Chapter 67 – Final Battle with Joker

That day was nearing.

The day Joker spoke about.

Due to my fast leveling, I distributed all the stat points that have been piling up.

It’s true that I didn’t bother with it much because the stats really wouldn’t affect my hunting speed.

I even put on the skeleton ring with its +20 strength that has long become obsolete to me.

Both hands held tightly onto the Banwol Jincheons that were returned to me by Jong Ho.

Strength: 1788

Mana: ∞

Dexterity: 10

Stamina: 910

It was kind of disappointing that I did not have any armor or gear that would raise my Stamina or Dexterity.

However. I had an item that makes one immune to all status effects, Titan Boots.

Louver’s set, which allows me to cast empowered skills and turns absorbed mana into a shield.

Lich King’s armor set, which reduces all damage taken by 40%.

And lastly, an item that I recently received, the Lizard Gauntlet that reduces magic damage taken by 20%.

I had obtained as much as I could in the short time I had.

These weren’t all of it.

Meteor and Iceberg were both level 200, which allowed me to cast them endlessly.

Countless shield skills, all of which were Awakened.

Reflect, Groggy, and Holy Damage. Powerful S ranking shields with additional effects.

First, I checked if there were any gear I forgot to equip.

After that, I opened up the stat window to look at all the skills I’ve obtained and Awakened.

No matter how well I was equipped with the best skills, if I wasn’t able to use them at will, it would be as useless as not learning them in the first place.

Noticing how nervous I was, it finally sunk in that the fight with him was near.

****

It was around the time when the sun is about to set.

“Thank you for the dinner.”

“Oh? Why are you saying that all of a sudden. Did you mature?”

“The stew’s deep taste of beef broth really moved me.”

“Hoho! Did you taste it? I didn’t think you’d notice it.”

“What! Was it really from the beef broth?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not bad for you.”

“After 18 years, Mrs. Park’s secret recipe is stolen. Looks like it’ll make the headlines tomorrow?”

Being serious isn’t really my style.

If worse comes to worse, this could be my last goodbye.

With that, I told her that I was off to hunt and left the house.

Surprising, he had come to my exact location before.

If he had information about me, he would’ve waited in front of my house. Instead, we met for the first time at the midget’s office.

It was possible that he used the executioner’s class skill ‘Searching Eye’ or used the unique accessory ‘Searching Necklace’.

No matter where I was, he was going to find me anyways.

This wasn’t a fight between just any run of the mill Awakened.

No matter where we fought, the shockwave and the sound of destruction would fill the surrounding areas.

Just like the fight with the Noblesse before, I wanted to fight in a separate battlefield that was already prepared.

There would be no benefit to drawing attention, after all.

With that reason, I left home and decided to head for Yangpyeong.

It was an area with lots of mountains, with a high chance that there were hidden portals in the valleys.

Because of the dangerously high possibility of portal explosions from the hidden portals, it wasn’t an area fit for people to reside in.

It was so dangerous that the Awakened association in the area was dissolved, and all the residents were forced to relocate.

I headed for the abandoned association building to use the battlefield that was located underground.

In front of the house, Jong Ho’s car was waiting.

The ruins of Yangpyeong was an area that even taxis feared to tread.

And since I was never there before, it wasn’t possible for me to use Warp.

Jong Ho was leaning on the car, smoking a cigarette.

At his feet, there were at least 10 cigarette butts.

Seeing me, Jong Ho quickly stamped out his cigarette and spoke.

“So you’re here?”

“Yep.”

“Both morning and evenings are rather cold. Only a few days ago, it felt too hot.”

“I guess so.”

“Guess it’s true that spring and fall are going away.”

As if we were awkward with one another when alone together, he was only giving me polite greetings that strayed away from the main subject.

It was like him to do that, so in this situation, I thought this was better than for him to give me pity or encouragement.

I would probably do the same as well.

Picking up the cigarette butts, he got in the car.

“Whew. It’s cold, let’s get in quick.”

“….”

I went in Jong Ho’s car as well.

In the backseat, Ho Jin was already there.

“Oh? What if surveillance followed you here?”

“It’s okay. Shouldn’t have one today. Seems that Se-Jin isn’t mediocre at his job.”

“Ah. I see. Guess I should at least treat him to a nice dinner later.”

“Of course. Haha.”

Just in case, I used Eye of Insight, but just like Ho Jin said, there was no surveillance on him.

Ho Jin and Jong Ho. They knew each other well already due to party hunting together.

That’s why, today, Ho Jin had contacted him ahead of time to meet together.

As the car started, a silence settled for a long time.

It seemed that it was a difficult situation for anyone to speak up.

I was the first one to break the silence.

“Old man.”

“Yes.”

“If I lose to Joker, will you tell everything to the world like you said before?”

“That’s unlikely, but if it really does happen, I plan to do so.”

“Do you think things will change?”

“Huh?”

“If you do that, do you think the world would change?”

“That….”

“Truth be told, I’m going there to take care of personal business. I’m not going there for some noble reason like taking down one of the radical faction leaders because they possess a threat to South Korea.”

“I’m aware. However, whatever the reason may be, it has to be starting point for the world to change. If it is possible with my life, I would sacrifice myself hundreds and thousands of times to make it possible.”

