The Academy’s Time Stop Player

"Do we not need more people?"

That was Hajoon's genuine concern.

In the game, Sandman's power was much stronger than expected. Could they really defeat him with the same number of people as in the game?

Even with him around, there's the possibility of him fleeing.

So, wouldn't it be better to recruit more people?

Doing so would make the ambush less strenuous and taxing for everyone.

Responding to Hajoon's view, Yukio said, “Well, having more people could be better, but what we're doing is an ambush. The moment we face him head-on, consider it a loss. Moreover, the more people we have, the higher the risk of being discovered during the ambush."

The Japanese side seemed to be giving up on confronting Sandman directly.

It indicated just how much stronger Sandman had become.

The power of this fiend had intensified far beyond the game, leading to many changes.

In the game, they had tried to confront and capture him.

"Now, let me explain his ability."

With that, Yukio began detailing Sandman's capabilities.

His power primarily controlled sand and soil, but he couldn't manipulate detached particles. In other words, he could control the sand touching his body, but not airborne dust or separate granules.

Hajoon was relieved to find this aspect consistent with the game.

If Sandman could control even the sand not in contact with him, Hajoon doubted his own ability to handle it.

"That's why we're carefully choosing the ambush location. Mountains or beaches are a no-go. Kato, who's currently tracking Sandman, will make the decision and contact us. We just need to ambush him in an area with minimal sand or soil."

Even if Sandman was in the mountains or at the beach, he wouldn’t stay there forever.

If he was in such a location, they'd probably continue to tail him until he left, and then ambush him.

"It might take some time."

"Well, we'll just have to wait."

Ding-ding-

A phone bell rang at that moment.

All eyes turned to Yukio, from where the sound emanated.

Quickly retrieving his phone, Yukio checked the incoming message. Watching him, Hajoon remarked, "That was faster than expected, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... it seems so."

Apparently, Sandman was now in a location deemed suitable for their ambush. Grasping the situation, Yukio, with a determined expression, said to the group,

"Let's move out."

The time was a dark 8 o'clock in the evening.

At that hour, they arrived near the location Kim Hajoon had messaged to meet the hero Kato, who was pursuing Sandman.

“Is this really the right place?”

However, the location seemed problematic, if not outright perilous.

A mountain of all places? From any angle, executing an operation here seemed like a suicidal mission.

“Unless he’s colluding with that villain, I can't think of why he'd suggest meeting here.”

“Uh, well...”

Although Hajoon's comment might have sounded absurd, the young woman accompanying him couldn't refute it. She too judged the location to be fraught with potential issues.

Therefore, she immediately tried contacting Kato, but he didn't pick up.

In other words, a problem had arisen.

“...”

“What should we do, senior?”

Renka, concerned, looked to Yukio and asked.

Yukio paused for a moment, contemplating the entrance of the mountain. Under normal circumstances, retreating would be the logical choice. However, perhaps worried about Kato's safety, she seemed to resolve to venture into the mountain.

“For now, Hajoon and Siyoung should follow us from a distance.”

She likely suggested this to keep them safe, anticipating unforeseen situations. Or maybe she wanted to ensure a means of escape just for them.

Following Yukio's instructions, Hajoon and Han Siyoung trailed behind the group, maintaining some distance.

As the group discreetly climbed the mountain, reaching the location Kato had mentioned, trouble arose.

“Hahaha! They actually came?”

“!?”

Suddenly, a male voice echoed. Following the voice, sand began to rise from the ground, taking human form.

The figure revealed a man with fiery red hair, pale white skin, and a lean frame. The dark circles under his eyes were eerily prominent. He looked bizarrely attractive, laughing uproariously at the group.

The man was unmistakably the S-rank villain, Sandman.

“Wow... going through so much trouble to catch me. Hahaha!”

With that, Sandman pulled something from his pocket and began waving it for them to see.

It was a smartphone, and they immediately recognized its owner.

“You... What have you done with Kato?”

“I haven't killed him. He's still alive.”

Upon hearing this, Hajoon, who was about to activate his Time Stop (SSS) skill, hesitated and had to reassess the situation.

