Mistaken for a Masked Monster - Chapter 59

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 59: Pikachu

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Caitlin was a terrible matchup for Viktor.

The charges of the [Mask of the Evil God] hadn't been depleted even while fighting vampires.

There was a reason two of them had been used up in his duel with Caitlin.

‘She’s fast.’

Caitlin’s speed was exceptional.

She was one of the academy’s top sprinters.

If her top speed were assigned a stat grade, it would be A+.

Mid-ranked students couldn't even follow her with their eyes.

Of course, her other stats were lacking, so she hadn't been able to break into Class A and had only become the top student of Class B...

‘She’s the worst possible matchup for me.’

Caitlin was fast.

Even with the Slowdown Bug active, her relentless attacks were difficult to react to.

Viktor could follow her movements with his eyes, but reacting accordingly was a completely different matter.

Her lightning magic had a wide range, and she was strong at both close and long range, making her difficult to deal with.

‘Of course... this kind of trick wouldn’t work on even the lower ranks of Class A.’

The damage and firepower Caitlin could produce were only around the level of a lower-ranked Class C student.

In terms of raw firepower alone, she was even below Shariel, who had been the top student of Class C.

‘She put everything into speed, so she lacks the ability to land a finishing blow.’

That was why the top students with overwhelmingly high base stats could simply endure her attacks.

They would assume a defensive stance and wait until Caitlin burned herself out.

Since her stamina wasn't particularly good either, that method worked extremely well.

Even if she launched a powerful attack that was difficult to defend against, her speed slowed considerably when she did. All they had to do was read it in time and dodge or counter.

‘Class A is full of real monsters to begin with.’

That was the kind of person Caitlin was.

Nobody could stand against her until the upper-middle ranks, but the moment she faced the very best, she became ordinary.

Among players, she had even earned the nickname A-rank detector.

If someone could break through her techniques, they were A-rank. If not, they were B-rank.

‘I don’t have the base stats for that.’

Viktor could only produce A-rank or greater performance by exploiting bugs.

His actual base stats were no more than E+.

Compared to the cultists and vampires he had handled in smaller skirmishes, she was a far more difficult opponent.

‘Besides... my body is still weak.’

He had found a way to improve it, but his body was still practically frail.

Caitlin might lack finishing power, but she could still electrocute someone like Viktor to death in a single hit.

From the boy’s perspective, every one of her attacks was an instant-kill move, and her speed ranked among the top ten in the world.

She was harder to deal with than most faculty members.

‘Even in the original story... there weren’t many characters faster than Caitlin.’

The worst possible matchup.

Still, that applied to Caitlin as well.

Viktor was her bane.

‘Status Effect-Parrying.’

A bug that stripped away the options applied to an opponent.

It could erase both debuffs and buffs.

‘Caitlin is a battle mage who fights with martial arts, backed by her own buffs.’

Her speed came from those buffs.

In other words, if he successfully landed the parry, he could tie up her movements.

‘All I need is the right timing.’

The two of them each possessed the means to exploit the other’s worst weakness.

So the match would be decided by who used the situation more intelligently.

Caitlin had thrown punches without much thought, while Viktor had waited for the right moment from beginning to end.

He observed the situation.

“Hehe.”

That was all.

The gap between them had opened because of such a small difference.

“...?”

Caitlin blankly looked down at her hand.

Sparks flew from her tightly clenched fist.

Yet after crackling a few times, they failed to condense in one spot and scattered.

Even the streaks of light that had wrapped around her body had peeled away. The girl stood blankly in the center of the training ground.

“What is this...?”

Crackle, crackle.

Caitlin was clearly flustered.

The magic that had been working perfectly until a moment ago had suddenly shut off, as if someone had flipped a switch.

It was like having legs that had been moving freely suddenly stiffen.

“Why... why is this happening?”

The girl kept muttering as she clenched her fist.

Viktor stood calmly before her.

“Is something wrong?”

“You, you...!”

Caitlin’s eyes flashed.

The killing intent burning in them resembled that of a bird of prey.

Still unable to raise her voltage, the girl could only clench her fist, sparks lingering at her fingertips.

“Fuck... what did you do to me?!”

“What are you saying I did?”

“Don’t play dumb! Just now, it was like you tore something out of my magic...”

“I don’t know what you mean. I simply put up an ordinary defense.”

“You bastard...!”

Caitlin charged at him with a clenched fist.

But unlike before, she was painfully slow.

The current that enhanced her movements was gone.

“You’re slow.”

He didn't even need to press his watch.

A few steps and a leap through space were enough.

The girl couldn't react to Viktor’s movement, leaving her back exposed.

Thwack!

“Ghk?!”

“Oops, my foot slipped.”

He drove in a low kick without hesitation.

The girl staggered after taking the blow directly to her thigh.

As she turned, his clenched fist struck her in the abdomen.

Thwack!

“This time, my hand.”

“Ghk, ugh...!”

Her athletic body was well-muscled.

His fist slammed into her defined abs.

The blow was backed by only E+ strength, but it was more than enough to topple her already unsteady stance.

A strained breath escaped between her lips. Caitlin staggered, then fell to the ground.

Thud!

“Haa, haa...”

She had fallen in a rather clumsy fashion.

Had her drained stamina finally caught up with her?

An attack that normally couldn't have budged her had landed as a critical hit.

The strain of constantly forcing up her voltage and speed had come back to bite her.

“Ghk, urk...”

The girl dry-heaved as she braced herself against the floor.

