Chapter 522: Where the Thunder Sleeps (3)

Kim Woo-Joong's eyes flickered sharply.

'I'll be defeated if I face his sword head-on.'

Kim Woo-Joong was Earth's Sword Saint, but even he had judged the sword stroke to be too strong to handle.

'It's a mistake if I fall for it just once, but if I fall for it twice, then it's a skill issue.'

Kim Woo-Joong lowered himself as much as he could to put as much weight as he could on his lower body.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the two swords clashed against each other.

'I need to parry it.'

Kim Woo-Joong tilted his wrist to parry the opponent's sword move.

The move deflected most of the power behind Ceylonso's attack.

"Subduing strength with tenderness, huh? That is a textbook maneuver, but..."

Ceylonso looked like he was watching a child performing in a talent show. He smirked and put more strength into his sword.

"...it makes it easy to read your next move."

"...!'

Kim Woo-Joong's expression changed. He could parry a falling rock, but he couldn't do the same to an entire mountain.

"Argh!" Kim Woo-Joong coughed up blood as he was helplessly pushed away. He was fortunate enough to avoid severe injuries because he had put most of his weight on his lower body.

However, his joints were screaming at him.

"Son Chae-Won!"

"You..."

"We are running out of time! Hurry!" Kim Woo-Joong shouted.

Son Chae-Won bit her lips.

After a moment of hesitation, Son Chae-Won unwittingly exclaimed, "Fine, but only three times!"

Magic was as diverse as the ocean's marine life. Therefore, it wasn't strange that Players had unique skills and were talented in their own specific fields.

Son Chae-Won was particularly talented in Strengthening, and she was capable of instantly boosting the ability of her target by virtue of a buff.

"Strengthening, Strengthening, Strengthening!"

Kim Woo-Joong's figure shone three times, and his aura changed abruptly.

"...Hmm?" Ceylonso was surprised.

His soldiers took the initiative to stand between Ceylonso and Kim Woo-Joong with their weapons in hand.

"How dare you reveal your teeth to the general?"

"You need to know your place, hybrid."

Slash!

The heads of the two soldiers flew into the air.

Ceylonso raised his hand, signaling a retreat to the rest of the soldiers.

"You aren't his match. Just watch from the back."

Fwoosh!

The tip of Kim Woo-Joong's sword suddenly appeared right under Ceylonso's nose.

Clash!

Ceylonso instinctively blocked the opponent's sword and nodded. 'I see...'

Kim Woo-Joong suddenly got stronger, and it didn't make sense to Ceylonso.

"How interesting..."

Ceylonso had a rough guess about what the woman had done to bring about such a change in Kim Woo-Joong.

"All flows will eventually converge into one path, and we are the pioneers of the path."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two sword masters exchanged moves without giving each other time to breathe.

Halgi stared at the scene with his mouth agape. "I had no idea that Silent Moon Guild Master's Strengthening is that good. I've heard some rumors about it, but I didn't expect that it would be to that extent."

Alba nodded and exclaimed in awe, "A-amazing... there would be nothing for them to be afraid of as long as they're together."

Alba didn't expect that Son Chae-Won was capable of raising the Sword Saint's stats until he could stand toe to toe with that monster.

'They're an invincible duo.'

However, Son Chae-Won shook her head.'No, the only reason they're thinking that way is that they have no idea what exactly my skill does...'

Son Chae-Won's skill wasn't a great skill with no consequences.

One had to pay a price to enjoy it.

'Strengthening will reduce the target's durability, but if the target is a living creature, especially a human being...'

Son Chae-Won still couldn't say for sure because their sample sizes hadn't been that huge, but they had discovered that her skill demanded life force from its living targets as the price to pay for it.

Son Chae-Won was sure that Kim Woo-Joong would sustain severe injuries.

"Haha! This is great...!" Ceylonso laughed boisterously. The Babella Empire had many powerful figures, but an individual as powerful as Kim Woo-Joong with the sword was extremely rare, even throughout the vast Babella Empire.

Kim Woo-Joong's expression turned ugly upon seeing Ceylonso laughing while fighting him.

'This monster...'

Kim Woo-Joong could see that Ceylonso had already gotten bored of him despite being strengthened three times by Son Chae-Won. He could also see that Ceylonso wanted to see more.

'He wants to see more?'

It seemed that Ceylonso also wanted to see Son Chae-Won's limits.

Clang!

Kim Woo-Joong staggered upon impact.

'Damn it, this is dangerous...!' Kim Woo-Joong inwardly exclaimed.

However, Ceylonso only glanced at Kim Woo-Joong without taking advantage of the opening to attack.

Kim Woo-Joong widened the distance between him and Ceylonso.

"...Why?" asked Kim Woo-Joong.

"It's all because it has been a long time since I've had such an enjoyable fight. Anyway, come here, let's keep going."

The second part of Ceylonso's sentence was for Son Chae-Won.

