novelraw Chapter 28 : Chapter 28
Chapter 28 : Chapter 28
Chapter 28. Night Raid and the Truth (3)
Jade Tutlock.
Age, 37.
Gender, Male.
Crime, Serial Murder.
And bounty, 300 million Credits.
He was the one with the highest bounty among all the escaped convicts Riman had met so far.
Of course, a bounty doesn't directly correlate to combat power.
But it was true that there was a significant relationship.
For now, it was clear that this man was the strongest opponent Riman had faced so far.
Jade spoke to Riman.
“You’re good at dodging.”
“And you, an escaped convict, why are you working with Ork Corporation?”
“Same as you guys. For money.”
To be honest, I was a little skeptical, but this confirmed it.
Jade was in cahoots with Ork.
However, it was a bit of a mystery.
‘…I don't think there was an event in the game where Jade joined forces with Ork Corporation.’
But it wasn't entirely impossible.
It was common in this city for people to join hands one day and part ways the next.
Besides, Jade himself was a character you couldn't meet until the mid-to-late game.
It wouldn't be strange to think that there was an alliance between Ork and Jade in the early part of the game when you couldn't meet Jade.
‘But wait a minute, if that's the case…….’
At that moment, an ominous guess flashed through Riman's mind.
Jade, an escaped convict, was with Ork.
Then……
‘Could Seol U-seok be too?’
Seol U-seok.
An escaped convict like Jade, and the culprit behind the recent Demonic Beast escape incident.
Of course, Seol U-seok was a criminal who had caused considerable damage to Ork Corporation.
But what if Seol U-seok, like Jade, was on Ork Corporation's side from the beginning?
‘But is that even possible?’
The one who had caused damage to Ork Corporation was actually on Ork Corporation's side, was such a development possible?
‘…It's possible.’
It was possible if the benefit Ork Corporation would gain from it was greater than the damage Seol U-seok had inflicted on them.
Because it was a corporation that would tolerate anything as long as it could make a sufficient profit, no matter what happened in between.
If this guess was correct, then Ork Corporation had deliberately let the Demonic Beasts escape using Seol U-seok.
But even if this were true, I honestly couldn't understand it.
‘What kind of benefit was Ork Corporation hoping to gain by doing something like this?’
As Riman's mind grew more complicated.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
Grab.
Jade said as he grabbed a nearby lamppost.
“If you think too much here, you'll die early.”
Creak!
Jade pulled out the lamppost with both hands.
The 4-meter-long lamppost was uprooted and lifted.
Flicker-
The light of the uprooted lamppost went out.
It was the moment the lamppost turned into a 4-meter-long iron club.
Whoooosh!
Jade began to swing the lamppost.
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!
A flurry of blows rained down on Riman.
It was a scene that felt unreal.
The sight of a lamppost, which should always be standing in the same place, being swung around was surreal.
So was its destructive power.
CRAAASH!!
The asphalt road surface was broken and ground away, and the fire hydrant and transformer box were shattered and sent flying.
At that moment when the street was instantly devastated.
Riman was somehow managing to endure without getting hit even once.
With a barrier?
No, if he tried to block that with a barrier, the barrier itself would be torn apart.
Riman was dodging.
With desperate movements, he was dodging all of these rushing blows.
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!
But Riman himself knew better than anyone that dodging wasn't the answer.
‘If I keep dodging, my stamina won't hold out.’
He had to come up with a strategy.
A strategy on how to win against someone with an overwhelming difference in specs.
Or at least how to incapacitate them.
For now, there was one strategy that would be the best if he could use it.
Doping.
He could just chug the mana potion Ji Byeong-seo had made and then fire off a high-output magic spell.
But……
‘Why did I have to put it in my coat pocket……!’
That potion was now left in the hotel room, in his coat pocket.
In the end, all he had was his body, his phone, and……
‘Wait a minute, why is this in my pocket?’
Only then did Riman discover an item he had inadvertently taken in his pocket.
A sword with only a hilt, the Caterpillar Sword.
He had taken it from a hunter who had tried to kill him in Heosan Village yesterday.
Normally, only the hilt remained, but the moment mana was infused, the blade would deploy.
The moment he discovered this hilt in his pocket, Riman's mind began to turn again.
‘…I can subdue him.’
Or maybe, even kill him.
This body that could use various systems of magic.
The information I know about Jade Tutlock's abilities.
And this sword I have now.
If I mobilize all of these—
‘I might be able to win……!’
Whoooosh!!
Jade swung the lamppost horizontally and came in.
The moment Riman ducked to avoid it.
The trajectory of the lamppost changed drastically.
From horizontal to vertical.
From top to bottom.
It came flying.
A downward slash swung with both gravity and brute strength combined.
Whoooosh!
A long shadow loomed over Riman's head.
Riman neither dodged nor defended.
Instead, he opened his clenched fist towards the lamppost.
A single magic spell was condensed in his hand.
Shushushushu……
A blade of wind, compressed and condensed to the extreme.
An amount of air that could be used for three consecutive shots of [Incision] was in Riman's hand.
Just before the lamppost struck his head.
Riman unleashed the magic at the incoming lamppost.
[Incision]
Clang!
Severance.
The lamppost was cut.
The severed part was sent flying, and the lamppost narrowly missed Riman and struck the ground.
Crack!
At that moment, Jade's stance faltered.
When he swung down, it was 4 meters long, but the moment it struck, the lamppost had become 2.5 meters.
His stance crumbled due to the backlash of the sudden decrease in the weapon's weight and length.
Riman didn't miss that moment and placed his hand on the lamppost Jade was holding.
[Discharge]
Tzzzz……!
