Chapter 67 : Unexpected (2)

Unexpectedly.

As the smoke surrounding the foe cleared, the first thing that caught my eye was his bizarrely transformed body tissue.

Disgusting mana mixed with black, dirty impurities.

And influenced by it, skin and muscle tissues rotted into an inky black color.

It blatantly possessed the characteristics of that ‘something’ from the secret lab I saw in Korea, the one I presumed was a chimera.

“…Does it have reason?”

The difference was that unlike the previous one which moved prioritizing instinct, this guy was the one commanding his subordinates in

Chinese just moments ago.

His combat power seemed much weaker as a result, but even at this level, most ordinary users would struggle to even face him.

A chimera with reason… in some ways, it might be more dangerous than the one I saw before.

The guy pulled his body out from where it was embedded in the concrete wall, stood up, and cracked his wrists a few times.

My eyes met his as he performed joint exercises on the spot, seemingly checking his own physical condition.

At his shout, filled with internal energy, the melee class users I had half-shaken off pulled out scrolls one by one from the wide sleeves of their

martial arts robes.

The mana contained in the scrolls was all at the intermediate magic level.

As they all tore the scrolls, the disgusting black mana within wrapped around their bodies and seeped into them.

“It seems like it’s no longer time to be complacent.”

No matter how much of an executive of this branch he was, I hadn’t expected the Mana Shield to break at all.

I thought if I just kept my distance and bombarded them with ranged magic, everyone except a few executives would be easily subdued.

There was also the calculation that the remaining executives wouldn’t pose much of a threat if I dealt with them carefully.

However, they were much stronger than I thought, and now, having used buff scrolls, they must be even stronger.

I didn’t know what effect these scrolls, made with mana circuits I’d never seen before, had, but parts of their bodies began to twist, covered in

that disgusting mana.

In some cases, tissues became necrotic and elongated.

In others, bodies swelled up as if bloated.

There were even those whose tissues doubled, or who grew organs not normally found in humans.

A guy with four arms, a woman with large horns on her head, even a bich whose gender I couldn’t tell with eight eyes.

Dozens of pairs of eyes, plus eight more, filled with killing intent, poured towards me.

<Aegis Shield> <Steel Skin> <Mana Shield> <Haste> <Strengthen Muscles> <Hawk Eye>…

While their bodies were twisting and changing, I wasn’t just standing idle either.

I decided to temporarily discard my pride as a descendant of the great dragons and start playing ‘seriously’.

I couldn’t lose to Chinese users.

It was my last, non-negotiable pride as a Korean gamer.

I typically adopted the standard textbook combat style for a mage: maintain distance, hinder the opponent’s movement with harassment

skills, then finish them off with a heavy-hitting damage skill.

It was a familiar and comfortable method, and more importantly, low-level opponents, when appropriately toyed with like this, would realize

their place and give up the challenge.

Perhaps because of that, most PvP users regarded me as the epitome of a battle mage, the textbook example of mage PvP.

In fact, according to mage player acquaintances, there wasn’t a single mage user who didn’t reference my in-game play.

But ultimately, being the ‘PvP standard’ meant it was a combat style most users were familiar with.

Veterans who had fought numerous battles against mages, or clever opponents, usually had one or two counter-strategies prepared against

mages trying to maintain distance.

Like using a scroll containing <Blink> to instantly close the distance for a surprise attack, or equipping an artifact that temporarily increased

mobility.

Once you break into the top 1000 of the PvP rankings, you frequently encounter monsters who have prepared dozens of ways to deal with

ranged classes like mages or archers.

‘That’s why I practiced close combat even more.’

It was difficult to completely shatter the stereotype that ‘mages are weak in close combat’.

After all, Elementalists were designed to be weak in close combat, even among general mages.

Still, I endlessly strived to at least reach a level where I could land a blow on those who let their guard down thinking the distance had closed.

