Ch 114-120 - Online Story Read Mode

Chapter 114 The Auction House and the Thieves (4)

Gimmick-type boss.

In the RPG genre, there's something called a gimmick-type boss.

A boss monster that can't be defeated through conventional means, requiring the player to ﬁgure out special patterns, mechanics, or weaknesses in order to bring it down.

For example, it might endlessly revive if certain conditions aren't met, be immune to all attacks, or require a speciﬁc item to be used.

Thus, when dealing with a gimmick-type boss, uncovering the gimmick is the top priority.

Once the gimmick is exposed, the boss usually becomes much easier to defeat.

In that sense, John Carter can be considered a gimmick-type boss monster.

Without knowing his gimmick, he's almost invincible. But the moment you ﬁgure it out, he becomes relatively easy to take down.

John is a duplication ability user.

According to his character settings, he can create hundreds of duplicates using shadows, making him incredibly troublesome to face.

In the game, this was represented by his constant summoning of duplicates at regular intervals.

Even if you managed to whittle down his health, he would just create new duplicates, making the ﬁght feel overwhelmingly unfair.

But John's ability had a fatal weakness. It was light.

When exposed to strong light, his duplicates would lose their power.

So, in the game, you would either attack him with a light- attribute weapon or use items like ﬂash grenades to neutralize his duplicates.

Without his duplicates, John was no more than a moderately strong villain.

The reason John had such a glaring weakness was probably because he was meant to be defeated by the protagonist's party.

After all, to make the protagonist shine, there needed to be powerful villains. But if those villains were too strong to defeat, it would be a problem. Hence, a fatal weakness was added to balance things out.

An unavoidable weakness that would ultimately lead to his downfall.

In that regard, John was similar to Han Jihyo.

She, too, had a powerful ability but was easily defeated due to her fatal weakness—water.

'Phew, thank goodness. I'm really relieved that light is his weakness.'

I let out a sigh of relief in my heart.

I knew the setting of *Romance Hero Academy's* world was being reﬂected in reality, but there had always been a small chance that something might go wrong, so I was a bit anxious.

John's ability was so strong that if his weakness hadn't worked, I would've had no choice but to run for my life immediately.

That guy could create hundreds of duplicates with power almost equal to his own.

How could I possibly deal with all of that? Ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying.

'I used a barrier technique in the middle of a crowded street just in case, but I'm glad his weakness worked.'

Using the barrier technique in a busy area was a very deliberate move.

If things went south, I could instantly deactivate the barrier and blend into the crowd to escape.

Honestly, it might sound like I'm using the people as shields, but from Alex's perspective, he wouldn't be able to cause a scene in the middle of a busy street.

After all, he was in the process of ﬂeeing with the auction items. There was no need for him to stir up unnecessary trouble while chasing us.

Plus, if he caused too much of a ruckus, he might attract the attention of nearby police, heroes, or mercenaries.

That's the last thing a thief like him would want.

…Or so I assume. Ahem.

"Alex, John, So Yuyeong… right?"

I turned my gaze to Alex and his crew.

The moment I called out their names, I saw them ﬂinch. They seemed puzzled, unsure of how I knew their names. "Who are you, and how do you know us?"

Alex's expression was ﬁlled with wariness.

It was a short question, but it carried a lot of weight.

Who am I? How did I trap them in a barrier? Why was I targeting them?

Well, from Alex's perspective, he had every reason to be baﬄed.

He had probably been expecting to return from his heist without a hitch, only to be suddenly abducted into a barrier.

He likely thought no one would ﬁnd out. "You…"

Alex quickly reached into his coat.

It seemed like he was planning to use his Space Pouch.

As a notorious thief, he carried various relics and items in his Space Pouch.

If he pulled out some annoying relic or item, things could get complicated fast.

Alex was already a top-tier ﬁghter even without his items. If he added a bunch of equipment on top of that, he'd become incredibly diﬃcult to deal with.

However, after rummaging through his coat for a moment, he wore a visibly surprised expression.

Because the leather pouch that Alex always carried was missing.

Ah, where did the pouch go, you ask? It's right here.

"Phew, they didn't notice. Here, take this."

At that moment, a woman's voice came from beside me.

Soon, the ﬁgure of a woman started to appear, as if she had been concealed by some kind of optical camouﬂage.

She pulled off the invisibility cloak she had been wearing and handed me the leather pouch.

Alex's Space Pouch.

"This is what you asked me to steal, right?"

The woman's name was Aisha Nel Ilyos. She was a former member of the Execution Division and had aligned herself with Cynthia and Roxanne's faction.

Publicly, she was known as a top-grade ﬁghter, but her true strength was closer to that of a high-rank hero.

Of course, she would lose in a one-on-one ﬁght with Alex, but she was the only one among us capable of holding her own against him.

She was probably the second-strongest member in Roxanne's faction.

Thanks to her, we were able to capture Han Jihyo, Joo Jeongseon, and David with ease.

"Yes, thank you."

"Hehe, don't mention it. This cloak made it easy."

Aisha giggled and waved the cloak draped over her shoulders.

Her innocent smile could be deceiving, but according to her character settings, she was quite the sadist.

In other words, she was the type to smile cheerfully while beating someone up.

So, being around her could be a bit intimidating.

She wasn't as pious as Roxanne or Cynthia; she was more grounded in the secular world.

When she snapped, she wasn't above beating people senseless.

But, it was precisely because of her personality that I was able to enlist her help in this plan.

Aisha was the kind of person who could be… let's say, incentivized.

In other words, as long as she was given a reward she deemed satisfactory, she didn't mind participating in illegal activities, as long as they didn't cause too much harm.

Roxanne might have been uncomfortable with my plan to hijack the auction items, but Aisha didn't seem to mind at all.

It was almost like she didn't care one way or another.

"This cloak is really amazing! How did you even get your hands on something like this?"

The cloak I had lent her was a relic.

It was something I had picked up during a raid on the Spider's Nest. It had the power to conceal the wearer's presence, including their scent, body heat, and even their physical appearance.

Rather than just making the wearer invisible, it erased them from people's perception.

Thanks to that cloak, Aisha had been able to sneak up on Alex and his crew and steal the Space Pouch during the brief moment when the ﬂash grenade blinded them.

Oh, and why didn't we attack Alex and his crew at that moment, you ask?

Wouldn't it have been easier to defeat them with a surprise attack?

Well, I'd answer that it wouldn't have worked.

Why? Because the moment you attack while wearing the cloak, the concealment effect is instantly nulliﬁed.

You know that trope in games, right?

Where if you use an invisibility cloak, monsters can't detect the player.

But as soon as you attack, the invisibility wears off. It's a common mechanic.

And the same rule applied to this invisibility cloak.

The moment the wearer made a move to attack, the concealment effect would be undone.

Well, that was just the way the item worked.

If you could use the cloak's concealment with no penalties, it would be an overpowered item.

That's probably why the item's description speciﬁcally included the note: "The concealment effect will be removed upon attempting an attack."

'Still, it might have been worth a shot to sneak right up to them and attack, even if the invisibility would've worn off.'

If we had launched a surprise attack from right in front of them, would it have mattered if the invisibility wore off?

Most people wouldn't be able to react in time to a sudden attack, even if the cloak's concealment was undone.

But with Alex, it was uncertain.

Alex's senses were so sharp that he might have seen through the concealment, even to some degree, in his heightened state of alert.

Successfully ambushing someone like him wouldn't have been easy.

Moreover, the cloak drained a lot of mana and stamina. If the concealment was forcibly dispelled, the cloak couldn't be used again for a certain period of time.

Since we were in a live combat situation, I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, so I decided to go with a more reliable strategy.

That strategy was to target Alex's Space Pouch.

The Space Pouch was essentially a vault containing Alex's various tools, items, equipment, and relics.

Stealing it meant severely crippling Alex's combat potential.

Alex was someone who could create countless variables using the items in his Space Pouch, just like me.

But not anymore.

Now he was as good as hunted. By none other than me.

'This cloak is seriously useful.'

Thanks to this invisibility cloak, I was able to secretly extract Aisha from the church.

With some excuses to Roxanne and Cynthia, I could have brought her out anyway, but the real concern was someone like Isabelle.

If Isabelle were using her observation ability, she could have been monitoring the church's key members.

But with the invisibility cloak, even observation abilities couldn't detect us.

The church also had its own duplication ability user.

He could only create one or two duplicates, but they were perfect copies of the original person.

With his help and the invisibility cloak, we managed to sneak Aisha out.

We then used the cloak to approach the target within range and asked a barrier specialist to trap Alex's crew.

In order to activate the barrier, we needed to stay within a 4-meter radius for a certain amount of time. Without the cloak, we would have been caught long ago.

This cloak really had a lot of practical uses.

"You… you bastard… my pouch… Did you know what it was all along?"

"Who knows?"

I shrugged nonchalantly.

I had gathered the right people, tools, and items to deal with Alex and his crew today.

The invisibility cloak, the ﬂash grenade, large sunglasses for resisting magic, Aisha, the barrier specialist, the eavesdropper, the defense specialist, and the heroes from Yoo Seolhyun's faction.

If it had been just me alone, I wouldn't have been able to pull all of this together. But thanks to Yoo Seolhyun's help, it had been quite easy.

With time, money, and connections, it wasn't hard to come up with a perfect combination to counter Alex and his crew.

After all, this wasn't a game; it was reality.

If I couldn't take down a foe by myself, I could just enlist help.

There were plenty of strong people in this world. With enough money, connections, and the promise of rewards, it was possible to recruit them to my side.

Given how much time they had given me to prepare, I was conﬁdent that I could capture Alex, John, and So Yuyeong without much danger.

In fact, John's ability had already been neutralized, So Yuyeong wasn't much of a threat, and Alex's power would soon be neutralized as well.

As long as no major unexpected variables occurred, we'd be able to bring down Alex's team without any problems.

Unless someone like Yoo Dahee suddenly barged in.

