novelraw Chapter 63 : Chapter 63
Chapter 63 : Chapter 63
Chapter 63: The First Mission (7)
At that time, unlike Choi Yu-seong and Ryu Jin-oh, who were having a very busy time, a calm atmosphere was being created where Kim Su-hyeok's party was located.
"14 hours and 23 minutes."
Cha Yu-na spoke in a somewhat businesslike voice.
At her stiff-sounding voice, Kim Su-hyeok's party swallowed hard and looked at her quietly.
After staring at the cadets silently for a while, Cha Yu-na soon gave a small laugh and continued speaking in a soft voice, as if she had never been serious.
"Fufu. Why are you all so tense? Everyone did well, so you do not have to put on such a heavy atmosphere."
"Ah……."
"Considering the difficulty of the Gate you cleared today and the fact that it was your first time, 14 hours is truly an excellent result. It would not even be strange if you were deployed to active duty right now."
"…Thank you!"
The atmosphere brightened again only after Cha Yu-na's praise.
Seeing the cadets' moods change rapidly with a single compliment, Cha Yu-na thought, ‘They really are still young,’ as she spoke.
"You can rest assured that I am not lying. Assuming it is not an Irregular case, the general clearing speed for a C-rank Gate is exactly this much."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If an over-balanced Player is not deployed, this is the average speed."
Cha Yu-na smiled at the cadets again as she spoke.
However, unlike her outward smile, many thoughts were crossing through Cha Yu-na's mind.
‘…That is the case when it is not over-balanced, anyway.’
Cha Yu-na recalled the Gate raid that had taken place over the past 14 hours.
Specifically, she remembered Kim Su-hyeok, who had shown an insane level of performance.
‘My goodness, it was hard to believe even after seeing it.’
It was literally a series of scenes that were difficult to believe despite seeing them with her own eyes.
During the first battle, she had simply ended up being quite surprised.
The fact that a first-year cadet, only 17 years old, could show that much power was literally an amazing thing.
He possessed composure, the most important virtue in a Gate raid, and outstanding combat power. It was a moment where she could clearly feel why Kim Su-hyeok had taken first place among the Glory first-years.
‘But to think that would continue.’
If it had ended there, she would not have been this surprised.
But to think he would focus on the raid for a full 14 hours without even showing a sign of fatigue, and instead show himself developing more and more.
A person who was not an active Player might think it was nothing special, but all active Players would know. They would know exactly how incredible this was.
‘Even if one takes breaks in between, concentration is bound to falter.’
It was not just one or two hours. It was a full 14 hours.
This was a duration that even most A-rank Players could not maintain their focus for.
Assuming that ordinary, outstanding young cadets were clearing a C-rank Gate, they would usually spend almost a full day on the raid while receiving help from active Players.
Considering that, the fact that he achieved the same raid speed as general active Players without any help meant he possessed an insane level of focus.
‘I heard that the first-place student of this year’s first-year class was an all-time genius, but seeing him in person, I feel that description is actually lacking.’
She, Shin Yu-hwan, and the past first-place students of Glory who were now making a name for themselves had all grown up hearing the words ‘all-time genius.’
But she began to think that if that boy were to use that title, everyone else should probably return it.
Looking back at the past, there was not a single person who had shown as much ability as Kim Su-hyeok at this time during their first year.
‘If he maintains this growth rate steadily… by the time his first year ends, he will be at least an A-rank Player.’
Thinking that way, a hollow laugh escaped her.
They say that feelings like jealousy or competitiveness can only be felt when a comparison is possible.
Even if she assumed she were in the same year as this boy, she did not think she would have felt those emotions.
She likely would have thought, ‘It is only natural for him to be ahead,’ and simply given up on trying to keep up.
‘But these children are different.’
Through the Gate raid today, these children here must have felt it.
They must have felt the sense of helplessness that their progress was significantly different despite working just as hard, and the question of whether they could actually catch up even if they went to the very end.
