Machine God with EX-rank talent (Deus ex machina)

Before Eun Hwi-gwang could even respond, Hyun Suho had already taken a position in the rear. 

Though he seemed like a woman-obsessed fool, Eun Hwi-gwang was still one of the few EX-rank hunters in the world. With all the support he’d received from the government, he shouldn’t be easily defeated.

‘But how do we kill that thing when it just brushed off the plasma attack?’

The bone dragon hovered in place, flapping its wings. Unlike when it had first charged in a fury, it was now calmly observing them. The flickering red glow in its eye sockets flared up and then subsided repeatedly. It was clearly enraged from being hit by the plasma. If there had been any flesh left on its face, it would undoubtedly have shown a furious expression.

‘So it wasn’t completely unaffected after all…’

Though it appeared unharmed, the plasma had had some effect; otherwise, it would have already attacked again. Could it be that some part of its reasoning remained intact, even as an undead? 

At least, this bought Hyun Suho some time to regroup.

‘In the end, plasma is all I’ve got.’

Hyun Suho didn’t have any offensive skills. Being only at level 3, he hadn’t acquired many skills to begin with. No matter how enchanted his bullets were, they wouldn’t work, so plasma was his only viable option.

He quickly downed several mana potions, refilling his depleted mana.

Surprisingly, Eun Hwi-gwang was also calmly preparing himself.

“Come! I’ll show you the power of this holy sword!”

Eun Hwi-gwang brandished a large sword that shone brilliantly. It had a golden hilt with a blue gem embedded in it, an impressive-looking weapon at a glance, and one he himself called a holy sword. It must have been one of the government-issued pieces of equipment.

[According to my search, that’s a legendary artifact called Balmung.]

‘A legendary item?’

Hyun Suho had only heard rumors of legendary items and had never seen one in person. Legendary weapons were usually treated as national treasures, and their export overseas was strictly prohibited. The government must have extremely high expectations for Silver Knight to have given him such a weapon.

‘I should have revealed that I’m an EX-rank too.’

He had worn a mask to avoid excessive scrutiny and intervention. However, seeing a legendary weapon made him second-guess his decision.

[You have me, who’s beyond legendary—cosmic-level—so what’s there to be envious of?]

‘You’re right. Now isn’t the time to be distracted by items.’

It was like the calm before the storm. Both Hyun Suho, Eun Hwi-gwang, and the government agents assisting him, as well as the bone dragon, were all assessing the situation.

Eun Hwi-gwang had originally been intended as a sacrificial shield. When he flirted with Jin Seo-yeon, he seemed like a frivolous man, more fitting of the name Golden Sun than Silver Knight. But even he lifted his sword with a serious expression before the bone dragon. The government agents assisting him gritted their teeth and raised their weapons as well.

At that moment, the bone dragon made its move.

*Boom!*

It happened in the blink of an eye. The bone dragon was suddenly upon them, and its forepaw was blocked by Eun Hwi-gwang's greatsword.

"Silver Aura!"

The blade of Balmung began to glow with a silvery light. While there was no noticeable difference on the surface, Hyun Suho could feel it. That one skill alone had exponentially increased Eun Hwi-gwang's attack power. It wasn’t just a simple enchantment spell that boosted attack power. It was more like…

"A sword aura?"

Even the bone dragon, which had easily withstood the plasma, seemed to struggle against Balmung. The forepaw that touched the sword began to disintegrate as if it were being corroded, crumbling to dust.

*Shhh-shhh-shhh!*

The dragon bone, which had easily blocked the plasma, was now disintegrating upon contact with the sword. Hyun Suho, watching this, couldn’t help but be surprised.

"That’s strong. What skill is that?"

Aside from his Zero skills, Hyun Suho had acquired three skills so far. Each of them was extraordinarily powerful, enough to cause a global uproar if they were made public. One of them, an upgrade skill that permanently enhanced items, was so valuable that any guild or country would likely want to imprison him just to keep using it.

In this world, it was common knowledge that higher-ranked individuals acquired much better skills, even at the same level. It seemed this was true for Eun Hwi-gwang as well.

“Come! I am the Silver Knight!”

Confident, Eun Hwi-gwang took a bold step forward and swung Balmung forcefully. It looked like he was about to cleave the bone dragon's ribcage in two, but…

Crunch!

The bone dragon, seeing this fearless approach, snapped its jaws shut. Eun Hwi-gwang barely managed to avoid being bitten in half, but Balmung was now firmly lodged in the bone dragon’s teeth.

“W-wait! Wait!”

Shocked, Eun Hwi-gwang desperately tried to pull Balmung free, but no matter how hard he struggled, the bone dragon’s jaws wouldn’t budge.

Grrrr!

