Chapter 61: Kaeseong Subjugation Battle - (6)
10 minutes later.
"As expected, humans are creatures that think!"
Sanghyun was laughing joyfully as he looked at the numerous artifacts scattered all around.
In terms of grade, they were artifacts ranging between Bronze and Silver, nothing particularly valuable.
However, there were already as many as 30 artifacts dropped on the ground.
As expected, all the clones created by Split were treated as mid-boss monsters.
Although they had a self-detonation ability that was troublesome, it was just a matter of keeping a suitable distance.
As long as he landed even a single attack on them, the Constellation’s perk was applied, even if they self-destructed.
‘At this rate, I’ll gain quite a bit every time I encounter a boss or mid-boss monster with a division ability.’
He naturally felt pleased.
Split’s expression was not so great either. It wasn’t just that Sanghyun had effectively handled the clones, but also that his planned strategy wasn’t working well.
Normally, Split would divide its body whenever its stamina decreased in battle, creating a new body.
Then, it would transfer its mana power and beneficial buffs from its original body to the new one, facilitating recovery.
Simply put, it would discard the bad parts and retain only the good ones, reconstructing itself into a complete form.
However, because Sanghyun persistently induced silence with basic attacks every time, the process did not go smoothly.
As a result, its health, which started at 100%, had gradually declined and was now reduced to half.
Moreover, Sanghyun strategically saved 【Demon Bash】 to minimize the risk of status ailment reflection.
He primarily used basic attacks, and if silence was reflected, he endured it using the title 【Trance】.
If he was unlucky and got affected, he immediately used 【Recovery】 to nullify the damage loss, keeping things clean.
Puh! Puhh! Pung!
Flare signals kept exploding.
Although their frequency had decreased compared to before, there were still many calls for help.
Sanghyun had some knowledge about Split, so it wasn’t a problem for him, but it would be an extremely tricky opponent for players encountering it for the first time.
‘I’ve roughly figured out the timing.’
While exchanging attacks with Split, Sanghyun focused only on its signature ability, ‘Division.’
There is no monster without a weakness. The same principle applies to players.
So, Sanghyun aggressively launched attacks to make Split divide more frequently.
Through this, he identified that Split’s weakness was at the very moment it divided.
Although it created clones at that moment to guard its surroundings, it was not entirely without gaps.
‘If you don’t understand the division mechanism precisely, you’ll struggle. The clones’ explosive power is also overwhelming.’
Most likely, in other routes, there had been considerable injuries and fatalities. Each clone was like a grenade.
Many players must have underestimated it due to its cute and small appearance, only to suffer the consequences.
‘【Recovery】's cooldown is back.’
Sanghyun switched back to an offensive stance.
This time, he opened with 【Demon Bash】, planning to use 【Recovery】 immediately if the effect was reflected.
Kkugg!
Split was immediately inflicted with stiffness.
At the same time, status ailment reflection occurred, but his high skill resistance allowed him to endure the returned stiffness without issue.
『Acceleration』
『Demon Bash』
『Demon Bash』
Without hesitation, he chained in 【Acceleration】, extending the effect of 【Demon Bash】.
Since Split had status ailment reduction abilities, the full 3.3 seconds of the effect did not apply.
It reduced debuffs by about 30%, meaning each 【Demon Bash】's stiffness lasted a maximum of about 1 second.
Kkgg! Kgg!
Split’s body trembled, unable to move properly due to the successive applications of stiffness from 【Demon Bash】.
//s_win
//win_h ◎ Silence
◎ Lasts for 2 seconds.
//e_win
Breaking through the 50% probability, Sanghyun successfully extended 【Demon Bash】 five times, triggering conditional silence.
『Knockback Burst』
Taaang!
Immediately following up with 【Knockback Burst】!
Like a flailing chicken, Split was bizarrely flapping its wings as it was forcefully pushed back.
『Full Charge』
Timing his movement with the knockback distance, he began preparing 【Full Charge】.
Swoosh!
The power of 【Full Charge】 under acceleration was immense. Sanghyun had waited until he reached his limit before unleashing the strike, making it even stronger.
Tuk. Tududuk.
Split’s right arm was severed. It stared in shock at its missing arm, unable to react.
Kkudeuk. Kkuduk. Kkudeuk.
In quick succession, Split created clones. As expected, it was trying to buy time to reconstruct a new body.
‘Not this time!’
Sanghyun launched a counterattack he had never revealed until now.
『Rising Airflow』
Whooosh!
With a violent gust, 【Rising Airflow】 lifted Split into the air, successfully disrupting its division process.
If it completed its division, it would automatically dispel any status ailments, making this a crucial moment.
However, the problem was that Sanghyun had perfectly interrupted that process.
『Defensive Sword』
As Sanghyun charged forward, he blocked the explosions of the suicide-diving clones.
Having calculated the explosion power from previous fights, there were no surprises for him anymore.
Khhut! Khh!
Split was flustered.
It had never once been so perfectly interrupted during its division process.
Thud.
Having been caught by 【Rising Airflow】, its airborne body finally landed on the ground.
Tuk!
But Sanghyun was already right in front of it.
There was no time to divide again. Moreover, Sanghyun’s seemingly casual stab with a basic attack—
//s_win
//win_h ◎ Silence
◎ Lasts for 0.45 seconds.
//e_win
—had triggered silence at the worst possible moment.
Sanghyun was adept at exploiting the brief openings that appeared in battle.
