Chapter 48
Seo-jun watched the NPC soldiers fight on the main road a short distance from the stronghold and said,
"Hmm, everyone, isn't this build pretty good?"
He'd already beaten the enemy twice. Even the second time, four of them.
- hasn't even hit the level to use skills yet
- talk after level 6
- he crushed them with his own skill and pretends the build is good lol
- shameless
Strictly speaking, his traits did have some influence, but it was so minor that the viewers were right. The moment you could truly gauge the build's performance was from level 6, when martial arts became usable. In the novice zone, you needed level 18 to use something like a sword aura, but after choosing a faction, it was from level 6. From level 6, you gained internal energy and could use martial arts, and at every multiple of 6, the martial arts were strengthened.
[Blue: 565] vs [Red: 980]
- wow
- barely any damage to 1,000 HP
- this is what you call strategy!
- strategy???
Currently, all strongholds were occupied by his team. The three icons indicating strongholds were glowing red, the symbol of the Demon Cult. In other games, allies are blue and enemies red, but in the battlefield, each side had its own color. Blue was the orthodox faction. Green was the unorthodox faction.
A message appeared.
[Heavenly Demon, do you really not need help?]
[That is correct.]
[That Nangong guy who was here seems to have gone that way too, and you're telling us to keep staying here?]
[Stay still.]
[Yes, sir.]
If you couldn't seize the center, a reversal was ultimately unlikely. Though now that Seo-jun wasn't killing soldiers, the central stronghold's significance had faded.
'Should I bring one person along next time to deal with soldiers, like a swordsman?'
No. Rather than that, it'd be better to fight a clear 2-on-1 and secure one more stronghold.
But things didn't go as he thought.
[Jeon Jae-hun --> CoconutIsGood]
[Jeon Jae-hun --> DemonCult123]
[Stronghold Gap has been captured.]
"Ah."
It wasn't like he hadn't considered this possibility, but it had become a hassle.
- ah lololol
- you think waiting will work?
- rally battle on
"It'd be nice if they just kept coming at me."
Seo-jun said in a regretful tone.
- you think they would? lol
- they keep getting wrecked
- fast judgment
'Still, they'll target this place.'
No matter how many side strongholds they capture, if they can't catch Seo-jun, they can't win the match. So he had to think about when the enemies would aim for him.
The conclusion was.
'I guess they'll come after reaching level 6.'
Experience points were earned by killing soldiers, killing enemies, or capturing strongholds. They were also given automatically over time, but since that was granted to all living players in the game, to widen the gap with that experience, you had no choice but to kill enemies.
'The fastest way to raise experience is to kill soldiers.'
That was why the central stronghold was important. So the enemies would find a point where they could win before the experience gap widened further. That point was level 6. That was the moment they could use martial arts.
"Probably, next time, they'll target Gap."
To avoid the center where Seo-jun was, they'd essentially have to circle around.
When the ally at Gap asked what to do, Seo-jun told them to go back to Gap and retake the stronghold. Since they'd be coming back again anyway.
[Jeon Jae-hun --> MyDreamIsHairtail]
[Stronghold Byeong has been captured.]
[Stronghold Gap has been recaptured.]
As expected, the enemies captured a side stronghold. It was around the time they would have hit level 6.
"I think they're coming now."
- then why the hell did you pick those traits?
- for real lol
- but did you actually think about that build?
- if he'd thought about it, would he be reading them one by one while picking? 100% he just picked what looked good.
What, how did they know. Still, he hadn't lied.
"Well, I really did think about it, you know."
The Absorption Great Art drained the opponent's health and, in proportion, restored his own. It also continually siphoned the internal energy and stamina of anyone within a certain range during battle. Stamina was a crucial resource consumed not only for lightness skill but also for martial arts, footwork, and powerful swings. In fact, the Absorption Great Art, which stole most of the key resources in For Cooperation, could sound like an utterly broken trait just hearing this.
But it had a fatal drawback: if the total amount of internal energy absorbed became too great, energy deviation would set in.
'That means battles can't drag on.'
A tank that must end battles quickly. There was a structural problem. So he had thought in reverse. If battles had to end quickly, become a damage dealer and end them quickly yourself. He just hadn't known the other detailed traits were so numerous.
