Chapter 128
He had no intention of killing him. If possible, he wanted to capture YuWon alive to get some information. That was why Thal thought to only cut his arms and legs.
‘He’s faster than I thought.’
His eyes sparkled looking at YuWon’s movement as he dodged his sword.
He had heard his name many times.
Kim YuWon. The one called the strongest player.
As such, he would have a certain level of skill, and he suspected that the last attack would be blocked or dodged. But Thal didn’t expect him to dodge this easily.
It was then…
“Did Lancelot send you?”
…He said a phrase to trigger Thal and Lollit.
“You dare…”
Thal’s eyes flashed with rage.
YuWon wasn’t just related to Arthur’s death, but now he was disrespecting Lancelot, the current king of Britain.
“Let’s see if you can continue flapping that mouth after your arms and legs are cut off.”
Bzzt, bzzzz—
The flow of mana in Thal’s body increased in speed.
With that, penalty was activated and made his body suffer.
Thal had already made up his mind. And for now, the penalty wasn’t too bad.
Shwack—!
The blade’s edge flew at YuWon’s leg. Unlike before, this strike was aimed with true intent to take off a limb.
But then…
Clang—!
The blade was flung to the side, and Thal felt a great shock to his hand.
His eyes went wide, and just after, he could see only a black screen in front of his eyes. His sight was covered.
His senses and thoughts that had been dulled by rage had slowed his decision-making for an instant.
In that moment…
Smack—!
Thal heard the sound of a hit and saw YuWon skidding back as his body was struck away.
YuWon had one hand stretched in front of him. The thing that had darkened his vision just then was his palm.
“Are you alright?”
After entering into the fight, Lollit had calmed his boiling mana.
He was different than Thal, who had just rushed in with anger.
YuWon clicked his tongue with regret.
‘It would’ve been nice if I could’ve taken care of one first quickly.’
Ignoring a player who hadn’t become a Ranker yet was a common trait that was natural for a Ranker to have.
It couldn’t be helped. They were existences that had become Rankers after ascending beyond a mere player. Also, even among players, they were those that had made themselves known and saw the light of talent to climb to the top of the Tower.
Since that was the case, they were the ones who knew the difference between players and Rankers the best.
Thal was also subconsciously thinking this just then and let his guard down against YuWon.
‘They had a cautious one.’
Even in this enraging situation, Lollit had taken a cautious stance in battle and took it seriously, even though he knew his opponent was a player.
Although his ranking was lower, this type of enemy was more troublesome for YuWon.
“Don’t relax.” Lollit replayed YuWon’s movement over and over again in his head. “He’s not normal.”
Shwooo—
With the flow of mana, the penalty was activated and put a load on his body.
The will of the Tower was absolute.
Lollit and Thal, every time these two people recklessly used their power to attack YuWon, the Tower forced the penalty on them.
However, they had already decided to grit through something like this.
Thal thought back to the previous scene and nodded.
“Understood.”
Step—
Lollit stepped forward.
YuWon lifted his sword and pointed it at Thal in the back.
“Is that guy not moving?”
“It’ll be a dent to our pride if we fight two-on-one against a player who’s not even a Ranker.”
“Looks like you’ve already forgotten what you just said before.”
“Don’t worry.”
Bang—
Rumble—
As Lollit stomped the ground, the earth cracked around him, pushing upwards.
“I won’t ever let myself become careless.”
As if proving his statement, Lollit increased his spirit.
[‘The 42nd knight of the Round Table’ threatens you.]
[‘The 42nd Knight of the Round Table’ requests ‘Single Combat.’]
[The Arena activates.]
Rumble—
The training grounds started to slowly change.
A high rampart appeared before their eyes. YuWon and Lollit stood in the middle of the empty field, and there was only one spectator, Thal.
‘Single Combat…’
This arena was probably a type of illusion created by Lollit’s skill.
The surrounding area appeared to be part of a battlefield but without any soldiers.
‘A type of skill that optimizes one-on-one duels. The effect of the skill breaks if a third party interferes.’
[Single Combat] was a skill with a tricky use condition. Activating it wasn’t difficult, but it had the condition of being strictly 1v1. It was a skill with too easy of a dissolution condition, but in situations like YuWon was in right now, it was a different matter.
“Take your stance.”
After creating the arena, Lollit waited for YuWon to lift his sword and get ready to fight.
After observing the arena created by [Single Combat,] YuWon looked at Lollit and Thal in turns.
Thal didn’t seem to have any intention of butting in as he sat in his seat and waited for his turn with his arms crossed.
YuWon smirked.
“So this is chivalry?”
“Are you laughing at it?”
“Are you even trying to win? You still don’t seem to be taking this seriously.”
“Yes. We have always won with this method.”
He wasn’t wrong. This was probably how Britain and The Round Table existed as it did now.
But that was something only those who were qualified were allowed to say.
“The ones who’ve won like this aren’t you guys.”
Showing off their strengths on a platform built by those who gained peace and safety long ago in the past… It was laughable.
“Starting now, I will make you understand.”
* * *
Translator - Jreaming
Proofreader - BringTheRayn
* * *
Clang—!
YuWon’s blade struck the shield. Its sturdiness could be felt through the handle and climbed up to his wrist.
[‘Shield of the Round Table’ protects your target.]
The effect of the skill affecting his armor wasn’t ordinary.
It was hard. YuWon needed an even greater strength to break though.
