Chapter 179: He Smells Like My Ex

Episode 179

The man, with a handsome face and in his late twenties, was deep in thought. After staring at the monitor for a long time, he finally moved the mouse and paused the internet broadcast.

The frozen screen showed a close-up of Alopsky.

A moment later, a knock came at the door.

“Yes.”

The door opened, and a man entered.

Hong Yeonseok.

He was the current leader of Team 1 of the Korean Clan and the person who had assisted Master Yong Hangil with the Colosseum finals.

“You called, Vice Master?”

“Yes. Come here.”

The man beckoned Hong Yeonseok to the monitor.

“Have you seen this?”

“Yes. I watched the live broadcast.”

“What do you think?”

Hong Yeonseok countered with a question.

“You’re asking if he looks like Kim Jinsung, like you mentioned earlier, right?”

“That’s right.”

Hong Yeonseok stared at Alopsky on the monitor for a moment, lost in thought, then replied.

“I can’t say for sure… but as you said, Vice Master, it’s definitely suspicious enough to warrant further investigation.”

“You think so too, Team Leader Hong?”

“Yes. I experienced Kim Jinsung’s play firsthand, didn’t I?”

The man nodded. That was one of the reasons he had sought Hong Yeonseok’s advice.

“Back on Ambages Island, Kim Jinsung used ‘Illusionary Mist’ to bind me and my subordinates when he escaped.”

“I know. You said he probably absorbed the Illusionary Mist ability from a demon world dungeon.”

“Yes. But Alopsky used a skill similar to Dragon Breath this time, didn’t he? It reminded me a lot of Kim Jinsung.”

“This scene?”

The man moved the mouse and rewound the internet broadcast.

The scene where Alopsky unleashed a massive wave of flames from the mid tower, incinerating Juan and two others, appeared. The man paused the video.

“Yes, this scene.”

Hong Yeonseok continued.

“Doesn’t that fire look similar to the dragon’s breath from earlier?”

“……”

“First of all, it’s unbelievable that he can display that level of firepower while wearing a suit that restricts his abilities.

There are very few people in the New Continent who can use elemental attack abilities that strong.”

“That’s true.”

The man nodded in agreement.

Indeed, even after racking his brain, he could only think of less than five people who fit Hong Yeonseok’s description.

“A rookie hunter with such abilities should have already made a name for himself on Earth before entering the New Continent.

But no one knows who this Alopsky is. Even our own investigation team couldn’t find any information about him.

An incredibly powerful hunter whose identity is unknown…”

“It means he must have forged his identity.”

Hong Yeonseok nodded at the man’s words.

“That’s right. And if it’s Kim Jinsung, it’s highly likely that he entered the New Continent with a fake identity.

And if we assume Alopsky is Kim Jinsung, there are many similarities.

He uses elemental skills freely, he absorbed Dragon Breath and used it immediately, and so on.”

“…Alright.”

The man finally looked away from the monitor and turned to Hong Yeonseok.

“Everything you’ve said aligns perfectly with my thoughts.

Now that we’ve found someone suspicious, I can’t just ignore it as the Vice Master of the Korean Clan.”

He continued, giving instructions to Hong Yeonseok, who was listening attentively.

“We need to form a special investigation team. A small elite team of about ten people, including you, Team Leader Hong.”

“Including me?”

“You’re the only one in the clan besides the Master who has firsthand experience with Kim Jinsung.”

The man answered Hong Yeonseok’s question smoothly.

“We’ll select about eight skilled individuals who can hold their own against Kim Jinsung, including you. Preferably from the top three hunter teams.”

“I’m fine with that… but don’t we need the Master’s approval?”

The man smiled at Hong Yeonseok.

“I can handle this much with my authority, Team Leader Hong.”

“…Understood.”

Hong Yeonseok replied, thinking to himself,

‘He can form an investigation team that includes me, the leader of Team 1, without the Master’s approval? That’s impossible…’

Hong Yeonseok, the leader of Team 1, was one of the top five executives in the Korean Clan. Who else could command him besides the Master?

‘I know the Vice Master has a lot of influence in the Korean Clan and Korea…’

Honestly, that was one of the reasons why Hong Yeonseok was following the Vice Master’s orders without question.

His influence within the clan, his popularity in Korea and the New Continent, and his undeniable ranker-level skills.

The Korean Clan could function perfectly fine with the Vice Master at the helm instead of Yong Hangil. That’s how influential he was.

“The third round of the newbie showdown is tomorrow, right?”

The Vice Master’s question snapped Hong Yeonseok out of his thoughts.

“Yes, it starts at 7 PM.”

“Let’s finalize the investigation team roster and then head to the arena after the match ends.”

“You’re going to the arena yourself…?”

The Vice Master answered Hong Yeonseok, who looked surprised.

“I’m going to talk to him directly after the match.”

* * *

Inside the dormitory where the newbie showdown participants were temporarily staying.

Each participant was assigned a room with the same number as their team.

Juan, from Team 1, was staying in Room 1.

“……”

Juan, his face stiff, was staring at the laptop screen in his room.

