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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Untouchable
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No one could touch him.
Riiip!
Dragon wings burst from his back.
It was the set effect of Michella's equipment: "Heavenly Dragon."
The sword, armor, and helmet—once all three were gathered, it activated. But in the early game, acquiring them was like plucking stars from the sky. He'd bought them through the secret auction house.
'Lucky I already had Michella's Sword, the hardest one to get.'
The armor and helmet were somewhat easier to obtain compared to the sword. Sure enough, while there was no sword, the armor and helmet had instant-buy prices of 200,000 gold at the secret auction house.
'There were plenty of trap items equipped with Twin Talismans, though.'
Twin Talisman.
An option that made two talismans share each other's locations.
Buying one without knowing handed your position straight to the seller.
Some even hid the Twin Talisman's name as "Secret Scroll."
They were common on items meant for levels 1 to 5, priced low to lure beginners perfectly.
'No matter how I think about it, I can't shake the feeling they're after me.'
But he couldn't dismiss the idea that those "phishing" items were targeting him.
The hall's rankers would know he'd cleared Main Quest 2, and they'd figure he needed specific gear for an excellent clear on 3.
They listed exactly those items at bargain prices, then used phishing to track his location and kill him.
It might be overthinking, but caution never hurt.
Of course, giving up the secret auction house was too sweet a fruit to abandon.
'...Who knew I'd snag this.'
He gazed down at the ground with a faint smile.
He'd gotten lucky. To acquire it at this exact timing.
Suddenly, related info popped up before his eyes.
[Hermes' Shoes (Epic) (1)]
★ Shoes mimicking the feet of the "Wind God" Hermes. Said to have flowed from the Golden Temple. Wear them to run swift as the wind, but you can't enter the "Wind Temple" while equipped.
★ Equip Restriction: All stats 40 (50-10) or higher
★ Talisman (Fairy Queen's Tear): Reduces equip restriction (all stats) by 20%.
★ Agility +3
★ Can use "Swift."
An ultra-rare epic item with a socket.
It took a talisman, offered stat options, and even a skill. A versatile piece of gear. But the equip restriction made it unusable for true beginners.
All stats 50.
Even with decent talents and class, you'd need level 8 to meet that.
Main stats rose sharply, while low-affinity ones barely budged.
But every level-up, all his stats rose by 12. And the Fairy Queen's Tear slashed the restriction.
'At level 8, the performance might feel lacking, but for me right now, nothing beats this.'
Above all, Hermes' Shoes paired perfectly with Michella's set option, Heavenly Dragon.
-I'll melt you all.
The Chid Mamba spewed a thick poison mist. An acidic toxin that corroded and dissolved everything it touched.
Flutter!
Whoosh!
But the acidic fog couldn't spread, blown back by fierce winds.
The Heavenly Dragon wings combined with Swift, generating small gusts.
Whoooosh!
The gusts didn't just scatter the poison mist—they hurled the Chidworms away in an instant. The Chid Mamba grimaced against the intense wind.
-Wind magic? Then block this!
The Chid Mamba drew its hidden tail. Like a scorpion's, its tip glistened with deadly venom. It shot at impossible speeds—no dodging after seeing it.
But.
'Right side.'
If you knew which way it'd fire beforehand, dodging was feasible.
Before launching the tail stinger, the Chid Mamba twisted both hands. There were exactly 26 twist patterns, each subtly altering the launch direction.
'Roll.'
He rolled, flew, dashed—evading every stinger from the Chid Mamba.
-Rat bastard!
The Chid Mamba flew into a rage.
But with its fog and stingers ineffective, it was powerless.
He charged forward; one slash to the neck would end it.
'Stop.'
He poured all strength into his thighs, halting his body abruptly.
In that instant.
Shrrk!
Countless spines erupted right before him.
Hidden stingers buried underground.
-Y-You dodged that too?
Shock filled the Chid Mamba's eyes.
'Charge.'
