Dungeon & Commander (256): Did Team Leader Kim Jun Learn Something?
Choi Min-su worried that Kim Jun, the team leader, might have learned something.
The more he focused on his own growth, the more he'd inevitably neglect his duties as a leader. Kim Jun might have already fallen into that trap. The mid-sized sword he'd been gripping when he entered the guildhouse earlier was proof of that.
Thud.
Kim Jun slipped out of the influence of the Pacheon Jangbeop at an unexpected speed.
Choi Min-su was startled.
That was definitely Mokhonbo Jungchwi!
He must have been too busy fending off the Pacheon Jangbeop to have a moment's rest, so when had he gathered the power for Jungchwi?
Even more astonishing was how flawlessly smooth his Jungchwi was, as if he'd completely ironed out its weaknesses.
'This guy's fun.'
He gave up on his expectations for Kim Jun as a team leader. That wasn't his role. If it became a problem, Guild Master Yoo Wan-seop would handle the teaching.
For now, he decided to focus solely on Kim Jun the raider.
He planned to enjoy a fight against someone with real potential, properly gauging what the kid could do.
The fierce exchange of blows continued.
Even as he chased Kim Jun like a shadow with Pacheonbo, striking whenever an opening appeared, Kim Jun escaped crises with unexpected directions or movements.
In particular, skills like Po-noe Strike and Cheon Noe Byeok packed quite a punch, forcing even Choi Min-su—with only 20% of his internal energy remaining—to stay cautious. If he learned a wider variety of skills, he'd become far stronger.
'Impressive. Even to me, with all my battle experience... his style feels fresh. Creative, too. The quirky moves I thought were random end up turning the tide. His sense is top-notch. Still, he's got a long way to go. Time to wrap this up.'
Unleashing Pacheonbo, he deployed the Pacheon Jangbeop again, herding Kim Jun into a corner.
Kim Jun's face clearly showed the strain against the swirling palm force, but Choi Min-su only intensified it. Kim Jun was serious, so he had to give his all in return.
That was a tanker's way of acknowledging an opponent.
Kim Jun's Jungchwi was executed impeccably clean. Combined with the core principles of Mokhonbo, it barely saved him from the brink time and again.
Suddenly, Kim Jun whipped his body around and fled.
"What the—?"
This time, Choi Min-su was the one caught off guard. Had he just snapped out of it? Or... had he planned for this timing from the start?
Choi Min-su hurriedly deployed Pacheonbo to close the distance. Kim Jun definitely looked a bit fatigued. Glancing back, he saw Yoo Wan-seop and Yang Hee-seon following along.
Regrettable, but it was time to end it.
Kim Jun was undeniably exceptional. Calling him a cut above his peers among raiders his age wouldn't be wrong.
But as a team leader, he still had much to learn.
Choi Min-su eyed the panting Kim Jun.
It might be tough right now, but in ten years, he'd surely be expedition material.
Today's experience would prove invaluable for Kim Jun down the line.
He approached Kim Jun. To finish it in one blow, he unleashed Myeoloksu, his hand glowing white. His fingertips turned translucent, outlines barely visible.
Just before his extended hand touched the kid's shoulder, an enormous spark filled the space.
"...Damn it!"
At first, he thought it was Kim Jun's skill. But he quickly realized what was happening.
A mana vortex!
A lightning vortex, no less.
Lightning bolts of all sizes, from the floor to the walls, ceiling, and open air, burrowed into his body.
His internal energy wavered, shattering Myeoloksu.
He thrashed to escape, deploying Pacheonbo, but his thighs, knees, and ankles were already wrapped in countless sparks, paralyzed.
Then the unbelievable happened.
Kim Jun, gritting his teeth with a twisted face, moved slowly.
Once out of the vortex zone, he collapsed, sweating profusely and gasping for breath.
Choi Min-su read the "I did it" expression in Kim Jun's eyes and face. Luring him here to the lightning vortex had been the kid's plan from the beginning.
