WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regression is Too Much
Chapter 054
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Choi Ji-won is too strong (5)
“Fighting without preparation would be suicide.”
Before we challenged the master of the city I, Park Cheol-jin, and Choi Ji-won gathered in a small inn for a meeting.
“She’s a woman who wields lightning to begin with. She also knows how to use a movement technique that’s similar to teleportation… we have no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.”
“Hmm…”
Firefighter Cheol-jin and Ji-won nodded without any particular suspicion.
Since I had never fought the master of the city myself, they could have thought my words carried no weight. Ji-won and Cheol-jin had no real reason to believe me.
“This is all from Michael Zetter, a powerful figure from America. You saw the poster in the plaza, right?”
“I see…”
So I leveraged his authority. I bluffed that Michael Zetter and I were friends. In fact, since I read the post Michael Zetter put up, aren't we already friends? Maybe not.
“Anyway… we are civilized people from the modern era. We have to use that to win.”
When I gave the signal, two men who had been waiting walked towards us hesitantly.
“We want to help! We don’t care if we die!”
“We want to land a blow on that woman!”
The two of them voiced their determined resolutions, but Choi Ji-won herself looked a bit bewildered.
“These people are…”
“The man on the left had to live the life of a beggar because of a bronze sigil. He was originally a hunter and a tanner.”
“Then what about the other person?”
“He’s someone who was forced to live as a hunter and tanner because of a Silver Sigil.”
Once we took away their sigil boxes, the city residents regained their true natures.
On top of that, the experience they gained while acting under the influence of the sigils didn’t just disappear, so I was able to find two skilled tanners.
These men were specialists when it came to handling leather. If I just told them what I wanted, they could whip it up in no time.
And where did I get the leather, you ask?
I used gold sigils as bait to buy out some players, purchasing their leather armor.
Therefore, we had plenty of leather to use as material.
My first idea was to use leather to reduce the damage from electricity.
“We’ll wrap your entire body in leather armor. What do you think?”
“…That sounds really bad, actually.”
But Ji-won showed her disapproval.
“My advantage in the first place is my fine control of the sword… If I wrap my body in thick armor, it’ll just be cumbersome.”
“…”
“I just want some custom-made gloves that are thicker than my current ones, and maybe some arm guards.”
“…I understand.”
My full-body leather wrap plan was rejected… but we decided to make the gloves and vambraces anyway.
“Then how about this?”
But this wasn't the end.
This time, a middle-aged man approached with a dignified gait.
“…A pleasure to meet you. My name is Baron Licht.”
This wasn't the Baron Licht I had met so frequently before, but the ‘real’ Baron Licht, who had been forced to live the life of a commoner because of a silver sigil.
My second plan. Using the noble who had been freed from the curse of the box.
The other former nobles were uncooperative, but Baron Licht was different. After experiencing the life of a commoner, he reflected on his past dissipated life and expressed his desire to atone.
In a way, you could say he had been enlightened according to the master of the city's intentions.
“But… how can this person help?”
Ji-won tilted her head in confusion.
Instead of answering, Baron Licht opened his palm and created a single glowing orb of light above it.
“I am a mage. When it comes to handling mana, I am an expert.”
“…So?”
“Of course, since you climbers are much stronger than me, I cannot help you directly in combat… but I can provide some indirect assistance. May I touch your body for a moment?”
As Baron Licht lightly placed his fingers on Cheol-jin’s wrist, firefighter Cheol-jin’s expression changed subtly.
“This is…”
“Can you feel the mana moving inside your body? You climbers have mana, but it seems you don’t know how to use it. You are literally in a state of just ‘having’ it.”
“Oho…”
“But if I am here, I can control that mana for you instead. Of course, being a mage, I can’t use advanced techniques like sword energy… but it will surely be of help.”
“This… will be helpful. I feel like my body is being revitalized.”
Firefighter Cheol-jin’s expression brightened, but conversely, Ji-won’s expression darkened.
“…I don’t think this will be usable in a real fight.”
She was right. In the middle of a fierce battle, it was impossible for Baron Licht to follow Ji-won around and control her mana for her.
But as if he had expected this, Baron Licht immediately answered Ji-won’s words.
“Before you fight. I will activate your mana in advance. Just having mana circulating within your body improves your physical abilities and increases various resistances.”
“…If that’s the case, very well.”
Leaving behind Baron Licht, who was happy to be of help.
“The last thing… is a way to create a single moment’s opening.”
What we needed was just one momentary opening.
Back to the plaza.
KABOOM!!!
Ji-won’s body skipped like a stone on water about three times before she could barely regain her footing.
‘…How is this possible?’
Flash Step. She had heard about it from Kim Jun-ho, so she knew the concept, but facing it directly was absurd.
She took a stance for about two seconds, then closed a distance of over thirty meters in an instant and swung her sword. The fact that I managed to block it, however clumsily, felt like a miracle.
To think the damage was reduced to this extent thanks to the leather gloves and vambraces. No matter how sturdy Ji-won’s body was, she would never come out unscathed if she took an attack like that head-on.
“…!”
The master of the city swung her sword from far away, and magical lightning shot out from its tip at an unbelievable speed.
Having seen this attack before, Ji-won instinctively threw her body aside.
Boom!
“Hup!”
Having dodged the lightning by a hair's breadth, Ji-won started running forward.
She had no means of long-range attack. Before she was worn down, she had to close the distance.
But watching her, the master of the city twisted her lips slightly and swung her sword once more.
Ji-won instinctively threw her body aside to dodge the lightning.
“Ah.”
Only after her body was in mid-air did she realize she had been tricked.
The master of the city had only made the motion of swinging her sword, but hadn't actually fired any lightning.
