Chapter: 39
Humans were creatures meant to live with their feet on the ground.
There were various ways to defy gravity, but human beings themselves could never truly fly.
That was common sense.
It was the truth Kang Min-jun had believed all his life.
But…
He’s flying.
A human being was flying through the air.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Leaving behind a long, desperate scream, the man was launched dozens of meters away.
Kang Min-jun and the senior soldiers beside him stared ahead with trembling eyes.
Because the one who had granted a human the ability to defy gravity was standing right there.
Gulp.
Someone audibly swallowed.
“W-What the hell is that?”
The platoon leader’s voice quivered.
Kang Min-jun understood exactly how he felt.
This was the kind of scene you’d only ever see in movies or anime.
The man, dressed in a shabby tracksuit, swung a long saber.
Fwoooosh!
Just hearing the blade slice through the air was enough to imagine the terrifying force behind it.
BAAAANG!
The sound that followed was even more shocking.
Fortunately, he was striking with the flat of the blade instead of the edge, so no one was cut in half…
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
But every single person struck by it was sent soaring through the air before crashing into the distance.
Did they die?
They had been launched dozens of meters.
That amount of impact should have been far beyond what the fragile human body could endure.
Fortunately, they didn’t seem dead.
The fact that they were still twitching on the ground proved it.
After around ten people had been sent flying, no one dared approach the man anymore.
“Damn it, stop! If you don’t stop, we’ll open fire!”
It was the platoon leader.
Open fire on a fellow citizen?
Kang Min-jun couldn’t believe it.
Still, he instinctively raised his rifle and aimed it at the man.
Honestly, that man didn’t seem like a fellow citizen.
He barely even seemed human.
What human could possibly possess that kind of strength and speed?
“Open fire? Go ahead! Shoot me. Let’s see what happens.”
Dozens of gun barrels were pointed at him.
Yet the man didn’t even blink.
Is he bluffing?
Who in the world could stay calm with dozens of trained soldiers aiming rifles at them?
Yet the man showed no hesitation.
There wasn’t a trace of fear or any intention of avoiding them.
If anything, he slowly walked straight toward them as if inviting them to shoot.
Crunch.
The sound of grinding teeth came from the platoon leader.
He looked absolutely furious.
He won’t actually shoot… right?
Min-jun had obeyed orders and raised his weapon automatically, but he never imagined they would truly fire at a person.
This wasn’t a battlefield.
They were in the middle of Seoul.
Were they really going to fire because of one man?
He wanted to believe that was impossible.
Yet his finger trembled.
The platoon leader’s expression looked wrong.
Anger?
Panic?
He couldn’t tell.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t normal.
“Single shots. Adjust your aim.”
…He’s insane.
Without realizing it, Kang Min-jun turned to look at the platoon leader.
He wasn’t the only one.
The other soldiers did the same.
Some of the veterans wore expressions that practically screamed,
Is this bastard out of his mind?
“S-Sir!”
One sergeant stammered.
“I know, damn it! I know this is insane!”
At least he was aware of it.
Even so, he didn’t withdraw the order.
“The higher-ups said if we can’t subdue the intruder, we’re to kill him. Whether we like it or not, it’s an order.”
The platoon leader spoke quietly.
Kang Min-jun’s face stiffened.
“So… are they actually going to shoot?”
From a distance, Eugene watched the soldiers talking among themselves.
He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the atmosphere was enough.
“Looks like they really intend to.”
The rifles were all pointed at him.
“Hmmm.”
He quickly assessed the situation.
About thirty soldiers remained.
Roughly a single platoon.
He had never served in the military, so he couldn’t say for certain.
The real problem was that reinforcements were still arriving.
Thirty would soon become a hundred.
If he dragged this out, there would be several times that number.
That would be troublesome.
Eugene was strong.
Against ordinary people, he could easily handle hundreds by himself.
But guns were another matter.
He wasn’t strong enough to stop bullets yet.
Around Level 100, his body’s durability would probably surpass firearms.
But right now he was only Level 31.
He might dodge one or two bullets.
Dozens?
Impossible.
Ah… I do have Divine Body [S].
It was an S-rank trait.
Maybe it could stop bullets?
After considering it for a moment, Eugene shook his head.
He had no desire to prove that theory with his own body.
Besides, there’s no need.
He couldn’t block bullets.
So all he had to do was incapacitate them before they fired.
The soldiers seemed to be wrapping up their discussion.
Judging by the way the leader’s expression hardened.
Without hesitation, Eugene accelerated his thoughts.
Instantly, time around him slowed.
The moment he felt it happen, he kicked off the ground.
Inside and Out as One [E] propelled his body to an absurd speed.
“Fire!”
To the soldiers, it probably looked as though Eugene had vanished.
Perhaps they panicked.
In the end, the order to fire was given.
They actually did it.
He had hoped they wouldn’t.
Within the slowed world, Eugene watched the bullets racing toward him.
I can’t dodge those.
They were fast.
Far too fast.
In terms of sheer speed, they were on par with attacks from monsters above the 80th Floor.
