Chapter 187: 187

Chun Ha-jin released Su-hyeun’s wrist reflexively .

And, at that moment, Su-hyeun moved his sword once more .

Slash—

“Argh!”

Su-hyeun cut Chun Ha-jin’s chest deeply . With a scream, Chun Ha-jin pulled himself back, swinging his sword as hard as he could .

Slash, slash—

Craaaack—

The aura of the sword in the cross shape flew to Su-hyeun . Su-hyeun swung his sword as well and scattered Chun Ha-jin’s sword aura .

“What the hell…did you do to me?” Chun Ha-jin shouted .

“You know . You’re the one who sucked all that . ”

“Is it some sort of poison skill?”

“Yes, it is . I mixed some dirty stuff in my energy . If you absorbed directly, it would be a bit strong . ”

[Murderous Toxin]

* Magic Level: 6

* Lv: 2

* Mix the strong toxicity in your Magic . Depending on your skill level, you will be able to shoot poison or increase your immunity to toxicity .

*Trait: The power of this skill would increase with Third Eye .

Murderous Toxin . It was a skill that Su-hyeun got from the floor after he obtained the Third Eye . Although Su-hyeun didn’t use many poison-typed skills, Murderous Toxin was quite a useful one . He especially liked the fact that the Proficiency of the skill automatically increased as his trait, Third Eye, increased .

Moreover, the poison could be used in many ways, not just for battle . For example, he could use it when he needed to get a confession or dig up some information . And right at the moment was also a good time to use it . When Su-hyeun first learned about Chun Ha-jin’s skill, he planned to use this skill .

“It’s probably quite painful . Although you only took a little, you absorbed it directly . Also, you’ll need some time to detoxicate . ”

“You, crazy bastard…” Chun Ha-jin looked upset .

In the world Chun Ha-jin had come from, poison skills were his natural enemy . People who studied poison, naturally, had toxicity in their energy . Absorbing their power was like eating raw vipers . Of course, people like Chun Ha-jin had a tolerance to many kinds of poison . But the energy he had just absorbed from Su-hyeun was more toxic than he expected .

Chun Ha-jin had thought Su-hyeun would be at a similar level to him, but Su-hyeun’s ability was better than he had expected . He was surprised at that, but he was also excited at the opportunity to absorb the power of such a strong man . But now, circumstances had changed . He couldn’t take Su-hyeun’s power anymore, and he was in danger .

The reasonable option came to his mind, but he shook his head .

He was too proud to give up right away . Chun Ha-jin’s pride was too high to swallow or give up .

Grab—

Chun Ha-jin held his sword tightly . To detoxicate, he thought he would need about five minutes .

Swish—

Clang—!

But even before he finished the thought—

“…!”

—Chun Ha-jin had to block a sword attack that came from above his head . His wrists trembled . Surprised, Chun Ha-jin stretched his bent knees and swung his sword .

Swish—

Whoosh, whoosh—

Su-hyeun jumped up, and Chun Ha-jin raised his head to find Su-hyeun . His heart was beating hard from the previous blow .

Chun Ha-jin thought that shouldn’t be right .

Chun Ha-jin wasn’t dopey enough to not know his own body condition .

Chun Ha-jin opened his eyes wide .

Boom—!

Crack, crack—

Su-hyeun hit Chun Ha-jin from above again . Chun Ha-jin clenched his teeth . His hands were in such pain . He barely endured because he had been protecting his arms with Energy Barrier . It was a shock that could make him fall to his knees in an instant . Chun Ha-jin realized how big the gap between him and Su-hyeun was .

“Damn it!”

Rumble, rumble—

Dark red magic rose from Chun Ha-jin’s body . In his world, it was called the Inner Power . He began to release all the power that he had been absorbing through the Force Absorption skill at once .

“Cough!”

Chun Ha-jin coughed up blood . He was already poisoned, but he used a huge amount of power in an instance . It burdened his body .

Chun Ha-jin was so sure that the Inner Power that he had been accumulating through his Force Absorption skill was unsurpassed .

Rumble, rumble—

Chun Ha-jin lifted his sword . He could see Su-hyeun pounce on him fearlessly . It looked like Su-hyeun would deliver a blow instead of dodging .

Chun Ha-jin smiled with his bloody mouth .

Rumble—

The dark red Inner Power began to take shape around Chun Ha-jin’s sword . The aura seemed like it could cut anything with a single blow . Chun Ha-jin lifted his sword . Clouds floating in the sky were split as the sword moved . He felt confident that he could cut through anything .

Slash—!

And, at the moment that Chun Ha-jin’s sword and the Inner Power about to swallow Su-hyeun…

“Explosion Style . ”

He could hear a small voice .

Flash—

Crack, craaack—

Rumble, ruuumble—

With a tremendous magical wave, Chun Ha-jin’s sword began to tear like a sheet of paper .

