Chapter 71: The Hidden Joker Card

“You… are really crazy.”

“It’s you who’s crazy. From where I stand, you’re the one with the mental issues.”

As Lee Hyun-seung retorted, Yoo Hee-yeon’s expression twisted grotesquely.

Yet, Yoo Hee-yeon still thought to herself.

‘…How did you come back?’

From Yoo Hee-yeon’s perspective, Lee Hyun-seung should have been eliminated. She had seen him being sent away,

so how could he be here again?

It didn’t make sense unless he had used some sort of clone technique.

‘A hallucination?’

Yoo Hee-yeon’s first thought was that it might be a hallucination. Lee Hyun-seung had made various types of

ammunition, including one that could create strange mist with his gun or even heal himself. So, there was a

possibility that he could have created a type of ammunition that caused hallucinations.

‘No.’

But then, she quickly dismissed the idea. If Lee Hyun-seung had used a hallucination-type ammunition, what about

the A-Class members who had actually been eliminated by his gunshots?

Hallucinations have no substance. So, he couldn’t have used that type of ammunition.

‘Why…? There was even a broadcast announcing the eliminations…’

Yoo Hee-yeon recalled her conversation with Jo Eun-bi.

• I… I heard the broadcast.
• Are you sure you heard it? I didn’t hear anything.
• I think it only reached me since I was at the back… It seems those deep inside the cave couldn’t hear it, since the sound was transmitted from the center outside.

Jo Eun-bi had clearly said she heard the broadcast announcing the elimination. Yoo Hee-yeon couldn’t bring herself

to believe that Jo Eun-bi would lie.

Lee Hyun-seung, observing Yoo Hee-yeon from a distance, guessed her thoughts as she wore an expression mixed

with frustration and confusion.

‘You don’t know how I got here, do you?’

Lee Hyun-seung had used the special ability he obtained in the cave to teleport to this place. Honestly, he had

prepared a few things, but seeing her disappear right in front of her eyes, he thought she might have quickly figured

out that he had teleported.

However, judging by the fact that she still believed he had been eliminated, it seemed like she didn’t know about the

‘territory relocation’ ability. This was good for him. It meant that he could use the [territory relocation] ability once

again to completely catch her off guard and create a new variable.

Of course, that was a story for later. Lee Hyun-seung looked around.

‘Yoo Hee-yeon, and about nine others.’

Unlike earlier, Yoo Hee-yeon wasn’t surrounded by more than 40 people at once.

‘They must have sent the remaining people to other territories.’

He speculated that the remaining 40-50 people must have been divided and sent to other territories. He couldn’t tell

how many were assigned to each, but he guessed that perhaps about 10 people were sent to each territory.

‘At the first territory, about 20 F-Class members are hiding, and at the third, Han Seong-gil and about 19 F-Class

members are there…?’

Not bad. The ones hiding at the first territory could buy some time, and as for Han Seong-gil at the third territory, if

he used his berserker traits well, he might be able to hold the territory.

The berserker trait had been something Lee Hyun-seung struggled against even with his epic weapon. Those who

didn’t know how to counter the berserker trait would get stronger the more they fought and bled.

‘What I need to do is simple.

I need to buy time. I’d love to retire Yoo Hee-yeon right now, but that’s impossible.’

Behind Yoo Hee-yeon, several mages were casting spells, ready to fire. Close by, a martial artist and a thief were

guarding her, while a swordsman, slightly further behind, had his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing for a draw.

There was one thing he couldn’t forget.

Yoo Hee-yeon was the head of the Artemis Guild. She was Yoo Han-beom’s daughter. She had spent astronomical

sums of money to develop and train her abilities, and as a result, she had never failed to secure the top position in

practical exams at the Broad Academy.

At Broad Academy, practical scores were also a measure of an individual’s strength. Of course, there were exceptions

like Han Seong-gil, but no one would deny that Yoo Hee-yeon was the strongest at Broad Academy. Whether in

strength or power, she was undeniably strong enough to earn that reputation.

Swish

Lee Hyun-seung looked at his pistol.

A basic pistol. It had no special abilities, no magic stats—just an ordinary, plain handgun.

To use skills with a pistol that lacked magic stats, Lee Hyun-seung had no choice but to continuously consume magic stones.

