Chapter 88 : Chapter 88

Chapter 88 - Test

[ Cheonryongpo / Grade: Unique (Set 5/5) ]

[ An armor crafted with a harmonious blend of various rare metals and other materials. It is specialized in channeling a completely different energy from ordinary mana, and features a design specialized for the user's light movements and ultra-close-quarters combat. The entire armor has been assembled, granting special effects.

▶ Greatly increases natural Qi recovery speed

▶ Increases Qi accumulation amount

▶ Shortens activation speed and amplifies effects of Qi-related skills

▶ Increases attack power when using unarmed skills

▶ When combat distance closes to within 2m, all types of critical damage are tripled

▶ When ‘Parry’ is successful, there is a certain probability of an auto-counter activating ]

[ Unique Skill: Thunderclap Palm ]

[ Stores the impact absorbed by the armor. The stored impact can be used to enhance the next attack. Limited to skills involving direct hand strikes. ]

[ Unique Passive Skill: Parry ]

[ If an attack is deflected with the right timing, no damage is taken and the attacker is stunned. Applicable to all types of attacks. ]

“Are you people insane?”

It was a feast of options that made such words flow out naturally.

No matter how much it was a collaboration between the legendary dwarf blacksmith and the ‘Workshop’, I never expected such an item to pop out.

Especially the last one, if nothing else.

Applicable to ‘all types of attacks’?

All types??

Are you out of your mind???

We hadn't even reached the third ordeal yet, and an option that should be on end-game equipment was already popping up?

“No, well. Even though it says all types of attacks, it's limited to the action of ‘directly parrying with the hands’. All the materials are concentrated there.”

Ah. I see.

Then the performance was somewhat understandable.

In Conqueror, the further you went into the late game, the more skills with ominous options like ‘covers the entire map AoE’, ‘ignore all defense’, ‘dodge & guard impossible’, and ‘always hits the head or heart’ would pop up all over the place.

The condition ‘only applicable to things that touch the hand’ was a pretty strong restriction as it ruled out all such attacks.

‘Still...’

Even with just this, it was a very excellent piece of equipment.

I would have to experiment myself to see how far the skill was applicable.

“On top of that, the timing for deflecting is extremely tight. If you make even a slight mistake, you could get seriously injured instead...”

“Hey.”

Ironclad, who had been standing by with his arms crossed in silence until now, smirked and interjected as soon as he heard what was just said.

“Did you not see what that guy did against the Water Dragon?”

“...”

Ebga-ssi immediately shut his mouth.

He must have realized how meaningless the restriction of ‘tight timing’ was to someone who had parried 12 times per second while going up against a breath attack.

Well, it was true in reality too.

I was someone who had memorized the judgment frames of every skill that existed in Conqueror. My body would react on its own before I even thought about it.

“This won't do. I need to try it out right away.”

I felt like I had received a present from Santa on Christmas.

Because in any of my plans, I had not expected such a piece of equipment to suddenly roll in.

Therefore.

It meant I could try picking a fight with someone I normally could never beat.

***

“...It works. This is crazy.”

“...”

Evangeline glared at me with an expression like she had chewed on something foul.

She had been all smiles until I, who had suddenly appeared, asked her to shoot flames at me.

She must have thought she could beat me up under mutual agreement.

However, when I received the flame she had created at the tip of her sword with my fingertips and deflected it, her expression turned like that.

This was crazy.

No, this was really crazy.

Why?

If you were to look at the tooltip on Evangeline's skill set, it would probably be written like this.

[ Conflagration of Judgment / NPC-Evangeline’s Unique Skill (Passive) ]

[ A unique spell personally taught to the Knight of Red and Green by the Guardian as a member of the Round Table. It ignores all magic resistance and inflicts damage proportional to the target's maximum health every second. ]

[ Undispellable, Shield Penetration, Damage Nullification Impossible ]

As expected of a skill used by a knight of the Round Table, it was a spec with luxurious things plastered all over it.

Completely ignores magic resistance, penetrates shields. Because of this, I almost died last time.

But the key effect to pay attention to was ‘Undispellable’.

It meant it couldn't be removed by any means. Once hit, you had to burn until you died unless the caster, Evangeline, canceled it herself. On top of that, since damage nullification was impossible, a certain amount of damage would always come through even if you parried properly.

Evangeline was a crazy person whose attacks came with such a terrifying spell attached.

The position of a knight of the Round Table wasn't obtained by playing cards.

But I had just made such an attack ‘disappear’ by waving my bare hands.

No, I thought ‘Parry’ would just give me a dodge judgment that I had to handle myself.

The skill's judgment was ‘Projectile Annihilation’?

Ironclad-nim? Ebga-nim?

What on earth did you people create?

“...Is that so amazing?”

Evangeline tilted her head and asked that question.

No, your attack just disappeared, and you're asking that?

“That attack itself wasn't much to look at. I don't think blocking it was that amazing.”

“...Ha. She doesn't get it at all.”

I let out a deep sigh and dragged Evangeline to a large open space in the center of the 10th floor.

