Chapter 30: ăOverloadă
Lee Chun-gi was unknowingly holding his sword in a crushing grip.
But it wasnât because of Limonâs provocation, or because he was confused.
It was because the instant he looked into those cold eyes,
He instinctively knew that something had changed.
Not even he himself himself could decipher what that âsomethingâ was.
As if he was looking into the eyes of a wild predator that had just broken out of its cage,
Only his chilling instincts allowed him to reflexively avoid the next attack.
âăUrgent Evasionă!â
As soon as the skill activated, Lee Chun-giâs body disappeared, replaced by a doppelganger.
And a sharp blade pierced that lone doppelganger.
A critical hit that would have killed not only the doppelganger, but also cleanly decapitate Lee Chun-gi if he was even a moment late.
On the other hand, it showed Lee Chun-giâs ability to dodge such an attack.
But that wasnât something Lee Chun-gi could be happy about.
Rather, his face strained.
âI didnât see that coming.â
One reason was that he didnât have a clue how Limonâs sword slashed through the place his neck was.
âWhat? Are you amazed that ăForesightă wasnât activated?â
â...How did you just do that?â
âItâs not much. Just a simple tactic youâll easily get a hang of when you wipe out so many foresight-using extras till youâre sick and tired of it.â
Limon snickered with a cross face.
Lee Chun-gi clenched his jaw.
Out of the thousands of skills in his arsenal, ăForesightă was one of the most useful skills he had to use in combat.
It was one of the biggest reasons how Lee Chun-gi, who lacked in immediate swordsmanship skill, could manage to stand off against Limon in a fight equally.
He could foresee and avoid the futures of him getting fatally wounded.
In other words; as long as ăForesightă was blocked, he couldnât dodge the critical hits any longer.
But there was a different reason why Lee Chun-gi was so shaken.
âAre you saying you have been going easy on me this whole time?â
He could tell from that previous, single blow: Limon could kill him if he was set on cutting him.
âItâs more of an engagement in reconnaissance than âgoing easyâ. Isnât it common sense to test the waters when going against an opponent whose cards you donât know?â
Limon answered calmly, and curved his lips into a sneer.
âWhat? Did you think you were the only one who could test the waters?â
Lee Chun-gi did not answer.
The Swordmaster was right.
Perhaps it would have been a different story if it were any other player, but it should have been an act of suicide for Limon to test the Monarch when he had an infinite number of skills.
Even before heâd become a Monarch, he always engaged in reconnaissance against those who came at him with their full power â observing them to look for any skills worth taking.
It was rare for Lee Chun-gi to be the one getting tested.
Heâd come this far, just to get tested like this?
By a mere goner like Limon?
Without even being aware the goner could have sliced off his neck at any moment if he so desired?
Lee Chun-gi felt something shift deep inside his heart as he grinded his teeth.
It was too murky like the night sky to call it rage.
Too rousing to call it defeat.
And too fiery hot to call it embarrassment.
He wouldnât have recognized it in the past.
But he did after meeting âhimâ.
The instant he sensed the mortification crushing him, Lee Chun-gi was already activating his skills.
âăLimit Breakă. ăWill of Conquestă. ăRestriction Releaseă. ăFuture Sacrificeă.ăHero Creationă.â
Restrictions any human would have were released, and the limits of his body and mind were lifted.
He incinerated a part of his status to erupt the capacity of his skills to another level, and pushed his potential to the extreme for his objective.
It was a double edged sword â in return for getting extremely powerful for some time, he would have to endure terrible after effects.
A combination of skills heâd combined hundreds of ways with the determination that heâd surpass âhimâ.
The one and only original thing the Infinite Monarch had acquired without taking from someone else.
Embracing himself in that transcendent state, he swung his sword as he charged towards Limon.
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It wasnât just the shock that made his hands go numb even though he deflected the blow properly.
The feeling Lee Chun-gi got from Limon.
Limon had felt it too â the âthingâ that those not giving it their all couldnât have.
âYou finally wanna fight an actual fight now, huh?â
Lee Chun-gi did not answer.
He simply kept charging at Limon as he activated his skills nonstop.
âăSuper Accelerationă. ăLightning Flashă. ăWindwalkă. ăThousand Hands of Buddhaă. ăAutorepeată.â
âHm⊠Youâre definitely a lot better than before. But this is enouâŠâ
âăLionâs Heartă. ăSupernatural Ghostă. ăMuscular Surgeă. ăMystery Poweră. ăSuper Strengthă.â
âItâs still far fromâŠâ
âăElemental Fusionă. ăLightning Enchantmentă. ăFlame Enchantmentă.ăFrost Enchantmentă .ă Curse Enchantmentă.â
âWeapon Embodiment, Spirit Summoning, Venomous Pest Summoning, Winged Monster Summoning, Earth Golem Summoningă.â
âMystery Blade, Firebomb, Wave Blast, Spatial Separation, Gravity Manipulation.â
Bang, ka-bang, kazapzapzap! Ka boom boom boom boomâ!
Only two swords were clashing, and yet there were flames, lightning bolts, and a massive storm sweeping over the earth.
Familiars sprang out continuously from all directions, including from the skies and the ground.
And attack skills that could make even those familiars go flying came raining down.
