Episode 223 Question (1)
* * *
Around that time.
'Did I keep too much distance? I wasn't considering the crowds and lost sight of him.'
Near Amsa Station, a man was once again searching for the missing Sang-hyun.
His name was Alain.
He was the Player whom Luca Violet had previously ordered Brandon to deliver.
Until he received the message, he had been leisurely resting while living on Jeju Island for a month. However,
Alain, whose roots were ultimately in Luca Violet, had no choice but to faithfully follow orders.
The investigation consisted of two main areas.
The first was to fully explore and discover the abilities possessed by Player Shin Sang-hyun. The second
was to identify whether there was a sponsoring force or patron backing him.
As for the second, the outline had already emerged to some extent through background checks using his information network.
For now, the force supporting Shin Sang-hyun is well known externally: Hyunjeong Corporation.
Since they had even signed a sponsorship contract, it would be unthinkable not to know about them.
However, Alain discovered a rather unique figure there. It was none other than Do Kyung-soo.
Unbeknownst to Do Kyung-soo, there was an insider within the Sword Demon-Sword God team who served as Alain's eyes and ears.
Thanks to this, they were able to discern Do Kyung-soo's deep affection and concern for Sang-hyun.
For now, the forces interested in and supporting Sang-hyun are limited to within South Korea.
Although the investigation revealed he had recently visited the United States, no clear interest had been revealed.
'The problem is his skills. The fastest way to investigate this would be to
face him head-to-head.' Alain had been tracking Sang-hyun from the beginning with the goal of engaging him in battle.
Taking note of his considerable ties to the Eden Guild, he had staked out the area and achieved some success.
However, the problem was that he had maintained a slightly greater distance because Shin Tae-ri and Jo Jin-ho were with him.
After all, he wasn't going to be with them all day long, and the time would come when he would be alone.
When that time came, Alain intended to take on Shin Sang-hyun.
Depending on the circumstances, he even intended to kill him.
Luca Violet had told him to keep Sanghyeon alive no matter what if a chance to subdue him arose… but…
'Screw it. If the opportunity to devour him arises, I'll eat him no matter what. I'll just say I killed him by mistake.'
Alain was thinking something else.
There was only one reason he was in Korea without any burden. It was because
he possessed a skill that allowed him to travel long distances, effortlessly ignoring spatial constraints like borders.
Simply put, it was a teleportation skill.
Thanks to that, even in the current situation where the World Player Association had issued a warrant for his arrest,
he had simply entered Korea via instant teleportation without needing to stow away or forge a passport.
Leaving was no different. Once his business was finished, he would just teleport away.
Then, no one would even know he had been there. Because the dead cannot speak.
'Back to ambush for now. Shin Sanghyeon's movements are obvious anyway. It won't take long if I just wait.'
Alain leisurely disappeared into the crowd. Since he was a foreigner with such a common face, no one paid him any attention.
* * *
The Goddess of Fortune, Lee Si-yeon, was also busy around that time.
Her purpose in possessing a human body on Earth was simply to interact with Sanghyeon. It
was a fact already known to the public, and it did not significantly disrupt the order of the Dimensional Order.
This was because she had always conformed to the Order without any rough edges.
After all, even if a Constellation possessed a human body, they could not use any abilities.
The sheriffs who sought to maintain the Order of the Dimensional Order did not take issue with it either. They allowed the deviation.
However, there was another reason for her coming to Earth, separate from the public sphere.
It was to attempt something that was absolutely impossible to do within the Dimensional Order:
to make contact with the Constellations.
'A late bloomer model student. He was definitely… being chased by the Black Royal Guard. There is no way he would keep a matter of that magnitude a secret from the Constellations of the Dimensional Order.'
When she first heard the story about the late bloomer model student Constellation from Sanghyeon, she
dismissed it as mere interest in a trivial Constellation and did not attach much significance to it. After all, the name of the constellation was strange to begin with.
However, as she followed Sanghyeon's interest and her own grew deeper, she came face-to-face with an unexpected fact.
It was that the Black Royal Guard, who usually do not step forward unless a major scandal erupts
, had stepped forward. To use a human world analogy, it was akin to a Class 1 wanted notice being issued and a dedicated task force being assembled.
Usually, when such an issue arises, the fact is shared throughout the entire Dimensional Order because other constellations could also be affected.
However, no constellation had ever heard anything about this.
There wasn't a single rumor, nor was there any separate public announcement. It was a secret case, thoroughly shrouded in mystery.
Why?
Lee Si-yeon suspected that this was connected to a secret that permeated the entire Dimensional Order.
Yes, it was very dark, gloomy, and smelled musty. It felt like a hidden conspiracy.
She was also drawn to the fact that Sang-hyun had suddenly found a Constellation with whom he had absolutely no connection.
'My prayers must reach him…'
Not all of the order within the Dimensional Order is perfectly established.
There are quite a few loopholes. In particular, the process of connecting humans and Constellations is where the most vulnerabilities can be found.
In other words, while the Goddess of Fortune could not make contact, there was a possibility for Lee Si-yeon to do so.
By bypassing the eyes monitoring the entire Dimensional Order and the system links.
She intended to use this method to make direct contact with the Constellation, the late-blooming model student.
There was definitely something about him.
* * *
BANG!
"Wow."
"Huh?"
The knockback burst unleashed by Sang-hyun.
The two men were astonished to see the massive crocodile fly a considerable distance after taking a direct hit.
