episode_0078

78. Intensification of Competition.

Yohan approached the motorcycle with a light step. He had acquired a new weapon, and now all that remained was to ride forward.

Car center, groceries, weaponry in that order…

‘Next time, a magic-related store might appear.’

It was a possibility worth considering. Even if not a mage, wouldn’t the probability of more weaponry appearing be lower? Yohan decided to hope for it. Deciphering magic books was quite fun.

Ta-dat, the moment Yohan’s right foot drew a large arc to mount the motorcycle—

Jjeo-eo-eo-eo-eong!!!

Yohan’s shield, deployed in an instant, blocked something. Immediately after, someone presumed to be the thrower charged at Yohan.

Yohan hurriedly stepped back, putting the motorcycle into his inventory. And soon, he could see who it was that had attacked him.

Yohan spoke in a composed tone. His expression was very calm.

“What is the meaning of this?”

His vision was dizzy. A muscular, long-haired man was visible in the swaying world. He looked like a mixed-race of a Viking and a Korean. The black-haired Viking savagely bared his mouth.

“Hahaha! You blocked that? Impressive! Yohan!”

“……I knew, but you’re revealing your true nature later than I thought.”

“You knew? But why did you follow me?”

“For the same reason as you, I suppose.”

“……Kuhahaha! How about this! Not just different beds, same dream, but different dreams on the same bed!”

Yohan abandoned formalities. A polite tone was a luxury for that beast. Yohan rolled his eyes towards another direction.

Already, the Viking’s comrades were attacking Yohan’s team members. Deoksu looked like he was about to die, and Sarah was doing slightly better. Sarah, using her [Indomitable] trait to inflate her stats, was holding out well.

Since one of her arms was completely gone, the increase would be enormous. The ones attacking Deoksu realized this, and all four of them stuck to Sarah.

They realized that Deoksu was effectively out of combat power. A very wise choice.

“That young lady fights well? I thought she was a low-level swordsman because she was slow to identify the location of the store, but was that also a deception?”

“Did you think we were fools? Approaching with that much greed dripping off you, how could we not know?”

Deoksu didn’t actually know. He even told Yohan that the Viking seemed like a nice person. At that time, Yohan simply remained silent.

Sarah and Yohan knew that the Viking was suspicious, and they never revealed their full strength.

Kwaaaang-!

Again, the Viking’s axe slammed down on the shield. The Viking smirked.

“If you knew, you should have run away! Don’t you think your greed is excessive?”

“A wild boar is talking, the one who’s greedy is you.”

The Viking roared with laughter at Yohan’s words. His long arm bent like a whip, and the shield shattered.

The axe, now unhindered, was driven straight into the ground. And Yohan was no longer there. The Viking looked up.

Buaaaang-!

In the Viking’s vision, Yohan was riding his motorcycle and speeding across the wasteland. Yohan, still on the bike, indiscriminately fired spells.

Magic Missile.

Piiiiing- Kwaaaang!

It was a familiar spell to the Viking. He had used that spell for the most part to get here. The Viking waved his axe like a feather and deflected them all.

‘This isn’t the end, is it.’

The Viking observed Yohan with persistent eyes. He knew very well that Yohan hadn’t shown his full strength until now. And that applied to the Viking as well.

In fact, his forte wasn’t axe skills. Ppudeuk, the Viking’s left foot pressed deeply into the ground. And starting from his ankle, the axis of his entire body rotated. Already, a small hand axe was in his left hand.

Sswaeeeeeeek-

It was much faster than Yohan’s Magic Missile. Yohan quickly turned the motorcycle to avoid it. And the Viking was aiming for that.

Ta-dat─

“Got you.”

The Viking, who had instantly caught up to Yohan, reached out his hand. At that moment, it felt like his shoulder blade was being pulled out.

His elongated left hand grabbed Yohan’s collar. Yohan’s eyes widened slightly.

‘The arm length, it’s extended?’

The Viking slammed him straight into the ground. Yohan’s vision quickly inverted.

The Viking, with bulging veins in his forearm, wore a smile of triumph. There’s no way he can withstand this throw—

Cheombeo-eo-eong~!

