Chapter 19 - Return (3) (1/2)
Chapter 19: Return (3)
It wasn’t that I killed someone for the first time.
I had already made up my mind to do it, and the enemy was trying to do the same.
Of course, I was still a bit psychologically retracted…
But the following message took my mind off of that.
「 Would you like to absorb the soul of the player ‘Lee Jinhoo’? 」
Necromancy.
The innate ability I acquired after clearing the first trial.
That ability was telling me that I could get stronger not only by killing monsters, but also other humans.
This fact, combined with my first murder, shook my composure.
If I absorbed this, I’d be crossing a line that I couldn’t come back from.
But that was only a temporary thought.
‘I have to calm down. The fight isn’t over.’
The special objective said that no one would be able to leave this area until only one team was left.
Any more contemplating could put my life at risk.
I dashed past the message and threw myself into battle.
Kuang!
My body shot out like an arrow as I pushed it off the ground.
“Fuck, you fucking fuck!”
The crossbow challenger had a burst of outrage.
Not at the fact that his teammate died…
Only because his bait was gone.
It would be hard to stop me with a long-ranged damage dealer and a support.
In addition to that, Lee Hayeon was in perfect shape, even if Lee Sunghoon was a tad ragged.
They would have to use all their cards to change the flow of this battle.
Click, thunk. Psst!
I raised my left hand to block the arrow but the familiar weight in my hand was missing.
‘The shield… Oh yeah, I threw it.’
Going to pick up a shield while being focused on would practically be suicide.
What would happen if I got hit with an unexpected innate ability while relying on my high stats?
If they had a more offensive ability than reading trajectories, it was obvious what would happen to me.
‘It would be too late to think about this at that point.’
I had to turn this into an opportunity.
After the resolution, I thrust forward even faster.
It was too late to go for the shield now, I’d just have to trust the sword in my right hand.
Shhhft…!
I tilted my head to narrowly dodge the shot.
My heart thundered and my entire body heated up as I realized there was nothing to cover my body.
The lack of the shield left me both physically and psychologically exposed.
I had to keep it cool.
‘Calmly, without being too conscientious.’
Being shaken now could lead to my downfall.
My opponent also saw this as an opportunity and continued to shoot.
Psst!
Two staggered daggers darted towards me at an instant.
The clearly refined high-tier skill sent shivers down my spine.
Maybe it was due to all the adrenaline, but it was as if time had slowed down and my vision widened.
Combined with the increased awareness from the new skill, I could see what they were scheming.
This was just a ploy to trap me to restrict my speed.
‘He’s waiting for the moment I dodge the daggers to shoot his crossbow…’
If I got shot by an arrow now, it would be critical no matter where it landed.
There was only one answer to this.
‘Precisely deflect the oncoming daggers…!’
I slightly raised my sword and slammed the handle of the dagger heading for my abdomen.
Tang!
In one smooth motion, I also parried the dagger approaching my left eye.
Chang!
I almost let out a howl of victory as the sound of metal hitting metal rang in the room.
‘I did it…!’
But I had no time to give myself a pat on the back.
As I accelerated towards the man with the crossbow, my opponent stretched his hands out to me and uttered these words.
“Snake’s Binding!”
My legs froze as they were about to push off the ground.
「 Due to the effects of the innate ability ‘Snake’s Binding,’ your movement is restricted for 10 seconds. 」
「 After 5 seconds, the restriction to your movement will weaken. 」
It was as if a king cobra was squeezing my whole body.
As I expected, he pulled out his final resort.
But the problem is that this ability was super effective against me.
I tried to struggle out of it but it was no use.
‘A restriction type innate ability!’
It was the worst kind.
I expected that he would use one, but I didn’t expect it to be this.
An Achilles’ heel for someone with my combat style.
He seemed to know this as he smirked and opened his mouth.
“That’s what I thought, you bastard! Im Sangyoon, shoot him now!”
The man who I presumed to be Im Sangyoon pointed his staff at me as an arrow of ice formed.
‘No casting. It’s another innate ability…!’
The arrows made from white ice were emitting a conspicuous aura.
It was obvious that those arrows would pierce straight through me.
Even with the tenacity I gained from the Elixir of Steel, it wouldn’t strengthen my skin immediately.
I pulled on every fiber of my muscles, but it was to no avail.
‘Dammit, there has to be a way to get out…!’
The arrows pierced through the empty void before I had any chance to think.
Phing…!
An attack I couldn’t dodge or block, but all my senses were heightened.
1sec, 2sec, 3sec…
My muscles squirmed as I counted the seconds down.
When I realized there was no way to get out of this, I gave up on breaking free from this.
And instead…
I poured all my strength into my legs, waiting for the moment the restrictions weakened.
Argghh—
「 The effects of the binding have weakened. 」
The squirming muscles moved all of the sudden and my body fell backward.
And in that instant, the arrows flew past my eyes in the space where I used to stand.
The system said the effects were weakened, but it was still no joke.
It was like a thousand pounds crushing down my shoulders.
‘What kind of innate ability…’
If it wasn’t for my overwhelmingly high stats, there would be a hole through my head already.
I finally realized why this was the trial of competition and how important teamwork was.
This fucking tower gave a huge handicap to solo players.
At the same time, I felt cheated.
I mean, the only people on my team are a compass and a meat shield, and they get a whole team with offensive innate abilities?
Why did this only happen to my team?
If only I had someone to complain to…
「 Using the Assassin’s Cloak(C)’s active ability. 」
「 Movement speed +15% 」
「 Activation time left – 00:00:59 」
“Wha- Wait! L-let’s talk! I didn’t do it on purpose!”