Gunfight — Part 2
“I’m going to kill you!”
Roe Deer roared.
Crack.
He gripped his pistol so tightly that it was on the verge of crumbling in his hand.
But it didn’t matter.
Roe Deer, now fully awakened as a Level 1 superhuman, was as dangerous as a rifleman armed with an automatic rifle.
“Ugh.”
I discarded the broken rifle and pulled out the baton strapped to my waist.
The pistol was useless.
Even if I aimed for a weak point, there was no way Roe Deer would just stand there and take it.
Shick!
I swung the baton, and it extended with a sharp sound.
A massive baton, 150 centimeters long and as thick as a baseball bat.
Roe Deer glared at me, his bloodshot eyes filled with fury.
“I’m going to kill you…”
His growling voice resembled that of a wild animal.
“I’m going to kill you!”
Tap!
Roe Deer lunged forward.
He moved at an incredible speed.
Water sprayed in all directions as he surged toward me like an explosion, his massive body filling my vision.
“Hup!”
I gritted my teeth and swung the baton with all my might.
My traits were set to [Strength], [Vigor], [Toughness], [Mana Recovery], [Mana Core], and [Bright Eyes].
Boom!
The baton collided with his kick.
A deafening impact rang out.
It felt like I had been struck by a cannon.
My mind went blank for a moment.
When I forced my eyes open again, I found myself soaring through the air once more.
“Ugh!”
I skidded several meters across the rain-soaked alley.
My arms trembled.
My vision blurred, and the rain constantly obscured my sight. After blinking several times, the world finally came back into focus.
But I couldn’t afford to stay down.
Tap!
I heard the sound of feet pounding the ground.
“Ugh!”
I rolled to the side, clutching the baton.
Where I had been lying just moments ago, an overwhelming blow smashed down.
Crash!
The poorly maintained pavement, already riddled with cracks, shattered instantly.
“Ugh!”
I groaned as I got back to my feet. Roe Deer turned his head toward me, eyes blazing with fury and hatred.
My chest tightened.
A mixture of resentment and anger welled up inside me.
What was he playing the victim for?
They were the ones who started this!
It’s always the same: when I do it, it’s romance, but when they do it, it’s a crime. Hypocrisy at its finest.
“I’m going to kill you!”
Roe Deer crouched, ready to strike again.
I steadied my breath, keeping my eyes locked on him.
‘Should I use the Mutant trait?’
Too risky.
It wasn’t the toll it would take on my body that I was worried about.
It’s not like I needed to worry about the side effects when I was on the verge of death.
The problem was that even though this area was outside the reach of the law, we were still in the middle of Seoul.
And this was Iron Fist Gang territory.
A gunfight could be overlooked with a bribe, but a mutant showing up? That would be a different story.
The gangs would come running.
A mutant appearing in their territory was a serious problem.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and got to my feet.
No matter. There was another way.
I could awaken.
Right here and now, I could accumulate mana and engrave my mana circuit, becoming a Level 1 superhuman.
“Graaargh!”
Roe Deer let out a savage scream.
He lunged forward, determined to finish it.
Splash!
Water sprayed into the air as he shattered the pavement, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
The world became a cloud of water and dust.
Roe Deer vanished from my sight.
In just a moment, he had moved out of my field of vision.
“Hmph.”
But he couldn’t fool my brain.
Roe Deer, as an R-rank superhuman, had two starting traits.
[Three-Dimensional Movement] and [Kick].
In an alley like this, I didn’t need to see him to know how he was moving.
“Hoo…”
I focused.
I gathered all the mana swirling in my chest and directed it into my hands.
Then, I swung the baton with all my might.
Straight up.
Above my head, using every ounce of strength I had!
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed.
Roe Deer’s foot collided with my baton.
“Grrr!”
It felt like my arms were about to break.
My hands trembled.
The baton bent like a fishing rod under the strain.
At least it didn’t snap.
The baton held, and I held on.
Roe Deer used the momentum to leap off my baton, kicking off the building wall behind him.
He spun in mid-air, the water droplets around him shattering like shards of glass, the scene playing out in slow motion in my mind.
“Damn it!”
He was launching a continuous aerial attack!
I kept my eyes on him.
Crack!
The electricity in the area flickered out, plunging the alley into darkness. Rain blurred my vision, making it hard to see.
