Chapter 248
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 248.
—Sssssss!
—Groooaar!
The Kodogos that burst through the ceiling inflicted massive damage on the casino.
The building's critical facilities were destroyed, and in the process, the trapped fighters and monsters were freed.
“Now’s our chance! Run!”
“Ignore the monsters and just go!”
The fighters sprinted out of the casino without a second thought.
—Kyaaaaak!
“W-what is this?! Aaah!”
“Do something about those things!”
The monsters vented their fury on the humans who had imprisoned them.
The casino staff were too busy trying to quell the chaos to do anything else.
Which meant…
“No one’s coming to save you.”
“Ugh… uuuuh….”
There was no one left to help Gold Rich.
Tugwi lifted Gold Rich by the throat, his body battered and broken.
And then—Crunch!
“Ghk!”
With a single motion, Tugwi snapped Gold Rich’s neck and tossed the corpse aside.
Right then, debris from the collapsing ceiling crashed down on top of it.
“Damn bastard. I don’t know what you were trying to do, but interfering with my fight…”
An act deserving of death.
Tugwi growled as he scanned his surroundings. This was the fight he had dreamed of, yet it had ended in such an ambiguous way.
‘I can’t let it end like this.’
Right now, Tugwi was in a state of unquenchable rage.
And the only way to quell this rage was to fight Yoo Baek-jun.
Tugwi sensed the flow of magical energy around him, searching for Yoo Baek-jun’s location.
“Yoo Baek-jun!”
“Huff!”
Finally, he found him.
Yoo Baek-jun was in the middle of retrieving the dice and attempting to leave the casino.
Their eyes met.
“So that’s where you were!”
The moment he spotted his target, Tugwi’s eyes gleamed as he charged forward.
Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue and broke into a run.
“Master! That lunatic’s chasing us!”
“I know! Just run for now! Hey, where did you put the Kodogo for escape!"
—Ugh… ugh…
Seol-yeong’s eyes spun dizzily, likely from how fast Yoo Baek-jun was moving.
Yoo Baek-jun and Han Seong-ah sprinted in the direction it pointed.
Just then, the Kodogo came into view.
“Where do you think you’re going?! Fight me!”
“Fight you in this mess? Hell no.”
Yoo Baek-jun unleashed Moon cleaver upward, completely obliterating the ceiling.
Debris rained down from the shattered ceiling, but Yoo Baek-jun’s Cold aura and Frozen Soul Palm froze the fragments in place, blocking the path.
By the time Tugwi broke through—
“Tugwi! You want to settle this, don’t you?!”
Yoo Baek-jun was already aboard the Kodogo with the others.
He pointed his spear at Tugwi.
“Then come to your mansion! I’ll be waiting for you there!”
“My mansion? Grr!”
Tugwi swatted away the spear hurled at him.
The Kodogo carrying Yoo Baek-jun burst through the ceiling, ascending back upward.
It was too late to chase.
“Why tell me to wait there?”
And at someone else’s mansion, no less.
Tugwi tilted his head in confusion before suddenly laughing.
“Well, at least I’ll get to fight again. Kehehe.”
With a sinister chuckle, he turned away. Meanwhile, Yoo Baek-jun, riding the Kodogo back to the surface, let out a sigh.
“We’re gonna fight until we’re sick of it.”
And that premonition would soon become reality.
***
Yoo Baek-jun returned to the mansion.
The first-generation Tugwi, who had been left alone in the vast estate, greeted him and Han Seong-ah.
—Oh, you’re back. So, what happened to my useless grandson?
“I’ve cured his gambling addiction, for now.”
—Cured it?! Amazing, truly amazing! Then where is he now?
“I think he should be arriving soon…”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced behind him.
Boom! Crash!
A series of destruction sounds echoed from outside.
And moments later—
“Where are you?! Come out right now!”
Tugwi kicked down the mansion’s front gate, making his grand entrance.
“…See? He’s here.”
—Oh, ohhh. How in the world…?!
“Well, I got him to come home, and the casino’s wrecked, so he won’t be gambling for a while.”
Yoo Baek-jun held out his hand.
“Now, about the reward you promised me.”
—Right, I should give it to you. I really should.
“Otherwordly traveler! Fight me!”
—Is now really the time for that?
“……”
The shouting continued from behind.
Yoo Baek-jun turned his head and saw Tugwi grinning with unbridled bloodlust.
Han Seong-ah stepped in front of him.
“If you’re so desperate to fight, I’ll take you on. You battle-crazed demon.”
“Hmph!”
Tugwi stared at Han Seong-ah gripping her sword before scoffing.
“You’re decent. But you’re no match for me. Step aside!”
“We’ll see about that.”
“I don’t go easy on the weak.”
“Good. We think alike. I won’t go easy on you either.”
The tension was palpable.
The old man looked at Yoo Baek-jun as if urging him to do something, and he let out a sigh.
—Why don’t you fight him properly? I’m sure you’ll gain something from it.
The old man’s words carried a subtle push.
‘I can’t be bothered. But…’
There was something to gain from fighting.
An additional reward, so to speak. Considering that, it might be worth it.
Yoo Baek-jun stepped forward.
“One match. There’s a training hall in the basement—let’s go there.”
“Master!”
“So you’ve decided to fight after all!”
Mixed reactions followed.
Yoo Baek-jun pushed the protesting Han Seong-ah aside and gestured for Tugwi to follow.
Their destination: the basement.
“Let’s fight! Hurry up!”
“……”
Yoo Baek-jun led the roaring Tugwi underground.
Han Seong-ah watched their retreating figures.
“Like a pig being led to slaughter…”
—Ooom…
The two stared with pity in their eyes.
And shortly after—
Boom! Crash!
Deafening explosions echoed from below.
