Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Storm Torrent
Storm Torrent.
The wind blew.
The wind soon became a storm.
And turned into a storm torrent that swallowed everything around it.
Cheong Yurang chased after Loran.
Loran would keep dodging.
They'd play a game of cat and mouse, chasing and evading.
So what I needed to do was...
'Keep Cheong Yurang from being interrupted.'
Their goals were the same.
I drew my sword.
Silvern grinned as if she found it amusing.
"Well, well...?"
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes raking over me like a ferocious beast.
"Level 6, huh...?"
"......"
"I get it. You want to kill me. But you're Level 6."
Silvern looked at me with a savage laugh.
"I get it. You're strong, right? Everyone around you probably fawns over you. And you've probably beaten someone just one level higher before."
Thud. Thud.
She paced to the side as she spoke.
"But you know most guys like that end up dead, right?"
"......"
"It's boring. Anyway, Level 7—that's what happens when those guys grow and grow, get lucky as hell, and achieve Unity."
Silvern assumed her stance.
A terrifying pressure bore down on me.
"......Not backing down, huh."
"I've got enough experience not to flinch at something like this."
"Hmmm."
Silvern eyed me like she wasn't impressed.
I drew up my fighting spirit.
My body strengthened overall, and my heart began pounding fiercely.
A tremendous power rampaged through my entire body, as if urging me to go wild right now.
"......!"
Silvern's expression changed.
She took a step back.
'Looks like my presence is still superior.'
Whoosh.
I wove my fighting spirit to pressure her.
If mana activated the body with its versatile power,
Fighting spirit was something only the innately gifted possessed.
And its effect was...
'To strengthen the body and pressure the opponent.'
A power that mixed with mana to stun foes.
Intimidation.
When honed and strengthened to the extreme, it became fighting spirit.
"Hup!"
Silvern's face changed again.
From delighted amusement to plotting how to punish an arrogant fool.
And now...
To realizing the toy she thought she had might actually threaten her.
It's absurd fighting spirit no matter how many times I see it. What the hell are you planning to become? She let out a hollow laugh as she spoke to me through the holy sword.
I gripped the holy sword tightly and drew the Thunder Dragon Sword.
Crackle!
Purple lightning flowed along the blue blade.
And then...
Craaaack!!
I charged straight in and swung at Silvern.
"Wh-what kind of speed is this...!"
Silvern stared at me in shock.
I narrowed my eyes.
'I aimed for that split-second opening.'
She blocked it.
But...
The Hero's Orthodox Swordsmanship.
Dozens of sword auras swirled, unleashing a barrage of slashes on Silvern.
"......!"
Silvern's eyes widened in surprise.
Then her face twisted in horror as she looked at me.
"The Hero's Orthodox Swordsmanship...!"
She screamed in disbelief.
As she swung her sword, dozens of sword auras poured onto it in that instant.
"Useless."
Her white hair whipped around as blue light gleamed in her eyes.
In a flash, her aura swelled.
Clang clang!
A bluish mana barrier formed around her body, blocking the sword auras.
'Tch.'
The weakness of the Hero's Orthodox Swordsmanship.
The more sword auras, the more the power disperses.
Stronger than my mana-less strikes,
But not by much relative to the energy spent.
Such a devious ploy to make them think that. The holy sword snickered.
I focused intently on Silvern.
"How the hell did you learn that swordsmanship?"
"Who knows."
"A Gift? No, that fits better. A technique no one's learned in over a thousand years. Must be my mistake. Or maybe a different school created it."
Silvern's eyes darkened.
The emotion in them was clear: killing intent.
I didn't know what I'd done, but...
'Feels like I touched a nerve.'
Maybe she'd get a little rattled.
Swoosh.
Silvern swung her sword.
An invisible slash flew at me.
Slice.
I ducked low, but a bit of my hair was cut off.
'Annoying.'
And tricky.
Abnormally so.
'She's definitely slower than me.'
Her strength was weaker, her mana less.
Yet her attacks were faster, one timing ahead.
That's the difference between someone who's achieved Unity and someone who hasn't. 'That damn Unity.'
As I ground my teeth inwardly, she gathered aura on her sword.
Whoosh!
The blue mana turned pure white.
And it began condensing into a single point like a gale.
"......"
I stared at it, entranced for a moment.
Sword Gang... Sword aura.
A secret technique Volkan had shown me once before.
