Trait Hoarder Chapter 27

Dagger Wave -2-

Phew!

A dull, cracking sound stabbed my back.

A heavy shock spread through my entire back, but that was it.

I didn’t feel any excruciating pain digging into my spine, nor any burning pain, let alone a hot one.

“What, what······”

A sound of a startled, hasty breath.

It was an opportunity.

I grabbed the butt of the shotgun and swung it wildly.

A motion similar to swinging a baseball bat.

Boooow, booow!

That was a perfect fit.

A ghostly figure wearing a black coat with its hood pulled down rolled around after being hit by a shotgun.

As expected, this is not ordinary.

In that brief moment, he flies his body backwards to minimize the impact.

But what I’m holding isn’t a bat, it’s a gun.

It was when he was about to lift the gun again and take aim.

The dagger boss’s eyes flashed and he shook his hand.

Whew!

A sword light flashing in the air.

I instinctively held out my shotgun and blocked it.

Phew, with a sound the dagger struck the barrel and bounced off.

The problem was that the force was so strong that the gun barrel was half-dented.

Does this make sense?

It’s not a trait or anything.

It was just something that was thrown with magical power.

But what if it breaks a steel barrel?

“crazy?”

“Hahaha. Are you out of money?”

The dagger boss pulls out another dagger.

A dagger that looks exactly like the one that bounced off, but with a green magic circle engraved on its surface instead of a purple one.

A magical dagger enchanted with addiction magic.

The attack power is average, but the poison debuff is strong.

If you use it with the twin weapon, the Cursed Dagger, the debuff alone is enough to send even the most superhuman to the underworld.

I chewed my lower lip.

There is no time to take out the rifle that is stored in the golf bag.

Instead, he pulled out the sword that was attached to his waist.

visor!

Clear and bright.

But the posture is awkward.

I’ve swung a club a lot since I was born, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a sword.

The dagger boss laughed so loudly that his Adam’s apple was visible.

“Puhahaha! Are you calling that a sword? Why don’t you surrender right now? I’ll show you mercy and cut off one arm and let you go.”

He’s smiling, but his eyes are cold.

Life is dripping down.

They are ready to pounce as soon as you expose even the slightest weakness.

Amidst the rising tension, I quietly changed my character.

[Bankruptcy Law][Strike][Consecutive Strike]

[Magic Heart][Strength][Matthew]

‘Finish it in one breath.’

Just one attack.

The outcome will be a matter of life and death.

Neither I nor the dagger boss moved, just glaring at each other.

I was drenched in cold sweat.

The tinnitus became worse and the world shook like waves.

But I held on.

Endured with superhuman endurance.

This is something that would have been absolutely impossible for me in the original world.

The experiences I had as I fell into this strange world, the countless crises, the events that tempered me, helped me not to waver.

Taang······ Taang······

Gunshots are heard in the distance.

Crackle! Crackle!

It seemed like there was a slight noise coming from the earphones worn by the Dagger Sect boss.

What did you hear?

His face turned vicious and a light flashed in his eyes.

My instincts screamed a fierce warning.

Now is the time!

The one who lost the battle of patience was the dagger boss.

He steps lightly on the ground and rushes towards me.

Fast as an assassin.

But it was the wrong choice.

You might think that I’m a gunfighter with a magic shield, and that I’d have used up the magic to create the shield, but the premise is completely off.

I may have been a gunman 10 minutes ago, but I am not a gunman now.

He is a warrior.

An authentic warrior who has mastered swordsmanship and is armed with powerful strikes and combos!

“under!”

I also kick the ground.

Infuse all magical power into the sword.

The illusions swirling in my head, just like the trajectory drawn by the man with the solemn face.

Simultaneous activation of strong strike and combo.

It was a reckless technique.

It was a truly wicked and foolish technique.

In fact, it is an action that is so simple and foolish that it is embarrassing to call it a technique or a skill.

But the effect was terrifying.

A strong blow grants powerful power, and a combo attack executes the Bankruptcy Sword Technique repeatedly.

