Chapter 570 – Night of Potential (6)

The Dark Tiger's eyes had opened wide as Cale had started to speak.

"...!"

It then returned to normal before those black eyes slowly looked around at the two remaining Grade 1 monsters it presided over, as well as the monsters surrounding the building at a distance. Finally, it looked toward the humans.

It seemed to be slowly observing the people who had come out of the building.

"Mm."

The Dark Tiger saw something and its eyebrows started to twitch before it looked at Cale.

"…Who are you?"

Cale started to smile.

'It seems to be interested in me.'

He realized that a word he had used had caught the Dark Tiger's interest.

"Me?"

Cale could see the Dark Tiger's shaking pupils.

It seemed to be in quite a chaotic state.

Cale leisurely started to speak.

"I'm someone who might know where you came from."
"...!"

The Dark Tiger's jaw dropped.

It truly seemed to be shocked.

"…Hey, Kim Rok Soo. What the hell are you doing?"

Cale heard Park Jin Tae whisper to him, but he ignored it and only focused on the Dark Tiger.

It was at that moment.

"Grrrrrrr!"
"Shaaaaa- Shaaaaaaaaaa-"

The two other Grade 1 monsters started to shout.

Boom, boom boom, boom!

The Poison Bear stomped its feet.

Cale looked past the Poison Bear to the Dark Tiger behind it.

He started to speak after seeing the Dark Tiger quietly observing him.

"Is this your decision?"

The decision of the Dark Tiger that was the leader of the Grade 1 taster monsters.

Cale could tell its decision based on the Poison Bear and the human mask spider's movements.

'I guess it wants to see if I'm worth chatting with?'

This Dark Tiger would try to kill Cale if it determined that Cale was not worthy of chatting with it as the records had mentioned.

But if he was deemed worthy?

He didn't know what that would mean, but he knew something would happen.

Cale lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, that's fine."

He then started to smile.

"We can quietly chat after taking care of everything else."

He then started to speak to Park Jin Tae and Lee Chul Min.

"We will kill those two and capture the Dark Tiger alive."
"What?"
"Y, you crazy!"

'Capture it alive? That monster?'

Capturing it alive was even harder than killing it.

Park Jin Tae and Lee Chul Min gasped in shock, but they didn't have any time to keep talking.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Poison Bear was close to Cale, Park Jin Tae, and Lee Chul Min after taking a few steps with its long legs.

Park Jin Tae opened his mouth to speak.

"…Poison!"

Black smoke was starting to rise from the Poison Bear's body.

Its large body was quickly approaching them as well.

"Dodge!"

Park Jin Tae and Lee Chul Min quickly dodged after hearing Cale's voice.

The Poison Bear's fist struck down on the ground.

Baaaaang!

A giant crater appeared on the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.

"Ugh!"

As Park Jin Tae frowned after seeing the dust… He heard a chilling noise.

Tap, tap, tap!

It was a light but quick noise.

'The human mask spider!'

The spider came to attack them through the dust the Poison Bear had created.

"Shaaaaa- Shaaaaaaaaaa-"

The spider opened its mouth.

Park Jin Tae couldn't see the monster because of the dust, but he could imagine where it was based on the noise.

It was at that moment.

"We'll take care of it quickly this time! Park Jin Tae!"

Cale then started giving orders.

"Move 3 meters to the right and aim for the mouth!"

Park Jin Tae couldn't see anything because of the dust but immediately moved 3 meters to the right.

Then he could see it.

He could see the spider's open mouth as the dust settled.

He heard Cale's voice at the same time.

"Fire!"

He launched a bullet.

"Shaaaaa-!"

Green spider web started to pour out of the human mask spider's mouth at the same time.

The bullet crashed into the green spider web.

Baaaaaaaaaang!

A fire had started.

The green spider web caught on fire.

But the spider web did not burn from the fire. The fire just followed along the spider web toward the spider itself.

"Lee Chul Min!"
"Fuck!"

Lee Chul Min reached for his back after hearing Cale calling him.

Clang!

There were two large sickles in Lee Chul Min's hands.

Swoooooooosh-

He could feel the whirlwind surrounding his feet. Lee Chul Min immediately understood what Kim Rok Soo was telling him to do.

"You crazy bastard!"

The swearing Lee Chul Min's body shot up into the air.

He then stopped on top of the burning spider web.

Siiiiiiizzle-

Lee Chul Min's shoes started to burn.

But Lee Chul Min's feet were not burning.

Lee Chul Min.

He had an ability that gave him fire and ice resistance.

Cale shouted at that moment.

"Start running!"

Lee Chul Min started to run.

Cale shouted again.

"Park Jin Tae, 10 o'clock direction, fire twice!"

Tang! Tang!

Park Jin Tae could see his bullets heading toward the Poison Bear behind the spider.

"…Kim Rok Soo, you crazy son of a bitch!"

He could see a rose gold colored thunderbolt shooting forward along with his bullets.

Crackle. Crackle.

He could see Kim Rok Soo who was surrounded by rose gold light.

He looked like a god out of a myth who was surrounded by thunderbolts.

