Chapter 39
Chapter 4: Fate Rides the Wind (14)
“……!”
“W-What is this…!”
Stones and meteors fell from above.
The Luminous hunters were shocked and couldn’t react.The explosion was sudden, but there were too many meteors and building debris falling for them to block or avoid.Crash—!!
The Luminous hunters closed their eyes tightly and raised their arms.“……?”
There was no damage.[Protection of Thought]
Hong Jinsung created a transparent shield over the Luminous hunters’ heads, blocking the explosion and the building debris.
Whish—! Thud—!!
Hong Jinsung swung his staff from below, throwing the stones piled on the shield away.And then.“Hmph, futile.”
He sneered at Shin Hyeong, who had approached through the confusion.
“Haaaaat!!”
Whoosh—!!
Through the thick smoke, Kang Cheolman swung a sword glowing with light at Hong Jinsung.He had used [Judgment of the Meteor], but he expected it wouldn’t have its usual power due to the repeated battles and consumed mana.So Kang Cheolman used [Judgment of the Meteor] as a smokescreen, preparing a follow-up attack a beat faster with careful calculation. However, kang Cheolman’s decisive strike was stopped midway and couldn’t reach Hong Jinsung.
[Touch of Thought]
Hong Jinsung’s skill, which restricted movement using telekinesis, blocked Kang Cheolman’s surprise attack.
It felt like swinging a sword in deep water.
Kang Cheolman’s hand trembled.
‘Damn it, again…!’
Kang Cheolman glared at Hong Jinsung and gritted his teeth.
How many times had it been now?
Every time his attack was about to succeed, an invisible force pressed down on him.
It wasn’t just his attacks.
The same thing happened when he blocked or dodged enemy skills.
His movements slowed or stopped altogether due to the invisible power Hong Jinsung used by swinging his staff.
‘Damn telekinesis.
If only I had someone to help, it wouldn’t be a problem.
No, if I could just land one hit, it would be over…!’ Kang Cheolman had some understanding of Hong Jinsung’s power.
Telekinesis.
The ability to manipulate objects freely with an invisible force, rare but not unseen.
He had experienced raids with hunters using telekinesis and had also faced monsters that used it.
So he knew how to counter it to some extent.
There are two main ways to deal with telekinesis.
One is to raise magical resistance so that telekinesis doesn’t work.
The other is to use teamwork to distract so the enemy can’t focus on using telekinesis.
Telekinesis requires high concentration and relatively long casting time, so its power weakens if disrupted.
Moreover, it consumes a lot of mana, so the equipment must be mana-focused, making the defense inevitably low.
Therefore, magicians using telekinesis are vulnerable to coordinated attacks and often become incapacitated by a single strong attack.
Even Hong Jinsung didn’t wear any armor other than a robe down to his ankles.
Just once.
If only his sword imbued with [Meteor Slash] could land, it would be over, but that opportunity never came.
Kang Cheolman didn’t have high magical resistance, so he had to stop Hong Jinsung from using his skills to counter telekinesis, but it was impossible alone.
No, it was actually the opposite.
Hong Jinsung had more people on his side.
“You bastard! Destroying the lab we worked hard to build…!”
“Die, Kang Cheolman!”
From Min Sua, the leader of the 1st support team, to ordinary members.
As the smoke cleared from the explosion, the Luminous hunters raised their weapons and unleashed several skills on Kang Cheolman.
Countless skills like fire, ice, and dark spears poured in.
Normally, Kang Cheolman would have easily avoided them.
‘Damn it, my feet…!’
He couldn’t move.
In the brief hesitation, Hong Jinsung bound Kang Cheolman’s feet with [Touch of Thought] and retreated.
“Kuhahah! It’s over, Kang Cheolman!!”
Hong Jinsung’s laughter echoed in the devastated basement. And behind it.
Boom—!!
The Luminous hunters’ skills gathered and struck Kang Cheolman hard.
“It’s over, heh!”
“We caught Kang Cheolman!!”
It was such a powerful explosion that it was hard to believe he would be intact, even if he survived.
The Luminous hunters cheered and raised their weapons above their heads.
No matter how much of an SS-rank hunter he was, he couldn’t possibly survive a direct hit from such a strong attack.
Was it hunter’s intuition?
Although they hadn’t confirmed the body, they believed it as fact, and the Luminous hunters were sure of their victory.
But at that moment of savoring their victory.
Flash—! Slash—! Crackle—!!
Suddenly, a flash burst out, and countless blades of light poured from the smoke.
“W-What…!”
