Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society Chapter 93-94

Chapter 93. Crimson Roar (5)

Although it was bit embarra.s.sing to say myself, I was a genius when it came to fighting. Simply put, I never fell for the same attack again.

No matter how accomplished a martial artist was, there would be a limit to the techniques he used. All humans had set patterns to their movements, and once I saw them with my eyes and experienced them with my body, it wasn't too difficult to comprehend the movements and counterattack. However, it seemed other people didn't think like me. Even father made a surprised expression when I told him about it.

Just like how smart students could solve application problems with one equation, once I saw and experienced a technique, I could understand and counterattack, no matter how the technique was utilized. My body was remembering it.

It was a different story if I was too slow to dodge the enemy's attack even after reading its trajectory, but otherwise, I could deal with it easily. This was the same for Floor Master battles. Their skills had a pattern to them that was much clearer than human movements. Once I experienced it a single time, it would be weird if it hit me the second time.

That said, it wasn't always possible to dodge them. Floor Masters' skills were all difficult, if not impossible, to avoid.

[Die!]

"Dragon Skin!"

I used Dragon Skin, shouting at the top of my voice. Ignoring the black hands that shot up from the ground, I shot my Elemental Blade at the Grim Reaper. Before he was. .h.i.t by the Elemental Blade, Grim Reaper teleported behind me. I, of course, read his movements.

"Throw!"

[Kuk!]

I grabbed him and threw him on the ground, as if I was waiting for him to appear behind me. Peika and Ruyue floated in the air and focused on the reaper with their elemental magic without me having to order them. Meanwhile, the black hands flailed and tried to pull me underground. However, because my body was strengthened by Dragon Skin, the hands snapped while trying to pull on me. Seeing it, a thought flashed across my mind.

"Ruyue, come into my armor!"

[Okay!]

Ruyue, who was attacking the reaper with Peika, came into my armor. At the same time, I imbued mana into my armor and strengthened it. Then, as I thought, the black hands that touched the armor froze and began to snap. I had found a way to stop the black hands without using Dragon Skin! A gleam of success had flashed in my Grim Reaper fight strategy.

"Whew, you're screwed now, reaper."

[Reaper's Scythe!]

The moment I declared confidently, a large shadow dropped down from above my head. As my body was bent from throwing the reaper on the ground, I dodged the attack by rolling. However, I was unable to fully dodge his attack and the shadow still struck my helmet, cutting it up perfectly. I was even under Dragon Skin's effect! With my bare face showing, I gritted my teeth.

"You son of a b.i.t.c.h, just how many skills do you have hidden!?"

[Reaper's Scythe!]

Since using his skills one by one didn't seem to work, the Reaper seemed to have decided to use all his skills at once. The black hands pulled on me, the large shadow scythe dropped from sky, and a blade wave came flying my way. As I threw him down once, the reaper didn't teleport behind me again and only threw out long-ranged attacks from a distance. He really was shrewd. I felt like I was fighting a cunning human.

"Peika!"

[I'm ready!]

If that's your plan, I'll take on that challenge for a battle of attrition! I put another Mana Potion in my mouth and glared at the Grim Reaper swinging his scythe from a distance. You don't have Mana Potions anymore, but I do!

First, I ignored the black hands, which could not affect me by much, and focused on dodging the shadow scythes and blade waves. At the same time, I left Peika, who was free, to attack the reaper.

I could stick close to the 35th Floor Master, Dullahan, and have a fierce close-range fight, but the 40th Floor Master, Grim Reaper, was completely different than Dullahan. They were polar opposites. One thing I could be sure of was that everyone would choose to fight Dullahan over the Grim Reaper. Without my Elementalist abilities, it would really be impossible to defeat the Grim Reaper alone.

[You won't be able to defeat me, Hero!]

"If you're so confident, why don't you come fight me up close?"

[Reaper's Scythe!]

'Hey, don't attack just because you don't know what to say!' I frantically dodged his attack. Peika also attacked him whenever there was an opening.

