Comparison

[Sanghajwauchung]’s Awakened Ability inverts the target’s five senses.

It’s quite a confusing ability, making the world look like a mirror image and causing limbs to move in reverse.

Just when you think you’ve adapted, he changes the direction again.

His power even affects vectors, allowing him to concentrate his strength and fire Blades like bullets.

───.

She dodged it.

The Blade fragments whistled past, grazing her cheek.

She approached, healing the wound with [Heal], but then [Inversion] occurred. [Sanghajwauchung], who should have been in front, appeared from behind. She anticipated it and turned around, but then [Inversion] again.

In front.

Appearing from behind.

Now in front again.

No, behind.

“This is annoying.”

“Give up already. You think some ordinary swordsman can catch me? You’ve got a wild Dream!”

[Sanghajwauchung] flashed a mocking grin, repeatedly using [Inversion] to appear and disappear as if teleporting.

She lunged at [Sanghajwauchung] as soon as she saw him, but

[Sanghajwauchung] took a step back and extended his index finger.

He twirled only the tip of his index finger.

“Spin.”

At that moment.

[Inversion]?

No, [Rotation].

Her vision began to spin.

She wasn’t actually rotating.

The semicircular canals inside her eardrums were tricked into thinking she was rotating. She was dominated by the same sensation as when you spin around quickly and then stop, but the spinning continues even after you’ve stopped.

She lost her balance from the sudden change and knelt down.

A one-sided effect.

Awakened Ability.

It was an ability that used Magical Power, but from the moment it was activated, it was a natural phenomenon. Things like Anti-Magic Power were simply bypassed.

“Kyahaha. I know you’re strong, but I’ve never lost in close combat, you know? You seem pretty confident in your Sword, but too bad. I’m the worst kind of Awakened for guys like you.”

[Sanghajwauchung]’s Awakened Ability was tricky.

It [Inverted] and [Rotated] the five senses.

The actual location was different from the location seen with the eyes, making it difficult to attack because you doubted what you saw.

So?

“Keep laughing. My ability is different from other people’s in terms of efficiency. You’re sorely mistaken if you think it’ll run out!”

[Sanghajwauchung] in a Pierrot skin.

He scattered daggers hidden in his chest in all directions.

The daggers, thrown with all his might, spread out from her, but the [Inversion] acting on the physical force of the daggers caused them to turn back towards Americano all at once.

Americano immediately deflected them with her Sword.

“Gotcha!”

They hit her in the back.

What was going on?

He was causing a ruckus in front, but he was actually behind.

You thought he was behind and attacked, but he was causing a ruckus from behind again.

There was a limit to how much you could enjoy the trickiness.

The daggers stuck in her back failed to penetrate and fell powerlessly.

Americano turned to look at [Sanghajwauchung].

“It’s obvious you have nothing to offer but your ability, so I played along.”

“Meh~long. Look at you making excuses because you’re at a disadvantage! Kyahaha! Aren’t you ashamed? Then show me your full power!”

[Sanghajwauchung] had not learned any combat techniques.

The hand holding the dagger.

The stance he took when throwing the dagger.

Walking and running.

All of it was typical of an ordinary person.

Hunters relied on their Awakened Abilities, but there was a big difference between those who had been on the battlefield and those who hadn’t.

[Sanghajwauchung] was S-rank in the [Duel Arena], but he relied on his Awakened Ability for over 90 percent of his strength.

Show you my full power?

‘Alright, I’ll show you.’

[Boost]

But there was no Blue Flame.

Because she couldn’t draw her [Magic Sword].

In the [Duel Arena], you can’t bring equipment you use outside.

A chill filled the space where the Blue Flame wasn’t.

“Hoo.”

Her breath.

Thick.

It had been a long time since she’d seen it.

She glared at [Sanghajwauchung] in front of her as if she wanted to kill him.

[Heavenly Slaughter Star] was also angry, grinding its teeth and emitting [Intent to Kill], causing [Sanghajwauchung] to flinch.

‘Got him.’

Her breath left a long, white trail.

Her body was filled with cold.

Filled with Magical Power.

In an instant, she [Leaped],

And passed by [Sanghajwauchung].

She slashed.

“Keuh… Fast.”

“You’re nothing special.”

He wasn’t dead yet.

She didn’t kill him.

“You said it was efficient?”

She had a lot to say to him, considering how annoying he had been.

“You’re F-rank, aren’t you?”

“Hup…!”

[Sanghajwauchung] was startled.

“I know how good it feels to have more Magical Power than in reality and to use your ability to your heart’s content, but if you’re going to keep doing that, then train, train. It won’t last long.”

“I haven’t, lost yet.”

Had he never died before?

His [Synchronization Rate] must be low.

To be able to talk even after a third of his side had been cut open.

[Sanghajwauchung] disappeared from in front of her, and an [Inverted] illusion appeared next to her.

“You let your guard down! I won’t let my guard down now!”

“A corpse is talking too much.”

“What? …Ugh?!”

[Sanghajwauchung], who had grabbed Americano from behind using his Inversion ability.

He couldn’t even take a step before collapsing.

The power of the Inversion ability disappeared, and the Polygon that was [Sanghajwauchung] appeared in front of her and disappeared with a swish.

[YOU WIN]

“Hoo…”

The Match ended and she recovered.

As the continuous recovery took effect, her body, which had been chilled, warmed up.

She hadn’t used her full power, but using [Boost] without heat was still tough.

She rubbed her arms to ward off the cold.

While waiting for the next Match participant to arrive, she thought about the Awakened she had faced so far.

[Clock] B-rank. Time ability.

[Bomber Witch] A-rank. Explosion ability.

[Sanghajwauchung] S-rank. Inversion ability.