“What……?”

Dig.

Dew.

The suddenly created puddle absorbed Yohan’s impact.

Dig to make a pit, then fill it with water. But that didn’t negate all of the impact. Fortunately, Yohan had the newly learned spell, Rock Skin.

The Viking was flustered. He had never seen such rapid spell casting. And now, it was Yohan’s turn.

Jjeojeojeojeok-!

Thanks to the fact that Yohan was the medium, a fierce splash of water occurred. Yohan did not miss this opportunity. He immediately used the Freeze spell to bind the Viking’s movements.

“Kueueueuk……!”

The Viking, surprised by the dulling sensation, groaned. At this rate, he’ll become a frozen Viking!

He roared loudly and gave strength to his whole body. It was to escape this chilling ice.

Ppadeudeuk-!

Naturally, the Viking’s center of gravity leaned back. Yohan poured Magic Missiles at the opponent’s ankles. He had to seize the victory while his opponent was focused on breaking free from the ice!

Kwakwakwang!

Along with the sound of ice breaking, the Viking’s ankles also went bad. The Viking screamed in pain and fell backwards. Yohan stretched out his newly bought longsword.

As Yohan mainly prefers ranged combat, this close combat was a valuable experience. He has to practice it from time to time.

Puoooook-!

“Keoheok, keo-eo-eok……”

“Thanks to you, I got here comfortably anyway. I’m thankful for that.”

“You, you crazy bastard……”

The Viking closed his eyes with a look of disgust. His end was simple. The end of life is usually like this.

Yohan turned his head. Sarah and Deoksu were diligently coordinating their attacks against the enemies.

‘No, to be exact, is Ms. Sarah fighting four people by herself?’

They didn’t seem to know that their leader had died yet. Yohan reached out his hand. They’ll find out in the afterlife anyway.

Piiiiing-

Yohan’s fingers glowed blue. The companionship, not long but not short either, ends here. Honestly, it didn’t feel very good.

***

“To think, it was all an act…… I really didn’t know.”

Deoksu, who was holding the steering wheel, said that. He looked quite depressed. Unlike his appearance, he was quite a sentimental man.

“……”

“……”

But unfortunately, there was no one here to listen to Deoksu’s complaints.

Sarah was not very interested in humans other than Yohan from the start, and Yohan did not feel the need to respond in particular. They weren’t even in the same car in the first place.

As no one said anything, Deoksu’s words gradually decreased. His ears were slightly reddened, he must have been embarrassed.

Deoksu just sighed once and drove the car. He would feel better if he got some wind. It was my fault for wanting comfort from these merciless humans.

Buaaaaaang-!

In the silence where none of the three spoke, only the exhaust sounds of the car and motorcycle disturbed the eardrums.

***

[00:17:15.2535 seconds.]

The night, filled with the stench of blood, finally came to an end. Yohan ran across the wasteland, looking at his inventory, which had become richer than before. When will this racing disguised as a marathon end?

That question was answered sooner than expected. Sarah, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly said.

“There’s a flag.”

“Is it a store?”

“No, I can’t see it well right now……”

Even for her, she had only confirmed the shape at a glance, so it wasn’t accurate. Still, it was something to have found something. It was also a chore to keep looking at this desolate landscape.

Before long, she accurately identified the shape of the flag.

“It says 25%. I think it’s a signpost.”

Deoksu was noticeably delighted. The hand holding the steering wheel tightened.

“Oh! Finally!”

Yohan was also secretly pleased. Unlike the previous trials, this trial felt too dull. He wanted to quickly move on to the next floor and clear the tower.

Buaaaang-!

Deoksu, who was stepping on the accelerator, put strength into his foot. Yohan was about to tell him not to do unnecessary things, but decided to leave him alone. Sometimes, a change of pace is necessary.

Soon, the sports car and motorcycle were able to pass the flag. At that moment, a hologram appeared in front of the group.

[Congratulations. Thank you for your hard work in getting here.]

‘What is it? Are they going to give me a reward or something?’

The message gave that kind of feeling.

The hologram continued.

[From now on, killing a player will increase the movement speed of your vehicle by 0.1%. *3rd floor only*]