But judging by their reactions, it didn't seem like they had come to Busan with Yoo Dahee.

And even if Yoo Dahee did come, I doubted she could break through this barrier alone in such a short time.

Unless, of course, she had help from someone like the observer Isabelle or the Crusher Ryan. But really, would they all be here?

I don't think so.

"Yoo Dahee, it looks like Alex's group has been ambushed. It seems they've been dragged into a barrier."

"Huh? Really?"

And completely unbeknownst to us, Yoo Dahee's team, having just arrived in Busan, was quietly watching the entire situation unfold.

Chapter 115 The Auction House and the Thieves (5)

"Huh? What's this?"

Isabelle, who had been quietly observing Alex's group, blinked in confusion as she realized they had been trapped in a barrier by some unexpected individuals.

What was going on? Who were these people?

Why had they attacked Alex's group?

Could they be bounty hunters? A clan? The Association? The police?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't ﬁgure it out.

Isabelle used her observation ability to its fullest, peering into the barrier, before turning her head toward Yoo Dahee.

"Ugh, it's so hot!"

Yoo Dahee had completely sprawled out, lazily fanning herself while slurping on an ice cream.

"Yoo Dahee, Alex's group has been ambushed. It looks like they've been dragged into a barrier."

"Huh? Really?"

Just a moment ago, she'd seemed half-asleep, sapped of energy from the heat. But now, her eyes lit up with life as her head snapped up at the news.

"Several unknown individuals. It seems like a premeditated attack."

"Oh-ho."

A premeditated attack?

That meant this ambush had been planned in advance.

"They've neutralized John's duplication ability. It looks like they know about his weakness. The moment his clones touched the light, they disintegrated."

"I always thought his ability was overpowered, but so it had a weakness."

The fact that John's ability had been neutralized was both good and bad news.

Good because it made John less of a threat. Bad because it meant the attackers knew his weakness—something nobody else knew. Which implied they had a future-sight ability or some kind of mind-reading power, and that meant there was likely no traitor among their group.

"They also have Aisha Nel Ilyos among them. I personally conﬁrmed she was at the Church just yesterday."

"Don't tell me… is the Church attacking again? Ugh. Roxanne, that wench. How did she even know and secretly send forces?"

That damned Roxanne. Looks like we really can't leave her alone anymore.

"They've even taken Alex's Space Pouch. This could be dangerous."

As Isabelle continued to observe, she pondered.

The attackers seemed to know Alex's group inside out. They had immediately exploited John's weakness and even stolen Alex's Space Pouch.

It was clear they had thoroughly prepared to take on Alex's team.

And they possessed overwhelming information. But us?

We knew almost nothing about the enemy.

Their abilities, tools, weaknesses, strengths—going head-to- head in this situation wouldn't be a smart choice.

But Yoo Dahee…

"So, what are you going to do?" "Hmm?"

"Are you going to save them or not?"

"Hah. What a silly question."

Yoo Dahee grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"Of course, we're gonna have to throw down." "Throw down, huh…"

Honestly, Yoo Dahee was impossible to deal with. Why go out of her way to put herself in danger?

Isabelle shook her head as she watched Yoo Dahee laugh to herself.

"Sigh… Yoo Dahee, you do realize… that this could all be a trap to lure you in, right?"

If the enemy truly had future-sight, they could already know that Yoo Dahee leads Rebellion and that she'd plan to barge into the barrier.

That meant they'd likely have prepared countermeasures for her as well.

"Hehe. I wonder."

Was there really someone with future-sight? If so, how far ahead could they see? Could they have even prepared for what I've brought along?

"Alright then, let's test how prepared they really are."

"Yoo Dahee."

"I might as well give Alex a little favor and stretch my muscles while I'm at it."

"Yoo Dahee."

"Ahh, don't worry so much. It's not like I'm going in alone, right, Mr. Ryan?"

With that, she turned to look at Ryan. "You'll help out, right, Mr. Ryan?" "Hmm."

Ryan simply nodded without a word.

"So don't worry about me, Isabelle. You should just watch your own back. Something might happen while we're gone."

"No need to worry about me. I'm great at running away."

"Haha, if you say so."

Yoo Dahee chuckled and placed a wireless earbud into one of her ears.

"Then please assist me." "Yes, don't worry." "Alright then…"

Time to stir things up a bit.

"I won't treat you harshly if you surrender now. How about it?"

"Screw you."

Alex rejected my polite suggestion with a murderous glare, leaving me with a slightly amused expression.

He knew just as well as I did how unfavorable the situation was for him.

At this point, all he had left was himself, without his Space Pouch, and John, whose ability had been completely neutralized.

In other words, they were only half as strong as they could've been.

Of course, even in that state, they weren't weak.

Alex was a top-tier ﬁghter, and John was at least mid-tier. But it wouldn't be enough to beat us.

Why? Because alongside Aisha and So Yoon, I had hired several mid- to high-tier experts with a hefty price tag.

Not to mention, we had strong members from Yoo Seolhyun's clan helping out as well.

Normally, it would've been impossible for me to treat Gaon Nuri clan members like private soldiers, no matter how inﬂuential Yoo Seolhyun was within the clan.

However, after her impressive achievements since joining the Academy, many clan members had started to fully support her.

Yoo Seolhyun had displayed her capabilities time and time again.

She had taken down the monsters that appeared at the Academy, rescued heroes trapped in dungeons, fought against villains who attacked the Union, and spent her summer break slaying dungeons, villains, and monsters.

With so many accomplishments under her belt in just one semester, many had begun to believe she had more potential than her other siblings.

There were even those who saw her as the potential heir to Gaon Nuri.

Thanks to that, more and more clan members had entered her faction.

With her growing inﬂuence, she could now push for more aggressive requests like this.

…Of course, I did give them a little extra ﬁnancial incentive too.

"This bastard!"

Alex furrowed his brow and activated his ability. His power was hypnosis.

He could hypnotize anyone within a certain distance just by making eye contact.

This could be used to show illusions or alter someone's

perception temporarily, making it extremely versatile.

Once Alex made eye contact, you would be put under hypnosis almost immediately. It was quite troublesome.

Given that people tend to look at each other when speaking, anyone unaware of his ability would naturally fall victim.

And even if you knew about his power, avoiding eye contact in a ﬁght was incredibly diﬃcult.

Is it easy to ﬁght without looking at your opponent's face? But you know…

That's why I'm wearing these sunglasses.

Why else do you think I've been wearing these this whole time, Alex?

Obviously, it's because of your ability.

"Sorry, Alex, but your power won't work on me."

"What?"

"These sunglasses are designed to resist hypnosis."

"So you even knew about my ability…"

It seemed Alex had somewhat anticipated that his power might be neutralized.

Well, it makes sense.

After all, they had been lured into a trap, and John's long- hidden weakness had been exposed. It wasn't a stretch for Alex to assume his own ability would be known too.

"So, are you still going to ﬁght? Your abilities, tools, and manpower are all inferior to ours."

"Damn it, I thought today was ﬁnally going smoothly for once."

Alex cursed, glaring at me with a ferocious look.

It didn't seem like he had any intention of surrendering. Good, just as I expected.

The reason I had arranged this battleﬁeld, where no one could interfere, wasn't just to capture Alex and his crew.

It was also partly to give So Yoon some high-level combat experience.

Like a true protagonist, So Yoon grows stronger the more she ﬁghts.

Especially in real battles.

And even more so when facing strong opponents. "So Yoon."

"Yeah!"

So Yoon's dark hair ﬂuttered as she responded with a bright, energetic voice.

Perhaps because she suspected that these villains may have had a hand in her parents' deaths, her expression was ﬁlled with determination.

"Everyone, get ready."

"Yes."

"So, we're really going to ﬁght?"

"Looks like it. Aisha, I'll leave marking Alex to you." "Don't worry, I'll do my part."

I ﬁddled with my wireless earbud. "So Yoon, you take care of John." "Don't worry, you can count on me." My role was that of a commander.

"Everyone else, follow the plan we discussed." "Yes."

I would act as the eyes and ears, guiding the battle in our favor.

"John!"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Ugh, I'm terrible at ﬁghting…"

Along with So Yuyeong's muttering, everyone ﬁnished preparing for battle.

"Well then… shall we see how skilled the infamous thief of Korea really is?"

Aisha sprang into action ﬁrst, signaling the start of the ﬁght.

***

There's something called Lanchester's Law.

When forces are evenly matched, the side with more numbers can easily win with far fewer casualties.

So, what happens when the stronger force also has more numbers?

Well, isn't it obvious?

You win overwhelmingly with little to no losses. Just like this.

"Ugh… damn it."

"Haa~. You know, you're stronger than I expected? I deﬁnitely couldn't beat you in a one-on-one. But~ numbers beat strength, don't they?"

Alex panted heavily as he glared at Aisha and the Gaon Nuri clan members.

But he didn't seem to have any strength left to resist.

With one hand pressed against his bleeding side, all he could do was shoot angry glares at Aisha and her group.

Once again, one of humanity's greatest tactics: overwhelming numbers.

No strategy beats a good old-fashioned mob. "Ugh!"

"Haa, haa…"

"You… what are you? How are you this strong at your age?"

It seemed the ﬁght between So Yoon and John had also wrapped up.

With his ability neutralized, John was no longer a threat.

Of course, John was an incredibly skilled high-tier villain, but he wasn't a match for So Yoon, who had my assistance.

After all, So Yoon had been briefed by me on John's swordsmanship, techniques, habits, and tools, while John knew absolutely nothing about So Yoon.

On top of that, I had paired So Yoon with a barrier ability user and a light particle condenser ability user.

In such a scenario, there was no way John could win. "I surrender! I give up!"

So Yuyeong raised both her hands high and waved a white ﬂag.

Well, she wasn't a combatant to begin with.

With Alex and John incapacitated, she must've realized there was no other option.

"Is that it?"

It ended quicker than I expected, but it was a natural outcome.

