Chapter 197

Muhyuk’s overwhelming victory against Mulan was being broadcast live throughout South Korea.

“Heh, as expected of our country.”

“That’s why I told you to support Muhyuk.”

“How are we supposed to know which country’s player it is when he’s wearing a helmet like that?”

“Just support him now that you know.”

“Of course.”

It was a bit of a shame.

“He’s the only one representing us, right?”

“Our country’s player?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s right.”

“Tch. Still, he’s overwhelming.”

“True. He won the last match easily. I bet he’ll make it to the finals.”

“Of course! Look at the sheer number of Skeletons he has!”

The continent of Asians, Forma.

China, India, Japan, South Korea, and more. The strongest players’ competition was being held in the land of population with nearly 2 billion people. And a South Korean player had reached the semi-finals in such a tournament.

It was enough to become a hot topic.

Thanks to that, even those who didn’t enjoy Illusion were taking an interest.

Just like the Olympics or the World Cup.

[Player Muhyuk is heading to the waiting room.]

[We’re very proud.]

The screen was filled with Muhyuk’s receding figure.

[Now, let’s watch the second match to reach the semi-finals.]

The screen changed.

[The players are coming up.]

[Yes, it’s Gus and Asura Han.]

[Gus is already famous as a top Ranker. He’s also known as the Brutal Martial Artist. On the other hand, Asura Han is not well-known.]

[That’s right. He’s considered lucky by many. It’s also true that his skills themselves feel rather ordinary.]

[I wonder how far his luck will take him this time.]

The judge appeared.

“Start!”

The match resumed.

Pabat.

Asura Han moved first.

[Asura Han is charging in. Gus is lightly taking a stance?]

[Yes, he doesn’t seem to have any intention of dodging.]

[The Brutal Martial Artist wouldn’t.]

Asura Han, reaching close to Gus, swung his dagger. Gus blocked the dagger with his steel gauntlet and aimed for the abdomen with his remaining hand.

[Huh?]

The host’s voice was questioning.

[Asura Han has disappeared!]

[No, no. He appeared from behind!]

Gus responded calmly.

[But it’s not working!]

[Gus is attacking Asura Han indiscriminately!]

The moment he clashed with Gus, Asura Han hid in Gus’s shadow. At the same time, he created a clone behind Gus.

No matter how great Gus was, he wouldn’t notice this trick.

It was thanks to saving his skills until now because he had good luck with the matchups. Now was the time to take down the top Ranker in front of him based on the skills he had saved.

Because he participated to fight Muhyuk.

He just needed to win here.

Then he could fight him with all his might.

So, he would win.

Asura Han watched Gus attacking the clone from within his shadow.

It was time.

The amount of damage increased depending on the time spent hidden in the shadow, and the degree of damage had risen to a satisfactory level.

[Damage is increasing.]

[Damage is increasing.]

[Damage is…….]

There was no need to wait any longer.

The clone’s HP had also reached 0 percent.

“Haaah!”

Gus finished off the clone.

Now.

Taking advantage of the gap, Asura Han appeared from the shadow. Three lights harmonized exquisitely on the swung dagger, and as they pierced Gus’s side from behind, they exploded instantly.

100 percent critical.

Increased damage.

Plus a single attack skill.

He could start by taking away more than 30 percent of his HP.

[A critical hit!]

[The increased damage is applied.]

The shock would be great.

“Hmph……!”

As expected, Gus’s expression was momentarily filled with bewilderment.

Gus hurriedly twisted his body and threw a punch at Asura Han, who had appeared from behind. The wind pressure changed like a blade, flying as if to crush the space itself.

But Asura Han had already taken a sufficient step back after successfully landing the first attack.

Of course, Gus wasn’t going to let the retreating Asura Han go. He tried to quickly approach and push Asura Han, but the Shadow Dancer’s skills were more tricky than he thought.

The host’s voice grew louder.

[Ah, what’s going on?]

[It’s an unexpected situation. I thought Gus would unilaterally push and finish it, but now it feels like Gus is being pushed.]

[That’s right. It’s a completely unexpected situation.]

[His job seems unique?]

[Yes. Asura Han is showing off many skills we haven’t seen before.]

As the fierce battle continued.

The atmosphere changed.

[Oh, but…….]

[It’s a bit different, right?]

[Ah, yes. Gus seems to have adapted to Asura Han’s skills.]

[Yes, it’s definitely not easy to attack anymore.]

[Besides, quite a bit of combat time has passed. In this case, Gus’s physical abilities would have increased quite a bit.]

[Gus’s skill is really amazing.]

[In fact, he got the nickname ‘Brutal’ because of that skill.]

[Yes, at first it’s even, but as the battle continues, an overwhelming difference occurs. At first, many people were mistaken when they saw that. They thought Gus was toying with the opponent, or that he was ignoring them too much, or that his personality was bad.]

[But now we know that’s not the case.]

[Of course. It’s just the effect of a special skill that Gus has learned. A very special skill that increases physical abilities as combat time increases.]

[Still, Asura Han is fighting well.]

