Chapter 90
Flash-!
A sudden glare so intense it could blind pierced his eyes. Instinctively, Jung Yuhan shielded his eyes with one hand while drawing a weapon from his inventory with the other.
Clang-!
And at that moment, two swords collided, sparking with the electricity of lightning.
Crackle-.
Like many players from Earth, Jung Yuhan’s primary weapon was a sword.
But.
“Getting this close wasn’t a very wise choice.”
His real weapon wasn’t something as simple as a sword.
“Now you can hear me better.”
Bzzzzz-.
A ringing echoed in Suhyuk’s ears. When he noticed the strange signs and stepped back, it was already a step too late.
『You have heard the ‘Curse of Confusion’.』
『All pain increases by 100%.』
『All five senses are dulled by 50%.』
『’Status Effect: Fear’ has begun.』
Skills were activated through speech. It was exceedingly easy to manipulate for a curse-type skill.
The Curse of Confusion.
This skill, with an 80% proficiency rate, was the one that made Jung Yuhan who he was. The Curse of Confusion spared neither humans nor monsters.
‘Once you’re caught, it’s over. Paralyzed senses and engulfed in fear…’
At that moment,
Crackle-!
A net of yellow electricity spread around Jung Yuhan.
“What the—.”
Boom-!
Suddenly, the net tightened with increased power. Jung Yuhan swung his sword, releasing his magic. A simple and inefficient expenditure of magic in a moment of crisis.
Crackle-.
Still, thanks to his high stats, tearing the net wasn’t difficult. But in that brief moment, Jung Yuhan realized that Suhyuk, who had been close by, had disappeared somewhere.
‘This guy, where did he go this time…’
At that moment, a blinding light shimmered before him, and something dangerous grazed past Jung Yuhan’s head.
Flash-!
‘A spear?’
He couldn’t see its form clearly. No, there was no time to see. Before he could identify it, Jung Yuhan ducked. Questions kept flooding his mind.
Making a spear out of lightning this quickly and throwing it?
But he couldn’t continue fighting while pondering. Jung Yuhan revealed himself again and turned to face the approaching Suhyuk.
‘Still, his movements aren’t untrackable…’
His thoughts suddenly cut off. A strange sense of incongruity. The sword that should be in Suhyuk’s hand was gone.
Where did it go?
‘No way, the one he just threw?’
If his thoughts had been even slightly later, Jung Yuhan’s life would have ended. Jung Yuhan’s head turned backward. Right then, the sword he thought was a spear was flying towards him.
“Gasp!”
He ducked again, narrowly avoiding it. The sword, carried back to Suhyuk’s hand by magnetic force, was gripped tightly. Aimed at Jung Yuhan, who had dodged the flying sword.
Vrooooom-.
Suhyuk struck down with all his might, wielding a sword charged with lightning.
Boom!
As the sword touched Jung Yuhan’s body, an explosion occurred. A pillar of lightning shot up so bright it lit up the entire square.
All sound around them vanished. Suhyuk, unleashing the lightning, didn’t stop there and swung his sword again. He didn’t think Jung Yuhan would fall that easily.
And as he thought, Jung Yuhan’s hand extended out from the pillar of lightning.
Thwack-.
When Suhyuk evaded and increased the distance between them, he saw Jung Yuhan, his face blackened from the burns.
‘Maybe it was a bit too weak.’
The power should have been stronger. To bridge the gap in basic stats, something unexpected was needed. And that unexpected tactic worked.
The only downside was the lack of finish. The damage wasn’t sufficient to decisively cut off Jung Yuhan’s breath in a single strike.
“Cough, hack.”
Jung Yuhan gasped heavily, struggling for breath. Feeling a paralysis extending up to his neck, he glared fiercely at Suhyuk.
‘This damn…’
His pride was severely battered. More than battered, it was torn to shreds, to the point he couldn’t even lift his head.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like he was losing to a player from the 4th floor. And the reason for the current turn of events was nothing other than a one-sided defeat in their strategic battle.
“If we are just talking control, you’re better than Lee Suhyuk in his prime.”
Streamer Falcon Eye’s evaluation of Lee Suhyuk. In reality, Falcon Eye had mentioned several times that, purely in terms of talent, Lee Suhyuk was more outstanding than Blue Eyes’ Lee Suhyuk.
Of course, Jung Yuhan didn’t believe it. He dismissed it as a joke from the streamers who loved creating buzz. He thought it was pure nonsense.
But.
‘I can’t believe that’s true.’
The specs of Lee Suhyuk, wrapped in lightning, were clearly not something to underestimate as a player from the 4th floor. He was fast and powerful. Above all, his mastery over lightning was astonishing.
‘Creating a net out of lightning?’
Creating a weapon using a single attribute is never an easy task. Unlike simply releasing energy, it requires high-level concentration and precise control.
Moreover, maintaining such control and concentration while fighting was several times harder.
Yet, the guy in front of him was creating not just a simple weapon, but a net. How on earth he managed to create such a thing, even a semi-ranker like Jung Yuhan couldn’t fathom.
Moreover,
‘He creates a magnetic field to freely control the weapon’s position. Throwing the sword was to make me believe it was a spear.’
His sense in using skills was top-notch, and he had a strategic mind that induced the opponent’s misconception.
Just how many things had he shown in this brief exchange?
His talent had the power to overturn the difference in their weight classes.
