WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 139: It Has Nothing to Do with Me
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“『Special Construction Act, Enforced』.”
The moment Rimon and Eugene began clashing sword and hammer, Velos acted at once.
Taking advantage of everyone’s attention being focused on their fight, he opened his law book and quietly activated a Skill.
Then the changes began.
Rumble!
“Damn...!”
“He’s running!”
The floor split apart, stairs suddenly formed, pillars shot upward, and walls sprang out.
The building’s structure twisted chaotically around Velos. Hampered by the restrictions of 『High-Speed Action Prohibited』 and 『Bipedal Locomotion Prohibited』, the Ink Dragon Squad lost sight of Velos as he shot upward along a pillar and hurried to pursue him.
“There’s no need to chase him. Hold your positions.”
Youin stopped them.
Then, looking up at Velos, who had risen nearly high enough to touch the lobby ceiling, he continued quietly.
“Someone else will deal with that guest.”
Unaware that the Ink Dragon Squad had stopped pursuing him, Velos continued reshaping the building as he swiftly moved toward a window.
His plan was to blast a hole through it and escape.
“『Great Barrier』, 『Spatial Severance』.”
But that plan failed.
Before he could even reach the window, a massive wall suddenly rose before him, and a blade flying through the air severed the pillar he was riding.
Velos grabbed a nearby railing to avoid falling, then climbed onto it.
He glared coldly at the person who had obstructed him.
“Do not interfere needlessly.”
“Regrettably, I am this place’s temporary security guard today. By contract, I have an obligation to interfere needlessly.”
The man wearing a monocle gave that calm reply.
Velos stared at Lee Cheon-gi in disbelief.
“Ha! A bastard who calls himself a Monarch is playing lapdog for the Seven Dragons Society over a few pennies? Are you in your right mind?”
In truth, anyone else would have keenly sympathized with Velos’s sentiment.
In this Iron Age, Monarchs were absolute beings.
They stood at the pinnacle of all Players, beings with the power and authority to shake an entire nation with a single word.
And one of them was working as a security guard.
Nobody would have believed such nonsense even as a joke. It was as absurd as using an aircraft carrier as a fishing boat.
“It is not something I particularly wanted to do, but I received an offer I could not refuse.”
“What, did they promise to hand over Leviathan itself?”
“No. An offer far more frightening than that.”
Yet Lee Cheon-gi showed no shame at Velos’s mockery. He answered with perfect calm.
As if there were no reason to be ashamed of accepting an offer that obviously had to be accepted.
What kind of offer could it have been?
Velos was puzzled.
He had said it sarcastically, but he did not truly believe Lee Cheon-gi had moved for money.
Perhaps the Golden Monarch would have, but every other Monarch could earn limitless wealth simply by clearing Dungeons. They spent money like water.
A rare item? Or a beauty without equal?
What could this irresistible offer have been, one that made Lee Cheon-gi act personally?
Velos fixed a probing stare on him, filled with deep curiosity.
No. It did not matter.
Velos soon snorted.
Whatever Lee Cheon-gi’s objective was, only one thing concerned him.
Lee Cheon-gi was an enemy, and Velos was carrying out a mission of the highest priority.
“By the wishes of my superiors, I did not particularly want to fight you... But if you insist on fighting, I will teach you your place.”
“You should not say such things so carelessly.”
“Do you think I cannot defeat a lapdog of the Seven Dragons Society like you?”
“It is advice regardless of who wins or loses.”
Velos radiated a fierce killing intent.
Lee Cheon-gi spoke calmly to him.
“If you win, it does not matter. But I recently learned that if you say something like that and lose, it becomes unbearably embarrassing.”
Twitch.
Those words were entirely sincere.
But because they had come from Lee Cheon-gi, they sounded like nothing but mockery. A vein bulged on Velos’s forehead.
“You should take that advice to heart yourself, lapdog of the Seven Dragons Society!”
As that shout rang out, Velos opened his law book.
At the moment Lee Cheon-gi snapped his fingers.
“『Insect-Gnawing Sentence, Requested』.”
“『Octagonal Barrier』, 『Lesser Flame Formation』, 『Flame Torrent』.”
Boom!
Countless insects that shot through the air were blocked by the barrier’s eight layers, then incinerated by flames that surged up explosively.
That was only the beginning.
“『Electricity Business Act, Enforced』. 『Electric Chair Sentence, Requested』.”
Sparks tangled together like a net and flew toward him, while a chair rising from the floor wrapped leather straps around his limbs.
It was an attack that created a lightning execution chamber with no possible avenue of escape.
“『Electric Shock Resistance』, 『Lightning Rod Field』, 『Charge-Storing Spear』, 『Launch Acceleration』.”
But the lightning rebounded off a faint glow, traveled along an invisible membrane, and gathered in a spear that appeared in midair.
The instant the lightning condensed within the spear reached its limit, the spear flew toward Velos faster than lightning itself, carrying a bolt hot enough to glow white.
“『Electrical Safety Act, Enforced』. 『Gas Sentence, Requested』.”
The instant he blocked the lightning spear, Velos spread poisonous gas to attack Lee Cheon-gi.
If this scene had been broadcast, it would have achieved record-breaking viewership.
Using every kind of Skill alone, including attacks, defense, support, and healing, which normally had to be divided among a party at minimum, was merely the baseline.
