Chapter 412

‘Ekalim?’

Myeong-hu turned his head upon seeing the message, looking at the boy Ekalim who had been summoned before the pillar.

‘Is that sword his weapon?’

Seeing Ekalim, Myeong-hu couldn’t help but be a little surprised. Beside Ekalim was a sword, presumably his weapon, stuck in the ground. The sword’s size exceeded Ekalim’s height.

‘Well, it wouldn’t be ordinary.’

After all, even if he was a boy, he was a being guarding the pillar. He couldn’t be ordinary.

“So you’re my sparring partner this time?”

Just as Myeong-hu was thinking this while looking at Ekalim, Ekalim spoke. A very bright smile spread across Ekalim’s lips.

Swish

Having finished speaking, Ekalim reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword embedded beside him. He then lifted the sword straight up.

Clang!

The sword embedded in the ground cracked open, revealing itself completely.

“Carrot, Praminus. Guard Haran.”

Myeonghu spoke to Carrot and Praminus behind him while looking at Ekalim. Having finished his words, Myeonghu began running toward Ekalim.

“…?”

But that moment was fleeting. Not long after starting to run, Myeonghu had no choice but to stop.

Swoosh

The reason Myeonghu stopped running was because Ekalim had vanished. Myeonghu quickly scanned the surroundings. Ekalim’s disappearance wasn’t due to stealth. Myeonghu, possessing the Repurem’s token, was certain. Ekalim had vanished for the same reason as Hiragos, whom they had encountered at the northern pillar of the curse.

Swoosh!

Ekalim, who had vanished, reappeared. The place Ekalim reappeared was to Myeonghu’s right.

Whoosh!

Ekalim swung his sword at Myeonghu. Whether due to the sword’s size, the force of the swing, or its sheer speed, Ekalim’s blade sliced through the air, hurtling toward Myeonghu.

Kaboom!

Ekalim’s sword, sliced through the air, struck Myeonghu. The moment he was attacked, Myeonghu spun to the right and checked his vitality.

‘…!’

After checking his health, Myeong-hu couldn’t help but be slightly surprised.

‘1.5 million?’

He had only taken one hit, one strike. Yet his health had been reduced by an amount unimaginable for a single blow.

‘If this is his basic attack…’

What if the attack he just took was Ekko’s basic attack?

‘I might die…’

I might die. That thought crossed my mind.

“Wow! You’re tough, bro!”

Ekalim, who had thought Myeonghu was going to die, said with a slightly surprised expression when Myeonghu didn’t die. But Ekalim’s expression didn’t just show surprise. Along with surprise, excitement was also visible.

“One Punch!”

Seeing Ekalim’s expression and hearing his words, Myeong-hu launched a one-punch strike toward Ekalim’s abdomen. But Myeong-hu’s one-punch didn’t reach its target, Ekalim’s abdomen.

Swish

Ekalim raised his sword to block Myeonghu’s punch. Watching Ekalim block it with his sword instead of dodging, Myeonghu thought.

‘Can he keep moving at that speed?’

It seemed unlikely that the incredible speed reminiscent of Higaros’ clone moments ago could be sustained. The fact that he blocked an attack that could have been easily dodged with his sword confirmed it.

CRASH! THUD! CRASH!

Soon, Myeong-hu’s full-power punch struck the sword, and with a deafening roar, Ekalim flew backward in the same posture. Only after crashing into the wall did Ekalim’s flight finally halt.

Myeonghu shifted his gaze from the motionless Ekalim to the pillar. Destroying Ekalim would also destroy the pillar. Yet the pillar showed no sign of breaking.

‘He’s not dead.’

Seeing the pillar perfectly intact, Myeonghu knew Ekalim hadn’t died.

‘I thought he’d die even with the sword’s damage reduction.’

He hadn’t even used a basic attack; he’d used a One Punch. Even if the sword blocked and halved the damage, he thought it would kill him. But Ekalim’s vitality seemed higher than expected.

“That really hurt! You’re strong, bro?”

Ekalim, who had been knocked down and crashed into the wall, leaned on his sword to rise and said.

“I’m going all out now!”

Swish

The moment he finished speaking, several crimson orbs appeared around Ekalim’s body. The red orbs began circling him, and simultaneously, a message appeared.

[Young Ekalim’s vitality has fallen below 10%.]

[Young Ekalim enters Hyper-Awakening state.]

[Young Ekalim’s attack power increases 3x.]

[Young Ekalim’s defense has increased by 3x.]

.

.