Even with all of Eugene’s abilities, he couldn’t avoid them.
By the time he had analyzed the situation, the bullets were already inches from his face.
Tch.
There was no more time to waste.
Without hesitation, he activated a skill.
It was Moment [D], upgraded by one rank.
Now he could use it twice a day.
Within a ten-meter radius, he could teleport instantly.
Flash!
This time, Eugene truly disappeared.
Dozens of bullets tore through the space where he had been standing only a moment before.
Then—
He appeared in the middle of the bewildered soldiers.
“Go take a nap.”
He didn’t particularly hate the soldiers.
The only one who had really annoyed him was the first guy he’d met.
The rest had merely followed orders.
He had no desire to spill their blood.
Of course, firing real bullets at him deserved a little punishment.
Sun Blade [D] swept through the air.
Unlike before, the blade was now overflowing with mana-infused flames.
The soldiers never even realized when or how the saber had struck them.
That was how fast Eugene moved while walking within that fleeting instant.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Eugene danced across the battlefield.
The flat of Sun Blade [D] slammed into the soldiers dozens of times every second.
“Guaaagh!”
“Kgh!”
“AAAAAH!”
The battle ended almost instantly.
Not a single one of the thirty soldiers remained standing.
Each clutched a different part of their body before collapsing to the ground, completely unable to continue fighting.
Looking at them, Eugene turned away.
“I should move before this becomes even more annoying.”
If more armed soldiers kept pouring in, even he would have a difficult time.
He needed to find Lee Gi-seok quickly.
Kicking off the ground once more, Eugene shot toward the Tower of Light at astonishing speed.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!
After he disappeared, only the wail of sirens and the groans of fallen soldiers echoed through the air.
“Who on earth is he?”
“Could he be from China… or maybe the United States?”
“It’s possible.”
Lee Gi-seok couldn’t hide his shock as he watched the unidentified intruder on the CCTV monitors.
Speed and strength beyond anything a human should possess.
He looked almost like one of the superheroes from a movie.
“He’ll be here soon.”
The intruder, who had destroyed an entire platoon in mere moments, was heading straight toward them.
He moved so quickly that even the CCTV cameras struggled to capture him.
“I’ll increase the security personnel.”
The appearance of the mysterious structure known as the Black Tower was an impossible, supernatural phenomenon.
Because of that, an entire division had been stationed nearby to guard it against unforeseen threats.
Although the intruder possessed superhuman physical abilities, no individual could defeat an army.
If they mobilized every soldier available, capturing him shouldn’t be difficult.
But—
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Lee Gi-seok shook his head at the urgent suggestion from the Ministry of Science official overseeing the Black Tower research.
“We won’t be able to stop him.”
“Won’t be able to? That’s imposs—”
“He’s already here.”
“Ah.”
BOOOOOOOM!
The reinforced entrance to the research building exploded apart.
The blast shook the entire building as though a bomb had detonated.
Researchers conducting experiments and sorting through documents screamed in panic.
Only one person remained calm.
Lee Gi-seok.
“I suppose it’s time I met him. I’d also like to find out who he is.”
The ministry official nodded but didn’t follow him.
Step.
Walking through the chaotic hallway toward the main entrance, Lee Gi-seok finally came face-to-face with the man he’d only seen on the CCTV.
Just as on the monitor, he was a young man in his twenties wearing a worn-out tracksuit and carrying a long saber.
The young man walked forward with an indifferent expression, but when he noticed Lee Gi-seok, his eyes widened slightly.
Does he know me?
That was certainly how it looked.
“Identify yourself.”
Lee Gi-seok spoke calmly.
But instead of answering, the young man asked a question.
“Lee Gi-seok? You’re that… whatever theoretical physicist guy, right?”
Whatever theoretical physicist?
For some reason, Lee Gi-seok felt slightly offended.
“To be precise, I’m a quantum mech—”
“No, never mind that.”
He was cut off immediately.
Quantum mechanics, genetics, whatever.
The young man clearly couldn’t care less.
“So you’re Lee Gi-seok, right?”
“…I am.”
It was a refreshing experience.
As the genius who was praised as Korea’s greatest scientific mind, no one had ever treated him like this before.
“Good. Found you faster than I expected. Guess I got lucky.”
The young man grinned.
It was a bright, carefree smile.
“And who might you be?”
Now it was Lee Gi-seok’s turn to ask.
He hadn’t really expected an answer.
Everything the young man had done so far suggested he hadn’t come for a peaceful conversation.
But unexpectedly—
“My name’s Sung Eugene.”
“Sung Eugene?”
He actually gave his real name.
This was a man who had entered a restricted area and beaten unconscious countless soldiers along the way.
His name would be the perfect lead for tracking him down.
Lee Gi-seok had never imagined he would reveal it so casually.
Is it a fake name? It has to be.
He couldn’t help thinking that.
If it were his real name, it wasn’t merely careless.
It was downright foolish.
“Well, introductions are enough. You’ve got a lot of questions about that tower, don’t you? That’s actually why I came. Got a little time?”
Lee Gi-seok’s eyes widened.
