Chapter 98: Impossible Either Way

Episode 98

Kim Jinsung, continuously retreating, defended against Shin Woong’s attacks precariously.

But he couldn’t overcome the sudden power difference.

At one point, his step faltered, and his stance crumbled.

Shin Woong, seizing the opportunity, lunged towards Kim Jinsung, extending his palm towards his head, aiming for the finishing blow.

Just before Shin Woong’s hand connected, the surrounding air abruptly shifted.

“…..!”

In an instant, a black wave rippled outwards from Kim Jinsung.

It was the ‘Space Dominated by Dark Energy.’

Simultaneously, Shin Woong’s palm struck Kim Jinsung’s head.

**Thwack!**

His head exploded like a watermelon.

Some spectators shot up from their seats.

But Shin Woong merely looked down with a disappointed expression. He saw the remains of a brutally destroyed scarecrow scattered on the ground.

‘…Too bad.’

He sighed in disappointment and looked around.

His gaze locked onto Kim Jinsung, who had retreated quite a distance.

‘It was a close call.’

It had been a golden opportunity for Shin Woong.

If Kim Jinsung hadn’t activated the ‘Space Dominated by Dark Energy’ in time,

If his movement hadn’t become much faster because of it,

Shin Woong’s palm would’ve crushed his head before he could even activate the Disguise Shadow Clone skill.

“Whew… He dodged it…!”

“And isn’t that Kim Jinsung’s mana area?”

“That’s right, I was wondering when he’d use it!”

The buzzing voices of the crowd, staring at the arena suddenly engulfed in the black wave, reached the VIP section.

Park Jinwoong, seated among them,

“Whew…that was close.”

He let out a sigh of relief and slumped back in his chair.

‘Why is he using this ability now? He should have used it earlier!’

He grumbled inwardly at Kim Jinsung.

But his reaction stemmed from his lack of understanding regarding Kim Jinsung’s situation.

‘It works?’

Kim Jinsung, the one in question, was actually marveling at the ‘Space Dominated by Dark Energy’.

‘I thought it wouldn’t activate while I’m in the ‘Union of Body and Demon’ state.’

He looked at the notification that had just appeared before him.

—

▶‘Space Dominated by Dark Energy’ has been activated.

▶ ‘Union of Body and Demon’ trait and ‘Space Dominated by Dark Energy’ are currently activated simultaneously. Beast Karma points will be consumed at twice the normal rate.

—

The notification indicated that he could maintain both ‘Union of Body and Demon’ and ‘Space Dominated by Dark Energy’ simultaneously, albeit with increased point consumption.

‘Perfect.’

It was good news for him.

He had plenty of Beast Karma points he had accumulated during the second preliminary round.

‘Fighting in this space changes everything.’

As confidence filled his gaze, he surveyed the arena, now awash in the undulating black wave.

He saw Shin Woong, once again, spring from his position and charge towards him.

Kim Jinsung raised his sword.

**Clang!**

The sound of their clash marked the start of their second round.

But this time, the situation was demonstrably different.

“Look at that! Kim Jinsung is no longer getting pushed back!”

“It seems like he’s much stronger when fighting within that black space!”

“Shin Woong, that idiot, should’ve finished him off earlier…!”

The crowd was right, Kim Jinsung, who had been helplessly pushed back moments ago, was now evenly exchanging blows.

They clashed fiercely, and then,

**Clang!**

A resounding clang, louder than any before, echoed through the arena. They both jumped back simultaneously.

Both stared at each other, catching their breath.

The first lull in the battle had arrived.

“Wooow!”

“What a match…!”

“This showdown is living up to the hype!”

“Whoa, has it really been that long already?”

The captivated audience erupted in thunderous applause.

Based on their performance so far, this fight was undoubtedly the best of the third preliminary round.

The cheers and applause of over 100,000 spectators. But neither contestant seemed to notice.

Both were laser-focused on each other’s movements.

‘How should I handle him now…?’

Kim Jinsung, sword pointed at Shin Woong, rapidly strategized.

‘The subspace magic circles won’t work on him.’

He recalled the notification that appeared when he activated ‘Union of Body and Demon’.

—

▷ You can attack other dimensions.

—

This meant Shin Woong, at his level, could easily tear through the subspace barrier with a single attack.

‘I’d be wasting mana setting up magic circles. So…’

After further contemplation, Kim Jinsung broke the stalemate, charging at Shin Woong.

Shin Woong charged back, and their second round began in earnest.

After exchanging several attacks, Kim Jinsung used two skills in succession against Shin Woong.

—

▶ Used skill ‘Disable’.

▶ Used skill ‘Confusion’.

—

It was the ‘Disable – Confusion’ combo he often used.

As he activated it,

“……!”

Shin Woong’s eyes flickered briefly, indicating the skill combo had some effect.

However, that was all.

A white flash emanated from his eyes for a split second and then vanished.

He returned to normal and effortlessly blocked all of Kim Jinsung’s subsequent attacks.

‘…It failed.’

He tried to use the combo a few more times whenever an opportunity arose, but the result remained the same. Shin Woong continued to use his white glint to dispel the confusion.

‘So his ability includes status ailment immunity…’

Kim Jinsung concluded, observing that the white flash from Shin Woong’s eyes was identical to when his power suddenly increased earlier.

‘But why do his eyes flash every time he uses his skill? Is it a mana-consuming skill? …Ugh.’

