From the beginning, it was a situation with only two choices. The King of Steel or Lee Su-yeon. The duel would end only after one of them died. Then, who should survive?
âIt would be better to have this person as a colleague rather than me.
Lee Su-yeon made a thoroughly rational judgment. Unlike her, the King of Steel would play a key role in the Queenâs Match if they could recruit him. But, Yoon-seok couldnât agree.
âWhat is she talking about?â
The King of Steel was just a mere candidate. He was also the unpredictable type. But he would have to give up Lee Su-yeon, who had already helped him in so many ways, just to chase after the possibility of recruiting him?
âIf you die, that man dies, too.
It was difficult to understand rationally or emotionally. Therefore, Yoon-seok broke through the iron bars and stormed into the arena. He had already made up his mind: the King of Steel would die here today.
âItâs not like we had much of a special relationship anyway.â
Yoon-seok didnât feel anything other than a little disappointment. He just met him once on the lower floors by chance, thatâs all. Rather, Yoon-seok was quite glad things had turned out this way. It was a fight heâd been waiting for since the day he lost.
And was there a better place for them to fight than this arena?
âCrash.â
The moment the King of Steel wrapped his watermelon-sized palm around Yoon-seokâs-
âLast Command.â
ăLast Command is used.ă
ăThe performance of all general skills increases 150 times for a minute.ă
ăRemaining usage 0/3.ă
That was his last usage, but he didnât think it was a waste. He used this skill to fight against the SSS-rated Sephylem. However, his opponent was the King of Steel this time, one rank higher than that woman. It wasnât a loss if he could use this to win.
âThis is the only way to match his size.â
He could feel the ridiculous pressure from the King of Steelâs hand.
Crackkk-!
His mask split. After confirming Yoon-seokâs face, the King of Steel raised an eyebrow.
âI knew that gaze was familiar, so we meet again. Nameless swordsman.â
He was disconcerted by the sudden reunion for a second, but was he happy to see Yoon-seok? The King of Steel wore a widening smile, and at the same time, the pressure around Yoon-seokâs head was growing.
âIf you have nothing else to show, die.â
Yoon-seok closed his eyes rather than struggling to escape.
ă43 swords are used. Magic increases by +1.ă
ă99 swords are used. Strength increases by +1.ă
ă200 swords are used. Magic increases by +1.ă
The number of Skywrath Swords orbiting around him increased continuously, and his stats rose rapidly in proportion.
Clenchh-!
Yoon-seok slowly opened his eyes as the pressure against his skull gradually disappeared.
ăActual stat of agility has reached MAX.ă
ăActual stat of strength has reached MAX.ă
ăAn abnormal beingâs approach was detected.ă
ăActual stat of durability has reached MAX.ă
ăActual stat of endurance has reached MAX.ă
ăDue to the power Transcendence, the limitation disappears.ă
Time crawled by, each second feeling like a minute. It felt like Yoon-seok could do anything right now.
ââŚâ
Questions arose in the King of Steelâs eyes. Heâd already put so much strength into it, but why wasnât Yoon-seokâs head exploding yet? He seemed very curious about that fact.
Smile.
Yoon-seok wasnât courteous enough to answer. In the time that seemed to have stopped, Yoon-seok found and read the messages sent by Lee Su-yeon earlier.
âOppa, avoid fighting him head-on until you are sure that you have higher stats. Thatâs the only way to defeat this monster.
What would it be like? Was he capable enough to overpower this man now? Well, he would find out soon.
ââŚ?â
Yoon-seok raised his hand and set it over the hand holding his head. Then, he slowly peeled away the King of Steelâs fingers as if taking away the toy he was holding. The King of Steelâs eyes started to waver. For the first time since starting to ascend the Tower, he was being pushed back.
Boooooom-!
Yoon-seok, after removing his hand, stuck his sword into the King of Steelâs shoulder. Instead of sword energy, Natural Energy filled the gap, and his now overwhelming muscle strength penetrated through the steel-like muscles. HoweverâŚ
âI canât cut through him completely even if I do this?â
It was impossible to tear through the muscles and bones all at once. He was the one who attacked, but the Judgment Sword had a fine crack across its blade now too. Yoon-seok, quickly pulling the sword away, smiled.
ââŚWhat the heck is that body of his?â
If he kept striking like that, the sword would break first. However, using magic wouldnât work, and he wasnât skilled enough to externally maintain the Natural Energy.
Clank.
Either way, his sword couldnât be used if the battle continued. With that quick judgment, Yoon-seok sheathed his sword.
âI donât have to insist on using a sword.â
Yoon-seokâs main weapon was a sword, but he had the flexibility to use other abilities or weapons.
âThis will have to do.â
Yoon-seok clenched his fist and instilled Natural Energy through it. Still, his reach would be shorter since he couldnât use magic or other skills.
âA swordsman that abandons his sword⌠interesting.â
When Yoon-seok rushed in, the King of Steel stepped into the air and jumped higher.
âStepping on the sky.â
It was a clever move to widen the distance and keep watching.
âSo annoying.â
His current state would maintain until the Last Command effect disappeared.
âHe called it Wind Strike?â
Yoon-seok smiled and unfolded his clenched hand. Copying the King of Steelâs movement, he fired a blast of wind up.
Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-!
It was a little funny to realize after doing it, but Yoon-seok finally discovered the principle of Wind Strike.
âSo it was a technique that applies the principle of strongness and gentleness.â
Was this what they meant by all rivers running to the sea? He wasnât using a sword, but in the end, it wasnât much different.
âThen what about stepping on the ground earlier? What was that?â
He shouldnât be thinking about it in this urgent situation, but Yoon-seok was curious.
