Chapter 189: 42nd Floor. Loser of the Great War. Paltry Assassin (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: 42nd Floor. Loser of the Great War. Paltry Assassin (3)
Kang Jun-hyeok read Loctia’s movements perfectly. He had won the tactical exchange. In truth, it wasn't an exaggeration to say he dominated the entire flow of the battle.
Yet, he still couldn't reach her.
Clang!
Sharp blades collided. Kang Jun-hyeok thrust his spear with blinding speed, but Loctia’s form seemed to blur and scatter. The moment he scrambled to shift into a defensive stance, her blade tore through him.
[Health: 0]
He lost, and lost, and lost again.
Loctia hadn't allowed a single strike to connect. No matter how well he read her, the fundamental difference in raw power remained an insurmountable wall.
“This is tough.”
Kang Jun-hyeok shook his head. Meanwhile, cold sweat trickled down Loctia’s cheek.
“Hahaha... Haha. This is absurd.”
Loctia let out a dry, hollow laugh.
Who was she?
Though the Master of the Tower had labeled her a 'Paltry Assassin,' she was a powerhouse of the Third Rank. She possessed strength rare even on a planetary scale—strength recognized at a universal level. Having achieved the stage of Rejuvenation, she had effectively transcended the limits of a natural lifespan.
She hadn't reached these heights through luck. Her status was the result of innate talent forged in the fires of countless battles beyond reckoning.
And yet, she was being pushed.
Against the Player standing before her, she couldn't win the battle of wits.
What on earth was he? Where did this Player come from?
As if responding to her shock, the Master of All Weapons and Eldiria muttered to themselves.
[Just what kind of hell has this brat gone through?]
[I haven't a clue. In terms of pure combat instinct alone, he far surpasses Loctia. This isn't just innate talent. It's experience. He is a successor shrouded in secrets.]
[He is my disciple.]
[He is my successor.]
“I need to concentrate, so could you both be quiet for a moment?”
At Kang Jun-hyeok’s words, the two fell silent. He narrowed his eyes.
He had lost, and lost, and lost.
But they weren't meaningless defeats. Loctia’s power, her nature, even her habits and idiosyncrasies—he had grasped them all. And at the end of it, he reached a single conclusion.
It was possible.
His dulled senses hadn't fully returned to their peak, but they had recovered enough. All that remained was to charge toward his goal. After drinking from the spring, Kang Jun-hyeok tightened his grip on his spear.
“Here I come again.”
“Hmph.”
Loctia’s expression shifted. She realized that Kang Jun-hyeok was coming at her with everything he had this time. With a tense face, she raised her daggers.
[Pixie's Mana Box.]
Two square boxes materialized in the air. Loctia’s eyes widened.
“...What? That person’s Mana Box? You have that too? Wait a minute.”
Did that mean he had been hiding that power throughout the entire fight?
[Single Point Penetration.]
Boom!
Before her surprise could fade, Kang Jun-hyeok charged. Loctia’s mind raced.
Single Point Penetration was powerful. It involved a dash at supersonic speeds followed by a devastating thrust. However, it had the fatal flaw of locking the user into a fixed motion, making it easy to counter.
But now, Pixie's Mana Boxes were floating around Kang Jun-hyeok.
Loctia knew the power of those boxes. Their attacks moved at the speed of light, possessing enough force to pierce the core of a planet. Of course, since Kang Jun-hyeok wasn't Pixie, they wouldn't be that powerful, but seeing them for the first time, Loctia had no choice but to be wary.
Thus, Loctia chose to evade.
Tap.
She widened the distance in an instant. Kang Jun-hyeok read the move perfectly.
[Glory of the Lost God.]
Vrrrring!
An intense light swallowed the space. Loctia quickly shrouded her body in Aura. Her form became faint, flickering like a shadow.
By using Aura to thin her physical presence, she took on a mist-like form. It was a near-absolute evasion technique that rendered physical attacks useless. Kang Jun-hyeok didn't know the exact mechanics, but he understood the principle.
Which meant he had already figured out the countermeasure.
[Spear Throw.]
[Spear Throw.]
[Charge.]
He lunged toward the faded Loctia alongside his flying spears. Loctia’s expression twisted.
He’s figured it out.
Her technique: Semi-Materialization. It was a skill that allowed her to avoid attacks by blurring her very existence. However, she couldn't attack while the skill was active, and she would be momentarily vulnerable the instant Semi-Materialization wore off. His attack was aimed precisely at that window of weakness.
And Kang Jun-hyeok didn't stop there. Several Amber Crystals flew toward Loctia.
Crack-crack-crack!
The effect of the Amber Crystals was mana absorption. Since Aura was also a form of mana, her Semi-Materialization flickered. Ultimately, she clicked her tongue and deactivated the technique.
Flash!
The Glory of the Lost God hadn't ended yet. The intense light surged toward her, and Loctia slashed her dagger with a grim expression.
The light was cleaved in two.
“Ha.”
Kang Jun-hyeok let out an involuntary chuckle. Loctia had literally cut through the divine radiance itself. She batted away the incoming spears and tried to drive her dagger into Kang Jun-hyeok’s throat.
[Rift Movement.]
[Thousand-Pound Weight.]
Kang Jun-hyeok’s body shifted above Loctia, and he slammed down with crushing weight. The moment Loctia threw herself backward to evade, gems scattered in all directions.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gems detonated simultaneously. As Loctia swung her daggers to deflect the fragments, Kang Jun-hyeok immediately closed the distance.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
He unleashed a barrage of spear strikes as fierce as a storm. Loctia gritted her teeth.
