CHAPTER 35

Steel.

Hamit's usually chatty and light voice shifted, now dripping with hostility, and Seowoon casually turned his head to scan the surroundings.

He didn't feel any particular sense of unease, nor did his qi-sense pick up on anything.

"Can you pinpoint the direction?"

—I can't tell exactly. But my gut never steers me wrong when it feels this filthy.—

"Did some of the survivors tail us?"

Hamit spoke as he watched Seowoon calmly map out a route, sorting his items and stowing them in his subspace.

—Shouldn't we either close in or get the hell away?—

"We don't even know where they are yet. Best thing in this kind of situation is to act like nothing's wrong, lure them out by dropping our guard."

After looting the chest of the woman who'd died to his arrow, Seowoon moved on to the mage's box.

The moment he opened it, the item he'd been eyeing was right there.

[Ding! You have acquired an Air Board.]

[Air Board: A type of magical transport item used by high-level mages and witches.]

Normally, because they were tricky to balance on, boards were used more by warriors or archers than by mages—but Seowoon didn't know that. He placed the board on the ground.

He'd just lifted one foot to step onto it when his body flinched.

—Master! Danger!—

Almost at the same time, Hamit's warning came.

Whizz! Thwack!

An arrow, from who-knows-where, struck Seowoon squarely in the chest, launching him backward to slam into the ground.

He twitched slightly as dust puffed up around him, but his body didn't rise.

—Master, damn it! Get up! Something bigger's coming!—

Hamit shouted frantically, but then mana surged—and the space around Seowoon erupted.

Bursts of magic exploded all around, as if detonations had been set off at random points in the air.

Boom! Pop-pop BOOM! Boom!

Seowoon's limp body was flung about helplessly in the blasts.

Barely clinging to life, his chest rising and falling just faintly, Seowoon lay still as two figures cautiously approached.

The first to appear wore a hood and carried a bow; the second, who arrived moments later, wore a shredded leather skirt and had wild, tangled hair, clutching in one hand a creepy wooden puppet with only its head remaining.

"He's still alive. Should we finish him?"

The woman's voice was cracked and raspy, sending chills just to hear it. The hooded man shook his head.

Then, arrow nocked, he approached Seowoon.

He crept close, aiming his arrow right at Seowoon's face. The moment he used his foot to roll Seowoon over, he fired in shock.

Because Seowoon's eyes were open, smiling.

For a split second, his aim faltered—almost missing at this point-blank range.

But Seowoon merely raised an arm, batting the arrow away, his smile widening.

Hamit's hardened form was holding up beautifully.

The chainsword Seowoon pulled from his subspace floated up as if defying gravity and landed in his grip just as he rose. In one fluid motion, he drove it through the enemy's stomach, severing the spine and ripping out the back.

The woman, who'd hung back to watch her teammate go in for the kill, grimaced as her ally was suddenly impaled like a kebab and killed instantly.

She yanked a round crystal ball from her subspace, raising it high, just as her teammate's body collapsed—finally giving her a clear look at Seowoon's face.

Their eyes met.

For an instant, she felt as if struck by lightning. That was when she realized what had been nagging at her gut all along.

"His magic resistance is off the charts!"

Without hesitation, she chose to flee.

Dropping the crystal, she whipped out an old broom and leapt onto it, shooting into the sky at speed. Seowoon, not wasting a second, grabbed his bow and fired after her.

One shot pierced her shoulder, making her stagger—but she managed to veer off and escape beyond range, vanishing quickly. Seowoon shook his head with a sigh.

"Tch. Ran off right away. And what the hell's with that broom?"

—That's standard for high-level witches when things get dicey.—

Shaking his head at Hamit's words, Seowoon brushed the dust off his body, gave the chest a quick once-over, and moved on.

Ever since killing that last enemy, the game hadn't been unfolding the way Seowoon expected.

"Survivors."

12/200

.

.

.

Jin Seowoon -> Bi Wuxingqiu (killed with a punch).

Up until Day 5, he was still running into a decent number of enemies.

Especially the martial artists—they came at him boldly, targeting Seowoon directly.

He thought this round might actually end within 7 days.

But now, it was already Day 20.

As nearly two weeks passed without even a glimpse of an enemy, Seowoon was starting to get seriously irritated.

The magnetic field had shrunk to about one-sixth of its original size, but even so, it was still too vast.

Worse yet, the cursed thing was shrinking mostly around the valley, where there were too many hiding spots.

"I didn't think finding these bastards would be this damn hard. You sensing anything at all?"

—Unless the enemy starts leaking killing intent, there's not much I can do either.—

"Tch. And here I thought I'd scored a great radar. Useless."

Normally, Hamit would have thrown a fit and snapped back, but after hearing similar jabs so often while traveling with Seowoon, he didn't even bother getting angry anymore.

Every day had been the same routine lately—Seowoon circling around on his airboard like he was on patrol.

He made a point to show himself in obvious spots, shouting taunts now and then, hoping someone would bite. But no one ever did.

Not that there were any more places left to loot, either.

"This is driving me nuts."

—If you just wait, the field will eventually force all the enemies into one spot. Why are you running around like a puppy that needs to poop?—

That last bit grated on his nerves, but Seowoon still answered calmly.

"Even for me, there's nothing I can do against a mob. If the last survivors all team up, with me as their common enemy, I won't stand a chance. I've got to thin them out while I still can."

—Why not go after that buff monster you mentioned?—

"I don't think that thing is meant to be killed. It's probably not there for us to hunt."

