Chapter 78 : The Mission
Chapter 78: The Mission
-“─!”
-“Seuup!”
What Baek Woohyun chose was offense. He stomped his foot and advanced even further forward, throwing his fist as if pouring all the power generated from that into it.
On the other hand, the opponent chose defense. Standing firm as if rooted to the ground, they took a stance to receive and deflect the attack.
Offense and defense. The result of the opposing choices the two made was revealed immediately.
Kwang!
Baek Woohyun’s fist accurately embedded into the opponent’s forearm raised for defense!
A sound that was hard to believe came from flesh and blood bodies colliding echoed out, and the opponent involuntarily flinched from the greater-than-imagined impact.
Seeing that and thinking it was an opportunity, Baek Woohyun pulled back his blocked fist and immediately threw his opposite hand. A fist containing tremendous power extended straight.
Was it because they had already been blocked once and experienced the power contained within?
Instead of blocking again with their forearm, the opponent smoothly leaned their waist back and dodged Baek Woohyun’s fist aimed at their head.
It was an evasion executed at a truly perfect moment, so Baek Woohyun’s fist merely grazed narrowly past the front of the gas mask the opponent wore.
It was truly an evasion made by a paper-thin margin, and this immediately became the opponent’s opportunity.
-“Haat-!”
Seizing the opportunity to counterattack, the opponent unhesitatingly dove into Baek Woohyun’s bosom.
It was too close a distance to throw a fist or foot, but they had no intention of recklessly attempting a strike from the start anyway.
Because they knew very well that carelessly attacking Baek Woohyun could result in a fierce counterattack instead.
That’s why they deliberately closed the distance even more and attempted an attack in a different way.
Kuwung!
-“……!”
A body tackle leading with the shoulder, a technique commonly called Chyeolsango, accurately drove into Baek Woohyun’s crossed arms.
It was an attack with full stepping force, so he had no choice but to retreat one large step backward. A retreat that returned the distance he had advanced to the starting point.
-“…Tsk.”
Even though the situation looked like the counterattack had properly landed, the opponent’s eyes visible below the gas mask didn’t waver.
It was a reaction that came from noticing through the dull sensation transmitted from their shoulder that their attack hadn’t been very effective.
Baek Woohyun had merely retreated of his own accord to dissipate the ramming force; it was hard to say he had truly taken damage.
In fact, what they rammed wasn’t the targeted chest but crossed arms.
However, there was no need to be disappointed.
Because the counterattack wasn’t over yet from the start.
Originally, Chyeolsango was a technique for breaking balance while pushing rather than direct striking, and the real attack came after that.
Shwik!
The opponent’s leg curved like a whip, targeting Baek Woohyun’s side.
It was a sharp kick that, if his balance had been broken by the Chyeolsango, would have been allowed without any way to deal with it.
Of course, Baek Woohyun, though pushed back, was in a state of perfect posture, which meant he had sufficient capability to block this kick.
Therefore, it wasn’t strange at all that he received the opponent’s kick with his upper arm, then pulled up his forearm as if to grab and immobilize it.
-“Kuk!”
Taat!
The opponent’s judgment was quick, now in a situation with one leg blocked. They immediately kicked off the ground with the free opposite leg and tried to land a knee strike.
It was an attack with even more powerful force by reversely using their captured leg as a lever. All the more so because it was an action performed without a moment’s hesitation.
Since staying put would result in a knee embedded in his face, Baek Woohyun showed an expression of ‘not bad’ and released the leg while retreating.
It was a decision made because even if he blocked the knee strike, he saw the possibility of them entangling legs as is and making one-sided attacks while restraining his upper body from above.
-“……”
-“……”
Baek Woohyun and his opponent took stances again in a standoff at the very same place they had been before their first clash.
They appeared calm as if asking when they had exchanged blows.
The studio, which had been watching with bated breath at their high-level exchange, only then exhaled their admiration.
“…It’s truly an amazing exchange. Both of them give off a strong feeling of having properly learned—ah, of course, one person’s identity still isn’t certain.”
“Personally, I think it would be even better if they’re not hackers.”
-But if they’re not a hacker, who the hell are they?
-Amateur hidden master
-Could be a pro player
-What lol, why would a pro appear in this Tier lol
“Now now, the opponent’s identity will be revealed later anyway, so let’s set it aside! For now, let’s focus on the fight!”
Whatever the hack controversy that arose again would become, no one could deny the fact that the combat level Baek Woohyun and his opponent were showing was extremely high.
Even for those ignorant of combat, it was the same. It was natural since it was an exchange on a different dimension from mere flailing punches.
It wasn’t for nothing that the studio had fallen into silence watching when they first clashed.
The sight of two rare physical enhancement supernatural ability build users fighting each other, though lacking in flashiness compared to various supernatural ability technique builds, was superior in intensity.
-“Huu-“
Baek Woohyun thought while calmly catching his breath. His opponent’s strength and speed were at a level perfectly identical to his own. Since he felt it while directly clashing, there was no way it was wrong.
That is to say, his opponent was also probably using the build he had made public, what users called the ‘Hackphysical’ build.
Because that’s what it took to have perfectly identical physical conditions without a single error.
If so, the story became very simple.
When both use the same build, what determines victory or defeat is entirely the fighter’s skill.
