Chapter 1554 – 1554. Saint Unicorn
“Don’t bother running away. We’ve already got this area under control. There’s nowhere for you to escape.”
“Under control? I don’t feel anything around here.”
It wasn’t a lie; I genuinely didn’t sense anything.
“That’s just your level. This surrounding space is practically in the palm of our hands. You seem to have a decent sense of perception, enough to notice us, but that’s about it. You lack the insight to recognize magic. The media hyped you up as a promising talent, but in reality, you’re just a mediocre B-rank.”
Magic.
I frowned.
The magic in reality was different from the magic in the game world. I knew that magic in this world was also activated by mana, an energy source. However, I didn’t know the exact principles. I had memories of being educated about it in university, but I didn’t understand any of the principles of magic.
And the principles of magic in reality varied slightly from region to region. For example, there was the Onmyōdō of neighboring Japan.
‘He said it was magic, but there’s a chance it isn’t. It’s foolish to believe the enemy’s words without question.’
I decided to think about the minor details later and focused on the situation at hand. As I showed my intent to fight, they took their positions as if they had been waiting for it.
They were unsettling. They were confident in their victory but didn’t let their guard down at all.
“No Ji-soo. Did that bitch send you?”
“That woman isn’t our master. We’re just the executioners. We simply follow the orders from above. Well, we’re ready, so… die now.”
The space momentarily shook. The ground began to turn black and die, and black smoke enveloped me.
I looked at the guy furthest back. This phenomenon started from him. The flow of mana was telling me. The guy at the very back was wearing a hood and a mask. I focused my gaze more intently. He wasn’t East Asian; he was Black.
“What kind of magic is this now?”
“Do you know voodoo? It’s magic from Africa.”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of drums echoed from within the black smoke.
“You’ll hear a slow rhythm. Doesn’t it sound nice? Relaxing? Just let your mind and body follow the rhythm. You’ll feel the ultimate comfort.”
“Oh, yeah… it’s comfortable. So comfortable that…”
I staggered to the rhythm of the drums. I stumbled as if I were about to fall, and I noticed their tension easing. A lapse in vigilance. I wouldn’t miss that opening.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 6]
Lightning Flash Style: Gale Lightning.
My body, wrapped in lightning, shot forward. The reaction of the careless enemies was slow. Thanks to that, I reached the Black man at the very back.
“I heard the drums well. You black bastard.”
“You son of a bitch. That’s racist… Kaaah!”
My sword pierced his abdomen. I slowly raised the sword. This guy was as good as dead. It wouldn’t be fun if I killed him too quickly.
The drums stopped. The black smoke that had surrounded me also disappeared. However, the blackened ground didn’t come back to life. Before something wriggling in the ground could rise to the surface, the Fire Lotus Dagger pierced his heart.
“Die now, you nigger.”
The Black man died. He didn’t last as long as I thought. Isn’t it standard to last 30 seconds even after your heart is destroyed?
“Eddie’s dead…!”
“Damn it! Kill him!”
“This is for Eddie!”
The enemies charged. I leisurely drew my sword.
They couldn’t even react to the combo of Gale Lightning and Flash. They were just a bunch of nobodies compared to how they were acting. I didn’t think for a second that I would lose to these guys.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 5]
I beheaded the closest enemy. The guy next to him flinched and used his ability. Three discs were created in the air. The sharp discs spun around.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 4]
‘They look like shields no matter how I look at them. Is it an ability to control and summon shields?’
Rotating the circular shields seemed to be a tactic to attack and defend simultaneously.
‘If it were me, I would have focused on defense with one large shield.’
I thrust the Fire Lotus Dagger into the tiny gap between the three spinning discs.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The shields rotated and collided with the blade of the Fire Lotus Dagger. A tremendous amount of sparks flew. They rotated at high speed like a cutting machine, but they couldn’t cut the Fire Lotus Dagger.
‘Do they think the Fire Lotus Dagger is a joke? Even if it’s cracked, it can block most attacks.’
The tip of the Fire Lotus Dagger pierced the guy’s head. As he fell, the spinning shields also disappeared.
“Captain! I’ll hold him down! In the meantime…”
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 3]
One guy appeared behind me in an instant and tried to restrain my body with both hands. The attempt was successful. Even though I used Flash, I couldn’t get away from him.
‘It’s not a space-moving ability… is it an ability to hide his presence?’
I gave up on dodging. Instead, I held the Fire Lotus Dagger in reverse and stabbed my abdomen as if committing seppuku. Of course, I manipulated it so that my internal organs wouldn’t be damaged. I’ve gotten used to this kind of trick after killing and being killed so many times.
“Kuh?! You, you stabbed yourself? You, you crazy bastard…!”
“I just got a hole in my abs, but you got stabbed in the heart. It’s a great trade. Right? Yeah, right~”
I confirmed that he was dead and pulled out the sword. I said it calmly, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. The only good thing was that the endorphins released during the fight made the pain less noticeable.
‘Well, I don’t know if they’re actually being released.’
There were two left.
The captain and the short guy.
