Translator: Wan ED/PR: novio
8. Birthday cake smash and bonus (3)
The moment Maeng Hyodon jumped out of the window, he regretted it straight away.
‘Vice president, you fucking son of the bitch!’
The Ung’s family, the Chaser Group, was waiting on the rooftop.
The moment he broke a window, dozens of Enemies received an order and started to chase him down.
The PlayerSAT-K should naturally react when an Enemy approaches, but the Association Satellite always remained unresponsive.
‘Even if I defeated one like this, I was close to losing!’
The Chaser Group was composed of the Enemies Maeng Hyodon clashed with countless times in the Fighting Club.
When he fought them, he almost died of shock a few times, due to extreme bleeding.
He recovered again with recovery items, however the item price was set a few times higher than the market price and drove him into even bigger debt.
As a result, Maeng Hyodon had to fight in more dangerous matches, increasing his debt again.
He was gradually sinking deeper into the pit.
“Fuck!”
One Enemy pounced at Maeng Hyodon, staring at his leg.
He barely avoided it with a roll, but he couldn’t run like this.
Before he knew it, he was surrounded.
“What…”
The Enemies didn’t immediately jump at Maeng Hyodon.
They only observed Maeng Hyodon as they let out long chuckling howls.
It seemed they were mocking his miserable situation.
“Who do you think you’re playing for a fool, you Enemy bastards!”
Crack!
Maeng Hyodon scream, mixed with the sound of thunder, echoed in the night street.
‘I’ll at least take a few of their heads before I get caught.’
Maeng Hyodon clenching his teeth, he promised to himself like this and took a battle stance.
The moment this desperate situation reached a breaking point…
Swish! Swish!
Dozens of arrows of light flew from somewhere.
All the arrows pierced the Enemies’ legs and nailed them to the ground.
As if protecting Maeng Hyodon.
‘From where the fu….!’
The arrows flew from the direction of the Eungwang School’s main gates.
‘… Do you mean someone accurately shot dozens of Enemy legs in this rain, wind, and darkness?’
The downpour was strong enough that his skin hurt, the wind blew enough that the street trees swayed left and right and the street was almost pitch black.
No matter how well this someone handled the superpowers, this skill level couldn’t be described with words.
He couldn’t help but have doubts.
He wasn’t seeing things, was he?
[Run towards Eungwang School’s entrance, the main gates.]
With those doubts, the class vice president’s words crossed his mind.
Vice president Jo Uisin’s voice, disguised as a geezer, lingered in his ears.
Maeng Hyodon stood up again and started to run through the rain.
Paat! Pat!
Uwaaaa! Uuack!
As Maeng Hyodon ran, shining arrows endlessly poured at the Enemies.
As if the rain, wind and lightning didn’t exist, the arrows of light, holding supernatural power, accurately pierced the Jin’s family.
The sound of flying arrows.
The Enemies’ wails.
His racing heart was as loud as those sounds mixed with rain.
Bump. Bump.
The collapsed Enemies looked like hedgehogs.
Even the Enemies with slight injuries couldn’t outrun Maeng Hyodon, because their legs were cut.
No more of the Jin family could hinder his escape.
Step after step, he was getting out of hell.
‘No way, it can’t be true…..’
Far away, he could vaguely see Eungwang School’s main gates.
Even in the rainstorm, he saw the faint lights of the pure-white Eungwang School’s clock tower.
At the top of that clock tower stood the archer, shooting shining arrows.
“Run all the way here, Maeng Hyodon!”
The archer, in a black raincoat, shouted towards Maeng Hyodon.
He squeezed the last of his strength and put it all into the dash.
At last, he crossed the Eungwang School’s gate’s barrier.
Paaat!
As an Eungwang School student, Maeng Hyodon could safely pass through the barrier, but the Enemies were blocked by the Eungwang School’s barrier and couldn’t cross the school gates.
The black raincoat archer took the last breath of the Enemies, stiffened by the barrier.
Uwaaa….
After the last Enemy collapsed…
The black raincoat archer lightly dropped from the clock tower and walked towards Maeng Hyodon.
Maeng Hyodon had used up all his strength and sank to his knees in a puddle with a thud.
‘I got to school… I entered the Eungwang School’s campus!’
The feeling of relief kicked up.
