Chapter 99: The Price of Power

Episode 99

“Whoa?!”

“What?! He’s gotten stronger again!”

“Was he holding back all this time? That can’t be…”

“What kind of ability is that…?”

The audience gasped and murmured, confused and astonished, watching Shin Woong, who had become noticeably stronger yet again.

The VIPs watching the match reacted similarly.

‘This is impossible!’

Hong Hyeonjin, in particular, looked utterly shocked.

‘What is that skill? Why does he keep getting stronger?”

As the eldest daughter of one of the four major clans, she had grown up watching hunters with diverse skills and traits.

But she’d never witnessed a hunter who could become progressively stronger by repeatedly using the same skill.

Such an overpowered ability shouldn’t even exist.

‘Am I the only one who’s surprised?’

She glanced at the other clan masters seated in the VIP section.

Everyone seemed to be reacting the same way. They were all buzzing with shock and frantically contacting someone on their smartphones.

Even Oh Byeong-guk and Kang Gyeong-gwon couldn’t erase the astonishment from their faces.

And they weren’t the only ones surprised.

“…Was that even possible…?”

Even Jang Seungwook, the vice president of Colosseum, was staring at Shin Woong with a dumbfounded expression, asking the question.

Baek Jun couldn’t answer. This was the first time he’d encountered a situation like Shin Woong’s.

‘If he can enhance his physical abilities without limit…’

A chill ran down his spine.

If that was truly possible, he wouldn’t have to worry about the program itself. Instead, they’d have to pray that Shin Woong wouldn’t decide to escape into the audience.

He quickly dismissed the thought.

‘That can’t be right. It’s impossible. There must be some condition or price to pay.’

He glared at Shin Woong, trying to figure out how he could continuously enhance his physical abilities.

‘…I’ll have to ask Master Yong about this later.’

Even Baek Jun, with all his experience, couldn’t find an answer. In times like these, it was best to ask Yong Hangil, the master of the Daehan Clan, who lived in the New Continent.

With all sorts of awakened individuals gathered in the New Continent, there might be a similar case there.

“Wooah!!”

“Amazing!”

“How many are there…?!”

Suddenly, the cheers of the audience erupted.

Looking towards the arena, Baek Jun saw ten Kim Jinsungs surrounding Shin Woong, attacking simultaneously.

Even Shin Woong, who had effortlessly defeated the clones before, was struggling to gain the upper hand against the relentless assault of ten Kim Jinsungs, forced to focus on defense.

“Kim Jinsung is amazing too. It’s not easy to create 10 clones at once.”

Baek Jun nodded, agreeing with Jang Seungwook’s impressed comment.

While they were still uncertain about Shin Woong’s ability, both were well-versed in Shadow Clone techniques. They understood just how much mana and concentration it took to create and control even a single clone.

“To think that even someone like Kim Jinsung is struggling to win against him in the preliminaries…”

Jang Seungwook shook his head in disbelief.

Baek Jun shared the same thought.

‘It’s a shame to eliminate either of them in the preliminaries. They’re both too good.’

He glanced at Bin Nasir, who was completely absorbed in the match, his fist clenched.

‘…He’ll likely take the bait.’

He turned back to Jang Seungwook and asked in a low voice, only audible to the two of them,

“Is the plan going smoothly?”

Jang Seungwook simply nodded.

**Swoosh!**

The sound of flesh being deeply cut echoed through the arena.

The head of one of Kim Jinsung’s clones flew into the air.

The audience saw it transform into a small scarecrow head.

However, another clone was summoned immediately.

The newly-formed clone instantly filled the gap left by the fallen one.

The coordinated assault of nine clones and Kim Jinsung resumed.

They attacked from all sides, surrounding Shin Woong.

But he blocked every single attack.

Furthermore, he even managed to counterattack, inflicting critical damage on a clone.

‘He’s really incredible.’

Kim Jinsung couldn’t help but be awed by Shin Woong’s unbelievable speed and power.

He likely would have already lost if he hadn’t used his recovery skill to summon this many clones.

‘This isn’t working. I can’t damage him like this.’

Kim Jinsung realized that simply increasing the number of clones wouldn’t work.

He needed a new strategy.

‘My current skills won’t work. I need a new skill that Shin Woong won’t expect.’

He’d already used all the skills he possessed during the fight, both solo and with his clones.

But none of them were truly effective against Shin Woong.

‘Skill Enhancement is the only option.’

Kim Jinsung stepped back, contemplating which skill to upgrade.

‘Should I enhance ‘Indestructible Body’? …No, Shin Woong knows how to inflict internal damage.

He could only use Skill Enhancement once. He had less than 15,000 points left.

He had to choose the most effective skill carefully. He scrolled through his status window, pondering, while deflecting attacks.

‘…This will have to do.’

He made up his mind and jumped back, activating Skill Enhancement.

Seeing Kim Jinsung retreat, Shin Woong seized the opportunity.

**Swoosh!**

He cleanly decapitated another clone. As he did, a giant shadow suddenly fell upon him.

“……!”

His eyes widened, and he slowly looked up.

