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nChapter 67

nEpisode 67 To Protect (2)

nThe third day since the mission trial began. He was pretty sure that he was well-adapted to unfamiliar situations, but…apart from that, Yoon-seok realized that the duel trials fit his style better than the missions.

n「Countdown is starting.」

nA scorching sun over a circular arena with a blockage and empty stands. As expected, maybe because the home ground was different?

n“W-what?! What the hell have you done?”

nUnlike the confused creature, Yoon-seok was feeling comfortable as if he’d returned home.

n「3.」

nIt was different from a mission. There was no need to care about your surroundings, only bringing down your enemy with all your might. The two challengers stood still while keeping that in mind.

n「2.」

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nYoon-seok looked at the creature. Judging by the veins bulging out of his eyes, it was obvious that he was struggling to move his body.

n“Damn itttttttt! You **ing parasite!”

nHe wasn’t trying to be mean, but suddenly he reacted like a recruit who just joined the army, so he burst into laughter. Come to think of it. There was a time he also did the same.

n「1.」

nAfter the last second, the restraints on their body disappeared.

n「START!」

nYoon-seok immediately summoned Bloodseeker’s Energy and drew his swords, determined to get this over with as soon as possible. The reason was simple: there was no guarantee that time would stop here like a normal duel trial. Yoon-seok would’ve thought twice if he’d known that the duel application for b Predation} was going to proceed like this in the first place.

nNow that Wellington was unconscious, and even Yoon-seok disappeared, Kanna would be vulnerable.

nWhoooooosh!

nBloodseeker’s Energy rose ferociously across his blade. Yoon-seok took a short breath. He’d learned his lesson previously that what was overflowing wasn’t as good as what was lacking.

nThe most important element to reach perfection was the harmony between strength and fluidity. When his body and mind relaxed, the energy stabilized and became more robust. Yoon-seok extended his sword forward. At the same time, a fiery tsunami swept toward his foe.

nSwaaaaaaaaa-!

nEven Chul Namgoongl, whom he’d met on the 7th floor, couldn’t avoid nor stop it. But…

nThe creature escaped in a way that he’d never thought of.

n“…”

nHe was only flustered for a moment at the tsunami of fire. The creature spread his wings outwards and soon rose to the sky.

n“I don’t know how you led me here, but that’s your biggest mistake!”

nHe didn’t know how high he flew. However, he already looked like a small dot in the sky. Compared to his shout, Yoon-seok could barely hear it even if he tried. Both of them would never have been able to communicate if they weren’t challengers.

n“This is your grave!”

nAs the creature flapped his wings, translucent thorns fired off to the ground, covering the entire stadium. Yoon-seok had no choice but to use his sword to cut them away. Perhaps because of the acceleration of the fall, each thorn felt heavy against his blade.

n“…”

nAfter one bombing, Yoon-seok looked up at the sky incredulously. He had never met an opponent who could fly, so he found out it was possible to fly above the arena for the first time. Should he say that it was a mistake to bring him here? This place was more advantageous to the creature than the forest.

nWhoooooosh!

nHe tried to send sword energy through the air, but it had already lost its shape and faded before it could reach him.

n“Let’s see how long you’ll last!”

nConvinced that Yoon-seok couldn’t attack him, the creature laughed and fired another volley of thorns to the ground again. Yoon-seok looked exasperated while mechanically cutting the thorns down. If he had wanted to endure, he could do it. After a day or two, he might be exhausted and descend to the ground.

nHowever, the problem was that he was wasting too much time.

n‘That’s annoying.’

nHe tried to use Lady’s Commandment to set the condition as ‘No Flight,’ but it didn’t work. The range was covered somehow, but given it was spread so wide, five seconds was the limit. The creature, having fallen to the ground, spread its wings again as soon as the law disappeared and ascended higher than before.

nNow, if he didn’t concentrate, he couldn’t even see a dot. He had to find a way.

nFortunately, he had a clue.

n‘Will this work?’

nYoon-seok recalled levitating his parents’ bodies using his energy. If he could use it on himself, there might be a way. So he gave it a try, but…

nA failure. Somehow, when he tried to increase the concentration of his energy, he could only feel a stronger force in that area. But he was sure that it wasn’t just a meaningless attempt. They say inspiration comes from failure.

n‘I think it’s gonna work out if I use Sword Manipulation.’

nTechnically speaking, it wasn’t Sword Manipulation. He wasn’t personally dealing with the sword. However, it hurt his pride when Chul Namgoongl angrily said he’d deceived him and called it ‘Invisible Sword.’ Well, it wasn’t like he was going to tell anyone about it, so he just decided to call it whatever he wants.

n‘Bloodseeker Sword will do.’

nAfter gathering energy in his legs, Yoon-seok leaped into the sky.

n“As if no one could tell you’re a parasite bastard, you’re so stupid!”

nThe creature laughed wholeheartedly. But…

n“Huh?”

nThe moment Yoon-seok drew sword energy in the air, he stepped on it and made a huge leap. His foe’s complexion turned yellow.

nShoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoot!

nThe creature hurriedly fired thorns. The density was even higher as the scope had narrowed, but it wasn’t a big problem. Yoon-seok cut all of it down.

n‘One more time.’

nDue to the effects of gravity, his speed slowly decreased. Yoon-seok hurriedly stepped on the energy he’d quickly created and jumped again. The creature flapped his wings to ascend higher. He wasn’t going to let him run away.

