Chapter 33: 33

King of Steel b 3}

Invisibility worked. This meant that his magical power stats were close to the lowest they could be. Why were his magic stats so low? It was a challenge that began with such a question.

Yoon-seok wielded his sword after disabling {Invisibility} and {Weapon Enhancement}, which he used almost passively. Nor did he use {Multiply} that required magic. His attack was significantly weaker than before.

But the attack worked.

‘…Huh?’

It wasn’t enough to say that he injured him. It was just the extent of a slight scratch on his skin. However, Yoon-seok saw a light ray of hope as he saw a small drop of blood flowing over the solid line.

‘Was the answer not to use magic…?’

He didn’t know what or why. It wasn’t much different from when humanity first used fire, but it progressed, nonetheless. Now he had to engage in a head-to-head fight while using his skills except for the ones that required magic. That was his breakthrough.

Yoon-seok smiled. How many times did he say he’d destroy him? Now it was time to return the favor. If he could make a small scratch once, he would do it again and again.

Clang!

There was still a contradictory sound between blade and flesh, but now Yoon-seok’s morale to fight was ignited. It was certainly not what it used to be. That steel-like flesh was beginning to be carved out, albeit slowly.

“So arrogant!”

Perhaps Yoon-seok’s brazen expression irritated him as Kerixis shouted as he fought. Yoon-seok didn’t bother to answer. What was there to be said in a duel that risked their lives? The results would speak for themselves.

Kak!

Yoon-seok focused on the duel silently. All he had to do was avoid the incoming fists and wield his sword.

Kak!

He repeated the same actions. As he continued, the thin line deepened steadily as if a ridge were being cut into a valley by wind and water. Yoon-seok suddenly remembered the story of an old man he heard long ago. It was the story of an old man who had to visit the hospital urgently because of his sick wife but lost his wife due to the long passage along the mountains. He used his next twenty-two years to cut down the mountain to prevent the same tragedy from happening again.

Of course, Yoon-seok didn’t have such a noble story, but the context was just the same. If you can’t do it once, do it twice. If you can’t do it twice, do it thrice. Though, this wouldn’t have worked if Kerixis’s endurance were a little higher. The old man in the story cut through the mountain because the rock would break after hitting on it a hundred times with a pickaxe.

Kak!

That’s how time went by. Thirty minutes? An hour? No, it may have been more than that. In the meantime, Yoon-seok and Kerixis exchanged fierce blows without a break. There were countless dizzying moments. If he lagged for a second, his head flew away, and at one point, his core had almost been smashed.

But Yoon-seok endured the fierce attacks from Kerixis so far. The result was now out in front of him. Yoon-seok looked at Kerixis’ right arm, which he persistently attacked.

“…”

There were no other wounds. There was only one sign of a cut. It resulted from repeated slicing and cutting at the same spot thousands of times while avoiding the bull-like punches. He still lacked any serious injuries, but if he took a little more time, he would soon be able to reach the bones. As if he’d known, the relentless offensive from Kerixis had eased a little. If Yoon-seok swung his sword while throwing a punch, he tried to avoid it, unlike before.

As a result, the duel grew longer and longer, and there was a momentary lull for the first time. Yoon-seok didn’t lose focus and paid attention to every action, not knowing when the beast-like man might attack again. Suddenly, Kerixis opened his mouth.

“I take back what I said earlier.”

“…?”

“You are not a terrible and cowardly swordsman.”

That almost sounded like an admittance that he was a good rival. Should he say it sounded exactly like a macho character like him? It was an incomprehensible way of thinking. So why was he so excited about being approved?

“You are the second most noble swordsman I, the King of Steel, Kerixis, have ever met.”

He could feel his sincerity when he said second, not first. At that, Yoon-seok’s eyes sharpened with keenness. This wasn’t a place to hang out, but an arena where the winners and losers were divided through bloody matches.