A towering plant monster, encompassing the entire ceiling of the arena, filled his vision.

It was a monster he was quite familiar with.

‘Forghenae!’

The Forghenae, the one Kim Jinsung had single-handedly defeated in the first preliminary round, had appeared in the middle of the arena.

“Woooah?!”

“Kyaaah!!”

“F-F-Forghenae!”

“Could Kim Jinsung have transformed into that…?”

“A-Are we safe…?”

The audience screamed, terror evident on their faces as they gazed at the colossal Forghenae.

‘I didn’t want to transform into this kind of monster either.’

Kim Jinsung, now transformed into a Forghenae, thought wryly, hearing their reactions.

But this was his best option to defeat Shin Woong.

—

▶ Skill ‘Animal Transformation’ has been enhanced to ‘Organism Transformation’ through Skill Enhancement.

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

▷ You have transformed into ‘Forghenae’.

▷ You can use skills ‘Blinding Powder’ and ‘Sleeping Powder’.

▷ All stats significantly increased.

—

He dismissed all the notifications.

‘Now then, shall we experience the power of the strongest plant monster?’

He issued a command to his clones to surround Shin Woong.

Kim Jinsung himself began to swing Forghenae’s vines at him.

**Thud! Thud! Thud!**

Massive vine tendrils rained down on Shin Woong.

He nimbly dodged, but each impact left a deep crater in the ground.

Then,

**Slash!**

He was struck by one of Kim Jinsung’s clones circling him.

Blood trickled from the long gash on his thigh, but he immediately counterattacked.

Just as he beheaded the offending clone, a barrage of vines hurtled towards him.

They were so fast he couldn’t see an opening to dodge.

He had no choice but to block with his sword.

**Clang! Clang! Clang!**

‘Ugh…!’

Shin Woong was forced back, gritting his teeth as he blocked the successive attacks.

Each strike carried immense power.

‘…Every attack is infused with the Union of Body and Qi.’

Each descending vine was a serious threat.

He scanned the massive Forghenae in front of him.

Hundreds of vines were poised, ready to strike.

‘I need to get rid of the clones first.’

He decided to quickly eliminate the surrounding clones before dealing with the Forghenae.

He twisted his body, dodging another vine strike, and darted to his right, attempting to cut down a clone.

But he failed spectacularly.

‘…?!’

Something had suddenly bound his legs.

He saw thick roots of the Forghenae that had erupted from the ground, wrapping around his ankles.

He swiftly slashed the roots with his sword and jumped to the side.

But.

**Slash!**

He was slightly late, and his left forearm was slashed by a clone’s sword.

‘Damn it…!’

He cursed under his breath.

It was already difficult enough to dodge the vines, and now he also had to watch out for roots coming from the ground.

Then,

‘…Hmm?’

He suddenly saw an unknown powder raining down on him.

As soon as the powder touched his body, his vision went black, and he was overcome by drowsiness.

‘It’s status ailment powder!’

He instinctively activated his ability.

A white flash emanated from his eyes, and his mind cleared.

He instantly twisted his body, raising his sword.

**Clang! Clang!**

He barely blocked attacks from two roots and a clone.

He was about to counterattack when his vision blurred, and drowsiness returned.

Sleeping powder and blinding powder had filled the entire arena.

‘Damn it…!’

He gritted his teeth, forced to activate his ability again.

His eyes flashed with white light,

But unlike before, his eyes were severely bloodshot.

‘…I can’t hold out much longer.’

He felt his body sending him a warning signal.

If he continued using his ability to recover from status ailments, he was certain his body would reach its limit soon.

‘In that case…’

He hesitated, unsure what to do, before jumping away from another vine attack.

The audience watched in awe, impressed by Forghenae’s overwhelming power.

“Wow…!”

“Now I understand why they call Forghenae the strongest plant monster…”

“Kim Jinsung defeated that thing on his own?”

“Amazing… I’m trembling in fear just watching that monster…”

“But Shin Woong is holding up pretty well, isn’t he?”

**Thwack!**

“…Huh?!”

Shin Woong, who had been doing well so far, finally took a direct hit from a vine attack.

He was sent flying to the edge of the arena, crashing against the ground with a heavy thud.

“Ugh…!”

He quickly got back up but couldn’t hide his agony.

His ribs on his right side were completely shattered.

Kim Jinsung’s remaining clones rushed towards Shin Woong, blood trickling from his lips as he coughed.

At the same time, Kim Jinsung, transformed into Forghenae, swung his vines toward him.

‘I have to finish him off now!’

Kim Jinsung swung his vines relentlessly.

His clones closed in on Shin Woong, swords raised.

Then,

“Aaaaargh!!”

A thunderous roar erupted from Shin Woong.

Seeing the glint in his eyes, Kim Jinsung thought,

‘Not again?!’

**Slash! Slash! Slash!**

The heads of the clones attacking Shin Woong went flying.

Then, he saw,

“Haaaah…!”

Blood streamed from Shin Woong’s mouth, his eyes turning crimson.

Shin Woong had once again used his ability.

—