Academy's Drunk Fighter-Chapter 37: First Crisis (9)

But unavoidable.

He was merely doing what needed to be done.

Just as no one blames a doctor for saving lives, no one had the right to condemn him for taking them in service of the great cause.

And one day, they’d all understand his intent.

“Farewell.”

“Kh... urgh...”

He grabbed the girl—who was clutching the now almost-lifeless guard’s body—by the throat.

“Ggh... gaaah...”

Her legs kicked weakly, and her eyes stared up, waiting for death.

“It’s alright. I’ll send the others to join you soon. Die peacefully.”

The strength in her limbs began to fade.

Feeble.

Utterly powerless.

“...Ah...”

The light in her eyes... flickered out.

.

.

.

.

.

Crack.

A sound echoed from behind.

The sound of something stepping onto the ground.

Kolinia turned—

And his expression twisted in shock.

The girl was standing.

“Already...? The ritual’s complete...?”

No one had ever accepted the mask that quickly before.

But then again, it was even more absurd to think the mask had failed its function.

“Wait... how did she get off the wall?”

The spikes that had pinned her limbs were now scattered around her feet.

“You.”

The moment she spoke, Kolinia met her masked gaze—

And a sensation he couldn’t name crawled up his spine.

Failure? No.

Death? No.

That girl—

That thing—was dangerous.

If he didn’t kill her now, she would forever be a threat to their plans.

...No. No.

It’s just your imagination.

He tried to steel himself, taking slow steps toward the girl in the mask.

“Child, it’s time to return my mask now.”

Still unsure why he was feeling this way, he spoke again to the unmoving girl.

“Child?”

BOOOOOOM!!!

Her body surged forward, ramming into his stomach and launching him straight out of the archives.

“GAAAAACK!!!”

The impact was so immense he dropped the girl he had been holding.

It wasn’t fatal, no—

But the sudden surge of power left the old man reeling.

What shocked him more, though—wasn’t the force.

It was how she broke the mask’s control.

Even those with overwhelming willpower eventually succumbed to it, albeit slowly.

Sometimes they were rescued by allies before the mask took hold.

But to break it alone? That had never happened.

“You... how the hell did you...?”

Confusion.

Disbelief.

Before he even had time to fully register the pain, a tense awareness climbed his back.

Sweat dripped. His hands trembled. Something inside him recognized her.

“...What are you?”

And then it hit him.

“No... you...”

Now he understood.

Why the High Bishop had sent him here.

“...Are you even human?”

He had once seen the End.

Just once, long ago.

He had been awed. He had submitted.

To yield before such an immense, universal force was nothing to be ashamed of.

The sensation of facing something far beyond himself had carried him through his entire life.

And now, he felt that same sensation again.

As if the girl before him did not belong to this world.

As if she were something wholly outside of it.

“...”

But the girl said nothing.

“Heh... hehehe...”

“?”

She just laughed.

****

[Mental Strength has increased.]

One line.

Not nearly enough to completely turn the tide—

But that increase brought with it a clarity in her mind.

Which meant only one thing—

“I can handle more intoxication now.”

The moment she realized it—she ate more chocolate.

As the old man watched in confusion, she looked past him—

Eyes locking on the girl still clutched in his hand.

She wanted to save Noah right away.

But she didn’t have the time.

If she rushed in now, she’d get killed instantly.

All she could do was hope Noah could hang on a little longer.

“Come on... hurry up...!”

And then—

As if time itself had stretched for an eternity—

The alcohol from the two extra bonbons kicked in.

[Current Intoxication: 10%]

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

[New achievement recorded.]

[The first limit of the Trait Unlock has been lifted.]

[Reward: A large amount of stats will be granted.]

And then—finally—

The trait’s unlock reward detonated.

It was the result of breaking through the 10% threshold.

A trait that set a goal and gave you a reward once you reached it—

Hard to achieve, but when it triggered, it hit hard.

[Physical abilities have greatly increased.]

[An unknown power flows through your heart.]

[An ancient intelligence begins to stir.]

[Your perception of others grows sharper.]

[Your skin resists external threats.]

And not just that—

The hard limit on Drunken Fist had shattered as well, granting more bonus stats.

[Physical abilities have increased.]

[Drunken Fist – <Breaking Strike> has been unlocked.]

[Drunken Fist – <Fa Jin> damage has increased.]

The stat window exploded with notifications—

And everything else faded into the background.

She braced her legs.

BOOM.

