Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: 18. Attribute Tutoring (3)
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Jo Han-byeol's response was swift.
Even as Kang San launched a surprise attack, he didn't so much as blink. He simply untied something from his waist and tossed it forward.
Bang-!
It was a flashbang.
At the same time...
Eye Strength Enhancement
Visual acuity reinforced. Trajectory prediction enhanced.
Jo Han-byeol's gaze locked precisely onto Kang San.
Even as the world bleached white, he pinpointed Kang San's position—then unleashed three arrows in rapid succession from point-blank range.
Pak pak pak-!
Kang San raised his shield.
His vision was still recovering from the flashbang, but senses honed in pitch-black voids caught the arrows' paths. Truth be told, if it had been Jo Han-byeol alone, his bow would've snapped in two before he could even loose a shot. In this tangled, one-wrong-move standoff, someone had gotten to Kang San first.
Slow / Hold
Target movement restricted. Cooldown: 30s
It was Yeon Woo-bin.
Yeon Woo-bin's spells ensnared Kang San, buying Jo Han-byeol time for his counter. In that window, Jeong Chan-woo surged forward to block the path.
Perfect synergy.
Kang San had no idea, but they hadn't spent the wait twiddling their thumbs.
For three months straight, they'd pushed their personal skills to the brink. The next three, they'd forged team cohesion through dozens of raids. Crises? Endless. Jeong Chan-woo had been carted to the hospital more times than he could count. That's why Kang San's sudden formation-wrecker didn't faze them.
Familiar territory.
They knew the drill for dropping a powerhouse: what came next.
Chrararararak.
Something lashed out from around Jeong Chan-woo.
A bona fide 3-star skill.
Kang San dodged nimbly, but the conjured chains coiled around his torso like serpents.
Target-lock skill.
No evading it.
And the effect? Kang San couldn't move beyond the chains' length—temporarily. Breaking it demanded a crushing stat gap. Sure, Kang San now packed C-rank power, but it wasn't that dominant over Jeong Chan-woo. Not enough for an instant snap.
Jeong Chan-woo's skill was the cue.
Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin pounced.
Blood Rain
Dozens of arrows rain from one shot. AoE piercing damage.
Magic Eye: Salamander's Breath
B-rank equivalent flame burst. Magic Eye amplification active.
Papat.
Hwaruk.
Hwarararararak.
Both went all-in with their strongest skills.
Jo Han-byeol loosed a single arrow skyward. It split midair into dozens, plummeting like signal flares straight for Kang San. Yeon Woo-bin's spell belched ferocious flames, Magic Eye-boosted inferno bent on sweeping Kang San away in one blaze.
No dodging this.
Kang San's safety? Not a factor.
Half-measures wouldn't cut it—they knew that. Healing was an afterthought.
The whole sequence...
‘Impressive.’
Kang San was genuinely awed.
He conceded the point.
Jo Han-byeol. Yeon Woo-bin. Jeong Chan-woo.
They'd grown.
Coordination this tight? C-rank test-passing material, easy.
But that was all.
Kang San's experience didn't paint this as a death sentence.
Same space.
Different reality.
To Kang San's eyes, the world looked altered.
Where others saw empty air, crimson killing intent poured down like bloody rain.
Clang.
Clang, clang.
Chains hampered his motion.
Irrelevant.
In that cramped space, Kang San wove the bare-minimum dodges to slip the arrow storm.
Pak-!
An arrow kissed his cheek.
The opener.
Dozens hammered down in a barrage, but Kang San grazed past every one by millimeters. Yeon Woo-bin's flames? Same story. Mid-dodge, hellfire roared in—he summoned a golem to eat the brunt, shield batting away the afterheat.
Tadak.
Tatak, tadak.
Armor sizzled.
Yeon Woo-bin's spell flashed B-rank punch, but scorch-marks wouldn't fell him.
More precisely: he evaded the kill-zones.
Intent refined to the edge let Kang San pick his damage.
And right then...
Pat.
He exploded off the floor.
★ Guardian Shield
Defensive barrier deployed. Damage reflection +20%.
Jeong Chan-woo reacted in a panic.
His head spun.
One-shot burst combo, all firepower converged—yet Kang San looked fine.
Bang-!
Arrow away.
Reading the intent's vector, Kang San slipped the salvo while bulldozing Jeong Chan-woo. Boom boom—smashing blows. Jeong Chan-woo clenched his jaw. This wasn't his old level; the stat chasm made holding ground hell. A few savage heaves, and the chains slackened. Kang San hammered him, then wheeled sharply.
‘Rightward.’
Jeong Chan-woo's eyes tracked.
Chains done.
Targeting Jo Han-byeol, he figured.
Shield up, shifting—then his gaze tangled with Kang San's midair.
