142. The Combative Subspace Pouch

Gon is a tricky opponent to deal with.

He has an uncanny ability to read his opponent’s psychology, appears deceptively sluggish yet is far more cunning than one would imagine, and possesses a nimble, lightning-fast body.

When people face Gon, they tend to focus solely on his raw power. They assume he relies on brute strength to smash through everything in a barbaric manner, but the reality is different.

Watching Shion charge at him, Gon smirked inwardly. It was a straightforward, unmodified rush-exactly as he had taught him.

A charge like that? He could handle it any number of times.

Thud!

As expected, Gon effortlessly blocked Shion’s charge without any strain.

‘His strength has improved.’

Having consumed the Giant’s Essence, Shion’s power had undoubtedly increased, but this level was still manageable for Gon.

‘He’s gotten sharper, but he’s still far from ready.’

Gon silently evaluated Shion as their spar continued. Since he was being paid to teach, he had no intention of going easy-his assessment was strict and unrelenting.

“Tch… damn it.”

Meanwhile, Shion clicked his tongue in frustration at Gon’s impenetrable defense.

For a barbarian warrior past his prime, he was absurdly tough and sturdy.

He had retired from adventuring because of a leg injury that made prolonged walking difficult, hadn’t he? Recalling Gon’s past, Shion concluded that if he had still been active as an adventurer, he would’ve easily reached Gold Rank.

What a waste of potential. Part of him wanted to drag Gon into the labyrinth and use him as a frontline fighter.

‘I’d love to have him as an ally, but that’s impossible. A shame, but Gon isn’t someone who’ll walk the same path as me. He’s just another wall I need to overcome.’

Shion removed his Dynamic Vision Enhancement Goggles and stored them in his inventory.

“Finally taking off those ridiculous goggles?”

“Yes. I’ve fully grasped the timing now.”

“Grasped the timing?”

“Yes. From now on, you might find things a bit surprising.”

“Hoh. Now that’s something to look forward to. Ah, before you show me anything new, just know that everything up until now has been boringly predictable.”

Gon smirked, taunting Shion.

Boring and predictable. The moves Shion had shown during their spar were, as Gon said, utterly transparent.

Unlike Rika, who was completely outmatched in physical ability, Gon’s physique was on par with Shion’s after consuming the Giant’s Essence. From a technical standpoint, Shion was still dancing in the palm of Gon’s hand.

After all, the foundation of most of Shion’s current combat techniques came from Gon, his de facto teacher.

But from now on, things would be different.

The technique Shion was about to use wasn’t something Gon had taught him.

“Here I come.”

Shion discarded the axe he was holding.

Raising the shield strapped to his left forearm, he began advancing toward Gon.

‘What? He’s throwing away his weapon?’

Gon was baffled by Shion’s actions. He had clearly discarded his axe, yet he wasn’t going unarmed-he still held onto his shield.

‘What’s he trying to show me?’

A mix of suspicion and an intense urge to crush whatever Shion had planned surged through Gon.

Seeing his opponent approach him without even wielding a weapon filled him with both anger and a sadistic desire to humiliate him.

No matter how much he had adapted to civilization and integrated into the labyrinth city, a wildness still lingered in Gon’s heart.

“Raaah!!!”

With a warrior’s roar, Gon swung his greatsword.

An overwhelming pressure accompanied the slash.

Shion forcibly endured the roar and deflected Gon’s shield strike with his own.

Crash!

A splitting sound rang out as more than half of his shield shattered. Evasion hadn’t worked-even deflecting the blow had dealt damage. Feeling a stinging pain in his left arm, Shion quickly widened the distance again.

‘I saw it.’

He had wanted to experience Gon’s attack firsthand without relying on the goggles.

And as a result, he saw it-Gon’s movements.

‘It’s possible.’

Shion realized something.

The arrow-catching training wasn’t just a universal shield against ranged attacks.