With both Alex and John's abilities neutralized, and our side having the superior force and information, there was no way we could lose.

It was a situation where defeat was simply impossible. 'Well then, it's about time…'

I glanced over at Aisha and subtly gave her a signal. Noticing my look, Aisha slowly nodded.

There was only one thing I had asked of Aisha in advance.

To cripple the mana cores of Alex and John, ensuring they could never recover.

I had no intention of capturing them in one piece.

Both of them were too powerful, so it was best to render them permanently incapacitated in case they ever escaped or sought revenge.

It was best to cut down any dangerous seeds while you had the chance.

During our prior operation where we captured Han Jihyo, Joo Jeongseon, and David, Roxanne had shown up in person, and there were too many of the Church's people present to do anything rash.

But not this time.

The only person I had to worry about noticing was So Yoon.

Knowing her personality, she would never approve of such a plan.

So, I'd just have to arrange for an "accident" to severely injure them.

"Still resisting? Well, don't say I didn't warn you if you end up getting seriously hurt."

Aisha grinned as she gripped her dual swords tightly.

As a true sadist, she seemed to take genuine pleasure in inﬂicting pain on others.

"Let's see if you can block this~. Not that your body's in any condition to put up a ﬁght."

Aisha swiftly swung her blades.

The sharp edges closed in like beams of light, and while Alex gritted his teeth and tried to resist, it was futile.

His battered body couldn't move properly. "Too slow."

"Ugh!"

Just as Aisha's sword was about to strike—

*Clang!*

With the sound of shattering metal, a woman appeared, gripping Aisha's blade with her hand.

As she applied pressure, cracks spread across Aisha's sword, and Aisha quickly retreated in shock. The woman shook her hand, ﬂexing her ﬁngers.

Her timing was impeccable.

Having broken through the barrier at just the right moment, it was clear she had been observing us all along.

Our abilities, our forces, our equipment—she had been watching it all.

"Wow, that was close, huh?"

*Cough* "How… you…?"

"Hehe. Didn't I tell you? I warned you to be careful. And now look at you."

T h i s was c o p i ed f ro m k i ngm t l . or g "Dammit, how could I have known… *cough*!"

"Ugh, clean yourself up and take a breather."

A beautiful girl with white hair smirked as she turned her gaze toward us, casually throwing out a remark.

"So… should I say… the villain has arrived?" Yoo Dahee grinned wickedly.

Chapter 116 The Auction House and Thieves (6)

Whoosh.

The wind blew.

A chilly summer breeze cut against the skin.

Beyond the pale hair ﬂuttering in the wind, a beautiful girl smiled sweetly as she looked this way.

Though her outward appearance was that of a pretty girl, a monster slumbered within.

A monster brimming with malice. "..."

People remained silent without saying a word. The sound of dry swallowing echoed in my ears.

This was because an indescribable killing intent was oozing thickly from that smiling girl.

Aisha, Soyeon, the Gaon Nuri Clan members, and others.

Everyone looked at Yoo Dahee with tense expressions. I could see their shoulders trembling slightly.

Was Yoo Dahee's killing intent that terrifying?

It seemed to have become even stronger than during the midterms.

Ah, of course.

I can't sense killing intent or anything like that.

Then how did I know whether Yoo Dahee was emitting killing intent or not?

Well, I just guessed based on everyone's reactions. They all suddenly ﬂinched and had tense expressions. There's a 100% chance she's emitting killing intent. "How interesting."

Yoo Dahee was now looking at me.

"Even Aisha Ilyos from the Execution Division and veteran heroes from the Gaon Nuri Clan are trembling slightly at my killing intent."

Interest ﬂickered across her face. "Yet you seem rather nonchalant?" "..."

No, that's because I'm a weakling who can't even sense killing intent properly…

"Come to think of it, weren't we acquainted before? We met during the midterms, in the forest. You were just as impassive then too, right?"

My encounter with Yoo Dahee during the Battle Survival wasn't exactly a pleasant memory.

Honestly, I thought I was going to die back then.

And I wasn't impassive, wasn't my expression just frozen stiff?

"You cut the back of my hand, didn't you? Wow, I was surprised. I never expected a Union Academy trainee to be able to penetrate my protective force ﬁeld."

It was half luck.

At that time, Yoo Dahee had let her guard down, and I happened to have an artifact that could penetrate her protective force ﬁeld.

"I've heard a lot about you. Even during the ranking battle, our Baek Yu… Oops, I shouldn't mention that."

Baek Yu…?

Could she be talking about Baek Yoorin?

When it comes to the ranking battle, Baek Yoorin is the only person that comes to mind.

"Anyway, I never expected to meet like this. It's quite fascinating when you think about it. It doesn't seem like mere coincidence."

Yoo Dahee raised her head and looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.

"Actually, I've been watching how you all ﬁght outside the barrier."

As expected, did she observe our combat capabilities with Yujabel's help?

"Everyone was ﬁghting hard, but you kept giving orders?" That's right.

That's all I can do.

For a weakling like me, ﬁghting directly would be suicidal.

"The way you analyzed our members' weaknesses, aﬃnities, and habits, then provided appropriate countermeasures was quite interesting."

She repeatedly clenched and unclenched her ﬁst slightly.

"Like John's weakness, Alex's special ability, the spatial pocket… I'm not sure how you knew about these things beforehand, but…"

Yoo Dahee's eyes gleamed sharply.

"…If I take you away for interrogation, I might be able to ﬁnd out something? I think you're hiding a lot of interesting things. Even that Aisha woman from the church obediently listens to you. Of course, there's also the possibility that you yourself are just a decoy scarecrow."

"What?"

Soyeon frowned and bristled, as if she had heard something absurd. She glared at Yoo Dahee with a ﬁerce look. Yoo Dahee chuckled.

"Heh. So energetic. Come to think of it, it's been a while for you too, hasn't it?"

Yoo Dahee acted familiar with Soyeon. It seems she remembers Soyeon.

Even though she's only seen her once, it would be diﬃcult to forget a beauty like Soyeon.

"Back then, I wanted to half-kill you, but the situation wasn't favorable so I had to withdraw. That was a bit regrettable.

But to think we'd meet again like this. You really have bad luck, don't you?"

"What are you talking about? Can't you see the people here? I know you're strong, but what can you do alone?"

Soyeon gestured with her chin towards the people around. Aisha and several heroes had surrounded Yoo Dahee.

On the other hand, Alex and John were already injured. They were in no condition to ﬁght properly, let alone hinder Yoo Dahee.

"Ah~ Is that so?"

But there's something Soyeon momentarily overlooked. That there are many more people here besides us right now.

"But can't you see those people over there? Look over there."

"What?"

Soyeon cautiously glanced to the side without lowering her guard.

And then…

"Huh? Who are those people?" "Mom, mom, that man is bleeding!"

"The atmosphere seems ominous. What's going on? Did they get into a ﬁght or something?"

"What? A brawl? Should we, should we call the police?"

The sight of people whispering among themselves a short distance away came into view.

Due to the barrier breaking, our presence had been exposed to the public. This situation is not good for us at all.

Because…

"There sure are a lot of powerless civilians, aren't there?"

…She can threaten to take their lives hostage.

That's why we kept Alex's group trapped inside the barrier to prevent them from escaping, but now that we're exposed in the middle of the street, it's become a slightly troublesome situation.

Well, it doesn't really matter much. "So?"

"Hm?"

"So what, what are you going to do?"

"Wow."

I drew my dagger and placed the blade against So Yuyeong's neck, whom we had captured.

As the cold blade touched her skin, So Yuyeong's body trembled.

When she slowly raised her gaze to look at me, a hint of fear was visible in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Yoo Dahee blinked a few times before giggling as if amused.

"Oh~ You're going to take a hostage in return? Wow, this makes me think you might be more suited to be one of us than a hero."

As the saying goes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

It's only right to respond to a hostage situation with another hostage.

Of course, being a group of villains, taking a comrade hostage probably won't be very effective, but Yoo Dahee at least seemed to care for her comrades to some extent.

Well, even so, Yoo Dahee is still just one of those villain scum, so I don't really expect this to have much effect.

It was just an action to buy some time.

Because the moment Yoo Dahee broke the barrier, I quickly sent out a request for help. To Kang Daehan and Hong Daye.

Kang Daehan, who had been humiliated by Yoo Dahee before, and Hong Daye, who has a strong sense of responsibility, will surely come here after receiving my request.

Ah, well… I'm not sure if Kang Daehan coming would be of much use, but what I want isn't Kang Daehan himself, but the guards who will come with him.

I saw that person yesterday too.

Joo Hwayoon of the Hwadong Faction.

That person would be a very reliable asset. "Take the people hostage? Go ahead and try."

The one who was startled by my non-threatening threat was none other than So Yuyeong.

"W-wait a minute! W-why me?"

"I don't care what happens to her. Hey, your ability is quite useful, right? I'd hate to lose it so pointlessly."

"N-no! You! Aren't you supposed to be a hero?!" "Shut up."

"Eek!"

As I applied a bit more pressure, drops of blood fell from So Yuyeong's skin, and she immediately clamped her mouth shut.

This girl seemed surprisingly timid.

Having lived as a villain, she must have gone through various experiences.

Could she really think I would actually stab her? Normally, wouldn't they act tough and say something like "Hah! You think you can stab me? You look like an amateur who's never even hurt anyone before!"

"U-um, Jinhyuk…?"

Taken aback by my sudden action, Soyeon wore a bewildered expression, not knowing what to do.

Given her personality, threatening someone with a knife to their throat, even if they're a villain, must feel quite unsettling in many ways.

I secretly met Soyeon's eyes with a reassuring look.

Soyeon hesitated for a moment before nodding, deciding to trust me for now.

From the start, I had no intention of actually stabbing her.

"It really looks like you might stab her. Heh. Well, I suppose you could. After all, you've crippled quite a few villains so far."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?" Have I crippled any villains?

"That child said it wasn't you… but it must be you, right?" She says with a smile.

