novelraw Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18. I Admire You (3)
Lee Ho-jae's subordinates gradually began to prepare to rush in.
However, because I had no intention of just standing by and watching that sight, I immediately used my talent.
Mach Strike.
Mana began to gather in my arm and the blade of my sword.
I used Mach Strike just like that and smashed the sword into the ground.
BOOOOM-!
An explosive sound echoed, piercing through the sound of the rain surrounding us.
At the same time, the guys who were rushing at me all stopped in their tracks as if they had coordinated it.
"I will only say this once from now on."
A low, heavy voice.
It was a voice that could not be heard if one did not listen closely, but perhaps because of the presence I just displayed, everyone focused on my words.
I spat out the words I wanted to say amidst that desolate atmosphere.
"Anyone who moves here, excluding Lee Ho-jae and Do Gang-ho, should not even think about walking back."
No one answered.
However, I could tell that everyone here had engraved my words into their minds.
Because as proof, not a single person could move, and they were only glancing at each other.
RUMBLE!
SWOOOSH-!!
Just when only the raging thunder and the sound of the rain were faintly filling the surroundings, someone broke the serene silence and shouted.
"Do you all want to end up like Do Gang-ho too? Are you not going to fight right now?! Why the f*ck are you getting scared of a mere 899th place!!"
The owner of the voice was Lee Ho-jae.
Following that shout, the guys whose movements had stopped began to move toward me little by little.
'Are they more afraid of Lee Ho-jae's retaliation than getting hurt right now?'
It was a truly heartbreaking story.
To think that Player candidates, who ultimately had to fight to protect the world, were tucking their tails because they were afraid of power.
However, that did not mean I had any intention of going easy on them.
Because even if it was not what they wanted themselves, it was a fact that they ultimately yielded and participated in tormenting Do Gang-ho.
'Besides, those kinds of guys are unnecessary existences, even for the future of this world.'
It might be different if it were a peaceful world, but this was a world where countless disasters were scheduled to happen.
In such a world, could trash that yielded out of fear of the strong and tormented the weak fight while risking their lives with their comrades?
The possibility of that was almost zero.
Therefore, without any guilt, I spoke in a cold voice toward the approaching guys.
"I will teach you what is truly terrifying."
I pulled out the sword that had been stuck in the ground.
At the same time, as if trying to strike first, one guy suddenly picked up speed and began to rush at me.
"If you are in 899th place, stay stuck in the corner like the trash you are! You son of a b*tch!!"
If it were the original me, it would have been an attack I would have been busy just deflecting, but it felt entirely too slow right now.
Was it like the feeling of an eagle facing a sparrow?
Even while watching the rushing guy, I leisurely checked the Status Window.
[Player Choi Yu-seong]
[Physical Abilities][Vitality: D (A-)]
[Strength: E+ (A+)]
[Agility: D+ (B-)]
[Mana Affinity: E- (C)]
[Remaining Points: 0]
'Descending Hero's Power' is currently being applied.
The brilliant physical abilities engraved next to the shabby abilities.
Moreover, these physical abilities right now were borrowed at a mere twenty percent from Shin Yu-hwan's abilities during his absolute prime.
One might ask how a value of A could be written when I only borrowed twenty percent, but it was a simple matter if one understood the structure of Players well.
'It might be easy to go from F to E, but going from A to S is only possible if one has truly insane talent and effort.'
In short, it meant that it was not a simple matter of the alphabet.
If I explained that even if fifty percent was deducted from S+, one could still maintain at least an S, they would probably understand easily.
'That makes it even sadder, though.'
Did that not mean that at the point when the heroes met their deaths, there was no way to do anything even with this level of stats?
Therefore, the current reality was that I could not just be purely joyful even after possessing a strong talent.
'Furthermore, this ability right now is one that even used a penalty...'
It was not that I lacked points to borrow Shin Yu-hwan's power.
However, for now, there was a need to prepare for any unforeseen emergencies, so with the thought of saving my current points as much as possible, I used the talent while even imposing a penalty on myself.
It was a matter of course that my expression slightly frowned without me realizing it amidst these gloomy thoughts.
However, upon seeing that, Lee Ho-jae's Subordinate 1 smiled at me.
Could it be that he misunderstood and thought I frowned because I was scared?
It seemed there was a need to quickly teach him that reality was different from his imagination.
