Arena

Chapter 151 – High Priest (Part 1)

We had returned to the uninhabited island and spent a leisurely two days there when.

“Beeeek-!”

A rake eagle, who had been playing over the water, screeched sharply.

“It’s number seven.”

Said Cha Ji-hye who was lying next to me.

‘Woah, how can she tell in a glance? Even though I’m the owner I get confused.’

Cha Ji-hye’s love of animals was at a bizarre level.

Anyway, seeing the seventh’s reaction, it seems to be warning me of something that’s appeared.

Then, the other 9 rake eagles began to screech in the same way too.

Only then did I realize something serious has happened and I summoned my AW50F.

Cha Ji-hye too put on her armor and dual blades and finished her battle preparation.

I had Sylph scout around the uninhabited island.

And then, I saw the shocking scene that Sylph sent to me.

A zombie horde was crossing the ocean.

They were crossing the ocean by flailing as if they were swimming but looking at it I couldn’t really call it any kind of swim stroke.

And one young man was casually walking across the water.

The zombie horde was becoming his bridge.

A strange young man with a pale complexion was walking towards us by stepping on zombies.

The zombie horde seemed to number in the tens of thousands.

And the extraordinary young man seemed to be their owner.

‘This is the real exam.’

And then I realized why I was given such an easy exam to annihilate the pirate army.

Because it wasn’t an easy exam.

There was this man hiding within the pirate army.

“It’s a zombie horde. Their numbers are no joke.”

“Yes, I can see them too.”

“There is a man traversing the sea by walking on top of the zombie horde. His face is pale and he looks mid-20’s. He’s dressed like a pirate.”

“A dark magician.”

“Yes. But seeing as how he’s got such a large zombie horde, this is serious.”

“If we assume that the dark magician is the target of this 9th turn exam, he won’t be some average lackey. He might even be one of the 6 high priests.”

“One of the 6 high priests?”

“The exams are given according to the level of skill of the examinee. Taking into account your and my growth, I think taking on one of the 6 high priests wouldn’t be considered a big stretch.”

I see.

I couldn’t disagree with Cha Ji-hye speculation.

There’s no way they would give me an easy exam.

Especially in this kind of fight, we would be given an opponent we could barely win over.

“It will be to our advantage to fight on the water. On land we have no way to counter that many zombies.”

“Okay.”

Cha Ji-hye agreed with my suggestion and whistled.

Then the first of the rake eagles shot over to her like an arrow and landed next to her.

Cha Ji-hye jumped onto the back of the first rake eagle.

She wrapped her long slender legs around its neck and stabilized her body then she pulled out both blades.

“Let’s go!”

“Beeek!”

Number one, with Cha Ji-hye on its back, flew up.

This was the result of spending time on the uninhabited island, Cha Ji-hye got along well and played with the rake eagles.

She had trained the first eagle to be her personal ride.

Of course, she needed my help for it with my animal taming intermediate level 5 that could give formal orders.

I was like a translator and helped in her training by delivering Cha Ji-hye’s words.

And now, even without my help, she could freely control it.

‘It seems like she has a better grip on them than I do.’

Anyway, after I summoned Sylph, I rode the wind and flew into the air.

The zombies weren’t swimming properly.

Maybe it was because they were dead corpses but they didn’t exactly sink in the water but they weren’t exactly swimming like swimmers either.

In order to gain a topographic advantage while fighting with that zombie horde there was no other choice but to engage in a sea fight.

But the only variable was that young man that seemed to be a high-ranking dark magician.

What kind of variable that man’s dark magic would bring, we had no idea.

“Miss Ji-hye! Aim at the dark magician. I’ll back you up!”

We were flying up in the air and it was chaotic but through Sylph’s skill, my words are clearly delivered to Cha Ji-hye.

“Got it!”

Cha Ji-hye’s voice too was delivered to me by Sylph as if it was a whisper.

It was a dangerous task but based on my last experience, dark magicians are weak in close combat. And close combat was Cha Ji-hye’s specialty.

We were up in the air so the young dark magician man’s location could be seen at a glance.

I aimed my AW50F at him and pulled the trigger.

One bullet shot with all the force of Sylph!

Tuuuuung!

A black curtain appeared and wrapped around the young dark magician to block the bullet.

But Sylph’s power added a strong force up to the point of impact so the black curtain was ripped.

At that time, Cha Ji-hye was riding number one and quickly dropped down.

The young dark magician once again protected himself with the black curtain.

I pulled the trigger again.

Taaang!! KwaJik!

The 12.7 mm bullet ripped the curtain again.

And at the same time…

Paaaat!

Cha Ji-hye who descended with number one, burst into acrobatics.

Number one flipped its body upside down right above the young dark magician.

Hanging on to number one with both legs while hanging upside down, Cha Ji-hye awesomely hacked with both blades.

Chwaaaak!

A red fountain came forth.

The young man’s head went flying towards the sky.

It was a success.

With one blow the young dark magician had been killed.

‘But this is too easy?’

It seemed Cha Ji-hye was thinking the same as me. She got right side up again and flew up and without any emotion Cha Ji-hye looked at the young man.

Our prediction was correct.

