It was a dark night, just before dawn, when suddenly a bright flash of light illuminated the woods where the tracks were located. There was a loud sound, like a gunshot.
Hossan's sword, colored with brown mana, narrowly missed my cheek.
The impact alone ripped my cheek open, sending a sharp pain through me.
'Fuck. As if I didn't already have a pretty face.'
I initially considered calling forth the undead, but ultimately decided against it.
Thinking that I would have a chance to survive if I caught my opponent off guard, I decided to summon the undead at a crucial time and held on for now.
Kwagak!
The Earth Shields I had erected between me and Hossan shattered with a single swipe of my sword.
I closed the distance and used a debuff skill, using it to block his vision as much as possible rather than blocking him with Earth Shield.
"Blood Curse.
However, the effect of the low-level debuff seemed to be minimal due to the opponent.
If anything, it only made him angrier.
"You rat."
Hossan was fast.
His speed was so overwhelming that it didn't matter how much I tried to escape.
Bang!
Our swords clashed, and I could feel the difference in our physical abilities.
And with that, my sword began to slice through his.
"Sword Breaker!
It was the Sword Breaker, a name-tier sword that Hossan possessed.
A vicious sword that literally chewed through the opponent's sword.
If it touched my body, it would crush my body as well, so it was more like a magic sword.
I tried to pull the sword away, but it wouldn't come off, as if it was pressed against the opponent's sword.
If that's the case, I'd rather do it now!
"Nickel!
As soon as I called out, Nickel swiftly moved away from Hosan and unsheathed his sword. With a powerful swing, the sword released a fierce gust of wind that sent Hosan flying away. The attack caught Hosan off guard, leaving him feeling like the sword had pierced right through him. Nickel then advised Hosan to remain vigilant and not let his guard down.
As I closed the distance, I switched my sword to Galakshur and fired a rock spear.
I immediately followed up with Nickel and attacked Hosan, who was still recovering.
Crash!
Kwah-ang!
The jet-black sword wind that I had created slammed into Hossan along with Nickel, and he was soon engulfed in a cloud of dust.
"I've been ignoring you a bit...."
A voice spoke from the dust.
"I see you're the one who can do it."
Ping!
Pow!
The nickel bounced out.
My opponent didn't question my summoning of the nickel, just silently drew a new sword with his left hand.
With one sword in each hand, Hossan was at my side in the blink of an eye, arms flailing.
But I wasn't about to let him get away with it.
Kwagak.
I joined forces with Nickel next to me.
The connection between us was so strong that I was able to execute the pass without missing a beat.
"And now!
As Hosan blocked Nickel's sword, he summoned Timur behind him.
"Same old, same old. You think you're going to catch me again?"
Whip-boom!
The air burst open and a storm of sword energy raged.
He was knocked backward, his body covered in tiny wounds.
Meanwhile, I watched as Hossan easily subdued Timur, who was charging at me from behind.
"This is too much.
An opponent was as close to an Aura Master as Fayat had been.
Moreover, he hadn't yet pulled out his deceptively powerful magic sword and Named sword.
I had to swing as hard as I could while he was off guard, but I had to be cautious myself.
The most powerful hand I have is Sloth.
But to use it was to risk my life to become stronger.
"I'm only surviving because I learned from my master.
If I hadn't practiced during my vacation, I would have been sliced and diced without even trying my hand.
Crackle.
Nickel pushed my shoulder as if to say, "Don't worry," and ran ahead of me.
I did. I still had Nickel, Timur, and Ludo, the mythical-level undead.
And if I was going to die, I might as well use my laziness to make it happen.
I summoned Ludo as I watched Hosan easily parry Nickel's sword and tear Timur's body apart with his other sword.
Woof!
Thud!
The giant's body ripped open the subspace, revealing itself.
His arms, befitting of a giant, came out first, crushing the trees around him.
Quadruple-!
The titan ghoul, Rudo, emerged from the shadows and burst forth with tremendous momentum.
Grrrrr-!
As Ludo appeared, Hossan leisurely shared his impressions.
"What a bunch of weirdos."
Before Hossan could finish his sentence, Rudo rushed over and slashed down with his giant sword.
Simultaneously, I performed a spell to enhance my abilities.
"Death Fury.
Enveloped in red energy, Rudo's greatsword shed its vicious momentum.
Qua-ang!
A puff of air burst out.
Hossan crossed his twin swords to block, but the ground he stood on was caved in.
I could see that no matter how hard he tried, he was no match for Ludo's strength.
"Hmph!"
Brown mana swirled out of Hossan's sword, creating a storm of sword energy that pushed back the greatsword.
But even as the greatsword was pushed back, Ludo swung his other hand into a giant fist.
The dodging Hosan was blocked by Nickel and Timur, whose body was covered in wounds.
Pow!
BANG! Thud!
"Did it work?
Although Nickel and Timur were struck by the fist together, Hossan was also swept up in the blow, thanks to their fighting spirit.
Even Hossan, being a flesh and blood human, would not be able to escape unscathed.
"But.
I don't let my guard down.
I ran, with Rudo following close behind, to find Hosan, who had flown off, smashing every tree in the nearby forest.
