42. Smash, Charge (5)
In front of the n.o.blesse guild building, south sector.
I was making final preparations.
Best case scenario, all the combat will occur within the building.
If that occurs, exposure of my abilities will be minimized.
But I do not know what will happen.
Just in case, the helicameras that I’ve prepared in advance were covering the areas near the building.
And I had just confirmed that the camera build into the gla.s.ses were properly connected with my smart phone.
I wish there was technology that would allow a live feed, but that level of technology didn’t exist.
After checking over all my equipment, I headed through the entrance.
But I had already quit the guild.
It only made sense that I did not possess a guild member card that was needed to enter.
The Awakened who were guarding the entrance stopped me.
They guarded the entrance as if they were high ranking soldiers on patrol.
Seems that the guard duty rotated between members.
One of the guards who stopped me spoke.
“Why did you come?”
“Here to see Park Hyun.”
Why is the younger me addressing the elder with disrespect?
Because I was already tired of all their vile manipulative ways.
No matter what the age, I had no intentions of respecting anyone within this building.
I had no plans to end up like the midget and his goons.
Why? Because two days ago, I searched for Jae Hyuk.
And I even learned an interesting bit of info.
It was that everyone within the guild were in on the scheme.
I was hoping that Sangmin and blacksmith gramps wouldn’t be but…
My hopes were dashed pretty easily.
And they even planned to use my mother to have me give into their demands.
Of course he didn’t give me this information easily.
I had to beat him to near death and spam heal to bring him back over and over again. Must’ve been a h.e.l.lish time for him.
More the reason why I needed to make sure that this ends cleanly.
To make sure that those around me and I will no longer be put in harm’s way.
After hearing me, he was laughing as if I was insane.
“What? What is this rude kid saying?”
“I don’t like saying things twice. Listen up. Park! Hyun! I’m here to meet her, so get out of my way.”
“You crazy s.h.i.thead! Where do you think this is? Calling our master without a hint of respect!”
With him throwing a fit, all the guards distracted by their smartphones looked up.
With neat guild uniforms, about 10 of them appeared, their dress shoes echoing throughout the lobby.
I held a giant cello bag that contained both Banwol Jincheon.
Coupled with my simple training wear that only added onto their suspicion.
Since my apparel was lacking for visiting a place like this.
“What? What’s happening?”
“Listen to this. This b.i.t.c.h is calling our master’s name without any respect, and told us he’s here to meet her.”
“Guess he’s got some guts?”
“…..”
The one who was in his middle years seemed to be the eldest out of the bunch.
He didn’t come closer, but turned around on the spot.
And he dismissed me with a wave of his hand.
“What shall we do?”
“You idiot! Look at his eyes, he’s not normal. Just give him a little attention and send him off. Nowadays, there are plenty of crazies going about.”
“Yes. Understood.”
He took off his hat and bowed to the middle aged man, then spoke to me.
Seemed that the old man was the most skilled out of all these goons.
“You’re lucky! If you don’t wanna get hurt, get the f.u.c.k out!”
“Yeah. Your mother is waiting for you, kiddo.”
I heard their snickers.
I was hoping to go in quietly… Guess I have to smell the scent of blood from the start.
‘If I cause enough of a ruckus, I’m sure Park Hyun will appear on her own.’
I casted Reflect Shield and the attack buff Protection of the Brave.
Looking at the shield and red colored buff around me, they began to group back up with annoyance.
“You little b.i.t.c.h!”
“You wanna go right here? I’m not letting you get away just because you’re a kid!”
“Where do you think this is to ask for a fight?”
All of them began to pull out their weapons and prepared to fight.
But it looked like I didn’t even need to pull out my own.
As soon as they came close…
Lightning Spray that had no cast time began to pour atop their heads.
It was different from before, since it had hit level 100.
Instead of spraying about weakly, it poured thunder upon the ground.
Out of 13, 7 of them instantly lost consciousness.
And I didn’t stop there, but casted more on the guards that were still conscious.
The leftovers were foaming at the mouth or their eyes rolled up.
As their bodies exploded, blood sprayed everywhere.
And the floor was covered in their excrements.
