Chapter 96 Death Doll History Shin Eun-hyuk (5)
Kang Shin-hyuk and Lee Na-hee, thanks to the encounter with Claire, sat down in separate seats without meeting Eleanor and Karen in the contest hall. The other teams glared at them, but the adults that led them were astonished to see Lee Manwoo.
“You’re the Great Chief.”
“I heard you were in Shinyoung.”
“Are those his disciples?”
“Goodness!”
“There was a D+ grade for the lowest award, but they might have exceeded the C-rank.”
An hour after the start of the event was the announcement of the Gold Prize and the Grand Prize. The atmosphere was at its peak.
“Gold goes to the German Ebiger Hammer Team! Their work is a glove crafted from the skin of a fire worm and tied together with exquisite enchanting. It contains the fire attribute that allows the wielder to attack with fire! The official appraisal has placed it at C-rank.”
“Ooooh!”
“An attribute!” People began to stand up and clap. The Ebiger Hammer team stood up to receive their award. Neither of them held the image of a traditional craftsman, but rather it was a team composed of a gentle-looking brown-haired boy and a beautiful slim blonde.
“Those two made a C-rank artifact by themselves?!”
“It’s made of fire worm leather, right? That’s an expensive ingredient.”
“I still have to admit it’s an absurd achievement.” Kang Shin-hyuk watched the two accept their award as he heard the voices of the gallery behind him. He didn’t even dare imagine what might’ve happened if he had brought his lightning spider web here.
“If a C-rank artifact didn’t get the grand prize, then this year’s grand prize goes above C-rank?”
“It may be the same rank, but with a better effect.” How would they react when they learned the artifact that won was B-rank? Kang Shin-hyuk’s stomach began to ache as he thought about it.
“Look over there, there’s a student in Shinyoung’s uniform.”
“No matter how elite Shinyoung is, they look down on the creation of artifacts. Isn’t it wrong that he passed the preliminaries?”
“That’s quite a face.” Lee Na-hee pinched Kang Shin-hyuk’s side, noticing he was having trouble calming down. Her eyes were shining bright with the same excitement he felt, however.
“Don’t let it get to you.”
“Alright…”
“Stop looking around so awkwardly.”
“Now we are going to announce the grand prize.”
“It is what you’ve been waiting for!” While Lee Na-hee and Kang Shin-hyuk were bickering together, the moderator finally came back to the mic. The two German students were lingering, looking around the banquet hall with gazes full of anticipation. He knew it in a second. They wanted to know who had beat them for the grand prize. Kang Shin-hyuk frowned, sensing things would become annoying soon.
“The 15th World Rookies Creator Contest, the glorious grand prize… this is it!” Staff from inside the banquet hall carried out a large case. Several people were leaning over and standing up to take a look at what was in it.
“Unbelievable… are you saying that was made by students? Look at that beautiful line of the blade!”
“It’s amazing… there was someone who could make this among the students this year?”
“It reminds me of the time the Alchemist showed up. Come to think of it, isn’t she here today? Did she know about this?”
“Who is it?! Who the hell made it?!” The crowd’s reaction was completely different from when the gold price was announced, as people stood up and hollered. Even the gold prize winners were staring at the sword blankly.
“I guess everyone recognized it right away! It is the [Shield Guardian’s Long Sword] completed with skillful enchanting using only the most basic magic metal, Kenyon! It is an item that boasts two special abilities, one that boosts the wearer’s defense and one that generates shields. Its rating is a whopping B-rank! It’s a miraculous gem created by the power of just two people!”
“Ooooh!”
“It’s awesome!”
“Ha? Everyone seems to be blind.” The applause was growing in response to the moderator’s exciting commentary. Lee Na-hee, however, seemed to be growing angry.
“My influence was only a fraction of the real work…”
“No. It was created by both of you working together. It is thanks to both of your hard work that it reached this level.”
“You were just using me as a shield to protect your student. You’re terrible.” Lee Na-hee was pouting, but she seemed somewhat appeased by Lee Manwoo’s words.
‘It would be difficult to create a C+ rank artifact by myself.’ Lee Na-hee was aware that her grandfather was considerate. However, she was able to admit to and accept the skill gap between her and Kang Shin-hyuk. Rather, she felt motivated to improve her skills enough to keep up with him in the future.
“The creators of this masterpiece are from the Shinyoung Training School’s Artifact Creation Club! Enchanter Lee Na-hee and Kang Shin-hyuk!”
“What?!” The moment they learned the names of the creators, a shock swept through the hall. Shinyoung’s students, who were focused on cultivating combat abilities as superhumans, created a B-rank artifact?
“What?!”
“It can’t be!”
“I heard that the Great Chief is staying at Shinyoung, maybe he made it!”
“Don’t be stupid!” Shin-hyuk briefly wondered if the convention hall had been turned upside down at such a commotion. The moderator was quick to calm the gallery, but at that moment, a vibration rocked the building. It was amazing timing.
“Huh?!”
“It’s collapsing!”
-Eunah’s whisper: Come quickly.
Shin Eunah’s whisper came in right after. She was already spreading a shield to protect the hall.
“Ahhhh!”
“Run away!”
“Everyone keep calm! This convention hall is being kept safe by the Superhuman Association!” The moderator’s shouts were lost in the roar of the people panicking. The members of the association were quick to move in and begin evacuating people, but there were too many people in the audience for them to keep a hold on the situation.