This is tricky... Listening from the shadows, it seems that Kato has been taken hostage. Through some event, it looks like Sandman managed to access the phone and potentially extract information.

First and foremost, they needed to find out where Kato was before making a move.

Even Hajoon didn't possess a way to instantly eliminate Sandman.

As Hajoon pondered their options, Han Siyoung beside him spoke up.

“Kim Hajoon.”

“Yes?”

“We seem to be surrounded.”

At that remark, Hajoon tilted his head in confusion.

Surrounded? By whom?

-There's a presence of about 50 people from the rear. It seems we're indeed encircled.

[Sub Quest]

Eligible character for the quest: Kim Hajoon (Liber Laphilton Phil Ehrman)

Description: You've been surrounded by villains. Defeat the encircling villains. (0/50)

Reward: 10,000 Experience Points.

Along with Philaten's additional information, a quest window appeared. Well, setting aside the sudden quest notification, Hajoon had a rough idea of the identity of those who had surrounded him.

He had surely heard that the man had joined the Villain Alliance.

It seems the reason he came to Korea was to contact these people.

And there must've been some negotiations during that process.

“Stay still while I'm asking nicely. If I close my fist, think of the hero I've taken hostage as dead.”

The man who was scoffing suddenly went pale, his eyes widening as he began to stare at them with dilated pupils.

With chilling eyes and an equally cold tone, he spoke.

“Follow me.”

Suddenly, the ground shifted, and earthy tendrils began to bind their arms.

The Sandman, who used the earth to bind them, looked at them with his lifeless eyes and said, “I don't intend to kill you right away. After all, you've already suffered enough in Japan.”

“Tch-”

At those words, Yukio and Renka gritted their teeth and glared at Sandman, but in the end, they had no choice but to follow him.

However, they felt a little relieved inside.

Luckily, it seemed he hadn’t noticed the ones secretly trailing them from behind.

But had Sandman noticed that sliver of hope in Yukio and Renka?

The Sandman, who was leading the way, suddenly smirked mischievously and spoke.

“Come to think of it, I heard Han Siyoung was brought along too?”

“?!”

“But he's not necessary, so it's fine to kill him, right?”

As soon as he said that,

BOOM! CRASH!

A loud noise erupted from the location where the kids were.

“No, don’t!”

Yukio was consumed with guilt.

Due to her naive decisions, young children had suffered.

Yet, in the face of an insurmountable situation, she clenched her teeth in anger and had no choice but to follow the Sandman. If she resisted even slightly, that madman would surely tighten the sand binding their bodies, undoubtedly killing them.

Besides, Kato was being held hostage, rendering her powerless.

After following the Sandman for a few minutes, they arrived at a shack made of dirt. Inside the shack, she found Kato, bound to a chair made of the same earth.

"Ugh!"

"Kato!"

"I'm sorry. They caught me while I was tailing them."

Kato, tied to the chair, was in a terrible state.

It seemed as if he had been tortured; his fingernails were torn off.

Seeing this, Sandman smirked and opened his mouth.

"Who's worrying about whom now? Soon, you'll be in an even worse state than him."

With that, Sandman reached out to both Renka and Yukio.

Simultaneously, the sand enveloping them morphed into the shape of chairs, and their arms were bound to the armrests.

"Urgh!"

"Now, who should I start with?"

Grinning like an innocent child, Sandman's gaze flitted between the two women tied to the chairs. Yukio glared back at him with murderous intent, while Renka started trembling, seemingly consumed by fear. Noticing this, Sandman's eyes sparkled.

"Maybe I'll start with you."

Saying this, he approached Renka.

As Sandman made a gesture, the floor erupted with a bench-shaped surge of sand.

Renka's eyes trembled in terror.

Yukio, glaring at Sandman, shouted, "If you're going to do something, start with me!"

"Shh- So noisy."

As he motioned, sand rose up to cover both Yukio and Renka's mouths, silencing them.

"Well then... let's start with a single index finger."

With a sadistic chuckle, just as the bench of sand was about to ensnare Renka's finger, there was a sudden commotion.

