Variable 4
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Translator: Moliere
Editor: SootyOwl
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The rifleman fired, and a light orb flew out of his rifle toward Halo and Artlan. When it it got between the two, it exploded.
Boom!
The explosion covered a finite range, but it also generated shockwaves and inflicted damage. Artlan and Halo were pushed away. When they got up, they heard the sound of a gun.
Bang!
They had expected that Killa would run away, but she had turned around and fired her rifle. Her timing was perfect, and she hit Artlanâs head. It was a fatal shot.
Artlan disappeared, and Halo used his lightning flash attack to cover fifty meters in a second and cut down the minion who had been too far away. The rifleman minion had gone through a power activation, and Halo was about to slice him to pieces. He was only wearing the minionsâ armor, so Halo could kill him with one blow. However, Killa stood in his way, already wielding her pistols, and pulled the triggers.
Boom!
Killa had used her ultimate, and Halo was thrown far away. She distanced herself from him and fired more shots.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Suddenly, he quickly spun his sword, which acted like a shield, and the bullets bounced off of it. Vera cast a fire spear. The target wasnât Killa but the minion who had activated a power and became a novice. The fire spear traveled quickly, so Killa blocked it with her own body.
Boom!
Killaâs health was low, but Veraâs spear didnât kill her.
âRetreat!â she shouted after taking the hit for the novice.
The novice turned and started running. Junhyukâs eyes beamed. He was standing behind Vera, and that novice could become more dangerous in the next team battle. He had shown his power just now, and it was an offensive one. It dealt a lot of damage. The attackâs range was also good. He had to be killed.
Junhyuk grabbed Halo and Vera and teleported. The group was now in front of Killa, and she had already used her ultimate, so she had to wait on the cooldown. At close range, the allies had the advantage.
Halo and Vera attacked Killa while Junhyuk teleported once more. He appeared right behind the novice who was running away and swung the Frozen Rune Sword against the noviceâs waist. The novice rolled forward and dodged the sword. Junhyuk was astonished, and the novice turned around, still on the ground, and pointed his rifle at Junhyuk. The gun fired again, and the light orb exploded.
Boom!
Junhyuk teleported away while using his swords to cover his bodyâs weak spots, but the shockwaves pushed him back, and he was seriously wounded.
He started getting up. He had been hit once, but he lost half of his health. Meanwhile, the novice got up and ran away. Junhyuk wanted to go after him, but his movement speed had decreased. He could kill that novice with one swing of his sword, but the novice was escaping. Junhyuk gritted his teeth. Because his movement speed was very low, the distance between the two widened.
âOK.â he said and cut the palm of his own hand with the Blood Rune Sword. He felt the darkness surround him. His health was very low, and he could be killed at any moment. However, his speed increased, so Junhyuk quickly closed in on the novice. He would catch the novice soon.
Killa was busy with Halo and Vera and couldnât chase after Junhyuk. If Killa attacked him, he wouldnât be able to survive, but she didnât even have time to switch her weapons.
Junhyuk chased the novice down and felt himself regaining his strength, but he didnât want to cut himself with the Blood Rune Sword again. As he approached, the novice started getting pale. Junhyuk was far better equipped than him.
The novice had already seen his powers. His opponent wasnât a minion, and Junhyuk could kill him with one strike. The novice felt his hairs stand. He needed more time to reuse his power, but his opponent was speeding up toward him, so the novice stopped running and turned around, aiming his rifle at Junhyuk.
âStop!â he shouted.
âStop barking!â Junhyuk replied.
Junhyuk dashed toward him, and the novice fired.
Bang, bang, bang!
The bullets bounced off Junhyukâs armor. The noviceâs attack wasnât strong enough to penetrate his armor. Junhyuk just needed to be aware of the noviceâs power. He could guess the cooldown of that absurd power, and it was probably around twenty seconds.
The novice had attacked Halo and Artlan first and reused his power on Junhyuk after twenty seconds had passed. Usually, offensive powers had short cooldowns. He would be able to use his power in a few seconds, so Junhyuk could end up dying first.
However, he didnât want his pride hurt by getting killed by a novice nor by a hero. Junhyuk closed in quickly, and Sarang shouted, âBig brother! Watch out!â
Junhyuk heard her and jumped.
Bang!