"The Vigilante."

With those words, a loud thud echoed in my ears. Dust and fragments of asphalt ﬂew up into the air. Someone had rapidly descended from above.

A huge ﬁgure could be vaguely seen through the dust. It seemed to be Ryan.

I thought he would be here since he broke through the barrier in one go, but he must have been hiding somewhere for a while.

"Ah, shit!"

Ah, my vision.

The dust and stone fragments temporarily obscured my sight.

I blinked once, but Yoo Dahee had already disappeared. Damn it, could it be?

"Aren't you a bit too defenseless?"

She had reached right in front of me at a speed much faster than during the midterms.

It was such a swift and mysterious movement that even veteran heroes couldn't react properly.

Only Aisha looked towards me and Yoo Dahee with an "Oh no!" expression on her face, reaching out her hand, but she seemed a step too late.

"Show me that skill of yours that's so rumored about."

Yoo Dahee swung at me using a technique called Poison Hand.

Her nails, imbued with ominous magical power, looked sharp enough to shred even steel.

A fatal blow that I could do nothing about. If it hit me directly, I would surely die.

And so, with a thud!

The moment Yoo Dahee's nails touched my body. "Huh?"

Bzzt, zzzzzzt!

Bright yellow electricity sparked from my body. Alright, she fell for it.

Chapter 117 The Auction House and Thieves (7)

It was obvious, but I had already prepared an artifact to protect my body.

Named the Guardian Barrier.

It's a type of defensive artifact that forms an opaque barrier around the user to provide protection.

Moreover, when it receives damage, it releases a powerful electric current proportional to the damage as a counterattack effect.

In the game, it would inﬂict a stun status effect, momentarily putting the target into a groggy state.

However, it probably won't have much effect on a monster like Yoo Dahee.

After all, Yoo Dahee was undoubtedly the top munchkin character in the Romance Hero Academy.

"Ouch, that stings." Bzzt, zzzzzzt!

A powerful electric current swept through Yoo Dahee's body. "I really hate static electricity."

It was an electric current strong enough to electrocute a normal person to death, but Yoo Dahee just grumbled to herself with a slightly distorted expression.

Thanks to her excellent durability and protective force ﬁeld, she didn't seem to suffer any signiﬁcant injuries.

Yoo Dahee boasted a body as tough as a physical enhancement ability user, even though she wasn't one.

It was hard to tell if she was human or not.

This level of electric current could only momentarily paralyze Yoo Dahee's body at best.

But that was enough.

Because there was an excellent ally who could take advantage of even the briefest opening.

Aisha Ilyos, known by the nickname "Flash," who had eliminated numerous villains and monsters.

"You're that white-haired girl who attacked Union, right? Bye-bye~."

Aisha's twin swords extended like snakes, gracefully and sharply striking towards Yoo Dahee's side and abdomen.

She precisely exploited the momentary opening.

It was a speed reminiscent of a ﬂash of light, beﬁtting her nickname.

As a master of swift swordsmanship, her twin swords stretched out like beams of light, reaching right in front of Yoo Dahee's face.

A sword strike that even Alex, with his top-tier skills, couldn't properly dodge.

Aisha's molars then mercilessly bit into Yoo Dahee's body. The swords plunged into her side and lower abdomen with a thud! The sharp blades toyed with Yoo Dahee's body. The blades gleamed ominously.

However… "Oh my?"

It was an afterimage.

What Aisha had stabbed was the residual image left after Yoo Dahee had moved.

Aisha's sword blades only cut through the air, and when I slightly shifted my gaze, I could see Yoo Dahee marveling a short distance away.

Ah, as expected, it didn't work.

Well, I didn't have much hope to begin with.

She's not an easy opponent to take down with just that.

"Wow, you really surprised me. You're very fast. I can see why you were able to defeat Alex. I had received reports through observation, but experiencing it ﬁrsthand is quite different."

"…Was that Phantom Movement? Just now, was that Phantom Movement?"

"Probably?"

"That's annoying. You look quite young, but are you some kind of genius?"

Phantom Movement.

It's a type of high-level movement technique that instantly shifts the body's position.

It has the effect of confusing the opponent's vision by moving so quickly that it leaves afterimages. It was an even more diﬃcult technique than the Phantom Walk that Yoo Dahee had used before.

"…I knew you were skilled from watching the video of the Union attack, but I didn't expect you to be able to use Phantom Movement."

"I've grown since then."

"Really, I wish all these geniuses would just die."

"You're not one to talk, are you? I remember you were quite famous in England too."

She can already use Phantom Movement?

A villain who keeps growing is truly annoying.

I wonder if Soyeon will be able to keep up with Yoo Dahee's growth rate?

Although Soyeon's talent is similar to or even greater than Yoo Dahee's, I was slightly worried whether Soyeon, who had just awakened, could grow to a level that could threaten Yoo Dahee in a short time.

"Ah, right, hey you." "?"

Yoo Dahee then shifted her gaze towards me. "Was that an artifact just now?"

"Who knows?"

"Come on, it seemed like an artifact. Looks like a defensive one. Isn't that level of artifact quite rare? How did you manage to get it?"

Of course, artifacts in reality are very scarce.

It's not something you can easily obtain just because you have a lot of money.

Moreover, among the many artifacts with various effects, those useful in combat are even rarer.

The reason I was able to possess so many combat-useful artifacts was, of course, due to my knowledge of the original work.

In the original story, there were many powerful, useful, and amazing artifacts lying dormant within the protagonist's range of action.

Well, it's a common story.

If you look at typical RPG games, there are often rare minerals, amazing items, legendary equipment, and such hidden near the protagonist.

Similarly, there were still quite a few useful artifacts hidden in Korea.

And I spent the entire midterm period searching for such things.

Until now, I couldn't obtain them due to lack of strength, money, or time, but now it's different.

I have an abundance of money, time, and connections.

I prepared as much as I could for today, even if it meant pushing myself.

"Somehow, it feels like you have more than just one or two artifacts."

Correct.

"Even with a lot of money and ability, it's rare for someone to possess multiple useful artifacts…"

Do you know how many artifacts I currently possess?

I can conﬁdently say that I'm the person with the most artifacts in South Korea.

No, not just in South Korea, but there might not be many individuals with as many artifacts as me even when compared globally.

Even large clans or major corporations usually have at most one artifact.

"…I heard you have an ability to absorb magical power, but isn't that an artifact too?"

Uh, well.

You're right.

I'm actually powerless.

"Do you actually have some kind of precognitive ability that allowed you to ﬁnd all these artifacts?"

This, this girl, why is she so sharp?

Well, she doesn't seem to be saying it with certainty.

It seems she's half-jokingly throwing out the comment.

Since Yoo Dahee was currently suspecting the existence of a precognition ability user, she probably just made a playful remark.

She probably doesn't really think I'm capable of precognition…

"Ha, nonsense! What precognition!" "Hmm?"

So, Soyeon?

"What, what are you talking about, really."

"Oh? Your reaction seems… a bit suspicious?"

"Su, suspicious? What's suspicious!"

Yoo Dahee's expression gradually changed as she watched Soyeon react like a thief conscience-stricken.

I knew Soyeon wasn't good at lying, but I didn't expect her to react like this.

When I glanced at Soyeon from the corner of my eye, she was hesitating with a slightly ﬂustered expression.

She seems to be well aware that she made a slip of the tongue.

"Hmm~. When you react like that, it makes me think it might be true… Hm. Come to think of it, you helped arrest Seong Yura, right? Thanks to that, you became close with Roxanne… You're also in contact with Baek Yoorin to some extent… And now you've even attacked Alex and his group…"

Yoo Dahee mumbled to herself with a suspicious expression. "You're strangely involved in a lot of things. It's unsettling." She then raised her head and looked straight at me.

"I'm feeling a bit uneasy, uneasy. Well, alright. Since it's come to this, I guess I have no choice. Shall we clean this up neatly?"

Putting aside her complicated thoughts for a moment, Yoo Dahee grinned.

"Uncle Ryan~ Are you ready?" She called for Ryan.

"I'm feeling uneasy, so shall we just kill that guy and run away?"

Ryan Jones, infamous as the Crusher.

Ryan, with his physical abilities surpassing even Yoo Dahee's, is no different from a living nightmare. Every time he throws a punch, people's ﬂesh will be torn to shreds. An unstoppable act of violence. Truly beﬁtting the name of Crusher.

"…Alright."

He, who had been standing still and keeping us in check until now, raised his stiff body. He's big. His size was reminiscent of a bear.

"Alex, John. You guys get ready too. I'll draw their attention, so try to escape somehow."

"Wh-what about me?!"

"Hm? Ah, So Yuyeong, it might be diﬃcult for you?" "Eh?"

"But you're clearly being held captive by him, right? Even for me, it might be a bit hard to save you… Hmm. Well, if you end up in prison, I'll at least write you a letter."

"Isn't that too much?!"

While Yoo Dahee and So Yuyeong were engaged in their foolish banter.

"Is that guy really the Crusher?"

"Sigh, I should have known better when they offered so much money."

"What's going on here? Why are those guys…"

A few allies who had been quietly keeping an eye on Ryan wore tense expressions.

Although Yoo Dahee had her own notoriety due to the Union incident, she still fell short when compared to Ryan, who had a history of killing numerous people.

How many people had been sacriﬁced in the past to try to capture Ryan?

For professional heroes who knew this fact, Ryan presented a more vivid fear than Yoo Dahee.

Of course… there were no naive individuals who would easily fall prey to Ryan.

It was a team composed of considerable strength to prepare for any situation.

Capable of responding even if Yoo Dahee and some Rebellion members intervened midway.

"Teams 1 and 2 from Gaon Nuri, please take care of Ryan. You don't need to push yourselves too hard. Just try to buy as much time as possible. The heroes in Busan will arrive soon anyway."

"Yes."

"Hae Yunji, Kim Seorim, Lee Daesu, please take care of Alex and John. Don't let them escape, understood?"

