My Selfish Skillbook — Episode 56
Episode 56
His hair, burned completely black, regenerated in an instant, and Gwon Inwon sprang to his feet.
“Whew. I thought I’d burn to death. No, wait. Did I die once?”
I quickly raised my staff.
“Oho.”
“Kuk!”
Gwon Inwon struck my hand, sending the staff flying, and then grabbed my throat with one hand.
“Not twice.”
As the bastard raised his arm, my feet left the ground.
“Hwajin!”
The Vice Guild Leader rushed over.
“[Supergravity]!”
The Vice Guild Leader jumped and pinned Gwon Inwon down with his shield.
“Oh. This is pretty heavy.”
Despite his words, the corners of Gwon Inwon’s mouth were turned up.
“Hmph!”
With a shout, Gwon Inwon swung his arm, and the Vice Guild Leader was launched upward.
“!?”
My vision suddenly changed. The bastard had thrown me upward too.
I slammed directly into the Vice Guild Leader in midair, and we fell to the ground in an arc.
“Ugh.”
I quickly raised my head and looked toward Gwon Inwon. He was holding out the shields attached to both arms.
‘Here it comes!’
The moment I tried to use Magic Barrier, it felt like time had stopped. I didn’t have my staff in hand. I had forgotten that he had struck it from my grasp.
‘If it’s come to this!’
I grabbed the Vice Guild Leader’s arm and used the Transport skill. If it was escaping via Earth Shrink, it was possible.
Just as he disappeared, I was about to use the skill when I sensed someone else’s presence and froze.
Im Jiyeon had appeared before us.
“Arkham!”
“Tch!”
Gwon Inwon, who had revealed himself, stepped back.
“Hey. What do you think you’re doing?”
Gwon Inwon scratched his head as he looked at Im Jiyeon standing before us.
“Don’t tell me you’re betraying the Tyrant?”
“You come here to dispose of me because I’m no longer needed, yet you’re spouting such nonsense.”
Gwon Inwon glanced our way and spat on the ground. Then he stomped toward us.
“You think that counter will really save your life?”
I saw Im Jiyeon flinch.
‘Earth Shrink!’
I dashed toward my staff.
“What!?”
By the time Gwon Inwon turned to look, I had already picked it up again.
‘He can’t follow Earth Shrink!’
I used Earth Shrink once more to return to where the Vice Guild Leader and Im Jiyeon were.
‘Transport! Earth Shrink!’
I used the skills in succession. After rising into the sky, I aimed my staff downward.
‘Magic Barrier!’
And I set the two of them down on the semi-transparent floor that had appeared below.
“Are that Hunter Gwon Inwon’s skills all close-range?”
I asked Im Jiyeon. Earlier, when she had activated her counter, he had stopped attacking and hadn’t used any other skills since.
“As far as I know.”
“The resurrection?”
“A bound item.”
“How many times?”
“I don’t know. Today was the first time I’ve seen it myself.”
“Other bound items?”
“Three more. Strength boost, stamina boost, and those shields on both arms.”
“The shields’ ability?”
“Damage reduction, plus some other effect, but I don’t know the details.”
I looked down at Gwon Inwon looking up at us and churned my thoughts.
From this distance, I couldn’t target him with my staff, and he’d just dodge after seeing my movement anyway.
‘And he’s damn fast for such a hulking brute.’
He even had the monstrous strength to easily shake off the Vice Guild Leader’s [Supergravity].
Unless we had a way to bind him completely, it was right to avoid clashing with him again.
“Vice Guild Leader. Let’s retreat for now. Too much is uncertain. Especially that resurrection ability.”
“...Understood.”
“You’re coming too, right?”
“If you allow it.”
I grabbed the wrists of Im Jiyeon and the Vice Guild Leader and repeatedly used [Earth Shrink] and [Magic Barrier] in midair to get away from Gwon Inwon.
“Damn it. I should’ve killed Im Jiyeon without hesitation, at the very least. The Vice Guild Leader is going to kick my ass over this.”
Gwon Inwon scratched his head hard and headed toward the men’s cell block.
“Well, I should at least finish off the one that’s left.”
The corners of his mouth rose.
***
The Vice Guild Leader and I took Im Jiyeon and headed to a nearby dungeon. If we returned to the guild, we might be ambushed.
“I won’t waste words.”
I said, looking at Im Jiyeon.
“Tell me everything you know about the five Hunters of the Tyrant Guild, and the Guild Leader. Then we’ll do our best to protect you.”
“...Fine. I don’t have any other choice now.”
Im Jiyeon began to divulge everything she knew about the five Hunters, including Gwon Inwon, to the Vice Guild Leader and me.
After listening and compiling her information, while it wasn’t useless, there were holes in crucial areas.
She knew average stats but not specifics, knew skill names but not their effects, knew some skills but none of the bound items, and so on.
Especially regarding the Guild Leader, her knowledge was on par with Oh Seyeon’s—she only knew that all his stats were 49.
“There’s nothing I could do. Even if we’re Hunters in the same guild, no one reveals all their cards. Especially those five tried even harder to hide their numbers. Gwon Inwon, who openly uses his strength, is a special case.”
Im Jiyeon spoke as if defending herself.
“We’ll relay this information to the Guild Leader first. We should be able to find out more based on this. Im Jiyeon, travel with us for now.”
