The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 71

"!!!"

The white goblin of [Underworld], who was standing at a distance from Smile, desperately twisted his waist as he saw the steel pipe flying towards him.

From the moment he realized he was being attacked, he had twisted his body to dodge the attack, but it was still too late.

A speed so fast that it was impossible to react properly.

Piiing-

The steel pipe thrown from Smile's hand flew like a hawk and tore out the goblin's side.

"Keuleok!"

The man wearing the goblin mask coughed up blood mixed with his saliva, feeling the pain of some of his internal organs being torn out.

It seemed like he would collapse at any moment, but he somehow came to his senses and sprinkled the potion he had on the wound for first aid.

'I didn't dodge the attack. I'm alive thanks to the fact that the trajectory of the pipe, which was flying in the opposite direction of where I twisted my body, was distorted.'

The thought the man had while sprinkling the potion was not his alone.

Everyone who had seen Smile's attack from that spot looked at Smile with astonished eyes, thinking the same thing.

'He's on a completely different level.'

It was an unbelievable scene.

Most of the people in this place were LV.2 players who were former rankers.

But to have the skill to overwhelm all of them...

'Could it be that a LV.3 player has already appeared?'

They tried to figure out the Smile in front of them by quickly racking their brains, but Smile himself just swung the new steel pipe in his hand lightly and muttered in a dissatisfied tone.

"Hmm, it should have flown to the heart... was it because it was empty inside that it bent a little in the middle?"

Smile thought for a moment and then said lightly.

"Well, I'll probably get the hang of it after throwing it a few times."

Smile said, and once again took the stance of a javelin throw.

In the eyes of the people who saw that, along with extreme caution, fear arose, unlike before.

Because in their minds, they couldn't draw an image of dodging or parrying the spear of Lee Shin they had seen a moment ago.

Hwoooong-

But fortunately for them, just before throwing the javelin, Smile flexibly changed his stance and swung the steel pipe in his hand, sweeping the space behind him.

"Euk!"

The woman in the red goblin mask, who had been approaching Lee Shin from behind, killing her presence, gave up her attack at Smile's sweeping attack and got out of the way.

"Tsk."

The woman in the red goblin mask clicked her tongue, displeased that her attack had failed.

If she had gotten a little closer, she could have cut Smile's neck.

'But if it's this much...'

The red goblin mask, thinking that there was some chance of winning, put more strength into the hand holding the sword and threw herself at Smile.

"Hmm~"

Smile, who was slightly impressed by the sword being swung at him, lightly swung the steel pipe in his hand.

The two swords at his waist were not even used, a clear disregard.

But the red goblin mask, instead of getting angry, smiled lightly.

Because she thought that the more careless he was, the more opportunities there would be.

But the truth was the opposite.

Smile was not using the steel pipe because he was ignoring her.

Rather, he was using the steel pipe because he acknowledged her.

Swoosh-

The moment the sword she swung and the steel pipe Smile swung touched, she unfolded a technique that laid the sword at an angle, mixing the subtlety of illusion.

She created a small flow so that the force contained in the steel pipe would attack a place other than herself and disperse its power.

And as she had thought, when the steel pipe missed her sword, she smiled lightly and swung her sword again from a different direction than before.

Confident of her victory.

'Hmm, it's strange to be on the receiving end.'

Without even knowing that the technique of deflecting force was Smile's specialty.

Woong-

As Smile twisted his wrist greatly, a new flow was created that wrapped around the steel pipe.

The flow that Smile created, as if a strong stream of water was sweeping away a small stream, absorbed the small flow she had created with her sword as its own.

'!!!'

Her eyes, feeling that the flow she had created was being sucked into Smile, were colored with astonishment.

Although it was the same situation as a moment ago on the outside, the two could clearly feel it.

That the tide of battle had completely turned in an instant.

She hurriedly tried to get out of the flow that Smile had created, but the flow she had created was no longer hers.

"Where do you think you're going?"

And it was not small enough to be easily escaped.

Smile's steel pipe, in turn, grabbed her sword and prevented her from escaping to another place.

Stagger-

And the moment her center of gravity tilted, Lee Shin drew his dagger and swung it at her.

Chaeeng-

But just before the dagger pierced her, the dagger that Smile had swung was deflected by an iron sword that appeared from somewhere.

Seeing that, Smile smiled lightly.

Although it was a short exchange that happened in an instant, it was enough to feel the great power felt through the sword.

'Who is it? Is it the guy they were talking about?'

Smile took a few steps back and looked at the man in the black goblin mask who had parried his attack.

The man, while putting the woman who was panting from the shock of facing a life-threatening crisis behind him, asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... I'm fine..."

He checked the woman's appearance and didn't even glance at Smile.

But Smile didn't care.

Rather than that, he was paying attention to another point, a strange sense of incongruity that he felt for some reason.

'That way of speaking... and the familiar feeling I felt from the sword I just faced...'

