Chapter 198: The First Universe Quest (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198: The First Universe Quest (8)
The Black Being possessed no unique or complex abilities.
It was simply fast, strong, and incredibly durable.
Even with ten thousand of them merged into one, that fundamental truth remained unchanged. Only its raw power had increased exponentially.
K-boom!
The earth exploded where its fist struck. Even with all his senses enhanced, Kang Jun-hyeok could only dodge by a hair’s breadth. A single direct hit would likely strip away half his health.
That wasn't all. The creature was so resilient that even landing a counter-attack failed to inflict significant damage.
Whoosh!
A fist cut through the air, hurtling toward Kang Jun-hyeok’s face. He used Rift Movement to widen the gap. Without a moment to catch his breath, he raised his weapon.
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring echoed. Despite a perfect block, the impact rattled his entire body, threatening to break his stance.
[Balancing.]
He steadied himself. He sharpened his senses further, honing them to the absolute limit.
Boom!
The Black Being lunged with another punch.
He read its trajectory. He grasped everything—the direction of the force and the aftershocks it would create.
His prowess bordered on precognition. This was the perfect synergy of his Control Skill and Boundary of Death Awakening.
‘It’s strong and fast, but simple.’
It didn't use any refined techniques; it simply swung its limbs like a beast. Against such an opponent, he could evade even if they were in a higher rank.
Thump!
As he dodged the onslaught, his mind raced. Though the Black Being took a human form, it was fundamentally an existence from outside the universe. It had no conventional vital points.
In that case, where should he strike?
‘The neck.’
If he could separate the Black Being’s head from its body, it would stop moving. Kang Jun-hyeok tightened his grip on his dagger.
The air shrieked as the Black Being lunged forward in an instant. The power behind its fist was enough to crush the earth and displace the ground like falling water. Kang Jun-hyeok pushed his senses to the brink.
‘Right side, the head!’
With a prediction that felt like foresight, he dodged and thrust his dagger.
[Single Point Penetration.]
Clang!
A powerful shockwave rippled out. Caught by the counter, the Black Being’s body was momentarily pushed back. A small crack appeared on its neck.
Boom!
Recovering its stance, the Black Being threw another punch.
‘Right chest!’
But he couldn't dodge this one perfectly.
[Repulsion.]
[Sword Ki and Sword Wind.]
He activated Repulsion and Sword Ki and Sword Wind simultaneously. He couldn't stop the Black Being’s attack, but he could deflect its trajectory. As the fist grazed past him, he slashed violently with his dagger.
[Shock.]
Crack!
The fissure on the neck widened. In that moment, the Black Being’s body staggered. A faint purple hue began to seep into its black form.
‘Poison status effect.’
The effect of the Master of All Weapons, currently transformed into the Duneshade's Tail, had triggered.
Since the Black Being was not a creature of this universe, normal poisons wouldn't work, but the Tower’s skills were a different story. Its movements became noticeably slower than before.
Thud!
Instead of dodging the incoming fist, he blocked it. As Kang Jun-hyeok was sent flying back, the Black Being immediately gave chase. Kang Jun-hyeok gripped his dagger with all his might.
The first form of the Divine Art of the Master of All Weapons: Hot Wind Sky Slash.
The amplified power struck the Black Being’s neck. The cracks spread even further.
“Still won't break, huh?”
Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue. It was absurdly durable. As if enraged, the Black Being unleashed a flurry of punches.
Using his knowledge, experience, Control, and the power of Boundary of Death Awakening, he continued to make predictions that bordered on prophecy.
He slowed it down with Judgment of the Law and poison, while his titles—Challenger, Victor Slayer, and Victor Slaughterer—boosted all his stats by over 10 points.
Despite all this, the gap was clear. To land a meaningful blow, he had no choice but to leave himself open. Against a typical cosmic entity, there would be no chance of victory.
But he was a Player.
The Master of the Universe had bestowed upon them the gift of skills. He used them to cover his openings.
[Glory of the Lost God.]
An intense light illuminated the world. Even this great glory couldn't deal significant damage to the Black Being’s body, but it was enough to slow the speed of its assault.
Crrrash!
The fist slammed into the ground, shaking the very foundations of the earth. Kang Jun-hyeok channeled his Internal Energy and drove his dagger into the Black Being’s neck.
[Stealth.]
Slash!
Then, he vanished.
Having momentarily lost sight of Kang Jun-hyeok, the Black Being swung its fists wildly. The resulting shockwaves tore through the surroundings, destroying everything in sight.
However, it was a mindless rampage. It couldn't reach Kang Jun-hyeok. Having moved into the air above, Kang Jun-hyeok put strength into his feet.
[Thousand-Pound Weight.]
Crunch.
Adding immense weight to his strike, he hit the neck once more. The cracks spread further. At the same time, he placed a hand on its body.
[Sixth Sense Exclusion.]
Twitch.
Suddenly deprived of all its senses, the Black Being froze.
Kang Jun-hyeok didn't miss the opening. He even summoned Pixie's Mana Box to sear the neck. Then, before a single second could pass, he quickly retreated.
Against a higher-ranked enemy, he was conducting a one-sided assault without allowing a single hit. It was a miraculous battle. Every Player watching was frozen in shock.
“My… God.”
“How can he move like that?”
He was toying with an opponent of such overwhelming strength and speed. It was like watching a master matador.
And there was another reason for their astonishment: the fact that Kang Jun-hyeok was actively using skills to respond to every situation.
“Stealth… I have that too.”
“I have Sword Ki and Sword Wind.”
“I have Thousand-Pound Weight. So you can use it like that to increase the power of a strike? I only ever used it to steady my body or pin something down.”
