Chapter 94: Second Kaeseong Subjugation Battle - (4)
Every time he eliminated an Icebound, he obtained 1 Essence of Agility. Each essence increased the Agility stat by 1.
As he continued eliminating the Icebounds that had formed along the stream, he had already collected forty essences before he knew it.
Thanks to that, just a brief battle had increased his Agility stat by 40. It was the easiest stat farming in the world.
[The Great Lord of the Northern Snowfield admires your courage in not being intimidated by the cold of nature.]
[The Owner of Flames respects your battle, which does not even give enemies a chance to attack.]
[The Dark Hunter fiercely criticizes you, calling you a piece of trash who seeks selfish gain through cowardly means!]
"Seriously, he always has a knack for ruining the mood when things are going well."
Sanghyun smirked bitterly at the sudden appearance of the Dark Hunter among the praises of the Constellations.
In the past, there were barely any Constellations watching him, so he had never even seen messages from criticizing Constellations.
Ever since he made a contract with the Late Bloomer Model Student Constellation, his messages were always the first and last ones he saw.
With that thought in mind, Sanghyun asked,
"Goddess, have you not seen the Late Bloomer Model Student Constellation since then?"
[The Goddess of Luck says that she tried to find him once again, but he had already left the Vacant Seat Village of the Dimensional Stage.]
[According to other surrounding Constellations, he seemed to have gained some kind of enlightenment, packed up his campsite, and set out on a journey.]
[However, she emphasizes that enlightenment alone does not change the world of the Constellations and that divine power is extremely important.]
"I see... so that's how it is."
The fact that the Constellations could send messages to Sanghyun meant that they required divine power.
Simply moving their lips wouldn't be enough for their voices to reach Earth from the infinitely distant Dimensional Stage.
The words of the Goddess of Luck meant that even if he found the Late Bloomer Model Student, he wouldn't be able to communicate with Sanghyun.
It meant that he was still an incomplete, undeveloped Constellation.
'No matter how I think about it, he must be the one who sent me back in time. There has to be a hidden secret.'
Sanghyun thought so.
There was no effect without a cause.
However, it didn't seem like he would get an answer right away. It was a matter that required time.
15 minutes later.
After eliminating several additional groups of small and large Icebounds blocking his path, Sanghyun arrived at the end of the Gate.
It was certainly a miniature Gate.
He hadn't traveled far, yet he had already reached the area where the boss monster appeared.
"An additional 35 Agility stat points! Just by entering the Gate, I’ve gained a solid reward."
Seeing his Agility stat surpass 400, Sanghyun felt reassured. His body movements had become noticeably faster.
With his current Agility stat, he felt that he could easily run 100 meters in under 9 seconds without any skill assistance.
If he factored in stamina support, he felt like he could sprint 400 meters without exhaustion in under 40 seconds.
If he added acceleration skills on top of that, he would immediately step into the realm of superhumans.
Meanwhile, Sanghyun pointed toward the boss monster that stood gallantly ahead, spreading its blue wings.
"So you're the leader here."
//s_win
//win_h [Boss Monster]
[Ice Crow]
Ice Crow.
//e_win
Also known as the Frozen Crow.
Some shortened its name to "Bingkka" or "Bingdak."
This creature was a monster that created intense frost storms with the flap of its wings.
Initially, it caused slow effects, and once enough slow debuffs accumulated, it would trigger instant freezing, making it a tricky opponent.
However, its flight ability had deteriorated, so it couldn’t stay airborne for long and primarily fought on the ground.
"A muscular, bipedal crow."
That was the perfect way to describe its appearance.
It looked like a 3-meter-tall bodybuilder with a crow’s head and wings attached.
"If I get hit by that, I’m done for."
The charge skill used by Ice Crow was called the Will of Rush. If defeated, this skill would be inherited.
『Over Psychedelic』
Without hesitation, Sanghyun prepared to use the Over Psychedelic skill.
The strategy for attacking the Ice Crow was straightforward.
Avoid its frost storms and charge attacks while relentlessly concentrating attacks on it to shatter it.
Ultimately, just like the Icebounds he had fought earlier, it was a monster made of frozen water, so the key was to break or melt it.
『Blaze』
Whoosh!
Sanghyun coated the entire Greatsword of Fighting Spirit in flames to counter the Ice Crow’s attribute, preparing himself for battle.
"Shall we begin?"
Cawww!
A single short phrase was enough to provoke the Ice Crow.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
"Ha, this is seriously annoying."
Every time the Ice Crow flapped its wings vigorously, Sanghyun’s legs stiffened more and more.
It felt like someone was gradually strapping sandbags onto his ankles. It was a phenomenon beyond the typical slow debuff.
Once five slow debuffs had stacked, they immediately transformed into another status effect.
//s_win
//win_h ◎ Frozen
◎ 10 seconds.
//e_win
'Damn, that's long.'
Without a dispel skill, he would be frozen in place, perfectly set up for execution.
10 seconds was long enough for an enemy to tap dance in front of him before finishing him off.
『Recovery』
Sanghyun immediately used Recovery to break free from the freeze, gaining 5 seconds of complete immunity. It was the perfect chance to counterattack.
With a valiant charge, Sanghyun quickly closed the distance between himself and the Ice Crow.
Flap! Flap!
The Ice Crow frantically flapped its wings, but it couldn’t stop Sanghyun, who was now immune to all status effects.
Caw?
As the Ice Crow panicked at Sanghyun’s unrestrained movements, he had already reached its front.
『Knockback Burst』
Boom!
A crisp, powerful impact—akin to an aluminum bat smashing a baseball—resounded from the Ice Crow.
