episode_0115

115. King.

Suddenly, plump water droplets appeared on the ground. It was truly in the blink of an eye.

The player, who was grabbing Johan by the scruff of the neck, twitched his eyebrows, but did not stop his gesture. A mere puddle of water couldn’t possibly absorb all the impact.

Splashhhhh-!

Soon, Johan and the water droplets collided. The player expected Johan’s face to break through the water droplets and be smashed into the ground.

But what do you know, the player’s hand went straight down as if a hole had been drilled in the ground.

“What!”

His hand gradually slowed down, eventually coming to a complete stop. His armpit touched the ground, preventing him from going any further.

He hurriedly let go of his hand, then swung his hand axe again. He was trying to finish it off now.

But it was too late. Johan escaped from his grasp like a loach, and used the Dig spell to move behind him.

The series of movements flowed like water. It was clearly not something he had done just once or twice.

“Hoo-up!”

Clangggg!

The hastily pulled hand axe and Johan’s longsword emitted a loud metallic sound.

Whirr, Johan was pushed back. His longsword flew far away.

But strangely, the player’s expression remained stiff. This was because the power in the sword was less than nothing.

“You should have just dodged.”

A blue light flashed in Johan’s mouth.

Psheeeeew- Pow!

“Keuheok!”

The player coughed dryly and was thrown backwards.

A clear mark remained on his abdomen. Johan tilted his head.

‘Why is he so weak? Is he not number 1?’

This trial can only be participated in if the ranking is above a certain level. Seeing that Sarah came in, it means that at least up to 2nd place can participate…

‘I guess the range is quite wide. Even such riffraff are getting in.’

Johan raised his finger above his forehead and said.

“What rank are you?”

Although he cut out all the preceding and following words, the player could easily understand.

“9, I’m 9th. Please spare me!”

“9th, huh…”

It was clearly a high ranking, but to Johan, it was all the same.

Johan turned away as if he had no interest.

“Stay out of the area.”

“H-huh? Yes!”

The player, who had been blankly staring at Johan, quickly came to his senses. Then, he immediately ran out of the training ground.

Johan didn’t even glance at him, but looked around.

The test had not been going on for very long, but the number of martial artists had decreased considerably.

This is a world where life and death are exchanged in an instant. Soon, they will be able to be counted on two fingers.

Johan looked at the longsword rolling on the dirt floor in the distance, then smiled and raised both hands.

‘I’m screwed. Already.’

His hands turned blue once more.

***

Paaaaaak!

“Kehek, Keuheok…”

A martial artist with his eyes rolled back trembled and fell to the floor.

Johan dusted off his palms and approached the martial artist.

Just as he was about to get close, the martial artist barely regained consciousness. Johan raised his finger and said.

“Do you want to continue?”

“…I surrender, I surrender.”

Johan nodded, then looked at the Black Wolf looking down at this place from the tall pillar.

“It seems like everything is over, how about coming down?”

“It seems so.”

Taat-

The moment his feet blurred, the Black Wolf was already in front of Johan.

Johan felt cold sweat running down his back.

‘Even though Acceleration is activated, I can’t even see him properly.’

There are still heavens beyond heavens in this world. If a high-ranking executive is this strong, how strong will the Black King be?

Be careful, and be careful again.

The Black Wolf rummaged around his waist, and then took out a small flag and handed it over. This time, there was a pattern.

A Chinese character for one (一) was embroidered on a black background.

“Cult leader. From now on, your position in the Black King Fortress is First Black. You can command a total of 200 martial artists belonging to the Black King Fortress, and the tribute that the Black Forest Chamber, no, the Demonic Cult used to collect every month is…”

Johan opened his eyes wide and ‘pretended’ to listen to the Black Wolf’s words.

Before long, the Black Wolf’s words stopped. At this point, Johan was once again able to realize his power.

‘What’s his lung capacity even like? He’s not human.’

Regardless of what Johan was thinking, the Black Wolf was beginning to like the young martial artist in front of him.

His martial arts skills are excellent, and he listens well to his seniors. He was very promising.

“Then, follow me now. The King is looking for you.”

“Are the winners from other training grounds also gathering?”

“That’s right.”

Johan followed him, wondering who the winner of the other training grounds was.

‘There should be at least one player.’

Honestly, Johan was underestimating the martial prowess of the locals here a bit.

