The Fisherman's Gain.
At the same time, Seoun darted toward the source of the noise, his movements sharp and fast.
With every step, he surged forward three or four meters—a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.
When he arrived at the scene, he found himself in a large clearing carved out of the dense forest, but that wasn't all—flames licked up in several places, forcing him to stick to the shadows as he surveyed the suffocatingly tense scene.
A mage, blood running down from his shoulder, one arm hanging limp, faced off against a boy—though "boy" hardly seemed the right word for someone radiating such unsettling poise.
"You damn brat! I should crush your bones and swallow you whole!"
The old mage shouted furiously at the boy, who responded with a slick smile that seemed to taunt him.
"Tsk, tsk. I was going to kill you eventually—what's the rush in hunting me down? This place isn't even real. Why not just enjoy it while it lasts?"
"Shut up! I'll rip you apart, over and over, until—"
Fwoooosh! Crash!
Before the old man could finish his sentence, a bolt of force slipped silently from the boy's hand and shattered the shield around the mage in an instant.
At the same time, the boy's form blurred and vanished, leaving an afterimage. The old man gritted his teeth and raised his staff high over his head.
"Erok!"
Rumble!
In the blink of an eye, a storm of lightning crashed down in a ten-meter radius around the mage.
Splurt!
But even then, blood spurted from the mage's side, staining him red.
"Guh!"
"Tsk. You and I are just… incompatible. You wield big, flashy spells—I can sense those a mile away. You people are inefficient."
Seoun, watching from the shadows, had reached a similar conclusion, even in just a brief glance.
He hadn't seen it clearly, but the boy's strike—a blade of energy from his hand—had sliced straight through the lightning storm and slashed open the mage's side.
'That old mage doesn't stand a chance.'
"Don't talk like you know everything! I still have plenty of tricks left."
"And none of them are very efficient, I bet."
The boy's form blurred again, vanishing mid-sentence.
The mage, without hesitation, raised his staff overhead once more.
But this time, no magic came.
Instead, his chest split open, and thick, dark blood gushed out.
"Khah!"
Clutching his chest, he fell to his knees, staring up at the boy in front of him as blood dribbled from his mouth.
"Told you that wouldn't work."
"Heh… kuh… heh heh… You think a mage's magic is that simple? My granddaughter's grudge… will bring an end to your little game… heh… one day… we'll meet again…"
He never finished his last words. His head thudded to the ground as the boy appeared behind him.
"Man, what a long-winded geezer. Wonder if he's got anything useful on him?"
Feeling a prickling unease, Seoun turned and bolted.
What was that? What the hell? That mage… he did something.
He didn't know what exactly. All he knew was that the moment the old man had raised his staff, a colossal surge of mana had shot up into the sky—and nothing else.
No way… it can't be. Something like that isn't possible…
Seoun shook the thought away and sprinted even harder.
He'd already seen too many unthinkable things—too many so-called impossible rules broken before his eyes.
As he ran, he kept glancing nervously up at the sky. And then, just for an instant, he caught a glimpse—a red star, flashing across the heavens.
A crimson meteor, peeking out briefly from behind the clouds before vanishing again.
Shit!!!
He channeled all his strength into his legs, pounding the earth as hard as he could, his speed surging once more.
Fwoooooooooooooosh!!!!!
The roar grew louder and louder, until even looking up at the sky became too terrifying.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The ground shook violently, and a massive cloud of dust swallowed Seoun whole.
In that instant, the earth beneath his feet trembled, the shockwave rippling up through his body. Dust choked the air around him, and just as the world seemed to flip upside down, an immense pressure slammed into his back.
"Gahk!"
Rolling across the ground, he was slammed in the back by a boulder crashing down with a massive cloud of dirt.
Clang!
His shield shattered instantly.
The impact was so powerful that he would've died on the spot if not for his breastplate.
Even after that, the crushing weight of the dirt kept pressing down on him, but he clung to his fading consciousness and clawed his way out of the debris.
"Ugh!"
No sooner had he made it out than a wave of nausea hit, his insides a complete mess.
"Haah… haah… damn. Almost died watching someone else's fight like an idiot."
The thought of how unfair it would've been to get a game over like that made him shudder.
If he'd died just because he got caught up in someone else's battle, there wouldn't have been a bigger fool.
After he finished retching, his stomach settled a bit, but the steady drip of his bloody nose and the throbbing pain in his shin felt far from good.
The air was still thick with dust, making visibility awful.
With no other choice, he pulled a recovery scroll from his subspace and tore it open right away. The pain in his shin eased significantly.
He tore open another one, and finally, the nosebleed stopped—only to be replaced by a pounding headache.
Did I hit my head harder than I thought?
Worried, he tore a third scroll. Only then did his body fully recover, back to normal.
I don't even remember hitting my head…
He reached up to touch his scalp—and his fingers came away wet with blood.
Shit! I really almost died there.
If he couldn't even remember the moment of impact, that meant he'd briefly lost consciousness from the shock.
Thankfully, after using three scrolls, the pain and wounds were completely gone. It could've ended in a real game over if he'd been less careful.
He paused, orienting himself, and felt a faint energy signal. He quickly pulled up the survivor list.
