“Maybe?”
“Resisting the Knight’s Oath was because of my awakened attribute... That parchnt, it’s actually an item that exerts ntal influence.”
I stamred through the explanation. I thought it was strange myself, but actually, this was a case where I hadn’t awakened the usual active skill. Others said that from the mont of their awakening, they suddenly recalled it like a mory sleeping deep in their muscles.
Even after becoming a psychic, I couldn’t even produce a spark, nor push objects far away. Therefore, most of the skills I’ve shown recently were learned later through experience.
“....”
That should be enough as an introduction to get to the main point.
“Cough, keugh...”
That should be enough as an introduction to get to the main point.
“Cough, keugh…”
As you know from hitting yourself, I’m pretty sturdy—at least when I’m in decent condition. But for soone supposedly just an S-rank, the hardness of my outer body rivals that of a full-on defense-type Hunter. On top of that, even without any special asures, this body is unusually resistant to mind control. So—the words I forced out, straining the muscles in my neck, ended with a sentence like this.
“…Maybe my awakened ability is, broadly speaking… a power that protects from external forces.”
Most of the words that followed were left unsaid, but that guy, being unusually interested in magic, would understand well enough. After all, the so-called “skills” on Earth were nothing more than phenona observed and recorded by people one by one. How accurate could they possibly be, really?
‘There must still be plenty of magic that hasn’t been properly registered yet, including things even the user keeps secret. And on top of that, the recorded information about magic can’t be considered perfect either.’
I continued to insist consistently afterward. Honestly, I didn’t know the details, but I just knew that my body had automatically nullified external threats since long ago. And that defensive range wasn’t limited to just physical force. Since there was no prior registered information, Earth’s psychics could only infer their innate talents through their own experiences.
“I don’t know either. I really don’t know why I have this kind of ability… I just awakened after getting bitten by a dog… and this is just how my body turned out…”
...ere was no prior registered information, Earth's psychics could only infer their innate talents through their own experiences.
“I don't know either. I really don't know why I have this kind of ability... I just awakened after getting bitten by a dog... and this is just how my body turned out...”
“Awakened... from a dog bite accident?”
I didn't forget to mix in a real incident to make the lie as believable as possible. I explained in detail why I had immunity to the Knight's Oath. Then Kang Changho remained silent for a long ti with his arms crossed.
‘Is he thinking it over?’
After a few seconds had passed, it seed like Kang Chang-ho finished thinking and shifted his posture. He placed his hand on the erector spinae muscle near his lower back and said to ,
“Alright, then. Let ask you this.”
“That sounds plausible.”
“....!”
The PIXY notation is simple only because it looks like a ga chanic. But as soone said, the skill itself is actually a pretty complex concept. An awakening ability that purely preserves the ntal and physical integrity of the ritual owner. It's vague, but it's definitely possible sothing like that exists.
Kang Changho seed to have reached his own conclusion, nodding with a fairly positive expression. He appeared to understand a good portion of my argunt.
'Oh!'
However, perhaps because too many puzzling parts still remained, he didn't seem ready to believe everything just yet...
“But you know.”
The questions soon followed.
“Now this is what’s bothering . With such a great ability, Mr. Kim... why did you go out of your way to pretend to be an F-rank?”
Of course, answering wasn't difficult. I had no idea what kind of logic brought that question back around again, but I'd already given an answer to that doubt long ago.
…Back then. I told you I’d been seriously injured and couldn’t use my strength for a while… didn’t I explain that to you?
Hmm.
Even if I was born with a strong defensive ability… when my mana’s completely drained, t, that ability doesn’t work.
So?
…Then what’s left… my rare ability is just resistance to ntal effects. A, and, well. There’s no real benefit to revealing sothing like that to the world…
Normally, there isn’t.
Co on, it’s not like I’m the only awakened one hiding their abilities in this world.
The blue nails embedded in my upper body disrupt the magical energy exchange needed for a sorcerer’s breathing. But I deliberately didn’t block that interference to hide the fact that I’m unaffected by magical tools. Because of this, the strange, almost eerie vibrations that resulted beca a kind of tool to add urgency to my plea. With a cracked voice, as if I were a patient with a parched throat, I continued to insist.
The blue nails embedded in my upper body disrupt the magical energy exchange needed for a sorcerer's breathing. But I deliberately didn't block that interference to hide the fact that I'm unaffected by magical tools. Because of this, the strange, almost eerie vibrations that resulted beca a kind of tool to add urgency to my plea. With a cracked voice, as if I were a patient with a parched throat, I continued to insist.
