Kang Oh soon released his Devil Trigger. Both of his hands tightly gripped Ubist, and his eyes were completely unfocused.
Burkan approached him and raised his gladius up high. He was ready to strike down Kang Oh if necessary!
He hoped he wouldnât need to.
âI hope you overcome the trial, Little Brother,â Burkan said genuinely.
* * *
Kang Oh was in a world of everlasting darkness.
The darkness completely obscured his vision. It was similar to when heâd first taken Ubistâs trial.
âHoo, hoo, hoo.â
Kang Oh breathed regularly and maintained his composure.
âHeâs definitely gotten stronger.â
He clearly remembered what his first trial was like.
So when Ubist popped out of his sword, he immediately noticed how much larger and wilder it had become.
Kuhaang!
Ubist suddenly roared.
[You have heard the King of Magical Beasts and Abyss Predator, Ubistâs Roar. Ubistâs Roar gives fear to its prey and reduces their abilities.]
[Nevertheless, you remain calm. Your Indomitable stat, as well as your experience fighting countless powerful foes, has allowed you to overcome your fear.]
[Your abilities do not decrease.]
Kang Oh smirked.
âYouâre not the only one whoâs changed. Iâve gotten stronger too!â
Ubistâs trial.
Stats and levels were largely meaningless. After all, his and Ubistâs strength grew equally.
What mattered was power; power that could surpass stats or levels! Willpower was also paramount!
âCâmon!â Kang Oh confidently yelled within the darkness.
Wouldnât it respect his bravery?
Kuhaaaah!
Ubist roared angrily and rushed at Kang Oh.
Due to his Hyper Intuition, Kang Oh roughly knew where it was coming from.
âRight side!â
Kang Oh leapt and rolled onto the floor.
Spurt!
A bizarre sound rang out, one of Ubist tearing the space itself apart. Of course, Kang Oh wasnât intimidated by the sound.
Guided by his Hyper Intuition, Kang Oh bravely swung his sword at a weak spot.
Slash!
He tried using a skill, but it didnât feel right.
âAs expected, you canât use skills here.â
Kang Oh had tried it out just in case.
Bam!
Kyaahk!
Though his skill didnât activate, his attack landed nonetheless. His attack had struck Ubistâs weak point! Obviously, red shards of light burst from Ubistâs body as well.
Ubist immediately counterattacked.
Spurt!
It sounded like the dimension itself was being ripped apart again. But something was different this time.
Its paw released an energy blast akin to a slashing claw!
Kang Oh had experienced this last time too. Though he couldnât see it, he could feel how savage, powerful, and destructive it was. Of course, his Hyper Intuition warned him as well.
âHow cowardly!â
He couldnât use combat skills, yet Ubist could. How unfair!
Kang Oh rolled onto the floor.
He knew that if he just barely dodged it, then he wouldnât come out unscathed.
Kang Oh didnât hear the energy, which had ripped through the space that heâd just occupied, crash into anything.
Which meant that this dimension was a large area without any walls or obstacles.
âOk.â
Upon realizing that Ubist had just used a powerful attack and that there werenât any obstacles to hinder him, Kang Oh transitioned to offense.
A cut, a thrust, another cut, and another thrust!
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
His sword continuously clashed with Ubistâs claws.
âAs I thought, it has gotten stronger.â
When he was level 1, Ubist couldnât block his attacks so easily.
But now it was!
âIf thatâs the case, thenâŚâ
Kang Oh tried a feint. He halted his sword midair. Ubist had prepared itself for Kang Ohâs original strike, causing it to get off balance.
Then, he followed up with his true strike!
Swish!
His sword struck true.
Kyaa!
Ubist rushed at him, shoving the jet black darkness towards him.
However, it stopped its attack halfway. It had copied Kang Oh and had used a feint as well.
But the tactic wouldnât always work, especially when it wasnât done properlyâŚ
âThere!â
His Hyper Intuition hadnât warned him of danger; it had merely pointed out a weak spot. Kang Oh seized the opportunity.
