Chapter 45
TL: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Kim Woo-jin’s method of hunting was quite a sight to witness for those who never saw it before. Watching the Skeleton Soldiers in itself was a novelty.
“Hey that was a good fight. What are these guys called? Skeletons?”
Combat situations are usually very complicated, even players who could be considered to be good could not guarantee that they could win.
“These Skeletons are so cute, he gets 30 points. You should put in more effort as the master.”
Lee Jin-ah was enjoying the view as he watched the Skeleton Soldier fight.
“Huh?”
Lee Jin-ah’s expression changed as the effect of Ruler of the Battlefield overlapped with the Black Bones effect.
[Skeleton Soldier has achieved 10 kills. All stats increased by 30% due to the effect of Ruler of the Battlefield.]
“Haha, they fight so well!”
The Skeleton Soldier kept hunting the Kobolds in an unstoppable manner and Lee Jin-ah gradually grew quieter as he watched the scene.
[Skeleton Soldier has achieved 15 kills. All stats increased by 45% due to the effect of Ruler of the Battlefield.]
“…They fight really well.”
Gradually, as the dominant effects of Ruler of the Battlefield were unveiled before his eyes, Lee Jin-ah found it impossible to make his evaluations funny.
‘It’s just like Se-chan said. This guy is abnormal.’
The more he evaluated Kim Woo-jin, the more Lee Jin-ah found it hard to suppress a shiver from going down his spine.
‘No, this isn’t normal, even if there are only five of these guys…’
You didn’t need to be a genius to realise the implications of Kim Woo-jin’s Skeleton Soldiers increasing one by one. And in front of his very eyes, Lee Jin-ah watched Kim Woo-jin’s army gradually increase.
[You have summoned a Skeleton]
As their numbers increased, the Skeleton Soldiers also became empowered as they killed more. They were now capable of going against normal Kobold Warriors, the Scouts were no longer capable of pinning them down.
Soon the number of Skeleton Soldiers under Woo-jin’s control reached 9. Lee Jin-ah found himself unable to evaluate them any longer.
‘Se-chan’s bottle of champagne was worth it.’
Lee Jin-ah found that he had to admit that Kim Woo-jin’s ability to challenge dungeons was unrivaled among the current players.
“Great, seems like I don’t need to test him more.”
Woo-jin looked at him and knew he’d shown enough to prove himself. Turning to Lee Jin-ah, he asked for confirmation.
“Is this not enough to get a passing grade?”
“No, I’ll go out and tell Se-chan about your skill.”
Lee Jin-ah nodded slightly as he replied to the question.
“You’re well worth the investment. Of course, if you show a little more sincerity, I’ll put in an extra word for you.”
As he said this, Lee Jin-ah made a show of rubbing his index and thumb fingers together.
“Well done.”
Kim Woo-jin simply said a few words.
“Eh? Well done?”
As Lee Jin-ah tried to ponder the meaning behind those words, the skeleton soldiers launched an attack.
Boom!
The Skeleton Soldiers, who were buffed with the stacked effects of Black Bones and Ruler of the Battlefield, suddenly showed hostility toward Lee Jin-ah, surrounding him.
“Hey, the Skeleton kids don’t look so cute all of a sudden.”
“‘If you beg me, and give me your loyalty for the rest of your life, I will help you’ Isn’t that what you said?’
“Huh?”
“I should kowtow and call you big brother, no?”
As he heard Kim Woo-jin’s words, Lee Jin-ah’s face looked as if someone had stomped on his grave.
“Haha, why would you remember the things from back then? That was a joke, a joke!”
With these words Lee Jin-ah stepped toward Kim Woo-jin with his hands cupped together.
“Brother, if I offended you, I’m sorry.”
He bowed deeply toward Kim Woo-jin, his arms outstretched as if begging for forgiveness. It was a clear apology
Boom!
Suddenly Lee Jin-ah launched his body toward Kim Woo-jin at a considerable speed. The force behind his leap was considerable.
The distance between them was short. Initially, the distance between them was 3 meters, but as he was pretending to apologize, Lee Jin-ah had walked about 1 meter toward Kim Woo-jin. So the distance between them was less than 2 meters, a distance that could be achieved with a single step.
As he closed the short distance, Lee Jin-ah’s fist shot toward Kim Woo-jin’s face. It was an attack that could not be expected.
‘I’ll send him flying away with this punch!’