『Crushing Blade』
As silence was applied, he had already activated 【Crushing Blade】, and the result was immediate.
Pwaaah!
Where Sanghyun mercilessly slashed through, Split’s flesh burst out like fireworks.
Exposed to an immense force at such a close distance, its body exploded completely.
Considering how grandly it had appeared at first, its end was nothing short of miserable.
“Spent all that time analyzing weaknesses. Whew.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed like I had handled it smoothly, but in truth, if this tactic hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t have had another move left.
After using Crushing Blade, my mana would have plummeted. Of course, it was a happy ending in the end.
[Your level has increased to 90!]
‘Just 10 more levels until skill enhancement at level 100? The experience here is amazing.’
Sanghyun rejoiced at the level surge brought by Split's death. A rapid level-up streak.
Others would take weeks, or at least a full month, to grow this much, but he had monopolized it all in just one day!
“And it even dropped a top-grade magic stone worth a billion. What a jackpot.”
Sanghyun picked up the top-grade magic stone dropped by the dead Split. Minimum value: 1 billion. The price depended on demand.
Moreover, thanks to the Constellation Goddess of Luck, a 100% guaranteed drop of an artifact anklet welcomed him.
//s_win
//win_h 『Split’s Anklet』
■ Artifact Grade: Platinum
■ Artifact Description: Split possessed the ability to freely divide its body.
This anklet holds essential knowledge for creating illusions that are nearly indistinguishable from reality.
■ Defense +50
■ Evasion +25
■ Special Skill - Fragmented Illusion
//e_win
“Since anklets don’t overlap, I’ll equip it for now… But I didn’t expect to gain another skill.”
Since he had defeated a tricky mid-boss monster, the artifact's stats and skill composition were excellent.
Increasing both defense and evasion also meant that his skill resistance would significantly improve.
//s_win
//win_h 『Fragmented Illusion』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: Consumes 50% of health and mana to create an illusion identical to the original body.
//e_win
The illusion disperses when it takes a certain amount of damage, but it maintains a solid form until then.
Additionally, vision is shared with the illusion, making it useful for reconnaissance in dangerous areas.
Upon reaching skill level 5, the skill upgrades to 『Fragmented Self』.
“This is really useful.”
It seemed highly valuable.
Not only could he confuse or lure enemies, but he could also explore dangerous areas where direct entry was risky.
Ever since coming to the Unique Field, every moment had been pure satisfaction for Sanghyun.
Experience poured in, and rewards were endless.
Exploiting Split’s clones with a clever strategy, he had secured nearly infinite artifact drops—a total of 35!
Now, the final objective had been cleared. Just 100 meters ahead was the first rendezvous point.
Boom! Boom!
However, another problem arose.
Flares shot into the air, urgently signaling for help. They had been fired from the 4-10 route, close to Sanghyun.
“That’s where Song Taejung is.”
From the start, he had suspected Taejung might be a liability, and his guess was right.
If it had been just Taejung alone, he wouldn’t have bothered, but his teammates were innocent.
Tatata!
Sanghyun immediately left the 4-9 route, sprinting down the slope. The sooner the support, the better.
30 seconds!
That was how long it took for Sanghyun to arrive like a heaven-sent savior and defeat Split, rescuing his teammates.
“Wow! Because Taejung abandoned us early, we had no way to deal with that thing, but he killed it so easily?!”
“Holy crap! We actually took it down!”
“Shin Sanghyun! As expected. You’re the real deal. Seriously, respect!”
“This guy is our hidden ace!”
The four members of the 4-10 route team, freed from their crisis thanks to Sanghyun, cheered for him.
Including Song Taejung, who had been injured early and rendered unable to fight, their team originally had five members.
However, dealing with Split had been incredibly difficult due to its persistent use of clones, making it hard to approach.
Yet the moment Sanghyun arrived, he lured out and eliminated the clones, then prevented further division, securing victory.
‘I might have only landed the finishing blow, but my damage contribution was high enough to absorb most of the experience.’
Because he had cleaned up an already weakened Split, his level had immediately risen to 91.
It felt like he had not only taken a share of a fully prepared meal but also grabbed the best side dishes. A fruitful level-up.
A magic stone dropped from the dead Split. Since he had joined late, no artifacts appeared this time.
As Sanghyun calmly glanced at the magic stone, Song Taejung, who had been sitting exhausted just moments ago, suddenly stood up and shouted.
“Wait! You barely landed the final hit, isn’t it unfair to take a share?”
Even in this situation, he was still greedy for loot.
Sanghyun had never intended to take anything in the first place. Only a single high-grade magic stone had dropped, and it wasn’t even his alone.
He was already satisfied with having saved his teammates from danger.
Besides, hadn’t he just secured magic stones worth over 2 billion won solo in the 4-9 route?
He had no reason to be greedy.
“I won’t even take a single strand of hair, so keep it all. Just don’t act like I’m stealing anything.”
Sanghyun replied with a bright smile, making Taejung flinch.
For a brief moment, an overwhelming killing intent was directed solely at him. It was so intense that sheer determination wouldn’t be enough to endure it.
‘Getting completely crushed, and now I’m even in his debt… Damn it.’
Taejung lowered his head with a frustrated expression.
A leader who had been utterly useless in battle due to his early blunders.
And an expert who had swooped in at the last moment, clearing the situation effortlessly.
This would become a humiliating memory that would haunt him, with constant comparisons to Sanghyun.
The inevitable shame was something only he had to endure.