The enraged bone dragon began shaking its head violently from side to side, Balmung still clenched in its teeth. As it did, Eun Hwi-gwang, still holding onto the sword, was swung around like a ragdoll.

“Aaaaaah!!”

Was it thanks to his EX-level talent? Or perhaps because he couldn’t bear to lose the legendary sword? Despite being tossed around mercilessly, he never let go of Balmung.

As the bone dragon slightly loosened its grip, Eun Hwi-gwang’s body was momentarily flung into the air. However, his relief at being freed was short-lived. The bone dragon suddenly spun its massive body in a full circle, and its tail, like a whip, lashed out at him.

Whoosh!

It was like a home run swing... The bone dragon's tail struck Eun Hwi-gwang dead-on.

Crash!

Eun Hwi-gwang flew straight for nearly 500 meters before smashing into a massive hill. His body went through the wall of the hill, and then, like an avalanche, the hill crumbled down around him.

Rumble!!

‘...Is he dead?’

It was a blow that would be almost impossible to survive, but then again, who knew? With an EX-rank job, he might have a life-saving skill, or maybe he was wearing armor as powerful as Balmung.

‘That idiot.’

Hyun Suho should have known when Eun Hwi-gwang was hitting on Jin Seo-yeon, but it confirmed that he really was a fool. What good are powerful skills if you don’t know how to use them? The opponent was a bone dragon with at least level 8 strength, far beyond a human’s physical mass. Even the best hunter should focus on dodging its attacks and finding a chance to strike back. But Eun Hwi-gwang, full of misguided confidence, had decided to face the bone dragon head-on. And, as expected, the result was pathetic.

“You couldn’t even buy me some time?”

Hyun Suho was almost out of mana potions that he had prepared by running around earlier. His plan had been to buy some time while Eun Hwi-gwang fought, but now...

“No choice, then!”

He decided to fire another plasma shot. ‘This time at full power...’ Just as Hyun Suho was about to activate Cannon Mode and unleash the plasma, someone stepped in front of the bone dragon.

That person, or rather, that woman, was the one who had been apologizing profusely for Eun Hwi-gwang’s behavior earlier—the woman with the red-framed glasses. Astonishingly, she was now fighting the bone dragon herself, wielding a long and sleek sword. What was even more surprising was that she wasn’t being overwhelmed by the bone dragon.

“Haaahp!”

Clang! Clang, clang, clang!

The bone dragon, trying to bring her down, swung its claws and tail as it had done to Eun Hwi-gwang earlier, unleashing powerful attacks. However, the woman deftly deflected these heavy and powerful attacks with her seemingly fragile, agile sword, even countering them. She skillfully deflected the bone dragon’s blows with the flat of her blade and struck back when its stance was compromised. It was a textbook technique, but one incredibly difficult to execute. And she was doing it against a level 8 bone dragon! Her skill was far beyond anything Eun Hwi-gwang had shown.

Rat-tat-tat!

Hyun Suho watched, his mouth agape, at the woman’s swordsmanship, which held its own against the bone dragon. ‘Incredible. Who is she?’

[Searching hunter data... That woman is a hunter ranked 912th, known as Nacheonryeo, Na Yeon-sil.]

‘A ranker? And Nacheonryeo at that…’

Hyun Suho knew the nicknames of all the rankers in Korea. Nacheonryeo (羅刹女)—the name given to her because she wielded her sword like a demon. She was supposedly the heir to a famous martial artist. He had imagined Nacheonryeo as a burly, temperamental woman, but the reality was that she was delicate and seemed very kind.

[T/N: "Nacheonryeo" (羅刹女) is a Korean term derived from the Chinese characters 羅刹女. It translates to "Rakshasa Woman" or "Demoness."]

[She’s a B-rank, level 8 warrior, aged 36.]

It seemed the government had prepared far more for Silver Knight’s first combat experience than Hyun Suho had anticipated. They had even deployed a ranker to support Eun Hwi-gwang. Judging by their interaction, they seemed to have known each other for a long time.

[There are quite a few similarities between her attack patterns and Eun Hwi-gwang’s, despite their different weapon types.]

‘Could it be that Na Yeon-sil taught Eun Hwi-gwang how to use a sword?’

[Given that she was originally an instructor in martial arts, it’s a reasonable assumption.]

While Na Yeon-sil held off the bone dragon, some of the government agents ran toward where Eun Hwi-gwang had flown, while the others stayed to assist Na Yeon-sil in attacking the dragon. The agents helped her with swords, spears, and arrows. They might not have been rankers, but they were clearly quite skilled, likely at least level 6 or 7. Their synchronized attacks showed just how much effort the government had put into nurturing Eun Hwi-gwang. As a team that had clearly trained together for a long time, they launched perfect, coordinated attacks against the bone dragon. If the bone dragon was level 8, so was Na Yeon-sil. Alone, it might have been a tough fight, but with her comrades, they could potentially achieve an easy victory.

