Chapter 86

[86-89 were done by a fill-in translator, 90 and going forward are from the main translator again.]

Episode 86 Kill the President (5)

A long spear thrust. The strong blow removed the dust clouds hanging around, and Kim Min-jae was seen holding his head against the wall when the spear reached out halfway through.

Unless he was a monster, the human body was unable to take a defensive posture. It was the best move to choose an attack without hesitation.

"Eee......!"

The guy who belatedly responded to my spear chose to attack instead of defending it. Kim Min-jae's arm swung with a mysterious trajectory.

'Are you trying to turn the spear away, or are you going to smash this whole spear?'

I didn't know. This time, even my excellent insight did not answer. So, at this moment, everything would depend on my instinctive choices.

To move the spear noticing the spear's orbit deliberately or to throw it bluntly.

I felt like a crossroads had sprung up in front of me. Past images of Kim Min-jae passed through my head. How would he choose? It did not take long to think of it.

I didn't choose to change the direction of my spear.

Just as I first thought, the spear stretched out into a straight trajectory.

"......."

Kim Min-jae's hands did not move defensively. As if he couldn't stand the annoying mirage, he made a strong effort to break the edge of the spear.

'As expected.'

I thought he'd think so. He was so self-conscious. he would surely take this opportunity to break down the mirage. My choice was correct.

Argh!

"......!"

Kim Min-jae's hand bounced as soon as it hit the edge of the spear. Along with the intense vibrations, there was a shock to my wrist. Tendon-splitting pain spread widely. But instead of letting go of the spear, I clenched my teeth and grabbed it harder.

"What the......."

Kim Min-jae was in disbelief at what had just happened.

Stupid bastard, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't get over the system. A mirage was the hardest metal recognized by the system and was made of a material that couldn't be destroyed.

From the time he chose to destroy it, he had already lost the fight.

Crack!

"Argh......."

As part of the myth, a reinforced spear pierced the skin and tore the muscles. The golden color permeated through his wound.

Kim Min-jae's face turned noticeably pale. Dark blood burst from the mouth of the groaning fellow.

Bam!

"Argh......."

Unfortunately, I couldn't get through his gutter. As soon as I tried to put the spear in more, Kim Min-jae's foot hit my chest. With the sense of crushing my ribs, I rolled on the floor several times and flew away.

I felt my head dazed for a moment. Was it a human who just hit me? If I had not seen the blow, I would have believed that I had got hit by a subway.

"Ahhh...Arghhh!"

Kim Min-jae's groan of pain echoed. The spear stuck in his side was still shining and enthusiastically emitting the power of its myth.

"Damn, it's more painful to me. Son of a......."

I grabbed my chest and forced myself up. To be influenced by Zhang Wei's abilities, I must enter his field of vision.

Please give me one look over here. I'm going to die.

"Growl, argh."

Kim Min-jae, who grabbed his side, staggered and vomited dark blood.

"Arghhh!"

When he saw the blood coming out of his body, he looked disgusted. He seemed to have never been injured before, and he showed an inability to endure pain.

Looking at him, I muttered with pure doubt.

"...How on earth did you get that power?"

It was normally seen among people who had never been in combat before. Ordinary people were scared of blood or panicked to the point where their sides were pierced.

To build such power and train, one must have gone through dozens or hundreds of battles. And if he went through the process, he must have naturally become indifferent to pain.

"Can't you hear me? Does it hurt that much? Ha. You're a funny guy. You did that to other people though you couldn't stand it."

Gulp.

Blaming Zhang Wei's narrow vision, I took a potion out of my chest and inhaled it. This potion was created with knowledge of the future. It was different from the current potion, which only healed abrasion.

Feeling the pain in my chest eased, I walked towards Kim Min-jae. He was still struggling with pain and didn't even recognize me properly.

"What a selfish fellow."

It was strange to say. There was no anomaly in his technique except for the first attack. He was in a perfect posture with no flaws, but on the contrary, he was over-defensive.

I would have died more than ten times if he had been active. Compared to the great power he had, Kim Min-jae was very clumsy in using it.

No, it was perfect in terms of his skill. However, he collapsed once he faced a variable like a man who had never experienced a real battle before.

"You've never fought properly, have you?"

"Urgh... Urghh......."

"You've never done a good battle before. Ha, you're such a strong baby."

Boo-!