Like a baseball swung high with a bat, the crocodile was being sent flying far backward.
The knockback was so severe that its body snapped sharply into a C shape. It was enough to make one wonder if its lower back was okay.
In the meantime,
Sang-hyun immediately stepped in to support Shin Tae-ri, who was engaged in a
back-and-forth battle with the Fox. There was at least a few seconds of leeway before the flying crocodile could return.
The balance was 3-on-3.
To the Fox, who had naturally assumed the crocodile would mark Sang-hyun, his sudden appearance was a variable.
Unable to let his focus on Shin Tae-ri, his reaction to Sang-hyun was delayed by half a beat.
Thud!
The Fox suffered a fatal wound from Sang-hyun's strike, who plunged the Sword of Destruction into him without hesitation.
To begin with, the scenario of the crocodile abandoning the battlefield in such an absurd manner was not even considered in hypothetical scenarios.
Caught off guard, the fox met a futile end amidst the pincer attack of Sang-hyun and Shin Tae-ri.
“Isukiraaaaat!”
Enraged by the loss of his comrade, the crocodile charged toward Sang-hyun.
However, his fighting spirit was rendered futile.
Whoooosh!
“Kwoooah!”
Caught in the updraft Sang-hyun unleashed, the crocodile soared through the air as if on a roller coaster.
Sang-hyun laughed.
It seemed the fellow was indeed strong. The problem, however, was his abysmal resistance to skills. At
this rate, there was a high probability he would remain Sang-hyun’s plaything not only now but in the future as well.
The crocodile struggled in mid-air but could not land on the ground. He was already fully caught in the current.
“Let’s help Jin-ho.”
“I’ll make a wide turn around.”
“I’ll charge straight in.”
Having dealt with the fox and removed the crocodile from the battlefield, Sang-hyun and Shin Tae-ri immediately engaged the giant. While
Jo Jin-ho was certainly weak in terms of offensive power, his defensive ability was outstanding.
The giant tormented Jo Jin-ho by repeatedly ramming into him, but he silently endured it.
Not a single scratch was left.
Standing tall like a mountain, Jo Jin-ho held his ground impressively against a giant twice his size.
“Ugh!”
Enraged by Jo Jin-ho’s steadfast defense, the giant unleashed a burst of red light from his eyes and released his power.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Jo Jin-ho and Shin Tae-ri’s bodies froze. It was a ‘freezing’ effect, which was unexpected given the giant’s appearance.
However, Sang-hyun immediately used Recovery to remove the status effect.
Thanks to using Recovery instantly upon confirming the freezing, the perceived duration was short, about 0.5 seconds.
“Ugh!”
As the freezing wore off futilely, the giant unleashed his power once again. It was with the intention of freezing them properly.
However, there was a major problem.
Sang-hyun’s Recovery skill removes a status effect and grants immunity to any status effect for the next six seconds.
Indeed, he was practically completely immune. That
is why, even though the giant had induced a much more powerful freezing effect than before, it ended up being a waste of energy.
Every battle is a give-and-take.
Since the giving failed, the only return was a desperate reception.
Boom!
Jo Jin-ho rammed in first.
Thud!
Seizing the opportunity, Shin Tae-ri rushed in from behind and cleanly plunged a dagger into the back of the giant's neck.
Then, Sang-hyun utilized the downdraft to reinforce gravity and pin the giant's body down.
Crack!
"Cough!"
At that moment, the giant felt it. He realized
that an accident had occurred in the neck bone, where the deep wound caused by Shin Tae-ri's dagger thrust had taken place.
The neck bones and muscles, already weakened by a previous injury, were swept directly into the downdraft and fractured. It
was a major accident involving the neck, which is paramount for sustaining life. The crucial point was that there was no way to fix it.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Crunch!
Crunch! Snap!
As Sang-hyun's downdraft struck in succession, the giant's head retracted inward, much like a turtle hiding its head.
If it had been a turtle or a snail, that might have been considered a normal sight, but the giant was not that kind of creature.
In the end.
“Kuwheek!”
The giant vomited up an unidentified liquid mixed with blood and internal fluids, rolled its eyes back, and died. With
its neck shattered, there was no way to revive it. It was a perfect death.
“Now there is only one left. If you two are okay with it, may we take it on one-on-one?”
Sang-hyun stepped forward.
Now that all enemies that could threaten Shin Tae-ri and Jo Jin-ho had been subdued, the stage had become more comfortable.
Since the crocodile appeared to be the leader, Sang-hyun felt a strong desire to fight it with all his might.
After returning from the U.S., Sang-hyun realized the importance of every challenge he faced.
Every experience serves as nourishment for growth and provides the learning to respond to countless variables and dangers.
As fighting a monster like the crocodile was a rare experience, he wanted to gather a lot of data here.
“Will you be okay?”
Shin Tae-ri’s voice, filled with worry, was heard. At that, Jo Jin-ho pointed her out.
“That’s rude, Tae-ri.”
“Huh?”
“Considering what we’ve seen with our own eyes so far, there’s no way you wouldn’t be okay, Sang-hyun.”
“That’s true, but…”
Shin Tae-ri trailed off.
She, of course, knew it well. That Sang-hyun would handle the crocodile brilliantly.
But regardless of that, she kept worrying.
It was the feeling of worrying just in case, even though she knew better. It wasn’t simply the level of worrying about a colleague.
Perhaps that was why
Shin Tae-ri turned her head slightly, her face turning red without her realizing it. The air here seems a bit hot.
