The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 8

Like an arrow nocked on a tautly drawn bowstring being shot, the Horned Rabbit, which had been crouching and gathering power, rushed toward Lee Shin.

In that instant, a sense of pressure emanating from the Horned Rabbit's entire body enveloped Lee Shin.

A frog facing a snake can clearly see the future that will unfold before it.

But the frog, terrified, can only tremble and cannot think of escaping the snake.

The image of death right in front of it is so vivid that it is crushed by that image.

In truth, this was a skill that could be called a cheap trick.

Simply put, it was just a slightly strong threat.

But at least now, in this moment, it was a skill so outstanding that even rankers who had fought numerous battles could not ignore it.

Even though they were players who had experienced various situations in Pantheon, it was the first time they had received a raw, unadulterated killing intent from a monster they were facing head-on.

In fact, there were plenty of players who had entered the dungeon with great vigor, only to be intimidated by the monster's killing intent and unable to display their full power.

However.

"Oh, it seems it's not just the appearance that has changed."

Even within the Horned Rabbit's killing intent, Lee Shin smiled playfully and moved lightly.

Lee Shin easily dodged the Horned Rabbit's charge as it sprang up.

Lee Shin was overwhelmingly lacking in strength and speed.

Therefore, the moment the Horned Rabbit lowered its stance and gathered power, he had already moved to the side to get out of its attack range.

Lee Shin leisurely dodged the Horned Rabbit's attack based on a prediction that was close to certainty.

Whoosh-

The Horned Rabbit's attack missed even the hem of Lee Shin's clothes and came to nothing.

However, Lee Shin's movement was so natural that the Horned Rabbit didn't realize he had dodged its attack until the very last moment.

Swoosh-

As his continuously pounding heartbeat slowed a little, the sword held in Lee Shin's hand slowly moved.

Lee Shin's stance as he swung the sword was peculiar.

A peculiar stance where he held the hilt of the sword with one hand and the body of the blade with the other, making it parallel to the ground.

It was the solution Lee Shin had devised to supplement his lacking physical strength.

Scrape-

By the time the Horned Rabbit, now in mid-air, noticed the sense of unease, Lee Shin's sword had already pierced its hide and gone inside.

The tip of Lee Shin's sword pierced the Horned Rabbit's hide.

A light wound that it normally wouldn't have even paid attention to.

Jjjjjjak--!!!

But the result was not light.

Like a sleeve getting caught on something sharp and tearing wide open while walking down the street, a clear red line was drawn on the Horned Rabbit's hide due to the speed of Lee Shin's sword and the rabbit itself.

Kyuuuuuuuu--!!!

The Horned Rabbit let out a loud scream from the pain transmitted through the wound.

It struggled to get away from Lee Shin, causing it to lose its balance in mid-air and unable to even land properly, but the Horned Rabbit didn't care.

It was just relieved to have put some distance between itself and Lee Shin.

The moment the tip of the sword pierced its hide and a drop of blood flowed out, the Horned Rabbit felt an immense fear that made all the fur on its body stand on end, replacing the pain.

The Horned Rabbit was trembling, terrified of Lee Shin.

If-

If Lee Shin had stabbed the Horned Rabbit just a little harder, its hide would have split cleanly, spilling its contents.

The Horned Rabbit was certain of this, not through rational prediction, but through the certainty given by its instincts.

Even as time passed, the Horned Rabbit's trembling did not stop.

It wanted to run away immediately, but its body, which had been swallowed by fear and gone to the brink of death, did not obey its owner's commands.

The Horned Rabbit looked at Lee Shin with trembling eyes, unlike before.

"Hmm, has it broken......"

Watching the Horned Rabbit tremble and look at him, Lee Shin sighed, a little disappointed.

Was it just a rabbit after all?

It was a disappointing result for Lee Shin, who had been expecting a wildness that would not yield to pain and would bare its fangs to the end.

However, he didn't hold out hope or have any lingering attachment, wondering if it might recover.

Through many experiences, Lee Shin already knew that a broken toy could not be fixed, and he had no intention of wasting time here when there would be more toys if he went inside.

'By the way, this body is really in a serious state.'

Dangle-

Lee Shin looked at his left wrist.

Unable to withstand the impact from the previous blow, his wrist had dislocated and was dangling.

To be precise, Lee Shin had intentionally dislocated it.

A broken bone would be difficult to handle in this environment, but an injury of a mere dislocation...

Crack-

...could be restored to its original state this easily.

Lee Shin rotated his wrist a few times and clenched and unclenched his fist a few times to confirm there was no problem, then turned his eyes to the Horned Rabbit.

The method Lee Shin used on the Horned Rabbit was the same as the one the Horned Rabbit had used on him at first.

A threat mixed with a killing intent that painted an image of death.

He had used that to swallow the Horned Rabbit in reverse.

