Chapter 44 - Yellow, Blue (1)
The Guardian of the Tower watched the video playing before her with great interest.
The ‘Watcher’s Eye’, which could observe anything in and around the Tower, was showing the target she had been most interested in lately.
Kim Gyu-sik.
The only irregular she couldn't perfectly calculate.
-Currently observing the same target for 120 hours. To ensure smooth management operations, it is recommended to observe another targe…
-Shut up.
She immediately retorted to the system that seemed to be informing her with a disgruntled tone.
The more experienced and wise a person was, the harder it was to take an interest in a specific target.
To put it slightly differently, if one found a target they could be interested in, it meant they would quickly step into a realm beyond mere interest.
So, the Guardian was now watching this man's progress with an almost heart-pounding feeling.
‘What will you do now?’
She had seen countless people climb the Tower.
And how those who reached that floor usually passed through it.
“…”
Probably.
There were far more who couldn't grasp the proper situation even until the ‘Yellow Wolf’ completely devoured the ‘Blue Wolf’.
But that man, Kim Gyu-sik, was devising a plan on his own even without any information given.
It was just amazing how he was so proactively controlling the situation on his own, just like last time.
If he were a thoughtless person, he would have immediately fallen for the sweet talk of the Yellow Wolf, who promised a conspicuously glittering reward.
-…
When the Guardian switched the screen, a video of a prime example of such a thoughtless person was transmitted.
What was his name again? She remembered it was Han… something.
She could remember if she tried, but a human of this level was no different from dust to her. It felt bothersome to even allocate a tiny space in her brain for him.
‘Boring.’
This one was chosen by the Yellow Wolf, but his overall behavior was boring to the extreme.
Everything was by the book, he had no intention of doing anything himself, and was just following the set path that the Yellow Wolf had told him.
Stale. To the point that just watching was annoying.
While Kim Gyu-sik had suddenly jumped off a cliff to reach the core at once, this one was entering the core through the ‘shortcut’ the Yellow Wolf had told him.
It was safe, but in terms of speed, he was already far behind.
So Kim Gyu-sik had made the first contact with the ‘Spirit Beast’ and taken the initiative.
So far, it was Kim Gyu-sik's overwhelming victory in every aspect.
The only thing she didn't understand was.
-…Why are you siding with the Blue Wolf?
The Blue Wolf offered overwhelmingly fewer advantages than the Yellow Wolf.
In contrast to the Yellow Wolf, who provided various buffs and information, and even rewards for carrying out instructions, it was safe to say that one could receive no help at all from the Blue Wolf, at least while progressing through the floor's conquest.
To the point that even some of those who had a good head on their shoulders and could clearly grasp what was happening there chose the Yellow Wolf solely for convenience.
‘Although it’s not completely nonexistent.’
However.
The Blue Wolf did offer one advantage.
A very small, but surefire, knife-like advantage.
-You, could it be that you already know?
And if Kim Gyu-sik had figured that out as well.
Surely.
He might be able to gift that floor the ‘best ending’ she was thinking of.
-I’m looking forward to it.
The Guardian, smiling again, brought up Kim Gyu-sik's video.
It was just in time for an interesting scene.
***
“I’ve always been curious about something.”
I scratched my head and spoke to the person entering the cave.
“Of all the animals, why did you choose Cheetah as your nickname?”
Hearing those words, Han Seong-wook's expression instantly crumpled.
It was an expression that said he didn't expect to find anyone else here.
Well, a natural reaction.
This one must have thought that Seo Ah-in and I were dead.
“…Tch.”
He glanced at me and clicked his tongue once.
The kind smile he had been wearing until now was gone, and only an expressionless face that looked clearly vile was in its place.
Well, there was no one else around now.
“…Huh? Come to think of it, where are the others? Why are you alone…?”
As if sensing something was off about his appearance, Seo Ah-in immediately pointed out what I was thinking.
I shrugged and answered.
“He probably abandoned them all. They were all bait in the first place.”
“Bait?”
“Yeah. To take the ‘shortcut’ that annoying woman told him about, he would have needed people to clear out the Demonic Beasts at least halfway. Am I wrong?”
The annoying woman here was obviously referring to Yelena.
Indeed, upon hearing my words, Han Seong-wook snorted and drew his sword.
The fact that he didn't even offer a rebuttal was as good as a silent affirmation.
In the first place, his purpose for coming here was to capture the Spirit Beast under Yelena's command.
If that thing devoured the Spirit Beast, he could achieve his goal without having to get involved with the Blue Wolf.
To achieve that, he probably thought of the others as just bait to deal with the annoying Demonic Beasts blocking his way.
And now.
He must be thinking that he could just kill the two of us to silence us.
A longsword was drawn from his scabbard with a chilling sound.
“I should have listened to Yelena. I should have killed you first for sure.”
The words that followed were a confirmation.
I smirked and gestured for Seo Ah-in, who was about to join in, to step back.
“You rest for a bit.”
“But…”
“You’ve done well enough so far. Just rest.”
“…Ah, um. O-okay?”
“…”
Watching Seo Ah-in step back with a dopey smile, I was reminded of how weak she was to genuine praise, but now was not the time to worry about that.
Han Seong-wook looked back and forth between me and Seo Ah-in with sharp eyes and opened his mouth.
“I’ll ask one thing before I kill you. Where is the Spirit Beast?”
The Spirit Beast, he must be talking about the large wolf that was with us just a moment ago.
As for where it was, well. It was a bit difficult to answer.
I just ‘took care’ of it.
But it was funny to ask something of someone you were about to kill in the first place.
“If you’re curious, you should find out for yourself. You think the world is easy?”
“…”
As I said that and readjusted my grip on my weapon, Han Seong-wook's expression hardened.
