Chapter 49

Great Battle b 4}

「Unique Skill b Predation} is activated.」

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

「Acquired Spirit Affinity b Rank C}.」

「Randomly loot one of the opponent’s equipment.」

「Looted Druid’s Wish Bracelet {Rank D}.」

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

「Absorb agility.」

Sadly, he couldn’t get his Unique Skill. Although he knew that everyone had more general skills by now and the probability was relatively low, it was still a shame. He was quite excited about what the fairy swordsman’s Unique Skill would be and what the outcome would be if he synthesized it with something else. However, there was a surprise.

「The rank of the Moonlight Blade {Rank C} has increased by one level.」

When he won the duel, the Moonlight Sword finally ranked up. There was a slight increase.

‘Grow once after winning three times..it’s slower than I thought...?’

The Giant Hydra, Lizard Man, Fairy Swordsman. It was his first-level rank-up after winning against these three. If the duel on the sixth floor hadn’t been the Great Battle, it would have taken longer.

Cling!

The closed metal bars went up again. Soon after, Yoon-seok abandoned his remaining thoughts and switched his attention to his new rival.

It was a man in a grey robe. First of all, he looked human, wearing skull-shaped decorations. No, he had a cane in his hands that might have been decorated with a real skeleton.

“I’m already looking forward to your scream!”

Looking at what had happened to the previous duelers, yet he could still talk like that to Yoon-seok face to face. Was he that confident in his skills?

“Kekeke..!”

With a fishy smile hanging off his extremely skinny face, he looked even more dreary. Yoon-seok frowned at the man. He didn’t judge people by their cover. Rather, it was because of the phrase that appeared.

「You have encountered evil.」

「All stats will increase by one, strength will increase by one, and the sacred attribute will be granted until the trial is completed.」

This opponent was evil. The same evil that he punished countless times in the plaza on the sixth floor. Therefore, Yoon-seok’s job remained the same. Powerful energy surged through his body again and into the sword he was holding.

Was it because of the sacred attributes? The energy still shined in red, but there was a faint white outline on the surface.

“Wake up, my kin!”

Then, suddenly, the man shouted. At the same time, the bodies of the two challengers who had collapsed inside the arena stood up. The wounds left by Yoon-seok remained the same. The fairy swordsman was headless, and Lizardman had his guts trickling down his abdomen like a zombie in a movie.

‘Is there a term for that skill?’

If he doesn’t have {Non-verbal Magic}, he would have to memorize all the commands even if it were awkward. All skills sold in the store were the technical names of the command. Even if it were a Unique Skill, it was unlikely that there would be a technology named after that.

He questioned it for a moment. Soon enough, Yoon-seok found the answer on his own.

‘..it wasn’t a skill, but a power.’

Power purchased from admins didn’t require a command. And yet, why would he yell like that? Possibly just to look cool or for self-satisfaction.

‘But there’s a reason why he’s the captain.’

He was different from those assigned to Yoon-seok’s team. This kind of power was very compatible with the captain’s role of appearing at the final stage. If it weren’t for Yoon-seok being the vanguard, there would’ve been two more bodies for him to control.

Perhaps the beast-man had predicted the situation when he asked about their abilities before starting.

‘He seems to have the ability to revive the dead...’

Yoon-seok looked at the corpses moving like puppets. No, he looked at the fairy swordsman, to be exact. His sword had the colorful sword energy that he had seen earlier.

Yoon-seok wasn’t the only one who witnessed it. The beast-man, who was keenly watching the situation, clenched his fists.

“This, crazy..! His abilities remained the same?

Winning two consecutive duels as a vanguard, Yoon-seok gained confidence in his victory for a second. Yet the beast-man’s eyes were shaking with anxiety.

‘No matter how capable the masked man is, three versus one will be difficult..if he loses..’

Just thinking about it cast a dark shadow over him. Of course, it wasn’t that Yoon-seok didn’t mind losing the final duel; it was just that he hadn’t doubted his team’s victory.

Since this wasn’t an individual match, he didn’t think his foe would lose without trying something. He would cause some damage, and with two people by his side, he would eventually win.

But..the whole theory became meaningless. It hadn’t even happened yet, but if Yoon-seok lost..

‘So, are we supposed to fight with the masked man?’

Of course, the beast-man wasn’t confident in handling Yoon-seok alone, much less with the Necromancer beside him. It wouldn’t be any different for the woman with the loud voice beside him.

“We’re in trouble..”

At his worried murmur, the woman scolded him.

“What trouble? Just look.”

“Just look? The lady is..”

“I told you not to call me lady.”

“..Doesn’t it bother you? It’s three to one.”

Would they feel less anxious if they were to share the emotion? As if the question was asking for sympathy, the woman just snorted.

“By the way, with a good eye..”

The woman clicked her tongue and said in a firm tone.

“Three to one? Even if we joined in, we couldn’t beat him.”

“How can you be so sure?”

The beast-man continued to bother her, but the woman ignored all of it. Eventually, he shut up and concentrated on the duel. The short confrontation ended as the fight was about to begin.

Swoosh!

The dead fairy swordsman and Lizardman rushed toward Yoon-seok simultaneously. Yoon-seok didn’t move to respond but widened his distance and remained wary of his opponent. It was only after breaking through the fifth floor that they could reach here, so he should expect other tricks from the Necromancer. As expected, talismans flew in from the man who had increased his distance from Yoon-seok early on. It was a rather unusual kind of attack.

“Soul connection!”

Coincidentally, it was a skill that even Yoon-seok knew. He had scrolled through the store thinking, ‘A skill like this exists?’, but it was memorable due to its distinctiveness.

