Damned System

Chapter 31. Murderer (6)

The hideout was discovered in just three days.

It was anticipated that he would be tracked unless he left the country.

However, there was no significant concern.

Over the past three days, Han Changshik had accumulated an enormous amount of mana.

Han Changshik looked at the dozens of gun barrels aimed at him and smiled.

Every bullet that targeted him was blocked by a translucent barrier.

“Though it is a bit of a waste…”

The mana could always be replenished by killing all these people and absorbing more.

Han Changshik smacked his lips inside the barrier, glancing down at his feet.

The skill stone he had used a moment ago lay shattered into pieces.

It had been five minutes since the special forces threw flashbangs and entered the factory.

Initially, he avoided the bullets using the structures within the factory, but as he was cornered, he had no options left.

Ultimately, despite his reluctance, he decided to use the skill stone.

When he first started buying skill stones, he was skeptical, but the barrier had even blocked the bullets.

What an astonishing power!

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Inside the barrier, Han Changshik laughed maniacally with his mouth wide open.

Ever since he killed a dog attacking him in his first tutorial, a future like today had been foreseen.

This game was a great fortune that had come to his life, and he deserved to fully enjoy it.

‘No longer do I need to see these petty beings run around.’

How delightful it was.

Han Changshik, who had been laughing for a while, started to pay close attention to the trajectory of the bullets.

‘I might be able to avoid them…’

Guns were a powerful weapon, but they had a fatal flaw.

They could only strike in a linear distance.

One could avoid bullets by stepping slightly outside the aim.

With this body, it might be possible.

To confirm his assumption, Han Changshik focused on the trajectory of the bullets.

“They’re not hitting the target!”

“What on earth is that?!”

At that moment, several members’ magazines seemed to be empty, as the barrage of bullets decreased.

The barrier, too, began to fade in response.

Han Changshik clicked his tongue with frustration inside.

‘So it was only 10 minutes.’

The maintenance time of the barrier skill stone was too short for the 400 mana he invested.

However, with its power diminishing, he could no longer rely on the barrier.

Han Changshik retrieved another skill stone from his inventory and threw himself to the side the moment the barrier vanished.

“The wall is down, shoot! Shoot!”

Right after, the red stone in his hand shattered into pieces.

A large fireball began flying toward the special forces armed with guns.

“Evade! Evade!”

“Squad leader!”

“Ahhh!!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Amidst the cacophony of explosions and screams, Han Changshik’s loud laughter mingled.

As the number of corpses increased, mana flowed into him.

To grow so much stronger just by killing something.

‘I am chosen!’

With an expression mixed with ecstasy, Han Changshik swiftly moved his feet.

As he began to move in earnest, the gun barrels aimed at those unscathed by the fireball missed their mark.

‘It’s working!’

Thud, thud, the suppressed sound of guns equipped with silencers pulsated.

Dodging the bullets trailing tirelessly behind him, Han Changshik fastened his grip around a dagger.

“Dodge!”

There was no hesitation in his motion as he rushed toward the special forces operative holding a gun.

Before his opponent could even scream, he had almost severed their neck.

The body of the fallen instantly became a perfect shield.

With the corpse in front, Han Changshik charged at another target.

Just as he killed a third person, he heard a whiz.

Han Changshik reacted without a moment’s delay.

He hurled the dagger towards the direction the sound had originated.

Thud!

The dagger lodged into the head of the man pulling the safety pin of a grenade.

Immediately, Han Changshik hid behind a nearby pillar.

“It’s exploded!”

A hurried voice resonated near the spot where the man hit by the dagger had fallen, but it couldn’t be completed.

The explosion of the grenade swallowed his words.

After the aftermath of the explosion subsided, Han Changshik darted forward towards his next prey.

Yet, suddenly he felt a chill down his spine.

Han Changshik hurriedly drew a longsword and swung it backward.

“What!”

Clang!

A weighty sound echoed, seemingly too heavy for a collision of blades.

Han Changshik yelled at the unexpected interruptor.

“Who are you?!”

The man who attacked with a mask on his face did not respond.

Instead, he blocked his sword and kicked forward.

Although he quickly raised his arm to block his left side, the solid impact lifted him off his feet.

Han Changshik found himself rolling across the ground after slicing through the air.

“Report to Squad Leader Yang Jochul. Retreat.”

Only then did the man who attacked speak with a fierce tone.

* * *

The man flung away with a thud was Han Changshik.

