Chapter 16
Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Second Engraving
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kim Dae-wook's left arm swung, smashing into the building's foundation.
Heavy Arm lives up to its name.
It hadn't touched me yet.
But its power was overwhelming.
Compared to the Daikon, which was several times larger, this power was superior.
Ssshh!
Groooar... Boom!
This is getting dangerous.
Typically, classes that enlarged themselves to focus solely on power had a weakness.
Each motion was large, and the more power they put into it, the bigger the opening after the attack.
But Kim Dae-wook's left arm was different.
Ssshh... Whoosh!
The moment I dodged the swing to the right, his left arm was already right beside me.
It was a physically impossible counter-motion timing, but Kim Dae-wook's left arm made it possible by spewing steam to change direction.
"Was all that talk just hot air? How long are you going to keep scurrying around like a rat?!"
As I kept dodging, an excited Kim Dae-wook started running his mouth.
Then his left arm swung toward my face.
I took two or three steps back, escaping the attack range.
Spot!
Seizing the moment his vision was blocked, I hurled a Daikon's claw at his torso.
Ting! Ting!
Armored up tight, huh.
The Daikon's claw bounced off something.
Kim Dae-wook knew his weaknesses well.
No matter how much the steam in his left arm compensated for counter-motions, the rest of his body was no different from an ordinary person's.
So he'd wrapped the rest of his body in thick plate armor that his left arm couldn't cover.
"All you've got are cheap tricks! Where'd that bravado from earlier go?!"
Kim Dae-wook was convinced.
That I couldn't beat him in power, and even if I closed in with speed, as long as he guarded his face with his left arm, I couldn't hurt him.
Right now, he was definitely stronger than me.
I could probably break through with Explosion Engraving.
But...
Shine.
The problem was the magic stone.
In the pouch on Kim Dae-wook's upper body.
It was glowing from there.
If it got caught in an explosion and shattered...
That would be the worst.
We didn't even know if Yullas's garden dungeon would appear anywhere else.
If Kim Dae-wook's magic stone was gone, finding another one was uncertain at best.
"Kahaha! Let's see how long you can run! My steam has no end!"
Kim Dae-wook's fighting style was one that completely abandoned speed.
He held his ground, protected his body with thick plate armor, and crushed enemies by combining his superhuman strength left arm with steam.
If I were a gunner, this would be much easier.
Classes with ranged attacks were poison to someone like Kim Dae-wook who couldn't move quickly.
But I was fundamentally Body Technique-based, and engravings only detonated on contact, so I had to be seen as a close-range class.
In that case...
I stared at the ground beneath Kim Dae-wook's feet as he circled around with minimal movement.
Kim Dae-wook, standing firm like a fortress, balancing himself.
Let's disrupt that balance first.
Screeech...!
I dodged the fist coming at my face.
Ssshh!
The instant steam burst out, I dove under his feet.
I engraved it on my palm.
Then pressed it to the ground where Kim Dae-wook stood.
Boom!
"Wha!?"
The explosion shattered the ground.
Kim Dae-wook, unable to react, lost his balance and floated into the air.
To him, it might feel like a split-second drop.
But not to me.
Thud.
I stepped on the shattered concrete chunks and closed in on Kim Dae-wook.
"You bastard!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kim Dae-wook swung his left arm wildly, but it was different from before.
No footing meant he couldn't put proper power into his swings.
I hurled the remaining Daikon's claw at his face.
"That won't work, you bastard!"
Ssshh!
Kim Dae-wook quickly spewed steam to cover his face with his left arm.
The moment he blocked his own vision...
Swish.
I swiftly reached for the glowing pouch.
"!?"
Realizing his mistake, Kim Dae-wook reacted immediately, but...
"Mine now."
The magic stone was already in my hand.
"You bastard!!"
The moment it touched my hand, the magic stone dissolved into light.
The final condition fulfilled, and light enveloped my vision.
Where the hell is this?
I was clearly fighting Kim Dae-wook in the building in Dong-a Village.
Yet somehow, I stood in a place I'd never seen before.
Everything around was swallowed in white.
Stele.
In this all-white space, there was something with color.
Right before me stood a massive gray stele.
It was enormous, comparable to a single-story building.
Dozens of circles were engraved on the stele.
All empty except for one.
That one...
The filled one bore a familiar engraving.
The first engraving given when I became an Engraver.
Explosion Engraving.
I didn't know how I knew the name.
It just naturally came to mind.
Hummm...!
Moments later, one of the empty circles on the stele began to glow.
A new engraving slowly etched itself into the glowing circle.
My max Yin Force, previously 50, changed to 200.
My level rose from 1 to 3.
Not entirely sure yet, but it felt like the Yin Force and level gains varied depending on the engraving unlocked.
