WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ I Returned as a God ◈

Chapter 106: Park Siyu (3)

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The sword's phantom edge grazed across Yeongno's face.

Its massive body slammed backward with a violent crash.

"Uh. Hmm. That's not it."

I set the sword down and scratched my head.

I'd known my power wasn't enough, but this felt like a problem that had nothing to do with power at all.

"Hangyeol-ssi, what did you just do?"

"Hey, you! Don't tell me you're a Transcendent? Acting like you weren't one this whole time, and now you're pulling this off solo?"

Choi Jaebyung jabbed a finger at me, and I frowned.

That had definitely been the wrong skill.

And what was this about a Transcendent Mode?

"Are your eyes broken? How does this look anything like a Transcendent Mode! You ever seen one this weak?"

"Say that out loud and think about how it makes our vice-master feel, listening right now."

"Ahem. I was holding back on purpose."

Jin Sangbyeok, standing behind us, cleared his throat.

I wasn't even talking about him. Why's he blushing on his own?

I waved my free hand through the air.

"Anyway, this was a failure. Wrong skill."

"This is a failed use of a skill?"

Choi Jaebyung's eyes went round like he couldn't believe it.

He looked skeptical, but it was true.

If he'd seen what I saw back then, even Choi Jaebyung wouldn't have called this a successful execution.

It felt like I'd stumbled onto some massive homework assignment I never asked for.

At this point, I was starting to reasonably suspect that thing had used that sword on purpose, back in that moment.

Park Siyu's order came through on channel 2.

"Don't waste time on pointless stuff. Pull back."

Hunters stepped back in unison, dodging the huge tail sweeping down from above.

"Phase 2. Get ready to fight."

The dark clouds parted, and fog began forming around Yeongno instead.

Yeongno, which had been knocked onto its back, slowly rose to its feet.

Crack, crack.

The sound of wounds all over its body sealing shut.

Yeongno was a creature that had failed to become a dragon.

Failed or not, it was still a spirit beast, no question about that.

As the wounds across its body healed, the scales covering it started falling away.

With all its scales gone, the skin underneath was pure white.

How should I even describe that?

"Looks like a giant snake."

Yeah, exactly!

Park Siyu's voice echoed in my head.

Kim Gangwoo must have accidentally broadcast it by mistake.

I'd always figured Park Siyu was basically a robot with a human voice whenever he gave orders, but hearing him mutter like that reminded me he was still human after all.

"Reforming the formation."

There'd been a few injuries, but so far things had gone reasonably smoothly.

Unlike the first round, where we'd hit and run based on feel, Phase 2 called for a more systematic approach.

We'd probably gathered enough intel on the team by now, too.

Park Siyu messaged me personally.

Since it wasn't on channel 1, I figured it was more like a whisper.

"What was that, just now?"

"Just a skill. Failed one, though. Why?"

"Can you use it again? Doesn't need to hit the same power."

"Hmm, let me hear the plan first."

Park Siyu talking like this meant he had something in mind.

I listened to his whole plan through.

So that's how it is, huh.

"It doesn't have to be that specific skill, does it?"

"Figure out a way if you've got one. All that matters is the result."

"Then leave it to me."

I glanced over at Yu Seyeon and Seo Jihoon, who were prepping for Phase 2, and answered.

I ended the private channel with Park Siyu.

Yeongno emerged through the thick fog.

"...Whoa."

Yeongno opened its mouth toward a python and a Hunter who'd just spawned in as its cooldown reset.

A python over ten meters long vanished into Yeongno's stomach in an instant.

Saliva dripped from its mouth and melted straight through the rock below.

"Not even bones left if you fall in there."

"Agreed."

"Hey, why are you still standing here?"

Choi Jaebyung was, technically, a Raon Guild Hunter.

No matter how badly he got along with his own guildmates, there was a limit.

"Your guild rep said to stick close to you. Ever heard of following orders?"

"Choa-ssi said the same thing. Why does everyone keep telling people to stick close to me?"

