First Strike Wins
The moment I absorbed the Great Soul of the Unknown Martial Artist, an overwhelming surge of power flooded through my body. I stared at my palms, feeling the raw energy coursing through every vein and muscle.
"This is..."
A voice echoed directly inside my head.
-My stats have been added to yours. Good grief, your base stats are truly pathetic. Even with mine added on top, you haven't become all that strong.-
So this is what the Great Soul's help looked like? Absorbing the soul to temporarily boost my stats and fight?
It was undeniably a tremendous advantage, but I had never been the type to enjoy throwing punches with my own body. I shouted into the empty air.
"Excuse me, is it possible for you to possess one of my thralls instead of me? There's one whose stats are higher than mine..."
-Do you think that would be possible? I can only enter the body of the caster.-
Damn. So I couldn't use Ji-su as a vessel. What a shame. If someone stronger than me received the Great Soul's stats, the results would have been far more devastating.
With a disappointed sigh, I opened my status window.
"Status window."
What the hell? I rubbed my eyes and looked again. No, I wasn't seeing things.
Are these stats even real?
STR, CON, and DEX had each shot up by 150, while INT had increased by 50. All that from the soul of some nameless martial artist? It was absurd.
And yet he still said he couldn't guarantee victory? Just how ridiculously strong is that Juniel bitch…?
I glanced at Juniel, who sat motionless in front of the Gate of Rest. After going through all this trouble to gain this power, there was no way I could back down now.
Fine, you crazy bitch. Let's settle this today, just like you wanted.
That was when the soul's voice rang in my head again.
-While my soul resides within you, you will be able to use all the movements and techniques I possessed in life. You should have gained a skill to summon my weapon. Use it.-
I threw a few test punches and kicks into the empty air. The sharp whoosh of air being torn apart echoed loudly.
"Yeah… I understand. I feel like I know all your techniques."
-Knowing them isn't enough. You must be able to apply them. Your opponent appears to be a martial artist with a similar style to mine. Fight well.-
This soul really loves dropping wise-sounding lines.
-Ah, and one more important thing.-
"…Go ahead."
-First strike wins.-
Well, that was an eternal truth. I nodded and immediately activated the skill.
Nunchaku Summon.
A brilliant flash of light burst from my hands. In an instant, a sleek, beautifully crafted pair of nunchaku appeared in my grip. I had only played with toy nunchaku as a kid and never touched the real thing since, yet right now they felt perfectly natural in my hands, as if I had trained with them for decades.
Preparation complete.
Now it was time to properly beat the shit out of Juniel, the bitch who had given me that dog-like trauma.
Fighting directly really wasn't my style, but I had no choice.
I slowly approached the Gate of Rest. Juniel sat there completely defenseless, staring blankly at the door. Perfect. First strike wins.
I swung the nunchaku with all my might toward the top of her head.
CRACK!
But it wasn't a clean hit. She twisted her head at the last possible moment and dodged. How the hell did she dodge an attack that came out of thin air?
Because of that, my nunchaku, originally aimed at her skull, slammed into her shoulder instead.
"Kyaaaak!!"
Juniel screamed, clutching her shoulder as she rolled across the ground. At least the blow had landed. That shoulder was definitely unusable now.
I shouted at Ji-su, "Let's go!"
Both Ji-su and I burst out through the Gate of Rest. As we emerged, I swung the nunchaku at Juniel again while she was still rolling on the floor.
"Ugh!"
She continued rolling to dodge my strike. Ji-su immediately followed up with her club. I already knew from before that Ji-su's attacks weren't very effective against her, but they could at least serve as a distraction.
As expected, Juniel didn't seem particularly bothered. She kicked Ji-su hard while still holding her injured shoulder. Ji-su flew through the air and crashed into the ground.
Keep annoying her! Just keep distracting her!
After giving Ji-su the order, I began my full assault on Juniel.
Even I had to admit the nunchaku moves flowing from my hands were incredibly flashy. Juniel, her left arm hanging uselessly after taking the first hit, frantically swung her hand axe to block my strikes.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks exploded violently in the air. To any observer, it would look like Juniel was being completely overwhelmed by my attacks. Ji-su's occasional annoying jabs from the side were also proving to be quite effective at throwing her off.
