I was about to attack, but I changed my mind and spoke to the woman who appeared to be the leader.
The woman, with dyed orange hair and numerous piercings, didn’t look like someone who would be easy to talk to.
‘Her name was Mitsuki, right?’
I didn’t feel like calling her that.
“Hey, I’m only going to ask this once. Why did you bring me here?”
Then, the guy who had cast the mind control spell on me jumped out and shouted something in an exasperated tone.
I didn’t understand the meaning, but he seemed angry about why his skill hadn’t worked.
Mitsuki remained silent.
Looking at me with an expression of annoyance, Mitsuki gazed down the path leading to the pier. She seemed to be waiting for someone to arrive.
Mitsuki opened her mouth.
She said something calmly, but I couldn’t understand a single word.
“Speak in Korean.”
Still, only Japanese was heard.
I had expected that communication might be difficult, but being blocked by language from the start was frustrating.
‘No choice then.’
I surveyed the people here, intending to wipe them all out.
Just then, a different aura than before was felt.
Simultaneously, a powerful pressure constricted my entire body.
The thought that I would surely die if I moved recklessly filled my head.
I just rolled my eyes and looked at Mitsuki, the person responsible for this awful skill.
She had been observing me closely since earlier, and as soon as I tried to move, she bound my body.
Mitsuki said something to the guy who had tried to mind control me, and he walked towards me.
As he got closer, my head felt like it was being violently stirred, making me queasy.
[Sahin, Stone.]
Amidst the dizziness, I tried to keep my mind clear and summoned my spirits.
Then, from the darkness, a giant golem and a beautiful but evil-aura-emitting dark elf appeared.
The more spirits, the better, so I summoned all the spirits I had collected from dungeons.
In the dark pier, black spirits appeared menacingly.
The expressions of Mitsuki and the other five stiffened admirably.
I raised one corner of my mouth and managed to speak with difficulty.
“Wipe them all out.”
The flustered guys couldn’t properly block the spirits.
There was no gate nearby, nor had a dungeon break occurred, so they seemed confused as to how to accept the presence of monsters here.
Mitsuki, true to her leadership, tried to maintain her composure, but even she was so flustered that gaps appeared in her attacks and defense.
I took advantage of Mitsuki’s flustered state and the loosened binding to fly high on Bishap.
It was impossible for me to defeat all of them and escape with my current strength.
‘I really need to raise my rank quickly, or something.’
Riding on Bishap’s back, I looked down and saw our brightly lit dorm.
I hesitated for a moment.
‘If I go to the dorm like this, they’ll follow me and it’ll be dangerous.’
Still, if I just get to the dorm, I’ll definitely win.
Because Yeon Ha-yeon, the Four Heavenly Kings, and those three whatever-they-ares from Iljin High are all in that pension.
I looked down at the unknown guys who were so busy dealing with the spirits that they couldn’t even pay attention to me.
If I left them, Mitsuki, who had somewhat regained her composure, seemed like she would eliminate Shahin and Stone.
She was truly no ordinary person.
I didn’t know her rank, but it felt like she might be among the top tiers.
[Sahin, Stone. Return.]
I evacuated my main combat spirits early and racked my brain.
Then, I saw five figures running towards me at a terrifying speed.
“Lee Dana?”
Ban Eun-hyeol, who was leading the run, spotted me and stopped.
Hearing his surprised voice, the scene below came into view again.
Black spirits everywhere, tangled and fighting with the unknown Japanese people.
It was hard to tell if this was a dungeon or the outside world.
“Ah…”
To have my skill revealed like this.
I slowly descended towards Yeon Ha-yeon and the Four Heavenly Kings, who were looking at me as if asking what on earth had happened.
“Yeon Ha-yeon!”
Just then, Mitsuki, having spotted them, instantly dispatched a spirit and ran towards Yeon Ha-yeon.
Bishap, startled by her momentum, briefly hovered in the air.
‘Why is she shouting as if I were her sworn enemy?’
Come to think of it, there’s no reason for me to be suddenly kidnapped by Japanese awakened ones.
Did she have a grudge against Yeon Ha-yeon and try to use me?
Mitsuki stood solemnly in front of Yeon Ha-yeon, lowered her voice, and started speaking something.
“What’s she saying?”
But Yeon Ha-yeon didn’t understand a single word.
She just picked at her ear and furrowed her brow. Yeon Ha-yeon looked at the Four Heavenly Kings next to her.
It was a look searching for someone who could translate.
But then, someone unexpected stepped forward and spoke to Mitsuki in Japanese.
It was Ji Gang-han.
“You could speak Japanese?”
Ban Eun-hyeol asked in surprise, and Ji Gang-han replied nonchalantly.
“It’s a second foreign language.”
“I also take Japanese class, but I can only count numbers…?”
Han Ji-bin folded and unfolded his fingers, speaking in a reluctant voice.
With the appearance of an unexpected Japanese speaker, the conversation proceeded smoothly.