"Understood." "And…"

I quickly took out an anesthetic syringe from my pocket and injected it into So Yuyeong's neck.

So Yuyeong let out an ungraceful groan of "Ugh?!" before staggering and then collapsing with her head bowed.

With this, So Yuyeong is taken care of for now. "…Soyeon, Han Seowoo, Aisha."

"Yes!"

"Okay."

"Yes."

They all looked at me while gripping their weapons tightly.

These three were individuals who I thought could potentially match Yoo Dahee to some extent, excluding the forces needed to stably deal with Ryan, Alex, and John.

In Soyeon's case, there was a slight sense of unease, but the experience of directly ﬁghting Yoo Dahee would make her grow explosively.

After all, Soyeon and Yoo Dahee are arch-enemies.

"I think we'll need to deal with her, so I'll have to ask for your help."

Honestly, I'm a bit uneasy with just these three people. But this situation can be considered a golden opportunity. A golden opportunity to take down Yoo Dahee.

Of course, the possibility is inﬁnitesimally low, and to be honest, I'm worried whether we can even hold out properly until other heroes arrive for support, but nevertheless, I can't help but feel greedy.

What if. Right now.

We could take down Yoo Dahee?

If we can just take her down, the other Rebellion members won't be a big problem.

No, if we can just somehow capture that woman, most of our problems will be solved. It means we won't have to needlessly tangle with villains anymore.

During the midterms, when we met, the difference in strength was so great that we couldn't do anything… but now it's not to that extent.

Yoo Dahee is surely stronger, but it's not at a level where taking her down is impossible.

It means our blades can reach Yoo Dahee. Depending on how I, and we, act.

We might be able to injure or even take down Yoo Dahee.

'Roughly speaking, Yoo Dahee is at a high ranker level… while we have one top-tier and two high-tier… Generally speaking, there's a bit of a power gap, but my role is to bridge that gap.'

The situation itself isn't too unfavorable. We have much greater numbers, and time is on our side.

If we can just buy some time, the heroes in Busan or Kang Daehan and Hong Daye will arrive.

Then our forces will surpass theirs.

Of course, we need to be cautious of Yoo Dahee potentially taking civilians hostage in the meantime, but even if we can't take her down, the possibility of us being killed is quite low.

…Well, it would be scary if Yoo Dahee openly tries to kill me, but I've prepared various survival items including the Guardian Barrier.

And I've already secretly taken out and equipped the resurrection artifact from Alex's spatial pocket.

That's why I can be this bold. At least it will save my life once.

Chapter 118 The Auction House and Thieves (8)

"Alright then."

Yoo Dahee stretched her wrists and ankles while grinning conﬁdently.

"Let's ﬁnish this quickly before other heroes arrive. Consider it an honor, Lee Jinhyuk. I don't often kill people directly, you know."

I was dumbfounded by Yoo Dahee's friendly murder declaration.

In all my life, I've never had someone announce my murder to my face.

To be honest, it's a bit intimidating.

"Are you giving me special treatment? How thoughtful of you."

"Haha! Don't mention it."

Yoo Dahee laughed hollowly and made a joke.

She seems quite relaxed.

Objectively speaking, the current situation shouldn't be favorable for Yoo Dahee at all.

So Yuyeong was already incapacitated, and Alex and John were panting heavily with injuries.

Currently, the only normal forces remaining on Yoo Dahee's side were herself and Ryan.

While it's undeniable that both of them are extremely powerful forces, it's not like we're signiﬁcantly lacking in strength compared to them.

Moreover, time is on our side.

If we can just buy some time, the police or heroes will swarm in.

Yet Yoo Dahee doesn't seem rushed at all.

It's as if she's conﬁdent that no matter how unfavorable the situation becomes, she'll be able to escape with her comrades.

She must have something up her sleeve.

It doesn't seem like she'll simply take civilians hostage.

Well, unless Yoo Dahee is a fool, she must have prepared a trump card for emergencies.

What could Yoo Dahee's hidden trump card be? Actually, a few things come to mind.

Let's consider the worst-case scenario…

…Could it be that Yoo Dahee will use her special ability?

Or more precisely, if she brought 'that' created by Yoo Dahee's special ability, we could face a very troublesome situation.

Especially since we don't know what might pop out of it.

'Come to think of it, my bad premonitions have always been right.'

Since ominous feelings have almost always come true in the past, my anxiety intensiﬁed even more.

'Assuming Yoo Dahee has a trump card, if she judges the situation to be very unfavorable when people swarm in, she'll use it immediately.'

Then let's end this before people gather. I don't expect to take down Yoo Dahee.

Let's aim to injure her for now.

If we're lucky, we might even take one of her arms. Though that's unlikely.

'Well, rather than doing something to Yoo Dahee, it would be good if we could just draw her attention and deal with Alex's group properly.'

"Then shall we begin… now!"

At that moment, Yoo Dahee's ﬁgure disappeared. Phantom Movement.

She used Phantom Movement again.

Only a faint afterimage remained where Yoo Dahee had just been.

Yoo Dahee deliberately moved back and forth in all directions to confuse our vision.

Pat! Papat! Pat!

Like lightning ﬂashing from east to west. It's dazzling. My eyes can't keep up.

Even veteran heroes seemed to struggle to follow properly. "Over here, over here… huh?"

"Ha!"

Whoosh!

With a shout, Jin Soyeon's sword sliced through the air. The sharp blade grazed Yoo Dahee's hair as it passed by.

Though it didn't even cut a single strand of hair, Yoo Dahee stepped back with a slightly surprised expression.

It seems she didn't expect Jin Soyeon, who is merely an academy student no matter how extraordinary, to be able to keep up with her movements using Phantom Movement to this extent.

Honestly, it was quite surprising.

Even Han Seowoo, a former professional hero, was hesitating, unable to properly read the movements, yet Jin Soyeon managed to block Yoo Dahee's movements. "What's with you?"

Yoo Dahee blinked her eyes.

"Did you read it? The path and movement of the Phantom Movement?"

"What if I did?"

"Huh." Yoo Dahee let out a short exclamation.

"I knew you had skills to match John to some extent, but honestly, this is a bit strange."

"What is?"

"You couldn't even keep up with the Phantom Walk movements during the midterms, right? Come to think of it, your skills have improved incomparably since then?"

"You're talking about ancient history."

"It's only been a few months at most, you know?"

It wasn't unreasonable for Yoo Dahee to react with bewilderment.

"Were you hiding your skills back then?"

The difference in skill between Jin Soyeon during the midterms and now was so great that it could be said they were different people.

After her awakening, Jin Soyeon grew rapidly and attained skills equivalent to a top-tier or high-tier level in just a few months.

Of course, due to her lack of combat experience and skill proﬁciency, she can't be considered a normal top-tier or high-tier hero.

However, when Jin Soyeon starts using her special ability in earnest, the story changes.

Her ability has such high potential that it's possible to create numerous variables.

It's quite an overpowered ability, beﬁtting a protagonist.

According to the setting, if Jin Soyeon can utilize 100% of her special ability, she would be able to win even in a one- on-one ﬁght against Yoo Dahee.

"If it's not that, then did you grow? In just a few months?" "…"

"If you have that level of talent, hmm. You're interesting too."

"…Shut up and come at me." "Well, alright."

Yoo Dahee spoke while gradually raising her magical power. "Shall we test you a bit?"

"Who's testing who?" Yoo Dahee charged in.

This time, she didn't use movement techniques like Phantom Movement or Phantom Walk.

Jin Soyeon gripped her sword and shield tightly as she watched Yoo Dahee rush straight at her.

"Try to block this!"

"Kuk!"

She swung her ﬁst, brimming with magical power. Her delicate ﬁst made contact with the shield.

Kwajik, aaaa, aaang!

At that moment, a deafening sound of air being torn apart erupted, and something like dust shot up.

Jin Soyeon bit her lower lip tightly as she blocked Yoo Dahee's ﬁst.

Yoo Dahee smiled as if enjoying herself.

"Haha, your shield is quite sturdy, huh? Must be a good one?"

"Soyeon!"

Han Seowoo immediately swung her whip.

A whip rushing at supersonic speed using spirit power. The whip is humanity's ﬁrst sonic weapon.

Even an untrained ordinary person can create a sonic boom if they do it right, and it can exert enough power to tear ﬂesh off.

But when a high-tier hero like Han Seowoo swings it seriously, it could crush bones beyond just tearing ﬂesh.

It could even annihilate monsters, not just humans. "Oh, that stings?"

Of course, it probably won't inﬂict any signiﬁcant wounds on Yoo Dahee.

But that's ﬁne.

Because Han Seowoo's whip has tightly bound Yoo Dahee's left arm.

After brieﬂy looking down at her left arm bound like a snare, Yoo Dahee glanced sideways towards Han Seowoo.

"Aisha! Now!"

"Yes~!"

As soon as Han Seowoo's shout ended, Aisha charged in. Twin swords striking like lightning.

But Yoo Dahee smirked and swung her left arm, disregarding the whip bound to it.

Despite Han Seowoo holding on tightly, she was dragged along helplessly like a child playing tug-of-war with an adult.

Han Seowoo looked quite bewildered.

"You're not even a physical enhancement ability user, how is your strength so…!"

"I'm just naturally strong."

Yoo Dahee then grabbed Aisha's twin swords with her right and left hands.

Although blue sword energy ﬂickered from Aisha's blades, Yoo Dahee crushed the swords as if it were nothing.

The two swords snapped like twigs.

Despite being quite ﬁne swords, they couldn't withstand Yoo Dahee's grip.

Aisha frowned and retreated for a moment.

I quickly used my space ring to throw two usable swords to Aisha.

While Aisha was catching the swords, Jin Soyeon swiftly charged in.

Swift sword strikes that were almost imperceptible to my motion vision continuously threatened Yoo Dahee.

However, Yoo Dahee remained relaxed throughout.

