Thunder Strike

It hadn’t even been a month since she was trapped in the game.

Less than a month, and the village was already in chaos.

Or was it?

‘Maybe it’s chaotic precisely because it’s the early stages.’

They were thrown into this without time to gradually adjust and accept the changes.

Smart people recognized the altered values and reacted immediately.

And among those people were clan leaders who could issue orders from above.

They could have moved quietly, but when violent people like the Demonic Cult started rampaging, even the docile ones had no choice but to join in.

With almost all the major clans running wild simultaneously, how could the world remain intact?

The village was turning into ruins.

Buildings collapsed.

Screams echoed amidst the piled debris.

Rumble.

Skilla sifted through the rubble and found an ajumma who hadn’t managed to escape… a familiar face.

“Americano?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

She spoke with a relatively calm face.

Even though her leg was crushed.

Her complexion was pale, as if she were about to die.

The ajumma was the landlady of the inn where Americano had been staying.

She used [Heal].

Perhaps because she was an ordinary person with low health, the crushed leg recovered quickly.

Her complexion returned to normal, and she blinked as if witnessing a miracle.

“Such talent.”

“Never mind that. We’re busy, so hurry and go?”

“Ah, yes…”

Skilla urged the ajumma away.

The ajumma bowed her head and scurried off.

Anyway,

The damage to the village was greater than expected.

Sentimentality?

It was a place she had stayed for a few days, but she had often encountered damaged places in reality. She didn’t have the emotional capacity to grieve now.

‘It’s just a game, after all.’

There was a bitter taste.

She felt dissatisfied, wondering if the game had to be this dirty.

PK was an accepted behavior in games, but just as excessive PK was penalized, so should destruction aimed at NPCs or villages.

That’s how it should be.

‘They’re running wild because the administrator can’t intervene.’

Tsk.

Then,

‘Found it.’

She pulled out sacks from the collapsed building debris.

Inventory space was limited.

Even a considerably large item only took up one slot, but items couldn’t be stacked, and liquids couldn’t be stored.

Instead, items could be stored together in sacks.

Still, if space was insufficient, items were stored outside.

Her inventory was full of Orc axes, so she had been storing items separately at the inn.

She took out the sacks and put them into her inventory.

The contents were miscellaneous items.

Basilisk fangs and whatnot.

Come to think of it,

‘I was going to make a knife with the poison fangs, wasn’t I?’

She had forgotten.

“Did you get everything?”

“Yes.”

Just as she finished packing and stood up,

—A presence.

Having been together several times, Skilla could read Americano’s reactions.

“Is it an enemy?”

“…Yes.”

But it was different.

The Electrical Signal that a human body possessed was faint.

But this was very faint.

Americano had only sensed the presence when it was ten meters away.

At that distance, building debris blocked the way.

Lightning.

The lightning gathered at her fingertip was guided in an arc along the building debris and struck.

Hit.

The sensation was satisfying.

But,

“Kahaha!”

It only provoked the opponent.

“Be careful. He’s strong.”

Americano said.

Someone jumped over the building debris from behind.

A middle-aged man with bulging muscles. With short beard and long hair, he scanned the three women in the air.

“So it’s you!”

Stepping on the air,

He flew towards Americano.

Skilla jumped up to block him.

Crimson greatsword.

Blackened fist.

Clash.

She was repelled.

He not only blocked Skilla’s attack, which had been strengthened by Nabi’s Enhancement magic, but also pushed her back.

The man seemed surprised as well, as he clenched and unclenched his hand.

Tingle.

Tingling.

His hand seemed to be numb.

The lightning wasn’t entirely ineffective.

“You must be Anonymous! Don’t hide behind there, come out and fight me!”

“Anonymous, Anonymous. The Anonymous you’re looking for isn’t here!”

“What?!”

The man shouted.

But then calmly,

“I’ve already heard the story from Yoo Seung-won! You lost an arm last night! You’re the only one-armed person in this village as of this morning!”

The man was surprisingly rational, like an analyst, despite his wild appearance.

“He could have gotten treatment as soon as he came back!”

“I investigated, taking into account the time the video was uploaded. No one received arm treatment at the temple until the battle broke out.”

The man’s index finger pointed at Americano.

“Except for that one.”

“Ugh… If you die and revive, your arm heals too.”

Skilla retorted in a low voice.

“Besides, the kid here is a lightning user! Anonymous is a cryokinetic! Did you get hit by lightning and lose your mind?!”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

“If you’ve got the wrong person, get lost!”