The captain charged with gritted teeth. The knuckle he was wearing on his hand instantly grew larger, turning into a weapon that looked like it could kill a person in one blow. The large knuckle even had thorns on it.
I pretended to charge at the captain but changed direction.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 2]
Lightning Flash Style: Flying Tiger.
A momentary charge technique using a leap. I charged at the short guy with the force of a tiger. He tried to take something out of the bag on his waist, but my sword beheaded him. It was as rough as if a tiger’s claws had scratched him.
Thud.
The dying guy tapped my shoulder. A green mark spread across my shoulder, forming a pattern.
‘Is it like magic? He did something before he died.’
I could feel the captain’s presence approaching. His eyes, distorted with rage, were full of hatred.
“You son of a bitch! You killed my men?! I’ll kill you to honor their souls!”
“You’re too slow. At that speed… huh?”
I was using Gale Lightning. However, my body wasn’t moving as fast as I thought it would. I couldn’t avoid the charging guy. I was so flustered that I forgot to use Flash for a moment. His fist hit my cheek.
My body flew backward and fell to the ground.
The damage was minimal. I had used mana to focus on defending my face right before I was hit. At most, I had a nosebleed.
“Ah, shit.”
However, my concentration was broken the moment I was hit, and Gale Lightning disappeared. I raised my upper body. The speed was sluggish. I could guess the reason.
‘That short bastard put something on my shoulder… that’s the cause.’
Thump!
The captain ran and mounted my upper body. He had taken a mount position. He first snatched the Fire Lotus Dagger from my hand and threw it away.
“You’re finished. Please don’t die too quickly.”
“…A guy mounting me like this. It’s so disgusting.”
“Let’s see how long you can keep that composure!”
He raised his fist. Just before his fist hit my face, I used mana.
Lightning.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
Lightning burst from my body. The lightning electrocuted him and shot up into the sky. It was lightning rising from the ground to the sky.
“Kuhhhhh! This mere current…! Do you think I can’t withstand it?!”
“You would have withstood it if it was normal current.”
The current lightning was the Lightning Flash Style’s lightning. Lightning imbued with the will of the Lightning Flash Sect and my own. Soon, his eyes rolled back. He had fainted.
I pushed him aside and got up.
“Cough!”
I coughed up blood.
It was the aftermath of internal injuries.
Was it from being attacked by them? No. It was because I had overused Gale Lightning. In the [Ascension of Light] world, I could use it several times without any problems, but it wasn’t the same for me in reality.
‘My meridians are damaged. It’s not a problem with my body but with my technique. It’ll be fine if I raise the Lightning Flash Style’s trait level further. Or I could just focus on training Gale Lightning.’
I gave up on training. My talent in [Ascension of Light] was different from my talent in reality.
No matter how hard I tried to train, I wasn’t confident that I could perfectly control Gale Lightning.
‘And it’s a matter of efficiency. It’s faster to earn points and raise the Lightning Flash Style level.’
There was no problem. I could just use Full Recovery.
‘Before I use Full Recovery, should I try using another technique?’
I held the Fire Lotus Dagger again and stared at a tree.
‘Lightning Flash Style: Heart Sword… how do I use that again?’
The Lightning Flash Style’s Heart Sword didn’t have any set forms.
You imbue your will into the sword and swing it quickly.
This technique, which could be explained in one sentence, relied more on senses and spirituality than on physical strength and internal energy.
‘I even finished my resolve, expecting that I might die after using it… I never thought it would be impossible to even swing it.’
I was getting annoyed. I gave up and used Full Recovery.
[Using Full Recovery.]
“I feel refreshed.”
The hole in my stomach had also healed.
I looked at the man who had fainted next to me. I hadn’t killed him on purpose.
‘There’s a lot I need to find out. Should I start by cutting his tendons? After that, I’ll seal his internal energy with acupressure….’
Torture was no problem.
I had Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing. I wasn’t as confident as I was in the [Ascension of Light] world, but… I had to try it first.
•••
“Kaaaaaaaah!”
A strong man’s scream echoed through the jungle.
The effect of Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing was outstanding. The guy who had been stubbornly silent didn’t last even 10 minutes before opening his mouth. This was also because the effect of Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing had weakened. If it had been me in the [Ascension of Light] world, he wouldn’t have lasted even 3 minutes.
“Should I start with the basics? What’s your name?”
“Ki, Kim Hang-seok. I don’t have much information. I’m just their hunting dog. Don’t waste your precious time and just kill me.”
“Are you worried about my time? How kind of you. As a reward, I’ll keep you alive longer. Take this! Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing!”
“Sh, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”
I spent about an hour torturing him for a smooth interrogation.
I took out a watch from my pocket and put it on my wrist. It was a state-of-the-art lie detector.
[Lie Detector
Detects lies. Can be used for 10 minutes when worn.
Price: 300 points
※Caution
Only intentional lies are detected.]
“You want to die, right? If you answer my questions well, I’ll kill you cleanly. But if you lie, it’s 10 hours of Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing.”
“…Okay. It’s better to die quickly. Ask your questions….”
“You still haven’t grasped the situation? How dare you speak informally? Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing!”
“Kaaaaaaaah!”