Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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The spot where Izar had been standing erupted in an explosion, sending up a massive cloud of dust that made it impossible to see what had happened.
But Shin Yu-hyun didn't think he'd taken her down that easily. A 4-star being wouldn't fall to something like that.
Still, she must have suffered considerable damage.
Hiss!
Suddenly, a sharp whoosh cut through the pouring dust cloud.
At the same time, Izar burst out from the scattering dirt, revealing herself.
"Kuh! You damn bitch!"
As expected, Izar had taken heavy damage. Her left arm was completely gone, and her right arm was half severed.
Izar glared sharply at Nam Yeon-ah and Shin Yu-hyun.
"Don't think this is enough to finish me off."
Whoosh.
With those words, her Arms Blade began to regenerate.
'Regenerating again?'
Shin Yu-hyun narrowed his eyes at the sight. In no time, Izar's Arms Blade returned to its original form.
The silver lining was that Izar looked quite exhausted.
It seemed regenerating her arms had consumed a significant amount of mana and stamina.
"I'll kill you."
Boom!
Once fully regenerated, Izar kicked off the ground fiercely and charged at Nam Yeon-ah.
"Not on my watch!"
Of course, Shin Yu-hyun deployed Heaven-Splitting Divine Steps to block her path.
"You filthy pest!"
Izar scowled and swung her Arms Blade down at Shin Yu-hyun.
Clang!
A flurry of crisp strikes followed.
"Kuh!"
Each blow was heavy with killing intent.
The gap between 4-star and 3-star power.
Yet Shin Yu-hyun somehow kept up, moving his sword to parry the onslaught. Izar clearly had the edge in speed and power.
Even so, Shin Yu-hyun didn't retreat a single step against her.
He deflected each of her sword strikes one by one.
Thanks to the real combat experience from his previous life.
In other words, Shin Yu-hyun surpassed Izar in swordsmanship and technique.
But.
'This is dangerous if it drags on.'
The problem was his mana and stamina.
He'd already fought Lee Ji-soo's group before clashing with Izar, and taken on dozens of crawlers on top of that.
Shin Yu-hyun was fatigued.
Izar, while somewhat worn, was in better shape than him.
Over time, he'd only fall further behind.
'No choice, then.'
Shin Yu-hyun glanced back.
There lay Nam Yeon-ah, collapsed after pouring all her mana into Astra Blaster.
She seemed to have passed out.
Astra Blaster was her all-out, one-shot ultimate technique.
"Ka-mang!"
Pyu!
Shin Yu-hyun called for Ka-mang.
The cute Shadow Slime popped out from his shadow.
Before investigating the unidentified dungeon gate, he'd hidden Ka-mang in his shadow.
For just such an emergency.
And this was that emergency.
Clatter clatter.
Ka-mang's shadow stretched out, and soon an army of forty 2-star Skeleton Soldiers emerged.
"Skeletons...?"
Izar furrowed her brow at the skeletons with glowing blue eyes.
He hadn't expected Shin Yu-hyun to summon skeletons.
But he soon sneered, curling his lip.
"Pathetic trash."
He'd realized their low rank.
Izar swung his Arms Blade at the skeletons.
Slash!
The 2-star Skeleton Soldiers fell like leaves in a storm before his Arms Blade.
They tried to block with their bone swords and armor, but they were sliced clean through.
But it was enough.
They just needed to buy the moment for Shin Yu-hyun to activate his unique skill.
Limit Mana Overdrive.
A cheat skill that compressed all mana to unleash power beyond limits for a short burst.
Shin Yu-hyun drew mana from his chakra, gathering it.
Beyond his limits.
Moments later, a system message appeared.
Boom!
Instantly, black aura pulsed like a heartbeat from Shin Yu-hyun, exploding outward.
By then, fewer than ten Skeleton Soldiers remained.
'30 seconds!'
Black aura shimmered like heat haze from his body, and dark flames roared fiercely from the magic sword Ignis.
Boom!
Shin Yu-hyun kicked off the ground and soared toward Izar, who was sweeping through the remaining Skeleton Soldiers.
Like a streak of darkness slicing through space, he rushed at Izar.
And swiftly swung Ignis.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship.
Second Form: Shatter.
Red sword light and black flames traced a brilliant arc from left to right toward Izar. He hastily raised his Arms Blade.
Clang!
"Gah!"
A pained groan escaped Izar's gritted teeth.
A crack had formed in his Arms Blade amid the sharp metallic ring.
Ignis then whipped toward Izar in countless crimson-black arcs.
Clang! Clang clang!
The enormous speed of the descending crimson-black trajectories.
Izar countered with silver arcs from his Arms Blade.
Clang clang clang!
