As soon as I stepped out of the gate, a crowd came into view.
Heroes, cameramen, onlookers…
It was utter chaos.
I spoke quietly so that no one could hear.
“Ms. Laura, I’ll just use the skill book.”
[Alright. Rough analysis is finished.]
I opened the skill book and read it.
There was no need to read it all.
Just the act of “reading” it was enough.
<< Skill Acquired >>
————-<Skill>————-
◈ Name
Mist Shadow Martial Arts 霧影幻武
◈ Rank
000 A
◈ Description
A martial art founded by “The Nameless Supreme” just before his death. Due to its incomplete nature, it inflicts damage equal to 8n% of maximum health over 24 hours after combat ends.
(n is a random number between 1 and 30)
一. Mistform – Turns the body into mist.
二. Decapitation – Turns into mist, appears behind the opponent, and delivers a “deadly blow.”
三. Ten Thousand Shadows – Multiplies into many forms and strikes the opponent’s heart with an “unavoidable” attack.
———————————–
‘The skill description being this long is just like some League of Legends game.’
The hero ‘Metal Man’ approached.
He was a man of iron, his entire body resembling a metal statue.
“Hello there, ‘Dark Knight.’ Your reign of terror ends here.”
Hearing this made me laugh.
I don’t remember committing any acts that could be called “reign of terror.”
“What do you mean by ‘reign of terror’?”
Out of irritation, my voice came out deeper than usual.
“The ‘Sage’s Leather’ distorted it into a terrible metallic sound.
“Didn’t you mercilessly kill villains? They, too, are lives that deserve proper legal judgment.”
“Can you really say that in front of the victims?”
“…”
Speechless ‘Metal Man.’
He wasn’t one to talk much anyway; he simply smashed everything.
‘Office Lady’ interjected at the right moment.
She was a hero who often wore office attire and had the ability to brainwash villains into surrendering.
“It is possible. If private enforcement spreads, law and order collapses, ultimately leading to greater chaos. It’s not too late for you. Surrender now, and your sentence will be reduced, allowing you to rehabilitate. You’re an awakened one, after all.”
That’s true.
To be an awakened one is a major qualification.
Even if you went to a construction site, you’d be treated like a top ace.
You’re not like regular people; your body doesn’t get easily damaged.
There was no need for me to be the one to punish villains.
If I surrendered now…
Yeah, I just have to defeat the Demon King, right?
For some reason, it felt convincing.
[What are you doing?]
A single word from Laura immediately snapped me out of it.
So this was ‘Office Lady’s’ power.
Talks of surrender and reduced sentences were entirely irrelevant to me.
Because I’m not even a resident here.
Still, the fact that her power made me consider such trivial matters for a moment was impressive.
“That’s enough chatter.”
“Righteous. You dirty cloth-hiding freak.”
‘Metal Man’ dashed at me, kicking off from the ground.
Sure enough, the speed was impressive.
With all the cameras around, facing off against two A-rank heroes…
I didn’t do such things, did I?
I should experiment with the newly acquired skill.
Mistform.
‘Metal Man’s’ punch slammed into my abdomen.
No, it completely passed through.
At the moment his fist made contact, my body dispersed like mist.
He wore an expression of confusion.
Using ‘Mistform’ drained an enormous amount of mana.
A normal person would have struggled to endure it.
But thanks to ‘Dragon Heart,’ I possessed virtually infinite mana.
I used ‘Decapitation’ to move behind ‘Office Lady.’
I placed the Dragon Sword against her neck.
“Your ability is indeed dangerous. It nearly made me forget what I must do.”
I pondered.
Should I kill her?
‘Office Lady’ was an awaken one who had reached A-rank thanks to her S-rank intelligence.
Physical strength and agility weren’t her strong points.
If I slit her throat now, she would die.
Her trembling reached the blade at her throat.
“Are you afraid?”
From afar, ‘Metal Man,’ who had missed his attack, rushed to save her.
She hadn’t committed any crime.
Even though it’s a game world, these people live real lives here.
It felt a bit wrong to kill them indiscriminately.
I retreated while using ‘Decapitation’ on the onlookers.
Though it consumed a massive amount of mana, it didn’t bother me at all.
The heroes couldn’t catch me as I moved so quickly.
‘Isn’t this too overpowered?’
Even I was astonished by the skill’s broken nature.
How frustrated those heroes must have felt as they watched me escape without any countermeasures.
That thought changed while I was taking off the ‘Sage’s Leather’ in an uninhabited area.
————-<Mist Shadow Martial Arts>————-
[The battle has ended and the penalty for “Mist Shadow Martial Arts” has been activated.
Due to the influence of Luck F, n has come out as 30.
You will take 240% of your maximum health as damage over 24 hours.]
