Chapter 39: Slam, Charge (2)   

The daily repetitive hunting and selling drops .

And the massive amount of earnings matching it .

I was preparing to enter the dungeon at my usual time .

Then .

I felt a massive crash and vibration that shook me .

My shield had a crack in it as if a bullet was embedded in bullet proof glass .

"What! Who's the little shit!"

My sights came on a few Awakened assembled at the entrance .

My shield had recovered at an incredible rate, regenerating thanks to my endless mana .

A situation where it looked like I swore loudly to myself .

To my yelling, everyone looked at me as if I was a weirdo .

But I definitely saw . And felt .

After leaving the guild, I made it a habit to always think of the shield cool down and constantly cast it to make sure it stays up .

A possibility that made me uneasy, I guess .

But now . Someone had attacked me on my way to the dungeon .

If my shield level was low, it was an attack that was lethal .

A sharp and precise attack that aimed for my vitals .

I tried to predict where the swift attack came from .

I quickly looked around but couldn't find anyone .

Someone accidentally casted a spell? No way .

Incredible power . Stealthing swiftly . Someone had targeted me .

And an incredibly skilled one at that… . .

I forced myself to calm down and acted as if nothing happened .

If I let myself get controlled by emotions, I would only reveal more weaknesses .

My composure only lasted for a moment though .

I felt someone looking at me from the roof of a building .

It wasn't a distance where you could clearly make out a face, but it felt like he was smiling at me .

No, I was sure . He was laughing at me .

"..."

I ground my teeth .

He turned around as if to say he did what he came to do .

Looking at that, I wanted immediately land a meteor where he was at .

Who could it be .

There was a couple that I had in mind .

But suddenly like this?

And after attacking, appearing atop the roof as if wanting me to see him .

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'It's not over . Just the beginning . ' – Is the message he was trying to send .

I didn't worry for long however .

'Hm… . . Is it happening like Jong Ho-hyung predicted?'

The face that appeared on my mind!

Noblesse's guild master Park Hyun .

It's been a couple months since I quit the guild, about the time that I'd let my guard down thinking I was safe .

If my thinking is correct, it was definitely her fox-like crafty self who was behind this .

Her words that I didn't understand and skipped over .

'If you do not need a guild, do as you wish . But you don't know how life will turn out . If we do meet again and you return to us, I hope that you'll be with us . '

Thinking about the current situation, I could understand the meaning behind her words now .

She has already predicted my ability to a certain degree .

Otherwise she wouldn't have offered such an enticing contract for me to join .

But I do not think she knows that I am wary of her .

If she knew, she wouldn't say that as I quit and there would be no attacks like this .

Otherwise, after quitting, I'd disappear without a word .

I could also guess what she wants from me .

Instead of the constant danger, come over to the safe fenced side .

The image of me that reflected off her fox-like eyes was an 18 year old child .

'You'll soon understand thoroughly that I'm not such a weak opponent . '

I stared at where he stood for a while .

Seems it was time for me to make an important decision .

I'm sure the two goons and the midget hates me .

However . Hiring someone of that skill just because of revenge?

No matter how much money was involved, the chances were low .

And if they really did try getting at me, they'd attack until I was gravely wounded .

Also they would make sure that their identity would be exposed .

* * *

It was the first time I was attacked by an Awakened instead of monsters .

I could almost feel the massive shaking even now .

The call from Jong Ho came .

Just in case more issues would arise, I talked within the dungeon .

Of course I cleared out the dungeon first, and used the leftover time before the dungeon expired .

"How about it? Pretty sure?"

"Hm… No matter how I look at it, it's done by Noblesse . "

"Hyung . There was nothing stuck to the shield . What skill was that?"

"Probably Assassin Weapon Throw, and an Awakened version at that . "

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"That's something assassins use, right?"

"Yeah . It's a skill to throw a small weapon toward a single target with perfect precision, but once you Awaken it, you can pressurize air and make it invisible . "

"Not a ranged attack, but a single target skill . A skill like that is incredibly hard to level up, but on top of that he Awakened it?"

"Definitely high skilled . "

"Guess it starts now?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"… . . If I can buy more time, I could crush them . But looks like they caught on and are trying to take care of me quickly? Instead of just waiting and doing nothing, it's probably better to strike first . "

"You're saying you're going to charge Noblesse first by yourself?"

"Solo? I have a hyung . "

"..."

Jong Ho's eyes were filled with worry .

But I had a plan in mind .

Even if I go in without a plan, I probably wouldn't lose .

Level 200s and 300s would only have 5 skills maxed at most .

Noblesse's guild master Park Hyun was only early level 200 .

But I had gained 150 levels in 4 months .

And all skills obtained were at master level .

I was already raising Awakened skills at the moment .

