Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Berserker (2)
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“Who did you learn that fist from?”
The moment I heard those words, Mugak naturally came to mind.
“Tsk tsk, you ungrateful brat.”
The self-proclaimed Fist God, the Old Man of Myriad Arts, clicked his tongue, but there was nothing to be done.
My fist derived from my masters in martial legs and advancing fist.
I had gained enlightenment for my fists from the subtleties of Mugak’s leg techniques.
‘I’ll acknowledge what’s worth acknowledging. But in return, you taught me plenty of other good stuff, old timer.’
“Bullshit, you punk.”
The old man crossed his arms and whipped his head away.
Was he sulking?
Even at his advanced age, he was still as cute as ever.
Anyway.
I looked at Jang Dae-woong and asked.
“…Why do you ask?”
It was the kind of question he might have boomed out with a hearty “Kahaha!” under normal circumstances, but his unexpectedly serious demeanor brought our fight to a brief lull.
“That fist of yours—it looks familiar.”
“What? This fist?”
I glanced down at my fist.
“Now that you mention it, didn’t you originally not use fists, little bro?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At my response, Jang Dae-woong lowered his fist and walked over to me.
Woooong!
An aura rose from his body, forming a barrier around us.
A technique to block out the other rankers from overhearing, perhaps?
“Little bro.”
He met my eyes with a subdued gaze.
“Your fist is similar to mine.”
Huh?
My fist was similar to Jang Dae-woong’s?
‘Hmm.’
I pondered it carefully.
Come to think of it, maybe it was?
But still.
Once you reach the pinnacle with fists, don’t they all start looking alike?
“Hmm.”
The old man at my side uncrossed his arms.
“You might’ve been too caught up in close-quarters combat to notice the bigger picture, but you two do look similar. Though the feel is a bit different from my own fist.”
‘Really?’
If that was the case, then what could it be?
Maybe our fists shared the same roots?
“I’d love for it to just be my imagination, but it’s not. Want to know why, little bro?”
“Why’s that?”
“Truth is, this is the first time I’m telling you, but there’s a ghost hanging around me. A very precious ghost who taught me the fist. Well, he throws a fit and insists I not call him something as lowly as a ‘ghost.’”
“…What?”
I widened my eyes.
“Eh?”
The old man shot to his feet in surprise as well.
‘A ghost…’
I glanced at the old man.
“This punk?”
The old man glared with bulging eyes.
“You’re looking at me just because I said ‘ghost,’ huh?”
It was certain.
The Berserker had an existence just like the old man.
Reacting so vehemently to the word ‘ghost’—it was exactly the same!
“Anyway.”
Jang Dae-woong spoke up again.
“That existence has been going on about your fist since earlier. Claims it’s his.”
“…”
“And he said something about your legs too. Called them his senior brother’s legs and wondered what the hell kind of guy this is. I’ve known the guy for quite a while and gotten plenty of help from him—he’s not one to spout nonsense. He’s just even more obsessed with fighting than I am.”
Ah.
It was a shock.
Those words.
They were things only Advancing Fist could say, right?
Which meant.
“Tsk tsk.”
The old man chuckled with a tongue click.
“Looks like there was another bastard just like you. Yeah, back then—that Insect King, Dang Hwi-pyeong. Just like that worm.”
‘Dang Hwi-pyeong…’
That’s right.
Andrei, the high ranker Insect King I’d killed.
That guy had dragged a ghost around with him too, hadn’t he?
It was chilling.
‘Maybe.’
There might be even more high rankers than I thought, each with their own ghosts in tow.
I couldn’t afford to think I was special in this world.
Truth be told, the old man was a reward I’d gotten from a dungeon, wasn’t he?
“That look on your face.”
Jang Dae-woong blinked.
“Does that mean Advancing Fist was right?”
Advancing Fist.
The name had finally come out of Jang Dae-woong’s mouth.
I nodded and said.
“Mugak.”
[Using skill, ‘Lord & King Summon’ (S-rank).]
[Using 10 stamina.]
[‘Mugak’ appears.]
Crackle!
At my call, Mugak appeared.
The summoned Mugak read my emotions and grasped the situation instantly.
“Master, did he really… really just say Advancing Fist?”
I could feel Mugak’s emotions swirling like a vortex.
The two who had settled their final duel in the Martial God’s world.
Were they fated to meet again after all this time?
“Guess it’s true. Whew.”
Jang Dae-woong let out a deep sigh.
Then he clenched his fist tight.
“Little bro.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve probably got a few trump cards hidden away too—ones strong enough to scoff at your current ranking, right?”
Kugugugu….
A rough aura, different from before, began rising from his previously calm body.
“Yeah, I do. Can’t tell you what they are, though.”
A ranker’s trump card was like a spare life.
No matter how close we were, I couldn’t reveal my divine slayer-grade weapons or the old man’s existence.
“Mind if I get your permission first? Even if I show you something that surpasses my current ranking.”
“…”
What Jang Dae-woong meant was simple.
He might hurt me with this move—what did I think?
“Of course. You think I’m ranked 10th for nothing?”
I replied boldly.
If his hidden ace was Advancing Fist, it was still far below my own trump cards.
“Then I’ll show you.”
Kugagaga!
The ground shook as the barrier vanished.
“My trump card…”
No, rather than vanishing.
Not a single strand of that aura remained outside—it had all been drawn back into Jang Dae-woong’s body.
And then.
Flash!
Radiance burst from his eyes.
Berserker.
Secret art.
Advancing Fist Descent.
Kwagagaga!
