271. The Sky is Falling (2)
The moment he heard the word ‘Mask,’ Hyun-woo immediately thought of Park Do-ryeong.
Or that self-proclaimed teacher.
‘Either way, my mind goes straight to the Alliance.’
Especially Park Do-ryeong, who even tried to kill Lee Seo-yeon, a member of the Starving Star.
It was clear they were already hostile to other stars, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they were involved in the Cheonru Project.
‘But these hunters only suffered injuries that made combat impossible, and they survived.’
That was what bothered Hyun-woo.
They wouldn’t have spared the Russian hunters just because they were siblings of the same organization.
He didn’t think Park Do-ryeong had suddenly developed compassion or humanism.
“Potion…….”
The Russian hunter muttered with difficulty. Hyun-woo tapped his cheek and whispered.
“Good job.”
The Russian hunter let out a sigh of relief, feeling hopeful that he might live.
However, what was thrown in front of him was the safety pin of a grenade hanging on his chest.
Hyun-woo hurried away, leaving the sound of the explosion behind him.
It hadn’t been long since the Russian hunters were attacked. If he moved quickly, he might be able to catch the culprit inside the dungeon.
If the guy wasn’t just interfering with the Pan-Continental Alliance but was looking for the same thing as him, he could become an unexpected obstacle.
The deeper he went into the dungeon, the clearer the traces the guy left behind became.
Unlike dealing with humans, he showed no mercy to the monsters, and most seemed to have been killed with a single blow.
Judging by the random directions they fell, the monsters didn’t even realize what kind of attack they had suffered.
Before long, Hyun-woo arrived at a room with a red crystal stone.
And the situation was just unfolding.
A giant spider with a human face was rushing towards an unidentified man.
Even though a monster the size of a large truck was charging at him, the man quietly raised his sword and brought it down.
The movement was neither excessive nor insufficient, just a simple, clean cut.
At that moment, Hyun-woo felt the space inside the room twist for a moment.
The moment cracks appeared throughout the room, the giant human-faced spider was sliced in half and collapsed.
The corpse of the human-faced spider slid away and stopped at the man’s feet.
Hyun-woo smirked at the sight.
“You even go out of your way to sabotage me so I don’t get bored. How kind of you, huh?”
But the man didn’t even look at Hyun-woo. He simply ignored him and moved on.
He was heading towards the red crystal stone. Just as the man was about to raise his sword to the crystal stone, it exploded with a thud.
Soon, the surrounding space was dyed black and white as if the power had been cut off.
The man was covered in crystal stone dust. But he just brushed off the dust, without getting angry or upset.
After brushing off the dust, the man slowly turned his head and looked at Hyun-woo.
Hyun-woo, who had smashed the crystal stone by throwing a rock, smiled crookedly.
“Long time no see, Lee Ji-tae. If someone greets you, you should respond.”
***
The first thing that caught his eye was the bleached white mask that covered only part of his face.
It looked different from Park Do-ryeong’s. The mask was artificially broken, covering only the upper right third of his face.
The look in his eyes was heavier and calmer than before. His whole demeanor had completely changed, making him look like a different person.
But that wasn’t the only thing Hyun-woo noticed.
‘He’s gotten stronger.’
Because of the mask, he couldn’t tell with Ren Zedek’s monocle [a magical item that enhances perception], but Lee Ji-tae seemed to have become quite strong, just like Park Do-ryeong.
After all, ability users have opportunities to become stronger each time they overcome a life-threatening crisis, such as acquiring traits or awakening skills.
This was also the reason for Kang Hyun-woo’s rapid growth.
But Lee Ji-tae seemed to have other factors at play as well.
“Let’s talk, Lee Ji-tae.”
The other person didn’t seem to want to at all, but Hyun-woo smiled and made a casual suggestion.
Lee Ji-tae ignored Hyun-woo and took out a return scroll. Instead of finding the return stone somewhere in the dungeon, he chose the quick way out.
But Hyun-woo didn’t just let him leave.
“I said, let’s talk.”
The moment he kicked off the floor, Hyun-woo was right in front of Lee Ji-tae. At the same time, Hyun-woo realized that Lee Ji-tae’s sword had reached right next to his cheek.
