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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 18: One-on-One (3)
"Hoo…"
I entered the last car alone after parting ways with the others.
Car 18, drawn as my own private safe zone, resembled the interior of an ordinary KTX train.
[Mission begins in 10 seconds.]
That was the story, at least until the announcement signaled the start.
'This is…'
As the announcement heralding the mission echoed like a starting gun…
Flash—!
Even the faint sources of light lost their power all at once.
And with the sound of something heavy splitting apart as if chopping down a massive tree with an axe...
Thud!
A chilling gaze appeared.
This time, not in the sky but filling the entire ceiling of the train.
[Mission begins.]
[You have three chances in total. Eliminate the demon!]
The pitch-black pupil in the center of the 'eye' momentarily blurred, and the space before it rippled.
Like a viscous liquid boiling over in an instant.
And emerging through that distorted space was…
Boom!
"A goblin?"
It vaguely resembled a human but had grotesquely long limbs and a hooked nose protruding from the front of its face rather than the top.
It was as tall as my chest and held a spiked mace bristling with sharp objects in its hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The demon, upon spotting me, swung its long arms almost to the ground, moving them back and forth.
Its mace struck the train floor so hard it left dents.
The way it rotated its shoulder energetically resembled the warm-up routine before a shot-put throw.
'If that hits me, my head's going to split open.'
It looked quite dangerous, but…
I decided to test the waters first.
“Petrification, Summon!”
["Summoning the Lightning Blade."]
["Electric Discharge" ability activated, remaining uses: 10.]
Bright light illuminated the dark space in an instant.
Crackle—!
Gripping the spark-emitting dark brown hilt tightly with my stiffening hands, I noticed the lightning wrapping around the black blade.
A thin, glossy film covered the blade, with blue flames dancing unpredictably atop it.
Screech! Screeeech!
The demon, alarmed by the weapon brimming with bursting energy, let out a wail.
It hurriedly opened and closed its mouth, its lips flapping.
'I’ll add acceleration to be safe.'
Eliminating the danger was the best course of action.
Its wrinkled, leathery skin looked pretty thick, and the Electric Discharge effect might not be as strong as I hoped.
...Just as I was about to execute my plan.
— %$!∄$※$∅-!
The demon’s torn eyes focused on me.
Its jagged teeth were exposed, and a bizarre sound, like nails scratching metal, seeped not into my ears but straight into my mouth.
Gasp!
It felt like inhaling dense smoke condensed into a bead.
Even as I coughed and choked on the foreign sensation filling my throat, I shouted.
'Accelerate!'
"...!"
'Huh? One more time…'
"...!"
'Accelerate! Accelerate! Acceleraaaate!'
I repeated "Accelerate!" in my mind, but only weak, airy sounds escaped.
No skills, not even my voice, were coming out.
'It’s blocking my speech to prevent skill usage!'
Could this be the demon’s ability?
It was fortunate I had summoned the blade immediately after it appeared.
Otherwise, I’d be fighting without a weapon.
'Still, I’m lucky.'
It was disappointing not to have acceleration, but Electric Discharge wasn’t a bad substitute.
The weapon discharged high-voltage electricity when used against enemies.
'So... it activates automatically when I attack, right?'
Leap!
I raised the Lightning Blade and jumped forward.
The demon glanced at the crackling blade, seemingly uneasy, but soon swung its mace, thinking it was fine since my skills were blocked.
But.
Whoosh—!
I dodged the mace aimed at my head.
Quickly circling behind the demon, I exited its line of sight.
As it struggled to pull its mace from a seat it had embedded into, I thrust my blade deep into its shriveled neck.
Stab!
["Electric Discharge activated!"]
Crackzzzzz—!
A massive flash exploded, momentarily blinding me.
Squinting, I forced my eyes open and saw…
The demon writhing in agony, enveloped in brilliant yellow and deep blue lightning streaks.
Screeeech—! Screeeech—!
Its mouth gaped as if gasping for air, emitting weak metallic sounds.
From its crown to its feet, its entire body trembled violently, like a tree in a storm.
The scorched skin around the blade turned black, smoke rising from the charred remains.
