episode_0121

The night sky comes crashing down.

It was a literal description. A dark night beneath the moonlight. Black arrows blanketing that night.

‘What the hell is this?’

Volkan stared at Han Yuseong with a bewildered heart. He had known, from the moment the arrows were fired, that this was no mere feint aimed at him.

Yet.

As the arrows were loosed, something like an illusion emerged behind Han Yuseong.

‘The arrows have been fired.’

Three arrows in total. And then, they split into countless more.

Volkan had heard Han Yuseong whisper quietly just before releasing the arrows.

– Phantom Dance: Penetration, Explosion, Splinter.

Shadow Dance, Phantom. Penetration, Explosion, and Splinter.

It was an incredulous thought. This was no mere power a Level 5 could muster.

‘Don’t tell me all those arrows—’

Were imbued with the concepts of penetration and explosion? An unbelievable tale. But if the one behind it was Han Yuseong, the story changed. For anyone else, it would be impossible to believe. But for that bastard, there was a strange certainty. That every single one of those arrows carried the concepts of penetration and explosion.

As the night sky, now filled to the brim, came crashing down, Volkan’s response was simple.

With an eerily wide grin, he drew the greatsword at his side.

The arrows filling the night sky descended until they were right before him. For a moment, Volkan felt the illusion that the very heavens were collapsing upon him.

Yet.

Whoosh!

A single, effortless swing of his greatsword.

‘Still too crude.’

The trajectories of the arrows were not perfectly aligned. The phrase “the night sky comes crashing down” meant, quite literally, that few of the arrows were truly aimed at him.

The greatsword split the sky. A simple motion, from top to bottom. The wind wrapped around the blade transformed into a gale, and the arrows caught in its wake trembled and swayed.

Bam-bam-bam-bam!

Countless arrows veered away from Volkan. Yet, his brow twitched slightly.

‘Strange.’

By his calculations, the wind should have swept through a much wider area. Somehow, the arrows had resisted the gale-force winds generated by his sword.

‘Penetration… is it?’

In that single exchange, Volkan grasped the method behind Han Yuseong’s attack. But this was not the end. Volkan tensed his legs.

He had mentioned explosion. Having confirmed penetration and splintering, now it was time for the explosion. Every arrow embedded in the ground trembled violently.

‘This little—’

The aura radiating from the arrows was anything but ordinary. An overwhelming surge of mana swelled and expanded. He had half-expected this. But the prelude was far from normal.

At the edge of Volkan’s vision, Han Yuseong was weaving a strange hand seal.

– Dragon Poison Art.

Judging by the shape of his lips.

‘No way, that bastard learned poison arts too?’

Simultaneously, violet smoke began to seep in from all directions. His body grew sluggish. Volkan, who was immune to most poisons, found this to be undeniable proof of the poison’s absurd potency.

‘…The Elven Alchemy.’

His antidotes and potions were already renowned. When monsters had once invaded the cradle, his antidotes had healed many and even melted the monsters themselves.

But this was not the end. Han Yuseong raised one hand toward the sky.

“Extreme Thunder God.”

A violet lightning spear formed in his grasp.

Poison sprinkled on the arrowheads. Mana swelling to the point of bursting. And violet lightning crashing down upon it all.

“Hah.”

Volkan let out a disbelieving laugh.

KABOOOM!!

Explosions, poisonous dust, and lightning engulfed everything in their wake.

‘Was that a bit much?’ – A bit much? That’s an understatement. ‘But it’s Volkan.’

This wasn’t even a serious attack. After all, Shadow Dance—Phantom Dance—wasn’t a technique meant for single combat.

‘Not that it can’t be used that way.’

In properly executing Phantom Dance this time, I had gained a new realization.

‘Rather than just penetration, explosion, and splintering separately, it feels like I can layer three concepts onto one.’

I wanted to test it further. But now wasn’t the time. My gaze fixed on the billowing smoke.

“Brat.”

Volkan emerged from within. His towering frame, slightly singed clothes—less the image of a dignified elder and more of a mountain bandit.

Crimson light flickered in his eyes. A sign of his Divine Flame Arts, the Yeonhwa Divine Technique. At the same time, his greatsword began to burn red. Rippling flames.

“That was quite entertaining.”

A faint undercurrent of anger laced his voice. Seemed like he was genuinely pissed.

‘As expected, not a single wound.’

Regardless, I calmly assessed the situation. Since coming here and leveling up, I had realized one thing.

Volkan was a monster. An undeniable monster.

There was no way something like this could leave a mark on him.

‘Still.’

I had to wound him. I had to prove that the time he spent on me wasn’t wasted.

I raised my sword. I hadn’t fully reforged the metal yet, so it was still the Thunder Dragon Sword—a bit of a shame.

‘But it’s still a good blade.’

In my other hand, I gripped the Holy Sword.

– Hm?

Outwardly, the Holy Sword was an unremarkable, ordinary blade. Only when chosen by a hero and its seals released would it reveal its true power. For now, it was just an exceptionally sturdy sword.