Son Chae-Won shook her head. "We promised. It'll only be three times, remember?"

"..."

Three times of Strengthening had always been enough—it had always been enough on Earth, on Frontier, and even against Phanactos, the Floor Master of Balbortan.

'But not this time...' Kim Woo-Joong was thirsty. 'I need more strength.'

Kim Woo-Joong had to satisfy the monster in front of him at the expense of his life.

"Chae-Won."

Son Chae-Won was annoyed upon hearing Kim Woo-Joong's indifferent voice.

'Why won't he take care of himself before anyone else?'

Son Chae-Won was about to nag at Kim Woo-Joong, but the injured Players came into her sight. There were twelve injured Players in total, and they were the reason why Kim Woo-Joong drew his sword against that monster.

'I know... we can't abandon them.'

Honestly, Son Chae-Won could abandon them.

However, she knew better than anyone that Kim Woo-Joong would never do that.

In the end, Son Chae-Won could only mutter helplessly, "What am I supposed to do...?"

"Three more times, please..."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Son Chae-Won's skill was extremely dangerous, even if one only received a single Strengthening from her. Kim Woo-Joong had long gotten used to being strengthened by Son Chae-Won's skill, so he could take it, but a total of six times would be too much.

"You could die, you know."

"I won't die."

Kim Woo-Joong's determined and clear eyes reminded Son Chae-Won of someone.

Son Chae-Won was reminded of a little boy who was an avid fan of a certain hero. She could still remember how the little boy kept on reading that hero's biography until the words on it became illegible.

Right now, the little boy had the same eyes as the hero he had always admired.

"Sigh..." Son Chae-Won placed a palm on her forehead.

Her head was starting to ache.

The little boy's zeal for chasing after a certain hero was the reason why Son Chae-Won admired that same hero and hated him at the same time.

"I'm confident... I can take it. I'll fight this monster and hold out until Jun-Ho gets here."

"...Then, promise me." Son Chae-Won stared intently at Kim Woo-Joong. "Promise me that you won't die."

"I promise."

"Sigh..." Son Chae-Won raised her hand helplessly. Once again, the thoughts that she had thought of at least a hundred times appeared in her mind once again.

'I wish I didn't have this skill. If I didn't have this skill, then he wouldn't have any reasons to push himself to such lengths...' Son Chae-Won muttered to herself.

"Strengthening."

Kim Woo-Joong's figure shone in the same dazzling light for the fourth time. He was immediately inundated with a terrible pain that he had never felt before, but he remained indifferent and composed.

"Strengthening."

Tremble...!

Kim Woo-Joong trembled slightly from the pain.

His veins bulged and turned blue, looking like they would explode at any moment.

"...How are you feeling?" Son Chae-Won asked carefully, hoping that Kim Woo-Joong's mind would change. She was hoping that the pain would convince Kim Woo-Joong to stop receiving any more buff.

However, Son Chae-Won was familiar enough with Kim Woo-Joong to know his answer.

"One more..."

Son Chae-Won knew that Kim Woo-Joong was extremely stubborn. He would never change his mind once he had made a decision, and Son Chae-Won knew that she could never refuse him.

It had always been the case since they were children.

"Strengthening..."

Kim Woo-Joong's figure shone for the sixth time.

"Argh... Aaaargh...!" Kim Woo-Joong groaned with bloodshot eyes. He was determined to keep his mouth shut, but he failed to suppress his pained groans.

Ceylonso smiled in satisfaction at the sight.

"You must be having a hard time. It's not really strange with that weak human body."

Ceylonso stared at Kim Woo-Joong in glee, looking like he had found a new toy to play with.

He slowly raised his sword and muttered, "Hm..."

The energy that Kim Woo-Joong was emitting had grown too enormous for him to disregard. In other words, he couldn't play with his food anymore.

"I..." Kim Woo-Joong was trembling, but he gripped his sword tightly. Blood was running down his shoulder, drenching his sword. "...I am Kim Woo-Joong—the Sword Saint."

"I am Ceylonso Bestard—the first sword of the Babella Empire."

Their first and final proper conversation was an acknowledgment of each other. No further words were exchanged as the two vanished from where they stood and exchanged moves.

The sound of metal clashing against each other echoed throughout the battlefield.

***

Bang!

There was a loud explosion from the base of the mountain.

'What a huge amount of magic...' Seo Jun-Ho glanced in the direction where the explosion had come from.

"Go ahead!" Skaya shouted from the side.

"...What?"

"We'll take care of the situation here, so you go ahead and help them!"

Hundreds of Overminds had climbed up the mountain to stop the forty-two Players from descending. The Overminds were under the command of General Ceylonso, and they were climbing the mountain with Heaven's Net formation.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm an engineer, you know!"

"...What does that have to do with this?"

"It means that I'm super good at calculations, and according to my calculations, we're going to be just fine without you!" Skaya wasn't underestimating the Overminds, but she was certainly confident.