Although faint, a visible crack spread across the center of the Ice Crow’s chest.
That was the fatal weakness of ice-based monsters like the Icebounds and the Ice Crow.
They were vulnerable to continuous, strong external impacts. And their recovery wasn’t easy!
As the Ice Crow struggled to stand back up after being sent flying by the Knockback Burst—
『Tempest Strike』
Whoosh!
At the perfect moment, the tornado of First Gale engulfed the Ice Crow once again.
It was a precisely timed strike.
Right as it tried to straighten its bent knees and regain balance, the attack struck its front at the exact moment needed.
Screeeech!
Just hearing the irritating sound of a crow's cry, the Ice Crow was once again caught in a knockback.
Its defenseless body flew through the air and crashed headfirst into the ground, twisting its neck at an unnatural angle.
This was the variable of knockback.
Instead of being evenly applied to the body, one part was forcefully pushed back with great intensity.
Because of this, even if one knew about knockback, they often had no way of predicting how they would be sent flying.
The Ice Crow, lacking sufficient knowledge about knockback, was no exception.
Having cornered the Ice Crow in an instant, Sanghyun threw a decisive move to drive the final nail in the coffin.
『Crushing Blade』
Chaaang!
Kaaaaaak!
The piercing, lethal strike shattered the creature’s right wing entirely.
The wing, now in pieces, could never return to its original state.
Kwak! Kwaaak!
Furious to its limits, the Ice Crow activated its skill, Will of Charge, and lunged at Sanghyun.
Will of Charge was a skill that increased movement speed and defensive capabilities the more the target attempted to flee!
Thus, it had to be stopped early before the charge could lengthen.
『Defensive Sword』
Srrrkkk.
Sanghyun enveloped his entire body with a barrier of suitable thickness.
Then, just as the Ice Crow began its charge, he collided head-on with it.
It was like deliberately causing a car accident at the moment the accelerator was pressed.
Before the skill could even show its effects, it was nullified, causing the Ice Crow’s eyes to flash red with rage.
It then violently flapped its left wing, instantly conjuring a freezing storm that engulfed Sanghyun.
Seeing how quickly it was formed compared to before, it seemed the creature had entered a berserk state triggered by depleted stamina.
Shhhhaaa.
Sanghyun used Swift Purification, which had a cooldown of ten minutes, to cleanse the effect.
Though Recovery was also active, he didn’t want to use his invulnerability status just yet.
Immediately, he used Brave Charge to rapidly close the distance with the Ice Crow, which had momentarily pulled back.
Puhk! Puhk! Puhk!
Sanghyun relentlessly attacked only its right side.
From his perspective, it was the left—where the wing had been torn away, leaving it defenseless.
Adding acceleration skills on top of that, he started with Demon Bash and unleashed every attack he could.
He completely ignored the still-intact left wing.
Sanghyun brazenly stuck close to the creature, persistently targeting the same spot with his greatsword, causing its expression to darken.
A body that had already been broken continued to crack, and the accumulated damage deepened the fracture.
Kaaaak!
Desperate to shake Sanghyun off, the Ice Crow spun its body frantically.
But Sanghyun rotated along with it, maintaining his position perfectly.
When it tried to strike with its left wing, he effortlessly dodged with a backstep.
“Do you think that’ll work? Do you?”
The attack was relentless, as if even Satan himself would shy away.
Once he found a weakness, he would tear into it without letting go! This was Sanghyun’s signature combat style, honed over countless battles.
Meanwhile, his cooldown reset, allowing him to activate Weakness Enhancement again, bringing his assault to its peak.
『Recovery』
He activated Recovery first.
He intended to use the five seconds of invulnerability effectively.
Kak! Kak!
As expected, the moment Recovery was deployed, the Ice Crow unleashed a fierce freezing storm with its remaining wing.
But since Sanghyun was in a fully immune state, not even a minor slow effect could touch him.
With nothing to fear, he immediately executed his next move.
『Sage’s Whisper』
『Full Charge』
Even though it was just a brief charge coated with Sage’s Whisper, the attack's power was overwhelming.
Most importantly, Sanghyun’s tenacious focus on the same weak spot had finally led to a critical fracture in the Ice Crow’s body.
Puhk!
Craaaack!
The moment Full Charge struck, a deep, splitting sound echoed from the Ice Crow’s body.
For a moment, its expression froze, as if time itself had stopped.
The two massive fractures that began from its right wing extended—one toward its neck, the other deep into its abdomen.
“Let’s finish this!”
『Knockback Burst』
Kaaaachiiing!
With a resounding crack, the final strike landed, marking the end of the once-dominant Ice Crow.
By persistently exploiting the monster’s natural limitations and weaknesses, Sanghyun had secured an overwhelming victory.
His level instantly jumped from 118 to 120 in one go.
[You have defeated the boss monster Ice Crow and inherited the skill Will of Charge.]
At the same time, without any additional process, Sanghyun immediately learned Will of Charge.
This was called an ‘Inheritance Skill,’ and it was extremely rare.
It was a form of skill transfer directly from a fallen boss monster, without any delay.
Plop.
“An eye.”
Sanghyun looked down at the Ice Crow’s eyeball, which had landed perfectly at his feet.
It was the size of a human fist—disgusting to look at but extremely valuable.
Even before entering the gate, he had longed to obtain this unique-grade artifact.
By consuming it, one could gain a hidden skill with absolute certainty—the ultimate upgrade material!
“There’s no way I’m passing this up.”
Sanghyun licked his lips.
For the sake of acquiring a hidden skill, this artifact was something he had to consume, no matter what.