I Woke Up as the Villain

Chapter 39

This method, the so-called Mana Resonance, was a shocking phenomenon. It was revealed in the original novel about two years later when the Pandemonium, the largest villain camp in the US, collapsed.

The ingredients used were the Mandrake’s roots sold by Dimensional Merchants at 200 karma points, and they had to be stimulated by mana vibration. It was not enough to simply infuse mana. Mana must be infused accurately to shake up the Mandrake’s roots and bring out the resonance in its soul.

This technique was discovered in an experiment of a certain lunatic villain, and it surprisingly disabled the function of the few magical engineering items such as powerful mana barriers or sealing restraints humans had developed in conjunction with scientific civilization. It was just temporary, but still.

To put it bluntly, the power breaker was turned off only for a very short time. Of course, the effect was maximized when using the main body and not just the root. However, Yu-Seong could not purchase the main body because the price was ridiculously high. But more importantly, because he was nearby, hearing the real Mandrake’s scream would cause him to vomit blood and die.

In conclusion, the range of Mana Resonance made using mana and the Mandrake root that Yu-Seong could use was about 180 ft and one second at most. He had to work during that short gap. Therefore, Yu-Seong had asked Ping Pong to put the Mandrake root in a box and then hand it over to him.

Yu-Seong thought that the quick-witted Ji-Ho might impose sudden sanctions if he saw what the item was. Ping Pong provided good services and had granted his request. And thanks to that, Yu-Seong was able to quickly move to where his Mana Resonance could reach Jin Do-Yoon.

Knowing the plan through Choi Yu-Seong’s whisper, Jin Do-Yoon broke the chain without hesitation and hit the wall that he was tied to. The reason was simple.

‘Because that’s the entrance.’?

Would they just throw people into a place with high ceilings and where it was blocked on all sides like this? That could not be true.

Choi Yu-Seong obviously thought there would be an entrance so he had tried to find its location by looking around the room while pretending to have a conversation. It wasn’t on the floor nor anywhere on the wall in his own room, and so he looked around with all his attention but it was the same for Jin Do-Yoon’s room.

Only belatedly did Yu-Seong consider the wall where Do-Yoon was tied up. He knocked and checked the walls here and there. However, there was nowhere he could feel the gap beyond the space, which was the characteristic of the entrance or exit. Then, where would they hide the entrance?

After much consideration, Yu-Seong approached Do-Yoon while pretending to whisper, and carefully checked the wall behind. He became convinced that this particular wall was the entrance and exit.

It would be nice if they could successfully rescue Jin Yu-Ri in the short time when Mana Resonance had occurred, but there was not enough time to run to the other room. Thus, they could not just ignorantly break down the wall but find the entrance, escape, then rescue Yu-Ri. The plan so far has been quite successful.

***

Since it was before the existence of the Mana Resonance was revealed, Baek Cheol was confused by the sudden power cut-off. Just in case, even the simple lights inside the room were made using mana, so Baek Cheol could not know the internal situation through the ordinary monitor that was connected by regular electricity. Although his vision could see through the darkness, the cameras and monitors connected by regular electricity could not do so.

However, Ji-Ho was much more surprised than Baek Cheol. He could ‘see’ exactly what was happening in the dark. Jin Do-Yoon had broken off the sealing restrain, accurately found the entrance, and destroyed it. Choi Yu-Seong had grabbed the key and ran to escape. The series of actions had taken place so quickly that while they watched without saying anything, all mana supply that had been turned off was soon restored.

“No way… Master. They have escaped.” Baek Cheol opened his eyes wide and expressed a short exclamation.

He saw the broken entrance, and understood that Yu-Seong and Jin Do-Yoon had disappeared. However, that confusion lasted just for a moment. He added, “It was a stupid choice. This way, we have no choice but to spray the gas.”

Ji-Ho nodded calmly while pressing the gas spray button. He also turned on the other monitor for Baek Cheol. There, Yu-Seong and Do-Yoon were seen panicking by the towering spiral stairs in the dark passage.

“I understand your choice well, Choi Yu-Seong. You must have realized this by now. Even if you try a clumsy rebellion, you still wouldn’t be able to change the outcome.” After a short sigh, Ji-Ho spoke through the microphone.

***

[…Even if you try a clumsy rebellion, you can’t change the outcome.]

Choi Yu-Seong bit his lips at that voice. He had just escaped through the entrance and had used the key to quickly dismantle the sealing restraint that was binding Jin Do-Yoon.

‘Every second counts.’?

Yu-Seong even used the Mana Resonance to cause mana discharge, buying time by surprising Choi Ji-Ho with such an unknown factor.

Given that the room was clearly bright but the lighting’s location was nowhere to be seen, he thought it was a good move that could also achieve the blackout effect. However, his face became stiff the moment he saw the snaking spiral stairs outside the entrance.

“It is a structure that makes jumping impossible. Even if I just run and go alone, it takes a minute,” said Jin Do-Yoon, clenching his free hands.

Judging from the high ceiling, it was unsurprising that they were being held underground. However, they didn’t even imagine that the entrance would be made of stairs.

‘What era is this? There’s not even a lift…’?

