Chapter 23 : Natural Disaster
Chapter23: Natural Disaster
—Baek Woohyun: “I’ll go right away. Hold on a bit.”
—Jeong Nayeon: “Uah—! Got it! I’ll try to hold out as much as I can! But I don’t know how long I can hold— Kyaa!”
‘The building next door? Pretty far.’
Baek Woohyun, who opened the map to check Jeong Nayeon’s location, immediately ran out.
Because his current location was the 2nd floor of the Military Base central building, he had to move as quickly as possible to provide support in time.
His actions were unhindered since his senses, sharpened through physical enhancement, were detecting the surroundings.
‘The noise is quite severe so perfect detection is impossible, but—’
Still, Baek Woohyun thought there’d be no real problem.
Assuming the first enemy player he’d disposed of was average level, those participating in this game posed absolutely no threat to him.
They’d need to be at least several levels higher than this to even be considered ‘enemies,’ so what more needed to be said?
For incomplete detection to be a problem, the prerequisite condition that the enemy knew how to hide their presence had to be met first.
Those who couldn’t even properly conceal a single footstep could never become a threat that escaped his senses.
That’s why Baek Woohyun didn’t bat an eye even when a door on the right suddenly burst open while he was running.
“Die!”
Hwareureuk!
A player inside the room who kicked open the door and spewed flames.
It was a reckless attack made without proper aim, only based on hearing footsteps and guessing someone would pass here around this time.
Naturally, it couldn’t help but be less accurate compared to attacking after directly seeing, but that wasn’t very important.
If it were an ordinary user as the opponent, this level of surprise attack would have been enough to catch them.
Therefore, the choice of the enemy player who attempted the ambush couldn’t really be said to be bad.
His only misfortune was simply the fact that the person passing by the room was Baek Woohyun.
“······.”
Baek Woohyun had already lowered his body close just before the door opened.
Moreover, to the level of almost lying prone on the floor.
Naturally, the flames thrust toward the position where a person would normally pass only grazed over him, inflicting no damage whatsoever.
When the enemy player belatedly realized that fact and made an ‘Oh no!’ expression.
Hwiik!
Baek Woohyun, who’d closed the distance with only his right hand pressed against the floor, extended his left hand. To grab the ankle and topple them over.
Since it was a counterattack made almost simultaneously with the flames grazing past his head, the enemy player couldn’t show any real response.
Additionally, the superhuman physical ability created by overlapping multiple Core Elements also played a part.
Crash!
“Urk?!”
To the enemy player who’d fallen defenseless, Baek Woohyun’s existence was like a disaster.
Climbing atop the fallen enemy player’s body, Baek Woohyun drew his military dagger.
Then pook! He brought down the military dagger gripped in reverse. It was a blow aimed precisely at the enemy player’s heart.
The sensation of the military dagger’s blade cutting through flesh and driving deep transmitted through his grip.
“Keu—urk—”
Just one counterattack.
That was all Baek Woohyun needed to eliminate the enemy player.
The enemy player with their heart pierced by the military dagger spewed blood and soon dropped their head futilely.
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> ExcuseMeButYou’reBurning]
“Phew—”
Baek Woohyun, who rose from the fallen corpse, immediately moved his steps. Because there was no time to leisurely farm before going.
Unless the enemy player had been wearing ‘Legendary’ grade equipment, which wasn’t the case······
—Jeong Nayeon: “When are you coming? I’m scared! At this rate I’ll die~”
—Baek Woohyun: “I’m on my way now.”
Baek Woohyun, who’d soothed Jeong Nayeon, began running out.
It was behavior completely unconcerned about his location being revealed by footsteps.
Thanks to that, it didn’t take very long to cross the central building and arrive at the right building.
There was the fact that his location in the central building had been on the right side to begin with, but even considering that, it was certainly very fast speed.
However, the price of moving openly was high.
Starting with those who’d been fighting amongst themselves, to those hiding while watching for opportunities—all their aggro was drawn and they came targeting him.
Well, because ‘Survival’ mode was one where anyone seeing someone running hurriedly would want to target their side at least once.
Though they probably didn’t know that a decision made with a light heart would become the worst choice.
