Chapter 56 - Contact (3)
“...Who are you!”
As I parried the sword and stepped in, a very clichéd line came back from the opponent.
“How dare you interfere in the great cause of discussing the future of the Central Plains, you must be prepared!”
And with such a line, a solemn face with a scolding was added.
Uh.
This vibe felt somehow familiar.
When I thought hard about where I had heard such a line, it felt a bit similar to what the guys from Heukryongdang were saying when we had a brawl on the street back then.
Well, then.
I guess I just had to respond similarly to how I did back then.
There was nothing better than a cool, manly guy to counter a concept-addict.
“Reveal your name! I shall personally punish you!”
“Kim Gyu-sik.”
“What is your affiliation!”
“Renegade.”
“...”
With each question being answered without any delay, the opponent shut his mouth, his flustered state quite apparent.
He seemed to have expected a resolute, Zen-like exchange, but it seemed he hadn’t expected such a plain answer.
“...With what intention are you obstructing us!”
“I have none.”
“...”
No, really.
It wasn't that I was obstructing you because it was you.
Even in the game, Chang Meirin was a character who was plagued by all sorts of raid events, so I didn't really care much about who the attackers were.
It was more like, since you guys just happened to be here, I was beating you up.
“...It seems you have no intention of speaking obediently. Fine. I will personally deal with-”
[Double Pulse]
And the guy who was about to spout some more nonsense collapsed, spewing blood in an instant.
Well, this guy was a Climber of D-class at best. It was an obvious result.
Thanks to diligently gearing up with stats and equipment recently, my specs had become quite solid, making it possible to take care of D-class opponents just by pushing through with raw specs.
“N-no way!”
“How, in a single blow...!”
And voices mixed with astonishment flowed from the surroundings.
They seemed to be greatly shocked by the sight of their leader-like figure collapsing so easily.
See that.
This is the prestige of a K-Climber.
Open your eyes wide and engrave it in your minds...!
“The reaction from the surroundings is quite good even though such a weak person fell, isn't it? It seems the talent pool on the Chinese side is as poor as the rumors say?”
“...”
I briefly glared at Seo Ah-in who was ruthlessly ruining the moment beside me, but she looked back at me defiantly as if to ask if she had said anything wrong.
Well, actually.
Her reaction was rather common sense.
In the game, all the Climbers affiliated with China boasted stats that couldn't escape the level of extras, no matter how you measured them.
‘...Well, it might be a little different if I get involved.’
At least after this event.
After my relationship with Meirin became a little stronger.
I would be able to drastically change the weight of that faction.
And even attach it to my side as an ‘ally’.
“Then, should I join in?”
While I was thinking that, Seo Ah-in next to me said so, drew her sword, and tried to join in, but.
I shook my head.
This event was only meaningful if I resolved it entirely by myself.
“No. You stay put.”
“...Yes?”
Seo Ah-in, who answered with a voice that sounded like her soul had left her, then asked back with a look of someone who had just witnessed the heavens and earth being created.
“You’re not going to boss me around...? From which universe did you come from, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?”
“...Just watch quietly.”
Of course, it wasn't that I brought this girl here for no reason.
What I was about to do now was a feat that could lead to her growth just by ‘showing’ it to her.
“I’ll kill you!”
“Tear them apart!”
I scanned the Climbers who were shouting such things from nearby and rushing towards us.
Hmm, yes.
These were grim enough lines that I could beat them up without feeling any guilt.
“Hoo...”
I let out a sigh and spun the longsword in my hand once.
‘First, the prep work.’
As I've emphasized countless times, Conqueror was a surprisingly fair game.
All sorts of crazy events were scattered everywhere, but if the player managed to break through a high difficulty on their own, the game would provide a fitting reward.
Right now, if I had sided with the green one instead of the yellow one on the 11th floor and raised the difficulty myself, it was only natural that a reward would be given even after clearing that floor.
[ Engraved Passive - Rune Characters: Eternity (Blessing of the Spirit Beast) ]
[ Once a day, it amplifies the effect of a used item by 2 times. If the target causes an interaction related to mana, it produces an additional effect. ]
It was a skill I had used before by embedding it in the Ebon Scale.
It was an ‘extension’ that the Blue Wolf had given me along with the orb earlier.
I had even received a promise that I could reuse it time and time again in the future.
‘It feels like getting double the reward.’
I chuckled at that thought and activated the engraved skill.
It was the same when I used it embedded in the Ebon Scale, but the combination of the Spirit Beast and Rune Characters showed an outstanding synergy if it was related to mana.
The phrase ‘additional effect’ wasn't there for nothing.
[Arcane Burst]
[The effect is amplified due to the influence of the engraving!]
[During the skill's duration, maximum mana and recovery speed are doubled!]
That's right.
The recovery speed was something I had milked like crazy with the original Gnosis' Heart, so doubling it wouldn't make it much better.
The phrase to pay attention to was ‘increase in maximum mana’.
What did this mean?
It meant that I could now freely do things that were impossible before due to a lack of mana.
[Observation]
The cheat key that was a basic prerequisite was always active.
The paths of the guys rushing at me and the execution path of the ‘연출(performance)’ I desired were calculated in an instant.
And here.
Timing was crucial.
