PETF 26

Chapter 26

After his underling’s body had been cut cleanly in half, the boss finally wrapped his axe in magic and blocked the attack.

KWA-GA-GA-GA!!!

‘It was already weakened after being blocked once, and yet—this much?!’

PA-ANG!!!

The boss was horrified that Woo-hyun’s right-hand strike carried that much weight from a single sword aura, and Woo-hyun rushed at him.

“Block him!!!”

At the boss’s shout, the men all raised their weapons at once and charged toward Woo-hyun.

<Blood Pressure>

KUKWAAANG!!!

The blood-magic that Woo-hyun manifested — Blood Pressure — created an intense pressure in the direction of his charge, and the Noir Viper members who’d rushed him were instantly blown backward.

TAAANG!!

With his physical strength tripled, Woo-hyun shoved off the ground and sprang forward; in an instant he was standing dead center among the Noir Viper members suspended in midair.

<Blood Flame>

HWA-RARARARARA!!!!

“AGGGHHH!!!”

“BUUURRRGH!! AAHHH!!!”

Woo-hyun ignited flames in the center of the Noir Viper group, and in an instant four of them were turned into charred lumps and rolled on the ground.

Seeing Woo-hyun instantly burn four of them to death, the Noir Viper members had no choice but to stop their reckless rush.

Woo-hyun walked slowly toward them, and the boss — still a boss, at least — barked an order immediately.

“Attack him with ranged skills!”

Only then did the members come to their senses and aim arrows at Woo-hyun. Seeing that, Woo-hyun showed a thin smile.

CHWARA-RAK!!!

As several arrows flew at him, Woo-hyun wrapped his head with his coat.

The boss sneered thinking Woo-hyun would try to block arrows with his coat, but the actual result was…

TUTUTUTUK—

Not a single arrow pierced Woo-hyun’s coat — the Crimson Spider.

“It’s not penetrated even by magic-coated arrows, and it absorbs impact too. This thing’s the real deal.”

Flap!

Woo-hyun said that as he flicked the Crimson Spider, and the boss’s eyes went wide.

‘That coat’s at least S-rank! I have to take it no matter what!’

Determined to seize the coat, the boss moved in personally.

TADADADAK!!!

He rushed at Woo-hyun and suddenly appeared before him, swinging two one-handed axes.

HOOOONG-!!!

TAAT!!!

Woo-hyun stepped back and redirected the boss’s attack with Dracula.

“There’s another one! Rookie!”

While Dracula deflected one axe, the boss tried to cleave Woo-hyun’s head with the other.

Sss—

“You little—finally showed yourself.”

But Woo-hyun was smiling, and by the time the boss sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.

<Blood Paralyze>

Woo-hyun had deliberately lured the boss into close range; once the boss entered the blood-magic’s radius, Woo-hyun cast paralysis.

‘M… my body won’t move!!!’

After being hit by the blood magic the boss couldn’t move or even speak — he froze like a statue.

“Branch chief! What are you doing?!”

The men called pitifully to the frozen figure before Woo-hyun, but he couldn’t reply.

Thunk!!!

“AGGGHHHH!!!!!!”

Puk-puk-puk-puk—

Woo-hyun kicked the statue-like boss’s crotch hard several times, and when the boss didn’t even scream but remained frozen, Woo-hyun finally turned his gaze behind him.

“The most important boss is properly paralyzed, and the rest aren’t needed…”

WOOOONG!!!

Having secured the most important target, Woo-hyun moved to the middle of the Noir Viper members at a speed that could be called teleportation, and he smiled at the terrified group.

“Decision: dispose of all of them.”

<Blood Flame>

HWA-RARARARARA-!!!!!

<At that time, YS Guild camp>

When Woo-hyun’s intervention exposed the entire operation, Park Jun-mo immediately abandoned the original plan and decided on the spot to take Serin hostage and bargain with Yoo Se-hyuk.

He couldn’t believe what he was watching.

“N—no way… Yoo Serin is a newbie who awakened less than a year ago… b—but how—”

PUSHHHH!!!

Serin swung the Lycaon mercilessly with only one arm; the beast was about the size of an elementary-schooler, and with a single sword strike she sent the YS guild members — who’d been carefully recruited and trained — dropping like leaves.

“Aim for the left arm! The left arm!!!”

Park Jun-mo, an experienced player, had immediately deduced that Serin’s unarmed left arm was a weak point.

TADADADAK!!!

At Park Jun-mo’s shout, the YS guild members all charged in unison to stab at Serin’s left arm and thrust their weapons in.

However—

KWA-AAAANG!!!!!

A blue full-moon glow appeared on Serin’s left hand and blocked the weapons like a shield.

“Keep up the push!!!”

Park Jun-mo judged that even if Serin blocked that attack, sheer numbers would eventually overwhelm her, so he shouted for continued pressure.

