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Chapter 71

“Whoa, that’s way bigger than I imagined!”

“Dad! I think I’ve seen this in a movie before!!”

“Huh? If I remember correctly, the opponent in that movie wasn’t even human, right?”

“Please tell me what movie later. I want to use it as a reference for the battle.”

Um, excuse me, Baek In-hwa. The opponent isn’t human! It was a gigantic lizard that was eating radiation in that movie.

‘But what can we do? The timing doesn’t match…’

As mentioned, it’s a 50-meter monstrous entity. To describe its size, it’s no different from a building, and I’m slowly whittling down that curse that occupies most of its body. When the heck will that end? Before that, Yeon-woo might run out of magic first.

Worriedly, Shar was glancing at Yeon-woo. Bombs that I brought along wouldn’t be effective against such a foe. The only way to do real damage is increasing the area of effect at once, and even that wouldn’t be blessed by magic or wind blasts.

Excluding all that, the only means that come to mind is for Shar to grow bigger again, but with the remaining mana, I can’t even enlarge Shar. Even if I could, a truck-sized Shar wouldn’t stand a chance against that giant.

“Stop spacing out and move, Choi Yeon-woo!!”

“Oh, I guess this isn’t the time to think!?”

At Baek In-hwa’s loud shout, Yeon-woo snapped back to reality and launched himself sideways with all his might. A gruesome trace of the curse followed where three of them were standing, leaving behind blood-red pollution on the ground.

If that behemoth had retracted its arm, there would obviously be a gap… With that thought, Yeon-woo raised his head and saw not just the recently extended arm, but several dark chunks of curses sprouting from the shoulders and sides, shaped like arms.

“…Wow, is the brain thinking if the hit ratio is lacking, just grow more arms? Genius, huh?”

What on earth was the rigorous wisdom and time humanity amassed to increase accuracy? What about slings or scopes? If you need range, just grow more arms, and if you need accuracy, just increase the number of arms to attack more.

Where the body falls short, the head suffers—doesn’t that mean the opposite here?

The cursed arms created at least three pairs. With the original arms included, that makes a total of four pairs. Assigning two arms each per person still leaves two remaining. Is the original pair serving as backup?

Of course, I didn’t have the luxury to ponder such things. While Yeon-woo was lost in thought, the giant was throwing punches. Is this the effect of the Red Queen or something?

‘…Still, this is a great opportunity to hit him hard.’

Literally, it was an opportunity.

I had to aim for its original two arms and legs. I could target the newly created arms, but realizing their disadvantages, they were made to easily replace arm loss.

In other words, those arms were mere consumables the giant could replace at any time.

That’s why it was using the original arms as backups. It’s sticking to the original arms since they’re the ones it had from the start. It was an evident weakness.

Even while dodging, the difference stood out. The jabs were quickly withdrawn whereas the rush with the newly formed arms was only using an appropriate interval for retrieval.

With that speed, I could cut through. Naturally, in that case, I’d allow a hit from the next arm coming at me—no need for a death-defying gamble; I’ve got three safeties left.

At that moment, Yeon-woo planted his sword into the ground to halt his body’s momentum. Using his left arm for the deceleration instead of the right—he felt insecure stopping with the right arm that couldn’t be reinforced.

The jabs stretched toward him, embedding a few steps ahead. There was no choice but to face it. Hunched down, he bit his teeth tightly and endured the overload on his body. After blocking the route, the next step was the direct hit route. Would even the Uyun Sword withstand the recoil on a body that had been hit?

‘If it’s only that much of a sword, my teacher wouldn’t have taught me.’

Yeon-woo held at least that much trust in Yuri. He’d observed well what kind of being he was until he returned five years later.

When it came to the sword, he could risk his life without hesitation.

Arms shot at him, twisting like tentacles. Almost a hook shape rather than a jab, but this terrifyingly fast punch blinked past the side.

And yet, he wouldn’t be late in his response.

With softness, he could overcome sturdiness (以柔克剛).

Along the path drawn by the gentle curve of his sword, the beast’s curse flowed away.

It looked as if he struck through the clouds with a punch, and Yeon-woo’s figure gracefully distorted and then shattered. The massive beast was flustered. It felt like a miss, void of tangible sensation. It felt like a punch didn’t hit at all.

Curses condensed on the arm that struck Yeon-woo. On the shapeless forearm, dozens, hundreds of black eyes popped out. The grotesque eyes that were darting around gathered in a single point at a certain moment.

Silver light scattered in the air. Mana was packed into the void created out of nothing.

It seemed like the Frost Alligator had the intelligence to improve logic through the fight, but it couldn’t think considerably deeper.

Stretching out a jab to blockade the route and then hooking to strike towards where the arm existed wasn’t a good decision.

That imitation giant could remember, had already let an attack slip once. It might think of closing the sides, but ultimately, it had given Yeon-woo the propulsion to cut off its arm instead.

Of course, he couldn’t claim to be fully utilizing his powers in an imperfect harvest. Trying to flip the situation with such means was akin to an act that wouldn’t return the blade that had been recklessly spun.

