Ko Hyuk bares his fangs and growls.
He could probably brush it off as a matter of bloodline, and it seems like Park Jin-gon has done a lot of preparation.
‘He’s played a dangerous card. Park Jin-gon.’
Park Jin-gon wears a relaxed smile on his face, but his fists are dripping with sweat.
It’s almost transparent that he’s internally shouting, ‘Please win, please crush him and elevate me to a higher place.’
On the other hand, Yeon-su still leans nonchalantly with her chin in her hand, sticking her tongue out at me repeatedly.
It’s cute to see someone a few years older than me act like that.
[Both of you, forward.]
With Cha Mu-yeol’s signal, the finals began.
It was a rather dull proceeding for a match to select a representative of the White Knight Guild, but once the audience surpassed 300 people, it was all irrelevant.
– Aaaah!! Hyuk-ah! First strike guarantees victory!!
– If you get hit even once by the new girl who joined yesterday, know that you’ll die by my hands!
– Goddess Lee Yeon-hee fighting~!
– Go Hyuk! Don’t lose to the monsters!!
There were some guys cheering for Yeon-hee who just joined yesterday, but most were hoping for Hyuk’s victory.
I wouldn’t have cheered for Yeon-hee either, so I let it slide.
“Whoosh- whoosh-”
Even though the match had started, Ko Hyuk was just standing still, his eyes darting around.
He wasn’t experiencing the same combat power surge as when he fought Hwa-ryeon, but the aura of magic power was definitely rising.
He must think it’s advantageous to wait as time goes by.
‘He seems to still have his rationality intact.’
Suddenly—
‘…He’s growing. Muscle density is increasing… He wasn’t just waiting around, was he?’
They say he’s of wolf lineage; his legs were bending, and his upper body was swelling like a true werewolf.
– Transformation! I’ve seen that in a dungeon a few times!
– I heard that transformation rivals ‘Divine Transformation’. It wouldn’t be easy even for Yeon-hee!
It seems like the power of his lineage is indeed at play.
But to say it rivals Kang Yeon-su’s ‘Divine Transformation’?
‘What nonsense…’
“Khuhuhuhuh…”
Once Ko Hyuk’s transformation was complete, he seemed so satisfied that he kept checking out his body and letting out a creepy chuckle.
He turned his head toward Park Jin-gon and nodded, as if signaling that something good has happened.
‘Seems like the performance of the Evolved Creature is quite useful… That’s what this signal means.’
Park Jin-gon’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
If his pupil can use it to such an extent, what kind of chaos will unfold when a powerhouse like Park Jin-gon gets hold of it?
‘I don’t know if I should be happy about this.’
The Orc Legion Commander invading this world.
It would definitely help against them, but still…
Ko Hyuk’s new form disappeared as he approached us.
Yeon-hee showed no signs of agitation even at the sight of the vanished Ko Hyuk.
Like before, she summoned the Alpha Trio and all her other summoned creatures.
[…!!]
Even the ‘Sword Dragon’ appeared in the sky, summoning a castle and startling the spectators.
It all happened in less than three seconds.
Ko Hyuk found himself surrounded by the summoned creatures.
Kuwuuung──!
As the castle positioned itself and went into defensive mode, the excitement among the hunters heated up.
– Huh?! This is insane… What the heck is that golem?!
– It’s not the golem we saw in dungeons. That’s definitely something at a much higher tier.
– The drake up there could be called a small dragon. Reports say its breath is formidable.
My role, for now, was to ensure that Yeon-hee could summon enough battle power and enter the castle safely.
‘Once my kids surpass him, I’ll take care of him. Will you even be able to do it?’
Honestly, I didn’t think Hwa-ryeon could outdo Yeon-hee’s forces, so I was genuinely curious about the outcome.
Hooow—
As Ko Hyuk ramped up his magic power, he vanished.
At the same time, the Alpha Trio spread out in three directions to chase him.
Purr—!
Purrpurrpurrbang!!
Ko Hyuk attacks the summoned creatures first.
The Trio managed to block his attack, but that didn’t mean they laid down an effective counterattack.
The scenario was clearly different from the previous matches where the summoned creatures dominated, leaving Yeon-hee’s brow furrowed.
– Chirururur!!
– Kyyaaaaaaa!!
The ‘Dotted One’ and ‘Ddak-ddak-i’ unleashed their [Provocation] attacks, consistently creating chaos for the opponent.
“Haah!!”
In an instant, Ko Hyuk let out a mighty roar and focused magic power into his ears.
‘He’s got something in his ears.’
Earplugs powered by magic.
It reminded me of the time we used Wang-wang’s fur to block the ‘Speaker’ attack during the Gapjang-ro dungeon break.
It seems he mainly used the energy-seeped fur of the Earth Puppy for this as well.
It consumed a certain amount of magic power, but it was an excellent response to block status effects mediated by sound.
Of course, it wouldn’t be something I’d see if I hadn’t used my past knowledge.
Papapapack-!