["Electric Discharge," remaining uses: 9.]
Boom!
The demon collapsed, its form like a lightning-struck dead tree.
‘This is…’
The sheer power was overwhelming.
Even through the petrified hand that had turned to stone from within, the tingling sensation was unmistakable.
‘Amazing.’
To think a single attack could cause such destruction.
I couldn’t help but feel astonished at its unexpected might.
‘Though, it does have the drawback of being unusable without petrification.’
Still, the effect was worth far more than its downside.
Crackle! Crackle!
As I stared blankly at the flickering bolts of electricity, still unsatisfied after taking down the demon’s limp body and another beast—
[You have defeated a demon!]
[Cleared Car 18.]
The announcement signaling the mission’s completion echoed in the air.
Soon, the demon's corpse, which had been sprawled across the floor, vanished as if melting away.
Was it over?
‘Did everyone else make it?’
I managed to handle it relatively easily thanks to the temporary skill, but for others, it must have been a struggle.
[Mission failed.]
Especially the child who had been left alone…
Wait.
Failed?
[Penalty will be imposed due to mission failure.]
Why?!
* * *
[…Harona?]
Struggling to suppress his anger, Seung opened his mouth in a low voice, addressing his superior who had clearly caused a huge mess.
[Didn’t you say the support item wasn’t a big deal?]
[Hmm… Did I?]
[Yes. You specifically said it wouldn’t be of much use.]
The support item sent by an anonymous observer: "Lightning Oil."
It wasn’t a bad item, to be fair.
However, since the high-voltage electricity affected not just the target but also the user, most dismissed it as a flashy but impractical tool.
Especially in the early stages when physical attributes weren’t fully developed.
And yet, the designated user, Lee Eunho, had…
[Seriously, isn’t this the kind of item you save until you get stronger? Like, ‘I need to become stronger to use this!’ That sort of thing?]
[…]
[He’s the weird one, not me!]
Harona sighed heavily, looking at her subordinate’s frosty expression, a poor excuse of an explanation spilling out of her mouth.
She had figured they might as well let the unusually generous observer donate the item without interference for once.
Who could have guessed he would use it immediately?
[What’s the point of saving it if he’s already using it this effectively?]
[Sigh. This is exactly why I was worried.]
She wasn’t lying.
The demon, which rendered skills useless, was a natural enemy for those overly reliant on them.
Lee Eunho, in particular, heavily depended on skills while his own combat ability was negligible.
So in that sense, it had been a fair trade-off.
[But… We’ll see. There are only nine Electric Discharges left.]
[He’s the type to turn grass into a weapon. We underestimated him, Harona.]
[What did you just say?]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
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…Even so, her irritation flared.
Harona’s eyebrow twitched, clearly displeased by Seung’s brazen attitude.
Then—
[Enough, enough!]
—Bang!
Her small fist slammed onto the desk.
Flinch.
The tremor from her strike carried through to Seung, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
[The mission has already started!]
Seung, mid-sentence, froze with his mouth agape.
[If you’re not going to watch, then leave.]
[…I apologize.]
Seung unclasped his hands, straightened his posture, and shifted his focus.
On the screen, an announcement played.
‘All personnel outside the safe zone will be eliminated.’
‘Restructuring complete.’
After the first round ended, the safe zone was reactivated and fulfilled its role.
The second round had begun.
‘As a penalty for mission failure, the demon has evolved into a greater demon.’
‘Defeat the greater demon.’
The greater demon loomed over Lee Eunho, its size now overwhelming.
The mace that had once been the size of his head was now double that.
And yet—
[I’m not too worried,]
Said Seung in a calm tone, almost detached.
Harona nodded in agreement.
[What about the other cars?]
[As expected, they’re panicking. Some have already been taken out.]
The screens filled with scenes of Lee Eunho’s companions.
"Ahhhh!"
"Shit! What do we do?!"
"Somebody save me!!!"
…People screaming helplessly as demons silenced their cries.
A child crouched in a corner, hands over their mouth.
A woman who’d survived by sheer luck, having fled the entire mission.
A man crushed to death the moment the first round began.
Compared to them, Lee Eunho was…
"Accelerate!"