BOOM! CRASH! BANG!

The outside grew chaotic.

It seemed like the members of the Villain Alliance, who had sought Sandman's cooperation, were involved.

Pausing momentarily, Sandman moved towards the door, intending to open it. But before he could, it swung open from the outside.

"What's this?"

"Cough! Choke! Heave! Huff!"

The door revealed one of the villains from the Alliance, gasping for breath with blood gushing from his left arm.

He was in a dire state.

Although his legs seemed intact, his left arm was gruesomely shattered in a zigzag pattern.

“What's going on? What's happening?”

“It’s him.”

“Who?”

“They, those crazies are targeting the Irregular-”

Just then.

SWISH! WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a new villain standing by the door began flying towards Sandman.

As if someone had struck the villain hard, sending him airborne.

Sandman instantly transformed his body into sand to dodge the approaching man. He then turned his head to look at the man who had just flown past him, starting to panic.

“What... What just happened?!”

However, an even more startling situation unfolded.

“Where did they go?”

Alongside the villain who was now embedded in the wall, the three individuals who were tied to the sand-made chairs had vanished. They had disappeared in just a split second.

How on earth had they vanished in such a brief moment?

‘What in the world is happening?’

Confusion spiraled in Sandman’s mind.

Even for superhumans, could such an act be possible?

In this unbelievable situation, as his mind filled with chaos, he recalled the last words the now-deceased villain, squashed against the sand wall, had uttered.

-The Irregular-

“The Irregular?”

Is he referring to that monster from Korea?

The moment he pondered about that entity.

WHOOOSH! BOOM!

An overwhelmingly massive force pressed down on the entire hut.

On one side, the three of them stood, their eyes widened in shock at the unfolding scene.

In a fleeting moment, they found themselves outside the hut, uncertain of when they had been rescued. Facing the hut was a boy, about to strike it with a massive hammer.

WHOOOSH! BOOM!

The deafening sound was accompanied by a shockwave that began to swirl around them.

Stunned, the trio could only gape at the spectacle.

"You... You're...?"

Yukio turned to the boy who had caused the commotion, his voice filled with astonishment. However, Hajoon simply shrank the size of his hammer, Maharazu, and looked back impassively.

"How did you know about this place...?"

"I left one on purpose. He led me right here," Hajoon explained.

"I see," Yukio murmured.

"Let's talk later," Hajoon suggested, turning his gaze back to the crushed hut.

The flattened hut, which had now transformed into soil, started to ripple at its center. Soon, from the center, soil began to rise, taking on a specific form.

A massive golem, made entirely of earth.

Standing about 50 meters tall, this colossal golem began to look down at Hajoon.

"Irregular... So it was you," a voice, resembling Sandman's, resonated from the golem's mouth.

Hajoon briefly met the golem's gaze and then turned to Han Siyoung, asking, "How long do you think it'll take?"

"10 minutes. I'll need to focus during that time and won't be able to move."

Han Siyoung then assumed a stance, concentrating to draw out his ability, 'Trail of the Saint'. Hajoon nodded in acknowledgment and said to the still-dazed trio, "Let's hold on for just 10 minutes."

Though Hajoon's voice was monotone, it was enough to shake them into readiness. Facing the massive golem, they prepared to activate their abilities.

Suddenly, a gigantic fist from the golem swung down towards them.

With a sound like tearing air, the massive fist hurtled towards them. As it approached, a thought flashed through Hajoon's mind.

'I should first use 'Time Stop' and save 'Time Stop Storage' for later.'

While he could conveniently dodge the golem's punch using these two auxiliary skills right now, it'd be wiser to conserve them for the forthcoming events. Both skills had their limitations, and for now, Hajoon's primary goal was to buy time until Han Siyoung could activate his ability.

Hajoon activated Time Stop (SSS).

In that frozen moment, he swung his hammer, Maharazu, at the golem's fist about 100 times, then released the Time Stop.

And the result was explosive.

WHOOOSH! BANG!

Just before the golem's fist could reach them, not only its fist but also its entire arm disintegrated with a loud blast, scattering sand in all directions.