「The designated medium and senses are connected.」

The art of linking objects and senses. Perhaps it wasn’t a mental-interfering skill, as the mental barrier feature of Magic Resistance couldn’t remove it.

“Huhuhuhu!”

The designated medium was none other than the straw doll held by a man. The man didn’t hesitate to slam the doll on the floor and pin it with his cane.

Push!

“..?”

Yoon-seok, who was avoiding Lizard Man and the fairy swordsman’s combined attacks, suddenly flinched. It was because of the sudden pain shooting through his chest.

「Falling into a state of fear due to the influence of the Unique Skill b Torture Technician}.」

「The magic stats are the same level among subjects. The mental barrier perfectly resists the state of fear mentioned above.」

A new mental state he had never seen before. Did it inflict more fear on his opponent? He didn’t know what the effect was, but this time there was no real damage because the mental barrier defended it perfectly.

No, it was in his favor. Thanks to the announcement, he was able to find out the name of his foe’s Unique Skill.

‘Torture Technician?’

He heard one’s Unique Skill was also related to their previous life or natural talents, but what kind of life did he live to gain this skill? He didn’t know the details, and he didn’t want to find out.

However, in the technical name, the man’s gaze and expression when he first spoke..it seemed like it was buried with the bloody tears of the two who died with bitter resentment.

“..”

Suddenly, Yoon-seok stopped moving and lowered his head. They shared the same senses, but the place where the pain was inflicted had no wounds. However, the pain felt was almost unbearable. Even Yoon-seok, who had trained {Blood Pact} and could endure considerable pain, frowned. If that were the case for him, it would have been insufferable for others, enough to make them want to die.

“You’re holding out pretty well, even though it’s twenty times the intensity you normally feel!”

The man giggled, rather pleased with himself. Normally, everyone fainted after just once or twice, so it wasn’t fun to watch, but it was different this time. The harder it was to tame the beast, the more faithful it became.

Boom.

The man struck his cane down one more time. However, Yoon-seok didn’t flinch an eyebrow. Not because he couldn’t feel the pain; it was just that he could put up with it.

“Now! Catch him!”

Did he think that Yoon-seok would bear with the pain? At the man’s cry, the deceased Lizardman and fairy swordsman rushed him. To catch him, not to kill him as ordered. What he had planned after capturing him was a clear as day.

Yoon-seok’s eyes turned even icier.

“Don’t ever dream of a comfortable death.”

“..?”

The man frowned as if he didn’t know what it meant. Yoon-seok spoke in a low voice.

“Because you don’t deserve it.”

He was the first wizard challenger he’d ever seen. So he tried to study the way he fought before deciding to kill him. But now, the idea had changed. Even time was a luxury for them.

Whooooosh!

Yoon-seok’s double swords flashed, causing a red crescent to flash through the stadium.

“Ha, hahaha! Hahaha!”

The man with creepy senses stroked his neck and laughed loudly. He couldn’t figure out what Yoon-seok did. All he could see was that nothing happened in the hall despite the red flash.

“Hurry up and get him!”

The man ordered them to grab him and check. But..

“What, what are you doing? Catch him!”historical

Despite the repeated orders, the dead didn’t move. They remained stock-still, like machines with dead batteries. On the surface, they looked fine. The beast-man, who had been watching the duel, tilted his head as if it were strange. It was just then that the woman spoke.

“Thirty-six times..”

“Lady, what are you blabbering about..?”

“I counted to thirty-six, but I couldn’t count past that.”

The beast-man’s expression hardened. He couldn’t understand her murmuring about something non-existent. But at that moment.

Flop.

The shattered bodies of the Lizard Man and fairy swordsman began to crumble to the ground. The cross-sections were so neat that it felt like they would still be alive and moving if they were re-attached by hand. Not long after, a white fire formed over the fragments and melted them down.

Only then did the beast-man understand the woman’s words and was shocked.

“W-what is this.....”

The Necromancer was in disarray with a devastated expression.

Thud.

Yoon-seok walked casually toward him. Step by step, without stopping. The man struggled to get his act together.

“Do you think I will lose just because I lost them?”

The skeleton cane laced with poison flashed toward Yoon-seok.

「Toxic Immunity b Rank C} completely detoxifies the decaying poison.」

Not only that, all sorts of curses were chanted onto him. Yoon-seok didn’t avoid any of it. He could’ve avoided them or slice them using the Sun Sword, but he didn’t. He just put up with everything and walked forward at a steadfast pace.

“D-don’t come here!”

When all his attempts were reduced to nothing, the man began to slam his cane into the doll continuously.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poooof!

Whenever the pointed edge penetrated the straw doll, the pain was undoubtedly induced for Yoon-seok. But he didn’t stop. He wondered.

He wondered if that guy had ever felt half that pain in his life.

“I said don’t come any closer!”

Yoon-seok raised b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} to its maximum. The accelerating energy quickly recovered even the smallest scratches caused by the man’s magic. At the same time, despair, no, an inner ferocity that should be called madness reared its head.

Thud.

When he finally reached the man, Yoon-seok’s body was radiating energy everywhere.

“D-do you know who I am?”

Was that the only thing he could come up with? At the unexpectedly pathetic appearance, Yoon-seok quietly looked down at him with a hint of contempt.

“I, I, I, am the Great Geronian Empire’s..!”

“It doesn’t matter who you are.”

Who this guy was, what he used to do, and what position he’d had in society. That sort of thing was good, by all rights. But there was only one thing Yoon-seok needed to know at this moment.

The judgment mark on the guy’s head.

Yoon-seok then spoke.

“It’s important who I am.”

Even if the man were resurrected through Coins, he would have to remember it for the rest of his life. About whom Yoon-seok was.