Chapter 63.1

Chapter 63 – Rule 23. The Leader Must Always Be Prepared for an Enemy Attack (3)

Ahn Woo-jin recalled Moon Chae-won’s ability.

‘The power to create machines through electromagnetic waves.’

A unique ability, Electromagnetic Wave Shaping. The power to gather electromagnetic waves and form them into mechanical structures, bringing them into reality.

Technically, it was the power to create iron materials, but this unique ability evolved into the power of machine creation when it met Moon Chae-won.

For machines created through her ability, electromagnetic waves, when channeled through Chae-won, even served as the energy source.

‘To interfere with the electromagnetic waves, use Magic Technique Type 1: Electromagnetic Wave Synthesis.’

The power to attract and gather surrounding electromagnetic waves.

This was why Woo-jin’s smartphone and the Disciplinary Committee’s pager had gone dead.

‘Creating machines is Magic Technique Type 2: Cyber Kinetics.’

The power to materialize electromagnetic waves into machines.

This was why fighting a Technomancer in the heart of the city was a bad idea.

Chae-won required a significant amount of electromagnetic waves to fully utilize her abilities, and in the city, a large supply of electromagnetic waves was readily available.

“Can’t come up here, can you?”

Chae-won’s voice was mocking as she spoke from above.

It was provocative. Like a bird that could soar freely in the vast sky taunting an ostrich.

Woo-jin moved without responding, uprooting a street tree from the sidewalk.

“Wow…”

Chae-won was impressed.

“Hoo.”

Woo-jin took a deep breath.

He assumed a stance like a baseball pitcher about to throw, preparing to hurl the tree.

He then flung the tree toward Chae-won.

Whoosh!!

The tree flew rapidly, targeting Chae-won with precision. Her board spewed flames as it moved, easily dodging the tree.

Chae-won’s eyes followed the tree that had just missed her. It was a natural reaction.

“You can’t hit me like that… huh?”

While Chae-won was distracted, Woo-jin had disappeared.

Crack.

A mysterious sound came from above. Chae-won quickly looked up.

A figure wreathed in teal lightning was descending like a thunderbolt. It was Woo-jin.

In one hand, he held the Iron Dragon Staff, and in the other, the Lightning Rod.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

‘How? Teleportation…?’

It was only then that Chae-won realized how Woo-jin had disappeared from the bathroom.

Woo-jin’s awakened unique ability was definitely related to teleportation.

Chae-won raised her arms, forming a shield in front of her. Using her unique ability, she converted electromagnetic waves into energy and spread it over the shield’s surface.

The moment the shield took the impact, Woo-jin would be caught in an explosion.

However, Woo-jin did not hesitate at all.

Although the lightning rod embedded in the shield disrupted the electrical magic in the Iron Dragon Staff, Woo-jin swung the Lightning Rod without a second thought.

Boom!!!

A merciless explosion of lightning.

A deafening roar spread out.

The shockwave rippled in all directions, and the vehicles, which had been halted due to the traffic jam, were pushed back by the pressure.

Crash!!

Glass windows of nearby buildings shattered.

“Ugh…!”

Whiz!

Chae-won’s body was swept away by the lightning explosion, crossing the air. Bang! This time, Chae-won was hurled into the sidewalk, creating a crater.

Her shield had already been destroyed.

‘To handle the Lightning Rod like this…? Interesting!’

She already knew Woo-jin could wield the Lightning Rod. She also knew that its power was unmatched.

But she hadn’t expected it to be this powerful.

This went beyond the limits of the Lightning Rod.

“Huh?”

At that moment, Chae-won noticed that the teal light hadn’t disappeared.

She looked up.

In the air, Woo-jin was falling with a dense charge of lightning power. His hair and clothes fluttered violently.

The lightning explosion caused by the Lightning Rod was being compressed back into the rod, a bizarre sight.

The power flowed like a dragon, forming a stream of lightning.

Crackle!!

All that power followed the movement of the Iron Dragon Staff, as if Woo-jin were the conductor of an orchestra.

It was being perfectly controlled by Woo-jin.