The sounds of Yoo Baek-jun and Tugwi fighting.
And those sounds continued nonstop, well into the night…
***
The battle between Tugwi and Yoo Baek-jun stretched on for nearly two full days.
Naturally, the winner was—
“Guh… ugh…”
“Huff… you’re so annoying.”
Yoo Baek-jun.
“Losing once should’ve been enough, but you kept begging for more… Ugh!”
Originally, the fight should’ve ended yesterday.
But Tugwi refused to let it end there, demanding a rematch.
As a result, they fought for two whole days.
“Master, you’ve worked hard.”
Yoo Baek-jun wasn’t unscathed either.
Tugwi was nearly his equal. Winning without injury was impossible.
Han Seong-ah approached and began treating his wounds.
—Lick, lick.
“Don’t lick it. It hurts.”
He pushed Seol-yeong’s head away as it pretended to help by licking his wounds.
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled deeply. The blood boiling from Blood flow Acceleration gradually settled.
—I never thought you’d actually beat him.
The old man, who had watched the entire fight, marveled.
—I always knew you were a monster, but wow! To defeat him?
“Did you think I’d lose?”
Yoo Baek-jun smirked. The old man burst into laughter.
—Don’t get so prickly. Now, can’t you feel it? Something inside you has changed.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
—Then let me help you realize it.
The old man placed a hand on Yoo Baek-jun.
A faint glow emanated from his fingertips, flowing into Yoo Baek-jun.
“Hng!”
Yoo Baek-jun grimaced.
It felt like his blood was boiling—similar to using Blood flow Acceleration, but different.
—I don’t know how blood similar to mine flows in your body, but fighting him must’ve activated it.
He was right.
Yoo Baek-jun checked the message before him, confirming that his trait had changed.
[Tugwi’s Blood (S)]
—The blood of a battle-crazed demon flows within you.
—Due to the unique influence of this blood, your physique and diantans have grown remarkably stronger, granting you unique combat instincts.
—Combat skills, particularly those related to kicks, become faster and more lethal.
—As Tugwi’s blood awakens, you gain a genius-level intuition for manipulating Magic.
Tugwi’s Blood had risen by one grade.
Enhanced physique and diantans—whether because of this or not, his stats had increased.
And the intuition for Magical manipulation.
—With this, you’ll be able to master the techniques passed down in our family.
The old man pressed a hand to Yoo Baek-jun’s forehead.
Knowledge flowed into his mind, piece by piece.
[Aura techniques (S-1★)]
—The martial arts used by Tugwi.
—Using his unique combat instincts and magic manipulation, he created a unique fighting style.
—Incorporates fist techniques, kick techniques, and various skills utilizing aura.
*Aura Install: Coats the entire body in magical like armor or equips it to specific body parts as gear. Enhances physical abilities and increases skill potency.
*Aura Orb: Creates spheres of magic to attack enemies.
*Aura Burst: Condenses magic into fists or feet for versatile offensive applications.
*Lion’s Roar: Unleashes a deafening roar, applying debuffs to nearby enemies and paralyzing weaker foes.
Only four skills.
But all of them were incredibly useful.
‘How many points would this be worth?’
For a named entity like Tugwi, it would easily exceed 5,000 points.
—There are more techniques, but they aren’t things you can learn just by receiving knowledge.
“They take time to master?”
—Yes. The problem is, you don’t have time, do you? So I only passed on the essentials.
The two glanced at Tugwi.
Unconscious and collapsed—once he woke up, he’d demand another fight.
“…We should leave before then.”
—Do that. I’ll handle him. After all, he’s met his first true rival…
The old man smiled contentedly.
—He might change now.
Yoo Baek-jun turned away.
No telling when Tugwi would wake up. The sooner they left, the better.
—Never thought I’d end up helping the successor of someone I once fought.
“I bet you never imagined you’d pass down your family’s secrets to him either.”
—True. The last time we met, I swore I’d kill him next time.
Though that never came to pass.
—Now, my descendant will be the one to do it.
“……”
Yoo Baek-jun’s face twisted. The old man burst out laughing at his expression.
“We’ll be going now.”
—Hahaha! Fine, go safely!
Yoo Baek-jun took a deep breath and left the mansion with Han Seong-ah.
Unlike when they arrived, the forest was quiet. Han Seong-ah suddenly spoke up.
“Master, what will happen to the casino now? And the underground city…”
“Who knows.”
Yoo Baek-jun searched his memories.
If Gold Rich, the owner of the underground casino, was dead… then the King of Amirst would take over.
“The casino will probably be rebuilt.”
“But people went missing because they got addicted to gambling there. Doesn’t that mean the quest isn’t really cleared?”
“No.”
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the dice in his hand.
“We destroyed the statue.”
The statue had been imbued with magic that brought fortune to Gold Rich while driving people into gambling addiction.
That was why the underground casino had thrived unnaturally.
Now that it was destroyed—
“People won’t disappear with addiction like before.”
“Exactly. Though it won’t disappear completely. That’s just how gambling is.”
Since the casino was one of the city’s main sources of income, eliminating it entirely wasn’t feasible.
There might still be problems in the future, but…
‘The king will handle it.’
That wasn’t his concern anymore. He’d done his part.
Besides, the king had been troubled by the underground casino’s existence anyway.
‘He might even be thanking some unknown benefactor right now.’
Yoo Baek-jun exited the forest, and before them appeared a gate.
A return gate.
—Quest [Flower Blooming in the Desert] has been completed.
—You cleared the quest through the highest difficulty route.
—Reward: 2,000P has been granted.
Since he’d already received the main reward from the old man, there was nothing else to gain besides points.
But it didn’t matter.
“We got everything we came for.”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped through the gate.
“Let’s go back.”