Episode 172: A decisive blow
There is a saying.
Those who are good at something will eventually do well.
When you hear this, you might think, “What the heck are you talking about?” or “Are you saying something so obvious as if it were true?”
However, we need to think carefully about the meaning behind these words.
No matter how long they’ve been in an industry, it can sometimes be used to mean that a veteran who’s made it to the top in another industry can do better there than someone who just knows how to do it moderately.
For example, the decision-making ability of a world champion who has only kicked the can 20,000 times may be superior to that of an average soccer player.
‘I don’t know if there is such a world champion.’
And this was the same for the hunter industry.
Justin, who was probably confident that he would win, arrived late and blinked at me as if he couldn’t believe it.
It didn’t really matter what industry or field you were active in.
“Are you curious as to how I got there first?”
Of course, the answer was simple. My aerial maneuverability was basically overwhelming. Plus, with [Piercing Eyes], I could see everything clearly, so I could almost fly.
Of course, there was no need to teach that.
“That’s simple. It’s because I can answer questions faster.”
With those words, I pulled out my gun at the guy with the rotten expression.
***
Meanwhile, the audience who were watching both Justin’s and Lee Chang-hyun’s missions were filled with surprise.
“That Justin guy… … He even set a new record this time… … .”
“What is that guy? How can he move like that in the pitch-black darkness? It’s not like he understands and memorizes the terrain, it’s like he can see everything as if the lights are on.”
The reason was simple. They all watched Lee Chang-hyun break through that dark cave, the Great Hollow.
To cut to the chase, they thought that Lee Chang-hyun had to be faster.
Because while Justin was barely able to run, conscious of the darkness and following the safest place he had memorized with his body… … Lee Chang-hyun flew with the air anchor, avoiding the stalactites and obstacles on the ceiling of the cave as if everything was clear to his eyes.
He didn’t even just go. Unlike Justin, he took the shortest route to the neutral monster habitat, performing acrobatics.
Even in that darkness, it felt like he had the confidence to shake everything off.
“……also.”
Of course, not everyone was surprised.
For Yoon Han-gyeol, who had been watching Lee Chang-hyun since the audition program, it was actually funny.
Finding hidden pieces that no one knew about, avoiding all attacks as if he had anticipated them, and thinking of Lee Chang-hyun’s appearance as he saw and judged things that no one else knew about…
‘I vaguely thought you had special eyes.’
“What do you think, Lennon? Am I right?”
I’m the kind of person who would create a fan cafe, so I should at least do this much.
As expected, Lennon was also very surprised.
‘I thought Lennon would have expected it to some extent, since he had been involved in [Palace of Illusions] the other day… … It’s a bit surprising that he’s surprised.’
“In our team, it’s a given that Chang-Hyeon does that much. Lennon needs to get used to it too.”
“That… that’s not the level of the story.”
“… … ?”
“I don’t know how far you can see… … Those things, I can’t explain in detail right now, but they have a special characteristic of the tower that can’t be broken through even with night vision goggles or by simply shining light like a lantern. Being able to see those things with your own two eyes and break through them… … .”
“You are a hunter by nature.”
Lennon’s last words were intercepted by Austin, who appeared with Kim Do-jun.
“Maybe he has more of a first-generation Hunter quality than any of the others here.”
At those words, silence fell upon the audience watching the game.
“If you think about the glory of the first generation of hunters that Korea enjoyed in the past, it may not be such a new thing.”
Austin laughed softly.
***
‘How on earth did you do that…?’
When I saw that guy yawning loudly as if he had been waiting ahead, I felt my blood boil all the way to the top of my head.
Moreover, this time it was Justin’s own breakthrough time record.
‘No matter what means I use, it’s impossible to reduce it… … and I’m not out of breath or my clothes are disheveled… … .’
At first glance, it didn’t look like it had even just arrived.
If you want to reduce your current record further, you will need to use mana equipment such as Air Dash or Air Anchor, or pass through the habitat of neutral monsters… … .
Because it would be suicidal to do something so dangerous to slow down the breakthrough speed in the [Pitch Black Cave], which was both invisible and difficult to detect.
He came in shouting louder than that, and his face felt hot as he thought that the guy must have arrived first on the screen.
It was even more so when I saw that guy joking around about how he was just faster at covering the tracks.
But, as I was getting more and more angry, this thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘No… … Rather, this situation might be an opportunity.’
In the original ‘Tappa Mission’, the route to be taken is different depending on the experience of each player, and since the time is different, there is almost no chance of encountering enemies, so the only competition is to see how fast you can break through.
But what if you’re waiting around like that guy, stupid and full of pride?
‘There’s no problem with the rules in dealing with that guy here.’
He’s a Hunter’s League player, so he can’t dodge.
If it had been confirmed that I would have lost because I had been sent on a mission to attack, it would have been even more problematic. How dare you wait for me here so arrogantly.
That will soon be the cause of his downfall.
As expected, the guy had his gun drawn, as if he was planning to end things with a fight.
