Chapter 198

Chapter 198

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 198As expected, I was glad I had brought Ascalon(Chopstick)

with me.‘As expected, there's nothing better than this against guys who use dark magic.’An item that caused a miracle in the world and became myth. And among those, things blessed by a god and possessing holy energy are called ‘sacred relics.’

These exert even greater power against items possessing the power of ‘Evil’ and ‘Demons.’

“Why, is this your first time seeing a sacred relic?”

In a situation like this, it could practically be called an anti-dark-magic THAAD.

“That shabby thing is a sacred relic? Are you perhaps mocking me?”

Perhaps the metal chopstick in my hand didn't look like a ‘sacred relic’ to him, because his expression twisted sharply.

From my perspective, it was a true ‘Holy Spear’ that had even killed a dragon, but to him, it seemed to look like nothing more than an ordinary stick.

This is why people without faith are a problem.

Well, it's not like believing would change anything.

“You have no idea how much suffering I went through just to catch you.”

It was a bad relationship that had continued since the game.

Ten newly made characters. Of course, only about two had been properly raised, and the others were characters I'd used as consumables, but I'd still burned through double-digit characters just to reach his cabin.

Poison needles hidden in the bushes, fishing lines installed on the ground, engravings that infected you with deadly poison on contact, and even traps that shattered the mind.

How long had it taken me to calculate all those routes and possibilities?

Thanks to that, I could stand before him like this now.‘Senior. Please help me eat this elixir.’‘What? You're eating this right here, right now?’‘Something urgent came up. Then I'm eating it?’‘Hey, hey! You crazy bastard!’At that moment, an ink-colored dagger suddenly flew toward my face.

I twisted my head to avoid the dagger, but completely dodging something coming at that speed was impossible.

It grazed my cheek.

“You still have that habit of throwing a dagger while pretending to talk.”

“...

Why are you talking like you know me?”

“Because I do?”

At my answer, the bastard raised the corner of his mouth in disbelief.

“Without even knowing what's coated on that dagger──.”

“Yeah, doesn't work~”【Thousand Poison Immunity】 exists for moments like this.

I immediately pulled the shotgun out of the Cube and aimed it at him.

Then fired.

Booooom───!!

With a tremendous noise, the wall where he'd been standing collapsed.

In that brief instant, the bastard blended into the darkness and concealed himself.

At the same time, I began counting down in my head.3.2.

1.

I turned my body at the same time and fired again.

“How!!”

The bastard took the shotgun blast to the abdomen and flew backward, slamming into the wall.

“Ghk!”

He coughed up black blood and trembled.‘Shadow Step.’

It was one of the movement techniques he frequently used, allowing him to move freely through darkness for three seconds.

Simple, which made it powerful, and a skill players absolutely hated.

“As expected, your pattern hasn't changed.”

Perhaps because of his tendencies, the first ‘Shadow Step’ he used always had a fixed pattern of moving behind the target.

And the second one was──“Kraaaaaagh!!”

A charge toward the player. Followed by a barrage of random attacks.

“Your shotgun only has two shots! It'll take time to reload!”

Apparently he hadn't charged in without thinking.

But, you know...

“Ever heard this saying? Switching to your secondary weapon is faster than reloading.”

I drew the handgun I'd placed in its holder and fired repeatedly at him.

His speed gradually dropped.

But as though refusing to stop his charge, he came running while spilling black blood, looking like an enraged bull.‘Normally he'd stop here, though?’The way to cancel Shadow Step was to deal enough damage during the charge.

But for some reason, the bastard kept charging all the way with bloodshot eyes.

As if proving this wasn't a game, an unexpected variable had appeared.

“Ghk!”

Well, even so.

Clang──!!

I raised my arm and blocked the first attack.

A tremendous impact traveled through my clothes.

Even though DisPater protected me from external impact, the blow was strong enough to make my bones ache, and I clenched my teeth without realizing it.

Most importantly, the biggest problem was... this attack came as a combo.

The infamous instant-kill pattern.[Title: How the fuck do you beat Covert Shadow? This bastard seriously pisses me off][Author: TwentyThirdRoastedChestnut][Got hyped as hell for an assassin build and wanted to cut off Covert Shadow's head and play assassin. But even if I somehow make it to his cabin, I keep dying to that fucking instant-kill pattern, so how the hell do you clear this?][ㅇㅇ: For real lol, I bet a bunch of people broke keyboards because of that.][LoveDetective: The standard way is to go in with enough HP that you don't get one-shot. Then even if you get hit, you don't die lol][└ㅇㅇ: That's technically right lol but then people treat you like an ogre][└ㅇㅇ: (roughly: “Oh, I thought it was a monster” image.

jpg)][UnderworldMastermindFlame: If you don't panic and burst him down, it cancels.][└TwentyThirdRoastedChestnut: For real?][└UnderworldMastermindFlame: Yeah, but the problem is sometimes there's a bug where he keeps charging even if you deal damage... if that happens, just pray. Pray you survive with a sliver of HP lol]‘I never thought I'd be the one it happened to!’Still, I couldn't just let myself get hit like this.

Up, down, left, right.

And the dagger changing its trajectory in tiny increments.

It was so fast that my eyes could barely follow it, but not so fast that I couldn't keep up.‘Give what must be given.’Thin lines carved across my entire body.

Each one was practically equivalent to death, but I used DisPater's defensive power as much as possible and minimized the area of each hit.

