Chapter 34: The Man with the Most Kills (End)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: The Man with the Most Kills (End)
There was a reason the man wore only a breastplate while the other knights clad themselves head-to-toe in heavy iron plate.
As he cast aside his breastplate, which was now spiderwebbed with hairline fractures, his firm, massive pectoral and abdominal muscles were revealed.
Meanwhile, Kang Gi-chan pushed himself up. Wiping the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he adjusted his grip on his sword.
They were certainly the strongest duo Seo-un had encountered in this second round. If he had met them early on, their coordination was so refined that he would have struggled to even lift a finger against them.
Kang Gi-chan, in particular, was a hybrid who utilized both martial arts and magic. He fluidly swapped positions, alternating between long-range harassment and lethal close-quarters combat.
However, he wasn't the only one capable of wielding both magic and melee.
The Ice Lances Seo-un fired at point-blank range, radiating a bone-chilling frost, were devastating. Since the magic carried a chill so intense it could freeze a limb with just a graze, Kang Gi-chan was forced to make desperate, wide movements to dodge them.
Conversely, while Kang Gi-chan’s magic was diverse, Seo-un simply tanked most of it with his body, barely paying it any mind. Despite it being a two-on-one fight, the duo’s chances of victory were steadily thinning.
The moment the man wielding the flail leaped back to avoid an Ice Lance, Seo-un’s form suddenly split into four.
Kang Gi-chan’s jaw dropped in shock.
He had seen techniques like Transposition that left afterimages before. But this wasn't just some simple afterimage; it was like something out of a movie—like Sun Wukong or The Matrix. The images split apart, and one body became four, each clone moving independently. Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
As the three Seo-uns attacked from different directions, Kang Gi-chan gritted his teeth. He unleashed his most powerful technique, drawing upon every ounce of his internal power.
His qi channels, already damaged by internal injuries, screamed in protest. Dark blood welled up and spilled from his lips, but now was not the time to be picky. If he allowed one more of those brute-force punches to land, he might never stand up again.
‘I finally got my hands on that thing!’
Determined that he couldn't die like this, Kang Gi-chan swung his sword.
“Huh…?”
— Thwack!
He had risked further internal injury to execute his best move, yet the three figures vanished instantly as his blade cut through them. Rather than joy, a profound sense of futility washed over him.
At the same time, he whipped his head toward the sound coming from behind him.
His teammate, having taken a direct hit to the left chest from Seo-un, was vomiting a waterfall of blood. Even then, Seo-un’s fists continued to batter the man’s body relentlessly.
At the notification that his teammate had fallen, Kang Gi-chan, his face pale from internal trauma, lunged at Seo-un.
A terrifying, sharp energy swirled around his sword. Even from a distance, one could feel a momentum that seemed capable of cutting through anything it touched.
But if Seo-un were the type to be intimidated by that, he wouldn't have been able to use Spinning Strike in the first place. The Spinning Strike of the Boundless Fist was a technique that required a level of audacity most didn't possess.
Seeing Seo-un’s fist flying toward him, Kang Gi-chan tightened his grip. He poured his entire will into the strike, vowing not to be defeated as pathetically as before.
— Slash!
Did his will reach through?
Blood sprayed from Seo-un’s elbow as it grazed the blade. A long, thin gash opened on his skin, leaking crimson.
— Thud.
Yet, despite his preparation, Kang Gi-chan’s sword was knocked aside by more than thirty centimeters. Then, a punch from Seo-un—as light as a jab—connected with Kang Gi-chan’s chest.
“Cough!”
The moment he clutched his chest, trying to process what had happened in that split second, a cough escaped him. Along with the cough, he spat out a glob of dark blood. With a sharp, stinging pain, he felt his heart stop beating.
“Wh-what round is this for you?”
Facing death, Kang Gi-chan managed to ask.
“…The 2nd round.”
“That’s impossible… The Deep Web… The Survivor Communi…”
Unable to finish his sentence, Kang Gi-chan collapsed forward.
Seo-un stood in silence for a moment, staring at the boxes that appeared where the two corpses had vanished.
“Deep Web? Survivor Communi? Was he trying to say community? And what’s the Deep Web?”
They were the first people from Earth he had met—players from his own country, no less. Overwhelming them with his own hands didn't leave a great taste in his mouth, but it couldn't be helped. In this game, the stronger the enemy, the more certain you had to be about nipping them in the bud, or they would surely haunt you later.
Kang Gi-chan had been that formidable; he had a good head for the game, great reflexes, and above all, he was strong.
Pushing his questions aside, Seo-un opened the box in front of him.
— Flash!
Seo-un squeezed his eyes shut at the unfamiliar phenomenon. He had opened countless boxes, but he had never seen one glow like this. The golden light that momentarily swallowed him vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
When he opened his eyes, a box reflecting a brilliant golden light—as if it were the source of the light itself—caught his gaze. His hand moved toward it instinctively.
[Ding! You have obtained a Golden Weapon Box!]
“What’s this?”
[Golden Weapon Box: A random weapon box that drops with an extremely low probability only from special monsters. Upon opening, a special weapon will be randomly generated.]
“There really is all sorts of stuff in this game…”
He spoke casually, but he couldn't stop his heart from racing. A strange excitement made his chest throb and his hands tremble slightly.
The moment he opened the box with shaking hands, something seemed to shimmer amidst the golden light inside. He reached in, grabbed the object, and pulled it out.
[Ding! You have drawn the Self-Willed Hamit! Congratulations!]
“What kind of weapon name is… that?”
An inexplicable sense of unease washed over him. Since he primarily used the Boundless Fist, which relied on bare hands, the ideal weapon for him would be something like the divine artifact he’d found in the first round—something he could wrap around his hands.
