Chapter 152. Maze Hunter (2)
"Gouf...? The culprit was Gouf?”
"This is really unexpected."
Stan and Banjo muttered as they appeared from behind w.a.n.g-Heon. Their faces were full of surprise as they looked at Seo Jun-Ho. It was a misunderstanding because the effect of the transformation potion hadn’t disappeared just yet.
"Contractor, things are not going well."
“…”
Seo Jun-Ho agreed without saying a word. It was a three against one situation. In addition, there was w.a.n.g-Heon, who was thought to be about half a step above Kal Signer.
"Of course, I"m much stronger than when I fought Kal Signer, but...’
Currently, Seo Jun-Ho was under the Curse of Bitter Cold. He only had to last 50 minutes more, but it was not very comforting in the present situation. And even Overclocking, which could create variables, was still an incomplete skill.
"...Booster."
Seo Jun-Ho"s whole body became filled with magic. However, hot steam did not leak out from his whole body just like before. He had already learned to handle the heat from both Booster and Overclocking. His plan to deal with this situation was first, he was going to deal with them with Booster, which he was confident in handling perfectly.
‘I might have to borrow Frost’s power.’
Seo Jun-Ho looked at the Frost Queen floating in the air. His chemistry with her was reliable enough even after several rounds of hunting. It wasn’t enough to leave his back to her, but it meant that there was a certain amount of ‘trust.’ between them
"What"s the reason?" w.a.n.g-Heon asked, unable to understand. "I heard from Stan. You went under Nazad Hallow-nim, right? If you look at it, it"s a lot better position than before… Why did you do this?"
w.a.n.g-Heon looked at Seo Jun-Ho. When he saw that ‘Gouf’ kept his mouth closed, he nodded slowly. "You don"t seem to have any intention of answering.”
w.a.n.g-Heon would have to find out for himself. As w.a.n.g-Heon walked forward, Stan raised his hand in surprise. "Oh, w.a.n.g-Heon-nim, that guy...”
"It’s fine. Let him enjoy it."
As Banjo smiled a little and dismissed Stan’s concern, Stan stepped back, pretending that it couldn’t be helped. But w.a.n.g-Heon didn’t step forward to set an example.
"Hu."
w.a.n.g-Heon smiled as he moistened his lips with his tongue. His superior from the Pride Squadron had high praise for Gouf"s skill, "Isekai Battlefield." It was a part that w.a.n.g-Heon couldn’t understand, but the opportunity to find more about it had arrived.
‘That"s not a bad posture…’
w.a.n.g-Heon"s eyes scanned Gouf. It was a stable standard posture similar to a swordsman, with the sword raised and the upper body slightly bent.
‘He also looks quick on his feet.’
If it was too hard, it would break. The opponent had his feet relaxed so that he could move freely at any time.
"Impressive." w.a.n.g-Heon smiled brightly.
This was why fighting with fiends was fun. Wasn"t Gouf’s posture different from that of the greenhouse flowers and Players who only knew of hunting?
"I"m coming..."
When w.a.n.g-Heon uttered a brief warning, Seo Jun-Ho focused all his attention on the enemy in front of him.
"Where are you looking?”
“...!”
Seo Jun-Ho heard w.a.n.g-Heon"s voice right next to him.
‘When did he?!’
Frowning, Seo Jun-Ho urgently raised his Black Dragon Fang and blocked the attack. At the same time, his whole body became covered in White Armor. When w.a.n.g-Heon"s fist struck Black Dragon Fang’s blade, Seo Jun-Ho was pushed back.
Woong! Woong!
A tremor so strong ran through his fingertips that Seo Jun-Ho got worried about whether Black Dragon Fang would break or not.
“…”
However, there was a line of wrinkles showing discontent on w.a.n.g-Heon"s slightly frowned face. This was because he also felt what Seo Jun-Ho felt.
"You’re fast."
w.a.n.g-Heon had planned to hit the unguarded side and break all of Seo Jun-Ho’s ribs. However, the speed at which his opponent raised his guard was much faster than he had expected.
"You can react to my movements... Are you really Gouf?”
The Gouf that w.a.n.g-Heon knew had never been strong enough to receive his blow. It was the same even if they fought in the "Isekai Battlefield" where Gouf had the advantage. However, w.a.n.g-Heon’s opponent hadn’t even used that ability yet.
"And yet he reflexively blocked my surprise attack...’
Was it a coincidence? While w.a.n.g-Heon was at it, he threw out a fist on the other side. This time, Seo Jun-Ho saw the attack.
‘It"s a heavy fist.’
w.a.n.g-Heon"s fist was covered with demonic energy. It was the fist version of sword aura, and thus should be called fist aura. Moreover, it wasn’t just normal magic, but an aura composed of fierce demonic energy. That fist was probably more destructive than any attack Seo Jun-Ho had faced so far since his return.
"It"d be dangerous if I get hit with that.’
No matter how good White Armor was, it couldn’t continuously block such attacks.
"Contractor, just Booster is not enough...” The Frost Queen spoke up.