I walked over to the middle aged man who couldn’t even let out a pained groan, shuddering feebly on the ground.
“Here to meet Park Hyun. Report.”
“Ugh… Gah…..”
Trying to swallow the blood that kept coming back up, he used the hand held radio.
“Operations room.”
“L… Lobby…! Code red…”
“What’s happening?”
“Code red….”
I took the radio out of his grasp.
How many times do I need to say this.
“This is your last warning. I’m here to meet Park Hyun. Check using the lobby CCTV and move quickly.”
As soon as my words ended, I heard the yelling from the other side.
Seemed far away from the radio.
“s.h.i.t hit the fan! Check the lobby now! Code red!”
“What! What happened!”
“Guess they just realized. I won’t wait for long.”
The code red they were talking about, seemed it was for battle stations.
Checking the situation of the lobby, they should be swarming me.
But things went a little differently from what I expected.
The entrance that I went through, as well as all exits were being sealed.
‘Guess we won’t have a need for a director for those helicams.’
Also, the lobby that should be filled with noise had no visible movement.
My confusion only lasted a moment.
An announcement over the PA system rang throughout the building.
– To all n.o.blesse guild members.
Code red. Code red. Prepare for combat.
Informing once more…
‘I guess they want me to find them? Then I’ll come.’
Looks like today’s fight will end within the building.
To go to Park Hyun’s office, I rode the elevator.
While riding, I pulled out Banwol Jincheon from the cello bag.
And I casted Mana Shield as well.
They want me to come to them, not for them to come to me.
Could be preparing a trap or an ambush.
Ding. 60th floor.
The door opened, and as always, Park Hyun’s secretary in training was guarding the entrance to the office.
Also present was the sungla.s.ses man who was the reason behind the guild wars victory.
I walked towards them.
Both black suits allowed me to pa.s.s without a word.
It wasn’t just a little suspicious.
Because I thought the two of them would rush me with swords, but instead they were guiding me in.
The door to the office opened.
Park Hyun greeted me as if she had been waiting, coming all the way to the middle of the conference table.
“Mr. Min-cheol, I’m really glad to see you again.”
“…..”
“They should be aware of who they’re dealing with before blocking the way. Useless expendable grunts, right? I’ll apologize for what happened at the lobby. Would you like some tea?”
Listen to her crazy talk.
Looking at the swords in my hands, yet asking if I’d like tea without blinking an eye.
Maybe it’s not that strange for Awakened to carry around weapons.
But she was treating her guild members that gave their lives at the entrance like trash.
And all entrances as well as exits were blocked off.
I was sure that she was just trying to see how much I’ve caught on.
“Now. Why the sudden visit?”
“You sent a pretty amusing gift. Just wanted to thank you for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Was there an a.s.sa.s.sin of that caliber in the guild?”
Her poker face didn’t last long.
Hearing my words, Park Hyun went stiff as a board, her face cold like ice.
An expression that showed she never expected me to catch on.
She never had shown her true emotions once in front of me.
She continued while holding the cup of coffee with both hands.
“You knew, yet you came anyways?”
“…..”
“Then this should be an easy talk. What will you choose?”
“Choose?”
“Yes. Are you going to join me. Or are you going to turn away?”
The coffee cup she was holding was broken to the point where it was hard to recognize what it was anymore.
“Are you seriously asking me that? Contact the funeral services first. Tell them there’s going to be a ma.s.sive influx of clients. Today, you and all your goons will die by my hands.”
“Pfft! Aren’t you being arrogant just because of your abilities? Coming into my guild on your own and killing all the guild members by yourself?”
Park Hyun hit the table while laughing uncontrollably.
As I predicted, she had an idea of what my ability is.
But looking at her right now, it seems she didn’t realize that my mana is infinite.
Guess she simply thought my mana regen rate is high.
“Even joking has a limit too, you know. Acting all high and mighty just because of a high mana regen rate.”
“Is that how it looks to you?”
“And the two swords you have. They’re both Banwol Jincheon"s. You’re foolishly trying to raise your strength stat still… You can’t even use your abilities to its potential, just like a child.”
