Chapter 160

Episode 160. Break down (6)

My first impression of him was very unpleasant. It wasn't like I was looking at a living creature. He was a sticky liquid form that you might see wandering around a swamp. The clump of liquid slowly crawled out from the back. It didn't suit that fabulous place.

However, nobody found his appearance amusing. Rather, they cheered and shouted like someone impressive had shown up.

It was only natural. The energy he emitted set the mood. It was as if the star of that place had appeared. Despite his ugly appearance, he gave off an energy that excited people.

'... He's brimming with confidence.'

The Clown couldn't compare to him. That sort of attitude could only come from someone who was sure that he was the best. His intense image cut through his unattractive appearance and changed the atmosphere.

My heart pounded as well. It was paradoxical that a clump of disgusting slop had shown up emitting the energy of an A-list celebrity.

-Transcendents that have surpassed a certain class exhibit unusual sights from time to time. Don't ever restrict your thinking. Someone may possess an image that is much more powerful than your common sense. And the moment that image breaks your common sense, you'll be put at a disadvantage from the start. Don't panic, and don't ever think along the lines of 'this can't happen.' You must actively accept things. That way, you won't feel overwhelmed in the face of Transcendants that are vastly superior to you in class.

Clap, clap, clap.

I calmly clapped along with everyone else. The boss writhed and moved, and his chest area split open like a gaping mouth.

"Greetings. So you've come to enjoy the Game..."

His deep voice rang out. Listening to him, I discreetly activated the Akashic Records and observed him. I ignored the voice saying 'Unable to evaluate' and kept attempting to analyze him. And soon I heard a new voice.

[Unable to evaluate...]

.

.

.

[Attempting minimal analysis based on the information currently collected.]

[Accuracy may be considerably lesser than 'analysis' based on the accounts of the Akashic Records.]

[Do not rely deeply on the following information.]

Yes. I wasn't looking for extremely accurate information, but I had to know what he was at the very least. At that moment, I simply had no idea.

[True name: Swallowing Swamp]

[Modifiers: Boss. He who wasn't invited to the party. He who is in the spotlight. He who feeds on attention. He who cannot bear boredom. The King of entertainment. The King of pleasures...]

[Modifiers 'He who is in the spotlight' and 'He who feeds on attention' are currently activated.]

[His 'swamp' appearance is 'completely immune' to physical attacks.]

[Cannot analyze in detail due to lack of information.]

"... Well, this isn't so bad."

I couldn't tell for sure just by hearing his modifiers, but I could guess. It seemed like he had activated modifiers that increased his class when he received attention. He probably turned them on when he was the center of attention. Listening to him speak, I also focused on the low conversation coming from other tables.

"So today, he came as a swamp. Last time he was a well-dressed man."

"I heard he had a quarrel with someone last time. Someone whose class was comparable to or more advanced than his. So it looks like he came in his true form this time."

"... Oh, so that's his true form. I was thinking that looking at him alone was intimidating."

He fought with someone, so he brought out his true form. It was very useful information. I recalled the advice that the Traveler gave me.

'He's unnecessarily useful.'

The Traveler did give me a lot of advice that I could apply in multiple cases.

-Even Transcendents that can change their appearance will have their own form. No matter how important their image is, their outside is deemed as important as their inside. An appearance that can reflect their image correctly can also boost their confidence because they would've accumulated most of their great achievements in that body.

-So, Transcendents that have reached a certain class have something called a true form. A physical appearance that they are most comfortable and powerful in, which can express their image the most.

I rolled my eyes to look at the boss who was oozing along as a swamp.

-But sometimes their true form can be poisonous to them instead. Their true form is powerful since it reveals who they are, but it can also be a weakness because they expose themselves explicitly. It's basically the image they have. So if you crush the image of that appearance, you can break their essence.

I remembered his words clearly since I knew they weren't false. The fearsome energy the Traveler emitted from time to time was completely different from his mountain god-like appearance of an old man. The Traveler never revealed his true form and never gave me a straight answer when I asked about it. That meant that their true forms were a sensitive matter to Travelers.

However, I was wondering about my true form since I had no intention to hide it.

"... This Game won't be that fun. It's just the usual stuff, but don't worry. We'll soon be presenting the Game we originally prepared on a larger scale."

"Of course. Looking forward to it as always. You said this Game won't be that fun, but I'm sure it'll entertain us greatly!"

"Haha... Thank you. So shall we start betting before we start? As usual."

And with that, everyone drank from their glasses and cheered. Just like the Clown had done, the boss moved his sticky body and personally collected money from the Transcendeants. Was it some matter of pride as a host? While he surely had underlings, he collected the money himself.

'... That's a lot of money he's collecting.'

Having frequenting Utopia, I currently knew that the money in my pocket was quite a lot. Yet, the so-called VIP Transcendents were using it like it was nothing. Would that be enough? I felt slightly nervous. I put my hand in my inner pocket and glanced at the boss.

"...!"

But the moment my eyes met his, something strange happened. Although he was far away, the feeling that he was glaring at me right in front of me took over my entire body. It was as if something huge was squeezing my body. What was that? What was happening...

[Did you think I wouldn't know?]

"..."

[After leaving all those traces at our place of transaction... You dared to come here without even changing your appearance.]

Piercing eyes rose upon the boss's writhing face.