The Master of All Weapons’ martial arts!
To her eyes, Kang Jun-hyeok’s swordsmanship was barely at an infant's level, but this was different. It was a martial art that bordered on an Authority. She needed to respond with absolute sincerity.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Her daggers moved fluidly, parrying all of Kang Jun-hyeok’s attacks. Then, she countered. Her dagger grazed along his spear, aiming to sever his arm.
[Anti-Field.]
Crack!
The barrier shattered the moment the dagger touched it. However, it succeeded in blocking the blow. Kang Jun-hyeok immediately retracted his spear and pulled out a hammer.
[Helberscream.]
Loctia’s face hardened.
Rumble!
Her daggers blocked the lightning. Even though it moved at the speed of light, she succeeded in defending with a reaction that bordered on precognition.
Having anticipated that, Kang Jun-hyeok immediately pressed in close. Loctia bit her lip.
The flow...!
She had completely lost control of the battle's rhythm. Even when she tried to seize the initiative, Kang Jun-hyeok moved first, making it impossible to launch a proper counterattack.
Kang Jun-hyeok didn't stop. The difference in power was still clear; he had no chance in a war of attrition. He had to dictate the battle within a short window and pour everything into it.
[Earth Shake.]
[Stealth.]
The earth trembled, and his body vanished. As Kang Jun-hyeok erased his presence entirely, Loctia sharpened her senses to respond.
But instead of attacking, Kang Jun-hyeok was quietly accumulating power.
The second form of the Master of All Weapons: World-Shaking Wind Descent.
WhirRRRRRR!
A storm of blades erupted.
Loctia rapidly swung her daggers, deflecting the entire storm. Kang Jun-hyeok closed in even further.
Clang! Clash!
Dagger and spear collided repeatedly. In the gaps between their strikes, the Mana Boxes bombarded her. Loctia moved with frantic speed.
This is troublesome!
If it were a simple contest of weapon skill, she could have countered him in an instant, even with her rhythm disrupted. But every time she tried, beams of light shot from the Mana Boxes to pressure her, preventing any counterattack.
He stole her breath, disoriented her, and blocked her responses. Confusion flickered in Loctia’s eyes, and Kang Jun-hyeok did not miss that opening.
[Enhancement. Heaven-Defying Spear of Jealousy.]
Crackle!
A spear of intense Authority manifested in the air. Loctia’s expression changed. That was the Heaven-Defying Spear of Jealousy, which displayed devastating power against higher-ranked opponents—and it was now even stronger through enhancement. Even she needed to defend with everything she had.
BOOM!
The spear lunged at Loctia. She crossed her daggers, pouring all her strength into her defense.
Screeeeeech!
“Kh... ugh!”
Loctia let out a groan for the first time as an intense pressure overwhelmed her. She strained her arms, reinforcing her entire frame. She dug her heels into the ground as she was pushed back.
CLANG!
She barely managed to deflect the spear. However, unable to withstand the force, her guard was blown wide open. Kang Jun-hyeok dove into her embrace.
[True Ancestor Awakening.]
Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes turned blood-red. Loctia’s pupils dilated.
“True Ancestor form!”
Blood erupted, shaking the surroundings. Like a single living organism, it swirled toward Loctia from all sides. Every ounce of his power converged on her at once. It was a storm of might that seemed impossible to respond to, no matter how great one's technique.
And yet, it still didn't reach Loctia.
She snapped her wrists and shifted her elbows. She moved her legs and twisted her waist. It was a display of movement and evasion that could only be described as divine. This was the power of the Third Rank—one who had reached the middle tier of the universe's standards.
Even after using all that power, he couldn't touch her.
And Kang Jun-hyeok knew that better than anyone. He forced his body forward and reached out his hand. Loctia was momentarily flustered. Compared to his meticulous tactical reading so far, this was an incredibly crude move.
But the thought was brief. She didn't miss the opening and moved to sever his arm.
[Reset. Anti-Field.]
Clang!
The blade failed to reach Kang Jun-hyeok, striking the barrier instead. Loctia gasped.
Reset...!
Kang Jun-hyeok’s fingertips—only slightly, but unmistakably—touched Loctia’s body.
[Sixth Sense Exclusion.]
“...Ugh!”
All of Loctia’s senses were erased. Rendered unable to feel anything, she failed to react for a split second. Kang Jun-hyeok swiftly drew a dagger.
Slash!
The moment her senses returned, Loctia felt a sharp pain near her neck. She reached up and touched her throat. She felt a warm liquid flowing. Blood trickled down, soaking her shoulder and clothes.
“...Ha, hahaha.”
Even with her senses excluded, she had managed to dodge at the very last second. It wasn't a fatal wound.
But it was a clear injury. An injury that could have been life-threatening had her reaction been even a fraction slower.
Kang Jun-hyeok exhaled.
“I finally did it.”
“Hahaha. This is just ridiculous.”
A Second Rank had not only injured a Third Rank but had come close to dealing a fatal blow. Loctia laughed for a long time. Then, she stopped laughing and nodded. Her eyes, as she looked at Kang Jun-hyeok, were filled with awe.
“It’s your victory, Kang Jun-hyeok. You’ve achieved a Perfect Clear of the 42nd floor.”