Chapter 135: Attraction (5)
A thunderous crash echoed as the building’s outer wall, which had been barely holding together, finally collapsed. Scattered flames crackled as they consumed everything in their path, while the metallic scent of blood mingled with the acrid smell of burning flesh.
To call it a battlefield would be no exaggeration. In truth, a dungeon break was essentially a war zone. During the height of the Dungeon Shock, they had even declared a quasi-state of war.
But now, the threat wasn’t monsters—it was hunters.
“Han Yujin is a human being.”
Song Taewon declared firmly.
“Of course he’s human. Did you just figure that out? Have you been treating Han Yujin as less than human all this time? That’s going too far.”
Wait, you’re the one who was talking about items earlier.
Seong Hyunjae began advancing slowly. As the distance between us shortened, the cold clinging to my skin intensified. Who needs an air conditioner when you have situations like this?
While not terrifying enough to stop my heart, the chill running down my spine made my extremities tingle.
Squelch. His heel stepped into a pool of blood. Seong Hyunjae halted about three meters away and locked eyes with Song Taewon. A gloved hand extended in a casual beckoning gesture.
“Hand him over.”
“I have no reason to do that.”
“And you have no reason to keep him either.”
“Han Yujin is practically a civilian with F-rank stats and no combat abilities. During a dungeon break, it’s my duty to protect him.”
Seong Hyunjae let out a soft chuckle. Just as I was thinking how chilling his smile was—
“Ugh…”
The oppressive aura, which had been somewhat manageable until now, suddenly bared its fangs and crushed my entire body. It felt like my head was being held underwater; breathing became impossible. I instinctively turned away and shut my eyes. Thanks to my active Teacher skill, I could still see Seong Hyunjae through Song Taewon’s perspective.
“…What did he do?”
Seong Hyunjae observed me with curiosity. Was he unaware of Song Taewon’s skill effects, or did he not know about my Fear Resistance skill?
“That’s a natural reaction when facing an S-rank hunter. Please restrain your aura.”
“Han Yujin.”
At his call, I turned back to face Seong Hyunjae. Our eyes met, sending another shiver through my body. His slightly sulky expression was somehow pleasing. While I felt a bit guilty for summoning him here, it was his turn to play the villain.
Song Taewon was conflicted about me—unsure whether I was a vulnerable person needing protection or a time bomb requiring containment. The reality was more complex, but that was the gist of it. I needed to tip the scales to make his decision easier.
“I’m sorry, but… Guild Leader Seong.”
My voice quavered uncontrollably. No one would think I was acting—because I wasn’t. He was genuinely terrifying.
“Please, go back… I’m begging you…”
Seong Hyunjae’s lips parted slightly before he smiled without speaking. His irritatingly quick wit was annoying, but it was also why I appreciated him. I wonder if this was thanks to his Combat Prediction skill.
Since my face wouldn’t be clearly visible from Song Taewon’s angle, I returned a matching smile. Since things had come this far, we might as well play along. And it seemed Seong Hyunjae was willing to do just that.
Clank
A golden chain shot toward me, aimed precisely at my neck. Song Taewon’s hand caught its end.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Retrieving lost property.”
“Didn’t you hear him ask you to leave?”
“I didn’t see any reason to listen to him.”
He was deliberately ignoring my opinion, and the hand gripping the chain tightened. Sparks flew from the taut metal. A normal person would have been electrocuted, but the shadow enveloping Song Taewon’s hand absorbed the crawling currents.
The sudden spike in tension made my body tremble again. God, I want to go home. I was never meant to be involved in situations like this.
“Can you walk?”
Song Taewon asked me. Walking might be difficult, but crawling could be possible.
“You can just leave me here.”
I won’t die even if you do. Song Taewon frowned slightly before releasing me. I stumbled and collapsed to the ground. His concerned gaze as he watched me catch my breath seemed genuine. He was like an upgraded version of someone who both inflicts and cures the ailment.
“Are you still determined not to leave?”
“I’ll go once I retrieve what I need.”
“Han Yujin has already refused. If you persist, I will respond accordingly.”
“That works for me too. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”
That guy was clearly enjoying himself. Suddenly, I felt sorry for Song Taewon. Does Fear Resistance affect one’s conscience too? Since the skill rank dropped, it keeps nagging at me. Should I just stop here?
“Chief Song, I’ll go with Guild Leader Seong. I’m the one who called him here in the first place.”
“No. Stay where you are.”
“But there’s no need for you to fight unnecessarily…”
“Please remain still.”
His command carried such weight that I knew instantly—this guy had no intention of listening to me either. Even if I shouted that I’d go willingly and that Seong Hyunjae and I were actually close, he’d just mechanically repeat “No, it’s not possible.”
He pulled out what looked like wrist guards and put them on. Seeing him use them now, they were probably items with electric resistance. He might have equipped new cold resistance items too.
“It’s unfortunate to have you sitting on bare ground. Next time, I’ll at least prepare a chair.”
What do you mean, next time?
And then the chain exploded.
The links snapped apart, and dozens of blades shot toward Song Taewon. Each one crackled with powerful electric currents.
Some had already reached him; he swung his shadow-cloaked arm to block them while dodging. Then he grabbed a dead mole’s corpse and threw it upward.
Crash!
A lightning bolt struck down simultaneously, incinerating the corpse to ash. The scattered metal rings reformed into a chain. Through the dispersing ashes, Seong Hyunjae glided forward. The two came close enough that their toes nearly touched, and his gloved hand discharged crackling electricity.
Despite the light flashing before his eyes, Song Taewon didn’t blink as he attempted to grab and twist Seong Hyunjae’s wrist. But Seong Hyunjae retreated faster. At the same time, the chain attacked his already injured shoulder from behind. As Song Taewon twisted to avoid it, a shoe heel shot upward toward his chest.
