Chapter 263: It Wouldn't Be Any Fun
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 263: It Wouldn't Be Any Fun
As Adelaide Margarita spent a considerable amount of time battling synthetic monsters that seemed impossible to kill, the spectators watching from the outside were all sharing a similar sentiment.
"Is it... really alright to leave things as they are?"
At Skaeda Justitia’s question, Murit Denshter tilted his head as if puzzled. The combat style displayed in the beginning was remarkably similar to the battle Murit had witnessed through his skill.
For the first few encounters, it seemed as though he would face Adelaide directly, but at some point, he had begun to pressure her using subordinates—whether they should be called summons or golems was unclear.
Each of them was a powerful entity, possessing combat power equivalent to the Titanium Grade. While he traversed the ground at supersonic speeds, he had even scattered surveillance monsters into the sky.
‘What kind of skill is that, exactly?’
That subspace was not merely a separate world isolated from reality. The mana consumed within it was drawn from the real world, and the physical damage sustained by the two participants was not an illusion, but actual injury.
To perfectly replicate an Orichalcum-grade explorer within a subspace, one would need a mage far superior to the subject, so there was no other way.
"Well, let's just keep watching for now."
The Chief Examiners, staff, and the surrounding Palladium- and Titanium-grade explorers were all left speechless. The birth of a new Orichalcum-grade explorer—they had imagined a sublime, cataclysmic battle. Or perhaps a strategic tug-of-war where neither side held the upper hand.
But there was no such thing. If it was a battle of wits, Adelaide had already lost. The same went for the battle of numbers. While the majority of the evaluation was that Yoo Eon’s own combat power remained a mystery since it hadn't been fully revealed, the fact that he had already created over a dozen summons capable of cornering Adelaide was proof enough of his qualification for the Orichalcum Grade.
— I suspect his main body might be weak.
— Didn't you see that? When he turned into that strange triangular shape and charged. Sir Margarita was sent flying in an instant.
— Use your head. If he could maintain such a powerful state indefinitely, why would he call out summons?
— So you're saying the duration is short.
— I don't think that's necessarily the case...
The other explorers were locked in a heated debate, arguing whether his true self was weak or if he could exert great power but only for a short duration.
The three Chief Examiners, who had never seen such a combat pattern before, were equally breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Skaeda. What do you think? Could you win?"
"Against Mr. Aven? Hmm..."
Skaeda Justitia. As one of only six Orichalcum-grade explorers existing on the surface, she was confident she wouldn't lose even in a five-on-one fight against ordinary Titanium-grade explorers.
Since her abilities were better suited for suppressing multiple enemies rather than one-on-one combat, she didn't estimate her win rate against Yoo Eon to be low.
"I think I could do it."
"Really? Hmm."
However, Murit, who had seen Yoo Eon’s battle through his skill, knew better. He knew for a fact that the man was nowhere near using his full strength. Even while storming against Lilith Astaroth, he had maintained a mechanical, calculated war of attrition without a hint of impatience.
"Still, Adelaide hasn't unleashed her true power yet. We'll have to see."
* * *
— Rattle!!
"Phew...! You persistent pests...!!"
The battlefield was a scene where black basalt had been ground into dust. The surrounding area was already so drenched in blood that it reached the ankles.
Adelaide Margarita had spent an hour and a half relentlessly defending herself against the synthetic monsters that threw themselves at her. Finally, she had hacked them into pieces, ensuring they could never rise again.
"Ha... Hahaha! Is this all! Aven—!!"
She had consumed nearly 80 percent of her mana. If the synthetic monsters Yoo Eon summoned had held out even a little longer, her skills would have begun to flicker out one by one, potentially leading to a truly dire situation.
Struggling to stand in the pool of blood, Adelaide gripped her sword once more and trudged out of the battlefield littered with chunks of meat.
"Did you hide because you were scared—?!!! Have you run out of ways to protect yourself—!!!"
With a dry, cracked voice, Adelaide leaned on her sword, pressing the tip into the ground, and squeezed out her remaining strength to provoke Yoo Eon.
And at that moment.
— Splash...
The blood pooling on the ground suddenly began to move as if possessed by a will of its own, converging toward Adelaide.
"What on earth is...?"
The liquid defied gravity, flowing upward toward the high ground. The finely minced piles of meat began to wriggle, swelling in size as they devoured nearby bone fragments and entrails.
