Chapter 26
The abandoned school Seo Dong-woo mentioned was located in the mountains on the outskirts of Incheon.
Arriving at the destination, I lightly hopped over the school wall and went inside.
Seo Dong-woo had said he was waiting inside the gymnasium.
I spotted a building that looked like the gymnasium and approached it.
It seemed this crazy bastard Seo Dong-woo really wanted to meet up just to have a chat with me.
I couldn't rule out the possibility of his pulling some kind of trick, so I raised my guard to the max. At times like these, the Sixth Sense skill was reassuring.
But even before going in, I could feel that it was noisy inside.
“What is it?”
Is there someone else besides Seo Dong-woo? A comrade?
...Or rather, it sounds like fighting.
As I cautiously entered the gymnasium, an unexpected sight unfolded before me.
There were two people inside.
A man was holding a woman by the neck and lifting her into the air.
The man must be Seo Dong-woo... but who is the woman?
Without understanding the situation, I called out his name.
“Seo Dong-woo.”
Seo Dong-woo looked back at me, smiled brightly, and threw the woman aside.
“Oh, you're here! Person123!”
The woman couldn't control her body properly, making it look like she had suffered significant injuries.
I asked tentatively.
“Who is that?”
“Ah, this\~? It's nothing. Just a Climber who came to kill me, so I was playing with her a bit while waiting for you.”
Who is she really?
Is she someone who holds a grudge against Seo Dong-woo like me?
“Don't worry about it. Let's just have a fun chat now. First, let me get rid of this bitch...”
“Chat my ass.”
“Huh?”
“I came to kill you too, you know?”
Anyway, whatever.
There didn't seem to be any traps, so I just had to do what I came to do.
Seo Dong-woo had said he was in his level 20s.
That would mean he was a lower level than me, but of course, there was a possibility he was lying.
However, judging by my Sixth Sense right at this moment.
I didn't particularly feel any sense of danger from Seo Dong-woo. It was as if it were telling me he was beneath me.
“Did you seriously trick me? And here I trusted you.”
Seo Dong-woo fiercely distorted his expression and glared at me.
I was so dumbfounded that I just had to say something.
“Why would anyone want to talk to a psychopath like you, you retard? Are you a bit slow in the head?”
*At that moment, Seo Dong-woo rushed toward me.*
He was quite fast. I twisted my body and dodged the Body Slam.
Seo Dong-woo also came to a sudden stop, then turned around and immediately swung his fist.
After blocking and dodging each other a few times, I kicked Seo Dong-woo in the stomach.
Seo Dong-woo, who had been sent flying, jumped right back up.
“What the... you're stronger than me thought?”
“...”
“They say Nightmare gives 10 levels per floor... Then shouldn't you be level 20? Guess it was just a rumor.”
I also got a rough estimate.
“level 28?”
He wasn't stronger than I, but it wasn't a huge difference either.
Seo Dong-woo let out a smirk.
“Okay, I admit it. I'll go at you properly from now on.”
Then, after suddenly shouting a line that sounded like a cliché defeat flag, his skin changed strangely.
It was because green patterns resembling a turtle shell were drawn all over his body.
“Skin Hardening?”
A defensive skill of the Rare grade.
I remembered seeing it on the Babel Site's skill tier list.
It was a defensive skill activated by willpower cost per second, so I thought it would be nice if I had it too.
Seo Dong-woo disgustingly licked his lips and lunged at me again.
We exchanged punches again, and I struck him in the face.
Perhaps because of Skin Hardening, the sense of impact was quite lacking.
Seo Dong-woo paused for a moment, then threw a kick at me.
I blocked it with my arm and stepped back a few paces.
Seo Dong-woo followed up and excitedly launched his attacks.
“Hiyah! A Nightmare Challenger is nothing special!”
I felt bad for him while he was having fun, but I was also just starting to warm up.
I deflected Seo Dong-woo's fist flying toward my face and struck his solar plexus strongly.
I felt a heavier sense of impact than before.
“Keup...!”
Seo Dong-woo's expression distorted.
I grabbed Seo Dong-woo's arm as he threw another punch and threw him straight into the wall above the auditorium.
CRASH!
Seo Dong-woo, who was deeply embedded in the wooden wall, urgently raised his body.
I used the Leap skill to jump at him and smashed my knee into his abdomen.
“Keoheuk!”
