Chapter 195

The examiner asked for his name.

“StrongFist.”

It was the same for his opponent.

“Chahaijen.”

He nodded and shouted.

“The match between StrongFist and Chahaijen begins!”

Sungminwoo hurriedly summoned his spirits.

Eight small spirits.

And four giant spirits.

A total of twelve spirits positioned themselves as if to protect Sungminwoo. Chahaijen gripped a dagger in each hand, and the two of them Charge toward each other almost simultaneously.

Fwoosh.

If Sungminwoo and his spirits were a shield, suppressing the opponent with great force, Chahaijen was an awl, piercing through the gaps with rapid speed.

Chahaijen, launched like lightning, passed straight through the leading spirit. In reality, he had lightly turned as he advanced, but it was so fast that the turn was barely visible. Especially from Sungminwoo’s perspective.

It felt as if Chahaijen, who had been slightly obscured by the spirit’s view, suddenly appeared right in front of him.

Because of that, he reflexively swung his fist. Chahaijen dodged lightly and moved even closer. It was as if he had created an opening.

Oh, crap.

Chahaijen’s daggers flew in.

Slice.

They slashed through the areas not covered by armor.

[You take 498 damage.]

[You take 497 damage.]

His HP decreased significantly.

I can’t just keep taking hits.

If he took flesh, he should take bone.

He ordered the spirits positioned around him to launch various magical attacks. Of course, before that, he instructed Earth to make the ground rise up.

Specifically, only the ground that Sungminwoo himself was standing on. Thanks to that, Chahaijen was now in a position to look up at Sungminwoo from below.

Sungminwoo jumped backward, moving out of the range of the spirits’ attacks. Chahaijen would have no room to escape.

Bang, KWA-BOOM!

While landing on the ground, he clearly confirmed it. The magical attacks had engulfed Chahaijen.

He ordered successive magical attacks.

KWA-BOOM!

He immediately moved the spirits closer.

He intended to finish it in close combat.

And, me too.

Sungminwoo clenched his fist tightly.

Click.

After making the knuckles pop out, he chased after the spirits, running toward Chahaijen’s location.

As the dust from the explosions cleared, Chahaijen’s figure was revealed. He was kneeling on one knee, with his daggers crossed.

He looked precarious to anyone who saw him. But Sungminwoo’s expression, as he approached Chahaijen, quickly hardened.

His instincts were warning him.

That it was dangerous.

The closer the distance, the more violently his instincts screamed.

But he didn’t want to miss this opportunity. No, beyond that, it was too late to change direction. He was already within striking distance.

At that moment, Chahaijen raised his head.

A glinting gaze.

And at the same time, a flash of light erupted.

“Hngh…!”

The flash of light enveloped the spirits and Sungminwoo. His vision was instantly filled with white, and he couldn’t see anything. His senses, his vision, everything was paralyzed.

But even in that space, there was a being moving.

It was Chahaijen.

The flash disappeared, and the situation on the training arena became visible. Sungminwoo was not moving, and the spirits were being unilaterally attacked by Chahaijen.

The spirits, positioned on all sides, were being attacked in turn, giving the illusion that there were several Chahaijens.

With his swift movements, he quickly dealt with the eight small spirits.

Around that time, Sungminwoo, who had regained his sight, approached Chahaijen with the remaining four main spirits.

Two daggers.

Knuckles on two fists.

Clang, Clang-clang!

Sparks flew as the metal collided.

“Keuh!”

For every one attack Sungminwoo managed to land, Chahaijen landed three effective hits. Of course, Sungminwoo didn’t think he was at a disadvantage at all, since the four spirits were also landing additional attacks.

I can win.

The opponent is a rogue type with fast movements.

I’m a Martial Artist type.

His stats were also heavily focused on stamina. So, if they were inflicting similar levels of damage on each other, Sungminwoo, with his higher HP, would naturally have the advantage.

Endure, just endure.

At the same time, he didn’t slow down his attacks.

For the final opportunity.

He only used minor techniques for a single, decisive attack. He was trying to endure and induce carelessness at the same time.

His HP had dropped below half.

In contrast, Chahaijen still seemed to have plenty of energy.

Is his HP higher than I thought?

Or did I not land enough effective hits?

“Hoo…”

No, it seemed Chahaijen’s damage was just abnormally high.

But it’s okay, not yet.

Just a tiny bit of carelessness.

If I can just induce that.

Just a little more.

They clashed again.

Clack, Clang-clang.

How many times had they repeated this?

I can’t anymore…

Just as the thought that he was struggling crossed his mind, Sungminwoo unknowingly lost his balance and staggered.

Chahaijen, who wasn’t faking it, seemed to see that moment as an opportunity and quickly approached.

Oh…!

Sungminwoo’s eyes lit up.

The spirits’ positions were perfect.

The opportunity had come.

An opportunity to use a perfect skill.

Linked attack!

Sungminwoo’s and the spirits’ bodies glowed red.

——–!

Fire’s movements instantly became twice as fast, and it bit Chahaijen’s nape.

Immediately after, the ground he was standing on heaved and soared into the sky.

Sungminwoo stepped on the wind stairs created by Wind and rushed toward Chahaijen.

The moment Chahaijen tried to retreat, the ground that had soared up transformed into a giant hand and swallowed his lower body.

Meanwhile, Sungminwoo, who had approached, rolled forward once and then used both feet to strike Chahaijen’s abdomen.

