Irregular Stigmata (2)
Baekri-hyang had no memories.
She didn't even know her own name. When Hwimin called her Baekri-hyang, she simply accepted it.
The only two things she could recall were that she had once tried to climb the Tower, and the precious dream she had cherished until the very moment her body crumbled away and only her soul remained.
'I want to see the end of the sword.'
The sword had been her sole interest in life.
That was why she had no choice but to follow Hwimin.
His sword had already reached one such 'end.' Simply watching from his side brought her happiness.
That was the reason she had insisted on following him to attend to his needs.
[You took off someone else's underwear in front of a man!! How am I supposed to go back like this!!]
For Hyeon-seo, whose reunion with Hwimin had already gone completely off the rails, it was nothing short of a catastrophe.
"How foolish. What does a mere chest covering matter?"
[Hey!!!!!]
"Is this not a priceless opportunity that even billions of gold could not buy?"
Baekri-hyang firmly suppressed Hyeon-seo's complaints.
Then she turned her gaze forward.
A single sword floated lazily in the air right in front of the charging monsters.
'...He must be holding the sword in exactly that stance.'
Just from seeing that, Baekri-hyang could already infer Hwimin's posture.
No, she could even predict his next movements.
It was an attempt to interpret, in her own way, swordsmanship that had reached the realm of the gods.
At the very least, she was confident she would be right ninety percent of the time.
Baekri-hyang was absolutely certain of it, but...
"...Huh?"
'Why is he just standing there when the enemies are right in front of him?'
Why indeed.
Hwimin's sword showed no sign of moving.
More precisely, only the sword wasn't moving.
'Well then, shall we give it a try?'
"Usurpation."
The moment Hwimin whispered the word.
Whoosh—!!
The pattern engraved on his forearm flashed.
A crimson light blazed brightly.
It was a light that neither Baekri-hyang, Hyeon-seo, nor the monsters before them could see.
Because of that, all Baekri-hyang witnessed was the result with the process completely omitted.
-Thud.
"Kek."
The lizard-like monsters that had been charging at Hwimin collapsed on the spot.
"...Tsk."
'Such petty tricks.'
Baekri-hyang frowned.
To her, it looked like the monsters were taking advantage of Hwimin standing still to pull some underhanded move.
...Of course, that wasn't the case at all.
-Crack.
"Got one~."
"...Huh?"
Hwimin's sword rose above the monster and slammed straight down into its head.
Yet the monster didn't resist.
All it could manage were faint death throes—kek, keuk.
'They recognize the difference in strength and offer their lives so he can end them painlessly...? No, those things shouldn't have that kind of intelligence.'
While Baekri-hyang stood frozen, unable to understand what was happening.
Stab. Thrust. Pierce.
The sword kept stabbing into the monsters.
Thanks to that, clearing ten of them took less than ten seconds.
"What in the world..."
[It's mana exhaustion!!]
At the same time, Hyeon-seo, who was sharing Baekri-hyang's vision, cried out.
Mana exhaustion.
A symptom similar to a concussion that occurred when an Awakener drew on too much mana.
The monsters' condition matched it perfectly.
Hyeon-seo knew it well because she'd experienced it herself.
[But how on earth...]
Yet there was one thing even she couldn't understand.
Why had mana exhaustion occurred in the first place?
After all, mana exhaustion only happened when someone used mana.
But those monsters hadn't even fought.
In fact, they didn't look like the type that used mana when they fought.
The only thing that could cause them to suffer mana exhaustion was...
-Hesitation.
[...That thing he said earlier, Usurpation. That's a stigmata!!]
"So that's it!!"
Only then did Hyeon-seo and Baekri-hyang realize the truth.
Hwimin must have just cleared the fourth floor.
He had clearly activated a stigmata he obtained there.
Hyeon-seo was stunned.
[Long-range mana theft? And strong enough to cause mana exhaustion?! That's impossible!!]
Not all stigmata were omnipotent.
Having used several fourth-tier stigmata herself after escaping the Tower, Hyeon-seo knew exactly how powerful they were.
If she had created a stigmata like that?
At best, it would only recover a small amount of mana during battle.
Unless it came with an extreme penalty like 'death upon use,' that was the limit.
Even against relatively low-level monsters, there were no exceptions.
But Hwimin was different.
"What the..."
The monsters standing before him rolled their eyes back.
