Chapter 29: If I Call You Nuna (4)

The surprise attack ended in failure.

However, this single failure did not lead to a crisis.

“What the hell are you…”

Seogeok

I beheaded the man right next to Chairman Park.

The cervical vertebrae and the surrounding muscles and ligaments were cleanly severed with a single axe swing.

So, it wasn’t that my axe or my attack was at fault.

The failure of the surprise attack must have been due to Chairman Park’s skill.

“F*ck.”

“Chairman!”

The Revival Association bastards came to their senses and began to counterattack.

Some ran towards Chairman Park, and the rest charged at me.

‘Sashimi knives, skills, sashimi knives, skills.’

Is there a particular reason?

The weapons these bastards use are all long sashimi knives.

Quickly darting my eyes, I prioritize.

Hwoong

I lowered my stance and charged towards them.

The bastards are mostly in their early Level 10s.

Only Chairman Park has an exceptionally high level.

So I am much faster.

Peok—

“Kkeueuk!”

After dodging a blade thrusting straight at me, I attacked the man who was positioning himself to use a skill first.

Then, I extend one leg forward and spin my body.

A blade tears through my collar.

Kwang

I struck a man with an elbow.

He flies away, his neck broken.

“Get him! Tie him up!”

“Th-the skill isn’t working!”

“What?”

I did feel something strange.

Though it disappeared quickly.

‘Magic Resistance.’

My Level 30 general skill.

It’s partly because of this skill that I planned this surprise attack.

If there’s a large level difference, the opponent’s magical skills can be completely nullified.

Through actual combat, I keenly feel why Jang Hoseop called this skill ‘broken.’

Hwareureuk

However, that kind of skill cannot be blocked.

Red smoke rises from one man’s head.

What on earth is his Fundamental Skill?

“Keep…”

Anyway, I rushed towards the man reaching out to me.

Just in case.

“Block him! Block him with your bodies if you have to!”

“H-how…”

So, I am still a wolf pouncing on a flock of sheep.

The ones who should be afraid are not me, but them.

“Kkeuaaaak!”

An arm falls off, ribs shatter.

One collapses with a caved-in chest.

While I was rapidly taking down the Revival Association bastards like that.

“Charge him all at once!”

Chairman Park came to his senses.

He runs hard with his fat body.

‘A tackle?’

The way he’s extending both hands towards me looks like he’s trying to grab me somehow.

He doesn’t seem to be thinking about defense.

‘Is his skin hardening?’

I try to guess his skill.

Judging by the size of his aura, Chairman Park is over Level 15.

The axe blade didn’t penetrate, and he got up quickly even after a big impact.

So, his Fundamental Skill and general skill seem to be related to skin hardening and impact resistance.

Deobseok

“Uh, uh?”

I grab a nearby man by the collar and throw him at Chairman Park.

How should one deal with a human with high defense?

This is the first time I’ve encountered such a skill.

“Move!”

First, I decided to knock him down.

If I keep hitting him, won’t he break eventually?

Kwang

“Keoheok!”

However, Chairman Park counters the man I threw with a body slam.

He’s merciless even to his own side.

The man vomits blood from his mouth and turns back to me.

“Die!”

Originally, I intended to let Chairman Park’s tackle slide past.

The timing was slightly off because of the man who came back at me.

Chairman Park’s hand grabs my collar.

“Now!”

Encouraged by his shout and actions, the Revival Association mob charges at me all at once.

Chairman Park, trying to throw me off balance.

‘But is he stronger than me too?’

I don’t know why Chairman Park is smiling.

I grab his wrist and twist it outwards sharply.

“Kkeueueup!”

Chairman Park falls over.

I kicked his ankle.

Kwang

“Heup.”

A sharp pain shoots up my instep.

It seems he can strengthen the skin all over his body.

Anyway, I succeeded in knocking down this giant.

Kudangtang

As he fell, I also rolled once.

Among the several blades that grazed past, one cut a long gash on my back.

I recovered my stance and swung the axe wide.

Kwajijik

Knocking down two men with a single axe swing.

Shhhik

Then, dodging a blade coming towards my stomach, I smash my forehead into the opponent’s face.

Kwang

After that, I stomp on the instep of the man hugging me from behind as if in an embrace.

“Euaaaak!”

While I was dealing with the Revival Association bastards like that.

I felt Chairman Park’s presence moving away.

“Huh…”

Turning my head, I saw Chairman Park diligently running away.

Along with the man from whose head crimson flames were rising.