Good. My attacks are working!
Juniel couldn't even speak. She was too busy gritting her teeth and desperately blocking. Ji-su and I kept pressing her with everything we had.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The hand axe and nunchaku clashed furiously in the air as small cuts began to accumulate across Juniel's body. I attacked without pause, but I still couldn't land a decisive blow. Despite looking strained, Juniel refused to allow any major hits. My impatience grew with every passing second.
From what the Great Soul said, it seems like there's a time limit… I need to end this quickly!
While relentlessly driving Juniel back, I prepared my trump card. The moment both Ji-su and I had her completely occupied with defense—
Now!
A fist-sized fireball shot out from a pale hand that emerged from the Gate of Rest, flying straight toward Juniel. It was Si-eun's Level 2 Fireball. A completely unexpected attack from a blind spot. There was no way Juniel even knew Si-eun existed.
The explosion itself wasn't that powerful yet, but having your body set on fire was nothing to sneeze at. At the same time, Ji-su charged in with a heavy swing while I poured every ounce of strength into my nunchaku strike.
Attacks coming from three directions at once.
-W-wait a second-
Sorry, Great Soul, but I don't have time to listen!
BOOM!
The fireball exploded upon impact. But it wasn't Juniel's body that was burning. It was Ji-su's. Her entire body engulfed in flames, she was sent flying through the air. Then something flashed in front of my eyes, and I too was sent hurtling backward.
I'm… I'm flying?!
The excruciating pain I felt when I hit the ground snapped me back to reality. I let out a raw, agonized scream.
"Gaaahhhk!"
It hurt. It hurt so fucking much. My vision was spinning wildly. I barely managed to lift my head and look forward.
Juniel was on one knee, breathing heavily. Ji-su lay collapsed nearby, her body still smoldering with flames.
I urgently gave Ji-su an order.
Roll! Put out the fire!
At my command, Ji-su began rolling across the ground. Thankfully, the flames were extinguished almost immediately. But her body was now pitch black with burns. She struggled to get up but clearly couldn't manage it.
Ji-su is out of commission now. With a body like that…
What the hell just happened?
That was when the Great Soul's voice entered my mind once more.
-Just as you prepared your trump card, so did your enemy. The moment she faced attacks from three directions, her body exploded with speed. It must have been a skill. She yanked your thrall named Ji-su in front of the fireball to block it, then used her hand axe to deflect your attack before delivering a spinning kick straight to your head.-
I muttered in a voice that barely came out, "You're telling me she did all that in that split second? That's a total cheat skill..."
-It seems the skill comes with a heavy risk. Look at how hard she's breathing. She's clearly exhausted.-
Just as the Great Soul said, Juniel was far from fine. Her left arm, which had taken the first hit, wouldn't even lift anymore. The skill she'd just used must have had serious aftereffects. She glared at me while gasping for air.
-After watching you fight, I can tell. That woman called Juniel has stats that are slightly inferior to the combined stats of you and me.-
I shouted in disbelief, "Her stats are lower than ours? Then why can't we win?!"
-Victory isn't decided by stats alone. Her stats may be lower, but the difference isn't that significant. However, there is one thing you are severely lacking compared to her.-
"W-what is it?"
-Combat experience. In that last exchange, if it had been me, I wouldn't have fallen for it. But you did. That is the difference in combat experience.-
Fuck…
It's not like I'd fought a lot before. Getting into fights myself had never been my style.
"Well, combat experience isn't something I can fix right now. So what do we do?"
-Don't give up just because you've been defeated once. True defeat only comes when you accept it in your heart. Your condition isn't great, but fortunately, your opponent's isn't either. From now on, it's just a dogfight. Show some tenacity.-
Ha, this soul really did love his wise sayings. Still, this wasn't going to be easy.
I forced myself to stand. My head was spinning from that clean hit to the skull, and my legs refused to listen properly. When I looked at Juniel, she had also managed to get back on her feet.
"You! How did you suddenly get so strong? What the hell happened while you were hiding?!"
Juniel screamed, barely holding herself up on trembling legs. Even though standing was painful for me too, I forced myself to act casual as I replied.
"Fuck off, you crazy bitch. Why the hell would I tell you?"