Only then did Choi Min-su realize Kim Jun was a thunder god incarnate.
Otherwise, he couldn't have escaped the lightning vortex. Kim Jun had found the one path to victory.
From the start, deploying big skills like Cheon Noe Byeok had accustomed him to the sparks, blinding him to the vortex zone.
The more he thought about it, the more refined the setup seemed.
He'd fallen into the kid's trap, but his heart was glad instead.
'I've been underrating him piecemeal.'
Kim Jun wasn't some brainless, brute-force charging tank.
As the mana swirling in the vortex zone dissipated, the sparks vanished.
Choi Min-su glanced at Yoo Wan-seop and stepped back. This was enough. The rest was up to Yoo Wan-seop and Yang Hee-seon.
As Yoo Wan-seop stepped forward, Yang Hee-seon spoke.
"You'll handle the finale."
"...Understood."
Yang Hee-seon slowly approached Kim Jun, who had just risen to his feet.
* * *
"A straight fight would be no fun. How about a little bet?"
Yang Hee-seon deliberately struck up conversation to give Kim Jun more time to recover.
"...What kind of bet?"
"If I win, you'll be my client. If I lose, I'll take you as my patron."
Kim Jun burst out laughing at the absurd proposal. The Crazy Buffer chuckled along.
Moments later, a prepared Kim Jun stared at Yang Hee-seon and said,
"Thank you, ma'am. For your consideration."
"Shall we begin, then?"
Yang Hee-seon unleashed Ultimation.
No outward sign appeared, but the supreme buff skill, renowned as the strongest, swiftly filled her entire body.
Many people—even experts—mistakenly thought Ultimation was a buffer-exclusive skill.
In truth, it was simply hard to master and drained mana massively; tanks and dealers could wield it just fine as an all-purpose skill.
'What to start with?'
The moment a good idea struck, her body floated slightly into the air. Hovering about 30 centimeters up, defying gravity, it charged toward Kim Jun.
Kim Jun's eyes went wide.
He threw himself sideways, barely dodging.
"Ph-Phantom Walk!"
"Is it, now?"
Yang Hee-seon mimicked Phantom Walk with Ultimation, then unleashed the Pacheon Jangbeop.
Kim Jun was helplessly pushed back by the majestic, wave-like palm force emanating from her hand.
"...Pacheon Jangbeop!"
Kim Jun shouted.
He even summoned an earth spirit. The potato-like spirit clung to his ankle, sealing his speed.
She hadn't repeated a single skill.
Not just Kim Jun—Yoo Wan-seop and Choi Min-su looked shocked too.
It was understandable. Willfully deploying Ultimation like this... it had been nearly five years, maybe ten.
Ultimation was powerful in its own right but also a vast vessel.
Once one reached the realm of piercing through the mechanisms of magic and martial arts via vast experience and study, they could fill that grand vessel with any skill imaginable.
Of course, it couldn't match the real thing.
Even Yang Hee-seon, an Ultimation master who knew skills inside out, struggled to exceed 70% power.
But as the ultimate meta skill, it let one harness the strengths of every skill.
A single buffer could play fire dealer, ice dealer, even metal tank or green tank roles—its value was inexpressible.
Flustered, Kim Jun fled.
Yang Hee-seon pursued with Phantom Walk.
'Heading for the portal vortex? Too predictable.'
But as she moved to cut him off, Yang Hee-seon was startled.
After fewer than seven steps, Kim Jun vanished in a flash of light.
'This close? No... when did he memorize this timing?'
She couldn't help but admire how Kim Jun had memorized most vortex positions here—and even factored in activation times.
'But Kim Jun, you've picked the wrong opponent this time. It would've been brilliant against anyone else.'
Before entering the portal vortex, Yang Hee-seon spread Ultimation's mana into the zone. Using it, she rearranged the mana swirls to mimic the setup from moments before Kim Jun vanished—as closely as possible.
