Honcheon Noeje (1)
With a sharp crack, a pure white hand thrust out from the split rift.
It wasn't just slightly pale skin—it was so ghostly white it almost seemed like a different art style altogether. When people talked about otherworld beings, they usually pictured tentacle horrors straight out of Cthulhu mythos.
Not wrong.
The otherworld deities, the Outer Gods, sometimes took forms like that. But the entity descending here wasn't quite on that level.
These were beings empowered by Outer Gods, wielding immense strength. The world called them avatars of the otherworld.
That didn't make them weak, of course. The Outer Gods were just on another dimension of power. Those granted their strength were all firmly in the realm of the elite. The particularly strong ones could even toy with Masters like it was nothing.
It's no exaggeration to say those guys wrecked the power balance.
Still, there was one hopeful note…
The ones coming now shouldn't be the strong ones.
This was still before the main story even kicked off. It was hard to imagine a powerhouse who could mock a Master with one hand showing up right at the start. Probably some low-tier avatar that got offed to send a replacement. Ones specialized in mobility, no doubt—their goal was to sow chaos and steal the Star of Eternal Frost.
Even so, they were at a realm starting to surpass Masters. I had to treat this as facing four Sword Ghosts.
Can I win?
I gauged their power through the aura emanating from the sword hilt under my fingers. If I went all out, it was doable.
In the main story, it'd just be some unnamed mob that doesn't even get spotlight.
But there was a problem. Reports from the Northern Frontline collapse mentioned four avatars. The other three would show up soon enough.
If those three are on this guy's level… this could be rough.
Maybe I should just bail now? The thought crossed my mind just as the first one fully emerged.
By then, I was already launching myself—at it.
It hadn't noticed me yet.
End it in one strike.
No turning back once I'd committed. With no clue how strong the other three were, I had to drop one as fast as possible.
I recalled the martial art best suited for this. The answer came quick.
Jeomchang Sect's Four Sun Swordsmanship. Absolute Strike.
Houyi Shooting the Sun. A one-hit kill sword technique, said to shoot down the sun itself.
I drew my blade and mimicked the fastest sword style I'd ever seen. How many times had that move pierced my skull, my chest, my limbs?
They say the one who's taken the most beatings knows exactly where to hit for max pain—and boldly speaking, my Houyi Shooting the Sun was near-perfect. Though my speed fell short of the original, the thrust was lightning-quick, like a beam of light.
Creeeeang—!
So when it was blocked, my shock doubled.
My sword clashed against a greatsword that suddenly jutted from the rift. Not blocked by the first scrub avatar—it had only just noticed me and was panicking.
"What…! Who are you?!"
No time to answer the scrub. I swiftly retreated with a footwork technique, pulling back to assess.
Even if I didn't go full power…
A carefully executed strike, blocked so easily. I needed to gauge the newcomer.
Finally, the greatsword's owner fully emerged from the rift and slowly turned its head. It stared at me wordlessly.
The moment our eyes met, I knew something was wrong. This wasn't a scrub.
It was a monster that shouldn't appear this early.
"Impressive."
Had it sensed something in me? It burst into delighted laughter.
"Looks like the plan's gone sideways from the jump."
Gripping its oversized greatsword, it assumed a stance like it would charge any second.
"Who'd have thought a monster like you was waiting right here."
Sensing the magi dormant in my body? I gritted my teeth and took my stance. No running now. Only fighting gave a sliver of hope.
I recognized it instantly. Ghostly white skin and hair. Jet-black reverse pupils contrasting it. Black horns sprouting from its head, lightning tattoos etched on its cheeks like cursed script.
Anyone spotting those features would know.
"…Honcheon Noeje."
"You know me?"
Of course. A named monster with major screentime.
Honcheon Noeje, the Thunder Emperor of the Dark Heavens. He'd abandoned his name, offered himself to an Outer God to finally step into the Master realm after decades of failure.
"Traitor to the world."
"…Fair enough. You have the right to call me that."
He was publicly a full-fledged Master among the elite.
…Meaning he could one-shot Kallan, the Sword Ghost, at this point in the story.
A villain who debuted with overwhelming power from the start. One who'd forced the protagonists into defeat events multiple times.
Pzzzt!
