Chương 26: Ice and Fire
On the road heading towards Country Q, it was all silent except for a punctured truck's whirring engine. The only light that lit up the area was the truck's headlights, and in the darkness, only three people were around.
Since Country Q's Mega-Dungeon was always expanding, the people around had already long been exported to somewhere else.
"I am Hunter Choi Sung." The young man above the truck introduced himself and removed his broken sunglasses. His blue eyes shimmered as he continued, "And you demon stand no chance against me. I will utterly decimate you. I'll win."
[Choi Sung]
[𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝟎]
[Physique: 6.2 (Medium)]
[Mind: 7.2 (Medium)]
[Resistances:
Fire Resistance (Medium), Ice Resistance (Medium).]
[Hunter Ability: Ice Fire]
Mark, who was on the ground, had his golden eyes dimmed slightly.
Choi Sung's physical and mental stats were not that bad, but it wouldn't really hurt him due to his resistance, but Mark had no Ice and Fire Resistance. If his enemy's powers hit, it would hurt.
Even Dona, who was a Flame Demon, only had Fire Resistance. The worst part was that Mark couldn't use either of his useful abilities.
Both Heart Input and Dream Shock required him to have as much Mind power as his enemy, and after using it on Shiden, he was running low.
[Mind: 1.8/10]
He only had his body to rely on.
"Demon," Choi Sung arrogantly looked down at Mark from above the truck. "Why don't you listen to me and knock yourself out?"
Mark sneered. He had a stronger body, and if it was an equal fight, he could absolutely thrash Choi Sung. But the thing that truly worried Mark was none of this, what he was truly worried about was the five meter distance he had to be around Dona.
Fighting while carrying Dona was going to hurt. Not to mention, if the enemy focused his attacks on her, she might die, and if she died, he would die too. She was his Dungeon and Mark didn't wish to see her die.
"Choi Sung," I said, "Why don't you just get lost and save your own skin?"
Choi Sung slid down the truck and skillfully landed on the ground. His shimmering blue eyes looked at Mark with amusement as blue flame started to appear all around him.
"Guess it is a fight then."
Like an arrow leaving its bow, Choi Sung sprung towards Mark. Before he could reach close, though, Mark's eyes shined, and he took a deep breath before… running away.
Fuck you, blue fire man. You are at an advantage, but I am faster.
He had no reason to risk his life so needlessly. He could die if he moved 5 meters away from Dona, and doing that wouldn't be too hard for an enemy once they found his weakness.
Mark had a stronger body; of course, he could run faster than the enemy could catch up.
Choi Sung's expression changed as he ran close behind Mark and tried to throw fire at him.
"You really are stupid and young. How can fire be thrown? You are a dumb human. Fire is not solid. Didn't anyone teach you that?"
Even Dona's Fireball was unique in that it blasted off of her like an air ball of explosion. It WAS that kind of ability. But Choi Sung was manipulating fire, fire couldn't explode on its own.
Expression twisted in a grimace, Choi Sung screamed, "Stop!"
Mark sneered, "Your fire is too weak. It's not even hot."
Choi Sung concentrated the blue fire in his hand, and an icy lance was born. He threw it at Mark like a Javelin. "It's. Not. Hot. Because it is supposed to be cold. You are not getting away."
Mark's eyes flashed a golden glow. "You overestimate yours—" he ducked, and the javelin cut a small part of his hair as it flew past him and got stuck in a parked taxi's windows.
Huff. Huff.
One shouldn't try to talk while in a fight. He nearly got skewered.
Mark's face turned cold, and he also noticed one vital aspect. The small hair that flew stuck to the javelin was instantly burned into ashes as it passed within a five-meter radius.
"Good reflexes, now stop this!"
Another javelin of icy fire whooshed towards him, and Mark rotated to the side to avoid it. It grazed Dona's hand, and she grimaced.
Choi Sung was closer, and Mark felt the grip of icy death.