The Berserker transformed.
Into the man who had once vied for the top spot among the first generation in the Martial God’s world.
Mugak’s junior brother, Advancing Fist.
* * *
Advancing Fist.
The man who had risen to the top of the universe with his fists.
Kuooh…!
His aura alone was unmistakably on par with an Apostle’s.
“Crazy?!”
“That aura’s insane!”
“Everyone, fall back!”
The rankers who’d been munching popcorn and spectating scrambled into defensive stances.
Swaaaa!
The fierce wind pressure swept through the space, sending even the seated Baek Don tumbling backward.
“It’s incredible!”
Lee Seon-ah cried out as she slashed her sword through the air.
“Enough to send that heavy lump Baek Don rolling back.”
“Damn it, shut up!”
Baek Don, furrowing his brow, took position behind Lee Seon-ah.
The transformed Berserker’s aura was truly formidable.
None of the hunters here were weak, yet they were all retreating.
“Fuck, is this really just for show? We’ll get killed just watching!”
As Baek Don grumbled, Lee Seon-ah chuckled.
“They say even a duel between regular high rankers can level a city. And here we’ve got two even stronger ones fighting. You should’ve expected this much.”
“I did, but this is overkill! And look at that!”
Baek Don pointed at the Berserker.
“You ever seen Dae-woong hyung like that?”
“…No. But one thing’s for sure.”
Lee Seon-ah gave a wry smile.
“What’s that?”
“The fight about to happen will be priceless study you won’t see again in your lifetime.”
* * *
“Master.”
At Mugak’s call, I nodded.
“Can I step in this time?”
Even in his polymorphed skeleton form, I could feel the excitement on his face.
“It might be dangerous. As you know, your current body isn’t at its peak.”
“I know. And the same goes for Advancing Fist.”
“…”
It was astonishing.
Had the Berserker truly possessed his ghost?
If that was possible, it was straight-up cheating.
Advancing Fist was Apostle-grade (SS-rank) power.
And his strength was the real deal.
‘Why don’t I have something like that?’
The other guy’s rice cakes always look bigger.
I was a little jealous of the Berserker.
It’d be nice if I had an old man possession trick too.
‘Of course.’
The thought of the old timer entering my body felt a bit weird.
Ew, gross?
Goosebumps prickled on my arms—my body was rejecting it?
“This punk! You’re not even thinking about sharing rice cakes, yet you’re already sipping kimchi soup?”
The old man teased with a laugh.
“Anyway, let’s watch. This’ll be fun. Mugak and Advancing Fist, meeting again here of all places. Isn’t it interesting?”
‘Yeah, let’s see.’
What more was there to say?
No one here wanted to see this more than I did.
“Senior brother. Is it really you, senior brother?”
Jang Dae-woong—no, Advancing Fist—muttered in a voice unlike his own.
“Advancing Fist.”
Mugak paused, then let out a long breath.
“How did you end up there?”
A dead soul wandering another world as a ghost.
That clearly meant he had regrets from his previous life.
“What regret was so great that you haunt the world in that form?”
“What do you think, senior brother?”
Jang Dae-woong.
No, Advancing Fist grinned.
“This fist.”
He clenched his fist and raised it.
“The regret that this fist couldn’t claim supremacy. And thanks to you, senior brother. Heh, you have no idea how happy I am right now.”
His expression, baring white teeth in a smile, looked truly blissful.
“I was just…”
Advancing Fist continued.
“…thinking of making the Jang Dae-woong here the strongest. In my place. To fulfill my dream…”
However.
“But if you’re here, senior brother? If we can meet, even in a moment like this? That changes everything.”
“…”
“Senior brother.”
His desire surged toward Mugak as battle spirit.
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
Vast fighting spirit erupted around his body.
Swish.
Mugak calmly accepted the pressure and quietly assumed his stance.
Advancing Fist spoke.
“Let’s fight again. Under the same conditions as back then—the same state, the same environment.”
His proposal.
Forget the power gap here.
A pure clash of skill against skill.
“…”
Mugak fell silent.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“Advancing Fist.”
“Speak, senior brother.”
“If I fight you, will your regret finally be laid to rest?”
Advancing Fist nodded.
“Yeah.”
Even in death, he couldn’t forget.
The day he fell to Mugak’s legs.
The day he failed to become an Apostle.
He had become a lingering spirit because of Mugak’s legs, and soon after, perished as a guest in a strange land.
When he opened his eyes after a long time, this world awaited.
“Of course, I’ll win.”
Advancing Fist raised his fist.
Kuaaa!
Overwhelming pressure poured toward Mugak once more.
“With this fist. I’ll crush your legs, senior brother.”
Mugak, receiving the pressure, quietly bowed his head.
“Is that so? Well, that could happen.”
He murmured in a calm voice.
A strange silence settled over the arena.
How much time passed?
“But sorry.”
Mugak raised his head again.
“I am Mugak. Servant of the Skeleton Emperor, and his Apostle.”
“Apostle…?”
“Sadly, your junior brother’s regret will never be fulfilled.”
Swish!
Mugak lifted his leg.
At the same time, he clenched his fist.
A resolve to use both fist and leg.
“For my master… I won’t lose to anyone…!”
“You’ll know once we clash—long or short. You think I’m the same as back then? I haven’t been slacking either, senior brother!”
Pazzzik!
A prickling tension enveloped the space.
As their glares reached their peak.
Kugagaga!
Mugak and Advancing Fist charged at each other and collided.
Thus.
The brothers’ showdown, after a full century, began.