-Boom!

-Boom!

-Boom!

Dull impacts rang out.

The aftershocks remained, but already more than ten strikes had been neutralized.

But the bastard wasn't easy either.

Perhaps realizing the clothes I wore weren't ordinary, the locations of his attacks gradually began to change.

His strikes increasingly targeted places not covered by the clothes.

The backs of my hands, my neck, my face.

Since they were small target areas, they were easier to dodge or deflect, but the problem was that there were simply too many attacks.

A cut appeared on my cheek.

Blood flowed from the back of my hand.

A slash barely grazed past my carotid artery.

My skin was dyed in blood in an instant, but...

I only had to endure here.

Just here.────Booooom!

“Ghk...!”

I somehow endured it.

The bastard had also consumed a great deal of stamina from forcing out that barrage, and now his legs trembled as though even standing were difficult while he glared at me.

“That damn outfit gave me trouble.”

“Ah, this? It's luxury, so it's a little sturdy...”

“Still joking in a situation like this... at that rate, you'll die from blood loss soon. Aren't you afraid of death?”

Even while panting heavily, the bastard kept up his composure to the end.

Indeed, perhaps his blade had some special ability, because the wounds on my skin showed no signs of healing at all even with Natural Healing.

“Dying? Of course I'm afraid. But do you, a spirit, really understand the fear of death?”

“...!”

The moment I said the word spirit, he reacted strongly.

“You know even that...”

“From the start, it makes no sense for a human to move like you do, doesn't it? Moving freely through darkness, leaving no trace behind, and using dark magic while having movements like that. It'd be stranger to think you're human.”

That was one of the secrets about him.

An immortal race that wouldn't die no matter how many times you killed it.

A spirit.

“Well, that's right. Unlike you, humans are in danger if they bleed. If this much keeps pouring out, I'll die soon enough.”[Ancient Berserker's Ring(True)

absorbs the user's blood!]

Had I ever seen the Berserker's Ring shine this much before?

It was practically feasting, so even though my body was dying, power overflowed through me.

“But what should I do about this?”[True Ancestor's Rose activates.]

Hissssss───“──I'm not exactly a normal human either.”

The red blood covering my skin began evaporating rapidly.

Like someone who had just emerged from a hot spring, my body became enveloped in red steam.

At the same time, my wounds began healing rapidly, and vitality gradually returned to my pale skin.

“What──. Are you really human?”

“Why... never seen something like this before?”

At the sight of me perfectly healed, the bastard wore a horrified expression.

“...

What the hell did you do?”

“Well, I used a trump card everyone has.”

I moved my wrists, ankles, and neck, checking my condition.

A body in the absolute best condition, without even the slightest pain.

All of this was thanks to the Rodman family's secret elixir that I'd gone out of my way to obtain this time.[Name: True Ancestor's Rose][Rank: Legendary][Type: Elixir][Description: A legendary elixir said to be creatable only by a True Ancestor. This elixir, created by refining and purifying blood beneath the full moon, can only be made a few times even throughout a True Ancestor's lifetime.

Upon consumption, 【Skill: True Ancestor's Rose】 can be acquired.【True Ancestor's Rose】-The True Ancestor's Rose blooms only after being drenched in blood.

When the user becomes completely soaked in blood, all wounds are perfectly healed.

A skill that could be said to rival an elixir in terms of recovery alone.

Moreover, since it left behind a skill rather than being a one-time consumable, it was a useful S-rank skill.

I'd consumed it beforehand in case a bug occurred and he refused to stop even after I dealt damage.

Preparing in advance had really been the right choice.

“Now then, it's round two. Are you ready?”

The bastard was already exhausted after forcing himself through that continuous attack.

Compared to him, I was.[Ancient Berserker's Ring(True)

reacts with blood.][Ancient Berserker's Ring's ability is at maximum.][The user's stats increase explosively.][Bloodline Ability: Calione is currently activated at maximum.]

Because of the repeated wounds, attacks, and combat, most of my passive skills were currently active.

“You fucking bastard...”

Saying that, the bastard disappeared as though sinking into the floor.

He had decided there was no chance of winning and chosen to flee.

But.

“...

You won't be able to run.”[Engraving

-Wolf (Hunter of the Night): He is a wolf who hunts enemies beneath the moonlight. He charges even at enemies larger than himself without yielding and is a hunter who leads countless packs.]

A pain from the Engraving I hadn't felt in a long time.

At the same time.[「Engraving Skill: Howling」 has been created.]

“Howling.”─────!!

The red aura spreading from my body took the shape of wolves, and dozens of them surrounded me.

“Chase him.”

Dozens of wolves left the cabin and began racing through the forest in search of their prey.

From now on, all I had to do was sit still and wait for the wolves to drag back their quarry.

I mixed some coffee I happened to see in front of me with hot water, sat down in a chair, and decided to spend the time leisurely.

A night with the moon this bright.

Playing tag with a pack of wolves in the forest?

While your stamina is completely drained?

“Even Covert Shadow's grandfather couldn't escape this.”

Sounds from the forest began drifting in through the gaping hole in the cabin.

The chirping of nameless insects.

The night wind brushing through the weeds.

The sound of moonlight softly settling on the leaves.

And.──Woof! ──Woof!

The sound of hunters who had found their prey.

“Damn, this is romantic as hell.”

For a night where I'd nearly died, it was absurdly fucking cool.