After using all patterns, the Chid Mamba entered "Confusion" briefly.
Very briefly. Fail to end it in one go, and it only grew stronger over time.
Shwick!
He hefted the greatsword, swelling every muscle in his body.
Charging slowly toward the confused Chid Mamba.
'Swift.'
The greatsword's thrust accelerated instantly.
Slash!
He severed the Chid Mamba's neck cleanly, like slicing water.
The moment the despairing eyes hit the ground.
"Elite Monster 'Chid Mamba' eliminated!"
"Contribution 100%"
"Absorbing 'Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule' (10 minutes)."
"'Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule' remaining time: 47 hours 56 minutes 39 seconds."
"Darkness recedes momentarily."
"Pangeniar collapse: 9.1%"
"Acquired 'Lucky Die.'"
*
"Kyaaah!"
Hearing Kim Seoyeon's scream snapped Kim Hana back to reality.
Blood pooling on the floor.
Jeong Jinwoo's severed arms.
And...
'That guy from before.'
The man who'd saved her from the Giant Mantis was right there.
Wearing a helmet and armor she'd never seen.
Red-brown wings protruded from his back.
Slightly different from before, but definitely him.
"A-Ah..."
Kim Seoyeon collapsed, trembling uncontrollably.
Vague terror. She couldn't move.
Slap!
"Snap out of it!"
Kim Hana slapped Kim Seoyeon's cheek and shouted.
Staying here was dangerous.
The living had to survive.
Hoisting the slumped Kim Seoyeon over her shoulder, Kim Hana stood and scanned around.
'Come to think of it, where's Hyun-myeong-ssi?'
Park Hyun-myeong.
He was nowhere in sight.
'No way he ran...?'
Kim Hana's brow furrowed deeply.
She hadn't sensed him fleeing. He'd been beside her when the bugs appeared, but vanished after the female monster showed.
Better than dying dazedly to a monster, but still—to ditch them alone.
Grunting, Kim Hana dragged Kim Seoyeon along.
Priority one: get as far from here as possible.
"The back door's swarming with monsters too! Come up to the second floor!"
As Kim Hana headed for the back door, a staff member from upstairs yelled.
The outside was already overrun by giant bugs.
"Help us!"
At her cry, a few people from the second floor came down.
Whoooosh!
Clatter! Clatter!
A gust swept through.
The man had blown away the monster's poison mist in a flash.
Clutching the railing to endure, Kim Hana turned her gaze.
'Ah...!'
The monster was firing stingers.
At speeds invisible to the eye.
If the man didn't kill it, the monsters would massacre everyone left in seconds.
No escape route.
Hands clasped in prayer was all she could do.
"Please, please...!"
"Isn't that guy a Dimension Warrior too?"
"B-But other Dimension Warriors attacked us, right? Too soon to relax!"
People gulped nervously, watching the first floor tensely.
That man was their last bastion.
But other Dimension Warriors—like Jeong Jinwoo—had gone mad and attacked people.
Couldn't fully trust this one either.
"It's okay. He's on our side."
Kim Hana reassured them.
More panic now would help no one.
Each stinger launch made people flinch.
Worried the man might get hit.
Slash!
But he dodged effortlessly, worry unfounded, then decapitated the monster in one strike.
The moment the monster's head hit the floor, another change occurred.
"D-Did he win?"
"The monsters are melting!"
"W-We survived!"
Cheers erupted.
With the queen dead, the other bug monsters melted away entirely.
"..."
The man turned, looking at the people clinging to the second-floor railing.
Then.
Flutter!
He donned his cloak, and vanished completely.
"Where'd he go?"
"He just disappeared?"
It felt like seeing a ghost.
Could a person vanish like that?
Such thoughts were brief.
"Are you alright?"
A familiar voice beside her made Kim Hana turn, frowning as she asked.
"...Hyun-myeong-ssi? Where were you?"
"In the bathroom."
The bathroom?
'Blood...?'