It was an unexpected attack.
Hong Jinsung quickly deployed [Protection of Thought], but it was different from before.
Until just now, it had blocked all of Kang Cheolman’s skills, but this time the blades of light tore through [Protection of Thought].
“What is this!”
“Aaaah!!”
The Luminous hunters, who had stood idly trusting the deputy leader, were caught off guard, and even Hong Jinsung’s shoulder was cut by the blades of light.
Slice—!
Red blood stained his robe.
“Ugh! Suddenly, what the hell is this…!”
Hong Jinsung clutched his shoulder and stared into the thick dust.
Then.
Step— Step—
Kang Cheolman walked out from within.
He had withstood the direct hit of the Luminous hunters’ skills and even launched a counterattack.
But that wasn’t all that was surprising.
“W-Wait, what is that?”
“He’s wearing something…?”
Kang Cheolman’s appearance had changed from just before.
He had been in guild uniform, but the silhouette emerging from the dust was larger and more angular.
And as his outline became clear, the pupils of the Luminous hunters widened.
“A-Armor…?”
A white helmet and white armor.
What emerged from the dust was none other than a heavily armored knight.
It seemed like someone else, but it wasn’t.
From within the helmet engraved with golden patterns, Kang Cheolman’s voice resounded.
“Don’t think you’ll walk out of here alive today, you devil bastards.”
The Luminous hunters couldn’t easily attack, chilled to the bone by his voice.
Partly because the voice was chilling, but mainly because, as his figure became clear, they began to recognize who he was.
“W-Wait.
That’s the armor of Divine Shield…!”
The white armor symbolizing Divine Shield.
Kang Cheolman had unleashed his power.
***
‘Hoo, where should I go?’
In the dim darkness, Han Sangwoo shone his phone light around.
But he couldn’t figure out where to go.
It wasn’t that there were no paths.
It was the opposite.
There were too many paths.
After dealing with the enhanced test subjects, Han Sangwoo tried to escape the Abyss after claiming his reward.
At first, he thought he would quickly reach where Kang Cheolman was.
Since he had descended in one go, he assumed the way up would be the same.
But the world is full of unpredictable things.
Should he call it an ant nest?
The Abyss was like a maze.
After climbing a steep slope, a downhill path would suddenly appear, and just when it seemed like a downhill, an uphill path would show up.
There were forked paths and three-way paths here and there.
Now, four paths stretched before Han Sangwoo’s eyes.
Of course, he hadn’t been wandering for long.
He hadn’t been going in circles, so he felt he could escape soon enough.
But he needed to speed up.
Even now, Kang Cheolman was probably facing Luminous alone.
‘Should I use the reward I just got to get out faster?’
Han Sangwoo thought of the two rewards he received after completing the quest but then shook his head.
‘They’re not suitable for the current situation.’
One reward consumed too much mana, which was not ideal for the upcoming battle, and the other had such destructive power that the corridor might collapse.
For now, it seemed best to find a path directly or summon Jejangi, who had low mana consumption, to assist in exploration.
The amount of mana potion he drank in the previous battle wasn’t small, so conserving mana was wise.
Flash—!
A flash appeared, and a little blacksmith appeared before Han Sangwoo.
“Jejang, could you try to find the way up?”
“Yes, Lord! Leave it to me!”
“Alright, I’m counting on you.”
“But what should we do if I find the exit? Should I go out and help that man?”
“Well….”
Han Sangwoo pondered for a moment at Jejangi’s question.
‘Supporting Kang Cheolman….’
He originally planned never to reveal the characters of Hire in front of Kang Cheolman, and he had maintained that plan, but who knows what might happen?
Even though it was hypothetical, if Jejangi found the exit first in such a critical situation as now?
It might not be much help, but revealing Jejangi’s appearance to save Kang Cheolman would be the right thing to do.
Secrets never last forever in the world, and he initially decided to keep the ability [Character Summon] a secret only until he could protect himself.
And more importantly, it would be difficult to hide when dungeon difficulty increases and the number of summoned characters grows.
There’s a limit to instant summoning.
‘Still, keeping it a secret would be better if possible. Kang Cheolman might have already subdued the Luminous hunters.’
Han Sangwoo made plans considering various scenarios and reached a conclusion.
“Okay, if you find the exit first and confirm Kang Cheolman’s status….”
But just as he was about to share the conclusion with Jejangi.
Boom—! Boom—!!
Sounds of explosions came from afar.
There was no need for further words.
Han Sangwoo immediately ran through the darkness with Jejangi.
