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nChapter 73 Infinite Arena (3)

nYoon-seok was speechless. Although he’d reduced so many of them with Skill Synthesis, he still had over twenty skills in possession. But in three attempts, he just so happened to choose b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} out of all of them…

n“Keuhahahaha! What’s with this guy? How do you have 2 Unique Skills?”

nYoon-seok didn’t answer.

nAll the stat-buffing effects of the ability disappeared as soon as b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} was taken away. Not only that, but the energy that was like his limbs disappeared without a trace. It was an unimaginable lethargy that settled on him. Was it because of that?

n‘…’

nIt felt like his head cleared up. Yoon-seok immediately stepped back from the demon. Before he was robbed of b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}, he thought of pushing by force so he could end this quickly, but…

nNow that he thought about it, it wasn’t very efficient.

n“Do you think I’m gonna let you run away?!”

nDid he already grow used to {Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}? The demon lifted his Force Shield and began to attack aggressively. The threat was evident just by seeing how the energy was embodied in his hands.

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n“…”

nFirst of all, Yoon-seok used the Azure Dragon’s Energy. He didn’t originally bother with it because of its compatibility with Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum…

nNow, he had to use the next best alternative.

nWhirl!

nA sense of purification washed over his sword with blue energy. Although it was stable and steady compared to Bloodseeker’s Energy, the difference in strength was evident. But, he knew.

nNot only the strong could beat the strong. Gentleness can overcome strength.

nBoooooom!

nHe countered the devil’s attack step by step with his sword filled with the Azure Dragon’s Energy.

n’15 seconds…’

nThere was still plenty of time. The difference in stats was remarkable after b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} was taken, but fortunately, it wasn’t hard to deal with him through martial arts due to his miserably poor skills. Yoon-seok used Azure Dragon’s Energy to attack calmly and reduce the damage.

nHe didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately leaped back.

n“So you have chosen death.”

nHis body rose twenty meters in a single breath. Perhaps he thought he couldn’t avoid him in the air, as the demon jumped up after him. It was useless.

n“Avatar.”

nWhoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

nYoon-seok, who turned into his avatar, flapped his wings and soared up once more time, leaving the demon far below him.

n“What the hell are you?! You’re just a human being! Why do you have wings?!”

nThe demon, who landed on the ground without landing any successful attacks, screamed at Yoon-seok. Did wings mean something special to demons? His voice was filled with anger, as if it was unacceptable. However, not feeling the need to answer, Yoon-seok flapped his wings and soared higher.

nLooking at Yoon-seok, the demon continued to screech.

n“You punkkkkkkkk!”

nHe could somewhat understand what the demon was feeling. When the goblin suddenly flew into the sky, that was exactly how he felt.

n“What are you doing, running away!”

nThe demon shouted and stomped his feet. Should he say it was like casting pearls before swine? If he had a better understanding of b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}, he could’ve chased him into the sky like how Yoon-seok did.

n‘No, does that also apply to me…?’

nYoon-seok laughed with mixed feelings. He didn’t know when he had b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}, but he realized it after it disappeared, how simple and ignorant he’d looked at the world so far after being consumed by the energy. He always thought he’d sought efficiency and acted reasonably, but in fact, all he’d done so far was push forward aggressively.

nWhoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

nYoon-seok, who had been soaring up into the sky, stopped. Then he lowered his head and looked down. The arena looked like the size of a fist from his vantage. He could see the demon flashing his Light of Greed but to no avail.

n‘Of course, it doesn’t work at this distance.’

nShifting his attention away from the devil, Yoon-seok looked around while maintaining his altitude. There was an endless wilderness outside the arena. Yoon-seok tried to see if he could go outside the arena because there was a lot of time left before the duration of Light of Greed ended.

n‘I knew it wouldn’t work.’

nA failure. An invisible transparent shield was blocking the border of the arena, set up large in-between pillars.

n‘Is it a good thing that the sky’s not blocked?’

nThen, he recalled all the skills that were stolen from him in order.

nb Trajectory Enhancement}, Magic, b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}…

n“You’re a wreck.”

nFor some reason, the curse came out first. As if b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} were instigating such feelings within.

n‘Let’s finish this up and see.’

nYoon-seok raised Bloodseeker’s Energy to the extreme. Then, his wings cut through the wind as he dove vertically. As he grew closer to the ground, he sped up exponentially.

n“Force Shield!”

nThe demon was surprised and activated his shield. It was a defense shield that blocked all of Yoon-seok’s attacks without flaw, but it was different this time. It couldn’t withstand a blow with all his power focused on one point, amplified by the force of gravity dragging him down.

nBoom-!

nThe moment the sword touched the barrier, it shattered. As if Yoon-seok’s sword wasn’t satisfied with it, the devil was sliced in half from the top of his head to his crotch.

nSlashhhhhhhh.

n「Victory.」

n「Unique Skill b Predation} has been activated.」

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

n「Acquired Force Shield (Rank B-).」

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

n「Looted The Guardian’s Crown (Rank C ).」

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

n「Absorbed magic stat.」

n「1 coin will be paid as a reward for your 1st win.」

nAlthough he’d failed to acquire the skill he’d wanted, Yoon-seok wasn’t disappointed.

nStill, the duel wasn’t over yet.

n‘Just two more?’

nYoon-seok looked around, expecting to see who would come out. And…

nHis face hardened like a stone.

n「The duel is over.」

n「You can take up the challenge now.」

nA heavy silence descended as that phrase appeared before the challengers. Yet, no one strode forward. Just as the demon muttered haughtily earlier, they were far from the cage in case they might be dragged to the duel.

