CH 203

“Grrrr!”

“Look at me!!”

The Abominations and Ji-Byeok had arrived. Just as the enemies were about to attack Ji-Cheok in full force, the Abominations’ attack stopped them. The enemies were swept away at once, and screams and explosions were rampant.

Next up was Ji-Byeok’s taunt skill! Enemies’ eyes turned red as they headed for the Tank, Ji-Byeok. Although they were all originally Hunters, her taunt skill now worked on them because they had become monsters.

So far, it was going as planned!

“Enlightenment of Mind!”

“Mind Clear!”

Among the many enemies, Ji-Cheok saw a few casting their own skills to remove Ji-Byeok’s taunt skill. He had expected this, having already noticed that there were enemies who could resist the mental influence of Cthugha’s Steps.

‘If that’s the case…’

Swoosh!

He ran like the wind and headed for the Hunters who had resisted Ji-Byeok’s taunt skill. One of them was wearing a robe, holding a staff, and had tentacles protruding from his body instead of arms. While the enemy was taken aback by his sudden charge, Ji-Cheok directly swung at him.

Slash!

He cut the wizard cleanly in half.

“Galloping Roar!”

As he was looking for the next target, a muscular giant over three meters tall stampeded toward Ji-Cheok, holding a shield the size of his own body.

“Spear of Destruction!”

“Breath of Death!”

As the shield giant charged at Ji-Cheok, one of his companions on each side of Ji-Cheok also used their skills. It was a three-pronged attack!

Fortunately, Ji-Cheok had the [Heaven and Earth Warp Steps] and Soul Telekinesis.

Boom!

Ji-Cheok jumped up, and as soon as he reached the peak of his jump, he used the Soul Telekinesis to create footing. Instantly, he changed his trajectory in the air at a ninety-degree angle and fell toward the scorpion-like Hunter who had cast the Spear of Destruction.

Slash!

With a single blow, Ji-Cheok chopped the man in half, and as he turned, he swung his sword infused with Sword Qi horizontally at the Hunter resembling a snake who had used the Breath of Death skill.

Psss!

It seemed that he was using some kind of protection skill. Because of that, the enemy was not fully cut in half, and Ji-Cheok’s Sword Qi disappeared.

“ARGH!!”

Although his Sword Qi had disappeared, the enemy, whose waist was cut halfway, rolled around screaming.

Suddenly, some kind of sphere of light was thrown by someone, but Ji-Cheok’s [Guardian of Hope] managed to block it.

Boom!

He felt more and more attacks targeting him; not only that, but they were also getting stronger. However, it was less frightening than he thought. His senses had become unusually acute, and he could feel everything that was happening around him. This was all because his senses were increased by Qi Sense.

It looked as if he was just dancing with the two swords, devastating the surroundings. Before a lightning skill struck him, Ji-Cheok noticed it and put his sword between him and the attack. The lightning and his Sword Qi collided and canceled out in an explosion of light. His sword shot in all directions like the needle of a sewing machine, launching threads of Qi everywhere.

He blocked, cut, thrust, and dodged. He was doing so many things at once that he could not focus on one thing anymore, and he looked like he had fallen into a trance.

“Where did that crazy bastard come from?!”

“Kill him! Now!”

[The [Twisted and Mutated Entity] is astonished at your skill!]

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[The [Twisted and Mutated Entity] is astonished at your skill!]

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Even while Ji-Cheok was doing everything everywhere all at once, he could still hear what the enemies were saying.

‘Oh man. That’s amazing. I’m surprised at myself that I was able to take down this many enemies. I think I took down fifty or so, and if I include my teammates, I think we’ve taken care of at least one hundred of these guys.’

Just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly felt his hair stand on end.

Ji-Cheok instantly jumped backward. As soon as he left the place where he was standing, something massive fell on that exact spot.

Boom!

Ji-Cheok blocked the showering debris with his dual swords. He could feel his hands moving at the speed of sound.

‘Wow… I’ve become so much stronger. I just dodged the attack and blocked the flying rocks subconsciously.’

