Chapter 56
Seo-jun stepped over the railing.
And walked down the descending stairs.
He savored the brief leisure.
“Ah, the sunset scenery is to die for.”
The old martial arts cityscape seen from the top of Giru, rendered by Mubi Soft, had a certain charm.
It made him want to drink baekju for the first time in a while.
-How leisurely
-Time's overflowing lol
-No enemies on the 12th floor, so just keep going down
Tap.
Tap.
Seo-jun descended the empty, enemy-free stairs. He slung his existing sword over his shoulder.
“My internal energy recovery really is slow.”
Compared to when the Absorption Great Technique is active, it doesn’t even fill a twentieth.
That’s why people say strategies to reach the enemy commander using minimal resources are important.
Of course, everything was according to his calculations.
Tap.
Seo-jun arrived at the 11th floor.
A sense of déjà vu washed over him.
Demon cultists strewn about.
Scorched walls and sword scars.
Subtle sounds.
‘And after passing this corner.’
Pajijik.
‘Here it comes.’
Instead of swinging his sword, Seo-jun immediately leaned back.
Just before rounding the corner, an NPC lunged forward with a blindingly fast sword wrapped in lightning qi, just as Seo-jun pulled back.
Kwaaang!
The discharged lightning qi scorched the path it took, and the sword embedded itself in the wall where Seo-jun had been standing.
“Namgoong Cheon is here.”
He met eyes with the blue-robed giant of an old man. The old man scanned Seo-jun from head to toe in an instant, confirmed his identity, then pulled his sword from the wall and swung.
“If I kill you, this war will be our victory. Hahaha!”
It was a basic attack without internal energy, so Seo-jun countered.
And at that moment, the Absorption Great Technique activated, and Seo-jun’s internal energy began to fill.
-Yeah, even if you kill the sect leader, your demon cult can’t win
-What’s he saying, don’t you know Eo U-jeong?
-Anyway, the orthodox faction wins, right?
-But if we kill the sect leader, we get to see something good!
-King Law Girl!
Shaaak!
Namgoong Cheon’s sword was thin and long.
And since his physique was larger, his arms were longer than Seo-jun’s.
Not that his speed was slow. The lightning qi characteristic of his martial art added to his swiftness.
In the corridor with no room to dodge sideways, Namgoong Cheon advanced on Seo-jun, swinging his sword.
Seo-jun backed away while dodging the sword.
But he didn’t just keep dodging.
‘I have no choice but to attack while taking even avoidable hits.’
Why?
Because he has a time limit.
And.
A sword grazed Seo-jun’s left arm, chipping away at his health.
But immediately after, Seo-jun slashed Namgoong Cheon’s shoulder and took a step back.
The lost health was restored.
‘Getting hit doesn’t matter.’
His trait actually makes exchanging blows far more advantageous.
“Thankfully, he’s an NPC, so he just keeps charging without a second thought.”
Clang!
No sooner had Seo-jun spoken than swords clashed and he was pushed back.
Lightning qi condensed on Namgoong Cheon’s sword.
-The lightning qi condensation speed is insanely fast
-So fast
-Isn’t that because of the sword he got from that faction quest long ago?
-The Thunder God Sword?
-Yeah
Namgoong Cheon’s Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword was much faster than the average user’s. His was on a level that practically had no long charge-up.
The reason was that a few years ago, Namgoong clan users had succeeded in a faction quest to retrieve a treasure for Namgoong Cheon.
In For the Sake of Chivalry, naturally there was more than just battlefields; all those other contents interlocked with the battlefield.
Not just simple quests, but the evolving faction relationships and growing NPCs through story progression also overlapped, making them stronger on the battlefield.
The Thunder God Sword that Namgoong Cheon wielded not only accepted lightning qi well but also stored it, so the condensation speed was on another level.
‘Anyway, the game company must have balanced the factions themselves.’
He focused on winning the immediate fight.
