Chapter 185: Shadow Dojo (10)
“Territory Announcement.”
[Dragon’s Authority, ‘Vina,’ has been announced. You are able to exercise your authorities in your territory.]
[The 2nd step authority has been activated.]
[Authority: Dragonic Pressure.]
[All attributes increase within the set time.]
[All defenses increase as much as your magic power.]
…..
He ignored the familiar messages and immediately used Blink.
Where Yeon-woo arrived was right behind the shadow. Yeon-woo swung his Aura-filled Vigrid.
Boom!
The shadow flicked it away with his hand. The shadow’s hand was so tough that it was only slightly scratched.
Yeon-woo and the shadow exchanged some blows.
Yeon-woo relentlessly attacked, and the shadow calmly avoided the attacks.
But what Yeon-woo felt from the process was that…..
‘He’s a lot weaker than I thought.’
The Martial King was a lot less skilled than he had expected. Of course, he wasn’t weak, since he was still stronger than Yeon-woo’s brother.
The shadow was similar to someone with a 2nd step authority, like him. He thought that it was ‘doable.’
‘Is there not that much of a difference in the data?’
Even though the shadow was obsessed with becoming stronger, he was still limited by the system from when he was recorded in the hall of fame.
That was probably it. Since if the shadow was able to grow stronger after it was made, it should’ve been as strong as the Martial King.
Once he realized that, he understood how to use the 8 Writings of Divinations of the shadow.
‘Since he couldn’t change his attribute, did he focus on his martial arts?’
Yeon-woo lightly clicked his tongue thinking that things like this happened. It had probably been decades since the shadow was recorded in the hall of fame. In that time, he had probably practiced his Eight Extreme Fists again and again. Yeon-woo realized how the Eight Extreme Fists was this abnormal.
He felt that shadow was amazing for being able to grow that much with his obsessiveness.
‘No. This isn’t just obsessiveness, but…..’
Then, the shadow brought his fist closer to himself. It was definitely the 8 Writings of Divination.
‘It’s almost like a habit…..’
With those thoughts, Yeon-woo quickly activated Blink. He appeared behind the shadow and attacked his lower body.
A wall made of dirt crumbled. Between the stones, the shadow and Yeon-woo were both doing something different.
The shadow spread out his hand to explode lightning, and Yeon-woo got his Wave of Fire ready.
As lightning and fire clashed, a high column of light soared up to the air. Dust, cloud, and smoke also floated up.
Yeon-woo consecutively used Blink and Haste to escape the range of the explosion. He was able to control them now somewhat, and thanks to them, the effects of the two magic spells had dramatically increased.
Yeon-woo observed the explosion from the ends of the instant dungeon.
His Extrasensory Perception and Draconic Eyes chased after the shadow.
[Master!]
Then, Shanon frantically shouted in his head. He could also feel Hanryeong and Rebecca. They wanted to come outside. He could feel their fury from the previous attack.
However…..
‘Wait.’
Yeon-woo shushed them. Right now, it was time to focus on what was at hand.
‘He’s coming.’
Boom—
Not too long after he was finished thinking, the shadow of the Martial King approached him at a rapid speed from the dust cloud.
His laughter-filled face crumpled violently. Unlike Yeon-woo, who had escaped from the explosion almost unscathed, the shadow was a bit injured. His burnt skin was smoking.
However, Yeon-woo knew that an injured beast was more violent. If the shadow had been enjoying this, now, he would come at him with his full strength.
Also, he didn’t seem as injured as Yeon-woo initially thought. Had he used the Eight Extreme Fists to escape?
It seemed so. That was what his Draconic Eyes and Extrasensory Perception were telling him.
[Time Difference.]
Before he clashed with him again, Yeon-woo thought to himself.
If this went on, he wouldn’t win. He might lose, or it might be a tie if he used Shanon and the others’ strength.
But that couldn’t happen. Yeon-woo was hoping for one thing.
Complete victory.
He wanted to defeat the shadow one-sidedly. He wanted to defeat the Martial King, and he thought that it might be possible to make his brother come alive again.
He needed to come up with a strategy before there was another fight.
Or he would need to get a clue to get a power that would help him defeat the Martial King.
First of all, what was the difference between him and the shadow?
They were similar, but their proficiency in Eight Extreme Fists was different.
Since the shadow had trained himself for tens of years while being trapped in this place.
But that aside, the shadow probably would’ve been better well-versed in the Eight Extreme Fists than Yeon-woo when he got here in the first place.
So he began to think again.
‘What was the difference between me and the Sword God, or Nocturne?’
He thought of the Martial King’s disciples he had met so far. They were already walking their ‘paths’ at this point. Yeon-woo had multiple skills, but he wasn’t as good as them.
A path of his own. This was what Yeon-woo was contemplating about these days. He had become master with Aura, but Yeon-woo still didn’t know about the path he was walking.
There was definitely more he wanted. To be faster and stronger.
However, the problem was that Yeon-woo didn’t really want to walk the path of a martial artist.
It was fun learning Mugong. He became competitive, and it was satisfactory. However, although it was fun, it didn’t do much for his goal.
So Yeon-woo decided to change his interests.
If he couldn’t make his own path, he could walk the path of another. No, he could make that path his own. That was easier and more efficient.