But Yoo Serin — called the greatest genius in history and far more talented than Park Jun-mo expected — couldn’t possibly have failed to predict that.

“I wasn’t ready to show this yet. You ruined it for me.”

SHZZZZZ—

At that moment, an immense cold began to radiate from the blue full-moon she was using to block.

“G—get away!!!”

The YS guild member at the frontline instinctively tried to retreat, but—

SHZZZZZ!!!!!

Before they could sheathe their weapons and run, the frigid air from the blue full-moon froze them all.

PA-KWAGA-GAGAGANG!!!

Serin froze many YS guild members in an instant, then lightly swung the Lycaon; crescent sword energy sprayed from the Lycaon and instantly shattered the frozen YS guild members into pieces.

TU-DOO-DOO-DOOK—

The YS guild members scattered like snowflakes from shaved ice, and Park Jun-mo couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘I… can’t win!!! We have to run…!!!’

The reason Park Jun-mo — of ordinary talent — had survived so long and remained a power within YS guild was his uncanny ability to recognize exactly when to flee.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

THUP—

SHZZZZZ!!!

As Park Jun-mo turned his back to bolt, Serin planted her foot and the ground froze; a cold surge hit Park Jun-mo and soon both his legs were frozen up to his knees.

“AGGHHH!!! My legs!!! My legs!!!”

Park Jun-mo screamed in the agony of frostbite, and Serin spoke to him in a voice like a north wind.

“Even if you melt that, you won’t be able to walk properly anymore. You’ll be on crutches for the rest of your life.”

“AAAH!!! Yoo Serin!!!”

Driven mad by Serin’s words and the pain of frostbite, Park Jun-mo wildly swung the knife in his hands though his legs were frozen solid.

Thunk—

“Shut up, you bastard.”

At that moment Woo-hyun, having finished off the Noir Viper, brought Dracula’s pommel down on the back of Park Jun-mo’s neck; Park Jun-mo lost consciousness from the blow and collapsed forward with a thud.

After securing Park Jun-mo as well, Woo-hyun looked at Serin — who used cold he hadn’t seen in the first run — and asked,

“Is that ice a Lycaon limit-break reward or something?”

Woo-hyun figured that if a kind of ice he hadn’t seen in the first playthrough appeared, the source was surely the Lycaon that had limit-broken via Supermoon, and his guess was correct.

Nod— nod—

“And you? What’s that flame ability of yours?”

Serin nodded and asked about the Blood Flame Woo-hyun had shown; Woo-hyun pointed at Dracula and answered.

“Similar. Thanks to this guy.”

Serin pouted, displeased once again that Woo-hyun wasn’t giving details.

“That’s cheap. I told you everything.”

At Serin’s remark, Woo-hyun prodded the unconscious Park Jun-mo with his foot and said,

“Keep this guy in custody for a while. I’m going to go rough up a snake’s head.”

Saying that, Woo-hyun approached the Noir Viper boss who was still paralyzed and only released the paralysis around his mouth.

“You dog—”

Puk-puk-puk—!

“AGGGHHH!!!”

“Shut up, you bastard. Answer my question.”

When the boss tried to curse at him, Woo-hyun soccer-kicked him in the glabella; now able to speak, the boss screamed in a pain only a man who’d felt that could vocalize.

Srring~

Woo-hyun leveled a dagger — taken from a Noir Viper member — at the boss’s lower body.

“From now on, if you answer ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’ to anything I ask, I’ll jab this in and twist. When you become so torn you can’t be stabbed anymore, I’ll burn you. Understood?”

Faced with Woo-hyun’s murderous warning, the boss could only swallow.

‘This guy really will do it!!!’

When the boss remained silent, Woo-hyun pointed the dagger at Serin and said,

“By the way, if you invoke the right to remain silent, I’ll call her over and have her freeze you. That’ll hurt plenty. You heard that guy screaming earlier, right?”

Seeing Park Jun-mo’s legs freeze right beside him, the boss quickly opened his mouth.

“Y—yes! I’ll say anything!”

As soon as the boss spoke, Woo-hyun asked him directly.

“I won’t make you talk long. You don’t have time to give a long story and there’s no reason to.”

Smirking, Woo-hyun continued.

“The contract for the job you and Park Jun-mo signed. Where is it?”

“T—that… how would I—?”

As the boss trembled in shock, Woo-hyun stabbed his thigh with the dagger.

Puhk—

“AGGGHHH!!!”

When the boss screamed, Woo-hyun nonchalantly stabbed his thigh a few more times.

Having worked as a veteran porter for over ten years and seen all kinds of sights, this was nothing to him.

“Don’t play coy. I know you managers and above learn pain reduction skills to prepare for torture. This level would just be mildly painful for you.”