However, the name made it difficult to guess what kind of weapon it was, and his brow furrowed. Above all, the "Self-Willed" part was deeply bothersome.
[Self-Willed Hamit: A sentient weapon that parasitizes the player.]
“It… it has a mind of its own?”
— Oh! Who are you to summon me? Do you truly possess the qualities to be my master?
Seo-un looked down at the squishy, limp object in his hand that looked like a lump of silicone.
“Th-this is a weapon?”
— How dare you! It is not a ‘this’! I am Erseus Hamit!
“Sigh. Calling this squishy thing a weapon…”
As Seo-un opened his subspace with a weary expression, the weapon cried out in panic.
— Wait! Wait! I can transform! I can turn into a weapon!
At the weapon’s desperate shout, Seo-un closed the subspace.
“You can transform?”
— Ahem! Of course. This Hamit can take the form of any weapon that exists in this world. Tell me. What kind of weapon do you use?
“I don't use one.”
— …
Seo-un stared blankly at the Hamit in his hand during the silence that radiated intense bewilderment.
— A-a bare-handed martial artist, I see. Yes, a real man uses his fists. But did you know? There are weapons made specifically for martial artists.
The silicone lump finished its hurried explanation and began to glow with a faint light, changing its shape.
— Hahaha! How is it? This brilliant and sturdy form?
It was a pair of golden gauntlets. They were designed so that the knuckles were lined with sharp, pointed spikes that glinted at the slightest hint of light.
With a reluctant expression, Seo-un took off his Power Gloves and tried on the gauntlets, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“The way they support my wrists isn't bad… but they look uncomfortable to wear all the time, and they seem like they’d get in the way of firing arrows. Above all, they stand out too much.”
— My, what a picky master I’ve found.
As it spoke, it changed again, this time turning black and becoming fingerless. It was certainly easier to move his fingers and less cumbersome, but it still didn't quite sit right with him.
“Hmm… I don't know. I think that divine artifact I had before was much better.”
— What?! How dare you compare me to anything else? Me, a being of great intelligence…
As the Hamit’s voice rang noisily in his ears, Seo-un opened his subspace, and the weapon’s words were cut short.
“I’m not a fan of noisy things.”
— …M-may I ask what kind of weapon that divine artifact was, Master?
Seeing its sudden change in attitude, it clearly wasn't stupid.
“Well, it was like a bandage that you wrap around your fists and arms…”
— A-a mere scrap of cloth?!
“For a scrap of cloth, it had the power to protect my fists from most blades.”
— So it was just a scrap of cloth with high durability.
Seo-un rolled his eyes for a moment and then nodded.
“If you want to put it that way, yes.”
— Good grief… In all my years, I’ve never met a master like this.
The Hamit glowed once more and transformed into two long strips of bandages. Looking at the black bandages, Seo-un wrapped them around his fists and wrists; the ends adhered perfectly on their own, removing the need for knots.
The sensation of his fists being held firmly was good, though he missed the stat boost from his Power Gloves. Still, it was a fair trade-off.
“I’m using you despite the loss in strength, so be grateful. And don't go blabbering on for no reason.”
— What! I am…!
The voice, which was about to throw a fit, went dead silent as soon as Seo-un started to open his subspace.
— Sigh. I am not a being meant to be treated like this. Once, countless heroes were willing to go to war just to claim me.
“It’s certainly strange, but talking objects are common where I come from. I don't know what your world was like, but if you knew how common talking things are these days, you’d realize how much your value has dropped.”
— !!!
The weapon didn't speak, but Seo-un could feel its intense agitation at the claim that talking objects were common.
‘Well, it’s not a lie. From smartphones to all sorts of AI gadgets, there are plenty.’
Thinking this, Seo-un examined the items in the remaining boxes.
‘Most of these are items they were wearing. This magic book, Lightning Chain, is for the 5th Circle. Tsk. That’s a shame.’
It seemed like a spell that could be used as area-of-effect magic when enemies swarmed, but Seo-un couldn't learn it. The situation was similar with the flail-wielding warrior’s box. He had secretly hoped for a useful accessory, but nothing particular came out.
‘Well, this much isn't bad. I picked up a strange-looking fellow, at least.’
— You’re just going to call me a strange-looking fellow? Show a bit more joy!
“Can you… read my thoughts?”
At Seo-un’s voice, which was laced with discomfort, Hamit answered cautiously.
— It’s… it’s not so much reading as it is sharing a connection to increase combat efficiency…
Well, if that was the case, what could he do? It was clear that having a conversation with his weapon every single time would not be a good influence.
“Are there any other functions?”
— My existence itself is special… well, not just that. As a weapon that grows alongside its master, I currently have a random skill slot unlocked and ready for use.
Seeing Seo-un reaching for his subspace again, Hamit quickly gave the answer he wanted, and Seo-un’s eyes sparkled.
“What is it?”
— For now, it allows you to use one of a set of random skills once a day.
“I’m asking what those random skills are!”
As Seo-un raised his voice, Hamit glowed once more, and a small spinning wheel appeared before Seo-un’s eyes. Various skill names were listed on the wheel.
From the skill "Charging," which occupied the largest section, to a skill called "Resurrection," which occupied such a tiny sliver that he doubted it could ever be landed on.
“This Resurrection thing… could it be…?”
— It is a great authority that denies death itself.
“Ah…”
After taking a moment to compose himself, the corners of Seo-un’s mouth curled up.
“You’re actually quite useful.”
— Do you finally recognize my brilliance?
“Fine. You’re useful. Map.”
After giving the praise Hamit craved, Seo-un called up his map. At that moment, Hamit spoke.
— I have a bad feeling. A foul sensation, as if we are being targeted. I sense eyes nearby watching for a chance to take your life, Master.