Jin Soyeon swung countless sword strikes without rest, but none of them reached Yoo Dahee.

Not only Jin Soyeon, but Han Seowoo and Aisha also quickly joined in, yet there was no signiﬁcant change.

Yoo Dahee skillfully blocked, dodged, and deﬂected their attacks.

Her ﬁsts, imbued with tremendous magical power, not only deﬂected all their weapons but also began to pressure them in return.

A marvelous sight of her alone blocking the attacks of three people.

How does she block six hands with just two?

No wonder she's called a growth-type munchkin. 'Shit, I can't intervene.'

I clenched my ﬁsts tightly as I watched them ﬁght Yoo Dahee. I wanted to help, but I couldn't.

It's already overwhelming just to follow their movements with my eyes.

I felt like I would only get in the way if I tried to intervene.

Originally, I planned to provide support with appropriate orders, my bow, and items, but seeing them ﬁght directly, I didn't dare to intervene.

…At times like this, I truly feel how powerless I am.

It hits home that all I can do is devise strategies, provide items, and give appropriate countermeasures.

I felt a strange sense of self-doubt, thinking that I would only be a hindrance if I directly engaged in combat.

To just stand and watch while Jin Soyeon and others risk their lives ﬁghting.

How should I put it? It doesn't feel great.

If I had a useful special ability, I wouldn't just be watching like this.

'…I'm quite funny too. In the past, I didn't want to ﬁght because I was afraid and tried to ride on Jin Soyeon's coattails, but now…'

When I ﬁrst recalled my past life memories, I was terribly afraid of ﬁghting dangerous villains and monsters.

So I tried to use the protagonist's group… that is, Jin Soyeon, Lee Siwoon, Kang Daehan, and others to take down the Rebellion members who would wreak havoc on South Korea.

But now, I didn't want to just stand still while Jin Soyeon and others were getting hurt.

I wanted to be of some help.

After all, they were risking their lives and getting injured because of me. I had to pay heavily for their blood.

If only I had power… something like a useful special ability… it would have been good.

Today, more than ever, I felt my own powerlessness. "…Ah~ It was just getting good."

"Haa, haa, ugh."

Yoo Dahee muttered to herself in the middle of the ﬁght.

It seems she received a call through the wireless earphone in her ear.

It's probably Isabelle contacting her. Does that mean…?

"Is this as far as we go? You're saying other heroes have almost all arrived? By the way, you're quite skilled, aren't you? Honestly, I was planning to take at least one arm, but I didn't expect you to block everything."

"Heu, heu, uuk."

Jin Soyeon just glared ﬁercely at Yoo Dahee with blazing eyes while holding up her shield and sword, panting heavily.

"Lee Jinhyuk, you didn't participate until the end? Why were you just watching? Did you think these kids would be enough? If so, that's a bit insulting."

It's not that I didn't want to join, I couldn't join.

How could I join when it's obvious I'd fucking die if I did?

"Or did you treat me as experience points for this girl? But well, she is certainly interesting. I could feel her getting stronger as we fought. Should I say she's growing in real- time?"

"Haa, haa, haa."

"I wasn't sure earlier, but after ﬁghting directly, it's clear. She didn't hide her strength during the midterms, she really did grow. With this rate of growth, she might become a monster later on?"

"Haa, haa, uhoo."

Yoo Dahee wore an expression that seemed a bit expectant, along with a slightly regretful look.

"To the point where I feel a bit threatened… hmm… Alright, I'll have to add you to the list of people to kill too.

Personally, it would be more fun to let you live, but you could interfere with what I have to do in the future."

"Ha, if you're going to kill me, then try… haa, haa."

"Kik kik. You're about to pass out, kid. Why don't you catch your breath properly before speaking?"

Jin Soyeon and I had gained Yoo Dahee's attention, for better or worse.

It might be a good idea to seek refuge in the church until we can take down Yoo Dahee.

We should be safe in the church for now. "Alright, alright, then let's slowly… Ah, uh?" Thud!

Yoo Dahee's body momentarily ﬂinched.

It looked as if she was being pressed down by powerful gravity.

No, not gravity. This is telekinesis, telekinesis.

And it's quite powerful telekinesis at that. There's only one telekinesis user of this level in Busan.

"Phew… I was wondering what all this commotion was about…"

A familiar woman's ﬁgure began to appear in the distance.

"I came after receiving the contact, Lee Jinhyuk… But what on earth is this situation?"

"T-Teacher!"

"How many times have I told you to call me instructor, Jin Soyeon?"

Hong Daye, the high ranker.

The person who made a great contribution to resolving the Busan Infection Outbreak incident, and who was considered a top 10 candidate during her prime.

Despite suffering from aftereffects, her ranking is still 93rd. It's a testament to how outstanding her original skills were. "White hair! I've got you now!"

A familiar voice was heard from a bit further away.

As I turned my head, I could see Kang Daehan running with a long spear, along with HanYoung Clan bodyguards.

Among them was Joo Hwayun, a top-tier skilled person.

"The humiliation from the midterms…! I'll pay you back, white hair!"

"Oh, Daehan, let's go together, it's dangerous." Hong Daye and Kang Daehan's group had arrived. Now our forces far exceed Yoo Dahee's group.

Therefore, Yoo Dahee will probably use it. Her trump card.

If she really prepared something as a trump card, that is.

"Wow, a lot of people have come. Then I have no choice but to…"

Yoo Dahee took out something that looked like a small marble from her pocket.

Ah, shit.It was that after all.

"…use this."

"Hey, Yoo Dahee."

"Hm? What?"

"I'll let you go, so just take the kids and leave."

"Huh?"

Yoo Dahee looks at me as if surprised.

"Looks like you know what this is? It's strange, no one except our members should know about this, how interesting."

"Forget it, just go."

Now that I've conﬁrmed that, there's nothing good that can come from ﬁghting needlessly.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to arrest Alex and his group, but we've at least seized the space leather pouch, so half of our objective has been achieved.

Therefore, there's no need to be too greedy… "But I don't want to? I'm just going to use it."

"Hey, hey?!"

Hey, you crazy bitch! Crack!

Suddenly, the marble shattered, activating its effect.

Chapter 119 Ouroboros (1)

Until now, Yoo Dahee had never used her special ability during combat.

This is because Yoo Dahee's special ability is not suitable for combat.

To be more precise, it's not that it's unsuitable for combat, but rather it's not the kind of ability that can be used leisurely in urgent situations.

Then what is her special ability? It's Evil Creation.

Yoo Dahee's special ability can be described as gathering people's negative emotions, thoughts, and feelings into a single marble-like form.

A lump of evil created by condensing human malice.

The darker and deeper people's emotions are, the darker the color of this evil lump becomes, and the more the effect of the marble increases.

The marble created by Yoo Dahee's special ability has quite a troublesome effect.

It means it possesses the kind of power that people fear and guard against the most in current society.

That is monster summoning.

According to the game settings, the marble can forcibly open rifts, and as the marble shatters, it spreads intense malice that can summon monsters.

It's a special ability that can artiﬁcially summon monsters to the present world.

It's truly close to a strategic weapon.

It's not like some black bag from a maple leaf story.

Anyway, it's more dangerous because you don't know exactly what kind of monster will come out of the rift.

An unexpectedly powerful monster beyond imagination could pop out.

Just like during that Busan Infection Outbreak in the past. "Actually, I was saving this for later."

"You."

"I thought it would be troublesome if it was discovered too early, but oh well. You seemed to already know about it, right?"

Yoo Dahee was looking at Lee Jinhyuk with a subtle gaze while giggling.

It seemed she was suspecting Lee Jinhyuk might be a future prediction ability user, perhaps because he spoke as if he knew what the marble was.

"I'd like to kill you here, but given the situation, it seems a bit diﬃcult, so I'll have to aim for the next opportunity."

Soon, the shattered marble fragments tore through the air, creating a kind of rift.

Cracks were forming in the air.

Gaps were opening here and there, like summer asphalt or glass hit by a baseball.

"What have you done, this rift… Don't tell me you did this?"

Jin Soyeon, startled by the sudden rift phenomenon, shouted with her brows deeply furrowed.

Typically, rift phenomena are like disasters that humanity cannot control.

However, since a rift-like phenomenon occurred right after Yoo Dahee broke something like a marble, it's natural to suspect her.

She glared with an expression that seemed to ask, "Did Yoo Dahee artiﬁcially cause a rift phenomenon?" But Yoo Dahee just shrugged.

"Kik kik. Who knows? What do you think?" Just then.

-Wheeeeeeee.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded.

It was a loud noise that ﬁlled the entire Busan city.

-Large-scale spatial vibrations have been detected in the nearby area. Citizens in the affected area are advised to evacuate to safe zones until the situation is resolved.

"W-What's going on?"

"Spatial vibrations?"

"N-No way, monsters? Of all days, today?" A warning alert was issued.

People were hesitating.

The fear was palpable even from here. "A rift phenomenon, how could this…"

"By the way, Hong Daye, doesn't this remind you of the old days?"

Yoo Dahee casually threw out words towards Hong Daye, who was frowning while looking at the rift.

Of course, from Hong Daye's perspective, it wouldn't be casual at all.

That's because what Yoo Dahee was about to say would be quite unpleasant for Hong Daye.

"Didn't you have a hard time during the Busan Infection Outbreak? You even ended up retiring because of it."

"Don't tell me, back then too, you…?"

At Yoo Dahee's meaningful words, Hong Daye slightly bit her lower lip and tried to use her telekinesis.

But at that moment. Thud!

Far away, a monster's foot stretched out.

Ominous monsters began to reveal themselves from beyond the rift.

It wasn't just one or two.

Multiple monsters were licking their tongues while tearing through the rift.

Numerous monsters fell from the sky. They licked their lips, showing their sharp fangs towards the surrounding people.

"M-M-Monsters!"

"Kyaaaaaah!"

"Ugh, aah, aaak!"

The sudden appearance of monsters. People were in utter panic.

