Chapter 51
“Hehe! C’mere, newbies. We won’t hurt you.”
“It’s only been a month since you came to the Mirror World, right? Kekek! What a lavish welcoming ceremony this is.”
“Kerek! Get them all!”
The conjurers and transformers shared a dorm due to their small numbers compared to the other categories. There were only about a hundred conjurers and a hundred fifty transformers. Although they outnumbered the hundred human attackers and six goblins, the newbies were forced into a circle and surrounded by the attackers.
“Urgh... we’re no match for them!”
“Why are you doing this to us?! We’re fellow humans!”
“What did we do to you?!”
The newbies’ morale hit rock bottom after seeing their comrades easily captured by the attackers. Although the human attackers were all F to E-rank, they spent at least a year in the Mirror World and possessed more experience, skills, and items than the newbies.
“Keh! Fellow humans? Cry me a river!”
One attacker threw chains that slithered like a snake and wrapped around a newbie.
“Gah! S-someone help—kurgh!”
The newbie was dragged toward the attacker and was punched in the solar plexus, fainting on the spot.
“That’s one more!” the attacker cackled as they handed the newbie to a goblin.
“Krrrk! Nice work!” a goblin said as he pulled out a strand of the newbie’s hair and put it into a rag doll. “Kreeeh! Your body is now my body! Stand up and walk to the warp gate!”
[Activating Race Skill: Contagion Sorcery - Soul Control.]
The newbie stood up while still unconscious and staggered somewhere.
“Urgh... what the hell is that?!”
“Don’t get captured! Even if you do, don’t pass out!”
“Easier said than done!”
The newbies realized the attackers’ objective was not to kill but to kidnap them. They learned from the many examples that the midget in the black robe could turn them into puppets once they fell unconscious and make them go somewhere.
“Shit! What are we supposed to do?” Seong-Tae mumbled as he gritted his teeth.
He was wearing the Fiery Gloves, but they were currently useless.
I know I could win in a one-on-one!
The attackers did not seem very strong individually, but not only were there a hundred of them, but Seong-Tae couldn’t leave Hwa-Yeon and Ha Rin’s sides. Just then, Marie, the transformation instructor, appeared and slapped the newbie under the sorcery’s control.
“Come to your senses,” she said.
“Urhhh... huh? What happened?”
The newbie regained consciousness, and black smoke rose from the goblin’s rag doll used to cast the sorcery. The sorcery was canceled, and the hair inside the rag doll was burned.
“Krrrk! Dammit!”
Woof! Woof!
A Greyhound appeared, snatched the rag doll in the goblin’s hand, and ran.
“Kreeeh! Get that dog! Now!”
“Malcolm! Tear it apart!”
Woof!
Malcolm the Greyhound tore apart the rag doll from which black smoke endlessly came out.
“Kreeeh! No!” the goblin shouted.
The sorcery controlling the donors should have been canceled since the hairs, the medium for the sorcery, were destroyed.
“Goddamn human!”
“Yes, I’m a human, you stinky goblin!”
Marie frowned as she saw the several corpses in the area. Although the attackers were trying to capture the newbies, casualties were unavoidable in battle.
Jay, Joseph, Marvin.
The students she had taught for the past month were among them.
“Malcolm!” The enraged Marie called her D Weapon, Malcolm the Greyhound.
Woof! Woof!
Malcolm ran to Marie like lightning and jumped into Marie’s chest as if being absorbed.
[Activating Unique Skill: Beastification.]
Marie’s hair and eyes turned grey, her nose and mouth lengthened, and her teeth turned sharp. Her legs also became muscular and elastic, like a Greyhound, a famous racing breed. Beastification was a universal rule that most humans with animal D Weapons established.
If only I had returned quicker from the west gate! Marie shouted inwardly.
Due to the information they recently received, the instructors of each category had been guarding the east, west, south, and north gates just in case. Marie had been guarding the west gate with Ryu Daisuke and returned to the dorm as quickly as possible, but several newbies had already been killed or kidnapped.
I have to kill those goblins first! The kidnapping will become much more difficult for them if I eliminate their sorcery!
Marie felt the immense power in her legs and took a sprinting stance. She was the second strongest human among the instructors dispatched to Edu, second only to Jaza Garlin. She was also a conditional Single-B human whose Dexterity stat boosted to B-rank when she beastified.
“Kreeeh! Stop her! Kill that human woman first!”
