Chapter 113
‘Fwoooosh!’
A powerful wave erupted from far away.
It was so fierce that the sheer force of it made my hair fly.
‘Hmm.’
I narrowed my eyes.
She managed to cure the poison, but…
The real game starts now.
She must be disoriented from the neurotoxin and Illusion Toxin the Elder and I concocted.
I have to find her before she escapes.
I went from narrowing my eyes to closing them completely.
‘Woong!’
The Supreme Azure Mind Method activated simultaneously.
Auras spread out from my body in all directions, swimming through the space like fish in the sea.
As if each one was imbued with life, they searched for Floa.
No, to be precise, they tried to search for her.
‘Damn it. It’s chaotically noisy.’
Usually, when I activate the Supreme Azure Mind Method, I can easily pinpoint the location of an opponent who has an aura.
However, Floa’s aura was on a different level from that of ordinary hunters.
‘Does she think she’s some kind of Hong Gil-dong?’ ( T/N: Hong Gil-dong is basically the Korean version of Robin Hood. So in this line maybe the author is trying to say that she is some kind of a thief that is hard to catch )
She radiated her presence from all over, as if she existed in the east, west, south, and north all at once.
She moved around chaotically, as if teasing me, asking which one was the real her.
Of course, that wasn’t all.
Krrrrr! Kwa-ga-ga-gang!
Her title, ‘Thunderstrike’, means ‘the sound of thunder.’’
Even though she was just running, a roar that felt like it would shatter my eardrums assaulted me.
What if this wasn’t a game of tag with her, but a battle?
It would have been so loud that I wouldn’t have been able to fight in my best condition.
“It was quite clever of you to use poison without my knowledge. I’ll give you that.”
It was then that Floa’s voice echoed from all directions.
“But, if you thought you could catch me with just that, you’re sorely mistaken.”
‘Kwagang! Kwa-ga-ga-gang!’
Lightning struck from all directions.
Except from where I am at.
All the ground around me cracked as if an earthquake had struck.
“You brat. Don’t be scared. You know, don’t you? That airhead cannot strike you directly.”
‘Yes, I know. I know, but…’
“Quiet. She’s at your 45-degree right. Run, quickly!”
‘Huh? Y-Yes!’
I couldn’t find her with my own power.
I had to admit what I had to admit.
The gap between me and a Ranker was still unspeakably wide.
“As your master, I cannot tolerate you losing after making a bet. You must win. Go and win.”
But, in truth, none of that mattered.
Because the Elder was standing firmly by my side.
The Elder’s power is also my good fortune, my strength, isn’t it?
‘Yes, I must win. The Elder is telling me everything.’
‘Paaat!’
I kicked off the ground with force.
I dashed like a madman through the splitting rock fragments and splintering trees.
“Hup!”
Some hit me with a dull thud, and others dug into my skin, but I didn’t slow down.
Instead, I pushed off the ground with even more force.
‘Faster. I can heal later.’
For the first time in a while, my eyes were filled with determination.
They were filled with a venomous resolve.
Yes.
I don’t know why, but.
I feel alive when I overcome difficult situations rather than easy ones.
Vitality and energy coursed through my body.
“You rascal!”
‘Tatadat!’
“She’s bolting to the right. Angle yourself a bit more to the right! Yes! A little more! More!”
There was no need to think.
All I had to do was run as the Elder beside me instructed.
“Yes, like that! You’re doing well! The distance is closing!”
I stared straight ahead with wide eyes.
I focused solely on sprinting while dodging the obstacles.
‘Puhwak!’
A grazing piece of rock scraped my cheek, drawing blood.
‘This is strange.’
Is this what they call being in the zone?
The sharp, flying obstacles moved slowly, as if a tape was being slowly rewound.
And my body?
It was as if I were floating in the weightlessness of space.
A fleeting moment felt like an eternity.
‘Guys, stop looking for Treasure and come here.’
I swung the staff in my hand and summoned the skeletons.
