The man, meeting my gaze, asked with a puzzled look,
"You've been acting like you have somewhere you need to be, haven't you?"
Chchchchch!
I slashed down the chain flying toward my right arm and swallowed dryly.
'What do I do?'
Choosing to deal with him lightly and run away wasn’t an option.
I was just one person — and he had an organization behind him.
Even if I ran, they already had information about the office location and about Cha Sahyeon.
It would be nothing more than running in circles.
Which meant the only thing left was to show a level of strength worthy of a number-one-ranked Hunter, just like he said.
And that left no choice but to actually fight him.
Whether or not I could trust his words didn’t matter.
If I wanted to get out of here and back to Cha Sahyeon as quickly as possible, I had to fight.
Besides, it didn’t seem like pointless conversation was going to work anymore.
'Can I bring him down quickly?'
The only S-rank Hunter I had fought before was Kwon Taehyuk.
If this guy was on Kwon Taehyuk’s level, not only would quick defeat be impossible — even dragging it out might not be enough.
If he was weaker than Kwon Taehyuk, my chances of winning were higher, but a fast takedown was still going to be difficult either way.
Was there no method?
If the Seed of Catastrophe’s progress increased again while I wasted time here, it would be a disaster.
While I was desperately trying to think of a way to bring him down quickly—
Ding!
《A Sub-Quest has arrived!》
《Sub-Quest: Eliminate the Obstacle and Return to the Villain》
[Sub-Quest: Eliminate the Obstacle and Return to the Villain]
Eliminate the obstacle standing in your way and return to the villain as quickly as possible to halt the progression of the Seed of Catastrophe.
*For this Sub-Quest only, a Trait will be added.
*‘Master of Deflection (S-rank)’ Trait has been added!
'A Trait bonus?'
Seeing the contents appear in front of me, I was honestly surprised.
Until now, the status window had been completely focused on screwing me over.
And now it was giving me a Sub-Quest bonus with an S-rank Trait?
[Master of Deflection (S-rank)]
The trait allows you to deflect enemy attacks like flowing water.
If you successfully deflect 15 attacks, a ‘new Hidden Skill’ will activate.
*Deflection success count (0/15)
*The ‘new Hidden Skill’ can only be used once.
There was a Trait like this?
It was insanely good!
If they had Traits like this, why were the previous quest rewards such trash?
'...No, honestly, the previous Traits were good too. The problem was they didn’t activate properly because of the low rank.'
Even though this Trait was limited to the Sub-Quest, it was still insanely good.
Clicking my tongue, I lifted the sword.
A moment ago, all I wanted was to find a way to escape — but now that I was preparing to fight, the man let out a delighted laugh and raised his hand as if mirroring me.
"So you’re finally willing to fight?"
"I’ll only entertain you for five minutes. So you better stick to what you said."
"As long as you show me skills worth being number one, I’ll be satisfied."
Chchchchchch!
At his gesture, the chains rippling in the air shot toward me.
Clang!
I dodged the chain aiming for my shoulder and dashed forward.
At that moment, a crisp alert and a status window popped up.
Ding!
《Trait: Master of Deflection (S-rank) activated!》
《You have deflected an enemy’s attack!》
《Deflection success count (1/15)》
It seemed the counter went up every time I narrowly avoided an attack.
The more I saw, the better it looked.
'I have to make the most of this Trait.'
We were both S-ranks, but while I had no real special skills, he had a ridiculous one — summoning and freely manipulating chains.
Meaning, my only option was to rapidly accumulate deflections and trigger the ‘new Hidden Skill.’
Even if I got a little hurt, I had to push him so ➤ NоvеIight ➤ (Read more on our source) relentlessly that he couldn't even think straight.
The more attacks he threw, the faster I could fill the count.
Clang! Clang!
I batted away the rain of chains with my sword and launched into the air.
Whoosh — cutting through the wind with my sword leading, I flew right at him, but the man, standing there calmly, leaned his torso back slightly at the last moment.
His hair fluttered smoothly, and from the eye holes of the mask, a glint of light flashed.
Vwhip — Chchchchchch!
"Kh...!"