White lightning began crackling along the greatsword in Honcheon Noeje's hand. Pure white, flawless—yet utterly repulsive.
Luckily? He was wary of me, not charging recklessly.
"No need for chit-chat, right?"
Wait, there is.
"Here I come."
Don't—!
With a sharp pzzt and sparks, Honcheon Noeje's form shot forward like a bullet—straight at me.
Fast.
Its movements blurred completely. The raised greatsword slashed down in a straightforward vertical arc.
Can't block.
Not even something I, who couldn't yet beat Kallan, could handle. Clashing would cleave my sword—and me—in two.
I kicked off the ground, flinging myself sideways. The greatsword grazed past, slamming into the earth.
Pzzzzzt!
Lightning energy erupted from the blade, leaving countless small wounds on my body.
Honcheon Noeje's magi trait. Born with innate thunder energy. The moment he released magi, it poured out like thunderbolts.
Hence, Thunder Emperor.
Even a simple linear swing became deadly, transformed by his natural thunder.
Insane rock-and-a-hard-place.
Meet the blade, get crushed by overwhelming sword force. Dodge, and the lightning whittles you down till exhaustion.
His swordsmanship was simple yet not—ordinary slashes unleashed wildly variable thunder sweeps.
So instead, I stepped forward.
I'm a vet too, you know.
I knew all the patterns. Reality wouldn't be as straightforward as a game, but some rules never changed.
Like how his thunder hurts him too.
So I closed in. He'd limit the spread forward for his own safety.
Closer is safer.
At the same time, I unleashed Falling Petal Palm with one hand, landing five rapid strikes on Honcheon Noeje's chest.
He twisted to dodge, but the flashy feints landed anyway, shoving him back several steps.
Eh? Easier than I thought?
Honestly, when he showed up, I'd debated bailing. But this early in the timeline? Seemed manageable.
Plus, the rift behind them had closed unnoticed—only these two, unlike what I remembered.
Time to bluff a bit.
Fights were all about momentum.
"Alright, now I'll go all out."
"Then I'll do the same."
Say what?
Rumble… kurrrung!
With those words, thunderous sounds emanated from Honcheon Noeje's body, his entire form crackling like it was made of lightning.
Strong. Just bathing in the thunder-laced aura made my skin prickle.
"Ho, hooh… Not bad… for a human…"
But faltering meant dog meat. I spat whatever to keep the momentum, feigning intrigue.
Bail now?
That was my all-out; his wasn't. Escape plans started forming.
Long story short, I scrapped the escape.
Turning your back on a Master-level foe? Suicide.
Begging to die.
Besides…
Back wounds are a swordsman's shame.
Couldn't show my back to the enemy. If I failed here, this world would barrel toward destruction like in the original Dust Saga.
If not me, who?
That didn't make the situation rosy.
Every swing of the Thunder Emperor's blade unleashed white lightning bolts. I could fully dodge the sword, but the spreading thunder? No escaping.
No pattern—just wild sprays. How do you evade that?
Soon, wounds riddled my body.
…But.
This is fun.
Snapping to, I realized I'd been obsessively observing and analyzing the thunder, lost in it.
Utterly mad for martial arts. Even with death looming.
How to mimic with magi? Crash magi from two directions…? Nah, that'd just explode.
Scan enough wuxia tales, and sects with the same name wield different secrets across worlds. Take the Namgung Clan: in Murim Reincarnation with Namgung Sim, they relied purely on superior numbers and overwhelming force.
But in Peerless Prodigy Sword Girl Supreme, they handled thunder via heart arts like Heavenly Thunder Sovereign Divine Art or Heavenly Thunder Energy.
In dreams, wielding lightning with martial arts seemed… too unrealistic, so I'd skipped it.
But battling the Thunder Emperor changed my mind.
Shouldn't judge by realism here.
This wasn't my old reality anymore.
Then forget it all.
Modern prejudices from my past life were stunting growth. Time to discard them.
Shatter every notion, empty the mind.
Learn anew.
With the purest heart.
No more impatience. Facing a Master? No issue.
One thought filled my head: I wanted to wield that thunder power he swung so wildly.
That realization hit, and the Thunder Emperor was no longer my foe.
"My master."
"…What?"
"I'll take you as my master."
Hey, I'd long since toughened up to learning while getting pummeled.