“Are you done talking?”
Park Hyun turned towards to the apprentice secretaries and nodded.
Anyone could tell it was a signal to attack.
The man with the sungla.s.ses pulled out his sword.
The two others next him pulled their swords out as well.
For hunting, one hunts. For fighting, one fights.
All warrior cla.s.ses had superior stats compared to other cla.s.ses.
That’s why all her guards are warriors.
Ignoring the approaching warriors, I spoke to Park Hyun.
“Isn’t it a bit too crowded here? Doesn’t look like all your goons are here. It’ll take long at this rate. Group them up to one location. I’ll send all that beautiful comradery off at once.”
“Pfft. It won’t be too bad to execute you in public. It’ll even serve as a reminder to those who are easily swayed.”
“Bring all of them in, even those outside. If these guys go to the afterworld first, the guys outside would feel lonely, right?”
“Ha…. Where is this confidence coming from.”
Park Hyun put a hand on her forehead, treating me as nonsensical.
“Not sure if it is more fortunate or unfortunate for you, but there will be a guild war at 8. You will die a dog’s death in front of everyone.”
At Park Hyun’s words, all three apprentice secretaries put away their swords.
Immediately, one of them contacted someone with haste.
Her expression changed back into that carefree look.
I wonder how much time has pa.s.sed.
Then all speakers on the ceilings spread an announcement.
-Ahem! Ahem! Informing all n.o.blesse guild members.
Code red summons! Form up on floor 12 in combat readiness.
Announcing once more. All forces, converge on the 12th floor.
‘All right. I can take care of this more cleanly than I thought.’
While listening to the broadcast, Park Hyun looked at her watch and spoke.
And she spoke with her usual smile.
“It’s 6:40 right now. Let’s go in about 5 min. By then, everyone should be there.”
“5 min left. You should be reflecting with what time you have left. The result would be the same of course.”
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43. Smash. Charge. (6)
5 minutes went by slowly.
Park Hyun stood up from her set, and pa.s.sed by my shoulder.
All three trainee secretaries followed her swiftly.
In the elevator, one of the secretaries pressed the b.u.t.ton for the 12th underground floor.
Behind them stood Park Hyun and I.
Park Hyun spoke without a hint of emotion on her face.
“How about changing your mind now? Too much of waste for you to die now.”
“Didn’t I say before? Start reflecting on your actions. Well, even if you have a change of heart now, nothing would change.”
“Your foolishness is hastening your death.”
“Say that in h.e.l.l, with all your goons next to you.”
“Even to the end… you do not take the opportunity give to you.”
“Let me ask one thing.”
“Hm?”
“What were you trying to use me for?”
“Pfft. By the way, those gla.s.ses really suit you.”
Park Hyun was probably laughing at my question by suggesting that she already knew about the camera build into the gla.s.ses.
It didn’t matter though.
Whatever her goal was, the fact that she will die won’t change.
“Your ability to notice is something else.”
“But how unfortunate. The 12th floor we’re going to, no signal will go through. If we give the video from the lobby to the a.s.sociation, I can easily explain why you died within this building. Then I just have to get rid of that camera and it’ll end cleanly. Right?”
There was not a single incorrect word coming from the smiling woman.
If it went the way Park Hyun wanted, tomorrow’s papers will have the front page as this.
A man who forced his way into a guild located in the southern sector.
To gain entry, he had murdered 13 guards.
In an attempt to stop the man, all the guild members came.
While trying to put a stop to the man, he continued to struggle and perished doing so.
Something like that?
“A pretty good scenario.”
“Will it only be a scenario? I’ll be filming soon, so please look forward to it.”
“I think you’ll fit the main role a lot better, Park Hyun?
“I hope you keep up that confidence till the end. Heh.”
Ding. Underground, 12th floor.
At the 12th underground floor, the gla.s.ses became filled with black and white static, along with the sound of buzzing.
Guess what Park Hyun said in the elevator wasn’t a lie.
Most likely the camera built into the gla.s.ses is not functioning anymore.
Well it doesn’t matter now.
Thanks to Park Hyun’s overconfidence of a 100% victory.