A sharp hook at the end of a chain shot at me like an arrow from behind, ripping through my side.
A stinging pain spread, and the unpleasant feeling of blood soaking my clothes followed.
Meanwhile, the man, who had gracefully stepped two paces away, spoke in a more lively voice than before.
"Your attacks are sharper than I thought. But why aren’t you using any skills?"
He was irritatingly perceptive.
Dragging this out any longer would only make things worse for me.
I slammed my foot into the ground and charged forward again.
As I darted ahead, twisting slightly, a new chain narrowly grazed my cheek.
Ding!
《Trait: Master of Deflection (S-rank) activated!》
《You have deflected an enemy’s attack!》
《Deflection success count (2/15)》
The status window popped up again, reporting another successful deflection.
Without losing focus, I concentrated entirely on the man and swung my sword.
Clang, Clang!
The chains rained down, bouncing off my blade, getting cut, or barely brushing past me.
Meanwhile, the man, who dodged my attacks just as smoothly, opened his mouth again.
"Strange. I’ve never seen a Hunter who refuses to use skills to this extent."
"......."
"Maybe... this is your skill? Something related to swordsmanship? If not..."
Creak — Chchchchchch!
"......!"
The movement of the chains suddenly changed, no longer just attacking but wrapping tightly around me like a snake hunting prey.
Chains appeared behind me and tightly bound my arms and legs.
Click.
The hooks at the ends locked into place, making escape difficult.
"Maybe... you have no skills?"
The man’s voice carried a hint of amusement as he tilted his head.
"I’ve never heard of someone with only S-rank stats and no abilities. You couldn’t have beaten Kwon Taehyuk without skills... So you must be hiding them."
The chain pulled tight, lifting me slightly off the ground by my limbs.
The man casually walked up to my dangling form.
I replied listlessly,
"You’ve been running your mouth non-stop. So damn annoying."
I twisted my wrist, turning the blade sideways, and slashed hard.
Clang!
The chain binding my arm snapped.
Immediately, I hacked away at the chains binding my other arm and leg and rushed the man.
"Oh."
As if he had expected me to break free, the man let out a playful sound and swiftly leapt backward.
As soon as the cut chains scattered into light, new chains appeared.
Ignoring them, I focused on swinging my sword.
Whoosh! Another chain brushed past.
《Deflection success count (3/15)》
The man calmly blocked or dodged my relentless attacks, and unlike me — desperate to finish this quickly — he seemed entirely unhurried.
《Deflection success count (4/15)》
《Deflection success count (5/15)》
Naturally.
I needed to wrap this up quickly for Cha Sahyeon's sake, but he didn’t care how long it took.
He must have realized by now that I wasn’t actually trying to kill him.
In every way, the disadvantage was mine.
《Deflection success count (6/15)》
《Deflection success count (7/15)》
'And that’s what's so damn irritating.'
He dragged me all the way out here, picked a fight under the pretext of checking my skills...
Sure, it was my own stupidity for rushing in like an idiot — but getting jerked around like this still didn’t sit right with me.
《Deflection success count (8/15)》
《Deflection success count (9/15)》
Out of ten chains flying at me, I dodged five and took five hits directly.
Slash — a new chain grazed my thigh.
At this point, I was so covered in wounds that I didn’t even have time to notice the pain.
《Deflection success count (10/15)》
《Deflection success count (11/15)》
《Deflection success count (12/15)》
Compared to my battered state, the man was only slightly scratched, but even he had begun accumulating minor injuries here and there.
Realizing that I had been relentlessly aiming for his face, the man asked,
"You said you weren’t curious about my face. Was that a lie?"
《Deflection success count (13/15)》
《Deflection success count (14/15)》
I ignored the question and pushed off the ground again.
Chchchchchch!
The chain that flew toward my shoulder couldn’t keep up with my speed and missed, brushing past my head.
At the same time, the status window popped up.
Ding!
《Deflection success count (15/15)》
《You have successfully deflected 15 attacks. A new Hidden Skill will now activate.》
[New Hidden Skill]
You will randomly acquire one skill from the main characters you have met so far.
The acquired skill can only be used once.

Comments

Loading...