Chapter 126.1

Chapter 126 – Rule 31. The Leader Restores Order in Academy City (28)

What is freedom?

It is the flap of a bird’s wings soaring through the vast sky.

It is the voyage of a sturdy ship gliding through the open sea.

It is the ability to go anywhere, to set foot anywhere in the world.

This was the freedom that Goliath sought.

But what was Neo Seoul to Goliath?

Even though it was his hometown, compared to the vast world, it was nothing but a narrow pasture where humans struggled to maintain their lives.

But aren’t humans creatures of conflict?

They constantly fight even in that confined pasture, scheming to secure their positions.

Indeed.

Humans are such creatures.

Goliath felt alive through battles against the strong.

Roaming outside the city, he engaged in fierce duels with magical beasts.

He reveled in the vast world.

But what had countless battles brought to Goliath?

How had they changed him?

What kind of desire had they stirred within him?

The answer was right here, right now.

*Bang!*

Goliath launched off the ground, sending a sonic boom rippling outward. He charged like a cannon, aiming his clenched fist at Woo-jin.

*Boom!*

A concentrated gravitational wave enveloped his fist. If it connected, it would not merely destroy but distort Woo-jin’s entire body.

The punch of Neo Seoul’s strongest.

Unique Ability: Graviton Mastery.

Magic Technique Type 2: Ultimate Fist.

Woo-jin didn’t recklessly charge.

*Crack.*

A rift appeared in the air.

Woo-jin slipped inside, seizing an opportunity to counter.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Goliath pursued, diving into the rift after Woo-jin.

Inside the wormhole.

Goliath caught up to Woo-jin.

Woo-jin, startled, crossed the Iron Dragon Staff and Lightning Rod defensively—an instinctive reaction ingrained in his body.

Goliath swung his fist.

A massive, bandaged fist, radiating gravitational waves, targeted Woo-jin.

It collided with the Iron Dragon Staff and the Lightning Rod, both discharging shockwaves of electricity.

*BOOM!!!*

The astronomical magic flowing through the wormhole’s walls shook violently. The dense magic clashed, creating a powerful shockwave.

Both Woo-jin and Goliath were thrown back, flung out of the wormhole and sent tumbling across the ground.

*Crash!!!*

Even as he was sent flying, Goliath stabilized, quickly regaining his stance.

Both were recipients of the Golden Sheep’s blessing.

Against Goliath, Woo-jin’s tactic of evading attacks through spatial jumps and seeking surprise opportunities was ineffective.

*Crack!*

Woo-jin teleported instantly to Goliath’s side.

Simultaneously, a multitude of rifts filled the air.

*Rumble!!*

Thick Spatial Thunderstrikes poured out from them.

The massive lightning surged like dragons or serpents, aiming for Goliath.

Seizing the moment when Goliath’s attention was on the Spatial Thunderstrikes, Woo-jin closed in and struck with the Iron Dragon Staff.

But then.

*Crash!!!*

“!”

The ground suddenly shattered and rose upward. The ground beneath Woo-jin’s feet followed suit.

*Whirrr!!*

Debris and Woo-jin’s body were swiftly propelled upward.

‘The gravity reversed…!’

Woo-jin kicked off a floating chunk of debris, positioning himself upside down beneath another piece, like a bat hanging.

Unique Ability: Graviton Mastery.

Magic Technique Type 3: Gravity Reversal.

Goliath, also propelled upward, had evaded the Spatial Thunderstrikes.

He kicked off a floating building fragment, shooting toward Woo-jin.

*Boom!*

As expected, Goliath’s fist was still enveloped in powerful gravitational waves.

*Crackle!*

Woo-jin activated the Lightning Rod. Teal lightning stretched out from the Lightning Rod like chains, painting the air.

Waves of lightning flowed behind Woo-jin.

Goliath threw his fist.

Woo-jin swung the Lightning Rod.

*BOOM!!!*

A deafening explosion erupted.

A massive electrical storm engulfed Goliath.

The high-density magic collision created a bright flash, covering the center area.

However, the gravitational waves from Goliath’s fist pierced through the electric explosion, undeterred.

Woo-jin was caught in the gravitational wave. Blasted by the explosion’s impact, he flew in the opposite direction at tremendous speed, like an arrow or a meteor.

Trailing streaks of light, Woo-jin’s body crashed into a rock.

*Crash!*

“Cough…!”

Woo-jin spat blood.

Amid the cloud of dust rising from the shattered rock, the acrid smell stung Woo-jin’s nose.

He looked around.

The dust settled quickly, revealing a mysterious sight.

A sky discolored by the magical beasts’ miasma.

Trees that had lost their green.

Ground marred by massive footprints.

This strange scene…

“Have I been thrown outside…?”

It was the outside world, beyond the land blessed by the Golden Sheep.

A world where the miasma and radiation emitted by magical beasts made it impossible for ordinary humans to survive.

It was the outside world.

Currently at the 7th tier, Woo-jin’s body could withstand the air of the outside world that would normally be lethal to humans.

‘This is actually better.’

Woo-jin stood up, clutching the Iron Dragon Staff and the Lightning Rod.

A battle with Goliath could significantly impact Neo Seoul, so it was preferable to fight outside.

*Whoosh!!*

*Boom!!*

Goliath descended like a meteor, landing in front of Woo-jin. The ground collapsed, kicking up dust. Through it, Woo-jin saw Goliath’s bold smile.