The battle was definitely tense.

It was the epitome of fierceness.

But little by little, very little by little, it was becoming more advantageous for Gus. Gus began to exert strong pressure based on his increased physical abilities.

“Haaah!”

“Keuh.”

The air trembled each time they collided.

Kwang, Kwakwang!

It was hard to believe that the sound was from a dagger and a fist colliding.

The wide training ground flashed everywhere.

[It’s really amazing.]

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

It was because they were extremely focused on the two’s battle.

“Ah…….”

The exclamation that rang out at that moment.

The battle was over.

Gus, kneeling on one knee and breathing heavily. He slowly straightened his knee and roared in joy at his victory.

[Ah, Gus has finally won!]

[Asura Han can’t hide his disappointed expression from below the training ground.]

[It was a really great match.]

The next match immediately followed.

Shadow Archer Ares versus hidden powerhouse Swordsman Miyamoto.

[Swordsman Miyamoto is amazing!]

Miyamoto took the victory.

He had defeated top Ranker Ares.

Next was the match between Druid Taesan and Holy Knight Dark.

[Dark is overwhelming.]

Victory naturally went to Dark.

[The semi-final bracket is complete.]

[The first match is between Muhyuk and Gus. The second is between Miyamoto and Dark. The two players who win here will play in the final match.]

The match between Muhyuk and Gus began.

[Ah, I never get tired of seeing those amazing Skeletons, no matter how many times I see them.]

[Gus is destroying the Skeletons with his powerful destructive force. The Armor Knights are holding out quite a bit, though.]

[Now that it’s possible to hold out, it’s just frustrating for Gus.]

[It’s also difficult to deal with the arrows of the Armor Archers that keep being fired.]

[And what about the Mages? Their magic attacks are too powerful!]

Then the screen changed briefly.

[It’s Asura Han? He’s watching even though he was eliminated.]

[But he has a pretty satisfied expression?]

As they said.

Asura Han was very satisfied right now.

As expected, my choice was right.

If he lost to Gus in the state of setting a plan to chase Muhyuk?

Maybe he would have to change his plan to chasing Gus instead of Muhyuk.

My eyes were accurate.

Asura Han was satisfied alone.

“Win.”

Because there would be a taste to overcome if he did.

Kwang, Kwakwagwagwang!

Meanwhile, the sparring on the training ground had reached its peak.

It’s over.

Asura Han turned his back.

I should go hunting.

It was Muhyuk’s victory.

In order to beat him, he needed to grow even a little more.

The final?

It would naturally be a match between Muhyuk and Dark.

The winner could not be predicted.

Even if Dark won, he had no intention of following him.

Holy Knights are unlucky.

That was the reason he was leaving the arena without watching the final.

Muhyuk, who had reached the final, watched the match between hidden powerhouse Miyamoto and Rank 1 Dark from below the training ground.

His next opponent would be one of them.

He was confident no matter who it was.

I can do it.

He tried to think positively. Thoughts have power, so those thoughts often become reality. There are definitely people with the ability of 10, but they only show the ability of 5 just because they are anxious. And there are also people with the ability of 7, but they show the ability of 10 with just the thought that they can do it. If you think it’s impossible, even what could be possible becomes impossible, so Muhyuk unconditionally thought it was possible.

I have to win, definitely.

Even to get the 1st place prize.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

“Crazy!”

He came to his senses at the shouts.

Hmm?

But unlike expected, the match between Miyamoto and Dark was quite fierce.

Seeing Dark’s brow furrowing from time to time, it seemed he wasn’t joking around.

Miyamoto’s sword was swung.

That attack, which might seem insignificant, made Dark stop moving. It was an attack that cut off the flow.

Annoying.

Dark’s eyebrows twitched.

It’s not just an attack.

It seemed he was training with a sword in reality as well.

A simple but profound attack.

No matter how talented Dark was, he couldn’t know martial arts that he hadn’t learned deeply.

Of course, it was true that he had learned most things much faster than others based on his innate physical abilities. Martial arts, exercise, knowledge acquisition, etc.

Thanks to that, he adapted to Illusion faster than others. Monster hunting wasn’t that difficult either.

But even with that talent, he couldn’t fathom the level of Miyamoto, who was wielding a sword in front of him now.

I have no choice.

After all, this is a game.

There’s a saying that level is everything.

There’s also a saying that item power is the truth.

Dark believed that he possessed both of those things.

Level and item power.

He had no choice but to pressure with those two things.

Although he didn’t really want to.

Dark stepped back.

Pabat.

Miyamoto chased after him and thrust his sword. Even though it was a distance that shouldn’t have been reached, the sword touched his abdomen.

Because of that, his HP decreased, but Dark didn’t care. It didn’t matter how many times this much damage accumulated.

All of his HP would be filled with just one healing skill. Thinking that, Dark, who was stepping back, stood in place.

“Haaah!”

He slammed the Sword of Ifrit in his right hand into the ground.

Kooong.

He threw the Shield of Ifrit in his left hand like a boomerang.

The Ifrit set effect was activated.