Chapter 16: S-Class Awakened Criminal, Ma Ak-Soo (2)

Being able to control the flow, or rather, the entire atmosphere of a conversation was an extremely important skill.

"You... Just who are you?" Ma Ak-Soo demanded to know.

The Seodaemun District Criminal Riot Incident may have occurred on the same day that the auction house raid had taken place, but there shouldn't have been anything else connecting those two incidents together.

However, this crazy guy who had suddenly turned on a livestream somehow knew about it.

Ma Ak-Soo scowled. "How did you find out about it?"

"I am Kim Ki-Rok, Guildmaster of the DG Guild," Kim Ki-Rok politely introduced himself. "By the way, the reason I know that the riot and the auction house raid are connected..."

Neither the Shine Guild nor the Golden Lion Guild had been aware of the full story, so they were also quietly waiting for his answer. But Kim Ki-Rok raised his index finger in front of his lips and said, "It's a secret."

"You crazy bastard," Ma Ak-Soo snapped.

Kim Ki-Rok burst into laughter. "

Hahaha!

Thank you for the compliment."

As Kim Ki-Rok politely bowed at the waist, Ma Ak-Soo just snorted and swung his fist toward him.

Booom!

With a burst of air, an invisible explosive bullet was sent flying at Kim Ki-Rok.

He calmly pulled a longsword out of his subspace pocket and swung at the air.

Shiiiiing!

Claaanng!

There was no sound of the bullet being sliced apart or prematurely detonating.

Instead, after a short delay, a huge explosion went off in the air above.

Ma Ak-Soo, as well as the Hunters who had been moving forward to try and protect Kim Ki-Rok, all widened their eyes in shock.

Kim Ki-Rok hadn't sliced apart the explosive or batted it away, he had deflected it into the air.

"Trying to show off your tricks, huh?" Ma Ak-Soo sneered, clicking his tongue dismissively.

"It's not a trick." Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "It was an application of a very difficult mana control technique. To pull it off, I had to control my mana so delicately that it didn't set off an explosion when your mana and mine collided."

He had been telling the plain truth, and Ma Ak-Soo couldn't help but feel more nervous because of it.

Kim Ki-Rok reached into his subspace pocket with his left hand. As he was rummaging through, he frowned at Ma Ak-Soo. "The S-Class Awakened criminal, Ma Ak-Soo, is only Level 73."

Ma Ak-Soo gave a surprised flinched.

"However, despite his lower level, he is still classified as an S-Class Awakened criminal," Kim Ki-Rok continued. "The reason for that is because of the artifacts he is wearing. The bracelet he wears on his right wrist and the ring worn on his left index finger are both A-Class artifacts."

He continued without letting anyone get in a word. "Ah, by the way, thanks to a certain individual who's part of the circle of Awakened criminals and who happened to awaken the Tattooist Skill, Ma Ak-Soo also has tattoos on his body that have been imbued with a strengthening effect. But strictly speaking, they can't really be considered artifacts, so let's classify them separately. In any case, Ma Ak-Soo is only Level 73 and has stats equal to that of a Level 85, thanks to his artifacts and the strengthening effects of his tattoos."

As he was saying all of this, Kim Ki-Rok pulled out a piece of parchment from his subspace pocket.

Ma Ak-Soo couldn't afford to dismiss the threat of that parchment. Unnerved by how much information there was on him, Ma Ak-Soo couldn't ignore his instincts and knew that he had to somehow stop Kim Ki-Rok from using that item, so he readied himself to charge forward.

However, Lee Yeon-Hwa and Baek Min-Hyuk stepped forward to block his charge. Ma Ak-Soo could only click his tongue in disappointment and step back once more.

"Ma Ak-Soo has three skills in total," Kim Ki-Rok loudly declared. "One he obtained through his Awakening, another was a reward from a Gate, and the last comes from an artifact. Well, it's up to you to decide whether it's good or bad luck, but both his second and third skills have something to do with enhancing his body. However, his awakened skill is something completely different."

"This motherfucker!" Ma Ak-Soo roared as he tried to charge forward once more.

Boooom!

However, once again, Lee Yeon-Hwa and Baek Min-Hyuk stepped forward to block his charge.

Kim Ki-Rok ignored the disturbance and continued speaking, "Through the Mana Invisibility Skill that Ma Ak-Soo gained, he is able to mask his mana. It is an ability that specializes in assassination, which is why he was able to become an S-Class Awakened criminal despite his low level. However..."

Riiiiiip!

Kim Ki-Rok suddenly tore the parchment into two pieces, and its mana began spreading out into all directions.

The Awakened criminals who had been drawing on their mana in preparation for the coming fight stopped what they were doing as they felt the mana spreading out all around them. Even the Hunters halted as their eyes were drawn to the phenomenon taking place in front of them.

