Chapter 78

I confirmed that his steel handcuffs had broken ribs and pushed them through to the back. It was obviously fatal. Of course, this situation was just the beginning.

“You bastard!”

The woman aiming her gun at the hostages turned towards me and pulled the trigger. Her reaction was quick but I hit the stone under my big toe first.

Crack!

Her right arm broke as it was struck by the flying stone, causing her shoe to burst open.

Drrruuuukk!

The muzzle of the gun jerked upwards, firing bullets into the air. I immediately rushed forward and snatched away the weapon. Fortunately, it was an old model without user recognition. Then I raised the gun and fired at the terrorists.

Drrrung!

“Kek!”

“Aack!”

They fell with screams. In an instant, I emptied the magazine and ran away.

“Find cover and hide!” After shouting this, I turned to confirm the gigas aiming at me.

Chilling! At that moment, Unsolvable Combat Premonition activated. Without any hesitation, I bent my upper body backwards.

Bang!

Space was torn apart as a bullet the size of a fist grazed where my head had been. The wind pressure alone would’ve swept my head off if it hit, but instead, I felt relieved.

‘Indeed!’

If the shot had been fired at a lower angle, I would’ve inevitably needed to block it. Considering how Giga’s bullets could penetrate composite armor, it would’ve resulted in a catastrophic disaster for civilians caught in its path.

However, the gigas pilot didn’t do it.

‘Of course, they want to avoid killing as much as possible!’

Their leader had performed an act of murder but conversely, this meant that killing was significant for them. For those raised with the basic education of Earth-34, murder was a difficult taboo to overcome.

“Step back!”

“Leave it and hide everyone!”

I stood out amidst the scattered staff members. I needed to draw attention before these terrorists could have any wild ideas.

“You bastard! Where are you going…?!”

Pook!

“Guh?!” The terrorist who blocked my path flew like a gorilla hit by a dump truck.

I might weigh less than 90 kilograms but contained within me was strength beyond that of a giant monster! Moreover, I had adapted to this monstrous power for a long time.

Pang!

Like a missile, I flew and attached myself to the back of the nearest gigas. It was frightening as Combat Premonition activated. Moving swiftly like a squirrel climbing a tree, I reached the chest of the gigas.

Teng!

[Grahk!]

The scream from another gigas’ external speaker echoed out after its shot hit my target’s backplate. Meanwhile, I had already landed on the ground. Once again, Combat Premonition kicked in.

‘Wow, it is brutal every second.’

Boom!

I took a step forward. The gigas staggered from being shot, and I grabbed its right leg. Then…

“What?!”

[What?!]

[What?!]

“This crazy…?!”

Bang! Crash!

I threw the gigas. The gigas hit another one on its back and they both rolled along the ground. For a moment, silence descended over the filming set.

“T-This-this is… he threw the gigas?”

“It weighs more than 10 tons… no, maybe 15 tons?”

Obviously, I wasn’t surprised.

Bang!

I ran forward. Even if it was me, I wouldn’t be fine after taking a shot from a gigas. I couldn’t stop for even a moment.

‘My inner energy still isn’t moving?’

I tried to use my inner energy but it didn’t budge. Immediately giving up, I charged ahead.

Tatatatata!

The terrorists finally regained their senses and started shooting, but Combat Premonition didn’t work at all. In their confusion, they weren’t able to hit me as I moved rapidly.

Tucang!

Bullets were fired amidst explosions. I avoided them and charged forward.

[Instead! How are you avoiding it?!]

Hearing their frightened voices, I grabbed onto the leg of a gigas. My appearance clinging to the 3.5-meter tall gigas was like a child trying to fight against an adult, but this ‘child’ was stronger than the adult.

Kwadeok!

I caught one of its lower arm gauntlets and tore it off. With a rough sound, the gauntlet ripped apart, revealing the connection point. Then I just pulled it out.

Thud!

The gigas lost its right leg and collapsed immediately. It kicked furiously with the remaining leg, but despite the difference in size and weight, there was no way around the strength disparity while we were connected like this.

Crack!

I tore off its right arm as well. With just these two limbs gone, it lost its combat ability. Still, I grabbed the weapon held in its right hand. It was bigger than my height. Without hesitation, I threw it.

Bang!

One of the gigas aiming at me was hit by the gun and fell to the ground.

[This is ridiculous. What…]

[What is this? Is this a dream? Have we been swept up in the flow of Dreamworld?]

[W-We need to wake up…]

[Hey, you idiots, snap out of it!]

I left the stunned gigas standing and quickly dealt with the ones moving swiftly. Along the way, I also took care of other terrorists. It wasn’t difficult.

Puk-Puk-Puk!

“Gek!”

“Kuaack!”

With just one tap on their shoulder as I passed by, they were sent flying and rendered incapable of fighting. Some members of the stunt team and bodyguards were seen grabbing guns from the ground.

‘Good, it is going smoothly! Just like this…’

However, at that moment…

A chill ran down my spine. Combat Premonition had activated. An attack that couldn’t be avoided! Immediately, I curled up my entire body like a ball.

Puhuk!

“Eek!”

I flew dozens of meters away. While flying through the air…I met someone’s eyes. Film director Alan Gray was filming me with a large camera. Despite his face being bloody due to injuries sustained earlier, his eyes shone brightly.

“No way, that guy…”

In disbelief at this situation, I groaned and flew straight up before crashing into the outer wall of the filming set.

Bang!

I fell to the ground, ignoring the distant camera and focusing on the battle.

‘What kind of attack was that? Can power be used in a mana nullification space?’

There was no need to wonder who did it. A gigas further away, one head taller than the others, was running with terrifying momentum towards me.

‘The boss gigas. Its shape is…a green bear.’