As I entered the attack range, Kim Min-jae instinctively swung his arm. It was still a threatening blow, but it was very clear to estimate. I couldn't have predicted where it would come from before. However, this one was terrible enough to make me laugh in vain.

"Uh-oh!"

I dodged his arm and swung my legs. I stepped on the spear stuck in his side and pushed it further in. Kim Min-jae's body shook violently. As expected, he didn't know how to bear the pain.

"You're such a bugger......."

As I tried to put the spear in to make sure he was injured more, a strong fever broke out in my heart. It was a sort of instinct. A sensation created through numerous battles, rising ahead of a crisis. I pulled my feet back and quickly leaned back.

Crack.

It was the right call. But it was a little slow. Not only the chest-protecting hunting suit but also the entire skin on the heart was torn. As if caught in an animal's fangs, blood was pouring down. It was unexpected.

With excellent insight, I captured Kim Min-jae's hand, which was slowly stretched out. Even with that injury, he still had this much strength left.

"Argh, huh. Well, you're better than expected... I never thought you'd avoid this."

Kim Min-jae muttered, staring at me back. He grabbed the spear in his side, groaned, and forced it out. Blood trickled down like a waterfall.

Kim Min-jae gritted his teeth and took out a strange object from his chest. It was a brilliantly shining bead. He stuck it in his mouth and chewed it up.

[A miracle drug. An object with a lot of inner workings. It can't beat that injury lightly, but... Still, he's not going to move in a vulnerable state like he just did.]

As the Traveler said, the wound on Kim Min-jae's side began to recover rapidly.

I wasn't the only one who had the means to recover any injury. God damn it; it wasn't a waste of money. He coughed continuously and raised his body. I cursed at Kim Min-jae.

"Hahahaha. The analysis team was wrong. You weren't the kind of person three or five Hounds could deal with. Hahahaha......."

"......."

"Have I ever fought properly? Yes, that's right. I've never wielded this enormous power against humans or Monsters. I've worked so hard not to have a chance to fight in the first place."

Steam was being emitted by Kim Min-jae's body. Mana? No. It was the new power and spirit that the Traveler advised while training with Cheon Myeong-seok a long time ago.

"Most people pull their tails down just by making eye contact with me. But sometimes there are people like you. Those born as beasts, who do not shrink from facing anything, but rather dig into small weaknesses and bite their necks."

"......."

"I didn't want to eat my flesh. But at this rate, I'm going to lose all my bones and hearts, and I can't hold them back until I die."

Kim Min-jae's body became smaller with the sound of air escaping. He lowered himself. It looked much more solid and thorough than before. The attitude that made me feel pressured by looking at it, and suffocating when I think of him as an enemy.

'You're damn tough.'

I also took a similar posture and prepared to deal with him. Defensive Kim Min-jae took an active position for the first time. His arm stretched out for my neck.

"Huh!"

I barely raised my elbow and cleared his arm. His slightly twisted hand brushed my cheek and missed. The skin on my right cheek has been ripped open. It was not even a laughable power. Feeling the hotness of the flowing blood, I took the mirage that fell on the floor.

Woo-woong.

A long spear flew to my hand. Kim Min-jae circled to avoid the recovering spear, and as soon as the weapon came into my hand, I pressed him without hesitation.

Crack.

"D-a-m-n."

"That weapon, it's been bothering me. I don't know if it's a material that never breaks......."

Kim Min-jae's move, however, was completely different from before.

It was a martial art to deal with humans. I felt that I was dealing with a fighter trained in the martial art for decades.

Kkagang, Kkang!

The spear of the mirage blocked Kim Min-jae's fists several times. Every time I defended myself, I had a sharp pain in my wrist. Orichalcum didn't break, but my bones and muscles broke and ruptured. I couldn't last long.

'Who the hell is this guy?'

He seemed to have no real experience. But his martial arts were more powerful and flawless than anyone I've ever faced. He was a mass of contradictions. How did this guy exist?

[I want information that 'Akashic Record' has not been recorded.]

At that time, a status window appeared before my eyes.

[Target: Not enough information about 'Kim Min-jae']

['Akashic Record' wants new information.]

[A strong 'gathering' temporarily enhances skills.]

['Link' is enhanced.]

['Information access' is enhanced.]

Thud!

The sudden popping of several transparent windows blocked my view and allowed an attack on my lower abdomen. My body floated into the air. My brain was blank, and I felt nauseous. The vomit filled up my throat. I felt like my intestines were all smashed up.

