Episode 175: Kim Ho’s words are ???
– Bam!
Once again, a cannonball-like magic bullet struck Jukripin.
From the second time on, he was prepared, so he raised his arm to block the blow, and it seemed like there was no damage.
But it was inevitable that I would be pushed back by the aftershock.
“… … !”
In the meantime, Kwak Seung-jae completed the order.
He looks visibly shaken, as if he knows that if it hadn’t been for the sniper shot, he would have lost his life.
He flung open the wooden door and rushed inside.
“Ugh… … !”
The bamboo man ground his teeth.
His target is still fixed on the wooden door.
If you destroy the door connecting the two spaces, you can buy time until Kwak Seung-jae, who crossed over to the other side, creates a new door.
The bloody, strong arm repeatedly sends out tension.
– Papapapat!
Immediately, Dang Gyu-yeong knelt down on one knee and touched the floor.
Shadows spread out around her in an instant, covering the floor in black, and a large wall of shadows suddenly rose up and collided with the tension.
“… … !”
– Boom!
The empty space in the disappearing shadow wall was filled by a shield-wielding vanguard.
– Boom!
A ponytailed woman fills the empty spot left by the departing leader, extending her palms together.
– Boom—!
As the tensions were blocked, Jukripin himself rushed in and tried to break down the door, but was stopped by another sniper shot.
He spoke as if spitting out words while glaring at those who surrounded him.
“These fucking bastards… …!”
‘It’s over now.’
Everyone gave Kwak Seung-jae enough time to ask for support.
If he had properly connected the space to the teachers’ office, the teacher on duty would have appeared at any moment.
Sure enough, the half-open wooden door opened a little further and a flash of light appeared.
Then, as if they had made a promise, everyone stopped in their tracks and looked down.
Dang Gyu-yeong, the bum, the ponytailed woman, the leaders… … and the bamboo people.
At the end of their gaze, one of the bamboo man’s arms was hanging off in an awkward manner.
It was only then that he noticed my empty shoulder and screamed.
“Kuaaaah!!”
“Everyone, step back.”
Everyone distanced themselves from the dead man at the soft voice.
The wooden door opened wider and a figure slowly walked out.
As soon as his identity was confirmed, Jukripin’s face began to convulse incessantly.
“Human Baekjeong… …!”
“It’s me.”
Human Baekjeong Lee Su-dok.
In his hand he held a large sword in the shape of a cleaver.
He slashed the sword with incredible speed and cut off the arm of the man with the sword.
The man with the dead body grumbled with a distorted face.
“Is this a surprise attack by the world’s greatest human being, Baekjeong? He doesn’t live up to his reputation.”
“I don’t know what rumors you heard, but I’m not the type to insist on a head-on confrontation. And if you’re going to blame me, you should blame your recklessness in crawling into enemy territory alone, rather than my surprise attack.”
Did you expect a fair one-on-one duel right in the middle of Dungeon Island?
The bamboo man had no choice but to change his position and could not say anything in response.
Lee Soo-dok slung a large kitchen knife over his shoulder.
“I won’t kill you because I have a lot to hear. However, I also need to taste the blood of the Blood Cultists after a long time.”
“… … .”
The two people stared at each other for a few seconds.
Their new forms seemed to blur at the same time, and then they clung to each other and clashed.
– Kwakwakwang!
Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-yeong climbed up to the roof of the building with great difficulty and plopped down next to me.
“… … .”
There are large and small wounds all over his body, and judging by the continuous flow of blood from the corners of his mouth and nose, his internal injuries appear to be serious.
I immediately took the standard elixir out of my inventory and uncorked it.
“eat.”
“… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong only sticks his head forward, as if he doesn’t even have the strength to raise his hands.
When you put the elixir in his mouth, he drinks it well, gulping it down.
As the glass bottle emptied, the wounds healed quickly, and Dang Gyu-yeong’s expression became more and more relaxed.
When his body was clean without a single scratch, I took off the elixir and put a candy in his mouth.
Dang Gyu-yeong said while chewing the candy in his mouth.
“Thank you. It’s huge, I’ve used up all the elixir.”
“If you don’t use it now, when will you use it?”
I risked my life to help you, so why waste the elixir?
This is what Kim Gap-du gave me.