The simplest, most honest, yet most destructive bankruptcy law, Form 1.

Tear down a mountain.

The vertical slashes poured down like machine gun fire!

“Ugh!”

A blow that would be absolutely impossible for a beginner.

A consecutive attack that is impossible even for a level 2 superhuman.

A fierce attack that can only be performed by a level 3 orthodox warrior or samurai.

The dagger boss is seen looking shocked.

The sight of eyes lighting up and expressions distorting is sweetly etched into my mind.

Then, his expression becomes determined as if he senses the end.

“asleep!”

He roars and thrashes like a wounded tiger.

Underneath the onslaught of attacks that poured down like a torrential downpour.

The dagger boss makes his final desperate move.

A big shaking hand.

The dagger that left its tip flies towards me with a green light.

I wanted to deflect it, but I couldn’t. With my skills, I couldn’t swing my sword as I pleased. I just struck down like a dummy, using the set method and applying the strong strike and combo techniques.

“Eww!”

“Cough!”

Screams and groans intersect.

The dagger boss, who had been wounded on the nape of his neck, chest, and left arm, sprayed blood in long streams.

It looks like a fatal wound.

Unable to do anything about the blood gushing out like a fountain, he just drops his head.

I wasn’t all right either.

The dagger that flew in as a last desperate attempt was stuck in his lower abdomen.

The protective clothing was strong enough to block pistol bullets, but the dagger thrown with magical power was this powerful.

Especially since it wasn’t an ordinary dagger, but a magical dagger.

“Shit······”

This is a drug.

What is truly fatal is the exhaustion of magic power.

I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.

A feeling as if the inside of a blood vessel is tingling or even torn.

The strength leaves my limbs and I roll around on the floor.

I was even poisoned. I felt my respiratory muscles paralyzed and my heartbeat gradually slowing down in real time.

Originally, if you didn’t drink all the healing potions, magic potions, and purification potions here, you would die. That’s how serious my injuries were, and the magic drain and poisoning were also fatal.

But I have the ability to cheat.

[Magic Heart][Deep Breath][Magic Recovery]

[Wound healing][Regeneration][Vitality]

Replace all traits with recovery-related traits.

As my body became surprisingly stable, my magical power began to build up little by little.

It still hurts and it’s still hard, but it’s bearable.

“Phew, I survived.”

The end of a fierce battle.

A few strange sensations passed through me.

Looking at the corpses strewn about, I felt like I could kill them all even if they came in droves, and when I picked up the shotgun that I had thrown on the ground, it felt familiar, like it was my own body.

[Pressure] trait and [Shooting] trait.

An intimidating effect that has a chance of causing fear in weak enemies.

Shooting techniques that work in close combat and melee.

Both are good traits.

Especially when we’re wiping out gangs like today.

“Haa, hooah.”

I leaned against the pillar and caught my breath.

I wanted to just rest like this, but I didn’t have time.

Taang! Taang! Tang tang tang!

[Big Brother! Eww! Big Brother! Where are you!]

[No! Brother Jeon-dong!]

[Heeeeek!]

[The Iron Fist guys are coming!]

[Please save me! Ugh!]

The sound of gunfire from afar is slowly getting closer.

When I listened to the earphones worn by the boss of the dead dagger faction, screams and groans were heard.

It seemed like he was betting without ignoring my calls.

“Ugh!”

Instead of the shotgun, he took out his rifle and stood up, using the rifle as a cane.

We must finish this before we face the Iron Fist gang.

First, I took what I could from the dagger boss’s corpse.

Two daggers, a black coat.

And the right index finger and the left eyeball.

“Ugh, I feel sick.”

I never thought I’d end up doing something I only saw in the movies.

I walk up to the 5th floor, hesitantly and awkwardly.

In the game, during Kim Cheol-kwon’s second and final personal quest, the Dagger Sect kidnaps and blackmails Kim Cheol-kwon’s younger brother.

The kidnapped younger brother was held captive in a secret room set up in the representative office.

I wish it were like that here too······

“It’s here.”