“What the hell…”

Rip, riiip—

The tremendous Inner Power that Chun Ha-jin had been accumulating so far scattered . It was as if the power was eaten up by a higher power . Chun Ha-jin’s Energy Barrier was broken, and so was his Inner Power . His hard body was torn; he knelt .

“Cough, cough—”

Flop—

Chun Ha-jin never thought he would kneel to anyone . But he knelt down this day . Chun Ha-jin had no power to stand anymore .

“Having huge magic isn’t everything,” Su-hyeun said . “Even if you have a good weapon, if you’re awful, you can’t use it well . ”

“Are…you…saying…I’m…awful?”

“There are many more important things than pouring tremendous magic at an enemy . Concentration and focus, timing… The size of the magic is just one of many factors . ”

“Bull…sh*t…” Chun Ha-jin denied Su-hyeun’s words .

He couldn’t accept that his way was wrong . Also, he still didn’t think he was wrong . And Su-hyeun could understand him .

“Yes,” said Su-hyeun, “that is bullsh*t . Even though there are many factors to decide a victory or defeat, higher power is a very critical factor . So, what I’m saying now is,” —Su-hyeun went on, as he stepped in front of Chun Ha-jin and looked down at him— “that’s just all you have . ”

Chun Ha-jin gritted his teeth at Su-hyeun’s insult . Since his legs were like jelly, he tried to use his arms to get up . It was a meaningless struggle, but he didn’t quit .

“Don’t be even more pathetic . Just get down and listen . ”

Crush—

Crack—

“Argh—”

Su-hyeun trampled Chun Ha-jin’s shoulder . At the sound of bone breaking, Chun Ha-jin clenched his teeth . He never screamed . Su-hyeun began to wonder what kind of life Chun Ha-jin had been leading . He must be in so much pain even to stay still with the Murderous Toxin, but he just made a quiet moaning sound while his shoulder was crushed . His will was very strong . Su-hyeun could tell his effort to be strong so far . But…

“I don’t have any ill will toward you . Well . Murdering is fine according to the rules of the game . And I don’t blame you for that . ” Su-hyeun raised his sword . “So, don’t feel too bitter . ”

Stab—

“Argh!”

When Su-hyeun’s sword penetrated Chun Ha-jin’s neck, he opened his eyes wide .

Slash—

And Su-hyeun finally cut Chun Ha-jin’s neck and turned his body . He could see Luslec watching him from the opposite side . He was grinning as if he knew what Su-hyeun would do . Around him, Su-hyeun could see cheering people, and dropouts . In Su-hyeun’s eyes, they all looked like dolls .

Act 6

It was time for the second game of semifinals . Luslec’s opponent was eliminated very quickly . He had only reached the semifinal because he luckily met easy opponents . Luslec didn’t even have to call his shadow soldiers as he had done for Hercules . He easily dominated him with his sword .

“Winner, Luslec!” the host again declared Luslec the victor in a dry voice .

Luslec reached out his hand to his opponent and helped him stand up . Then, he raised his arms to respond to the cheers of the crowd .

“Oh, wait . ” Luslec didn’t go down off the stage . Instead, he looked at the host and said, “I don’t think we need break time . Can we just start?”

“You mean, right now?”

“Yes . Is there a problem?”

“If the other player agrees, there is nothing wrong with it,” the host said and looked at Su-hyeun, who was sitting in his chair by the side of the stage .

Su-hyeun, who had been watching the game with his arms folded, nodded . “I can start now . ”

“Then, player Siegfried, please come on the stage . We will start the game in three minutes . ”

Su-hyeun immediately went up to the stage at the host’s word .

Hooray—! Yay—!

People cheered louder . But Su-hyeun didn’t pay attention to the sound . What he paid attention to was Luslec . It was as if Luslec was the only one that existed on a white background . Luslec was standing still on the stage, watching Su-hyeun coming .

“Hey, it is finally the finals . ”

“Did you wait long?”

Stomp, stomp—

Su-hyeun walked toward Luslec . The host stopped him before he got closer than ten steps from Luslec . One minute had passed; now about two minutes were left to start . Su-hyeun stopped walking as the host gave him a signal .

Luslec looked at Su-hyeun’s eyes and smiled . “What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering who you are and what this world is . ”

“I heard . People said you’ve been asking about their pasts . You’re really interested in other people, aren’t you? Should I call you nosy?”

“I guess I am . ”

“So? Did you figure out who I am?”

“At first, I thought you were just one of the awakeners climbing the tower, like me . But after I started to talk with other people, I had another thought . ”

Su-hyeun looked around at the expressionless hosts, cheering crowds, and the players watching the game from the waiting seat . All of their faces seemed pale .

“I’ve seen people like you before, and I’ve seen them quite a few times . ”

At Su-hyeun’s word, Luslec made a wry grin .

“And we, the awakeners, call you guys like this” —and at that reaction, Su-hyeun was sure about his idea— “the gatekeepers . ”