– I’m not giving it to you because you’re pretty. I’m giving it to you so that you can always stay by my side and use it if Dang Gyu-yeong is in danger.
‘Thank you, Senior Toad, for writing so well.’
Dang Gyu-yeong poured the remaining elixir onto my finger.
Because the Hyun-Eum-Ok-Ma-Ji was amplified to A-Rank, even S-Rank elemental resistance was not enough to completely overcome the penalty, and the index finger was frozen as if it had been frostbitten.
However, as soon as the elixir touches it, the swelling quickly goes down and it returns to its original state.
Dang Gyu-yeong looked at it and asked.
“Did you just write to that guy? Hyun-eum-ok-maji.”
“I wrote it to that one.”
“I felt like I had become weaker somehow. Thanks to that, I was able to endure it.”
The cold air that penetrates through the Hyun-eum-ok-maji will constantly torment the target until it is completely driven out or completely frozen.
Even an A-ranked Blood Cult Elder allocated about half of his internal energy to blocking the cold.
From the opponent’s perspective, it’s rare to see such a vicious suppression skill.
At that moment, the last words of ‘that thing’ rang out.
“Kwaaah!”
When I looked down, it seemed like the battle was already over.
The man with the dead body was sprawled out on a pool of his own blood.
Even in the midst of a fierce battle, the bamboo hat he had been wearing had come off, and his blood-red hair, which had become a mess, was covering his face.
And he was beaten to the point where he was barely able to breathe.
‘Faculty and staff are faculty and staff.’
Although the Blood Cult Elder had many disadvantages, he was still a strong man who could barely hold on to three graduating students and three third-year students.
The fact that Lee Soo-dok was able to subdue such a strong person in one breath was a testament to the skills of the Yongsal Academy faculty and staff.
Then two more faculty members walked out through the wooden door.
And then he looks back and forth between the Isu Dok and the Blood Cult Elder, his eyes widening.
“Oh? Teacher Lee, are you done already?”
“It’s over.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave it all up to you, teacher. We’ll take care of the rest.”
As Lee Soo-dok nodded as if to say so, the faculty and staff began to skillfully direct the scene.
The leadership gathered here controls the area so that regular students cannot approach the site and asks for help from the graduates who are wandering around.
Lee Soo-dok glanced at them as if he wasn’t even interested, then raised his gaze.
Fierce eyes are turned towards us from the rooftop.
I made eye contact with the teacher, but I couldn’t just stare blankly, so I went downstairs with Dang Gyu-yeong.
As we approached and bowed our heads, Isudok turned around and walked ahead to the wooden door.
“Follow me.”
“… … .”
The teachers’ office that I entered following him.
All the faculty and staff on duty have gone to the downtown area, so we are the only ones left.
When you close the wooden door, it automatically disappears into the ground.
He trudged to his seat, sat down, looked us over, and began to speak.
“Explain the details of the incident from beginning to end. There can be no lies whatsoever.”
How did you end up fighting the Blood Cult Elder?
Judging from the fact that Lee Soo-dok’s gaze was fixed on me, it seemed like he wanted to hear the explanation from my own mouth.
But even so, would it be possible to confess and say, ‘I changed the password and set a trap’?
So, as soon as I opened my mouth, I started joking.
“I was walking around here and there with Senior Dang Gyu-yeong—”
“I said that there should not be even a single lie.”
Lee Soo-dok cut me off and warned me again.
Anyone would be intimidated and start to cry if they were given that murderous look, but since I wasn’t ‘anyone’, I naturally accepted that look.
‘Let’s try one more time.’
I think he probably got caught because he knew that Dang Gyu-yeong was the leader of the thieves’ club.
So this time I mixed half truth and half lies.
Of course, leaving out the password,
“Here, I was helping Senior Dang Gyu-yeong with the black market.”
“How were you helping?”
“They are interfering with the inspections of the vanguard and obstructing searches.”
“… … .”
“While I was walking around like that, I saw a person wearing a bamboo hat and followed him.”
“Did you find it while wandering around?”
“Yeah, it’s a bit weird to be dead in the middle of the night.”
“… … .”
Lee Soo-dok stared at me intently.
I feel like there is a feeling that it is exploring me somehow.
He quickly took his eyes off me and asked Dang Gyu-yeong.