From now on, he would achieve the impossible using his Dimensional Pouch, a utility-focused support-type ability.

“Haaah!!”

Gon swung his greatsword with the intent to completely overwhelm Shion this time.

Shion, having thrown aside his half-shattered shield, half-opened his eyes and stared at the greatsword descending to split him in two.

Gon wouldn’t stop. As long as Shion didn’t die, he could just send him to the relief station to be healed. No-even if he died, he could be resurrected. So Gon swung without hesitation, fully intending to kill.

Shion felt as though the world around him was slowing down.

Even without the goggles, his eyes were slowing down the approach of death.

‘Just as I thought…’

In the dream, Shaka’s remnants hadn’t fully activated.

Now, they were in perfect sync, pushing Shion’s natural dynamic vision and cognitive abilities to their absolute limit.

In the accelerated flow of thought, Shion reached out toward the incoming greatsword.

Would it work or not? He wouldn’t know until he tried.

Before the arrow-catching training, Shion could only store stationary objects in his Dimensional Pouch.

But now, things were different.

He had stored arrows, thrown axes, javelins-even cannonballs-into his inventory.

So why not a swinging sword?

If he could touch an opponent’s weapon at the perfect moment and store it without injury-

‘Disarm.’

Shion’s Dimensional Pouch activated.

Clink!

“Huh?!”

“What the-?!”

Gon’s greatsword vanished in an instant.

The blade that should have split Shion’s skull in two disappeared into thin air.

All that remained was Gon, thrown off-balance as he lurched forward, and Shion, who had stepped back and now held Gon’s greatsword in his hands.

Not only that-Shion had even swung the blade downward to dissipate its remaining kinetic energy. A flawless weapon theft.

“How’s that? Didn’t see that coming, did you?”

“…Impressive. You’ve mastered the pinnacle of the Dimensional Pouch.”

Shion pressed the tip of the greatsword against Gon’s neck.

Gon knew the match was over. If this had been a real fight, Shion would have driven the blade straight through his throat.

“Are you insane?! That was possible?!”

Rika couldn’t close her mouth as she watched Shion disarm his opponent in an instant and counterattack.

The Dimensional Pouch was an incredibly useful and versatile ability, but it wasn’t exactly suited for combat.

Without the reflexes to seize the perfect moment, one could only store stationary objects.

Yet Shion had pushed this simple but exceptional ability to its limits, making it viable in battle.

Whether it was hauling heavy waste or construction materials to block paths in the labyrinth-or, like now, stealing an opponent’s weapon and turning it into his own.

“This doesn’t seem like an easy technique to pull off. How did you do it?”

“You have to time it perfectly. If you just reach out blindly, you’ll lose your hand. If you don’t catch the exact moment, it’s impossible to take a moving weapon.”

“Hah. I never thought it could be used like this. Almost no one has ever used the Dimensional Pouch in combat.”

Gon now seriously saw Platinum Rank potential in Shion.

This was a man who had defeated him despite having almost no combat-related abilities.

A natural sense for battle, a sharp mind-such adventurers were the ones with the makings of a Platinum Rank.

“To reach this level in just a few days. Amazing.”

Of course, Gon assumed Shion had developed this technique in mere days, which was why he deemed him worthy of Platinum.

In reality, it had taken three months of being trapped in a dream, suffering thousands of deaths under the torment of the Evil Women.

But success was what mattered. If he hadn’t had the talent, he wouldn’t have mastered arrow-catching in three months-so Shion’s talent was undeniable.

Above all, the fact that he could endure such pain and push himself like a madman placed him above 90% of the labyrinth city’s adventurers.

“If you can use this well, you won’t just disarm people-you could catch arrows too, right?”

“About that. Want to try shooting one?”

“Huh? You can do it?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

This technique had evolved from arrow-catching, after all.

Hearing Shion’s confident answer, Gon felt something akin to euphoria.

The Eastern disciple he had casually taken in had returned with an absurd technique-one so overpowered that it surpassed even his own skills in some aspects.