In the blink of an eye, sparks flew, and the two bodies bounced back simultaneously.
“Whoa.”
Hyun-woo raised his left hand, which was trembling numbly. If his left arm hadn’t been consumed by the Guiding Star Yayul [a powerful artifact], it would have been cut off.
He knew it and blocked it with his left hand, though.
More surprising than that was that Lee Ji-tae’s speed was beyond imagination.
Of course, speed was originally Lee Ji-tae’s forte. But even though he had become quite strong, he didn’t expect to be unable to keep up with his movements.
Lee Ji-tae seemed just as surprised. He had even forgotten to tear the return scroll and was staring at Hyun-woo.
“Don’t be surprised, Lee Ji-tae. My survival instinct is just slightly better than your speed.”
It’s not a joke.
Hyun-woo’s instinct, honed to survive in Difficulty: Hell, was now almost like a precognitive eye or a passive skill.
Of course, instinct isn’t very reliable.
Hyun-woo decided to approach more calmly so as not to leave his life to chance.
“You have as many questions for me as I have for you, right? Sharing those things is what conversation is all about. The old you was just an annoying third-generation chaebol [a wealthy heir], but now you’re a bit more exciting… Hey!”
Lee Ji-tae ignored Hyun-woo and tore up the one-person return scroll.
Hyun-woo tried to grab Lee Ji-tae’s clothes and move with him, but Lee Ji-tae’s speed in avoiding his touch was faster. Lee Ji-tae disappeared with a burst of light.
“You son of a bitch.”
Whether he used a skill or not, it was clear that Lee Ji-tae’s speed was faster than Hyun-woo’s.
This was definitely strange.
Difficulty: Hell was one thing, but at Difficulty: Easy, which it still was, the existence of someone on par with Hyun-woo was a balance issue.
Of course, he didn’t care that this world had long since thrown balance to the other side, and that Kang Hyun-woo himself was the biggest balance breaker.
“Alright, let’s go all the way to the end.”
Hyun-woo also had a return scroll. Hyun-woo immediately began tracking Lee Ji-tae.
***
“No, what is this……!”
“What the hell is going on, ah! Aaaagh!”
A hunter who had lost his head with a thud staggered and fell to the floor.
Hyun-woo brushed off the blood and bone fragments on his arm and chased after Lee Ji-tae’s trail.
Lee Ji-tae’s attack speed was beyond imagination.
He single-handedly and quickly cleared a dungeon perfectly, and mercilessly destroyed the red crystal stones.
From the moment Hyun-woo started chasing him, he even skipped the monsters and hunters and only destroyed the crystal stones before escaping.
Hyun-woo even ended up clearing completely different dungeons as he crossed paths with Lee Ji-tae.
In fact, it was as good as missing him, but he believed that he was rampaging somewhere in Cheonru and continued to pursue him.
As a result, the hunters on the Pan-Continental Alliance side were caught up in the chaos.
“Requesting backup, requesting backup! A monster has appeared here! We can’t handle this at our level…….”
Whether he was out of his mind or not, the Russian hunter shouted with a walkie-talkie that didn’t work inside the dungeon.
Hyun-woo broke the hunter’s spine and looked around.
In the middle of the dungeon made of black basalt, a still intact red crystal stone remained in front of him. It seemed that he had crossed paths with Lee Ji-tae again this time.
‘Damn, I made a wasted trip.’
Hyun-woo was about to destroy the crystal stone without thinking when he suddenly had a strange thought.
‘Why is he breaking all the crystal stones?’
Of course, you have to break the crystal stones to stop Plude [the entity corrupting Cheonru]. But this movement felt like it had a purpose.
The question didn’t last long.
Whoosh!
A tearing sound echoed through the air. But Hyun-woo was even faster to knock the object away.
A white metal fragment shattered with a clanging sound. Hyun-woo chuckled at the familiar weapon.
“The first eccentric mask has appeared.”
“Calling the mask an eccentric mask, you have no respect for traditional culture. Well, not having respect isn’t the only thing you lack.”
Park Do-ryeong was standing there. Seeing that he had only met him now, it seemed that he had been acting separately from Lee Ji-tae.