“Is what Kim Ho said true?”
“Yes.”
“You keep lying. I warned you twice.”
“… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong let out a deep sigh as if he had no choice, and gave me an answer that was half-truthful, just like me.
“I didn’t just pass by and see it, I saw it through a crystal ball.”
“… … Sujeong-gu?”
In response to Lee Soo-dok’s question, Dang Gyu-yeong explained the existence of the control tower.
They were stealing the vision of the downtown crime prevention crystal ball and using it for the black market.
But Lee Soo-dok didn’t take issue with that.
Now is not the time to break the rules, but to get at least one more piece of information about the Blood Cult.
“You’ve put a lot of thought into it. Gather all the records of that man’s actions recorded in the Sujeong-gu and submit them to me. Then I’ll make an exception for violations of the school rules.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Dang Gyu-yeong bowed his head.
Lee Soo-dok asked me a question again.
“You followed the man wearing the bamboo hat because he looked suspicious?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
“As I said, we were helping with the black market work, so we felt a bit embarrassed. Instead, we asked our senior graduates for help.”
And as soon as it was confirmed that it was a blood cult, a signal flare was fired for the vanguard, and the rest was as you saw, he concluded his explanation.
Lee Soo-dok seemed to think for a moment and then slowly nodded his head.
“Go out and see.”
* * *
Lee Soo-dok had skills.
[True or False (B)]
▷Determine whether the answer is true or not.
▷When you can see through a lie, it becomes easier to hear the truth.
▷Number of times available: (0/3 times)
▷Recharge every 3 days
A mental skill that, when cast, determines whether the opponent is telling the truth or lying.
Although it had limitations such as having to be charged once every three days and having a three-charge limit, there was no doubt about its performance when it was unleashed.
It was a skill that had contributed greatly to Lee Soo-dok’s investigation so far.
however,
“I was walking around here and there with Senior Dang Gyu-yeong—”
[???no see.]
When I cast the skill on Kim Ho, a notification message full of question marks that was neither true nor false was displayed.
Since this was the first time something like this had happened, Lee Soo-dok couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
‘what.’
Of course, it was not difficult to infer that Kim Ho lied even though his skill had failed.
There’s the obvious fact that a black market is being held, so there’s no way the leader of the thieves’ club would just be strolling around the downtown area.
While listening to the explanation that followed, I cast [Truth or Lie] again,
“You found a bamboo man while wandering around?”
“Yeah, it’s a bit weird to be dead in the middle of the night.”
[???no see.]
Another message full of question marks is printed.
For a moment, Lee Soo-dok thought there was a problem with his skills.
So I asked Dang Gyu-yeong.
“Is what Kim Ho said true?”
“Yes.”
[This is false.]
Judging from the fact that Dang Gyu-yeong’s lies are immediately seen through, it seems that only Kim Ho is not affected.
Lee Soo-dok was able to recruit Dang Gyu-yeong and find out that the thieves’ club was using a crystal ball for crime prevention.
And after hearing the rest of the incident, I sent the two out of the principal’s office.
Lee Soo-dok, left alone in the teachers’ office, slowly looked back on everything.
I have the overall picture, but there are still some parts that are questionable.
‘You found the Blood Cult Elder by chance?’
Even if you had a much wider field of view by using a crystal ball, would you have had the time to chase down a suspicious person while you were busy with the black market?
It was clear that there was something more to it.
Another thing that was strange was that the elder of the Blood Cult was so weak that he actually fought against me.
Even if you add up the skills of all those present, it is still not enough to stop an A-rank expert.
So why was he so weakened?
What aggravated Lee Soo-dok’s suspicions was the words he spoke as a soliloquy with his last words when he had defeated the elder.
– If… … I… … would… … ! … … but… … . If not… … !
Then, his gaze briefly turned to the rooftop.
However, it seems difficult to hear the truth from Kim Ho’s mouth.
I wasted a lot of time charging because the skill didn’t work, and it probably won’t work in the future either.
It’s gutsy to see him lie in front of you without even blinking an eye.
It would be the same even if you held a knife to my neck and threatened me.
‘But I caught the end of the tail.’
And until Kim Ho finds out the truth about what he is hiding, Lee Soo-dok will continue to watch him.
