Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 23

23. Ability Test (6)

A red trail narrowly missed his waist. It was as if she didn’t care if she put a hole in his stomach. Red Butterfly showed no signs of holding back.

However, she had the audacity to expect him to dodge something like that. Hyun-woo had no intention of holding back either.

‘But she’s strong.’

It was hard to believe the gap was solely due to the level difference. It seemed more likely to be the difference in skills.

Red Butterfly brilliantly distracted Hyun-woo with the red trails around her hands while relentlessly pressing the attack.

Seeing her hand, wreathed in red energy, cut through the barrier like tofu, Hyun-woo didn’t dare to block it head-on.

He would have had a hard time enduring if he hadn’t used the Spore Infiltrator’s gauntlets and the Battle Helper at critical moments.

Battle Helper was definitely a powerful skill, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a level difference of nearly two times. Fortunately, as time passed, it became easier to defend.

This was because Battle Helper was learning Red Butterfly’s attacks and compensating for Hyun-woo’s movements. As a result, the aggressive Red Butterfly was becoming increasingly impatient.

However, it wasn’t exactly a favorable situation for Hyun-woo.

‘Defense isn’t a problem, but I can’t find an opening to counterattack.’

Red Butterfly blocked or evaded Hyun-woo’s attacks with bizarre movements he had never seen before. It wasn’t martial arts, but movements she had created based on her abilities. Movements only she could do in the world. At this rate, even learning with Battle Helper was useless.

‘She’s strong, alright.’

Sharp, stabbing attacks, subtle feints in the movements of her fists and arms, light exchanges to dull the movements of his limbs.

Red Butterfly seemed to be enjoying the fight itself, never losing her smile. Sweat scattered in all directions.

A considerable number of exchanges had occurred, but Hyun-woo was starting to get annoyed.

Red Butterfly might be enjoying the fight, but Hyun-woo wasn’t. Unless there was a reward, he wanted to end it as quickly as possible and rest. This fight was meaningless to Hyun-woo, because he could end it any time. Although not in a fair way.

‘Should I just take a hit?’

If he took a hit in a non-fatal area, Red Butterfly would be covered in blood. And that would be the end of the game.

Although there was a high probability that Red Butterfly would die before the rescue team arrived.

But he didn’t want to get hurt just to win.

A red trail sharply threatened his neck. The life-and-death attacks continued, but Hyun-woo didn’t feel the same tension as he had in hell. It still felt insufficient.

In Hyun-woo’s opinion, Red Butterfly was only slightly better than a training dummy for beginners.

‘I should end this.’

Hyun-woo made up his mind.

The moment Red Butterfly finished another attack, Hyun-woo jumped back to create distance. Confusion crossed Red Butterfly’s eyes. Hyun-woo opened his mouth.

“I was going to try to win without using this, if possible.”

“Is it a skill?”

“Killing someone during the match would be a bit awkward in the future…”

For the first time, an expectant look appeared on Red Butterfly’s face. Hyun-woo had been fighting solely with his body all along.

Red Butterfly had deliberately made dangerous attacks, urging him to use his skills.

“I’m starting to run out of stamina.”

Red Butterfly leaped towards Hyun-woo. At that moment, Hyun-woo’s eyes met hers.

And Hyun-woo activated Battle Helper. But this time, it was different from before. Hyun-woo felt a tickling sensation in his lower abdomen surge up and envelop his fingertips.

Mana rapidly drained away, and the narrator’s voice echoed.

[The Strong Force trait is applied to Battle Helper.]

Red Butterfly, who was about to rush towards Hyun-woo, realized the change. Hyun-woo’s movements weren’t significantly different from before. But the aura he exuded was completely different.

In that brief moment, Red Butterfly sensed a bluish aura flickering in Hyun-woo’s hand. Did Hyun-woo have a skill like this? Instead of being bewildered, Red Butterfly felt intrigued.

Her skill was a rare one called ‘Aura Master.’ She had never fought an opponent who used the same skill. Hyun-woo’s aura seemed weaker than hers, but it was enough to withstand it.

At the moment her competitive spirit soared, she met Hyun-woo’s eyes. A fierce killing intent washed over her like a tidal wave.

For a moment, she thought of monsters. Monsters who harbored inexplicable hatred towards humans.

This was no longer a game. It was the dungeon itself.

‘How can a human have eyes like that?’

A chill ran down Red Butterfly’s spine.

Crack!

