Chapter 272: So, Did You Actually Do Your Training?
Chapter 272: So, Did You Actually Do Your Training?
The day I returned home, my disciples looked like they had a lot they wanted to ask me.
However, since it was late, we decided to talk the next day and retreated to our respective rooms.
Morning dawned.
And so, we gathered in one place to have our talk.
“Alright, show me how much you’ve grown over the past month.”
I immediately pulled out my hammer and placed it on the green buffer mats I hadn't seen in a while, making my declaration.
Yet, my two disciples only stared at me blankly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have a question, Senior.”
Why is A-bin speaking so stiffly? It doesn't suit her.
“Go ahead.”
“Why a duel…?”
“Ah, I was thinking the same thing, Master! Not that I’m not happy to duel with you, of course!”
A fundamental doubt about the situation.
It was such a basic question that I tilted my head and fell into thought for a moment, failing to understand the confusion.
Soon, I realized where the disconnect was.
‘Ah, normal people don’t check growth through fisticuffs.’
I remembered that for most people, it was common sense to catch up on what happened through conversation when meeting after a long time.
But between the Thunder God and Oxymoron, everyone I knew usually started by tearing into someone's body or throwing a punch as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I considered that the normal thing to do would be to have an early lunch and start a Q&A session about what had happened.
But it was too much hassle. Was I really going to call it all off here and go back upstairs?
Besides, if my disciples were going to end up puking anyway, it was better to do it on an empty stomach.
“Understanding someone’s growth through combat is better than words,” I said, offering an excuse.
It wasn't entirely wrong, either.
Just like how the Thunder God throws an electrically accelerated punch every time she sees me.
“Still… I don’t think we’ve grown that much in just a month.”
Despite her words, Han A-bin began to summon her bow, seemingly knowing I wouldn't budge.
“Well, you never notice it yourself. Besides, Heroes grow incredibly fast.”
Considering that fast-growing Heroes sometimes retire in less than a year, growth up to a certain stage is ridiculously rapid.
The hardship only begins when one tries to grow beyond that.
Once the enemies of the Story stop appearing, that rail-like growth vanishes, and one must find their own path.
Of course, that maximum growth stage varies for everyone.
In the case of my two disciples, they practically lack a Story, so they don't have that rail-style growth. Still, the acceleration until they reach their peak shouldn't be slow.
“That’s right! I even learned a new technique!”
Baek Si-hyun, speaking excitedly, belatedly pulled out her hammer and swung it through the air. She seemed thrilled about the duel, showing no signs of complaint.
“Ah… Si-hyun, you probably shouldn't use that if you can help it.”
However, Han A-bin, who was on the receiving end of that excitement, expressed her disapproval of Si-hyun’s new technique.
“…Just what kind of technique is it?”
Wasn't it Han A-bin who somehow found a way for Baek Si-hyun to use her Space Control, which was practically unusable in real combat?
And yet, that same Han A-bin was looking dead serious.
“Ah… well, you see…”
A-bin opened her mouth to explain, but I held up a hand.
“Fine, I’ll just see it for myself.”
I stopped her from saying more.
“I just let that slip unconsciously earlier. I should see for myself whether it’s useful or not without any prejudice.”
Even if A-bin saw many problems with it, it might turn out to be surprisingly useful in my eyes.
Therefore, experiencing it directly was the best way to judge, though there were a few things I needed to check beforehand.
“Si-hyun, does that technique take as long to activate as Space Control?”
“No!”
“Then, does it leave you completely defenseless while using it, requiring a teammate to cover you?”
The techniques of the Yellow King or Macbeth were like that.
Since those guys were mid-to-rear-line Type S, it wasn't a big issue for them. But Baek Si-hyun was a melee fighter who rampaged on the front lines; such a technique would be of questionable use for her.
“No!”
Hmm, not that either.
“Then that’s fine. Show it to me during the duel.”
“Yes!”
“So you’re really going to use it…”
Baek Si-hyun shouted energetically, while Han A-bin let out a contrasting sigh.
Even so, A-bin didn't seem intent on sitting out. She plucked her summoned bowstring and began to prepare in earnest.
“Then, I’ll keep my penalties the same as before. No Limiter Release. No hammer transformations. Is there anything else you want me to add or remove?”
“I want to fight without penalties!”
“No, that should be enough.”
Naturally, I ignored Baek Si-hyun’s comment and increased the distance between us.
This wasn't a lecture or a scolding.
I didn't need methods like surprise attacks.
This was a fair and square duel.
Accordingly, Han A-bin also backed away to create distance.
Baek Si-hyun, starting to get fired up, let out a heavy breath and lowered her stance.
No starting signal was needed.
Thud.
