Chapter 63

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It was only because of the fierce warning of the Branch of the World Tree and Henir's Shadow that I was able to block something from flying at my face.

A stinging pain spreads through me as something dug into my hand as I lift it up unexpectedly.

Before I could react in any way, a notification window popped up in front of my eyes.

[You have fallen into status abnormality 'poison'!]

[Removed from status abnormality 'poison' due to status resistance 'poison'!]

[The level status resistance ‘poison’ is very high, so no after-effects remain.]

Poison.

As soon as I caught the word in my eyes, I began to be wary of my surroundings.

Still, I felt nothing, which sent shivers down my spine.

If I can't feel anything, it means the opponent is much stronger than me.

But, why all of a sudden...?

It was when I was pulling out the needle stuck in the back of my hand with such a question.

A man slowly showed up with a natural gait.

Other than a black mask covering his mouth, he was a man with no distinguishing features.

He stared at me and tilted his head.

“What, you're not stretching?"

It was an unexpected word, but that's why I knew he was the guy who spat the needle at me.

I didn't even need to ask where he belonged.

Red Case.

At that thought, my head begins to spin like never before.

A group of three, there was a good chance that at least one person was hiding in the vicinity.

A unique ability that all Killers have.

What is his ability?

I tried to weaken him with the Banshee Necklace, but I stopped.

This was because there was no guarantee that he would only use poison among the many abnormalities.

Instead, I immediately thinned out Henir's Shadow and made it stretch out toward him.

“Who are you?”

“Hmm, do I really need to tell you?”

As I hardened my expression as if I was overly frightened, his eyes bent and murmured as if teasing me.

I purposely drew the dagger in a powerful motion.

Seeing that, his expression was getting more and more enjoyable.

“I'm asking who are you.”

"Oh, my. Even though you're trembling, you're quite tough."

Just a little more.

He didn't seem to have noticed Henir's shadow yet.

I put all my attention on it and spit out anything to him.

“Are you from the Thorns Cross Society?”

Oh, what? You're quite witty?”

“… ?”

The guy raised his voice as if he was surprised, but it was me who was more surprised.

I just said that because it was known to the public among the three…… .

‘Did they form an alliance?’

When I took a quiet breath in the unfavorable circumstances, he nodded his head, stroking his chin with his fingers.

“It's not exactly that. Well, yes. Let’s call it a cooperative relationship.”

"What?"

“Let's talk about the details along the way. We're a little busy.”

We.

First of all, it seemed certain that he wasn't alone.

If so, I had to deal with him first.

“You seem curious, but I'll kindly tell you everything on the way.”

"Yes."

As soon as Henir's Shadow touched his shadow, I ran forward, kicking myself toward him.

At that moment, his eyes became fierce, but it was already too late.

It was because his ankle had dug into the ground and he was unable to move.

“What, when. When the hell?”

But the only thing that is still tied is the legs.

As I ran, I continued to use Henir's Shadow to restrain his body.

Especially his mouth, where he was wearing a mask.

I paid the most attention to that area, but I never neglected to keep an eye on my surroundings.

“Oh, crazy! I'm only in this shallow water... !” [Note: '얕은수' 'Shallow Water' - Easily detectable strategy.]

As he made a flustered voice, his torso was slashed in a wide diagonal line.

One person like this.

That was how the matter should have ended.

"Eek!"

But I went right through that guy's body and fell forward.

What.

What the hell happened?

As I turned my head to grasp the situation, an unbelievable sight unfolded in my eyes.

"Huh?"

The body of the guy who should have been bound by Henir's Shadow was turning into smoke and dispersing.

I couldn't understand it for a moment, and as I stared blankly, I heard footsteps next to me.

I reflexively tried to avoid it, but it was the other side that made the first move.

I was kicked in the neck and face and bounced off as if flying to the side.

I didn't have time to be immersed in the pain of my head ringing.

As I stood up reflexively on the ground, in front of me was the man wearing a mask, looking at me calmly.

Unlike before, his eyes, which were full of playfulness, were unbearably cold.

The moment I thought our eyes met, he pulled down his mask roughly.

And what was hidden behind it was nauseatingly disgusting.

It was like looking at rags that had been badly warped and cut and stitched into a messy mess.

Both sides of the mouth were torn open, and the mouth, which was larger than most people's, was wide open and facing me.

I reflexively sent my body flying to crawl on the ground, but immediately felt a cutting pain in my ankle.

Several needles, the same as before, were lodged in the ankles and calves.

The same notification popped up again.

“After all, poison doesn’t work.”

Looking at the guy who was muttering like that, I managed to get up.

What the hell was that just now?

Obviously, he turned into smoke, ignoring the attack and escaping from Henir's Shadow.

So, is it the ability to transform the body into a gas?

However, considering that Henir's Shadow could catch formless things, it seemed that his ability was not to simply turn into smoke.

If the body had simply turned into smoke, he would have been tied up with only the dagger missing.

‘Is that his ability just now, or maybe it’s the hidden person's ability…… .' 

If it's the former, it's a problem, and if it's the latter, it's a problem.

If it was the former, it meant that he was still hiding a threatening ability like the one he had just used, and if it was the latter, there was no guarantee that my attack would get through to him.

I needed to check one more time.

As I stretched Henir's Shadow to the fullest, his eyes become fierce.

Once again, his mouth opened and needles flew out, but there was no way I was going to be attacked like that as long as I was prepared.

“…… .”

He didn't open his mouth anymore.

Instead, he pulled out a heavy sword from his back and charged straight at me.

I never thought I'd be better at close combat than him.