Before I noticed it, the black hands were gone. The shadow scythes were also coming less frequently. Although the reaper was flying around quickly, swinging his scythe at me, I realized he had run out of mana.

"Ruyue, go help Peika now."

[Okay!]

Once I deactivated Spirit Aura and Ruyue joined Peika to attack, it became more difficult for the reaper to dodge their attacks. Using the gap where the shadow scythe wasn't dropping down on me, I let the reaper's blade wave fly past my shoulder and charged toward him. My Silver Spear shone with a light full of vengeance.

"Die!"

[As if!]

The reaper teleported backwards consecutively. However, the moment his teleportation stopped, Ruyue restrained the reaper's movements with her ice shackles. He could have normally broken Ruyue's shackles easily, but he was currently out of mana. He didn't have the strength to escape a mid-rank elemental's restraint.

As he was about to swing his scythe, Ruyue's shackles crept up to his arms and bound them in place. Although they wouldn't be able to hold him for long, they were doing their job for now.

While I was running toward him, Peika naturally flew toward me and infused herself in my spear. I poured the momentum from my charge into the tip of my spear and thrust forward.

"Heroic Strike!"

[Critical Hit!]

[Kuak!]

The reaper coughed out what looked like a black shadow from his mouth. It seemed similar to blood, but I dodged it just in case. When the shadow hit the ground, it dissolved the ground. Although I had expected it somewhat, his insides were full of poison.

When I looked away thinking I really couldn't let my guard down until the end, a black shadow scythe shot out from inside the reaper's hood. He still had mana left over!

[This is the end!]

"Divine Speed!"

'Sorry, but I knew you were hiding mana the moment you let the shackles capture you so easily!' Confirming that he had used his final move, I dodged the black scythe swinging down at me, and ran behind him. At the same time Divine Speed ran out, I saw the shadow scythe disappearing into the air.

[Kuk, you slippery worm!]

"Be happy, reaper."

I said as I considered which area in his back he would receive the most pain from.

"Today, you'll be the first reaper to be killed by a slippery worm."

[You became level 41. You obtained the qualification to advance to the 41st floor.]

[You obtained 5 bonus stats.]

[You became Silver Rank 3.]

[You can now visit the Residential Area's recreational area! Ask the Residential Area administrators for more info!]

[Amazing! You are the first in First Dungeon's history to succeed in soloing the Grim Reaper on the first try! The dungeon will remember you as a Great Explorer. You obtained 2 skill points as a reward. You obtained a life-time free voucher for 'Resting Place of Angels!' Current skill points: 14]

[Quest Success! You succeeded in completing draconian Lin's conditions within three months. Even while he grits his teeth, Lin will grant you the promised equipment. You obtained 1 skill point as reward. Current skill points: 15]

[You obtained the t.i.tle, 'Grim Reaper Master.' All stats increase by 2. This effect will apply even if the t.i.tle is not equipped.]

[You defeated the Grim Reaper alone. You obtained the special reward, 'Grim Reaper's Robe.']

[You obtained 150,000 gold.]

[You received the only reward left hidden for the First Explorer. Congratulations! Your luck stat increases by 1.]
[Secret. Soul Guard Magic Book]

"Whoo."

I murmured in an unexcited voice. I had no energy left in me. My helmet had been cut in half and my Black Earthen Spear broke. My armor was in tatters from the reaper's black hands and his blade waves, and blood was flowing through its gaps. My hair was a mess and I was muddy from rolling on the ground.

I hadn't been in such a mess since the days when I fought the Orc Lord. Although I wanted to collapse on the ground, it was muddy. I prevented myself from fainting using my extraordinary willpower and picked up my Black Earthen Spear from the ground. It was quite cleanly broken.

[s.h.i.+n was cool! Super cool!]

[Master is amazing.]

"Come here. You guys worked hard too."

My elementals flew toward me like puppies. Hugging both of them in my embrace, I asked message noona to bring up the message log. When I read the part about recreational area, I tilted my head.

"I haven't heard about this before… I can get there from the Residential Area? Is it an upgraded version of the Residential Area?"

