The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 153

Hwiik-

The one who moved first between the two was Lee Shin.

Lee Shin took out four spears from the spatial artifact, [Hundred], where he had collected spears for throwing, which he had used when attacking the [Dawn]'s headquarters, and threw them into the air.

Even while moving like that, his eyes, shining with two colors, were calmly sunken and emitted killing intent, staring precisely at the target.

Lee Shin, who had fought with Arachne more than he had eaten, knew very well how troublesome it would be if he left a spirit alone.

It would be good to call it a sub-computer that assists the main computer.

Because just the existence of a spirit that shares its mind through a contract greatly increased the power and delicacy of the attributes they handled.

And unlike Arachne, Diz had four such spirits.

It was a gain to reduce even one when there was a chance.

He already knew how to unsummon a spirit.

To inflict damage that the spirit cannot handle.

'Well, the fact that there are four targets to aim for is a bit of a hindrance, but it should be manageable somehow.'

A person has only two hands.

Unless you use a tool like Hercules or have multiple arms on one side, a person can only throw one spear at a time.

So Lee Shin thought in reverse.

If you can't throw a spear, give up on throwing.

Instead, focus only on hitting.

In other words, it meant that you had to throw away the common sense of having to use your hands and 'shoot' the spear with your whole body instead of your hands.

'The angle is good.'

Lee Shin raised his internal energy as he watched the spear he had thrown into the air slowly fall.

Pajijijik-!

He rotated his body at high speed with the knack of the Lightning Tree Immortal Art and struck the end of the spear shaft with the back of his foot, the back of his hand, his heel, and his fist.

The spear, clad in lightning, tore through the air and flew towards Diz, or more precisely, the spirits behind him.

"Hmm…"

Even while facing an attack that could pierce his heart at any moment, Diz muttered nonchalantly and moved his aura as if dissolving paint.

Woong-

At that, the earring on Diz's ear trembled as if in resonance and emitted light.

Jjirit-

The gazes of the spirits, who had been hiding behind Diz and trembling like ordinary children, changed.

Chwaaaak-!

At that, the water in the puddle soared, creating a pillar, and stripped off the golden lightning that had been enveloping the spear.

Peo-eong-!

A flame that suddenly appeared in the empty air exploded like a firecracker and shook the spear's trajectory.

Hwiiuuung-!

A wind that blew from somewhere wrapped around the shaken spears and changed their twisted trajectory.

Kugugung-!

The spears were stuck in a circular target made of rock one after another.

Diz, who had copied the move Lee Shin had shown when he had deflected Hercules's arrows with his spear a moment ago, said with a smile.

"To call it revenge for a moment ago, the direction of the attack was wrong."

"It's just a greeting. Don't take it so seriously."

Saying that, Lee Shin, who had already closed the distance, emitted a sticky killing intent and swung the Yagong.

Kwaaaang-!

"Are you planning on fighting without me, you cheapskate?"

But Lee Shin's blow was futilely deflected by Hercules's attack, which had cut in in the middle.

Hercules tried to swing his club at Lee Shin, riding that momentum, but.

Kwadeudeuk-!

He failed, blocked by a rock spike that soared from the ground.

"What are you doing now?"

Diz, the very person who had interfered with Hercules and helped Lee Shin, frowned and glared at Hercules.

"I was fighting first, you know?"

At that, Hercules met his gaze with a shameless smile.

"He's my model."

"He's my prey."

"What the hell are you two doing all of a sudden?"

And Lee Shin was looking at the two from the side with a strange expression.

Lee Shin, whose head couldn't keep up with the situation that was suddenly turning in an unexpected direction, looked at the two with a strange expression.

For Lee Shin, it didn't matter who the opponent was as long as he could just fight, so it wasn't a bad choice to just ignore them and attack indiscriminately.

But Lee Shin's instinct was telling him to just quietly watch the situation for now.

Saying that he would be able to see a more interesting situation that way.

Apart from Lee Shin's thoughts, Diz understood on one side of his mind why Hercules was suddenly acting like this.

It was for the same reason he wanted.

The desire to satisfy what he wanted through a fight with Lee Shin.

'Hah, for a guy his size, he's like a kid.'

If Diz's mind was filled with various paintings, Hercules's mind was filled with heroism.

In the first place, the reason he had used the name Hercules in the Pantheon was because he had admired Hercules's manly appearance.

And naturally, a hero is not just made.

The existence called a hero is created by overcoming numerous adversities and bringing many enemies to their knees.

And in that respect, the existence of Lee Shin, who was spewing out a killing intent so dense that it was doubtful whether it was even killing intent, would have been a very attractive enemy to Hercules.

The two exchanged their thoughts with their gazes and smiled fiercely.

"If your purpose is a painting anyway, just leave it to me. You can just draw while watching me fight that guy."

"How many times do I have to tell you that just watching from a distance and drawing is different from actually seeing and experiencing it and then drawing?"

The two said that and bared their fangs.

"Are you going to fight me too?"

"Is there any reason we can't?"

Diz said that and gestured slightly to the spirits.

At that, the spirits turned translucent, and as if putting on a cloak, they wrapped themselves in the elements that suited their respective attributes around Diz and put their hands together like nuns singing a hymn.

Kugugugung--!

At that, water soared from the ground under Diz's feet, and as the ground was deprived of its moisture, flames seeped in and melted the mud stickily.

From the melted mud, the handles of numerous weapons popped out as if bamboo were growing, and a cold wind that blew from somewhere cooled the heat of the handles.

Woong-

And so, the spirits, who had done their part, seeped into the earrings to assist Diz.