---

Although I was injured, I killed all the Revival Association members who were returning to the market.

My level also went up.

I immediately chased after Chairman Park.

“Block him! Block that b*stard!”

The problem was that the bastards who were in the market came swarming out.

That crimson flame head must have been an emergency signal.

‘I thought it was a sh*tty skill…’

The Fundamental Skill Awakeners form a human barrier.

Thanks to the crimson flame head and the torches the bastards are holding, the street they are blocking seems to be burning red.

Like the entrance to hell.

‘Did he just pass by the trap too?’

There’s a trap Mr. Lee Jangsu made by hammering nails into a wooden board.

If they had found the trap, it’s small enough to just jump over.

I had placed it on the road leading to the market, and some of the nails are bent.

‘Chairman Park did step on it.’

The bloodstained nail seems to have been stepped on by the crimson flame head.

The bent nail was stepped on by Chairman Park as he passed.

His skill is likely not the type that is consciously activated, but one that is constantly maintained or automatically triggered.

“Huh? That person…”

I continued walking, thinking about Chairman Park’s skill.

Towards the direction where the arrogant-looking men I saw at the market were holding their respective weapons.

The man who had taken a bribe from Jang Hoseop during the day points a finger at me when he sees my face.

“You b*stard. You were here earlier!”

I don’t understand.

Why do all these bastards speak informally from the start?

Why do bastards who have only caught a few Goblins act so arrogantly, as if there are no rivals in the world?

“Kill him! Whoever kills that b*stard gets promoted to the expedition team immediately.”

Chairman Park hides behind his subordinates and raises his voice.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Kill him!”

“F*ck, first come, first served.”

The expedition team seems to refer to the team that expands their territory.

That seems to be a great reward.

The market forces, full of momentum, charge at me.

Because I am alone.

“Hoo.”

I took a light deep breath and charged back at the bastards.

The elite of the Revival Association are already dead.

Among the bastards remaining in the market, there aren’t many humans over Level 10.

I didn’t think I would lose.

---

Dodge and strike.

That was all.

The gap between the market forces and me was greater than that between a child and an adult.

So I won.

“Heok… Heok.”

Harder than I thought.

My whole body is drenched in blood.

I pick up the axe I dropped a moment ago.

‘Skills really do have a lot of variables.’

Turning the ground into mud.

Or a barrier suddenly appearing in empty air.

There were a few skills that weren’t targeting me directly.

Such skills, regardless of magic resistance, held me back.

Therefore, among the blood flowing down my body, my own blood is mixed in.

Though I avoided fatal injuries.

[Level has increased.]

At least my condition improves slightly with the level up.

As I catch my breath and rest for a moment, Jang Hoseop approaches.

“Hyungnim. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You?”

“I’m fine too.”

In the middle of it, Jang Hoseop intervened in the fight.

It was different from our agreement, but he secretly signaled me, and I nodded.

It was to save time.

The bastards with dangerous skills were already dead, and Jang Hoseop took care of himself, hitting and running.

“That thing.”

“I’ll go with…”

The market entrance is in sight.

Unlike during the day, it’s empty.

“No. I’ll go alone, so bring the other group members.”

I received a torch from Jang Hoseop and entered the market.

It’s quiet.

Even though a big fight broke out nearby, most ordinary people are inside buildings.

I headed towards the building with the tightest security.

Kwang

I chased the large presence.

Chairman Park is in here.

“F*ck!”

Chairman Park, hiding behind a door and launching a surprise attack.

No, I knew, so it wasn’t a surprise attack.

Kwadang

I grabbed his wrist and slammed him to the floor.

“What the hell are you!”

And I twist the wrist I grabbed a full circle.

Tudeudeuk

“Kkeuaaaak!”

Laughter escapes me.

“Why? Aren’t your bones hardening too?”

I kept thinking about Chairman Park’s skill.

What about attacks that aren’t strikes?

Does his flesh and bone become as hard as his skin?

Seeing his wrist and elbow completely twisted, that’s not it.

“St-stop.”

As I grab his other hand, Chairman Park begs.

“Wh-what do you want? Let’s talk this through…”

“You. I want you.”

I finish twisting.

Listening to his screams, I twisted one of his ankles too.

“I thought you’d run right away. Why were you so greedy?”

A messy room.

In the middle of it, two large bags are placed.

“Mana Stones… you’ve gathered a lot. There are Spirit Stones too? Gold? Do you like gold?”

These two bags are his greed.