He knew. He knew that it was foolish to use only Booster to fight against w.a.n.g-Heon. The fact came crashing down on him. Even if it was incomplete, he had to draw on the power of Overclocking.
‘Overclocking, 15%.’
Right before the fist touched his face, Seo Jun-Ho"s body quickly moved backward as if he had accelerated.
Whoosh!
w.a.n.g-Heon"s fist crossed the empty air.
"… Indeed, it’s strange.”
Gouf’s publicly known level was 91. However, his current moves were definitely not something a level 91 could do.
"A lot more than that… Minimum level 100… No, he’s as good as a level 105.’
What was going on? w.a.n.g-Heon loosened his fist and repeatedly clenched it again. This was not the only strange thing.
‘A fiend gets suppressed the moment he meets a stronger fiend.’
It was one of the characteristics of demonic energy. It was the biggest reason why fiends had to follow the rule of the strong.
‘Demonic energy gives in in the face of stronger demonic energy.’
Of course, it wasn’t to the point that one couldn’t even resist a stronger fiend. If you had the guts to give up your life, you could attack the strong. But of course, even if you fought, your body would be suppressed and you wouldn’t be able to utilize all its power. For that reason, it was said that a strong fiend would never lose to a weak fiend.
"Did you hide your skills? No, if you were that ambitious then you wouldn"t even have stayed under Signer."
Crack, crack.
w.a.n.g-Heon warmed up by rolling his neck.
"…Well, it doesn"t matter. I"ll just find it all out."
Dudududu.
The air vibrated. Small grains of sand on the floor of the maze began to rise into the air in unison. It was a phenomenon created by w.a.n.g-Heon"s overwhelming demonic energy.
"...Contractor, it seems that he’s going all-out now."
"Yes, unfortunately...."
Seo Jun-Ho wanted w.a.n.g-Heon to let his guard down a little bit more. But as expected, his enemy wasn’t a fool.
‘Will I be able to last with only 15% of Overclocking’s maximum power?’
Seo Jun-Ho bit his lips slightly and hinted at the Frost Queen.
"If need be… You know, right?"
"I will judge and act on my own. Trust me," a.s.sured the Frost Queen.
The originally three-to-one confrontation became a one-to-one confrontation due to w.a.n.g-Heon"s pride. However, there was no reason for Seo Jun-Ho to match his opponent. Seo Jun-Ho rolled lightly on the floor. At the same time, darkness from the ground covered him and w.a.n.g-Heon.
"w.a.n.g-Heon-nim!"
"It"s Gouf"s unique skill!"
Wrong. This was just the Curtain of Darkness. But w.a.n.g-Heon, as well as the other fiends outside who had no idea about how Isekai Battlefield worked, were fooled.
"…Is this Isekai Battlefield?"
He looked around with an uneasy expression. There was no light in the pitch dark s.p.a.ce. However, it was not a problem for the two to locate each other. They were not such low-level people who couldn’t see because it was dark.
"As you might already know, I become a G.o.d in this s.p.a.ce," Seo Jun-Ho spoke in a confident tone.
It was like how Gouf had talked when Seo Jun-Ho fought him. The reason why he went so far to act was simple.
‘Just in case.’
Fiends had a variety of skills. They even combined skills to create completely different skills. In fact, the combination Stan had shown this time had also surprised him to the point where he felt a chill in his spine.
‘But Watchguard of Darkness and Frost… I’ll show these skills, but hide them.’
In other words, it was a kind of insurance. From now on, what Seo Jun-Ho was going to show was something that only ‘Gouf’ could use in the Isekai Battlefield.
"Well, I"ve heard of it. I heard you get a weak advantage in this Isekai Battlefield.” w.a.n.g-Heon snorted quietly and flicked his finger.
"Come, I"ve always wondered what kind of advantage you get in this s.p.a.ce to make the leader want you."
‘He wants Gouf? The leader does?’
Now, there was one more memory he had to read. Seo Jun-Ho flicked his finger making a note of it.
‘Watchguard of Darkness.’
Crrr, crrr…
The darkness rising from the bottom of the curtain turned into dozens of wolves.
"…Wait, you can even use the darkness element in this s.p.a.ce?"
w.a.n.g-Heon looked surprised for the first time since the beginning of the battle. The element that the Fiend a.s.sociation had been trying to make over the past 25 years was darkness.
"I see. So this is the reason why the leader wanted your skill...” w.a.n.g-Heon, who had realized something, looked disappointed. "You"re lucky. You’re someone who’s not supposed to be killed.”
"Even though the number of fiends I had indirectly killed in this maze is close to 30?"
"It doesn’t matter. As long as you have the power of darkness, the ability to make a second Specter…”
It should be possible. Of course, Seo Jun-Ho had no intention of partic.i.p.ating in his plan.
"Tear him apart."
When Seo Jun-Ho flicked his finger again. Dozens of Watchguards of Darkness rushed toward w.a.n.g-Heon.
"Hmm, it’s certainly annoying to deal with an elemental skill user, but…”
Every time w.a.n.g-Heon waved his hand lightly, the wolves burst and tore apart.
"That"s all there is to it..."