- yeah the penalty lol
- how are you gonna play without picking the penalty reduction traits
- the streamer won't die in a fight, no, he'll die from energy deviation
- it's not like others haven't thought about it
Was that so?
"I thought it was plenty doable."
There's only so much you can know without trying, but Seo-jun trusted his instinct about combat. As if on cue, the sounds of enemies came from afar.
"He's still here!"
"Get that monster bastard."
"It's 4-on-1, we've got martial arts now, if we lose, we're idiots!"
After being beaten consecutively by Seo-jun, at some point they had started speaking informally to one another.
- lolol before they weren't like that?
- suddenly I want to see the streamer hit by energy deviation
- it's like getting parried in Dawn of the Assassins lol
- I've gotten energy deviation myself, felt like sleep paralysis lol
When battle starts, the Absorption Great Art automatically activates.
The Beggar's Sect beggar approached and swung his staff. A powerful attack that consumed stamina. Seo-jun also expended stamina to parry it, and behind the beggar, two Mount Hua Sect users appeared from both sides. Their robes fluttered, and from the tips of their swords, a red sword aura blazed, the sudden wind bringing the scent of plum blossoms to his nose.
It was the Mount Hua Sect's skill, the Twenty-Four Forms of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
"Impressive."
Indeed.
He was glad he'd chosen this game.
First Form.
Plum Blossom by the Roadside. The plum blossom lies by the roadside.
- whoa the red effects are awesome
- this is why it's the most popular
- this is a true swordsman
What is the sword intent of the Twenty-Four Forms? He pondered amidst the scene as the enemy's sword tips split and red filled his vision.
'Deceiving the eyes.'
As Seo-jun retreated backward, the red sword aura poured down, targeting countless vital points simultaneously. The phantom sword veiled his eyes and disrupted his senses. What was real, and what was fake? Amid the nostalgic fragrance, Seo-jun stirred his internal energy.
'A familiar feeling.'
It was the feeling of truly moving internal energy. He focused strength into his toes.
"But I am the Heavenly Demon."
- this guy's really insane lol
- is his regret not being the Heavenly Demon that deep? f*** lol
- why's it so damn cool!
A dark crimson demonic energy sheathed Seo-jun's sword, tracing a great crescent from left to right and splitting the red waves.
'Strong force with strong force. Sword aura with sword aura.'
It was a game law not so far removed from reality.
And.
Against a phantom sword, an even larger sword to overwhelm it.
Seo-jun poured a massive amount of internal energy into blocking the skill. Moreover, since the enemies had used a skill, their internal energy efficiency would have been better than simply drawing sword aura and swinging, but.
'This works.'
Either way, the red illusion shattered. The fragments grazed Seo-jun's body but couldn't deal significant damage.
"You poured internal energy just to break the first form?"
"He used up a lot of internal energy! End it fast! That's stupidly inefficient!"
From the conversation, it seemed this was the usual method. Hearing that shout, the Beggar's Sect user lunged at Seo-jun, but.
This time, Seo-jun sharpened his sword and thrust at the charging enemy. In an instant, the health chipped away by the fragments was refilled.
"Wait, what's with that attack power."
"Didn't he hit a vital point?"
- no he didn't
- the streamer went all-in on attack traits, that's why
- didn't he also hit a vital point?
He had indeed hit a vital point. And he'd even consumed stamina to thrust with a powerful attack.
To ambush Seo-jun from behind, the Nangong family's blue lightning aura erupted. Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword. One of the Nangong family's two martial arts, characterized by swift sword and lightning aura.
However.
- lololololol
- lightning against the streamer lol
- what? why are you guys laughing?
- newbie, haven't you marathoned the streamer's videos?
Seo-jun glanced at the chat window and laughed. Lightning, nice.
The blue lightning scattered through the air, and as if using lightness skill in a frenzied state, a further accelerated swift strike aimed for Seo-jun. Impossible to follow with the eyes.
'How did I dodge it back when it was the Demon Tower Lord?'
Seo-jun again enveloped internal energy and lightly brought his sword down.
Clang!
The spot where Seo-jun struck was precisely the enemy's sword path, without a millimeter of error. The blocked user's eyes wavered.
"How?"
"Your sword is fast, but it is insufficient to reach me. That is all."
