as she looked at my clones filling the sky-
A total of 5,107 clones rushed towards Etana all at once.
