Villain Hides His True Colors

Hongir looked at the boy with trembling eyes.

The huge wolf in front of him was snickering. And as if he was mocking him, he stood on his hind legs after showing the second half of his tribe’s body art.

“Ah, you can just do it like this. So why can’t I also do it? Keukeu.”

A blatant ridicule. But to him right now, it didn’t come off as a ridicule.

He watched the boy’s behavior as if he was possessed.

The most complete form of ‘Whirlwind Club Art’ he could only dream of.

The technique the boy had swung like a joke was clearly the second half 1st style, ‘Lightning Storm.’

How did he know the Turbak’s unique martial art?

Huh, maybe I was mistaken?

He tried to deny the reality, but soon realized how vain it was.

In order to learn the second half, he was confident that he had worked harder than anyone else, so there was no way he could have been mistaken.

With a trembling voice, he asked the boy.

“H-how do you know the art of our tribe? No, more than that, how did you use the technique in the second half?”

“I just do?”

“Th-that’s absurd…It’s something that can’t happen! Oh, right! Magic! It’s a magic trick!”

“Coming up with excuses because you can’t do it. It’s just that ahjussi isn’t talented.”

The boy’s words dug into his heart like a dagger.

Talent? Did he say talent?

What did he even know to say such a thing?

He had put in more effort than anyone else to overcome his natural limitations.

In order to not be ridiculed as livestock and to overcome the limits of his birth.

Hadn’t his master also acknowledged his tenacity and determination?

The very same master who had an immense standard.

Even though talent was important in using the Whirlwind Club Art, he refused to believe that he would lose because of the difference in talent.

If it was just because the boy’s wolf blood was thicker…

Then what did my efforts amount to so far?

And also, hadn’t he overcome all the other tribesmen who had a stronger beast blood than him?

But talent?

He neither had the choice of his birth nor his bloodline…

“Is it so important?!”

Crack–!

Hongir suddenly inflated his arm.

Beyond the limitations of his body, he poured in mana to the point where it became a precarious situation for even himself.

The veins burst and the entire arm turned dark.

And finally, 

Boom–!

Along with a sonic boom, a terrifying sharp wind burst out.

Buildings and piles of garbage were cut clean where the wind passed.

The world seemed to have been divided in two.

Yes…this will do it!’!

Hongir was convinced of his victory.

However, the boy avoided the attack with just minimal movement.

Then, he retaliated by firing a sharp wind at him.

In any case, I’ve been practicing this body art for a longer time.

Ignoring the second half of the body art, he was confident that he had an advantage when it came to the techniques in the first half.

Although he couldn’t see the wind blade, he was able to read the path clearly from the boy’s movement.

And as he had predicted, he safely avoided the attack. But…

Swish–!

The attack he thought he had avoided suddenly flew from behind his back.

“Keuaak!”

He screamed in pain. His body wasn’t split in two thanks to his tough skin, but his whole body became covered in blood.

“H-how…”

He had definitely avoided the attack. It was inconceivable that the wind blade would rotate back…

It was completely incomprehensible with his common sense.

And as if answering his question, the boy nonchalantly spoke.

“It’s a little difficult to control, but this skill naturally blends with the whirlwind.”

Hongir had never heard of such a thing from his master. Did the boy say it on purpose because he lacked talent?

He trembled with a deep sense of humiliation.

N-no. There’s still a chance.

The boy may have a high understanding of the body art, but he had an overwhelming advantage when it came to physical strength.

Just once…If I can just land one attack on him…

Having made up his mind, he charged at the boy while covering his face with both arms.

His efforts had never betrayed him. He recklessly tried to narrow the distance by believing in his tempered body.

But,

Woosh–!

“Kuaaak!”

He couldn’t get close. The boy fired a sharp wind each time when the distance seemed to have narrowed and his body would refuse to move due to the terrible pain.

Attacking the boy was out of reach. At this rate…he would die without even getting near him.

He shouted with convulsion.

