Know Thyself (2)
The opposite of efficiency is waste. In other words, the less waste there is, the higher the efficiency. Yun-seok had always tried to minimize waste as much as possible. But compared to other challengers, it wasn't easy. He'd reduced it a lot through skill synthesis, but even accounting for that, Yun-seok had accumulated a massive number of skills via Predation. On top of that, every duel ended with at least one random skill popping up. So he'd judged that pushing upward without stopping to raise proficiency was more profitable. Proficiency would fill up eventually anyway, and in real combat, it accelerated much faster.
Of course, now that he was facing himself, that judgment had come back to bite him like poison….
'Perfect.'
With a cheerful mind, he decided to take on this trial. He knew exactly where his shortcomings lay, so all he had to do was fill them. Normally, it would take trial and error over time, but….
Right in front of him stood the most reliable textbook imaginable. So he just had to observe and learn.
Yun-seok coolly admitted it. He was still lacking compared to his opponent. So until those gaps were filled, he had to drag this out as long as possible.
Healing effects are not lost within the domain.
To that end, he first deleted 'Healing Effect Removal.' He wondered what would happen when two opposing premises clashed, but they simply canceled each other out.
"Avatar."
Then Yun-seok used the wings of Avatar to shoot up into the sky. To buy time. His opponent followed using Avatar as well, but their speeds were similar, keeping the distance steady.
'Dragon Soaring Qi first….'
In a clash of raw power, he was the inferior one. So he had to address that first. Otherwise, he'd keep taking losses even in basic exchanges.
Vwoooom!
Yun-seok infused Dragon Soaring Qi into his sword aura made of Blood Demon Qi. As if repelling each other, they refused to mix. It had jammed up exactly like this when he'd tried before. But….
'No need to mix them.'
His other self showed him a new path. Water and oil didn't need to blend. As long as they coexisted and synergized with each other….
That was enough.
'…Got it.'
After a few trials, Yun-seok succeeded. The wildly fluctuating, hard-to-control Blood Demon Qi was now firmly held in check from above by Dragon Soaring Qi. If the old Blood Demon Qi had been an erupting volcano, now it looked like one on the verge of explosion.
'Alright….'
Now he had the bare minimum preparation to stand his ground. Yun-seok, ascending into the sky, abruptly halted his wings. And clashed with his other self charging from below, sword raised.
Whiiish!
BOOM!
Their swords collided, unleashing a thunderous roar. But this time, he wasn't pushed back in power—they were evenly matched. No, Yun-seok, diving from above with acceleration and body weight, held a slight edge.
But as Yun-seok pressed down toward the ground….
'You can use it like this, huh.'
A hand suddenly burst from his opponent's chest and grabbed Yun-seok's throat. He instantly knew what technique this was an application of. Real-time use of Avatar's body transformation ability, manipulated on the fly.
'If he can do it, so can I.'
Believing that firmly, Yun-seok countered with the exact same move. The key was visualizing the image concretely in his mind.
Spurt!
A sharp spike protruded from Yun-seok's neck. And it mercilessly pierced the hand gripping his throat.
"……."
Even with the pain amplification from Torture Technician, his opponent didn't groan. But his focus wavered—Yun-seok generated five Blood Demon Swords and launched them, yet the opponent only managed three.
However, those three Blood Demon Swords began splitting like a lens with shaky focus. He'd mixed in the principles of Formless Sword Projection.
'That I can do too.'
For the first time, a usage he wasn't outmatched in. Yun-seok brightened and counterattacked with the same technique.
BOOM!
The Blood Demon Swords, multiplying to dozens in an instant, clashed midair and mostly canceled out. The survivors headed for his opponent.
'Now what will you do?'
Their main swords were locked in a power struggle. And in the Blood Demon Sword exchange, Yun-seok had gained the edge. What choice would his replicated self make here?
The answer was simple.
Vroooom!
Not the best, but the next best. His opponent used Moonlight Sword with Slash Enhancement to intercept the Blood Demon Swords from range. Not a bad move. If not for the fact that Yun-seok's other hand freely held a Moonlight Sword.
"……."
He had no intention of letting go of this tiny momentum. The moment his opponent blocked the Blood Demon Swords, Yun-seok exploited the gap ruthlessly, thrusting at the heart.
But….
"Force Shield."
The B- rank defensive skill from the demon. Yun-seok's sword was blocked by the Force Shield.
Still, Yun-seok wasn't disappointed.
'Direct hit or block—same difference anyway.'
After acquiring Blood Demon Divine Art, his body wouldn't die even if his heart shattered, brain exploded, or neck was severed. But that didn't make him immortal. Healing consumed Blood Demon Qi. Meaning Blood Demon Qi was basically his life force.
And Force Shield consumed mana proportional to the impact.
'In the end, it's who hits zero first.'
As the pointless power struggle ended and he tried to retrieve his pressing sword from above… Yun-seok furrowed his brow. The clashing swords wouldn't separate, stuck like glued.
"…Stuck?"
The basics of Flowing Sword: sticking. When the opponent applied force, you relaxed; when they relaxed, you pressed— one of the techniques to restrict their sword. But this was slightly different from what Yun-seok knew and executed.
As he tried to forcibly twist the flow and break the technique….
'Flower Branch Connect?'