nIt was understandable.

n“What kind of monster is here…”

n“What the hell did he do to be this strong?”

nThey witnessed everything Yoon-seok did. As if he’d thought the place was too crowded and suddenly flew into the sky, then cut his opponent in half in one stroke. That powerful attack made the ground shake and cracked as if an earthquake had occurred. Of course, it was quickly recovered because of the system…

nThat didn’t mean the sight engraved in their retinas had vanished.

n「If a challenger does not appear within five minutes, the duel will end.」

nSuddenly, a new message appeared before Yoon-seok’s eyes.

n‘It will end soon?’

nThis is how it was handled if no one wanted to take up the challenge…

nNo challengers would know how unpleasant it was for Yoon-seok. It was advantageous for him to maximize the usage of b Predation} by taking on as many duels as he can, but it didn’t look like a challenger would appear if he continued waiting.

nThat’s why…

n“Gasp!”

nYoon-seok held onto his chest and knelt. Then, with a pained expression, he looked warily around his surroundings. Did his acting work?

nThe challengers began to sway.

n“…Is he hurt?”

n“Well, it must have cost him something to do something like that.”

n“Something’s not right. Isn’t that acting?”

n“Why would he pretend? If he stayed still, he’d get to ascend anyway.”

nSome people were persuaded, while others were confused and felt like something wasn’t right. But none came to take on the challenge hastily. With no other choice, Yoon-seok forced Bloodseeker’s Energy into his heart, causing a spray of blood to burst out.

n“Gasppppp! Gasp!”

nAs if the faucet was turned on full blast, blood started pouring out of his throat. Thinking that this should be enough, Yoon-seok scanned his surroundings while pretending not to, but the challengers were still looking around at each other.

n‘Is this still not enough?’

nYoon-seok closed his eyes and used Bloodseeker’s Energy to explode his already regenerated heart again. Each time, the effect of b Torture Technician} put Yoon-seok through uncontrollable pain…

nRegardless, Yoon-seok repeated the process several times. If anyone asked if he had to do this, Yoon-seok would firmly say yes.

nClank!

nDid the acting become more dynamic through his pain? One of the hundreds of bars on the outer wall was opened. Recognizing that Yoon-seok’s condition seemed much worse, he hesitated for a long time but eventually chose to take up the challenge.

n“Damn it.”

nYoon-seok said so and struggled to get up from his position. At the same time, he stumbled once with his legs buckling while blood dripped from his mouth.

nPerhaps the nervous challenger thought it was real. He was convinced that he would win.

n“…This is how this place works, so please don’t resent me.”

nDid he think he would be back to retaliate in the future? He seemed to have some resistance to killing Yoon-seok, who was far more powerful than him. Of course, that didn’t mean he’d changed his mind. No, he couldn’t take it back in the first place.

n“Then please get going.”

nThe challenger said something and slowly crept up to him. He looked extremely guarded as if he’d suspected something to happen.

n“If he wins too easily, no one will come out again.’

nYoon-seok struggled to shake his arms and pull the sword up. When he reached a certain distance after narrowing their distance, he blocked the challenger’s attack and took three steps back.

n“I can’t believe he still has skills even in this state. How scary…”

nWhat did he demonstrate for him to be so surprised? It was hard to understand, but Yoon-seok blocked the man’s aggression by a narrow margin.

nWhip! Clang! Slash!

nAs if he was growing more confident, his opponent’s attacks turned more aggressive by the second. Yoon-seok even showed some enthusiasm by throwing himself to the side a little to meet his blows.

n“I’ll correct what I said earlier. What I was surprised about was not your skill but your fighting spirit.”

nListening to the man’s words, Yoon-seok was satisfied. It wasn’t that he didn’t have any energy left, but he wanted to look like he was holding out mentally, so it seemed to have worked.

n“Stop and take a rest.”

nThe man adjusted his form. Yoon-seok realized that he was going to throw the winning blow.

n‘I won’t look strange if I do this, right?.’

nAs if he’d put all his efforts in, Yoon-seok jumped forward. It was at the same time when the man chanted a command to attack.

n“Winter Sword.”

nA frosty ice sword quickly flooded in. Yoon-seok also stabbed his sword forward. However, it seemed to anyone that the man’s sword would reach Yoon-seok’s neck first. But then.

n“Huh?”

nYoon-seok used Bloodseeker’s Energy to wrap the man’s foot and pulled. As a result, the man lost balance and collapsed forward…

nSwelp.

nYoon-seok’s sword pierced the man’s throat.

n「Victory.」

n「Unique Skill b Predation} has been activated.」

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

n「Acquired Sword Mastery (Rank C).」

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

n「Looted Frosty Replica Sword (Rank D ).」

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

n「Absorbed magic stat.」

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n「’Snake Tongue’ has been achieved.」

nFlop.

nFor now, Yoon-seok sat on the floor as if all his energy were spent, smiling internally at his rewards.

n‘But no Coin was rewarded this time?’

nUnlike the 1st win, the second didn’t give him coins. That was fair since if coins were rewarded for the second time, then those who were confident in their skills would stay and gather coins here.

n“Uh…?”

nSuddenly, a thought crossed Yoon-seok’s mind. If he took two wins and lost repeatedly…then he could synthesize the skills immediately. He could just throw in the equipment in Steel Stealth in exchange for durability…

nIf that was possible…

nWouldn’t it be a loss for him to ascend right now?

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