Kim Hana had sharp eyes.
Between Park Hyun-myeong's ankle and instep, where his sock was rolled down, a tiny blood droplet clung to the skin.
Sure, blood in this mess wasn't odd.
Especially if splashed from someone else, not his injury.
But the only one bleeding badly was Jeong Jinwoo.
And Park Hyun-myeong had hidden before that happened.
If he'd been in the bathroom, no contact with others.
Whose blood was it, then?
'No way?'
Moreover, the timings overlapped suspiciously: the man's appearance with Park's disappearance, then Park's return with the man's vanishing.
'No way...'
She shook her head. Ridiculous.
Kim Hana glanced between the spot the man vanished and Park Hyun-myeong.
"Is there something on my face?"
"No, not that..."
...Yeah. Must be a mistake.
Park Hyun-myeong couldn't be a Dimension Warrior.
But if—just maybe, one in ten million—he was?
If he was the man in that photo she treasured like a charm?
Kim Hana's eyes grew tangled with complexity as she stared at him.
*
The next day.
The world plunged into chaos once more.
Already twice, attacks from other dimensions.
Dimension Warriors had repelled them again, but the intensity was rising.
Some warned more attacks would come, urging cooperation with the government.
But not all Dimension Warriors or players agreed.
"Isn't that Randolph?"
In a dim secret room.
About ten people hunting Randolph.
More precisely, hunting "Phantom."
They pored over SNS and YouTube videos.
Videos from Korean "players": exactly 178. Up 1.5 times from the prior ~100. Hidden ones were emerging.
Randolph might be among them.
Now, a screen showed a Cheongdam steakhouse.
"Hermes' Shoes. Tough equip restriction, right?"
"If he just cleared Main Quest 2, he can't equip them yet."
True.
Hermes' Shoes restrictions were beyond beginners.
Main Quest 2 clear meant level 4-5 at best.
Too early for Randolph.
"But those wings—Heavenly Dragon, right?"
"Even if auction house for helmet and armor, how'd he get Michella's Sword?"
"Same character as the one with 'Hydragon's Soul' last time."
But even if not Randolph, questions lingered.
Michella's Sword dropped at abysmal rates.
Ultra-ultra-rare, maybe 10 in circulation.
What of Hydragon's Soul?
Rumor held only one existed per server, owner unknown—whispers said an admin.
"So he's the 'admin'?"
"Look at that Chid Mamba hunt. Dodging every pattern by a hair."
"...Yeah. Who dodges like clockwork? Who could replicate it?"
"..."
All ten here could kill a Chid Mamba, but none could master every pattern, threading the needle so precisely.
Its patterns were notoriously tricky.
Not comparable to Hydragon or Giant Mantis.
No one fully mapped and soloed it.
Better to level up and crush later.
Yet the man in the video nailed it perfectly.
"Wow."
Insane, even rewatching.
Paper-thin margins.
Luring patterns, dodging, inducing confusion, charging, one-shot finish. Seamless flow.
No excess moves.
'True artistry.'
Artistic mastery.
Mouth-agape viewing.
Uninitiated might think future sight.
Clap clap clap!
A man at the computer applauded.
"Still top recruitment priority."
"Zero is MintChocoDelicious."
"Hm. Rank aside, both vital for our 'Alliance.'"
"Anyway, others are moving. Need our statement before first rift."
They were the player "Hero" Alliance.
Unlike others, they sincerely prepared for rifts.
Unknown threats loomed; most crucial was "Phantom's" existence.
He could handle anything.
But rival alliances stirred underground.
Losing Phantom or MintChocoDelicious to them? Bone-deep loss for a "hero" group.
Must find them.
Small comfort: both likely Korean.
The black-masked man at center spoke gravely.
"Search that area first."
*
"Cough!"
Hudson spat out his coffee.
Eyes pleading he'd misheard, he stared at me.
"...S-So... you used the Fairy Queen's Tear...?"