A blindingly fast thrust aiming for Seo-jun’s heart unfolded.
‘My internal energy.’
It had recovered enough to imbue a few sword strikes.
Seo-jun twisted his body slightly to avoid the vital point.
Puuuuuk!
His health dropped significantly from the sword piercing his chest, but it was manageable.
Smiling, Seo-jun likewise stabbed with his own sword imbued with sword qi.
Toward the enemy’s vital point.
“Heh. My health’s filling up.”
It would have been fun if he’d had a martial art like this in his previous life.
-Scary lol
-Is he smiling with a sword stuck in him?
-It’d be perfect if blood dripped from his mouth, but it’s a game so nope
-Absorption Great Technique is so broken
-This is totally a berserker…
“Now I’m really out of time.”
It’s tight.
Instead of backing away further, Seo-jun moved forward.
For a melee of giving and taking cuts.
It was a decision made without choice, because he lacked internal energy.
He’d fought from the start with his internal energy already depleted, so he couldn’t use many high-damage sword qi attacks.
Thus, he had to cram in more basic attacks, in a shorter time.
Shaaaak.
When the enemy cut him.
Shaaaak.
He cut the enemy too.
Once more.
An exchange of offense and defense impossible in reality continued.
Once more again.
Seo-jun’s health was shaved down by more than half in one go, then restored.
It was like a deadly tightrope walk. A single mistake and he’d fall.
“Keuhahaha! You’re struggling with all you’ve got!”
Namgoong Cheon shouted, raising his sword high.
The NPC’s excitement was palpable.
Seo-jun began to feel excited too.
Maybe because he’d never fought like this before, or simply because it was so close.
-That madness is insane
-And meanwhile, he’s dodging all the vital points?
-But the sect leader’s health is still dwindling
Pajijik.
Lightning qi gathered on Namgoong Cheon’s sword.
He’d turn into an afterimage and bring it crashing down in an instant.
“Up close, that won’t work.”
Tang!
Seo-jun immediately imbued his sword with sword qi and threw it, spinning horizontally. The condensation broke.
Sword qi can only be countered by sword qi, and since Seo-jun’s chosen traits had no special martial art for firing sword qi, it was an improvised move.
Namgoong Cheon’s sword, its condensation broken, swung down without sword qi.
Seo-jun took the hit head-on. His health dropped to a perilous line.
Just barely enough not to die.
But taking time to dodge or parry was even more wasteful.
He moved his body and swung his arm first.
The sword he’d just thrown hit the ceiling and was falling.
Seo-jun grabbed the falling sword in its path and completed the attack.
Shaaaak!
-??
-What the heck lol
-Wow lol
-What did I just witness
-No way lol, this is ridiculous lol
Seo-jun’s foot dug deeper inside.
Extreme close quarters led to even faster attacks.
He landed another sword qi-imbued strike.
The enemy’s health visibly decreased.
And as the damage grew stronger, So did Seo-jun’s recovery amount increased.
After repeating this process a few times.
“Keu-euk.”
Namgoong Cheon collapsed, and as vitality surged into Seo-jun, the Absorption Great Technique that had been slowly choking him was released.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
-Awesome!
-Insane!
-sssss, we believed in you.
-4 minutes? What a joke. 4 minutes? What a joke. 4 minutes? What a joke. 4 minutes? What a joke.
-The sect leader was humble! The sect leader was humble! The sect leader was humble!
-Stop trying to copy the rankers’ routes!
Smiling, Seo-jun looked at his palm.
Blood was pooled in his palm.
And his entire body was covered in wounds.
Although it was virtual reality, it had been ages since he’d fought while getting cut like this.
After a few seconds, the red blood evaporated as if vanishing, and all of Seo-jun’s wounds healed.
He then fiddled with his settings and turned the camera to face him directly.
Meeting eyes as if looking at someone, Seo-jun opened his mouth.
“Now then, the demonic cult should come, right?”
