RG 33
by LubaiThe man who met my eyes asked with a puzzled expression, “You’ve been acting as if you have somewhere important to go.”
Cough, I swallowed dryly as I deflected the chain flying toward my right arm.
‘What should I do?’
There’s no option to just deal with it and run away. It’s me against a group. Even if I were to escape, with the office location and information on Cha Sahyeon over there, it would only be a matter of time before I’m back to square one.
So, all that’s left is to demonstrate the skills befitting the top-ranked like that bastard mentioned, and to do that, there’s no choice but to engage. Whether to trust his words or not wasn’t important. If I want to get out of here and return to Cha Sahyeon as soon as possible, fighting is inevitable. This time, polite conversation doesn’t seem likely to work.
‘Can I subdue him quickly?’
Considering that the only S-class Hunter I’ve faced is Kwon Taehyeok, if I assume he’s on par with Kwon Taehyeok, it would be difficult to defeat him, let alone subdue him, even with more time.
If he’s less skilled than Kwon Taehyeok, there’s a chance of winning, but swift subjugation is still challenging.
Is there no other way? If I keep stalling like this and the Seed of Calamity progresses again, it’ll be a big problem.
When I was fervently trying to come up with a way to subdue the guy in front of me quickly—
Ding!
《Sub Quest has arrived!》
《Sub Quest: Deal with the obstructors and return to the antagonist》
[Sub Quest: Deal with the obstructors and return to the antagonist]
Dispose of the obstructors blocking your path and return to the antagonist as quickly as possible to prevent the progress of the Seed of Calamity.
*Additional specialty is added for this sub quest.
*The specialty ‘Master of Evasion (Class S)’ has been added!
‘Additional specialty?’
I checked the contents of the status window that appeared in front of me and was quite surprised.
The status window, which had been busy bothering me until now, suddenly spoiled me? And to top it off, an S-class specialty added for this specific sub quest?
With a trembling heart, I hastily checked the effects of the newly added specialty.
[Master of Evasion (Class S)]
With this specialty, you can effortlessly deflect enemy attacks like water.
If you successfully evade attacks 15 times, you can trigger a ‘New Hidden Skill.’
*Successful evasions (0/15)
*The ‘New Hidden Skill’ can only be activated once.
Such an attribute exists? This is seriously awesome!
With such great attributes available, why are the ones given as quest rewards so trashy?
‘…Well, honestly, the existing specialties are all great. The problem is that they don’t activate due to their low grade.’
Even the Evasion specialty is incredibly useful, but it’s a shame it’s limited to this sub quest. I licked my lips and raised my sword again.
When I was only looking for an escape route, the man, with a pleasant chuckle, raised his hand toward me. “So, are you finally in the mood to fight?”
“I’ll give you exactly 5 minutes, so keep your promise from earlier.”
“As long as you demonstrate a level of skill that satisfies me, I’ll be here.”
Swoosh!
The chain, previously swaying in the air, now descended in response to the man’s gesture.
With a swift dodge, I avoided the chain aimed at my shoulder and darted forward. Then, a cheerful alert tone sounded, and a status window appeared.
Ding!
《Specialty: Master of Evasion (Class S) Activated!》
《Ignore the opponent’s attack!》
《Successful evasions (1/15)》
It seems like the count increases each time I narrowly avoid an attack. The more I see, the better it looks.
‘I need to make the most of this ability.’
While the opponent and I were both S-class, unlike me who lacked any special skills, he had skills. Not just any skills, but a tricky skill that summoned chains and allowed for free movement. So, my only hope now is to somehow fulfill the count requirement and rely on triggering the ‘New Hidden Skill.’
Even if I got hurt a bit, I had to keep pressing on to prevent the man from regaining his composure. The more attacks there are, the quicker the count will fill up.
With a clang and a thud, I parried the cascading chains with my sword and leaped forward.
Whoosh! With my sword leading the way, I flew through the air, slicing through the wind. The man, who had been calmly standing there, effortlessly leaned his upper body back just before my sword reached him.
The man’s hair gently swayed as he skillfully dodged my attack. For a moment, a glimmer of light flashed within the holes of his mask.
Thunk, swoosh!
