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nChapter 47

nGreat Battle b 2}

nThere was no three-second countdown that he was familiar with. It didn’t even occur in the middle of an arena but a space blocked by bars covered by smooth outer walls. Yoon-seok stood inside with two new challengers.

n「3v3 battle is starting.」

n「Challengers should decide the vanguard, center, and captain position.」

n「0:04:59 until the battle starts.」

nFive minutes were given. He’d already heard about the final battle from Elle, so instead of panicking, Yoon-seok turned to the other challengers.

n“…Final Battle? What is this?”

nA woman in a tunic with a combination of whites and reds asked with a wary look. She wasn’t holding her sword, but he felt she was ready to attack anytime. It seemed like she hadn’t heard about the battle from her admin manager…luckily, the other one was different.

n“This might be the lady’s first battle since ascending the sixth floor. Is it your first time too?”

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nA man who had a bow-like siege weapon over his shoulder asked Yoon-seok, and he shook his head.

n“It’s my first time, but I’ve heard from my administrator about the trial.”

n“Then we can go through it quickly since we have a little time for the other one.”

nHe didn’t know much, but the beast-man offered an easy summary about the Great Battle.

n“The Great Battle is a three-to-three team match, but it’s spread out into one-on-one duels. However, once a duel is over doesn’t mean you’re done; the winner can fight the next opponent one after another.”

nWhen he asked, “Did you understand this far?” the woman tilted her head and nodded. Was it an illusion that she didn’t understand but still said yes? Well, it wasn’t much of a concern.

n“This battle is fixed, but we are a community. If one wins, we all win, and if we all lose, we all lose, okay?”

nThe beast-man emphasized a strong sense of comradeship and insisted on showing each other’s abilities to some extent. But the woman drew the line there.

n“Why would you do such a thing? We’re not fighting together anyway.”

nAlthough her voice was harsh, Yoon-seok agreed. They didn’t have to talk about each other’s abilities. In addition, their relationship ended after this battle, and each of them would go back to being a competitor.

nPerhaps it felt different to the beast-man because he had gone through multiple attempts? Even if his brows furrowed at the woman’s attitude, he only sighed and said nothing.

n“…Okay, let’s each decide our roles.”

nVanguard, center, captain. Giving them five minutes must be for them to adjust the order of the duel. As expected, the agreement wasn’t very amicable.

n“I’ll stand at the captain’s station, and you two can choose the rest.”

nSuddenly the woman spoke, and the beast-man protested.

n“How can you decide so freely? We should at least listen to everyone’s opinion…”

nHad he experienced this a lot so far? Blood vessels rose prominently from the beast man’s forehead. But she didn’t care and continued with what she had to say.

n“Isn’t it common sense that the strongest person should be the captain?”

nShe said it in an annoyed tone as if she was stating the obvious. In the beast man’s eyes, it was ridiculous, talking about common sense when she hadn’t fought in the battle yet. But he remained patient. His fists were shaking a little, but he composed himself and answered calmly and logically.

n“Then let’s say, lady, you are the strongest here, but how do we know that? We haven’t even started the fight yet…”

n“Don’t call me Lady because it annoys me. And to answer the question…no, do I have to answer the question?”

nImmediately the beast-man tried to refute, but the woman cut him off mercilessly and hit him right in the sore spot.

n“You said it was your third time, didn’t you? It tells me enough about you.”

n“That’s because I was unlucky in the duel…!”

nThe beast-man shouted that it was unfair. Of course, the woman didn’t even try to listen. She just snorted, Humph! and fired one last blow.

n“If you’re trying to climb the Tower based on your luck, then just stay still. I’ll take care of it and do whatever I want.” “

nY-you **er…!”

nIn the end, the beast-man, who seemed like a gentleman, swore. However, the woman simply clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath without responding. Perhaps she thought she couldn’t lose like this. The beast-man turned to Yoon-seok.

n“I understand. So what are you going to say? This must be her first battle like you.”

nIt was like the arrow suddenly aimed at him.…

nTo be honest, he was curious about what kind of answer Yoon-seok would give, but he didn’t say much.

n“Tsk! He’s here because he doesn’t have good taste. Don’t you know just by looking at the mask he bought?”

nThe woman said so without any hesitation and glanced sideways at Yoon-seok’s waist. She thought it was only used for him to act cool.

n“How can a mask make him weaker than you? That’s ridiculous? Hey you! Aren’t you mad?”

nThe beast-man spoke for Yoon-seok as if it were his own business, but in the end, he was just asking for his help to criticize the woman. He understood the encouragement, but Yoon-seok had no intention of joining this conversation.

n“What’s there to be angry about? It’s meaningless anyway.”

n“See! He thinks so, too.”

n“How is he admitting that?”

nYoon-seok looked at the two quarreling as if they were pathetic. He just couldn’t understand what there was to fight about. They already had less than a minute left.

n‘No, it’s not about the order, but pride?’

nWell, even so, that’s what it was. Yoon-seok, who had been quiet, stepped forward and separated the two.

n“Stop it—I’ll be the vanguard.”

nWhen Yoon-seok said he would play the most unwanted role, the beast-man also calmed down.

n“…Okay, then I’ll take the center. I’m angry that it seems to work out in that uneducated woman’s favor, but it doesn’t even bother you.”