“Wait a minute, Ji Gang-han used to live in Japan with his parents when he was little, didn’t he?”
Ban Eun-hyeol spoke from behind the two who were deep in conversation, as if he had just remembered. His proficient Japanese skills finally made sense.
“What are they saying?”
Yeon Ha-yeon demanded fiercely, as if she were about to sweep them all away.
“They say they came to determine ranks?”
I nearly slipped off Bishap’s back and fell.
After barely regaining my balance, I was dumbfounded.
Japanese people came all the way to Korea to determine ranks?
Since when did the online novel’s world-building extend overseas?
It seemed I wasn’t the only one dumbfounded.
“So they kidnapped her? Does that make sense?”
“They said they wanted to show Yeon Ha-yeon their superiority.”
“What nonsense.”
“They’re asking if we realize how amazing they are?”
“Ah, let’s just hit them once each and get rid of them.”
Ban Eun-hyeol, having run out of patience, nodded his head, clenched his fist, and stepped forward.
I probably would’ve acted the same way if I were in his shoes.
I wasn’t going down right now, worried that Mitsuki might use me as a hostage to threaten my friends, but it was so frustrating it was getting annoying.
Mitsuki shouted something and blocked Ban Eun-hyeol’s attack.
Hearing that, Ji Gang-han spoke, also sounding exasperated.
“She says she absolutely has to fight Ha-yeon.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that! The one who started the fight is talking too much.”
Such words didn’t faze Ban Eun-hyeol, who was already hot-headed.
But Yeon Ha-yeon let out a slight laugh, emanating a chilling aura that seemed to freeze everything around them.
“Fine, if you’re so intent on determining ranks, then I’ll fight.”
At her unusual momentum, the Four Heavenly Kings quietly retreated and changed their targets.
The five hangers-on, who suddenly found themselves facing the Four Heavenly Kings, miraculously didn’t flee.
Mind control wouldn’t work on the Four Heavenly Kings, and there was a limit to how much physical damage they could inflict.
The hangers-on seemed to put up a bit of a counterattack at first, but then they were just unilaterally beaten.
From the moment Ban Eun-hyeol stepped forward, I had summoned all my spirits and made them disappear.
Then I completely descended and helped in catching the hangers-on.
Ban Eun-hyeol, dusting off his hands, irritably stomped on the leg of the hanger-on who had tried to mind control me.
“Aargh!”
The screaming guy yelled something loudly and struggled.
“He says it’s a foul.”
“Shut up before I shove my foot in your mouth.”
Ban Eun-hyeol warned chillingly after hearing Ji Gang-han’s kind translation.
Whether he understood without the translation or was just intimidated by the momentum, the guy quietly shut his mouth.
The showdown between Yeon Ha-yeon and Mitsuki was fierce, but victory was clearly shifting towards one side.
Mitsuki, who was increasingly pushed back, struggled to accept it and made a final desperate attempt, but it was truly nothing more than a last ditch effort.
“Shouldn’t we intervene now? Ha-yeon’s hurt too.”
Eun Ba-da looked at Yeon Ha-yeon worriedly.
Because of their truly fierce fight, not to mention Mitsuki, Yeon Ha-yeon also had increasing injuries.
The Four Heavenly Kings and I stood behind Yeon Ha-yeon.
Seeing us, Mitsuki roared, huffing with anger.
“She provoked a rank-determining fight between us, and then she calls in her friends? She’s utterly cowardly.”
The content was contrary to Ji Gang-han’s calm tone.
“What are you talking about? Who provoked whom?”
Just as Yeon Ha-yeon asked again and Ji Gang-han was about to translate it as is, Mitsuki shouted something else.
“She says she wants to fight fair and square next time.”
“What?”
Leaving Yeon Ha-yeon, who was speechless with disbelief, Mitsuki went to gather her hangers-on.
Then she quickly moved away from us.
“Why don’t I really want to catch them?”
Everyone agreed with Han Ji-bin’s murmur.
It seemed they were angry about my kidnapping, but since I was fine, and they had already fought the spirits and even been punished, they didn’t feel the need to chase after them.
“We need to find out who she is.”
Ban Eun-hyeol spoke seriously, looking at where Mitsuki had been moments ago.
“Ito Mitsuki.”
Just then, Yeon Ha-yeon uttered a name in her usual tone.
“What, you know her?”
“Only her personal information and face? She’s the daughter of a famous Yakuza boss in the Osaka area.”
At her words, the Four Heavenly Kings’ mouths dropped open. Mine did too.
‘This is a gang fight?’
And I was caught in the middle of it.
I finally realized how incredible the situation I had been in was.
“You… played internationally?”
“I think I got involved in something I shouldn’t have.”
Ban Eun-hyeol and I spoke simultaneously.
Yeon Ha-yeon let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.
“It’s not like that. We’ll have to investigate what happened.”
Yeon Ha-yeon, annoyed, saying she wouldn’t do such a thing by herself, crossed her arms and turned towards the dorm.