Maeng Hyodon felt safe after a really long time.
A feeling he missed so dearly.
“I heard the story from Jo Uisin.”
Hearing those words, Maeng Hyodon realized.
This black raincoat archer was his homeroom teacher. The 1st year class 0 homeroom teacher, Ham Geun-hyeong, who the vice president spoke about.
“Maeng Hyodon, this is your first time coming to school.”
Ham Geun-hyeong brushed a black raincoat with the Eungwang School’s symbol and wrapped it around Maeng Hyodon.
Even though Maeng Hyodon was wrapped in the raincoat, he couldn’t lift his head, because it felt as if the rain was still pouring on his face.
In his mind, he recalled the words of the vice class president Jo Uisin.
[I didn’t come alone. Besides me, the homeroom teacher, teacher Ham Geunhyeong-nim also came. He will save you.]
“Teacher-nim…”
It had been a long time since Maeng Hyodon used the word ‘Teacher-nim’.
“Maeng Hyodon, are you hurt anywhere?”
He felt as if he was walking through water.
Every day when the food was difficult to solve.
His head, which was full of worries about the future.
His father’s curses and beatings, which were gradually becoming worse.
The hell-like Fighting Club and accumulating debts.
Crushed under the heavy reality, Maeng Hyodon couldn’t easily breathe.
‘I don’t know what to do, what to do…’
The world of the mere teenager Maeng Hyodon had only his father and school, but he didn’t have real friends or teachers.
Maeng Hyodon didn’t even have money to buy the school supplies or reference books, nor money to go on a school trip.
Maeng Hyodon was a short Player, without money, and the only thing he could do well was fighting. It was natural he was left out.
There were hardly any days when he was seen eating a meal alone.
‘…Teacher-nim.’
In the meantime, his 3rd year middle school homeroom teacher was too kind.
He was a fool who said to Maeng Hyodon, who gave up going to highschool, that he would send him to the highschool that didn’t need tuition and searched through thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of pages of the application guidelines. Until he found the Eungwang School special screening.
When the passing notice came, he openly cried his heart out.
He was such a fool, it seemed would pay all Maeng Hyodon’s debts even if it meant he had to stand surety, that hogu.
So Maeng Hyodon couldn’t say a word about his situation.
‘It seemed there was no place to ask for help…’
However, for the first time today, Maeng Hyodon met someone he could ask for help.
The vice class president who came to attack that nightmarish place, Jo Uisin.
The homeroom teacher who defended him from dozens of demonic beasts, Ham Geun-hyeong.
Maybe it was okay to call out for help to those two.
Maeng Hyodon didn’t know when he opened his mouth.
“…Please help me, teacher-nim.”
Maeng Hyodon shut his mouth after those words.
He, himself, didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Okay, I got it.”
Yet Ham Geun-hyeong agreed easily.
After hearing the answer, Maeng Hyodon couldn’t stand up from the puddle, even though he was covered in the rain splashing at the ground.
His homeroom teacher, Ham Geunhyeong-nim waited until Meang Hyodon stood up by himself.
***
I saw the arrows of light through the red lightning and mist covering the building.
Ham Geun-hyeong’s Gwangrim, the ‘Eyes and Light Bow of Sharpshooter’, upon activation borrowed the eyes and bows of the higher beings which passed down their names as sharpshooters.
‘Ham Geun-hyeong will save Maeng Hyodon.’
Eungwang School was attended by Korea’s top genius Players.
The Head of the Student Department in such a place had to oversee students and be in charge of life guidance.
So the best fighter among the teachers usually took on the role of the Head of the Student Department.
For that reason, it was rare for the teacher in charge of the Player’s life guidance to have worse skills than the students.
‘He is not a playable character who survived in this crazy world for a long time for nothing.’
Ham Geun-hyeong’s player alias was ‘Great Archer of Blue Sky[1]’.
‘The eyes of the Great Archer reach anywhere, no matter if the sky is blue or not.’
That saying was the origin of his alias.
Being one of the top long-range playable characters, he survived relatively long and helped the main character’s party.
‘This building is less than 200m away from the Eungwang School’s boundary. It would be simple for Ham Geun-hyeong to save Maeng Hyodon from the main gates’ clock tower, no matter the raging rainstorm and darkness.’