While one or two might have been manageable, monsters kept popping out of the rift as if there was a hole.

It was no ordinary occurrence for this many monsters to appear at once.

That's why people couldn't hide their fear even more.

"Is it about time to run away?" "Don't move!"

Hong Daye used her telekinesis towards Yoo Dahee, who was trying to sneak away, but Yoo Dahee just nodded towards a certain direction with an nonchalant expression.

"Will it be okay? Those people over there look in danger." "Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

A little girl being attacked by a monster in a slightly distant place.

Seeing that, Hong Daye had no choice but to release the telekinetic force binding Yoo Dahee and immediately exerted her telekinesis towards the monster.

Tremendous telekinetic force crushed the monster's body. It was as if it was being pressed by a hydraulic press.

"It'll be quite busy if you try to save people one by one. Well then, I'm off. Mister, that should be enough, let's go!"

"Alright."

Ryan, who had been confronting the Gaon Nuri Clan members, suddenly joined Yoo Dahee.

"Wait, Yoo Dahee! What about Alex and So Yuyeong?" "Ah, um."

Yoo Dahee hesitated at John's words.

So Yuyeong had collapsed from anesthetics, and Alex was already tied up.

It seems they somehow managed to subdue Alex at least. Phew. That's a relief. Somehow, they caught Alex again.

The injuries inﬂicted by Aisha must have been quite severe. "If we delay any longer, we could be in danger too."

"But."

"It's a bit regrettable, but let's save them next time, next time."

It seems they have no intention of trying to rescue Alex and So Yuyeong, who were caught up in this chaos.

"I'm a bit worried about Isabelle being alone. Well, Isabelle will probably manage to escape well on her own."

Yoo Dahee suddenly left with John and Ryan.

Lee Jinhyuk wanted to chase after Yoo Dahee's group, but there was no time for that.

The lives of the people around were in danger due to the monsters.

Lee Jinhyuk thought as he watched Yoo Dahee's retreating ﬁgure.

'Still, we managed to capture So Yuyeong and Alex. We also seized the space pouch containing the auction items, so the outcome isn't bad.'

With this, more than half of the Rebellion members have been taken down.

Moreover, they were able to get their hands on all the auction items, so it could be considered quite an achievement.

But it's a headache ﬁguring out how to clean up this mess.

Well, judging by the absence of truly threatening monsters, it seems the professional heroes will take care of it if we just wait a bit.

Ah, wait a minute. Isn't this a ﬂag?

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

No sooner had Lee Jinhyuk thought it might be a ﬂag than something long and huge descended from beyond the rift with a thunderous roar.

People and heroes covered their ears and grimaced at the noise that was deafening enough to make their ears go numb.

Looking up at the sky, a snake-like head was peering down at people from beyond the rift.

A monster that looked like a pure white snake.

Could that monster be…

"That's… an Ouroboros."

A snake covered in pure white scales, boasting a size comparable to a building.

It was one of the raid-type monsters that would appear later, nicknamed the snake that connects the beginning and the end.

That's quite a formidable monster that appeared at a considerably high level even in the game.

Even in the settings, it can regenerate endlessly, making it very diﬃcult to deal with.

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The Ouroboros roared again.

People turned pale at the chilling cry.

The Ouroboros was slowly, very slowly pulling its body out from the narrow gap of the rift.

"Lee Jinhyuk, Jin Soyeon." Hong Daye speaks while looking up at the Ouroboros.

"You are aspiring heroes. That means you can be mobilized in emergencies." She glances at them from the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry too much, I don't intend to push you too hard. You focus on preparing the people."

"What about you, teacher?"

"I think I'll have to keep that thing restrained until other heroes arrive."

"Teacher…"

"And Jin Soyeon, I told you to call me instructor, didn't I?"

Regardless of other monsters, that Ouroboros is diﬃcult to take down without knowing the strategy.

And currently, only Lee Jinhyuk knows the strategy for that monster.

Without knowing the strategy, even Hong Daye won't be able to hold out for long.

Moreover, Hong Daye can't ﬁght for long due to the aftereffects from her past.

"Lee Jinhyuk, can you hear me?" "Ah, Yoo Seolhyun."

A radio transmission came from Yoo Seolhyun.

She had been waiting in a safe place from the beginning since she didn't need to ﬁght directly.

"It seems like chaos with monsters suddenly appearing, are our clan members safe?"

"Don't worry, they're all ﬁne."

"Really?"

Yoo Seolhyun let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear everyone is safe."

"The situation is a bit chaotic due to the monsters, should we start pulling back the clan members?"

"No, we can't do that."

"Huh?"

Lee Jinhyuk tilted his head.

Given Yoo Seolhyun's personality, she wouldn't unnecessarily expend clan members on something like this.

After all, ﬁghting monsters wasn't part of the contract, and it would only be dangerous without any particular beneﬁt.

"We've already been exposed to many people, it's been captured on CCTV, black boxes, and phones. If the Gaon Nuri Clan members ﬂee in a situation where monsters have appeared, there will be a lot of backlash."

"Ah, well…"

Although they belong to a clan, there would be a lot of criticism if heroes ran away in front of monsters.

Especially in a situation where people are losing their lives to monsters.

If heroes ﬂee in such a situation, public opinion would be very negative.

It was clear that when the situation calms down and responsibility is assessed later, the Gaon Nuri Clan members would certainly be mentioned.

That was the position of heroes, after all.

Chapter 120 Ouroboros (2)

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

"Hueeeeeng, mommy!"

"F-Fuck! W-Where are the heroes? When are they coming?" Screams.

The screams were deafening.

The groans, cries, and moans of people strongly pounded on Lee Jinhyuk's eardrums.

The streets that were full of people's expectations, cheers, and joy for the Life and Auction festival just moments ago had turned into complete chaos.

People who couldn't escape in time were helplessly toyed with in front of the disaster called monsters.

The monsters were simply destroying buildings as if they were their own homes, crushing roads, and violating people.

"Kiririri."

"Grrrr, grrrrrr."

"Kurrruk, kurrrrruk, kurrruk."

Steel-legged centipede, Red monkey with poisonous fangs, Large-fanged wolf, Fierce eagle, Large-bladed mantis, and so on.

Various kinds of monsters were rampaging.

If there's anything fortunate, it might be that the rift is slowly closing?

It seems the rift phenomenon is coming to an end.

"It was supposed to be a long-awaited vacation, but to think monsters would appear."

In the distance, the ﬁgures of several heroes could be seen.

"Damn monster bastards, how dare they come here of all places."

"It's swarming. It's been a while since so many monsters appeared at once."

"Fortunately, there don't seem to be any particularly dangerous monsters. Ah, except for that… huge snake-like monster over there. But what exactly is that monster? Is it an Imugi?"

"Whoa, that snake bastard is fucking huge."

Professional heroes who had visited the auction festival for vacation were using their special abilities to subjugate monsters and rescue people.

They were responding swiftly and accurately, beﬁtting their name as professional heroes.

The Busan city police were also gradually arriving. Bang bang! Gunshots rang out.

Although guns might have diﬃculty penetrating the monsters' outer skin, they should be able to handle weaker monsters.

The police were doing their best from their positions.

They were busy engaging with monsters, controlling traﬃc, and safely evacuating citizens.

"..."

Lee Jinhyuk watched this scene for a moment, then radioed Yoo Seolhyun again.

"…So, Yoo Seolhyun. What did you want to say?"

"Take our clan members and deal with the monsters moderately while evacuating people."

She wanted them to act tactfully, skillfully, to avoid any backlash.

"Don't touch that snake monster. Honestly, it looks too dangerous. I don't want to expose our clan members to unnecessary danger."

The Ouroboros was certainly one of the powerful monsters.

Although its attack power and lethality weren't particularly outstanding, its regenerative ability was exceptional, making it very diﬃcult to kill.

It would probably take quite some time for the Busan police or heroes to subjugate the Ouroboros.

Because its regenerative power was close to inﬁnite, it was practically immortal.

To kill such an Ouroboros, a powerful single blow would be needed, or its weak point, like its reverse scale, would need to be targeted.

Of course, it would take a lot of sacriﬁce and time for heroes without any particular information about the Ouroboros to realize such weaknesses.

The sacriﬁce of people…

If Lee Jinhyuk just pretended not to know and left it alone, many people would really die, right?

It was obvious that many people – heroes, police, citizens alike – would die and get injured, so a conﬂict was swirling in his heart.

…Hah, really. "Teacher, I'll help too." "Wait, Soyeon?"

Lee Jinhyuk frowned at Jin Soyeon's sudden words.

As he shifted his gaze, he could see Jin Soyeon swallowing hard with a determined expression, then staring up at the Ouroboros.

"What are you suddenly saying?"

"You didn't expect this situation either, right?"

Yes, Lee Jinhyuk didn't expect it.

Because he doesn't have any future prediction ability or anything like that.

Jin Soyeon seemed to simply think that Lee Jinhyuk couldn't see through the current situation with his predictive ability.

"That monster… if we leave it alone, a lot of people will really get hurt."

The Ouroboros, showing an overwhelming presence.

It felt like it had tremendous power incomparable to other monsters.

As she said, if there was no one to properly restrain the Ouroboros's feet, it would ravage the entire Busan city, causing massive casualties and property damage.

And with the skills of those professional heroes dealing with those small fries over there, it seemed they would be insuﬃcient to handle the Ouroboros.

Sensing that they couldn't handle it themselves, they weren't even touching the Ouroboros for now.

The Ouroboros also seemed to be observing the situation for now, ﬂicking its tongue, but it would start moving soon.

That snake, no different from an unstoppable disaster.

"We need someone to buy time until stronger heroes arrive. With my current self… I think I can probably buy some time."

It can be said that the most important thing for a hero is to distinguish between what they can and cannot do.

Because recklessness and courage are just a paper-thin difference.

And Jin Soyeon says.

That standing before that monster is not recklessness, but courage.