This was the effect of [Heaven Martial Body] and [True Human]. This was not just the power of his Qi, but rather the combination of his skills and combat instincts. He realized that those things had incubated and grown inside him.

Too bad that this was not the time to admire his own growth.

He had to deal with the new threat that had appeared in front of him first.

[Billy Gallagher]

[Age: 38

Gender: Male

Race: Twisted and Mutated Entity

Occupation: Metal Warlord

A being born with the elemental power of metal that has learned the power of war.

He is a mighty existence that can create metal out of nothing, transform his own body into metal, and even produce mana with the metal attribute.

However, he has now become a mutant from a human due to the Fragment of the Twisted God. As his race has changed, he has acquired additional attributes and abilities.

Attribute: Since he has become a monster in the [Forest of the Twisted God], he cannot leave the dungeon except during a Dungeon Break.

Attribute: Regeneration

Attribute: Recovery by Eating.]

‘Level 112! That’s pretty high.’

This person had to be one of the highest-ranking Hunters, but his name was one that Ji-Cheok had never heard before.

‘Did he level up inside the dungeon?’

Even though his appearance was bizarre, for some reason, Ji-Cheok thought that he looked cool. His entire body, dragon head included, had a metallic sheen to it, perhaps because of his skills.

‘This guy seems to be the boss of the [Recovery by Eating] faction...’

“You bastard! How dare you kill my teammates!”

“Well, I’m friends with the people on top of the rocky mountain, so…”

“Huh? Friends? Well, thanks to your good friends, you will die miserably and painfully!”

Billy grabbed the huge sword that he had launched earlier at Ji-Cheok, pulled it out of the ground, and swung it. As the ground exploded, a shock wave mixed with mana and debris rushed toward Ji-Cheok like a wave of destruction.

Ji-Cheok used a skill of the [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Sword Art] — the [Heaven and Earth Dual Principle]. He held the two swords horizontally, with the tips pointing in different directions.

The [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Qi] was composed of two different energies, the Heaven Qi and the Earth Qi. Ji-Cheok imbued each of these Qi types into their respective swords. As the two energies flowed between the two swords, he crossed the swords and swung them horizontally.

The effect was stark, because this cultivation skill…could actually create gravity.

Woong~

The debris created by the enemy attack clustered at one point along the energy trail that Ji-Cheok had left in the air, then immediately crashed into the ground. He had just neutralized the enemy’s attack with this single skill!

Without hesitation, Ji-Cheok rushed toward Billy. With his current speed, he could cover twenty meters in a single step. In the blink of an eye, he was well within melee range, half a meter from his enemy, and he swung his swords once more.

This time, he used the skill [Heaven and Earth Reverse Polarity]. This was a skill that generated power by reversing the two energies and making them collide with each other. Just like the description, Ji-Cheok made the two energies collide with the enemy’s body as the point of contact and made his Sword Qi explode.

Boom!

“You little weasel!”

Slash!

Billy’s greatsword came down toward Ji-Cheok.

Clang!

Just when the [Guardian of Hope] flew in and blocked the attack, Ji-Cheok stepped back instantly using his Cloud Steps and looked at the opponent’s shin.

‘What? He should’ve been hurt by my previous attack, but there’s not even a scratch on him! And it wasn’t just an ordinary attack, it was infused with my Sword Qi!’

While Ji-Cheok was reeling, Billy continued to attack. He was indeed strong and fast, but it appeared that there wasn’t much to him besides his power and speed.

Boom! Boom!

Every time Ji-Cheok dodged, his attacks landed on the ground. He could not even scratch Ji-Cheok once! It was as if he could foresee his opponent’s attacks.

‘Is this also the effect of [True Human] and [Heaven Martial Body]? Or is it the result of training every day in the [Training Space of the God of War]? Anyway… This guy is high-level, but his sword skills are terrible. Did he not learn any passive skills for his sword? I can literally see where he’s aiming before he even moves.’

As Ji-Cheok was about to attack him,

“Metal Field! Titanium!”