However, chewing a magic stone could result in various debuffs. While it might not matter when running away,

fighting head-on with debuffs would require him to go through a complicated process: swapping out the magazine

for [Healing Magazine], firing it at himself, and then switching to attack rounds. It wasn’t an easy task, especially

considering he had just used one of his healing rounds on Jeong Eun-seo, leaving only three rounds left.

Hoo…

He took a deep breath inwardly. The situation was very unfavorable, but it was fine. Han Seong-gil was here.

The biggest variable right now was Han Seong-gil. If Han Seong-gil could hold out just a little longer, the

[Epic~Unique] random-grade pistol he had previously made would be ready, and with it, he could cut through them

single-handedly.

Should I escape and buy more time?

No, that wasn’t a good idea. Jeong Eun-seo was right next to him, and above all, if all the strongholds were captured,

they would lose the match immediately. They needed to hold at least one.

If by any chance Han Seong-gil were to fall too easily, the second stronghold Lee Hyun-seung was currently

occupying would become the last valid stronghold for F-class. Giving it up now would be madness.

I have no choice.

Lee Hyun-seung chewed the magic stone.

Click!

As soon as he bit into the magic stone, messages rang in his ears.

You have consumed the magic stone without a purification process.

You have gained a large amount of mana.

Side effects have occurred.

All attack power is reduced.

It wasn’t bad. At least there was no debuff restricting his movements. Instead, he had gained a large amount of

mana, and there was no need to use the healing rounds, which was actually a good thing.

Yoo Hee-yeon stood with her arms crossed, watching Lee Hyun-seung.

“Are you planning to fight this time instead of running away? I thought you’d scurry around like a cockroach again.”

She looked at him with half-closed eyes, as though she wasn’t even expecting anything.

Disdain, contempt.

The emotion in her eyes was nothing more than looking down on Lee Hyun-seung.

“To be honest, before the match started, I thought you might do something impressive. I was nervous, I prepared a

lot. But all you’re doing is running?”

Lee Hyun-seung stared back at Yoo Hee-yeon and responded,

“Running? Even while running, one of your A-class participants has already been eliminated, and I just took out

three more. Can’t you read the situation? I guess that’s why you’re not getting acknowledged by many people. Oh, I

didn’t say who, so don’t start twitching for no reason.”

Lee Hyun-seung mocked Yoo Hee-yeon’s situation, which was unrecognized by Yoo Han-beom.

Crack!

“How dare… do you think you can say something like that?”

Yoo Hee-yeon’s face flushed red.

“Step back.”

She ordered her fellow A-class members to step back and began using magic.

“Do you know what the difference between you and me is? I was born with everything, and you were born with

nothing. It seems like after you subdued Han Seong-gil, who was rampaging at the academy, you’ve gained some

confidence, but a berserker like him is nothing I can’t control.”

As she stretched her hand towards the sky, streams of mana like water began to slowly rise, eventually converging

into one mass.

The mass of gathered mana then took the form of a lion.

With a triumphant expression, Yoo Hee-yeon looked down at Lee Hyun-seung and said,

“Don’t cowardly run away. Try to block it if you can. Oh, but it won’t matter if you run. You know, don’t you? This

magic. Someone as inept as you will never reach this level, no matter how hard you try.”

“Pfft! Do you really think you’re that impressive? Every time I see your attitude, it’s so ridiculous, I can’t hold back

laughing. How can you be so bad at self-awareness?”

Lee Hyun-seung burst out laughing in disbelief, and Yoo Hee-yeon’s expression immediately turned cold.

Whoosh!

“Stop the mockery and just die already.”

With a flick of her hand, the mass of mana rushed toward Lee Hyun-seung.

The shape resembled a wild beast that could devour a human whole.

Though Lee Hyun-seung had provoked her to cloud his judgment, this was a serious situation.

Tracking magic. I can’t avoid it. It’s a damn magic like a guided missile that will follow me endlessly as long as I’m alive.

That magic was one of the most powerful spells Yoo Hee-yeon could control.

Swish

Lee Hyun-seung looked at a magazine inside his messenger bag.

‘I tried to save it as much as I could, but there’s no choice now.’

The magazine he had prepared earlier.

It was time to pull out his trump card.

Click!

[The Magic Nullification Magazine has been equipped.]