A dull sound echoed. Until now, if she, with her hands covered in red aura, clashed with an opponent who hadn’t used a skill, there were only two possible outcomes.

The opponent’s hand would be torn apart or crushed.

But this time, the result was the opposite. The fist surrounded by aura was unscathed.

But her arm, which hadn’t been able to summon aura, was not.

With a chilling crack, Red Butterfly felt the pain of her arm shattering.

A scream erupted.

Only after Hyun-woo released her arm did Red Butterfly kneel on the spot.

Her right arm was bent in strange directions.

“Haa…”

Hyun-woo exhaled deeply. He had consumed too much mana.

He had won.

“Hand over the metal tokens. Before time runs out.”

Hyun-woo demanded the metal tokens from Red Butterfly. Forcibly taking them would be after she refused.

Red Butterfly clenched her teeth and stared at Hyun-woo. But eventually, she emptied her pockets and dropped the metal tokens on the floor.

“Was that your skill just now?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“What… what was that…”

Red Butterfly trailed off, as if feeling wronged. Hyun-woo honestly sympathized. He knew the power of Strong Force was strong, but he didn’t expect it to be this much. But Red Butterfly’s aura and Hyun-woo’s Strong Force were similar yet different.

Red Butterfly’s aura only strengthened the area it covered while consuming less mana, whereas Hyun-woo’s Strong Force was closer to strengthening the entire body by using it as a lever.

It was just a bad match-up; if Red Butterfly trained her skill, its efficiency would likely increase.

‘Still, it’s better than using Poison Blood.’

Poison Blood was a skill to use when killing someone. Hyun-woo didn’t want to start his journey with murder.

“Sister!”

Just as Hyun-woo was about to collect Red Butterfly’s metal tokens, a loud voice suddenly erupted.

A large woman instantly collided with Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo was horrified and dodged.

His body was stiff because he had just turned off Battle Helper, causing his movements to freeze. The large woman’s fist struck Hyun-woo in an instant.

With a bang, Hyun-woo’s body floated into the air. He had taken a guard stance, so the impact was minimal, but Hyun-woo couldn’t help but be taken aback by the monstrous strength. If Red Butterfly was a blade, this one felt like a hammer. No, more like a baseball bat.

‘She’s huge.’

Hyun-woo looked at Red Butterfly’s newly appeared companions. First, the large woman caught his eye.

She was about a head taller than him, but rather than being obese, she had a solid and slender physique like a basketball player. Next was the man with glasses standing in the back.

It was a familiar face, the bespectacled man who had entered with Hyun-woo at the beginning. Hyun-woo struggled to recall his name.

“Ahn Hyun-soo?”

The bespectacled man nodded with an embarrassed expression and greeted him.

“I’m embarrassed, Hyun-woo. I’m Zanmang.”

It seemed he was using a nickname like Red Butterfly. The other three who had asked to form a party were nowhere to be seen. He must have been swindled by Ahn Hyun-soo, or Zanmang, for sure.

He had sensed that he was a scheming guy, but it was still funny to confirm it like this. The large woman glared at Hyun-woo and shouted at Red Butterfly.

“Sister! What happened to your arm? Did that bastard do that?”

“It’s okay, Hong-ryun. Stop it. You and Zanmang can’t win against him.”

The young-looking woman standing at the very back didn’t seem to be a combatant. Hyun-woo clicked his tongue and tried to pick up Red Butterfly’s metal tokens.

But the large woman, called Hong-ryun, growled and blocked him as soon as Hyun-woo approached. Annoyance surged, and Hyun-woo tried to activate Battle Helper.

That’s when it happened.

The sound of a bell echoed throughout the arena.

[Three hours have passed. The match is over.]

“Haa…”

Hyun-woo slumped his shoulders in dismay. He knew he had been fighting for a while, but he didn’t realize an hour had passed. Time flies when adrenaline is pumping.

If he had taken Red Butterfly’s metal tokens, he could have taken first place with an overwhelming score, but he ended up in a mediocre position because he was blocked halfway.

[Announcing the results.]

[3rd place. Ha Yoon-taek: 21 tokens.]

[2nd place. Kang Hyun-woo: 69 tokens.]

“What?”

Hyun-woo looked up at the scoreboard with a bewildered expression. Soon, the 1st place was announced.

[1st place. Red Butterfly: 88 tokens.]

Hyun-woo looked at Red Butterfly. Red Butterfly also looked flustered. Hyun-woo noticed another bag of tokens had fallen in front of her.