“You dirty son of a bitch! You don’t even know the honor of a warrior! Are you going to keep fighting like that?!”

“Hehe, thank you for the compliment.”

“I’m going to kill you! You’re going to die once I get my hands on you!”

Hongir fired sharp winds everywhere with the feeling of grabbing at straws. However, such reckless attacks only destroyed the buildings around them.

Meanwhile, even though he had several opportunities, he could only back down, leaving painful wounds.

Like a predator playing with its prey, he was being toyed with.

“Keuh…Kill me instead! Kill me!”

“Oh, then I should stop playing and kill you.”

“?!”

The boy suddenly changed his posture. It was the second half 1st style, Lightning Storm.

Death came to mind the moment Hongir stood facing it.

Ah, n-no…Not yet! A way…there must be a way.

He looked around frantically to find a way to survive. Suddenly, the children caught his eyes.

Th-that’s it!

He ran to the children without looking back. Then, he grabbed one and shouted, pulling out his long claws.

“I’m going to kill all of these children if you come close!”

He would be able to get out of this crisis if he used these kids that the boy cared about.

This was absolutely not a disgraceful act. It was just the wisdom of a clever hunter.

“Do as you please.”

“Y-you’re bluffing, it’s no use! I’ve definitely warned you!”

He cried out in desperation. 

But as if the boy didn’t care, he saw him preparing to charge at him.

Electric sparks crackled from the pitch black mane.

“I-I’m really going to kill them! I don’t care if these punks die…”

Along with a deafening roar, the boy instantly turned into a dark thunderbolt and charged at him.

Crazy!

He immediately threw the child away and took a defensive posture.

Boom–!

But his body was already exhausted and he failed to prevent the attack.

“Kuaaak!”

Thrown back in an instant, he rolled across the ground like a lifeless corpse.

Meanwhile, one of the arms that he was so proud of fell far away.

Blood constantly poured down from the cut area as his eyes lost focus.

Hek, hek–

He heard the approaching sound of a wolf’s breathing.

N-no…

He couldn’t die like this. Sometimes one step back was necessary for two steps forward.

As such, he hurriedly knelt down.

“W-wait! Please…S-spare my life. So please.”

“Hmm…? Ahjussi, I think you can keep fighting, but you’re giving up already?”

“Yes. No more. I’ve realized that I can’t win even if I continue. I’ll surrender like this, so spare my life. A-and! Didn’t I save your life before?!”

The boy seemed to be smiling as he returned to his human form.

Seeing that, he spoke with a bright smile.

“Th-that’s right! True warriors should never forget grace!”

For a while, the boy stared at him, who was lying on the ground. Soon, he pulled out his sword with an expression of someone who had lost his excitement.

“It’s not fun.”

Wuung–

“W-wait a minute! This is different from what I said…”

Puk–!

The boy calmly inserted his sword into his chest.

And then, with the feeling of the world turning gray, he closed his eyes.

* * * * * * * * * *

[ Level has risen. ]

[ Level has risen. ]

.

.

.

[ You’ve reached level 37. ]

[ Gained Level 35 Skill Selection. ]

“Hmm…”

I felt a strange sense of oddity as I looked at the body that was pierced in the heart.

He was definitely a strong enemy. But I won unexpectedly easily.

It was strange. I had definitely felt that he was very dangerous.

To be honest, it would have been dangerous if I had taken damage in the beginning.

There was no proper way to deal with him if it wasn’t for Heavenly Body.

However, the dangerous feeling that I had felt when I first saw him was not at this level.

Did he lose his will as we fought?

Well, I was satisfied because I had gained a lot of experience.

I originally came here to catch the necromancer, but somehow, I ended up completing a Challenge and earning an unexpected bonus experience.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

It was all good except for one thing.

I looked at the long wound on my side. Even though I had recovered to some extent with drain life, it was still a deep wound.

So far, I’ve always been able to recover after getting damaged…

This was the first time since the start of the second round that I had received such a wound.

…Thinking about it like that made me angry.

