Chapter 229: A Holiday at the Citadel (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229: A Holiday at the Citadel (1)
A private training ground within the citadel.
Jinhyuk slowly calmed his breathing in the center of the room.
"Phew..."
He could feel mana spreading to every corner of his body.
As he lightly swung his newly acquired 'Berserker's Greatsword', a blue trajectory traced through the air.
Whoosh!
A single strike perfectly balancing speed and weight.
His sword dance, resembling a wild beast on the rampage, continued for dozens of minutes.
And a short distance away, a few people were watching the spectacle.
"...How boring. I thought we finally had some free time and wanted to play, but he's just training again."
Alice pouted, her cheeks puffed up in annoyance.
"But really, Jinhyuk-nim is amazing. Look at that, Unni. Swinging such a massive greatsword so effortlessly... Wow. I lost track of his blade three times just now."
Andrea exclaimed in admiration.
Squealing with a bright, innocent face—perhaps having left the psychiatric ward she was supposed to guard to her subordinates...
If the Administrator had seen this, he would have let out a deep sigh.
"..."
Finally, Wolyeong stood silently in the shadows, keeping his mouth shut.
His face, filled with complex emotions, betrayed a myriad of feelings toward Jinhyuk.
That was how flawless Jinhyuk's current sword dance was.
The sound of the sword cutting through the wind was enough to soothe one's mind.
"Well... not bad for a human. Though he's still far from matching my noble self. Still, excluding me, there probably isn't anyone who can beat him."
At the continuous stream of admiration, Alice reluctantly nodded.
Right then.
Abruptly, the greatsword stopped.
Jinhyuk wiped away his sweat and smiled with satisfaction.
I think I've got the hang of it.
Since he had to utilize various weapons depending on the situation, he needed to master this newly acquired greatsword as well.
Although he couldn't use 'Berserker' due to the crowd of leech-like onlookers...
Just getting used to the new weapon was a significant achievement.
Now, it's time to distribute the stats I've saved up.
One of the most anticipated parts of any raid was stat distribution.
Growth through leveling up was a testament to defeating formidable foes, and at the same time, the driving force behind the sense of accomplishment from growing stronger.
Jinhyuk activated his personal status window for the first time in a while.
Tring!
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Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Level: 86
Strength: 71 | Agility: 30 | Vitality: 40 | Mana: 188 | Gap: 100 | Luck: 10 | Adaptive Stat: 78 | Essence: 32.53
Stat Points: 18
Coins: 56,150
Class: Interpreter of Runes
Unique Abilities: 'Fusion', 'Grave of Swords', 'Blessing of the Stars', 'Judgment of Anubis', 'Blood Demon Qi', 'Mandala', '1-Second Invincibility', 'Thousand Poisons', 'White Beast', 'All-Creation Sharing', 'Sanctuary of the Sun', 'Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art', 'Colossus Strike', 'Fire Dragon's Breath', 'High-Speed Sword', "Tombgrave's Right Arm", 'Berserker'
Skills: The number of learned skills is too high; switched to 'Collapsed' state.
Barriers: The number of learned barriers is too high; switched to 'Collapsed' state.
——————————————————
Having leveled up six times, he had secured a total of 18 stat points.
In addition, the four unique abilities he had acquired since coming to the Empire stood out.
To easily handle the Berserker's Greatsword and the Berserker ability... I should invest some points into Strength now.
Considering he would create higher-tier abilities through Fusion, the importance of the Strength stat increased even further.
Without hesitation, Jinhyuk invested all his stat points into Strength.
[Strength increases from 71 → 89.]
Indeed.
He could feel the weight of the greatsword becoming noticeably lighter.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart beat with pleasant excitement.
Because he was growing so ideally and achieving his desired goals, he couldn't help but feel thrilled.
...By acquiring the citadel, I can now exert direct influence over the power struggle in the middle floors.
He had already planned his every move.
All that was left was to calmly wait for the perfect timing.
Alright. Let's see...
Jinhyuk summoned the unique abilities and skills stored in the 'Memory of the World'.
A golden parchment unfurled, revealing the fruits of his hard work.
And from among them, Jinhyuk selected three skills.
[Unique Ability 'High-Speed Sword', Skill 'Draw Sword', and Unique Ability 'Sanctuary of the Sun' are fusing!]
A dazzling light flickered.
Right then.
...Now!
Jinhyuk cast a barrier over a stream of golden mist.
[5-Star Barrier 'Forced Spatial Restraint' is activated!]
White ancient runes reacted with the mist, constructing a magnificent magic circle.
One second... two seconds.
The time was short, but that split second felt like an eternity.
And at that very moment,
Crackle!
Blue sparks erupted brilliantly.
...It was a success!
It was a highly complex combination formula, so he had been slightly nervous, but fortunately, his body seemed to remember.
[You have fused the Unique Ability 'Domain of Wind'!]
[The fused ability is stored in the 'Memory of the World'.]
[Domain of Wind]
Acquisition Difficulty: Unmeasurable
Description: The size of the domain can be designated based on the caster's proficiency and remaining mana. Within the space of this domain of swiftness, all speeds are increased by 100%.
[Maximum duration is 5 minutes.]
A whopping twofold increase!
His speed was already difficult to follow with the naked eye, but now, even faster attacks and movements would be possible.
I want to try this out right now...
His body was itching to move; he couldn't just stand still.
Ah! Come to think of it, if he used that method, he could test the skill and squeeze a hefty sum out of his spectators at the same time.
Jinhyuk glanced to the side.
"Isn't it boring just watching from afar?"
"If you know that, why don't you play with us? The Empire and the Murim factions are just walking on eggshells around each other, so it's seriously boring."
