Chapter 115
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Solo Legion
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Han So-mi felt like she was dreaming right now. An utterly unrealistic dream at that.
"Oppa Kang Seol is that person...?"
Kongori and Nobira.
Cities in a vaguely central or northern stretch of Nebania.
There was an incredibly famous figure there.
A person known as Anonymous.
Someone who never disclosed their information or revealed their movements if they could help it.
Yet any Transcender in the region—nine out of ten—kept close tabs on their activities.
It was all because of the ranking system.
"Heard it's... almost three million points."
Rumors lately pegged the adventurer's score near three million—a tally that would normally require rallying an entire raid of typical Transcenders.
That was right.
Anonymous was an army unto himself.
"How the hell does someone rack up that many points?"
Han So-mi had met no small number of Transcenders by now.
Whether adventuring or resting, they shared information with each other, and details leaked out knowingly or not.
They were all the same.
They'd gone through similar processes and adventures of comparable difficulty.
Putting all that together, Han So-mi's conclusion was simple: there was no normal way to reach Anonymous's score.
"I figured they were pulling some kind of cheat..."
In truth, that was the obvious assumption.
If most Transcenders were scoring within a tight range, was the lone frontrunner the weirdo—or were the normals the weird ones?
The frontrunner was blatantly abnormal.
Events unfolding across Pandea continent felt eerily patterned and timely.
Unless you did something wildly out of the ordinary, you faced adventures of moderate difficulty and standard composition.
"It's like everything's a game."
Sometimes phrases about rolling dice popped up, so her hunch wasn't entirely off-base.
"But this... this is straight-up cheating..."
If it was a game, Kang Seol was clearly some vile bug-exploiting player.
There was no other way to explain it.
"Haha! It's over!"
Turiaks tries to block with his arm substitution.
Whoosh...
Turiaks tried defending against Karen's strike by offering his arm in place, but Karen wielded Invincible from the start—a technique that inflicted damage even through blocks.
Slash!
Kraaaaaagh!
Slash!
In the aftermath, an invisible flurry of sword strikes rained on Turiaks, followed by a crisp slicing sound as the ogre's head tumbled to the ground.
Thud.
The severed head was hefty enough to hit with a resounding boom.
"Phew... This area's done!"
Karen let out a sigh, as if she'd just finished some tedious homework.
Even that reaction was astonishing, but what shocked Han So-mi even more was the black knight emerging from Kang Seol's hand.
Hummmm...
A massive blue glow erupts, cleaving the ogre bone-deep.
Ogres—what were they? For current Transcenders, barring the top ranks, they were massive monsters incredibly tough to hunt even in parties.
Their intelligence, just a hair above beasts, made them brutally tricky.
And here were beings soloing such ogres.
Plus—and this was only now dawning on her—they weren't even human.
"Shadows..."
They were shadows.
The ceaselessly oozing black aura proved her guess right.
They commanded shadows.
And wielded overwhelming personal might.
- Still providing illusion party support?
Han So-mi mulled over those words before shouting.
"Ah! Dangerous!"
In her line of sight, the murky, transformed Kang Seol was facing the last ogre alone.
[Taking the form of Sorcerer 'Mountain Sorcerer Jamad' as a night crow.]
[Absorbing Mountain Sorcerer Jamad's stats.]
[Job: Fighter status.]
Rustle!
In that moment of crisis—so brief it was a mere instant—Kang Seol, shrouded in shadows, clashed fists with the ogre Toria.
Boom!
With a sharp clang, Kang Seol was sent flying.
Whirl!
But somersaulting through the air to bleed off the impact, he quickly regained a stable stance.
In that split second as he locked eyes, the other battles had all concluded.
Slash!
[Defeated Bone Lover Turiaks.]
[Additional rewards granted.]
Hummm...
[Defeated Forest Predator Gulliam.]
[Additional rewards granted.]
Only Toria remained for Kang Seol to face.
The shadow's mouth opened.
"Perfect opponent. Hey."
"Jamad?"
"Focus. From now on, you control the body."
In that instant, an immense sense of liberation washed over Kang Seol.
Along with tremendous power.
He gritted his teeth against the endless ecstasy.
"Pretty nimble for that bulk. Solid first opponent for you."
"Think I'm up for it? Haven't fought since elementary school."
"...Grew up in a different world from this body. Living was the fight for me."
"So... doable?"
"I'll hammer it into your body. Feel it for yourself."
At that moment, Toria's eyes began glowing blood-red.
Kraaaaaaaaagh!
[Toria confirms Turiaks's death.]
[Special ability: Comrade Love activates.]
[Toria's all stats rise 20%.]
[Toria confirms Gulliam's death.]
[Special ability: Comrade Love activates.]
[Toria's all stats rise 20%.]
The ferocious aura doubled in intensity.
A horrific killing intent.
Jamad's voice rang out.
This time, not as sound but directly in Kang Seol's mind—sharper, clearer.
- Picking it up quick, eh?
"Damn it..."
[Toria uses Breath Hold.]
[Toria makes no sound.]
[Toria uses Sneak.]
[Toria emits no presence.]
Suddenly, the massive ogre vanished.
- Focus, unless you want your head gone.
"Need help?"