There was a glint in Ho Jin’s eyes, just like the time when he was giving his all to catch me.

Eyes that were clear and determined, looking directly at his goal.

For some reason, I couldn’t help but trust him.

“I see. You’re holding onto the Awakened ID, right? I’ll be back for it soon.”

“Yes. You have to.”

As the heavy air in the car dissipated a bit, Jong Ho asked.

“Hey, did you plan to meet him at this hour?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“Then I hope that Joker doesn’t appear even after we arrive.”

“Do you think that makes any sense? Old man, is there any reports of Joker having a serious case of forgetfulness?”

“N.. No. No reports like that…”

“Hyung. It seems we can’t hope for that?.”

On my left was an exemplary model citizen even without laws, who couldn’t throw away a single cigarette butt without disposing of it properly.

Behind me was an ex department head of the association who burned with righteousness.

It almost felt like I was the bad guy.

A long drive later, we arrived at Yangpyeong.

There were checkpoints set up on the way to Yangpyeong that prevented vehicles from passing, but with the use of Mass Stealth and Silent, we were able to pass without any issues.

If that battle here ends, all I would have to do is use the Warp skill.

To the two who said they’ll wait in front of the building, I turned them around saying they could take collateral damage.

Once again, Jong Ho took a long whiff of his smoke.

His expression was filled with many conflicting emotions.

“Then, we’ll be going. Call me after it’s over.”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me and take care on the way back. Ah! What about the checkpoints?”

“I didn’t think about that.”

“Don’t worry about that. We just need to get some grass in a bag and it’ll be solved. A lot of herbalists come to dig up herbs here.”

“As I heard from rumors, the association really works hard. Security is tight too.”

“… I’m ashamed.”

“Then, please take care.”

With that, the two left.

****

There wasn’t a single flicker of light in the association building of Yangpyeong.

I was heading towards the battlefield underground, sure that Joker would be coming there.

The hallways rang loudly with my footsteps.

It was then, while I was traversing through the empty dark hallway.

-thud thud

.

.

-thud thud

-thud thud

In the hallway where I could only hear my footsteps, I suddenly felt his presence.

And the presence kept closing in.

Joker, without any warning or making any sound, was next to me.

“As expected, you found me? Joker.”

“Kuhuhu. It seems this kid has a lot more secrets than I expected. Even making me travel this to this remote location to find you.”

“It’s because I’m very shy.”

“Seems like you chose this place for battle. Since you came all the way here, I guess I can take your answer as a no?”

“We just have to go down one more level, you know? I’ll give you the answer you want without leaving room for regrets down there. Let’s stop talking up here and go down.”

With Joker, we were heading for the same place.

A short time passed, and we were in the underground battlefield.

Without any words, Joker and I faced towards each other.

The light coming off from each of our swords were the only indication of where we were.

Then.

-CRACK!

As Joker snapped his fingers, the dark battlefield was lit brightly.

The darkness was similar to a dungeon.

There was nothing that gave off light, but you could still see each other clearly.

I could tell that the skill was similar to the one he used to pull me into complete darkness before.

Joker spoke.

“You chose death. Why?”

“….”

“Don’t you feel that it is unfair how those with incredible power are treated as the same with those regular humans? If you come to me, we could step on them and command them at will.”

“This is a famous saying in a movie, and it feels like it was made so I can use it here. I’ll only say it once, so listen well.”

“….”

“How can a wolf cub go under a dog? You dog shit!”

-CRASH!

-BOOM!

In a split second, a massive black condensed ball of flame headed towards Joker.

Meteor Call had reached level 200.

The intense flames that were red before had now completely turned black.

Two Meteors that I casted with each of my hand struck him directly without any delay.

With that massive impact, the floor of the battlefield, which was made of nano material, was now a massive crater.

It was a destructive force that not even rankers that represented their nations could reproduce.

The surrounding area was burning in black flames.

However, he walked out from the intense flames swinging his dual blades, as if nothing was wrong.

As expected, he has a shield that isn’t affected by how much damage it takes.

With a sinister smile, Joke spoke to me.

“Kuhaha! Did you cast the skill while walking over here? I’ll applaud you on hiding the casting motion from me. But that’s too bad. Out of all the skills you have, it’s probably the strongest right? Now, what will you do?”

Ignoring him, I asked him.

“How did you come here?”

“…”

“Did you use Warp? If you run away later using Warp, I think I’ll be very angry.”

“Running away? Pfft! Do you think I’ll give you time to cast another Mete…!”

-CRASH!

-BOOM!

“Did you not notice it yet?”

The Banwol in my right hand was pointing at the flames he walked past.

Even he wouldn’t have any information regarding a Meteor Call that had reached level 200.

It was because no one had reached this skill level yet.

He looked towards the black flames.

“No… No way…”

“Isn’t it surprising? It’s magic, shithead!”

His expression was filled with shock as I continued to rain down Meteor.

Of course, he hadn’t taken any damage yet, but it would be the first time he has seen a level 200 Meteor.

Suddenly, the smile on his face disappeared.

Then, Joke fixed his posture and gripped his dual swords tightly.

“Even if you say you want to come under me now, I’ll decline! Your grave will be here!”