episode_0323

As during John’s reign, the march of suffering resumed.

We passed several cities that looked like ruins we had first encountered, and we crossed mountains and rivers.

-Huh… Phew…

But as time passed equally, it became twice as difficult.

He shook his head and closed his eyes.

A cold sweat ran down my eyelids. My lips were as dry as if I had fallen into the desert, and my breathing became ragged.

The back side functions like a dungeon. It provides bonuses to the monsters it spawns and suppresses intruders.

I am an obvious intruder.

‘The oppression is stronger than the ideal… It’s impossible to stay like this for too long.’

The observation that was trying to spread out far away is now crumpled. The observation that was able to expand and close freely as it gradually became more skilled is now unfree.

The same goes for space.

In particular, spatial detection, which I am not proud of as being as skilled as other technologies, is difficult to continue operating.

Therefore, observation is performed at a rare level, and all remaining energy is invested in space.

‘You did well to train your senses diligently. You can close your eyes and conserve as much mental energy as possible.’

While you are closed to observation, you become blind (or near blind), but if you sharpen your senses, you can fight.

Should we call it a kind of power saving mode?

Of course, I’m trying to conserve my energy as much as possible and moving forward, but that’s still a bit difficult.

But I couldn’t back down here.

I thought so before I came in, but after coming in, my determination became even stronger.

‘How much is this?’

The only living creatures I’ve met so far are countless monsters.

From birth, they are generally born with a high rank, and they receive compensation from behind, making their momentum quite fierce.

Although the lower-ranking monsters were seething like bugs, there were also higher-ranking monsters that fought and harassed each other, dividing up the territory.

You may even encounter a rare tier 4 monster.

‘Of course, this has to happen in Xi’an.’

It felt like there were poisonous bugs swarming in the jar, but there was one place similar to this one.

The devil.

A piece of land that humans have lost. The owners of that land are not humans, but countless monsters.

This is by no means an exaggeration.

We’ve already seen the disaster this can cause in the original. It seems less so now, but the danger is still there.

The danger is recognized. The danger is great, but it can still be prevented.

It’s within arm’s reach, and I have the strength to reach it.

If you get scared and back down here, you won’t be able to be confident in yourself in the future.

I can’t claim to be someone who deserves to be loved.

-Jiing

“?”

Suddenly, a sound resonated within me. It was a sound of uniqueness resonating from within.

‘What? A beauty with many faces? Did you have some kind of realization or something?’

A faint smile was created in the midst of difficult hardships. Whatever it may be, the change in uniqueness is a welcome thing.

The transformation of the all-round beauty, whose training method was ambiguous, was especially notable.

I wanted to think deeply about the omen, but because the location was not good, I put off thinking deeply about it.

‘I’m slowly catching up.’

Traces of a person following along. As time passes, the worn-out traces are becoming more and more vivid.

Getting closer to the owner of the traces.

.

.

.

If I do the math, about three more days have passed.

It crossed dozens of cities, and although the colors were the same, it crossed various terrains.

‘In this space, monsters are all crowded together and entangled like loneliness… It really seems like there’s a 3rd tier system involved.’

I’m not running as fast as I can to estimate the location of the nuke, but I’m walking at a fairly fast pace.

However, the terrain spreads out endlessly, and you will be overwhelmed by its size.

‘Is it settled in the back by the year?’

In the meantime, I felt many doubts as I calmly followed the traces.

The old traces were difficult to distinguish even by observation and were flimsy and dangerous.

The gait was unsteady and strides were continuous, and the marks were obvious.

As time passed, it gradually improved.

Traces of multiple battles were woven together, and the traces became fainter. It seemed as if they had tracking in mind, and they began to reduce the traces.

Anyway, we arrived at our first destination on the vast island.

A ruined city.

It’s not much different from other cities we’ve visited so far, but there are still traces of human presence.

It’s not blatant. It’s erased with skilled experience and technology.

But observation can only uncover all of it.

First, I headed towards the city’s few high-rise buildings, where the traces were the thickest and most numerous.

The top was completely blown away by something, so I kicked the wall up to the upper floor near the top.

-chin

I stepped onto a seemingly nice concrete floor.

My footprints were not left behind because they were being managed, but right next to them, there were footprints left behind that were ‘taken a few hours ago.’

‘It seems like the tension in the living space is somewhat relieved.’

Of course, even that was hidden very well. This must be because the power of observation is so good.

I wiped my dry lips and looked around.

The walls are all torn down, the floor is wide open, and the floor is cleaner than expected. There are various leather hems scattered here and there.

It’s monster leather.

‘Are you using it after processing it? The workmanship isn’t that good.’