Conqueror had a solid fanbase, so the veteran layer was quite thick, but what I was about to do now was an advanced technique that even those guys made frequent mistakes with.
[High-speed Maneuver]
I activated the skill that allowed me to move a short distance at an explosive speed.
But I didn't want my body to move.
I wanted a more complex... ‘combo’.
For that.
[Bullet Time]
I needed to increase my reaction speed tremendously.
With my original fingernail-sized mana limit, there would be nothing more to squeeze out, and I would be immediately neutralized, but thankfully, I was currently receiving a 2x enhancement effect.
(Mastery: Sword)
(Dexterity)
And here, I exerted extreme concentration.
I raised the sword at the exact timing my body was supposed to move due to the effect of High-speed Maneuver.
To be precise, it wasn't raising, but throwing.
The important thing was to forcibly ‘insert’ another skill at the exact moment a skill activated.
[Double Pulse]
[Shadow Secret Arts: Forceful Blow]
At the timing my body was ‘moving’, I threw the sword and overlaid ‘attack’ skills on top of it.
It's a simple action if explained only in sentences.
But this was the core of the miscellaneous technique that veterans called ‘trigger twisting’.
As expected from the game that created a bug-ridden character like Kim Gyu-sik, doing something strange to a skill like this would produce a strange result.
For example, Instead of my body, which should have moved with High-speed Maneuver.
It would recognize the ‘sword’ overlaid with attack skills as the target of movement.
And if the trigger got twisted like that.
It would be possible to create a rather interesting sight.
-!
The sword flying through the air at a fierce speed passed through the leg of one Climber.
“Keok!”
Normally, the sword should have lost its kinetic energy here and fallen to the ground.
[High-speed Maneuver]
The sword flying through the air changed its course at a terrifying speed.
It immediately changed its path and flew towards another Climber.
“Keuk!”
After piercing the guy's arm, once more.
[High-speed Maneuver]
“Aargh!”
And then, an infinite repeat.
Hmm.
It's even more satisfying to see in person.
In truth, it had no substance whatsoever, but it was the birth of a K-Sword Control that looked incredibly cool.
The actual attack power was only at a level to barely defeat mobs, but the guys I was facing now possessed just that level of power.
It meant that even with this fake martial art, I could joyfully beat them up and feel like a top-tier master.
There was something moving about Kim Gyu-sik’s martial arts...
Look.
Even Seo Ah-in, with her eyes wide open, was astonished.
“What kind of perverted thing is this...?”
“...Watch your words.”
If you're going to be impressed, can't you do it normally?
‘Anyway.’
I stealthily observed Meirin, who was watching this expressionlessly from behind.
Just by showing this in front of her, a specific event would trigger after this.
Well.
Watch closely.
Because you're the key card directly needed to grow our guild.
***
No matter how little interest she had in fighting, Chang Meirin was a person who had faithfully acquired the level of knowledge necessary for the image-making required as the granddaughter of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader.
In other words, she could immediately recognize how insane the situation unfolding before her eyes was.
‘...Sword Control?’
Watching the sword flying through the air, it was a natural sequence for such a word to be the first to knock on her mind.
No, but.
How?
‘Weren't martial arts already lost decades ago?’
It was common knowledge that everyone knew.
The lineage of humans who handled qi was cut off during ‘that incident’ that happened decades ago, and the overall stagnation of Chinese Climbers was because of that.
It was a natural consequence of trying to forcibly wear the unfamiliar clothes of mana after throwing away the entire technological system they had developed so far.
However, the phenomenon unfolding before her eyes right now was not an illusion but an existing reality.
Moreover, it wasn't just any martial art.
The very Sword Control that could only be displayed by those who had set foot in the realm of the absolute was being demonstrated right before her eyes.
‘...That person.’
Her gaze flew and fixed on the man standing tall with his hands in his coat pockets.
He appeared out of nowhere, saved her out of nowhere, and was displaying such a martial art in front of her out of nowhere.
‘Suspicious. From one to ten. But...’
There was nothing she could know about his true identity or what he wanted.
But there was one thing she could be sure of.
If, just if.
This man truly had knowledge about martial arts.
And if he could even handle the Qi to wield it.
It wouldn't be strange if all the guilds in China gave their full support to this one person.
The desire of Chinese Climbers for the lost martial arts was that immense.
“...”
For a moment, his gaze fixed on her and then moved away again.
It was as if he was emotionlessly looking at a stone for a moment before turning his head.
If he knew she was the granddaughter of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, he wouldn't be able to send such a gaze.
And somehow, how should I put it.
Hmm.
Isn't he a bit cool?
You know, that thing.
The suspicious part was the suspicious part.
But his behavior, filled with conviction from one to ten, and those chic eyes that seemed indifferent to everything.
He seemed similar to the protagonist of the drama she was completely hooked on.
He was a man who hit her strike zone directly.
The thought that had been on her mind ever since he saved her life-
“...No, I shouldn't be like this.”
Meirin cleared her throat hard to shake off the stray thoughts.
What was I thinking in a situation like this!
Was it called the suspension bridge effect?
It must be because she met him in a moment of life and death that she was having such useless thoughts.
“...I feel like one is being reeled in.”
Seo Ah-in muttered beside her in a chilling voice, but it was a sentence too soon for Meirin to understand.