"Is that... pink?" someone muttered in disbelief.

They were bewildered by the fact that the vibrant blue of their mana had suddenly turned a shade of pink.

"The parchment that I tore just now was a spell scroll," Kim Ki-Rok explained. "The Mana Color Change Spell, a spell normally only used for festivities, corresponds to the 1st Circle of spells."

His explanation was clearly heard by everyone thanks to the microphone he was still holding.

Kim Ki-Rok smiled, "Skills are different from spells. Because of that, someone who hasn't learned any magic is unable to prevent it when a spell naturally harmonizes with their ability."

Everyone's gazes were instinctively drawn toward Ma Ak-Soo.

The muscular man with a single ear, along with the surrounding area, had all been dyed a bright, fluttering pink.

"Ah, by the way, I'm the one who chose this color," Kim Ki-Rok added. "Isn't it pretty?"

"You son of a bitch!" Ma Ak-Soo roared.

Not only had Kim Ki-Rok revealed his level, abilities, and criminal history, he had even gone on to deliver such a grievous insult.

Ma Ak-Soo glared at Kim Ki-Rok and tried to charge at him once more. But once again, Lee Yeon-Hwa and Baek Min-Hyuk blocked his way forward.

Booooom!

"Now that I can see through his tricks so clearly, it feels like something is missing," Baek Min-Hyuk muttered and tilted his head after easily blowing away Ma Ak-Soo with his fist.

He could feel his motivation slackening when a pink whip of mana shot through the air above his shoulders, barely missing.

A fight was still a fight. As Baek Min-Hyuk grabbed hold of the whip and crushed it with his grip, Lee Yeon-Hwa arrived some point behind Ma Ak-Soo and swung her longsword at the thug.

"Petrification," Ma Ak-Soo quickly called out.

Booooom!

Ma Ak-Soo had used a skill to harden part of his body, so Lee Yeon-Hwa's longsword clashed with a patch of skin that had transformed into rock.

As Ma Ak-Soo was blown into the air by the force of her strike, Lee Yeon-Hwa let out a snort. "But still, thanks to that, it will be easy to capture him. No... we should just kill him."

Because of the way Kim Ki-Rok had lightened the atmosphere, the two Guildmasters had temporarily lost their killing intent. However, Lee Yeon-Hwa had no intention of allowing the person who had tried to use her son as a test subject live.

Motivated by the sight of Lee Yeon-Hwa and her every movement that was filled with murderous intent, Ma Ak-Soo quickly picked himself up from where he had fallen and launched another pink whip.

Shhhhshhhhshhhhshhhuk!

The whip flew through the air like a snake.

It would have been quite a challenge to avoid the whip if it had been invisible, but since they were able to track the vivid pink with their eyes, they had no problems dealing with such an attack.

The whip was swiftly cut into pieces by Lee Yeon-Hwa's longsword.

***

The reason why Ma Ak-Soo had been able to become an S-Class Awakened criminal and escape capture until now was all thanks to his A-Class Invisibility Skill.

However, this skill was now sealed.

Kim Ki-Rok clicked his tongue, "

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

That is why he should have started studying magic as soon as it spread to our world."

Abilities were able to interact with magic.

Magic was also able to interact with abilities.

In that case, there was only one option.

While getting accustomed to using magic, Hunters must find a way to prevent magic from influencing their abilities.

However, Ma Ak-Soo hadn't paid any attention to the threat of magic.

Kim Ki-Rok didn't know if it was because he was stupid or if he was confident in his abilities, but thanks to that, they had been easily able to subdue Ma Ak-Soo.

"Now that that's over..." Kim Ki-Rok quietly said to himself.

Ma Ak-Soo had only been able to become an S-Class Awakened criminal thanks to his highly versatile skill.

With that skill sealed, it was impossible for Ma Ak-Soo, who was only Level 73, to survive the combined attacks of numerous S-Class and A-Class Hunters.

It was also impossible for him to try and escape.

Swiiiish!

The sound of something piercing through the wind reached his ears, as Kim Ki-Rok sensed a projectile of mana mixed with murderous intent shooting toward him.

Without any trace of panic on his face, Kim Ki-Rok avoided the arrow by taking a single step to the side.

A fierce battle had broken out all around him.

Ma Ak-Soo charging forward with an angry curse had been the signal for the Hunters besieging the location to step forward. It was at this moment that the Greater Elemental Ine also sprang into action.

Throughout the entire exchange, Kim Ki-Rok had yet to take a single step away from where he originally stood. He was simply observing his surroundings as if he were a third party far removed from the battle.

Kim Ki-Rok shrugged and said thoughtfully, "If there was someone else who could act as a commander, it might be a different story, but the guy who could have done that is already badly injured and unable to move."