Also, Yeon-woo had three good examples to learn from.
First, Yeon-woo decided to become the Sword God. The flaws of the Sword God that he saw on the 21st section were still ingrained in his head.
He tried to replicate the flaws using his Extrasensory Perception.
What he interpreted from the Sword God was Direct Strength. It was a power that was sturdy and tough.
Yeon-woo’s body heavily settled down, and his eyes slightly changed.
[You have found the new option, ‘Synchronization.’ The proficiency of the skill ‘Extrasensory Perception’ has increased. 28.1%]
As a message popped up, the slowed up time sped up again.
The Martial King’s shadow was approaching Yeon-woo again. Right before he attacked, he felt something different from Yeon-woo.
Yeon-woo brought Vigrid down fiercely. He moved so fast that he was doing almost 30 movements per second.
The shadow’s eyes widened. Yeon-woo’s strength was different. If it had been sizzling like fire in the past, it was now as hard as a diamond.
Vigrid came at his head. Normally, the shadow would’ve flicked it away, but his arm probably would’ve been cut off.
The shadow decided to confront Yeon-woo head on. Lightning enveloped Yeon-woo.
However, Vigrid tore through the lightning and approached the shadow’s chest.
The shadow was flown back with his right chest wounded. His widened eyes shook. This was a different Yeon-woo from before.
“…..What are you?”
The shadow growled. But Yeon-woo was already moving onto the next step.
‘Nocturne.’
This time, his strength was smooth and fancy. The path of Nocturne that Yeon-woo had interpreted was Illusions. It was a strength that used the power of focal points.
Everytime Vigrid was used, a sharp attack was added onto it.
The shadow quickly became bloodied. Now, his two eyes were boiling with rage.
But Yeon-woo calmly imitated Nocturne’s pattern and avoided the shadow’s attacks.
Between Yeon-woo and Nocturne, there was a wide gap of understanding. He couldn’t imitate Nocturne exactly, but he tried to analyze Nocturne in his head.
Yeon-woo’s sword techniques had brought him to the level of an expert.
With the Dragon’s Authority and Magic Equip on top of that, Yeon-woo had the edge.
With a blow from Yeon-woo, the shadow’s left arm was cut off.
Yeon-woo called for a new Synchronization.
‘Martial King.’
This time, he became the guy in front of him. He couldn’t become the Martial King, but he was able to similarly copy the shadow.
The shadow looked at Yeon-woo in shock. He felt like he was fighting three people. He was the shadow giving the trial, but it felt like he had been the one to experience it.
Yeon-woo used his last Writing of Divination. It was something that ripped apart everything in sight.
What Yeon-woo interpreted from the Martial King was pressing down your opponent with strength.
Eventually, the shadow was pushed back powerlessly. His anger was up to his head.
“Shit…..!”
The shadow ground his teeth and expressed anger for the first time. It wasn’t towards Yeon-woo. It was towards himself, for being stuck here. There was another anger mixed in there too.
Yeon-woo felt his obsession for defeating Allforone.
And Yeon-woo was able to realize. That guy wasn’t the Martial King. He was from the Martial King’s data, but he was only an obsessive remnant of him. The Martial King that Yeon-woo knew wasn’t like that.
He was stronger and more arrogant than anyone. Also, he was the freest.
He wasn’t someone to be bound to something like this. That guy was….a shell. Yes, that was a good way to describe it.
Before Yeon-woo began his last attack, he changed his base again.
He synchronized with Heaven Wing Cha Jeong-woo. The Eight Extreme Swords loosely escaped and quickly landed in the heart of the shadow.
There, Yeon-woo was able to get a test of the path he would walk. Divine Speed. What if he was able to use a power that even the gods couldn’t see, because it was so strong? It was a path worth considering to take.
The shadow glared at Yeon-woo, panting, and crumbled to pieces.
[You have successfully cleared the 32nd section.]
[Through this trial, you have grown significantly. You have accomplished something extraordinary. Additional Karma and rewards are being given.]
…..
[Master, you…..?]
In the fading dungeon, Shanon tossed Yeon-woo a question. He was asking why Yeon-woo didn’t grab onto the shadow of the Martial King. But Yeon-woo shook his head in reply.
He felt like he had dreamt a happy dream, although it had only been for a little while. But he was still able to have hope.
Even if he brought his brother’s shadow, could it really be his brother? It would just be an imitation, like the Martial King’s. It was an insult to his brother.
A dream was only a dream. It couldn’t come true.
‘Yeah. He’s…..someone I can’t see anymore.’
Yeon-woo decided to accept reality. But he couldn’t help but feel a bit better. Maybe he had been hoping that there was a way for his brother to come back all this time.
And the dungeon disappeared like that, leaving way for a new dungeon. It was the last section. Allforone. Yeon-woo wanted to quickly leave the dungeon and beat the shadow that the Martial King hadn’t been able to.
[The trial of the 33rd section is beginning.]
[Soon, the fight with 1st place ‘Bivasbat’ is beginning.
Just when Yeon-woo was preparing for the fight.
[The shadow of ‘Bivasbat’ has been deleted for an unknown reason. The data cannot be found.]
[The trial of the 33rd floor has automatically been finished.]
[All trials have ended.]
It was a completed unexpected message.
“What?”
Yeon-woo wrinkled his forehead.