<Chapter 48: The Warrior Who Regressed to Level 2>
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Thud, thud, thud—
The hair, uprooted by the force of Pose, fell to the ground.
“Y-You...!”
It was already a source of concern, this thinning hair.
Because of his hair, people often mistook him for being in his early thirties, even though he was only in his mid-twenties. He had taken great care of it.
“Damn it!!!!! I’ll kill you!!”
“Wait…!”
“Big brother! Stop!”
Kim In-sik, ignoring the security and his cousin’s pleas, charged at Seo Ji-han like a bull.
A level 50 Warrior.
Even if the power in the real world was nerfed compared to the game, at this level, he was almost a superhuman.
Kwaah!
Kim In-sik’s fist tore through the air, heading straight for Seo Ji-han’s face.
A level 50 attack was fast and deadly.
With his skin hardened like stone by Stone Skin, his fist was like a massive iron mace.
Even if the other player was a Bronze, no one knew what would happen if they were hit by it.
‘D-Damn it!’
Kim Hee-su’s face turned pale.
He had only intended to threaten, but things were getting out of hand.
Especially, Kim In-sik’s Gift was Strength A.
If he were hit directly by that punch, his head might explode...
‘Even if you become a vegetable, just don’t die...!’
As Kim Hee-su was thinking this,
Swoosh—
Kim In-sik’s rapidly approaching fist began to slow down.
“What?!”
Kim In-sik’s body moved as if stuck in quicksand.
This was because he had entered the Absolute Domain of Force controlled by Seo Ji-han.
The oppressive pressure from all sides was something even a Silver Liger like Kim In-sik couldn’t easily shake off.
Seo Ji-han extended his fist to meet the slowing punch.
“Gah...!”
Kwajijik!
A terrifying sound erupted from Kim In-sik’s fist, and cracks appeared on the stone-hard skin.
The phenomenon of the ‘Stone Skin’ breaking.
“No... way...!!”
It was unbelievable.
The opponent was a Bronze.
Even if he was a player rumored to be strong nowadays, there was a difference of over 20 levels between them.
With Stone Skin activated, it should have been Kim In-sik’s fist that broke, not Seo Ji-han’s.
Even if the other player used telekinesis, the basic stats difference was enormous!
However, the result was the opposite.
“Is this all a Silver can do?”
“Gah...!!!”
Kim In-sik’s forehead turned red with anger.
No matter what, to be humiliated by a Bronze...
He should have felt a sense of alarm at how easily he was broken, but anger surged up first.
“Die!”
Swish!
Kim In-sik tried to kick Seo Ji-han’s shins in a surprise attack.
But his body was already inside the Absolute Domain of Force.
Trying to deliver a powerful low kick, his foot moved slowly.
“You’re asking for it.”
Seo Ji-han kicked Kim In-sik’s leg in return.
Crack!
The Stone Skin on his leg, which had not broken yet, shattered helplessly, and the sound of breaking bones echoed.
“Gah...!”
Unlike in the Battle.net game, the pain transmitted directly was something even a Silver Liger couldn’t bear.
Kim In-sik let out a groan and rolled on the ground.
“Aaaah! Aaaah!”
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Despite being a level 50 Warrior and the tank of the party, tears welled up in Kim In-sik’s eyes.
“This is cheating! Cheating, I tell you!!! How can a Bronze...”
He was weak.
Just one broken bone, and a level 50 Warrior was whining like this.
Seo Ji-han opened and clenched his palm.
Crack!
“Gah...! My... eyes!!”
Suddenly feeling pain near his eyes, Kim In-sik covered them in panic.
He was afraid that the monster might gouge out his eyeballs.
But what was pulled out was not his eyes, but his eyebrows.
Through his trembling fingers, the uprooted eyebrows fell one by one.
“Ugh... Ugh...”
Kim In-sik, still covering his eyes, trembled.
Completely losing his fighting spirit.
“Big brother! Are you crazy!?”
Kim Hee-su, watching from a distance, ran over with a shocked face.
“To reduce someone to this! I’ll report you for assault!”
“Report me? I just retaliated when he hit me.”
Is this self-defense?
Grinding her teeth, Kim Hee-su said,
“You pulled his hair first!”
“Then report that.”
“...Do you know who you’re messing with? You’re messing with the Kim family of the Korea Daily!”
“The Korea Daily?”
“Yes! How dare you, a nobody, act so insolently...!”
With both eyes blazing, Kim Hee-su shouted.
Her cousin, Kim In-sik, was also a member of the Kim family of the Korea Daily, even if only a distant relative.
He shouldn’t be treated so miserably by a commoner with no background.
“Uncle!”