He looked just like the appearance captured in the video on the USB.

The issue was, he was not the only one in the abandoned factory.

The amount of mana detected was too plentiful, and my hasty rush had confirmed it.

‘Did Squad Leader Yang Jochul send them?’

It seemed like those from the National Intelligence Service, who had grasped Han Changshik’s location, had made a move.

The ones armed with guns surrounding Han Changshik amounted to about 30.

Well, it was hard to even call it a surrounding.

‘They were just scattered around.’

They never truly pressured Han Changshik.

They were helplessly hunted by him, who moved faster than their barrels could aim.

It was apparent that his 1,000 mana-formed body could avoid bullets.

I, with only my eyes exposed from the mask, quickly scanned the surroundings.

The flames catching on the discarded materials were slowly growing.

Someone, unfortunately, lay collapsed beside them.

‘… Are they dead?’

They didn’t move, even with their body catching fire.

The scent of burning flesh was foul. Combined with the stench of blood, it became a hideous odor.

The spectacle before me made me queasy.

The gravity between the carcass of a monster and a human corpse was fundamentally different.

I felt the urge to empty my stomach immediately.

But suppressing the nausea, I glared at the ones with guns pointed at them.

“If you don’t want to die, tell Yang Jochul and back off!”

There was no pleasant tone for those who had come all the way here to donate their mana to Han Changshik.

Meanwhile, Han Changshik stood up.

While keeping an eye on him, I continued to check my surroundings.

The bodies sprawled around easily exceeded ten at a glance.

It meant Han Changshik had secured at least 100 to 150 additional mana.

‘I have to be cautious at first since I’m not sure what he bought.’

I wasn’t so generous as to consider others in a pre-battle situation.

Moreover, the ones who ignored my warning twice didn’t appear appealing.

Ultimately, I, wielding a sword, harsher than before, retorted.

“Since keeping you around only fattens that guy, just get lost quickly!”

The ones who ignored the twice-given warning finally showed a proper reaction.

They cautiously began retreating while still keeping their guns pointed at Han Changshik.

Of course, they hadn’t withdrawn completely.

They aimed their guns from a distance towards Han Changshik.

‘How stubborn.’

I found myself facing the barrels alongside Han Changshik during the fray.

“Put the guns away!”

Startled, the barrels flinched collectively at the shout.

“Are you a player too? Are you alone?”

Han Changshik frowned and spoke.

“Do you know Yang Jochul? Were you sent by the National Intelligence?”

“……”

“Won’t you answer?”

“We’re not exactly on chatting terms.”

Responding in a stony voice, Han Changshik’s eyebrows twitched.

Amid his grimace, I gestured with my hand.

“Stop babbling and come at me.”

Perhaps provoked, Han Changshik’s cheeks trembled.

Watching him, I smirked as I walked forward.

“If you’re not coming, I’ll come to you.”

When the distance closed, Han Changshik reached for a stone.

‘As expected.’

That guy gathered skill stones by cycling through Level 1 repeatedly.

“Tsk.”

Discarding all distracting thoughts, I focused on Han Changshik.

As the skill stone shattered, the blade caught fire.

I too responded with a sword.

His and my swords collided.

“Huuuh!”

The heat was so intense that my face seemed ready to sear.

The mask I wore started to smolder, emitting smoke.

However, my situation was better than Han Changshik’s.

His sword was enveloped in flames, but mine was surrounded by lightning.

“Ugh!”

Han Changshik’s body trembled violently as if seizing up.

It was lightning that sparked and turned blue when materialized.

It must have been very hot and electrifying.

Pulling one corner of my lips into a smirk, I immediately pressed forward.

Denying Changshik even a moment’s breath, I parried his sword and slashed horizontally.

“Haaaah!”

Though Han Changshik hurriedly dodged, he couldn’t evade the deep cut to his chest.

‘That guy doesn’t have a dagger.’

I noticed a dagger just like mine wedged in the head of a corpse.

Thus, while closing in further, I switched my weapon to a dagger.

“Eeeeek!”

He hurriedly swung at my hand, intending to repel it, but my dagger grazed across his wrist.

From wrist to elbow, blood gushed profusely from the bone-deep wound.

“Great.”

While our physical capabilities were equal, my control was superior.

After all, it was only a few days since Han Changshik acquired that body, whereas I had perfected mine months ago.

‘He must have dominated purely with overwhelming power so far.’

I discerned his limitations through Han Changshik’s movements.