Park Jin Tae started to speak as he saw the rose gold thunderbolt and the bullets flying toward the Poison Bear.

His instincts were telling him something.

"Explode!"

His instincts were saying it was time for him to say that.

Baaaaaang!

The bullets exploded before reaching the Poison Bear.

The aftershock hit the front of the Poison Bear and the back of the human mask spider.

"Shaaaaa!"

The human mask spider started to scream with the burning spider web in its mouth.

"Lee Chul Min! The eyes!"

Lee Chul Min ran across the burning spider web and reached the spider's face.

He started to frown as he shouted back.

"Fuck! Do you know how many eyes a spider has?!"

'How can I slash all of them? I'm strong and accurate, but I'm slow!'

Lee Chul Min heard Cale's voice at that moment.

"The human mask!"

'Ah!'

Lee Chul Min realized which eyes he was talking about.

"Park Jin Tae! The spider's chin!"

Lee Chul Min could feel a strong attack hit the spider's chin at that moment.

It must have been Park Jin Tae's bullet.

The spider's chin jerked up from shock.

Lee Chul Min then kicked off the spider web and jumped up.

He observed the spider that was flailing in pain after Park Jin Tae's attack.

'…I can see it!'

Lee Chul Min was someone whose accuracy was the only attribute that could rival Park Jin Tae even while using sickles as weapons.

The fact that his accuracy rivaled that of Park Jin Tae, who had been a national representative for shooting showed how delicate and sharp Lee Chul Min's sickles were.

"Shaaaaa-!"

Lee Chul Min made eye contact with the spider's eyes.

The jumping Lee Chul Min's sickles headed down.

Crack!

The sharp ends of the sickles in both of his hands accurately struck the mask behind the spider's face.

It stabbed into the eyes of the human image.

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii–!"

A green liquid burst out of the stabbed eyes.

The spider flailed in pain.

Lee Chul Min shouted in shock and disbelief.

"Holy crap! That really was the weakness!"

Who in their right mind would have expected this mask to be the spider's weakness?

They would just think that this mask was just for camouflage.

'…What crazy data.'

He was scared of Kim Rok Soo's data ability.

'…Kim Rok Soo, he really...'

Kim Rok Soo with his ability awakened was scary.

He was scary for many different reasons.

Lee Chul Min had not heard Park Jin Tae and Choi Han's conversation, but he had seen Choi Han's piercing gaze focus on him as well.

It had instantly given him the chills.

"Lee Chul Min!"

He heard Park Jin Tae shout at that moment and felt his left side go cold.

"Gasp!"

The spider's sharp legs that looked like large spears were striking toward him. The spider that was now spurting green blood not just from its mask but from its real eyes as well was charging toward Lee Chul Min.

"Shaaaaa- Shaaaaaaaaaa!"

It looked as if it was rampaging before death, trying to take him with it as it died.

"Son of a…!"

Lee Chul Min urgently started to move. He needed to dodge that leg.

He rolled on the ground to dodge.

Swooooooosh-!

Lee Chul Min watched the large spider web brush past his head.

'Holy shit!'

He really thought that he was going to die.

'…I'm alive.'

Lee Chul Min was about to sigh in relief before quickly raising his head. He suddenly had a question.

'He was helping those high schoolers almost as if he was pampering them, but why do I have to struggle like this?'

However, he didn't have time to think about something like that.

It was because he thought that he would die if he was hit even once by the human mask spider's legs.

But the moment he raised his head…

"…Gasp!"

Baaaaaang!

A rose gold thunderbolt struck down on the spider's eyes that were covered in green liquid.

Fire shot out of the spider's eyes with a loud explosion.

The spider's body was shaking as if it had really been struck by a thunderbolt.

It then fell to the ground.

It was because it had no strength in its legs anymore.

The spider started to shake with its legs stretched out before it stopped moving.

"…I, is it dead?"

'Did they really kill a Grade 1 monster so easily?'

Of course, this was not easy to do.

They needed Lee Chul Min's level of accuracy, Park Jin Tae's shooting ability, and Kim Rok Soo's abilities.

However, nobody was hurt.

Lee Chul Min had felt how amazing Kim Rok Soo's ability truly was after participating himself.

'Please watch and learn.'

Those words echoed in his ear.

He became scared at the same time.

He heard an unbelievable noise at that moment.

"Cough!"
"Kim Rok Soo!"

Lee Chul Min could see Kim Rok Soo coughing up blood as Park Jin Tae shouted.

Black blood was dripping down from Kim Rok Soo's mouth.

Lee Chul Min finally remembered that Kim Rok Soo was an extremely feeble person.

"…Ah."

Lee Chul Min's heart sank while watching the staggering Kim Rok Soo.

'This bastard-'

He couldn't let this bastard faint!

He subconsciously tried to walk toward Kim Rok Soo.

Park Jin Tae was about to do the same as well.

Both of them heard Cale's voice at that moment.

"It's not over yet!"

Lee Chul Min raised his head.

He could see a large black shadow covering him.

It was the shadow of the approaching Poison Bear.

"…Ah."

Park Jin Tae heard Cale's voice as Lee Chul Min's eyes opened wide.

