episode_0048

The sensation of the sword piercing through his head.

It was unpleasant. Though the pain was greatly diminished, the unpleasant sensation of taking a life was clearly transmitted through the handle.

“One.”

Loraine’s new model dissipated into a burst of light.

Without even a moment to register him, she immediately swung her sword.

Thud! His body was pushed back with a rough recoil.

“Tsk!”

With a bitten tongue, Rayden rushed forward with his spear, while Kim Hyun approached, suppressing the aftermath of the attack.

The debris had been cleared, but two real combatants remained.

He caught his breath. He faced the thrusts and slashes of the spear and sword with his own blade.

– Zzajjajjak!

The battleground was already a mess. Weapons infused with attacks and strength were swung, creating long gashes on the ground, and cracks appeared here and there.

Even the surrounding trees were haphazardly cut, tumbling to the ground. With this level of commotion, it wouldn’t be long before other beings gathered.

They needed to finish this quickly.

Kim Hyun couldn’t bring himself to think that way.

It was absurd. To have such thoughts.

Raven Est. Despite being from different academies, they were close friends. They had good relations between their families, often sparring and practicing together to subdue monsters within dungeons.

Yi Hayul was enduring these joint practices head-on.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Pshh! Red particles burst from a grazing shoulder wound. Numerous similar wounds covered his body.

His movements were excellent, but there were subtle awkwardnesses scattered throughout.

They said he had been blind before awakening.

Kim Hyun viewed this “blindness” as an effort to overcome a weakness. Even if he substituted vision with heightened senses, he wouldn’t be able to perceive the ever-changing world with eyes alone.

In just one month, he had reached this level of skill, which was astonishing.

Swoosh! A red particle burst on his shoulder.

“Ugh!”

It was Kim Hyun’s shoulder. In the Tower of Growth, pain was greatly reduced, but Kim Hyun experienced more than just physical shock.

Similarly, Raven grimaced in pain, his arm marked with a clear gash.

On the contrary, Yi Hayul stepped forward. His body was covered in wounds. There were cuts everywhere, some bleeding profusely, with crimson particles flowing from pierced areas.

At the beginning of the joint practice, he struggled to hold his ground. Responding directly led to more openings in his defense, resulting in increased injuries.

But now…

“I’m being pushed back.”

As Rayden’s spear thrust and Kim Hyun’s sword swing came at him, he gradually adapted. Their attacks were increasingly blocked, and successful strikes dwindled.

At this moment, their skills were growing exponentially. Awkward movements were becoming more proficient.

In this brief moment.

– Kwaahhh!

A leg swung high and slammed into the ground. Compared to before, a massive roar accompanied the impact, creating spiderweb-like cracks in the earth.

Rumble – The ground trembled violently, and thick spikes of earth and rock shot up, piercing through.

Kim Hyun swung his sword infused with strength. The spikes that shot up were cleanly severed along their straight trajectory.

Amidst the flying debris, a flash of light caught Kim Hyun’s eye from one side.

“Oh no…!”

Dodging the unsevered spike base, he widened his eyes at the blue lightning strike coming towards him.

– Zzijijijik!

“Gah…!”

The lightning struck his ankle and spread through his body. Kim Hyun gritted his teeth.

The damage was not severe. He was armored, and the magic was inherently weak.

Rayden quickly removed the spikes and leaped towards Kim Hyun. Regardless of the situation, he found an opening and moved to support him.

But his prediction was wrong.

It was Yi Hayul who charged at Rayden, not the electrified Kim Hyun.

An unexpected move. However, Rayden instinctively thrust his spear. It was a stabbing technique honed through experiences ingrained in his body.

Yi Hayul also met the sword head-on. Blades clashed, and the sword flew into the air. His new model vanished in an instant.

With a resounding thud, Yi Hayul, who had suddenly plunged downward, firmly grasped Changdae.

“Ah.”

Damn it─

Before his thoughts could continue, reflexively, Ganggi’s abdomen burst out explosively as he was tightly clenched. His waist bent at a right angle.

“Gah…!”

Oxygen was forcibly ripped from his lungs. The gap was exposed. Raiden reached out with the hand that clenched Ganggi, not giving up.

He had learned how to deal with creating distance when an opponent gave it. He had learned it all too well.