Rune Utilization...?
Just unlocking one engraving granted another passive skill.
Now I could engrave not just on parts of my body, but on other objects too.
I'd gained an engraving and leveled up.
Now then.
The thing I'd been waiting for most.
Still only 1/10, but double what it was at 5% before.
And.
This should be enough.
I felt power surging through my body.
A smile crept onto my lips.
The space that had suddenly appeared faded away.
As the white light surrounding me swallowed the stele too, I emerged back into reality.
"Where'd you stash the magic stone?!"
The moment I exited, Kim Dae-wook's fist flew at me.
Swish.
I dodged the fist and created distance.
My body was clearly different from before entering the Engraver's space.
Much lighter. Much stronger.
"Let me show you something good."
"What...?"
Now, the magic stone that had protected Kim Dae-wook until now was gone.
No need to hesitate in attacking him anymore.
I could finish him with Explosion Engraving, but I wanted to test something new.
Hoo.
I took a moment to steady my breathing.
"What the hell are you babbling about!!"
I watched the charging, enraged Kim Dae-wook.
Without the magic stone, he'd even abandoned the advantage of fighting from a fixed position.
But a sluggishly approaching Kim Dae-wook didn't matter.
Thump thump thump.
I felt my heart rate slowing.
Blood flow starting from my heart, down my legs, to my toes.
"Die!!"
I exploded power through my legs.
Blood-red energy rippled from my toes.
"!!!"
Perhaps because the target he thought he'd hit vanished.
Kim Dae-wook looked around frantically, but...
It was pointless.
All he could see were the remnants of blood-red energy I'd left in my wake.
"Where'd you go."
"!!"
He raised his arm to guard his face.
Bam!!
"Guhk!"
Futile.
I kicked his left arm, sending him flying back.
Max is one minute now, huh.
Leg Gate Open.
For a very brief time, it let me mimic my Ghost of Katabi days, even if just a little.
"Grrr... What...
is this!!"
Furious at being overpowered, Kim Dae-wook sprang up and charged again.
10 seconds.
Now, I didn't dodge either.
In a state where I even held the edge in strength.
Kim Dae-wook before me was just a punching bag, bloated and perfect for hitting.
I drove a kick into the approaching Kim Dae-wook.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Kahaak!"
Blood sprayed from Kim Dae-wook's mouth from my invisible leg strikes.
Crack!
Even his left arm, fortified by Heavy Arm traits, began to crack.
5 seconds.
Boom! Boom!
I spun my body, slamming a rotation-powered kick into his left arm.
Kaaaaang!
"Kaaaaaaa!"
A deafening roar as Kim Dae-wook's Heavy Arm shattered to pieces.
Now completely defenseless, Kim Dae-wook wailed madly.
"I'll kill you!! You bastard!!!"
Looking at him.
I placed both hands on the ground and lowered my stance.
Rumble...!
Air rippled, gathering at my hands and feet.
"Be quiet."
1 second.
Like a fully compressed spring releasing.
My lowered body exploded forward at Kim Dae-wook.
"You looked weak."
Kaaaaaboom!!!
Drip drip.
"Hoo."
I exhaled and lifted my head.
Kim Dae-wook, crushed and embedded in the ceiling.
His left shoulder, from the final kick, was cleanly gone.
Zzt.
"Ugh."
I looked down at my stinging foot, like electricity coursing through it.
I thought 10% recovery of my Ghost days would make it usable.
But even under 30 seconds of maintenance, the pain was intense.
Using it recklessly could be dangerous.
It was the technique that made me invincible back in my Ghost days.
A limit-release art that amplified strength and speed several times based on base physical prowess.
Of course, the backlash was real.
Sometimes leaving me knocked out, unable to recover for a while.
Drip drip drip.
Blood dripped from the ceiling.
Droplets from Kim Dae-wook's utterly pulverized, lifeless body.
I looked down at the blood covering my entire body.
An inescapable fate?
I didn't hate it.
Fighting was always fun, something I'd always done and seen.
But unlike Katabi, where I killed and spilled blood.
I'd been trying to find something else, following Master's words, only to open my eyes and repeat Katabi's deeds.
Tough. So tough.
I shook my head and headed for the door.
Thud.
Then Debi appeared, covered in blood for entirely different reasons.
"Haa... Haa."
Debi looked up at me desperately.
She barely recognized me.
Unlike our first meeting, her whole body was drenched in blood, so it made sense.
"Kang Hyuk... nim."
She barely managed my name.
She said nothing else.
...
A brief silence.
I gazed at Debi, quietly panting.
Different meaning.
I didn't even know what I was thinking.
Just.
Swish.
Unknowingly.
I reached out toward the fallen Debi.