Chapter 26: Sword Saint Cheon Yu-seong (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: Sword Saint Cheon Yu-seong (2)
Throb! Throb! Throb!
A heavy pressure weighed down on his entire body.
His overloaded blood vessels screamed in protest.
Jinhyuk frowned.
As expected.
‘So this is the aftermath of using a combat-type SS-rank unique ability.’
Until now, he hadn't used any combat-type abilities other than the Fire Element, so he hadn't really felt it.
But now, he knew for sure.
Just how crucial the absolute amount of mana was.
If he wanted to use Teresa's unique ability later...
No matter how much mana he had, it would never be enough.
He had just gained another reason to completely absorb the Frozen Tear.
‘For now, I need to end this as quickly as possible.’
If he dragged this out, his body wouldn't hold up.
Jinhyuk gathered every last drop of his remaining mana.
Whoosh!
A dark energy flickered at the tip of his dagger.
It was the Sword Force used by the Sword Demon.
Though he had manifested less than a tenth of its original power,
this would be more than enough.
More than enough indeed.
* * *
Grit!
Cheon Yu-seong bit his lip so hard his teeth sank deep.
Blood welled up, but he felt no pain.
‘I can never... accept this.’
He had worked himself to the bone.
Both inside the game and out.
But no matter how much he trained and struggled, he could never defeat the bastard in front of him.
The result was always a black-and-white screen.
Only the red letters reading [You Died] spoke of what his efforts had amounted to.
One year, two years...
So much time had passed, to the point where he couldn't even count how many times he had read that death message.
Years spent forgetting, having given up on everything.
And then, right at that moment.
The [Tower of Trials] became reality.
This is it!
If only he could start everything over.
There was absolutely no reason he should fall behind that guy.
The current gap was only because the other had started the game earlier and monopolized all the good opportunities.
But.
Even though he had finished preparations he was certain were the absolute best...
Why on earth!
Why do you bring me nothing but despair once again?!
Cheon Yu-seong roared savagely.
‘Soul-Chasing Sword Dance.’
Sword Qi split into dozens of streams.
‘First Form.’
Tangible blue mana began to overflow.
‘Soul-Chasing Asura Sword.’
Never... absolutely never!
"I won't accept this!"
Screaming, Cheon Yu-seong swung his sword.
Like the claws of a wild beast,
dozens of sword qi strikes surged to swallow Jinhyuk.
Rumble, crash!
The ground was sliced apart like sheets of paper.
An overwhelming power.
The sheer wind from the sword alone exerted an absurd physical force.
Where the storm swept through, only a thick cloud of dust billowed up.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Cheon Yu-seong panted heavily.
His chest heaved violently.
He had unleashed his absolute best ultimate technique.
With this, it must have worked.
But.
"Why does that skill kick up so much dust?"
From within the thick shroud of dirt.
Step.
Jinhyuk emerged, completely unscathed.
He hadn't blocked it.
He hadn't countered it either.
He had simply dodged.
"Y-you read... every single path of my sword?"
There were dozens of them.
That was impossible!
Even he, the one who swung the sword, didn't know every single path it would take.
"The Soul-Chasing Sword isn't bad, but I've fought someone who uses something much faster and stronger."
Not on this 1st floor, but much higher up.
He had clashed with one of the absolute rulers who dominated the tower.
"Ridiculous. There is no high-level martial art superior to the Soul-Chasing Sword, except for the ones used by the Heavenly Demon."
"How did you know? I fought that guy, you know."
"To the very end!"
Cheon Yu-seong slashed horizontally.
At the same time.
From above...
...to below.
Jinhyuk plunged his dagger down.
Clang!
The swords, moving on completely different trajectories, collided at a single point.
Screeech!
The clash of Qi and Force.
Blue sparks showered in all directions.
But the balance didn't last long.
The fully manifested black moon instantly ate away at Cheon Yu-seong's Aura.
"Kugh!"
A heavy groan escaped Cheon Yu-seong's lips.
He had poured in so much mana it was practically a rampage, but even that wasn't enough.
It wasn't a matter of mana. It wasn't a matter of skills or unique abilities either.
There was simply a difference between them in how much they had enjoyed and loved this world.
In the end.
Thud!
Cheon Yu-seong dropped to one knee.
"Cough!"
Crash!
With the follow-up blow, he lost his grip on the Iron Sword Inscribed with Qianlong.
The sword spun through the air before piercing into the ground.
The battle was finally decided.
"Looks like I won again. Though I don't know the exact score."
He had forgotten the count a long time ago.
Even by a conservative estimate, it had to be well into the double digits.
"It's 13...8."
138, huh?
Has it already been that many?
"Next time will be 139. Of course, that's if you mistakenly think you have a chance again."
At Jinhyuk's words, Cheon Yu-seong glared up.
"Next time?"
"Yeah, next time. Oh! And if possible, I'd prefer it if you came back stronger than you are now."
To use the copying ability on the same target again, a 90-day cooldown was required.
And,
knowing Cheon Yu-seong, he would definitely bring back an even more useful ability the next time they met.
‘In other words, I can basically have a catering service come right to me.’
Why go through the trouble of searching all over the place to copy skills?
When there was a guy right in front of him practically dying to get stronger?
A guy like this was best raised slowly before being devoured.
‘Since he'll even obtain [that skill] on the 15th floor later.’
Thinking about copying the fortuitous opportunity that only a training maniac could obtain, the corners of Jinhyuk's mouth naturally curled upward.
Of course,
"Kill me. I don't need your pity."
From Cheon Yu-seong's perspective, he had no choice but to take those words as cheap sympathy.
Man.