Using a Conquest Token, I manipulated the nearby Demonic Beasts and environment, warmed up, and said to Evangeline.

“Pour all the attacks you can at me.”

“...What?”

“We're inside the Tower, so there are no restrictions. Pour everything you have at me with the intent to kill. I won't move a single step from here.”

“...”

Evangeline looked at me with an expression of doubt, as if wondering if this guy was in his right mind.

Well, considering the weight the name ‘Knight of the Round Table’ carried inside the Tower, it was an understandable reaction.

“Are you getting arrogant just because you blocked that one attack? The contract clearly stated that you shouldn't harm me.”

“Ah, just shut up and do it. Or are you scared?”

“...Hmph. Fine. You said it yourself, so you take responsibility for your own words.”

With those words, the atmosphere began to writhe like a dragon.

As expected of a knight of the Round Table. She wielded mana capable of overwhelming her opponent with just her presence as if it were breathing.

‘...She's still holding back a bit, though.’

I raised my hand with a bitter smile.

One way or another, she wasn't attacking with the genuine intent to kill. I could tell just by seeing that the first spell she pulled out was [Fireball].

A linear attack flying at high speed. This much I could easily swat away with my hand.

The ball of fire crumbled in an instant.

“You can take this much easily. Then!”

What flew next was the higher-tier version of [Fireball], [Explosive Sphere]. Followed by [Scorching Arrow].

I made them all disappear easily.

“Alright. From now on, I'm getting serious!”

The attacks Evangeline poured out after that gradually increased in intensity.

She probably wanted to see how far I could endure and watch me beg her to stop.

“...”

As time passed, her expression grew stranger and stranger.

It was probably around the time I started erasing the [Erupter], which summoned a wall of fire from the ground, with a single pinky finger.

“...Huh?”

“What are you doing. Bring out the next one.”

“...”

[Fury Stinger], a flame spear flying at bullet-like speed, I also erased by catching it with my thumb and index finger.

[Wheel of Fate], a ring of fire pouring down from the sky, I also erased by waving my arms a few times in time with its descent.

Each one was a super-high-power spell that could kill you with just a graze, but none of them could harm me.

“W-w-what is this?! This is impossible-!”

Evangeline's face turned pale as she slowly realized what this meant.

Right.

As long as the option of ‘Projectile Annihilation’ was attached.

Whether it was undispellable, or whether damage still went through even if parried.

As long as it touched my hand with good timing, that skill would unconditionally ‘disappear’.

The attack itself would be nullified.

Of course, the difficulty of use was insanely high, but to put it another way.

It was an overly monstrous option to give to a top-tier veteran who had mastered the frame data of all attacks in his body.

“...Th-th-this! Don't make me laugh! Try and take this one!”

And as if she had become stubborn, the mana in the atmosphere writhed like a dragon once again.

Ah, this was a spell arrangement I was familiar with. It was one of the strongest AoE spells Evangeline could use.

[Inferno].

A giant rock engulfed in flames crashing down from the sky.

I couldn't even guess how many layers of flame it was wrapped in; just looking at it made my eyes hurt.

“...You're using something like this? A knight of the Round Table against a human inside the Tower?”

“Sh-shut up!”

Somehow looking a little guilty herself, Evangeline immediately directed the Inferno straight at me.

‘She used her head.’

Inferno was a composite attack of a physical attack using a mass and a mana spell.

This wasn't an attack that could be solved by simply trying to make it disappear with a parry.

Before I could bring my hand to it, I would be burned by the flames of mana enveloping that rock.

However.

It wasn't like this was the only ‘hand’ related skill I had.

[ Beholder ]

[ Netherworld's Grasp ]

The first was to erase the mana that came into my sight.

The second was the blue flame rising from my hand.

My hand easily pierced through the flames enveloping the descending rock.

Again, a parry with perfect timing.

-...

Seeing the giant rock crumble in an instant, Evangeline plopped down as if the strength had left her legs.

She had realized that despite using almost every means at her disposal, I had truly not moved a ‘single step’ and had taken it all.

“...W-what is this...”

See what I told you.

This thing is crazy.

***

Well, even so, it wasn't like there were no regrets at all.

‘Projectile Annihilation’ meant that, conversely, direct strikes or martial arts that didn't have that judgment were no different from a normal parry.

The additional feature of an auto-counter offset it to some extent, but a regret was still a regret.

But what was certain was that with this, there would be no urgent problems for now.

Just having this projectile annihilation judgment was enough to satisfy all the requirements needed for the ‘scenario’ that would happen soon.

To deliver this good news, I charged into the guild leader's office.

“...”

To Lee Si-yeong, who looked at me with an expression that said she was too tired to even tell me to get out, I gave a smile that came from the bottom of my heart.

“Let's start getting on a plane.”

“...Kim Gyu-sik-ssi. I'm begging you, please go die.”

“Don't worry. I can really crush all the guys who come at me now.”

“I said go die-!”

The Guild Grand Unification Event.

The start was just around the corner.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.