Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Break Spot - (4)

Puh-puh-puh-puhp!

Almost simultaneously, an explosive sound erupted from the four troll brothers.

It was just like when you smash a massive frozen ice sheet with a hammer! That exact kind of sound.

<Uwaah! The four troll brothers are dead! This is unbelievable! I can't believe it!>

"Ivan, you're wasting time."

Pak!

Sanghyun smiled as he drove the Madness Slayer Blade into the back of a dead troll and left it there.

With his foot pressing down firmly on the back of its head, he waited. And just like that, the four troll brothers crossed the River of Death.

Ivan had 30 seconds to decide and send out his next minion. His mind must be in turmoil.

'I've only shown him a very limited set of skills, so he has no choice but to make decisions based on that information.'

Sanghyun envisioned Ivan’s next move in his mind.

You might think that nothing in the world ever goes exactly as predicted.

But if you know your opponent well enough, you can make things go exactly as you want.

<Go forth, Freitas! Consume that arrogant human with your flames!>

"Is this really the best choice?"

<Already scared, human?>

"Forget it. I don't even know why I'm giving you advice."

Sanghyun shrugged.

In the meantime, Freitas, who had been summoned just like the four troll brothers, appeared in front of Sanghyun.

Official designation: Fire Incarnation Freitas.

Living flames themselves.

It seemed deeply impressed by the freezing skills Sanghyun had used earlier, like Cold Blast.

And rightfully so.

The once overconfident four troll brothers had been frozen solid and then shattered into pieces. That would leave an impression on anyone.

'Maybe Ivan doesn't fully understand his minion's traits. Or he still underestimates me.'

Sanghyun found Ivan's choice baffling. After all, Freitas also had a weakness to freezing.

A battle between fire and water, or fire and ice, isn’t always determined by attributes alone.

It’s decided by which side has the stronger power output.

The side with the overwhelmingly greater force will absorb the other’s attributes. It's more like a contest of raw strength.

But Ivan seemed to have an unnecessary amount of confidence in his fire incarnation.

'If internal freezing lasts for more than 1.5 seconds, Freitas' flame cohesion structure collapses.'

A weakness that had already been identified.

And Sanghyun had the means to exploit it precisely.

A variety of status effect options. That was Sanghyun's asset, something no one else could replicate.

He immediately started charging up.

Since Freitas was an incarnation that attacked at close range, it had no choice but to approach first.

Unfortunately, unlike a dragon, Freitas didn’t have the option to use a fire breath attack.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo!"

With rough breathing, Freitas began charging toward Sanghyun.

Since its entire body was engulfed in flames, the visual intimidation it exuded was quite overwhelming.

But intimidation is meaningless if the target isn't actually intimidated.

'Closer, closer...'

While maximizing his charge state, Sanghyun stood motionless, waiting for the right moment.

"Ku-ku-ku!"

Like someone about to punch a high-score machine, Freitas brought both fists together, preparing to send Sanghyun flying.

Even a single hit could send his head spinning off his body with sheer force.

'Closer.'

Freitas still hadn’t reached the distance Sanghyun was aiming for.

To deliver freezing energy deep into its body, he had to strike from the closest possible range.

That way, even if it was just for an instant, the extreme cold of his full charge wouldn't dissipate too much.

This was Sanghyun's choice to prevent energy loss, and it was also a highly risky strategy.

Of course, he already had a second plan prepared in case of failure. This wasn’t his only move.

"Kuwaah!"

Freitas opened its mouth wide as it reached Sanghyun and threw a punch.

At that moment—

Swoooosh!

With a crisp impact sound, Sanghyun ducked low and slipped beneath Freitas, brushing past its lower abdomen.

It was a low attack strategy made possible by their height difference.

"Kr...?!"

That instant—

Freitas froze.

It had been afflicted with freezing.

However, it didn’t panic. The duration was only one second.

<Idiot! What are you even trying to do with such a short freeze!?>

Ivan, watching, seized the opportunity to mock Sanghyun.

『Machiavellian Schemes』

But Sanghyun immediately activated the Machiavellian Schemes skill, which had just come off cooldown.

And just like that, the freezing duration extended by exactly one more second. A total of two seconds of freezing.

"Kuh-huh?"

Freitas' face darkened as it sensed something was wrong.

Yet Ivan, still unaware of his minion’s critical weakness, remained unconcerned.

'Any subordinate suffers when they have the wrong master.'

Sanghyun calmly took his stance in front of the frozen Freitas.

The moment the freeze duration passed 1.5 seconds—

Fwoooosh.

The flame cohesion that maintained Freitas' form collapsed.

Like an egg crushed under pressure, unable to hold itself together.

Freitas' flames rapidly cooled, and its body shriveled up like a deflated balloon.

Sanghyun immediately deployed the Blade of Ruin.

With the Sage's Whisper as a sure amplification skill, his strike was bound to be devastating.

Fwoosh! Crackle!

Upon impact, a thunderous burst of electricity followed.

And a bolt of lightning from the sky struck Freitas' crown.

"Kugh!"

