In some ways, this duel might have been as trivial as a speck of dust compared to what was to come.
The enemy was that strong, and their numbers were even greater.
Nevertheless, Sang-woong did not back down.
He knew he was the owner of the Earth and their protector.
And he realized that clashing head-on with the Demon Tribe, the rulers of this world, and thus proving his value, was an essential process to emerge victorious in the even greater war ahead.
“I’ll be back.”
Sang-woong walked in a straight line toward Zrakan.
His steps across the horrific battlefield were incredibly calm, without a hint of wavering even amidst the scattered debris and corpses.
With every step he took at a pace neither fast nor slow—a speed only he had decided—all the surrounding noise and chaos grew quiet.
An absolute silence descended around Sang-woong.
A primal majesty flowed from him, one that no authority or power in the world could suppress.
“First, I offer my thanks for accepting this fight.”
Zrakan bowed his head slightly toward Sang-woong.
“However, you will come to realize deep in your bones what a great mistake this was.”
Sang-woong drew the sword from his waist instead of answering.
As if to say conversation with you is unnecessary.
At that sight, Zrakan’s face burned red.
”How dare a mere, insignificant human ignore me!”
Zrakan burst with rage and kicked off the Earth.
His massive body lunged forward with explosive power, closing the distance to Sang-woong in an instant.
Black Magi enveloped his entire body, and Zrakan flashed with a massive, black murderous intent.
It was a fierce assault, a mixture of arrogance and anger intended to completely overwhelm the opponent with the first strike.
Quaaang!
Zrakan’s sword rained down.
The sword strikes, rushing in with destructive power that seemed capable of splitting the ground, applied overwhelming pressure to Sang-woong.
Any ordinary human would have been crushed, unable to even breathe properly under such pressure.
But Sang-woong was different.
The Body Enhancement Skill, tempered through decades of life-and-death situations, easily withstood Zrakan’s pressure and exerted extreme concentration instead of fear.
Just before Zrakan’s sword could land, Sang-woong’s sword shot out as fast and accurately as a snake, glancing off the side of the massive blade.
An exquisite technique that parried the opponent’s power away instead of meeting it head-on.
Following the Body Enhancement Skill, this was the core technique that had allowed him to survive countless dangers in his past life.
Pang!
An ear-splitting metallic sound exploded, and black Magi scattered in all directions.
Zrakan was momentarily flustered by the fact that the immense power behind his sword had been unexpectedly parried away.
‘Damn, a lowly person like him is this strong?’
He was greatly surprised internally, but he couldn’t show it.
Even so, the thought of losing didn’t cross his mind at all.
Techniques were meant to be suppressed with even stronger force.
“Hmph, so you’re going to try and hold out with your petty techniques?”
Zrakan sneered and swung his sword back around.
He followed up with a barrage of attacks that were even stronger, faster, and followed unpredictable trajectories.
Black Magi sliced through the air like a whip, and sharp murderous intent tried to ensnare Sang-woong’s entire body.
His swordsmanship was a combination of overwhelming power and cruel finesse.
But Sang-woong was different.
No matter how fast or complex Zrakan’s sword was, Sang-woong’s eyes were accurately reading those movements.
His body moved as light as a sheet of paper, dodging the sword strikes or parrying and deflecting them with his own blade.
Even amidst Zrakan’s fierce assault, Sang-woong’s defense was flawless.
No, if anything, he seemed much faster and more accurate than just a few days ago.
Unnecessary movements had vanished, and everything flowed smoothly.
‘What is this? This speed. This reaction.’
The arrogance gradually faded from Zrakan’s face.
Now, bewilderment took its place.
This human’s movements were strange.
He was gaining speed, and more power was being put into his movements.
If a few days ago it felt like he was barely dodging or holding on, now he seemed to be parrying with ease while looking for opportunities for sharp counterattacks.
Every time his sword left a tiny scratch on his armor or blade, Zrakan’s anxiety grew.
“ Waaa! “
Zrakan roared in anger and poured even more Magi into his sword.
Black energy surged along the blade like flames.
The overwhelming Magi distorted the space and lifted the surrounding broken debris.
“You insect-like bastard… Why are you annoying me so much! Just what is this power!”
Bang!
Bang!
The massive sword and Sang-woong’s sword collided violently.
Sang-woong’s Mana collided with the Magi, creating blue flashes of light.
Sang-woong occasionally launched sharp counterattacks while absorbing Zrakan’s fierce assault.
Each time his sword left deeper scratches on Zrakan’s armor or blade, Zrakan’s rage reached its peak.
“This is impossible…… This speed… This reaction… You couldn’t have become this strong in just a few days!”
Though he hated to admit it, Sang-woong had clearly become stronger.
Zrakan’s heart pounded.
This wasn’t the growth rate of a mere human.
Some kind of elixir? Or, could it be the power of that Earth?
The power felt from Sang-woong’s body seemed incomparably more intense than before.
It was as if the Earth itself was supporting this human and breathing power into him.
“You! Just what on earth are you!”
Zrakan shouted as if screaming.
His attacks became increasingly anxious and rough.
The power was still there, but the accuracy and finesse had dropped significantly.
For the first time, he began to feel the fear of facing an opponent who might be stronger than himself.
“I am the human you treated like an insect.”
Sang-woong was in a state where he had consumed the ‘Aragonite plants’ he had been diligently growing in preparation for this battle.