Nevertheless, these two children, excluding Kim Su-hyeok, continued to harbor the emotion of passion in their eyes.
They held the feeling that they would not give up, no matter how far he moved ahead.
‘And this is not just about these two.’
It was the same for the other children who hung around with Kim Su-hyeok. A representative example was the child of the Ryu Family.
It was truly an amazing thing to run to the very end while harboring an unquenchable competitiveness.
It must feel like constantly climbing a cliff with no visible end, so how could that not be incredible?
‘Well, I suppose that is why they can be called the Golden Generation?’
If only one person were outstanding, how could it be called a Golden Generation?
The people surrounding that person must also show outstanding performance to be worthy of being called a Golden Generation.
Thinking that way, the thought of whether the other two children were doing well right now struck Cha Yu-na's mind.
Therefore, Cha Yu-na spoke to Kim Su-hyeok's party, who were taking a rest while checking their Gate rewards.
"What would you like to do now?"
"Pardon?"
"The raid ended faster than I expected. You can go back and rest, or you can go to where the other two are. You can do whatever you want."
At Cha Yu-na's words, Kim Su-hyeok answered in a loud voice, showing the brightest face he had all day.
"Then, would it be okay if we went to where Yu-seong and Jin-oh are?"
"Those two are also inside a Gate anyway, so you would have to wait in front of it. Would that be alright?"
"Yes! That is fine!"
"Fufu, then let us do that. Is it okay with the other two as well?"
Oh Jin-eon and Do Gang-ho nodded at her words
Looking at the three of them, Cha Yu-na gave a gentle smile, thinking they were children with truly great friendship.
Still, there was something that had to be done before heading straight to where those two were.
"Alright. Still, it would be better to stop by the Horizon headquarters first. You all look quite a mess right now."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes. Since you all sweated so much, it seems there is a musty smell as well. So, let us leave quickly."
Cha Yu-na, the master of the Horizon Guild.
She was someone whose personality made her significantly dislike anything messy or dirty.
***
BOOM! BOO-OO-OM-!!!
In a small battlefield inside the Gate where loud explosions continued to roar.
Within that, I could not help but feel a constant sense of frustration.
‘Damn it, it is not good if things keep going this way.’
The current combat situation was not the picture I had envisioned.
The battle I had constantly drawn in my head and prepared for was a picture of creating variables by meticulously setting up schemes while fighting fiercely in a two-on-two.
However, the reality was the exact opposite; the battle I thought would be a two-on-two was currently split into two separate one-on-one fights.
‘How on earth am I supposed to handle this?’
Ryu Jin-oh was showing a good performance against the villain Sang-woo.
Looking at the current situation, it was a state where he was not being pushed back and was maintaining a perfect standoff.
However, it was still a stretch to say he was handling the opponent stably.
‘The difference in experience is definitely playing a big role.’
It was a fact that a first-year cadet maintaining a standoff against a B-rank active duty combatant was amazing in itself. He was truly the image of the hero I admired.
But the problem was that the mission given to us right now was not to endure the villain, but to hunt them.
When I thought about it that way, Ryu Jin-oh’s performance was still lacking in some areas.
‘Then again, where would Ryu Jin-oh have ever fought a dirty and despicable battle? It is inevitable for him to be pushed back in those aspects.’
It was an obvious point, but ‘fairness’ was a word that could not exist in a battle against a villain.
In fact, such parts were clearly taught in the cadet training curriculum.
However, knowing it in one's head and feeling it with one's body were completely different things.
Even Ryu Jin-oh, who had surely received separate lessons from his family in addition to the Glory education, was showing signs of being pushed back by the villain Sang-woo's dirty and despicable tricks.
‘The problem is that there is nothing I can do to help with that.’
I stopped checking Ryu Jin-oh's situation with side glances and looked back at the enemy I was facing.
A woman was aiming her bow at me while maintaining a distance that felt reachable yet wasn't.
No matter how I looked at it, that woman also had no choice but to be seen as highly experienced.
