An interested look crossed Namgong Chang-cheon’s face.
“Conditions, huh? Let’s hear them.”
“I’d like this match to remain secret.”
Not just held in private, but kept completely secret from others as well.
Namgong Chang-cheon gave an easy nod.
“That’s no problem. What else?”
“I may co to ask you for a small favor later.”
“A favor to repay a favor, is that it? But what’s ‘small’ can be relative, no?”
“If you feel it’s too much when the ti cos, you’re free to refuse.”
“In that case, I accept.”
Having reached a mutual understanding, we set the match to private mode.
A translucent black barrier, like a pair of sunglasses, descended around the arena.
Namgong Chang-cheon then drew the longsword from his waist, while I raised my staff in one hand and summoned a dark cloud in the other.
“……”
“……”
We silently faced each other until the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kim Ho: 100%]
vs
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 100%]
[Ti Remaining 4:59]
“I’m coming.”
Namgong Chang-cheon spoke briefly and began walking toward with his longsword lowered.
His pace was leisurely, almost like a stroll, but a clear blue aura began to rise from his body.
Under its influence, the atmosphere grew heavy with an overwhelming pressure.
Azure Heaven Divine Art.
It was the signature internal energy technique of the Namgong clan.
The pressure ca from the principle of “weight” contained within it.
And following the Azure Heaven Divine Art, there was always its inseparable partner: a sword technique.
Once the distance between us had narrowed, Namgong Chang-cheon’s sword traced a blue arc through the air.
Shraaaak!
Azure Infinite Sword Art.
Rather than narrowly dodging like I usually do, I activated Feather Step with the goal of getting as far away as possible.
Even if I didn’t get cut by the sword energy, being caught in that crushing energy would eventually wear down.
A flicker of interest passed through Namgong Chang-cheon’s eyes as he chased after , continuing his swordsmanship.
While doing so, he spoke.
“You’re handling this quite naturally. Have you faced the Namgong style before?”
“I’ve picked up a few things here and there.”
More accurately, I heard it from my past self.
And one more thing my past self had figured out—
Looks like he’s nearly reached mastery.
Both his internal energy technique and swordsmanship were extrely refined.
If we weren’t in a Fixed Zone, he’d easily rank A.
In other words—
He’s definitely a direct descendant.
If he were only from a collateral branch, he would’ve inherited just a portion of the techniques. No matter how great his talent was, achieving this level of mastery would have been impossible.
This makes things even more troubleso.
If a direct descendant of the Namgong clan had perfected the Azure Infinite Sword Art, then he must have also learned at least part of its secret techniques.
The Emperor Sword Form.
Once that’s drawn out, victory becos nearly impossible to predict. It would be best to end the fight before he has a chance to use it.
Having reached that conclusion, I launched my first counterattack since the match began.
I evaded Namgong Chang-cheon’s sword with Feather Step and unleashed Dark Clouds.
The mont the cloud touched his blade, it was brushed aside with a sharp flick. Still, it was enough to break the flow of his sword technique.
At the sa ti, a stream of cold air shot out from my fingertips.
Namgong Chang-cheon reflexively struck it down—
Boom!
The Frozen Spirit Shot exploded, scattering freezing air in all directions.
Imdiately, I followed up with the Mutual Destruction Eye.
[The target has been afflicted with ‘Poison (C)’.]
[Cooldown: 00:00:59]
[Namgong Chang-cheon 98%]
Now I just need to see what skill he uses to cleanse debuffs.
His body slowed slightly under the freezing cold, and with the poison eating away at his health bit by bit, he’d want to remove it as soon as possible.
As expected, a heavy golden light flowed from his torso, and the frost covering his body began to fade.
Protective Armor, huh. Most likely of Buddhist origin.
It seed to boast both high defense and debuff removal.
As expected of a direct descendant of a prestigious clan…. even his gear was top-tier.
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 98%]
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 97%]
Still, since he hadn’t fully shaken off the cold and poison, its effect didn’t seem all that overwhelming.
There was a chance he had more debuff counterasures, but only a slight one.
His skill slots had to be tight already. Would he really dedicate two to that?
That ans it’s worth a gamble.
[Cooldown: 00:00:44]
As soon as Mutual Destruction Eye ca off cooldown, I’d make my decisive move.
But to do that, I needed to endure another forty seconds.
Against none other than a direct descendant of the Namgong clan.
Boooom—!
The spot where I had just been standing shattered into pieces.
That was how terrifyingly powerful Namgong Chang-cheon’s sword was. Every casual swing left the area around us devastated.
Yet his expression wasn’t particularly bright.
[Kim Ho: 100%]
He still hadn’t managed to land a single effective hit on .
“It feels like I’m fighting a phantom. Always just out of reach, yet never caught.”
“You might not believe , but I’m actually trying really hard to dodge right now.”
Because honestly, it was way closer than usual.
Even as I said that, I hurriedly triggered Feather Step—
Whoooooooooosh—!
Once again, his azure sword energy ca crashing down, obliterating the ground where I had just been.
I was about to retreat further when I glanced back and saw the circular arena wall.
Too cramped for comfort.
Every ti I tried to run, the wall cut off.
For Namgong Chang-cheon, however, this was the perfect opportunity.
“!”
His eyes flashed, and in an instant, he unleashed a flurry of three strikes.
One wave of sword energy swept to my left, another to my right, sealing off my escape routes, while the last one ca straight at .
I can’t dodge this normally.
I’d have to throw everything I had into it.
I sent a Dark Cloud drifting left and muttered the trigger phrase.
“Soft and cushy.”
Boom!
The fist-sized cloud swelled to the size of a pillow and intercepted one of his strikes.
The energy behind his sword was far stronger, so it only blocked briefly before being blown away, but it was enough to create a small opening.