You idiot. Just because you’re a first-generation Hunter, a Hunter who conquers the top, do you think you’d be weaker than the Hunters League Hunters who just fight like crazy all the time?
“Hey kid.”
“… … ?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what trick they used, but they definitely got there before me. I’ll admit that. But… … .”
He pulled out the huge, awl-shaped sword he had been carrying on his waist.
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“If you had arrived first, you should have run all the way and completed the mission! You’re going to lose because you’re fighting stupidly!”
Even though it wasn’t a sword, it was a quick attack change reminiscent of swordsmanship.
The sharp, stabbing blade was instantly pointed at the guy.
Any hunter who threw themselves directly onto the tower would have had such a decisive blow.
In a moment of crisis, a weapon that can be used with confidence. A weapon that is more familiar to the hand than anything else and blooms fatally by penetrating the opponent’s weak points.
A laugh came out naturally.
In a split second, take it out and stab it. At the same time, its length will increase tremendously in an instant and pierce the opponent.
That was Justin’s dagger, which stretched all the way to the end and killed the opponent the moment they let their guard down, even though they thought they had dodged it.
The guy happened to have a gun, so there was no way to stop him, and it would have been difficult to dodge…
Thud!
“… … !”
“Its shape is like a fencing sword… … It can stretch infinitely… … Since it pierces one point, its destructive power is also quite good. It’s fun.”
I didn’t see it. The guy definitely wasn’t carrying a shield…
The guns he had been holding in both hands were gone, and he was blocking his own blows with his shield.
I was dumbfounded as things flowed in a completely unexpected direction.
“This one was a bit unexpected… … Maybe because I’m a Hunter? It felt like a desperate measure, so it’s okay. But it’s not to the point where I can’t stop it. Is there anything else?”
The guy poured out his words, nonchalantly blocking the perfect chance of conversion that he thought was aimed at a gap, a blind spot in his thinking.
Like, “Is there nothing more to show?” He said it without hiding the fact that he was treating it like a spectacle.
Something was strange.
It was just a bunch of things he couldn’t understand, like how slow he was and how his attacks were blocked.
‘What? What’s wrong?’
It’s not that I failed at self-objectification. Those numbers, no, my skills are already enough to be effective even in America, the country of hunters… …
That… that’s it, it was blocked like this, like a child playing?
Complicated thoughts swirled around in my head.
The guy standing in front of me looked like a demon.
“Is there nothing more you can show me? Then I guess I can’t help it.”
The shield the guy was holding suddenly transformed back into a gun.
‘Ah… … That guy’s shield has the ability to transform matter… … .’
There was no room for further thought.
Bang! Ta-tang ta-tata-tang!
Because the guy’s barrage of shots has begun.
The number of the spleen wasn’t a number of the spleen for nothing. It was a technique that was a fatal blow and poured everything into it, so it was a number of the spleen.
Since that was blocked, there was bound to be a backlash.
‘Avoid… … Avoid.’
He spread out his mana shield behind his back and escaped by flying up with his air anchor.
Just time. If we can just buy ourselves some time to recover, we can fight on equal footing again.
therefore.
For now, we just need to get through this crisis.
Because I thought so.
Actually, that thought was somewhat correct.
As the guy ran away, he seemed to be bothered by the mana shield he had placed behind his back, so he only aimed at the parts that the mana shield could not protect, so he did not get shot in any vital spots.
‘Kikki… … Don’t you know why hunters don’t use guns? That’s why those damn hunters are so shaky.’
I thought I might be able to buy some time.
Well, I guess there’s no other hunter who can use something like a gun except Ethan.
That guy can’t possibly fire a gun for more than just deterrence.
It hurt when I got hit on my left arm, which was not protected by the mana shield, but… … it was okay.
This is within the acceptable range.
If we just recover like this, we can definitely turn the tide.
As I thought that, the frequency of the bullets passing through the areas that the mana shield could not block gradually decreased.
‘Okay… … If we go forward, it’ll get complicated and it’ll be hard for him to find his way.’
At that moment, just before the maze-like waterway, where you can buy some time.
The guy let out a word softly.
“Hit the head.”
Stupidly. It seemed like he was aiming for the part blocked by the mana shield.
If that were possible, I would have done it a long time ago. I was entering the canal, probably guessing that it was fake.
Phishing -.
The accident has stopped.
No, it was as if time had stopped.
The mana shield he had set up behind his back shattered like a glass window hit by a baseball.
The moment I looked back in shock, what I saw in both my eyes was a single, glowing bullet heading towards my head.
“why.”
With such destructive power, the moment the first decisive blow failed, it would have been as good as lost.
If I could break the mana shield, I wouldn’t have had to let him escape.
Why so.
It’s as if you can’t break the mana shield, so you have to dodge and hit.
Just pick out the non-lethal spots… …
“Well, it wouldn’t be fun if it ended all at once.”
Finally, what was in Justin’s eyes was the look of an invisible demon, like that of a boy in his late teens.
fantasy,