Smile's head, which had caught a clue about the sense of incongruity, spun at a tremendous speed.

And while the two were having a simple conversation about each other's condition, Smile also finished organizing his thoughts.

Grin-

And Lee Shin, behind the mask of Smile, smiled broadly.

The only thing that had changed from a moment ago was that the smile on Lee Shin's lips had changed from the smile of a predator who had found its prey to the smile of a mischievous child who had found a toy.

***

The guards who were guarding the inside of the factory ran quickly, fully armed with various items.

"Damn it! To think there would be crazy bastards who would actually attack!"

"Shut up! If you have time to move your mouth, move your legs with that strength, you idiots!"

Recently, as the Black Guilds under them were continuously attacked, they had prepared for the possibility of intruders attacking this place.

But just because they were prepared didn't mean they wouldn't be flustered in a real battle.

Especially if the intruder's strength was stronger than imagined.

Swoosh-

As the five guards were running towards the door with grim faces, a sword suddenly protruded from the back of the man who was leading them all, like a thorn.

"Huh?"

"What?"

At the sudden situation, the guards who were following him stopped and stared blankly at the sword that had pierced his back.

But they shouldn't have.

Thump-

Because the sword that had attacked the man who was leading them was now aiming for them.

"Keoheok!"

"You damn, keuleok!"

It was faster for Alpha, who was hidden behind the team leader's body, to move than for them to grasp the situation and take out their weapons.

Alpha, passing by the two who were behind the man whose chest had been pierced, cut their necks with the swords in both her hands, and then, passing by the two behind them, stabbed their hearts.

All of them died instantly. Alpha, who had calmly confirmed that they were lying on the floor and not moving, looked behind her and said.

"It's done."

"Yeah, this side is done too."

Joker, after retrieving the laptop connected to the door, brought the card that the guards were wearing around their necks to the pad next to the door.

"Originally, you can't enter this area with a low-level security card like this, but I hacked it and added a few cards that can open the door. I'll give you guys one each, just in case."

At Joker's words, Alpha and Beta nodded slightly and took the cards, putting them in their pockets.

After that, the three ran forward with all their might, as if they were in front of the finish line of a marathon.

Normally, it would have been impossible to move at such a fast speed, but the timing was good.

Because thanks to the intruders outside, the number of personnel guarding the inside of the factory was much smaller than usual.

And the personnel remaining inside the factory now were not enough to stop the three who had been continuously grinding their teeth for this moment.

"Here it is."

Joker, after confirming the door he was aiming for, brought the card he had to the panel next to the door.

Pusshuk-

Then, the door opened simply and welcomed the appearance of the three.

"What, what! Intruders! How dare you, where do you think you are!!!"

The person in charge of the factory, who was in the room, seeing the intruders, was flustered and, as usual, tried to hide his fear and bewilderment by shouting as if to crush them with his authority.

And at the same time, he did not doubt that the situation would be resolved by his shouting.

Because until now, he had not needed anything more than this.

The guys he didn't like, the guys who whispered behind his back, calling him a parachute, and the things he wanted, all submitted to his authority with a single word and a single gesture.

In other words, he was just an incompetent person who was obsessed with authority.

'Thank goodness. I don't know if the original data has been deleted, but it seems they're trying to move the information.'

That fact was a great comfort to Joker.

Joker completely ignored the factory manager who was shouting at the top of his lungs and conveyed what he had found out to the two behind him.

"It seems those guys have done our work for us. We just have to take all those USBs."

Alpha and Beta, who were also grasping the situation in the room, also opened their mouths.

"There are five guys guarding the head. They're all stronger than the guys who were wandering outside."

Beta also said coldly.

"On the other hand, that idiot has literally just awakened as a player. It's been confirmed that even ordinary people can awaken and build up their strength now, so he must have been quite untalented."

"Eeeeeek!!!!! Kill them!!! Kill those bastards!!!!"

The man, who felt an indescribable anger and humiliation at being ignored, shouted at the guards who were protecting him as if he were having a seizure.

"Hoo, as you command."

At the man's words, the guards took out their weapons and rushed towards the three.

And as if in response, the three also took out their respective weapons.

Grin-

The man did not doubt that their bodyguards would bring the necks of the three impudent people.

Because his bodyguards were all skilled people who could solo a mid-tier LV.2 dungeon.

'It was the right decision to have the bodyguards train in the dungeons sequentially to raise the level of security recently! Now, the necks of those damn bastards!!!'

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

Pusshuuuu---

But the man's smile froze as he saw the beads flying in all directions and the smoke rising.

He instinctively realized that the situation was starting to go strangely.

"Do I have to use this? It's a little uncomfortable."

"We have no choice. We took the antidote, so it doesn't matter. And..."

Joker said, looking at the gauge on the monitor for a moment.

The 90% gauge was already filled.

"We have to finish our work quickly so that our ally who is doing a great job outside won't ignore us."

An absolute confidence that he could solve this situation flowed from Joker's smile.

(End of Chapter)