Chapter 24.
“You worthless little punk!”
The one who stepped forward in excitement was the slit-eyed man.
But he didn’t rush in right away.
As if asking for permission, he met eyes with the middle-aged man and hesitated for a moment.
Nod—
The middle-aged man nodded as if having made a decision.
“Don’t kill him. There’s much we need to ask.”
“Yes. Just enough to keep him alive.”
Having received approval, the slit-eyed man stepped forward.
Crack—
He cracked his knuckles threateningly, exuding the same killing intent as before.
He clearly had experience killing people; it was obvious he was quite intoxicated by the taste of blood.
“N-now, wait a minute….”
Jeong Dohwan—he had taken an interest in my words and tried to stop them, but.
“Elder!”
The middle-aged man’s sharp words held him back.
No, to be exact.
‘Binding.’
An invisible force was constricting his body.
Jeong Dohwan’s body trembled.
That was clearly the control of movement through a Binding-type trait.
“See there? Didn’t I tell you he’d reveal his blackened insides as soon as things got desperate?”
Until just moments ago, he was saying they were on the same side, persuading with all sorts of words, but now that things were urgent, he bared his fangs.
And.
“….”
A coldness settled in Jeong Dohwan’s eyes.
‘Tsk, tsk. You should know who to mess with.’
Not much time had passed since the Awakening Ritual began.
Everyone was more or less in the same state.
But Jeong Dohwan was a Four-Lord—a being destined to become one of the ten strongest humans.
Unless one intended to make an enemy, provoking him was a foolish act.
Yet these bastards were clearly continuing to cross the line.
‘Well, even so.’
This force didn’t seem to be one that could be taken lightly.
‘Swiftness and Binding. A party organized based on the efficiency of their traits.’
One who can move faster than others, and one who can restrict the enemy’s movements.
It wasn’t a party formed simply through martial might, but a personnel arrangement meant to maximize trait efficiency.
With all the Awakeners being more or less equal right now, there probably weren’t many who could withstand these two’s combined assault.
Unfortunately.
‘Excluding me.’
They had chosen the wrong opponent.
Of course, they had no way of realizing that.
“Bastard!”
Along with a bout of cursing.
Whoosh—
He disappeared.
That movement, leaving a faint afterimage, was even faster than before.
Straight ahead.
“Hup!”
A fist shot out together with a sharp exhale.
A strike carrying forward momentum and power—a blow he had put his full might into.
‘Fast.’
Definitely fast.
Normally, even if I had trained for two weeks, I wouldn’t have been able to catch that movement.
But who do you think I am?
In preparation for any unforeseen circumstances—moreover, before meeting a powerhouse known as a Four-Lord—I had made thorough preparations.
『+99(★) Contact Lenses (One-Day)
Classification: Accessory
Durability: 7/7
Unique Effect: Vision increases by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Vision increases by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Dynamic vision increases by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Extremely low probability of detecting stealth-related abilities……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Vision and dynamic vision increase by a minute amount.
Max Effect (Max): Vision, dynamic vision, and stealth detection probability increase by an extremely small amount.
Transcendence Effect: Extremely low probability of causing a time distortion (time difference with opponent: 0.5 seconds).
Description: Contact lenses worn for vision correction and protection.
It has transformed into a rare treasure that causes a time distortion phenomenon through Transcendence enhancement.』
I had granted Transcendence enhancement to disposable contact lenses to increase my dynamic vision.
That was why it was possible.
To grasp the movements of the guy moving quickly with Swiftness.
It wasn’t simply reading his movements.
His shifting pupils.
The direction of his stepping foot.
The minute movements of his muscles.
Based on all of that, I predicted the direction of his attack.
And.
Whirr—
Using Heelys, I instantly slid to the side.
A mere 1cm. His fist grazed past me by the narrowest margin.
If my reading of the attack direction had been even a little late, my jaw would have been shattered.
But he had failed.
“…Huh?”
His face contorted in bewilderment.
Because he hadn’t expected me to dodge the blow he had put his full power into.
Swish.
In that fleeting moment, I spun my body around.
The slit-eyed man—he was quickly moving forward past me.
Clack.
The moment I clenched my fist, I felt a foreign sensation in my grip.
What wrapped around my fist was a knuckle with a slightly cold sensation.
『+99(★) Shoddy Bronze Knuckles
Classification: Weapon
Durability: 20/20
Unique Effect: Increases unarmed fist damage by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Increases unarmed fist damage by a minute amount.
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Increases unarmed fist techniques by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Extremely low probability of dealing 1.5x damage with a Critical Hit……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Increases unarmed fist techniques by a minute amount.
Max Effect (Max): Increases unarmed fist damage and techniques by a small amount.
Transcendence Effect: Low probability of triggering a Finishing Blow that deals 2x damage.
Description: Shoddy bronze knuckles that increase unarmed fist damage and techniques. They have evolved into knuckles that can probabilistically deal great damage through Transcendence enhancement.』
The contact lenses weren’t the only thing I had prepared.
I hadn’t prepared firearms because I hadn’t anticipated meeting other Awakeners, but I had made the bare minimum preparations.
Swoosh—
Luckily, the time distortion, the Transcendence effect of the lenses, activated, making him pass by extremely slowly.
“Eat this!”
I drove my fist into his solar plexus.
Thwack!
“Kuhuk!”
His body, bent like a shrimp, convulsed and bounced up as if seizing.
