Ch.353353 – Chapter Boss: Reverse World

<353 – Chapter Boss Reversal World>

I was angry.

Not at my own carelessness.

‘Just when an amazingly fun bullying event appears, it gets interrupted by this idiot!’

I couldn’t care less about the unconscious fool sprawled out there.

What mattered was Russo.

He was fighting while overloading his blood energy and mana circuits at the cost of his lifespan.

It’s a dangerous method that could lead to premature death if stability decreases and eventually explodes, but that’s precisely why it was so important.

‘When else would Russo draw out this much of his power?’

If I miss this opportunity, I might regret it for the rest of my life.

He must be strong.

He must be incredible.

I wish I could fight him—these thoughts kept running through my mind.

That’s unacceptable.

That’s not how a veteran player operates.

Uncompleted events leave lingering regrets in your heart.

They also engrave anxiety.

Maybe I was in danger?

Could I have lost? These thoughts persist.

In reality, incomplete events often come back as massive storms in the distant future.

Chapter Boss Camella is the same way.

Now that I have more reliable power than in previous runs and a trustworthy partner, I need to crush this completely without leaving any room for doubt. Otherwise, greed will emerge.

I might start thinking, “I can be even more reckless because Russo is here!” and leave myself vulnerable.

“Who said this was over?”

That’s why I gave him the enhancement potion.

It’s not like the <Dark Matter> that Sing consumed, which permanently increases explosion resistance.

It only significantly increases resistance for its duration, with minimal permanent gains.

Still, it’s enough to continue the fight.

Clink.

The potion bottle emptied.

Russo accepted the challenge.

“Get out. If you interfere again, I’ll punish you.”

The idiot’s roommates carried away his unconscious body. They must care about him somewhat, given that they bothered to take him along.

“What should I do?”

“…Leave, Camella.”

“I’m in the way, right? Understood…”

As Camella left with her head bowed, she shouted from the far end of the corridor.

“Russo!”

“…?”

“Just don’t die. I have lots of business I want to do with you in the future!”

I could hear the veteran player’s expression becoming distorted.

Camella is the bad one here.

Why does she look like the good person while I seem like the villain?

I’m not particularly evil.

There’s a saying about giving medicine after causing illness.

I could have just caused the illness, but I kindly provided the medicine too.

If I gave medicine, I can give illness too.

That’s how vaccines work!

Or not? Whatever!

* * *

“Well. I’ve given you enough time, haven’t I?”

“I appreciate you keeping Camella out of this.”

Russo’s power surged again.

He must realize it himself.

That he’s inadvertently awakened by squeezing out his life force.

That extending the moment of awakening even slightly can lead to a steeper improvement in skill at the threshold of advancement.

But he’s not the only one gaining power.

Novelty is the nourishment that helps veteran players grow.

Category – Dark Magic

Activation – Leap

Specialization – Acceleration

Additional Formulas – Push, Pull

A whip-like kick?

A wing cutter that shoots ki from the leg?

All of these are “meaningless if they don’t hit.”

<3rd Tier – Dark Leap>

Push the body from the starting point with <Push> and pull it to the destination with <Pull>.

Simple but brutal. The reason mages don’t often use this method is simple:

The physical burden is ridiculously high.

Traditional mages take more damage using these tricks than they would from enemy spells.

But I’m a magic swordsman.

With strength growth comes durability to handle that power.

‘An all-rounder character who develops both body and magic without sacrificing either. Magic exclusively for magic swordsmen!’

If the illusions of the 1st level Ki Afterimage Sword don’t work, I’ll crush with the speed of the 2nd level Dark Rush Sword.

I’ll somehow endure the damage from high-speed movement with my trained stats.

In short, this is my response to Instructor Russo’s fighting style that uses lifespan and blood energy stability as costs.

You think you’re the only one who can use such techniques?

I can use similar skills too!

Slash.

Russo’s leg no longer bled when it received the sword strike.

Once he fully deployed his mana coating, his leg’s durability became no less than the sword energy.

From now on, his cost is neither lifespan nor bleeding.

“We’re just getting started. You’re not going to say you’re already tired, are you?”

“Don’t underestimate me. I may have been the weakest when finishing the sophomore curriculum, but that doesn’t mean I’m still the weakest now!”

Russo’s durability increased thanks to the resistance potion, allowing his body to handle greater output.

If until now he was like a bomb that could explode at any moment, now he was like a firework shooting in one direction with dazzling light.

<Russo-style Mana Training Method>

<Storm Kick>

His body, which had screamed in pain after each kick as he forcibly rushed into the next movement, no longer protested.

When his body stopped screaming, the time to recover his posture and prepare for the next attack shortened.

A body that moved according to his will allowed Russo to execute martial arts that had previously existed only in his imagination.

“That’s it! That’s exactly it!”

This man truly has high potential.

Even when I twist the speed and trajectory of Dark Rush into <Double Rush>, he captures the movement path with his kicks that pull and push widely.

Though he can’t track all my movement paths with his eyes, he follows the routes.

He may not have a genius’s intuition, but with his intelligent fighting style, he steadily catches up to a genius’s pace one step at a time.

It’s not the Explosive Heart Technique that’s impressive.