How dare he interrupt my perfect record.

It was unbearable.

I shook my butt as hard as I could near his face. Like my Body that had reached 3, my teabagging had also evolved one step further.

Woosh–

Woosh–

As soon as I was enjoying the rights of a winner, the children nearby ran to me.

“Keuehuk…Noah-nim, you saved us again while you were fighting…It’s really touching.”

“I thought oppa would be in danger this time…I’m so glad that you’re okay! By the way… What is oppa doing right now?”

“Hmm?”

Well…newbies didn’t even know how to do such a basic thing.

I explained this glorious act to them with a kind heart.

“This is called teabagging. Hmm…To put it simply, it’s like praying for peace so that the dead can close their eyes comfortably.”

“Keuk…I can’t believe you’re embracing an enemy who tried to kill you…Noah-nim really is…”

“Then, does everyone want to give it a try?”

“””Ah!”””

The children exclaimed and began to shake their hips near Hongir as a group.

“Wait, that’s not it. Pumpkin. You don’t have to lower your pants.” 

“O-oh? Okay. Got it.”

It was always a pleasant sight to see newbies learning the joy of games.

I stepped out of my way so that the growing sprouts could enjoy themselves.

Right…let’s check the level up reward.

My gacha moment was broken while trying to choose a skill earlier.

And the same thing may happen again this time.

As expected, games were the most dangerous when shopping.

I looked around carefully without letting my guard down. There was no threat.

No way, nothing will happen again, right?

As such, I opened my status window. As soon as I was going to choose a skill,

“Kyaaak!”

“N-Noah-nim!”

Suddenly, the children screamed. I quickly pulled out my sword and looked back.

The Hongir guy who was lying on the ground had opened his eyes wide.

“I knew it…we couldn’t comfort the dead with our teabagging…”

I ignored the agitated children and faced Hongir. I had no time to pay attention to anything else right now.

The hairs all over my body stood on end. The ominous intuition that I had felt a while ago was going crazy.

What the hell was this guy…?

Hongir slowly stood up. Then at some point, a sudden burst of cold negative energy surged from him.

Shii–

The ground froze in an instant, and everywhere I looked had turned into a transparent plate of ice.

In addition, the children and residents standing around Hongir began to lose consciousness and collapse.

This…

It felt familiar for some reason. A sense of deja vu.

I recalled the Savage God that I had come to know the existence of for the first time a few months ago.

Was it called Turbak?

Giving off a stronger presence than before, Hongir spoke to me.

“You hurt my child again. Human.”

A chilling voice that made me feel as if my heart was going to freeze. He glared fiercely at me.

“Even though I warned you then, to do this again is an insult to me. I can’t tolerate it any longer.”

Hongir raised his hand. White frost gathered around it, giving off a terrifying energy.

The appearance was as if death had turned into ice.

A way out of this…

I thought hard. However, I couldn’t see a way to deal with this powerful enemy no matter how much I thought.

As if also acknowledging that fact, no Challenge came to mind.

At this level, I couldn’t resist at all. As soon as I felt imminent death, Hongir suddenly retracted his power.

He scowled and spat out.

“I see, is the law of causality not allowed up to this point? You’re a lucky guy.”

Hongir sighed. I didn’t know what it was, but for now, there seemed to be a restriction to his power.

That was a relief.

Perhaps it was a similar principle to its inability to exert its original power on Earth.

“Killing you is impossible because of the law of causality, but it’s possible to cause you a pain more painful than death. Human, I’ll give you an eternal winter.”

For some reason, he had come up with another way to judge me.

Ominous mana began to gather again around his hand.

Was it a curse? I immediately transformed into a dire wolf.

I wasn’t sure if I could avoid the curse of a self-proclaimed God, but it should work to some extent because I was resistant to most curses.

But suddenly, Hongir, who saw me like that, scattered his magic as it was. Then, he looked at me with his eyes wide open.

“Oh my?”

An incomprehensible situation. Was the law of causality at work again?