"Playing normally is boring, so let's make a simple bet. You know tag, right? The game where you win if you touch the opponent's body. The time limit is three minutes. If you catch me within that time, you win."
The tip of his greatsword pointed toward Alice, Andrea, and Wolyeong in turn.
"Surely... you aren't suggesting you can run away from us for that long?"
Alice's eyebrows furrowed into an inverted V.
Indeed, it was a statement bound to wound the pride of the incredibly haughty head of the Ataraxia family.
Furthermore, Andrea, despite being from the lower floors, was still a boss monster in charge of an entire floor.
"Huh? Not just Alice-unni, but all of us?"
Her eyes went wide, her face filled with disbelief as if she couldn't trust her own ears.
"...My Lord. No matter how incredible you are, I believe facing the three of us simultaneously is pushing it..."
Even Wolyeong chimed in.
Honestly, they sure talked a lot.
"If you win, I'll grant each of you a wish. On the flip side, if I win, you have to do exactly what I tell you to do without a single peep... How about it?"
"Are you serious? Setting those two aside, you're facing me as well."
"You're the easiest one."
"..."
For a split second, Jinhyuk thought he saw a Yaksha on Alice's face.
Or maybe it wasn't just an illusion.
"You clearly said you'd grant a wish, right? If I win, I'm going to drain every single drop of blood from your body by tomorrow dawn. You'd better wash your neck well."
"If you catch me, feel free to stick a straw or a bamboo pipe in my neck. Though I doubt that day will ever come..."
Jinhyuk grinned.
Provoking them like this was the surest way to make them take the bait.
He happened to have important favors to ask of each of them anyway.
With this, he could legally put them to work without any pangs of conscience.
"You're dead...!"
Alice's figure vanished.
At the same time,
"A wish... That works out perfectly. I have something I want from Jinhyuk-nim too."
"You will regret this."
Andrea and Wolyeong accepted the bet as well.
* * *
They knew Jinhyuk was amazing.
They had personally witnessed him overcome impossible odds time and time again.
But not this time.
No matter how monstrously skilled he was, there was no way he could win a bet against the three of them.
At least, not with the restriction that he couldn't be caught even once.
Yet, the moment they drew near Jinhyuk, they felt a profound, bizarre sense of incongruity.
What... what is this?
How is he this fast...?
Unbelievable. To think I can't even catch his shadow even with my Soundless Steps...
It wasn't just a matter of being fast.
It was as if they were fighting a ghost.
They had already lost sight of Jinhyuk multiple times.
What they had initially thought would be an easy win was turning into a nightmare, and as time passed, dark shadows began to loom over their faces.
What kind of disaster they would face if they lost to this vicious boss... they knew better than anyone.
But no matter how hard they tried, the result remained the same.
Tap!
"Eek!"
Andrea's fingertips barely missed Jinhyuk's collar, failing to touch him.
"Close one. Still, your movements have improved compared to before. You could probably suppress an ordinary raid team all by yourself now."
"D-Don't tease me!"
Andrea spun 180 degrees and lowered her center of gravity.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind kicked up as her small body darted around like a flying squirrel.
Only one minute remained.
This was no time to be picky about methods.
"We have to pounce on him all at once!" Andrea shouted urgently.
"Pounce, my foot! Just kill him! Kill him! We need to obliterate him to void the bet!"
Feeling an instinctive dread, Alice unleashed droplets of red blood.
She was more than half-serious.
Rumble!
The droplets of blood poured toward Jinhyuk all at once.
"Hey, that skill has some real emotion behind it. Are you seriously trying to kill me? This is just a game!"
"I'd rather cleanly kill you than let you hold something over me, you idiot!"
Alice quickly cast her second attack.
[Alice uses Lv.?? 'Blood Fog'!]
This time, a fog of blood instantly obscured his vision.
She wasn't aiming for a direct hit.
Rather, it was a setup to support the others.
She's planning to have Wolyeong or Andrea strike.
[Wolyeong activates the Unique Ability 'Shadow Extreme Kill'!]
Sure enough.
With a ripple, Wolyeong's presence emerged from the shadow.
It was a spatial teleportation technique that was impossible to avoid even if one prepared for it in advance.
However, even that swift, decisive move could not surpass the 'Domain of Wind'.
Jinhyuk vanished from Wolyeong's sight.
"Huh?"
When the target suddenly evaporated, it was only natural for one's body to tilt forward.
Wolyeong collided head-on with Andrea, who was facing him.
Crash!
"Ugh."
"Ouch, hurts..."
Wolyeong and Andrea slumped to the ground.
They had realized that trying any further was utterly pointless.
Left as the last one standing, Alice chased after Jinhyuk, sweating profusely.
The three minutes had long since passed, but such details didn't seem to matter to her.
"Aren't you going to give up? Time's already up."
"No... Hey, honestly, this is cheating. I haven't even been able to use my full power yet! Seriously, undo my seal completely. We should fight fair and square, what's with this cheap trick?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"Why would I intentionally put myself at a disadvantage? I'm having plenty of fun as it is."
Jinhyuk moved behind Alice and gave her a flick on the head.
Thwack!
"Hey! If I catch you, I'll seriously... Aaah!"
Thwack!
The crisp sound repeatedly echoed as he tapped her head.
"Ow! Hey, that hit the bone!"
"I know."
Thwack! Tap! Thwack-tap!
The cheerful hitting sounds grew even more intense. Now, it sounded grand enough to rival an opera.
In the end,
"Stop! I yield! I yield!"
Alice, crouching down with her arms wrapped tightly around her head, admitted defeat.
If even Alice couldn't catch me, the performance test is more than complete.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
He smiled not only because he was pleased with the 'Domain of Wind', but also because he was dying to see their reactions when he announced their penalties.