Hong-ryun had pretended to block Hyun-woo while dropping the bag of metal tokens collected by her teammates.

Hyun-woo, who had only thought she was trying to block him, felt like he had been tricked. Hong-ryun was looking at Hyun-woo with a triumphant expression. Unlike her large size, she seemed to be quite the strategist.

“Heh, so that’s how you steal 1st place.”

“Wait, that’s not what I intended…”

Red Butterfly opened her mouth as if to apologize, but he didn’t care. He was disappointed to have lost first place, but he wasn’t greedy for the reward anyway. He could get more than that by rolling around in hell a little. As soon as Hyun-woo turned his back, Hong-ryun shouted from behind.

“Hey! You can’t just leave!”

“What?”

“You broke someone’s arm, you should apologize!”

Hyun-woo stared at Hong-ryun blankly. Hyun-woo decided to hit Hong-ryun first, but he decided to use his uncharacteristic superhuman patience and think about it three times.

‘What would I have done normally?’

Of course, he would have beaten up anyone who said such nonsense. He was even in a bad mood right now.

‘Is it something I have to do right now?’

Beating someone up should be done when the opportunity arises. If you postpone it, it becomes awkward.

‘Will I regret it in the future?’

Certainly, the match was over, and the other party wasn’t threatening him, so it wouldn’t be considered self-defense. Modern law doesn’t allow you to beat someone up just because they annoyed you.

After careful consideration, Hyun-woo came to a conclusion. Punish her enough so that he wouldn’t get caught.

“Dominate.”

Hyun-woo cast the legendary skill, Dominate, which he had received as a gift from Whispering Star.

It was a small whisper that no one could hear. Its effect was as subtle as the small whisper.

Hong-ryun, who had been smiling, suddenly lost her smile. She soon began to sweat profusely with a pale expression.

“Hong-ryun? Ryun? What’s wrong?”

Hong-ryun tried to say something with a pale face, but she couldn’t make any sound. Soon, her legs gave way and she collapsed. Her pupils shrank.

The first change Hong-ryun noticed was her sense of smell.

She smelled something burning. Was there a fire somewhere? Many ability users had skills that involved fire. But this wasn’t just the smell of something burning.

It was a disgusting stench, the smell of a corpse burning black. Hong-ryun’s pupils shrank as she realized the truth. The surrounding scenery began to turn red.

Her vision was distorted, and her fingertips were numb.

Screams filled her head. She couldn’t tell if it was her own scream or someone else’s.

A dry ash was sprinkled in her mouth. It was the finely burned bone powder of someone. A swollen tongue blocked her throat.

As she gasped for oxygen, someone stood before her. It was a human who brightly burned with both eyes.

No, it was ‘something’ that roughly pieced together all the scenery of destruction into a human form. A chilling sensation that seemed to paralyze her entire body rose from her toes.

“What’s wrong, Hong-ryun?! Haru, sister!”

Red Butterfly panicked and checked Hong-ryun’s condition. The girl called Haru quickly ran over. She looked to be about a middle school student, but Red Butterfly called her sister.

Hong-ryun convulsed her large body, foaming at the mouth. Soon, she turned blue with cyanosis [bluish discoloration of the skin due to poor circulation or inadequate oxygenation of the blood]. Hyun-woo watched the scene and engraved it in his mind.

‘It’s more powerful than I thought.’

The skill ‘Dominate’ controls the target’s emotions. Hyun-woo planted the fear that he had experienced in hell in Red Butterfly’s head.

‘The explanation said so, but…’

He didn’t know what the effect was. Hyun-woo had tried to use Dominate on himself as a test. But he only felt a little dizzy and didn’t feel any effect.

So he was a little skeptical, but seeing Hong-ryun’s reaction, it seemed as dangerous as Poison Blood, depending on the target.

‘It’s useful, but the effect varies from person to person, so it’s inconsistent.’

“Get out of the way!”

Even when Haru used healing skills, it was useless, and Hong-ryun’s expression grew paler. Only then did the rescue team begin to arrive. Only then did Hyun-woo release Dominate.

“Cough, cough!”

Only then did Hong-ryun inhale and barely exhale. She trembled and turned her eyes, and met Hyun-woo’s eyes. Hong-ryun made a metallic sound and backed away.

Hyun-woo wondered how he looked in her eyes.

Red Butterfly stared at Hyun-woo. She seemed to have noticed that he had done something.

Hyun-woo shrugged and left the chaotic scene.