The moment A-bin reached her position, Baek Si-hyun’s leap toward me served as the signal.
Faster than I remembered, Baek Si-hyun rushed at me along with numerous weapons scattered through the air.
Ho-oh.
At first glance, it was a simultaneous attack not much different from usual, but there was one crucial point.
The projectiles, the Main Body, and the subsequent projectiles created a subtle time difference.
They weren't coming all at once, nor were they coming in a simple sequence.
It was an incredibly subtle, off-beat rhythm.
Most multi-projectile attacks like this fall into two categories: a single volley or a rhythmic, regular downpour.
Both are favored because they are easy to control and offer high instantaneous firepower, but they have one major weakness.
They are easy for the defender to deal with.
Even if countless attacks come at once, to someone like me who can block them all with a single swing of a hammer, it’s no different from a single attack. Sequential attacks are the same if they follow a regular beat.
That’s why this situation was different.
This wasn't a fight against a Giant Monster where accumulating damage mattered.
In a duel where a single strike could be fatal, the off-beat attacks Baek Si-hyun was performing were highly effective.
Two or three simple-looking spears flew at me with that irregular timing.
I gripped my hammer short and swung upward, parrying the spears. However, a hidden dagger—concealed behind the spears and unnoticed until now—came in at an off-beat angle. I had no way to deal with it with The Hammer, so I jerked my head aside.
Next, several hwandos poured down. I blocked them by slamming my raised hammer back down.
But even that was exactly what Baek Si-hyun intended.
Immediately after I slammed The Hammer down, during the gap where I couldn't control its momentum, she appeared with a smiling face.
She came with weapons aimed at my vitals, each following a different rhythm.
The strongest force among them was The Hammer Baek Si-hyun held herself.
Even if I forced my hammer up to block it, I couldn't dodge all the other weapons aimed at my vitals.
If I blocked the other weapons, Baek Si-hyun’s most powerful attack would land.
A quick checkmate through a binary choice.
Baek Si-hyun seemed to be specializing more and more in dueling. It was likely because she kept facing Yumil.
Controlling each projectile like that takes more mental effort than one might think, yet she had set them up with such precision.
Against a normal person, the battle would have ended here.
The only problem was that I wasn't normal.
Certainly, when Chong So-rim and Yumil did something similar, I escaped by briefly using Limiter Release.
But since Limiter Release was forbidden in this duel, I chose a different move.
After finishing all my calculations within my accelerated perception, I didn't stop The Hammer that had just blocked the hwandos from hitting the ground.
Instead, I poured strength into it and slammed it directly into the floor.
Pang!
Because the object supporting my feet vanished, my vision lowered slightly.
Transparent gel scattered into the air.
Ordinary shock absorbers couldn't withstand the strength of Heroes, so this was a special Shock Absorber developed by the Management Bureau.
The gel contained within the mats couldn't withstand the internal destruction. Driven by the strike whose direction I had controlled, it surged up around me like a Protective Barrier.
“Gah?!”
Caught off guard by the sudden surge, Baek Si-hyun let out a strange sound and halted her charge.
“Utilizing the terrain is also important, Si-hyun.”
I offered a lecture as I rushed toward her.
To seize the initiative and put her in check instead.
Realizing the danger, Baek Si-hyun tried to regain her stance immediately.
However, the gel still clinging to her body hindered her.
She had no means left to block my rapidly rising hammer.
I swung The Hammer down.
This should have ended the duel.
However, this battle was not a one-on-one between Baek Si-hyun and me.
As if to prove that, I felt something cutting through the air.
Between the gaps of the shock-absorbing gel that was still blocking the projectiles Baek Si-hyun had thrown.
Those holes were tiny—the largest no bigger than a coin—but a pink flash flew through those needle-thin openings.
A Triple Shot.
The number of arrows hadn't increased.
But the power contained within them was several times greater than when I had last seen them.
What? You don't feel your growth?
A bitter smile escaped me.
If looking at the ratio of growth rather than absolute values, I wondered if Han A-bin had become even stronger than Baek Si-hyun.
Just what had happened during that month?
Curiosity bubbled up, but I could ask after the duel was over.
So, I focused on the arrows flying toward my head and joints.
The reflexes and observation skills to find those needle-thin gaps and fire a Triple Shot instantly.
The aiming ability to pull it off.
The power behind it.
Everything was a passing grade.
But the trajectory was too linear.
It was only natural. Since the holes she could fire through were fixed, her trajectory was forced to be static if she wanted to hit my vitals.
Therefore, after predicting the trajectory, I could dodge two of the arrows just by slightly shifting my limbs.
Even if I was in the middle of an attack, my strike aimed at completely neutralizing Baek Si-hyun would simply shift to a semi-neutralizing strike aimed at a limb.
