Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Unstoppable Growth - (1)

'Considering the mana spent, it's not a cheap exchange. But the fact that I can increase the durability of the shield as much as I want is the best part.'

This was the thought that crossed Sanghyun’s mind the moment he blocked Shadow Lord’s first attack.

He had initially worried that this amount of mana might not be enough for a perfect defense, but that concern was unfounded.

Whish! Whish! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Meanwhile, the clones darted chaotically around Sanghyun, but all they did was stir up empty wind.

The Will of Charge, with Shadow Lord as its sacrifice, was immediately activated.

The moment he designated the target, its body glowed red, making it easy to distinguish friend from foe.

'If he's using a whip, then close combat is the answer. That way, he won't have the optimal angle to swing it.'

Boosting his mobility swiftly, Sanghyun blatantly closed in on Shadow Lord.

At that moment, as if expecting this reaction, Shadow Lord smirked and backed away from Sanghyun.

Without a doubt, he re-entered stealth mode. It seemed he regarded his first failed attack as just a mishap.

One second after the chase began—

Whooosh.

A crimson aura erupted fiercely, forming a transparent barrier in front of Sanghyun.

As the skill's name suggested, the will activated, adding another layer of defense that made the caster even stronger.

Swish! Slash!

Shadow Lord, having widened the distance, sharply swung his thorned whip, but Sanghyun dodged nimbly.

With the acceleration effect stacking on top of his existing speed skill, he had essentially become a monster.

Even Sanghyun wasn’t sure if he was dodging by sight or if his body, now fully in acceleration mode, was instinctively avoiding the attacks.

Regardless, the thorned whip failed to serve its intended purpose and merely cut through empty air, giving Sanghyun the opportunity he needed.

Exposed once again to the frigid storm, the clones froze or slowed down, exposing their weaknesses.

Even as that happened, Shadow Lord kept retreating to increase the distance, exactly what Sanghyun wanted.

'Just one Cold Blast is enough to completely counter a monster that specializes in clones.'

Sanghyun was impressed.

With his undeniable overpowered specs, he was aiming for the slight difference between slow and frozen effects that Cold Blast induced.

Even to himself, it seemed like a solid strategy.

Seeing that Sanghyun wasn’t the least bit distracted by the clones and kept targeting the real body, Shadow Lord grimaced and counterattacked.

Swish!

Each strike of the thorned whip carried enough destructive power to burst a human body like a balloon.

But Sanghyun, maintaining his focus and precisely tracking Shadow Lord, easily avoided the attacks.

If he were the type to fall for such attacks despite being aware of them, he wouldn’t have grown to this level in the first place.

Then—

Sanghyun suddenly generated an air current, but his target wasn’t Shadow Lord—it was the thorned whip.

With a loud boom, the air current shot out from his greatsword, instantly shifting direction and sweeping over the incoming whip.

Whoosh!

Caught in the turbulent air, the whip was yanked upwards, making Shadow Lord lose control of it.

It was the whip’s weakness.

The moment it was mid-flight toward its target, it became difficult to adjust for any changes.

“……!”

While Shadow Lord was momentarily distracted trying to regain control of the redirected whip—

Sanghyun explosively closed the distance, instantly arriving right in front of Shadow Lord.

The continuous retreat had allowed Will of Charge to stack steadily.

Thanks to that, Sanghyun's frontal shield had thickened significantly, fully activated.

Shadow Lord quickly used his free left hand to pull out a poison-coated dagger from his robe, aiming at Sanghyun.

Siiiing! Thud!

But it was too predictable.

The sudden attack was completely blocked by the transparent shield, rendering it useless.

The opportunity was Sanghyun’s.

There was no need to overthink it.

The whip was still out of control, and the dagger hand was rendered useless due to the failed attack.

With Shadow Lord essentially a frozen target, Sanghyun executed the fastest option.

Squelch!

He thrust his greatsword straight forward.

Shadow Lord, whose every move had been read by Sanghyun, had no countermeasure left.

All he could do was take the hit!

But his throat was far too fragile to endure the Crushing Blade.

The greatsword pierced through his larynx, completely shattering his cervical vertebrae, severing his life instantly.

A miserable end for a monster that had failed every step of the mental battle.

“Level 121!”

His level immediately jumped by one.

He had expected a decent amount of experience points, but even considering that, the gain was massive.

Perhaps because this monster had never been conquered before, the reward experience was substantial.

Moreover, what dropped from Shadow Lord was a diamond-grade artifact—a belt.

Since he was already wearing an epic-grade belt, the Rising Air Current Belt, equipping both was impossible.

So, he consumed the belt immediately.

From now on, unless he acquired an epic-grade or higher belt, he wouldn’t need to wear one at all.

“With a 50% absorption rate, agility +50. I’m really farming agility stats in this raid.”

It was a highly satisfying growth.