Survivors!
9/100
.
.
.
Namsagwang → Kaieran (Killed at the capital.)
Whoa, really still alive? What a monster…
But Seoun didn't have time to finish that thought. The faint energy he'd sensed from behind spurred him into action, and he sprinted through the lingering dust cloud.
With visibility still crap, he narrowly dodged fallen trees and boulders that suddenly loomed out of nowhere, but he didn't slow down.
"P-please… h-help… me…"
The boy gripping a recovery scroll with trembling hands, unable to even tear it, was a pitiful sight.
Half of his face was crushed, almost unrecognizable, and his clothes were in tatters.
Half-buried in dirt, just barely clinging to life, it was a miracle he was even breathing.
"So you really were barely hanging on."
"P-please… h-help… me…"
"Tch. This game isn't exactly about helping each other, is it? I almost died thanks to you, but in the end, it's a lucky break for me. Later. Let's not run into each other again."
"Pl-please…"
Thud!
Seoun's longsword pierced the boy's heart. The boy's eyes went wide as he vomited blood—and then died.
At that moment, a massive surge of life force began flowing into Seoun.
"Whoa!"
Even Seoun, who'd been expecting it, gasped at the sheer volume of energy being absorbed. His eyes glowed crimson for a moment before returning to normal.
"Phew… damn impressive."
The life force he absorbed was easily ten times more than the last time. Smiling with satisfaction, Seoun glanced at his now much-expanded dantian.
Wonder what loot he had…
He opened the wooden chest that appeared in place of the boy's corpse and tilted his head at how simple the contents looked.
For someone who killed so many, this is kinda…
He started by checking the five rings laid out neatly inside. His lips curved into a wide grin, practically reaching his ears.
[Ding! You have acquired Kaiser's Ring. Greatly increases Agility.]
[Ding! You have acquired Driminzer's Ring. Greatly increases Strength.]
[Ding! You have acquired Gailen's Ring. Greatly increases Vitality.]
[Ding! You have acquired Toka's Ring. Greatly increases Magic Resistance.]
[Ding! You have acquired Toka's Ring. Greatly increases Magic Resistance.]
What a jackpot!
Seoun, well aware from experience just how huge an impact these stat boosts had, was grinning from ear to ear.
My status!
Name: Jin SeounRace: HumanTrait: Magus (Mage)
Strength: 70
Vitality: 70
Agility: 75
Endurance: 5
Magic Resistance: 90
Trait Stat – Inner Power: 500
Trait Stat – Mana: 30
"Of course!!"
Seoun clenched his fists tightly as he looked at his overall stats, which had skyrocketed to an absurd degree.
Who would've thought a single ring could boost stats by 40 points each? It was an unexpected power-up.
His magic resistance, which had been stuck at a mere 10, had now soared to 90—a staggering ninefold increase.
'So that's why I survived even after dodging this far.'
The fact that the other guy, who had reacted way slower than Seoun, still managed to escape this far was impressive on its own. But the real reason he hadn't died must have been, at least in part, thanks to these boosted stats.
As Seoun admired the rings now filling all five fingers of his left hand, his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
"What's this necklace, then?"
The words slipped out of his mouth, giddy with excitement.
Ding! You have obtained Cameron's Necklace. Your affinity with nature increases.
"Huh? What the hell…?"
He froze, hand halfway through tossing the necklace aside.
It bugged him that someone who'd been so ruthless had only been carrying these seemingly simple items.
'There's got to be a reason… Spatial storage.'
When in doubt, the safest bet was to chuck it into his dimensional storage.
At this point, the only things left in the wooden box were a cloth that looked like an armguard and a few martial arts manuals.
Ding! You have obtained Seok So-cheon's Divine Relic.
"This little piece of cloth is a divine relic?"
Detailed description: Seok So-cheon was a master craftsman who once created countless divine relics. This relic, gifted to Yang So-hu, became a symbol of the Fist King himself. When wrapped around your arm, it boasts durability that can withstand most blades without a scratch.
Seoun stared at the black cloth for a long moment—it looked oddly familiar, like he'd seen it somewhere before—then began wrapping it around his arm.
"Well, can't hurt."
Now with both arms wrapped in cloth, Seoun finally turned to the martial arts manuals.
Ding! You have obtained the Celestial Steel Palm. Would you like to learn it?
Ding! You have obtained the Demon-Subduing Flame Palm. Would you like to learn it?
Ding! You have obtained the Ninefold Venomous Yin Palm. Would you like to learn it?
Looking at the three manuals, each with an ominous-sounding name, Seoun couldn't help but grin from ear to ear again.
Ding! You are a user with a different trait. You cannot learn this.
"Huh?"
Ding! You are a user with a different trait. You cannot learn this.
"So this is…"
Ding! Specialized materials are required to learn. Ninefold Venom: ?1, Yin Venom: ?1.
"Haah… Of course."
Now it made sense why Namsagwang hadn't learned them either—they'd been unusable for him too.
"Still, it feels like a waste to just toss them."
It seemed these martial arts required you to have a matching cultivation method or certain specialized materials to learn them.
'Yeah, there's no way they'd make it that easy to learn any martial art in just a few seconds.'
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