I carefully examined the bookshelf installed on one side of the representative office.

A bookshelf filled with hardcover books you’ve never read.

In the game, you can just use the dagger boss’s finger and eye on the bookshelf once, but that won’t happen here either.

After searching for a long time, I found one spot that was particularly shiny.

OMG.

When you place your finger there, one side of the bookshelf opens and a recognition device appears.

Recognition complete as soon as you open your eyes.

As the lock was released, the bookshelf rotated in its entirety along with the wall.

What appeared inside was a secret space of about five pyeong and a middle-aged man struggling with his hands and feet tied and gagged.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

A middle-aged man who glows when he sees me, Chief Choi.

I sighed and untied the bonds.

“How on earth did you get caught?”

“That, that’s it······”

Director Choi looked up at me with a bewildered expression.

I get it. It must be embarrassing.

It’s only been a few days since I reached level 1.

Even though the Dagger Sect is a small gang, it is difficult for a level 1 superhuman to do anything.

It’s common sense in this world that if you want to kill them all by yourself, you have to be a level 3 superhuman, and even a level 3 superhuman has to be heavily armed.

“Let’s go for now.”

There was no time to explain this and that.

I nodded absentmindedly.

“Yes, I will. I have to go.”

Director Choi tried to stand up, but his legs were broken.

Her trembling legs were covered in wounds.

A wound that was completely crushed and blackened.

It looks like the dagger guys didn’t just stab him with their swords, they burned him with fire.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. If you could just give me a little bit of time······”

“It’s okay. Just carry me.”

“Huh? No, that’s not true! No matter what, I can’t cause trouble to you, Superman!”

“I said it’s okay. Let’s just avoid it first.”

Chief Choi was loyal to me.

Something I didn’t expect at all.

The Chief Choi I saw was a person who would have divulged every single piece of information about me as soon as he was tortured, or rather, as soon as he was shown a dagger burned in flames.

But even while enduring such brutal torture, instead of luring me, he warned me of the danger with diagonal jokes.

Of course I should take care of it.

‘It would be nice to have a healing potion.’

I smacked my lips as I looked in the direction where the secret vault was.

You can’t open it with biometric information.

Because it had an electronic lock and a magic lock, [Hacking] and [Magic] traits were required.

In the game, you can solve it with Kim Cheol-kwon and Kim Magic, but right now, there’s no one.

‘Take it.’

I thought to Kim Cheol-kwon.

Anyway, the only things in there are cash, real estate, and the Dagger Party’s business ledgers. Other than that, there are only small consumables like healing potions.

The boss of the Iron Fist faction, Kim Cheol-kwon, may be going crazy, but he says it’s okay for me.

I carried Chief Choi on my back and left the dagger faction’s base.

Tata tata tang!

Boom! Boom, boom!

Gunshots and explosions could be heard nearby.

I ran as far away as possible and returned to the human resources office.

The lights are off.

I equipped the Focus and Sensitivity traits and looked inside, but there was no sign of life.

“Coolook, kekeke!”

Chief Choi, who was riding on my back and touching his steel cheeks.

I guess it wasn’t just a body.

Green letters were quickly appearing in one of Chief Choi’s eyes, which he thought was a real eye reflected in the glass window.

“It’s okay. There’s no one inside.”

“How many people were there earlier?”

“I have been back and forth.

Director Choi cries and laughs, then starts shedding tears.

“Lee Joo-hee?”

“Yes. That bitch who was watching the counter. That f*cking bitch, that f*cking bitch······ I really gave it my all······”

Come to think of it, it seems like the two of them had a similar relationship.

I don’t want to get involved in other people’s love lives, but today I couldn’t keep quiet.

“Anyone who trusts people is a retard.”

“Ah, Superman, you’re right. I guess I became dull without realizing it. To trust people in this hellish world, to trust humans, that was really stupid.”

Chief Choi is also a worn-out person.

After shedding a tear and slapping her cheek once, she became amazingly clear-headed.

I opened the door to the human resources office and came in.