She seemed to be somewhat conﬁdent that her current self, having grown by subjugating villains and monsters throughout the summer vacation, could somewhat restrain that monster's feet.

Really.

This is just like the Jin Soyeon Lee Jinhyuk knows.

As expected of Jin Soyeon, whose meddling knows no bounds.

"Still, there's no need to speciﬁcally deal with that snake monster, right? It would be better to handle smaller monsters like the other heroes and evacuate citizens…"

"Jinhyuk."

Jin Soyeon looked straight into Lee Jinhyuk's eyes. Her pure and clear golden eyes were cast.

Determination and resolve were reﬂected in those two eyes. "I don't want to run away in front of that monster." Unreasonable malice.

The disaster called monsters.

People's lives.

She declares that she will not dare to turn away from facing these things.

"I'm an aspiring hero." Aspiring hero.

That's right.

Jin Soyeon aspires to be a hero.

The hero image Jin Soyeon desires is one who confronts unreasonable malice and unstoppable violence without regard.

Running away with one's life in such a situation is not the hero she envisions.

"I think… I shouldn't run away at a time like this."

She silently faced Lee Jinhyuk with a look that seemed to say, "How can one be called a hero if they back down just because the opponent seems strong?"

Lee Jinhyuk also just stared directly into Jin Soyeon's eyes.

"There's no need to worry too much. It's not just me alone in the ﬁrst place, right? We have High Ranker Hong Daye instructor too."

So you call her instructor at times like this.

"And while regular police or ordinary heroes might be enough to handle normal monsters, that monster is different. I think probably only a high-class hero or above would be able to properly buy time."

"..."

"So, Jinhyuk."

Jin Soyeon gripped her sword tightly.

"I'll ask you to evacuate people. You should go to a safe place with the others…"

"Hey, Jin Soyeon."

Lee Jinhyuk cut off Jin Soyeon's nonsensical words. "So you're telling me to just run away?"

When Lee Jinhyuk spoke gruﬄy with a deeply furrowed brow, Jin Soyeon blinked her eyes and then ﬂinched her shoulders as if quite perplexed.

"Huh? Ah, no, that's not what I meant, I was asking you to take care of the other monsters and people who haven't evacuated yet…"

"No, you're risking your life to ﬁght that snake bastard, but you're telling me to stay in a safe place."

Lee Jinhyuk let out a deep sigh.

"Haah, Soyeon, think about it in reverse. If I said I'd ﬁght that snake alone so you should stay out of it, would you just nod your head? You wouldn't, right?"

"T-That's true, but… no, my case is different from yours."

"Shut up."

Lee Jinhyuk had been contemplating whether to confront the Ouroboros or just slip away appropriately, but now that Jin Soyeon had made up her mind, he had no choice but to steel his resolve as well.

In the ﬁrst place, it could be said that Yoo Dahee summoning the monsters was half Lee Jinhyuk's fault.

If Lee Jinhyuk hadn't done anything today, it would have ended with just the auction items being stolen.

Thinking that way, a strange sense of guilt and sin made Lee Jinhyuk's heart uncomfortable.

As if he had brought this disaster upon them.

That's why he was even somewhat glad that Jin Soyeon stepped up like this.

Because he could make a decision without further conﬂict under the pretext of not being able to leave Jin Soyeon alone.

"Can't be helped. I'll help. Even if I tell you to stop, you won't listen to me anyway."

"Huh? What? No, what are you saying? It's dangerous." It would be dangerous.

But isn't it dangerous for you too?

"It's different from when we fought villains, we don't have any information about that snake. In that situation, you getting involved is a bit…"

She was glancing around and choosing her words carefully.

In short, it seems she wanted to say "Jinhyuk, you're weak, you could die if you're not careful" in a more euphemistic way.

Well, it's true that Lee Jinhyuk is weak.

Thanks to the ranking match with Baek Yoorin, many people have started to see Lee Jinhyuk differently, but despite that, Jin Soyeon still treats him as weak.

Or rather, should he say she sees him as a somewhat ambiguous strong person?

"That monster's name is Ouroboros. It has an effect of endless regeneration and can spew ﬂames and acidic liquid. Its third eye and reverse scale are its weaknesses."

"…Huh?"

"And Soyeon, who said I'd ﬁght directly? I'm just going to give orders from a reasonably safe place, just orders."

Lee Jinhyuk knows well that his life is precious too. He has no intention of overdoing it at all.

"Also, it seems I'm not the only one who's going to help… right, Kang Daehan?"

Lee Jinhyuk glanced towards Kang Daehan.

Kang Daehan was dealing with nearby monsters appropriately while glancing at them.

He pierced a butterﬂy-shaped monster with his spear in one go and then took a step towards them.

"About dealing with that snake monster. Soyeon is joining in, what about you? Don't tell me you're thinking of running away?"

"Me? Ha. Don't be ridiculous. Lee Jinhyuk, there's no need for unnecessary words. I was planning to step up even if you didn't say so."

It doesn't seem likely that he, who would be a corpse without his pride, would meekly run away.

He even swung his spear at Yoo Dahee until the end in a situation where he could have lost his life during the midterm exams.

To put it nicely, he's stubborn, and to put it badly, he has a reckless personality.

"I'll catch that snake bastard."

"Wait? Daehan, what are you saying…"

Joo Hwayun of the HanYoung Clan hurriedly tried to dissuade Kang Daehan.

From her position, it would be very uncomfortable to carelessly expose the second son of the HanYoung Clan to danger.

"I'm a hero apprentice, uncle. Would it be right to back out at a time like this?"

"But there's no need to rush into such a dangerous monster…"

"Ha. Uncle, if you're not going to help, forget it. I'll handle it myself."

"Hey, hey. Daehan! Haah… really."

Joo Hwayun looked at Kang Daehan's retreating ﬁgure as if she had a headache, then shook her head.

As someone who knows Kang Daehan's temperament well, she seemed quite at a loss.

This is why Lee Jinhyuk doesn't team up with Kang Daehan. Because controlling that guy is very tricky.

Well, guiding him is easy enough.

"…Wait, wait. Lee Jinhyuk, Jin Soyeon, are you two crazy? What are you saying?"

Yoo Seolhyun, who had been eavesdropping on the radio, raised her voice as if dumbfounded.

"You two are going to face that snake monster now? A building-sized monster? What are you thinking, really. Stop this foolish act and turn…"

"Yoo Seolhyun, don't you want to become a hero who saved Busan?"

"…What?"

Yoo Seolhyun paused for a moment at Lee Jinhyuk's words.

"If you make a big contribution in resolving an incident of this scale, it would help you get what you want, wouldn't it?"

"Lee Jinhyuk."

"I know the weakness, abilities, characteristics… in other words, the strategy to defeat that snake monster. If you just lend me your clan members, I think we can deﬁnitely take it down."

"How do you know the strategy for a monster you're seeing for the ﬁrst time… no, wait, ha."

Yoo Seolhyun, who had been reacting as if dumbfounded for a moment, suddenly paused as if something had occurred to her.

She had suddenly remembered that Lee Jinhyuk was a future prediction ability user.

"You know my ability, Yoo Seolhyun. Have I ever disappointed you so far?"

"…No, but the current situation isn't simple enough to make a decision so carelessly."

"I've shown you what I can do so far, Yoo Seolhyun. I'm conﬁdent. So just trust me one more time, even if you think you're being fooled."

"I shouldn't think I'm being fooled… Haah, really."

Yoo Seolhyun showed signs of contemplating for a moment.

Because she had a track record of gaining numerous beneﬁts from Lee Jinhyuk under the pretext of future prediction ability, she wasn't carelessly expressing her intention to refuse.

As mentioned earlier, she had never suffered a loss because of him.

Even if it might be quite reckless behavior. "…Are you really conﬁdent?"

"I'm stepping up because I'm conﬁdent. Do you think I'd lack conﬁdence when I'm at the scene myself?"

"Unnecessarily, your conﬁdence is… tsk. Well, ﬁne. I'll entrust the team members to you, but if anything happens to even one person, really. I won't let you off easy."

"Don't worry. That won't happen."

That monster is quite a powerful monster, but if proper caution is exercised, it should be manageable enough.

"Gaon Nuri Clan members, you heard that, right? I'll continue to hold the command authority, so if anyone has any complaints, speak up now."

"…Are you saying you're going to face that snake monster now?"

"Yes."

One Gaon Nuri Clan member asked as if perplexed. "…How?"

"You heard the radio, right? I know that monster's weakness."

"How? It's a monster we've never seen before." "Well…"

Lee Jinhyuk trailed off for a moment, then answered in a casual voice.

"…I have that kind of special ability." "Pardon?"

The man reacted as if he couldn't quite understand.

Well, that's understandable. If Lee Jinhyuk were in that man's position, he would have thought, "What kind of special ability out of nowhere?"

But he can't say things like having memories of a past life or being able to use future prediction.

"Anyway, everyone, you don't need to worry too much. I won't push you too hard. I'm just thinking of tying up that monster's feet moderately until support forces arrive in Busan."

"…Well, if that's the case." Actually, that's a lie.

Lee Jinhyuk intends to take it down if he can. And the Ouroboros is not an easy monster.

Although it looks like just a slightly larger snake monster on the outside, even tying up its feet will require their best efforts, won't it?

"Kiririririri? Kiiiii, iiiiiiii!" Bang!

The Ouroboros had suddenly clashed with Kang Daehan's group.

Lee Jinhyuk could see the HanYoung Clan members busily ﬁghting amidst the thunderous noise.

Not only Kang Daehan's group but also Hong Daye was using her telekinesis diligently to pressure the Ouroboros.

"Given the situation, I'll inform you of the detailed operation outline via radio."

The Ouroboros had started to rampage in earnest.

Lee Jinhyuk spoke while looking at the Ouroboros with calm eyes.

"Let's go, everyone."

The subjugation of the ﬁrst raid-type monster, Ouroboros, begins.

Chapter 6 - Ch 114-120