Yun-seok's sword aura bent. At nearly a right angle. And the bent aura headed straight for Yun-seok's own neck.
"Force Shield."
Yun-seok defended with Force Shield. Just like his opponent had earlier. A chunk of Blood Demon Qi drained away.
'Great defense, but the consumption is too high….'
This evened out the aerial exchange. But factoring in the lack of 'Armor' protection from the first clash, his opponent was still ahead on score.
Yun-seok then wrapped his opponent with his wings.
And….
Accelerated toward the ground.
Whiiiiiish!
Their forms rocketed toward the earth. Crashing at this speed, neither would emerge unscathed. Their heads to waists would probably burst. And healing that would consume no small amount of Blood Demon Qi.
His opponent thrashed to break free, but Yun-seok clamped down harder.
'Not yet….'
30m, 20m, 10m…. Yun-seok kept checking the distance to the ground. It rushed up fast.
'Now.'
Just before their bodies hit, Yun-seok released Shaman's Law. Simultaneously, his opponent's original premise reactivated.
Healing effects are lost for all beings.
The conditions were met. A burst head meant death.
But….
Yun-seok wasn't aiming for mutual destruction. Just a one-sided exchange.
He played his final prepared card.
'High-speed short-range spatial movement.'
As they were about to hit, Yun-seok's body teleported 20m upward in an instant. The cooldown on this authority was 600 seconds. His opponent, who had used it earlier, couldn't yet.
BOOM!
His opponent's body smashed into the ground with a roar. Yet no visible wounds.
Still, Yun-seok smiled in satisfaction. He'd spotted blue light bursting from the opponent's armor.
"Now we're really tied."
Round 1: opponent ahead.
Round 2 aerial battle: he'd barely caught up to a tie.
Time for the next round.
* * *
Whiiish!
No rest after one round. Yun-seok, who had teleported aloft, immediately hurled Blood Demon Qi at his opponent.
And….
'Again?'
Flower Branch Connect. Not certain, but it bore strong resemblance to the technique Cheonma had described—it smoothly deflected the incoming Blood Demon Qi sideways….
And shot it back at Yun-seok.
'How the hell does he do that?'
He'd witnessed it with his own eyes, yet had no clue. He tried mimicking as the Blood Demon Qi boomeranged back, but could only deflect it aside. Linking to send it back was impossible.
'Tricky.'
If the opponent kept repeating it, giving time to analyze in his head, maybe. But right now, with fierce exchanges every second, the difficulty was sky-high.
BOOM!
A brutal fight where neither could claim superiority. Amid it, Yun-seok bit his lip.
'Even now, he thinks he's got the edge?'
His opponent still maintained Shaman's Law. The absolute premise: 'Healing Effect Loss.' Maintaining it consumed Blood Demon Qi too….
That alone showed how confident his opponent was in victory.
'Yeah, you've got something hidden, huh….'
A trump card. He didn't know what. Couldn't even guess. But his instincts screamed: something massive was coming. Don't let your guard down.
"……."
One move, two, three, four…. The duel pressed on, so tense that a butterfly's wingbeat could tip the balance.
But that was just the surface. Deeper in, it was monotonously repetitive. Same attacks, same blocks. Facing himself felt alien only at first. Yun-seok realized he was growing accustomed to this fight.
So he heightened his focus even more. Big mistakes always struck without warning when you thought you were used to it.
That was when.
'…What?'
He caught his opponent's heel subtly lifting. A tiny motion he might've missed without his sharpened focus. Looked like a backward leap to create distance….
Why? No reason in this situation.
He shelved the question. Yun-seok kicked off the ground to close in. Whatever the intent, leaving it be was bad—pure instinct.
But at that moment… was it imagination that a glint flashed in the opponent's eyes beyond the mask?
No, it couldn't be.
'No way this was psychological warfare…?'
Absurd, but he had to admit it. The very suspicion proved it wasn't baseless. This opponent was another him, after all.
Shwaaaaa!
The moment his opponent crossed dual swords in midair and slashed. A red tidal wave surged from the tips.
'Cheonma Sword….'
Defeat flickered across Yun-seok's face. If the distance were wider, first or second strike wouldn't matter. Just block with the same move.
But….
In the narrowed gap, that split-second interval tripped him up.
'Vajra Arhat Steps.'
First counter that came to mind. But he judged he should save it for later.
'Guess I have no choice but to make it work.'
Make it or break it. Yun-seok moved his sword the same way.
Shwaaaaa!
A red tidal wave poured from Yun-seok's sword too. But hastily unleashed, it was smaller.
BOOM!
The red waves collided between them. The arena shook, a heaven-crashing roar echoing.
Yun-seok watched the clash unflinchingly, missing nothing.
"……."
As expected. In power, he was outmatched. His late wave was devoured.
But the momentum softened on impact. He judged it blockable once.
"Force Shield."
A defensive barrier, faintly red from mana converted to Blood Demon Qi, unfolded before him.
And then….
From the seemingly fading wave, something blue writhed and surged.
"……."
His jaw dropped upon identification. If memory served….
Heaven-Shaking Azure Dragon.
No doubt—the technique Namgoong Cheol had unleashed before.
'They all broke through this insane difficulty to climb up?'
He'd thought mastering his own arsenal was enough….
This was overkill. For the first time in ages, Yun-seok felt like grumbling.