The attack didn't stop.
But there was still one arrow left.
The one aimed at my head, carrying the most power.
The fact that my disciples were firing such lethal attacks without hesitation in a duel made me smile; they had certainly grown accustomed to me.
Of course, I had no intention of getting hit.
Immediately accelerating my body, I raised my left hand.
While keeping control of my right arm swinging The Hammer, I used mana to force my left hand to move beyond the limits of human joint rotation.
It would cause problems like dislocating the joint, but...
Tak.
There was no problem with catching the arrow with my bare hand.
Baek Si-hyun would be effectively neutralized by this anyway.
And as for Han A-bin, who would have lost her front-line tank...
Thinking thus, I was about to throw away the arrow that was still emitting energy and burning my left hand, when—
“Sensory Control.”
Along with the voice, a red light erupted.
The source was right in front of my eyes.
The arrow in my hand.
The color of the arrow I hadn't thrown yet changed from pink to red.
And the moment that red light intensified and covered my vision, all my senses vanished.
It was just like when I was thrown into the Otherworld.
Sight, touch, sensation.
Even the red light that had filled my vision a moment ago was gone.
Wait. What is this?
I was greatly flustered, but this state didn't last long.
At most, one or two seconds.
However, in a duel, that was a long enough time to be fatal.
The moment my senses vanished, I swung my hammer several times toward the places where I predicted attacks would come.
But since I couldn't even feel the sensation of swinging The Hammer, I braced myself for the possibility of having a weapon or an arrow stuck in me when my senses returned.
When my senses did return, there was no pain.
As if my predictions had been correct, silver weapons that had been parried by my hammer were still lingering in the air.
However, something more important caught my eye.
Far off, in front of Han A-bin, who had collapsed to her knees as if exhausted, Baek Si-hyun had already taken a stance.
She was looking at me, her golden field deployed.
Han A-bin’s calculation support has gotten faster too.
No, perhaps Han A-bin had been calculating from the moment we got here.
I just hadn't perceived it.
Thinking about it that way, it was practically cheating, but that didn't matter.
I had done something just as much like cheating by exploding the mats on the floor.
What mattered now was that the two of them had pushed me this far.
And that this battle was incredibly interesting.
They say children grow by the day. A month was quite a long time, indeed.
Come then.
Let me see just how much you can do, Baek Si-hyun.
With that resolve, I took my stance.
Crackle.
Electricity exploded, and Baek Si-hyun rushed in.
Just like before, it was a linear movement with a predictable trajectory.
Of course, the speed and the power behind it were incomparable.
Last time, I was only caught because it was a surprise attack.
If I knew it was coming, it wasn't something I couldn't block.
Thus, the moment I extended my hammer, predicting where Baek Si-hyun would arrive—
Zap. Zap. Zap. Zap.
Sparks rang out.
Sparks emitting from five silver weapons that had appeared in the air.
What?
Don't tell me the weapons turn into lightning and accelerate within Baek Si-hyun’s field?
Just as I thought that might be the case—
Bzzzzzt!
With a long, noisy crackle, five humans appeared.
One person for each weapon.
Lightning in the shape of Baek Si-hyun.
Holy shit.
In an instant, I realized the magnitude of this feat.
Baek Si-hyun had changed her approach.
Her proficiency in the lightning element was insufficient to achieve complete lightning transformation like the Thunder God.
And if that was impossible, Baek Si-hyun’s field was nothing more than a linear, accelerated 'telegraphed punch.'
So, what was it that Baek Si-hyun pursued?
It was simple. Baek Si-hyun had overlapped the cards she held.
Telekinesis.
Weapon manifestation.
Lightning Magic.
She had combined all three into this.
And so, five electrical Baek Si-hyuns in female form, holding weapons, charged at me following the Main Body in the lead.
Each from a different angle, putting forth all their strength.
Not bad. No, it was an excellent technique.
Even though she relied on Han A-bin from the moment the field was deployed, and the Main Body’s power was dispersed due to the creation of clones, there was a greater potential here.
If the clones could utilize this field as well as the Main Body...
Right now, their movements were linear, but if they could move as precisely as Baek Si-hyun herself...
It would certainly be a powerful technique.
However, if there was one weakness—
“What happened to the off-beat timing?”
Perhaps Baek Si-hyun’s control was insufficient to manage the off-beat rhythm on top of all this.
Pang!
I swung The Hammer.
All six were blown away.
To strike the small me, all six had charged simultaneously.
By taking out all six in a single blow, the duel ended.
With the exhausted Han A-bin and Baek Si-hyun, who had been slammed into The Wall by The Hammer, in the background.