"Who else in Rep Park's crew is likely to go rogue and bolt somewhere random, if not you?"

"Excuse me? Say that again and people are gonna think you're on Park Siyu's team."

"It's the raid leader's order."

Choi Jaebyung shrugged and looked around.

Park Siyu's formation really did seem to ignore guild lines entirely.

"Beginning the assault."

Yu Seyeon and the support Hunters cycled fresh buffs.

Wind began kicking up, centered on Yu Seyeon.

Only the center patch of fog cleared away cleanly.

Yeongno's gaze locked onto the cleared spot.

Most of the Hunters, tanks included, were clustered together in one place.

Yeongno opened its mouth toward the group below.

The gathered Hunters braced for the incoming attack.

I drew my sword, and Choi Jaebyung and I put some distance between us.

Yeongno's roar tore out of its mouth, aimed straight at the bait Hunters.

"Ugh...!"

"Block it! You damn snake-headed bastard!"

The Hunters playing bait weren't exactly what you'd call elite.

Even with Jin Sangbyeok around, using his Transcendent Mode had left him drained.

Park Siyu had deliberately set up the formation on a razor's edge.

The clustered tanks strained to hold back Yeongno's roar.

This looks dangerous.

A few of the Hunters who'd pulled back watched from above with worry plain on their faces.

That's when a Hunter standing at the very edge stepped forward.

The Hunter looked like they belonged to some regular, unaffiliated guild, neither Raon nor Aria, and they joined the defensive line.

On the surface it looked like someone jumping in during an emergency, but to my eyes something about the whole scene felt off.

First time I've seen that Hunter. Just my imagination?

With that Hunter's help, the bait team managed to block Yeongno's roar.

"Kang Hangyeol, what are you doing?"

Probably just my imagination.

At Park Siyu's signal, the Hunters who'd pulled back all charged at Yeongno at once.

In Phase 2, Yeongno's defense had actually dropped compared to Phase 1, when its scales were still intact.

But unlike Phase 1, where it had been caught off guard, it was far more sensitive now, and its attack power had shot up considerably.

Hunters paired off two to a team and climbed onto Yeongno's body.

A magic circle formed around me as I ran forward.

Choi Jaebyung yanked me back by the collar and raised his shield.

"Use your words! Words!"

"This is faster."

Choi Jaebyung twisted his shield and knocked away a bolt of lightning. Once he lowered the shield, I used Hundred Beasts Sword to slice through Yeongno's skin.

My blade moved roughly, cutting through the exposed flesh.

Was it because the scales were gone? There was definitely more of a give, like actually cutting into meat.

Way better than dealing with the hard scales.

Shhhhhk.

I twisted my body and knocked something away as it came flying.

"Ice?"

A long spear of ice snapped clean in half against the Sky Sword and dropped to the ground.

"You think you can block this?"

"All directions at once might be a stretch."

Dozens of spears floated above Choi Jaebyung and me.

Cold air rose every time I exhaled.

"What kind of tank is useless like this!"

Our sluggish feet had frozen solid to Yeongno's skin.

The ice spears launched all at once.

I moved my sword smoothly and used Falling Petal Flower Sword.

I slapped Choi Jaebyung's shoulder, since he was standing there dazed.

"Hey! Get up here already!"

"A, alright, alright. Ugh, cold."

Choi Jaebyung leaped up toward me.

Yeongno, seeing Hunters climbing all the way up to its head, seemed thrown off.

Choi Jaebyung's blade flashed and sliced through a massive chunk of ice flying at me.

This guy's timing with me was better than I expected.

With the ice handled, I could swing my sword without worrying about a thing.

The Sky Sword glowed blue, and a strike shot out in a straight line, driving into Yeongno's eye.

Kraaaaaaah.

The creature let out a scream, black blood dripping down, and shook its whole body.

"Nice!"

"Don't get cocky. Kang Hangyeol."

Park Siyu's voice came through my ear right away.

He heard that too?

Man's basically a ghost, I swear.