The zombie horde picked up the cut off head of the young man and delivered it to him.

After passing it along it finally arrived at the young man’s body.

The young dark magician’s body, with its head cut off, calmly received the head given by the zombies and placed it atop his neck.

The dark magician slowly looked at me and Cha Ji-hye.

And then he laughed coldly.

“I wouldn’t say that felt good.”

I was shocked.

‘What the hell is he?’

Is he actually an undead or something? How can a person lose their head and be fine!

‘Could it be that no matter how we attack he’ll be fine?’

I decide to test it out.

With one hand I aimed the AW50F and with the other hand I raised up a Neilson H2 handgun.

With the help of Sylph, I aimed both guns at the dark magician.

I pulled both triggers at the same time. With a slight time difference the AW50F fired off a little faster.

Ta tang-!!

The 12.7mm bullet rips the young dark magicians’ curtain.

And through the ripped crack the .357 magnum bullet from the Neilson H2 burrowed through his body.

Puuk!

There was a giant hole made where his heart was.

“Kuuk!”

The young man opened both eyes wide.

From his chest that was burst open from the bullet, blood gushed out. It was obvious to whoever saw this that it was instant death.

‘Let’s see if he lives despite having his heart obliterated.’

I watched for the young dark magician’s reaction.

The young dark magician stooped his body over and blood continued gushing from his chest. The sea turned red.

But then, from the young man’s lips, a strange language could be heard. It was undecipherable and unstopping.

‘A dark magic spell?’

Then the words at the end were in the Arena language that I could understand.

“Dear Fate, I pass thee unto the everlasting, breathe life into eternity.”

The blood that had gushed out and turned the sea red was now reversed.

It flowed backwards and gathered back into the hole in the young man’s chest. Like fish returning home in breeding season.

His chest closed.

The dark magician looked up at me and laughed again.

“It has already been a long time since I’ve forgotten the feeling of pain and agony. From long ago my body has been a senseless meaningless lump of flesh.”

‘He’s a monster……’

My teeth shivered at this man that kept coming back to life.

This may be Arena but still, there’s no way I could see something so unnatural and not be surprised.

“But I don’t have the habit of letting my body be infringed upon either. I think its your turn now, examinee Kim Hyun-ho.”

“……?!”

He knows my name?

In an instant, Lee Chang-wee crossed my mind.

‘Right, that bastard probably conspired with them.’

He would have divulged information about the examinees and given all the information about me as well.

This time, the young dark magician began to recite a spell first.

Did you think I would just leave you alone to do that?

‘I’ll feed that mouth of yours a bullet.’

Once again, I pulled the triggers on my AW50F and Neilson H2.

Ta- taang-!!

With a piercing ring the two bullets shot out.

One struck the black cloak, the other ripped through his neck.

His neck exploded and his head was separated from his body and fell.

This time too the zombie horde picked up the fallen head and delivered it back.

But bizarrely, even in its separated state, the young man’s head continued to recite a spell.

The lungs were no longer connected to a throat and no air could reach his lips but regardless, the head continued to move its lips.

The last zombie to receive the head places it atop the young man’s neck.

At last the young man’s voice carried out.

“Glory of flame, dancing heat, the wreckage of a heap of ashes.”

The moment the spell was complete.

Hwa lu lu lu lu luk-!!

From both hands of the young dark magician, a black flame burst out.

As if seeped out of hell, an ominous black flame swallowed everything around it including the zombies.

Tens and hundreds of them……

As if swallowing the zombies whole, the blaze grew larger.

The black flame began to rise up to me by endlessly eating the zombie horde and growing in size.

“Escape it!”

After I warned Cha Ji-hye, I had Sylph quickly raise me higher into the sky.

But the black flame chased after me and created a flame pillar and rose up too.

No matter how high I sent, no matter how far away I moved, the flame continued to come after me.

‘It is impossible to evade it?’

For a moment I used Sylph to look ag the young dark magician.

Sylph sent me the image.

The black flame started at his hands.

‘If I get rid of his hands, the flames will disappear too.’

I changed my thinking.

“Divine Protection of Wind!”

The Divine Protection of Wind spread out and, like when I sync with Sylph, I could move freely along the wind.

I protected my body within a whirlwind. And then I raced towards the young dark magician.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa-!!

The black flame came over me.

With my whirlwind I got rid of the blaze and like an arrow I shot myself towards the young dark magician.

But rather than retreat, the dark magician smiled as if to welcome me.

‘Alright, I’m coming, you fucker!’

I put away the AW50F and took out another Neilson H2 and dual wielded my guns.

I pierced through the black blaze and reached the young dark magician.

Maybe 8 – 9 meters.

Even without Sylph’s help I had a shooting skill that was 100% accuracy within 10 meters.

“Eat this!”

Ta ta ta ta tang!

I shot both guns.

But the bullets didn’t reach the young dark magician.

Because the black blaze swallowed the bullets.

‘Then I’ll just have to get close enough that the black flames can’t protect him!’

I approached the bastard even closer.

Finally, the distance between us narrowed to less than a meter.

We looked at each other, right in front of each other.

“What are you looking at asshole?”

At this short distance, I shoved both towards him and pulled the triggers.