Their mana was completely drained, and they collapsed.
In the end, even their lives were taken.
They couldn't even put up any resistance.
-Gulp.
[He's on a completely different level.]
It was clearly not an ordinary fourth-tier stigmata.
Well, the tier itself was probably the same.
But because the one using it was Cheol-gang-min, the result was entirely different.
That was how overwhelmingly superior Cheol-gang-min was.
He was an irregular who existed outside all norms.
...If Hwimin heard that, he would probably say, 'Huh? Me?'
"Ooh."
'Fifth-tier really does perform well.'
First of all, the tier itself was fifth.
Thanks to the Golden Rule trait activating, he had received a free tier increase.
Naturally, it couldn't be compared to Hyeon-seo's fourth-tier stigmata.
'And it doesn't even hurt that much.'
The penalty he had attached to the stigmata—self-damage proportional to distance and absorption amount.
Normally, it was an extremely high-risk restriction that no one would ever choose.
But for Hwimin, it was nothing.
Thanks to his first-clear rewards, achievements, and damage reduction traits, the actual damage he took was only 2.5 percent.
In other words, Hwimin could output forty times more power than the self-damage he received.
With both the tier and the multiplier being on completely different scales, it was inevitable that he and Hyeon-seo operated on entirely different levels.
'But why did Serin have so much... With that much mana, shouldn't her body have exploded? How can a non-Awakener have that much?'
He suddenly found his younger sister's mana capacity, which had nearly killed even him, hard to comprehend again, but anyway.
'Anyway, I need to finish this quickly.'
"Usurpation."
After that, Hwimin leisurely strolled through the gate.
The monsters that charged at him from every direction collapsed the moment they got close, baring their necks for him.
Yet the result of this ridiculously easy battle...
was far too stimulating.
-Ding!
[The trait 'Seed of Transcendence' has activated.]
Strength point increased by 1.
Agility point increased by 1...
Mana point increased by...
'Leveling is so damn good with this.'
His stats were rising little by little, but steadily.
The common knowledge that leveling up was only possible inside the Tower.
This was all thanks to the Seed of Transcendence trait that shattered that rule.
So of course Hwimin was delighted.
He wandered around, stabbing monsters with the same feeling as picking up fallen coins.
It was so sweet that his smile wouldn't fade.
"Kyuuung..."
The only one who saw through his easy farming was Dohwa, who was nestled in his arms...
'Master is happy!'
Dohwa didn't mind at all.
If her master was grinning like that, she was happy too.
Even though they had agreed to fight together, she ended up just watching again. But thanks to that, she got to stay in her master's arms the whole time, which made her twice as happy.
It was an inner thought Hwimin would never dream of.
"Hmm..."
'Is the possession time about to run out?'
After strolling around for about ten minutes or so.
Hwimin glanced behind him.
He saw Baekri-hyang following with a stiff expression, along with a notification that three minutes remained in the possession.
"Baekri-hyang."
"...Y-yes!!"
"The boss is nearby now, so listen carefully. Didn't I tell you to listen well to what Hyeon-seo says?"
As he headed toward the boss location indicated by his Dragon Eyes.
Hwimin spoke gently.
"But what was that earlier? You cut her underwear just because it was uncomfortable? Did I tell you to do that?"
"That is... um... I'm sorry. I thought it would be a shame to miss any part of observing God's swordplay because I was distracted by the chest covering..."
"So that's why you deliberately didn't swing your sword. I didn't want to reward bad behavior and let you pick up bad habits."
The reason he was acting this way was entirely because of Baekri-hyang.
He hadn't given her what she wanted because she had done wrong.
It was something that would make not only Baekri-hyang but Hyeon-seo as well turn pale with shock.
'He showed us something this incredible... just to scold her for that...?'
If you only listened to his words, it sounded like a simple scolding.
But what had he actually done?
He had wiped out monsters while taking a casual stroll.
He had taken their mana and their lives without even lifting a finger.
...Were they really any different from those monsters?
The two didn't think so.
'If Cheol-gang-min ever had any ill intentions, he could single-handedly destroy the entire Cheonghwa Guild.'
'On the other hand, we can't even withstand a single strike from God.'
Their words suddenly grew much fewer.
Even though they were powerful enough to look down on the world, they couldn't raise their heads before him.
To Hwimin, it simply looked like they were reflecting on their actions.
'I've nagged enough. Time to give them some candy.'