**Clang!**

Kim Jinsung blocked Shin Woong’s sword, pivoted, and countered with a sweeping blow. As if expecting it, Shin Woong bent backward, effortlessly evading the attack, and lunged forward yet again.

Kim Jinsung continued to deploy various skills in an attempt to change the flow of the battle: spiderwebs, Shadow Concealment, Stealth.

However, unlike before, none of them had any effect on Shin Woong.

‘He’s adapted to all my skills.’

Perhaps it was due to their prolonged exchange, but Shin Woong had completely adapted to Kim Jinsung’s attack patterns.

In fact, Kim Jinsung often found himself in a precarious position thanks to Shin Woong anticipating and exploiting the openings created when he used his skills.

‘This puts me at a disadvantage. I need a new strategy.’

Kim Jinsung didn’t want to be dragged into a straight sword fight against someone as skilled as Shin Woong.

His mind raced, searching for options.

‘…This should work.’

As he decided on a plan, a notification flashed before his eyes.

—

▶ Skill ‘Disguise Shadow Clone’ has been enhanced to ‘Shadow Clone’ through Skill Enhancement.

▷ Shadow Clone – Summons an identical clone with 75% of the user’s stats. The clone moves according to the user’s commands and transforms into a scarecrow upon reaching 0 HP. Using this skill consumes 1000 mana.

▶ 10,000 Beast Karma points used for Skill Enhancement.

—

**Clang!**

Shin Woong, suddenly forced to block two blades simultaneously, stumbled backward in surprise.

“……!”

His brow furrowed, his disbelief evident on his face as he stared ahead.

“Huh? What?!”

“There are two Kim Jinsungs?”

“I’m not seeing things, right…?”

“What’s going on? Is it a clone?”

Two identical Kim Jinsungs, indistinguishable from each other. The two instantly assumed identical offensive postures and attacked Shin Woong in unison.

**Clang! Clang! Clang!**

Shin Woong struggled to block their combined assault, retreating steadily. He couldn’t even gain an advantage against one, and now another one had joined the fight, pushing him further onto the defensive.

“H, haha…!”

Oh Byeong-guk, watching the spectacle, let out a disbelieving chuckle.

Kang Gyeong-gwon spoke, eyes filled with admiration.

“A pure Shadow Clone skill. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one.”

“This is quite surprising. I never thought he’d have a Shadow Clone skill…”

The ‘pure Shadow Clone skill’ that Oh Byeong-guk mentioned,

It meant a Shadow Clone that could fully utilize the user’s abilities.

This Shadow Clone technique was considered one of the best skills among hunters.

First, it allowed for numerical superiority against opponents, just like in Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong’s current situation.

No explanation was needed to understand the significance of numerical advantage in a fight between masters.

“If it’s actually a pure Shadow Clone skill, he should be able to summon more…”

Just as Kang Gyeong-gwon finished speaking,

“…Huh?! There’s another one!”

“It’s a real Shadow Clone, like something out of a comic book!”

“Amazing…!”

Startled exclamations erupted from the crowd, prompting Kang Gyeong-gwon to turn his gaze back towards the arena.

He nodded, confirming,

“Indeed.”

Three Kim Jinsungs now surrounded Shin Woong, relentlessly attacking.

Then,

**Slash!**

Unable to defend against the onslaught, Shin Woong’s left thigh was deeply wounded, a sight evident to everyone.

Seeing this, Kim Jinsung thought to himself,

‘Good! Time to press the attack.’

He saw this as an opportunity and immediately activated his recovery ability.

—

▶ MP restored to 100%.

▶ Beast Karma point usage paused as full recovery has been achieved.

—

After replenishing his depleted mana back to full capacity, Kim Jinsung used Shadow Clone again.

He and his three clones launched into an even more ferocious assault against Shin Woong.

(TLN: dude is solo ganging up on him xD)

**Slash!**

**Swoosh!**

Deep wounds began to appear all over Shin Woong’s body. He was struggling to fend off three Kim Jinsungs, and facing four with his wounds proved near impossible.

Soon, bathed in blood, Shin Woong began to falter noticeably.

‘Yes! I’ve definitely won now!’

Kim Jinsung’s eyes lit up. He had secured victory.

Especially since Shin Woong had already used his ability.

‘Time to finish him off…?!’

As he poised himself for the final strike, his pupils dilated.

White glint.

Shin Woong’s eyes blazed with an even more intense light.

He swung his sword in a wide arc.

The speed was impossibly fast, exceeding anything he had shown so far.

**Swoosh! Swoosh!**

A single sweeping cut cleanly decapitated two nearby clones.

‘No…!’

Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened in shock.

In that brief moment of astonishment, Shin Woong severed the head of the remaining clone and charged towards the true Kim Jinsung.

**Clang!**

‘Ugh…!’

Kim Jinsung reflexively parried the blow, but the sheer force behind it sent him reeling backward.

Shin Woong, allowing no respite, pressed on with his attack.

**Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!**

He relentlessly attacked, while Kim Jinsung was forced into a desperate defense, steadily retreating.

They were back to where they had started when Shin Woong first activated his ability.

Kim Jinsung couldn’t believe it.

‘He’s already used his ability, how can he…could it be?’

A possibility occurred to Kim Jinsung.

‘Could his ability be used repeatedly?’

There was no other explanation for the current situation.

But if his assumption was correct, that in itself was equally impossible.

If so, wouldn’t that mean he could become infinitely stronger?

Kim Jinsung clenched his jaw unconsciously.

—