He stood there like an ice sculptor for a while and observed me.

I didn’t know why he was doing that all of a sudden, but…

Now!

I ran without looking back. But at that moment,

Crack–!

The moisture in the atmosphere froze, creating a high barrier of ice in front of me.

Crazy.

I changed direction and ran. But every time that happened, a barrier made of ice would block me.

Then, at some point, I reached a dead end.

I could see him slowly approaching me.

Unlike a little while ago, he was smiling brightly.

His eyes glistened with madness.

Was he toying with me before killing me?

Game over at a place like this? To a possessed existence I didn’t even know?

I released my transformation and pulled out my sword. But,

Shii–

The sword froze and I couldn’t unsheathe it. And at the same time, water vapor froze everywhere and my body became bound.

“Keuk!”

I exerted force, but the ice didn’t budge even with my Body being over 3.

Thud–Thud–!

Hongir continued toward me. Then he looked at me, whose limbs were encased in ice.

“Huhu, where are you running to? Did you want to play tag with me?”

At that moment, a message appeared in front of my eyes.

[ Favorability has increased. ]

Favorability…Wasn’t he trying to kill me?

But my intuition was telling me something else. The alarms in my head rang more fiercely than ever.

More than when I faced the demon army in the past.

His eyes sparkled with madness.

“Human. I think I’ve taken a liking to you. Do you have any thoughts of becoming my avatar and staying with me forever?”

What was he saying all of a sudden?

[ The Savage God Turbak has suggested you become its ‘avatar.’ ]

[ Instead of receiving power from a God through possession, your body and soul will belong to it. ]

Belong to it?

I didn’t know what it meant, but it was a term that smelled dangerous. I immediately rejected the offer.

“I don’t want to.”

“Hmm…That’s a pity.”

As if he was really disappointed, his shoulders lowered.

“I didn’t expect to get a male like you so easily. For now, I think it would be best to win your favor little by little.”

Then suddenly, he approached me and slowly caressed my cheek.

What was he trying to do?

He looked at me with madness in his eyes and spoke.

“You’re a beautiful child for a human being. Someday, you’ll grow into a manly male.”

Like playing a horror game, sweat flowed down my spine and my lips became dry.

He patted my cheek and continued.

“However, as expected, you look better as a wolf.”

His face was getting closer to me little by little.

“Wh-what are you…”

“You don’t have to refuse. This is just my small favor to you.”

Don’t tell me…

The worst assumption in my head passed by. Like bugs crawling all over my body, terrible disgust slowly enveloped me.

I desperately tried to resist, swinging my immobile arm. But only a small crack appeared on the ice and I couldn’t release my arms at all.

“N-no!”

And eventually…He placed his lips on my forehead.

Smack–!

“Kuaaak!”

A terrible feeling that couldn’t be expressed in words.

I screamed in agony. At the same time, a message popped up in front of my eyes.

[ You’ve received the blessing of the Savage God Turbak. ] 

[ Blessing is registered as a skill. ]

Classification: General

Grade: B 

Description: A God’s blessing that is suspiciously powerful.

*Greatly increases resistance to the cold element.

*Favored by all beasts.

But I couldn’t see it. I just stared into space with a blank look.

He looked down at me and spoke.

“I think this is the limit to the law of causality. Let’s meet again next time. Human.”

“…”

It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. The overwhelming presence that dominated the surrounding area disappeared.

The frozen ice melted in an instant. And the whole place turned into muddy water.

“…”

I sat down in the puddle and stared blankly at Hongir’s corpse.

And…

Grabbing the part where his lips had touched, I screamed.

“Aaaack!”

An unfamiliar feeling that couldn’t be suppressed rose from deep within me. Anger that made my hands tremble without me even realizing it.

Kill…I must kill that pervert.

I added it as number one on my must-kill list in my mind.

There was no way to find or kill it right now, but…

I’ll definitely kill it someday.

Today’s humiliation will never be forgotten. Thus, while I sat in the muddy water, I vowed to have my revenge.