– Clang!

“…!”

However, Yi Hayul’s actions were faster than that.

Ganggi burst. Before Raiden’s hand could reach him, Yi Hayul’s fist, forcefully driving into the ground, struck Raiden’s abdomen once again.

This time, no sound came out. Instead, a gruesome sound of flesh being crushed and bursting echoed from within his body.

Even in this state, Yi Hayul’s arm did not stop.

The fist enveloping Ganggi relentlessly struck Raiden’s abdomen, solar plexus, and chin in succession. A kick was added to the already fading consciousness.

‘This is insane.’

Raiden spat curses internally while looking at the bloody mess before him. Damn, he had joined in to earn some points, but what was this mess?

Finally, the fist approaching his face became visible.

– Clang!

An unpleasant sensation of breaking bones and crushing flesh spread through the fist. Raiden’s body, with his face buried, slumped down.

‘Two.’

Swift footsteps from behind. Yi Hayul released Changdae and grabbed Raiden’s falling wrist.

“…!”

Kim Hyun widened his eyes.

With a swift motion, Yi Hayul half-cut Raiden’s body that was not yet completely covered in the light mass.

Perfectly positioned for the taking. He swiftly extended the hand that clenched Ganggi and grabbed the sword.

Clang. Ganggi held by the hand was cut off. No matter how strong Ganggi was, if he continued holding on like this, his hand would be severed.

Before that, Yi Hayul extended his empty hand. The magic held in his fist swiftly rushed out and formed a spell.

Magic Impact. A simple yet unmatched spell formation.

Modifying and adding to the existing spell formation slightly, ensuring the original and added parts harmonized.

As the foundation was a simple magic, even an amateur like me found it not difficult to make modifications.

Low-tier magic

“Magic Impact: Barrage”

The spell held in his fist exploded. The barrage of impacts tore through the light mass and surged towards Kim Hyun standing in front of him.

‘Can’t dodge.’

It was too late to evade. Even throwing away the sword and leaping wouldn’t help.

Kim Hyun’s decision was quick. He drew all available magic and covered his whole body with Ganggi. He pulled the sword over to block.

‘Ha…’

He felt it instinctively. This couldn’t be blocked.

Despite moving in response to that instinct, the ominous feeling didn’t dissipate.

The world slowed down. Kim Hyun felt it that way, but unfortunately, his body didn’t accelerate along with the accident.

He didn’t let his guard down. Thinking so as he acted, but even that was arrogance.

He had judged Yi Hayul’s level based on his own standards.

The price was coming down on him.

‘For sure.’

Kim Hyun recalled his father’s words.

The world is vast, and in that vast world, among the talented individuals gathered, go see the geniuses.

‘The world is indeed vast.’

Contrary to his expanded thinking, his vision narrowed as he was engulfed by the impact.

* * *

Magic Impact.

A simple yet unmatched magic located at the lowest level of the magical hierarchy.

He modified it slightly.

Just changing it from one to five outputs—a simple task.

The disharmony between the spell formations that arose during the process. He barely managed to contain it. Frankly, as long as the power was guaranteed, the rest could be adjusted as needed.

– Crash!

Multiple impacts pushed against each other, tearing apart the entire area. Rather than neat, it ripped through the ground like a chainsaw gone wild, leaving shreds all over the battlefield.

Kim Hyun’s presence vanished in an instant. Through the dispersed remnants of disrupted magic, a sense of scattered mana could be felt. Just now, it seemed like Lorein and Raven were eliminated by the burst of light.

Before long, the disrupted mana settled.

I sensed the chaotic battlefield through the sounds and sensations around me. I stood there, steadying my breath.

– Ring!

The test watch on my left wrist suddenly chimed.

…There was no function to read the contents. No hologram either. I didn’t even know how many points I scored in the test.

Anyway.

“…I won?”

I won. Me. 3 against 1? And those two seemed quite skilled in combat specialization?

I muttered absentmindedly to myself.

Truth be told, when I let go of spatial awareness and focused on mana affinity, I had no particular thoughts. Even when concentrating on mana affinity, I had no specific thoughts.

There was nothing else to do. With a light thought that maybe this would work, I tried.

When being chased. Honestly, I thought it was all over, but still pushed forward with the idea of gaining something at least.