But Hyun-woo soon corrected his thoughts.
Lee Ji-tae appeared from another path in the opposite direction.
It wasn’t just Lee Ji-tae. A woman wearing a Peking opera mask appeared from another path.
“Hmm.”
The woman felt somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t tell who she was.
In a strange atmosphere, Hyun-woo guessed their intentions.
“Are you going to cut off the annoying tail this time and leave?”
“You know you’re annoying.”
It seemed that they had judged that it would be better to corner him in one place and catch him, rather than being taken down individually while being chased by Hyun-woo.
But Park Do-ryeong didn’t take out any more fragments or rush to attack. They were calmly staring at Hyun-woo.
No, Hyun-woo realized that they were looking not at him, but at the crystal stone behind him.
Hyun-woo recalled when Park Do-ryeong threw the fragment. The fragment wasn’t aimed at him. It was an attack to destroy the crystal stone.
‘Look at this?’
In fact, they didn’t seem to want to fight Hyun-woo.
“Kang Hyun-woo.”
Then Lee Ji-tae suddenly opened his mouth.
Hyun-woo felt that his voice had changed from before. It was a bit more rough and a heavier bass.
It seemed that the fine dust of Difficulty: Hell had not only affected his atmosphere and appearance.
“I have no intention of fighting you. Get out of the way.”
“You’ve finally decided to talk to me, Lee Ji-tae.”
Hyun-woo sighed and said.
“You wouldn’t even look at me, but you’re so obsessed with this crystal stone, so there must be something there, right?”
Lee Ji-tae didn’t answer. He just clenched his sword tightly, as if trying to stay calm. Park Do-ryeong, who was watching the scene, took a step forward.
“Kang Hyun-woo, we may have many opportunities to settle our old grudges, but now is not the time. Even now, ordinary people are dying on the ground. You must have boarded Cheonru to prevent that sacrifice, right?”
“No? I have other purposes?”
“Yes, I knew it. There’s no way you’re that kind of guy. I was just saying it.”
Hyun-woo was even disappointed by Park Do-ryeong’s sharp answer.
“But you also know that no one else should take Cheonru. At least you think the same way as us about that. Cheonru is not a helpful existence to you either.”
“Does it look like it?”
“Can you use this? I know you don’t serve any other star.”
“It’s a floating giant tentacle monster moving real estate. No, is it not real estate if it moves? Anyway, who in the world wouldn’t want something like this?”
“……Don’t joke around.”
It was half serious, but Park Do-ryeong didn’t seem to believe it at all.
“We plan to completely disable Cheonru so that no one can take it and drop it into the deep sea of the Arctic. We don’t have much time. We have to deal with Cheonru before the Țepeș Case begins. If the Țepeș Case starts, Cheonru will fall on Saint Petersburg. Then an uncontrollable disaster will occur.”
Hyun-woo also knew about the events caused by the Țepeș Case and the fall of Cheonru through the White Bone Records [a source of future knowledge].
But their words reminded Hyun-woo of a question he had put off.
The reason Hyun-woo knew that Cheonru would appear in Saint Petersburg was because of the White Bone Records.
But how did the Alliance know that?
‘It’s probably that bastard called Teacher.’
It was none other than the guy who gave Hyun-woo the return stone. It wouldn’t be strange if he knew the future.
Hyun-woo was willing to give up the crystal stone behind him.
Park Do-ryeong wasn’t wrong.
It was clear that Cheonru was an enemy that humanity had to face in common.
“Okay. Lee Ji-tae.”
Hyun-woo answered cheerfully.
“Then, shall we talk instead?”
But Hyun-woo was a man who would gladly put even the lifeline of humanity on the negotiating table.
At Hyun-woo’s answer, Park Do-ryeong tilted his head as if asking what he meant, and Lee Ji-tae made a distorted expression for the first time.
“I told you, Teacher. I was wrong.”
Lee Ji-tae muttered with a subtle anger on his face. For a moment, he wondered if he had called Park Do-ryeong Teacher, but he just seemed to be talking to himself.
“There’s no way a guy like this is the best future.”
A dazzling flash of light erupted from behind Lee Ji-tae.
At the same time, countless beams of light struck Hyun-woo.