Although I wasn't sure, I felt it had something to do with the Resting Place of Angels life-time free voucher I got as a reward for completing the achievement. I would find out once I got there.

I had successfully obtained the Grim Reaper Master t.i.tle and the secret reward: Soul Guard. When I chose it from the reward list, a magic book appeared and flew inside me.

[You learned the skill Soul Guard (Pa.s.sive). Through deep spiritual meditation, you grow your soul's strength, defending against mental status effects and advancing the league of your existence. The effect will increase along with skill level.]

"It's like Lin said."

I really got a skill that protected against mental status effects. I instinctively felt that there was more that this skill was hiding. I would find out as I advanced. For now, I wanted to get my quest reward and go to sleep.

"… Kuk."

Lin was smoking with his feet on the Floor Shop desk. After seeing me, he smirked.

"You're a mess."

"I thought I'd die. It was hard."

"But you managed to succeed. On your first try, alone."

"Well… Yeah."

"Huuu…"

Lin puffed out a cloud of smoke. He then set the entire cigarette on fire, making it disappear without even leaving behind ashes. Then, he threw something at me. When I received it hurriedly, it was a thin bracelet made out of reddish metal. Although it looked simple, its beautiful texture was captivating.

I asked Lin.

"What's this?"

"Your reward. I made it while you weren't here."

"… I didn't think Lin would make do with just a bracelet."

"I'll teach you how to activate it."

Lin got up from his seat and made a serious expression. It was like the expression of a great sage pa.s.sing on his knowledge of ancient magic to his successor.

"First, wear it."

"Okay… There."

"Alright, put the arm without the bracelet forward, then make it touch your collar bone. Then, raise the arm with the bracelet up into the sky—"

"Oh!"

Ignoring Lin's obvious bait, I poured mana into the bracelet. In an instant, the bracelet radiated a strong light. The armor I was wearing disappeared and something else wrapped around my body.

In less than 0.1 second, I was wearing a different set of armor than before. Red, sharp, and metallic scales that looked like a red dragon's scales were covering my body. The gauntlet was easy to move in, and the armor and boots were incredibly light. The helmet fit perfectly as well. When I glanced behind me, a red leather cape was fluttering without any wind blowing. It was super cool!

"So, Lin. I'm not sure how this works, so can you demonstrate what you said?"

"You little… Just take the spear."

Lin spoke with bitterness and threw a red metallic spear at me. Catching the spear, I thought Lin was quite funny.

[You unequipped Dullahan Set. Your strength and const.i.tution decrease by 17.]

[You unequipped Black Earthen Spear. Your strength decreases by 5 and your dexterity decreases by 10.]

[You equipped Crimson Dragon Scale Armor Set. It becomes bound to you. All stats increase by 10. Your strength and const.i.tution increase by an additional 10 points. The chances of receiving a critical hit decreases greatly, and you return a portion of the damage you receive to your enemy. The effects of all charge type skills are increased by 60%.]

[You equipped Red Dragon Felixes' Cape. It becomes bound to you. Your dexterity, magic, and charm increase by 15. You become immune to all temperature-based status effects. Three times per day, it protects its master from unforeseen attacks.]

[You equipped Crimson Gluttony Spear. It becomes bound to you. Your strength increases by 30. Fire damage is added to all basic attacks and you have a high chance to burn the enemy. It evolves by consuming weapon-type items.]

[While equipping Crimson Dragon Scale Armor Set, you can use 'Crimson Roar' once per day. Crimson Roar turns the air it reaches into blazing flames that attacks the enemies. As it burns everything other than its user, it must be used with precaution.]

"This is…"

Just by changing my equipment, I felt a sense of omnipotence, like nothing was impossible. The stat bonuses I gained from Black Earthen Spear and Dullahan Set was 49 points. Even if I excluded the charm and luck stat bonuses, thef stat bonuses I gained now was 130! The effect was worth over 15 levels of growth! Of course, with this much stat increase, the 'update' time would also be incredibly long.

Even knowing that, my body was itching from the excitement! My body that was exhausted and ready to faint seemed to want to go on a rampage. Reaper? With this much stat increase, the amount of damage I could do to the reaper would need to be counted with a different unit!