"Ah, what now?"

"The fog's gone."

At Choi Jaebyung's words, I looked around.

The area below was still thick with fog, but the space around Yeongno's upper body was clear, oddly enough.

No matter how big it was, it shouldn't have been tall enough to reach the clouds.

"What a view."

"You saying that right now?"

"Well, what am I supposed to say?"

I kept my balance on its shaking body.

"Hmm, I think I know why."

"What? Why?"

I pointed at Yeongno's head.

A chunk of ice floated there, way bigger than any of the fragments I'd cut through on the way up.

What do you even call that?

"Iceberk?"

"Iceberg, you mean."

"Sorry my tongue's a little short, bro."

"Never mind that, why is an iceberg floating in the sky!"

Choi Jaebyung, seeing the iceberg casting a shadow big enough to darken the sky above us, grabbed my shoulder and hid behind me.

Wait, this guy?

"Hey! You're the tank! If you can't block that, what are you even here for!"

"Not even our guild rep could block that!"

"Seriously?"

"Uh... actually, thinking about it, Rep Park could probably do it. Wait, more importantly! That thing you used earlier in Phase 1. That! Can't you use it for this?"

"Nope. Can't."

I shut that down flat.

If I could hit the same power as the strike I'd used below, I might be able to cut through it, but with my focus this scattered, there was no guarantee I could use the same skill twice.

"Is your sword just for show?"

"I'm not even talking about cutting through ice, and now not being able to slice an iceberg means the sword's just for show? That's a bit much."

And quit clinging to me already!

This guy was clearly the type who carried a shield around just for looks.

Counting me and Choi Jaebyung, there were nine Hunters up top.

Eight sets of eyes landed on the one person standing closest to the iceberg.

"Aaaagh!"

Yeongno moved, and Choi Jaebyung, losing his balance, staggered.

Talks too much, scared of everything, and on top of that, no sense of balance.

I felt like an idiot for ever thinking our timing clicked.

The iceberg Yeongno had made wasn't aimed at the Hunters up top. It was aimed at the ones below.

Any Hunter down there would die outright if that thing came crashing down.

Somehow, we had to deal with it from up here.

Yeongno's other eye, drenched in blood, snapped wide open.

As the iceberg floating in the sky began to fall, Park Siyu moved.

Park Siyu's Light Saber shifted from white to red.

The instant part of the Light Saber touched the iceberg, a huge column of steam rose up.

Park Siyu swung the blade upward, and a red line split the iceberg with a crack.

Spinning once in midair, Park Siyu used Yeongno's body as a springboard and leaped.

He hit it so hard on the way up that Yeongno's whole body got shoved backward for a moment.

The blade moved again, and the iceberg blotting out the sky split cleanly into hundreds, thousands of pieces and rained down below.

And he didn't even use a Transcendent Mode. As expected of Park Siyu! As expected of my... no, that's not quite it.

My friend? Kind of a stretch given the age gap.

Our guild master! Nice work!

Park Siyu was stepping on the falling fragments as he climbed higher.

The chunks were pretty big, but the people below were Hunters too, so this shouldn't be a huge problem.

I reached a hand out to Choi Jaebyung, who was still struggling to keep his balance.

"You could've offered that sooner!"

"This guy complains even when I offer my hand. You taking it or not?"

"Ah, no."

The moment I pretended to pull my hand back, Choi Jaebyung snatched it in a panic.

I grabbed Choi Jaebyung's hand and grinned wide.

"Kind of feel a little extra strong right now, don't I?"

"Off you go."

"Wh, what? Hey, you...! Waaaaaaait!!"

Planting my foot on Yeongno's body, I grabbed Choi Jaebyung's arm and hurled him straight at Park Siyu.

The moment the ice chunk shielding Park Siyu vanished, Yeongno's roar came flying through the gap.

Choi Jaebyung, sent flying directly toward Park Siyu, raised his shield in front of the wall of ice.

"You! Just you wait!!"

Footnotes:

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