Chapter 49
The attacks never stopped.
Every time their knuckles collided...
Shockwaves exploded.
Sparks scattered.
The mat-covered floor had long since been destroyed.
“Hehehe!”
Dakan accepted Suhyeok’s punches head-on.
Even when Suhyeok struck vital points...
It did not matter.
Dakan’s body instead grew redder.
Harder.
Stronger.
[Trait - Berserker (S)]
·
The user does not feel pain.
·
·
The more damage accumulated, the stronger the user becomes without limit.
·
·
The user is consumed by madness and can no longer distinguish friend from foe.
·
The Constellations reacted.
[Wouldn’t it be easier to fight from a distance? Why is he doing this? Doesn’t feel like him.]
[This is still fun though.]
[Sometimes a fight needs blood everywhere lol.]
[A true battle is best as a brawl. My hands are itching now.]
[But if this becomes a long fight, he might lose.]
[Look. He’s starting to get pushed back.]
Dakan’s strength and speed had increased enormously.
Even blocking his punches made Suhyeok’s arms go numb.
Suhyeok had struck vital points dozens of times.
But Dakan felt no pain.
So he ignored everything.
Those eyes are the real problem.
Because of his madness...
Dakan’s attacks looked rough and simple.
Yet...
They linked together smoothly like a sword dance.
He relentlessly attacked every opening Suhyeok exposed.
[Trait - Battle Eye (S)]
·
Activates ‘Battle Eye (S)’ upon entering combat.
·
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Also activates when killing intent is detected.
·
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Shows the most efficient combat route for the user.
·
The longer the brawl continued...
The more Suhyeok was pushed back.
His wounds increased.
But...
He did not stop.
[Ruler of Madness (S) activates.]
[All stats increase by 1.5×.]
[Current HP: 31%.]
BOOM! BOOOOM!
Dakan’s punches shook the entire chamber like war drums.
The surrounding walls cracked like spiderwebs.
The fight continued.
Then...
Tap.
A fist lightly touched Suhyeok’s face.
It barely pushed him.
Compared to before...
The speed was unbelievably slow.
Dakan’s hand began trembling.
Then...
His entire body moved strangely.
Like a broken clockwork doll.
Suhyeok spat blood.
“...Ptoo.”
He wiped his mouth.
“Finally.”
Dakan tried moving his left arm.
His right leg moved instead.
He tried moving the right leg...
And both index fingers twitched.
“Urgh...!”
“Ugh!”
No matter how hard he struggled...
He could no longer move properly.
Dakan looked confused.
Most Constellations were equally baffled.
[???]
[What happened? He was fine a second ago.]
[Why did he suddenly break?]
[Was something wrong with him?]
[Wait. Is it because of that?]
[Why are you the only one who knows? Explain.]
[Agreed. I still don’t understand.]
[Someone explain already.]
Then...
[‘One-Eyed White-Haired Elder’ has sponsored 5,000 Coins.]
[Message: Tsk tsk. None of you noticed? Look carefully at the marks across his body. Every pressure point has been disrupted.]
The Constellations focused.
Blue bruises.
Twisted marks.
From Dakan’s temples down across his entire body.
They covered vital points.
Only then...
Everyone understood.
Dakan himself...
Still did not.
Suhyeok moved the fist that had stopped directly in front of his face.
Then he said,
“You don’t understand why this is happening.”
Dakan’s eyes shook.
Suhyeok continued,
“You probably didn’t understand when you actually died either.”
A body that felt no pain.
A body that grew endlessly stronger through damage.
It sounded like a blessing.
But in reality...
It was close to a curse.
Even if this Dakan was only a clone...
His body structure was still human.
Barbarians were not exempt from biology.
And if someone felt no pain...
Their brain could not recognize when the body was breaking.
Suhyeok remembered the history book borrowed from Calahil.
The Great Warrior of the barbarians suddenly collapsed during battle and died.
Dakan himself...
Had never known how damaged his body was.
Not until death.
Just like now.
The Constellations reacted.
[I never saw that coming...]
[That’s why he kept hitting those places.]
[He deliberately took hits so Dakan wouldn’t notice what he was doing.]
[Honestly, I thought Suhyeok was losing halfway through.]
[Tsk tsk. Your faith is weak. Reflect.]
[Who was the one saying thank goodness for the sponsorship refund event earlier?]
[Ahem. Silence.]
Dakan coughed dark blood.
His eyes turned bright red.
He fell to his knees.
Then forced his trembling head upward.
Before his neck completely gave out...
Suhyeok spoke one final line.
“You lost, Dakan.”
The moment he heard the word lost...
Dakan laughed.
A huge, carefree laugh.
Almost relieved.
Then...
His body slowly turned into dust.
[Fourth Trial ‘Duel of a True Warrior’ cleared.]
[Clone of Great Warrior ‘Dakan’ has disappeared.]
[Level +6.]
The clone vanished completely.
Then another message appeared.
[Trait Plunder successful.]
[Choose a Trait.]
[Trait - Dakan]
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Berserker (S)
·
·
Battle Eye (S)
·
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Valhalla Sword Dance (S)
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Strong Body (A)
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Suhyeok could not choose Berserker.
Even if the Mental Immunity Ring blocked the madness...
The inability to feel pain was a completely different problem.
So...
Only one choice remained.
“Battle Eye.”
A red glow flickered in Suhyeok’s eyes.
For a moment...
He felt dizzy.
Then he looked around.
Nothing feels different yet.
A new message appeared.
[Clear Reward will be given.]
[Choose either Enhancement Engraving or Regeneration Engraving.]
Suhyeok answered,
“Enhancement Engraving.”
Then added,
“Over my heart.”
THROB.
Instantly...
A violent pain struck his heart.
Suhyeok grabbed his chest.
“Urgh...!”
It felt like a blade scraping directly across his heart.
He bit his lip.
He endured.
Five minutes passed.
The pain slowly faded.
[Enhancement Engraving successfully carved over the heart.]
[Engraving effect maximized.]
[The user’s five senses have been greatly strengthened.]
Suhyeok exhaled.
Whew.
That’s one of the things I wanted.