"Once it's bound to you, you'll receive the stat bonuses just by having the bracelet equipped. Ah, but you can't use Crimson Roar with the armor unequipped, so keep that in mind."

"Thanks, Lin!"

"If you thank me now… my insides are going to flip, so don't…!"

The equipment I received were all breathtaking. Although I knew I shouldn't just rely on my equipment, a warrior couldn't help but be happy when he received such good equipment.

"Also, that spear can absorb weapons."

"Absorb? What happens when it absorbs them?"

"You'll find out once you absorb enough. Why don't you try it out?"

I immediately thought about my halved Black Earthen Spear. When I brought it up to the Gluttony Spear, the Black Earthen Spear disappeared surprisingly. At the same time, a message rang out.

[Crimson Gluttony Spear absorbed Black Earthen Spear. Growth: 1%]

"1 percent!? It has to eat a hundred more?"

"That's a lot. It must have been a pretty good weapon."

I learned a valuable lesson. That I should not worry about the weapon's growth for a while.

In any case, since I now had new equipment and a weapon, I had to take them out for a test. Forgetting all about sleep, I shouted.

"Lin, I'll come back after doing another boss fight!"

"Yeah, yeah, go die."

Taking Lin's words as a joke, I went to fight the boss again.

I died. Just like that, I became unable to grind the boss for a week.

Once I was chased out to the Residential Area, I calmly a.s.sessed what had happened. The stat update had only just begun, and I hadn't gotten strong enough to overwhelm the Grim Reaper. Although I said I felt energetic, my body was undoubtedly exhausted. Without being able to draw out my full ability, I got killed. Although I normally would have been able to think this far, I had lost my reason as the equipment I earned were too good. I learned the lesson that I shouldn't act based on excitement. One week was the price I would have to pay.

Life really was a rollercoaster.

Five thousand words! I! Wanted! To! Finis.h.!.+ But! Why! I can hear the sound of my work increasing later…
While I'm despairing, I hope everyone enjoyed today's chapter. It's been a while since s.h.i.+n died! That's what happens if you let your guard down, thinking you got strong. ^^ No matter how high his intelligence gets, it won't update so…

Chapter 94. Granting Freedom (1)

As an S-ranker who had come to Windermere because of Hwaya's request for help, I was treated very well.

Because a Field Dungeon appeared, Britain had built a building for ability users at Windermere, where modern buildings had traditionally been avoided. Although it was an eyesore outside, the view from the inside was truly marvelous. It was especially so the higher you went in the building. Naturally, higher ranked ability users were situated on higher floors.

I received a room on the same floor as Paul and Mike from Hwaya's team. It was the second highest floor of the building, as the entire floor above mine was given to Joshua Brightman. For meals, I could eat at the hotel restaurant or order room service. After being kicked out of the dungeon, I came back to the hotel room from my mansion in the Residential Area. After a short nap, I chose to go to the restaurant. Paul and Mike both welcomed another guy joining Hwaya's team, and wanted to talk to me as we ate.

"So T.K., what country are you from?"

"Like I said, don't call me T.K… and it's a secret, of course."

"Your guard is high, I see. I think you're Korean though."

"Right. Mastiford always said her mother wanted her son-in-law to be Korean."

"Huu…"

Letting out a short sigh, I rolled a piece of toast and threw it into my mouth.

"Nom nom… I'd like it if you guys didn't make our relations.h.i.+p to be like that. I don't really care, but Hwaya would probably be angry."

"Right. She would hate it if others forced her into a relations.h.i.+p without her knowledge."

A voice that wasn't mine, Paul's, nor Mike's rang out. I drank my red tea.

"Haa… It's sweet."

"Of course, with how much sugar you put in… You know this is red tea, not milk tea, T.K."

"Did you perhaps not hear me?"