Of course, I had no intention of being satisfied with just that.
I tried to plant my left fist into his jaw in place of my right fist lodged in his solar plexus, but.
Ziiing!
With a sudden ringing in my ears, my body froze.
That sensation of stiffness, as if I had become a log, was Binding.
Though the force of that Binding lasted only an instant.
Tat!
It was enough time for the slit-eyed man to escape.
“Tch!”
I clicked my tongue and stared at the slit-eyed man who had put distance between us.
My lingering regret for the lost prey was momentary.
I turned my head to the right and looked at the middle-aged man standing there.
“You put on all sorts of airs like you were going to do this one-on-one, and now you end up stepping in?”
“….”
But there was no answer to my words.
I hadn’t said it wanting an answer.
‘What kind of Binding trait is it?’
Not all Binding traits are the same.
Since various types of Binding traits existed, the urgent priority was figuring out what kind of trait this guy possessed.
The words I had just exchanged were also to buy a little time to figure out that trait.
“He’s no ordinary man. We attack together.”
He spoke to the slit-eyed man as if having grasped the situation.
“But….”
“Shut up!”
An icy aura.
“If you don’t want to die, you’d better not talk back to me. I’m telling you clearly: we attack together.”
“…Yes.”
As if the hierarchy was clear, he couldn’t endure that anger and nodded in agreement.
He certainly reads the room quickly.
No, perhaps it was only natural.
A being who had so easily neutralized Swiftness—moreover, I was clearly an Awakener—he couldn’t afford to underestimate me.
If he had any sense, acting like him was the natural thing to do.
Conversely, that slit-eyed guy was an idiot.
By the way, what of our Four-Lord’s reaction?
“….”
He was simply composed.
With emotionless, indifferent eyes, he alternated his gaze between the middle-aged man, me, and the slit-eyed man.
‘He intends to watch how the situation unfolds.’
He must have realized the middle-aged man’s attitude was extremely insolent, but what mattered to him wasn’t attitude.
A partner who could fulfill his daughter’s final wish.
Probably, right now he was considering the victor of this fight as his partner.
Because what he wanted required special ‘strength.’
Then I had to show him.
Not them, but that I was the partner befitting the Four-Lord.
“Then….”
Trailing off slightly.
Whirr—
Using Heelys, I instantly reached right beside the slit-eyed man.
“!!!”
His eyes widened, seemingly having not expected my gliding movement.
But it lasted only an instant.
Ziiing—
As before, the Binding trait that stole a fleeting moment of time activated.
‘I got it!’
At that moment, I could clearly grasp what trait he possessed.
Of course, there was no time to rejoice at that fact.
Because the slit-eyed man moved to exploit that stolen instant.
His flustered expression vanished.
Swish.
Instead, he pulled a sashimi knife—a fillet knife—from his bosom.
Swish!
The sashimi knife drew a trajectory through the air and rushed toward my lower abdomen.
Normally, I would have read that movement and dodged.
But now, I was unable to move due to the middle-aged man’s Binding.
Of course, the Binding didn’t last long, so I could soon break free from its control, but by then, the slit-eyed man’s sashimi knife had already reached a position hard to avoid.
He had won.
His pupils were dyed in delight.
The slit-eyed man was certain of victory, but.
Clang!
The slightly bent sashimi knife was unable to overcome the repelling force and bounced off in the opposite direction from my body.
And it wasn’t simply deflected.
Crack!
Unable to withstand the impact, it broke in two.
“Huh?!”
I smiled as I looked at the bewildered man.
“I’m the type to come thoroughly prepared.”
Inside the black padding was a hidden stab-proof vest.
Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary stab-proof vest.
『+99(★) Ultra-Thin Lightweight Stab-Proof Vest
Classification: Armor
Durability: 50/50
Unique Effect: Defense increases by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Resistance to all bladed weapons increases by a minute amount.
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Resistance to all blunt weapons increases by an infinitesimal amount.
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Resistance to all bladed weapons increases by an extremely small amount……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Extremely low probability of greatly reducing damage from bladed weapons.
Max Effect (Max): Resistance to all bladed and blunt weapons increases by a small amount.
Transcendence Effect: Low probability of bladed weapon destruction.
Description: A stab-proof vest that protects the wearer from bladed and blunt weapons. It was purchased for 100,000 won at an online shopping mall, so it is somewhat shoddy.
Resistance to bladed and blunt weapons has increased significantly through Transcendence enhancement.』
Thanks to the stab-proof vest’s protection, I deflected the guy’s sashimi knife.
Moreover, added to that was the low-probability bladed weapon destruction, causing the sashimi knife to break.
As I looked at his arms soaring high into the air from the repelling force.
Thwack!
A blow to the abdomen with my knuckle-equipped hand.
Thwack!
And with a left hook, I delivered a powerful blow to his cheek.
Crack!
A vivid sensation of bone breaking was felt in my grip.
I looked briefly at the man collapsing limply as if crumbling.
“One down.”
I fixed my gaze on the middle-aged man guarding Jeong Dohwan’s side.
“….”
A stiff face.
‘No.’
I didn’t miss the emotion hidden behind that expression.
His composure.
The moment I saw through it, I immediately thrust my hand forward.
“…Kuk!”
At the same time, the middle-aged man’s body rose into the air as if by magic.
“Got you, bastard!”
It wasn’t magic.
It was a phenomenon that occurred because I had figured out his trait.