I was now able to annihilate them without anyone noticing.
The underground area was very similar to somewhere I’ve seen before.
It was an area that exists in every a.s.sociation building, a perfect replica of the arena for guild battles.
The square ceiling. The floor, walls, and the ceiling were made of the same materials.
If there is one thing that’s different, there was spectator seating.
I wasn’t sure if it is illegal to have a place like this within the guild.
Could be a place to practice for guild battles.
I spent a brief moment looking about.
A leader-like beautiful elder ran up to Park Hyun.
“n.o.blesse guild 532 present, none absent! That is all.”
Other than the secretaries, I could tell that the elder was the general for the Awakened gathered here.
Then.
‘Oho? Look at this?’
There were far less people than what I saw at the guild war before.
I didn’t know the total number, but I was sure that it shrank.
Following the elder who finished the report, Park Hyun stood the center of the guild members.
They were armed alike. In the center was Park Hyun.
A lady who had 500 guild members following her.
“After seeing all this, do you still think you can get out of here alive?”
“What do you think?”
“Impossible. There won’t be a corpse left to find.”
“Since we’re on the topic of corpses, if it wasn’t for all of you planning to use my mother, I was at least planning to let your corpses be returned to your respective families. But you already crossed a river you shouldn’t have.”
Hearing my words, Park Hyun instantly turned to stare at Sangmin and Jae Hyuk expressionlessly.
Other than those two, no one else would reveal that information to me.
Gaining back her facial expressions again, she spoke.
“You’re going to die anyways. After that, your precious mother’s life is not of any importance. She’s not needed. Isn’t that a relief?”
“Funny. But looks like the number of your members dropped? Guess you’re working them real hard?”
“Pfft. 21! People who made a stupid decision like you. You’ll be joining them soon.”
“Even with that face, you talk like a sc.u.m really well. So scary. Let’s fight already and get this over with.”
Soon as my words finished, magic flew from all directions.
The group had spread out in pairs of 40 to 50 like the time in the guild battles.
Park Hyun retreated to the rear.
By her side, 40 or so members including the secretaries stood to guard her.
I was positive that was the elite squadron.
Over 500 members had begun their attack simultaneously.
From one side, high cla.s.s magic was being cast.
While keeping distance, all cla.s.ses poured their ranged attacks relentlessly.
To attacks like this, using Frozen Shield or Reflect Shield was a bit too dangerous.
Even if it took some time, it would be best to continue keeping up the Mana Shield I casted before.
As if getting rid of weeds, I felt the battle would go a lot smoother if the weaker ones were removed first
I raised my hand and received their spells.
In a split second, Louver’s Ring absorbed ma.s.sive amounts of mana and sent them to the bracelet.
The bracelet shone with bright radiance.
The next skill would be an empowered skill more than twice as strong as the regular cast.
Since I was using Mana Shield, I could only cast a spell with one hand.
That’s why I needed to choose an effective spell.
First I used the monster in a pocket! Devil Avatar.
Even now, I was not used to the Howling they used every time I summoned them.
Blue, Yellow, and Red.
Frost, lightning, and fire aspects were summoned, one of each.
I think my luck is pretty good.
There probably are members who have high resistance to one type of element via pa.s.sive skillbooks.
Thanks to Louver’s Bracelet, the summoned had a far larger body than what they usually had.
The summoned avatars began to blast spells without remorse.
They attacked anything I determined them to be enemies.
That would be all life forms in front of me.
Awakened with low resistances due to being low level began to fall one by one.
Jae Hyuk and Sangmin were included in this.
Didn’t really care for Jae Hyuk, but I did have a soft spot for Sangmin.
However. Now knowing everything, I did not need emotions like that for this.
“AHHH!”
“H…HEAL! I NEED HEALING!”
The battle ground the Devil Avatars went through, only annihilation stood in their wake.
Charred black, bodies that were shattered to pieces. There were bodies covered in blood, barely still alive.
The avatars didn’t hesitate for a second, continuing to attack.
To the injured, healers began to cast healing spells from afar.
The battlefield was enveloped in chaos swiftly.