Lee Jin-ah didn’t intend to kill Kim Woo-jin with his punch at all. If he managed to do it in one blow then it’s fine. But what if he didn’t?
The Skeleton Soldiers would attack him before he had a chance to do anything so it was better to attack first and then run away.
This plan was evidence of Lee Jin-ah’s considerable experience and ability when it came to combat.
His choice was the correct one.
Even if the opponent was Kim Woo-jin, this was the best course of action.
Shhh!
‘Huh?’
Kim Woo-jin avoided the fist that was about to hit him and grabbed it, spinning and using it to slam Lee Jin-ah to the ground.
Bang!
Lee Jin-ah’s body hit the ground heavily, but he wasn’t damaged by it as he dispersed the impact of the slam.
“Kuk!”
Of course he was damaged a bit, but not enough to make him lose focus.
Shhh!
Kim Woo-jin took advantage of the moment he gained with the slam, aimed his sword and pointed it toward Lee Jin-ah’s eyes.
“If you’re gonna torture me, are you gonna start with this one stab?”
Kim Woo-jin hadn’t tried to kill him yet.
“Of course, even if you stab my eyes you won’t hear whatever it is you want, my mouth is very hard to open.”
“Why don’t you just surrender?”
Surrender, the word put a smile on Lee Jin-ah’s face.
“It’s better to die than surrender.”
The smile on Lee Jin-ah’s face was very grim.
“Of course, you’re free to try it. For every truth you manage to get out of me, I’ll give you 100 points. So what will it be? Will you pull my fingernails? Cut off my fingers?”
Lee Jin-ah easily made conversation as though he wasn’t in a perilous location. But this was as Kim Woo-jin expected.
‘A guy whose head would still talk after it was cut off wouldn’t be afraid of some torture.’
Physical torture would never work on those who had gained the Blessing of the River Styx. But Woo-jin intended to threaten him in another way.
“Okay, I’ll strip you first.”
“Haha, that’s smart, 10 points.”
“Then, I’m thinking about hanging you from a tree.”
“Oh that’s creative. I’ll give you 20 points.”
“After that I’ll leave you for a day.”
“You have some experience with torture? 10 more points!”
“And then I’ll eat in front of you.”
“Wha-, what?”
“A medium-well done steak, sprinkled in rock salt with some boiled potatoes and broccoli.”
“Tha-, that’s”
“Of course, you can’t have any. You won’t eat anything tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that…”
Lee Jin-ah interrupted him,
“Wa-, wait brother. No, Father! Father, this ugly son was wrong. I lost! Surrender! I surrender!”
In response Kim Woo-jin took away his sword and stood up.
“Haha! Thank you father! I will be filial to you till you can’t see.”
At the same time, Lee Jin-ah grabbed a handful of dirt.
‘You lost, you bastard.”
Throwing the dirt towards Kim Woo-jin’s eyes, he intended to launch a sneak attack in that moment.
Puuk!
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin, who he was trying to blind, grabbed onto Lee Jin-ah.
“Kuak!”
Lee Jin-ah screamed loudly as Woo-jin said to him.
“When you use a technique, you must ensure you don’t perform in front of a master.”
Tuk! Tuk!
Kim Woo-jin calmly brushed the dirt off his hand. Meanwhile Lee Jin-ah was coughing, sneezing and spitting as he tried to get the dirt out of his mouth and nose, his closed eyes shedding tears.
“Damn, I met a real psycho this time. (Achoo!) I just had to meet a psycho. (Cough! Achoo!)”
Woo-jin looked at him.
“You have 10 minutes to prepare.”
“What?”
Lee Jin-ah looked at him, not sure what he meant by that.
“You finished verifying my skills, now it’s my turn to verify your skills.”
“What the fuck?”
“Attract the Kobolds by rubbing their blood on your body. Then take up the role of tank and bait. The Skeleton Soldiers will kill the Kobolds.”
When he heard this, Lee Jin-ah was full of complaints.
“So you want me to be your lackey and act as bait?”
Boom!
The Skeleton Soldiers that were surrounding him each took a step forward and pointed their weapons at him, tightening the circled.
Kim Woo-jin who stood outside the circle looked down at Lee Jin-ah and asked.
“So you won’t do it?”
As Woo-jin said those words, his eyes became bloodthirsty and his aura became murderous. Only then did Jin-ah truly understand.
‘This guy is really crazy, isn’t he?’
He had actually been caught by such a crazy monster. So he quickly replied,
“No, no! I love being the tank. The tank must be big and strong after all.”