Chapter 30: One-Man Army

Question (3)

The Awakened church members chuckled dryly.

A fighter, seemingly their representative, stepped forward. He was wearing gloves.

"Even for Comet, it would be difficult to face all of us at once."

"I suppose so."

Comet readily agreed. Unless one delved deeply into PVP, it was hard to grasp the extent of what a top-tier Ranker could do.

The fighter took a stance. Comet stared at him for a moment before aiming her knife.

"I'll concede the first move."

"Then I will."

The fighter roared and charged. A fist imbued with Mana was swung. Comet watched it, then leaned her upper body to the side.

The fist cut through the air, and the fighter spun, launching a kick. Comet timed it, then crouched low. His leg passed over her head.

That was the end of the first move.

Comet placed her empty hand on the ground, shifting her posture. She put Strength into her leg and kicked off, her foot brushing past the fighter's leg, which had been supporting his weight. At the same time, the knife she wielded aimed for his leg.

The fighter jumped back in alarm. Judging by his reaction, it seemed he had never encountered a strange Necromancer who used knives before.

The sound of Spiritual Power colliding with the ground echoed in an explosion. Comet let the shockwave of Spiritual Power carry her into the air. She was able to reach the fighter, who had lost his balance in mid-air, right in front of his face.

Comet leisurely and slowly swung her knife. Aiming for his neck, the fighter channeled Mana into his arms, adopting a defensive stance.

Comet altered the knife's trajectory, retracting it and slamming her body into him. The fighter class might be the strongest in close combat, but a Necromancer with a melee build wasn't far behind. In the first place, a melee build Necromancer was theoretically a cheat class. Theoretically.

While the fighter attempted a joint lock in mid-air, Comet lightly stabbed his abdomen about ten times. The knife imbued with Spiritual Power easily bypassed the Mana in his abdomen. The fighter flinched at the light, stinging touches and gave up on the joint lock. Since it wasn't a death match, the duel ended there.

Comet landed on the ground and lightly dusted off her clothes. Then she looked at the Awakened church members.

"You five can all come at me at once."

The fighter, who was lying on the ground, chuckled dryly and returned to the Awakened.

"We'll take a short strategy time. Is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine."

Comet put her hands behind her back and looked at the sky. The white clouds were cute.

『Where shall we eat?』

Princess spoke to her subtly.

"I'll probably eat here before leaving, don't you think?"

『I hope it's delicious.』

"I agree. Samgyetang would be nice, though that's just wishful thinking."

『That sounds good. This body wants to try it too...』

The little jellyfish murmured timidly.

Comet shrugged.

"It's no use subtly claiming possession."

『The commoner is so heartless!』

"Yes, yes."

The Awakened, having finished their strategy time, formed a battle line. Three martial arts types were placed in the front, and two magic types were placed in the rear. It was textbook.

Comet tightened her grip on the loosely held knife.

"Shall we begin?"

"Very well."

"I'll concede the first move."

Led by the fighter, the other two martial arts types charged. Fists were thrown, and swords and spears kept the surrounding space in check.

Comet hesitated for a moment, then remembered that the fighter's Strength Stats were manageable and clenched her fist. Fist met fist, and Mana and Spiritual Power exploded.

The trajectories of the blades wavered in the explosion. Comet read the paths and plunged inward. As she stepped forward forcefully, the ground shattered and trembled.

Upon reaching close combat range, the fighter attempted a knee strike. Comet smiled lightly. She had won the psychological warfare.

She reached out with both hands, bracing against the fighter's knee, and used Spiritual Power to negate the impact. Then, using his knee as a support, she lightly kicked off and flipped her body.

Comet was able to land behind the fighter after flying through the air for a moment. The two magic types, who had been preparing magic, realized the situation and panicked, which was visible from the front. Comet smiled at them and ignored the martial arts types, charging forward.

As she approached, she swung her knife threateningly, causing the magic types to raise their hands and quickly surrender. Ranker-level or higher wouldn't surrender just because she got close, but it was good that they were fast.

Comet nodded, grabbed the hand of the Awakened who was swinging a sword from behind, and threw him. When the fighter tried to grab her clothes, she kicked him away with her leg. Then she snatched the spear that was being swung and brandished it. The spear unleashed a shockwave, sending the Awakened flying.

Comet looked around at the fallen Awakened, then raised the spear high, declaring victory.

"I won!"

The spearhead glinted in the sunlight. Comet clapped softly in self-praise.

The Awakened chuckled dryly.

"Are all Rankers like this?"

"Well, there's a big gap even among Rankers, so it's hard to say definitively."

"Hahaha! Amazing!"

The cult leader, who was a non-Awakened and had been quietly watching from the corner, clapped and approached.