Seo Dong-woo let out a bizarre scream and swung his fists wildly.
I dodged and threw a one-two punch to both sides of his ribs.
I used the Swing skill to kick the head of the staggering Seo Dong-woo as he gasped for air. He was sent flying down to the auditorium floor.
With the Exaltation skill activated, the gap in physical ability between Seo Dong-woo and me continued to widen significantly.
There was no particular need to use Teleportation or Flame Strike.
He was a guy who only amounted to this much.
After Exaltation was activated to its maximum, Seo Dong-woo couldn't even put up a decent resistance.
Whether he had the Skin Hardening skill or not, all my strikes were effective hits.
CRASH!
Seo Dong-woo, who once again rolled on the floor, an unsightly mess, staggered to his feet.
I slowly walked toward him.
*At that moment, my Sixth Sense suddenly sounded a warning.*
Seo Dong-woo was pulling something out of his back pocket.
“Diiie...!”
I used Time Stop.
It was a dagger, but the blade part was made of ice like an icicle.
“Is it an item?”
Seeing as it felt dangerous, I should avoid it.
After finishing Mental Concentration, I used Teleportation to move behind Seo Dong-woo.
Whoosh!
As Seo Dong-woo thrust the ice dagger, cold air spewed out and froze the spot where I had been standing just a moment ago. I kicked Seo Dong-woo from behind as he stood there stupidly because I had suddenly disappeared.
I kicked Seo Dong-woo from behind as he stood there stupidly because I had suddenly disappeared.
“Kihak!”
I picked up the dagger he dropped.
The dagger's ice blade had disappeared, leaving only the hilt.
\[Item: Sherburn's Ice Shard Dagger\]
A dagger crafted and imbued with the full chill of the polar region Sherburn. You can consume the dagger's blade to erupt cold air. The consumed blade will fully regenerate after 24 hours.
So it's this kind of item?
I put the hilt in my pocket.
This is confiscated. It's mine now.
“You have a lot of good stuff. Take out more if you have any.”
Of course, it could be dangerous if he really had more, so I lay low for a moment until the Teleportation cooldown refreshed.
But now it seemed Seo Dong-woo's bottom line had run out.
Thud! Thud! CRASH!
I pummeled Seo Dong-woo, who had been reduced to a punching bag, all over his body, and finally smashed his chest.
With the feeling of his ribs shattering en masse, Seo Dong-woo flew into the wall and crashed.
“Kkeueok... Kkeuk...”
Seo Dong-woo squirmed, indicating that he was barely clinging to life.
I walked over and stood in front of him.
Seo Dong-woo was smiling even with a bloody, pulped face and all his teeth gone.
“Fuck... You're so fucking strong... Why are you so strong, you... You only cleared the 2nd floor...”
“You're still laughing?”
“Heuheu, then should I bawl my eyes out instead...?”
Seo Dong-woo panted and raised his head.
“Kill me, kill me... I don't give a shit anyway. It's just a shame I couldn't enjoy myself more before going, kikik...”
Anyway, he's all talk.
I glared at him and said.
“You're around the 7th or 8th floor, right? Why didn't you climb to the higher floors?”
“...What?”
“No, you're a weakling. With only this much, what's all that bullshit about Climbers needing to rule the world... Why did you spout such nonsense? If you were going to cause a ruckus, you should have raised your level a bit more.”
I sneered.
“You were actually scared, weren't you? You were so scared of a conquest failure after climbing just that much that you couldn't even climb the tower anymore. Right? You were pretending to be crazy, but you were actually a very rational guy.”
Seo Dong-woo threw a fit, as if I had struck a nerve.
“Don't spout bullshit, you son of a bitch...!”
“Yeah, whatever you say, you pathetic coward.”
Now I feel a bit relieved.
I was done taking my anger out on him.
Now the problem was what to do with this guy.
I had only thought about beating him up, not whether to kill him or let him live.
It wasn't like I had any particular aversion to killing trash like this.
Well, that aside, how should I handle the aftermath?
“...I should probably report it first, right?”
Since I had come this far, it couldn't be helped, even if my identity was completely exposed.
That other person over there saw everything too, and it was probably impossible for me to neatly clean up this situation and suddenly disappear.
I looked back at the woman.
The woman, who had gotten up at some point, was staggering toward me.
“...?”
The woman approached Seo Dong-woo and raised her fist.