“I really am nothing at all……”
When soone explains themselves this desperately, wouldn't anyone with a shred of conscience at least pretend to listen?
“The things Lee Hwayoung said... it's just that there were so complicated family matters involved. I can explain everything....There were circumstances that made it inevitable...”
But at that mont, Kang Changho, who had been quietly listening to my claims, turned his back. Then he started taking long strides toward one side of the room.
‘What is this?’
The lighting in this underground room was generally dim, and the space far from the single ceiling light made it difficult to discern shapes. However, as the conversation went on, the mammal's eyes seed to have adjusted to the darkness. Objects that had been unnoticeable until a mont ago beca quite clearly visible.
It was sothing you might only see at a slaughterhouse in Hoengseong. The S-rank hunter headed toward the workbench where a series of objects were hanging in a row. And the true nature of the items occupying that workbench was
to discern shapes. However, as the conversation went on, the mammal's eyes seed to have adjusted to the darkness. Objects that had been unnoticeable until a mont ago beca quite clearly visible.
It was sothing you might only see at a slaughterhouse in Hoengseong. The S-rank hunter headed toward the workbench where a series of objects were hanging in a row. And the true nature of the items occupying that workbench was —
“....!”
Several mana potions. Screaming stakes. Surprise boxes. And a hydra.
These are equipnt I've seen a lot before. More precisely, these artifacts must have co from a single item box. If there was only one, I might not have known, but with the exact sa set here, there's no way he couldn't know these belong to .
And that wasn't the only bad news. From the mont I opened my eyes, I had sensed through my skin that the necklace I always wore was gone. Now, the whereabouts of the missing [Pyromancer Necklace] have finally beco clear. Looking closely, there were fragnts of a gem—presumably the pendant of that necklace—lying near the right edge of the workbench.
‘Wait, fragnts?’
Fragnts of a solid made of gold and a very small amount of red.
‘Keugh...’
Fragnts of a solid made of gold and a very small amount of red.
'Keugh...'
To put it bluntly, Kang Changho completely destroyed one of the items I possessed. Specifically, the [Pyromancer Necklace] beca the unfortunate victim.
Whether this act of property damage was motivated solely by the feelings of an Earthling—all the other items, which I had never used to show off or intimidate anyone, remained perfectly intact without a single scratch.
'That damn Earthling bastard... He still holds a grudge over the ti I flaunted my power with that necklace back in the day.'
Even though my inco had increased thanks to tutoring and other side jobs, the price of the Pyromancer Necklace still felt high to . I swallowed my tears as I looked at the remnants worth about 50 million won.
But Kang Changho didn't care about how the victim felt; he focused solely on his own goal.
Tak, tak.
He walked steadily to the table, picked up a magical tool placed exactly on the opposite side from the shattered necklace.
'Hmm.'
In fact, my belongings weren't the only things on that workbench. Besides the confiscated items from the kidnapped victim, there were also several tools presud to belong to the owner of the room.
And among them, without a doubt, the one expected to boast the highest value was precisely that.
'[Justitia].'
Kang Changho returned holding a silver scale in his hand. I began to feel a little uneasy.
I'm not worried about the two effects of Justitia—naly, the ability to discern truth and the dium-level weakening spell, [Judgnt], that targets those who lie.
'Co to think of it, was it around 10 o'clock now?'
The problem lies in the process of that tool returning to its rightful owner.
Justitia.
I once considered using that item to lure Kang Changho. So, I proposed transferring the scale to so Earthling. But Seonwoo Yeon didn't just refuse because it was soone else's property—surprisingly, she said that since Kang Changho's hair might be used as bait, it would be better for us to keep the scale firmly in our possession instead.
'The association staff mber was right. After all, forcing the opponent into a one-room apartnt right away was a plan with low chances of success anyway...'
In the end, Seonwoo Yeon left the one-room apartnt carrying the Scale of Truth as it was. If the magical tool had already returned to Kang Changho, that ant he had reestablished contact with the association staff.
“Kim Giryeo.”
Naturally, I was worried about the safety of that B-rank awakener. So, I rolled my eyes and pondered for a mont, when Kang Changho, who had brought Justitia, placed his hand on the scale's head and said.
“-And including all the consciousness controlling that body—are you really completely unrelated to Dungeon Shock?”
–And including all the consciousness controlling that body—are you really completely unrelated to Dungeon Shock?
