Chapter 94
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: The All Master Who Returned to Bronze
-----------------------------------------------------------------
QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
Peng Claw and Flame Claw.
No victor emerged from the head-on clash between these two near-summoned entities.
The Heaven Shattering Destruction Style was undoubtedly a devastating technique, but Choi Shin-hyeok, who wielded it, was still lacking. Choi In-ho, meanwhile, was utterly drained from consecutive assaults and the Colosseum's debuffs. Neither could claim complete dominance.
SZZZZZZZZZIIIING!
The aftermath of Peng Claw and Flame Claw's collision engulfed the entire Colosseum in thick, choking smoke.
Visibility was near zero, but Shin-hyeok didn't hesitate for a second as he stepped straight into the haze.
Super Sense [D], Mana Detection [C]
Super Sense and Mana Detection.
Only by fully trusting these two skills could he pull this off.
With just them, even blind and deaf, he could advance toward his target precisely. Shin-hyeok cleaved through the smoke, pressing forward.
Each determined stride brought him closer, as relayed by Super Sense and Mana Detection.
At the same time, he struck at the empty air in the smoke-shrouded void.
BWOOOOOOOOOOM!
"Tch."
A massive fireball sliced through the haze and exploded, showering the surroundings with embers.
Shin-hyeok clicked his tongue briefly as he watched the sputtering sparks roll harmlessly across his Armor of Absorption. He felt his target pulling away.
'At Challenger Tier, he must have some detection-type magic or skill.'
In-ho had sensed Shin-hyeok's approach and fired off an attack pinpointed right at him.
It wasn't Super Sense level, but he had something on par with Mana Detection—a high-grade skill.
Shin-hyeok lamented that without it, he could've paired it with Assassin's Handbook [C] for a one-shot lethal blow. But he brushed it off.
He'd never expected to close the gap instantly anyway. The regret faded quickly.
'Black Heaven Thunder Step is too risky with my magic on the edge. Thunder Demon Step it is.'
Magic reserves were iffy, so Black Heaven Thunder Step was out. Opting for the safer Thunder Demon Step, Shin-hyeok kicked off lightly.
RUMBLE!
Enveloped in black lightning, Shin-hyeok shot through the smoke like a streak of thunder.
But In-ho's presence retreated in tandem.
"...Ha, what, hide-and-seek now?"
A game of cat and mouse.
Shin-hyeok let out a hollow chuckle at the reversal—this should've been the other way around—then schooled his face into blank resolve and gathered his energy.
"Hide-and-seek sounds fun. Get caught, and you die. For real."
KUGUGUGUGUGUGUGU!!!
He'd never played with In-ho as a kid—not once—so this chase felt thrillingly novel.
Mana, Magic, Holy Power. Triple Qi Fusion - Enhancement
He scraped together every last drop of remaining energy and unleashed Triple Qi Fusion - Enhancement.
Boosting his physical prowess once more, Shin-hyeok began pursuing In-ho in earnest.
"Hahk... hah... Kugh! How did it come to this..."
The Colosseum brimmed with smoke.
Vast as a major stadium, it offered ample room to flee, but the situation itself was a massive shock to In-ho.
Fleeing.
He'd never backed down even against fellow king-tier players like the Sword King.
Emperor-tiers were the same.
Only two had ever made him feel defeat and despair.
Emperor-tier players.
America's Magic Emperor and Europe's Martial Emperor.
Aside from them, In-ho had never considered himself beneath anyone.
Especially after claiming 'her'—even more so.
But right here, right now.
He was cornered like the first time he'd faced those two emperors.
"I'll kill you... I'll kill you... I will kill you!!!"
His avatar's flames flickered wildly, mirroring his rage.
Bloodshot eyes tore through the smoke ferociously.
He was the pursued for now, but just a bit longer.
If he gathered a little more strength, he could mount a counterattack—
"Here I come, Johnny!"
"...Kuh!"
KWAGWAGWAGWAGAGAK!!!
But In-ho's hopes were dashed.
Shin-hyeok burst through the smoke with a grin, holy sword slashing, and began hammering In-ho relentlessly.
"How?!"
"I've gotten pretty good at assassin tricks myself. Stay hidden. Don't get spotted. Easy, right?"
"...Insolent brat!"
In-ho gaped at Shin-hyeok slipping past his detection magic, then grimaced like a demon as Shin-hyeok shrugged with a cheeky uncle vibe and unleashed a barrage.
"Fire Storm!"
KWARRRRRRRRR!
A storm of flames.
Fire Storm erupted from In-ho's hands, incinerating everything around without mercy.
"Oh, S-grade."
Naturally, it was an S-grade fire spell, requiring an S-grade magic skill to cast.
Low-end for S-grade, sure, but still S-grade.
Shin-hyeok lacked any true S-grades without the Plus Ultra Ring's transcendence skill.
But that was fine.
KIIIIIIIIIING!!!
"Sword... aura?!"
"Yeah, pretty handy, huh?"
"Impossible!!! Sword aura—that's not a technique for the likes of you!!!"
His transcendence skill was already spent in the Martial God's transcendent realm.
Comprehensive Weapon Mastery [A] transcended into S-grade territory, pulling forward the techniques—and miracles—he'd wielded in his future.
Sword aura.
A technique countable on one hand even among Challengers, currently usable on Earth only by the Martial Emperor—and even his was incomplete and unstable.
That sword aura.
Was blazing brilliantly from Shin-hyeok's hand of all people. In-ho barked a hollow laugh.
The reason was simple.
"Aura on the spear too... Haha, it's like a dark comedy."
Shin-hyeok's aura wasn't limited to the sword.
Holy sword and magic spear.
Two weapons ablaze with twin auras.