I picked up a piece of leather and rubbed it. It was rough, but it was obvious that some effort had been put into it.

Even so, it is full of the clumsiness of an inexperienced person.

He threw the leather he had been holding onto on the floor and turned his feet.

It looks like people still live on the second floor.

There were traces of a fire on one side of the floor. Around it, leather that had been processed with some effort was piled up like a sleeping bag.

‘huh?’

While I was analyzing the cost-effectiveness, I tilted my head at the data I felt from Hankook.

The leather had fallen off. I picked it up and analyzed it more closely.

‘Secretion.’

The analysis results showed that the foreign substance on the leather was secretion. It seems that this was leather that was used for clothing.

‘I can analyze it and build up data to track it later.’

Whatever it is, it’s data. If you lose it during a fight, you can track it down more easily based on this.

And it was around the time when the dog nodded.

“This little copycat monster is now looking down on people’s underwear and making a fuss.”

I heard a voice behind me. It was the presence of a being that had been waiting for me to come up.

-Boom!

A short sound, as if a silencer had been attached to a gun, shook the air.

Bam! A blue fist pierced the spot where my head had just been.

“Huh? Avoided… ”

I turned my body while dodging.

The woman who had punched me from behind twisted her lips when she saw my mask.

“What the hell, what did this kid copy again?”

His face was wrinkled, covered in charcoal and dust, and had fine scars.

Her blue hair, which had grown below her shoulders, was messy and looked like it had been neglected.

The clothes are made by roughly piecing together pieces of leather that were lying around nearby.

What a wild man he is.

However, thanks to the basic beige color, it stands out as being wild rather than dirty. Since most superhumans are ant-shaped, this wasn’t strange.

If I had to find something surprising, it would be that the space where the right arm should be is empty.

Of course, it wasn’t surprising since even that was predicted through the pressure of the footsteps.

After a short moment of recognizing each other, the woman twisted her waist.

Ta-da! The sound of the compression being released was not difficult to identify.

A current that feels like it’s wrapping around my legs.

The foot shot up sharply. The tip of the raised foot cut through the air like a blade, and fell limply to the ground a short distance away.

I took a few steps back and furrowed my brows.

The commonly known characteristics of the brain attribute are destructive power and speed. Because of this, the trajectory tends to be simple, but it is strong and fast enough to compensate for that.

‘Isn’t it a bit fast?’

Even taking that into account, it’s incredibly fast.

Ta-da! The electric current that had been in my legs spread throughout my body.

There was a flash of lightning, and the already short distance disappeared.

Fists and legs wrapped in electricity poured down like rain in an instant.

That was really fast. I also raised both arms. The blood that had been compressed under my clothes was released.

He responded to the attack with his blood-curdling limbs.

‘what?’

Through observation, the nature of the woman’s magical power and unique abilities were already roughly guessed.

From then on, I waited for him to approach me out of curiosity.

When I checked it myself, it was stranger than I expected.

I expected it to be fast, but it’s much faster.

I kicked away the fist that was coming straight at me with the back of my hand.

Zizik! At that moment, my arm tingled with the electric current that spread along the bloodline.

‘You’re breaking through the bloodline?’

After a brief moment of stiffness, the woman attacks him again and again.

Confront it and avoid it.

It’s a bit burdensome.

The movement is too fast. The trajectory is obvious, so I’m avoiding it and responding in advance, but…

Boom! The blood and electricity that collided in the middle exploded.

The woman who had stepped back to avoid the blood that poured out like thorns crumpled her face.

“Why are you like this, you little shit?”

A woman who keeps muttering to herself has a massive amount of magical power pouring out from her core.

A large electric current surged from the body that had been filled with magic power. It was to the point where it was almost engulfing me.

“Get out of here.”

Bam! The woman snapped her fingers and lightning struck the air.

Lightning formed on my arms as I took on the attacks one after another.

‘Target designation.’

Knowing this similar unique ability, I figured out the function in the analysis challenge.

‘Expansion capability.’

In that moment, the woman’s uniqueness swelled, and a lightning flash occurred between me and the woman.

-Kwarrrrung!

The dull world flashed for a moment. After a while, a loud clap of thunder shook the ground.

It didn’t end there. The magical power that had been secretly gathering in the sky also turned into lightning and struck the target.

The dark sky flashed dozens of times.

The upper floors of a high-rise building were completely blown away by lightning.

Large and small pieces of debris that had not yet been destroyed rained down all over the city.

The woman who had landed on the floor in the meantime looked up at the destroyed residence and furrowed her brow as if she had chewed shit.

“Hey, what the heck… I have all the clothes and underwear I worked so hard to make.”

[Can you tell the difference between underwear and clothes?]