“However.”

The man grinned.

“That lightning from earlier, and you too. It looks like it’ll be a fun fight. I came to capture Anonymous, but I was bored. Since it’s come to this, I’ll give you a lesson and relieve my boredom.”

“Crazy.”

The man’s long hair floated against gravity.

The Magical Power emanating from him brushed past their skin.

Skilla gripped her greatsword tighter.

Nabi recalled the spells she had memorized.

Americano,

‘It feels like a boss fight.’

Her eyes sparkled.

This moment was a boss appearance scene born from improvisation.

The man took a stance.

“I am Pacheon-gun of the Demonic Cult. Level 50. My specialty is…”

Pacheon-gun pointed at Skilla with his finger.

“Armor Breaking.”

He declared that he would break her armor.

Originally, a duel between a sword and bare hands ended in a single strike.

In an actual battle, movements were several times faster than the images one conjured in their mind.

In one’s mind, one could picture the movements of the enemy and oneself in units of 0.01 seconds, but there was a difference in speed between the opponent and oneself.

In reality, could a bare body move even half as much as a sword could be swung once?

Such was the contest between a sword and bare hands,

Would it be any different if Magical Power were added?

Americano, who had fought with Magical Power and bare hands, had almost died several times due to that limitation and had to realize her own limits.

Anyway,

Originally, a duel between a sword and bare hands was one-sided.

Even if one wore gauntlets to deflect or block a sword, the sword, with its longer reach, would connect more easily, be faster due to its length, and it was doubtful whether one could even track the tip of the sword with their eyes when facing the enemy.

Where would the impact of blocking go?

Even if one coated their arm with Magical Power like Sword Aura, could it compare to steel coated with Magical Power?

—It could.

“You’re tough!”

“Says the one who should be saying that!”

Blackened fist.

Crimson greatsword.

Clang!

The blade and fist met.

The sound came from the fist.

The greatsword and fist collided in succession.

Clang clang!

Clang!!!

Clang clang clang!

Clang clang!!

The greatsword parried the fist,

The fist parried the greatsword.

Lightning.

Kwajijijiji!!!

“Kuaaaaak!!! Good!!!!”

Lightning struck Pacheon-gun, who was deflecting the greatsword.

Taking advantage of the electrified gap, the greatsword wedged in.

“Predictable…!”

He closed the gap created by his elbow and knee, grabbing the greatsword.

Skilla was surprised but didn’t stop moving. She kicked out, leaving a footprint on Pacheon-gun’s abdomen.

Pacheon-gun released the greatsword and was pushed back a long distance.

His hair, shocked by the lightning, stood on end.

No, it wasn’t just from being shocked.

Nabi’s hair,

Skilla’s hair, pressed down by her helmet,

Americano was no exception either.

Americano was a lightning-wielding ability user.

A powerful magnetic field centered around her electrified the surrounding area.

The Electrical Signal within that electrified body foreshadowed Pacheon-gun’s next move.

Dangerous.

A single charge.

“Let’s see if you can withstand this too…!”

Nabi also sensed something was wrong and used one of the spells she had memorized.

“[Shield]!”

“Like paper!”

The black fist that rushed in shattered Nabi’s barrier effortlessly.

The black fist struck the crimson armor.

Skilla flew back violently.

But,

“Keuheuk…!”

“You’re using strange tricks.”

Skilla didn’t fall.

She dragged her feet along the ground to resist.

Pajijik.

Electricity crackled on the armor.

Skilla glanced back at Americano, who was panting and using [Heal].

“….”

“….”

There were no words.

They only made eye contact.

She could only sense that she had done something.

The crimson armor clashed with Pacheon-gun again.

Nabi asked in surprise.

“What did you do? Ah, no, this isn’t the time to ask that.”

Americano closed her half-open mouth.

The principle was simple.

In the first place, electricity was a resource that humanity had developed most deeply.

There were many ideas for application to be found in school lessons, on YouTube, and in everyday household appliances.

The meeting of Electrical Ability and scientific knowledge brought about faster development than Americano had imagined.

She reached out her hand.

Just as Pacheon-gun was about to increase his speed,

Pajik.

An unavoidable lightning strike forcibly canceled his next move.

Pacheon-gun muttered bitterly.

“Is this how a monster being exploited feels? Frustrating.”

He couldn’t use his hands or feet.

Every attack was foreseen.

Every advance was thwarted.

He couldn’t believe he was being defeated by women of a much lower level.

He was sweating cold.