It was a battle between superhumans capable of even changing their elemental properties to suit the situation, the kind of combat every Player would aspire to.
And it was all the more remarkable because someone who was not even a Monarch was fighting the Infinite Monarch on equal footing.
What is this?
Yet Velos himself grew increasingly anxious as the battle continued.
Why can I not gain the upper hand?
Until the battle began, Velos had been certain he could overwhelm Lee Cheon-gi.
『Rule of Law』 was a cheat Skill that had allowed Grand Duke Beopjeong to fight even the Summoning Monarch on equal terms.
And through 『Constellation Descent』, Velos’s every Skill effect had been vastly enhanced, while his stats now surpassed even those of Monarchs.
By all accounts, he should have been able to overwhelm even a Monarch.
Yet the fact that he was fighting a mere Infinite Monarch evenly was baffling.
It cannot be because of Skill compatibility.
He dismissed the thought that came to mind.
Lee Cheon-gi wielded thousands of Skills, making him an outrageous existence who could gain a compatibility advantage against anyone.
But in terms of versatility, his 『Rule of Law』 did not fall behind at all.
I have injuries and have expended energy, but that does not matter now.
It was true that the injuries he had suffered fighting Li Qing-yu made close combat difficult.
That was why he had kept his distance.
But even if he had been uninjured, he would have used the same strategy against Lee Cheon-gi, who had overwhelmed Eugene in close combat.
Why? Why?
He should have won.
But not only was that obvious result not coming, he could not even understand why.
Then Lee Cheon-gi suddenly asked,
“Is it strange that you cannot defeat me?”
“...You are even using 『Mind Reading』 while fighting. You must have time to spare.”
“I did not particularly read your mind. It simply looked as though your face said you could not understand this at all.”
Velos had been struck at the heart of the matter, but he sharply retorted while using a Skill to send countless needles shooting upward.
As Lee Cheon-gi melted the needles with a bubble-like shield of highly acidic fluid, he continued quietly.
“Honestly, I find your confidence more surprising.”
“Are you saying it is natural that someone who is not a Monarch cannot defeat you, a Monarch?”
Velos’s expression turned cold.
As the Ghost of the Liberation Brigade, blessed with great protection, he could not tolerate the insult of being looked down on.
Even if his opponent was a Monarch, an absolute being of this age.
But contrary to Velos’s belief, Lee Cheon-gi had not said it to insult him.
It was merely his honest impression.
“No. I mean it is impressive that you can be so confident of victory while using Skills like that.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I am saying the way you use your Skills is strange.”
“Do not talk as you please when you know nothing about my Skills.”
“Yes, I do not know much about your Skills. But I know quite a lot about how to steal and use someone else’s Skills.”
Even Velos, who had sharply snapped at him, could not help falling silent at Lee Cheon-gi’s next words.
He was the Infinite Monarch.
With 『Skill Copying』, a cheat Skill that had allowed him to acquire thousands of Skills, he was the foremost expert in using other people’s Skills.
That was why Lee Cheon-gi could notice what was strange about Velos.
“The power and control of the Skills you use are excellent. In some ways, they are better than mine.”
Lee Cheon-gi readily admitted it.
Velos’s current abilities were Monarch-class.
His Skill power, the enhancement from his stats, and the battle sense he had gained through countless fights against other people.
In almost every respect, he had already transcended the limits of a Grand Duke.
“But why are your Skill combinations and applications so rudimentary?”
“...!”
There was only one problem.
He lacked the ability to use his Skills in diverse ways.
Even mid-ranking Players could apply their Skills in all kinds of ways, yet Velos’s use of Skills was far too simple.
And the reason was obvious.
“Since 『Rule of Law』 originally belonged to Grand Duke Beopjeong, I understand that you have not had much time to train with it, but...”
Grand Duke Beopjeong had disappeared several years ago.
If Velos had acquired 『Rule of Law』 then, it was only natural that he would still be unskilled at using it.
But even considering that, the Skills were too monotonous. Lee Cheon-gi openly voiced the suspicion that came to mind.
“Did you really obtain that Skill through normal means?”
“...”
“Did you perhaps acquire 『Rule of Law』 through abnormal means, then spend all this time fighting only battles you could easily win with the power of your Skill and level?”
Velos did not answer.
He merely glared at Lee Cheon-gi with a stiff expression.
That response was clearer than a hundred words, and Lee Cheon-gi slowly nodded.
“I thought something felt off. As expected.”
“What does it matter how I use my Skills? Do you believe every Skill belongs to you or something?”
“Of course, it has nothing to do with me.”
Perhaps because he had been struck at the heart of the matter.
Or perhaps because Lee Cheon-gi seemed to see through him.
Velos revealed his displeasure and snapped coldly, but Lee Cheon-gi answered calmly.
“Except that seeing you reminds me of the shameful person I was when I relied only on Skills and strutted about proudly, and makes me want to break everything.”
“What are you...?”
“So, for my own peace of mind, I will end this quickly.”
Velos had furrowed his brow, but then flinched.
It was not merely because Lee Cheon-gi swept back his hair as if calming an impulse, revealing the hideous, unfocused eye that had been concealed beneath the hair covering half his face.
The murderous aura welling from that eye, which reflected nothing, sent a chill down Velos’s spine.
Looking at Velos with that cold eye, Lee Cheon-gi quietly spoke.
“【Overlord】.”
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