As Mike and I were talking to each other, the voice rang out again. Huu. I sighed and turned my head in the direction the voice came from. I saw a tall man standing there in a suit. He had a large body, halfway between the old and current me, and had short silver hair that was combed over with pomade. The two blue eyes on his angled face seemed to be glaring at me for some reason. Although I had heard he was in his late thirties, he seemed like he was in his twenties. In any case, the strong spirit that could be felt from his entire body proved that he was another SS-ranker.

He extended his hand toward me.

"I'm Joshua Brightman. Nice to meet you."

"Uh… Mm. I can't say it's nice to meet you, but h.e.l.lo. I'm Thunder Knight. Hwaya invited me here."

When I grabbed his hand thinking, 'This situation seems familiar,' he really put all his strength into the grip like a scene from an old movie. For a moment, I seriously considered flipping him over, but I felt that reacting in such a way would be taking his bait, so I didn't.

"I heard you're an SS-ranker. You really are strong. With your grip being this strong in handshakes, it must be hard having a normal life. Looks like you need to practice controlling your strength a bit."

"Ha! What an interesting fellow."

"I don't find you very interesting. You'll need to practice joking too."

I retorted as I wiped my hand with a towel after shaking his hand. A young man behind Joshua Brightman became angry and stepped forward. He was blonde and had blue eyes just like Brightman. I instantly realized that he was Britain's last S-ranker.

"How impertinent, Asian."

"If you want to call me impertinent, you shouldn't bother me when I'm eating and screw off, Westerner."

I responded coldly and tapped the teacup I was drinking from. At the same time, Paul and Mike burst into laughter.

"He got you good there, Tommy! Yep, not even dogs would bother a man having his breakfast tea."

"You should drink when you can these days. Eh, Tommy?"

"Don't call me Tommy!"

It seemed all the S-rankers were familiar with each other. Interpreting their conversation as such, I calmly drank my sweet tea. Mm, yep, I really did put too much sugar. Next time, I'd have to lower the amount to only 12 spoons.

Then, the restaurant door opened. Given that the entire restaurant got brighter, it was undoubtedly Hwaya.

"s.h.i.+n, T.K.! I told you, we should eat toge… gek, Brightman…"

No, wait, is T.K. an actual name? Why is everyone saying it so naturally!? I said call me John Smith! As I murmured unhappily, I shook the teacup that was now empty. It seemed Hwaya didn't see it.

"Oh! You're beautiful as always, Miss Mastiford."

"You're disgusting as always, Brightman. I'm here to talk to my comrades, so I'd like it if you can give us some s.p.a.ce."

"You're sharper than usual today. Is that because of this friend here?"

"I don't remember becoming your friend…"

I answered weakly and got up from my seat. After putting my teacup down on my plate with an audible sound, I continued.

"You're probably here because you were annoyed with me who's Hwaya's friend and getting in the way of your schemes, and that loyal dog is probably here so that you can test out my strength. Luckily, something annoying happened to me too yesterday, so I'd be happy to beat someone to a pulp, and, not to mention, Hwaya would probably burn up the entire building if she kept talking to you, and others would be annoyed with us if we kept taking up s.p.a.ce, so why don't we take it outside?"

The restaurant became silent. Then, someone burst out into laughter. It was Hwaya.

"Ahahahahaha! What's that!? Do you think he'd really do that? Not even a third-rate villain from a movie would think like that!"

"I know, right, Hwaya? I was just saying it."

I stared at Brightman as I said that. He smiled as if he found it amusing, and rubbed his chin with his hand wearing a white glove.

"You must be quite confident in your ability. Why don't you be my opponent for a bit? For a morning exercise, of course."

"An SS-ranker like you shouldn't use your strength to bully weaker people. You must be joking."

In truth, I wouldn't be able to beat the current Brightman, not without revealing all my skills at least. The sheer amount of mana his body was naturally emitting was enough to intimidate ordinary people. His body clearly showed signs of regular training as well as that overwhelming amount of mana. I wouldn't be able to inflict a fatal injury even if I used Heroic Strike. Of course, it would be my overwhelming win if I was just running without a direct confrontation. It was why I could be so cheeky.

"He's right, Joshua. You don't have to step in. I'll crush that arrogant Asian's mouth."