The Watchguard of Darkness was persistent. Even when they burst and tore apart, they charged to the end to tear apart their enemy. The opponent would end up getting tired because it would feel like he was dealing with zombies.
‘I actually had a lot of fun with this when I was hunting the old fiend not too long ago.’
However, this strategy only worked against a limited number of opponents. It was a method that couldn’t do much damage to a fiend at w.a.n.g-Heon"s level. In fact, he wasn’t even showing any sign of exhaustion. It was no more than just exchanging each other"s magic. And it was a loss for Seo Jun-Ho with insufficient magic.
"Is it over?"
When Seo Jun-Ho"s attack ended, w.a.n.g-Heon rushed over this time. At the same time, frozen spears rose from the floor. The Frost Queen had quickly taken over the offense.
"Hooo, even the ice element...? This Isekai Battlefield is certainly a coveted skill."
However, w.a.n.g-Heon avoided all the ice spears while running fast. His red eyes arrived right in front of Seo Jun-Ho"s nose in an instant and they immediately turned black. w.a.n.g-Heon"s skill, ‘Piercing Eyes (A)’ was triggered.
"From now on, all your thoughts and actions will be under my calculations."
Seo Jun-Ho swung Black Dragon Fang to shake off w.a.n.g-Heon. The very sharp sword flew toward w.a.n.g-Heon. But even before the sword could fly, w.a.n.g-Heon was ‘already’ off the sword trajectory. Then, he followed up with an uppercut.
‘I avoided…’ Seo Jun-Ho thought, tilting his head backward, but then whack!
“…!”
He had been struck directly in the chin. His body wobbled like a deflated balloon.
"Contractor!"
The Frost Queen reached out her hands to draw out Seo Jun-Ho"s mental strength. In return, the temperature inside the Curtain of Darkness began to drop. It was cold enough for w.a.n.g-Heon to tremble without realizing it.
"…This isn’t going to work.”
w.a.n.g-Heon felt that Seo Jun-Ho’s ability was more dangerous than he thought. But he couldn’t just kill him. He had to take him away. w.a.n.g-Heon threw out his fist before Seo Jun-Ho could go crazy. Usually, when the caster lost his focus, his ability would disappear. Seo Jun-Ho, who had stumbled onto a wall, looked at the fist flying toward him.
"I can call one time a mistake, but...’
If it happened twice, then it was skill. Seo Jun-Ho, who had already allowed a strike to his chin once, had his pride seriously hurt. With his eyes full of determination, he quickly stepped back. Overclocking’s output momentarily rose to 30%.
Koong!
Seo Jun-Ho"s body collided with the Curtain of Darkness. He failed to control the output at 30%. But w.a.n.g-Heon was surprised by Seo Jun-Ho"s sudden speed.
‘He"s faster than before?’
No matter if they were inside Isekai Battlefield, could his stats rise so steeply like that? w.a.n.g-Heon shook his head. If that was possible, Gouf would have been scouted earlier by the Squadron.
"…Then, there is only one answer."
He concluded that Seo Jun-Ho had borrowed the power of an artifact or had a magic strengthening procedure done on him.
"It"s magic?"
“…!”
Seo Jun-Ho"s expression hardened slightly, but it quickly returned to its original state.
‘Did I get caught acting as Gouf?’
However, w.a.n.g-Heon didn’t miss the small change in Seo Jun-Ho’s expression. He noticed that Seo Jun-Ho was fl.u.s.tered through his ‘Piercing Eyes.’
"You"re unlucky. If I weren’t your opponent, you would have fooled them."
w.a.n.g-Heon raised his hand slowly. The firm tip of his index finger accurately aimed at Seo Jun-Ho.
"I"ll tell you something good. The Seven Squadrons is a place where only the best of the best among the fiends can enter. The average level of the fiends in there is 100. Also...”
The tips of w.a.n.g-Heon’s fingers began to glow dark.
"They have at least three skills."
w.a.n.g-Heon revealed the existence of another skill, ‘Dispel (A).’
A ray of darkness from his finger quickly extended to Seo Jun-Ho.
"Contractor!"
‘This is dangerous.’
His Keen Intuition (A) shouted out that this was dangerous and told him to avoid it at all costs. Seo Jun-Ho felt a sense of crisis and launched himself out of the way in a hurry.
"Keuk!"
The ray turned at a right angle and eventually struck him on the shoulder. At the same time...
Crack, crack.
His skeleton and appearance, which had changed due to the transformation potion, returned to their original states. The sticker containing the wiretapping and location tracking magic melted away, but that wasn’t the end of it.
[The Curse of Bitter Cold is resisting Dispel (A).]
[The Curse of Bitter Cold’s grade is overwhelmingly higher than Dispel (A).]
[Dispel"s power weakens.]
[The duration of the Curse of Bitter Cold has been reduced by one hour.]
[The duration of the Curse of Bitter Cold has ended.]
[All reduced stats have been restored.]
"…Huh?"
Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at the message window that came up in front of his eyes.
Wooong.
His Keen Intuition (A) shouted awkwardly, saying that it might have been wrong this time.