It was a question that sounded like he was trying to identify the gate’s creator. I nodded slightly and answered.
“Yes.”
Crack!
Strictly speaking, Gisimche had fled to this distant galaxy after being pursued by an archmage. Only afterward did Earth beco entangled in the gate phenonon—which ant that, depending on how it was phrased, the statent could easily be misjudged as a lie. Fortunately, however, the counterasure against Justitia had already been discovered earlier that day, so the situation was safe.
The right pan tilts downward.
‘Considering that he entrusted that magic tool to Seonwoo Yeon, does he still trust Justitia’s function, unlike what he said on the beach?’
Seeing that, I thought that since he even resorted to the power of the magical tool, maybe now he’d finally start accepting my claim.
‘Huh?’
Seeing that, I thought that since he even resorted to the power of the magical tool, maybe now he’d finally start accepting my claim.
'Huh?'
That was the mont. The owner of the room tilted his head and looked intently at Justitia’s results.
"Hmm, the right side. So, the right..."
And after a long period of careful observation, he showed this behavior.
"Well, in that ti, I suppose you could have done sothing to the scale."
Tuk.
A huge Korean hand, fitting for soone around 192 cm tall, grasped sothing tightly. What he gripped was a cylindrical body part, about 36 cm in circumference. In simple terms, it ant that I was currently being strangled by my kidnapper.
'The mammal caught the alien!'
Oh my!
The barrier of the [Sacred Tree Seedling] was gradually being worn down in real ti. Kang Changho showed no rcy, tightening his grip on the alien's neck more and more as if he intended to crush it. Over ti, his strength steadily increased to about 20%, then 44%, and finally 68%. This is bad.
'Oh my.'
One minute later. In less than 70 seconds, the limit of the protective effect suddenly lood very close. The barely holding magical barrier rapidly weakened under the continuous pressure. As a result, soone's body began to give way, matching their original F-rank level. Soon after, the Earthling's characteristic keratin fingernails imdiately dug into the sternocleidomastoid muscle near the neck.
Crack.
If the sa force kept being applied like this, that area would have been smashed to the bone without any doubt. However, right after the body's defense sharply dropped, Kang Changho's action was an unexpected scene.
'What now?'
That mammal only maintained enough strength to just obstruct soone else's blood flow.
Now that I look, the area the opponent is pressing is roughly near the carotid artery. And the reason Kang Changho targeted the carotid artery of all places is...
'I see.'
Anyone with knowledge of modern magic could easily understand. Kang Changho, Korea's third S-rank hunter, had just shattered the barrier of the Sacred Tree and then repeatedly grabbed and released the prey's front neck—an action that might have seed pointless at first glance.
'So it was a fact-check.'
Crack.
When pressure was strongly applied from the outside, an unpleasant sound resonated through the closed vocal cords. What could all these actions possibly an?
'This bastard knows way too well that mages are heavily affected by their breathing!'
Restricting soone’s breathing just enough to hinder it without causing death or unconsciousness—this is actually a primitive test used to identify who perford a particular spell. When a mage’s airflow is choked, most of their connected magic becos unstable at the sa ti.
'That...'
Kang Changho clenched the alien’s neck muscles once more. Amid the irregular repetition, he calmly fixed his gaze on Justitia, which he held in his other hand. He was checking to see whether the judgnt value wavered even slightly.
'Uh... yeah, I really don’t think I should die like this. From a broader perspective, for the sake of this entire planet, I should probably get rid of that mammal first—then maybe rest afterward...'
While the blood vessels of a person beside him were bursting in real ti, all he cared about was that cold scale—watching it like he was checking the markings on a glass tube?
Fortunately, the counterasure I prepared in advance for Justitia wasn’t affected by this kind of verification thod. To be precise, the judgnt was already finalized and transmitted to the scale the mont the statent ca out of my mouth. In any case, there was no chance that my trickery would be exposed—at least not by a primitive Earthling.
However, setting aside such technical success, doesn’t the current behavior of the third kidnapper make you deeply concerned?
ut of my mouth. In any case, there was no chance that my trickery would be exposed—at least not by a primitive Earth ling.
However, setting aside such technical success, doesn't the current behavior of the third kidnapper make you deeply concerned?
'Kang Changho. You definitely bought this test thod from sowhere, right?...You didn't figure it out yourself through field experience, right?'
As ti went on, I beca even more curious about the source of information that the kidnapper was using. At the sa ti, various ethical concerns about Earth's black market also ca to mind.
Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)
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