Even Gon, who had trained countless adventurers into warriors, had never seen a student like this. His insane learning speed aside, the depth of his talent was extraordinary.

“Hoh. Rika, fetch an unsharpened arrow and a bow.”

“Already got them.”

“Fast. Let’s test it right away.”

Even an unsharpened wooden rod could cause serious injury if it hit.

Yet Gon didn’t hesitate to nock the arrow. His opponent was the genius who had just snatched his own sword mid-swing.

‘If he says he can catch it…’

He must be able to. Gon saw unwavering confidence in Shion’s eyes-something only those with absolute certainty could possess. He released the arrow.

Whoosh-

The arrow flew.

If Shion failed to catch it-

It would pierce straight through his left eye.

“You madman-!!!”

“He caught it?!”

Of course, Shion didn’t miss. He snatched the arrow in one smooth motion.

The arrow vanished into thin air as if swallowed by a rift in spacetime.

“Ta-da.”

Shion fired the same arrow toward a distant target dummy.

The projectile shot from his fingertips and embedded itself in the dummy’s chest.

“…So it’s not just catching.”

“It retains all its momentum when stored in the Dimensional Pouch. Insane. How is that even possible? This… this is broken.”

Rika stared at Shion with pure admiration, unable to look away.

At first, she had thought he was just some guy.

After the Cataclysm, she saw him as the savior who had rescued her lady.

Now, witnessing his absurd talent and ability mastery, she couldn’t help but feel awe.

Unlike Gon, Rika knew Shion had spent three months in the dream, enduring thousands of deaths to master this technique-making her admiration even greater.

This wasn’t just talent. It was perseverance, determination… no, something beyond that-obsession.

Knowing that no ordinary person could commit to such madness, Rika acknowledged Shion wholeheartedly.

Just as she was silently praising him, Gon, unable to contain his competitive spirit, made a proposal.

“Hold on. Shion. Mind if I shoot another arrow? This time, I’ll go all out.”

“Sure. As many as you want.”

Having successfully translated his dream-honed instincts into reality, Shion confidently accepted Gon’s challenge.

Soon, Gon returned with the longbow he had used during his labyrinth days.

It was a monstrous greatbow, nearly two meters in length.

“You can actually fire that thing? With human strength?”

“With an ability’s help, yes. Though even then, it’s not easy.”

“You’re just as insane as he is.”

“Rika, no one in the labyrinth city is sane.”

“I’m normal.”

“You’re still serving a master who hasn’t paid you a single penny. That’s not normal.”

“…”

Rika fell silent as Gon nocked an arrow as tall as a person onto the two-meter greatbow.

It was practically a spear. The draw weight of this monstrosity was beyond what any normal human could manage, even with their life on the line.

Gon could barely pull it-and only because he had an ability related to archery.

“Alright, here it comes. If you die, I’ll resurrect you.”

“…”

Looking at the greatbow, Shion was reminded of the Evil Women’s cannons.

Both were utterly deranged.

The moment he showed he could catch arrows, they escalated to lethal firepower.

“Go ahead. Shoot.”

With a resigned mindset, Shion faced the incoming arrow.

Insane destructive force. A shockwave rippled behind the projectile.

This was comparable to the Evil Women’s cannons-essentially a siege weapon.

A human-powered ballista.

“Gyaaah!!!”

Whether it was a battle cry or a scream, Shion didn’t know as he reached out toward the massive arrow.

The result? Shion’s victory.

The giant arrow disappeared into the void.

“…!”

“He… caught even that?”

“Ugh…”

Shion, whose arm had nearly been torn off in that 0.1-second window, wiped away the pouring sweat and spoke to Gon.

“That thing you just shot. Can I keep it?”

Shion had just acquired a trump card.

A single shot from Gon’s full-powered greatbow.

It was like obtaining a cannon capable of obliterating an enemy’s torso in one hit.