Dagger Gang — Part 1
The entire building shook.
Furniture trembled as if it would shatter, and dust drifted down from the ceiling.
A man standing like a statue spoke politely.
“Boss, this place is too dangerous. How about moving to the next building?”
“Hmph. Do you think a tiger curls its tail just because a yapping wolf is making noise? Shut up and light the cigar.”
The man sitting in a huge executive chair bit off the tip of a cigar.
He was a short man with unusually slanted eyes.
As the standing man lit the cigar, a faint cyan glow flickered in the air.
The man seated, the boss of the Dagger Gang, exhaled a long stream of smoke.
Bluish-gray smoke swirled and danced in the air.
“Hoo… As expected, that crazy bastard Jeondong doesn’t hold back. Who the hell uses a rocket launcher for a sniper shot?”
“It was far too dangerous. Using a rocket launcher when you were right upstairs, boss.”
“Ha. Do you think Jeondong would ever point a gun at me? Besides, we took a few bombs ourselves, didn’t we? It’s only fair we return the favor.”
“That’s true. But that insane bastard Kim Chulkwon—where the hell did he find someone this crazy?”
“He probably handed out a fat stack of cash. But that’s not the real issue.”
The Dagger Gang boss chewed his lip, frowning.
This guy was terrifying.
He admitted he’d been caught off guard by the sudden attack, and his response had been pathetic.
But what the hell was going on?
Lobbing grenades, flashbangs, and explosives into every carefully designed defensive point and hiding spot?
It was obvious that someone had leaked information from the inside.
There’s no way he could’ve stormed through to the fourth floor so quickly without knowing the layout in advance.
Sure, customers might enjoy the business areas, but the Dagger Gang’s true defenses lay in secret rooms, hidden passages, and concealed chambers.
“Anyway, he’s probably dead.”
The bodyguard spoke in a low tone.
“Jeondong said he was going to use an anti-personnel grenade. There’s no way anyone could survive in a confined space like that.”
“What if he’s a Level 3 superhuman? What if he has a defense shield?”
“That’s…”
The bodyguard swallowed his words.
Could that even be possible?
With the Iron Fist Gang’s rising power and the money they were making these days, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for them to temporarily hire a Level 3 superhuman.
In fact, that was the most reasonable assumption.
After all, even with insider information, he had fought his way up to the fourth floor alone.
“I’ll send some guys down to finish him off. No, I’ll go myself.”
“Fine. If anything seems off, request backup immediately. I’ll go if necessary.”
“You, boss? Please, leave it to me. I’ll make sure it’s handled.”
“What if he’s Level 3? If you die, we’re all dead. If you go down, we’re finished.”
The Dagger Gang boss irritably stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray.
“How are Daehun and Jisung doing?”
“Seems the Iron Fist Gang bastards are swarming in droves. Last I heard, they’re in a standoff.”
“Damn it. They really came with sharpened knives this time.”
Inside the hideout, a lone superhuman marksman.
Outside, the Iron Fist Gang.
Neither were easy to deal with.
It felt like a blade was pressing against his neck.
It was a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time—cold and ominous, like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, about to plummet into a deep, dark abyss.
Well, when hadn’t it been like this?
The Dagger Gang boss ran his fingers over the two daggers at his waist.
Magical daggers.
One was imbued with [Curse], the other with [Poison].
These two blades were his final defense and his only true friends.
He had no doubt that with these, he’d overcome this crisis too.
‘I’ll slice through every superhuman and Iron Fist bastard that gets in my way.’
A wicked gleam flashed in the boss’s eyes.
But things weren’t going to be that easy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few minutes later, gunfire erupted downstairs, and the noise escalated.
[Aaaargh!]
[Careful!]
[He’s still alive!]
[Requesting backup! We need backup!]
[Help! Somebody save me!]
“Boss! Help us! We’re all going to die!”
His eyes twitched.
The disbelief was clear on his face.
Still alive?
Even after getting hit with a rocket?
“Damn it!”
The Dagger Gang boss shot to his feet.
He threw on the black coat hanging next to his executive chair.
As the magic circle on the surface of the coat shimmered, the boss of the Dagger Gang disappeared.
The true power of the Dagger Gang was now in motion.
“Ugh!”
I got lucky.
If I hadn’t moved the moment I saw the rocket through my goggles, my entire body would’ve been torn to pieces.
Instinctively, I had thrown myself into the center of a circular casino table.
Once inside, I quickly activated [Mana Shield].