"Fire at the Poison Bear's belly button!"
"Belly button?"
"The white dot!"

The place he was calling the Poison Bear's belly button was the only white spot on the Poison Bear's lower belly.

It was about the size of a baby's palm, which meant it was very small compared to the Poison Bear's body.

But it was possible for Park Jin Tae.

Park Jin Tae urgently twisted his body and fired a bullet.

Tang!

A bullet shot out toward the Poison Bear's belly button.

B, bang!

But the bullet exploded before it reached the belly button.

"Damn it, the poison!"

Park Jin Tae could see the bullet exploding because of the poison smoke surrounding the Poison Bear.

He then started to frown.

'…I don't have many left!'

He only had a few bullets left that he could use.

The number of bullets was determined by how much of his ability he could use.

Park Jin Tae didn't have much left after using his abilities without any rest today.

"Hey! I don't have many bullets le-"
"Fire."

He heard Cale's stern voice at that moment.

Park Jin Tae looked toward him.

"I only have one or two bullets left!"

He heard Cale's low voice.

"You need to fight with everything you have."

Park Jin Tae suddenly recalled how he had told Lee Chul Min to give everything he had.

Kim Rok Soo was repeating his own words back to him.

"Squeeze it out. Then it'll come out."

Kim Rok Soo's nonchalant gaze seemed to overlap with Choi Han's gaze from earlier for Park Jin Tae.

The two of their gazes seemed oddly similar to the point that Park Jin Tae felt as if what Choi Han had said earlier was said by Kim Rok Soo.

Park Jin Tae clenched his eyes and opened them back as he started to speak.

"Fine! Okay! I'll squeeze it out!"
"Now."

Cale had been waiting for this moment.

Because of the bullet that had exploded after hitting the poison smoke…

There was fire in the air.

It was only slightly bigger than the bear's belly button.

The Poison Bear was a scary monster because of its immense strength and large body. Furthermore, they couldn't approach it because of the poison surrounding its body that would be critical to them if they came in contact.

But if that poison was burning…

That fire was their one chance to pierce through the bear's poison and attack it.

The fact that the size was extremely small and barely larger than the monster's belly button didn't matter.

"Park Jin Tae! Shoot toward the fire!"

Park Jin Tae's eyes clouded over.

He understood what Cale was saying.

The gun pointed at the Poison Bear's white dot.

His index finger pulled the trigger.

It was at that moment.

"Grrrrrr! Grrr, roooooooooar!"

The Poison Bear's shout echoed out.

Actually, it was a scream.

"Roooooooar!"

There was a black fang in the back of the Poison Bear's neck.

The black fang that bit the bear as if the poison didn't matter at all twisted the Poison Bear's neck instantly.

"Gr, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr-"

The Poison Bear was now just whimpering as its body tilted forward.

"Holy shit, what the hell?!"

Lee Chul Min urgently retreated back in shock.

The close to 5 meter tall body slowly fell to the ground.

Boooom!

The Poison Bear's large body fell on top of the spider.

Pat.

Then a Tiger's front paw was placed on top of the Poison Bear's body.

"…Why?"

Park Jin Tae's pupils started to shake.

It was the Dark Tiger's black fang that had ripped out the Poison Bear's neck just now.

Drip. Drip.

The Poison Bear's blood was dripping off its fang.

The Dark Tiger that was nonchalantly standing there looking majestic was giving them a different type of fear.

They were all silent because of this unexpected development.

Park Jin Tae realized something during that silence.

'Ah!'

He could tell where the Dark Tiger was looking.

'Kim Rok Soo!'

The Dark Tiger wasn't even looking at the Poison Bear as it was observing Kim Rok Soo.

Kim Rok Soo was also looking at the Dark Tiger.

Park Jin Tae could tell that the silence would soon be broken.

It was because Kim Rok Soo opened his mouth.

"Did I pass the test?"

Cale slowly approached the Dark Tiger.

He didn't look scared at all.

"Am I qualified to chat with you, Dark Tiger?"

The Dark Tiger started to speak at that moment.

"I."

Smile.

The Dark Tiger started to smile.

'It's smiling?'

As Cale flinched in confusion…

"My name is Alberu Crossman."
"…What?"

'What did this tiger bastard just say? Who?'

Cale's mind went blank as his eyes opened wide.

He could see Kim Rok Soo, himself, being reflected in the Dark Tiger's eyes.

The Dark Tiger looked at Cale as it continued to speak.

"I almost didn't recognize you because of your shell."
"…This, what-"

Cale was at a loss for words while the Dark Tiger smiled elegantly like a certain someone.

"Let's chat. Let's talk about what is going on. I'm curious about a lot of things as well."

Cale ended up blurting something out.

"…This crazy-"

The Dark Tiger shook its head in response.

Its beautiful mane was shaking.

The Dark Tiger started to speak in a tone that sounded almost as if it was sighing.

"Very disrespectful as I expected."

Hearing that made Cale certain.

"Holy shit, it really is him."

It really was Alberu Crossman.

'No, what the hell-'

Why was Alberu Crossman here?

Why was he in the form of a Dark Tiger?

What the hell was going on?

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]