Or...
'The power the holy sword showed me when I used Paecheon.'
It seemed like it wanted to show how powerful Paecheon was with sword aura.
But I still hadn't mastered Paecheon properly.
'It looks just one step away.'
I glared, watching her closely.
But...
"Hup...!"
Sensing the incoming killing intent, I rolled to the side.
'What the...'
So fast.
The attack sped up in an instant.
Or rather...
'Something...'
Was something deceiving my senses?
Annoyingly tricky type. 'What is this now?'
Using sword aura against a Level 6? What a shameless bitch. The holy sword growled.
In that moment, slashes rained down on me.
I maxed out Extreme Thunder God on the Thunder Dragon Sword.
Crackle crackle!
Tremendous lightning that could melt molten metal gathered in my hand.
At the same time, I raised sword aura mixed with fighting spirit and mana.
Craaaack!!
'Urk!'
I was blasted body-first into the cliff.
Boom!
Another strike came.
This one was clearer than before.
Whoosh!
I dodged.
Barely evading the sword by a hair's breadth.
"Hm?"
Silvern looked puzzled.
'This bitch.'
Yeah, that one... seems to have an ability that deceives senses. 'Fucking annoying and irritating.'
Silvern's sword moved again. The air rippled.
But this time, it was clearly visible, unlike before.
However...
'She deceived my senses.'
Fortunately, I was regaining my bearings.
The moment I realized she was subtly fooling my senses,
Her movements started becoming clearer and clearer.
But...
'......Problematic.'
I calmly compared our full powers.
I'd bragged I could hold out against Cheong Yurang all day,
'But my mana consumption is too high.'
I lacked a decisive blow.
At my current level, I could barely evade Silvern's attacks.
Hers were growing fiercer by the second.
I glared.
Her attacks were dangerously potent.
If one landed properly, I'd be done in an instant.
Crackle crackle!
The Thunder Dragon Sword infused with maxed Extreme Thunder God.
But every clash with Silvern dented it slightly.
'I should definitely have the edge.'
The white sword swung.
My strength was greater, my speed faster.
Yet Silvern was always the one swinging wildly and attacking fiercely.
It's not some special Gift. It's fusing body, mind, and mana into one to gain that slight edge over you. Just a paper-thin difference.
But that sheet of paper felt impossibly distant.
I widened the distance, dodging attacks.
Silvern's eyes grew fiercer.
Afterimages increased each time.
'Can I hold out...?'
A strange unease flowed through me.
*
Crackle.
Purple lightning swirled. Each clash of swords filled Silvern with displeasure.
'How.'
Could a mere Level 6 contend with her, who had achieved Unity?
That frustration.
And anxiety.
'Dangerous.'
She understood why Loran wanted this man dead.
If...
Just if this man survived and returned...
'No future for me.'
He'd come back overwhelmingly stronger.
Even now, at Level 6, he was angling for a threatening blow.
His eyes were still menacing.
And the fighting spirit he occasionally emitted?
'It freezes my body.'
Lethal fighting spirit.
Silvern had been in dangerous places,
But she'd never seen anyone with such spirit.
Others could be trained, but...
Fighting spirit was innate talent.
Even so-called Level 9s didn't have this much.
'Must kill him.'
Then.
Silvern stopped swinging her sword.
The distance was a bit far.
"......"
Han Yuseong stood at a distance, panting as he glared at her.
"Consider it an honor."
Silvern swung her sword once.
"I wouldn't normally waste this on a mere Level 6."
Unity.
Those who achieved it shared one trait.
Fusing body, mind, and mana created a unique power.
Some called it a unique Gift, others one-of-a-kind.
One thing was certain.
It bent the world's laws to their will.
Gifts.
Heaven's gifts.
Talents modeled after gods and sent to the mortal world.
This was humanity's ambition-made aspiration to catch up to the divine.
Everyone gained something different from Unity.
Some condensed power into a flash of light.
Others created domains for geographic advantage.
Some summoned unstoppable forces, even from death.
Or awakened mythical beings.
That's why fights from Level 7 were bizarre and dangerous.
That was Unity.
Melting one's life into a single power.
And for Silvern...
"I didn't want to use this. It's the power I take the least pride in."
But this wasn't about pride.
Failing this mission meant death for her—and her family.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Storm Torrent And then.
The wind howled, swallowing Han Yuseong whole.