The rocket came just moments later.
Maybe it was because the rocket had been fired from the rooftop of a building several dozen meters away.
It smashed through the window and hit the floor right in front of me.
Thankfully, the anti-personnel grenade’s lethality was reduced, and the countless shards of shrapnel were blocked by the casino table and my mana shield.
But it wasn’t perfect.
Both the table and the shield were destroyed in an instant, and dozens of fragments rained down on me.
As a result, my left arm was shredded.
I had extended it to use the Defense trait.
“Ughhh!”
The searing pain shot through my left arm.
Even as I groaned in agony, I felt a sense of relief.
It hurt.
Which meant my nerves were still intact.
I hadn’t lost the arm.
I could recover, as long as I used Wound Recovery and Regeneration. It would take some time, but it was fixable.
Ah, but I’d need surgery too.
Some of the shrapnel was probably still lodged in there.
‘This isn’t the time for that.’
They would be here soon.
Enduring the pain, I checked my condition.
My body was in terrible shape.
The mana that had once filled my mana circuits was now as dry as a parched rice paddy.
All that remained were useless traces of residual mana.
The ringing in my ears buzzed like a swarm of cicadas.
The world spun, and I could barely stand.
Pain racked my entire body, especially my left arm, and my mind was starting to grow hazy.
‘I have to get up.’
My hands trembled as I picked up the shotgun.
I prepared for the next fight by swapping out my traits.
[Shooting], [Mana Core], [Sensitivity].
[Wound Recovery], [Mana Recovery], [Vigor].
I had to recover, even if just a little.
Both the excessive blood loss and mana depletion were life-threatening.
As I consciously focused, scanning the hallway leading to the fifth floor, a peculiar sensation crept over me.
My vision narrowed, and the world seemed to slow down.
Acquired trait: [Focus].
I replaced the now-useless Mana Core with Focus.
As it combined with Sensitivity, every stimulus around me started flooding into my brain.
The sound of the wind blowing outside.
The faint crackling of electricity from a broken wire.
It was an incredible sensation.
Though faint, it felt like the surrounding space had transformed into a 3D map inside my head.
Perhaps because of that, I could clearly hear the footsteps descending the stairs.
Thump, thump.
“Maknae, go check it out.”
“But boss, what if he’s still alive—”
“Is that gun in your hands just for show? The moment you see him, just pull the trigger. Put it on full auto and keep shooting. Not even a superhuman can survive that.”
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.
A gang member crept forward cautiously, careful not to make any noise.
But it was useless in the face of my Focus and Sensitivity combo.
I silently counted in my head.
‘One, two, three… now!’
I sprang to my feet.
My movements were lightning fast, and I took the perfect firing stance.
“Eeek!”
The gang member shrieked in terror.
He fumbled with the trigger, but I was faster.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The shotgun’s heavy boom was noticeably louder than a standard rifle.
The recoil slammed into my shoulder.
If I had fired it on full auto without the Strength trait, the barrel would have shot straight up into the air.
The firepower was devastating.
A hole was blown clean through the chest of the gang member in front of me.
The others, who had been cautiously following behind, met the same fate.
The luckier ones lost only an arm, while the less fortunate had their heads blown apart, or their guts spilled out as holes tore through their abdomens.
“Aaaargh!”
“Careful!”
“He’s still alive!”
“Requesting backup! We need backup!”
“Help! Somebody save me!”
I wasn’t just going to let them kill me that easily.
Rat-tat-tat!
I moved behind cover, firing back as I went.
My shotgun and their rifles spat bullets and shells, lighting up the dim casino floor. Without my Mana Shield active, getting hit would mean death, no question about it. I had no choice but to crouch low behind the casino table, riddled with holes, and make myself as small a target as possible.
Click.
A metallic sound echoed in the air.
My hair stood on end.
That was the sound of a grenade pin being pulled.
‘Where is it?’
I quickly peeked over my cover, scanning the area in front of me.
I spotted a gang member in a sharp suit holding the grenade, winding his arm back like a pitcher about to throw a fastball.
His movements were smooth and precise—clearly experienced.
I gritted my teeth and raised my shotgun.
The Focus trait was doing its job, slowing everything down. Time seemed to stretch out before me.
There was no time to aim carefully. I had to rely on instinct.
I squeezed the trigger.
Boom!
The thunderous blast of the shotgun rang out.
But it wasn’t just one shot.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I emptied the entire 20-round magazine in quick succession.