Sword aura and spear aura.
One in pristine white holy power, the other in pitch-black magic.
The sight left even words failing.
With preparations complete, Shin-hyeok swung both sword and spear at once.
"Storm Wind Extreme Demon. Heaven-Destroying Island Lightning Slash."
A fusion of Heavenly Demon Divine Art - Choi Shin-hyeok Style and Heaven Shattering Destruction Style Volume 1, Section 3, based on spear aura and sword aura.
Its power defied mere "immense."
Cataclysm.
S-grade skills were called that.
Only Challenger-tier players could wield them, and in their hands, they shook heaven and earth.
Fire Storm, an S-grade skill worthy of the name, could've razed the Colosseum to ash given time.
But the moment Shin-hyeok's techniques struck.
KWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGAK!!!
Fire Storm shattered outright.
In-ho ground his teeth as his prized S-grade crumbled from the core in one blow.
But nothing changed.
Fire Storm was In-ho's strongest card.
Subpar condition or not, it was still his ace.
Meaning nothing stronger remained.
"You think... you think I'll go down like this?!"
Yet In-ho refused to yield.
His avatar held, and the Colosseum was now an inferno from Fire Storm.
Debuffed or not, the environment favored him too.
And In-ho pushed further.
"Ignis!!! I offer the ember of annihilation!!! Answer the summons!!!"
"...!"
Annihilating Flame.
Sacrificing it to summon the top-grade fire spirit, Ignis.
Top-grade spirits rivaled S-grade skills or beyond, each one a force.
A temporary contract—not direct—weakened it greatly, but its presence was still immense.
ROOOOAAARRRRR!
'Hot. My whole body. No, my soul's burning.'
Metal Reinforcement, Triple Qi Fusion's buffs.
Flame Extremity Physique's fire resistance.
Armor of Absorption's defense.
Even combined, the blistering heat was overwhelming.
Like standing in hellfire. Shin-hyeok's face twisted slightly.
But only slightly.
Crunch!
'Top-grade spirit or not, aura evens the odds. It's just spear vs. spear. Whoever breaks first.'
Eyes on Ignis materializing, Shin-hyeok gripped his spear shaft and sword hilt crushingly tight.
No matter the foe, Shin-hyeok wouldn't back down.
Not before the Heavenly Demon, not before the Martial God—just faith in his martial prowess, advancing.
'Disrupt the summon? Nah, last resort. It's already underway. Forcing cancellation on a top-grade spirit would strain me too, no guarantee. Frontal assault it is.'
Assessing swiftly, Shin-hyeok checked his status.
'One solid shot left. Infuse aura with spirit power to amp the strike, scrape every last energy—could deal near-dismissal damage even to a top-grade spirit. Good. That's the play.'
Factoring physique, energy, mentality, skills, traits—everything—Shin-hyeok drew forth all he had for Ignis.
Tai Chi Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Divine Art
KIIIIIIIIIING!
First, ramp up Tai Chi Divine Art and Heavenly Demon Divine Art another gear to replenish mana and magic—already at limit.
Brain-melting agony surged beyond burning, but Shin-hyeok's face just creased faintly.
Shield, Divine Shield, Holy Guard, Demon Guard
ZIIIIIIIIIING!
Next, defense.
Every defensive measure mobilized: four layered barriers.
Magic Shield.
Holy Divine Shield.
Mana Holy Guard.
Magic Demon Guard.
Quad-layered, watertight protection—but Shin-hyeok didn't stop.
Auto-Defense Device - Overclock
KIIIIIIIIIING!
Legendary gear: Auto-Defense Device at max output.
Overload would sideline it awhile after, but in uncertain straits, the future didn't matter.
Defense set.
Maybe thin, but no point agonizing—nothing more to squeeze. Shin-hyeok shrugged it off coolly.
He trusted offense over defense anyway, and shields were just footing to weather Ignis's strikes and counter.
Finally, he summoned his spirit power.
FWOOSH!
"Whew."
Pathetic amount, of course.
Couldn't be helped.
Spirit Power was his lowest stat, slowest to recover.
Fresh off sparring the Martial God, it was near-empty.
But Shin-hyeok swallowed his sigh and infused it into sword and spear auras.
Truffle-content levels (0.0000083%), but spirit power's effect was potent.
Violet hues swirled in the white sword aura and black spear aura, filling the slight power and intensity gap.
"All prepped. Their side too, any second."
While Shin-hyeok prepared, In-ho focused solely on summoning, unmolested.
Massive price as Annihilating Flame, but summons demanded full attention—neither could multitask.
Thus, their setups synced perfectly—
QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
A colossal fire pillar erupted from the Colosseum sky—near another realm—birthing a stunning man of flame.
Like the sun incarnate.
'Ignis. Been a while.'
Old acquaintance, naturally—pre-regression.
Foe and ally alike back then, so seeing Ignis stirred unavoidable fondness.
But now, enemy.
Thus, Shin-hyeok glared, gripping spear and sword tighter.
The auras gleaming on Shin-hyeok and his weapons.
Precisely, the spirit power within them caught Ignis's eye.
-Human. Kill that one?
Kill.
In-ho, who'd summoned him, recoiled in horror.
"What?! Just beat him down short of death!"
-Understood.
Not expecting Ignis to go straight for the kill, In-ho corrected hastily. Ignis extended something to him.
-Take it.
"This is... the Annihilating Flame. Why give it b...?"
The ember of Annihilating Flame—his contract price—returned. In-ho stared at Ignis, dumbfounded.
Shrrrr—
-Come on! Your opponent's me, human!
"...?"
"...?"
Ignis slid casually to Shin-hyeok's side.
Shin-hyeok has obtained Ignis as a comrade!