Billy drove his greatsword into the ground and activated a skill. Starting from where the greatsword was inserted, the surrounding land instantly turned a metallic color. All the grains of soil had become grains of metal—apparently titanium, if Ji-Cheok was to believe this guy’s words.

‘The area seems to be roughly one hundred meters in diameter—’

Swish!

“Hmph!”

A metal spear protruded from under Ji-Cheok’s feet and tried to pierce him. He dodged it quickly, but the metalized ground around him started to wriggle.

‘This bastard has the ability to manipulate metal!’

He escaped rapidly using Soul Telekinesis.

Swoosh!

As he swiftly soared into the sky, he could see that the enemy had created dozens of metal spears where Ji-Cheok had been standing not one second before.

‘I thought he was a melee fighter because of his size, but the asshole is a spellcaster!’

“You sneaky bastard!”

Swish!

The metal spears were launched from the ground like harpoons. But this kind of ranged attack would never work on Ji-Cheok!

‘Soul Telekinesis! Telekinetic Whirlwind!’

As Ji-Cheok’s telekinetic power spun like an EF5 tornado, sweeping through everything underneath him, all the metal spears zooming through the air like rockets were caught in the vortex and whirled away.

‘This guy is kinda tricky. Should I use my Augmented Sword Qi?’

Boom!

Suddenly, Billy’s titanic body collapsed sideways as an explosion blasted him off his feet. When Ji-Cheok looked back, he could see that Mu-Cheok was holding the anti-materiel rifle that he usually created by fusing his guns into one.

‘Damn, what a shot!’

However, the dragon head boss was not seriously injured. Only the sheet metal-like skin protecting his ribs was cracked. In addition, Ji-Cheok could see melee Damage Dealers and Tanks running toward them from the mountain. It looked like there were over one hundred Hunters.

‘Tsk. If we keep fighting like this, we’re going to be at a disadvantage. I should just use my Augmented Swo—’

“ARGH!!”

One of the thick legs of the dragon head boss had been cut off.

Since his entire body was literally made of metal, no blood came out of the wound. However, the severed leg was disconnected from the metalization skill, and it tumbled across the ground while spurting blood like a bottle of Coke with the cap cut off.

The leg stopped rolling next to Ji-Han.

“Good. This is the perfect time for the boss to die.”

‘Dude… You haven’t been fighting with us, but now you decide to step up! Well… he does look kinda cool.’

Ji-Cheok was in awe at his boss’s heroic apparition.

* * *

‘When did he cut off my leg?!’

Billy Gallagher was horrified. His Metal Body skill turned his body into metal. It was almost impossible for anyone to hurt him due to the combination of his giant metallic body and incredible mana. That was why even after being struck by Sword Qi at close range, only the hardened outer layer of skin had cracked a little.

In addition, the detection skill he had obtained when he had reached level 110 allowed him to catch his opponents’ attacks no matter how fast they were. In addition, the ability to manipulate the metal around him, which came with his Metal Warlord job, made him even stronger.

Yet, someone had just cut off his leg before he could detect anything.

‘It has to be a Hunter with time-manipulating abilities!’

Because of his vast experience, he realized this really fast. The moment he became convinced that the enemy who had cut off his leg had the skill to manipulate time, he immediately moved the metal around him in a decisive strike.

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Swoosh!

Hundreds of metal spears shot out from the ground like massive pieces of shrapnel. At the same time, he dashed at his severed leg. He reached it in an instant, turned it into metal, and reattached it to his body.

Then, he realized that the one who had cut off his leg was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where did he go?’

Even when he used his detection skill, he couldn’t feel his opponent.

“You are slow.”

“What?!”

Billy suddenly heard someone behind him. When he turned his head, he saw a man in a formal suit standing behind him, holding a black sword that gave him an ominous feeling. He was approaching slowly.

Billy wanted to escape, but in spite of the opponent taking his sweet time, he could not move an inch.

The softly approaching black blade pierced through his eye and into his brain.

‘You motherfu—’

Thud.

With a dull sound, his body hit the ground as his consciousness fell into darkness.

Billy Galagher, the boss of the Cannibal faction that used [Recovery by Eating], had been killed.