Tommy stepped forward. Brightman pretended to be concerned for a bit, then nodded his head. It was pretty clear that this was his intention from the start.

"My, if you're that scared of sparring, there's nothing I can do. But you should be careful, he's a master of the sword."

"Sniff sniff… What perfume do you use? … It's the same fragrance as the one I smelled in Hwaya's house. Since there's no way Hwaya invited you to her house, you must be using the same perfume as Hwaya."

At my words, Brightman and even Hwaya froze. To be more concrete, the traces I felt in Hwaya's house was the same as the one I felt from Brightman. However, it wasn't Brightman. His ability wasn't one that would allow him to hide somewhere stealthily. One of his subordinates, however, could have such an ability. Of course, I already knew the answer.

Thinking back to what I said yesterday, Hwaya seemed to have understood what I meant, and Brightman seemed to reach same conclusion. He frowned for an instant, but soon answered with a smile.

"Ha, that's impossible. It must be because I hung around Mastiford too much recently."

"That must be it, right? I didn't really like the smell, so I told her to stop using it. If you were using the same perfume, I was going to tell you the same thing."

"That's… very presumptuous of you…"

This was enough of a warning. However, if the same thing happened again, I wouldn't be able to do much about you, but I could certainly take care of your subordinate. Brightman glanced over my words with a snort, and I also grinned.

"Ah, also, you shouldn't cling to her so much that her perfume would stain your clothes. As a man myself, it's a bit sad watching another man going after a girl who clearly hates him."

"It's only a matter of time before she opens her heart up to me. It's not something others should care about."

"Brightman, that will never happen, so please screw off. You're free to have your delusions, but as a friend, he has the right to care."

"Oi, Asian. Are you going to just blabber on? Stop barking like a dog and follow me out."

Tommy was calling me. I didn't like fighting with words either. Because of my increased intelligence, I was uselessly talking more. I followed Tommy outside. It seemed people enjoyed watching a fight no matter what country they were from, as people followed us out, forming a circle around us.

[s.h.i.+n, your ability is going to be shown for all these people to judge. Are you okay with that? If not, I can stop the fight. They'll find out how amazing you are from your results anyways.]

[Don't worry. With his strength, he won't be able to draw my real strength out.]

I responded to Hwaya's worried message and gave her a wink. She smiled in response. She really was pretty.

As I stood inside the ring made my spectators, I thought about how everything had turned out like I expected. Although it would be a performance, instilling my ability into their minds would help me in my time here. I hadn't fallen for Brightman's provocation without thinking.

First, I took out white work gloves from my inventory and wore them. Then, I summoned Peika and infused her into the work gloves. Seeing the sparks flicker from the work gloves, Hwaya opened her mouth as if to say something, but didn't.

Tommy took out a longsword that was apparently his beloved weapon, pointing it towards me. Ability users generally wore armor made out of monster remains, but he wasn't wearing anything.

"You're not wearing any armor. Will you be okay?"

"You should be worried for yourself."

Mm, I liked his confidence. I nodded my head and reached into my pocket to take out a coin. Then, I realized I only had Korean wons. Hwaya seemed to have read my mind as she took out a 10 pence coin and threw it over. After catching it, I asked Tommy.

"Do you want me to do it, or you?"

"You can do it. We'll start the moment it hits the ground."

"Alright. Eit."

I flicked the coin apathetically. The coin spun in the air. The moment it hit the ground…

He was right in front of me. He really was fast. It seemed his ability strengthened his speed the most. The sword he raised up let out a strong light from the black mana imbued in it. It fell directly on my head.

His technique wasn't bad either. About mid-rank level 4? I reflected on my mistake, thinking that he was a fool with only his body strengthened by mana. When the opponent was vastly weaker than me, it was hard to a.s.sess his strength accurately.

No matter how fast he came at me, I would not be hit unless he struck me before I could respond. I thanked him inwardly for saving the trouble of having to run at him. I grabbed the arm he raised up with one hand and punched his stomach with my other hand. Sparks of lightning flashed and the clothes Tommy was wearing was burnt black.