※ Newbie Showdown Rankings After Round 2

1st: Team 6

2nd: Team 4

3rd: Team 5

4th: Team 7

5th: Team 8

6th: Team 1

7th: Team 2

8th: Team 3

9th: Team 9

10th: Team 10

He sighed heavily as he looked at the rankings.

He couldn’t help but sigh every time he saw it.

‘This is bad… What should I do?’

His plan had completely fallen apart.

He had successfully revealed Luca’s ability to the world. But he had failed to achieve his most important goal: reclaiming first place after winning the second round.

He was currently in sixth place. He should have been in first place by now… He had to be…

‘This means I have to make an impossible comeback in the third round…’

The problem was, was it even possible?

‘How am I going to deal with Alopsky?’

He scrolled down the rankings with a serious expression.

There was additional information below the rankings.

※ Unique Abilities Revealed by Alopsky from Team 6

– Spirit Bomb: Gathers energy for 5 seconds and fires a powerful Mana sphere. Its explosive power is strong enough to erase ‘void’.

– Elemental Abilities: Confirmed to be able to use all elemental attack skills freely.

– Dragon Breath: Although it’s a type of elemental ability, its range and destructive power are far greater than other skills. Can also be compressed into a sphere and detonated.

– Smoke Transformation: Transforms into smoke, becoming immune to physical damage.

– Teleport: Can teleport to any desired location. Confirmed to be able to teleport freely within a range of at least 1 km in the second round.

– Mana Rope: Created a rope made of Mana to bind the gigantified Luca’s legs and create distance.

– Also seems to possess a detection skill, as he spotted Gian in his ‘Ghost Form’, which others couldn’t see.

– Although 7 abilities have been identified, experts believe he may possess even more.

Juan felt a tightness in his chest as he read the information.

‘How can one person possess 7 unique abilities?’

And each ability was incredibly useful in actual combat.

And this might not even be all of them…

‘One thing’s for sure, if I leave him alone, a comeback in the third round will be impossible. I have to hinder him somehow.’

But how could he hinder Alopsky in the third round?

‘I think I can hinder him alone, but that means I have to reveal all my abilities.’

In other words, he couldn’t even attempt to hinder Alopsky unless he used all his power.

That Teleport skill was incredibly overpowered. Unless he completely disabled Alopsky’s ability to use skills, there was no way to hinder him.

He could probably manage it if he revealed all his hidden abilities, but…

‘…Then there would have been no reason for me to desperately hide them in the second round.’

He wouldn’t have lost so pathetically at the end of the second round if he had revealed all his abilities.

He would have been ranked higher, and it would have been easier to catch up in the third round.

If he had been willing to reveal everything, he should have done it in the second round.

‘Now that I’ve hidden them, I have to keep hiding them until the end.’

But how could he hinder Alopsky without using all his power?

‘…Forming a secret alliance with the other participants seems like the best option…’

But that also seemed difficult, judging by what he had seen earlier.

‘The Red Team members seem to have gotten quite close.’

He had seen all five of them having dinner together, laughing and chatting, at the cafeteria earlier.

It seemed like their unexpected victory in the second round had created a bond between them.

…Meanwhile, the defeated Blue Team members had all eaten their meals alone, far apart from each other.

‘But I have to try and persuade them to form a separate alliance.’

He scrolled down the laptop screen.

A table summarizing the other participants’ abilities appeared.

– Team 1: Sunlight – A wide-area skill that heals allies and damages enemies.

– Team 2: Gigantification – Increases all stats by drastically increasing body size.

– Team 3: Ghost Form – Turns the body transparent, allowing free passage through walls. Attacks in Ghost Form temporarily prevent enemy HP recovery.

– Team 4: Genocide Arrow – Fires a homing arrow that chases enemies. Pierced enemies are temporarily vulnerable to all damage.

– Team 5: Poison Orb – Fires an orb that creates a wide poison swamp. Enemies in the swamp are poisoned and have their movement speed significantly reduced.

– Team 7: Dark Zone – Temporarily envelops a wide area in darkness, blocking enemy vision. Even vision skills cannot penetrate Dark Zone.

– Team 8: Tree of Life – Summons a giant tree filled with life energy, healing nearby allies’ HP and MP and granting a buff that increases all stats.

– Team 9: Chain Imprisonment – Binds all enemies within a wide area with Mana chains, slowing their recovery, movement speed, stats, and everything else for about a minute.

– Team 10: Bulletproof Shield – Creates a bulletproof shield that deflects weak attacks for all allies.

‘…There’s a huge difference between fighting together with these abilities and fighting without them.’

If all nine of them joined forces, they could definitely hinder Kim Jinsung using these unique abilities.

They might even be able to drop Kim Jinsung to last place.

The abilities the others possessed were quite powerful.

“The problem is how to hinder him!”

Juan shouted in frustration.

“The Red Team members are all sticking together, with Alopsky at the center… Haaa~!”

“At least your brain isn’t completely fried.”

“……!!”

Juan jumped in surprise and turned his head sharply at the voice coming from right next to him.

Francisco.

The leader of Team 1, to which Juan belonged, was staring at him with an expressionless face, as if he had materialized out of thin air.