Not until her opponent became a delicious-looking target that couldn't be avoided because she had already thrown herself aside.
Crackle!
“Keuk…!”
This time, Ji-won’s body was struck directly by lightning, and she rolled ungracefully across the stone floor.
“…”
She managed to get back on her feet, but her complexion was much worse than before.
Her legs were even trembling slightly.
Thanks to Sword and Soul as One, Ji-won’s durability was much tougher than others, but this lightning was not something that could be endured.
“Why don’t you give up?”
In contrast, the master of the city was overflowing with confidence. She even seemed to be controlling her power.
Just by starting to use mana, the difference was this great. The woman before her, who had seemed manageable, began to look like a monster.
“…”
The longer the fight dragged on, the deeper the shadow of her defeat would become.
Slowly taking her stance, Ji-won gave a glance to Cheol-jin and Jun-ho, who were watching from a distance.
Now was the time to make her decisive move. After confirming that Cheol-jin and Jun-ho had each readied a sword in their hands.
“Hup!”
With a shout, Ji-won began to run. The master of the city, shaking her head, could be seen swinging her sword to unleash lightning.
But instead of throwing her body to dodge the lightning, Ji-won spurred her running feet on even faster.
“…?”
The master of the city's expression of doubt was brief.
Swoosh!
A single sword, thrown with perfect timing, distorted the path of the lightning.
“What?!”
The master of the city was flustered.
Since she used lightning, she would have known that it could be drawn to metal, but she probably didn't expect it to be used so proactively.
Of course, since the sword had no grounding, the lightning scattered in all directions...
But for Ji-won, just avoiding a direct hit was enough.
A master of the sword, closing the distance at superhuman speed.
The master of the city’s brow furrowed.
It was too late to activate Flash Step. To block the attack with her sword, the other sword flying in from the right was a concern.
Did they throw two swords with a time lag?
It was a complex situation, but her judgment was quick.
The master of the city took a step back, moving out of the trajectory of the sword flying from her right.
Crackle!
At the same time, she emitted an electric current from her body and used her sword to keep the approaching Choi Ji-won in check.
It was truly an exemplary response, but…
“?!”
Her mistake was that she had never imagined Ji-won would catch the flying sword with her left hand and throw it straight at her.
Judging that it was too late to dodge, the master of the city swung her own sword to bat away the flying weapon.
And just like that, despite the overwhelming difference in power, a single moment's opening was created.
The very opening Choi Ji-won had been aiming for all along.
‘Now, Bung-bung.’
Her body was trembling, and there wasn't a single place that didn't hurt.
But she grit her teeth and focused her mind. Perhaps thanks to the mana flowing within her body, her mind was clear.
Large, Strong, Fast, Light
These are the secrets emphasized when training for continuous strikes in kendo.
Large. The swing should be a large motion.
Ji-won’s sword, swung wide, came crashing down towards the master of the city, and the master, who hastily blocked the sword with a disheveled stance, had her knees buckle slightly.
Strong. The sword must be imbued with strong power.
Without delay, Ji-won swung her sword strongly in a horizontal arc. As a price for clumsily blocking the attack, the master of the city’s stance completely crumbled.
“Damn it…!”
The master of the city grit her teeth. An electric current was constantly flowing from her body, but Ji-won was enduring it with willpower and continuing her attack.
She had been refraining from using powerful techniques because the range was too close and she could be harmed as well.
But since things had come to this, she had no choice but to accept the damage and subdue her in one go.
Just as the master of the city was gathering her mana to unleash a powerful bolt of lightning.
Fast. The motion must be large and fast.
Ji-won did not miss the opening created when the master’s concentration wavered due to focusing on her mana.
Thwack!
In a single breath, she slashed the master's wrist and torso at the same time. A sword is not a very effective weapon against armor, but with Ji-won’s level of strength, it was a different story.
“Keuk…!”
The master of the city’s grip on her sword loosened, and the mana she was gathering dissipated due to the impact on her ribs as her armor crumpled.
It was only a single moment’s opening, but Ji-won had succeeded in prying it wide open.
There was no way to escape. Her stance was broken, her sword hand had lost its strength, and the mana she was gathering had scattered.
Light. The motion must be light, flexible, and above all, precise.
“This is the end.”
Just as Choi Ji-won’s sword was precisely aimed and thrusting towards the master of the city’s waist.
KRA-KOOOOM!!!
A bolt of lightning from the empty sky crashed down towards the master of the city, and Ji-won’s body was flung away like a puppet with its strings cut.
From that moment on.
The air in the plaza changed.
“…I didn’t intend for it to go this far.”
The master of the city’s two eyes shone with a piercing blue light.
The stone floor turned to dust and slowly began to float into the air, and the surrounding space vibrated violently.
“Wait! Wait a minute! Please calm down!”
An angel’s horrified voice could be heard from somewhere, but the master of the city showed no signs of stopping.
“This isn’t my fault. You brought all of this upon yourselves.”
Streaks of blue lightning shot out from her armor, and the sword she held glowed blue, emitting a murderous aura.
It was different.
The pressure was different from before.
That was not the kind of enemy that could be resisted. A natural disaster is not something you fight and win against, but something you endure and adapt to.
That thing could not be beaten.
“…Crazy.”
It was a phenomenon I knew of in my head. I just never dreamed I would see it with my own two eyes in reality.
I should have considered the possibility that this could happen…
The skin all over my body tingled, and I felt an itchy sensation on my scalp as my hair slowly began to rise.
“…Cough, cough.”
There was Ji-won, collapsed and breathing with difficulty.
“Uh, uh…”
“What is this…”
Leaving the horrified players behind, the natural disaster in human form made its declaration.
“I won’t kill you. All of you.”
The master of the city had activated Heart of Lightning Flash.
Footnotes:
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