"I feel like my knowledge has broadened and my eyes have been opened! It was a valuable sparring session!"

Comet nodded, listening to the flattery. It was a bit excessive, but an appropriate expression.

"What do you think? About the skills of our church members."

"They're alright. They have a good sense."

It was just a polite remark. Comet thought that even Dan Ga-yeon would have won instead of her. If it were a death match instead of a duel, Dan Ga-yeon would definitely win. Though, Comet doubted whether Dan Ga-yeon could kill.

She returned the spear, and they exchanged friendly conversation for a while. As she was sharing a few PVP tips, one of the church members came running towards the cult leader in a hurry.

"Cult leader! You must flee!"

"Huh? What's going on all of a sudden?"

It seemed Kwon Hyun-seung had started his plan. The cult leader tried to hear the situation from the church member.

Comet subtly excused herself and left the open space.

"I have some business to attend to."

As she moved at a brisk pace, she saw a crudely armed group of church members surrounding the open space. Kwon Hyun-seung glanced at Comet and nodded subtly.

Comet moved to a place where the open space was no longer visible.

『What will you do now?』

"I have to watch. It seems Kwon Hyun-seung wants a show of force and negotiation... Well, I wonder if it will be that easy."

She climbed up the wall of a nearby commercial building and arrived on the roof.

"I checked out a building with a good view on the way here. I'll watch from there."

『Is it necessary to watch?』

"Do you have a problem with my hobby?"

『How about helping?』

"Excuse me? Princess, you're being funny. You're not serious, are you?"

『Of course, I am serious.』

Hearing those words, Comet shrugged and said only one thing.

"Perfect death."

Moving by leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she was able to arrive at a somewhat tall rooftop. The surrounded open space was visible at a glance.

Comet rested her chin on the railing. The Awakened protected the cult leader and formed a battle line. Tension was rising, and Kwon Hyun-seung stepped forward as their representative. The Awakened's sword blade was aimed. Comet was excited.

A moment of tension passed, and a conversation began under Kwon Hyun-seung's lead. The conversation wasn't audible due to the distance.

As time passed, the Awakened's battle line relaxed, and the tension in the open space eased slightly.

As more time passed, the cult leader, who had been protected, stepped forward and exchanged words with Kwon Hyun-seung.

Comet was somewhat dumbfounded.

"...Is a rational negotiation in progress?"

『Huhu. Not bad. That commoner seems to have some talent!』

"I agree. It's a good situation... But is there really no armed conflict? I feel a bit uneasy about it being resolved like this."

『Decide whether you like it or not.』

Comet looked up at the blue sky.

"Well, I like it... I do. Do you think I like people dying? Of course not."

『Don't you like glorious deaths?』

"Perfect death doesn't mean that."

『Then what is it?』

"How should I explain this to you?"

Comet twisted her side hair.

"It's about the soul being respected. Life doesn't respect the soul. It's obvious which one to choose between the time of the body and the time of the soul."

『It's difficult to understand when you speak concisely.』

"To put it simply, I don't like people dying. I don't dislike it either, so I think there's a misunderstanding."

Comet looked at the open space again. Kwon Hyun-seung and the cult leader were negotiating in a somewhat peaceful atmosphere.

"...But is there really no armed conflict?"

『Don't go around saying things like that.』

"Of course, I won't."

Comet stopped watching the open space and looked around the rooftop. There were buckets, probably to collect rainwater. When she approached, she saw that they were filled with water.

Comet blinked and rummaged through the paper shopping bag, taking out the golden frog. She held the golden frog in both hands and carefully lowered it into the bucket. Water filled her hands, and the golden frog was submerged about halfway.

Comet suddenly muttered.

"Ribbit, ribbit."

Silence flowed.

Comet blinked.

Then she smiled.

"Princess, did you see that just now? It was so cute!"

『The frog has a cute design.』

"That too, but I mean me, me."

Comet pointed to herself with her finger.

"I was cute!"

Silence flowed again.

Princess was silent for a moment.

『This body struggles to understand the commoner...』

"Oh dear."

Comet shook her head and took out the golden frog, wiping off the water.

As she was putting it back in the paper shopping bag, she heard footsteps.

It seemed someone was coming up to the rooftop from the stairs.

Comet was about to ignore it, but then she realized that the footsteps were heavier than a person's. She turned to look at the rooftop door.

The door opened.

A humanoid machine body was revealed. It had no head; instead, a fish tank existed on its mechanical upper body. Inside the fish tank, a small jellyfish floated.

"You were here, Black Comet."

Kanputcha approached and respectfully bowed its headless upper body.

"Allow me to introduce myself once again. I am Kanputcha, a Plun Empire diplomat in charge of the Korean Peninsula region."

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