"Instead, if you listen well to what Hyeon-seo says from now on, okay?"
Step.
Hwimin walked toward the center of the gate interior.
Baekri-hyang followed closely behind him.
A monster the size of a house—the boss monster of this gate—greeted the two of them.
-Ding!
[Crimson Lizard King]
Level: 643
Weakness: Mana core at the nape of the neck
"Krawwww!!!!!"
Naturally, the boss roared the moment it saw them...
But Hwimin moved with perfect composure.
-Swish.
"I'll show you something like this from time to time."
The hand holding the sword moved toward his hat.
He lightly took it off and tossed it aside.
"Dohwa, stay inside for a bit. Summon release."
"Kyuu."
Dohwa's body melted into the air.
In contrast, Hwimin's transparency was lifted, revealing his true appearance before Baekri-hyang for the first time.
The mask pulled down to his eyes.
The hood on his head.
And finally, the gloves on his hands.
◈ Allows teleporting a held weapon to the opposite hand once every 10 seconds
"...?"
'Those gloves... I don't remember seeing them in the safe zone?'
The gloves clearly looked extraordinary at first glance, so both pairs of eyes naturally turned toward his hands.
Thanks to that, Hwimin's movements were perfectly visible.
"Hup!!"
'Blood Explosion, Space Slash!!'
Shrieeeek—!!!
The sword sliced through the air at incredible speed.
Thanks to the temporary stat increase from the self-damage cost, it sounded almost like thunder.
That alone was earth-shattering,
'Transfer!'
But the sword that had clearly been swinging downward was suddenly aimed at the air again the moment they blinked.
This was the effect of a Unique-grade item.
It required extreme reflexes and swordsmanship proficiency, but in return granted enormous benefits through weapon transfer.
Thanks to it, Hwimin canceled the follow-up motion—the so-called 'after delay'—and swung his sword again.
Almost simultaneously, before the slash he had just fired could even fly out.
"Cross Stitch!!"
Cross Stitch.
The ultimate technique Hwimin had devised before challenging the fourth floor, one that received bonuses from items, traits, and stigmata alike.
Its power was being revealed to the world for the first time.
Krrrrrrraaaaaack—!!!!!
An X-shaped slash tore through the air, carving deep furrows into the ground as it hurtled forward.
Could the boss withstand it?
Of course not.
-Slice.
"...Kwa?"
The Lizard King's armor, its tough hide, its thick bones.
Everything was cut as easily as tofu.
It was a monster that was hard to damage at all unless you struck its weak point, but before overwhelming destructive power, none of that mattered.
And since there was still plenty of power left even after quartering the boss...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
With a sound like a meteor crashing down, it completely shattered the wall behind it.
Dozens of walls were smashed to pieces in succession. The sight was utterly overwhelming.
"What... the..."
"You'll listen well from now on, right?"
"Y-yes!! If it is God's command, of course!!!"
Thanks to that, Baekri-hyang's discipline was sharply corrected.
After witnessing such overwhelming power, she could no longer talk about the pinnacle of swordsmanship or anything of the sort.
"Then behave yourself. I'll show you more from time to time."
'Feels like I'm soothing Serin.'
Even though he had unleashed an attack that could easily collapse an entire building, to him it was on the same level as scolding his little sister.
Something Baekri-hyang and Hyeon-seo would never know.
* * *
The gate began to close the moment the boss fell.
The first thing I did upon seeing that was?
-Pat pat pat!
"Young lady!! What on earth was that roar just now..."
"...!!?"
'My hat!!!'
Hwang Hee-chan came running over in a hurry.
So I immediately snatched up my hat and put it back on.
It was incredibly embarrassing to be caught dressing up only to crouch down and put on a hat, but anyway.
-Whisper.
"Then I'm leaving."
As Baekri-hyang's possession ended and Hyeon-seo's hair color returned to its golden hue.
I turned and walked away without any lingering attachment.
I'd gotten Serin's discharge gift and raised my level a bit, so it was time to head back.
That was all I was thinking, but...
"W-wait! Just a moment!!"
"...Hm?"
Hyeon-seo suddenly called out to me.
Wondering what it was, I turned around.
I immediately came face to face with her.
"Um, excuse me! The fifth floor... are you going to challenge it...?!"
"......"
'Isn't that the least of your problems right now?'
Wow, how embarrassing.