Another effect of Iron Dragon Staff Level 1.

The reuse of ambient lightning power.

Chae-won smiled broadly and attempted to create an insulated shield.

“What?”

However, it was difficult to fully utilize the gathered electromagnetic waves. The flow of power was disrupted. She quickly realized the reason.

‘An EMP, huh. This is why I dislike those who use electricity.’

The reason Woo-jin swung the Lightning Rod first.

He had created an electromagnetic pulse with the lightning explosion to disrupt the flow of electromagnetic waves gathering toward Chae-won.

In the city, a large amount of electromagnetic waves continuously flowed, so the effect was temporary.

But that brief gap was enough for Woo-jin to launch an effective attack.

His real target had always been the follow-up attack.

However, Chae-won was a top-tier fighter.

Her response speed and countermeasures were not lacking at all.

Immediately, the flying board rose to protect Chae-won. It was a temporary measure, but its high magic density gave it significant hardness.

Whoosh!

An unusually large lightning rod emerged from the board. It was designed that way when the board was created.

Chae-won had taken her own precautions in advance.

Woo-jin, meanwhile, spun his body and swung the Iron Dragon Staff.

Crash!!!

Following the flow, the stream of lightning rotated like a wave and shot toward Chae-won like a spear.

A thick lightning spear etched a streak of light in the air as it targeted the lightning rod.

Boom!!

The spear clashed with Chae-won’s defense, causing a fierce magic explosion.

The impact sent Chae-won’s body flying like a ball. She crashed through the building behind her, tumbling into the first-floor lobby.

“Kyah!”

“Huh!”

The employees in the lobby were startled. The AI robots sounded the alarm.

“Hoo.”

Chae-won got up and brushed the dust off her clothes. Her internal organs and bones were damaged, but it wasn’t unbearable.

“This is unexpected.”

Chae-won knew Woo-jin hadn’t gone all out yet.

And yet, this was the result.

‘If he’s only recently awakened his unique ability, he should be at Tier 5. But this power is at least Tier 6.’

Until a moment ago.

Chae-won had thought Woo-jin had defeated Han Seo-jin using clever tactics and that Han Seo-jin had let his guard down.

That’s why he won, she had thought.

But after clashing with Woo-jin directly, her perception had changed.

‘It’s not going to be easy to take him.’

She had underestimated Woo-jin, but not anymore.

She couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Oh, this is fun…”

Clang!

Click!

Using her now-normalized unique ability, Chae-won created mechanical armor to fully equip herself. A new flying board formed beneath her feet.

Snap!

Chae-won snapped her fingers.

Meanwhile, Woo-jin landed on the road.

Civilians and drivers, realizing the battle situation, were desperately fleeing.

Security robots, having lost their signals, autonomously assessed the situation and controlled the road.

Woo-jin shouted at the still-present civilians to get away while gesturing frantically.

“……!”

Whiz!

Through the shattered glass of a large shopping mall, robots suddenly poured out. They were the robots Chae-won had brought and deployed.

Each one transitioned into flight mode and aimed their guns.

Ratatatatat!!!

A barrage of magic bullets rained down on Woo-jin.

There was no place to hide.

There wasn’t enough time to create a rift and escape.

Woo-jin quickly pushed off the ground.

Crackle!!

Afterwards, Woo-jin deflected some of the magic bullets with the Iron Dragon Staff and escaped to the lower levels of a nearby building.

At that moment—

“Whoosh!!”

“Where do you think you’re going!?”

In an instant, Chae-won, clad in mechanical armor, reached Woo-jin.

It was a blink of an eye.

Chae-won had used wind magic to dramatically increase her flying speed.

“!”

Woo-jin was shocked by her speed, far surpassing anything he had seen in the game.

Chae-won aimed a mechanical spear at Woo-jin. The spear was enveloped in powerful energy and condensed wind magic. The force of the energy was so great that trees and asphalt were crushed in her wake.

Even a Tier 6 fighter wouldn’t survive such an attack.

Before Woo-jin could make any conscious decision, he instinctively turned and swung the Iron Dragon Staff, imbued with electrical magic.

Crash!!!