They are no different from magic that held him back.

“Hyungnim.”

Just in time, Jang Hoseop arrived with the group.

“Take this.”

“Yes. It seems there’s a separate warehouse too, what should we do?”

“Only as much as we can carry. You decide.”

I entrusted the harvest to the group.

Spoils of war are important, but there’s something more important than that.

Grabbing Chairman Park’s uninjured ankle, I drag him out into the middle of the market street.

“Kkeup… Why the hell are you doing this? Who are you?”

Chairman Park asks, enduring the pain.

His voice shows he has no idea what’s going on.

Indeed, from this person’s perspective, it must feel like a bolt from the blue.

“You’ll see. And don’t speak informally.”

“What? I’m twice your…”

I twisted the uninjured ankle.

“Kkeuaaaaaaaak!”

Chairman Park screams again.

At the sound, people look out their windows.

“Hairstylist! Hairstylist!”

I searched for my hairstylist.

I raise my voice.

“I’m here! Come out!”

Small lights, like candlelight, gradually increase.

People also appear from the side alleys in the market.

“Yoon Bom! Come out!”

Just as I shouted for the third time like that.

“Lee Hyeon-ah.”

She finally appeared.

My hairstylist.

She approaches me.

Wearing a hood like a tattered rag.

“Why am I doing this to you? Look over there.”

Grime streaks down the hairstylist’s face.

Her fingernails are bruised, and there are bloodstains on the knees of the pants she’s wearing.

“Who is that woman…”

“You were the one who made my possession like that first.”

“No, I don’t even know who she is.”

People are murmuring.

Asking if that helpless person is really Chairman Park.

Amidst that, the hairstylist came right in front of me.

“Lee Hyeon-ah. Nuna… I waited. I did well, right?”

“Yes. You did well.”

I let go of Chairman Park and tried to embrace the hairstylist.

But the hairstylist stops me with her hand.

“Nuna smells… bad. Sorry.”

Laughter escaped me.

With just one word from her, I knew immediately.

The hairstylist wasn’t broken.

I safely got my possession back.

“Hairstylist. Come with me.”

The hairstylist gazes at me intently.

“Nuna. If I call you Nuna. How many years has it been already?”

I looked her straight in the eyes and answered.

“Yeah. Nuna. Let’s go together.”

“I didn’t say you could speak informally…”

And I pulled her into an embrace.

A terrible smell wafts up.

That felt so good.

---

The hairstylist, no, Bom Nuna, was like that from the beginning.

‘Instead of hairstylist, do you want to call me Nuna?’

I was young then, and Nuna was young at the time too.

Bom Nuna always smelled good.

Like a baby’s scent, or soap.

When I entered the hair salon, she would smile brightly and give me things like snacks.

‘You can’t do that.’

I tried to keep my distance from Nuna.

Because I liked everything, from her voice to the way she stroked my hair.

I tried not to think of her as mine, but.

“Was it hard?”

“Not really? Nuna is a bit clueless originally, right? It wasn’t hard… It’s okay.”

“This person. What should I do with him?”

Nuna frowns for a moment.

“Whatever Lee Hyeon wants. It doesn’t matter.”

“Okay.”

“But why are you suddenly speaking informally? You didn’t when Nuna said it was okay to speak informally.”

Because back then, Nuna wasn’t Nuna.

She was just my hairstylist.

“Because Nuna is mine now.”

“Pfft… What’s that. You used to say I was your hairstylist before too.”

It wasn’t like that.

It seems I had already thought of Nuna as mine from long ago.

“Hyungnim! We’ve packed everything.”

The group members all come out carrying large bags.

I want to enjoy the joy of reunion more, but the work isn’t over yet.

“Nuna. Let’s go for now. To my house…”

Nuna, who keeps looking only at my face.

But then, an unwelcome voice was heard.

“Oh my, is that Lee Hyeon? It is Lee Hyeon, right? Sai Hyeon.”

It’s Bom Nuna’s mother.

She pushed through the crowd and appeared.

“You. You used to deny it so much back then. You two are really something, aren’t you?”

“Mom…”

“Ahyo, you’ve always been reliable. Ah, are you going to Lee Hyeon’s house? You still live there, right?”

That ajumma tries to follow us naturally.

And Bom Nuna’s gaze, for the first time, leaves me.

It feels bad.

“Nuna.”

I lowered my head.

I whisper in Nuna’s ear.

“Abandon it. That’s not your mother.”

Bom Nuna’s body stiffened.