‘Because I cannot reach her, there is nothing I can do.’
Whenever I tried to close in, she kept widening the distance and shooting arrows, so no answer emerged.
If she were only aiming at me, it would be one thing, but because she was occasionally mixing in attacks aimed at Ryu Jin-oh—who was focused on his own fight—the method of simply ignoring everything and charging in was impossible to execute.
The reality was that I was left with no choice but to clearly feel the vulnerability of close-range combat while being unable to do anything.
‘Damn it, I want to just push through using my talents.’
If I mixed Shin Yu-hwan’s Black Spear with a Mach Strike, I should be able to overcome this situation.
But it was a source of deep regret that it was a move I should not use unless it was a truly urgent situation.
If not that, there was also a way to turn the situation around using the ability of the Blood Wish Sword, but this was also a move I could not use recklessly.
Even if I looked for an opportunity and used the ability of the Blood Wish Sword, it would be meaningless if I could only take down one of them.
‘I have to think. I need a move that can reverse this situation.’
Even though I knew I would not reach her, I kept charging in to keep the archer's attention focused on me while I racked my brain.
I was not showing it, but judging by the small wounds gradually appearing on Ryu Jin-oh's body, there was not much time.
If there was a method that could effectively change the situation within this short time, it would have to be…….
‘I suppose that is the only way.’
Fighting fire with fire.
Is there not a saying that heat should be treated with heat? The method I thought of was exactly that.
Responding to dirty tricks with dirty tricks.
I secretly pulled out two items I had kept in my Spatial Storage Bracelet so that the enemy would not notice.
‘I was trying not to use this if possible…….’
I secretly checked the items I had pulled out. They were Blue Nightmare and a Mana Accelerator.
They were items I had specifically asked for and received from the crazy woman before coming here.
Because they were items made by the organization the crazy woman belonged to, there had been no difficulty in obtaining them either.
‘With this, there is definitely a possibility.’
I did not like how that crazy woman handed them over with an amused face, asking what kind of fun incident I was going to cause, but right now, there was no move more certain than this.
Normally, it takes time for Blue Nightmare to take effect, but if I used a Mana Accelerator with it, I could produce an immediate effect.
Even though they were villains, they were Players in the end; I could guarantee that this was a move that could flip this situation at once.
‘If I get caught using this, things will get a bit complicated, but…….’
Is there not a famous saying passed down since ancient times?
It is a crime if you get caught, but if you do not get caught, it is a win.
In short, it meant that as long as I did not get caught using it, it would be fine.
‘To do that, I must surely kill the person I use this on.’
If they are alive, the fact that Blue Nightmare acted can be discovered, but no traces can be found in the dead.
It was truly an ultimate poison among poisons that did not even leave a trace of the crime.
Therefore, I contemplated which of the two I should use it on.
‘I have decided.’
I looked toward the woman and firmly made up my mind.
While the villain Sang-woo would be more troublesome if it became a two-on-one, there was a high probability that Ryu Jin-oh would immediately notice if something went wrong with Sang-woo's body.
‘Next is…….’
Once a decision is made, what is the next thing to do?
It is none other than putting that decision into action.
The opponent is a villain anyway. There is no need to feel guilty about using a method like poison.
Furthermore, if I recalled what the villain Sang-woo said before the fight broke out, was he not a piece of trash of an extraordinary level?
Thinking about it that way, meeting death by Blue Nightmare was actually a peaceful passing for those guys.
Therefore, without harboring a shred of guilt, I coated my sword with both Blue Nightmare and the Mana Accelerator at the same time.
‘Just once.’
I did not want many opportunities.
It did not matter if it only grazed them; I just needed my sword to pass over the enemy once.
With that mindset firmly engraved in my heart, I held my sword upright toward the woman.
Dash!
To eliminate the trash that was unnecessary for the world where the heroes I admired would live, I lunged toward the enemy with a powerful kick, harboring a poisonous spirit.