Before long, the mass of flesh coalesced into the form of a five-meter-tall giant standing beside Adelaide.
"What—"
KABOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!
The speed and power were incomparable to anything before. In the blink of an eye, Adelaide was struck by the giant's right fist and slammed into a wall. As the giant made of flesh raised its left hand, the blood on the ground rose into the air and took shape.
"A-Augh...!"
A cage made of crimson blood was held in its left hand. The giant seized Adelaide’s head with its massive thumb and forefinger and tossed her into the cage.
— Thud!
With almost no strength left, Adelaide was helpless. She tumbled into the cage, barely managing to keep hold of her sword.
The giant's legs, composed of thick, elephant-like masses of muscle, bulged grotesquely. With a thunderous roar, its massive frame soared into the sky.
— Boom!
They landed on the peak of a distant, yet-unbroken mountain. The heavy body crushed the basalt summit upon impact. Inside, Adelaide lay sprawled in the cage like a piece of wet paper.
"There we go."
Yoo Eon remarked, sounding entirely unimpressed by the sight. Adelaide, clutching her throbbing head, painfully lifted her chin to look up at him.
"How cowardly..."
The blood cage partially opened, and the giant tilted it, shaking Adelaide out like a rag doll onto the ground.
"Was the condition for ending the battle incapacitation or a declaration of defeat? Or perhaps reaching the two-hour time limit."
Yoo Eon was currently in his ordinary human form. He brought over a reasonably sized rock to sit on and looked down at the fallen Adelaide.
"It seems the Guild doesn't consider you incapacitated yet, Adelaide?"
"I... I can still fight..."
"Being able to fight and being able to win are two different things, Adelaide."
Despite her being near death, the Guild Headquarters had not yet issued an incapacitation ruling. Yoo Eon didn't particularly mind; he wanted to hear the declaration of defeat from Adelaide’s own lips.
"I am right here, Adelaide. If you can still fight, then stand up."
"You... don't have to tell me—"
Thump—!
Just as she plunged her sword into the ground to push herself up, the giant's foot descended onto her back. The weight of a single leg, weighing approximately 740kg, crushed her down. Under normal circumstances, she might have endured, but in her current state, there was no way she could overcome such weight.
"Gah...!"
"It breaks my heart to watch this. Let's end it here."
Yoo Eon let out a deep sigh as he looked at Adelaide, who was pinned to the ground. She remained silent under the giant's foot.
Yoo Eon approached her, signaled the giant to move its foot, and reached down to grab her shoulder to pull her up.
— Slash...!!
"You let your guard down, Aven."
The primary reason the Guild Headquarters had not yet declared Adelaide Margarita incapacitated:
She had not yet used her skill that redistributed her remaining mana, muscle tension, and mental fatigue to return her to peak condition.
She had not yet used Prime Legacy.
— Thud..!
In a flash, the giant that had been pinning her down was diced into five-centimeter cubes, collapsing to the ground. Simultaneously, the right arm Yoo Eon had extended toward her shoulder was severed.
— Shink!
As Yoo Eon crouched momentarily from the attempt to help her up, Adelaide’s sword came to rest coldly against the side of his neck. With a smirk, she tilted her chin up and spoke.
"It seems to me you were far too overconfident in your own power. I'm afraid the Orichalcum Grade might be out of your reach."
Adelaide, restored to her peak physical state, spoke to Yoo Eon.
"Don't be too discouraged. You could just say you had bad luck with your opponent."
"Haha."
Yoo Eon let out a hollow laugh at her words. Still in his seated position, he listened to her and gave a calm nod.
"Actually, I was debating something."
"Oh? And what would that be? Confiding your worries to a superior opponent is always a shortcut to growth."
Assuming her victory was certain, Adelaide spoke grandly. Yoo Eon slowly stood up from his spot.
"I was worried you might collapse from just the summons alone, Adelaide."
"What an absurd concern. I wouldn't fall to such—"
— Grip..!!
"Gack..!!"
"Thank you, Adelaide."
A bizarre black arm had suddenly seized Adelaide by the throat from behind and hoisted her up. It possessed a monstrous grip strength that even she, in her peak condition, found impossible to withstand.
Yoo Eon’s body, which had been twisting grotesquely, was now covered in pitch-black armor and shrouded in crimson flames as he looked at her.
"It wouldn't be any fun... if it ended like this."