Chapter 92 : Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Duel (2)

The preparations for the duel proceeded with great speed.

Under the name of the Arklight Guild, it took less than a few hours to rent a nearby training arena, bring in a referee, and even gather an audience.

And at the sight of the teeming crowd, Chang Meirin couldn’t help but click her tongue.

This was the number of people gathered in just a few hours?

“...Mr. Gyu-sik. What on earth is he thinking?”

At Chang Meirin’s voice from the side, Evangeline glanced at her indifferently.

“What about?”

“The Arklight Guild... they’re an incredibly powerful group, aren’t they? I don’t know much about the Climber society, but I’ve heard their name several times.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. But to openly challenge a place like that, how can I not be worried?”

“I see.”

“...But what have you been doing this whole time?”

It was a question thrown not so much out of anger at her half-hearted replies, but because it was just so absurd.

Her appearance, holding a bundle of food in her arms and munching away nonstop, was closer to a hamster than a person. Even more so as she stuffed food into her mouth with a blank expression until her cheeks puffed up.

“This is more important than that. The culinary culture outside the Tower is truly incredible.”

“...Can’t you eat things like food inside the Tower?”

“There’s no need to eat. We are life forms that exist by circulating mana.”

In that respect, Evangeline, a Knight of the Round Table, had the ability to see through everything that others could never see.

While not on the level of a Shaman from outside the Tower, she was at a level where she could obtain a great deal of information about any average human just by observing them for a few seconds.

In that respect.

Evangeline decided to observe the two humans entering the center of the arena a little more seriously.

“It’s the Arklight Guild! It’s [Sword Dancer] Aaron!”

“And next to him is... [Crimson Fist] Lina! Are those guys serious, hey!”

And at the thunderous cheers coming from the surroundings, Evangeline looked around with an expression of disbelief.

Sitting among humans who genuinely shouted such lines felt like being in a different world.

What was with this crazy tension? Was the entire world outside the Tower like this?

“...Have these people received professional training to be an audience or something? I’d believe it if you told me they practiced as a group before coming.”

“Ah, ahaha... The Arklight Guild is that popular. Their track record is amazing too. I heard the number of Dungeons they’ve subjugated is the 3rd highest in the world...”

Certainly, even to Evangeline’s eyes, among the humans around here, their mana management was definitely a cut above the rest.

And on the opposite side, a man whose mana amount itself was an absolute mess shambled into the arena.

Kim Gyu-sik. On his face was the usual blank, expressionless look. By the standards of a Knight of the Round Table, his mana concentration was just a tiny bit better than trash.

Looking at ‘specs’ alone, it was very clear who would win.

And it seemed the audience gathered around had similar thoughts.

“Hah. That’s the guy who picked a fight with Arklight? He just looks like a dazed idiot.”

“Well, there have always been guys who want to increase their recognition by picking fights with the popular ones. It’s a shame he did it to Arklight, though. Can he even last 15 seconds properly?”

“...”

Well.

He was a person who had shattered the Water Dragon in 15 seconds, but.

Still, this cheering atmosphere was too much. There ought to be at least one person cheering for the underdog.

“I bet everything on you, Sword Dancer! Show us something cool!”

Ah. I see. Gambling, huh.

It was something that couldn’t be missed at a fighting ring.

As Chang Meirin was smiling wryly, Evangeline suddenly shot up from her seat.

“Wh-what? Ms. Evangeline?”

“Nothing to see here. I have no hobby of watching a weakling get beaten up one-sidedly.”

“...What? You mean Mr. Kim Gyu-sik will lose by that much of a margin?”

“If that were the case, I would have enjoyed watching it.”

Evangeline chuckled and shook her head.

The... sort of ‘impurity’ dwelling in the bodies of the man and woman called Aaron and Lina, caught at the edge of her vision.

There was no way the man called Kim Gyu-sik couldn’t see what she could see. And if one thought about how that man would use it...

“I recommend you watch for a bit and then get up too. It’s probably... going to get a little ugly.”

Certainly.

A pleasant scene would not unfold.

***

Aaron was in a very bad mood.

Originally, it should have all been over with just stepping on a bug that was trying to climb up.

The Arklight Guild rarely made official appearances, so there were always guys who picked fights for whatever reason, be it envy or jealousy. It wasn’t anything special.

However.

‘Take this with you this time.’

Before this duel, Lord Edgar had called him and handed over a small vial of potion, saying it was what they needed.

‘Lord Edgar. This is?’

‘...It’s a strengthening potion I personally own. It will be necessary for this duel. Be sure to take it.’

‘What? Against a mere worm like that? Isn’t taking potions in a duel illegal? That’s too excessive for a guy like him...’

‘It’s an order.’

Because he had gone so far as to say that at the end, I ended up taking it and coming out, but.

It was the first time for them to see Lord Edgar be this wary of someone.

“That son of a bitch...”

Aaron muttered, glaring at the man standing before him with a dazed expression.

He himself hadn't been acknowledged to that extent by him.

The fact that this foolish-looking guy had received such an evaluation was unbearably irritating.

“Lina. Sorry, but it won’t get to your turn. I’m going to crush him.”

“...Hmph. Do as you please.”

After smirking at Lina who snorted beside him, Aaron drew his sword and stepped onto the stage.

Elemental Binder. The eight-colored sword that had given him the moniker of Sword Dancer. A superior weapon whose attribute changed every moment depending on the angle of impact and the method of mana conduction.