Caitlin swayed, unable to stand for some time.

Viktor didn't approach her. He only watched quietly.

No.

More precisely, he made them watch.

The students packed into the wide spectator stands.

“...”

“Cough...”

Her miserable appearance. Her impending defeat. A moment of humiliation.

He made sure it was all captured in their eyes.

A girl kneeling before a boy who looked down at her.

That briefly staged image swallowed the atmosphere of the training ground.

-What... what just happened?

-She got pushed back? And it looks like she even took a clean hit?

-My God. The top student of Class B is kneeling before the top student of Class E...

-No way. Is he really going to win? The top student of Class E against Caitlin?

The spectator stands buzzed.

-I thought he was just holding out... I never expected him to knock Caitlin down completely.

-The top student of Class B suddenly stopped moving, then got beaten one-sidedly...

-Did he use some kind of Dispel-type sorcery?

-But I didn’t sense any sign of magic.

-Was he waiting for the right timing the whole time? The moment he saw an opening, he took it.

Amazement, questions, suspicion.

All kinds of reactions mixed together.

Those voices reached the girl’s ears as well.

“...”

Caitlin did not draw so much as a breath.

She only clenched her bronze fist as her slender shoulders trembled.

-Then again, that’s why she can’t make it into Class A.

-She burns out too quickly. Her mana pool is too small, so she can’t keep it up.

-She acted so cocky for someone like that... I can’t believe she can’t even beat one Class E student.

-Wow... but the top student of Class E is something else too. He countered that speed and actually won.

Students from Class A added their own comments.

Indifferent looks. Or looks that seemed to mock her.

Words criticizing her lack of talent.

“...”

Caitlin hung her head.

Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

She had bitten her lip so hard that it had split.

The boy across from her stood there at ease.

“Miss Caitlin.”

“...”

“Are you all right?”

“...”

The masked boy.

He knew the words Caitlin would find most humiliating.

Pity from others, or being told to give up because it was enough.

“How about surrendering now?”

“...”

“I believe I’ve shown you the difference between us.”

“...”

Words like those.

“I don’t have a hobby of bullying weak people.”

“...Ha.”

Ptui.

The girl spat out bloody phlegm.

Caitlin pushed herself upright on strong, bronze legs.

She swayed a few times, but barely found her balance and lifted her head.

“...”

Her bright yellow eyes were filled with killing intent.

Her nails dug into her clenched fists, blood dripping down them.

“Hey.”

How had she hidden that venomous side of herself all this time?

Beneath the tough delinquent girl act, something ugly writhed.

Inferiority, envy, contempt, disgust, resentment... all kinds of negative emotions.

Perhaps Viktor’s few provocations had snapped the reins, because dark, murky energy was spreading around her.

“Fuck, why...”

Crackle!

The current that had died out flared up again.

Black energy spread like paint, mingling with the yellow flashes.

Soon, something neither light nor darkness dyed the girl’s entire body.

“Miss Caitlin.”

“Don’t look at me like that...”

Krrrsh!

She squeezed every last bit of mana out of herself.

She cast a spell that consumed her body.

Power unlike anything before surged forth.

“Don’t look down on me with those eyes!!”

Her voice was a furious scream.

Viktor instinctively knew this was her final struggle.

Prepared to burn herself out completely, she unleashed every bit of current within her.

Boom!

The girl kicked off the ground.

Her body rose into the air.

Black and yellow lightning flashed around her bronze skin.

‘Relentless. Absolutely relentless.’

Her condition was bad enough that it wouldn't have been surprising if she passed out immediately.

Yet she kept her eyes wide open and forced herself to clench her fist.

Viktor found himself impressed that a person’s heart could become so twisted.

He quietly raised a hand.

“Come at me.”

Yes.

I’ll take it.

“Aaaaaah!!”

One of Caitlin’s few techniques with B-rank or greater destructive power.

An attack that sacrificed speed to raise its power to the limit.

He could have simply dodged now that her movements had slowed, but Viktor intended to meet her head-on.

‘Lettus Style Lightning Magic Secret Art.’

-Lightning Spear-

Her bronze fist.

It became a bright yellow spear and fell from above his head.

Her hair streamed behind her, along with a black smear that lingered like a trail.

-Wait... is he seriously going to take that head-on?

-He’s insane! Caitlin’s attacks get stronger the slower they are...!

-Why isn’t he dodging? At that speed, he could dodge twice over!

-That’s dangerous even for Class A! Why is he doing something so reckless?!

-Damn it! The professors need to stop them...

The spectator stands erupted.

Yet Viktor remained standing until the end.

“Dieeeeee!!!”

A cry filled with rage.

Caitlin’s fist slammed into me.

The next moment, a blinding flash lit up the training ground.

-Crazy...!

-W-What happened...?!

The brilliant light lasted nearly thirty seconds.

As the spectators murmured over their obstructed vision, the light finally faded, revealing the two people standing in the center of the training ground again.

“Hmm.”

The aftershock had gouged large holes into the surrounding ground.

Amid the scattered debris, Caitlin stood frozen with her fist extended toward Viktor.

It looked like she had truly run out of stamina now and might lose consciousness at any moment.

“This is the end.”

Viktor stood before Caitlin.

His hand gripped the girl’s fist.

He had effortlessly stopped that monstrous attack with only one hand.

The spectators examined Viktor in disbelief, but naturally, he didn't have a single scratch on him.

Ding!

[The item 'Mask of the Evil God' has activated.]

-Remaining uses: 0/3