“Shoop, [Flame Spear]!”
“[Piercing Shadow]!”
The first to become sacrifices were two enemy players who’d been fighting each other in the hallway.
They attempted attacks toward Baek Woohyun who suddenly appeared during combat. Probably thinking he was the other side’s reinforcement.
Since defeat was certain if it became a 2v1 structure, immediately taking the initiative wasn’t a bad judgment. They could at least buy time.
However, this was also only the story if the opponent wasn’t Baek Woohyun.
“─!”
Before the shooting flame spear and shadow thorns rising from the floor, Baek Woohyun’s eyes flashed.
Twisting his upper body to narrowly dodge the flame spear by a hair’s breadth, he even leaped over the shadow thorns while closing the distance to the enemies.
Before the transcendent physical ability granted by the completed build, a distance of some ten meters was as good as nothing.
For the enemies, it must have felt like he’d approached right before their noses in literally the blink of an eye. Perhaps that’s why they were only widening their eyes looking at Baek Woohyun who’d approached.
“─!”
Seogeok! Pook!
“Keurk—!” “Urk!”
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> Lee Seojun]
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> FiftyFiftyNoMani]
To the enemy players who’d allowed approach futilely easily, Baek Woohyun’s existence was like a calamity.
Swinging the military dagger diagonally to sever one person’s neck, he immediately kicked off the ground and charged to pierce another person’s forehead.
The two enemy players almost simultaneously collapsed with single screams while gushing blood.
Because Baek Woohyun, who used a build investing purely in physical ability, was that swift, he’d cut down the other person before even one fell.
“Wait, what— Urgh!”
Pook!
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> ChickenIsLove]
Following that, he even threw his dagger at a belatedly running enemy player—probably a teammate of one of the two killed earlier—piercing their head.
Of course, the battle didn’t end here. Befitting the Military Base as a popular location, enemies overflowed, and they each targeted Baek Woohyun from their own angles.
“Die! [Wind Cutter]!”
“[Wind Cutter]!”
The two enemy players who popped out after watching for an opportunity and attempted an ambush were also like that.
In their own way, they must have thought to catch the exhausted opponent who’d consecutively eliminated three people as a lucky catch.
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> Kim Howoon]
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> WaitWhyAmIDying]
Truly regrettably, their end was only a line in the kill log.
—Jeong Nayeon: “What the hell are you doing right now?”
Was it because he’d racked up a whopping 5 kills at once?
Enough that even Jeong Nayeon, who’d been urging him to come quickly, threw a question as if dumbfounded.
—Baek Woohyun: “What do you mean, I’m on my way to help you.”
—Jeong Nayeon: “How are you coming that the kill log keeps going up like crazy···? Was helping me supposed to mean you’d kill everyone who landed at the Military Base to make it safe?”
—Baek Woohyun: “You said to come quickly. So I ran and quite a lot are attacking.”
—Jeong Nayeon: “Well, I did say to come quickly, but.”
Who could have predicted he’d come while completely erasing those getting in the way?
Players who chose the Military Base as their starting point would have had some confidence in combat, yet even such people were dying off one after another.
Of course, Jeong Nayeon had also watched the broadcast and knew Baek Woohyun’s combat ability was extraordinary.
But that was only the story when it was a supernatural ability with one Core Element. Meaning it hadn’t been verified yet with a completed build.
So she’d thought even Baek Woohyun would need at least a little time to adapt.
‘My prediction was wrong.’
—Baek Woohyun: “I’ve arrived, so prepare to coordinate.”
—Jeong Nayeon: “Got it.”
Baek Woohyun, who’d reached the vicinity of the room where Jeong Nayeon was holding out, first calmly examined the surroundings.
He had no intention of rushing unnecessarily.
Because he knew well the fact that impatience only ruins the situation.
Experience accumulated while fighting through battlefields for a long time whispered that he should take a beat’s rest here.
Staring at the hallway beyond for a moment.
His fully sharpened senses accurately detected enemy presences wriggling in the stillness.
As always, it wasn’t a very difficult task.
‘Two, no, three?’
Baek Woohyun’s eyes narrowed.
Excluding Jeong Nayeon, the presences felt totaled three.