“Of course. I don’t want to get killed like a stray dog wandering alone.”
We exited the dungeon. We planned to rendezvous with the Guild Leader and the comrades assigned to escort him.
“Hwajin. I don’t think approaching them with [Transformation] like last time will be easy.”
The Vice Guild Leader said while riding in a taxi. Since we had fled in a hurry, his car had been left in the prison parking lot.
“I suppose so.”
I recalled what I had heard from Im Jiyeon.
She had said that one of the five possessed the ability to detect skill usage. As long as we didn’t know who it was, approaching in [Transformation] was dangerous.
‘Now then, what should I do?’
I began to rack my brain.
Hunters who were overpowered in every aspect—stats, skills, and bound items.
What did I need to face people capable of annihilating an A-rank guild alone?
‘First, I need to negotiate with Oh Seyeon.’
I had the answer, but the process of reaching it seemed like it would be an ordeal.
***
“No way.”
“Ah, come on, lend them to me.”
After rendezvousing with the Guild Leader and the escort team, I brought it up with Oh Seyeon.
As expected, Oh Seyeon refused my request flatly.
“I told you, just one day is enough. Lend me your bound items for just one day.”
“...”
“Here, these are mine. Physical damage reduction and a panacea. If I don’t return by tomorrow, they’re yours. You said you wanted something helpful in combat.”
When I produced my trump card, Oh Seyeon showed interest.
But Oh Seyeon seemed unable to completely dispel her suspicion and asked me.
“Why do you insist on borrowing bound items? If you’re going to that world, I could just go with you.”
“You need to stay here and protect our guild members.”
I glanced around to check if anyone was listening.
“I’ll be honest. You know I met one of those five Hunters today, right?”
Oh Seyeon nodded.
“No one can handle them but you. If both of us are gone, it’s too dangerous.”
At my words, Oh Seyeon narrowed her eyes.
“Do you remember what you said when you first brought me to this guild? That if I joined, the Tyrant Guild wouldn’t dare touch us?”
‘Back then, I didn’t know the Tyrant Guild had Hunters who threw common sense to the dogs.’
But I couldn’t say that.
I tried to make my voice as earnest as possible.
“Yeah. I remember. That’s why I’m doing this—to keep that promise. Because I don’t want to betray someone who once trusted me and followed me.”
“...If you don’t return by midnight tomorrow, I won’t return them even if you come back after that?”
‘Oh Seyeon, easier than I thought.’
I told her I wouldn’t need until midnight, then exchanged two bound items each with Oh Seyeon.
Afterward, I explained the situation to the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader—I had to tell them the reason for my solo action—shared my schedule, and immediately took action.
I headed to a suitable dungeon, easily defeated the boss, and waited a moment. Then a purple portal appeared.
‘This place is strange no matter when I come.’
After entering through the portal, I looked around.
A red sky without a single cloud and black earth without a single pebble came into view.
“Now, time is of the essence.”
I ran, holding Jain’s axe-spear in one hand and my staff in the other.
‘They’ve appeared.’
The ground up ahead was bubbling and boiling.
***
“So you’re saying you let Im Jiyeon go just like that?”
The man sitting before the desk rested his chin on both hands and looked up at the person before him with only his eyes.
“Sorry about that. I don’t have any skills or items that let me fly, you see.”
Gwon Inwon gave a bitter smile.
“...There’s no point talking about what’s already happened. Forget it.”
“Oh. Thanks for that—”
Gwon Inwon was pleased, but the man stood up.
“However, since you made a mistake, you must compensate accordingly. Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“The rate at which guilds are leaving the anti-Tyrant coalition has slowed.”
As if understanding the man’s words, Gwon Inwon asked no further and followed behind him.
***
The night Hwajin left alone for the strange world.
The core members of Atlas decided to stay together at the Guild Leader’s house.
Im Jiyeon, who had provided information on the Tyrant side, was with them as well.
Im Jiyeon didn’t mingle with the others and locked herself in a room, and the Atlas members didn’t particularly bother her either.
“Seyeon, are you okay staying with that woman?”
Gangil asked Seyeon, who was sitting slightly apart from them. Seyeon nodded slightly.
“But will Hwajin be okay alone?”
Hyeri said with a worried expression.
“Hwajin said he’s the only one who can go to that world right now, so I don’t think we need to worry about a Tyrant ambush. However...”
The Vice Guild Leader recalled the demonic beasts they had encountered in the world of red sky and black earth.
“No, I’m sure Hwajin will be fine even surrounded by field monsters. And if it gets dangerous, he can just leave.”
“Could it be he left us behind because we’d get in the way?”
Gangil spoke as if dissatisfied.
“He asked us to guard the Guild Leader and prepare for emergencies. I don’t think he considered us a hindrance.”
Just as Hyeri was speaking, breaking news flashed on the TV that had been left on low volume.
The Atlas members’ mouths fell open at the news headline.
“Turn up the volume, quick.”
At Gangil’s words, the Vice Guild Leader worked the remote.
[...The four medium-sized guilds were all part of the anti-Tyrant coalition, and the Tyrant Guild has left a message once again.]
Having confirmed the message’s contents, the Atlas members were speechless.
“We can no longer stand by and watch this.”
Everyone turned around.
The Guild Leader was standing there.
“If we retreat here, it is our defeat.”
He spoke in a grim voice.