Chapter 139: Sparring with Isabella
Isabella.
She's no pushover.
Even with my stats boosted a ton from titles and accessories, facing her barehanded would be straight-up suicide.
You could tell just by looking at her fingers.
‘Flashy.’
I'd only just snagged two ancient-grade rings myself.
But Isabella's fingers were on another level.
Each one had a seriously impressive ring slipped on it.
A few of them were famous items even I recognized.
Like the standout accessories: the Ring of the Dark Martial Artist and the Phoenix Ring.
[Ring of the Dark Martial Artist]
[Grade: Ancient]
[Level Restriction: 800+, Martial Artist class]
[The ring left behind by the legendary martial artist who danced in the shadows.]
[Effect 1. Strength, Agility, Vitality +150]
[Effect 2. Critical hit chance +30%]
[Effect 3. Critical damage +100%]
[Effect 4. Nullifies one fatal attack (Cooldown: 30 days)]
[Phoenix Ring]
[Grade: Ancient]
[Level Restriction: 900+, Martial Artist class]
[The ring containing the power of the phoenix, the iconic being that endlessly repeats death and rebirth.]
[Effect 1. Strength, Agility, Vitality +150]
[Effect 2. When HP drops below 30%, the phoenix's blessing envelops your body. For 10 seconds, attack power +50%, movement speed +30%, healing received +50%]
[Effect 3. Killing an enemy charges 1 Flame Energy. Consuming 30 Flame Energy boosts the next attack's damage by 150%.]
High level restrictions.
Ancient grade.
And class-exclusive accessories to boot—that perfect combo produced performance like this.
Word was she'd gotten them by risking her life to clear a hidden gate.
Isabella was an awakener who embodied the pinnacle of gear advantages, wrapped head to toe in items like these.
Standing in the training hall, she looked at me and said,
“Equipment?”
“All geared up, of course.”
“You'll be at a disadvantage.”
“We use gear in gates too, don't we?”
She nodded in satisfaction at that.
The goal was to see if I could perform inside a hidden gate.
What good is fighting well barehanded?
We weren't going to skip gear in the gate.
An awakener's equipment was part of their skill. She'd asked ahead just in case anyone griped about it.
‘Mindset's solid.’
That's when I grinned and said,
“And it's not like I'm the one at a disadvantage.”
“…?”
My familiar summons appeared beside me.
Merhen and Cedric.
Isabella knew them too. I handed gear over to both.
Legend-grade stuff I'd swept up at the auction house.
Cedric got armor and gauntlets.
Merhen got shoes and a hat.
“Put 'em on.”
Cedric, checking the details, nodded in approval.
Ulpaululu Forest.
Seemed like yesterday he was wearing rags.
Not anymore.
Legend grade.
Level restrictions all 250+, so they looked damn good too.
―Finally got something decent.
“Think legend-grade items are easy to snag?”
―Right. Cedric doesn't appreciate your hard work, Minwoo. You dress us, feed us, house us. Right?
“Damn straight.”
What a good little summon.
Reward for the sweet talk.
“Here, earrings too.”
―Whoa! Pretty!
Legend-grade earrings from the auction. Merhen's eyes sparkled.
―You did good, Minwoo!
She lunged in for a hug.
Cedric glanced over slyly and asked,
―… Nothing for me?
“Hang on.”
I tossed him a ring.
Melee class exclusive.
He caught it neatly, checked the details, and slipped it onto his bony finger with satisfaction.
[Cedric equips the Ring of the Barbarian Warlord…]
[Cedric equips the Giant's Armor…]
[Cedric equips the Black Drake Gauntlets…]
[Merhen equips the Elegant Soul Earrings…]
[Merhen equips the Clever Ogre Mage King Hat…]
[Merhen equips the Magic Ghost Boots…]
Lower quality than Isabella's ancient gear fest?
Then win on quantity.
I geared up too.
[Equipping the Plague Lord's Gauntlets…]
[Equipping Mourant's Elegy!]
[Equipping Wraith Step…]
[Equipping the Chill Heart Ring…]
Armor: Mourant's Elegy.
Shoes: Wraith Step.
Gauntlets: Plague Lord's Gauntlets.
Ring: Chill Heart Ring.
No helmet or pants, so rare items patched those.
I looked at Isabella.
“Not bad, right?”
“Your summons are living large. Not calling more?”
I shook my head.
Crazy to summon the small fry.
Just look at the Phoenix Ring.
It charges Flame Energy on kills.