I slipped through that gap and cast Phantom Step—
Srrrk…
The next mont, I appeared behind Namgong Chang-cheon and launched a Frozen Spirit Shot.
He dodged to the side with a startled exclamation.
“Impressive!”
And then, he prepared to unleash an even stronger sword technique.
It was as if, to him, the real battle was only just beginning.
And he likely still had plenty of energy left to spare.
anwhile, I had already exhausted nearly all of my survival skills. At this rate, I’d eventually lose the match.
If I let it keep going, that is.
[Cooldown: 00:00:02]
The mont I saw the cooldown end, I used Wind Force to blast Namgong Chang-cheon back.
Boom!
And right after, I played what was essentially my final trump card.
[You have used ‘Octopus Limbs’.]
[The target has been inflicted with ‘Freeze (C)’.]
[The target has been inflicted with ‘Freeze (C)’…]
[The target has been inflicted with ‘Poison (C)’…]
[The target has been inflicted with ‘Poison (C)’…]
[The target has been inflicted with ‘Withering (C)’…]
…
[Cooldown: 01:39:58]
Ten consecutive Mutual Destruction Eyes.
With a penalty multiplier of one hundred, the cooldown beca ridiculously long.
I probably wouldn’t be able to use it again until at least the match after the next.
But by gambling the future to throw this debuff bomb—
Whoooosh—
Crackle, zzzt—
Namgong Chang-cheon’s entire body was wrapped in wind and frozen solid in several places.
It was the result of the overlapping effects of Withering and Freezing.
The poisoning didn’t show on the surface, but it had no doubt taken hold as well.
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 96%]
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 92%]
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 89%]
His health was dropping fast, the numbers ticking down in alarming chunks.
With a tone that was half admiration, half resignation, he spoke.
“Truly impressive. I didn’t think a technique like this could exist.”
“It was a gamble. I wasn’t sure it would work.”
There was always the chance Namgong Chang-cheon had another way to cleanse the debuffs.
But contrary to my fears, he simply pointed at his own chest with a calm expression.
“Unfortunately, all I have is this protective armor.”
His condition was improving little by little, but by the ti he managed to remove all the debuffs, his health would be critically low.
And I had no intention of just standing by and watching that happen.
Namgong Chang-cheon seed to understand that as well, yet he didn’t lose his fighting spirit.
He raised his longsword to the middle guard position.
“I wonder what else you’ve prepared. Co at .”
“I will.”
The roles were completely reversed now. This ti, I was the one approaching with Feather Step.
At the sa ti, a chilling cold began to gather at my index finger.
The problem with Frozen Spirit Shot is that it’s useless if the opponent dodges it.
It’s concentrated at a single point before detonation, which makes it easy to evade.
So how do you fix that flaw?
You just make it impossible to dodge.
By pinning the enemy in place.
Whoooosh—!
A windstorm charged with physical force locked onto Namgong Chang-cheon.
Normally, he would’ve escaped with swift footwork, but now he was bogged down by overlapping Freeze and Withering effects.
His body was sluggish, and to top it off, he was vulnerable to wind magic.
There was no escape.
I began firing Frozen Spirit Shots in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang—!
Even as his body froze over, Namgong Chang-cheon never stopped swinging his sword.
One of his slashes flew past where I had just been in a desperate counterattack.
Whooooooosh—!
Each strike still packed a punch. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
I sent out dark clouds to obscure his sword path and disrupt his flow of techniques.
While maintaining the upper hand, wind began to gather around , slowly compressing into a dense mass.
Then, just as Namgong Chang-cheon began to unleash another ultimate technique, I thrust out one hand.
The compressed wind exploded forward in a single, devastating blast.
Boooooooooom—!
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 78%]
[Namgong Chang-cheon: 62%]
The next glimpse of Namgong Chang-cheon showed him in a sorry state, as if he might collapse at any mont.
Even so, he stood his ground and asked a question.
“…What is the na of that technique?”
“Destructive Gale.”
“I see. A fitting na for such power. Will you accept my challenge again next ti?”
I gave a faint smile and replied,
“Shouldn’t I be the one challenging you? I may have the upper hand now due to certain restrictions, but in reality, your skills are far superior, aren’t they?”
“That’s true. I’ll look forward to it with pleasure.”
Namgong Chang-cheon smiled back.
[Kim Ho Win]
vs
[Namgong Chang-cheon Lose]
***
Of course, talk like that is no different from saying, “Let’s grab a al soti”. It was an empty promise.
In other words, there’s no telling when I’ll actually face Namgong Chang-cheon again.
Maybe if I send Go Hyeon-woo instead, everyone will be happier?
Entertaining that silly thought, I took my place in line for the next preliminary round.
I killed ti by wandering around the arena until eventually, my turn ca up again.
[Cooldown Ti Remaining: 00:34:09]
Mutual Destruction Eye is still sealed.
That didn’t an I could skip the match.
I’d just have to make do with my other skills.
After that intense warm-up, maybe my next opponent would be easier.
However…
Just like the gambler’s fallacy says. It was wishful thinking.
As I stepped into the circular arena and checked the scoreboard, I saw a na I was truly not happy to see.
[Kim Ho vs Oh Se-hoon]
This is Byeong-cheol’s fault.
I’m sure my bad matchup is because he bet 5,000 points on .
At the sa ti, I let out a deep sigh of relief.
Good thing I fought Namgong senior first.
If I’d forfeited back then and taken a loss, I would’ve had no choice now. I would have needed to beat Oh Se-hoon no matter what.
Given our bad matchup, I would’ve had a much harder ti.
But now?
Forfeiting, clean and easy. This was definitely an option now.
Before Oh Se-hoon even showed up, I raised my hand high.
“I forfeit!”
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