He was probably the only guy in the world who would get mad at being spared.
Nothing could be done about it.
Sighing softly, Jinhyuk sheathed his dagger.
"As you know, the Tower of Trials is no walk in the park. Even rankers die the moment they let their guard down here, don't they?"
Talking about the tower's difficulty was just a waste of breath.
Especially now, with the added variable of 'humans,' the difficulty must have skyrocketed compared to the past.
"That's why we need as many strong players as possible. Especially an exceptionally strong player like you."
"An exceptionally... strong player?"
Cheon Yu-seong's eyes trembled slightly.
It was a strange look.
Like the trash son of a count's family, ignored his entire life, finally receiving recognition from his father.
He was hooked.
...Now was the time.
Jinhyuk reached out a hand to Cheon Yu-seong.
At the same time, he subtly activated another skill.
[Lv2 'Communion' has been activated.]
[The target's hostility toward you softens.]
[Favorable impression has slightly increased.]
Taking Jinhyuk's hand, Cheon Yu-seong stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"...You're not wrong. But keep this in mind. Next time, the result will be completely different."
Sure, sure. Whatever you say.
"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to it."
Jinhyuk chuckled.
But then,
just as he was about to deactivate the barrier, Cheon Yu-seong paused.
"Come to think of it, I still don't know your name."
"It's not like we're going to see each other often, so is there really a need to exchange names?"
Hey, you, there, look here, etc.
Pronouns exist to be used in times like this, don't they?
"Fine. I understand. Then I shall call you by what I originally called you."
Huh?
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
Don't tell me...
"Wait! Don't call me that."
Jinhyuk cried out in a panic.
I'll tell you my name, so please.
Stop, you bastard!
"Colonel Teemo."
Ah, I told you not to call me that...
Jinhyuk massaged his temples.
At the same time, he realized once again just how massive of an impact a nickname made on a whim could have.
And he realized it very, very painfully.
* * *
While Jinhyuk was busy looting items after his battle with Cheon Yu-seong,
another anomaly was occurring in the ruins.
The raid team was resting after finishing a battle.
"Cheon-hwa hyung. Didn't we clear out all the monsters up ahead?"
A magic-type player using detection magic tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah. Kwang-il took the guys and wiped them all out an hour ago."
"Really? Hmm..."
"Why?"
"Well, it's just that my detection magic is picking up a mana reaction. It looks like one or two of them, but..."
"No way. They were Specters, so I know they checked three times to make sure they were completely dealt with. Let me see."
Song Cheon-hwa approached the man.
It was true.
A red dot was displayed on the translucent holographic screen.
"Sigh. That bastard Kwang-il. He must have gotten lazy and done a half-assed job."
Song Cheon-hwa scratched his head.
Sometimes things like this happened.
Missing one or two ghost-type monsters like Specters that were easy to lose sight of.
But right then.
"Huh? W-wait a minute. This thing started moving."
"What do you mean, moving? Those guys stay completely still unless they're aggroed."
"I'm serious! And it's fast. It's coming straight this way!"
At that moment.
Thud. Thud!
Footsteps began to echo from nearby.
Footsteps that should have been impossible for ghost-type monsters.
Song Cheon-hwa's pupils dilated in shock.
If, by some chance...
What if they hadn't missed a Specter, but a completely new entity had appeared?
And what if no one had noticed until it breached the outer perimeter and got this close?
A chill ran down his spine.
Goosebumps broke out all over his body.
"Wake up... everyone who's resting, right now!"
"A-all of them?"
"Yes, all of them!"
Song Cheon-hwa roared.
* * *
A moment later, what appeared before the raid team was a massive, three-meter-tall golem.
A heavy body made of stone.
However, what drew more attention than the golem was the white-haired man perched on its shoulder.
"Hmm. Hello, humans."
A sweet voice echoed in their ears.
The man smiled brightly at Song Cheon-hwa.
"I-it's talking?"
"Damn it. Of all things, an intelligent monster."
"That golem isn't just any golem, either—it's an Iron Golem. Blades won't even leave a scratch on it."
The players muttered among themselves.
Intelligent monsters were notorious for being difficult to deal with.
Among them, those with human-like appearances were the type players avoided the most.
"Are you the boss monster of these ruins?"
Song Cheon-hwa asked, shielding himself with a massive shield.
"Haha, my name is Bellus. I am merely one of the Blood Clan serving the master of these ruins."
"Blood Clan? If it's the Blood Clan..."
Mulling over the words, Song Cheon-hwa's eyes widened in shock.
"N-no way."
Among monsters with beautiful human appearances, there was only one kind that used that term.
"A vampire..."
And if that was true,
then the master of these ruins whom this man served was...
Gulp.
Song Cheon-hwa swallowed hard.
The True Ancestor.
One of the strongest existences in the Tower of Trials.
This place was his territory.
‘We stand no chance.’
He had never imagined such a powerful monster would be on the 1st floor.
No matter how much they had Teresa and their trump cards prepared, the True Ancestor was an exception.
‘His level must be at least in the 500s.’
At this point, no unique ability or sacred relic could hunt him down.
Song Cheon-hwa forced himself to speak.
"What do you want from us? You wouldn't have come here for no reason."
"Oh. You're quite quick-witted. That's right. The reason I came all this way is to make a proposal."
Bellus leaped down from the golem's shoulder.
Thud.
He landed lightly, as if defying gravity.
"What kind of proposal?"
"I will give you a choice. You may choose one of two options. First, will everyone here quietly follow me? Or..."
Red mana began to condense in Bellus's palm.
"Will you have about half of you killed as an example, and then be dragged away like livestock?"