episode_0070

70. Reunion.

“Sang-cheol. Looks like those bastards noticed?”

“What? Already? Aren’t they still a bit far?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s right. It’ll be a few more minutes.”

“I intentionally slowed down the speed, and they noticed that?”

The bald man holding the steering wheel wore a strange expression. Even so, he was confident in his driving.

Just how good is their eyesight? The man briefly considered just letting his prey go. Something felt off.

At that moment, a light voice was heard from the back. The man in charge of their group. Cha Seung-in. He twirled a blue machete in his hand.

“What does it matter? Just kill them. Don’t be scared, guys.”

He had the look of a common hoodlum from the neighborhood. If Johan had recognized this man’s face, he would have remembered that he was a player he had encountered in the tutorial.

Cha Seung-in tightly embraced the women on either side of him. The beauties with glamorous makeup nestled in his arms, acting coy.

He chuckled and looked back.

“You’re cute, heh heh. I’m here anyway. You guys just need to trust me.”

“Y-yeah. Hahaha!”

The bald man smiled awkwardly and gradually slowed down. Yes, with this monster here, it’s not easy to lose. The man in the passenger seat wasn’t a pushover either. The bald man decided to be confident.

‘He’s a monster who took first place in the tutorial and achieved top-tier results on the 2nd and 3rd floors. There’s no way we’ll lose, right?’

The man whose shiny head was dazzling recalled when he first met Cha Seung-in. He almost died back then.

─What, this octopus head? You look smelly.

─P-please save me. I’ll do anything!

─Oh, really? Then have a glass of my lemonade. I might consider it.

─Y-yes?

─You don’t want to?

─No, no! I can do it!

“······.”

Let’s stop thinking about it. The bald man felt his eyes getting moist and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Kyaaa! Honey! What are you doing~”

“Why are you like this? It’s not your first time, is it? Keuheu.”

The bald man felt sorry for his situation. He rubbed the top of his head for no reason and slowed down. He hoped that this stress would be relieved if the hunt was successful.

***

Before even a few minutes had passed, they got closer to the fish. Suddenly, Sarah, who was narrowing her brow and looking ahead, said.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“Uh, that, there’s someone I think I’ve seen before. Where was it?”

“Hmm······.”

Johan frowned upon hearing her words. However, they still only appeared as black dots. The shape of a person wasn’t very visible. He could only see something round.

“Well, wouldn’t it be someone unimportant? You wouldn’t remember them if they were.”

“I don’t think they were anyone special. I guess that’s true. We’re going to kill them anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“······.”

Johan flinched at the brutal words and shut his mouth. Anyway, the distance was now close enough for Johan to see them. Deok-su shouted from the side.

“Collision in a bit! Everyone, buckle up tight!”

Vroooom-!

Deok-su cheerfully stepped on the accelerator. The fluttering breeze guides the group to the fish.

Perhaps because the speed was so fast, Johan’s mouth hung open stupidly. He quickly deployed a shield to block the swaying wind.

Before long, even Johan could roughly identify the shapes of the enemies. That meant that the distance was close enough for the other party to identify the group.

Screech-!

Perhaps they judged that there was no need to hide their purpose, they drastically reduced their speed, unlike before. Thanks to that, the distance between the enemies closed in an instant.

The next moment, what the guys did was truly unconventional. Even though they were slowing down rapidly, the car still had momentum.

But someone in the passenger seat got out of the car without regard for such facts. After that, someone rotated their entire body violently.

Crash!

Vroom, it was as if watching a top-class soccer player’s scissor kick. The only difference was that it wasn’t a soccer ball, but a lump of metal made of steel and aluminum.

The iron soccer ball rushed towards the group at the speed of light.

‘Crazy!’

A sports car running at full speed and a lump of metal fired from the opposite direction. The momentum would be considerable. It would be difficult for Johan to block that with just one shield.

Thanks to [Accident Acceleration], his brain rotated furiously in the slowed-down world. It was to find the best way. The deliberation was fast. It might not be the best method, but it was better than doing nothing.