n「 To Lady’s Commandment, all beings in the realm cannot fly.」

nIt was too far back then, but not now. The flapping wings of the creature stopped, and soon he began to fall back. Then the creature met Yoon-seok, who was surging upwards.

n“N-no…!”

nSlashhh!

nThe duel ended anti-climatically.

n「Victory.」

n「Unique Skill {Predation} is activated.」

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

n「Acquired Unique Skill b Avatar}.」

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

n「Looted Mrs. Langerson’s Corset (Rank D ).」

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

n「Absorbed magic stats.」

nThe intense sunlight swirling around his skin disappeared, and the relatively cold night air surrounded him instead.

n‘Since it’s not a duel, there’s no AP reward….’

nYoon-seok quickly cleared up the disappointment that bloomed briefly inside of him and checked his surroundings first. It was the same forest and position before he was taken to the arena.

n“Gasp! Cough, cough!”

nYoon-seok turned his head in the direction of the sound. In the place where he’d taken the creature, James Hambledon was coughing non-stop. Yoon-seok observed the red marks on his neck. He thought it might be caused by pulling the back of his neck a while ago…

nSo time didn’t pass? Yoon-seok asked to be more clear.

n“How long has it been?”

n“Cough! Cough…what? What do you mean…hmm!”

nJames tried to answer while he was choking. He wanted to give him water, but sadly, he had nothing. So he decided to give him some time to calm down. Waiting for a while, James stopped coughing, and Yoon-seok asked again.

n“How long has it been?”

n“…I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

n“How long has it been since I killed the creature?”

n“Uh, uh…”

nJames opened his mouth flustered. He couldn’t quite understand why he asked that question. Being from a small merchant family, he quickly grasped the situation.

n‘Is he trying to brag about it?’

nThere was no other reason to explain why he was asking such a question. In the end, James grinned as he decided to believe in the blood of his parents and intuition.

n“Hehe, it took less than a second. Although I’d only seen you slap the monster with the back of your hand…something incredible happened in the meantime, right? You’re great!”

nSaying that he wanted to take the chance to know his name, and he would repay his kindness no matter what. He made a lot of unnecessary comments, but he’d laid out the information he wanted.

n‘So time hadn’t passed, it means I can use it anytime, anywhere.’

nWhen Yoon-seok was silently thinking, James began to make endless small talk as if he was anxious.

n“Gosh! But suddenly, my throat was…! And the big monster turned into this little goblin thing…do you know why Mr. Hero?”

n“…Goblin?”

nThen Yoon-seok turned his back. The body of a small green monster whose head and torso was separated instead of a creature with horns and wings behind him.

n“…”

nYoon-seok knew about Goblins. He’d never met them, but he’d heard about them several times in the chat room. Clever but weak, and one could easily win against them when encountered. They had a habit of buying weird things with AP. It was too bad that they were nowhere to be seen as one ascended the floors.

nGoblin’s judgments were generally this way. However, Yoon-seok didn’t question why the body was reversed because he’d already known the answer.

n‘So he changed his appearance with the Unique Skill.’

nHe would have to go back to the waiting room to check the details because the skill he’d acquired was b Avatar}.

n‘It’s not bad to completely change appearances.’

nHowever, deciding to think over his rewards later, Yoon-seok shifted his attention back to James, whom he’d neglected. The challenge was to rescue him and grant his request.

n“Do you happen to have a favor to ask?”

nAt Yoon-seok’s question, James knelt without hesitation and said.

n“Unfortunately, I lost all my luggage and ended up being chased by a strange monster. If you don’t mind, could you take me to Jarisman Harbor?”

n“I will.”

n“If we get there, I’ll make sure to compensate you handsomely for saving my life today! So, please…what? What did you just say…?”

n“Coincidentally, my group’s destination is Jarisman Harbor. We can go together.”

n“T-thank you. Thank you so much!”

nNot knowing where he’d learned it from, James fell onto his knees and hit his head on the ground again and again. Of course, not hard enough to make a thud sound, but weakly.

n「You have accepted James Hambledon’s request.」

n「Additional rewards will be given if the mission is successful.」

nYoon-seok walked slowly and led James toward the carriage. As he followed, he thanked him continuously. It seemed like he was worried that he’d be left behind in case he got on his bad side…

nIt was Yoon-seok who wanted to say thank you. He was worried he would ask for a tedious favor, but it turned out he just wanted accompaniment. Well, there was one more to guard, but nothing much had changed. Either way, whether it was one, two, or three, it didn’t make a difference to Yoon-seok.

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n‘Feels like things are working out.’

nYoon-seok only called Kanna out to talk about James. She looked a little uncomfortable but soon agreed to his decision.

n“I’m thinking of leaving early tomorrow, so both of you, please go to sleep.”

nKanna headed back to the carriage, and he handed over the blankets she laid on the floor to James. He laid down on the floor without much consideration. Surprisingly, it was the same place where bodies were gathered and melted down just five minutes ago. He thought he would choose a spot with more bushes…

nYoon-seok didn’t say it so he could get some sleep.

n“…”

nPerhaps he was very tired as James quickly fell asleep, and Yoon-seok quietly climbed onto the wagon and sat down. He decided to meditate until dawn to remain aware of his surroundings. Before closing his eyes to meditate, Yoon-seok looked at James, who had already started snoring.

n‘Hambledon, I think I’ve heard it somewhere….’

nWas it just his imagination?

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