Maeng Hyodon was saved.
Now it was my turn.
At my signal, Jaok-ho used the Red Lightning to explode the whole building. As the inside building collapsed because of the red thunder, I activated the skills.
⟨Using active character’s skill ‘Flight’. ⟩
⟨Using active character’s skill ‘Space Control’.⟩
I rose in the air, above the collapsing floor, while also forming a barrier of light around myself.
Space Art allowed one to manipulate, fix and change properties of space as one wanted.
Space Control, which was a derived skill from Space Art, could even be used as a barrier.
‘This is the strength worthy of the Dragon King’s favorite…!’
The character I currently turned into with the Player’s Trajectory was Yong Jegeon.
Yong Jegeon, nicknamed the ‘Dragon Teacher’, was one of the Jin people, the Playful category Dragon[2] of the Yong tribe, and an oddball who worked as a teacher at the Eungwang School.
‘However, it’s a version with reduced real level due to the teacher contract with Hwang-ho.’
Yong Jegeon, in order to work at the Eungwan School, formed a teacher contract to adjust all his levels to the human standard.
Those constraints became the reason why in the scenario ‘PMH’s consecrate collapse incident’ he couldn’t display his full power and died.
‘He was as popular as Jeok-ho, so many users felt sorry about his death.’
Even though he was old, he was the only playable character who had the ability to fly, capture and defend at the same time.
But Yong Jegeon’s Gwangrim consumption was severe, so if possible you had to only use skills.
‘Let’s use Yong Jegeon’s Gwangrim carefully.’
While I had opened the barrier with Yong Jegeon’s power, the collapse of the building was progressing smoothly.
‘Jeok-ho did an excellent job.’
In the time I was secretly meeting with Maeng Hyodon, Jeok-ho did primarily work in order to collapse this decadent building.
At my signal, an impact would be applied at the designated spots, columns, beams, rebar, etc. with red lightning and then the building would begin to refreshingly collapse.
The building built when disobeying dozens of the building laws wasn’t difficult to break.
Jeok-ho, carefully wrapped the red fog around the whole building so the adjacent building wouldn’t be harmed or the members inside the building didn’t escape.
Kraaang, kakakang, bang!
Uwaaak. Kyaaak!
‘It breaks really, really well!’
Jeok-ho truly did a splendid job.
The building was crumbling much better than I expected.
I thought that the entire collapse would take more than 15 minutes, but it seemed it would be finished within 10 minutes.
I guess Jeok-ho was determined and very careful about smashing.
‘As expected from the Ho tribe.’
This building itself was evidence of Choe Pyeondeuk and VIP members’ corruption.
I needed to trap people inside of the evidence building in order to capture them.
However, if I confronted them directly, there was a possibility they would take Maeng Hyodon hostage or that the Trainer category Ung tribe members, dozens of the Enemies they raised, and the Chaser Group would hinder me.
‘In this case, catching all Player members would be impossible.’
My strategy was like this:
First, look out for the owner, Choe Pyondeuk’s birthday, when all key members and VIP guests gather.
Second, make Maeng Hyodon escape.
Third, separate Jin’s family Chaser Group from the building.
Fourth, seal off the entire building and collapse it, trapping all the guests.
As Jeok-ho devoted himself to the role of sealing off and breaking the whole building, I decided to do all the rest.
“Kyeaaak!”
“Out of the way, out of the way!”
“It’s collapsing, collapsing!”
“Help!”
The guests and employees in disgusting outfits fled as the superpowers ran wild.
All guests were Players, but not only were they weaker than students of Eungwang School, they were also unarmed and high on alcohol and drugs.
There was no way they could display any power against Jeok-ho’s red lightning.
‘Serves you right.’
Outside the window, the red fog coiled and prevented them from escaping, the red electric current ran through every floor and all of it was happening while the building was collapsing.
The hell-like degenerated business became the hell of the fire lightning.
‘Is that how it feels to delete hateful images?’
I felt very pleased with this pandemonium.
Especially around the exit and stairs, people got tangled up trying to escape. It was utter chaos.
“Don’t be crybabies. You guys are also players.”
No one would listen, but I gave them a word.
I asked Jeok-ho beforehand to wrap a few Non-Players with a bit of the Red Fog and protect their vital points, so they wouldn’t die.