Karen shouted, but Kang Seol didn't respond.
Judging it a refusal, she shrugged and stuck close to Han So-mi's group. Karuna did the same.
Just in case Toria targeted the others.
Kang Seol tuned them out and zeroed in on the fight.
Seeing his clumsy stance, Jamad advised.
'Wider base on the ground. Good movement starts from the outset.'
Slide...
The moment Kang Seol shifted his feet to correct it.
[Toria's Sneak releases.]
[Toria's Breath Hold releases.]
[Toria enters Exhausted state.]
[Damage reduced 30% for 5 seconds.]
Toria burst out, lunging with both hands to grab him.
"Ngh..."
Whoosh!
Kang Seol leaped into the air, barely dodging.
- Avoid going airborne. No wings means no freedom.
"I know! I know, but..."
Humm!
Toria's elbow whipped toward the floating Kang Seol.
"Hnng..."
Spin...
Kang Seol twisted wildly midair, dodging once more.
- So when do you attack?
"Haa... This ain't easy..."
- Lower body's sloppy. Even with my power, your base stamina...
"Got any useful advice right now?"
Grrr...
[Toria uses Sweep.]
[Attack radius widened.]
- Useful advice? Should've said so sooner. Fine, you're learning by instinct anyway—fundamentals can wait.
[Toria makes no sound.]
[Toria uses Sneak.]
[Toria emits no presence.]
Sss...
Toria vanished again.
Could he dodge this time?
- Rock Fang tribe's traditional grub includes wild game dishes.
"...That's your advice?"
- Listen up. It's drilled straight into your head—no need to strain.
[Toria's Sneak releases.]
[Toria's Breath Hold releases.]
[Toria enters Exhausted state.]
[Damage reduced 30% for 5 seconds.]
Toria lunged once more.
Crack!
Trees in the periphery were swept away and toppled.
The sheer fact it was possible proved the ogre's monstrous strength.
'One hit lands, I'm done!'
- Called nurri. Uses unique peppers for seasoning. Know what's fun?
"......"
- You'll hear anyway. The game? Reeks of it. Goats, boars, deer, rabbits—all gamey. Yet nurri tastes consistent across meats, gamey mostly gone. Why?
Boom!
"Ugh... Getting it now..."
- The seasoning's the star. Nurri's flavor is mostly that. You're gamey meat. Rank, worthless.
Kraaaagh!
[Toria's special ability: Wind Hole activates.]
[Toria's physical attacks now pierce through.]
Crack!
Toria's fist cratered a tree instead, punching a massive fist-sized hole clean through.
"Bullet... freaking bullet..."
- But no sweat. I've got combat experience—the ultimate seasoning.
"Get to the point! I'm about to get ventilated!"
- Felt it borrowing your body last time: faint engravings of your moves. Wiped 'em—too sloppy.
"So that means..."
Hummm!
Crack!
Kang Seol was still just dodging.
But his movements were already markedly improved.
- Mine are engraved in you too. Season out that gamey stench with my experience.
"Why didn't you say so sooner!"
Kang Seol found his opening and countered Toria's follow-up.
'Here...'
[Toria misses target.]
Kraaagh!
Easily slipping from Toria's grasp, Kang Seol nodded.
'It was real.'
Jamad's sensations truly lingered in his body. He'd just failed to grasp them amid the tension.
Now that he had, Kang Seol was a whole different beast.
To the point this training felt pointless.
Kraaaagh!
Toria reared back his right arm wide before thrusting at the stationary Kang Seol.
Undeniably devastating power—but riddled with gaps.
- See it?
The massive opening in Toria's motion.
But Kang Seol was already diving in before Jamad even asked.
- Dive if you're no coward.
"Obviously..."
[Switching to Volcano Stance]
[Flames cling to all attacks | Explosions at impact points | Persistent: Clinging Flames | Persistent: Heat and Warmth]
He plunged in chest-first.
"Wait, no!"
But as it was his first strike, one thing caught him off-guard.
'Will this be enough?'
Would a plain punch really drop Toria? The doubt flickered.
But Jamad caught it and dispelled it.
- More than enough.
Too focused on motion to switch stances himself, Jamad tuned the body instead.
And on Kang Seol's right arm, shadow hands sprouted—not like before.
Crackle!
Mana drained from his body in a torrent.
Jamad's doing.
'This brute! What about after...'
[Shadow Hand affected by Persistent: Clinging Flames.]
[Shadow Hand affected by Persistent: Heat and Warmth.]
[Shadow's Price special ability activates.]
[New ability created.]
"...Huh?"
Kang Seol's arm ballooned larger than his body. He swung it instinctively.
Whoosh!
The instant it connected with Toria's jaw, he knew.
- With me stepping up, no need for an 'after.'
No reason to worry about what came next from the start.
BOOM!
Crunch!
Crunch!
Squelch...
Splat...
The impact ripped Toria's head free; it smashed through multiple trees before flying off.
[Defeated Quiet Toria.]
[Additional rewards granted.]
[Successfully cleared Sudden Adventure.]
[Achieved 'Don't, Don't Panic!']
[Acquired Title: Fixer]
[Adventure ends upon time expiration or reward selection.]
Kang Seol's interface lit up with messages.