Naturally, he didn’t think at all that his skill was inferior to his opponent’s. Regardless of whoever the opponent was.
It was confidence he could show because he was someone who had fought with his life on the line ‘over there’ for ten years.
Taat!
-“─!”
Baek Woohyun advanced toward his opponent with a low battle cry, and the opponent also stood their ground without retreating.
They ceaselessly attacked each other. It was combat using every possible part—fists, elbows, shoulders, feet, knees.
Befitting those with superhuman physical abilities, each time they collided, a heavy impact sound of kuwung! echoed out.
Even from missed attacks, considerable pressure could be felt, so one could imagine just how powerful force their strikes contained.
-“Damn-it!”
-“……”
The fight that had seemed evenly matched gradually tilted to one side as time passed.
The one who seized control was, as expected, Baek Woohyun, and having grasped the flow of offense, he continued to press his opponent without wavering.
It was such severe pressure that one could clearly see the opponent, who had at first stood firm as if rooted to the ground while blocking, now swaying precariously.
-“Uryaaaaat!”
Huuk!
Had they realized there was no hope like this?
Gritting their teeth, the opponent threw a punch while retreating instead. It was a judgment that even if they took one hit, they had to reverse the flow.
In fact, they didn’t stop even when struck hard on the thigh by Baek Woohyun’s low roundhouse kick. Because they knew that if not now, they wouldn’t even grasp an opportunity.
For victory, they had to somehow push through and cut off the offense, or if that didn’t work, push into a dogfight rolling on the ground.
However, Baek Woohyun had no intention of obediently following along with his opponent’s intent.
Having dodged the somewhat disheveled punch that came because their thigh had been soundly hit, he instantly dove into the opponent’s bosom.
It was the same composition as when the opponent had first attempted Chyeolsango on him, and the opponent also hastily took a defensive stance as if remembering the attack they had done.
Because if they took Chyeolsango without preparation, there was a possibility all their ribs would be completely shattered.
-“─!”
Of course, this was Baek Woohyun’s deception all along.
Instead of attempting Chyeolsango as predicted, he intended to use a technique called One-Inch Punch, or Chon-gyeong.
In reality, it was a technique with ongoing debate about its practicality or possibility of manipulation, but here where the unreal became real, it was different.
A fist stabbing like an awl from very close range contained unrealistically strong power.
Tuwung!
A single strike that gathered force using the weight shift generated from the step taken and the acceleration of each joint that started from it drove into the side with a roar.
The price for taking Chon-gyeong containing superhuman force defenseless like that was too great. Not only were all the ribs completely ruined, but even the internal organs were shaken.
-“Keheuk!”
Blood vomited up from beyond the gas mask dripped down, and their legs’ strength seemed to have left due to the impact starting from their side, causing them to stagger.
There was no way Baek Woohyun would just watch such an opportunity. He drove his full-force fist into the weakened opponent’s face as is.
Pyeok! Udangtang!
-“Kheuk, kuk, ─huu, damn it.”
The opponent, who had rolled away several times after being knocked down, exhaled roughly, then soon slumped as if giving up.
It seemed they had judged they could no longer fight with not only the left ribs but also facial fractures including the nose bone.
If this were reality, even with such injuries, they would have risen to face him somehow to survive, but it wasn’t like that, was it?
“The opponent was impressive too, but in the end, they couldn’t match Hackphysical. Well, I believed from the start that Hackphysical would win!”
“I did too. But you know, uh— I’m not sure if this is right.”
“What’s wrong, Seongcheol-nim?”
“No, never mind. It seems a bit awkward to say right now. I’ll tell you later when it becomes certain.”
-Ugh, that speech pattern, fuck
-There are two ways to anger people, one of which is stopping mid-sentence
-Is that so… don’t you know…
-No, you don’t need to know right now
-“As expected, it doesn’t work with an unfamiliar build…”
-“……”
-“It was fun. Let’s properly face each other next time.”
When Baek Woohyun slowly nodded, the opponent, who had been laughing with difficulty, had their head flop over.
It was an extremely natural result since they had been chattering and laughing while already in a state close to fatal wounds.
And the fact that even the opponent, who had been the final survivor, had died meant Survival had finally ended.
[◇ Baek Woohyun –〔Eliminate〕–> (Anonymous)]
[The game has ended]
[Game Mode: Survival – Solo]
[Final Result: 1 / 100th place]
[Baek Woohyun — 40 K / 0 A / 0 D]
“There were various incidents, and Seongcheol-nim even pulled a ‘don’t you know,’ but in the end, Hackphysical succeeded in the mission by achieving the legendary 40 Kills!”
“Ugh.”
-Immediately executing public shaming lololol
-That’s what you get for being annoying
-For real, ‘don’t you know’ should be legally prohibited
-But I’m really curious what he was trying to say;
“By any chance, is the viewer who gave the mission, D-US? Should I read it as D-US? D-US viewer-nim, are you still here? Should I press success, or—”
[Mission ‘Record 30+ Kills and win without weapons using current build <2,000,000 won>’ Success!]
-Wow, two million won
-Insane, so insane
-Boss-nim, if it’s not rude, could you possibly buy me an ice cream
-I’m fine with being rude, so just a hamburger please