- unlucky Demon Tower Lord lol
- it seems like prediction, insane
- it's super fast, how did he do that?
- nothing works before the Heavenly Demon!!
"Hmm."
His hand tingled. The lightning aura had inflicted minor damage on Seo-jun. Seo-jun used stamina again to attack the enemy in front of him and refilled his health.
"Like this, it works."
As Seo-jun's health fully recovered again, the enemies looked at him in dismay.
"I mean, is his stamina infinite? How can he be like that!"
The Beggar's Sect beggar put all his strength into swinging his staff, and Seo-jun met it head-on.
"It's the Absorption Great Art."
From the side, a Mount Hua user rushed in, but was instead cut by the sword and fell back. The amount of health draining was beyond imagination.
"No, but still. He uses too much! And his damage is crazy high!"
"The Demon Cult is broken."
They complained and clashed swords, but Seo-jun's health remained immovable. Even if they touched his health with martial arts, it instantly recovered. Try to leverage the resource advantage of four people, and it was nullified by infinite stamina. When there seemed to be no way out, the Beggar's Sect beggar said,
"Doesn't he die if he endures that?"
The penalty of the Absorption Great Art is famous. Endure too long, and you die. To overcome this, people would pick traits like: the technique deactivates if the distance to the opponent increases; defense and health increase the more enemies you fight; or traits that lowered the technique's power but raised stability to extend its duration.
"It looks like he barely picked any penalty mitigation traits, right? Otherwise, you can't explain this damage and stamina."
They weren't beginners in the game, so they quickly caught on.
"Then let's endure!"
"Just endure a bit and he'll die on his own!"
"We can't let distance increase and break it. We have to stick close while managing distance!"
- they noticed
- newbie doesn't get the situation, someone explain
- well, that's... keke...
- the old-timers are excited lol
The enemies' attitude changed. Not to attack, but to defend. It was a tactic to bleed the Absorption Great Art without directly reducing health. A typical Absorption Great Art user would be stuck and helpless, but.
"Think that'll work on me?"
Seo-jun pretended to fall back, then dove into the midst of the enemies. He hadn't even chosen the trait that deactivated the technique when distance increased. The price of enhanced performance. A swift death. And the method to avoid that swift death.
[Jeon Jae-hun eliminated]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
"That bastard's about to die soon."
"W-when is soon!"
"I don't know."
Shwack!
The black-dyed blade flashed.
[FarewellInFarewell eliminated]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
"Seriously, when is he dying already."
"Doesn't it feel like a really long time has passed?"
[StreetRat eliminated]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
"Beggar... I'm alone now. Damn. Huh?"
Suddenly, the enemy who had been terrifyingly slaughtering them—Seo-jun—didn't finish him but turned his body. And began to retreat. Quite quickly at that.
"Finally, the time for him to die has come, so he's trying to gain distance!"
Finally! The Nangong user expended all his remaining stamina and unleashed the ultimate swift sword. An attack that could catch up to the enemy and, if need be, land a hit!
But suddenly, the retreating Seo-jun looked back and blocked his sword. Then, Seo-jun's sword smoothly rotated, cleanly aiming for his neck.
[SkySword eliminated]
[Enemy Fortress HP –20]
What. In the moment of fleeing, he reacted to that? Or. Had he been baiting him from the beginning? Instead of fleeing, to finish him off for sure.
Indeed, a master is different.
'Should I not have just charged in?'
Then the enemy began to speak to the air.
"You're asking why I didn't die? Instead of penalty mitigation traits, I picked traits that increase the technique's power and a trait that cancels the technique upon killing an enemy. That's why."
Ah. Having lost the will to fight, he looked up at Seo-jun with a hollow gaze. So there were detailed traits like that too. He never even dreamed of it because no one used it that way.
"Since killing just one person resets the penalty, you know. Don't you think this build is good?"
It wasn't just good, it seemed completely broken. But if killing just one reset it, why had he retreated earlier? He'd had plenty of time. Could it be... One word surfaced in his mind. Mockery.
"*Sigh*, still, orthodox faction martial arts look better and cooler. This is why people don't play Demon Cult."
That statement also seemed intended for him to hear. Damn.
'Once this match ends, I'm switching to Demon Cult right away.'
Now, the first day of the battlefield had only just begun.