Limon was bewildered by the situation.
He was already used to the endless stream of skills.
After all, it was the Infinite Monarchâs main strategy to use his infinite amount of skills nonstop.
But this was different than anything heâd done before.
Hundreds of skills â all at once!
They came rushing in more than rain droplets during a hurricane, as Limon cut and weaved without a momentâs respite.
âHey, ya little shit! I told you to show your true skills, not throw a skill parade!â
âBeing able to throw a parade is a skill in itself.
âAre you listening to yourself?!â
âTalk as much as you wish. I will still be the victor in the end.â
Lee Chun-gi answered coldly.
Limon may have called it a parade, but what he was doing could not be taken lightly.
Skills naturally get more powerful as they overlapped and stacked.
Aside from the fact that most didnât have that many skills to use in the first place, the more skills that were used, the more stress it would place on oneâs body.
Even using only two skills together brought forth symptoms like migraines and vertigo, and could even cause fainting if a player used them for too long.
That was why most players stuck to only one or two main skills.
But that could not be said for Lee Chun-gi.
Heâd trained and geared himself so that he could use a minimum of 10 skills at a time â heâd be no different from a pig in a pearl necklace if he couldnât use his infinite skills properly.
And his efforts did not betray him.
After all, using dozens of skills placed him on a different level as compared to just using one.
Even Limon thought Lee Chun-gi using 10 skills together was more troublesome than dealing with a thousand players, each using one main skill.
And here he was, using hundreds.
Lee Chun-gi was sure of himself.
In this moment, he was confident he could take on hundreds of thousands of great players.
And so, the name Lee Chun-gi gave to this version of himself was ăOverlordă â his superhuman strength surpassing even the Absolute Rulers of this generation.
Of course, it didnât cost him nothing.
His head felt like it was exploding.
He could feel his veins popping out all over his body as his muscles spasmed.
Considering the substantial amount of skills he activated, it would be no surprise if Lee Chun-giâs heart failed him this instant.
This superhuman state was⊠In other words, an ăOverloadă of his limits.
*t/n: âOverlordâ and âOverloadâ have the same pronunciation in Korean; this is meant to be a pun.
Yet Lee Chun-gi did not stop.
As if he was going to take down Limon no matter what became of him,
He was constantly reviving his failing body with a healing skill as he threw more skills at Limon.
â...Indeed, I understand that this is your truth,â Limon slowly muttered as he deflected the downpour of skills with his sword.
He could tell from a single glance.
Lee Chun-gi was taking years off of his own lifespan for this fight alone.
âBut I still have to ask⊠Is that it?â
âIs that everything âyou guysâ can show me?â
Limon was staring straight at him.
Lee Chun-gi flinched, furrowing his brows at the incomprehensible question.
Heâd just seen Limonâs pitch black orbs, almost looking bored despite seeing the superhuman ăOverlordă.
*pr/n: Yes, pitch black orbs.
âAlright, if you say so.â
Limon nodded. Heâd understood despite not hearing the answer.
Holding his sword in both hands, he spoke in a low voice.
In that moment, Lee Chun-giâs pupils shrunk.
Not just because this was the first time Limon had gripped his sword with both hands this entire fight.
And not because even just looking at his stance gave him the chilling sensation of a cold blade against his neck.
It was because his instincts from entering the dungeon countless times told him.
To not let that man swing his sword.
That if he did, everything would come to an end.
Lee Chun-gi ignored the warning his instincts gave him.
The pride of a Monarch wouldnât accept him running away.
And so he charged at Limon.
Clenching his jaws until his gums started to bleed, he activated his skills with all his might.
âăDemon Slaying Swordă, ăBlade Stormă, ăSuper Smashă, ăAsura Bloodbathă, ăMagic Swordă, ăElemental Fusionă, ăGlacial Delugeă, ăColossal Circle of Hellă, ăThunderbolt Hellă, ăWave Blastă, ăSpatial Separationă, ăDefense Penetrationă, ăEnhance Destructionă...â
Heâd gone past even the limits of ăOverlordă, determined to give his own life.
From swordsmanship skills, attack skills, to support skillsâŠ
Lee Chun-gi had activated a total of a thousand skills!
The shockwaves alone burst his veins and ruptured his muscles, as blood from his mangled organs shot up his throat. His brain felt like it was melting.
Countless skills swept over in every possible direction. Its fallout alone cut, torrefied, and froze his flesh and skin.
He simply continued to launch the 1000 skills, jumbling around in chaos towards Limon.
A catastrophic storm that would crush mountains, turn cities into ruins, and make entire oceans evaporate.
Even if Limon could manage to dodge that, the fallout alone could make him go flying dozens of kilometers. It was harrowing.
But Limon did not budge despite facing the torrent of skills.
He only moved his sword in with a tranquil face.
A movement that wasnât fast,
Rather, it was exorbitantly slow.
Soft, calm, elegant, and beautiful â a single, silent movement of his sword resembling that of a sword dance.
The moment his lethargic sword reached the end of its pathâ
âăThe essence of the Demon Slaying Sword:
Demons fall from the sword like dew on a blade of grass.ăâ
A thousand skills crumpled,
And a single stream of light pierced the Infinite Monarch.