“Come to think of it, you asked me something earlier.”
He then took a stance with his sword and opened his mouth.
“Why my nickname is Cheetah.”
“Yeah. I was honestly a bit curious.”
At least the guys who took an animal as their nickname showed some consideration for style.
But what the hell was a Cheetah?
“…Hmph. A mere stray dog wouldn’t be able to understand such sentiment.”
He said that and grinned.
At this, Seo Ah-in flinched and took a step back.
“The cheetah… is smiling…?”
“…”
What are you doing?
Why have you suddenly become the reaction person?
“No, for some reason, when I see something like that, I wanted to try this at least once.”
Why, in comics and stuff, everyone always does this.
While Seo Ah-in was shamelessly saying that, Han Seong-wook also continued his sentence without caring about her reaction.
…This guy seems to have a thick skin too.
“Everyone else besides me are all stray dogs, and I am a cheetah. Although there are many who are ahead of me now-”
Let's quickly summarize the uninteresting story.
In short, this guy had been a Climber for a long time, had accumulated some years, and was even treated as a veteran by those around him.
But he couldn't grow into a top-tier figure like Ms. Seo Hye-in, the face of a guild, so his heart was twisted with jealousy every day.
So, to at least feel like he was overtaking those people, he called himself a Cheetah.
He couldn't endure the pain of his narrow mind without some mental victory, like telling himself that his potential hadn't been fully realized yet and that he could make it big if he really put his mind to it.
“…You summarized his ambitious explanation like that, and for some reason, the other party seems incredibly pathetic…”
Beside me, Seo Ah-in muttered with a stunned expression, but facts were facts.
It was certain just by looking at Han Seong-wook glaring at me with trembling lips.
“…H-huhu… You bastard, you’re really shortening your lifespan. A mere F-class Climber daring to stand against this C-class Climber-”
“No, no matter how you look at it, it’s a bit much for a perennial C-class to be running his mouth…”
“…Shut up! You piece of trash!”
The characteristic of a person with nothing to say is that they start with insults.
As I shrugged my shoulders, Han Seong-wook raised his sword with a truly furious expression.
“The Cheetah is the king of speed! I’ll show you why I’m called that! Take my blow!”
“In the first place, that Cheetah thing is self-proclaimed, isn't it?”
“…You can only afford to be relaxed for now!”
See. He's changing the subject because he has nothing to say again.
As I was thinking that, Han Seong-wook drew Mana from his entire body.
Seeing the yellow sparks erupting from the tattoo Yelena had engraved on him with a terrifying aura, it was safe to say he was using everything he had.
It seemed he wanted to finish me off with this one blow without even testing the waters. He must have been really pissed off.
“The cheetah… is starting to run…!”
“…How long are you going to do that?”
As I added a word to Seo Ah-in, who was spouting nonsense again, she scratched her head and replied.
“No, isn't it you who is too relaxed, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?”
She said that and pointed at Han Seong-wook with a stiff face.
“Still, that person is quite something, isn't he? If you're so relaxed, you'll be in big trouble!”
“…If that were the case, I wouldn't be having a conversation with you in the first place, would I?”
In the first place, it was funnier to tell me to be tense about a C-class Climber now, after having dealt with people like Jeong Woo-jin and Lee Si-yeong until just recently.
And probably annoyed by the sight of us bantering while he was preparing a finishing blow, Han Seong-wook soon charged at me.
“This son of a bitch-!”
And as if Seo Ah-in's words had decisively pushed his button, Han Seong-wook shot forward.
Certainly, it was a terrifying speed, enough to justify his earlier boast.
Probably even a reasonably skilled Climber would have been killed without a trace if they were hit by this.
But.
As I said before.
There's always a reason why guys who've been active for a long time can't climb to the top.
For example.
[Cloak of Darkness]
Even a guy like me could easily keep on hand a means to nullify a simple ‘powerful blow’.
At the same time as a black curtain soared in front of me, Han Seong-wook's sword collided with it with terrifying force.
Seeing that, Han Seong-wook shouted triumphantly.
“Ha! A thin barrier like this cannot block my attack! A blow honed over 10 years cannot be stopped by something like this-”
His voice soon trailed off.
Like his Mana, which dissipated immediately upon colliding with the Cloak of Darkness.
“…Wh-what! Impossible! This is an attack that even an A-class Climber couldn't withstand…!”
“If it hits, maybe. If it hits.”
I smirked and told him.
“But you probably won't find many people who would take such a straightforward attack, even without going up to A-class.”
“…Ha! Then show me how great your attack is! My ability doesn't just end with speed!”
He laughed boldly and took a defensive stance.
It was an unavoidable choice since he had poured most of his Mana into the last attack, but his skill in packaging it was admirable.
“Even if you don't say it.”
[Shadow Secret Arts: Forceful Blow]
Dark Mana gathered on my arm.
A basic strike-type technique among those that use Qi. The effect was simple. Damage ratio x2.
And here's a simple, practical, compressed tip.
In Conqueror, the damage multiplier is calculated very honestly.
For example.
[Double Pulse]
If you use a skill with a x2 damage multiplier and a skill with an x8 damage multiplier together, it simply means 16 times the damage is dealt.
-!
At the same time as my fist slammed into his abdomen, with a sound almost like a bomb exploding, Han Seong-wook's body was sent flying.
The sight of him fainting with his eyes rolled back was twice as shabby in contrast to his triumphant appearance just a moment ago.
“Indeed, you are the king of speed.”
I smirked and nudged him with my foot.
“Seeing as how fast you get your ass kicked too.”
“…Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, are you really a devil?”
Seo Ah-in said, looking down at the unconscious Han Seong-wook.
The same smiling expression he had before I hit him, drooling and all.
The cheetah was smiling.
Only smiling.