[Your arm has been imbued with the power of a giant.]
[Constitution will temporarily substitute Strength.]
Crunch—
After having its proficiency increased, [Gigantification] didn’t look as obvious from the outside like before. But the muscles in YuWon’s arm became more sturdy and stronger as they became condensed.
Clench—
YuWon clenched his left hand which had 「Kyneē」 on it.
He gathered up his strength and punched forward.
Boom—!
“…!”
Feeling the shock spreading all over his shield, Lollit’s expression faltered. He nearly got pushed back.
It was very shocking for him.
He was only paying attention to YuWon’s sword, but his barehanded attack wasn’t normal either.
‘He wasn’t a swordsman?’
YuWon changed his stance to throw another punch.
Against an enemy with a shield, using both hands was much better than just swinging his sword because an enemy with a shield up would have their vision impeded by it.
‘Although Kyneē is a tool to use the power inside the Divine Dark Crystal…’
Clench—
He put strength into his fist again.
‘The material used to make it is adamantium.’
Bang—!
“Kugh…”
Lollit took a step back from the strength of YuWon’s fist.
Just how was he so strong? After a weird flow in mana, he suddenly became much stronger.
The shield shook a little.
With this, he couldn’t just keep taking hits.
Vwong-vwong—
Magic power gathered in the shield.
With that, Lollit, who was holding the shield, burst forward.
‘A charge?’
Bang—!
Although it was an impact that happened in close proximity, YuWon’s body was flung back.
Thanks to planting his feet into the ground, he was able to stop himself from flying back too far, but the impact wasn’t average.
Ache—
YuWon looked at Lollit again as he felt the shock in his wrist.
‘It’s strong enough to break down a castle wall.’
All of Lollit’s abilities, stats and skills included, were to increase his strength and shield.
It felt as if he was facing a giant tank. Without penetrating that shield, it was impossible to defeat Lollit.
Clasp—
Lollit grabbed his sword with one hand, and presented the shield with the other.
A charging stance.
“So he wants to fight with strength?”
Strength against strength. This was the method Lollit had chosen.
It wasn’t a bad plan.
Honestly, it was something YuWon wanted. Because if it was strength, YuWon was quite confident in it.
Womp—
Underneath his skin, YuWon’s muscles wriggled as they accepted the mana.
He couldn’t handle [Gigantification] properly all this time because of his low proficiency with it and his lacking Constitution stat. Because of the high difficulty of the skill itself, he was only able to use half of the effects.
But unlike before, his proficiency with [Gigantification] had increased quite a bit, and as his level increased, so did his stats.
This much was enough.
[Constitution will temporarily substitute Strength.]
[You have enough Constitution.]
[Your body has been imbued with the strength of a giant.]
[You have succeeded in Gigantification for the first time.]
His entire body had the strength of a giant coursing through it.
YuWon sheathed his sword and hit his fists against each other.
Bang—!
“Come at me.”
* * *
Bang, bang-bang, boom—!
Shield and fist collided.
There were only brief moments where they weren’t in contact as YuWon punched again and again, and Lollit took his attacks with his shield. The fight between the two had no technique nor structure.
They collided again and again while clenching their teeth.
Crack—
Vwoong—
After retreating back, Lollit put mana into his shield again.
This giant shield made of blue mana was the skill that allowed Lollit to sit at the Round Table.
‘This is the last.’
This time, he swore to finally push back that musclehead.
He gathered strength into his legs and while grasping his shield tightly, he charged forward.
Fwooosh—!
The strength to knock down a castle.
But Lollit wasn’t the only one charging in.
Vwooong—
YuWon’s fist stretched forward.
The two chargers finally collided.
Bang—!
Crunch, crack—
With the impact, the ground was dug up, the earth risen into the shape of a circle.
A collision between strengths.
In that moment, the blue insignia of The Round Table was drawn on Lollit’s shield.
[‘Shield of the Round Table’ protects your target.]
Lollit’s skill increased the strength and durability of the shield and had the ability to disperse and absorb the impact. Charging using the shield made his defensive strength his offensive strength as well.
But the actual result of the collision was the opposite of the skill’s effect.
Drip—
Lollit’s body was pushed back.
One step.
Two steps.
“Kugh…”
Lollit held up his shaky arms.
An attack using a shield ended the moment you were pushed back. On top of that, his pride wouldn’t allow losing in a competition of strength against a player.
Creak—
He planted his feet firmly into the ground and pushed back with all his might.
He withstood it. He wasn’t being pushed back.
But then…
Bang—!
Immediately after, he felt a shock through his shield.
Falter—
“Huak—!”
His knee nearly buckled for an instant.
But that single shock wasn’t it.
Bang, bang-bang-bang-bang—!
The punches continued.
Crack—
Cracks started to appear on the shield, and the strength in his hand was slowly leaving him.
‘What is this idiotic…’
“If you really thought I was with the ones who killed Arthur…”
It was unbelievable. This was a player?
“If you really wanted to take revenge, then you should’ve given up something like chivalry when you fought me. You should’ve ganged up on me or used some tricks. You shouldn’t have held onto something like ideals.”
Bang—!
The force acting on the shield became stronger and stronger.
His body was shaking and his shield was breaking.
This wasn’t defendable.
“Trying to fight alone.”
The voice behind the shield came closer and closer, and at that…
C-Crack—
“You were not taking this seriously enough.”
Bang—!
…The shield shattered.