The healers couldn’t focus because the screams were mixed with the sound of battle.
They couldn’t leave formation and go around healing.
To the healers, I casted Hold and Bind.
“No need for doctors!”
There was a reason why I didn’t use an attack skill on them directly.
Healers. A cla.s.s that raised their mana stats primarily.
If they casted ‘Flash’ that all cla.s.ses can use to try escaping…
It would get annoying.
To end it quickly, they needed to be targeted first.
Hold and Bind were no longer single target skills, but had become AoE due to being leveled up to 100.
Other than a few high level healers, all were frozen in place.
A giant stone golem’s hand rose from the ground and grabbed their feet.
A net shaped Hold tied them up in place.
They couldn’t move a muscle. I used Flash to approach them instantly.
To the approaching reaper, instead of running, they couldn’t even move gasp in horror as they were stuck in place.
To the grouped bunch, I caste Fire Shock.
‘Awakened Fire Shock’ struck with bursts of flame.
I didn’t even look behind me.
There was no reason to look at the pathetic deaths of those who couldn’t even move or scream as they died.
After 10 seconds of its duration, I couldn’t even find a single trace of them.
It was possible because the skill level was at 134.
Park Hyun, who was far away, wasn’t panicking a little bit.
If her thoughts of me having ‘high mana regen rate’ was correct, my mana shield should’ve been broken already.
But unlike her expectations, I was absorbing all the magic being thrown from all directions without any issues.
Moving in front of those she was being guarded by, she began taking command.
“A ranking healers! Retreat back to your a.s.signed areas!”
With one word from her, those who had ignored both Bind and Hold with ease were absorbed into their respective groups.
The healers stood in the center of their formations.
“Cast Ma.s.s Heal! Tanks, bards. Cast defensive skills! All magicians, cast your highest ranking spells!”
Ma.s.s Heal was a skill that allowed healing on the injured within a certain radius.
The mana cost was equivalent to the amount healed, so it was a heavy costing skill that only healers could use.
I didn’t have enough time to take out these pinheads one by one.
I had to take them all out and get out quickly.
I was against time from the start.
The reason was that n.o.blesse had a guild battle to attend to in 40 min.
If they didn’t attend, the a.s.sociation will contact the guild.
Because to not attend was against the agreement made with the opposing guild and with the a.s.sociation.
The punishment depended on the times they didn’t attend.
There were cases of all guild members not being able to enter dungeons, or even losing their Awakened licenses.
And the entire guild is currently at a location where signal doesn’t work.
The a.s.sociation hunters that will come looking for the guild that’s missing will be suspicious of the building that is sealed shut.
And if they see the horrible state of the inside?
I was going to get blamed for everything that happened, since I didn’t have a single bit of alibi.
With Iceberg and Meteor Call were at level 40, the duration had been lowered to 4 minutes.
But to hit all those who have spread out, the affected area wasn’t big enough.
I was casting Gravity Laser and giving them continuous damage.
However it wasn’t doing much, as they had already formed up ranks.
Even if the skill was Awakened, it couldn’t go through all the magicians’ shields and the tanks’ defensive skills.
“d.a.m.n. I don’t have time for this.”
Finishing my thoughts, I stopped casting Mana Shield.
The shield stopped covering my body.
Immediately, I casted Reflect Shield, Frozen Shield, and Spirit Armor.
At the lowest, they were level 100 spells. It wouldn’t break against attacks like these.
I casted Flash to get between the two formed ranks.
One on each of my sides.
Around 100 people were clumped together.
Eyes of the Storm. And Typoon Hole!
Above both groups, a ma.s.sive whirlwind formed.
“Let’s see how long you last.”
Both skills spun them at an incredible rate.
Spinning at ma.s.sive speeds, it already started to pull in everything.
Those who had already spent their mana were swept off and grinded to a pulp.
No matter how much defensive skill they use, they won’t last long.
They were receiving a ma.s.sive amount of damage from the synergy between the two skills.
All perished within 3 minutes.
The grey tornado had become red with blood, and shredded bits of meat flew about everywhere.
The rain of blood colored my next target in red.
Then.
“Ug…Ugh!”
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