The one thing that I could improve on was the lack of shields to protect myself .

The only shields I currently have are Reflect Shield, Frozen Shield, and Spirit Armor .

The Reflect Shield was Awakened for reflecting purposes .

The other two skills had their duration and damage absorbed increased drastically as their level rose . However, they still had a cool down .

In the fight ahead, I would have to block a huge amount of damage with my shields .

If my shields broke faster than I planned, the results would be obvious .

I sorted out my thoughts and spoke to Jong Ho .

"Hyung . Does the association vendor Mana Shield?"

"Mana Shield? Even at the association, it would be hard to buy . "

"Is that so? Like Hold and Bind, there are just none on the market?"

"Mhm . It would be difficult to get one by using legal means . "

"I see . Then I'll have to rely on the small fry . "

"Hm? Small fry? What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it . I'll go first . "

"Okay . If something happens, contact me . Don't ask rashly!"

"Don't worry about a thing . "

"Together… Never mind . Said it out of habit . In this serious situation, you're able to joke? Get home quick . "

"Pfft . I'll be going!"

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* * *

I headed toward the small fry's office .

Originally I approximately knew where to contact him, but when I moved to the safe house, I was able to find his business card .

Since there was a pile of it that I could find, he probably threw one down each time he visited .

I entered by smashing through the office door .

I only came to ask for a favor, but I remembered how he used to treat my poor door .

Of course, the pile of business cards played a part in angering me .

Their eyes widened as they stared at me blankly with jajangmyeon in their hands . 1

"Sorry . I remembered how you bashed my door down . Are you well?"

"... So you came?"

The two goons tossed aside the bowls and hurried greeted me .

As they greeted me, I walked in front of the midget .

Looking at him dead in the eyes, I told what I came for .

"I was hit by an Assassin Weapon Throw today . I'm asking just in case . You didn't, right?"

"Me… What… Oh! No way . That's absurd . "

"Well, whatever . The mission this time is 'Mana Shield' . "

"Huh?"

"I told you I don't like repeating the same thing twice before . "

"Ah… Yes! Mana Shield . But the price can't be compared with the previous items… . . "

"Don't worry about the costs; you just need to obtain it . "

"Yes… . . "

"3 days . It's urgent . "

"3 days is… . . At least 1 we-"

One of the two goons spoke .

Before he could finish!

Around me were countless Banwol Jincheon's coming out .

They should be aware of the weapon and Piercing Sword skill I have .

I casted the skill and asked .

"One week?"

Mr . Goon swallowed his words along with his food and continued .

"That's not what I meant! 3 days . Plenty of time . "

"There's one more thing I need to request . "

"What would it be… . "

"I don't want to do the trade face to face this time . "

"Yes . Not difficult at all . "

"Then I'll be re-ly-ing on you . "

I said it as I stared down each of them one by one .

I never thought they could be this useful .

But there is a law in the world .

The law I'm talking about is how I get what I want and nobody gets hurt .

Well, not really my concern if these guys get hurt .

* * *

I left the midget's office .

3 days . I had to get 'Louver's Necklace' and another 'Banwol Jincheon' in 3 days .

I had the taxi change directions from the hunting grounds to the Awakened market .

If I get the right gear and weapon, I needed a physical attack skill to match it .

The skills I chose were 'Gigantic Whirl' and 'Typhoon Hole' . 2

I remembered 'Whirlwind' back in the guild war .

Spinning their body quickly to deal massive damage with the weapon held .

If Whirlwind had the range of 4 to 5m radius, Gigantic Whirlwind had 10m .

It was as if you Awakened the regular Whirlwind spell .

Whirlwind and Gigantic Whirlwind were both A ranking spells .

Then it would be obvious to use Gigantic Whirlwind over the other .

However both had a different rate of mana consumption .

Most warrior skills used up percentage of mana .

It would depend on the skill level, but the base was 3% for Whirlwind while 10% for Gigantic Whirlwind .

Same damage and same type of attack .

But the added range increased the mana consumed as well .

If one gets caught up in this skill, they'd be ripped apart like food in a blender .

If used with a massive amount of strength, it would make a huge impact against many opponents .

The next skill, 'Typhoon Hole' .

It was a skill mentioned in the additional information section of 'Eye of the Storm' .

The explanation stated that the skills have incredible synergy .

Eye of the Storm caused all living targets around the user to spin around the user, being dragged in closer and closer .

Typhoon Hole spun the other direction that Eye of the Storm did .

However, Typhoon Hole was an attack skill that incorporated sharp knife-like rain drops .

Eye of the Storm had increased damage dealt as it leveled, while Typhoon Hole spun the other way, dealing damage over time .

If both skills were leveled up, it will be able to display an incredible synergy .

"I'm here to purchase Gigantic Whirl and Typhoon Hole . "