Chapter 92 (1/2)
Episode 6: Mafia Game / Chapter 92: Independent Troops (3)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
The instructor said,
“Forget the monsters you’ve fought until now. From now on, you will begin fighting real monsters, not those dumb, low ranked monsters. This means that the monsters aren’t simply strong. They will infiltrate your weak points. Let’s see… You said earthlings have fought with dimensional wasps and eyeless observers before? Remember the lessons you learned then, that monsters don’t fight us purely through strength.”
They learned about monsters through actual battle. They were personally fighting against various types of monsters that were active throughout the universe.
Kakakang!
The monster, a jaksam, was a giant with an outrageous amount of endurance. Sovereign Jessie stabbed the monster’s third eye, but his spear curved like a reed and bounced off.
Clang!
The Sovereign of Paradise Camilla’s sword, s.h.i.+ning with silver karma, slashed down at the jaksam’s arm, but it bounced back like an explosion. There wasn’t even a scratch on its arm.
{Keulaahh!}
The jaksam’s mouth opened. Its face looked like it was splitting in half, and they could see teeth covering its throat.
“Erdbeben-Blitzschlag (Lightning Quake)!”
Richard’s Lightning Quake pierced into its throat.
Woos.h.!.+
An intense vibration swept across its head, and it staggered as if dizzy, but that was it.
“… Crazy.”
Dumbfounded, Richard closed his mouth.
They heard their instructor’s voice in their head.
{The monster jaksam, while weak in offensive power, is agile and possesses an enormous amount of endurance. No middle ranked warrior, using any method, can inflict an effective blow on it. That fellow will target and rush towards the troop’s commander or experts. If you are blocked by it, the key personnel won’t be able to fight properly, but that’s not all…}
The Ethiopian Sovereign Yohan momentarily revealed an opening while fighting. He was too close, and his body had temporarily exhausted its karma after launching a powerful attack.
{Kuoooh!}
Bang!
The 4-meter-tall mountain launched a swift advance. Its entire body suddenly emitted light, and that light gathered towards its fist. The moment the light gathered, its fist had already punched Yohan, and the light that had gathered in its fist was sucked into Yohan’s body before exploding.
Bang!
Yohan’s tough body flew away like a rag.
“Yohan!”
The Queen of England Diana shouted. Perhaps it was because they both became overseers who had been their respective country’s leader and because their fighting capabilities were low amongst the seven overseers, but the two quickly became friends.
Yohan staggered as he stood up within a cloud of dirt. Seeing this, Diana let out a sigh of relief.
“That light… scatters karma… cough.”
As if he had been inflicted with an internal injury, Yohan’s lips were pale, and blood dripped from the corner of his lips. Even though he was weak compared to the other overseers, he was still one of the seven overseers. A top warrior of humanity. Someone like him had sustained a significant injury with a single punch.
{The jaksam sticks to its opponents and launches a deadly attack when it sees an opportunity like that. The attack itself contains a lot of destructive power, but it’s even more difficult as it momentarily scatters the target’s karma. To receive its attack, a warrior with outstanding endurance must block it after properly preparing himself so his kar
ma doesn’t scatter. After three attacks, its body will be unable to keep up the defensive strength it once had. If you attack then, you can kill it.}
“Do we have to receive them? Can’t we avoid them?”
Grumbled Jessie. It was immediately followed by the instructor’s remark.
{The jaksam is careful. It won’t punch unless it knows it will definitely hit. Even outstanding warriors take three hits from the jaksam before attacking it.}
“… f.u.c.k.”
Sovereign Jessie clicked his tongue as he looked around. Eventually someone would have to take two more hits from that monster to take it out. However, there was no way anyone would want to be hit by such a powerful attack.
Only then did Jessie realize the fear of the monster known as jaksam.
‘It’s set up so someone has to sacrifice themselves. If a monster like that rushed into our headquarters during a war, then it would difficult to command the troops.’
The instructor pointed that out.
{Do you get it? A fight with a monster can’t be settled with only power. Monsters will endlessly drive into our selfishness and try to disa.s.semble our unity.}
When everyone nodded their heads with heavy expressions at the instructor’s words, Choi Hyuk stepped out by himself.
Kiririkang!
He unsheathed ‘Imprint’ from his waist.
{Ho? A karma-sword? He already got one? Is it a Weapon of Calling?}
The instructor showed interest. The other sovereigns reacted with a ‘What’s that?’
However, Choi Hyuk was simply curious.
‘I finally get to use this sword.’
If he used this sword, at least 300 points of karma would be distributed to stats relating to close combat (Power, Speed, Endurance, Control, and Stamina). Ideally it would supplement his weaker stats and enhance the stronger ones. Depending on Choi Hyuk’s capability, the distributed amount of karma could be 600 or 900 points instead of 300. A sword that theoretically didn’t possess a limit. A sword awakened with Choi Hyuk’s ‘Deadly Will’.
Grrrp.
He gripped his sword as if he were trying to shatter it. His wrist became firmly fixed. His joints, such as his elbow and shoulder, became reinforced with karma. It was ‘Imprint’ supplementing his weaknesses.
The lowest stat Choi Hyuk possessed was ‘Endurance – 100 (3★)’. Although he was making up for it with his superb Control stat, the low endurance of his joints, which had to endure the impact of his close-ranged attacks, was an important reason for why his attack power lowered.
From the sensation of his firmly fixed wrist, his confidence surged as if he could even slash apart a star. Choi Hyuk’s arm easily rose above his head. Like a breechblock fixing into place with a click, the karma pathway connected to his Karma Heart added resilience to his arm. Choi Hyuk could feel the power from his raised arm. In that moment, he surpa.s.sed his Power, which was at the 4-star level, and his Speed, which was at the 5-star level. He was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with power. Choi Hyuk’s sword swung down like a ray of light.
“Instant Void Annihilation.”
Sliiiice!
At the frightening sound, which seemed to rip the world apart, the shoulders of the six sovereigns, excluding Choi Hyuk, s.h.i.+vered.
Then, the body of the jaksam slowly split in two. The body, which could take any blow before it launched three lethal attacks, was easily cut as if it were paper.
{Impossible!}
Astonishment filled the instructor’s voice.
The training was like this.
{Like you know, the Dragon race was a tribe that once prided themselves on being a strong force. Commander Mack of the Virgo Cl.u.s.ter could be considered a part of the Dragon race. And the colonized land of earthlings, Dragonic, was a region where a lot of large Dragon races lived. However, at the beginning of the war, the monsters’ invasions were concentrated on the homeland of the Dragon race, and now, the tribe’s scale has been reduced significantly. Also, a portion of the monsters parasitized and caused a change within dragons. They are known as ‘changed dragons’. They are monsters that inherited the Dragon race’s characteristics. They are tough like jaksams, and they can use their breaths, which could be considered as lethal attacks, multiple times. Since they also possess the ability to fly, they could be considered as wide-scale killing machines.}
When the instructor’s explanation ended,
“Instant Void Annihilation.”
Sliiiiice!
Choi Hyuk, who was having fun using ‘Imprint’, immediately split his opponent.
{Overseer Choi Hyuk… Can’t you step in later for the other overseers? The training can’t progress properly like this… I’m really about to go crazy. For someone who just reached the level of a middle ranked warrior to possess, not a Weapon of Calling or a Weapon of Sentiment… but a Weapon of Vow! Now, really… d.a.m.n it…}
Although there were small events like this, the training went smoothly.
The time for the placement evaluation approached while he was having fun learning about and fighting middle ranked monsters he hadn’t faced until now. The placement evaluation took place in virtual reality.
“Leader, I’m going in first.”