Three Hunter Heros in a row.

She wondered where all the Hunter Heros had gone, but it seemed they were holed up in the [Duel Arena].

There were already few Hunter Heros, but the fact that she had faced three in a row meant there was no mistake.

The weakness of Awakened Abilities was that they consumed a lot of Magical Power.

Therefore, using Awakened Abilities forced a short-term battle, and the [Duel Arena] was a good environment for short-term battles.

Because you recovered immediately after the Duel ended.

Even if you ran out of Magical Power, it would immediately be restored to 100 percent after the Duel ended, so if you could use your Awakened Ability to the fullest to decide the outcome, it was a win.

And most opponents would be swept away without being able to resist that tactic.

[Sanghajwauchung] was especially like that.

In reality, he should have been a weak F-rank Awakened, but having more Magical Power in the game allowed his F-rank Awakened Ability to raise his rank higher than the real-world B-rank [Bomber Witch].

Of course, even if it was F-rank, an Awakened Ability was still an Awakened Ability.

The actual amount consumed would be more than [Sword Aura].

So, they would use their Awakened Abilities to the fullest, recover their Magical Power, and then repeat the process in the next Duel.

‘Embarrassing.’

She sat down on the spot.

As someone from the same background, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

Was it something to be proud of, winning by cheating?

Haa…

‘More than that…’

“I’m not running into any easy-to-understand Awakened.”

Americano had two goals in the [Duel Arena].

One was to raise her rank.

The other was more of a curiosity than a goal.

What level would she have to be to be on the same level as a real-world Awakened?

She suddenly became curious when she thought about fighting Hunter Heros.

Curiosity arose.

First, herself.

She was recognized as a C-rank Hunter during her Unawakened Hunter days.

Comparing herself as a C-rank to her current self, who was stronger? Of course, she was much stronger now.

‘Compared to Monsters?’

She quickly scanned her memories of the Monsters she had fought so far.

She looked for an opponent to compare to her Unawakened Hunter days.

There was one.

Orc Chieftain.

She was slightly stronger than the Orc Chieftain during her Unawakened Hunter days.

She whistled inwardly.

‘Whew.’

She hadn’t felt much when she fought them, but when she compared them to Hunter ranks, the strength of the Hunters she had seen so far was compared to Monsters.

Orc Chieftain.

Roughly around C-rank Hunters.

Of course, it would depend on how they fought.

In urban warfare, the Orc Chieftain would win,

On flat ground, the C-rank Hunter would win.

It went back and forth depending on the situation and conditions.

Then what about B-rank?

‘B-rank is…’

As expected, the strength and abilities were on a different level, as the ranks were different.

The insufficient data she had seen during her Unawakened Hunter days lacked reliability, but if she compared it as best she could…

‘Is it on par with Chief Ogre?’

He was around level 50-something, right?

50?

The Orc Chieftain was around 40.

C-rank was roughly level 40.

B-rank was roughly level 50.

‘…Can I compare it like that?’

It wasn’t an exact comparison, but it was easy to refer to.

In reality, there was only a 10-level difference between the Orc Chieftain and the Chief Ogre, but there was a world of difference between them.

“B-rank, huh.”

And according to that comparison, Americano was on par with a B-rank Hunter.

‘Lower than I thought.’

She thought she would have leveled up by one or two ranks to A-rank, but,

C-rank was level 40.

B-rank was level 50.

Following the trend,

A-rank was level 60.

It wasn’t certain, but it was interesting that she could see her level even with a rough comparison.

She thought she would be A-rank.

What was B-rank?

She might be A-rank if she used [Boost], but that wasn’t her normal level, so she excluded it from the comparison.

“I need to try harder.”

While she was sighing.

Her Match opponent was decided.

(Black muscular silhouette wearing gauntlets)

[Barehanded Fighter]

[Rank] [SS]

Barehanded?

[Barehanded Fighter] took a stance.

She knew as soon as she saw it.

‘Martial Arts Hero.’

Someone from the same world as Tang So-hye. The stance, which resembled Chinese martial arts not found in Korea or Full Dive, was proof of that.

Why a Chinese martial artist was on the Korean server had been a question since she heard about Tang So-hye’s Sichuan Tang Clan, but,

‘I’ll think about that later.’

The countdown began.

[3]

She looked at her opponent’s stance.

[2]

She discarded her Sword.

[1]

She clenched her fist.

[Fight]

Thwack.

[Barehanded Fighter] charged in with a furious look in his eyes.

He threw a gauntlet, but it was a weak punch, as if he was testing the waters.

She threw a [Heavenly Destruction Fist] to meet the gauntlet.

A sonic boom exploded.

The gauntlet was repelled by the unique fist pressure of the [Heavenly Destruction Fist], and she immediately dug in and landed a full-force [Heavenly Destruction Fist] like a straight punch.

[Barehanded Fighter] blocked the [Heavenly Destruction Fist].

The blocked [Heavenly Destruction Fist] tore through the air.

The opponent widened the distance and asked with a surprised look.

“Heavenly Destruction Fist?”

“You know it?”

“You know the Destroyer of Heavens Fist Demon.”

“What’s that?”

“Never mind. More importantly, pick up your Sword. Are you trying to insult me?”

“No, not really.”

She recalled the technique [Barehanded Fighter] had just used and clenched her fist again.

“You seemed to be using martial arts, so I thought I’d learn a little.”

Then she kicked off the ground.

She threw a punch.

What should she call this?

[Strike]

A heavy blow exploded on [Barehanded Fighter]’s palm.

He slid across the floor from the impact, his eyes wide.

“You little…”

“I told you, I’m going to learn.”

Americano smiled sweetly.

“Please take care of me, teacher.”