If it was an elevator, there would have been a lot of places such as ropes or connecting parts to grab or step on. Thus, it would have been much faster to go up. Choi Yu-Seong’s eyes flashed when he thought that far. He asked, “Jin Do-Yoon, didn’t you say you’ve made something like a special move before?”

“Yes,” replied Do-Yoon.

“Destroy it. The whole thing.”

At Choi Yu-Seong’s words, Jin Do-Yoon nodded as if he understood the situation. After that, he rushed forward with only one hand covered with thick fur. In an instant, mana wrapped all around and condensed into a clenched fist. A single, simple strike was sometimes heavier than even a mountain.

‘Great Mountain Strike! So, that's the ability he gained throughout the novel.’?

The special move that Jin Do-Yoon said was a powerful ability that even blew away Kim Do-Jin, who heartily rushed toward him by about 2km in the original novel. There was no explanation in the novel, so Yu-Seong had thought it was Jin Do-Yoon’s original ability. He didn’t know it would be something newly gained.

‘No, maybe it is a lot faster than the original novel?’?

Yu-Seong thought that it might be the case, and he quickly witnessed the results for himself.

The Great Mountain Strike that Do-Yoon threw slammed the thick pillar holding the center of the spiral stairs. The ceiling and stairs began to collapse like hail. Yu-Seong no longer needed to raise his voice. Do-Yoon had already understood Yu-Seong’s intention, so he grabbed his waist at once and jumped toward the pouring debris.

Jin Do-Yoon used those falling pieces like stairs and quickly soared toward the ceiling. There were five run-ups in total. Each required him to traverse a wide distance, but Jin Do-Yoon’s face hardened.

‘Not yet…’

There was still quite a distance to the ceiling. However, there was no more falling debris. He had to jump at once. It was a critical moment, but it was not the time to think of impossibilities.

‘From the start, I’m not the type who uses my brain like a young master.’?

Do-Yoon emptied his mind of any thoughts and flew off with all the strength in his thighs. He had to do his best. Then, he wrapped Yu-Seong with his right arm and stretched out his left to grab the end of the collapsed ceiling.

“Caught it…?” Do-Yoon thought he had barely caught the edge. However, his face hardened in an instant. With a cracking sound, the edge held by Jin Do-Yoon broke down like sand. He exclaimed, “No!”

“Protective Shield! Jump, Do-Yoon!” At that moment, Yu-Seong raised his voice and created a protective shield under the falling Do-Yoon’s feet.

Jin Do-Yoon flexed his legs without hesitation, feeling support on his feet amid the panic. He was like a bullet.

‘About 10 seconds.’?

It took a short time to get above the ground after escaping. However, it was already dangerous to return to the room where deadly poisonous gasses were being sprayed.

‘Now I can only use the shield ability just once more.’?

The duplicated ability by the Eye of Replication had a limit on the number of trials unless combined by fusion. The same was applied to the Protective Shield that was stolen a while ago during the dungeon battle. It was a trump card of its own, but there was only one more usage left.

Yu-Seong thought quickly as he climbed the ceiling and rolled on the floor. He gazed away.

‘The entrance to the room where Jin Yu-Ri is confined is…’?

Fortunately, there were unusually bulging floorboards inside the huge hanok room.

“There!” Yu-Seong shouted.

Do-Yoon ran. At that moment, the closed-door shattered open and someone jumped toward them. The black figure showed a wind-like movement, swinging its arm. Do-Yoon stretched out his hand to counter it, but the result was clear.

“…?!” Do-Yoon couldn’t even scream. He floated into the air and was caught on the ceiling. Accompanied by a creaking sound, Do-Yoon fell with part of the ceiling.

“Cough-!”

Yu-Seong nibbled his lower lip while he Looked at Do-Yoon vomiting blood and Baek Cheol who appeared in front of him. He called out, “Baek Cheol.”

“Please give up, young master, Yu-Seong. You can’t go any further.”

“I thought you were a good person.”

“I apologize. It’s impossible to be a good person for everyone.” Baek Cheol apologized and blocked the bulging floor and clenched his fist with a stance. It meant that he had no intention to be sloppy.

“Grrr…” Do-Yoon now had completely become a werewolf and let out the low cry of a beast.

“You already know that form doesn’t work, right? It’s nothing but helping me to hit at ease.”

Baek Cheol’s eyes turned to Jin Do-Yoon’s shoulder, which was pushed back by his fist. His recovery speed was so fast that the swollen shoulder had visibly subsided and returned to its proper place.

Jin Do-Yoon arched his back with deep anger. He had a strong fighting spirit in his brown eyes. Noticing his strong and sharp momentum coursing through his entire being, Baek Cheol smiled bitterly in his heart.

He thought, ‘Was it not his best strength the last time we fought? Or does he change depending on the situation? He has become much stronger.’?

Of course, that did not mean that Jin Do-Yoon was now an opponent for the completely adapted S-rank hunter, Baek Cheol.

“It will only be painful if you try to rush. Give up,” asserted Baek Cheol.

“Both of you, stop.”

Baek Cheol’s gaze suddenly looked past Jin Do-Yoon to look at Choi Yu-Seong.