In fact, as if performing a stunt, he avoided all of Henir's Shadow, but his running speed did not decrease at all.

I kept moving back, moving Henir's Shadow.

When he could hardly narrow the distance, he pulled down his mask roughly as if annoyed.

Needle again?

Just as I was thinking this, a strong wind suddenly struck me and I was blown backward.

It was so fast that I didn't have time to react.

Even though I was thrown to the ground, I had to constantly try not to lose sight of him.

Fortunately, that attack earlier seemed to have put a lot of pressure on him, so he frowned and hesitated.

But he was still standing, and I was still down.

This difference was fatal.

It was clear that he was going to reach me before I even got to my feet.

As expected, he didn't seem to want to miss this opportunity.

I hurriedly sat up and threw the dagger at his chest as he ran towards me.

Just as he dodged the dagger, I immediately extended my right arm forward.

And swallowing a significant portion of the mana I had saved up as a reserve so far, I could feel something inside my body rapidly expanding.

It was the branch of the World Tree.

Like a balloon bursting, the branches of the World Tree expanded rapidly and swallowed up his body in an instant.

I could feel it slicing through his entire body like a sharp chisel.

However, the mana that flowed into my body through the branches of the World Tree was like dust.

And this time again, I could see his body dissipating like smoke.

Now I had some idea of what was going on.

It wasn't that he turned into smoke, but that he was creating something similar to a clone from the start to see how I would react.

When I reached that conclusion, I had no choice but to swallow dry saliva at the chilling sensation running through my body.

There was no such case when fighting in the original story.

There had never been a single case where a character in the game would check the other side's power and engage in an exploration battle.

But that wasn't the reality.

In reality, these guys were so experienced and skilled that I couldn't even compare to them.

Even though I was just a student, I never looked down on them, and this was especially the case in the part where they used clones to check my reaction and abilities.

It was as if I had played right into their hands.

No, in this case, the term Jaseungjabak would be more appropriate. [Note: 'Jaseungjabak' '자승자박' - being caught in one's own trap(chapter 31 Quest name)]

The reason might be that I had never experienced such a battle before, but the biggest reason was my arrogance and inexperience.

My arrogance, which even now cannot discard the residue of the idea that this world is a world in a game.

“Kuk…… .”

I didn't have time to blame myself for my own stupidity.

I didn't know the opponent's abilities, but the opponent knows almost all of my hidden cards.

First of all, I have to get out of this place...… .

“… Huh?"

It was only then that I realized that the surroundings were empty.

No, it wasn't empty, it was just me.

It was so shocking that I couldn't even mutter, when the hell did this happen?

The surroundings were covered with pure white smoke that seemed to fill the world.

I can feel the sunlight and the wind.

However, I could instinctively notice that I couldn't get out of this particularly white smoke, which was densely covered around me.

It was like being stuck in a prison made of smoke.

"I think I know why she asked me to capture you.”

A voice reverberated, as if speaking into a cave.

Is he trying to keep me from figuring out his location?

“I have changed my mind. I'll take you to the hideout, but ours, not theirs."

And I'll dissect you alive.

I didn't show any reaction to what he said.

It was because his intention to distract me was clearly visible.

“…… .”

If I was caught anyway, there was no need to hide it anymore.

Rather, I told myself to be grateful that my surroundings were obscured, and scattered Henir's Shadow and the branch of the World Tree widely.

But no matter which direction they rushed in from, he seemed to be able to notice it immediately and respond.

In the midst of all this, I hit the wall of smoke surrounding me a few times, but it didn't budge.

In the end, I had no choice but to fight him and win.

Is this how the gladiators felt when they were thrown into the ancient Colosseum?

While I was preparing myself for when he would attack me, I heard a burst of low laughter.

“Retard. You think I have gone crazy.”

Along with the words, I could hear the sound of breathing deeply and exhaling something.

At the same time, dark gray smoke creeps towards me.

From the outside, it seems to have poison, but we both know that poison doesn't work on me.

It was when I tried to throw my body backward as I didn't dare to be hit by it.

Ttak.

There was the sound of a sharp clash of teeth.

Perhaps it was the sound of pulling the flint of a lighter.

I felt a burning sensation with a dazzling flash of light.

Even while I was falling backward, my ears were still buzzing at the flash of an explosion that seemed to blind me.

When I touched my ear, I found that my eardrum had been ruptured and blood was pouring out.

The right side of my face and body seemed to have burned.

“Koheuk…… .”

Even though the explosion occurred right in front of me, the reason I was able to survive and look at my own condition was nothing big.

It was because, in that instant, the branches of the World Tree sacrificed themselves to protect me.

I could feel the parts of them that were burning and the desperate pained groan of the one that had taken a serious hit in my body.

An animal-like sound came from my stomach.

In the midst of all this, there was a constant voice in my head telling me to calm down.

It was a situation that anyone could know that it was dangerous.

First of all, I have to get up and prepare for the attack that will come again...… .

"Uh."

With a thud, I collapsed to my knees.

I wondered if the impact was too great, but my vision blurred before my eyes.

It was only then that I realized that I couldn't breathe.

As I grabbed my neck and opened my mouth without realizing it, I heard a sound as if laughing at my appearance.

“Sleep tight.”

Is it because of the explosion earlier?

If not... ?

There was no time or space to think.

My vision darkens and my hands began to shake.

I could feel my consciousness gradually fading away.

"Eu-oh.…… .”

No way, like this?

In vain like this...….

Ttiring.

[Henir's Shadow reacts to your will.]

[Warning! A fatal error has been detected in the system!]

[Henir's Shadow has awakened a new ability!] 

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