Skaya's eyes narrowed as she said, "You still don't trust me?"

"..."

Seo Jun-Ho looked around once more before storing his sword away.

"I can always leave my back to you."

"Hmph. Too late!" Skaya grumbled, but the dimples on her cheeks could be seen as she stood there with a grin.

'Skaya has become extremely powerful, so she should be fine even against hundreds of Overminds. In addition, so many Players are with her...'

Seo Jun-Ho nodded. He had faith in Skaya.

"Go ahead. You better hurry. That whirlwind of magic is weird..."

"Yeah, it's weird...."

The massive whirlwind of magic was a phenomenon that would only happen whenever two powerful individuals were duking it out. In other words, Kim Woo-Joong was fighting an incredibly powerful individual.

Seo Jun-Ho looked up at the dark sky.

Soon, he melted into the darkness and disappeared.

***

"You are truly incredible for a mere human. Anyway, are you done now?"

Kim Woo-Joong couldn't answer Ceylonso's question.

Drip, drip, drip...

Blood dripped down his chin and to the ground...

'I'm dizzy. Did he just say something?'

The world around Kim Woo-Joong was spinning.

He couldn't even remember how long they had been fighting.

Drag...

"Huh?" Ceylonso exclaimed when he saw Kim Woo-Joong walking toward him while dragging his sword. Ceylonso was impressed by Kim Woo-Joong's willpower. "Hmm. What do you think about awakening yourself to the truth and becoming an Overmind? I'm sure His Majesty will acknowledge you, considering your strength."

"..."

Kim Woo-Joong couldn't hear anything other than static noise.

His vision was swimming and blurry, but he could tell that his enemy was in front of him.

'It's this way...'

Kim Woo-Joong helplessly swung his sword.

Swoosh.

Clang!

Kim Woo-Joong's sword struck Ceylonso's neck, but he failed to penetrate Ceylonso's tough skin.

"I see..."

It was clear that Kim Woo-Joong still wanted to fight.

In the end, Ceylonso had no choice but to end the battle himself.

Ceylonso lifted his sword high into the air and said, "Goodbye, then. Sword Saint Kim Woo-Joong. I will remember your name."

Tap!

Ceylonso was about to swing his sword, but an ax flew from somewhere and struck his leg.

Ceylonso turned around.

"Huff, huff... you better kill me first if you want to kill him."

The ax came from Halgi Goodrickson. He managed to briefly shake off the soldiers and throw his ax at Ceylonso before he could decapitate Kim Woo-Joong.

"Hm, is that so?" Ceylonso nodded as if it wasn't a big deal. "All right, I'll do as you wish."

He slowly walked over to Halgi, and the soldiers forced Halgi to kneel in front of him.

"Do you have any last words?"

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch."

"... Goodbye, then."

Slash!

Roll...

Halgi's eyes remained fixed on Ceylonso as his head rolled down the mountain.

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch."

Ceylonso felt strange. However, he had experienced this phenomenon before while he was still human. If his memories were serving him correctly, then the phenomenon was called deja vu.

However, he never experienced that phenomenon again upon becoming an Overmind.

'Did the Sword Saint manage to exhaust me? Fair enough, I must admit—he's an impressive human being.'

Ceylonso raised his sword once again.

"Goodbye, then...?"

However, he abruptly froze upon hearing footsteps coming from behind him.

The footsteps were too loud, and it was clear that the person behind him had no intentions of hiding their presence.

'This doesn't make sense.'

The magic detector that Kodone had handed over to him was still silent, which meant that there should have been no intruders.

'Then, who is it?'

Ceylonso frowned and hastily turned around.

'Who is it? Who is that man standing in front of Kim Woo-Joong?'

"I see..."

Seo Jun-Ho nodded. He immediately understood what was going on.

Son Chae-Won raised her head and stared at Seo Jun-Ho with swollen eyes.

"Sniff! S-Specter-nim...! Sniff...!"

"..." Seo Jun-Ho wordlessly took off his coat and wrapped it around Son Chae-Won's shoulders.

Then, he looked at Kim Woo-Joong.

Kim Woo-Joong was motionless as he leaned against his sword.

Seo Jun-Ho could see why he was still leaning against his sword rather than lying on the ground.

'He couldn't allow himself to collapse...'

Kim Woo-Joong fainted while standing up because there were people relying on him.

Seo Jun-Ho laid Kim Woo-Joong on the ground and slowly stood up.

"W-Who... are you?" asked Ceylonso in a trembling voice.

"Me?" Seo Jun-Ho muttered before unleashing all of his magic at once.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ceylonso's magic detector frantically beeped before exploding.

The magic detector couldn't handle the typhoon of magic that suddenly engulfed the battlefield.

Seo Jun-Ho turned to look at Ceylonso and spat coldly, "I'm his friend..."