He instantly sent the highest voltage of electricity he could muster.
The material of the lamppost was metal, a conductor.
The electricity traveled through the lamppost and struck Jade directly.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!!
Black electricity seared Jade's body.
An electric shock that could turn an ordinary human body into an electric barbecue in an instant.
And before the electricity even subsided, Riman fired his next spell at Jade.
[Incision] 3 consecutive shots.
Slice-slice-slice!!
Close-range [Incision] barrage.
The magic that had split not only the lamppost but also the hard skull of a Demonic Beast exploded on Jade's chest.
But…….
“What are you doing?”
Jade was unharmed.
Even after being hit with a high-voltage electric shock and a triple incision at close range, there was not a single scratch on his body.
“Tch……”
“Are you done?”
Whoosh!
Jade's fist flew at Riman.
The pressure was like a dump truck charging at him.
It was a moment where blocking and dodging were both impossible.
The only thing he could do was create distance.
[Gust]
Thwack!!
Riman fired a compressed gust of wind forward.
The erupting gust of wind instantly created distance between them.
Though it was more like Riman had been sent flying.
Riman, pushed back by the gust, rolled on the ground.
He was in his pajamas, his hair was greasy, and on top of that, he was sprawled on the ground.
He was a mess.
But it was much better than taking that punch to the face.
‘Jade Tutlock…….’
Riman looked at Jade.
His clothes were torn and burnt here and there.
But his body was without a single soot mark or scratch.
Instead, what was visible were thick scales that covered his entire skin without a single gap.
This was Jade's ability, ‘Carapace.’
The power of an Enhanced Human, obtained through a procedure using turtle and armadillo genes.
These scales perfectly defended against all attacks with their transcendent durability and elasticity.
A hardness that could easily shrug off any attack, be it electric shocks or slashes.
The monstrous strength to throw cars and wield lampposts?
Compared to the Carapace, this monstrous strength was merely secondary.
Because the defensive power of the Carapace completely broke down the concept of offense and defense in battle.
Exchanging blows was only valid when it was guaranteed that the enemy would take damage when your attack hit.
But that didn't apply to Jade.
No matter how he was caught off guard or how exquisite the move was, no attack worked on Jade.
Of course, attacking did accumulate damage.
The problem was that the damage was like a drop of water on a rock.
So, in the game, there were two ways to deal with Jade.
First was to make him inhale a deadly poison and destroy his body from the inside.
Second was to project a transcendent firepower that the Carapace couldn't withstand.
But both of these were methods Riman couldn't use right now.
Then was there no way?
No, there was.
This was a game, but at the same time, it was reality.
Right now, Riman was not a gamer holding a controller, but a human with his feet on the ground.
That's why there was a strategy he could use.
This was reality.
A place where countless loopholes that couldn't be implemented in a game were scattered, a stage for beings as they were.
That's why it was possible.
‘I can win……!’
Riman brought his right index and middle fingers together and pointed them forward.
At the same time, he absorbed the mana in the air, projected meaning, and transformed the mana.
‘A bullet in a dead tree, the regret of hardened elasticity.’
The mana began to boil, and a single point of heat converged at the tip of his fingers.
[Flame Bullet]
A bullet of black flame formed at his fingertip.
And, fire.
Thwack!
BOOM!
An explosion of scorching heat erupted upon impact.
Jade didn't even try to dodge and took it all head-on.
Because he knew that this level of heat and pressure wouldn't even budge him.
Whoosh!
A fierce flame engulfed Jade.
But Riman didn't stop there.
[Coloration]
Magic that controlled existing fire.
Riman captured the fire on Jade with mana and made it swirl.
WHOOSH!
A tornado of fire wrapped around Jade.
A fierce rotation of high heat.
But even within it, Jade didn't flinch.
“Black flames, huh. Peculiar.”
But…….
“Is that all you've got?”
Thwack!
Finally, Jade began to move again.
The sight of him charging with his body on fire was terrifying.
Whoooosh!
Jade, who had thrown away the lamppost, charged with his bare fists.
On top of that, his fists were on fire.
Literally, a fire fist.
At that level, it would be an instant death upon impact.
Therefore, Riman had no intention of letting Jade close the distance.
So he had planted them beforehand.
In the moment when the vortex of fire had briefly obscured Jade's vision.
He had sown the seeds of flame throughout this street.
[Flame Seed]
Magic that planted seeds of fire on the ground like mines.
And the moment Jade passed over them—
‘Ignite.’
Riman snapped his fingers.
CRAAASH!!
Once again, an explosion engulfed Jade.
And Riman, once again—
[Coloration]
WHOOSH!
He gathered the scattered flames and wrapped Jade in them once more.
So that not a single point of heat could escape Jade.
Of course—
“It's useless.”
BOOM!!
Jade tore through the flames that enveloped him and burst out.
Of course, his body was still on fire.
But even in that state, his strikes were clean, and his control of power was masterful.
Proof that his reason was still functioning properly.
The heat had done him no harm.
‘That crazy……!’
He knew it, but seeing it in person, the defensive power and durability were much more shocking.
And Riman's stamina was depleting faster than expected.
It was only natural.
He had to dodge Jade's attacks while simultaneously firing high-output flame magic.
It would be weirder if his stamina was fine.
And Jade was slowly starting to notice that fact.
Jade approached Riman and said.
“Your stamina is running out.”
“……”
It was true.
Riman's stamina was in a worse state than his, whose whole body was heated red-hot.
“That was a pretty good struggle. But you can't burn me with that much fire.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“I never intended to burn you to death from the beginning.”
“Oh.”
“…I just intended to kill you.”
Crackle-
Something black began to form in Riman's hand.