He gulped down the blood rising up his throat. Now, he was ready to intercept the arm he was preparing to retrieve. A tiny arm emerged beside his flickering eye, gripping onto Yeon-woo’s ankle.

Yet that light curse couldn’t even come close to catching Yeon-woo blessed by Sebek. The rising arms turned to ashes and suddenly larger arms burst forth.

‘If this continues, I’ll get caught.’

Even with the blessing, if enveloped by such a thick curse, it’d dissolve in no time like being caught in a reversal of nature.

While the giant’s focus shifted towards him, Shar and Baek In-hwa began their aggressive offensive. In that case, they decided to buy a little more time while looking for an angle to sever the arm.

He concentrated fully on the sword in an instant. Yeon-woo, lacking the skill, couldn’t naturally draw the Aura Blade in a breath. Then he just needed to focus more than twice as hard as when he stood still and drew the Aura Blade.

“…Got it!”

An Aura Blade that was slightly more condensed than a month ago, still looking like it was on fire, though inefficient—but at least after a month of effort, he’d grasped this much skill.

With a swoosh, the original sword measured about 1.6 meters in length, while the stretched Aura Blade was roughly 2 meters. At that point, it resembled more of a spear than a sword.

Its power lessened with the increase in length, yet in the current scenario, its efficiency was undeniably higher than any technique.

He grasped the arm’s surface with his left palm. The body, which was rushing up, spun around the arm to halt. Now his remaining right arm was enough to firmly hold the sword. The Aura Blade spun like a top.

The hundreds of arms growing along the surface of the arm rose into the air and vanished into ashes.

Of course, Yeon-woo didn’t stop there. Turning once around the arm meant he would again redirect his body in the original direction. In sync with that moment, Yeon-woo released his grip on the arm and launched forward again.

Was the giant angered by the severed arms? The surface of its arm began to ripple. No matter, he guessed this delay would only buy him a little more time, so he plunged the sword deep into the arm.

“Hoo… Ah!!”

With a sudden step back a couple steps, Yeon-woo cloaked his foot in mana and kicked the hilt. Slashing through the arms’ surface like slicing tofu, the sword tip shot upwards and escaped from the giant’s arm.

Naturally, Yeon-woo’s body tilted due to the counterforce. He didn’t manage to sever the arm entirely, but the remaining connection was barely a leather strip holding it together.

Technically, with just the weight of the arm itself, it should have fallen off. But considering that the components of the body were a mysterious force of curse, common sense couldn’t be trusted.

So determined, he jumped down toward the ground, extending his right arm.

Whoosh!!

As if drawn towards its master’s mana, the Doppelganger that had been revolving above his head flew down and grabbed onto his right hand.

Finally, having neatly severed even the leather strip barely connecting the arm, Yeon-woo unleashed wind magic towards the ground before safely landing.

“Ah, refreshing!”

Boom!!

The massive forearm that had fallen behind him disintegrated in the air. The blessing, which excludes everything except the original soul, essentially represents the severing of the organic connection between curses and curses.

The greater you cut, the greater it disappears. Isn’t that the age-old rule of arcade games?

*

“Here we go.”

Kim Hyun-soo casually stepped over the police line made of yellow talismans surrounding the fountain.

As soon as he stepped in, the pressure caused by the distortion of space began to weigh down on his entire body.

‘…A Gate.’

It feels a bit different, Kim Hyun-soo thought while brushing his chin.

Gates like this don’t… if I were to find the words for it, it doesn’t generate dimensional pressure? Though academia is still withholding judgment, Kim Hyun-soo could assert this from years of experience.

“An assassination request…”

“Excuse me, what did you say?”

“Ah, nothing at all.”

It was a blatant trap that needed no explanation. The problem was that the students wouldn’t have a clue.

“Who did you say again?”

“Uh, according to citizen reports, it’s presumed to be Baek In-hwa and Choi Yeon-woo. After inquiring among their close friends, they’ve arranged to meet at a gate. Is it a date?”

Kim Hyun-soo’s coldly hardened eyes turned toward the one who cracked such a joke.

“It’s a rather dreadful place to be joking about students possibly being dead.”

“I-I’m sorry!!”

Smiling brightly at the security guard who trailed behind him, Kim Hyun-soo admonished him while adjusting his expression.

‘It’s not something the person in charge should say, but I hope Yeon-woo and Shar manage to pull through.’

Regardless, it was true that the fake Gate had a closed nature. Just like the accidents where one gets sucked into a suddenly appearing closed-type gate, unless it’s resolved from the inside, there’s no way to intervene from the outside.

Standing still, gritting his lips, Kim Hyun-soo let out a deep sigh and spoke quietly.

“You all can disperse. I’ll hold this position.”

No one contested his words. The young man before them might not be labeled as the strongest in the world yet, but everyone knew he would soon grasp that position.

Seated by the deserted fountain, Kim Hyun-soo muttered self-deprecating remarks.

“Failing to save a single student, what a star I am.”

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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