Thinking so, I immediately began to rush toward Subordinate 1 in the exact same manner.
"Do you know this? I keep my words no matter what happens."
"What the..."
However, Subordinate 1's words could not continue to the end.
Because the speed at which I rushed was much faster, he could not even react and his head ended up being grabbed by my hand.
"Can you not let go of... Keuhaak!!!"
It seemed he was trying to babble something, but I ignored it and smashed Subordinate 1's head into the ground at a fierce speed.
Then, Subordinate 1's desperate scream and the water from the stagnant puddle splashed up heavily.
However, it was not over yet.
I sheathed my sword into its scabbard and quietly stared at Subordinate 1.
Under my gaze, Subordinate 1 shouted at me with a trembling face.
"You, the moment you stab me with that, you are expelled! Do you know that?!"
To think he still had the mind to speak even though I smashed him harder than I thought, it was impressive in a sense.
'Anyway, expelled if I stab him?'
Why was he saying something like that when I just put the sword back into its scabbard?
In Lee Ho-jae's case, I really wanted to kill him, but I had no intention of killing Subordinate 1.
"I am not a Villain, so why would I stab you?"
"T-Then put down the sword!"
"That will not do. I told you, I keep my words."
Having spoken up to there, I immediately slammed the sword down toward Subordinate 1's leg.
CRACK!!
"Kkeuhaaaak!!!"
A much louder scream echoed than when his head was smashed.
Amidst that ceaseless scream, I spoke in a low voice.
"I told you not to think about walking back if you move."
No answer followed.
He probably did not even have the mind to speak because of the pain.
"What are you going to do if you are in so much pain? There is still one side left."
"Kkeuheoeok... S-Sorry! Please stop...!"
It seemed he had the mind to speak this time.
Of course, I did not have the slightest intention of listening to him.
Since this much would be cleanly healed if treated at the infirmary anyway.
Therefore, I slammed down on Subordinate 1's leg even harder than before.
CRUNCH!!
Instead, unlike before, only the sound of the rain was heard in my ears this time, rather than a scream.
Because Subordinate 1 had lost consciousness from the pain of his bones being crushed.
Since both of his legs were cleanly crushed, he would have to be carried on someone's back or crawl when he returned.
After keeping the words I spat out, I withdrew my gaze from Subordinate 1, who now had no value of use.
Then, I turned my head, looked at the surroundings, and asked.
"Who is next?"
"...Hic."
Excluding the sound of a hiccup heard from somewhere, no answer was heard.
Even Lee Ho-jae, who had been raging furiously just a moment ago, was keeping his mouth shut this time.
"Then I will assume there is no one. Keep in mind that if you secretly attack, I will make it so you cannot even crawl."
As expected, no answer was heard.
However, silence was a positive response.
Satisfied with the surroundings' reaction, I looked back at Do Gang-ho and said.
"Preparations are done."
My turn was over. From now on, it was Do Gang-ho's turn.
Now, the only role left for me was to watch Do Gang-ho's fight.
***
"Preparations are done."
Do Gang-ho could not answer anything to Choi Yu-seong's words.
Because the impact Choi Yu-seong showed was entirely too massive.
'That is the 899th place?'
Do Gang-ho checked his own name tag.
The ranking in the 700s written on the name tag.
The thought occurred to him, 'Should I not return this name tag?'
'Why on earth is a guy like that helping me?'
It was a question he had had even when they first met.
That question only grew larger after seeing the martial prowess of that suspicious guy.
There was no way a guy with such martial prowess genuinely admired him... No matter how much he thought about it, an adequate reason did not come to mind.
And it was not like he had an ulterior motive to extort something from him, who had absolutely nothing.
'F*ck, I do not know. I should just think about the current matter first.'
Do Gang-ho, who hated complicated things, soon folded his worries and moved his steps.
Receiving help was not a very pleasant thing for Do Gang-ho, but that did not mean he could just leave Lee Ho-jae alone.
Do Gang-ho, who approached up to a certain distance from Lee Ho-jae like that, shouted in a loud voice.
"Until when are you planning to stay scared and not come out? You bastard steeped in an inferiority complex!!"
Lee Ho-jae ground his teeth at those words and glared at Do Gang-ho.
"Gang-ho, what exactly is fueling this confidence? Are you really so desperate to die?"
"It is funny hearing that from a piece of trash who has nothing to show off other than his family background."