The Players had believed that the most important things for climbing the Tower were individual talent, swordsmanship, or cosmic powers like Black Magic.
There was a reason for this. Most of the top-ranking Players were indeed those born with natural talent. A genius of Black Magic like Tuvalt was an obvious example, and the Players from Earth were no different. Yoo Jin-ha, for instance, possessed a god-given talent for the sword.
To them, Active Skills were merely convenient tools—not one's true strength. That was the consensus among most Players.
But now, Kang Jun-hyeok was shattering that belief.
By actively utilizing a wide variety of skills, he was confronting and overcoming a higher-ranked enemy. Furthermore, most of those were skills they possessed as well.
“If someone like him is doing that…”
“Maybe we can, too.”
Even those without special talent could reach great heights by utilizing skills. That belief and hope began to spread among the Players.
Tuvalt was also watching the battle with eyes full of admiration. However, the focus of his admiration differed from the other Players.
‘Swordsmanship, Divinity, and Magic.’
Each one was a formidable power that even he couldn't fully grasp. And Kang Jun-hyeok was wielding them all perfectly.
He didn't stop there; he linked each power together. He used skills to cover his flaws and weaknesses, drawing out his latent abilities to near perfection.
‘…And here I thought of myself as just a Black Mage.’
He had never doubted that he could climb and conquer the Tower with that alone. But Kang Jun-hyeok had shown him that such a thing was impossible.
If a powerhouse of that caliber handled so many different types of power, who was he to focus only on Black Magic?
Tuvalt gained a profound realization. He felt ashamed of his past self. To claim he could climb the Tower with Black Magic alone—how arrogant and ignorant he had been.
“…I’ll have to apologize to him again when he returns.”
Kang Jun-hyeok would win. And he would return to them in triumph. Tuvalt did not doubt it for a second.
* * *
[Heaven-Defying Spear of Jealousy.]
As he struck the Black Being’s neck with the spear imbued with intense power, the cracks spread with a splintering sound. After the continuous assault, the neck area was in tatters.
Just a little more pressure and it would break. Kang Jun-hyeok made his judgment and stepped forward.
In that instant, the Black Being’s movements changed.
Contrary to its previous mindless charging, it took a short step back to create distance. It was an action that seemed as if it were waiting for Kang Jun-hyeok to approach. Furthermore, its attacks were no longer full-powered swings but short, rapid successions of strikes.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
“Ugh!”
Kang Jun-hyeok twisted his body at the sudden change in tactics. Fists struck his frame in rapid succession. Inside the barrier, the Players screamed.
“Aaaaah!”
“What do we do?!”
“Tsk.”
Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue. That last exchange had wiped out half his health.
[Grace of Benevolence.]
He restored his health with the grace. Despite the significant opening, the Black Being didn't rush in; instead, it maintained its distance, gauging the gap. Kang Jun-hyeok frowned.
“Did it learn?”
The Black Being’s intelligence was low, and its learning speed was sluggish. But it wasn't non-existent. If a battle dragged on, there were rare cases where its responses would adapt.
He should have finished it before then, but it was sturdier than he had expected. The Black Being was now taking a defensive stance. In this state, landing a counter was impossible. He had to face it head-on, risking everything with raw power.
He made his decision.
The cracks in the Black Being’s neck. The energy he had expended. The answer was clear. It was dangerous, but well worth the risk.
Kang Jun-hyeok relaxed his muscles. He recovered from his fatigue with Divine Power and gathered his Internal Energy to its absolute limit. His eyes turned blood-red.
[Enhanced True Ancestor Awakening.]
By using the enhanced version of True Ancestor Awakening, he could narrowly reach the level of the upper tier of the Second Rank.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed in all directions. He dyed his entire body in blood to strengthen and protect his physical form. Then, he lunged forward.
K-boom!
A powerful punch collided with the Black Being. He gathered the blood scattered by the impact once more.
Boom! Crash! Boom-boom-boom!
The terrain was gouged and collapsed. The plains were carved away, giving birth to cliffs. The aftershocks covering the planet were enough to require a new map.
This was a battle of the upper Second Rank—a realm close to the limit of what a normal mortal could reach. The watching Players stood with their mouths agape.
Boom!
A fist slammed into Kang Jun-hyeok’s shoulder. The blood protecting his body exploded outward. He immediately reshaped that scattered blood into a blade and struck the Black Being’s neck.
Crr-rr-rack!
The cracks spread across the neck, and the head began to wobble precariously.
The Black Being was confused. The existence before it was strange. It moved as if it knew everything. Calmly, like a woodsman felling a giant tree, it was methodically trying to kill it. Despite its low intelligence, the Black Being realized it was in danger.
So, what should it do?
Run.
[!!!!!!!]
The Black Being erupted with power in a desperate struggle. Kang Jun-hyeok tried to hold his ground, but his body was forcibly pushed back as if by a raging storm. Kang Jun-hyeok realized the Black Being was trying to flee.
[Immovable Stance.]
He activated the skill to withstand the surging gale of power, then gripped his dagger.
[Concept Cutting.]
He cut the concept of the ‘wave.’
[High-Output Gauntlet from Somewhere.]
Then, he detonated the gauntlet. In an instant, a path opened.
[Instant Acceleration.]
[Charge.]
[Reset. Single Point Penetration.]
For a split second, the Players lost sight of Kang Jun-hyeok.
When he reappeared, his dagger was buried deep within the Black Being’s neck. Kang Jun-hyeok twisted the blade. And then, he poured his power in once more.
Hot Wind Sky Slash.
Crr-ack.
Unable to withstand the force, the Black Being’s neck began to separate.