Ever since joining the second-tier Kaeseong raid, every step in the strategy had been an unceasing climb in strength.

It wasn’t just about making money, nor just gaining experience.

He was earning money, gaining experience, and even acquiring hidden stats and skills—a quadruple win!

The flood of rewards was exhilarating enough to make his nose flare with excitement.

Just then—

Instead of agility or stamina, which Sanghyun had been diligently developing, another mastery skill was unlocked.

Wind Mastery.

In other words, the practical experience he had accumulated using wind-type skills had finally crystallized into a skill.

It wasn’t exactly surprising or sudden.

After all, he had been using skills like Rising and Crushing Airflow as often as he ate meals.

However, since he had never obtained a mastery skill before, he was most curious about its composition.

//s_win

//win_h 『Wind Mastery』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Description: A mastery skill that enhances all wind-type skills.

//e_win

Consumes 50 mana to increase the number of wind-type projectiles by up to two.

Upon reaching Skill Level 5, the maximum number of additional projectiles will increase to three.

“Then does that mean you can now release  Rising and Crushing Airflow in three directions? And Cold Blast can be split into up to seven streams?”

It was nothing short of a complete transformation of wind-based skills.

Now, Rising Airflow could be turned into an area-of-effect skill that could airborne multiple enemies.

“Upgrade complete.”

Sanghyun smirked as he expressed his current state in the most definite words possible.

Now, it was time to meet Lee Sehwa at the rally point.

Rally point.

“I figured you'd be here early because you're my brother, but you really are fast.”

Kim Miso, who had been resting near the 6-5 route where Sanghyun was expected to arrive, welcomed him warmly.

Among the Eden Guild members gathering at the rally point, the only ones who arrived before Sanghyun were Jo Jinho, Shin Taeri, and Kim Miso.

Additionally, about 300 meters away from the Eden Guild, there was a group of Player Union members.

Among them, only a few named players, including Lee Sehwa, had arrived before Sanghyun.

Considering that Kim Miso was in a three-person team and that Lee Sehwa's level was incomparably high,

It was indeed a surprising feat for Sanghyun to arrive this early despite having taken the time to clear the Water Gate.

Of course, Sanghyun showed no outward sign of surprise, acting as if nothing was unusual.

“When did you get here?”

“About ten minutes ago? There were more Shadow Hunters than expected, so it took quite a bit of time.”

“Bringing plenty of mana emitters and magic stones definitely helped, right?”

“Yes! The advice you gave me to bring extra supplies was really helpful! It looks like none of the other teams suffered any casualties either.”

“That’s good news.”

“Nothing feels better than not losing valuable comrades.”

Kim Miso nodded in agreement.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

“Miso, what level are you now? When we first met, you had just passed level 100, right?”

Sanghyun asked casually.

Thinking about it, he realized that although he had been close to Kim Miso, he hadn't paid much attention to her growth.

“Right now? I just hit level 185.”

“185?”

“Yes. I’m still far behind you, though.”

“I expected as much, but capitalist-style leveling really is insane.”

“Hoho. I won’t deny it.”

Kim Miso nodded.

Sanghyun had also grown rapidly, but Kim Miso had undergone equally remarkable growth.

Of course, it made sense.

For difficult dungeons, she rented expensive artifacts to brute-force her way through.

Her guild also provided her with every possible unconventional strategy to accelerate her progress.

‘It’s not just Kim Miso; every wealthy player does this.’

It wasn’t surprising at all.

Capitalist-style leveling and growth.

Because of this, poor players could never catch up to wealthy players.

Once a gap was created, it was nearly impossible to close.

“Speaking of which, what’s your level now?”

“121.”

“What? 121? Are you joking?”

“What would I gain from lying?”

“No way… No matter how fast you level up, there has to be a limit. You weren’t even getting guild support, right?”

“I still have a long way to go.”

“That’s not the point! Your growth rate is completely insane!”

“Seems normal to me.”

“You’re nuts. Absolutely nuts. What have you been doing all this time when we weren’t in touch?”

Kim Miso clicked her tongue.

As she said, Sanghyun hadn’t borrowed high-cost artifacts or received guild support at all.

To grow this much, he must have constantly raided dungeons and gates without rest.

Moreover, he likely did most of it solo instead of as part of a team.

Even with full guild support, Kim Miso had never experienced such explosive growth.

It was shocking.

What kind of method was he using to grow so much that she couldn’t even begin to guess?

If she wanted to match his pace, she’d have to run dungeons and first-clear bonus gates non-stop.

It sounded easy, but even with her father’s financial backing, it wasn’t something she could do easily.

“You shouldn’t pry too much into my private life, or you might get hurt.”

Sanghyun joked with a smile, but to Kim Miso, his words felt sharper and heavier than ever.

Just a month ago, he had been called a monstrous prodigy.

Now, he had become an outright monster.

Kim Miso's eyes trembled as she watched him.