‘Of course, the Players don’t have that.’
Even a little middle school student like Son Mingi survived when his limbs were crushed.
Even when this entire building collapses, no one will die.
But the pain will be very much worth dying over.
“Choe Pyeondeuk, do you also think so?”
I said top Choe Pyeondeuk, who I caught with the Space Art.
Fifth point of the strategy was that the 7th and 8th floor should collapse first in order to catch Choe Pyeondeuk.
The first to shatter was the floor between the VIP’s room on the 8th floor and the fighting club on the 7th floor.
Because I had to be sure to capture Choe Pyeondeuk alive.
“Me, to me. Do you know who I am?! This, this, this-ack!”
It seemed that Choe Pyeondeuk still hadn’t come to his senses.
He tried to use his supernatural abilities to break the Space Art and get out, however the power I was now operating was that of the Yong tribe.
It’s not something a degenerate Player could face without even the poorest weapon.
‘As a Player weaker than the standard student, he endured in Eungwang School by riding on his personal connections, two-faced acting and forging documents.’
The more I look at this guy, the more I compare him to the excellent teachers like Jegal Jaegeol and Ham Geun-hyeong.
“Choe Pyeondeuk, from now on I’m going to do something you will hate very much.”
I flew towards the secret place on the 8th floor, which I saw in the game.
When telling Jeok-ho the plan before, I asked him to break this place less.
“Ack, ack! To me, aaack! Kuk…”
As I flew, I deliberately smashed Choe Pyeondeuk, held by the Space Art, against the floor and hit him with pieces of the crumbling and falling building.
This short flight was very exhilarating.
‘It was around here.’
I dragged Choe Pyeondeuk and walked towards the hidden secret place in the deepest part of the VIP’s room.
Seeing the doors to the secret space, he started convulsing.
“Wh-What are you thinking?! Ack!”
“What I’m thinking? If I caught an enemy, I should receive a reward.”
I grabbed Choe Pyeondeuk’s head and brought his eyes towards the iris reading device.
Ping—.
The cheap looking at the first glance side doors slowly opened.
Beyond the door, the around 10 pyeong[3] warehouse was visible.
The entire shelves were filled with the apple boxes[4] filled with cash and item cards.
“You ate that much! Great job.”
As I dribbled Choe Pyeondeuk’s head against the floor, as if I was dribbling a basketball, I stretched my hand towards the boxes.
Then the boxes disappeared in my Exclusive Menu’s inventory.
Seeing disappearing boxes, Choe Pyeondeuk screeched like a murdered pig.
I felt pleased with the growing list of possessed items.
It was then, I heard the system notification.
⟨The number of the possessed weapons had increased to 500 types.⟩
What is it all of the sudden?
⟨The level of the skill ‘Use of Everything’ raised from 1 to 2.⟩
“Ha.”
Why all of the sudden?
I wasn’t using any weapons right now.
I was only using Yong Jegeon’s skill with the Player’s Trajectory.
In this case, the reason for the raise of the skill level…
“Hahahaha!”
I guess the skill level of Use of Everything increases with the amount of weapons possessed.
That unexpected bonus made me feel even better.
Choe Pyeondeuk, whose body was shaking from the pain of beating and rage of being robbed from his assets, looked up at me.
“Why, why are you… Why!?”
Choe Pyeondeuk made a face as if he was struck by lightning out of blue, rather than getting punished for his wrongdoings.
Though it was true he was struck by Jeok-ho’s red lightning.
Because my mood was a bit better thanks to the unexpected skill level up, I decided to give him a hint.
“Don’t you know me?”
“You, you, don’t YOU know who I am? It’s me we’re talking about, huh? How many high-ranking people…”
“Don’t you know when you see this crow mask?”
Answering like this, I looked at the scar left at the palm of his hand where the piece of flesh was cut off.
I engraved Sillentium’s seal and the crow’s mark on Choe Pyeondeuk who also participated in the Fantasy Auction.
“I engraved the crow’s pattern on this palm.”
Choe Pyeondeuk made a startled expression.
“Re–Red Wall Thief…!”
Don’t shout this embarrassing name to my face!
Baang–!
I struck the back of his head out of reflex.