Thump-

Lee Shin took a step toward the Horned Rabbit, and the Horned Rabbit, overwhelmed by his gaze, lost its will to fight and flattened its ears.

In that moment, the eater and the eaten were decided.

No, it had been decided from the beginning.

It was just that the prey, who had not recognized the predator, had put on a little show, and the predator, who wanted to play with the prey, had played along.

Puk-

To supplement his lacking strength, Lee Shin drew up the single strand of internal energy sleeping in his dantian.

He felt strength returning to his weak arm.

Of course, it was a strength that would disappear in an instant, but an instant was enough.

Lee Shin swung his sword at the same time as he enhanced his strength using his internal energy.

The best possible strike for the current Lee Shin.

That strike drew a red line in the air and took the light from the eyes of the Horned Rabbit, which was trembling in fear.

"Haa~"

Lee Shin looked at the Horned Rabbit collapsed on the ground for a moment, then raised his head and caught his breath.

He remembered the time he had caught a Horned Rabbit in the tutorial for the first time.

At the same time, he recalled the moment he had faced the Horned Rabbit just a moment ago.

He once again recalled the image of death he had seen the moment it charged, the fleeting sensation he had felt in that moment.

At that, his heart pounded pleasantly.

Chuckle-

"Still, it was fun."

A satisfied smile, like that of a lion after a hunt, hung on Lee Shin's lips as he said so.

Lee Shin stood still in that spot for a moment, savoring the afterglow of the fight, then shifted his gaze to the Horned Rabbit lying limply on the ground.

In that state, Lee Shin thought about something for a moment, then raised his sword.

Puk-

"Hmm, I heard it's usually around here somewhere... Ah! Found it!"

Lee Shin stabbed the chest of the Horned Rabbit lying on the ground, then put his hand inside and rummaged around for a bit before pulling his hand out with a smile.

In Lee Shin's hand that came out was a sticky blood and a bead the size of a fingernail.

This was the magic stone, an item commonly found in monsters.

"The corpse seems too heavy to move, so I'll just give up on it and take this."

Lee Shin took out a wet wipe from the bag he had brought, wiped his hands and the bead, and then put it in the bag.

After safely collecting the spoils, Lee Shin sat down on the spot in a cross-legged position and focused his mind.

Then, Lee Shin's senses slowly spread out, searching for any monsters that might be in the vicinity.

But as luck would have it, he couldn't feel the presence of any Horned Rabbits, let alone people.

At that, Lee Shin felt relieved and began to operate his cultivation method.

The previous fight had been Lee Shin's overwhelming victory, but that didn't mean he was unharmed.

Due to the excessive use of muscles beyond his limits, some of his muscles were torn.

A wound that would normally make it difficult to swing a sword properly for a while.

But in this changed world, it wasn't such a big wound.

Woooong-

As the internal energy settled in his body, it became possible to use it to enhance the body's natural healing ability.

However, at this rate, it would take some time to recover, so Lee Shin gathered internal energy through his cultivation method to shorten that time and maximized his body's recovery power with it.

It was a first-aid measure similar to a post-workout massage, but it was much better than doing nothing.

'I might as well raise my internal energy a bit while I'm at it. I'll be using it a lot in the future, so I should raise it in advance.'

Leaving only a single thread of consciousness to react to any unforeseen situations, Lee Shin slowly sank into his inner self.

***

People in neat suits sat facing each other at a large table, looking at one another.

They were all lost in thought with dark expressions, and occasionally let out a disbelieving chuckle.

Those in the conference room were all people who had risen to key positions in the country from their respective fields.

They pondered how to solve the situation at hand, but no ideas came to mind.

However, this was not because they were incompetent, but because the problem they were facing was so unrealistic.

There were countries that had thought about how to deal with an alien invasion or approach, but no country had thought about what to do when a dungeon appeared.

Barge-

As they were having their gloomy conversation, a man opened the door and entered the conference room.

When he entered, everyone who had been engrossed in conversation stood up and gave the man a slight bow.

The man naturally accepted their bows and sat down in the seat in the middle.

"Now, I apologize for gathering you all so suddenly, but I trust you will understand given the gravity of the matter. We will skip the complicated procedures and start the meeting right away."

In front of him, a nameplate with the word 'President' written on it sparkled in the light from the ceiling.

"First of all, I believe everyone here is aware of what is happening right now."

"......"

They answered the president's question with a heavy silence.

Satisfied with their answer, the president gave a small nod and officially declared the start of the meeting.

Scrape-

Then, the chief of staff, who was on the left side of the table, stood up and opened her mouth.

"We are absolutely short of personnel to deal with the situation."

"Specifically, which area is lacking personnel?"

"Literally, all of them."

It was an absurd answer to be given in a meeting, especially one in front of the president, but instead of looking at her strangely, the people gave a small nod.

They agreed with her words.

It was a statement so comprehensive it was hard to believe it came from a meeting, but it was the best way to describe the current situation.

(End of Chapter)