It’s this man’s unyielding will that’s remarkable.

<Dark Rush>

<Irregular Triple Rush>

Of course, that alone isn’t enough.

A kick that follows one twist.

As if mocking it, I feint exhaustion, then retreat in a different angle and path while advancing in the same rhythm.

Just as in the unorthodox technique of handling a long whip, where one cannot block an opponent’s approach while the whip is returning, a martial artist’s leg works the same way.

<Step: Rotating Walk>

<Continuous Roundhouse Kicks>

Russo’s response was simple.

If he can’t hit with one kick, he’ll keep kicking two, three times without stopping.

The idea is to spin continuously like a top to kick away any approach.

What an adorably novice thought.

“What will you do about this?”

“!!”

Category – Dark Magic

Activation – Thorn Creation

Specialization – Viscosity

Auxiliary Formulas – Adhesion, Reinforcement

Thorns sprouting from the ground restrain his spinning legs, forcibly stopping his movement.

Russo responded quite boldly.

He increased his rotation speed to tear off all the attached thorns.

“Wow! You know the spinning whirlwind!”

The thorn vines caught fire and burned from the incredible speed.

Russo, who had been on the defensive, charged forward using an explosive step derived from the Explosive Heart Technique.

But paper airplanes that I had pulled out of my bag in abundance were already flying around him.

“…?”

Category – Dark Magic

Activation – Magic Missile

Specialization – Explosion

Auxiliary Formulas – Guidance, Acceleration

“Take this, Super Duper Explosion!”

If I lose by going in, I’ll just make you come to me!

The paper airplanes that looked like children’s toys emitted a dazzling light, and Russo panicked, turning his upper body to the ground and swinging both legs to kick away the planes.

<Defensive Technique – Windmill>

He channeled ki into his rotating legs to blow away the approaching explosions with air pressure.

Not a bad method.

He manages to deflect everything even though I added variations by disappearing and reappearing in darkness.

It means his defensive technique was properly thorough.

All 99 paper airplanes that I had prepared to “accidentally” drop on heroes when passing by in the corridor were used up.

“Hmm~ I can turn it up a bit more!”

“W-wait a moment…”

The senior was trying to say something while gasping for breath, but I still had plenty prepared.

“Yah! Super Duper Sword Downpour!”

“What are you playing at while my feet are trapped!”

“Playing? I’m preparing to fight properly.”

“Where did all those swords come from in the first place!”

“My bag!”

I stuck iron swords from my bag into the floor everywhere, raising their sword energy.

With this, preparations complete!

Category – Dark Magic

Activation – Electricity Generation

Specialization – Synchronization

Auxiliary Formulas – Conductivity, Protection

<3rd Tier – Electric Trap>

Black electric lines crackled between the swords.

A paper fragment deflected by his kick instantly burned up when it touched the electricity.

Obviously harmful to human bodies!

I increased conductivity to make electricity flow better and reinforced the swords’ defense with protection.

I walked through the electricity flowing between the swords with a grin.

“The electricity… doesn’t affect you?”

“Actually, this magic doesn’t cause damage if you have dark attributes!”

“Did you think I’d walk into such a dangerous place of my own accord?”

“You’ll have to! Otherwise…”

Energy began to concentrate at incredible speed.

Russo’s face turned pale as he saw the power condensing over a solid stone.

“I’ll use everything from rainbow balls to dark balls that I showed in the dodgeball tournament!”

The senior rushed forward with all his might.

Even though the electric power clawed at his muscles and electrocuted him.

Even though he tried to jump over the electric lines but got electrocuted by unexpected diagonal connections between swords.

Even though he tried to escape by leaping into the air but was hit by magic from my left hand while my right hand was concentrating power, causing him to fall back into the electric lines.

Even though I kept shifting my legs to maintain distance after he had come all this way.

He approached diligently and earnestly like Morb.

“I caught up…!”

Despite his body growing heavier with each electrocution stack, the senior finally charged in, accepting three stacks at once in his final approach.

I want to praise his judgment for not making the mistake of avoiding status effects at the cost of greater battle disadvantage.

“Wow, so fast!”

The senior approached before I could even get to the rainbow ball.

“Huff, huff, got, huff,”

His face, covered in soot from running so hard that sweat poured like rain, was right in front of me.

But what I was creating in my hand wasn’t a rainbow ball or dark ball.

“Since you came, you have to go back!”

“You little bas—”

“Air Bomb!”

The shockwave that exploded at close range sent Senior Russo rolling backward.

He returned to the starting point of the electric net with plenty of electrocution stacks accumulated along the way.

“This is the phase 2 pattern of the net. Well made, right?”

“Please, huff, huff, stop…”

“Here, take this!”

The senior’s expression darkened as he looked down at the potion rolling near his feet while gasping for breath.

“Drink this and regain your strength!”

“Until… when…?”

Good question.

Until when should we continue?

“You said earlier you’d endure until 6 AM, right?”

Looking at the clock, it was 3 AM.

Three hours left.

“Let’s go for three more hours!”

You set the time, senior!

Despite my cheerful exclamation, Russo’s expression crumbled.

Of course, the fun lasted exactly until 6 AM.