It was a type focused on output and close combat. Based on the previous attack, the pilot likely possessed an ability similar to telekinesis.

[You bastard! How dare you harm His Majesty! I will kill you!] It screamed while charging. Huge waves were emanating from around it.

Bang!

“Kuk!”

I avoided the charge but was hit by the shockwave and rolled on the ground. I hastily got up and sprang off again.

Kwakwang!

The green bear’s attack created a huge crater when it struck the earth. Despite having durability beyond humans, this attack would kill me if I took it directly.

Bang!

“Ah please! This is a mana nullification space! Why can you use it?” Once again, I screamed as I was hit by the shockwave and rolled along the ground.

In a fight between a human and gigas with such a weight difference, it was excessively unfair that only the gigas could use spiritual energy. However, my opponent didn’t seem interested in fair play as they lifted the massive gun strapped to their back.

Goo-oooh!

Energy concentrated in the gun, and I felt the spiritual waves emanating from it. It was truly an inevitable strike! In the end, I couldn’t help but lament:

“Ah, I should’ve dealt with it when I had time.” Feeling like a student who procrastinated their homework until the start of school, I spoke, “Login.”

Pop!

The background changed instantly. The vast earth and endless sky entered my eyes, along with the figure of the Ice Queen standing at its center.

“What… How can you recover from such severe injuries so quickly? A human?” Her gaze betrayed her confusion, prompting an involuntary sigh from me.

“Sigh. No matter where, battles seem to follow.”

I looked down at my right hand, holding the Great Power Sword (Rare), which I hadn’t wielded in quite some time. Injecting inner energy into it:

Vwoom!

For a moment—about a two-second delay—I felt something blocking, but then there was a sensation akin to breaking through, accompanied by a burst of sword energy.

Kasim caught me as I fell with Haze on his back.

“Jae-yeon! Are you okay? It looked like your body was pierced by an ice sword!”

“Oh, it’s fine. More importantly, watch this.”

I tightly gripped the Great Power Sword and focused my inner energy. Zenki, which could make anything possible, surged fiercely within me.

“This is what I learned from you.”

With those words, I swung the sword.

Instantaneous Strike (刹 那 診) - First Move: One Sword Force (一劍勢).

Flash!

A light shone brightly. The Ice Queen, who had been about to unleash her cold aura from over thirty meters away, stared at me dumbfoundedly.

”…What…just happened?”

“It wasn’t sudden. A lot has occurred since then.”

“Incomprehensible nonsense…”

With those final words…

Peeing.

The Ice Queen’s body was split diagonally. I had bisected her once before, but everything was different now. The awakening of my martial arts element wasn’t just about possessing zenki; it fundamentally changed the quality of the sword intent within me.

Crash! Bang!

The Ice Queen’s body shattered and scattered everywhere. Then…

[Congratulations! A guild has defeated the Ice Queen!]

[Highest contribution: Han Jae-yeon.]

Hundreds of items poured down from the sky with the world message:

[Ice Queen’s Merit Box (Legendary)]. [Ice Queen’s Pride (Legendary)]. [Giga Blade (Hero)]. [Ice Spear (Hero)]. [Frozen Armor Recipe (Hero)]. [Extreme Cold Necklace (Rare)]…

The number and quality of items dropped were staggering. Boss monsters meant for party play differed greatly from raid bosses designed to be tackled by entire guilds.

Plop!

As expected, Kasim automatically collected all these items into my inventory.

[Your inventory weight has exceeded 75%!]

[Your movement speed will decrease due to exceeding 75% inventory capacity!]

[Your inventory weight has exceeded 100%!]

[Your movement speed will drastically slow down, and your Stamina, Health, and Mana will gradually decrease due to exceeding 100% inventory capacity!]

Bam!

Kasim landed on the ground amidst bursts of cheers.

“The castle lord defeated the ice monster!”

“Oh my goodness! Did you see him fighting while flying through the sky?”

“And that final attack? The Aura Blade seemed like it could split the heavens itself!”

As the soldiers began to cheer wildly, Stonestone barked out orders at them.

“Get yourselves under control and start repairing the damage! Check for casualties! Clear away the rubble!”

“Yes sir!”

The soldiers scattered in different directions while Stonestone and Hundred approached me.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course.”

While answering, I started organizing my inventory. By removing all heavy equipment and stacking it against one side of the collapsed castle, the weight penalty was lifted. With that done…

I took out Songpyeon and consumed it.

[You have consumed Brilliant Octopus’ Moonlight Songpyeon(Legendary)! For 4 hours, your Health Recovery and Mana Recovery will increase by 300 points! Special Resource Recovery increases by 5 times!]

[Every ten minutes, defend against one enemy attack!]

[Every twenty minutes, random debuffs will be removed!]

On the last day of Chuseok, I consumed more than one legendary Songpyeon that high-level users hadn’t picked up. The power of the Songpyeon, which I had been saving until now, enveloped my body. Thus, at 9 minutes and 50 seconds, I felt the accumulated fatigue washing away from my body as I spoke:

“Log out.”

Pop!

Suddenly, I found myself standing in front of Gigas, holding a strangely shining gun. As expected, even the unknown mana invalidation space couldn’t prevent me from opening Ardenia, sensing my inner energy being sealed once again while activating chakra.

“The unidentified mana invalidation space can’t stop me from opening Ardenia.

“Ardenia. Giant Gate. Open.”

I raised my right hand.

“Summoning. Great Power Sword.”

A heavy single-handed sword appeared in my hand.

“Weapon…? It is all useless! Die!”

Blue light erupted from the green bear’s weapon. It was a bombardment attack! However, at that moment…

[Moonlight Defense!]

[09:59]

The bombardment was effortlessly extinguished.

[What… huh?]

I grinned at their shock and immediately leaped forward.