[Didn't I tell you? That I would crush everything you own and take everything from you. That I would thrust you into a pit so deep that you wouldn't want to live. But you still crawled in here like a rat. How stupid of you. I would've found you anyway.]

"..."

[You don't even know your place. Congratulations on walking straight into hell.]

It felt like needles were poking my skin. The prickly feeling caused me to frown.

[As I expected, the 'Faceless King' is your sponsor. Did you show up to cause me trouble because you trusted he would have your back? But unfortunately, you made a mistake. Even your mighty sponsor won't be able to find you inside here. If you die, you won't leave a single trace. This place is my domain, you worm.]

At his words, I clenched my jaw and tapped the table with my finger a few times. A line drawn on my palm shone brightly. At the same time, the pressure I felt squeezing me lessened slightly.

[#Liberation]

It was a power I derived from a 'keyword' of the Akashic Records. The force set me free. While the atmosphere surrounding me was loud and lively, only I was sweating under the cold pressure.

Yes. I had thought that something like that might happen. The best-case scenario was to collect information there and slowly dry him out... But I had also thought of that happening.

Tap.

"Get up."

A stranger who had unknowingly came behind me muttered in my ear.

"Get up slowly so that the other clients don't notice. Then I'll let you die a painless death without damaging your class. You'll become the boss's sustenance. It'll be an honor. You could have disappeared into dust, but the boss is granting you a special favor."

"... What nonsense."

An honor? Sorry, but an expression like that didn't suit death. I had no plans to meet a heroic end there. I was going to live, and they were going to die.

Thud.

I pressed my hand on the table, kicked the floor, and leaped up.

"Aargh!"

I kicked the man who approached me from behind, then landed on the floor at a distance. The Traveler had guaranteed that I had properly recomposed my body so that any other Transcendents wouldn't overpower me. That meant that in a fight where, instead of class, physical strengths clashed in an instant, only a handful of Transcendents could beat me. And obviously, there was no way that guy in charge of minor chores was superior to me.

"If it's such an honor, why don't you bastards go to hell instead!"

'Get up slowly so that the clients won't notice? No thanks.' When told something like that, it was simply human nature to want to cause a riot and to attract attention. And just as I intended, all the VIPs turned their eyes on me.

I leaped around like a showy acrobat and slipped out through their blind spots. The boss had said that even the Traveler wouldn't be able to find me inside there. So what? All I had to do was get out. Those idiots were telling me all the answers on their own accord.

"C-catch him!"

The man I kicked in the chest shouted out loud. He looked perplexed. I bet he was surprised. I was in human form just like him, and no one would believe that I could land such a powerful kick. There was also no way any of them had ever experienced Hunter Academies or a swarming wave of monsters.

Crunch!

"... I guess they already blocked the exits."

I pulled on the door handle, but the door didn't open, and the handle became crushed instead. Just the way I got in by showing my ticket, it looked like I wasn't free to leave on my own.

I immediately changed direction and ran to the stairs going to the 2nd floor. The fancy building was built very tall, making the interior quite spacious. Which also meant that there were many, many blind spots. I ran without hesitation.

"You, you damn punk─!"

Someone chased me from behind, and I rolled my eyes and glanced back. At the same time, the Akashic Records woke up. Analyzing his information wasn't difficult at all. Only someone as advanced as the boss could avoid the Akashic Records' sight, and if the target was someone like him... I could easily read him down to his very bones.

Swoosh...

The moment I entered a perfect blind spot, I timed when he would step in after me. I also completely familiarized myself with the information that the Akashic Records recited. His image, his body's weakness, and what his essence was.

It was like pieces of a puzzle coming together. Knowing all the information, thinking of an attack strategy was quite simple, and all of it happened over a few seconds.

"You damn... bast─ard. Argh!"

Boooom!

With a huge boom like the sound of a car crash, my attack hit him just as he turned the corner. Simultaneously, I smoothly connected a second attack that landed onto the guy that rushed in with the first guy. Two blows, and the two Transcendents fell helplessly to the floor.

Without hesitating, I turned around and ran.

Those two weren't my only enemies.

* * *

"... What."

A stranger had suddenly shown up. Looking at the punk who couldn't even properly change his appearance, the boss uncharacteristically gave an order in an angry tone. "Bring that to me. I will grant anything you wish if you present it to me as a sacrifice."

Despite the doubts, his order was absolute, and they ran forward.

In Utopia, they were counted as the best in combat. Their bodies had been altered based on countless research, and their powers were perfectly suited for slaughter.

"Ugh!"

However, the moment the first of their colleagues was kicked in the chest and flung far away, they thought something was wrong. How could such a sloppy kick hold so much force?

It was strange. Their bodies were harder than steel. They could overcome the power of flames, and their bare bodies had sustained the power of lightning. How could they suffer from a mere attack like that?

"Stop!"

So until then, unaware of the situation, they chased the punk. Normally they would've been wary of chasing after a target that entered a blind spot, but they carelessly ran ahead. So when a huge explosion erupted, and two of their colleagues flew into the air and rolled down the stairs, they faced an unbelievable sight.

There was a single blow. They couldn't see what had happened, but it was a single attack. However...

"Both are dead. It took less than two seconds for them to die... with just their shells left behind."

Something was wrong.