I fought with the determination to win, but I never really thought I would.

“Why did I win?”

Lost in thought, I pondered. I sustained quite a few injuries during the fight. I pondered deeply while clumsily casting recovery spells.

That I won. It’s strange.

When I first arrived in this world and contemplated growth, I gave up the original… growth akin to games from the start.

Games and reality are different. Unless you’re a lunatic who can’t distinguish between imagination and reality, it’s a fact you naturally know.

In games, you don’t die. When your HP reaches zero, your character disappears, and you can just create a new one to start again.

Here, if you die, it’s over. There’s no next round. Well, in the real world, dying is the end anyway.

There was no reason to be afraid in games. You could just push forward whether things worked out or not, and if they didn’t, you could just start over.

That’s not possible in reality. You can’t freely consume Hiddenspice like in games. You can’t wander around everywhere.

It’s a simple fact. So, I also gave up on outrageous growth.

The first entrance event. I failed miserably without any resistance in the first round. Until the eighth round, I performed decently, but there were times I failed due to bad luck.

From the ninth round, where I discarded good deeds, I started seeing some results. Especially in the eleventh round, I achieved remarkable results.

My current progress seemed quite accelerated.

The duel with Aidan. The victory I obtained was due to his carelessness rather than my skill. I can understand that.

Now.

Although I sustained many injuries and consumed a large amount of mana, I single-handedly defeated three novices who rushed at me without spatial awareness.

“Why?”

Hiddenspice couldn’t eat anything. I hadn’t gained any benefits through gaming knowledge yet.

But there are aspects I can understand.

I also ingested a valuable elixir that was hard to quantify for Hong Yeonhwa.

I have unique abilities. Along with them, there are three curses, and although spatial awareness was disabled during this battle, it was still present.

Apart from that, my physical abilities are somewhat abnormal. They were too good for just consuming one elixir.

“…A blessing of growth.”

The basic blessing of growth bestowed upon Siyolam novices. Additionally, the blessing of growth granted to special admission students.

I’ve just entered, but the blessing of growth applied within the Tower has helped enhance my sensory activation and mana affinity growth.

There’s more. I intuitively thought of such a thing.

Besides the three mentioned earlier, there must be something else─

The sound of wind rapidly approaching. Startled, I quickly turned my head towards the source piercing through my consciousness.

– Swish!

A mana blob in the form of an arrow barely grazed my cheek, piercing through a thick tree on the other side. If it had hit my head properly, it would have been almost fatal.

“A sneak attack.”

Activating my body rigidly, I prepared for the next attack.

Beyond where magic flew, with senses heightened, some presences rapidly approached.

“…I see.”

The bewildering surprise of an unexpected victory faded away. In its place, the calmness from before settled once more.

“It’s not over yet.”

Having won 3 to 1, there were still plenty of opponents overflowing with vitality.

There were those like Kim Hyun, filled with curiosity, and others aiming for points like Raven or Lorein.

There were easily more than five hundred.

Adjusting my breathing, I stamped the ground. Thud! The arrow of magic embedded itself back into its original position where I stood.

As I sprinted in the opposite direction of pursuit, the speed of my pursuers also increased.

In just a short sprint, the number of chasers grew one by one. It seemed like my location had been exposed due to the recent commotion.

Not even a full three days had passed.

There was no intention of being eliminated so easily.

—

A spark ignited. A tiny spark it was. Even in a feeble gust, the small ember would scatter without a trace.

– Whoosh!

It suddenly blazes up. The violently spreading sparks turned into a raging inferno, engulfing everything around it.

Like a storm, the fiery waves swept through everything in all directions. The unrelenting flames, now concentrated in one spot rewinding time, turned back into a small spark.

“Phew…”

The spark transformed into a sword. Hong Yeonhwa, gripping the sword, let out a light sigh.

Inside the Tower of Growth, the amplifying protection of growth.

Rather than merely aiming for points, there were those who stayed here to foster their growth.

In a way, that was Hong Yeonhwa’s purpose as well.

Apart from that, she had one more objective.

“Where could Hayul be…”

Hong Yeonhwa shrugged her shoulders.

Day 2 of the Inner Tower.

She hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the person she was still searching for.