“I have one question.”
Seong Hyunjae spoke casually as he caught the chain that flew to his side.
“How was the young master able to be here? In Korea, the only one who could leave such burns on Chief Song is our young master.”
He tilted his head slightly, watching without trying to stop Song Taewon from using a potion.
“He couldn’t have avoided entering the dungeon and he wouldn’t abandon you and vanish. Did he acquire some interesting new ability without my knowledge?”
As he glanced back at me, I mouthed, “Don’t worry about it.” He had such unnecessary interest in someone else’s brother.
Then Song Taewon moved again. His weighted footstep cracked the ground open. As Seong Hyunjae jumped to avoid it, Song Taewon charged at him ferociously. His stats were already S-rank, but adding mass made his speed truly lightning-fast. Moreover, being airborne without flight-type skills made dodging difficult.
Clang!
Yet somehow, the spread-out chain blocked Song Taewon’s attack. The opposite end, wrapped around his wrist, pulled a fallen chunk of concrete. With a grinding sound, the mass—as large as a truck—dragged along the ground. With his movement halted, Song Taewon kicked off the ground and flipped his body. His heel descended toward Seong Hyunjae’s crown.
Crash!
His blade-like kick grazed Seong Hyunjae’s collar and pulverized the ground. This time, the concrete chunk swung by the chain hurtled toward Seong Hyunjae, who had dodged by a hair’s breadth. His golden eyes narrowed in a smile.
With a roar, the bursting light scattered the concrete pieces like sand. Through them, a black trajectory cut the chain and swung toward the composed man. A fist and palm collided. Since Seong Hyunjae was slightly inferior in physical strength with mass added, he didn’t resist the surging force and retreated as if being pushed back. Simultaneously, he threw a knife he had produced from somewhere. Song Taewon deflected the blade’s spine with the back of his hand, and smoothly turning it, struck the handle hard to return it to its owner.
With a crash, the knife—its momentum completely reversed—grazed Seong Hyunjae’s shoulder and split a streetlight in two.
The entire exchange happened in an instant. Bang! Bang! Bang! Lightning bolts struck consecutively, and Song Taewon leaped back to avoid the light that was incinerating everything around.
‘In terms of speed and power in close combat, Song Taewon definitely has the advantage.’
Even so, his attacks weren’t landing properly. Probably due to the Combat Prediction skill. Of course, if the gap is too large, foreknowledge doesn’t help much. Even if someone says, “I’m going to shoot you now,” and fires a warning shot, an ordinary person can’t do much about it. But the speed difference between these two seemed to be such that with just a moment’s warning, one could respond adequately.
‘That guy is such a cheat.’
I felt inexplicably resentful. Without Combat Prediction, he would have taken at least one or two hits. Thinking I might transmit his senses to Song Taewon, I used the Teacher skill on Seong Hyunjae. The moment I directly sensed his presence, a chill ran through my entire body, but it was manageable…
“Ugh…”
My vision went black. When it returned, dirt and stones were rolling around. I’d lost consciousness for a moment. Seong Hyunjae had rejected the skill. How ruthless.
“Han Yujin!”
“Since Han Yujin is going that far, shall we end this game?”
Seong Hyunjae clicked his tongue and spoke. Song Taewon glared at him fiercely.
“What did you do?”
“It wasn’t me who did something, but…”
Rumble
From below—not above—thousands of light strands like snakes surged upward. The ground literally turned over as blades of electricity ran wild.
“It’s my cute little item.”
The nearly uncontrolled dance of lightning chased after Song Taewon like hunting a rabbit. He had once said power weakens when spread out; what kind of insanity was this? Still, perhaps it was indeed weakened—being wrapped by a few strands didn’t seem to cause significant damage.
Crash!
Moving toward the building, Song Taewon broke through a wall. The resulting debris swept over the swarm of electric snakes. The light strands wrapped around the protruding rebar between the concrete several times before quieting down.
“Shall we end this now?”
Light sparked again. But the lightning struck not Song Taewon but behind him. Both Song Taewon and I wondered what was happening.
Crunch! Thud!
Blood splattered. Rebar and various metal fragments shot toward Song Taewon like arrows, propelled by tremendous force.
It wasn’t just one or two pieces. Several buildings had collapsed nearby, and the one next to us was quite tall. Naturally, there was an enormous amount of metal. It was a barrage impossible to escape. Only someone like Song Taewon could deflect most of them; anyone else would have become a pincushion.
“…How did you do that?”
With rebar piercing his shoulder, side, and leg, Song Taewon asked. From right behind him, a golden chain slithered out.
“Simple. Magnetism. I made the chain attract the metal.”
So the widespread electric currents earlier were for that? The lightning hadn’t missed Song Taewon but had struck the chain placed there? How was that even possible?
Gritting his teeth, Song Taewon pulled out the rebar embedded in his body. Perhaps due to the electric currents, the wounds cauterized, stemming the blood flow. Seong Hyunjae watched this indifferently before turning away, showing no concern about being attacked from behind.
“Well then, Han Yujin.”
As he approached, Seong Hyunjae glanced at the wound on my chest. Then he lifted my limp body.
“It seems we need to have a little chat. Do you have the energy to talk?”
“Fortunately, it doesn’t take much strength to move my tongue.”
The heavy pressure remained, but it wasn’t unbearable now. Song Taewon stood motionless, watching us. What was he thinking? I swallowed a sigh and deactivated the Teacher skill.
After walking a bit, we saw a car parked by the roadside. It had once been a sleek sports car, but now it was half-destroyed, battered by debris. It would need to be scrapped.
“…Seems I parked poorly.”
Seong Hyunjae muttered somewhat dejectedly, and I couldn’t help but feel amused.
–TL Notes–
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