A sharp sound, like a bullet being fired, echoed from under my feet.

My first target: the arm holding Noah.

Even if the old man went flying, I kicked with ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) just enough force to crush his gut—at an angle that would make him drop her.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

Thankfully, my calculations were right.

The old man slammed into the archive wall and shattered it, rebounding out with a crash.

I caught Noah before she hit the ground.

“Ah, thank god!”

She didn’t look great, sure—

But she wasn’t dead.

As for the guard... I wasn’t sure.

One arm had been bandaged, but the other was still bleeding heavily.

By now, he was probably already dead.

Still, I pressed a hand to his chest just in case...

“...He’s alive?”

Unbelievably, his heart was still beating.

His skin tone didn’t even look that bad.

Sure, reattaching the arm would be a separate problem,

But prosthetics are pretty advanced in this world, so it should be fine.

Right now, the real issue was how to bring down that bishop.

I had definitely gotten stronger—

But I hadn’t felt the gap close completely.

If I fought him head-on... could I win?

Still hard to say.

He’s supposed to be a mid-game boss.

Beating him this early might just be impossible.

And these cult freaks have a nasty habit of sacrificing themselves to summon fragments of the apocalypse.

So maybe... it’d be smarter to aim for something between subduing and defeating.

“You... what the hell are you?”

The bishop, staring at me in total confusion.

Yeah, buddy. We’re way past the point of talking.

“A human?”

Did he just ask that like I’m some kind of monster?

Whatever.

I centered myself and locked onto the bishop, ready to rush.

He responded by summoning more of those damn spikes and hurling them at me.

They were meaner, faster, deadlier than before—

The kind of shit that would've torn my old body to pieces.

But now...

“If you had this, you should’ve used it earlier.”

No—

He should’ve killed me when he had the chance.

That mercy he showed me—just so he could use me later—

He didn’t know it would come back like a dagger in the ribs.

[Your mind is intoxicated with the emotion: Joy.]

[Breaking Strike ]

CRACK!!

The spikes met my hands—

And were crushed, twisted, powdered into nothing.

“So this is what it does, huh?”

If Fa Jin was a counterattack,

Breaking Strike was a power boost to regular attacks.

Took some concentration to use it right,

But its strength was no joke.

Even if the bishop’s attacks were designed for crowd control,

Each spike was lethal.

“You...!”

“Enough questions! Let’s get to it!”

I blasted through the rain of projectiles—

And closed in.

Grabbed his face—

And drove it straight into the earth.

KRAAAAACK!!

The ground shattered.

Dust burst up like a mushroom cloud.

The old man hacked blood.

“GHHHHK!!”

“Aha! Elder Slam!”

Okay, that sounded a little too much like a pro wrestling move,

But whatever.

He tried to kill me—

This was just payback.

“And next—!”

I’d figured something else out, too.

I could trigger Fa Jin without needing to block.

Sure, it wasn’t as strong as a clean counter,

But if I slammed it directly into his face—

That alone should be plenty.

“Y-you...!”

“Fa Jin.”

KUUUUUUM!!!!

A shockwave erupted—splitting the floor beneath us.

Even with insane durability,

There’s no shrugging off a blow like that at this range.

“Kh... kkkhk...!”

He looked ready to pass out—

But somehow, still conscious.

His eyes locked on mine.

His hand twitched, reaching—

“Still not down?”

“W-wait...!”

Then I’ll just keep going.

The skill might’ve been on cooldown,

But I’d already figured out how to use the technique manually.

“Ha.”

CRACK!!

“Ha-ha...”

BOOOOM!!

“HAHAHAHAHA!!”

I slammed his head into the ground.

Again. And again. And again.

Until—

Thud.

His arm finally dropped.

Limp. Unconscious.

That’s when I noticed someone approaching from afar.

“...Huh.”

[Current Intoxication: 9%]

Whether it was coincidence or not—

The moment my intoxication dropped,

The strength left my body.

All that overwhelming power—gone.

And all that remained was a frail girl in a mask.

Still strong...

But no longer a monster.

[Emotion state has been removed.]

Sanity began to return.

I looked down—

The one pinned beneath me was clearly an old man.

And I—

Was a masked figure who had just beaten the shit out of said old man.

Yeah, this was not a good look.

From the perspective of the person walking toward us—

I’d look like the aggressor, no doubt about it.

I panicked for a moment.

Then the face of the approaching figure finally came into focus.

That face—

I knew it.

“...Yoon Siwoo?”

It was him.