Chapter 55: Choi Ji-Won is Too Strong (6)

Chapter 55: Choi Ji-Won is Too Strong (6)

“...”

It’s a critical moment for regression - There couldn’t be a more crucial point for regression than this.

Choi Ji-won was too strong, too skilled in battle. So much so, that the city’s master was cornered.

And that was the problem.

If only Choi Ji-won’s final strike had succeeded. But, cornered, the city’s master activated a hidden ace, the ‘Heart of Lightning.’

- Heart of Lightning [S]

Upon activation, it expends all your mana and replaces it with lightning attribute mana. It greatly enhances all physical abilities, including reaction speed, and every attack you make inflicts additional lightning damage. While the effect lasts, the user continually takes damage, and the ‘Heart of Lightning’ remains active until all the lightning mana is exhausted.

I’m not sure if the Heart of Lightning used by the city’s master is exactly like the trait I was offered as a reward.

But... one thing was certain. Right now, winning a fight against that woman is impossible.

The moment Choi Ji-won’s strike missed, this round was doomed to failure.

As I resigned myself and was about to regress, chewing my lips in frustration...

“Damn it... Ji-won...”

Firefighter Park Cheol-jin, deep in thought, caught my eye.

Then, Choi Ji-won, trembling, slowly rising to her feet, caught my eye.

“...”

Suddenly, I felt ashamed.

They are doing their best right now.

Even though it would be okay to just ignore the residents on the second floor and move up to the third...

For the greater good, they are pouring out everything they have.

But what about me?

As soon as I realized we had lost, I started thinking about regressing.

Looking back, it’s been like this ever since I came to the second floor.

In the tutorial, I was forced to regress more often, but on the second floor, the rule against violence allowed me to choose regression.

“The sense of desperation is gone.”

Where did the me who gambled to scrape up even one more piece of information until the end go? Now, there’s a complacent me thinking it’s just fine to start over.

I was about to casually destroy the results that Choi Ji-won, Park Cheol-jin, and the residents worked hard to build.

I can’t give up like this. I must do something.

‘Don’t stop thinking. Don’t give up.’

Think. There must be a plausible way.

A way...

A way to change this situation...

“Ah.”

There was one.

“Mr. Cheol-jin.”

“Uh... Ah, what’s up?”

“Just wait a moment, please. Baron Licht, follow me.”

I turned around and started running into the winding alleyways.

‘That full leather armor...’

The full leather armor Choi Ji-won said she didn’t need; I needed it.

***

“Give up.”

Choi Ji-won’s arms were still trembling slightly.

“Just run away.”

She could taste blood in her mouth from gritting her teeth.

“...”

Choi Ji-won herself felt the absurdity of the monster she was facing.

She knew that if this woman seriously exerted her power, she would be reduced to ashes in an instant.

Yet, she didn’t back down.

Slowly taking a middle guard stance, she gripped her weapon tightly.

That was Choi Ji-won. A woman who, once she sets a goal, never gives up.

“Haap!”

With such a shout, Choi Ji-won mustered all her remaining strength and charged at the city’s master.

“If you insist on drinking the bitter cup.”

Before she could even take a step,

Flash!

A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, aiming directly above Choi Ji-won’s head.

“Ah.”

Park Cheol-jin sighed.

Choi Ji-won was falling, her weapon slipping from her grasp.

“I won’t kill you. The archangel wouldn’t like it.”Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

Just one hit.

That’s all it took to subdue Choi Ji-won.

“Next are you guys.”

The city’s master’s gaze turned to the players who had been watching the fight from the alleyway.

“Damn it...”

“Ah, nooo!”

The players, attempting to flee, were all struck down by heavenly punishment from above, falling unconscious.

And there it was, just as she imagined, the unimpressive face of a man.

“It looks good. Beard burned and curled up like that.”

The city’s master sneered.

“...Huh?”

Firefighter Park Cheol-jin’s expression contorted strangely.

Beard? Did Kim Jun-ho have a beard?

Struggling to his feet, Park Cheol-jin hurried to see the man’s face.

“...Tanner?”

The tanner, who said he’d rather die than let the city’s master win, lay unconscious, having lost consciousness.

Not Kim Jun-ho.

Then, where is...?

As Park Cheol-jin frantically searched for Kim Jun-ho, his gaze suddenly fixed.

Everyone was so focused on the man in the leather armor that they hadn’t noticed the narrow alleyway behind him.

“...”

In the dim alley.

Kim Jun-ho, crouched down and poised, was glaring at the city’s master, and...

“Huff, huff...”

Baron Licht, panting heavily, had his hand on Jun-ho’s back.

Only then did the formidable presence become apparent.

An aura that seemed to engulf the surrounding space. Eyes blazing with intensity.

“That’s...”

The stronger players, including Park Cheol-jin, recognized the stance.

It was the same one used by the city’s master when cornering Choi Ji-won - The technique that allowed her to move with a speed invisible to the naked eye.

“Could it be...!”

Had he learned the technique just by watching, in such a short time? Logically, it seemed impossible.

“But...”

Considering what he showed in the tutorial.

The man who effortlessly slashed the neck of the seemingly invincible Minotaur.

Somehow, it seemed plausible.

“This is my limit. There’s no point in gathering more mana.”

Blood streamed down Baron Licht’s nose.

“...Huh?”

Just as the city’s master shifted her gaze to the mouth of the alleyway.

“You let your guard down.”

Kim Jun-ho, who had been in position, vanished.

A single long streak crossed the clearing.

Silence.

Complete silence descended upon the square.

“...”

Park Cheol-jin gaped, as if he had forgotten how to breathe.

Some players rubbed their eyes, thinking they had seen an illusion.

Kim Jun-ho stood far beyond the city’s master.

“Huff, huff, huff...”

His legs trembled uncontrollably, and his pale face gasping for air indicated he was in terrible condition.

In contrast, the city’s master stood tall.

Her armor was intact, except for the part dented by Choi Ji-won, and her skin showed no visible wounds.

“Was it a failure...”

Had the attack been missed?

As the players were mired in confusion and doubts.

“Huff... Haha...”

Kim Jun-ho, pale-faced, managed a faint smile.

“...Huh?”

Park Cheol-jin finally noticed something had changed.

In Kim Jun-ho’s hand was a brown object.

A familiar design. It was the same pouch that had been hanging at the city’s master’s waist.

Kim Jun-ho peeked into the pouch.

“...Is this also an item? It’s bigger inside than I thought.”

After inspecting the contents, he quickly turned the pouch inside out, shaking it vigorously.

Tinkling.

A small box, shining like a diamond, fell from the pouch.

Its shape was identical to the bronze, silver, and gold boxes they had seen before.

“...”

The city’s master, gazing emotionlessly at the box, slowly knelt down, and in a voice laced with tears, whispered softly.

“Thank you...”

In the bruised square, amidst the smell of burning and swirling dust...

The only sound breaking the silence was the woman’s sobbing.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

[TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release: /HappyCat60 ]