“Worm. Kneel and beg for your life right now. Then I won’t kill you. I’ll cut off your arms and legs, though.”

“...”

I had spoken with mercy, but the opponent just stared back at me blankly.

If I left him alone a little longer, he looked like he might even start drooling.

Seeing him show not even a shred of tension was making my blood pressure rise instead.

“Hey. Are you listening.”

“Hey.”

Kim Gyu-sik, who let out a deep sigh, answered in his still-languid voice.

“If you’re gonna kill me, hurry it up. You gonna wait for me to die of old age while you run your mouth?”

“...You won’t die a peaceful death.”

Saying so, Aaron took his stance.

The mana in his entire body spun tautly, granting his muscles a strength that surpassed human limits.

Every vanguard-type had a secret technique to strengthen their body, which was as good as their own property, but Aaron’s strengthening skill was among the most extremely efficient ones.

It was no exaggeration to say that his specs at the moment he turned this on were among the top tier of A-rank Climbers.

“There it is! Aaron’s ‘Overdrive’!”

“This’ll be over quick!”

Hearing the cheers of the crowd, Aaron put a triumphant smile on his lips.

Yes. This feeling.

This situation where others looked up to him.

It was the best. Even more so thinking about the process of crushing a weakling that would add spice to this feeling.

“Hmph!”

His body shot forward at a terrifying speed. It was a devastating speed that probably even a fairly skilled Climber, let alone an average spectator, couldn’t even follow the afterimage of.

First clash.

A diagonal downward slash. The bestowed attribute was flame. The scorching sword strike cut across Kim Gyu-sik’s shoulder.

It seemed he avoided a fatal wound, but the sword strike he couldn’t completely dodge slightly burned his skin.

“Ha, you can’t even react properly!”

I increased my speed.

It wasn’t a battle of simply standing and exchanging blows, but a series of consecutive attacks, moving at a speed that seemed to dominate the entire space.

From Kim Gyu-sik’s side, from above, from behind, a sword dance that was impossible for the target to follow embroidered the entire stage splendidly.

A horizontal slash of the Water attribute. The sword that struck his back froze Kim Gyu-sik’s flesh solid.

The following attribute was corrosion. Plus penetration. Then another attribute. And another.

A sword dance combining attacks of eight colors mercilessly ravaged the victim.

This was the reason Aaron was called the [Sword Dancer], and the reason he was an excellently rated vanguard Climber in the world.

In fact, Kim Gyu-sik, who was receiving those attacks, couldn’t even properly defend against them and was repeatedly allowing effective hits.

His body was torn, burned, frozen, and split.

He was a mess before the sword dance was even over, a sight to behold.

He did react by raising his body from time to time, but the damage continued to accumulate.

A little more and it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed with a single poke.

“...”

Surely.

That’s how it should have been.

He began to feel a sense of dissonance when the second sword dance ended.

It was clear he had been thoroughly beaten without being able to react properly this time either, but by this point, there should have been some kind of reaction.

He was just, standing there.

As if nothing had happened.

He stood there with that battered body.

His expression was still the same as before.

An expressionless face that even seemed to feel boredom.

“Haha! That loser! He was so confident, but look at him getting beaten without doing anything!”

“Didn’t everyone think it would turn out like this anyway? Though it’s much more boring than expected.”

No, it wasn’t like that.

Although he was still getting thoroughly beaten by him, the sense of dissonance that had coiled in Aaron’s heart was growing larger and larger.

‘He’s... aiming for something.’

Indeed, there was no other explanation.

Anyone would have already collapsed after allowing this many effective hits. It made no sense for this guy’s expression not to change one bit!

In his impatience, he drew more speed and power to strike. However, it was still a repeat of the same scene.

Kim Gyu-sik continued to be beaten. But he still stood firm and endured.

“...Tch!”

In that case, all I had to do was land a powerful blow and break him down at once.

I held the sword in a reverse grip. A combination of three attributes. The resulting outcome was ‘cutting’.

“Die!”

The slash shot out at a speed that tore the air apart. It was an attack with the power to slice an A-rank Climber of the same grade in two without them even being able to react.

-!

But.

Kim Gyu-sik was still standing.

Rather, this time.

“...What...?!”

He was holding the sword Aaron had thrust out with both hands.

He had caught up to that speed and wedged the sword between the blades of his hands.

“Crazy...!”

A groan escaped the terrified Aaron’s lips.

This was a feat that one wouldn’t even dare to attempt unless there was a considerable difference in level.

‘This bastard...!’

He was aiming for something after all!

Thinking so, Aaron immediately tried to retrieve and pull out the sword.

It didn’t budge.

As if it were caught in a vise, there was no feeling of it moving no matter how hard he pulled.

“Hmm.”

And then, Kim Gyu-sik, who had been beaten to a pulp until now, opened his mouth for the first time.

“You know, you’re a little faster than ‘usual’.”

“...What?”

“The data I know seemed a bit different, so I took a few hits... but seeing that the margin of error isn't that big, I don't think I was wrong. Then there’s only one conclusion left.”

“What are you blabbering about!”

“You. You took some kind of drug, didn’t you?”

“...!”

How on earth did he figure that out.

While Aaron flinched.

Kim Gyu-sik put a smile on his face.

As if.

“Right. In that case.”

He looked as if he had found a sturdy toy.

“That means you can last longer than usual, right?”

And.

A fist that flew so fast its trajectory couldn’t even be tracked, struck Aaron’s jaw upwards.

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