"Well, that's true."

Watching him, Hercules enveloped his entire body with the golden aura flowing from his body.

-Materialization

-Hercules's Armor

A helmet that looked like it was made by tearing off a lion's head was placed on his head, and over his torn clothes, what looked like a lion's hide was wrapped around his body.

'Hmm, at what timing should I intervene to be said to have intervened well.'

Watching the two, Lee Shin smiled widely and quietly looked at them.

And so, the touch-and-go moment where everything seemed like it would explode with a small shock…

"Dad!"

It disappeared like a mirage due to the appearance of a completely unexpected person, Plain.

***

"Dad! Are you okay?"

"Guild Master, are you alright?!"

"Huh, what? Daughter? You guys too? No, why are you here all of a sudden…?"

At the sudden intrusion of Plain and the guild members, Hercules was flustered and glanced at Diz and Lee Shin.

As the heated atmosphere was broken by the intrusion of his acquaintances, he somehow felt like it was his fault and instinctively glanced at the two.

Should I say it was a situation where his family had suddenly intruded before a game raid?

But he couldn't say anything to Plain or the guild members, who were the main culprits of ruining the atmosphere, because their eyes, as they looked at him, were filled with worry.

Especially the worried gaze from his daughter, who was already an adult, made his heart feel nostalgic and made the corners of his mouth twitch, making him feel good.

"Hah, it seems this is the end for today."

And what broke the atmosphere was Lee Shin's single remark.

While fighting with the three unique individuals for the past week, Lee Shin had learned very well that if people of their level fought, the aftereffects alone could easily kill a person.

When he had sparred with the three, he had fought by deliberately letting Eun Yeonwoo and his party get caught up in it, under the excuse of practicing not to die from a stray arrow, so he was sure.

"Hm? That's…"

As Lee Shin suddenly cut in, Plain, whose heart had calmed down after knowing that Hercules was safe, turned her head with a tense face and looked at him.

The mask he had bought and worn in the park had long since been taken off, and now it was Lee Shin's original voice without using voice modulation, so his voice was also different from when he had come in.

Nevertheless, Plain was convinced that the man in front of her now was the man who had invaded the dungeon.

Because the atmosphere he gave off and the feeling of his voice were a perfect match.

Since it was only Diz and Hercules who were originally in this dungeon, any human with a working brain could easily figure out Lee Shin's identity.

"You bastard, mmph…!"

"Daughter, please calm down for a moment."

Hercules looked at Plain with the eyes of someone looking at a cute yet troublesome creature, covered her mouth to prevent her from making any more fuss, and looked at the two.

"Sorry, but I'm retiring. You two take care of the rest."

"…he says."

Lee Shin said that and looked at Diz.

"So what are you going to do? I'm willing to face you if you want."

"I…"

At Lee Shin's words, Diz was about to answer something.

-Stop fighting! You helped us, so now it's your turn to play with us!

-That's right! You have to keep your promise! You said you'd play with us every time you helped us!

-I want to look around the city and eat delicious food.

-That's right! Diz is going to play with us, so you go away!

But the spirits, who had disappeared as the earrings sparkled, popping out again was faster than Diz could answer anything.

At that cute order to leave, Lee Shin looked at Diz with slightly suspicious eyes.

"What is it?"

"No, I was just wondering why all the spirits are in the form of girls."

Although there were differences in hairstyle and appearance, the fact that they were all in the form of girls was the same.

So at first, he had a slightly strange suspicion, but after seeing that Diz's eyes were not of happiness but of an uncle taking care of troublesome nieces, he dropped his suspicion.

"Are you curious?"

"A little, I guess?"

As Lee Shin said that, Diz's eyes sparkled as if he were slightly happy, and he opened his mouth.

'This is…'

And watching that, Lee Shin thought, 'I've gotten myself into something bad'.

And as Diz's mouth opened, Lee Shin's premonition turned into reality.

"Since you said you fought with Arachne, you might know, but it is said that a spirit that has not properly taken shape often appears in the form that is in the contractor's unconscious. And this is the form of nature that I have. It is the result of associating the purity that the motif of nature has with the purity that a child has. I have a few works that I drew with this thought…"

'Hah, the atmosphere is completely ruined.'

Lee Shin closed his ears to Diz's words, which were flowing like a waterfall, and grumbled inwardly.

Still, since Lee Shin was satisfied in his own way, he wasn't in a bad mood.

Because after doing a super-large Russian roulette once, he felt the stress that had been accumulating without him knowing being released.

As Diz talked too much, the spirits next to him hit his mouth and forced him to shut up, and watching that, Lee Shin chuckled and asked Irehgue teasingly.

-It seems everyone has a schedule, is there anything you want to do?

-Don't treat me the same as those brats.

At that, a sulky voice came out of Irehgue's mouth.

-If you just count their age, those guys are probably older than you.

-…Trivial things are not to be worried about.

-Alright, but is there really nothing you want?

-…I want to read a book. A novel where the protagonist is not frustrating, or a type where the protagonist is a dragon.

Irehgue, who was bored of just staying still, had started to develop a hobby of reading novels, manga, and playing games by rummaging through Lee Shin's memories.

But seeing that he was asking for a new novel, it seemed he had finally looked through all of them.

'Come to think of it, among the images of dragons I put in, there was definitely a setting where they were cooped up in their lair and didn't come out much.'

Lee Shin, who had thought that far, scratched his cheek slightly.

'Am I by any chance turning a perfectly fine dragon into a hikikomori?'

And so, as all three were swept away by their own circumstances, the heated fight entered a temporary hiatus.

(End of Chapter)