"Kuk!"

When I used Divine Speed and sent a few punches in less than a second, there was no more strength in his arm. I first bent his arm and took away his longsword, throwing it away on the ground. Then, I jumped on top of him. Although all this took a while to describe, it had happened in exactly 1.7 seconds.

"Wa—"

"First, let's. .h.i.t you a bit."

From that point, I punched his face for 37 seconds before he could finally shout the word 'surrender.'

"Even with an A+-rank healer healing him, he won't be able to fight for a week… Thunder Knight, that was too much."

The five of us embarked on a battles.h.i.+p that was a modified cruise s.h.i.+p. It seemed the old and kind-hearted Madam Brown didn't like that I beat up Tommy to such extent. Then, Hwaya, who had her arms stretched out to her side to enjoy the lake's wind, answered in my place.

"But Madam Brown, you didn't heal him."

"Of course, I thought he should take a beating too."

"Madam Brown is scary…"

"I was quite happy. As the only melee attacker out of Britain's four S-rankers, he kept bragging about how he was the strongest."

"Really, how did you overwhelm him by that much?"

As a melee range ability user like Tommy, Paul seemed to be curious how I could deal with Tommy so easily. I answered Paul's question with a light laugh.

"When fighting monsters, things like strength and magic are important. But in a fight between two people, there's something even more important. Technique."

"Technique… I understand what you mean, but how? You're an Awakened just like him."

"I learned martial arts even before that. For about 13 years."

"Ah, so that's it."

"Mm, I still can't understand. Is how you move your body that important? I only block with my s.h.i.+eld, so I'm not sure."

"You should know the force is different depending on where on the s.h.i.+eld you're attacked. It's like that."

"Ah, now that you put it that way, I have a better idea."

It seemed I could fit in better with this group after what happened his morning. I was quite content with it.

"But I'm worried about what Brightman will do from here on out."

"He won't stay still. Be careful, T.K."

"No, he can't harm me in the slightest."

I announced.

"He isn't stupid enough to make a move on me himself, and I'm not afraid of anyone other than Brightman himself."

If I had revealed my ability, it could have been a bit more dangerous. After all, his influence was strong enough to reach Korea. Annoying things could happen if he found out. Of course, as I was hiding my ident.i.ty right now and only working as an Awakened known as Thunder Knight, his influence was extremely limited in its reach. The best he could do was frame me for something I didn't do to decrease my fame and area of activity.

For example, he could frame me for crimes like rape or murder. With the increased rate of crime from ability users, special ability user units were created to deal with them. If he could frame me for a severe crime like rape or murder, it could be fatal. There could also be other ways to bother me. After all, money and political power were strong.

However.

"You can prevent that much, right, Hwaya?"

"Hmph, don't underestimate an SS-ranker's strength. The British government can't ignore me. Even if I go around killing people, they'll cover up my crimes."

"Unfortunately, that applies to Brightman, too."

"That's true. So hurry and get stronger, so you can crush him, s.h.i.+… T.K."

"It shouldn't take long. Look forward to it."

When I answered her and smiled, Hwaya stayed silent for a bit, then returned a smile back.

"Alright, I'll look forward to it."

The others watched our conversation from the sidelines and whispered.

"… They're dating, right?"

"I used to be like that with my wife too…"

These spectators weren't just in Korea!

"Anyways, what have you been doing since a while ago, T.K.?"

Mike asked me. Looking at the knife I was sharpening with a whetstone, I replied.

"Hm? Oh, you're asking why I'm sharpening a knife?"

"Oh! So you can wield knives too? That's something to look forward to!"

"No… What is everything talking about?"

I looked at the 8-meter long tuna breaching out of the water, I replied.

"Sas.h.i.+mi is best served fresh."

While everyone was silent from being touched, I hummed and aimed the sharpened knife at the tuna. Today's lunch would be a tuna sas.h.i.+mi special!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, everyone! I hope you finished the day with ICDS!
PS – 13 spoons of red tea. Did you get the reference? I used to really like that red tea drinking character…