‘Come here and help me out. Surround this entire area.’
“My liege!”
“Master!”
‘Creak!’
The ones who had been hard at work in a distant area approached my side.
In that short time.
As if they had read all my emotions, they nodded and scattered in all directions.
“Th-This bastard! How the hell are you tracking me? Are you using some kind of map hack?”
I heard Floa’s flustered voice.
“Ah, this can’t be happening! This can’t be?! What are these skeletons? Why are they so persistent? And why are there so many of them?”
Her voice, which had been echoing from all directions until now, was now coming only from the front.
She was right in front of me now.
The tide of battle was already crystal clear.
Honestly, now that I’ve come this far, isn’t it a piece of cake?
“Heh heh, did you see that?”
The Elder chuckled with satisfaction beside me.
“It’s all because she has no resistance to poison. This… is a poison so novel that even I in my prime would have had a terribly hard time with it. It will probably get more agonizing for her as time passes. She’ll probably see ten of you.”
That wouldn’t be all.
Skeletons were spread out in all directions.
All my minions, except for Dmir, summoned their own minions, and then summoned more.
The skeletons filling the space all radiated a tremendous aura.
They formed a tight formation like a spider’s web, as if they wouldn’t let a single ant escape.
Their numbers exceeded 60.
Perhaps in Floa’s eyes, it looked like over 600?
On top of that.
‘Ssk!’
The staff in my hand had at some point transformed into a spear.
Perhaps because it was a Godslayer-grade spear.
Its sharp edge was also extraordinary.
“Floa!”
No matter where you hide, there’s no space left to escape.
The only way for you to get out is to kill me.
But you know it and I know it, don’t we?
There’s no need for that.
‘I can feel it.’
Now that I was this close, I could feel Floa’s hiding spot.
The girl who was becoming more and more steeped in the Illusion Toxin and neurotoxin, unable to even muster a proper aura.
“Stop struggling and come out.”
I said to her.
“I can give you the antidote. Why are you trying to endure that poison?”
‘Pajik!’
At that moment, an electric current sparked in the empty air.
“You son of a bitch!”
Floa, finally revealing herself, glared at me.
“This bastard. What the hell are you? What did you do to cause this ridiculous…!”
She must have been in so much pain.
Her skin had already turned a bluish hue.
“And what is this poison? Was this the kind of poison you endured inside the Toxin Mist? Kuaaak! Ptui! Cough, cough!”
Floa coughed and spat up blood as if she were dying.
“You call that a comparison? This is a much harsher poison than that. Come here.”
I approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘Woooong!’
Simultaneously, I circulated my energy and released the poison I had pilfered from the Toxin Mist.
“Y-You bastard! What are you doing!”
“Shut up, I’m detoxifying you.”
“Keuk!”
Floa bit her lip, as if in pain.
‘She really is amazing.’
Was the Toxin Mist amazing?
Or was the formula the Elder taught me amazing?
Honestly, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
A neurotoxin that works even on a high-ranking Ranker.
‘I’ve gotten really strong.’
I could feel it for certain now.
Once I fully absorbed the rewards from Delilah’s trial and went out into the world.
‘I’ll be a Ranker 100%.’
A belief formed within me that I would become comparable to the people I once thought were insurmountable mountains.
‘Woong! Woooong!’
The effect of the poison I released was immediate.
Her bluish skin gradually returned to normal.
And soon, color began to return to her face.
“Puhaak, haak! Haaa… I feel like I can breath now.”
“Are you okay?”
“Okay? I almost died and came back to life. Ha, fuck. Is this for real? Me. The great Floa. Lost to a participant?”
“Looks that way, as you can see.”
I smirked and looked at her.
“You remember, right? The Slave Bet?”
“…What Slave B…”
Floa flinched.
She must have thought I would just let it go.
I smiled faintly.
“Well, you don’t have to worry too much. I don’t want anything in particular right now.”
Later.
I can bring it up when I have a use for it.