Freitas' eyes shut as it began to stagger from side to side.

The paralysis effect of the thunder attack, combined with the direct hit to the head, nearly knocked it unconscious.

'Plenty of stamina left.'

Sanghyun stabbed the Sword of Ruin two more times with additional attacks.

There was enough saved stamina to allow it.

'It's visible.'

Freitas' core, which had been struck not just once but three times by the Sword of Ruin, was revealed.

Through the gap torn open by the previous attack, a blazing heart could be seen.

"Haa!"

Utilizing his remaining stamina, Sanghyun thrust the Sword of Ruin once more.

Thanks to skill enhancement, the mechanics of cost consumption had changed, allowing for continuous use of this finishing-move-level skill.

Puh-seok!

Along with the heavy sensation transmitted from the tip of the sword, the sound of Freitas' life extinguishing was heard.

"Krrr."

Spewing black smoke as if it were a half-burnt log, Freitas collapsed forward.

If he were human, it would be akin to having his heart torn apart, leaving no chance of survival no matter how much he struggled.

Not only that.

『Cursed Execution』

As Freitas' health rapidly dropped below 5.5%, the Cursed Beheading activated automatically.

Seok!

"......!"

It was visible!

At the moment the Cursed Execution activated, the figure of a demon suddenly appeared in front of Freitas!

It was too vivid to be called an illusion, an unmistakable appearance of a demon.

The demon, wearing a sinister smile, wielded a massive scythe engulfed in darkness.

With one swing of the scythe, the demon decapitated Freitas.

<Aaagh! Freitasaaaa!>

Ivan's panicked voice rang out.

Sanghyun, on the other hand, was astonished for a different reason. Was this truly how the Cursed Execution worked?

However, judging by Ivan or Freitas' reactions, they seemed completely unaware of the demon's presence.

If they had seen it even for a moment, there was no way they would remain silent.

A chill ran down his spine.

Was what he just saw a demon sent by a celestial being or deity?

Was that why it could execute a 'complete kill,' ignoring how much health remained and beheading its target?

<This is ridiculous! This makes no sense! How can you kill all of my subordinates like this?!>

"If you're so upset, why don't you come out yourself?"

<Shut up! Someone as noble as myself cannot stoop to dealing with the likes of you!>

"Then shut up and send out your next fighter already. Damn, you talk too much."

<Go! Jay!>

'As expected, he's sending out his final weapon right away.'

Since this was within his predictions, Sanghyun’s expression remained composed.

Jay.

A being made of pure energy.

Fitting for a dungeon like Break Spot, it was a creature that utilized the dungeon’s overcharged energy.

The terrifying thing about such entities was that when a rift occurred, they would escape and unleash indiscriminate bombardment.

The closer they were to the dungeon, the faster they could replenish energy, achieving massive energy charges.

They would then use their bodies as weapons, releasing powerful energy storms or shockwaves in all directions.

The destructive power was immense—when hit directly, even buildings could be blown away, leaving only their skeletal frames.

'With that release power, Defensive Sword won’t stand a chance. Invincibility might help me endure, but he’ll just keep attacking right in front of me.'

Sanghyun visualized several scenarios.

Blocking wasn’t an option.

Jay’s energy shockwaves were beyond something that could be defended against.

Nicknamed 'Energy Cannon,' Jay’s energy shockwaves were essentially cannons made of pure energy.

Blocking wouldn’t just stop the attack—it would mean getting blown away along with it or being torn to shreds.

Just one hit would trap him in the inescapable cycle of 'infinite knockback' caused by the Energy Cannon! He had to avoid being hit at all costs.

'Jay’s weaknesses are ultimately his low mobility and poor hearing.'

Exploiting Jay’s inability to properly respond to sound was key.

If it were any other player, they wouldn’t have a suitable skill to counter each of these summoned creatures.

But this wasn’t self-praise—it was fact!

Players with such a diverse array of attack and defense options like Sanghyun were incredibly rare.

'In a short battle, victory depends on who exploits the opponent’s weaknesses more effectively.'

His decision was already made.

Sanghyun dashed toward the newly summoned Jay at full speed. It was an all-in move.

He needed to take this creature down quickly to force Ivan to step in personally.

Only then would the rewards and loot he could obtain from this dungeon increase significantly.

There was a distinct difference between defeating the 'final boss' and the 'last boss.'

As soon as Jay finished materializing and began tracking Sanghyun’s position—

He used the skill immediately.

Unlike Mediated Illusion, there was a simple reason for choosing Fragented Illusion.

The illusions created by Framented Illusion were fake, but they carried a portion of mana, making them register as real.

What did this mean?

Wiiiiiing.

Just like now, when Jay used 'Energy Scan' to distinguish between real and fake targets, he could mistake the illusion for the real one and attack it instead.

And Sanghyun’s calculated plan worked perfectly.

In the next moment—

Sanghyun employed the Shadow Step skill, which he had rarely used until now, completely erasing his footsteps.

An ordinary swordsman-class player could never, or rather, should never possess such a skill!

But Sanghyun did.