“A monstrous guy.”
Jung Yuhan composed himself and stood up. Though his face was slightly burnt, fortunately, there were no critical injuries. He regained his composure as he fixed his gaze on Suhyuk once more.
“Still…”
Hummmm-.
He began gathering magical power from his toes, watching Suhyuk’s face turning increasingly pale.
“The curse hasn’t been lifted.”
The Curse of Confusion.
That had been gnawing at Suhyuk’s brain since the moment the fight began.
***
Clang-!
The swords clashed, and Suhyuk’s body was pushed backward. Quickly regaining his balance, Suhyuk’s body surged upward with a crackling sound.
Pushed back, Suhyuk charged toward Jung Yuhan again. All around, spheres of lightning that Suhyuk had created floated in the air.
‘Why?’
Jung Yuhan didn’t dodge but parried Suhyuk’s sword.
Clang-!
This time too, it was Suhyuk who was pushed back.
‘To this guy, I must look like a terrifying monster. My sword swings must feel as heavy as a giant’s club.’
From the beginning, this was an unfair fight. An opponent caught by the Curse of Confusion has dulled senses and is ensnared in fear, fighting against their own nightmare.
In other words, it’s like fighting with several steel bars strapped to their body. Despite that, Suhyuk hadn’t lost his resolve even a bit from the start until now.
Boom-.
With a thunderous roar, he relentlessly charged again. A feeling of discomfort and a peculiar sense of pressure hit Jung Yuhan simultaneously.
‘Why…’
And then, Jung Yuhan realized the source of that discomfort.
‘Why does he seem to be getting stronger?’
From the start, Suhyuk had been getting faster and stronger. Using lightning should have drained his stamina, making him weaker.
Like a high-performance engine gradually heating up after ignition, Suhyuk was increasing his output.
Thud-!
This time, Jung Yuhan didn’t parry but kicked. Suhyuk staggered backward after being struck in the shoulder.
“Damn… I can’t just kill him…”
As he muttered in rising anger, Jung Yuhan’s eyes widened. No way.
‘Does he know?’
Stagger-.
Suhyuk, who had been kicked away, quickly regained his balance. Lifting his head, Suhyuk looked at the draconic giant he assumed was Jung Yuhan.
‘Annoying, this skill.’
That was Jung Yuhan. There was no doubt about it. Unless he was dreaming, there was no way Jung Yuhan had suddenly turned into a dragon.
The Curse of Confusion.
From the moment he was caught in it, Jung Yuhan appeared as a giant with a dragon’s head over 5 meters tall in Suhyuk’s eyes. Suhyuk had been fighting such a creature all along.
But.
‘He’ll try to capture me alive as much as possible.’
Despite everything, he hadn’t forgotten the essence of the situation. Though all his senses, including sight, told him that the enemy was a giant with a dragon’s head.
He was merely caught in the skill; it was undoubtedly Jung Yuhan.
‘So…’
The opponent’s goal is capture. Therefore, he must maximize that to his advantage.
‘No need to rush.’
Thump, thump-thump-.
His heart pounded. The heartbeat of his lightning heart quickened, increasing his power output. In the beginning, it was challenging to face him head-on.
As time passed, colliding with the giant seemed increasingly doable.
Crackle-.
Lightning began to flow from his heart, gathering at his fingertips. Thanks to the kick, the distance between them had increased just enough.
Crackle-!
The spear of lightning started to take shape in his hand. Jung Yuhan, sensing the danger, charged toward him. Before the spear could fully form, Suhyuk initiated the throw.
Whoosh-!
Boom-!
The lightning spear flew, aiming for Jung Yuhan’s head. A black veil unfurled from the tip of Jung Yuhan’s swinging sword. The lightning spear broke through the veil, reaching right in front of Jung Yuhan’s face.
Boom-!
The lightning spear exploded, sweeping the surroundings. While the power was reduced, the damage was considerable. Staggering, Jung Yuhan gritted his teeth.
‘I can’t win like this.’
The thought of needing to capture him was holding him back.
No.
During the fight, he realized it wasn’t just the idea of capture; the opponent was never an easy target to begin with.
‘He needs to be killed.’
There would be nothing worse than letting him escape here. What the guild emphasized most when assigning missions was discretion.
Especially when force was necessary. However, the plan had gone awry. What he thought was just a slightly bigger rat turned out to be a ferocious beast.
‘Looks like he has made up his mind.’
Suhyuk noticed the change in Jung Yuhan’s demeanor. He had hoped Jung Yuhan would keep aiming for capture. But now, he had to change his strategy too.
‘Can I do it here…?’
Suhyuk’s most powerful card was undoubtedly the Lightning Lord. Activating that skill allowed Suhyuk to boost his specs as if he had become a completely different person.
But right now, he could only use it for about 10 seconds. If he exceeded that time, the penalty could be fatal.
‘Can I finish it within that time?’
It was a risky gamble. And it wasn’t a move Suhyuk preferred. He always sought methods that guaranteed victory. But now wasn’t the time to be picky.
‘Let’s do it.’
Crackle-.
Just as Suhyuk was about to use the Lightning Lord, the wide-area silencing skill used by Jung Yuhan was torn apart.
Screech-.
Sounds could be heard. Someone had entered the area. Both Suhyuk and Jung Yuhan turned their heads simultaneously.