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[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 23
Ring ring-!
Ring ring-!
-The number you have dialed is not reachable. Your call is being forwarded to the voicemail...
"...This idiot is pissing me off."
Inside a luxury car heading to Seoul.
Seo Su-kyung, dressed in an elegant evening gown, cursed at her phone from the back seat. The call log showed four missed calls to Nam Kang-ik.
"Why isn't this idiot answering the phone?"
Seo Su-kyung grew increasingly irritated as time passed.
She had even prepared the weapons and informed him of Professor D's movements.
The task should have been completed long ago...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But for some reason, there was still no contact from Nam Kang-ik.
"Could something have gone wrong?"
Although Nam Kang-ik was an idiot, he wasn't foolish enough to fail to deal with a single professor.
He might have accidentally killed him due to poor power control, but the possibility of him losing to the professor was less than 10%...
"...Did he really kill him?"
Such a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Knowing Nam Kang-ik's violent nature, it was possible. If that were the case, he might be unable to answer the phone because he was busy cleaning up the mess.
"...Well, it can't be helped."
Seo Su-kyung decided to think that way.
It would be a shame if Professor D was dead, but it couldn't be helped. He had insulted her, so dying as retribution wasn't an excessive end.
The only regret was that his skill in teaching the crazy Bill Roper would be wasted...
"Miss, we've arrived."
Seo Su-kyung, lost in thought, snapped back to reality at the driver's voice.
She looked out the window and saw a magnificent convention center, with well-dressed people entering the building with graceful movements.
"...Ahh."
From here on, she had to be alert. Although that building looked the most splendid in Seoul, it was actually a battlefield inside.
Stained with countless amounts of money and the blood of many people.
***
"You're right on time."
As she entered the convention center, Seo Tae-hee happened to be waiting for the elevator.
Seo Tae-hee looked her daughter up and down.
A wrinkle formed on her smooth forehead.
"...What are you wearing? Didn't I send you clothes to choose from?"
"I told you that one with all the lace was too much. I'm not a child, how can I wear something like that?"
"Then why did you come in such drab clothes? What will your grandfather think? He's been waiting to see you."
"Ha, all those lovely grandchildren who wouldn't hurt even if he put them in his eyes have come from all over the world to congratulate him, so I doubt he was waiting for me."
"Seo Su-kyung...!"
Seo Su-kyung quickly shut her mouth when Seo Tae-hee rebuked her in a harsh voice.
Today was the publication commemoration of the autobiography of Seo Jin-chul, the head of the Seo family and the CEO of International Group.
With family members and various political and business figures gathered, she had to be careful with her words and actions.
A single slip of the tongue in a place like this could greatly damage her reputation.
'Especially for someone like me, who's in a disadvantageous position from the start.'
That's why Seo Su-kyung hated this kind of event. Everyone here seemed like an enemy. She had to desperately pretend to be perfect to avoid giving them any ammunition against her.
"...By the way."
Seo Tae-hee glanced around and asked casually, "You've read the autobiography, haven't you?"
"Yes, yes."
"Don't give me a half-hearted answer."
"I've read it so much I could recite it in my sleep, so don't worry."
Seo Su-kyung spat out the words as if she was fed up.
Seo Jin-chul's fourth autobiography, [Overcoming Adversity], was a book about the hardships he faced in his younger days, from restoring a city occupied by villains with the help of the Military to building his business.
Even though he celebrated his birthday modestly with his family, Seo Jin-chul always held a grand banquet for his autobiography publication commemoration.
He had that much pride in his life, so reading his autobiography was a must for anyone attending.
Chairman Seo Jin-chul, with his sharp eyes, could easily tell who hadn't read his autobiography or had only skimmed through it after a few words of conversation.
Ding-!
With the Mist Form spell, it seemed unlikely that I would suddenly die from taking massive damage.
At least for the time being...
"Damn it! How dare you use such a trivial spell in front of me! Uwaaaa!"
The large stranger, seemingly enraged, suddenly began to throw punches indiscriminately in the fog.
At first, I thought he was crazy, but it seemed that wasn't the case. The air current changed with his powerful punches, and a strong wind started to blow.
'Creating a wind strong enough to blow away the fog with just his punches.'
Thanks to him, the strangers' vision was completely clear.
The only person I knew who could do that with their bare hands was currently in this academy.
'As expected, this guy is Nam Kang-ik.'
I had roughly guessed it from his speech and physique, but...
In Military Chronicle, Nam Kang-ik was a character who boasted extraordinary combat abilities, known as "Iron Fist" since his school days.
Later, he became an incredibly powerful damage-dealer type Military, his nickname changing to "Iron Fist" on the battlefield, and he often joined the 7 Heroes.
One peculiar thing about Nam Kang-ik was that he acted as Seo Su-kyung's lackey, both in his school days and in the Military.
'I had a hunch when I realized they were Emission Department students, but...'
As expected, these guys were clearly here at Seo Su-kyung's behest.
Knowing who was behind this made me even more dumbfounded.
To go this far just because I scolded them during class...!
'She's definitely not a sane character.'
I had thought this before, but I was still surprised that a character like Seo Su-kyung appeared as a main companion in a game that even children play.
Perhaps it wasn't Seo Su-kyung who was insane, but the developers?
"Come out! You rat bastard!"
Nam Kang-ik continued to throw punches tirelessly. His fierce punches, thrown in all directions, were now creating a gale.
'He's strong. Doesn't he get tired?'
Even Nam Kang-ik couldn't maintain that level of strength for long. I continued to circle them in mist form, waiting for him to tire out.
Once Nam Kang-ik's strength was exhausted, I would appear from behind and launch a surprise attack, ending the situation.
That was my plan.
Until the message suddenly appeared.
Ding-!
[The deep resentment attached to your soul cries out.]
[The Imugi's Curse is activated.]
[Misfortune stat increased!]
[The "Mist Form" spell is canceled due to decreased concentration!]
Whoosh-!
With a sudden dizziness, my concentration wavered, and the spell was canceled.
I was caught off guard as my body suddenly reformed.
'The curse activated at this time?'
Spell cancellation due to decreased concentration was a phenomenon that usually occurred only when the ENP reached its limit or the caster's Intelligence stat was very low...
I hurriedly tried to cast the spell again.
Ding-!
[Casting the spell "Mist Form".]
[Spell casting failed.]
[The cooldown has not yet ended.]
[The cooldown for "Mist Form" is 13 minutes and 28 seconds.]
'...That's a long time.'
13 minutes was ample time.
Plenty of time for those enraged guys to beat me to a pulp.
"Hahaha! It seems your precious spell isn't working, is it?"
Nam Kang-ik and the strangers raised their weapons triumphantly. Although a few of them had collapsed, there were still too many for me to handle alone.
I had defeated the Imugi, yet I was being held back by these guys...
"Everyone, stop!"
Just then, a voice was heard coming up the mountain path.
A voice so sharp that it shook the entrance to mountain.
"That voice, could it be...?"
The strangers' faces were filled with panic.
The owner of that voice was someone who could send chills down their spines.
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[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]