Messages kept appearing. They all contained information about Ekalim growing stronger.

“Moving Strike.”

Watching the messages keep appearing, Myeong-hu used his moving strike. It wasn’t that he couldn’t attack while the messages were showing. There was no reason for Myeong-hu to wait until all the messages finished appearing.

‘If it’s below 10%…’

Besides, Ekalim’s remaining health was less than 10%. If he could land just one more basic attack properly, Ekalim would die.

Swish

Using Movement Strike, Myeong-hu instantly teleported in front of Ekalim.

“…!”

Ekarlim looked shocked to see Myeong-hu appear before him. Seeing Ekarlim’s expression and the messages continuing to appear, Myeong-hu thrust his fist forward.

Was it because the buff hadn’t finished yet? Unlike when he had thrown a one-punch attack, Ekaliam couldn’t dodge Myeonghu’s fist, nor could he block it with his sword.

Thud!

Myeong-hu’s fist slammed into Ekalim’s abdomen. Unlike the one-punch, Ekalim didn’t fly backward. But not flying backward didn’t mean he was okay.

Swoosh

Contrary to when he was summoned, Ekalim began to slowly fade away. Myeong-hu turned his head to look at the auxiliary barrier pillar.

Crack…

Just as Ekalim faded bit by bit, the auxiliary barrier pillar also cracked and split, showing signs of imminent destruction. Myeong-hu turned his head back to look at Ekalim.

‘If it disappears completely, will it be destroyed?’

It wasn’t certain, but he felt that the moment Ekalim vanished completely, the pillar would be destroyed. And shortly after, Myeong-hu knew his hunch was right.

Swoosh

[You have defeated the boy Ekalim.]

[The auxiliary barrier pillar has been destroyed.]

As Ekalim vanished completely, the pillar collapsed as well. After confirming the message, Myeonghu looked at Haran. Haran, who had been watching the fallen pillar, sensed Myeonghu’s gaze and opened his mouth to speak.

-I thought there would be more pillars maintaining the barrier… I guess that was the last one.

“So that means…”

-Yes, the barrier is gone.

‘I never thought one would be the end.’

He hadn’t thought one would be the end. He’d thought he’d have to destroy several more. But contrary to his expectations, the only pillar maintaining the barrier was the one that had just been destroyed.

‘Why does this feel so easy?’

Was it because there was only one pillar holding the barrier? It felt too easy. Of course, Ekalim, the boy guarding the pillar, was stronger than any divine avatar I’d encountered so far, but overall, this felt easier.

-If there are no more barriers, we should arrive immediately.

However, Haran’s following words forced Myeonghu to revise his thoughts.

‘Ah, there could be more barriers.’

Come to think of it, having only one pillar wasn’t something to be happy about. There was no guarantee there was only one barrier. They could be blocked by another barrier along the way.

‘We need to hurry.’

Myeong-hu decided they should depart immediately and spoke up.

“Hurry…”

[Contribution has disappeared.]

But the moment Myeonghu opened his mouth, a message appeared, cutting him off before he could finish.

“…?”

Myeong-hu stopped speaking and looked at the message.

“…!”

And the moment he confirmed the message’s contents, Myeong-hu couldn’t help but frown.

-…?

-…?

-…?

As he paused mid-sentence, his brow furrowing, Myeong-hu’s reaction drew puzzled looks from Haran, Carrot, and Praminus. But Myeong-hu had no time to spare for their questioning gazes.

‘My contribution points are gone?’

Upon seeing the message, Myeong-hu momentarily wondered if something was wrong with his eyes. And no wonder—the message stated that his contribution points had vanished.

‘What the…’

Myeong-hu quickly opened his character window.

Rank: Wanderer

Nationality: Helioka [Empire]

Title: Count

Primary Class: Blood Knight

Sub-Class: Strong Smith

Fame: 100,000,000 Merit Points: 428,005,770

Title: Dragon Slayer (Ignores Peers)

Level: 600

Health: 22,528,550

Mana: 2,458,420

Blood Power: 9,723

Strength: 972,330 [97,233(+7,200)]

Agility: 72,715

Stamina: 61,657

Intelligence: 61,370

Wisdom: 61,041

Dexterity: 500

“…”

After checking the character window, he couldn’t utter a word. The contribution stat, which had always been at the very bottom of the character window, was nowhere to be seen.

============================ Postscript ============================

It’s Sunday.

It’s gotten quite chilly lately.

Please take care not to catch a cold.

Health, health is the most important thing!