nHe seemed ready to act like an adult again, but somehow Yoon-seok thought he might get into an argument with him again if he chose the center.

n‘Still, everyone hates the vanguard position.’

nThe vanguard must fight the enemy without any information. Also, if they didn’t win three times in a row, they had to die. Of course, if the team won, as a result, they wouldn’t lose the coin. But no man wanted to die.

nYet…

n‘Well, isn’t this better?’

nClank!

nWhen it was time, the closed bars retracted. Yoon-seok took out his two swords and walked out into the arena under the shining sun.

n“I’m sorry that I forced you into the vanguard position.”

nYoon-seok smiled and shook his head at the beast-man’s parting words.

n“Don’t be sorry.”

nHe meant it. He wasn’t planning to give them a chance to fight anyway.

n‘Three at a time…’

nHe thought he would be full when the duel ended.

nThump-thump.

nWhen Yoon-seok walked out of the dividing bars, he saw someone walking out slowly on the other side as well.

n‘Is it a magical species? I’ve never seen it before….’

nOrcs and demons were the only two mythical species that Yoon-seok had met. But this time, he was already detached from their unfamiliar appearance. They had bluish scales covering their leather skin, with a long, threatening tail that swept the ground behind them.

nIts face looked like an alligator.

n‘It must be the Lizardman.’

nHis first encounter with the unknown race, but he’d heard a fitting description in the chat room before.

n「You have encountered an enemy that is not a human or beast person.」

n「Agility increases by one temporarily.」

nThe Arch Hunter’s hunting glove feature was triggered. There was no build-up in strength, perhaps because it wasn’t classified as a large monster. He didn’t expect to use it for a while, so he wasn’t disappointed. But…

n‘It’s a shame that there’s no sign of evil.’

nThere was no judgment mark above the head of the Lizardman warrior. He was a mean-looking warrior, but surprisingly, he didn’t seem to have that kind of hobby. Thanks to that, Yoon-seok didn’t benefit from any additional increases in his ability.

n‘Let’s not let our guard down.’

nMaybe it was because he just got back from doing a hundred-versus-one bout? He knew that overconfidence was poison, but he couldn’t capture the feeling that he might lose. As time went by, Yoon-seok was able to compose himself further.

nThere was no guarantee that he might meet another monster like the Heavenly Devil or King of Steel this time. It wasn’t impossible to say that Lizardman was a great hero of his clan.

n“…”

nYoon-seok carefully observed his opponent and narrowed the distance, with the Lizardman matching his movements. Unlike his aggressive appearance, he was cautious. As the distance narrowed slowly, the Lizardman, looking for a flaw, jumped in at one spot with his three-pronged spear.

nThe reach was much longer than the sword held by Yoon-seok, leaving the Lizardman able to stab at him ferociously from a distance.

nWhick!

nYoon-seok tightened his mouth into a thin line. His opponent might have some hidden skills, but Yoon-seok could decipher the opponent’s level through that attack. It wasn’t a bad stab, but…

nThat was all. It wasn’t far off from Jang-Il or the other challengers in the sixth-floor plaza.

n‘I think we can just proceed as planned?’

nYoon-seok avoided the one-sided attacks from the Lizardman.

nWhoosh! Whoosh!

nHe didn’t even make unnecessary moves. After following the movement with his eyes, he moved his body just enough to avoid the spear without any excess. Perhaps that’s why it looked like Yoon-seok was on the defensive and barely holding at first glance.

n“Come on, mask! Aren’t you going to do this properly?”

nA cry came from within the bars. It was the sound of the self-righteous woman who seemed to be from Moorim.

n‘That’s too much to call a cheer….’

n“Even if you die, try to hurt him!”

nSoon after, Yoon-seok could confirm that his argument was right. It looked like a master of his clan, but what he did was nothing short of acting like a street gangster. Yoon-seok, who had been focused on evading, fixed his sword. Of course, he didn’t change his course of action after hearing his teammates cry.

n「You have unlocked a great achievement.」

nThe achievement of successfully dodging a hundred attacks in a row without retaliating. Since he’d achieved what he was aiming for, there was no point in him putting up with it anymore. Yoon-seok drew energy to his sword.

n“…!”

nAn ominous, red glow of energy fluttered over the blade. The Lizardman, who had been attacking with force and savagery a moment ago, glanced back and widened the distance. However, the Lizardman overlooked that distance wasn’t a problem for Yoon-seok.

nSlassssssssssssh!

nYoon-seok fired the Bloodseeker’s Energy that was condensed into his sword.

nAnd it was over.

nBoom, Boom!

nThe moment the energy touched Lizard Man’s body, he exploded with a roar. It seemed that the random property this time was fire.

n“…”

n“…”

nSilence greeted the duel that had ended abruptly.

n「Unique Skill b Predation} is activated.」

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n「Take one of your opponent’s skills at random.」

n「Acquired Spear Mastery {Rank C}.」

n「Loot one of your opponent’s equipment at random.」

n「Looted Leather Boots of the Wild {Rank D}.」

n「Absorb some of the opponent’s highest stats.」

n「Absorb strength.」

nThe beast-man, who was watching the game anxiously, asked him to do well in the next round while the woman who was screaming previously closed her mouth.

nYoon-seok turned to the entrance calmly.

n“Next.”

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