Chapter 76 : Ultra-High Speed
Chapter 76: Ultra-High Speed
In the silence, his heightened hearing caught the artificial sounds coming from inside the Military Base.
From busy footsteps to the sound of doors opening, and even the sound of picking up equipment.
From their perspective, they were probably moving quietly while holding their breath, but to Baek Woohyun’s ears, the sounds they made came through like thunder.
The body of a Superhuman had superhuman senses, including the five senses.
-“……”
Twelve inside the buildings, seven outside, nineteen total.
Baek Woohyun’s eyes gleamed as he counted the number of enemies within the range of his senses. It was a decent number to start with.
Of course, even so, physical limits existed, so he wouldn’t be able to catch and kill all of them. Especially considering they’d fight among themselves.
However, if he moved busily, he could at least eliminate over ten people.
Taat!
Baek Woohyun immediately kicked off the ground and ran quickly.
His target wasn’t the main building of the Military Base arranged in a ∩ shape, but a place where smaller buildings stood somewhat densely around the training ground.
It was a decision made because when he concentrated to grasp the surrounding situation, he sensed two people about to start fighting there.
Fights between Awakeners inevitably created considerable commotion as supernatural ability techniques flew around.
In the Military Base, which was like a bomb about to explode, such commotion would inevitably draw other people from the surroundings.
Since it was essentially prey automatically gathering for him, going in that direction was an extremely natural choice.
Kuwung-!
Soon, a heavy vibration echoed from the target location. The impact created by supernatural ability techniques colliding spread to the surroundings.
Those watching for opportunities started fighting using that as a signal flare, and soon the silent Military Base began to become noisy with all kinds of commotion.
Explosive sounds from supernatural ability techniques, vibrations shaking buildings, curses directed at enemies, and rarely heard screams of death throes.
Kwang! Kung! Chijik!
-“……”
Baek Woohyun quietly sprinted through the Military Base that had turned into a battlefield.
But that didn’t mean he was moving secretly and carefully to avoid being caught by others.
He was just described as quiet because he made no sound; he ran openly as if not caring whether anyone noticed his presence.
Therefore, it wasn’t strange that a user who had been waiting ambushed him when he arrived at the alley between buildings.
-“[Wind Blade]!”
Swaeeaek!
“Ah, danger!”
“It’s a sudden ambush!”
-Oh
-Figured there would be one
-It would be strange not to get ambushed lol
-He ran openly, so yeah
The user who appeared blocking Baek Woohyun’s path immediately threw out a supernatural ability technique, and dozens of crescent-shaped blades made of wind rushed toward Baek Woohyun.
Even though it was a fairly wide alley, so many [Wind Blades] flew at once that there seemed to be no place to dodge!
If it had been an ordinary user who reached here, they would have hastily used a defensive technique or, failing even that, would have died just like that.
If only, that is, if it had been an ordinary user, not Baek Woohyun.
Tatat!
The moment Baek Woohyun saw the rushing [Wind Blades], he reacted and kicked off the floor, then kicked off the wall of a building forming the alley once more and leaped up.
Thus, dozens of crescent-shaped blades failed to inflict any wounds on him and merely brushed past narrowly below his feet.
The [Storm Spear] that the ambushing user had thrown silently without a sound, prepared for when his [Wind Blades] were blocked by a defensive technique, met the same result.
Having dodged two supernatural ability techniques in succession—though one dodged itself—the one holding the initiative now was Baek Woohyun, not the opponent.
Baek Woohyun, who had been hanging while gripping a groove in the building’s outer wall with just his finger strength, kicked off the wall again and rushed toward the user.
It was a form like a hawk revealing its claws chasing prey.
-“[Ba-“
Kwaak!
The user tried to use a defensive technique belatedly, but Baek Woohyun’s speed, almost diving down, was too fast.
Before the user could finish saying the technique name, he was struck in the face by Baek Woohyun’s extended fist and was knocked away, unable to withstand the force contained within.
When the user, who had rolled on the ground several times, finally stopped, he had already become a Mannequin. He had met death in one strike.
The familiar Kill Log [◇ Baek Woohyun –〔Eliminate〕–> (Anonymous)] that appeared afterward also proved that fact.
-“……”
Instead of rejoicing at the 1 Kill obtained quickly, Baek Woohyun immediately set out to find the next enemy.
For the mission, with 29 Kills still remaining, there was no time to rejoice or despair over killing just one person.
Having kicked off the wall and leaped high, he ran across the rooftop. Just like when he had run and crossed the forest in the Reverse World.
Thus, into Baek Woohyun’s field of vision, which had become wider looking down from above to below, one user entered.
It was someone leaning against a wall near the training ground where an intense fight was taking place, looking inside. Surely aiming for the fisherman’s profit.
Discovering the user, Baek Woohyun headed that way, stepping on and jumping over the building railing in one bound. It was a parkour-like movement that often appeared in movies.
-“…?”
The user who had turned around as if hearing the sound of Baek Woohyun approaching through the rooftop tilted his head.
Probably because he heard some sound but couldn’t see anything.
The user, who had stretched his neck looking behind, soon turned back toward the training ground as if thinking he had heard wrong.