“Hahaha, no more pretense, is that it?”

Even Kerixis, who had lived on the battlefield all his life, was impressed by the fighting spirit that was reflected in his eyes, even to the extent that he’d questioned if the places he’d been to were true battlefields. He had repeatedly broken and crushed men more times than he could count. But could he call it a battle?

He’d learned how to destroy enemies more efficiently on the battlefield by heart, but his nature hadn’t changed from beginning to end. Even without much training, the older and darker the blood, the stronger Kerixis became. The chapter of fighting an undefeatable enemy never existed in his book. On the other hand, what about Yoon-seok?

Trying to cut down an impenetrable enemy as if he were cutting himself.

“A better fit for a fighter than a swordsman!”

If all swordsmen on the continent were like him, wouldn’t he start liking them? Kerixis laughed loudly while watching Yoon-seok still staring at himself without an answer.

“Okay, let’s give it a try! It’s a battle!”

There was a change in the duel pattern. When Kerixis went on the offense, Yoon-seok fought back. The same went for the fact that the process was advantageous due to the observe-then-advance nature of Sword Mastery. However, the degree of intensity had changed. It could be avoided, but he didn’t even try to.

He put everything in one exchange, one attack, at the risk of injury to inflict a greater injury on his foe. Kerixis continued throwing punches, leaving the flying swords intact to slice at his wounds.

Whoosh!

Slash!

The sword struck an inch deeper into the wound. At the same time, one of Yoon-seok’s ears came off when Kerixis’s fist hit. It was just his bare fist, but it was as if he were pierced by a large fang. Yoon-seok didn’t bother to heal his injury. This level wasn’t enough to interfere with the battle. Therefore, he decided that it would be better to activate the skill b Berserker}.

Whoosh!

Slash!

Maybe it was because of the faster attacks? Yoon-seok wasn’t injured in the exchange, but Kerixis’s right arm drooped due to the exposed bones and nerves. But…

Whoosh!

Now that one arm has become ragged and other parts needed to replace it, a kick cut through the air. Yoon-seok hurriedly jumped up, and Kerixis followed him without giving him a chance for a break. Before he knew it, they switched locations.

From the ground to the air.

Yoon-seok swung his swords toward Kerixis, who didn’t avoid them. Believing in his higher endurance rate, he aimed right at his face.

Swoosh!

An X-shape injury formed on his face, and blood splashed out. But the wound wasn’t deep. After one attack, Kerixis punched at Yoon-seok’s abdomen, up five meters in the air with no land. Yoon-seok realized that he couldn’t avoid the attack, so he used another way to evade it. He didn’t risk his flesh to expose his bones but to risk his flesh to protect his bones.

“Woah!”

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Yoon-seok turned to his side to protect his abdomen. As a result, the target changed to his right arm, but he protected his Core. Kerixis immediately responded to Yoon-seok’s choice with shining eyes. He didn’t want to lose this opportunity. His hand broke like a piece of straw, dropping his sword.

Crack!

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The action was taken to get rid of the sword because his arm would regenerate anyone soon. At Yoon-seok choice, Kerixis used his shoulders as a stepping stone to widen their distance by doing a backflip and landed on the ground. However, he didn’t regenerate his arms as he expected.

Kerixis soon realized that reason.

“Hahaha! So you don’t need arms that can’t hold a sword?”

Yoon-seok didn’t answer, but that was enough as a response. Kerixis smiled and ripped off his broken arm. It was for the same reason as Yoon-seok. It would be too cumbersome to hold up an arm that wasn’t of much use.

“Hahaha! That’s much better. Yes!”

The two of them, with their single arms, calmly regarded each other. Blood dripped severely from their wounds, but no pain was mourned.

“One arm! I can’t wait to see what we’re going to change next!”

A battle that he might lose. But Kerixis’s face was full of joy. A fighter’s pleasure from learning the true meaning of a battle. However, unlike him, Yoon-seok’s mind was undeniably calm.