Because I didn’t hold back my hand, the strength of the Yong tribe was expressed to my heart’s content.
When he raised his head after being jammed into the floor, two of his front teeth were broken.
Even when looking at him like this, he didn’t feel even a bit pitiful.
Because Choe Pyeondeuk was related to my old grudge, the grudge from 10 years ago.
“Do you have any idea how many of PMH’s pre-registered users dropped out because of you? That tutorial was fucking dog shit.”
“Wh…What are you talking about…”
“I wish you also would cry like a dog in misery without reason. Choe Pyeondeuk.”
The resentment of the national hypewreck’s addict was deep-rooted.
Behind the mask, I bursted into long, refreshing laughter.
As a rule, humans feel fear towards the disasters they can’t understand or violence for unknown reasons.
I continued to laugh, looking like a madman, while terrified Choe Pyeondeuk didn’t dare to run his mouth any more.
However, even as I laughed, my head spun coldly.
‘I won’t leave him to the police like I did with Son Mingi or Byeon Sunhoe.’
I had no intention of leaving Choe Pyeondeuk’s judgment to the law.
Son Mingi or Byeon Sunhoe, I had no intention of letting him see the daylight and live like those two.
‘Choe Pyeondeuk knows the law very well. His personal connections cannot be even compared to the previous two. He would live, at most, a few years in prison and then come out to live well with all the assets he gathered through the corruption.’
I robbed a lot, but there was no way this sneaky bastard hid his assets in only one place.
‘Because of it, I’ll entrust him to Jeok-ho.’
He used his post as the teacher of the school managed by the Ho tribe and in their divine realm, to collaborate with the Ung tribe.
Jeok-ho really wanted to grill this Choe Pyeondeuk.
‘Choe Pyeondeuk will disappear with today’s collapse incident. On the surface.’
With such thoughts, I was about to go join Jeok-ho, when…
Swoosh!
My hair stood up at the sound of the wind.
Someone was trying to launch an attack on me.
Inside the collapsing building, I felt the wind move ominously.
There was no system notification.
If so, it wasn’t an Enemy.
The opponent was a Jin.
‘You have come, the Trainer category Ung!’
The Jin who appeared was the owner of the pet demonic beasts which were released in this Fighting Club and during Eungwang School’s entrance exam.
I expect that he will show off his beloved pet at Choe Pyeondeuk’s birthday party and will come to observe it.
He was one of the guys who must be caught today.
‘Even without Jeok-ho, it’s enough if I can fight him until the building collapses.’
Though the Player’s Trajectory usage time will be significantly reduced, I’ll use the Yong tribe’s Gwangrim to block it.
When I was about to activate Yong Jegeon’s Gwangrim…
Clang!
The being I couldn’t imagine raised the sword between me and the Trainer Ung and blocked him.
My field of vision was immediately blocked by the wide back.
Almost like an from behind the back appearance I saw for 10 years.
‘Why are you here…!’
It was Baek Ho-gun.
Before my eyes, Baek Ho-gun raised the White Fang of the Thunder Clouds Breaker and faced the Ung.
*~*~*
[1] Great Archer of Blue Sky – I always can decide how to translate those nicknames. It could also be: Blue Sky Great Archer, Firmament Great Archer, Great Archer of Heavenly Vault… You could also replace great with something else like famed, prominent, peerless, matchless…
[2] Playful category Dragon – The word meaning ‘to play or to enjoy’ in Chinese. Could also mean game. But it could also refer to the concept of Dragon Game from the Kasearin series. The Dragon Game means that a dragon polymorphs into targeted species and experiences life as that species. That’s at least a gist of it, you should probably take a look at the series to know more, but the main thing is that as Kasearin is a classic in Korea, this concept became wildly popular. So when powerful immortal beings act and live like mortals, it’s called ‘Dragon play’.
[3] 10 pyeong – Around 33m³.
[4] apple box – A slang synonym for bribe money or slush funds. Refers to covering the bribes with presents like ‘boxes of apples’, which are in fact filled with money, but look innocent from the outside.
Translator’s note: ‘Even though Maeng Hyodon was wrapped in the raincoat, he couldn’t lift his head, because it felt as if the rain was still pouring on his face.’ in the author’s dictionary means: Maeng Hyodon is crying.
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