‘Huu.’

I focused. Before me stood Volkan. A man against whom I could test everything I had.

To be honest—

‘There’s still so much I can’t fully control.’

I was lacking in many ways. But it couldn’t be helped. In less than a year since arriving in this world, the fact that I’d grown this accustomed was nothing short of a miracle.

Sword in each hand, I stepped forward. I could do anything. Because Volkan would accept whatever I threw at him.

Whooosh!

The so-called heart techniques within my body spun violently. Though merged into the Extreme Thunder God, remnants of the Lightning Arts, Purple Mist Divine Technique, and Yeonhwa Divine Technique remained.

“Your eyes… they’re alive now.”

I took a single step forward. My right hand swung the sword. The blade traced an arc, completing a single sword technique in an instant.

– Dark Moon.

Darkness settled. Simultaneously, another sword technique was unleashed.

– Black Sea.

The settled darkness split apart. Two Dark Moons and slashes formed at once.

“Oh?”

Volkan watched with interest before—

Clang!

Casually deflecting the slashes with a flick of his sword.

CRACK-KABOOM!

The deflected slashes tore through the ruined landscape.

“You’ve adapted the sword style of that Orc Hero quite well.”

The power was impressive, but inflicting damage on Volkan was still difficult.

Dark Moon suppressed the darkness. Seeing the twin moons, Volkan smirked and assessed.

“This one’s not bad.”

But the two moons shattered. Volkan’s eyes turned to me, as if asking, Is that all?

‘What kind of monster is this?’

The twin moons had been my masterpiece—a sword technique at least twice as strong as Sword Aura.

Tch. I clicked my tongue and flipped my sword.

“Hm?”

Beneath Volkan, the shattered moons began to rise again.

The two moons merged into a single sun.

GROOOOOWL!

“Heavenly Sun.”

The rising sun pressed down on Volkan.

“Now this is decent.”

Volkan smiled in satisfaction, stepping forward and swinging his sword.

Slice.

The Heavenly Sun was cleaved apart.

“……” “What’s with that disgruntled look?” “You said it was decent, but it was just one move.” “Do you have any idea how vast the gap between our levels is? For you to even leave a scratch—”

Thud.

Mid-sentence, Volkan’s foot sank into the ground.

Oh, that actually worked?

“……What is this?” “Just… a trap I set up for fun.” “……”

Volkan’s expression turned bizarre, as if he couldn’t believe he’d fallen for such a trap.

– What the hell is that? ‘A trap I made using my Thief Hero gift.’

Honestly, I hadn’t expected it to work. But since I was going all out, I figured I’d use everything at my disposal.

‘This might actually be useful.’

Unlike other things, perhaps because it was said to border on the divine.

A simple trap, yet Volkan had stepped into it.

“This one’s not bad. But if it had any killing intent, I’d never have fallen for it.”

Thud.

“……” “……”

No way. That’s possible? I stared blankly as Volkan stepped into another trap.

‘This time, it felt like he was serious.’ – Run.

The Holy Sword gave me sincere advice.

– His pride’s definitely wounded now. ‘Ah, right.’

I nodded in agreement. I needed to get out of here, fast—

As I prepared to flee, a terrifying sound came from behind.

“Haa…”

In the end, I was caught. What else could I do? Against a Level 9, what chance did I have?

Dangling from Volkan’s grip, I was hauled back to base.

“……But what was that earlier?” “What?” “The arrow thing you did.”

Erme’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

“Ah, that’s a skill called Phantom Dance.” “Shadow Dance?” “Yeah. I upgraded an old Charging Shot technique to my liking.” “……That was it?” “Against someone like me, it wouldn’t work, but against most others, it’d give you the first strike.” “It’s not fully perfected yet. There are still flaws.” “……That?” “Yeah. But I can refine it further, so next time, it won’t be so easily countered.” “……Don’t tell me you’re saying you can stack multiple concepts onto a single arrow?” “Well, yeah…”

For example, stacking penetration three times. That might be enough to kill even seasoned warriors.

‘Or maybe experimenting with different mana applications.’

Fortunately, my mana reserves were monstrous. The orthodox heart techniques of a hero. Learning them and various other skills had caused my mana to grow at an alarming rate.

‘Stat-wise, my mana increases by at least one unit every day.’

As I pondered this, I sensed an overwhelming presence approaching rapidly.

“Was there an attack?! Who was it?!” “A tenth of the forest was obliterated—what kind of battle even happened here…?”

Everyone was in a panic. Ah, right. I hadn’t explained.

I said nothing but a single truth.

“Old Man Volkan was giving me some guidance. We sparred a bit.” “……You turned the forest into that with a spar?”

The Crown Prince’s gaze turned to Volkan, accusatory. Volkan, indignant, retorted.

“Hey, you’re the one who set the forest on fire!”

Volkan, ever the truth-teller. What a shame.