As soon as the Great Ogre revealed itself, the shout for acceleration came as if waiting for it.
Speed so fast that an ordinary human wouldn’t even recognize it—a light-like velocity.
In less than a fraction of a second, he dashed from one end of the train to the other, leapt onto the seats, and launched himself.
[Lightning speed.]
— Zzzzt!
Lee Eunho's sword pierced between the Great Ogre's face and torso.
Then came an electric current striking like lightning.
On top of that, his bodyweight and the sharp energy of his blade added to the blow.
Boom!
The Great Ogre’s head rolled cleanly to the ground.
‘Great Ogre has been slain!’
‘Car 18 cleared.’
Huff.
Seung let out a deep sigh, as if the ground might cave in under his breath.
[The difference in skill between him and the others is too vast.]
[It really is, isn’t it?]
[Not just his strength but his intelligence is extraordinary.]
You could call his intuition almost frighteningly sharp.
It even seemed he figured out the mission’s rules on his own.
‘Car 18… cleared?’
Muttering as he furrowed his brows, he seemed to realize something.
Then, quickly dashing forward, he crossed into the next car.
[He seems to have caught on.]
The condition to successfully complete this mission.
That was—
[The entire train must be cleared all at once.]
The individual safe zones were nothing but bait.
Because communication and cooperation among the subjects were impossible, the mission required every participant to pull their own weight to succeed.
For the Seoul Station survivors, who relied heavily on Lee Eunho, this was the worst possible scenario.
…The problem was that Lee Eunho was pulling not just one person’s weight, but five, even ten.
[Harona, if this incident becomes known to the higher-ups, we’ll...]
[It’s fine, it’s fine. How would they find out?]
Even amidst the chaos, Harona responded nonchalantly, her twin braids bouncing as she wore an expression full of excitement.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
But Seung couldn’t shake his unease.
[There’s bound to be controversy about fairness among the observers.]
[Is that so?]
Harona glanced at the nervous subordinate and smirked.
[I don’t think so.]
[What do you mean by that—?]
Then came the cheerful notification sound.
Ding!
【"Raven of the Administration Bureau" is impressed by Subject Lee Eunho's item utilization skills.】
【"Prince of the Investigation Bureau" wonders how such a person existed in District 13.】
【A few observers begin closely monitoring Subject Lee Eunho.】
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[W-What’s with this reaction…?]
Instead of controversy, the reaction had taken a completely different, enthusiastic turn.
Even new observers were flocking in, seemingly having heard of it from somewhere.
【The capacity of "The Eye" monitoring Subject Lee Eunho has been exceeded!】
【Would you like to upgrade "The Eye"?】
【If you do not consent, three random observers will be forcibly removed.】
While Seung was dumbfounded by the situation veering away from his expectations, scanning through the observers’ reactions—
Harona smacked her lips.
[Hmm. An upgrade, huh.]
[H-Harona! You’re not seriously thinking of spending points already, are you…?]
[Yes, that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.]
[Unbelievable! How could you waste precious points like that so soon?]
Seung cried out, caught somewhere between panic and disbelief.
No sane manager would squander points on upgrading an Eye for a mere preliminary candidate.
After all, such candidates were almost always doomed to fail.
[Hmmm.]
[Besides, that subject can barely hope to clear this mission!]
From Seung’s perspective, Lee Eunho was in a precarious situation.
[He has to defeat every ogre across all the train cars alone! You understand that, right?]
On top of that, the time limit was only ten minutes.
Clearing from Car 18 to Car 1 and making it back before the safe zones activated seemed an utterly impossible task.
Even the most capable person only has one body, after all.
[So, you’re saying he’s going to fail?]
[Well… that’s…]
But Seung couldn’t bring himself to say it definitively.
He wanted to declare it absolutely impossible, but somehow, there was this feeling—that if it were this person—
That he might just pull it off.
[You have to row while the tide is high.]
— Flash!
【Points successfully allocated!】
【Subject Lee Eunho’s Eye has been upgraded to Level 2.】
[But…!]
[Shh.]
Harona silenced the still-worried Seung with a sly grin.
[We’ve got to get our investment back. No matter what it takes.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
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