The man who could have supported Ma Ak-Soo by taking command of this situation had attacked Kim Ki-Rok moments before and had received a hole through his stomach in return.

Even well-trained soldiers would find it hard to keep order when their commanders were missing. Therefore, it goes without saying that criminals without any leadership would fare even worse.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The trapped Awakened criminals could only struggle to stay alive.

"Dieeeee!"

One of the criminals rushed at Kim Ki-Rok with a roar.

He fiercely swung his axe down onto Kim Ki-Rok, as if intending to split his head apart in a single fell swoop.

Clang!

However, Kim Ki-Rok swung his longsword and deflected the axe.

"Didn't you see what I did earlier? Why would you try something like this?" Kim Ki-Rok asked idly.

The axe missed its target and buried itself in the ground.

The Awakened criminal quickly tried to pull his weapon free, but Kim Ki-Rok was quicker.

Schiiiick!

After slicing open his throat, Kim Ki-Rok strolled through the middle of the battlefield.

If he hadn't cleared Arcane's Tower before this fight, he wouldn't have been able to show such leisure. Even if he had spent every single day since his return to the past focused on leveling up without getting any sleep, he would have still hit his limits beforehand.

Thanks to Arcane's Tower, though, even the fact that he was only at Level 1 wasn't a problem.

[

Kim Ki-Rok

] (Kang Ho)

Level: 1

Strength: 91

Vitality: 87

Magic: 85

Willpower: 85

Skills: Record (E), Time Rabbit's Luggage (S), Mirror (D)

As soon as the livestream had ended, he had used Mirror on A-Class Hunter Kang Ho.

It might have been a different story if he was personally facing Ma Ak-Soo, but it wasn't a challenge for Kim Ki-Rok to deal with the other petty criminals given their numbers.

"I guess I should start slowly leveling up now." Kim Ki-Rok considered.

Dodging the attack of another criminal who came charging at him, Kim Ki-Rok switched the dagger to a reverse grip and slit his throat.

Schiiiik!

"Well, there's still one more thing left to deal with, so I need to get to Level 19 exactly," Kim Ki-Rok decided with a nod.

***

In the case of high-class guilds, with the permission of the Association and the government, they were often given the right to manage a certain area. This right included the authority to manage any Gates that created within their area. And in cases where ordinary Hunters were restricted from entering due to high level requirements, they held the right to challenge the Gates.

To put it simply, this meant that the high-class guild received the "right to monopolize" any byproducts obtained through Gate activities in their area.

"The Shine Guild did what?!" shouted Ji Seok-Hyun, Guildmaster of the Phoenix Guild, which was an A-Class Guild. He had come into work at three in the morning after receiving an absurd report from a guild member who had been working overtime.

Scurrying to keep up with their Guildmaster, a guild member replied, "We've just checked, and it seems that apart from a skeleton crew, they had all left Seoul for the purpose of Gate activities."

"And why didn't you confirm that sooner?" Ji Seok-Hyun demanded.

"They secretly left Seoul in small groups over the course of the past five days," the guild member explained.

There were over thirty guilds located in Seoul and three of those were A-Class guilds.

Because of the special nature of Seoul, each of the A-Class guilds secretly worked to keep the others in check.

If one of the three A-Class guilds were to grow to S-Class, the other two guilds might be forced to vacate their bases.

Under such circumstances, it was nerve-wracking to hear the news that their rival guild, the Shine Guild, had gone on an expedition and seemed to have allied with the Golden Lion Guild.

"In that case, what do we know about the Golden Lion Guild?" Ji Seok-Hyun asked as he pushed open a door and entered the conference room.

Another guild member who had been working on something on their laptop immediately responded, "It's said that they were traveling to Gongju City in South Chungcheong Province to destroy a B-Class Gate that appeared there."

"What did you say?" Ji Seok-Hyun frowned.

A guild based in Daegu had traveled there to eliminate a Gate on behalf of the guild responsible for managing that same region?

That was far from normal.

"Was there some kind of deal?" Ji Seok-Hyun speculated.

"Yes." A guild member nodded. "According to one of our guild members who is acquainted with a Hunter from the Wings of the Wind, an A-Class Guild based in South Chungcheong Province, it would have taken numerous coincidences to make their cooperation possible."

The strangest thing was that, just when the Golden Lion Guild happened to have arrived in Gongju City to destroy a Gate, the Shine Guild had also arrived in the city to subdue a group of Awakened criminals.

So there has to be some kind of connection between them?

Ji Seok-Hyun asked the guild member who was busy gathering information on their laptop, "Was there another guild involved apart from the Shine Guild and the Golden Lion Guild?"

And as expected, the guild member soon replied, "Also involved were the Gongju Branch of the Hunters Association, and the DG Guild."

But the problem was...

"D...G?" Ji Seok-Hyun frowned.

Just who were they?