“Wouldn’t that be okay? A person with a facial disability… ?”

The woman who had been mumbling absentmindedly suddenly opened her mouth wide.

“Are you alive? No, you don’t even get hurt, you crazy bastard.”

I shook off the electricity that was stuck to my body.

The attack just now was withstood by the body wrapped in a large cloud of blood.

‘Why is the output like that?’

It was close. I almost got roasted while still covered in blood. If I hadn’t responded by creating a whirlwind, that would have really happened.

That woman’s magic power… The output of her unique ability is strange.

Blood is strong, tough, and resistant enough to replace energy.

He ignored it and shocked me.

Of course, is it to the extent that it cannot be understood with common sense? It is not to that extent.

But the heterogeneity of output and effect is clearly felt. I have experienced this heterogeneity often.

Unlimited potential. Different output from other unique abilities from the start…

[…hmm]

“Oh, shit, my house… My clothes, my underwear… How did you make that.”

While feeling the strange sensation, I tilted my head at the woman’s muttering while ruffling her hair.

[House? You didn’t make that one. And the clothes and underwear all look the same─]

“Shut up, what do you know about monsters! Are you an alpha by the way? Or is it a completely different entity? What the hell, why did this thing come to my house and cause trouble.”

A woman who talks to herself like a crazy woman. When you listen to her, it seems like she mistakes you for a monster.

Certainly, it would be understandable for a monster with that ability to copy.

Even considering that, I still don’t feel like I’m in my right mind. I shook my head and raised my arms.

[There is no such thing as a crazy bitch who mumbles alone]

“하, 속옷도둑몬스터새끼가누굴보고미친년이라는거야?”

The woman who was making a fuss suddenly ran towards me. Kkwarung! Now there was no thought of reducing the noise, and the car was accelerating loudly.

A fist flies in so fast that it almost makes the opponent lose his balance.

Women are incredibly fast and strong.

The skills are not bad either. The brain is straightforward and easy to read, but the woman dynamically moves her long limbs to create variation.

Movements that are almost like those of an animal driven by instinct.

When you mix in the strangely powerful lightning and acceleration, it’s not surprising that you can hit vital points in an instant.

-widely

“… !”

But the downsides are also clear.

He held out his palm and received the fist.

A large current is about to surge forward, but it is caught in the eddy current that burst between my palms and flows away.

The woman opens her eyes wide and stretches out her legs. She escapes the sphere of influence by a hair’s breadth and digs in from inside.

A gap that is wide open. Knocks away attacks and defenses, digs in, and punches the empty head.

-bang!

“Huh…!?”

The strong wind that came up reduced the impact. But my posture was shaky, and I had no intention of letting go of the gap.

A woman who starts to get pushed around helplessly as he persistently tries to find an opening.

Accelerated body and strength. You can keep up with it in this state.

Although the brain is powerful, it cannot generate enough power to instantly remove the blood cloud.

Wild and dynamic movements.

There are some excellent parts, but it didn’t build up from the basics.

Since the attack itself is a skill that assumes a monster, there are many openings when dealing with a human-sized body and intellect.

This is the reason why a superhuman specializing in monster fights does not usually engage in a one-on-one duel with a superhuman specializing in human fights.

Above all, since one arm is empty, there is bound to be a gap.

‘…hmm?’

That was when.

A small sense of discomfort felt at some point in a woman’s movements.

Legs that are firmly planted on the ground, but ready to change their center of gravity and posture at any time.

The waist is aligned to allow free movement of strength between the upper and lower body.

Although he is unarmed and bare-handed, he uses all parts of his body that can attack, such as his fingers, the back of his hand, his elbow, and his shoulder, in the right places.

That is, it is a posture to respond in any situation.

‘Huh…?’

It is said to be an ideal fighting method, but at the same time, it is a fighting technique that feels somewhat familiar.

There are many clumsy parts, but they are filled with intuition and wild movements.

But if you look closely, the basic posture becomes clear to you.

That’s…

‘The basics taught by the teacher─’

The moment I thought about it that far.

He reflexively pushed away the woman’s attack, and a fist was thrust into her exposed abdomen, wrapping itself around her.

-Kwaang!

“Ugh… !”

A woman bending her waist while letting out a gasping sound. Kugung! Soon, the vortex wrapped around her arm began to pulse.

The whirlpool twists and turns. Just before being swept away by the whirlpool, the woman is roughly thrown out and splashes on the floor like a water drop.

Boom! The woman finally stops after being slammed into the wall, her legs sagging.

“… … ”

I blinked as I observed the pieces of the wall pouring down and the woman stuck in the wall.

Something, something is strange…?

***

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“The Master of Traces” “A Sense of Discomfort”

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