"Blood Demon Sword Art, First Form: Blade Kill"
⟨ ★★ Blood Demon Sword Art ⟩
Flash.
Kwaang-!
“Kuaak!”
The strike crashed down out of nowhere.
Right flank? Feint.
Raw devastation crumpled Jeong Chan-woo. Unbraced, he buckled.
Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin's assaults kept coming amid it all.
Just...
Couldn't connect.
Hyper-senses were straight-up busted.
Handing the frontliner attack vectors—dodge or counter options? Nightmare fuel for DPS backline. Nothing landed. Jeong Chan-woo lunged desperately as he fell. Too late.
Hwararuk.
Flames swallowed him.
Kang San pierced them.
Whoosh—
“……!”
Straight onto Yeon Woo-bin.
Kwajik.
Jeong Chan-woo stared blankly at the ceiling.
Pain throbbed from his battered, swollen face. Not the priority.
“……This make any sense?”
Utterly baffling.
One opponent.
A tanker.
Raw ranks? Him and Jo Han-byeol equal, Yeon Woo-bin a C-rank edge. Numbers too. Slam-dunk win. Kang San transcended ranks, sure—but a total washout like this? Never crossed his mind.
Dazed.
Dozens of arrows.
Seething flames.
Tanked even his Chains pressure. Unreal, replaying it.
Kang San approached.
“You all busted your asses. My instant space-break? Woo-bin's debuff kickoff, Han-byeol and Chan-woo's follows—spot-on. But no flaws? Nah.”
“……Flaws?”
Jeong Chan-woo eyed him.
Yeon Woo-bin and Jo Han-byeol mirrored the blank stares.
“Chan-woo's D too solid. Impervious, carved space for ally shots—textbook teamplay. Weakness? Feints. I bait intent, you bite hard. Stat gap maybe, but repeating it? Don't chalk it up to 'unavoidable.' Watch the foe endgame. Moves fail? Slot in your reality. Wildest feint still funnels to truth.”
“……Got it.”
He nodded.
Dazed assent, nothing else.
Kang San kept breaking it down.
Jo Han-byeol, Yeon Woo-bin got their mistake rundowns and fixes too.
The sequence...
‘Ah.’
Jeong Chan-woo marveled inwardly.
This was it.
Heavenly Firmament pick-up parties? Peers, no weakness-plugs. Kang San? Different breed. Lessons everywhere. Best effort tapped out, yet he mapped the next step. Chasing this guy's shadow meant rival scouts fell flat.
Kang San spoke.
“Lecture's in two days. Sync up solo till then.”
“So... we stick together?”
Jeong Chan-woo's probe.
Kang San judged on merit, right?
Kang San grinned.
“Duh. That synergy? How could I not be stoked?”
Six months' grind.
Melting away—Jeong Chan-woo felt it.
Meanwhile.
Project B Team drilled on.
No days off since the internal verdict. Leader Min Young-gi? Expression darkening.
“Short breather, everyone.”
“Yes, sir.”
He trudged from the training grounds alone.
Break room flop, ceiling-stare.
“……This pace? We lose hard.”
Moments ago.
Sparring external squad—B Team eked the W, but ugly. Way bloodier than expected. Foes bulldozed the line reckless; three-mage B squad wobbled from there.
Clutched it.
But A Team looming? Current form folds.
‘Jo Dong-jae. Zero counters for that bastard.’
A Team head.
Warrior like Min Young-gi, B-rank promo imminent solo. Perpetual foil. “Team trails the lead”—gap doomed B's grind to irrelevance.
Hence.
Joint drills? Jo Dong-jae always needled.
A vs. B.
Rivals baked in.
Jo straight-up trashed B, even “sorry” lately.
Outcome scripted.
B crumbles.
No more Project B. Min Young-gi gnashed.
“Not happening.”
Truth? Foggy now.
No project? Hunter life's fine. But Heavenly Firmament dreams—top dog sworn. Internal flop? Nah. Outsiders stacked; stalling on Jo Dong-jae kills the vision.
Deep breath.
Training rewind.
Ditch the gloom. Fixes first, evolve.
Then.
Doorway voice, familiar.
“Hiding here?”
Door-lean: Jeong Hye-mi.
Min Young-gi blanked his face—failed.
“Say what now?”
Kang San.
Talent? Undeniable respect.
Min Young-gi, B crew knew his caliber—six-month gap stung. Lectures landed hard. Lacking spots? Kang San's old words sparked debates.
Still.
Her words stuck sideways.
“Hate the idea?”
Kang San, post-spar.
Rang Jeong Hye-mi.
The pitch:
“That's not it. Training with your team? Dream gig. But 6-on-4? Rank gaps too, total mismatch, no?”
6v4.
Absurd, any angle.