The enemy's fire could both be hot or cold. But as he looked at him, Mark's incredibly vivid eyesight could catch many things. He ran to the side, and just as Choi Sung was near, Mark ducked down and caught two rocks in his hand.
He rotated and threw it with all his strength, but Choi Sung himself had good reflexes; he easily dodged them and ran towards Mark with a wide smirk. Mark smirked back as the rocks hit something like glass, and everything suddenly turned slightly dark.
One of the truck's headlights had been broken.
Choi Sung's expression changed.
Mark took a deep breath, and his expression was as chilly as death. Using the moment of surprise from the enemy, Mark picked up another rock, targetted the remaining headlight, and threw as hard as he could.
The rock hit sharply, and Choi Sung could only watch; his whole body was sweaty, but with a quick use of coldness, Choi Sung once again went back to his peak performance.
"Good idea, Demon. I know you bunch can see at dark, but even if I can't see you now, my power is bright. My fire would still burn you."
The lances that the Hunter had thrown were already melting but they were bright and they gave enough light to make Mark's figure still fairly visible for a human sight.
Choi Sung clapped his hands, and two sharp swords of icey fire appeared in his hands when his hands moved away from each other.
Mark smiled as he stopped where he was.
Choi Sung walked towards him, and the closer he got, the warier he became. Why was Mark no longer running?
"You will lose now, Hunter." Mark said, "Don't you think so?"
"Nah, I'll win." Choi Sung smirked.
He still had enough Mind power to use a bunch more of his ice-fire lances, and if it came to it, he could use another more powerful attack. He had kept enough Mind power remaining for that.
But Mark smirked.
[Choi Sung]
[Mind: 1.8/7.2]
[Mark]
[Mind: 1.8/10]
Heart Input!
Since the Hunters didn't have any mental resistance, Mark immediately entered Choi Sung's mind, and the enemy's face immediately changed. As a Hunter, he could sense the danger. The demon had used some kind of ability, even though he couldn't tell what.
Without wasting time on contemplating, Choi Sung quickly ran towards Mark for the attack. His sword flashed through the night.
But just as he was close enough to slash, an explosive ball of fire headed straight towards him, and instinctive fear filled him as he backed away.
He was full of sweat again, and his ice-like swords had melted off. Even his simple armor had grown hot.
Mark whispered into his Mind, "Arrogantly throw another fire at the demon." Then he returned to reality; his golden eyes shimmered.
Choi Sung laughed. "So the Demon on your back has Fire Ability. Sorry for the disappointment, but she is too weak to hurt me. And I am the ruler of fire and ice. No one beats me on that."
He tried to whip out some more fire but frowned. No fire came out.
[Choi Sung]
[Mind: 0]
Mark looked at him calmly.
Now, both of them had 0 in the Mind Stat. The enemy had lost his firepower.
The demon couldn't help but chuckle.
Had he had at least 0.1 Mind power, he could have initiated Dream Shock and ended this man already, but he, too, was zero.
If he were to play a battle of bodies, yes, he would win in a brawl. But it was unnecessary.
But the enemy could push him five meters apart from Dona if it came to it. There was no need to risk it. Not to mention, other Hunters might be attracted by the scene and that would be deadly.
An animal struggling to survive could get pretty messy, not to mention a Hunter.
"Little Hunter, I will see you someday."
Choi Sung was full of fear by now and he was already trying to escape.
"What power did you use to cancel out my Mind Power? I had enough to use it a couple more times," He asked.
The demon didn't answer and had already run towards Country Q, his face and eyes covered with a clock. At first glance, he looked human.
Only… that was a demon. Choi Sung didn't dare to chase.
Mark was calm. On the broad spectrum of things, Choi Sung was nothing—just a C-Rank Hunter with a bloated ego. That was why he gave such a useless Heart Input in the first place. In the end, it didn't matter what the dude did.
In Mark's mind, the only thing now was to find a solid footing in this world and understand his own role in everything. Then get the most benefits he could.
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