“Hmph, just a dead guy. Good riddance.”
Jo Gi-man reflected on his fleeting thoughts, realizing his focus had slipped for just a moment.
In that brief instant, he missed Liu Xiao-Wo’s movements and hardened his magic power again.
– “Stop right there!”
“Still got that loud voice.”
Seeing that Liu Xiao-Wo was keeping up, Jo Gi-man shouted internally.
“I deserve at least one skill that’s on par with Meteor from the Seven-headed Dragon! I’m the one taking a big risk here!”
Originally, he had planned to find the hidden temple of the Goddess of Water, ‘Ryun.’ He had stumbled upon the temple’s location while taking down water-type awakened ones recently.
Of course, to get there, he’d have to navigate through dungeons exclusively managed by the Guardian Guild and make his way into Elf territory, leaving devastation in his wake. But that trouble was worth the effort.
The one who threw that plan off was the Seven-headed Dragon, but no matter how evil a god he was, he couldn’t just hand over a skill to the level Jo Gi-man demanded. Bestowing such power without a shred of plausibility was beyond the capability of any entity.
Still, Jo Gi-man knew countless routes to acquire skills he desired, so the Seven-headed Dragon simply nodded and decided to look away from him.
Even if Jo Gi-man seemed a bit out of sorts lately, rewards had to be guaranteed.
The Seven-headed Dragon turned to another space for a moment to prepare for that.
“Hmph, he’s gone. If he doesn’t bring back a decent skill, I won’t be cooperating forever.”
Thus, Jo Gi-man spent a full hour leading Liu Xiao-Wo on a merry chase.
“··· Huh?”
At some point, he realized.
“··· What the···?! This freaking, useless girl?!”
To his surprise, the one diligently following him wasn’t Liu Xiao-Wo at all.
It was a clone that looked so much like him it was hard to distinguish it from the main body.
(Nyaa? Heh heh heh- Want a taste of a cat punch? Kihihihi-)
The Cat Mask, with a wickedly twisted expression, jabbed at Jo Gi-man, provoking him while twerking with its butt held high. It was downright ridiculous.
“Blue Cat?! That bastard had this kind of ability?!”
Wham!!
Jo Gi-man quickly grabbed the Blue Cat’s back and smashed its head.
Looking at the woman wearing the now-disintegrated Cat Mask, he had a look of disbelief.
If the Seven-headed Dragon had been around, he would have realized it much sooner!
If it hadn’t been in a mimicry state!
“This bastard!!”
He thought he knew all her major abilities, but what the hell happened here?
“I’ll tear that damn girl to shreds! How dare she mock me!!”
Jo Gi-man unleashed skills all around and dove back into the venue.
* * *
Several dozen minutes earlier, before Liu Xiao-Wo faced Jo Gi-man disguised as Yoon Han-gyeol.
“There’s… another ally?”
“The Master said so.”
During a conversation with Zhou Jun, who caught me before I could fly off to Beijing, I received unexpected information.
“There’s another one besides me… someone other than Jo Gi-man?”
I pressed my eyebrows in frustration from sheer exhaustion.
Seeing that Jo Gi-man’s position had unexpectedly fixed itself in Beijing was already despairing enough.
That bastard wouldn’t just be there for the sights; the likelihood of him being where I’m headed is exceedingly high.
“If Yoon Han-gyeol goes there, he might die in a pathetic fashion. My disguise and stealth skills have improved with the job change, but… it’s not an easy call. Damn, I really might be trapped.”
Though I questioned if I should go through all this to help Inessa, we had made a deal to take down Jo Gi-man, so it was right to help as much as possible.
“Other than that guy, those two will surely be of assistance.”
I had often wondered if Inessa’s powers could deal damage to Jo Gi-man.
Given that the old man in the goblin mask and Sniper Patrick were keeping an eye on me, they would undoubtedly be a significant help.
Considering the tremendous magical energy they exuded, it was clear these guys had trained exceptionally hard.
Especially Patrick’s silver revolver had upgraded to something far more luxurious in material.
“If that gun and Patrick’s abilities are in play… they could probably pierce the body of a considerable great beast.”
I had that instinct.
That guy was also the strongest among Inessa’s subordinates.
“Didn’t your master tell you who the ally is?”
“You know well. As you know, giving too much information about beings connected to the Future City can lead to unpleasant events. Just do your assigned tasks faithfully.”
“……”
If only they’d told me about the helper beforehand, damn it—
I had so many questions to ask Inessa right away, but she was deep within Baekun Mountain, preparing something.
“Inessa… do we really have to go through with that plan…?”
It felt like I was helping to cause a calamity to fall on this land, and my heart wasn’t at ease.
My thoughts were tangled, but I needed to simplify the situation.
“There’s no option but to somehow divert Jo Gi-man’s attention and make the Cat Mask drop from Liu Xiao-Wo.”
From my conversation with Inessa, it felt the critical part wasn’t taking Liu Xiao-Wo outside, but that it was the key.
And once the Cat Mask was dropped, I’d signal Inessa with a ‘whistle,’ and she’d start her work.
“How do I even do that…?”
No matter how hard I thought, no sharp ideas came to mind.
What could I possibly do, considering that both Liu Xiao-Wo and Jo Gi-man could take me out just with a flick of their fingers?
“I guess if I just go for it, something will come up. Jung Tae-hyung!”
“Yes, master!”
We approached the man in the wheelchair named Jacks.
“Will entering here take us straight to the banquet hall?”
Jacks puffed up, slamming his hands on the wheelchair due to my question.
“How many times do I have to check?! I told you, my ability is beyond doubt!”