Kwaang!

With a loud noise, Chahaijen floated even higher.

Sungminwoo also jumped.

Invisible stairs were created, and he stepped on them, endlessly slamming his fists into Chahaijen.

Thwack, Thwack-thwack-thwack.

Just as they reached the ceiling of the building, Sungminwoo, who had moved behind Chahaijen, subdued him with both hands and feet.

At that moment, the water sword thrown by Water pierced Chahaijen’s abdomen. This froze Chahaijen’s movements for two seconds.

Immediately after, the sand hand that had been swallowing Chahaijen’s lower body moved. It grabbed Chahaijen’s legs tightly and threw him down. With Sungminwoo’s weight added, the acceleration increased.

It was terrifyingly fast.

When they got close to the ground, Fire ran up and bit Chahaijen’s foot, and Wind flew over and gripped his head tightly.

Sungminwoo released his restraining posture and then spun around once, slamming his instep into Chahaijen’s back, which was right in front of him.

Is this the end…?

Sungminwoo’s brow suddenly furrowed. It was because he had confirmed that something was faintly glowing and enveloping Chahaijen at the last moment.

Kwaaang!

Chahaijen, who had been slammed into the ground, wriggled and got up. Sungminwoo urgently approached and unleashed a barrage of attacks, but they were blocked by something.

“What…?”

Chahaijen smiled bitterly.

His job trait.

Immortality had been activated.

Invincibility for 3 seconds when HP drops to 1 percent.

An HP recovery of 20 percent, and a monstrous trait that increases all physical abilities by 10 percent for 3 minutes.

Despite the lack of signs of a reversal, Sungminwoo did not give up until the end. He stubbornly endured, using the spirits as much as possible. But even that endurance eventually reached its limit.

“Damn it…”

With an expletive, Sungminwoo’s body blurred.

He had been ejected out of the training arena.

“Match over! Chahaijen wins!”

Sungminwoo shrugged and approached Muhyuk.

“Ha, that’s too bad, too bad. If only my HP was just a little higher…”

Sungminwoo shook his head.

“No, if that weird guy hadn’t used that ridiculous skill, I would have won! What kind of skill is that? No matter how much I hit him, the attacks wouldn’t work. It felt like almost 10 seconds?”

“Three seconds.”

“Are three seconds really that long?”

“Yeah, it’s long.”

“Anyway! And after that, his movements got even faster, you know?”

He listened to Sungminwoo’s grumbling for a while.

“Well, whatever…”

It seemed like it was almost over.

“I did my best.”

With that, the expression that had been furrowed unfolded.

He didn’t seem to have any regrets.

“Since your greatest rival is gone, take first place.”

“Rival? You?”

“Of course, isn’t it obvious?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Hehe, anyway, I need to rest now.”

“Okay, see you later.”

“Call, I’ll be watching the live broadcast.”

“Whatever.”

Sungminwoo logged out.

He had expected it.

But it was still a shame that his close friend had been eliminated.

Well, I could be eliminated too.

There were too many opponents he couldn’t guarantee a victory against. Kilimanjaro, who he would face next, was one of them. A master of rapid-fire. The key was how to unravel his endless chain of arrow attacks.

Until then, let’s rest.

He enjoyed a short break in the waiting room.

Sungminwoo, who came out of the Capsule, took a shower and then took a bag of snacks out of the refrigerator. He lay down on the bed and turned on the TV, and the Illusion Tournament match was on the screen.

“Still?”

It was still the round of 16.

“Well, it’s almost over.”

He muttered and focused on the screen.

It was definitely different.

“Ooh!”

Was this the power of filming?

Thanks to the screen showing from various angles, there was no boredom at all. It was more splendid and flashy than seeing it live in person.

“Heh, good.”

It was more enjoyable to watch like this, lying down.

“I should have been eliminated sooner.”

This fun of comfortably lying down and watching.

In a word, it was honey.

“Oh, it’s over.”

The round of 16 ended, and the quarter-finals began.

Sixteen people to reach the quarter-finals.

The first clash was between Muhyuk and Kilimanjaro.

[The match begins!]

He adjusted his posture.

Win.

He cheered inwardly and grabbed a snack.

Crunch.

At that moment, the screen zoomed in greatly.

Dozens of Skeletons filled the training arena with a single gesture from Muhyuk, and this scene was so cool that it might be the best scene ever.

[He’s really amazing.]

[User Muhyuk’s job is Gangster Necromancer. I don’t think there’s any user who summons more summons than him, even compared to me.]

[The summoning scene itself is spectacular, spectacular.]

With the commentary added, it was the icing on the cake.

Heh, awesome.

And Kilimanjaro began firing arrows at the Skeletons that hadn’t yet taken their positions.

[His speed is really amazing, isn’t it?]

[You can barely see it even if you use the slow-motion function.]

[And the destructive power is also amazing.]

[Those terrifying arrows are being fired endlessly! Oh, several Skeletons have already been destroyed!]

[But simple attacks alone have their limits. The large Skeletons, the so-called Armor Knights, are already approaching quickly!]

[Will User Kilimanjaro move?]

[If he moves, it will be the first time in this third preliminary round, right?]

[That’s right. Both Muhyuk and Kilimanjaro are famous for not moving a single step in the preliminaries.]

[This is really interesting, isn’t it?]

Who will move first this time?

The result was important, but the process was also a fun that couldn’t be missed.