Juniel made a face like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. What, had she never been cursed at like this before? Her expression quickly twisted from disbelief into pure rage. She let out a scream-like battle cry and hurled her hand axe at me.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Are you fucking kidding me? She still had that much strength left?
I gritted my teeth and twisted my body to dodge, but I couldn't avoid it completely. The axe buried itself in my shoulder.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
I dropped the nunchaku and screamed. Fuck, it hurt so goddamn much. The hand axe embedded in my shoulder began to wriggle, as if trying to fly back to Juniel. Like hell I'd let it!
The intense pain seemed to have cleared my head. The trembling in my body had stopped, and although it was difficult, I could move as I wanted again. I grabbed the handle of the axe and ripped it out of my shoulder.
The axe writhed in my grip like a living thing, trying to escape. It looked like I wouldn't be able to use it properly. I'd just have to hold onto it tightly so it couldn't return to her.
"Die, you fucking bitch!"
Juniel seemed shocked that I would charge at her. She staggered back with a startled expression. Her main weapon, the hand axe, was now in my hands. I no longer had my nunchaku, but my primary weapon had never been limited to just that.
The very title of this soul was "Unknown Martial Artist." That's right—martial artist! Hands and feet are weapons too!
My kick slammed into Juniel's side.
"Ugh!"
Her waist bent at a sharp angle as a pained groan escaped her lips. I continued attacking relentlessly with my legs. Using my hands would have been better, but one shoulder was injured and the other was busy holding onto the writhing hand axe. Still, my footwork alone was enough to drive her back.
After taking that first hit to the side, Juniel kept retreating, desperately trying to block and dodge my attacks. My flashy kicks hammered every part of her body. She staggered as if her legs had tangled, and I immediately followed up with a spinning kick I'd been saving.
CRACK!
One of the horns on the left side of Juniel's head snapped off from the impact of my kick.
"Kyaaaaaaaak!"
She collapsed as if she'd taken a devastating blow. I won!
The moment I let my guard down while watching her fall, the hand axe in my grip shook violently, broke free from my grasp, and flew straight toward my jaw.
Slice!
I barely managed to turn my head, but I couldn't prevent the axe from carving a deep gash from the bottom of my right jaw all the way up to my cheek. The hand axe drew an arc through the air as it returned to the fallen Juniel. The impact sent me crashing backward.
"Ugh…!!"
-You idiot… Tsk tsk… To throw away a fight you had already won with a single moment of carelessness… Sigh…-
Yeah, I let my guard down. I shouldn't have relaxed until it was completely over… Blood was pouring wildly from my face. If I left it like this, I might actually die from blood loss.
I struggled to lift my head and look at the fallen Juniel.
"Ah… what a tenacious bitch."
One of Juniel's horns was broken. Her shoulder was completely shattered, leaving her arm hanging limply. Her entire body was swollen red from my relentless beating, and blood streamed from the corner of her mouth. Yet she still stood up, gripping her hand axe with her good hand and glaring at me with murderous intent.
She really was an insanely tenacious crazy bitch.
I forced myself to stand once more. Ugh, the world was spinning. I must have lost too much blood. Juniel looked at me and sneered.
"Is that all you've got? I never imagined I'd be pushed this far even though you weren't at your original strength. You even broke my horn..."
Her mocking tone suddenly turned into pure fury as she ground her teeth. Not at her original strength? Fuck, then just how strong was she normally?
"Still, if someone like you had grown properly, you would have become a major obstacle for our Demon King's army. There were sacrifices, but it's fortunate that I can kill you now. So..."
Juniel licked the blade of her hand axe (ugh, what a crazy bitch) and said,
"I'll beat you thoroughly and then kill you."
She charged at me again. Her condition was far from normal, so her speed was much slower than at the start of the fight. But my condition wasn't normal either. Honestly, blocking her was difficult. Still, I couldn't die here. I had one final trump card prepared.
Juniel rushed toward me but suddenly dodged a fireball that came flying at her. It was another one from Si-eun inside the Cradle of Rest. Since she'd leveled up, she could use it up to five times. Three shots left.
Juniel gritted her teeth and dodged all three incoming fireballs. Naturally, this guided her exactly where I wanted her to be. Then I charged at her once more and unleashed my final prepared move.
"Rise."