The motions were large, with numerous unnecessary movements.

At times, his pinpoint attacks were quite sharp, but not to a level I couldn’t block.

‘He’s never faced someone with similar abilities.’

Likely, he didn’t know how to achieve peak efficiency with his body.

No matter how good the hardware is, if the software installed is poor, it won’t perform optimally.

‘I just have to be cautious of the skill stones.’

I kept pace with Han Changshik as he backed away, and once again observed a skill stone breaking in his hand.

I was faintly sensing the mana movement initiated from his hand.

It wasn’t due to Mana Detection.

That genuinely is for detecting the mana of a living organism.

The mana I sensed was due to my heightened proficiency in Mana Manipulation.

As it surpassed about 30%, I began to slightly feel external mana.

Though not subtle enough to read the mana structure, I could tell the direction!

Feeling the mana gathering underfoot, I leapt up.

Soon, sharp pointed ice chunks surged from the ground.

The area spanned about 3 meters surrounding Han Changshik, offering no room to stand.

‘It’s not ordinary ice.’

A shiver ran down my spine, as if my flesh would be torn just by touching it.

However, naturally, I was destined to fall back down due to gravity.

To avoid the ice, I had to move while in the air.

Concluding my assessment, I twisted my body mid-air to evade the sword targeting my neck.

Immediately, I concentrated attribute mana at the tip of my foot.

Once the attribute mana gathered like a bead underfoot, I pushed off.

The small sphere intertwined with lightning burst with a bang.

I leveraged the shockwave as a foothold to propel myself in mid-air.

‘Glad it worked without a hitch in real combat too.’

This was a method I found while contemplating how to utilize attribute mana.

By using the rebound force generated when tightly packed lightning bursts upon impact as a stepping stone.

Theoretically, this allows me to defy gravity and continue ascending until the attribute mana is depleted.

‘A counterfeit air-stepping.’

Gathering attribute mana without it bursting required more concentration than expected.

Being able to utilize it effectively during critical moments was thanks to relentless practice.

“Huh? What was that just now?”

Han Changshik questioned as I changed direction mid-air.

I neatly ignored that inquiry.

There was no obligation for me to answer just because this guy had a question.

“I felt a tingle when I touched you earlier, are you mixing skill stones?”

Han Changshik mumbled while pulling out a potion.

From the stab wound from wrist to elbow to the burn marks from the lightning.

Barely creating distance, he pulled out a potion, indicating the inflicted damage was substantial.

Of course, I had no intention of just letting him drink that potion.

‘I’m not an idiot.’

What fool permits healing or drug doping during combat?

Aligning my spear obtained from the mission closer to the ground, I thrust it towards Han Changshik’s direction.

Encased in a crimson mist, the cross-shaped blade sliced through the surrounding ice, shooting straight ahead.

In my passage to Han Changshik, pointed ice was reduced to flat surfaces.

A path free of obstacles to step on had been forged.

I used it to advance on Han Changshik, aiming at his ankle with the cross-shaped spear.

“Hup!”

As Han Changshik hastily leapt into the air, I flicked the spearhead.

The blade soared upward, precisely hitting his hand.

With its lid already open, the potion soared into the air, clinking audibly as it touched down.

“Try bringing out more.”

I’ll shatter every one of them, dripping with scorn, I said as Han Changshik’s expression turned murderous.

Ignoring his demeanor, I evaluated my remaining mana.

‘I used quite a chunk of attribute mana in mid-air to twist my body.’

While meticulously assessing remaining resources, I swung the spear at the injured Han Changshik.

To maximize the cross-shaped blade’s advantage, I swung it like an axe, from top to bottom.

Though Han Changshik managed to evade in time, the area around him was all ice.

The outcome was inevitable, having dashed headlong onto it himself.

“Aargh!”

Seeing Han Changshik cringe from rolling on the ice field, I found it absurd.

‘Idiot?’

He hadn’t considered the environment his skill created and how it influenced his surroundings.

He was merely floundering, eager to overcome the immediate threat in front of him.

The moment seemed laughably pathetic as I realized how much I’d overestimated and prepared for him.

Han Changshik was clearly a rank lower.

Yet the battle didn’t end easily.

Both Han Changshik and I quickly realized the reason why.

Coughing up blood after being kicked in the stomach by my foot, Han Changshik wiped his mouth and grinned.

His expression heated with irritation, he taunted.

“You haven’t killed a person before, have you?”

Right on the mark.

Damn System