And then, with a fist shimmering with blue light, she smashed straight down onto Seo Dong-woo's head.
SPLAT!
Seo Dong-woo's head just went pop.
His head exploded, and he died.
I stared at the woman, dumbfounded.
The woman, who was breathing heavily, suddenly shed tears.
What is this? Who is this person?
I stood there awkwardly, staring at the woman displaying such eccentric behavior.
“Haa...”
The woman raised her head, wiped her tears, and turned her gaze to me.
“...If I had given him time, he could have escaped to the tower. I had to kill him before the Combat Judgment wore off.”
Combat Judgment?
I had heard of it. They said Climbers couldn't enter the tower while in combat.
“But who are you?”
I finally asked.
Come to think of it, she was wearing a suit.
An uneasy premonition of “Could it be?” crossed my mind...
The woman swept back her disheveled hair to tidy it and introduced herself.
“I am Section Chief Shin Sujin of the Climber Bureau's Climber Surveillance Department.”
“Ah.”
“Thank you for assisting in the execution of official duties. Thanks to you, we were able to kill the escaped prisoner Seo Dong-woo.”
I felt like I had been caught red-handed.
No wonder she was fighting Seo Dong-woo.
Section Chief Shin Sujin even took out a business card from her inner pocket, handed it to me, and carefully asked.
“By any chance, are you Person123... the First Nightmare Conqueror?”
“...”
“I heard Seo Dong-woo say that earlier.”
There was no point in denying it, so I nodded.
Being affiliated with the Climber Bureau meant she was a public official.
I decided to at least try asking.
“...Could you perhaps keep me a secret? Let's say you handled Seo Dong-woo on your own.”
“Pardon?”
Section Chief Shin Sujin stared at me quietly before nodding.
“I don't know what your circumstances are, but... Understood. I will keep my mouth shut.”
“...Really?”
“You even saved my life, so that much is a given.”
Thank goodness! She was a somewhat flexible person.
*At that moment, Section Chief Shin Sujin clutched her stomach and let out a groan.*
I grabbed her arm and supported her as she staggered.
“Are you okay? Are you badly hurt?”
“...I am fine.”
Section Chief Shin Sujin pushed my arm away, leaned against the wall, and said.
“I will clean up the scene. It will be recorded that I alone killed Seo Dong-woo during combat, so you don't need to worry.”
“...Then should I get going?”
“Yes. Thank you once again.”
I was about to leave but looked back at her again.
“Are you sure you're really okay? Shouldn't you quickly call 119?”
“Yes, I will call them myself. The police might come, so please hurry and go.”
If she says so, then whatever.
I left Section Chief Shin Sujin behind and exited the abandoned school.
But why was she really crying earlier?
She was a bit of a strange person.
---
Left alone, Shin Sujin exhaled and endured the surging pain.
She looked back at the corpse of Seo Dong-woo, who had died with his head blown off.
She felt much more relieved than she had expected.
Even while repeatedly telling herself to forget and move on, it seemed to her it would only truly end when this bastard Seo Dong-woo died.
“That person...”
Shin Sujin thought about the man who had just left.
Person123, the First Nightmare Clearer and the Record Holder.
It was surprising that he, who had been shrouded in mystery, was actually from Korea.
Moreover, he looked younger than she had thought, although she couldn't see his face properly because he was wearing a hood and a mask.
It was also a mystery why he had suddenly appeared at this location.
From the conversation he had with Seo Dong-woo earlier, it seemed he had tricked him and had arranged to meet here with the purpose of executing him.
*Above all, the sight of him toying overwhelmingly with the Level 28 Seo Dong-woo was shocking.*
Hadn't he only cleared two floors?
It was surprising to think there was such a huge gap between the Nightmare and Hard Difficulty, even if he was a Nightmare Challenger.
She had received a great deal of help. If it weren't for him, she would have died at Seo Dong-woo's hands here today. Thanks to him, she was able to avenge her enemy.
...She just felt relieved. It felt like everything was finally over.
Shin Sujin took out her phone.
Missed calls were piled up on the phone with its completely shattered screen. She dialed one of the numbers.
Team Leader! Why are you only answering now! Right now, Seo Dong-woo is...
“I caught him.”
- Pardon?
“I caught Seo Dong-woo, so please come this way. The location is...
After finishing the call, Shin Sujin closed her eyes to finally rest.