[If the last thing you used was a third-rate 'escort' martial art, this one is completely different. That movement is probably his mainstream martial art.]

"I knew when I saw it!"

[It's powerful, but at the same time it's depleting his strength. He won't be able to use it for long. See the steam rising around his body? It's using both internal strength and power to draw out explosive strength. Be smart. Be smart.]

Bam!

I suppressed the pain and forced myself to stand up and blocked Kim Min-jae's subsequent attacks. In front of my eyes, the notifications popped up violently, and in my ears, the Traveler roared. My audiovisuals were all confused. Let's get me together somehow. Even if my head exploded, I should remain calm, at least now.

"Let's see how long you can hold out!"

Kim Min-jae punched down from top to bottom. I twisted the spear to stop his attack.

Kagagagang!

Vibrations reached the head from the wrist. I almost lost consciousness at that moment.

And in that situation.......

[When contacted, 'Akashic Record' collects target information.]

[Target: Kim Min-jae]

[Try to temporarily link]

[Starting to unfold the story that was wrapped in a veil.]

Something flowed into my head.

* * *

Everyone called cracks, awakening, and monsters a disaster. People cried in a low voice, and four times a week, held funerals for their neighbors.

Kim Min-jae's sly fist-wielding movement slowed down. Above it, the image of another man was overlaid.

But for Kim Min-jae, at least, the world's change was a blessing.

The president of the Association assembled with open skeletons and tightly woven muscles. Kim Min-jae, who was known to the public, slowly disintegrates. And I saw the original figure hidden in it.

For him, the pre-change world had been hell, and the post-change world was paradise.

He had a thin face and body as if he had never gotten food for weeks. He also had a terrible burn from his left eye to the chest.

His right eye constantly blinked, wearing a large patient's uniform—drooping saliva around his mouth, a creaking wheelchair that held him up. Kim Min-jae stumbled on the roof of the hospital and pushed his wheelchair.

But soon, the figure disappeared as if it were a fantasy. And a word from the doctor followed.

-I guess awakening is a miracle. I thought you wouldn't be able to walk for the rest of your life, but to my surprise, all the disabilities have disappeared. People will believe that yesterday's Kim Min-jae and today's Kim Min-jae are different.

The ugly burn on Kim Min-jae's face reflected in the bathroom's mirror disappeared, and only a handsome face remained.

* * *

"What are you absorbed in!?"

Crack.

My body floated with a crumbling sensation on the side. I rolled on the floor several times and hit the wall. A shallow breath and some blood came out of the mouth together. I was running through the memories of someone I just saw, without time to feel pain.

What's this?

"You're going to die at the hands of a baby who has never fought before. First-class Hunter candidate, Jeong Si-woo."

He was running vigorously, holding his back leg up, wondering if he was going to crack my head like a watermelon.

If I got hit by that foot, I would see hell right away. When my brilliant insight showed me my vain death, I woke up.

I kicked the wall and avoided his kick. The reinforced concrete wall that had been built in the back was smashed.

"Let's see till when you can avoid my attack."

Kim Min-jae looked down at me with poisonous eyes.

If anyone saw it, everyone would say I would die. But it wasn't until this situation that I saw a breakthrough just now.

[I think I found the key to the fight.]

"......."

The Traveler seemed to think the same.

[There must be a risk to his skill, given that he suddenly changed from being defensive to being offensive. But you have no information.]

"But now there's a way to get it."

In every battle, information determined the outcome. I grabbed my spear firmly.

[Contact with the target is required to gather information on enhanced links.]

['Akashic Record' wants information about the target Kim Min-jae!]

"Okay, stop popping up the status window. I'll feed you such information."

How he got stronger, what kind of power, and what kind of skill he had.

If only I knew that, there was no reason to be pushed back in the battle with that. It was none other than my best specialty to find out a handful of information, dig up its essence, and break it up.

Saaaa.

The shape of the spear in my hand changed.

I closed my eyes once and slowly opened them.

It was time to change the story that had been rife with my soul into something else.

[There was a giant among the Blanchet people.]

Of the stories that the weak won the battle against the strong, it was no exaggeration to say that they were the most famous.

[When everyone was afraid, one man said he would fight against the giant.]

The shape of the mirage changed into something small and hard.

At the same time, there was a short and intense voice in my head.

[David and Goliath]

[A part of the myth that countless people are enthusiastic about begins to dwell in your soul.]