“But a person of your Ranker status wouldn’t go back on their word, right? If you’re thinking of doing that, tell me now.”
“…Fuck. What are you going to do if I do?”
“Well, there’s not much I can do.”
That was the reality of it.
The bet was just a mutual promise between Floa and me.
It had no legal effect or binding force.
Honestly, if she said she didn’t know what I was talking about and told me to get lost, there was nothing I could do.
“However, in the future, even after I become a Ranker, whenever I think of Germany’s ‘Floa,’ won’t I just be reminded of a low-life punk who takes promises lightly? At the very least, I won’t see you in a positive light.”
“…What?”
This was my own kind of bravado.
I’m a guy who’s going to make it big.
If you really want to make an enemy of me now, then do as you please, was the meaning.
And surprisingly.
It seemed to be working.
“…”
Her expression, unlike before, had become serious.
Floa was clearly contemplating it sincerely.
“F-Fine.”
“What?”
“I said fine! I just have to grant you a favor or whatever later, right?!”
A favor, huh.
Well, for now, that’s a huge gain.
Just being able to have some influence over a Ranker at 84th place was a big profit.
“Anyway, let’s talk about that after we survive the trial! Just take your special privilege, you damn bastard. Ugh, to think I’m going to get another penalty because of you.”
Grumble, grumble.
Floa muttered and waved her hand.
[Tiring!]
[Examiner ‘Floa’ is opening the ‘Shop.’]
[The currency of this shop is ‘Trial Points.’]
[All items are limited to 1 per person. A purchase limit is in effect.]
[Warning!]
[This is the last shop, so please use all your points.]
Simultaneously, the special privilege I had seen in Theme 1.
The shop opened.
[List – 10/10]
[1. B-Grade Land Contraction Scroll – 1,000 Points]
[2. A-Grade Land Contraction Scroll – 3,000 Points]
[3. S-Grade Land Contraction Scroll – 5,000 Points]
[4. B-Grade Land Extension Scroll – 1,000 Points]
[5. A-Grade Land Extension Scroll – 3,000 Points]
[6. S-Grade Land Extension Scroll – 5,000 Points]
[7. Elixir – 10,000 Points]
[8. S-Grade Random Box – 30,000 Points]
[9. World Tree Root – 50,000 Points]
[10. Wish-Granting Scroll – 100,000 Points]
“Hmm?”
My eyes rolled back and forth.
There were 10 items again, just like last time, but.
“Land Contraction? Land Extension?”
What are these now?
As I frowned.
“Hoo.”
Floa let out a sigh.
“To have already earned the special privilege. Well, this is pretty much game over.”
“What are those?”
“A Land Contraction Scroll literally shortens the land. It reduces the remaining distance to the giant castle by a percentage. It’s a scroll you’re originally supposed to get by finding Treasure and solving secrets. But, well, if you’re a thug who can forcibly find a examiner, the trial is meaningless, isn’t it?”
Hmm.
Was that how it was?
Instead of walking the whole way.
Finding Treasure was the answer?
The solution to this trial was to get hints from them to use the Land Contraction Scroll?
“Then what’s the Land Extension Scroll?”
“A Land Extension Scroll literally extends the land. Of course, it extends the distance for other teams, not yours. That one is only sold in the shop.”
“Huh.”
“Think carefully and buy. I’ll warn you again, the shop is only up to Theme 2. There won’t be one after that. It means there’s no point in saving up Trial Points like you are now.”
“…Is that so?”
I glanced at my remaining Trial Points.
[Trial Points you possess.]
[Trial Points: 1,314,500]
Who knows how many relics the skeletons had rummaged through.
Added to my existing points, I had accumulated a whopping 1,314,500 points.
In other words, it meant I could buy everything, just like last time.
There was nothing to think about.
“Then, for now, give me one of everything you have.”
“Right, of course. I knew you’d say that. Anyway, you’re one hell of a guy.”
Floa nodded with a fed-up expression.