He wasn’t using his full power, but he didn’t expect to struggle this much.

‘The red armor is excellent as a tank. The mage seems to lack combat experience, but she’s managing to keep the buffs up in her own way.’

But that was it.

If it were just the two of them, the fight would have been over already.

No, it would have ended before he even stepped in.

Yet, the reason they could fight so evenly was that there was a factor that increased the tank’s abilities and decreased Pacheon-gun’s abilities.

She was said to be an ability user who controlled lightning.

‘I’ve fought many ability users, but…’

Even compared to others, her skill in wielding her ability was outstanding.

She would have been a top-tier ability user in the real world.

If there was such a woman in his world, she couldn’t have avoided becoming famous, whether for her looks or her abilities.

That meant she was from the hunter world.

Anonymous was excellent, but,

‘That woman’s coverage is just as excellent.’

Rather, in terms of covering the abilities of her party members, her usefulness and versatility were even greater than Anonymous.

If he were to form a party and have someone behind him, he would want someone like her.

The desire to take her with him grew stronger.

But his goal was Anonymous.

The order was given by the Little Heavenly Demon.

As one who served her, he couldn’t ignore the order.

He couldn’t put his full power into it, as he had to be prepared for Anonymous to appear at any moment.

Even if he gave it his all, could he break through that vanguard who was being supported by magic and ability?

It was possible.

‘If it were my original body.’

This body was a fake created during the game, and the stats had been reset.

His skill had room to spare, so he could match a level 60 even at level 50, but his physique was insufficient to bring out the full extent of his skill.

Due to the circumstances, he couldn’t put his full power into it, so he was no different from an ordinary level 50.

But he couldn’t defeat that tank with just level 50.

If he were to retreat like this,

“My pride would be hurt.”

From what he could tell, they were at most level 30.

Their strength and agility were higher than that, but that was because they were receiving support from equipment and magic.

Even considering that, he was facing them with a much higher level, and they hadn’t suffered a single scratch.

If he retreated like this, what would those women think of him? A man was a creature that wanted to be remembered as strong by women.

Especially being remembered as an average man by that beautiful woman who wielded lightning was unbearable.

Continuing to fight and settle the score wouldn’t benefit either side.

He was an executive of the Demonic Cult who believed in strength, and he had the pride of being among the top 100 in the Demonic Cult, but he knew how to control his emotions for the sake of gain.

So this would be the last.

At least he would keep his initial promise.

He would break that armor.

Pacheon-gun used his signature move that he had often used in reality.

“Let’s see if you can withstand this too.”

If she could withstand it, he would quietly retreat.

No sooner had he finished speaking,

He threw a punch, saying, “Take this!”

Pacheon Fist Demon.

One of the Hundred Great Masters of the Demonic Cult.

Among the Demonic Cult in reality, there was a fist technique that he, who was among the strongest 100, used like a normal attack.

Heavenly Destruction Fist.

Ink Wheel Fist.

Among them, the Heavenly Destruction Fist, from which his nickname originated, was his signature move.

The characteristic of the Heavenly Destruction Fist was,

An expanding fist.

That strike struck the crimson greatsword and sent it flying, along with the armor, all the way to the building across the street.

The armor was made of a material that was stronger than he thought, so he couldn’t break it, but she wouldn’t be able to get up from that.

It was his sincere strike, which he couldn’t put his heart into due to his pride and various circumstances.

He had taken care of the mage at the same time.

He had sensed that it would be blocked if he aimed at the lightning woman, so he aimed at the mage.

“….”

“….”

Only the two of them were standing unharmed.

Pacheon-gun reached out his hand.

“If you come, I will treat you as a VIP.”

“….”

Americano shrugged her shoulders.

Smiling,

“You think you’ve already won?”

She raised her hand.

She held up her index finger.

Cryokinetics cooled objects. Whether it was air, water, stone, or anything else. And conversely, they prevented cooling and even controlled heat transfer.

Americano was an Electrical Ability user.

She was also able to control the electrified object so that it would not discharge.

[Magical Power] was insufficient, making it difficult to reproduce the power of electricity as it was in reality,

But by utilizing the characteristics of electricity, she could increase its power depending on the preparation.

This place was already her stage.

The space was full of electricity.

Static electricity could occur at any time.

However, that static electricity would become ‘real’ lightning.

Pacheon-gun noticed the suspicious signs.

“Too late.”

Discharge.

The moment he jumped back and turned around, a huge electric fire erupted between his feet and the ground.