‘As a result, eventually, unless the opponent was ranker-level, I started winning all close combat encounters too.’

A greatsword made of a mana blade, almost exceeding 2 meters, materialized in my grasp.

Contrasting with the sword made of pure mana, black skin was slashed in two.

The opponent’s eight eyes, increased due to mutation, squeezed shut in pain.

It wasn’t the scream of someone who had lost their reason.

The leader guy maintained his sanity , perhaps sustained by his individual strength…

Did the relatively weaker subordinates maintain their reason by enhancing only parts of their bodies in a chimera-like way?

The severed part regenerated instantly.

The wound, which had been gushing rotten blood like a waterfall, healed in an instant.

I clicked my tongue at the regeneration surpassing even high-level undead summoned by Necromancers, but there was a truth common to

both undead and chimeras.

‘If you cut off or smash the head, regeneration stops.’

<Enchant: Moonlight>

Pure white mana, like shining moonlight, enveloped the existing azure mana.

The sword, boasting enhanced cutting power, shone as it harvested the enemies’ heads.

The coordinated attacks of the charging enemies were clearly influenced by the formation mentioned by the guy who seemed to be the leader.

A joint attack composed of relentless strikes, thoroughly designed to take down the strong.

It was structured so that even if the first attacker was struck down, the attack of the one behind would eventually connect.

If I cut one down, another attack comes through the opening.

In that case, I just need to wipe out all the attackers in a single blow.

<Watcher’s Quick Sword>

The swordsmanship said to have been used by the Watchers—an organization formed in the past, composed solely of heroes who sought to

create an ideal world of equality and peace regardless of nation or race—manifested.

Swordsmanship using the body like a real swordsman, not magic.

Originally, being swordsmanship requiring a huge greatsword, it couldn’t be used with low strength—but what did I care?

The greatsword made of mana was light enough to be wielded regardless of the strength stat.

Five streaks of pure white light were carved into the air.

In an instant, five lives vanished.

The man, who always held the advantage in fights between swordsmen thanks to his four arms allowing him to wield four swords, confidently

crossed blades upon seeing his opponent use swordsmanship.

No, he thought he had crossed blades.

“Too slow. Your coordination gets a passing grade, but it’s far below Yejin’s level.”

‘Huh, why is my body over there?’

He died without realizing until the very last moment that his head had been severed with a single stroke.

His wide-open eyes, unable to close even after being cut down, proved it.

…After cutting down about thirty of them, including the guy with four arms, no more attackers charged forward.

No matter how strong they had become through the chimera procedure, they were still sane enough to communicate properly amongst

themselves and perform coordinated attacks without issue.

They must have felt fear seeing their comrades die so easily.

“You succeeded in extending your lifespans by a few seconds. But, have you forgotten something?”

<Dragon Word Magic: Ymir’s Breath>

“I’m a mage, you know.”

As the form of a giant, practically a massive iceberg, appeared behind me, various blades and cold weapons rushed towards me, as if they had

finally realized their mistake.

But it was already too late.

The price for making a mistake even a beginner wouldn’t make—blatantly giving a mage ample time to cast comfortably—was steep.

The structure, which until moments ago resembled a half-destroyed apartment building, had become a giant iceberg.

Because I controlled the range, the climate didn’t change, but the firepower was sufficient to freeze solid all the enemies who had charged at

me.

“The guy who looked like the leader… he escaped.”

I heard that the <Red Cliff> guild branches were spread throughout China.

Among them, the most important branch, practically the main body, was this building located here in Shanghai.

As the leader here, he probably knew a lot… but there was no need to feel particularly regretful.

The information he knew was likely all contained within this building.

And the information I truly needed… those guys over there had it.

I saw researchers wearing the emblem of the laboratory discovered near the Gobi Desert.

As I landed in front of them, who were staring blankly at the destroyed guild building, their faces turned deathly pale as if they had seen a

ghost.

“Shall we have a little chat?”