“Ugh…!”
A sharp hook attached to the end of a chain shot out from behind, tearing through my side. A sharp pain accompanied by the unpleasant sensation of damp clothes enveloped me.
Meanwhile, with graceful movements, the man stepped back a few paces from me and spoke in a voice that seemed even livelier than before, “Your attacks are sharper than I thought. But why aren’t you using any skills?”
He was unnecessarily perceptive. As expected, dragging this out any longer would only disadvantage me.
I pounded the ground and closed the distance between us. With a swish, I lunged forward, twisting my face slightly, and a new chain grazed my cheek.
Ding!
《Specialty: Master of Evasion (Class S) Activated!》
《Ignore the opponent’s attack!》
《Successful evasions (2/15)》
The status window notified me of another successful evasion. Without faltering, I focused solely on the man, swinging my sword.
Clang, shrrrrk!!
The chains raining down on me were deflected, cut, and brushed aside by my sword. Just like me, the man avoided all my strikes and spoke again, “It’s fascinating. I’ve never seen a Hunter who refuses to use skills to this extent.”
“…”
“Could it be that this is a skill? Is it related to your sword? Or…”
Thunk, shrrrrk!!
“…!”
The movement of the chains, which had been charging at me like a snake targeting its prey, suddenly reversed. New chains appeared from behind me and tightly coiled around my arms and legs.
Clack! The hooks at the ends of the chains looped around multiple times, preventing any chance of escape.
“Perhaps you have no skills?” A voice tinged with amusement echoed. The man, who had perfectly restrained my arms and left leg with the chains, tilted his head with a smirk. “I’ve never heard of someone being S-class in strength and physique alone. Without skills, defeating Kwon Taehyeok seems impossible… Are you hiding something?”
As the chains binding me were pulled in the opposite direction, my toes lifted into the air. I retorted sharply to the leisurely approaching man, “You’ve been chattering incessantly since earlier.”
After twisting my wrist to angle the blade, which had been facing forward, sideways, I swung it.
Clang! Once I broke free from the chain that bound my arm, I swiftly severed the chains coiled around my opposite arm and leg, then lunged at the man once more.
“Oh.” As if he had expected me to break free, the man retreated with a playful exclamation.
As the chains cut by my blade dispersed into glimmering particles, new chains emerged. Ignoring them, I focused on swinging my sword just like before.
Shrrrrk!! Once again, the chains narrowly missed.
《Successful evasions (3/15)》
Despite my relentless onslaught of attacks, the man who either blocked or dodged them all maintained his calm demeanor.
《Successful evasions (4/15)》
《Successful evasions (5/15)》
It made sense, considering that while I needed to resolve this quickly and leave, the man didn’t seem to mind how long it took.
He already knew I wasn’t swinging my sword with the intent to kill him, so the disadvantage was solely on my side.
《Successful evasions (6/15)》
《Successful evasions (7/15)》
‘How irritating.’
Dragging me this far, challenging me to a fight while claiming to assess my skills.
Well, it’s true that I’ve foolishly rushed in like a naive fool without realizing it might be a trap, but being manipulated like this didn’t sit well with my personality.
《Successful evasions (8/15)》
《Successful evasions (9/15)》
Out of the ten chains rushing towards me, I dodged five and took the other five with my body.
With a sharp sound, a new chain sliced across my thigh. There were so many wounds that there was no time to feel pain for each one.
《Successful evasions (10/15)》
《Successful evasions (11/15)》
《Successful evasions (12/15)》
Although he was less battered than I was, the man also had cuts scattered across his body. He noticed my persistent focus on his face and asked, “You said you weren’t interested in my face. Was that a lie?”
《Successful evasions (13/15)》
《Successful evasions (14/15)》
Ignoring his question, I pounded the ground once more and leaped forward.
Shrrrrk!! One of the chains flying toward my shoulder couldn’t keep up with my speed and passed by my head. At the same time, a status window appeared.
Ding!
《Successful evasions (15/15)》
《Achieved 15 successful evasions, triggering a new hidden skill.》
[New Hidden Skill]
Obtain the skill of one randomly selected main character encountered thus far.
The acquired skill can only be used once.