CHAPTER 132

Jae-Hyeok had originally entered Lion’s Castle for safety.

After all, to achieve his goals, he needed to grow stronger, and in order to grow stronger, he first needed to survive. Lion’s Castle protected him, tempering the number of attempts on his life. Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.

Sigh. Why do things always turn out like this?

Bam!

It was Black Sight.

A sharp magic arrow as thin as a needle shot past Jae-Hyeok’s right ear. Although Black Sight had missed, Professor Wu Gyo-Hwan only smiled.

Professors—every one of them was a main pillar of the school. All A-class, they had earned their professorial positions through outstanding combat or academic achievements.

Professor Wu Gyo-Hwan was no different—he was a seasoned A-class player and a tactical specialist. He was nothing like the assassins Jae-Hyeok had encountered so far, nor was there any clumsiness like the president of Ocean Shipping, who had only recently reached A-class. Rather, Professor Wu Gyo-Hwan was close to the ideal player in Jae-Hyeok’s mind.

He knew he would be in trouble the moment he let his guard down.

“Sigh.”

Jae-Hyeok took a deep breath and maximized his concentration to make full use of his stats, which had taken a step further after killing the beastmen.

“You couldn’t even react. Let’s slow it down a bit.”

Wu Gyo-Hwan lightly curled his outstretched index finger, and a second Black Sight shot out, whizzing past Jae-Hyeok’s left ear.

“...Oh, you didn’t try to dodge that one?”

Wu Gyo-Hwan’s tone was still calm, but he was feeling admiration. His Initial Skill, Black Sight, was stealthy and fast. Moreover, he’d sent out only one projectile each time, so the odds of someone spotting and following their precise trajectory should’ve been low. However, Jae-Hyeok’s gaze had accurately followed Black Sight twice. And both times, he chose not to dodge.

Wu Gyo-Hwan couldn’t help feeling surprised. He’d originally intended to launch a follow-up attack according to the blind spots Jae-Hyeok revealed while dodging Black Sight. But Jae-Hyeok hadn’t given him the opportunity.

How did he know I would avoid his vitals? I changed the trajectory of Black Sight at the last second; how did he notice?No... he couldn’t have.

Even with the help of an exploration artifact, he couldn’t have noticed.

Wu Gyo-Hwan had altered Black Sight’s trajectory when it was thirty centimeters away from reaching Jae-Hyeok’s eyes, leaving too little time to react.

Wu Gyo-Hwan realized, This kid must believe in my identity, thinking that a professor wouldn’t aim to kill a student. He’s more naive than I thought.

Assessing the opponent's strength and mindset was crucial to devising the strategies and tactics in war. And true to his role as a Tactical Studies professor, Wu Gyo-Hwan first deduced a model of Jae-Hyeok’s thinking and then formulated a plan to exploit it. Boy, you’re hopeful thinking won’t be enough to save Cho Seong-Hyeon.

Two more Black Sights shot toward Jae-Hyeok’s eyes. This time, he really intended to blind him. He could heal him later with potions anyway. And they happened to be standing in a health store, so there was no need for him to hesitate.

You think because you’re a student that a professor won’t crush you with a wave of their sleeves? Rules and etiquette won’t protect a fly that’s too loud. Let the darkness be a lesson.

The two needle-like arrows arrived in front of Jae-Hyeok, but just then, Jae-Hyeok’s shoulder moved slightly, and a sword light flashed before him.

Jae-Hyeok remained with his sword drawn, and the shattered fragments of Black Sight remained hovering around his sword like satellites.

A chill ran down Wu Gyo-Hwan’s spine. It... turns out he’s been watching and reacting the whole time... As a strategist, it was a very shocking experience for him to encounter a kid who exceeded his predictions.

“...I thought you protected Cho Seong-Hyeon thanks to your cooperation with some hidden expert in Jaegyeong. It was my misjudgment. Maybe it really was you alone.”

Wu Gyo-Hwan reassessed Jae-Hyeok’s level and stats.

When the distance between Black Sight and his eye closed to thirty centimeters, he drew his sword and countered.Considering the fact that I had limited the power of Black Sight to thirty percent and factoring in the unique speed of the Kang family’s sword-drawing technique, it’s fair to say that he is in the upper ranks of D-class.

That was Wu Gyo-Hwan’s assessment of the power Jae-Hyeok had shown, but he didn’t believe Jae-Hyeok was a true upper D-class. After all, Jae-Hyeok had only been level 10 at the time of his re-examination less than three months ago. It was impossible for him to have reached level 30 in such a short time.

It is impossible to grow like that on campus.That can only mean the power of his artifacts are quite good, maybe even legendary rated...

For once today, Wu Gyo-Hwan was right—well, half right. It was true that Jae-Hyeok possessed multiple legendary-rated items, but he wasn’t using them.

Is he done testing me yet?

Jae-Hyeok leaned forward but restrained himself. He really wanted to rush down Wu Gyo-Hwan right away. After all, it was only natural for a swordsman to narrow the distance against a ranged attacker. However, Wu Gyo-Hwan was a master at tactics. Jae-Hyeok knew that rushing in carelessly would likely lead himself into a trap.