Roe Deer flipped mid-air and came flying at me from behind.
Whack!
I blocked his attack with the baton.
He used the rebound from my block to fly backward again, kicking off the opposite wall and rushing toward my back.
I twisted my body just in time to block the attack again.
Each time, the baton bent under the force of the blows, and the accumulated impact took a toll on my body. But I could still hold on.
“You bastard!”
Roe Deer’s expression twisted with frustration.
His rage and hatred were slowly being replaced by cautious self-preservation.
Of course.
There was no strong bond between Roe Deer and the men who had died. Ultimately, he cared most about himself.
And he had witnessed me take down the Hedgehog mutant.
Once the initial excitement wore off, his mind started working again.
I couldn’t let that happen.
This had to end here.
I had noticed the heat building up in my hands earlier, and I grinned, baring my teeth.
“What’s the matter? Are you scared?”
“Shut up!”
“You’re done.”
I gripped the baton in my left hand and lowered my right hand toward my bulging pocket.
Roe Deer’s eyes widened.
To be honest, the pistol wasn’t much of a threat to him.
I wasn’t some trained special agent, and there was no way I could hit a fast-moving target like Roe Deer with a gun.
But did Roe Deer know that?
He had just become a superhuman—did he even know the full extent of his abilities, or what was and wasn’t a threat?
Right now, his thinking was closer to that of a normal person than a superhuman.
Sure enough, instead of using his [Three-Dimensional Movement] to dodge, Roe Deer charged straight at me.
“Yaaagh!”
He moved so fast, he was practically invisible.
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of me.
A scorching heat, a fierce wind, and a rain-soaked storm engulfed me.
It was already too late to move!
Crack.
But it didn’t matter.
I had already been moving.
The hand that had feinted toward the pistol grabbed the baton, and I swung with all my strength!
Whoosh!
My hand burned as I swung.
I had already changed my traits.
The setup remained the same—[Strength], [Vigor], [Toughness], [Mana Core], and [Mana Recovery].
Except I replaced [Bright Eyes] with a new trait.
[Smash].
A trait earned through sheer force while fending off Roe Deer’s relentless attacks.
It wasn’t a common trait.
It was my first trait from the Warrior class.
It was a basic skill, a mere Tier 3 attack trait, but it was still an attack trait.
Mana surged through me.
The baton glowed blue for a moment.
With Strength boosting it, combined with the bonuses from Vigor and Toughness since it was a Warrior trait, the baton struck with immense power.
Roe Deer’s face twisted in shock as his foot collided with my baton.
Boom!
A flash of light, followed by an explosion of sound.
The shockwave sent the rainwater flying in all directions.
“Argh!”
A short scream.
It wasn’t mine.
At that moment, I knew for sure.
Roe Deer wasn’t using his abilities to their fullest.
If he had been properly using his [Kick] trait, he wouldn’t have screamed after taking just one hit.
“Grrr!”
It wasn’t over yet.
Ignoring the empty feeling in my chest from the mana consumption, and the pain coursing through my body, I took a big step forward.
No, two steps, three steps—I ran at him with all my might.
Splash, splash!
The water splashed loudly as Roe Deer, lying on the ground, came within range.
“Aaagh!”
Roe Deer tried to scramble away.
His right ankle was twisted at an odd angle.
It must have broken when he took the full force of my Smash.
Whack! Whack!
I swung the baton.
I didn’t have enough mana left to use Smash again, but that didn’t matter.
It was still threatening enough. Roe Deer barely managed to dodge, his face pale with fear.
Which was perfect for me.
Inside, I calmly counted.
‘One downward strike.’
Whoosh!
The baton sliced through the air.
‘One upward strike.’
Swish!
Roe Deer, eyes wide with terror, narrowly dodged the second swing, his body contorting awkwardly to avoid the attack.
‘One sideways swing.’
Shwoom!
This one missed widely as Roe Deer rolled away, trying to create more distance between us.
His expression shifted to one of grim determination.
He knew he couldn’t keep running.
Clenching his teeth, he shifted his weight onto his uninjured leg, abandoning any hope of retreat.
‘One more.’
He couldn’t avoid it.
He couldn’t block it.
I was one move away from finishing the chain of strikes that would complete my new trait.
This was my finishing move.
Our eyes met.
Through the sheets of rain, his two burning eyes locked onto mine.