“Ryu Daisuke!” Marie shouted as she started running.
Daisuke was a support—to be more specific, a buffer. Because they lacked direct combat ability, buffers required good judgment and skills for cover or concealment. Daisuke was slower than Marie, but she was sure he had arrived by now and understood the situation.
[Boosting Dexterity as per the effect of Pretty Speed.]
As Marie expected, the buff arrived at the perfect time. Marie charged at a goblin so fast that she didn’t even leave afterimages, biting off their arm along with their rag doll.
“Kraaah!” the goblin screamed and retreated while clenching their shoulder.
Marie chewed on the goblin’s arm, black smoke rising between her sharp teeth with blood.
“Kreeeh! What are you just standing around for?! Attack her!”
“Stop that woman!”
“She has a transformation D Weapon!”
The human traitors stood wary of Marie.
Marie growled at the newbies and shouted, “Grrr! What are you all doing?! If you trust your efforts to grow stronger this past month, then attack! Reinforcements from Martin will be here soon!”
Daisuke’s skill once again activated at the perfect time.
[Raising morale as per the effect of Pretty Mind.]
“K-kill them all!”
“We have the fucking numerical advantage!”
“They want to take us alive! Use your life as a weapon!”
Marie’s appearance, Daisuke’s buffs, and the guarantee of reinforcements raised the newbies’ morale again. The battle grew fiercer.
***
The battle between Remy Martin and Tutobure began. Remy manipulated the rocks on the ground using Telekinesis, an ability he polished as one with a manipulation D Weapon and good command of conjuration, a category directly beside manipulation on the Web of Categories.
Remy was known as the father of Telekinesis. His powers lifted countless rocks and enveloped them with blue mana. He did not carry weapons around because he could use anything around him as a weapon.
“Die!” Remy shouted as he fired rocks at Tutobure as if they were tiny meteors.
“Krrrk! It’s pointless!”
Tutobure smiled mockingly and pulled out a piece of metal the size of a finger. The metal with a mysterious silver sheen was janateel, the greatest metal created by the dwarves. It was extremely durable and possessed extraordinary magical resistance, making it one of the greatest metals in the Mirror World. Its production method was top secret even among the dwarves.
Tutobure drew out immense mana and Sorcery Force, shouting, “Krrrk! Janateel is my body! My body is janateel!”
[Activating Race Skill: Imitative Sorcery - Homology.]
Tutobure’s green skin turned silver. The rocks Remy fired struck Tutobure, but they shattered instead.
“Krrrk! I couldn’t have been a worse opponent for you!” Tutobure mocked.
Remy shone against multiple opponents while Tutobure’s sorcery was specialized for one-on-one battles.
“Are you sure about that?” Remy said with a smile, knowing what Tutobure was thinking. “Hup!”
He extended his arm toward a nearby building and clenched his fist, his blue eyes shining even more blue. The building collapsed instantly, and the rebar supporting it flew to Remy. The rebar contorted like clay to take the shape of spears, axes, swords, shields, arrows, and more. They then floated around Remy, exuding intense blue mana.
“Did you think I was weak in one-on-one battles?”
“Krrrk!”
A fighting spirit lit in Tutobure as he charged at Remy. Arrows and spears enveloped in mana flew at Tutobure endlessly. There were fewer than the rocks, but the power infused in them was much stronger. However, not even they could leave a scratch on Tutobure’s silver body.
“Keep struggling, human Ranker! Krrrk! Inferior race!”
“You talk too much, green midget! You’re also an inferior race, no different from us!”
Remy gathered the swords to form a drill, spun it rapidly, and fired it at Tutobure.
“Krrrk! I told you, it’s pointless!” Tutobure shouted as he swung his fist at the sword drill.
[Activating Race Skill: Contact Sorcery - Shatter.]
The sword drill was destroyed, and the metal fragments flew everywhere.
“Kuh!”
Remy quickly manipulated the shields to block the fragments.
“Kraaah!”
Tutobure took the opening to approach Remy. He opened his hands and slammed his palms, enveloped with green mana, on the metal shields.
[Activating Race Skill: Contact Sorcery - Smashing Palm.]
The steel shields with dozens of layers broke, and the green mana shot toward Remy.
“Kuh!”
Remy also opened his hands to create a barrier around him with Telekinesis. The collision of power twisted the air between Tutobure and Remy. However, Remy was overpowered and was blown backward dozens of meters, smashing into a building.