Swish!
Another clean hit!
Kya!
Ubist flinched backwards.
Kang Oh stepped forward and swung his sword, unwilling to let it get away.
Whenever he swung his sword, it felt as though his concentration was at its utmost.
âThanks, Burkan!â
His spar with Burkan! Heâd maintained a high level of concentration during his fight with Burkan, and that concentration had transferred over to his fight with Ubist.
Kang Oh swung his sword more precisely than before.
Clang, clang, bam, bam, clang, bam, swish, slash!
Ubist managed to block a few of his attacks, but as time went on, Kang Oh managed to gain the upper hand and damage it more and more.
Kuhaa!
Ubist leapt back and in an act of desperation, swung both of its front claws.
Swish, slash!
Abyss Claw x2!
Two Abyss Claws, each composed of three lines of darkness, flew at him, converging into an X.
Kang Oh gritted his teeth.
It was too late to dodge it, so he merely protected his vitals with his sword.
Screech, screech, screech!
Upon contact, his blade let out a shrill âscreechâ!
As if that wasnât enough, a part of his body, which he hadnât been able to protect, was ripped apart.
[You have taken damage.]
[Remaining HP: 90%]
âI defended myself, yet it still shaved off 10% of my HP!?â
Ubistâs attack power was so high that defense was largely meaningless against it. If he just defended, then heâd surely die. If thatâs the case, then the only way heâd survive is by attacking!
Kang Oh kicked off the floor.
Kuah!
Ubist dashed at Kang Oh.
It immediately became a battle of CQC. The two continued to aim for each otherâs vitals.
However, Kang Oh was much better at aiming for his enemyâs vitals. After all, Hyper Intuition was on his side!
Bam, bam!
Ultimately, Kang Oh was the first to land a proper attack. He even landed a follow-up attack too.
Grr.
Ubist snarled and leapt back once more. It was probably thinking something like âIâll finish you off with Abyss Claw!â.
âNot a chance!â he thought. âIâm not dumb enough to get hit by the same thing twice!â
Kang Oh rushed towards the location where he sensed a presence.
Before Ubist was even able to swing its front legs, Kang Oh attacked.
Left with no other choice, Ubist was forced to defend itself.
Clang!
They fought close up once more.
Ubist used everything at its disposal, including its claws, its tail and its fangs.
Whenever it did so, Kang Oh would either roll onto the floor and avoid its attack, or he would hold his sword askew and block it.
As they say, opportunity presented itself after disaster. Whenever Ubist exposed itself between attacks, Kang Oh would attack.
Hyper Intuition or not, even Kang Oh couldnât block or dodge all of Ubistâs blows.
In fact, heâd lost quite a bit of HP!
In exchangeâŚ!
Ubist was riddled with sword wounds. As a result, its HP had dropped below half.
[Ubistâs HP has dropped below 50%.]
[Ubist is creating a copy of itself made of darkness.]
âThatâs a relief.â
Kang Oh wondered what heâd do if Ubist cloned itself twice; after all, itâd gotten stronger since the last time heâd fought it. Fortunately, it only summoned one copy.
A short while laterâŚ
Kang Oh felt a chill at both his right shoulder and his left thigh.
Ubistâs main body and its copy were striking at two different areas simultaneously.
âIt feels like the left oneâs the real one.â
The copy tried to bite his right shoulder, but he avoided it. Then, he charged at the true Ubist, which was attempting to scratch his left thigh.
Clang.
Kang Oh deflected its attack! He then thrust his sword.
Stab!
Ubist retreated. Then, the copy attacked Kang Oh from behind.
âBack when I was level 1, I let it hit me from behind, but this timeâŚâ
When heâd first taken Ubistâs trial, Kang Oh had focused on the main body, allowing the copy to get behind him.
Kang Oh quickly moved to the side.
Kuahk!
The copy assumed that it had left a large wound on its prey, but it hadnât actually accomplished anything.