After activating all the locks and security devices, he turned on the lights in the secret room that he had not even taught his woman, and the two of them sat down.

After Director Choi took out a healing potion from the secret safe, sprinkled it on his wound, and drank it, he handed me new healing potions, magic potions, and even a low-grade holy water.

“Superhuman. Please drink it all up.”

I drank about three bottles in succession.

A warm feeling spread throughout my body, my magical power surged, and a refreshing feeling spread through my stomach.

At the same time, the addictions that had been plaguing me were lifted and new traits came to me as gifts.

[Poison Resistance]

Although it was difficult, there were also many achievements.

This is almost like a tree that gives generously.

“But······ Superman.”

Looking at me who had fully recovered, Chief Choi cautiously opened his mouth.

“Did you have nectar?”

ah.

You were turning off the black salt.

There was no choice.

Because I didn’t even want to waste a single slot for the black flame.

To withstand the triple whammy of injury, magic drain, and addiction, you had to fill all your talent slots with recovery-related talents.

“yes.”

It’s too late to hide it.

I nodded my head slowly.

“If I hadn’t drank, I wouldn’t have been able to save you, sir.”

Director Choi’s face was distorted horribly.

“That, that can’t be! Because of me, because of me, that precious nectar!”

Actually, that’s not true, but let’s pretend it is.

I lowered my voice and spoke with determination.

“It’s a secret that I drank nectar. I never got nectar in the first place. You know that, right?”

“Ha, but you’ll get caught quickly because of the fever.”

“I don’t think so.”

He chuckled and changed his traits.

The only trait that was replaced.

[Black salt]

Black flames burst from my fingertips, from my eyebrows, from my spine and from my knees.

A flame that looks exactly like the new heat debuff pushed away by the magic shield.

As the black flames flared up around me like will-o’-the-wisp, Chief Choi stared blankly at me and the black flames.

“Black flame······”

“How is it? Is this possible?”

It might not be possible to hide it forever, but it could probably last a month or two.

Director Choi shook his head like a broken doll.

“Of course! Of course it will happen! Of course it will happen!”

“I really hope you keep this secret.”

“당연한 말씀을! 초인님께서 제 목숨을 구해주셨는데 초인님을 배신하면 그야말로 개새끼 중의 개새끼지요! 제가 죽는 한이 있어도 비밀을 지키겠습니다!”

“I will believe you.”

I said that, but I didn’t really believe it.

I told you.

People, humans, they don’t believe.

Still, I’m curious.

Why did you keep your loyalty to me? You don’t seem like the kind of person who would do something like that.

“Sir, I have something to ask you.”

“Just say whatever you want.”

“Please listen without being offended.”

After a moment’s pause, he said:

“When I first saw the text, I was honestly a bit surprised.”

Director Choi immediately understood what I meant.

“Because I didn’t betray you, Superman?”

“Yes. Actually, my first impression of you, sir, wasn’t very good.”

“I admit that. I am not a trustworthy person. To be honest, how can you trust a person who lives off of the laborers? But, Superman, I am not an idiot.”

Chief Choi puts strength into his eyes.

He looks straight at me and speaks in a serious voice.

“Would I have been able to survive if I had betrayed you and handed you over to the Dagger Sect?”

“No.”

“Yes. The Dagger Sect would have definitely killed me. That’s why I bet on Superman. Superman, the Superman who cured Seo Woojin, is no ordinary person. That was the only way for me to survive.”

I looked at Director Choi from afar.

You calculated it that far while being tortured?

“uh?”

Before he could express his feelings, Director Choi flinched.

He manipulates his steel cheeks and then quickly turns on the CCTV monitor.

Inside the monitor.

Large groups of men armed with guns and bombs were seen.

Boom, bang, bang!

One of them is knocking on the iron door of the human resources office.

“Superman, what should I do?”

Chief Choi, who was shaking so much that his heavy weight seemed to pale in comparison.

On the other hand, I just stayed calm.

A man stands with his hands behind his back, taking a step back.

Because I found out its true identity.