Immediately after, a shadow fell over the user’s head.
It was a phenomenon created when Baek Woohyun, who had approached by jumping from rooftop to rooftop, jumped down targeting the user whose vulnerability was fully exposed.
When the enemy, startled by the shadow cast over his body, looked up in confusion, it was already too late.
Udeudeuk!
-“─!”
[◇ Baek Woohyun –〔Eliminate〕–> (Anonymous)]
The user trampled by Baek Woohyun’s foot had his neck broken with a chilling sound, and just like that became a Mannequin, leaving only one line of Kill Log.
He had tried to aim for the fisherman’s profit by striking the backs of two fighting people, but instead got his own back struck.
However, even the victim probably wouldn’t feel that wronged. Such things happened too commonly at the Military Base.
-“Huu-“
Despite obtaining 2 Kills, Baek Woohyun’s expression as he lightly exhaled was indifferent. There was no reason to be happy since it was too natural a result.
Just in the previous round alone, he had recorded 28 Kills, and boasted an average of 25 Kills in Placement Matches, so about 2 Kills wouldn’t even register.
Rather, he even muttered, “Should I raise the tempo a bit more?” As if he wasn’t satisfied even with what looked dizzyingly fast to others.
“From here… more?”
“Just how fast is he trying to go that he’s raising the tempo?”
-Going at breakneck speed, follow the tempo
-Professor, the pace is too fast
-So scary
-Don’t tell me he’s trying to surpass the legendary 40 Kills
The studio’s reaction to Baek Woohyun’s muttering was filled with amazement.
It was a natural reaction since he openly said he’d raise the tempo even more in a situation where he’d gotten 2 Kills in just a few minutes after starting.
However, none of them believed Baek Woohyun’s words were mere bravado. It was because of what Baek Woohyun had shown so far.
They thought Baek Woohyun could definitely obtain Kills at an even faster speed than now, and indeed it was so.
Baek Woohyun still had much more tempo left to raise, as his muttering suggested.
Because he wasn’t yet perfectly drawing out and using the power of the build he was currently using.
If someone had heard, they might have waved their hands saying it was nonsense, but what could be done about the fact that it was true without any exaggeration?
Even the ‘Slowed World’ wasn’t his full power. That was just one facet.
His supernatural ability build originated from one called a ‘Superhuman,’ and the maximum that a transcendent being could display was beyond human common sense.
-“Seuuuup- Huuuuu-“
After repeating one very deep inhalation and exhalation, Baek Woohyun’s pupils blazed white. So much so that they seemed to hold flames in his eyes.
Soon, the moment he tilted his body slightly, his figure disappeared with a whoosh. Truly, it was a sight that could only be described as ‘vanished.’
If the studio camera hadn’t automatically followed and filmed Baek Woohyun, everyone would have lost sight of him.
That’s how fast he was moving.
“Ultra-high speed movement…”
Cha Seongcheol, who was watching, unconsciously let out a gasp.
It was generally accepted that speed in virtual reality was ultimately determined by the perception of the person moving.
No matter how fast the given body was, ordinary people couldn’t react properly when moving at that speed, so they couldn’t reach maximum speed.
‘Psychic Wars’ ‘Blue Lightning’ from the past, which received trash treatment because it was too fast to handle properly, was a good example.
And this was the same in Reverse Planet.
Even if you thoroughly invested your supernatural ability build in Reverse Planet into physical enhancement abilities, ordinary people couldn’t utilize it 100 percent.
Just because physical performance improved didn’t mean innate body control sense, reaction speed, or cognitive ability improved as well.
Even with combat assistance, it would be the same. Assistance was only a means of support; it wasn’t a hack that controlled for you, was it?
-Insanely fast
-What is this lololol
-My eyes are spinning
-How much did he raise the tempo lololol
-“──!”
But Baek Woohyun could perfectly draw out the power of the physical enhancement supernatural ability build. It was possible because he had lived a Superhuman’s life in reality for ten years.
He even had combat experience facing enemies moving at speeds much faster than this, not even properly visible to the eyes.
That’s why he could accurately move and ambush two people whose fight had just reached its peak, even though his surrounding vision only appeared as things rapidly passing by.
-“Die- huh?”
[◇ Baek Woohyun –〔Eliminate〕–> (Anonymous)]
As something seemed to pass by in a flash and the opponent in front of his eyes disappeared, the user in the training ground panicked.
He had clearly been gathering his full power to settle things at the end of an intense fight, when suddenly a bug-like situation occurred.
What entered the eyes of the user looking around with a bewildered expression was Baek Woohyun throwing away the Mannequin he had been holding at the edge of the training ground.
-“Huh.”
The user pitifully blinked his eyes looking at the Mannequin rolling on the ground.
Somehow the Mannequin’s outfit looked familiar.
Like what the person who had been in front of him until just moments ago was wearing.
But in his thinking, that didn’t make sense.
The distance to the figure who suddenly appeared here was extremely far.
If that Mannequin was the person who had been fighting him until just before, when did he approach, when did he take him all the way there and eliminate him?
-“Ah?”
And the next moment, the user realized, seeing Baek Woohyun standing in front of him.
That his thoughts were correct.
Kwadeuk!