Pull out skeletons, and one swipe would trigger massive explosion damage.
Against a monster like Isabella, basic summons meant nothing.
At best.
―Grooo.
Dolsae might make a difference.
A pure white gauntlet appeared over her hand.
Martial God's Gauntlets (Ancient).
Her signature weapon, practically.
Pitch-black night.
But the training hall was lit up bright.
Besides, awakeners at our level barely noticed the dark.
“Shall we start?”
“Sure. Here I come.”
[Death Ground (S) activated!]
[All allied undead stats +20%…]
Isabella's form slid forward.
[Dolsae uses Provocation (A) on Isabella…]
[The gap is immense…]
[Isabella uses Titan Strike (S)…]
Boom!
A punch that crushed the golem golem-and-shield.
One hit, and sturdy Dolsae evaporated.
I winced at the sight.
‘Stats are insane.’
Humans average 4 stats per level.
Isabella was over level 1,000, bloated further by gear, elixirs, and titles.
Every stat looked late 2,000s easy.
‘Still, doable.’
With my titles and ancient rings, I was around 1,000 stats.
Victory's Law.
Even without monster-exclusive titles triggering, enough to try something.
[Curse of Aging (D)+9…]
[Title 'Weird Glutton' activates!]
[Abnormal status: Curse devoured!]
‘Curse bounces off.’
Merhen unleashed her magic.
Lightning, fire, wind.
Every element whipped up.
[Isabella uses Swift Response (S)!]
[Isabella uses Dance of Annihilation (S)!]
[Isabella uses Iron Man (S)+9…]
Overwhelming stat gap let her dodge or shatter them all, closing in. France's love child, S-grade +9 Iron Man, made her body tougher than diamond.
Magic hits left just scorch marks.
Knowing that, she boldly charged straight at Merhen.
Cedric and I.
Undead and human locked eyes, nodded, and charged.
Isabella's durability was unreal.
Ancient gear covered every inch.
To grab her?
Disable piece by piece.
‘Break the gear first. Especially the gauntlets.’
Perfect target, that gauntlet.
She had to bring it up to punch.
She'd close distance herself, making stacked hits easier.
Shatter it, and she'd be down to fists or feet.
Death Sword Qi poured out from Death Swordsmanship.
Shadow Spear and Dragon Strike loaded spear swung too.
Ignoring the sword qi, she picked one spear shadow and thrust her hand.
Cedric spun his spear into the gauntlet.
Clang!
14x damage spear smash.
Gauntlet twitched—perfect, I slammed down with Death Sword.
[Hit the same spot! Damage +11%…]
Her other fist flew at my face.
[Merhen uses Water Stickiness (SS)…]
Splat!
No matter how tough the body.
Couldn't stop the stickiness slowing her.
‘Right on cue.’
Cedric speared again, slowing her more.
In that gap, I barely dodged and smashed the opposite gauntlet with my sword.
[Hit the same spot! Damage +11%…]
Exact same spot as Cedric—stacked hit applied.
Cedric's levels upped his spearwork precision.
We could sync this well.
Then.
Isabella leaped back, frowning.
“… What the hell are you doing?”
“Can't you tell?”
“Hah.”
Eyes narrowed like her pride stung.
Nothing weird about it.
Stacked attacks?
Twist the spot a bit, and stacks cancel—judgment's picky.
Normally, you don't even try without huge skill gap.
But trying it on her?
With summons teaming up, three vs. one?
Steam from her ears, no doubt.
She exhaled in disbelief, but only for a moment.
“… From now on, just hands. Come on. If you can.”
[Isabella uses High-Speed Offense-Defense (S)!]
Faster onslaught.
I swiftly parried the gauntlet with my sword.
Thud!
[Hit the same spot! Damage +22%…]
['Digging One Hole' title…]
Parried the prior hit spot—stacks built again.
Cedric's spear and Death Sword clashed with Martial God's Gauntlets at hyperspeed, sparks flying.
Merhen wasn't idle.
[Water Prison (SS)…]
[Earth Bind (SS)…]
Earning those earrings, spamming spells to harass Isabella.
Slowing her intermittently—tricky as hell.
Damage stacking on both gauntlets over time.
Isabella frowned like she'd seen the impossible.
Stat gap was crushing.
Yet her two summons precisely covered it.
Magic and spear aided every opening, buying time.
She dodged attacks razor-thin, like she accounted for it.
‘Reading my moves.’
Nothing else explained summons enabling that.