The identity of that someone was obvious.
His record was 3 minutes and 1 second.
A record far faster even than the 4-minute range.
-They have to, right?
-The cult leader personally proselytizing lol
-Why did Dang-so bet
-Well, this battlefield is a lost cause lol, tried to pick a fight and now it backfired
* * *
A little while ago.
Dang-so sat in the spot Seo-jun had vacated.
And opened several internet windows.
One was Seo-jun’s stream, and the others were sites for gathering information, like No-hyeop and group chats.
“I’ll win the bet no matter what, but I suppose I should watch. Huhuhu.”
‘Watching’ here didn’t mean he’d cancel the bet out of consideration for Seo-jun, but that he’d watch his stream.
Of course, even aside from the bet, Seo-jun’s stream was one that the rankers kept an eye on.
Having become a hot topic by gaining the Grandmaster title the day before and starting his game right at 7 PM when the battlefield opened, there was no way they wouldn’t watch.
“What nonsense. Why make a bet like that if you might lose?”
Dang-so’s head turned toward the source of the voice in his screen.
“That guy’s a fraud, so there’s no way I’ll lose.”
Dang-so confirmed the speaker and spoke confidently.
The other person was a fellow ranker from the same unorthodox faction.
“I don’t think that person is a fraud.”
“Somehow.”
“In the first place, what exactly did he commit fraud about.”
“A hidden quest?”
“If you thought it was a hidden quest, you could’ve just asked him to open his quest record window and show it on stream earlier. You blockhead.”
“Oh. I should have checked.”
“If you lose the bet and go to the demonic cult, it’ll be a disaster. Every single ranker like you is so precious.”
Dang-so’s colleague let out a sigh.
On the battlefield, if you keep a consecutive win streak going, you can accumulate a tremendous amount of fame through bonuses.
Rankers who gather that much fame then become a force for their faction.
Because the higher their fame, the more offense/defense points they can save up.
Normally, once the game passes its mid-stage, these rankers’ offense/defense points become significant.
Right now, with fame not built up much, they’re just one user each.
But from the moment they accumulate a lot of fame through win streaks, each ranker becomes a vital resource.
Among them, Dang-so was in the very top ranks. He looked unexpectedly foolish, but his situational judgment was quick, and his skill placed him within the top four in the unorthodox faction at the very least. So even if he was unlikable, he absolutely had to win this bet.
“Were you watching his stream too?”
“Yeah. Most demonic cult and unorthodox faction users fighting the orthodox faction were probably watching his stream? They probably all saw you make that stupid bet too.”
“Hah. Don’t worry.”
Dang-so scoffed.
“With a build like that, how can he finish within 4 minutes?”
“Why? He could succeed.”
Dang-so declared firmly.
“I’m not dismissing his skill. But impossible is impossible.”
“Aish.”
Without another word, his colleague sat facing him and turned on the stream.
‘Anyway, if that Dang bastard wins the bet, a ranker-level player comes to the unorthodox faction.’
And one who’s not only insanely skilled but also utterly desperate about the battlefield.
He knew.
What it was that Seo-jun had staked on the battlefield.
The problem was.
‘Why is this so nerve-wracking.’
Amid such worries, the one-minute waiting time passed, and Seo-jun’s game began.
“Ho. He’s breaking the wall and going straight outside? What’s he planning? Another scouting run on the second try?”
Dang-so said.
“There’s no way that’s it.”
His colleague also said.
In the screen, Seo-jun broke the wall and went outside.
And looked up.
A sense of dread crept in.
Even Dang-so’s ever-smiling lips slightly downturned.
Soon enough, he reached the top in a single bound.
“……18 seconds?”
“…….”
“…….”
“It’s ruined.”
“Haha. You can’t say he’s succeeded yet. He used up all his internal energy, so maybe he can’t beat the NPC…….”
“Hey.”
“…….”
“Shut up and pack your bags.”