Her rusty mind creaked back to life with the complex task after so long.
'Perfect.'
Entering the portal vortex zone, mana converged from all sides, enveloping her body.
In that instant, light exploded.
Completing her transit through the rainbow tunnel, Yang Hee-seon spotted Kim Jun slumped against the wall.
Mouth agape, he was pondering how she'd arrived in the same spot via portal vortex.
"H-How?"
Yang Hee-seon smirked and explained Ultimation.
Despite the complexity, Kim Jun grasped the core instantly.
"A meta skill... does that mean a skill that transcends ordinary ones?"
"Exactly."
Excited, Yang Hee-seon spat as she expounded on Ultimation's possibilities.
Kim Jun, with his keen interest in martial arts, got as fired up as the Crazy Buffer. Ultimation—one skill to wield countless others, theoretically all kinds—was irresistibly appealing to him.
Who in the world wouldn't be?
"How can I learn Ultimation?"
The question she'd been waiting for finally came.
"Not easy. Talented folks charge in on talent alone and crash hard—who knows how many? Even entry-level Will Theory is tough."
Yang Hee-seon pictured a trophy fish on the hook. She had to reel at the perfect moment.
Only then would the barb hold.
To make the bait more enticing, she deployed Cheon Noe Byeok right in front of Kim Jun.
Crackle, crackle.
Not comparable to Yeon Chung-jae's version, but a cut above what Kim Jun poured his energy into.
Next, Po-noe Strike!
Kim Jun's jaw dropped.
"Well? Won't you learn Ultimation?"
Yang Hee-seon eyed the fish with the bait in its mouth.
A faint hesitation. Impatience stirred. Bite already—why the delay?
But knowing his reckless streak might hinder skill training, she patiently waited. And waited.
Suddenly, Kim Jun grew calm.
"Ultimation... I won't learn it."
"What? Why the hell not?"
Yang Hee-seon nearly blurted how Lee Hwan—the top raider—had bowed his head, begging to learn it.
Yet he'd refused, seeing it as mere means to power, not an end.
"Sang-taek will learn it."
She was speechless at that answer.
Yeom Sang-taek was the raider she'd taken as a client after losing a bet to Kim Jun. Talented enough, but not heir material for passing down Ultimation.
Kim Jun met her gaze squarely.
"I'm certain Sang-taek can master Ultimation. So I don't need to. And..."
"And what?"
Yang Hee-seon demanded gruffly.
"I want to master even one skill properly—to the end, ideally 100%."
In Kim Jun's sincere eyes and voice, she realized '100%' was the real reason.
Ultimation enabled wielding diverse skills at 70% power. That grated on him.
Mastering even one to perfection was hard enough; settling for 70% across many didn't suit his constitution.
Though things hadn't gone her way, Yang Hee-seon felt good.
In that moment, she understood why she despised Lee Hwan... and cherished Kim Jun.
Lee Hwan treated everything as a tool—use it, discard it like trash when unneeded. Only his name, his honor and pride, mattered supremely.
How he'd wield Ultimation was obvious.
So she'd refused and thrashed him dreamless.
Kim Jun was the opposite.
Despite anyone learning it and its commonality rendering it underused in real fights, he still diligently trained Mokhonbo.
Even after advanced skills like Po-noe Strike, Yeon Ga Shipil Geom, and Cheon Noe Byeok, he treasured Mokhonbo. He'd even mastered the tricky, flaw-ridden Jungchwi, blending it into his style.
He'd keep refining Mokhonbo. He'd delve into its other nuances, mining depths until self-satisfied at 100%... unearthing veins no one else found.
A long-forgotten phrase surfaced.
Master one law, master all.
Perfect one, and countless others follow easily.
In truth, that was Ultimation's essence.
Mastering one skill to comprehend all—that was the sturdy framework achieving Ultimation.