Unfortunately, the bone dragon wasn’t going down without a fight either.

[ROAR!!]

As the Bone Dragon roared, an electrifying wave of energy spread through the surroundings.

Even Na Yeon-sil, who had been relentlessly pressuring the Bone Dragon with her sword, had to huddle up, clutching her sword tightly.

“D-Dragon Fear?! How does a Bone Dragon even have that...?!”

Dragon Fear

Just by displaying its overwhelming presence, the Dragon, the mightiest creature on Earth, could freeze everything around it in terror. This wasn't so much a skill as it was a form of authority.

Even Na Yeon-sil, a ranker, trembled down to her very cells in the face of that overwhelming fear, curling up like a turtle.

If even Na Yeon-sil was like this, how much worse would it be for the others?

The government agents who had been helping her contain the Bone Dragon were now trembling uncontrollably on the ground, with some already having fainted.

Even these elite-trained agents were in this state. If they were ordinary people, they would have died from a heart attack by now.

[GRRRR!]

Taking advantage of the moment when Na Yeon-sil was immobilized by the Dragon Fear, the Bone Dragon swiftly moved to strike.

Its front claws, still sharp despite being nothing but bones, launched an attack.

If those claws landed on her, Na Yeon-sil would be reduced to a bloody pulp.

Just as the raised claw was about to come down, Hyun Su-ho intervened.

"100% output, fire!"

CRACKLE!!!

A massive plasma beam shot out, large enough to engulf the entire Bone Dragon.

The plasma shot through the Bone Dragon and continued, piercing through the atmosphere and beyond into space.

[Please don’t say something like, ‘Did that finish it off this time.’]

‘I don’t think it worked anyway.’

Thanks to the plasma attack, the Bone Dragon halted its assault, sparing Na Yeon-sil. 

However, the Bone Dragon still wasn’t dead.

The only fortunate thing was that the plasma had forced it to take a few steps back.

[GRRRR!]

Whether it was just his imagination, Hyun Suho couldn’t help but feel that the Bone Dragon's skeletal frame had become noticeably thinner.

Fortunately, it wasn’t just his imagination.

[The Bone Dragon’s mass has decreased by approximately 17%.]

It seemed the Bone Dragon had some sort of magic that distributed the damage it took throughout its body.

That’s why, despite being attacked multiple times, there was hardly any visible impact. 

It took a fully charged plasma blast just to make it noticeable.

But the danger wasn’t over yet.

[ROOOAAARRR!!]

The Bone Dragon let out another roar of Dragon Fear.

Government agents who had barely held on earlier were now collapsing left and right.

Na Yeon-sil managed to endure once again, but her body was clearly struggling to move.

Seeing the Bone Dragon start to move again, Hyun Suho hurriedly gulped down a mana potion.

“It's dangerous!”

As expected, the only thing he could rely on was the plasma.

Setting aside the chain sword for a moment, he pulled out a weapon he had been saving.

-WZZZZZ!

As the glowing blade blocked the Bone Dragon's claw, a surprised Na Yeon-sil shouted.

“A lightsaber?!”

“Disney’s going to come after me for that name!”

What Hyun Suho had pulled out was indeed a lightsaber.

His goal was to buy enough time for Na Yeon-sil to regain her mobility.

Whether it was because the Bone Dragon sensed this or simply found Hyun Suho annoying, it began attacking once more, flapping its massive wings.

BANG!

Though the Bone Dragon’s mass had slightly decreased due to the plasma, it was still enormous.

Even as a skeleton, it must have weighed several tens of tons.

No matter how much a hunter surpassed human limits, they couldn’t possibly withstand that kind of weight directly.

‘I’ll probably suffer later in life.’

Hyun Suho skillfully maneuvered the lightsaber, deflecting the Bone Dragon’s attacks.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Every time the lightsaber clashed with the Bone Dragon, it sounded like a fluorescent light shattering.

The dense plasma blade repelled the Bone Dragon’s attacks.

Hyun Suho had no intention of making the same mistakes as the foolish Eun Hwi-gwang.

Instead of taking the blows head-on, he deflected them.

Just like the technique Na Yeon-sil had used earlier.

Recognizing this, Na Yeon-sil’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“H-How are you using my technique…?!”

It was a technique she had honed over decades of swordsmanship.

A technique that could be mimicked on the surface, but not enough to face an opponent as formidable as the Bone Dragon.

Yet, Hyun Suho was flawlessly replicating Na Yeon-sil’s sword techniques, as if he were a seasoned swordsman.

As if he had copied and pasted them.

[I’ve downloaded the sword techniques I analyzed and shared them with you, Master.]

It seemed worrying about Disney wasn’t the only concern now.