“Do I have any reason to trust you that much…? Fine, I get it. But if we can directly enter the banquet hall, there’s no need for these fake identities to begin with?”
“…… W-well, maybe? I don’t know about that! I just create what’s requested!”
‘It seems Inessa’s subordinates lack communication skills.’
Vroom──
A dimensional door plastered with weird machine devices and mana stones.
It looked reminiscent of the teleportation portal the red-haired Elf used, beckoning to me to come closer.
Thinking about how much resource and time the Blue-eyed Deity and the red-haired Elf had put into creating a teleportation portal, I understood just how remarkable this man’s talents must be.
“Quite impressive…”
“Heh heh heh… At least you recognize the value.”
Seeing him handle that item called ‘whistle,’ it was clear he wasn’t just your ordinary guy.
‘… Does he have the ability to develop anything that falls under the concept of ‘making’?’
If I think of it similarly to my skill ‘Alchemy Instinct,’ it’s somewhat understandable.
Anyway, since time was short, I dove into that space alongside Jung Tae-hyung.
* * *
Where we arrived was the kitchen, located in the corner of the banquet hall.
‘The location is perfect. It’s the best route for Jung Tae-hyung to escape.’
“Master, it seems no one is around. Shall we go out right now?”
“Let’s do that. You put on the cloak quickly.”
“Yes.”
“As soon as we go out, turn left. In the picture Inessa saw, I was supposed to follow and exit through the back door.”
“Understood.”
Jung Tae-hyung positioned himself according to my escape route to deal with possible emergencies, and I entered the banquet hall.
It looked no different from any other event venue, but there were high-end equipment laid out everywhere, including detection barriers.
And there were at least dozens of hidden detection mages scattered around.
‘Even a top S-rank hunter would find it tough to sneak in here.’
Of course, it meant nothing to me.
– We can no longer recognize your [Stealth] through detection magic.
My stealth capability had vastly improved with a job change.
‘… Can I really enter?’
Before I could even step into the main event space, I had to stop walking.
‘With twelve hundred S-rank hunters… and twenty Transcendents occupying the unique space… this is hopeless.’
Even using the ability I had, which allowed me to evade the dangers posed by the ‘enemy’ like I did during my encounter with Jo Gi-man, I doubted I could break through this obstacle.
But not everyone here was such monsters.
Many among the guests would likely have weaker combat abilities, but their presence here indicated they had some other talents significant enough for important positions.
‘Trust in myself.’
I had gained quite a bit of confidence in hiding my identity thanks to the job change.
I repeated to myself that I could do this and moved quickly in stealth.
As soon as I stepped inside, I caught sight of a woman exuding overwhelming presence.
‘What the hell… was that really a human?’
The first person who made me feel that way, other than Jo Gi-man, was this woman.
She had such overwhelming aura about her.
‘Timing feels a bit off. I need to hurry.’
Next to her were five individuals adorned in Cat Masks.
‘Those are…’
Five beings… or should I say five creatures?
‘Those dark auras they embody can’t be spirits… perhaps something manifested through Liu Xiao-Wo’s unique abilities? They feel incredibly out of place.’
Five things, not quite human, not quite anything else.
‘These things are so intricate that even I, a seasoned soul, am confused. Wouldn’t Liu Xiao-Wo have difficulty separating them as skills?’
Perhaps this was why Inessa gave me such a mission; given the limited scenes she saw through foresight, she couldn’t accurately assess the situation.
‘I’m sure she believed in my success without a doubt. But who knows? Those Cat Masks. They radiate such wicked potential.’
But that didn’t necessarily mean they were evil; it felt like they were hiding something from another dimension within.
I slowly blended into the flow of the event hall and moved forward.
‘Where the hell is that bastard Jo Gi-man? He must be nearby.’
While I was ready to sacrifice a life coming here, that didn’t mean I should be careless; I was more cautious than ever.
But just then.
I faintly sensed another presence through my sense waves.
A familiar presence wrapped in familiarity, the back of a man.
It seemed the other awakened were either overwhelmed by Liu Xiao-Wo’s aura or that this man had concealed his presence so well no one was aware of him, but I instantly recognized him.
‘Flame Mark…?! That bastard.’
The mark swirling on his shoulder made it immediately clear.
‘But his physique is entirely different, right? It wouldn’t be surprising for such a monstrous guy to also have abilities related to mimicry, but there’s something familiar…’
I cautiously expanded my magic sense.
I had a bad feeling about this and wanted to look a bit closer.
Sitting back, nonchalantly sipping wine, Jo Gi-man needed extremely precise control not to detect me.
Even with my senses focused, I couldn’t catch his awareness.
It was likely due to him intentionally dulling his own presence at a critical moment that made it possible. Lucky me.
‘Huh- Good. What on earth did he disguise himself as—’
The being I sensed bore no resemblance to the dirty features of a snake.
Perfectly smooth skin, chiseled jawline, and pitch-black eyes…
The beauty mark under his eye and a gaze that seemed to have seen through the world…
‘… Wait a minute. Isn’t that bastard me?!’
That wasn’t just mimicry; he had entirely taken on my form. A perfect replication down to the last fingerprint.
Not only that, Jo Gi-man, donning my face, began to flirt with Liu Xiao-Wo. How could my face look so nauseating?!
In a moment, his presence dimmed drastically.
He went beyond merely hiding in a unique space; he camouflaged himself as if he didn’t exist at all.
It was fortunate I was already aware of his presence; otherwise, even I might have failed to notice it.
– Hee hee hee…
He let out his signature cackling chuckle.
He seemed to repeat that multiple times, trying to grab Liu Xiao-Wo’s attention away.
And while he made his moves, I began to faintly sense the presence of a giant looming behind him.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