Both sides hit six times already.
Blades clung like leeches despite my feints.
‘What the actual fuck…’
She bit her lip.
Worse, stacks got smoother over time.
First time facing this, Isabella panicked.
Her moves grew sloppy in haste.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Shocked by rising damage, she retreated hastily.
“Wait, hold up.”
Rubbing her mouth over the gauntlets.
Wanted to say something, but pride blocked it.
I eased her pain.
“What, planning to use feet too?”
Her face flushed hot.
But only briefly.
She nodded.
More clashes risked the gauntlets.
Pride bruised, but no choice.
Lips gritted, she said,
“… Sorry for going back on it. Hands alone won't cut it.”
“No sweat. Martial artists don't just use hands anyway.”
“… Thanks for understanding. Now, I'll go all out.”
… All out?
That instant.
[Isabella uses Time of Genius (SS)!]
[Time perception slows dramatically!]
[Isabella uses Martial Arts Master (SS)!]
[All martial skills massively boosted for 10 minutes!]
[Martial God's Gauntlets activate! 'Martial God Descent'…]
[Heartless Hermit's Necklace activates… 'Carnage Feast'…]
[Empress Armor activates…]
[Dance of the Wind activates…]
[Judgment's Wrath…]
[Dark Requiem…]
Recently S-to-SS upgraded skills.
Plus ancient gear embedded skills, all flashing off spectacularly.
In a blink.
Boom!
Cedric exploded, reverse-summoned.
Next, Merhen.
Isabella bolted at her the second Cedric popped—annoyed by constant magic.
Merhen hastily cast defense.
But one kick packed with insane stats reverse-summoned her instantly.
All in about 1 second.
Before legion commanders resummoned, Isabella was in my face.
‘Whoa, shit.’
Cheating?
Legion commanders' sacrifice bought just enough time to raise my sword.
But even that barely mattered.
Kwang!
Fist met sword—my body flew far, slamming down.
No flowing or blocking.
Speed beyond handling.
“Cough!”
I spat blood.
Vicious hit.
Isabella closed in, fist halted inches away, staring.
“GG. I lose.”
Hands up, I said.
Her brutal stats plus gear.
To win? Golden skeleton dragon mount Cedric, maybe.
Even hearing defeat, Isabella's face stayed dark.
Like something seriously bugged her.
“… Level?”
“270.”
“Stats?”
“Early 1,000s.”
Two ancient rings gave +200 all stats, plus percent titles—showed that.
“But how'd you pull that off?”
“Skill, duh.”
She stared, baffled.
“So, verdict?”
“… Impressed by summon synergy. Level up… and you'd be fine.”
I nodded.
Five months in.
She was a decade-plus world-class ranker.
This gap?
Expected.
“Level up and join later, then. Europe, cool?”
She stared, then nodded.
Not forcing in unqualified—no issue.
I'd confirmed: fully polished skill.
Just.
“… Don't take too long.”
“Four months tops. Levels fly up.”
“Got it. I'll head out.”
Straight to the door.
Blunt as hell.
“Hold on. That busy?”
“Why?”
“If not crazy busy, how about a promo line before you go?”
“Promo?”
“Top pay.”
Her brands screamed world-best.
True too.
Her in Ilsung ads?
Flip perceptions overnight. She's in Korea—why not work a bit?
“… Money's meaningless.”
“Even 5,000 won matters. Lesson learned?”
Sad memory? Her brow furrowed.
Briefly.
She countered.
“Money aside. Does Ilsung have world-class products?”
“Soon. One dropping.”
Enlightenment lit a fire under Dr. Kim's battery. Prototype in days, he hinted.
Plan: plaster promo worldwide.
Perfect, Isabella here.
She pondered.
Offers flooded her.
Too packed for training time.
Squeezed this night visit from nothing.
She knew midnight drop-ins were rude. Just no other way to visit Korea.
That busy.
Answer set.
“Sorry, I'm swamped too…”
“You like fighting, right? Wanna meet Korea's 1st-gen awakeners?”
“…1st-gen?”
“Yeah. Ones who retired legends when you started gates. Like Sword Sage.”
“…!”
Her eyes lit up. Korea's 1st-gens were once world's top dogs.
Sword Sage especially.
Old soldiers never die.
Level 80s, new records.
No swordsman claims to top him still.
Of course interested.
“… You can really set it up?”
“Sure. Got connections. Late—crash here, I'll intro.”
Divine Spear, Venom Demon, Fist King too—set bonuses.