Killa had jumped and fired at him with her rifle. At that point, Killaâs normal attack could kill him just like that, so Junhyuk jumped as high as he could using his skill. When he started coming down, the novice had a smile on his face. He aimed at Junhyuk and pulled the trigger.
The gun fired a light orb, and Junhyuk was in the air, with no place to hide. Killa was also getting ready to fire at him again.
Junhyuk looked at them both and felt sorry. His cooldown time was up.
Boom!
The light orb exploded, but an ivory-colored light was surrounding Junhyuk. He was launched further up because of the shock of the explosion but started coming down. Killa gave up after seeing the force field.
The noviceâs eyes were filled with despair, and Junhyuk stepped forward and slashed him with the Blood Rune Sword.
Slash!
The novice tried to speak, but his head was lopped off. Junhyuk saw the head rolling on the ground and turned around.
In the direction he was looking, Killa, who had been trying to kill him, got hit by Haloâs Rising Dragon instead. She was slashed across her back and started to disappear.
Junhyuk sighed. He could have been killed. He had interfered prematurely and gotten hit, so Sarang walked over and healed him. He felt his health returning and smiled at her.
âThanks.â
Vera also walked over.
âWe have to destroy the tower. Letâs go.â
âYes.â
The minions had no chance. Junhyuk stepped forward and massacred them. Their bullets didnât work against his armor, and it didnât take a long time. They destroyed the tower and decided to take a break, being tired from all the fierce fighting.
Halo stood in front of Junhyuk.
âYou did well. That novice would have posed a serious problem.â
âI thought so too. I tried my best.â
âDonât die on your own. Experts only have one extra life. If you get killed twice, itâs over. Without you, we canât win,â Vera said.
Junhyuk laughed.
âYou are making me stay alive.â
âStay alive,â she said and pushed his head down hard.
âAre they coming here?â
Halo nodded.
âWhat happened to Diane?â Junhyuk asked.
âShe got killed.â
Vera sighed and said, âThey are hard to deal with one on one.â
Halo nodded.
âTheir individual power surpasses ours. If we arenât careful, we might lose.â
They had gotten new equipment, but victory wasnât guaranteed.
âBut we won.â
âWe should win. We have our cuties with us,â Vera said, laughing.
The allies had a lot of firepower, and Junhyuk and Sarang complemented them. Junhyuk got up.
âWhat is our plan?â
âWe gather and go to Bebeâs.â
âAll together? What if we lose our tower? Or lose our dragon?â
âWeâll be OK,â Halo said calmly.
âWe might lose a tower, but we took down two of theirs. We have to upgrade at Bebeâs to destroy their castle.â
Regina alone had destroyed a tower and the castleâs gate last time. If the enemy gathered, they would be even more dangerous. Bebeâs store was on the enemyâs side, and the allies could move faster.
Junhyuk decided to go with flow of the heroes. He wasnât influential enough to change their plan, so he waited for the other heroesâ arrivals. Diane arrived first, then Nudra and, lastly, Artlan. Their enemies didnât show up.
Artlan talked to group, âI used the Dragonâs Valley path, but I didnât see any enemies. They must be hunting the buff monsters. Letâs go.â
âOK.â
They had killed and been killed, but the allies were still there. The enemies failed to pick up any items, but the allies did. The group moved quickly. They moved as a group because they were afraid of getting picked off by the enemies if they got separated.
They decided to upgrade their equipment and, after, they would go hunt the dragon before going to the enemiesâ castle. They couldnât lose the dragon. If they did, they might lose the following team battle. Vera told Junhyuk she would pick out mana stones for him, and he wanted them.
The group finally reached Bebeâs place, but they encountered something unexpected in their path. In front of the Dimensional Merchant portal, the entrance to Bebeâs store, they saw all of the enemy heroes gathered. They were also visiting Bebe and were blocking the way in.
âCan we get in there?â Junhyuk asked.
Their enemies had the advantage now, but Vera giggled and said, âThis place isnât that unfair. You canât fight once you get inside.â
Junhyuk inspected the enemies. Jean Clo and Bater were at the front, and Doctor Tula, Regina and Adolphe were behind them. Lastly, Killa had her rifle holstered around her shoulder.
The alliesâ plan didnât go well this time. They would have to fight their enemies without going into the Dimensional Merchant first. There was no way around it.
Junhyuk gathered his breath, and Artlan shouted, âLetâs go!â
The allied heroes dashed, and Junhyuk followed them. Right in front of the portal, the team battle was about to take place.