A war of nerves that began to escalate between the two.
The war of nerves, which continued as they glared at each other for a long time, soon met its end.
Eventually, Lee Ho-jae, drawn by Do Gang-ho's provocation, raised his weapon with a voice filled with anger.
"After I beat you to death here, I will re-educate you. I will teach you what happens when a lowly peasant dares to crawl up."
With those words as his last, Lee Ho-jae rushed toward Do Gang-ho.
And Do Gang-ho also began to respond to that attack.
BOOM! CLANG!!
The explosive sounds of battle that began to echo.
Fierce and dull sounds that were quite much for a cadet not even twenty years old to produce.
They were scenes where one could clearly realize why Players were existences that could not be compared to ordinary civilians.
Just as they were continuing their blood-splattering fight amidst the pouring rainstorm like that.
"Keugh!!"
"Haha!! Gang-ho, did you act out with only that level of skill?"
Do Gang-ho and Lee Ho-jae simultaneously widened the distance between them, securing time to catch their breath.
That did not mean both of their conditions were the same.
Because Lee Ho-jae looked incredibly relaxed, whereas Do Gang-ho was panting heavily in contrast.
'F*ck!'
Do Gang-ho bit his lip with a resentful expression as he looked at Lee Ho-jae sneering at him.
'If only it were not for that bastard's weapon!'
The weapon Lee Ho-jae was using was a Spear.
Because of that long range, it was a situation where even approaching him was overwhelming for Do Gang-ho, who used his fists.
As a result, unlike the perfectly fine-looking Lee Ho-jae, large and small wounds continued to be carved into Do Gang-ho's body.
'Can I not win...?'
Even if they continued to fight like this, only a disadvantageous exchange of blows would persist, and he absolutely could not see any hope.
As he realized that fact, an unbearable anger surged up.
Not toward anyone else, but toward himself.
'Do I have to lose this opportunity that might never come again?'
He did not know why the suspicious guy was helping him.
However, even he knew this one thing.
That if he missed this opportunity, there might not be a next time.
But what was this pathetic state right now?
It was no different from being guided to an exit to escape hell, only to be unable to go because his legs hurt.
To think an opportunity had come but he lacked the skill to grasp it, an incredibly great anger was felt toward his lacking self.
It was when Do Gang-ho was continuing his gloomy thoughts.
"Do Gang-ho!"
A powerful voice was heard from somewhere.
Do Gang-ho knew the owner of that voice.
'The suspicious guy?'
The identity of the voice was Choi Yu-seong.
Why had he called him suddenly right in the middle of a fight?
Do Gang-ho paid attention to Choi Yu-seong's voice on one hand while focusing on Lee Ho-jae on the other.
"I told you, did I not? That I admire you."
Yes, he had certainly said that.
Although it was still an incomprehensible statement.
"It was not something I spat out just because I had nothing to say. I said it sincerely."
The voice of Choi Yu-seong speaking those words felt somewhat earnest.
"Your perseverance to never give up, your tenacity to definitely win. I truly admired that inner side of you."
With those words as the end, Choi Yu-seong's voice was no longer heard.
However, those few short words were enough to bring about a great change in Do Gang-ho's state of mind.
'What a funny guy.'
In his memory, he had never met that suspicious guy before.
But to speak as if he knew him so well, his skills from earlier aside, he was certainly a suspicious guy.
However.
'Still, they are not words to just brush off.'
What was the reason he, who did not have a single talent as a Player, was able to come all the way here to Glory?
It was because he put in insane effort and never gave up under any circumstances.
But to feel frustrated by just this level was something that should not happen.
'F*ck. Even if I end up collapsing, I am the one who keeps trying until it works.'
Since when exactly had he started having so many useless thoughts?
If he could not walk, he just had to go even if he crawled.
If he could not even move his arms to crawl, he just had to roll with his entire body.
As he thought like that, he no longer felt the emotion of anger.
'Yeah, even if my whole body breaks down and I cannot stand up, I will go until the end.'
Instead, a single tenacity was engraved in him.
It was the pure tenacity to overcome the wall called Lee Ho-jae.
Do Gang-ho, harboring that tenacity, stared at Lee Ho-jae and spoke softly.
"Round two will be different. You son of a b*tch."
Having finished what he had to say, Do Gang-ho once again rushed toward Lee Ho-jae.
It looked just like a wild beast that had locked onto its prey.