Roe Deer and I, as if on cue, let out primal screams.
“Aaaargh!”
We charged at each other.
Roe Deer, ignoring the pain in his broken leg, thrust it forward like a lance, while I stretched my arm out in response.
‘One thrust.’
BANG!
The explosion was not just auditory. It was physical, shaking bones and metal alike.
The impact transmitted through my baton, making it feel as if my bones were shattering and grinding together.
The baton, which had held up until now, could withstand no more.
The point where it had taken the brunt of the collision shattered, sending the pieces flying in every direction.
My arm wasn’t much better.
My right arm snapped under the strain, the sharp pain shooting through my brain like a blade.
“Aaagh!”
“Urgh!”
A chorus of screams and groans filled the air.
I forced my eyes open, fixing my gaze on Roe Deer.
Even through the tears in his eyes, Roe Deer stared right back at me.
There was no time for either of us to cry or moan in pain.
Whoever faltered now would die.
It was a battle for survival, plain and simple.
The sharp instincts of life and death kicked in, forcing us both to bite down on our pain and get back up.
I had the advantage.
And I had a trump card.
Just as I completed my final strike, I felt it—an unmistakable sensation coursing through me.
A searing heat, as though my arm muscles were being branded.
It was like carving a magical circuit directly into each fiber of my muscles.
It was a clear, exhilarating feeling.
I activated it.
I sacrificed the [Toughness] trait and replaced it with the newly acquired one.
[Chain Attack].
But that wasn’t all.
I summoned every last ounce of my remaining mana.
My Mana Core trait strained under the pressure, sending a wave of pain through my chest as it went into overdrive, but I ignored it.
I poured everything I had into this final attack.
I was going to finish it here.
[Smash].
A deadly combination of two attack traits.
My arm, my fist—it felt like they were on fire.
Mana surged through my muscles and bones, pushing them to their limits.
My broken right arm throbbed with agony, making my vision blur, but I pressed on.
I gritted my teeth and extended my arm.
With all the strength and mana I could muster, I unleashed a devastating flurry of blows, combining Smash with Chain Attack.
A relentless barrage of strikes, like a torrential downpour, slammed into Roe Deer.
“Guh…!”
Roe Deer was too slow.
The first blow struck him square in the jaw, his head snapping back as blood sprayed from his mouth.
Thwack thwack thwack!
I didn’t stop.
Blow after blow landed on his face, his chest, his stomach—targeting only the most vital areas.
In seconds, Roe Deer’s body was mangled.
His face was completely shattered, his chest caved in, and blood poured from his mouth as his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Guhh, ughhh…”
He gurgled and writhed, barely clinging to life.
I, too, was a wreck.
My right arm wasn’t just broken—it was completely ruined. My hand wouldn’t close, and my elbow and wrist joints were twisted at odd angles.
My whole body felt like it weighed a ton, the rain-soaked clothes clinging to me only adding to the exhaustion.
But I endured it all, standing over Roe Deer’s crumpled body.
He wasn’t conscious.
Barely alive, Roe Deer struggled to keep his head up, his eyes darting around wildly.
Instead of delivering the final punch, I reached for my pistol with my uninjured left hand.
Click.
The sound of a bullet being chambered filled the air.
Roe Deer’s eyes, hazy and unfocused, suddenly snapped wide open.
Seeing the gun pointed at his forehead, his pupils dilated in fear.
“P-please, spare…”
I didn’t let him finish.
Bang!
A single gunshot rang out.
Roe Deer’s head dropped forward, lifeless.
I stood there in the alley, staring up at the sky.
The rain was pouring down, harder than ever.
It came down so heavily that I could barely see a few feet in front of me.
My body was burning up.
The pain I had been suppressing, the pain I had forgotten, came back all at once, like thousands of ants biting at my skin.
And yet…
I could feel it clearly.
The mana inside me.
A new organ was forming in my body.
Mana surged through my veins, flowing from my heart through my blood vessels and nervous system.
A spiderweb of mana circuits began to take shape, weaving itself into the fabric of my body.
Hiss… hiss…
The rain reacted to the heat radiating from my body, evaporating into steam.
A thick mist formed around me.
A cocoon of vapor, like a shell descending from above.
Heat swirled inside me.
Amid the mist, swirling like a dragon around me…
I had become a superhuman.
–TL Notes–
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