“Kurgh! Dammit!” Remy wiped away the blood from his mouth and quickly stood up.
He isn’t a High Ranker for nothing! he thought.
Regardless of stat caliber, a High Ranker of every race possessed at least one of an S-rank stat, skill, or item. Tutobure likely possessed S-rank Sorcery Force, the goblins’ secondary force. On top of that, goblins possessed a higher initial Magic stat caliber than humans. There was already a gap between them from birth.
“Kreeeh! We have no time to waste, so I’ll grant you a quick death!” Tutobure shouted as he charged.
“Who said I will let you kill me?!”
Remy drew out all his mana and Telekinesis to prepare his final skill. He pulled out a white carnation from his pocket. It was his D Weapon, his precious treasure that he usually never pulled out.
[Activating Unique Skill: Memories of Father’s Day.]
The petals of the white carnation fluttered in the wind and filled the entire space like a white tsunami. His daughter’s melodious voice echoed inside his head.
“Je t’aime, papa (I love you, Daddy).”
“I CANNOT AFFORD TO DIE HERE!”
The white petals turned into a sharp spear and flew at Tutobure.
“Krrrk! It’s over!” Tutobure swung his right fist, amplifying his mana and Sorcery Force.
[Activating Race Skill: Contact Sorcery - Overlord’s Fist.]
Dark green mana enveloped Tutobure’s fist, containing enough power to destroy a mountain. This skill allowed him to become a goblin High Ranker, albeit the bottom one. It was the skill of an overlord who destroyed everything in his path.
Tutobure swung the Overlord’s Fist, which began to destroy Remy’s white petal spear that he had made with all his mana.
“Gurrrh!”
Blood poured out of Remy’s mouth and nose. He tried to maintain the skill but couldn’t overcome the difference in power. The white petal spear was ultimately destroyed, and Remy collapsed, coughing blood.
“Kurgh!”
“Krrrk! Heh, kreeeh! That was great! Huff! I haven’t had this much fun in a while!” Tutobure shouted as he panted.
It had been a long time since he faced a powerful foe. Mere humans were nothing but merchandise for his business, but some were powerful. Tutobure looked around and saw humans, controlled by sorcery, walking into the rainbow warp gate created by the fairy. However, there were fewer than planned, and his subordinates struggled against the humans’ counterattack.
“Krrrk. It’s unfortunate, but I suppose there’s no other choice. I’ll have to make do with this trophy as my solace,” Tutobure said as he approached Remy to behead him and retreat.
“Hurgh! Guh... Gurgh!”
Remy couldn’t even move a finger—he could only wait for his death.
Is this... as far as I go? Vivienne... I’m sorry. Daddy is... sorry.
“Krrrk! I had fun, human.”
As Tutobure raised his hand to kill Remy, a two-meter steel spear flew at him from behind. The tip, which looked like a leaf, was enveloped in a dark red aura. However, it couldn’t fool Tutobure’s senses. He grabbed the spear without even looking back.
“Krrrk?”
However, something unexpected happened. His hand began to rust.
My body is janateel right now, but it rusted? Tutobure thought.
He had never heard of janateel rusting. Weapons created using janateel, the masterpiece of the dwarves, were famous for never rusting. Tutobure turned to look in the direction the spear came from.
“Krrrk. A human?”
A blond man with green eyes was panting heavily on the roof of a faraway building. As Tutobure was about to approach the man, a black warp gate formed in midair.
“Krrrk! What in the world? A warp gate made using Demon Force?”
Tutobure frowned as unexpected events happened one after another.
Is a demon about to cross over? he wondered.
The man who appeared from the warp gate had black hair and eyes, but was not a demon; it was a human. The Asian man with twin longswords on his belt was riding a giant tortoise with a dark green shell. However, the tortoise’s head was dark red, and its tail was a white snake. It resembled the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols.
“You alive, Remy?” the man asked.
Remy saw the giant tortoise in his blurry vision and heard a familiar voice.
He mumbled, “Lee... Kang-San?”
“Kreeeh! Lee Kang-San?” Tutobure’s eyes widened. “It can’t be! Number one of the human ranking, Lee Kang-San?!”
The man was at the top of the human race—a monster who was the only human in the top one hundred of the World Ranking—the individual considered to be the leader of the pioneering faction—Remy Martin’s sworn brother.
Tortoise Emperor Lee Kang-San, who was always on the front lines, appeared at Edu in the first zone.