Focusing on my awareness, I sense the presence of Nickel and Timur on the ground.
Boom!
Puck!
"Ew!"
At that moment, something came flying at me at breakneck speed.
I barely dodged it, but I gave up my left shoulder.
"A sword?
I turned to see what had hit me, and a sword came flying at me and lodged itself in my shoulder.
I pulled it out of my shoulder and looked ahead.
Covered in blood, Hossan stood in the center of a clearing in the forest where all the trees had fallen, bathed in the light of the slowly rising dawn.
He held a new sword in each hand.
"Hua Lan, the Demon Sword, and Gainos, the Sword of Light.
It was the worst possible match.
Hualan would drain the wielder's health but increase the firepower of his mana, and Gainos was a master sword for the undead.
"What are you doing, don't come at me."
Son of a bitch.
I would have run away if you'd let me, but you're acting like I'm the one who followed you.
Nickel and Timur are out of commission, and Hossan has brought out his most powerful swords.
Ludo had given me a slight chance of victory, but Hossan's wounds didn't seem to be too serious.
"It was too much.
Combat talent was meaningless in the face of great power.
There was a fundamentally unbridgeable gap between him and me.
Just then, Nickel, who had fallen to one side, pulled himself up.
"A more worthy undead than your master. Now, come on."
By now, Nickel's left arm had been blown off.
But as if he hadn't given up, he held his sword with his other hand, reverently assuming a fighting stance.
"Whoa.
Seeing Nickel, I felt a moment of weakness in my heart.
I still had a long way to go.
More. More. More.
I had to be stronger.
That's when Nickel's will came to me.
[Sloth Phantom (Legendary) wants to use Sloth].
[You will share Sloth Phantom (Legendary)'s cooldown with Sloth].
[Will you accept?]
Even with no time to think about it, I had to think about it.
If Nickel uses Sloth, I can't use it.
Would it be better for me to use Sloth or for him to use it?
Snap! Snap!
Just then, Nickel jerked his chin toward me.
The gesture, as if asking me to trust him, pushed my thoughts away.
"If I use Sloth, I may end up killing myself again, feeling the same empty emotions I did before. I was spared then thanks to the awakening of Original Sin, but I can't guarantee I'll be so lucky again.
I nodded my silent acceptance at the message that eventually blocked my view.
Pow.
The robe swung around my shoulders.
Nickel stood before me like never before, filling his sword with a deafening blue mana.
"Last straw. Good."
I don't know if this is the right move, but I can't change what's already been decided.
I had to do the best I could with what I had.
I didn't have to agree with Nickel.
There was no way that Nickel, who was already sharing my thoughts, would overlap with me.
I sent Ludo first.
The first time I summoned him, the attack worked, but apparently Ludo's attacks are as slow as his size.
Quagmire!
The greatsword smashed through the surrounding trees, but Hossan easily dodged it and slashed at Rudo's body.
Grrrrrr-!
Ludo roared in anger, but the blows from Gainos forced him to his knees.
However, Rudo's attempts were helpful enough.
Ping! Pot!
While Ludo stalled, Nickel, who had adapted to laziness, approached Hosan with incredible speed.
Soon, Jing Tian's binge drinking and sword baptism clashed.
Kwa-ang!
Kwagagagak!
"Huh."
In the meantime, I decided to try the "muagum" I had learned from Deshun's booklet.
He'd taught me a lot of sword techniques that were hard to understand and hard to follow, but I remembered one of the most basic ones.
"Shifting Sword.
I walked over to Hosan, who was brawling with Nickel in a binge.
They were completely lost in their own world, oblivious to my approach.
'Here....'
My brain creaked like it was overloaded.
But I knew in my gut that I could open it now.
A shifting sword.
The mana changed its nature and took shape.
As fast as I could think of....
BANG!
With a sound like the discharge of a gun, a wave of mana burst forth, and my body went beyond its limits, slicing through Mount Hoshan as if teleporting.
Steam rose from my body due to my speed exceeding the speed of sound.
My clothes were scorched here and there, and my whole body was tingling as if I had been burned, but the result was amazing.
Hossan's chest was slashed long and hard.
"Alas, my role ends here.
Hossan had been too busy fighting Nickel, who had activated Sloth, to pay attention to me.
I slashed his chest, but it was only a flesh wound.
But the real damage was behind him.
Slowly, as if Nickel were concentrating on Hosan, whose hand was mangled by my unnatural blow, he lowered his sword from top to bottom.
The blade glowed with the brightness of blue mana, like an audible flame.
"You can't be...Bigi?
'Bigi' is a technique that only Aura Masters can use.
If the 'Extreme' granted by becoming an Aura Master is a passive skill that compensates for beneficial effects, then 'Secret' is an active skill that only Aura Masters can use.
Gaining or not gaining a secret skill would determine whether or not you become an Aura Master.
Whoosh.
It was a simple move.
But that simple move contained a swarm of swords.
Hossan's magic sword, which was blocking Nickel's sword, shattered as if in slow motion.
A technique that could only be used now, using laziness.
It was a 'Nickel-esque' move that Nickel had never used in his life, sticking to basic swordsmanship.
An honest downward slash.
A sword that could not be blocked even if it was known.
Fu Hua Yak.