With the room under siege as the reference, one was hiding in the room to the left of the hallway on his side, while the other two were gathered on the opposite side.
Just as Jeong Nayeon said about being cornered. At least it was a three-way battle situation of 1v1v2, so she’d been able to hold out until now.
Still, having carefully examined the situation, he thought it wasn’t a very bad situation.
Because he judged that joining up with Jeong Nayeon would be quite easy thanks to there being one person on his side.
Once he removed the one person on this side, he could join up with Jeong Nayeon to create a 2v2 structure.
‘Well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter.’
—Jeong Nayeon: “What should we do? Should I go outside now and draw attention?”
—Baek Woohyun: “No, don’t come out. Based on the direction you’re looking, just spam supernatural abilities to the left to draw attention.”
—Jeong Nayeon: “Left? Got it! Going right away?”
—Baek Woohyun: “Yeah.”
“Get lost, you bad guys! [Lightning Storm]!”
Kureureureung—!
Jeong Nayeon immediately hurled a blue lightning mass toward the direction where two people were.
It was an act with absolutely no intention of hitting enemies felt, just to blindly draw attention.
However, as simple restraint, that alone was sufficient.
Adding to that, for Baek Woohyun to conceal his own movements.
──.
Taking advantage of the loudly resounding thunder, Baek Woohyun advanced without a sound.
Though he hadn’t properly worked as an assassin, it was reasonably skilled movement since he had experience performing assassination contracts a few times.
Of course, if real professionals saw it, they’d have snorted saying it was clumsy.
Right now, the man who’d been together at the last moment in ‘that place,’ Test Subject No. 81, would have openly sneered and jeered. Saying what the hell kind of act that was.
However, that was only the story in that place.
Here, there were few who could notice even such clumsy concealment.
Moreover, wasn’t Jeong Nayeon spamming supernatural abilities to gather attention to herself?
Therefore, it wasn’t very strange that Baek Woohyun succeeded in taking position behind the enemy player who’d stealthily exposed their body to the hallway.
‘Got you.’
Seuwook.
The enemy player, whose attention was drawn to the thunder, didn’t notice the death descending behind them.
They realized the grim reaper’s existence after a blade from the shadows lengthily cut across their neck.
Seogeok!
“Uh uh—”
The enemy player’s eyes widened at the blood spurting out momentarily.
The flustered enemy player struggled to somehow stop the blood gushing from their neck.
They desperately plugged the wound, even throwing away the weapon they’d been holding.
Pook!
But Baek Woohyun wasn’t one to just watch that.
Kicking the back of their knee from behind to make them kneel, he instantly stabbed the defenseless exposed back.
Again, this time also the part where the heart was located.
The jet-black blade of the military dagger thrust with superhuman physical ability drove in, even tearing through the armor the enemy player was wearing.
‘The sensation is a bit different. Did they invest some Core Elements in physical ability?’
Since supernatural ability builds were extremely diverse, the possibility was sufficient.
Even if not as extreme as Baek Woohyun’s [Perfect Being], there were quite a few Core Elements that guaranteed some degree of physical ability increase.
Core Elements like [Unleashed Strength] or [Brawler] that builds mixing a bit of close combat with supernatural abilities favored.
Just that it was all meaningless in the current situation.
“Keurk—!”
Following their neck being cut, the enemy player with a blade driven into their heart gradually lost strength, then went limp.
Not only their supernatural ability, but any equipment farmed at the Military Base—none of it was properly used. It was an utterly futile end.
The enemy player’s face, who knew that fact better than anyone, was dyed with deep injustice.
If they’d at least become like this after fiercely engaging in battle, they wouldn’t have died with such an indignant expression.
Even that soon disappeared as a mannequin in light powder.
[◇ Baek Woohyun –[Kill]-> Aibeon]
“······.”
Baek Woohyun pulled out the military dagger from the enemy who’d become a mannequin. Even though he’d raised another kill count, his expression was extremely indifferent.
Because for him, eliminating enemies of this level was a piece of cake.
Having fought even against monsters created by the research facility, there was no way he’d be happy or sad about eliminating an ordinary civilian who’d merely gained power.
‘Now two remain.’