In the Level 3 shop window, ‘Aragonite seeds’ were being sold, which could surpass the limits of one’s talent.
Whenever Sang-woong gathered points, he made sure to purchase Aragonite seeds with a certain portion of them, as if making regular deposits into a savings account.
As much as the Aragonite plant was effective, its cultivation was no ordinary task.
Even the Ahoa Tribe, who poured all their talent into farming, struggled to grow the Aragonite plant.
Sang-woong put all his focus into it, cherishing the Aragonite until it bore fruit.
He had even built a separate facility to grow it, fearing that livestock or children might accidentally step on the Aragonite plant while playing.
Then, a few days ago, his efforts paid off, and Sang-woong consumed all the well-grown Aragonite plants in preparation for this war.
The effect was certain.
Until before, Sang-woong’s talent limit was a Tenth-Rank Hunter.
Therefore, the limit he could reach in terms of rank was only Eighth.
However, upon consuming the Aragonite, his talent rose to Eighth-Rank Hunter, and the experience he had accumulated all this time was applied all at once.
Thanks to that, he gained a whopping 10 levels and rose to become a Fifth-Rank Hunter.
The Sang-woong of a few days ago and the Sang-woong of now were fundamentally different beings.
That was also the reason why he could push back Zrakan, who, despite being a Demon Tribe member from the outskirts, had established his own kingdom.
Sang-woong’s movements became noticeably faster.
Zrakan’s rough attack trajectories began to look surprisingly slow in his eyes.
Sang-woong did not miss the moment when Zrakan swung his sword wide, creating a gap that was difficult to recover from.
He dug in like lightning.
Fuuook !
Sang-woong’s fist landed squarely on Zrakan’s chest.
At that moment, his eyes gleamed eerily.
‘Shock of the Heart.’
While fighting Zrakan, Sang-woong had identified the place where Magi was most abundant and struck that heart.
“Heok?”
Zrakan was pushed straight back by the unexpected impact.
To allow a mere human to land a blow on his chest—and one aimed at his heart, where the most Magi was concentrated, no less.
It was unbelievable.
Along with a pain that seeped deep into his gut, he felt the flow of Magi momentarily tangle.
His body, which had faithfully followed his will until now, was hard to control, as if it were staging a rebellion.
“T-this can’t be. You…… How dare you. To my heart…”
Zrakan’s face was stained with rage, shock, and clear fear.
He was certain he had the upper hand.
He believed he was stronger.
Yet as time passed, he was being unilaterally pushed back.
This human was not the human he once knew.
Overwhelming power, unpredictable speed, and a technique that pierced fatal weaknesses… It felt like fighting a being from another dimension.
“How does it feel? To be stepped on by an insect.”
Zrakan was being driven further into a corner.
Sang-woong’s attacks grew fiercer, and Zrakan was now busy just trying to defend.
The wide duel space increasingly felt like a prison with no escape for Zrakan.
His arrogance was shattered, leaving only the instinct to survive and anger at an incomprehensible reality.
”Damn it! I won’t accept this! This can’t be happening! I… I am not a king who will stop in these outskirts!“
Zrakan screamed and swung his sword haphazardly.
The forcibly drawn Magi exploded, but Sang-woong skillfully dodged or parried it.
His flawless defense and fatal counterattacks pressured Zrakan even further.
Due to the pain of his injured heart, his body’s movements creaked even more.
“How… how could someone like you… to me….!”
Instead of arrogance, Zrakan’s eyes were filled with desperate rage and the clear look of defeat.
His ambition, his dream of going to a better land, was on the verge of being blocked by this insignificant human, the owner of the Earth he believed had already disappeared—a being who had become strong in an incomprehensible way.
Sang-woong calmly handled Zrakan’s struggle.
An injured beast is always more dangerous.
His movements were efficient, and his goal was clear.
Zrakan’s heart, and the limbs that could block movement.
There was no mercy.
These were beings who trampled upon all existence in this world.
“Die!”
Zrakan squeezed out his last bit of strength and swung his sword.
His black Magi raged like a storm.
It contained only pure madness to destroy everything.
Sang-woong dove into that storm without hesitation.
The storm was rough, but there was no way he would be hit by a forced attack.
His sword flashed briefly.
And it sliced deep across Zrakan’s chest.
Blood poured out like a waterfall from the deep and long wound.
Sang-woong’s sword had cut through the bone and even sliced the heart.
“H.. how…”
Zrakan staggered his massive body and fell to his knees.
Along with indescribable pain, he felt the Magi that had sustained his body draining away as if it were a lie.
It was a sensation of everything that had defined him and allowed him to exist crumbling in an instant.
“H.. how… to someone… like you… it makes no sense. I cannot accept this.”
To such an insignificant insect, to this human with incomprehensible power… there was no way he could collapse like this.
He was a king.
He dreamed of a wider Earth, a greater kingdom.
He was not destined to end as a loser in these outskirts, in a place like this.
“T-this can’t… be… I… I am not a king… who would end in a place like this… in these outskirts..”
In his eyes, where focus was blurring, anger at being unable to believe it until the end, despair as everything collapsed, and the remnants of an ambition that was once brilliant flickered past.
The noise of the fierce battle, the sound of the sword that had sliced his heart—all of it drifted far away.
The massive body of the Demon Tribe member collapsed onto the cooling floor.
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