ThenâŚ
Kang Oh quickly got back into position and whacked its face with his sword.
Whack!
Kehk!
Kang Oh didnât stop.
He struck the copy again and then rushed at the main body.
He engaged the main body in an intense battle and soon enough, he sensed the copy approach him.
âIâm not the same as I used to be!â
Kang Oh landed a huge hit on Ubistâs main body, turned around, and launched himself at the copy.
The copyâs claws raked Kang Ohâs shoulder, but it was a flesh wound. Thus, he didnât take much damage from it. The copyâs attack power was weak too.
âTake this!â
Kang Oh forcefully swung his sword. It flew through the air until it met the copyâs flesh.
Swish!
Shards of light exploded from it. Though of course, Kang Oh couldnât see them.
Anyhow, Kang Oh didnât fight them 2 on 1.
He moved, attacked, evaded, and defended deliberately, forcing the main body and copy to fight him 1 on 1. It proved to be a successful strategy.
Ubist couldnât take advantage of its numerical advantage at all.
âWeâre almost done here.â
Kang Oh had the advantage and was nearing victory.
HoweverâŚ!
Kyaoh!
Kyaa!
Ubist and its clone simultaneously roared and widened the distance between each other.
Kang Oh chased after the main body.
Spurt!
The copy unleashed an Abyss Claw from behind.
âSo the clone can use that skill too!â
Kang Oh quickly rolled onto the floor and avoided the Abyss Claw.
Then, the main body attacked.
Abyss Claw!
It likewise unleashed the powerful, ferocious energy blast.
âThis is crazy!â
Kang Oh feverishly rolled onto the floor as if it were his own bedroom.
He couldnât regain his composure, as Abyss Claws kept flying at him from both front and back.
âI canât keep going like this.â
At this rate, Kang Ohâs Stamina would deplete before he could kill them. With his Stamina gone, heâd be a sitting duck.
âLetting them hit me isnât a viable option either.â
Abyss Claw. It was too powerful to allow even one of them to hit him.
âIf thatâs the case, thenâŚâ
Kang Oh stood up. An Abyss Claw came flying at him from the side.
âI have to pierce through it!â
Kang Oh gritted his teeth and swung his sword at the incoming Abyss Claw.
Clang!
The attack was heavy enough to cause his sword to shake. Kang Oh forcefully tightened his hands around his sword.
âUha!â he cried out.
At the same time, he cleaved through the Abyss Claw.
âI did it!â
However, now wasnât the time to be celebrating. The cloneâs Abyss Claw was coming after him.
He threw himself out of its way and avoided the Abyss Claw. Then, he charged at the main body!
Kang Oh cleaved through another one of the main bodyâs Abyss Claws, dodged the cloneâs, and then charged once more!
It definitely wasnât easy cutting through the Abyss Claws. In order to do so, he needed to maximize his concentration and use all of his strength at the exact moment.
Avoiding the cloneâs Abyss Claw from behind wasnât easy either. He had to time it just right.
Yet Kang Oh continued to do it. In the end, he managed to reach the main body.
âLetâs finish this!â
He put all of his remaining strength into this swing. Kang Ohâs blade passed through the center of Ubistâs body!
[Ubist has less than 10% of its HP remaining. It feels its life is at risk, so it has retreated deep into the darkness.]
[You have completed the Trial of the Demon Sword.]
Bam!
The darkness receded instantaneously. Then, he was greeted by the sight of Burkan staring vacantly at him.
Like heâd asked, Burkan was ready to strike him down if necessary!
âYou ok, Little Brother?â
âI overcame the trial!â Kang Oh yelled confidently.
Then, he received a system message.
[By overcoming Demon Sword Ubistâs trial, your assimilation rate with Demon Sword Ubist has dropped to 0%.]
[Devil Trigger has risen to the intermediate rank.]
[Now, your demon form will be even more powerful.]
[Your maximum assimilation rate has increased to 200%. Upon reaching 200%, you will be required to take the Trial of the Demon Sword again.]