Amid piercing metallic clashes, black and silver sparks bloomed brilliantly.
They exchanged blows too fast for the eye to follow.
Thanks to Limit Mana Overdrive, Shin Yu-hyun could fight Izar on equal footing.
And not just that.
As time passed, Izar was the one at a disadvantage.
Each clash with Ignis sent shockwaves chipping away at the Arms Blade.
"You worthless scum!"
Izar ground his teeth and surged with greater ferocity, swinging his Arms Blade more aggressively to pressure Shin Yu-hyun.
But.
Crack!
Suddenly, Izar's right Arms Blade shattered and flew off.
Exposing his right side momentarily.
Shin Yu-hyun didn't miss it.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship.
Third Form: Annihilation Strike.
Dark flames laden with shockwaves roared toward Izar's side.
Boom!
An immense shockwave exploded between Shin Yu-hyun and Izar.
A crater over ten meters wide formed around them.
"Kraaaagh!"
Caught in the blast, Izar screamed as he was hurled dozens of meters back.
Boom!
Shin Yu-hyun then kicked off and raced after him like a shot.
Like a fierce gale tearing through the air.
Heaven-Splitting Divine Steps.
First Step: Gale Swift Step.
Using Heaven-Splitting Divine Steps, Shin Yu-hyun caught up to the airborne Izar.
And struck with Annihilation Strike again.
Boom!
The shockwave slammed Izar into the ground.
Rumble!
A massive roar echoed as he cratered the asphalt.
A thirty-meter-wide crater formed with an explosion.
The resulting dust cloud over ten meters high swallowed not just Izar, but Shin Yu-hyun too.
But Shin Yu-hyun emerged from the dust, thrusting his sword into the ground and dropping to one knee.
Thud!
At that moment, a system message appeared before his eyes.
Unlike his prime, the Overdrive's duration was short. Thirty seconds had passed already.
"Kuh."
Shin Yu-hyun dropped his other knee, leaning on his sword.
Powerlessness and emptiness overwhelmed him.
The chakra mana that had filled and empowered his body was gone.
His body felt limp, and the loss of overflowing mana plummeted his willpower.
He didn't want to do anything.
Moreover, his whole body ached like it was tearing apart, fingers barely twitching.
Unlike Body Strengthening Technique, Overdrive wrecked the body.
But.
'Gotta get up.'
Shin Yu-hyun staggered to his feet.
Thanks to his high mental fortitude.
"Did I get her?"
Standing again, he peered into the dust-choked front.
He'd pushed Izar with Limit Mana Overdrive, pouring everything into thirty seconds of attacks.
Even Izar should be critically wounded and down.
But.
Kieeeee!
A shrill screech echoed from the dust.
Whoosh!
The swirling dust vanished in an instant. Then Izar emerged.
But her condition was off.
Her body bulged grotesquely, mutating.
'Phase 2?'
Shin Yu-hyun frowned at the message.
He hadn't expected Izar to have a Phase 2.
And from her transforming form, it looked berserk-level fierce.
She emanated far greater intensity than before.
Attack, defense, speed—all boosted, no doubt.
Similar to his Limit Mana Overdrive, in a way.
"Phase 2 at this timing."
Shin Yu-hyun was dumbfounded.
Right after Overdrive, he could barely move a finger.
The remaining Skeleton Soldiers couldn't handle Full Metal Armor mode.
'No choice?'
He gritted his teeth, glaring at Izar.
The unique magic beast crushed the area with sparking, intense energy.
Overwhelming pressure.
If she finished transforming, he'd be done for.
But.
Shin Yu-hyun eyed the message. He had 100 Soul Points total.
From slaying thirty 3-star Crawlers. Each gave 3 points.
Without hesitation, he invested 50 into Dominance, raising it by 1.
From 31 to 40 required 50 points each.
'Perfect.'
Shin Yu-hyun still had one final trump card.
The Dark Saintess, mediator of Seven Arcs member Moon-gok-seong.
Reaching 4-star and Dominance 41 allowed summoning one of the Immortal King's direct subordinates from Seven Arcs.
"Come forth!"
Shin Yu-hyun thrust the black-flame Ignis into the ground and shouted.
Centered on the embedded Ignis, a massive magic circle of dark flames formed in the earth.
Flash!
A huge black grimoire appeared before him.
The Immortal King's legacy.
The Phnacoic Bible.
Flip!
It opened, erupting black mana.
Crack!
Space tore beyond the Phnacoic Bible.
From the rift leaking black light, a figure emerged.
Black cat ears and tail poking from glossy black hair down to her waist.
A small black hat with a red flower ornament on the right ear.
And a gothic dress with cute lace.
Moments later, a girl who looked about ten years old gazed at Shin Yu-hyun and spoke.