—————————————–
My body grew heavy.
Intense pain, as if my entire body had been carved with a knife.
The problem was this pain would continue.
‘Am I supposed to endure this for 24 hours?’
A full 240% of maximum health damage.
Without drinking potions in the meantime, you’d die.
A truly staggering cost.
Not to mention the cost of the potions alone was twenty million won.
‘I’ll have to thoroughly loot the villains.’
I somehow arrived at the apartment building.
Soft snores.
Park Hayeon was sleeping soundly on the sofa.
I smiled slightly as I placed my equipment into the safe in my room.
After hastily showering, I noticed that dinner was already set on the table.
A cold meal.
It must have been dinner prepared by Park Hayeon.
‘Now that I think about it, the protagonist was originally set to be good at cooking, right? Should I try it?’
Since all I’d eaten at the dungeon were random chocolate bars to fill my stomach, my appetite suddenly surged.
I sat at the table and picked up my utensils.
The grilled pork was cold but delicious.
The bean paste soup had also cooled, but it hadn’t lost its flavor.
A few days later, ‘Dark Knight’ transformed from a villain known only to a few to a globally recognized villain.
The reappearance of the gate was a shocking event that drew world attention, and naturally, the person who cleared that dungeon became noteworthy.
A special program was even created as the ‘Dark Knight’ craze swept through.
<MZ Generation: Why Are They Obsessed With 'Dark Knight'?>
<Korean-Type Hero 'Dark Knight'>
<Amateur Villain 'Dark Knight' Put Citizens to Death?>
<The World Takes Notice: 'Dark Knight' Stuns the US and Japan!>
There was even a TV program where they held a debate with ‘Office Lady,’ who had engaged with him.
The host asked her.
“Among all those who have spoken with ‘Dark Knight,’ ‘Office Lady’ stands out. What did you discuss?”
“He seemed to have a great conviction in what he was doing. I felt he was contemplating whether to kill me with a knife at my neck.”
“Ahhh. So you don’t kill innocent people? He holds such a belief?”
“Hmm. Just the fact that he contemplates killing a hero already seems quite unstable. He could turn into a indiscriminate murderer at any moment.”
The host brought up the most crucial topic.
“There’s a recent opinion that ‘Dark Knight’ forced his way into the gate, resulting in citizen deaths. What are your thoughts on this?”
‘Office Lady’ wasn’t a hunter and belonged to the second-generation awaken ones, so she shook her head in discomfort.
“That part should be better discussed with an expert rather than me. I’m not a hunter, after all. I’m not familiar with gates.”
“Ahhh, I see.”
Besides, she didn’t want to get entangled in unnecessary controversies.
Personally, she felt that since there was the time it took for heroes to respond, the fate of the citizens wouldn’t have changed anyway.
There was no benefit in saying that out loud.
Ironically, this program featuring ‘Office Lady’ gave the netizens a sense of certainty.
‘Dark Knight’ truly was a dark hero!
In various online communities, voices praising him grew louder.
—————————————
<Today in Congress, 'Dark Knight' was mentioned. Haha.>
The villains were causing chaos and killing citizens, but no one said anything until now. Suddenly, they’re talking about expanding and strengthening penalties for ability offenders. Haha.
Are they in cahoots with big villains?
Congress must be nervous because ‘Dark Knight’ just comes to kill them without bribery. Haha.
Reading the content of the law amendment, it seems specifically targeted at ‘Dark Knight.’ Haha.
Existing big villains aren’t affected. Haha.
Common people struggle by eating triangle-shaped rice cakes and convenience store lunch boxes, while important laws aren’t made. Instead, they just focus on preserving their own lives. Haha.
If only ‘Dark Knight’ would destroy the Congress entirely.
Likes-7712 Dislikes-1114
(Comments)-12447
<Didn't look into it much, but apparently it's true, so give a like. Haha.>
<Watched the video, and Metal Man, a stubborn old man, doesn't even listen to reason and just attacks.>
<There's a high possibility Metal Man's brain is also made of steel.>
<Is this really a true hero? Is this really a true hero? Is this really a true hero? Is this really a true hero? Is this really a true hero? Is this really a true hero? Is this really a true hero?>
<Looking at the National Candidate list, it's hilarious. All of them have criminal records and haven't served in the military. The problem is that there are no normal people, so we end up picking these folks.>
<Please give us a massacre ending, 'Dark Knight.'>
<Another 'Dark Knight' fanatic here. Social maladjusters... Ultimately, he's a murderer and will be caught soon enough.>
<Some D-rank hero caught red-handed.>
<Are you an old man?>
<Does 'Dark Knight' really cause harm to honest people? Honestly, it seems like the heroes, worried about losing their rice bowls, and the criminals dislike him. Haha.>
…
…
…