“Grandpa, are you okay?! Hey junior, we… huh?” Lee Na-hee turned to find Kang Shin-hyuk as she and her grandfather were stuck to each other, but he wasn’t there.
***
As the shockwave ran through the banquet hall, smoke bombs were exploding throughout the spacious room. The confusion was spreading quickly because of it. But thanks to that, there was a chance for Kang Shin-hyuk to escape.
‘I have to learn to hide.’ Kang Shin-hyuk escaped from the party and switched his equipment using the convenient function he had obtained earlier. He had his lightning web and Venom Princess Soul in hand, with a mask on his face to cover his identity, and his body was wrapped in a suit. It very much resembled a character in his notebooks from junior high.
‘But I can’t do anything without this mask! Does this uniform have to be black?!’ The black suit that covered his body was the uniform of the Superhuman Association Special Task Force. It was a C-rank artifact that resisted the enemy’s attacks.
-Eunah’s whisper: There’s an enemy inside somewhere. If you find someone suspicious, take them down first.
-I’m on it.
-Eunah’s whisper: We need to figure out who’s likely to be targeted…
There was no time to suffer about his own outfit. Shin Eunah had switched to Thunder Empress mode and was moving quickly. She was quick to deduce an intruder was inside the banquet hall from the smoke bombs. They were special items that could deceive even a superhuman’s sharp senses. It was at least a C-rank item. Of course, with Kang Shin-hyuk’s high-level martial arts boosting his senses, he wasn’t deceived.
“Ha.”
“Kh?!” Kang Shin-hyuk twisted his left hand around, and two strings from the glove shot out. They wrapped around a man holding a knife in front of him, restraining him instantly. He was equipped with special equipment to see through the smokescreen, but he didn’t expect to be caught so easily.
“Kahak?!” Spiritual power flowed through the threads to activate their lightning property. The man passed out right away from the intense shock. After confirming he had been safely neutralized, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled coolly and waved his hand lightly. The man was picked up by the threads and thrown at another man running toward him, slamming them both into a nearby wall. He decided to test his Venom Princess Soul, sending out a single thread of poisonous spider web to tie them together.
“Excellent.” He cut away the web and strung them up on the wall. The advantage of the Venom Princess Soul was that it could infinitely create a web so long as he provided it with power, unlike the lightning spider web.
‘Even if it’s not connected, I can control the poison of the threads too.’ He made it himself, but it was a great fit for him. He couldn’t deny the strength of artifacts forged with spiritual power.
-Eunah’s whisper: The evacuation is in progress. What’s your situation?
-It’s okay. The enemies don’t appear to be strong.
-Eunah’s whisper: They probably didn’t come with the intention of winning. It’s most likely a violent protest on the surface, trying to cause a distraction while aiming for a different goal…
Shin-hyuk nodded at her whisper and kept moving. He found another enemy spreading more smoke bombs, immediately throwing him to the ground with a spider web. As he kept moving forward, he noticed something ahead of him. It was Eleanor, surrounded by a group of superhumans.
‘Was Eleanor the target? But she received an invitation from her friend; how could they have known she would be here?’ Kang Shin-hyuk rushed to her side with those thoughts playing out in his head. He fired off a web of lightning, but one of the superhumans around her deflected it.
“Who’s there?!”
“Ha!” Eleanor didn’t let the diversion created by Shin-hyuk go to waste. With her javelin in hand, she moved with enough momentum to break through the group.
“Haaah!”
“Stop her!”
“Huh?” Kang Shin-hyuk fired off more threads as their enemies gave chase to try and stop Eleanor. Five threads went out to stop the men from blocking her course. They tried to strike at it like before, but that was what he was aiming for.
-Kssst!
“Ooh?!”
“Kh!” Although they succeeded in cutting out of the web, the terrible electricity contained in the threads radiated through their swords. Eleanor was able to capitalize on that gap and escape.
“Damn it!”
“Run away, don’t look back!”
“Karen!”
“Don’t worry!” Karen couldn’t catch up with Eleanor and was left in the half-broken circle of enemies.
“Kh!” Eleanor turned to rush back, but Kang Shin-hyuk reached out for her to stop, firing a poisonous web at Karen. The Venom Princess Soul could be used as a handy restraint tool so long as he didn’t will it to emit poison. In an instant, the web wrapped around Karen’s body, and she was pulled back to Shin-hyuk. At the same time, he used his lightning web to keep the enemies in check. They kept their distance, remembering the electricity that shocked them the last time they hit it.
“Thank you!”
“It’s not over yet.” Kang Shin-hyuk tried to lower his voice as he responded. This mask changed his hairstyle and face, but not his voice. He cursed Claire for not adding that function too.
“Huh? That voice…” He was caught!
“Karen, don’t worry about that right now!”
“No, but I’ve heard it before somewhere…”
“Karen!” Eleanor rebuked Karen as she prepared for battle, javelin in hand. Kang Shin-hyuk ignored her and spread out his hands, ten strands of spider webs shooting out in an instant.
“Well, that’s cool.”
“…”
“Someone who uses thread as a weapon…yes, it’s like Death Doll Company…!” Kang Shin-hyuk decided to ignore Karen’s very existence.
However, considering she once suffered from the same thing he did, he decided not to get too angry.