The techniques used by the King of Steel could be seen as a kind of martial arts. His independent martial arts, which were naturally formed over numerous fierce battles.
âIâm curious about the principleâŚâ
Although Yoon-seok had the desire to dig into his skills one by one⌠sadly, there was no time for that.
âI have to end this quick.â
Hiding behind the palm blast, Yoon-seok approached the King of Steel. Following the wind, Yoon-seok raised his hand and stabbed at his shoulder again.
Whooooosh-!
A body at this stage no longer needed weapons.
Slash-!
Yoon-seok smiled widely as his hand pierced through the bone. But had he let his guard down for a moment? Or, did he not expect the King of Steel to react in this state?
âConcussion.â
The King of Steelâs fist slammed into Yoon-seokâs abdomen. Yoon-seok belatedly realized that he gave up his right shoulder not because he couldnât respond.
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âGive and take.â
It was just to create a more advantageous situation. This beast only thought of tearing him apart with all his might until one of them died from the start.
Booooooom-!
His durability stat had already exceeded the system, but the impact seemed to make all his internal organs explode from the inside. Yoon-seok immediately recovered by circulating magic. However, did that moment seem like an opportunity in the King of Steelâs eyes?
Booooooom-!
The King of Steel punched Yoon-seokâs jaw. With it came a wave of nausea and dizziness as the world seemed to shake.
ââŚâŚ.â
Yoon-seok couldnât understand. He was several times faster than usual, several times tougher, and several times stronger. However, this man confronted him in that state without being intimidated. The difference in rating between them was one level, but was the gap this wide?
ââŚNo way.â
Yoon-seok recovered his brain first rather than healing his abdomen. With only one arm left, King Steelâs abdomen was unprotected from the attack he had launched.
Boooooooooooom-!
Yoon-seok put strength in his waist and swung a fist into his stomach on the rebound. Although he didnât have a technique like the King of Steel that destroyed internal organs, Yoon-seok had the strength left to make up for it.
âGahahahahah!â
King of Steel let out a weird sound like a laugh and vomited blood. Then, he headbutts Yoon-seok.
Boom-!
Yoon-seokâs barely recovered brain was shocked again, and his sight lost focus. However, his body moved by instinct, not reason. If he were pushed back now, heâd lose. The instinct that led him to victory was shouting.
Boom-!
Avoid one more time. Block one more time. Recover one more time. Yoon-seok wielded his fist according to instinct while his sight continued to shake.
âCrazy bastardsâŚâ
The challenger watching the duel behind bars stopped breathing. It was hard to watch a fierce battle between top 100 rankers. Except for the fact, their speed was hard to keep up with the naked eye, and each shock wave was creating cracks across the arena outer wall-
âTheyâre both out of their mindsâŚâ
No weapons, no skills, no powers. They didnât avoid nor stop it. There was no time to confirm each otherâs abilities when the duel began. Having clashed with the brute force since the start, they wielded their fists to bludgeon each other to death. Like they were sure that was the only way to win.
Booooooooom-!
It was completely different from the fight of the top rankers they imagined, but those who were watching felt greater despair. Could they last even a second if they were in that position?
âThere are a hundred monsters like themâŚ?â
Someone in the cage muttered blankly. And at that moment, the two stopped swinging.
ăLast Command effect has ended.ă
The battle between 14th and 95th place. The fight between the two, safe to regard as absolute powerhouses, ended in just a minute. One fell to his knees on the floor, and the other struggled to stand and look down at their opponent.
âGeuhehehehe.â
The King of Steel laughed as if he was having fun. There was no mirror to confirm, but Yoon-seok thought his expression couldnât be much different while looking at him.
âI have waited for this day.â
It was the King of Steel who opened his mouth first.
âToday, IâŚâ
The King of Steel, his arms torn off and his body sunk to the floor, laughed. He didnât have the energy left to move even one toe, but vigor was still emanating from his body.
âSo youâre still lacking. Nameless swordsman.â
Step by step, Yoon-seok slowly approached him. Although he was still recovering his body by circulating magic, Yoon-seok wasnât in good condition. The Last Command effect, which made a minute feel like a few hours, ended, and the vitality surging through him disappeared. However, unlike the last duel, he was the one who could stand and move.
Thud.
Yoon-seok stood in front of King of Steel. He didnât avoid Yoon-seokâs gaze. No, rather, as much as he had enjoyed the battle, even at this moment when his life was about to disappear, it still seemed like a game to him.
âDid I winâŚ?â
It was such a hard battle that it still didnât feel real. It wouldnât be strange no matter who lost. But today, he won. And unlike the duel back then, they would never see each other again.
Clank.
Yoon-seok drew his sword. He instilled the rest of his Natural Energy into the swordâs tip.
And it was then-
ăAn abnormal beingâs approach was detected.ă
ăAn abnormal beingâs approach was detected.ă
ăAn abnormal beingâs approach was detected.ă
Like a serious computer error. From the moment he broke into the duel, the number of phrases that had emerged began to drastically increase. Yoon-seok didnât know why, but he thought he had to end the duel soon. But the moment he tried to extend his sword forward-
ăDue to the approach of an abnormal being, the selection match will end.ă
ăAll remaining challengers will be given 30,000,000 AP as a winning reward.ă
His eyes turned black.
ăTower of Heaven gives a penalty to rule-breaker Choi Yoon-seok.ă
Rulebreaker? Even after destroying the waiting room and making all kinds of a fuss, there had been nothing like this so far.
ââŚSo they want to give it a go?â
It was also the case when the King of Steel and Lee Su-yeon were put together in the selection match. It seemed like the Tower wanted to put a leash on himâŚ