That briefcase in particular, there’s something about it...

Wu Gyo-Hwan had easily blocked Jae-Hyeok’s legendary dagger with it. The briefcase looked to be made of metal and clearly had high mana conductivity. It had to be custom-made; Jae-Hyeok just wasn’t sure of its purpose.

Meanwhile, Wu Gyo-Hwan was impressed, seeing that Jae-Hyeok remained planted where he was. I feel like I’m dealing with a veteran. He knew Jae-Hyeok was a swordsman and had prepared accordingly. Yet Jae-Hyeok refused to close the distance.

Has he read my intentions? Wu Gyo-Hwan curled his five fingers, and five Black Sights manifested under his palm. But what does it matter? How can he attack if he doesn’t close the distance?

Using fifty percent of his power, Wu Gyo-Hwan released the five Black Sights, which moved with such speed that they buzzed through the air. Two of them curved toward Jae-Hyeok’s thighs, another two curved toward Jae-Hyeok’s shoulders, and the last curved toward the back of Jae-Hyeok’s sword hand.

“This is the true power of Black Sight.”

Even if Jae-Hyeok could block them, it wouldn’t be without cost. Wu Gyo-Hwan unlocked his briefcase, preparing to capitalize on the moment Jae-Hyeok was wounded to subdue him.

However—

Two scythe-like auras suddenly condensed alongside Jae-Hyeok’s sword. They shattered two of the five needle-like arrows, while Jae-Hyeok struck with his sword to shatter the remaining three.

Wu Gyo-Hwan was stunned—and Jae-Hyeok didn’t hesitate. He kicked off the ground, arriving before Wu Gyo-Hwan in the blink of an eye and exploding upward in a rising slash.

Wu Gyo-Hwan threw his head back with wide eyes. The sword passed a hair’s breadth from his chin. With the shadow of death fresh in his eyes, Wu Gyo-Hwan counterattacked using his full strength, slamming his briefcase into Jae-Hyeok.

Jae-Hyeok flew back, but the briefcase was also knocked open.

Hundreds of needle-like arrows poured out. They were full-powered Black Sights that Wu Gyo-Hwan had prepared beforehand. He’d originally just planned to take one out and use it as a threat!

In Wu Gyo-Hwan’s haste to control the Black Sights, he expelled a large amount of mana at once. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth. Even so, he managed to gain control of half of the Black Sights scattering through the air.

Countless needle-like arrows froze and angled toward Jae-Hyeok, who was still stunned from being hit by the briefcase.

The pharmacist elder had been stunned by the sudden battle. But the imminent sight before him snapped him back to his senses. “You wretch!” He bit down on his pipe, expelling smoke from his nose like an angry dragon as he tossed out a vial. It was a specially formulated poison.

Hae-Rin also hurriedly performed a sword dance.

However, the two of them knew it was too late.

Their eyes shook as they watched countless Black Sights pour toward Jae-Hyeok like a swarm of bees.

Just as everyone was despairing over Jae-Hyeok’s horrible end...

A golden thunderbolt crashed down above Jae-Hyeok, aiming directly for him. The lightning radiated an aura like that of a thunder tribulation, and its power was similar, vaporizing all the Black Sights that were on the verge of piercing Jae-Hyeok.

Of course, as the main target, Jae-Hyeok was left shaking from the lightning. But that was all. He had 30% lightning resistance thanks to his Chivalry of Bravery and Honor and his One Who Struck Down Thunder title. He also had an additional 10% resistance from Traces of Thunder Tribulation. With his resistance, there was no way he would fall to a bolt of fake thunder-tribulation lightning.

“......?”

What happened?

Wu Gyo-Hwan looked at Jae-Hyeok in a half-mesmerized manner.

There was no time to feel a sense of loss for the Black Sights that were burned by lightning.

Jae-Hyeok approached, still crackling with lightning energy. Wu Gyo-Hwan didn’t look away; he couldn’t. Staring into Jae-Hyeok’s eyes was like staring into the abyss.

“Seeing you talk about Cho Seong-Hyeon, you must be the culprit who sent the tamed monsters, right?”

“No... ”

“Alright. That’ll be all. You tried to kill me, so die.”

“W...” Wu Gyo-Hwan wanted to speak, but Kang-style sword-drawing was several times faster than words.

There was the sound of metal-on-metal, and Wu Gyo-Hwan was sent flying into a wall. Had Wu Gyo-Hwan not summoned a Black Sight flat against his neck, he would’ve been beheaded then and there.

That last strike wasn’t D-class at all...

A-class? But how?

Wu Gyo-Hwan trembled. How could a student who was level 10 three months ago have reached level 80? It was impossible, but Jae-Hyeok’s strength clearly matched the power of an A-class player.

That could only mean one thing.

“You’re... A National Treasure candidate...!”

Only those who’d unlocked overwhelming Skills were worthy of becoming National Treasures. There were only a handful of them in the entire world, but none of them could be judged according to ordinary standards.

The power of their Skills defied the bounds of immediate level or class.