Dew.

Popopopopopopong!

Numerous water droplets were created in front of the sports car that resembled a flame. Each one was larger than an adult man. This was the first line of defense.

He wanted to use the [Raging Wave] spell, but there was no time. Johan quickly activated the next spell.

Shield.

Using water droplets to reduce the speed in the first place, and stopping the ignorant lump of metal with layers of shields.

This series of actions took place in just a moment. It was a calculation speed that would have shocked other magicians.

Crash!!!!

“Keueup!”

It was a different level than the weight he had endured so far. A futile gasp escaped from the rebound felt from the shield. Immediately after, a frivolous laughter was heard from inside the car.

“Keuhahaha! You’re enduring this~?”

The car stopped, but the enemies had momentum. They quickly passed through the water and rushed towards Johan as if bouncing out.

A blue machete is swung as if cutting through space. Johan hastily deployed a shield.

Clang! Crack, Crash!

‘They broke it in one hit?’

Surprisingly, the attacker shattered the shield in an instant. If Johan had been alone, he would have been beheaded without question. But Johan wasn’t alone. He had a reliable swordswoman by his side.

Clang!

“Heeeeeup!”

Seeing that, Deok-su swung his greatsword horizontally. However, the enemy was not alone. There were four people inside.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Hiyah!”

The bald man stretched out his whip like a snake and snatched Deok-su’s greatsword. After that, two women next to him rushed at Deok-su. One was a rogue, the other was a martial artist.

Deok-su’s face quickly turned blue. And soon it was okay. He didn’t think his trait was that alarming. That means······

Peeeeeeeng-

Crack!

Pow!

Johan’s magic missile arrived at the right time. It collided with the martial artist’s fist and the rogue’s dagger, respectively. They staggered back, but Johan’s attack had only just begun.

Freeze.

Sssssssssss-!

The stream of water they broke through seemed to writhe, then instantly emitted a white chill.

Ice Awl.

They revealed transparent and sharp fangs and stuck their mouths out at the women.

“Hoo-eut!”

The next moment, the martial artist’s hands became blurred. Then, metallic sounds that sounded like they were from a forge continued several times.

It was as if a huge awl was constantly rushing into the ice. Holes were quickly drilled into the surface of the large glacier.

“Hiyaaaa!”

Unlike her appearance, she had fairly good skills. However, it was impossible for her alone to block all of Johan’s spells.

The woman knew that too. From the start, the woman’s goal wasn’t to stop the spell.

“How bold.”

“······!”

Scattering ice shards, it was like watching a blizzard. The rogue woman sprinted through it. It wasn’t a straight run, but a mysterious footwork was incorporated.

Thanks to that, it took Johan a little while to find her. It was literally a little.

Clang!

Johan’s longsword and the small dagger collided. Unlike what it looked like, Johan was the one who was pushed back.

The rogue woman smiled with satisfaction, but soon her expression turned blue.

Johan lightly stomped his foot.

Dig.

Whoosh, the rogue woman’s vision descends steeply as if she were riding a roller coaster.

She reflexively flailed her hands. But there was nothing to grab. Johan was not such an easy magician.

Dew.

Water quickly filled the hole. No matter how superhuman the body is, there is nothing you can do if you run out of breath.

She swung her dagger and dug into the ground. Her intention was to get out of the situation first.

It was truly a foolish move. It seemed like her head wasn’t working properly because she was flustered.

If you dig it out, I’ll just fill it in.

Dew. Dew. Dew. Dew.

Glug─

‘Was the world record 24 minutes and 33 seconds?’

How long will she last? Even if her physical abilities have improved a bit, she hasn’t received professional training in holding her breath.

Above all, she is consuming oxygen while actively moving in the water. She won’t last long.

At that moment, Johan turned his head. In the slowed-down world through [Accident Acceleration], the martial artist was flying towards Johan.

He wasn’t alone. The mysterious man who kicked the car earlier was also with him. The speed was too fast. It was too late to construct a spell.