Honestly, most of the shots missed their mark. I hadn’t managed to hit the grenade itself, but the gang member holding it wasn’t so lucky.
“Guh!”
His body jerked and twisted like a ragdoll as his chest, shoulders, arms, and face were torn apart by the hail of shotgun pellets.
And then, with a dull thud, the grenade slipped from his hand and rolled onto the floor.
An unpinned grenade.
“Oh no!”
The gang members screamed in terror.
I, too, realized my mistake.
I dove behind the casino table, curling up tightly just as the grenade detonated.
BOOM!
The explosion sent a shockwave reverberating through the entire floor.
No flames, no flash—just a forceful blast that shook the ground and sent a cloud of black dust into the air.
And ahead of that shockwave, shards of shrapnel sprayed out, ripping through the gambling tables and the gang members.
“Aaaaagh!”
“Kuhh!”
Their agonized cries reached me through the shockwave, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up at the intensity of their pain.
I instinctively ran my hands over my body, checking for injuries.
‘Am I hurt?’
I had gotten lucky again.
The sturdy casino table had taken the brunt of the blast, and my protective gear had absorbed most of the shrapnel.
Still, I could feel several sharp fragments embedded in my armor, especially in my back and helmet.
If the grenade had landed closer, I would’ve been done for.
“Let’s see how you like this!”
They weren’t the only ones with grenades.
I pulled one from my own stash, removed the pin, and hurled it toward the remaining gang members.
This time, it felt different.
As I threw, there was a distinct sensation in my hand.
I could feel the trajectory of the grenade, almost as if I could control its path.
Acquired trait: [Throw].
The grenade arced through the air, curving perfectly, and landed right in the middle of the remaining gang members.
BOOM!
The explosion rang out, and I charged forward, shotgun in hand.
Most of the enemies were already dead by the time I reached them.
All except for one.
“Ugh…”
A single gang member, his body covered in blood, was still barely alive.
He was the last survivor.
But there was no saving him. His wounds were far too severe.
I did him the courtesy of ending his pain with a bullet to the head.
“Huff…”
Was it over?
All around me were blood-soaked corpses. The only sounds were the wind rattling through broken windows and the occasional buzz of electricity from damaged lights.
I couldn’t hear anything that sounded like someone was still alive.
No footsteps, no groans—nothing.
But I had to be sure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I went around and shot each body that still had an intact head, making sure they were truly dead.
Even after confirming the kills, I didn’t let my guard down.
The Dagger Gang boss was an assassin.
Not only that, he possessed three magic artifacts perfectly suited for assassination—a low-level opponent like me would struggle to fight against him.
‘Watch out for snipers too.’
I pushed my Focus and Sensitivity traits to their limits, heightening my awareness.
I swapped out some of my traits to prepare for what was coming next.
[Shooting], [Focus], [Sensitivity].
[Defense], [Endurance], [Toughness].
I had to be ready to take a hit, no matter what.
With my current traits, it would be difficult to counter the Dagger Gang boss’s stealth and magic coat. Most likely, he’d get the jump on me and strike from behind first.
‘Where is he?’
If the Dagger Gang boss was still in the fifth-floor boss room—specifically the main office—it wouldn’t be hard to find him.
After all, I knew the place well.
But this wasn’t a game—it was a different reality.
After the rocket sniper shot failed, and his men were all wiped out, the Dagger Gang boss wouldn’t just be sitting around waiting for me.
Zzzzz!
Drones poured in through the ventilation shafts, one after another.
Each drone was equipped with twin submachine guns on either side of its small body.
“Hah!”
But I couldn’t help but laugh.
Those drones were too small to carry any real firepower.
Sure, they called them “submachine guns,” but at best, they were probably no stronger than a standard pistol.
And if they all came through the vents in a straight line, that just made them easy targets.
It was obvious what the Dagger Gang was trying to do.
Even so, I reacted quickly, shooting them down one by one.
I sprinted out from behind the casino table, ducked behind a thick pillar, and opened fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one, the drones exploded as I shot them out of the sky.
Zzzzz!
The drones fired back, but I took them down before they could lock onto me.
The expensive little drones popped like firecrackers, one after another.
While I was focused on them, something else began to move.
My shadow.
From the darkness of my coat’s shadow, something sinister stirred.
Like a pair of lips, the shadow opened slightly, revealing sharp, gray fangs, barely visible, ready to strike.
One of the daggers was flying toward my back, completely silent.
‘Heh.’
I let out a silent laugh.
It was just as I had predicted.
–TL Notes–
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