Isn’t it (4)
“No, those slow butts don’t really affect me.”
A frivolous male voice echoed through my head. It was an odd voice, but the power it possessed was real.
They had cornered me. With my back against the wall, I only saw one possible route of escape. Like in the movies, I ran straight through the wall.
“That must be embarrassing for them. These elite soldiers can’t even catch a small-time thief like me.
“Now that I think about it, I am quite quick…haha.”
I ran at a tremendous speed, as if shot out by a gun. The mana made my body light as a feather. I had to move quickly before the monsters could catch up to me and hit me with their fireballs.
“Hey!”
The old woman’s shout rang in my ears. I didn’t stop. I put on quite a show. I did pirouettes, summersaults; everything I could to avoid their projectiles without losing too much speed. I had thought he was bluffing, but it turns out his stories had been real. A smile appeared on my lips. This had been the ability of a guy I had met in the Awakened Prison. When they arrested him, they had broken his leg. As a result, he could no longer use it like he used to, so he lived as an honest man after being released…Before all that, he was a famous thief.
“If I hadn’t hurt my leg, I would have continued living as a thief.”
Every time I hit the ground, my speed increased more and more. Whether it was on foot or in a vehicle, nothing would be able to catch up to me. He had told me he was faster than any cars, even if running naked on the highway.
My reinforced leg and back muscles would be able to withstand any stress. My entire body was now optimized to run as quickly as possible. No matter how great Lee Song-yeon was, no wizard could keep up with me right now.
BOOM!
“…”
Something exploded right next to me. When I turned my head, I saw a giant hole in the ground, as if a bomb had impacted there. Seeing the hole made me swallow. Even for someone with fire immunity, this was scary.
[Let’s continue running, please. I don’t want to die yet.]
I picked up speed again.
Far behind me, I could hear the angry voice of Lee Seong-yeon.
…Sorry, old lady.
* * *
“Why did the crack have to appear in such a remote place…Just getting here was a nightmare,” the man complained. Others around him laughed at his comment. The soldiers were mostly wearing big armors and wide robes. While their outfits were different, everyone had a red emblem on their chest.
Team 1 clear.
Team 2 clear.
Team 3 clear.
“What do you mean, clear? The Godmother did most of the work. Don’t pretend you guys did anything.”
Once again, the men burst out laughing. It was a pleasant atmosphere. He was too relaxed for someone storming a rift.
“It’s been a while, but I feel very relaxed.”
It was the confidence that came with ability and experience. They had been active since the first generation, and remained on top of their game. All of them were famous hunters. In addition to the three guilds, some competent soldiers had received scout proposals from various guilds.
“It looks like the Godmother is throwing quite a party in there. Look at how scared those beasts are! We can’t let her have all the fun, come on guys!”
“Hell yeah!”
All the competent hunters had gathered in a group. They were following Lee Seong-Yeon, who they called the Godmother. Their metal armors made more sound than usual armor would. The clattering was quite loud and intended to scare the monsters to make them hesitant to attack.
“If it’s hot, it’s hot. When you run out of mana, you’ll burn instantly. Hahaha!”
Fuwook!
The hot sword sliced right through the Lizardman’s neck and cracked the skulls of three Cerberus approaching from behind. He was more skilled than normal veteran hunters, the ones who saw him fight, admired him.
“Oh come one, you’re getting blood all over me!”
“Haha, look at this madman! Who says that the monsters in the cracks don’t bleed like normal monsters!”
Calmly, they did their work. The sharp eyes of skilled hunters missed no monster that tried to slip through the cracks. They sliced through the monsters slowly and methodically. Where they walked, they left behind only the lifeless husks of their enemies.
* * *
“Wooah ah…”
Once I managed to catch my breath, I hit my trembling leg with my fist. Ten minutes might seem like a short time, but he was completely exhausted once the link was broken. A few fireballs painfully reminded me of the messages that the red marbles’ durability was diminishing rapidly.
‘Damn. I feel like…’
“You are so dead.”
Fortunately, Lee Seong-Yeon, whose power had once been estimated to be comparable to Cheol-hyeol, was gasping for breath. Her old body couldn’t handle the stress as easily anymore. Her power hadn’t decreased at all, but her stamina and precision have been gradually declining.
‘Still… I’m almost there.’
I just had to take her there, and it would be all over. Come on, hold on a little longer. I got up, stumbling away from the battlefield.
“Ke-e-e… Okay.”
Clap!
I kept moving, breaking the necks of lesser monsters to replenish life and mana. I was lucky I had the necklace. I felt my energy slowly returning.
[You are very good at avoiding her. I give you high marks.]
The traveler made some ridiculous sounds that didn’t match his appearance. I pushed onwards, ignoring his words.
And…
I had finally arrived at my destination.
“Who……!”
In an hour, I had run the distance it had taken my party hours to walk. Avoiding the monsters, I finally entered the secret place.
“Wooey…”
A monster standing guard, and a gatekeeper who had nothing to oppose me, died where they stood.
She surprised me more and more. She looked way too old for active duty. She looked like a kindly grandmother who stayed at home all day, taking care of her grandchildren. Sweat was flowing down my face. Even though I used mana, my breathing did not calm down, and the heat was getting so unbearable that I was half expecting my sweat to evaporate.
“… Flame Empress.”
It smelled disgusting in here. Slowly, I turned around. She was staring at me with red flames all over her body.
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