‘I have to aim for the heart.’

Kerixis hit the ground and dashed to make his next vigorous attack. Yoon-seok calmly traced the attack and moved his body. And yet, he also continued to pay attention to where his heart was located. He didn’t expect to cut his arm off in the process. Nevertheless, there was only one reason why he had worked so hard to target Kerixis’s arms. This was because he had to take one of his opponent’s weapons to aim for the heart with a much deeper cut.

He was half successful. Although he incapacitated Kerixis’ right arm, Yoon-seok also lost one of his options.

‘It can’t be helped. I still have to do it.’

Fortunately, the broken sword was the Frontal Court Sword. The odds would be even slimmer if he’d lost the left-handed sword that adds +2 to his strength. In addition, there was an unexpected notification.

「Berserker properties of attack speed have reached the maximum.」

It seemed like the amputated limb was quite the damage compared to the loss in physical strength. Yoon-seok held his sword tighter. It was fine, even if he lost one. It was enough to wield the sword faster and throw more blows, just like how he used one sword when he first started.

Boom!

There were signs of defeat, but he hadn’t lost yet. Yoon-seok calmly avoided the attack as he had done so far and immediately stabbed his sword into his heart when there was a chance.

Sqwelp!

He didn’t know what his endurance stats were, but that leathery skin was too thick to reach his heart with a single stab. So one more time.

Sqwelp!

It went a little deeper. But he was a little slow to retrieve the sword, and a punch landed. Kerixis’s fist penetrated Yoon-seok’s lungs.

Yoon-seok didn’t use the ability of {Blood Pact}. He wouldn’t die without breathing for a few seconds, but if he looked away right now, he would die for sure.

Sqwelp!

The third blow. The blade of the sword went deeper than before, but it was still far from the heart. Yoon-seok stepped back to reorganize, but Kerixis roared and pounced forward without slowing.

“Hahaha, do you want my heart? Try taking it!”

Yoon-seok’s instincts told him this was the moment of truth.

‘Backstep.’

Yoon-seok used backstep, not to widen but to narrow their distance.

「A counterattack is possible.」

A counterattack that doubled his strength. However, Yoon-seok waited without outstretching his sword so that he could add the effects of retreat-then-advance. Soon after, he could feel Kerixis’s fist pulling back. That’s all he could say because Yoon-seok was turning around.

‘…Now!’

The moment when his instincts blared at him. Yoon-seok immediately turned his back and dug the sword deep into his heart. At the same time, Kerixis’s fist shattered his Core.

But it was okay. He wouldn’t use b Blood Pact} anymore but breaking the Core didn’t mean he would die instantly. As long as the blade was properly struck in his opponent’s heart, it would be him who won.

Yoon-seok, having bent back because of the impact from the punch, barely raised his head to confirm the results.

“…”

Kerixis stood in place as if he were dead. But he wasn’t dead. There was only regret, as Yoon-seok had guessed it ever since the sword landed. He missed by an inch. Kerixis, who put his finger in the wound, also confirmed it himself.

“…It would be an insult to you if I write this off as good luck.”

One step. After taking a step forward, Kerixis continued.

“You’re still… lacking. Nameless swordsman.”

Two steps. His face showed signs of regret.

“If that’s the case, I won’t be able to know your name.”

Three steps. Kerixis still had that lingering expression.

“Crash and break. Then it melts into the mold and crashes! It must have been the life of steel.”

Four steps. Soon after, Kerixis approached Yoon-seok. The intense duel was over, and it was time to decide the winner and the loser. Kerixis raised his foot high above Yoon-seok’s head.

“I won today. So….”

Crack!

“See you again.”

In the end, his vision turned black.

「Lost.」

「One coin is used as a penalty.」

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「Unique Skill b Predation} is enabled.」

「One of the acquired skills will be randomly deleted.」

He had lost.

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