—With your current skills, you should be able to take down the Black Argon.—

Seowoon, riding the wind on his airboard, came to an abrupt stop.

"You know that monster?"

—How could I not?—

Hamit's retort left him momentarily speechless.

Last time, when he'd scoped out the buff monster's spot just in case someone else tried to take it down, Hamit hadn't said a word about it.

"Why didn't you mention it before?"

—Because all you ever think about is backstabbing someone. I figured you were saving it as bait.—

"Haah."

Come to think of it, even after getting Hamit, Seowoon still preferred luring enemies into ambushes or picking off distracted foes, rather than facing them head-on.

"So you're saying it's a monster I can actually kill?"

—I really don't see you losing to it.—

Without another word, Seowoon steered his board toward where the buff monster was.

The board, which conserved his inner energy, was a handy piece of gear, though it had one drawback: it emitted faint mana waves as it moved.

But Seowoon didn't care in the slightest. Right now, he was practically begging for someone to sense the waves and come after him.

Boom!

A sound rang out, accompanied by a surge of mana waves.

And not just that—his ki sense picked up on several heavy presences nearby.

As he neared the cavern where the buff monster was located, Seowoon tucked his airboard into his subspace storage, narrowing his eyes.

—Looks like your worst-case scenario just came true. Told you you should've hustled harder.—

There was no time to trade barbs with Hamit now.

'Ten of them… right?'

—Wrong. Eleven.—

"Haah."

Seowoon let out a deep sigh at the realization that every remaining enemy had joined forces.

He was at a crossroads now: fight all eleven at once, or back off and regroup.

—Now's the time.—

'I know.'

He understood better than anyone that it was smarter to strike now, while they were distracted fighting the monster, rather than later when they'd secured the buff.

Pulling out his cloak of stealth, Seowoon threw it over his shoulders and charged into the cavern.

'Why is it always a damn mob at the end…'

The bitter thought flickered through his mind, but his body moved without a hint of hesitation.

"The alarm spell at the entrance just went off! It's Jin Seowoon!"

The man in the robe, who had been casting a spell with his staff, shouted in alarm, making the shoulders of the others, who were fighting Argon, flinch.

"There's no time to waste! We have to finish this now!"

At someone's cry, a few people recklessly lunged at Argon.

Up to now, they'd been holding back, conserving their strength to play it safe—but with their rear exposed, they couldn't afford to do that anymore.

As some charged at the Black Argon, voices of dissent also rang out.

"Get out of the sealing formation! This isn't the time to hunt!"

Maybe it was the more rational decision.

Since they'd already detected the enemy's presence, it was better to group up and face the powerful foe head-on than risk getting attacked from both sides.

But right in front of them stood Argon, bloodied and battered.

The middle of the three bumps on his forehead had even shed its scales, leaving Argon's vulnerable core completely exposed. Falling back now wasn't so easy.

If they could land just one solid hit on that core, the hunt for Argon would be over.

Driven by greed, some of the group shouted their opinions first, thinking it might be better to finish him off quickly and face the enemy with a buff.

"If we leave the sealing formation, that thing will heal!"

The moment they crossed the entrance, even without Hammit's warning, they sensed a magic spell activating.

They thought it was a trap at first, but after a moment, it seemed to be just a notification spell.

As Seowoon slipped into the darkness, blending into the shadows, he watched the chaotic scene unfold.

Some were falling back cautiously, eyes darting around in vigilance, while others charged recklessly at Argon.

It was a familiar sight.

League of Legends.

It was a situation he'd seen—and experienced—often when playing AOS games.

The objective was nearly down, the enemy was in sight. Those tricky moments where you couldn't decide whether to keep focusing on the monster or turn around to fend off the enemy.

It was frustrating when you were on the receiving end—but for the attackers, it was a golden opportunity.

So what's the best move in that situation?

Obviously, steal the buff and wipe out the enemy.

Seowoon, still hidden, nocked an arrow and focused his inner strength.

He loosed the arrow at a knight who had just leapt up, axes raised high, ready to drive all his might into Argon's exposed forehead.

The arrow flew fast and struck the knight's back—just as he was about to slam all his strength into Argon.

But instead of piercing through, the arrow bounced off.

The armor must have been decent—there was a noticeable dent, but it managed to stop the arrow.

Even so, the knight's eyes were filled with despair.

The moment the arrow hit, a powerful shock of lightning surged through him, paralyzing his body completely.

In that split-second opening, Argon sensed the danger and lunged at the knight with bared fangs.

Crunch!

With a brutal sound, Argon bit down, raised his head—and swallowed the knight whole.

Ting!

In that instant, Seowoon caught sight of a martial artist's sharp glare, and a hidden weapon came flying his way.

"I felt something over there!" the man shouted as he threw the dart.

A sphere of light hovered near Argon, making it too risky for Seowoon to get closer. He deflected the dart with his bow and immediately relocated, vanishing back into stealth.

Quickly, he nocked another arrow and poured all his remaining energy into it, focusing hard.

Sensing Seowoon's energy spike, the martial artist charged and hurled another dart—but Seowoon stood firm, eyes locked on his target, not moving an inch.

The moment Argon's glowing yellow core lined up with his arrowhead, Seowoon loosed his shot. At that exact second, a hidden blade sliced through his cloak and stabbed deep into his chest and stomach.

Thunk!

KUWAAAAAA!

With a shriek, Argon collapsed, his forehead's core shattered. And the people who had been waiting for the buff—frozen mid-thought—were left dumbfounded, wondering why it wasn't activating for them.

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]