They are using a mysterious technique called martial arts, but in the end, isn’t it just a human body?

Unlike himself, they have not raised their stats, nor do they have a status window.

Perhaps that’s why Johan was unconsciously thinking that he was superior.

‘But no. After all, the Tower would never send me to such an easy trial.’

Johan steeled his mind. As he was doing so, a building appeared in front of the Black Wolf, who was walking ahead.

It was a house. A very big house. It was the biggest manor Johan had ever seen.

What was unusual was that there wasn’t even a single courtyard. There was only a magnificent house standing alone.

“Is the Black King in there?”

“That’s right. From now on, be careful of your behavior. He is emotional.”

“Yes.”

Emotional, a character trait that is inappropriate for the leader of a group.

But the fact that he rose to the position of Black King despite having such a personality…

‘It means his skills are out of the ordinary.’

Clunk-!

A huge gate made of dark wood. The Black Wolf forcefully opened it.

Clearly, the Black Wolf is lower in rank than the Black King, but his actions did not show much respect for the Black King.

“Follow me.”

“Yes.”

After entering, Johan and the Black Wolf walked along a long corridor.

Soon, the Black Wolf stopped in front of a certain door. And he opened the door.

“May I enter?”

Even though he had already opened it. Johan was so dumbfounded that he almost burst out laughing.

But fortunately, laughter could never come out.

Swoossshhhhh-

“……!”

It felt as if the jaws of a tiger as big as a house were swallowing Johan.

His body trembled, and goosebumps rose all over his skin. He could feel his body temperature dropping rapidly.

Johan barely raised his head with a trembling face.

There was the Mountain Lord.

“Keuheok……!”

Johan grabbed his neck and staggered backwards. Just now, just now!

The world is growing distant.

In this dark space, there is only a tiger and himself. There was nothing else.

I’m dead. I’m dead. Or, am I dead?

It’s as if a part of the brain has been cut out. The receptor system that recognizes the world is torn apart and randomly reassembled.

Just as Johan’s mind was about to sink into the dark black sea, he instinctively thought of the lake within.

Lotus leaves, waves, and himself. Johan opened his eyes.

“Kkyaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Johan screamed and stood up. After looking around like a rabid dog for a while, Johan lowered his head.

A floor?

A heavy voice fell upon his head.

“You’re faster than I thought. Sarah, the sword commander, brought something good.”

“The Cult Leader came on his own.”

“Oh, really?”

Johan touched his neck and raised his head. A man with long black hair neatly tied back was sitting there.

“Congratulations. You were the fastest of the four. What was that mind technique just now? I’ve never seen it before.”

A monstrous tiger. Johan grabbed his still trembling fingertips and answered.

“……It is a mind technique passed down from generation to generation in the cult. I cannot tell you about it.”

He wanted to lash out and ask what the hell this was, but he couldn’t.

‘I absolutely must not fight. Absolutely.’

Of all the strong opponents he had met so far, Cha Seung-in was the strongest, but he was far beyond him.

The Black King stroked his chin.

“Is that so? Then there’s nothing I can do about it. Ah, do you have any questions?”

Johan hesitated for a moment, then brought up a question he had been wondering about for a while.

“How many outsiders are currently affiliated with the Black King Fortress?”

“Outsiders?”

“Yes.”

The Black King rolled his eyes around and answered.

“39 people. There are 39 people.”

It was neither a small nor a large number.

“How many White Ways are there?”

“Well… We’re still estimating that. It’s not accurate, but we estimate it to be around 60.”

“The difference is significant.”

“It’s not small.”

In fact, their ranking was more important than their numbers. Still, they would be more useful than most martial artists.

In particular, ranged classes such as mages and archers are factors that can definitely turn the tide of war.

“Do you happen to know the rankings of the outsiders? What rank did they achieve in the previous trial?”

“Ah, I know what you mean. We identified up to 10th place, but I don’t know if it’s true.”

10th place…

‘I had a rough idea since there was someone in 9th place.’

As Johan thought this, he was about to ask a few more questions, but the Black King spoke first.

“Cult Leader. You seem to have a lot of questions, but wouldn’t it be better to hear it directly from the outsiders?”

When the Black King gestured to the Black Wolf, the Black Wolf said to Johan.

“There is a room where the winners of each training ground are waiting. I will guide you there.”