Yoon Se-a, who had come out of the Gift office, hurried over.
She didn’t know what caused this incident, but she thought she should mediate somehow.
Seeing her, Kim Hee-su shouted,
“Yoon Se-a. This is all your fault!”
“...My fault?”
“Because you kept refusing the interview! You should have accepted it when I offered! Bringing my brother here was a mistake...!”
“I already said I won’t do the interview.”
“Shut up! I can do it! What right do you have to act so high and mighty... Aaaah!”
Suddenly, a clump of Kim Hee-su’s hair was pulled out.
Unlike Kim In-sik, her hair was pulled out in the middle, creating a bald spot.
Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, and she glared at Seo Ji-han.
“Will you stop it?”
“You... You’re really crazy? You’re messing with me too?”
“Do you want to go bald?”
“You, I will bury you! Do you still think you’re part of the Sword King’s family? Ignorant fools!”
Yoon Se-a’s expression hardened upon hearing this.
Kim Hee-su’s threats were substantial.
The Korea Daily, one of the top three newspapers in Korea.
Her family was intertwined with various chaebols, and if they decided to retaliate, it would be hard to withstand.
Moreover, Yoon Se-a and Seo Ji-han were no longer part of the ‘Sword King’s family’.
Without the backing of the top family in Korea,
They could be buried at any time.
‘I need to apologize...’
Yoon Se-a bit her lip.
She was already upset about getting an F.
Now she had to apologize to Kim Hee-su, who was ordering her around.
Today was really the worst birthday.
Yoon Se-a stood in front of Seo Ji-han, trying to bow,
‘...Huh?’
Her body stiffened and wouldn’t move.
“It’s okay.”
Seo Ji-han pushed Yoon Se-a back with Force and stepped forward.
Kim Hee-su, with a venomous look, glared at him.
“Go ahead. Bury me.”
“Are you serious? Do you think I can’t?!”
“Yeah. Go ahead. I’ll just take Se-a and leave Korea.”
“What?!”
Seo Ji-han nudged the fallen Kim In-sik with his foot.
“A Bronze who can take down a Silver in one hit. Countries that want me are abundant. Japanese scouts are pestering me every day, and now I’m getting offers from the US and China too.”
“...You.”
“I wanted to live as a player in my homeland... but since the Korea Daily is going to bury me, I’ll just move to the US. It’ll be interesting if it’s known that the world’s top prospect left the country due to the Korea Daily’s tyranny. Don’t you think?”
“Who’s the world’s top prospect!”
“Obviously me.”
Seo Ji-han said this without changing his expression.
His brazenness made Kim Hee-su’s heart sink.
‘A regular prospect wouldn’t even blink... but this guy is different.’
Seo Ji-han’s performance in the Bronze League was insane.
And he had just incapacitated a level 50 Silver Warrior in one hit.
He was indeed one of the top prospects in the world.
At least among all the Bronze players, he was in the top ten.
‘And this guy has a lot of Battle Tube subscribers...’
If he said on his channel, “I’m leaving because of the Korea Daily,” and then became an outstanding player in the US,
The Korea Daily would get unnecessary bad publicity due to Kim Hee-su’s actions.
Especially with the Sword King leaving and the Korean region facing the risk of being the bottom of the league, an outstanding player was desperately needed.
The Korea Daily might receive even more criticism than she thought.
Thinking about this, her anger subsided a bit.
“...If you apologize to us here, we might let it go.”
Kim Hee-su, gritting her teeth, demanded an apology as a compromise.
“Apologize yourself.”
“Are you really going to be like this?!”
“Of course.”
Swish. Swish.
Seo Ji-han waved his hand as if swatting a fly.
“If you don’t want to apologize, just take him and leave.”
“Aaaah! You think I’ll just... Aaaah!”
Crack!
When Kim Hee-su’s left eyebrow was completely pulled out,
The security guard, watching helplessly, opened his mouth wide.
This guy, no matter who the opponent is, shows no mercy.
‘Did I do something wrong...?’
She had such thoughts.
“If you scream again, it’ll be the right one next.”
“Y-You... You... Crazy bastard...”
“Hmm. No, maybe I’ll pull something else this time.”
As Seo Ji-han added,
Kim Hee-su flinched and gestured to the middle-aged journalist.
This guy is really going to do it.
They had to leave the scene first.
“What are you doing! Help my brother!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Ugh... Ugh... Be gentle... My leg is broken...”
“Damn, acting so high and mighty... What a joke!”
Without even looking at Seo Ji-han, Kim Hee-su and her group disappeared, dragging her cousin.
Seeing this, Yoon Se-a, whose paralysis had worn off, blinked.