By dodging Yeon-hee’s provocation attack, Ko Hyuk showcased a stunning performance against the Trio.
Surprisingly, even though it was a 3v1, he wasn’t falling behind and was steadily increasing his effective hits, which frankly boggled my mind. He only took one potion and now he’s like this…
‘I’m sure there are side effects, but… hmm…’
Golung—
– Kawaah!!!
The Trio, locked in fierce close combat, suddenly distanced themselves from Ko Hyuk, and amidst the chaos, Ko Hyuk was directly hit by the ‘Sword Dragon’s’ breath.
Ko Hyuk performed a cross-guard to weather the breath, but he sustained severe injuries that revealed bones on the arms that took the brunt of it.
Some of his face even melted away, exposing veins, creating a horrific image reminiscent of a zombie, causing Gu Sang-min watching from the sidelines to flinch.
Crooked- Click—
However, gentle light began to radiate from Ko Hyuk’s body, performing a miracle as the damaged tissue rapidly healed.
Several spectators cheering for Ko Hyuk scratched their heads in disbelief.
An incomprehensible healing rate.
‘Was the power of his lineage this remarkable?’
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
I signaled that they shouldn’t give him time to breathe and push forward, and Yeon-hee called forth all available summoned creatures and even moved the castle to a new position.
Kuwuuung— Kuwung—
‘Oh… He doesn’t only have Siege Mode.’
The castle stood up from the seated position and showcased an impressive speed of movement.
“Go stomp on him!!”
Yeon-hee pretended to step on the ground inside the castle.
“Ugh…!”
In a panic, Ko Hyuk, faced with not only the Trio but also other summoned creatures plus a giant golem, turned around and ran.
Such a thing shouldn’t happen in a regular match, but since the arena was set up so widely, the refereeing hunters didn’t intervene.
And in actual dungeons, hit-and-run tactics were a common strategy.
Watching Ko Hyuk quickly create distance, Yeon-hee licked her lips.
“Ah— I wanted to stamp on him just once. What a shame, right?”
[…!!]
“Let’s regain our footing, Castle.”
‘She speaks such deadly words so cheerfully…’
In the end, the castle anchored itself back in place, and Yeon-hee took advantage of Ko Hyuk’s retreat to resummon her incapacitated summoned creatures and kept an eye on the situation.
The close combat resumed between the summoned creatures and Ko Hyuk.
Under normal circumstances, Ko Hyuk’s health would have depleted rapidly, dropping to a knee.
However, even after several minutes, his movements didn’t falter, and they even increased, eventually ripping apart all the summoned creatures except for the Alpha Trio.
– Huh? This is ridiculous. Park Jin-gon, what on earth did you do to turn the guy into a zombie?
– Damn it, stop talking disrespectfully, Aunt. You might just end up regretting it.
Seok Ryu-hwa, watching the match, kept shaking her head, glaring daggers at Park Jin-gon.
She was growling that he would pay for this one way or another, but realistically, there’s no way she could reveal the Evolved Creature that even Yeon-su hadn’t fully understood.
“Ugh… What kind of person even exists like that?”
Yeon-hee glanced at the seemingly invincible Ko Hyuk with her tongue out but soon extended her palm for further measures.
Something formless extended from her palm, reinforcing the ‘Mystical Membrane’ enveloping the bodies of the Alpha Trio.
With that, the once-thin defensive barrier was visibly restored to its original state against Ko Hyuk’s attacks. Although it drained a significant amount of Yeon-hee’s magic power, it was an astonishing support skill.
‘Whoa… Has she upgraded her ability to reinforce the mystical membrane from a distance? Just how far can Yeon-hee’s potential go?’
“This is a special membrane to make Il-wol the strongest! What do you think?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
I felt incredibly reassured.
Defensive barriers that could mitigate both physical and magical damage continuously being added.
If we can boost Yeon-hee’s magic reserve further, her summoned creatures could practically withstand everything on the battlefield like immortals.
“Gwwwoooorrr!!”
The orc’s [Warrior’s Roar] resounded, empowering the Trio as they faced Ko Hyuk head-on once more.
In that moment, Ko Hyuk faced them while using buff skills that temporarily boosted his attack power and speed, as well as active skills that forcefully pushed enemies away when hit.
Thanks to his pushback skills, he rarely faced three opponents simultaneously, steadily stacking points without much difficulty.
But as time passed five minutes in, both sides began to show signs of fatigue.
“Ugh… I can win, but it’s taking way too long.”
Yeon-hee coolly assessed the situation.
She could win, but it would take a lot of time.
I had a feeling that Ko Hyuk would crumble soon, but I respected her judgment.
I raised my hand slightly toward her.
Seeing me declare my intention to participate, Yeon-hee showed a mildly disappointed expression.
“Phew… Fine. I’ll stop here.”
As she waved her hand in the air, the Trio returned to the shoulder of the castle.
Ko Hyuk stood stunned at the sudden retreat of the summoned creatures during combat.
He continued to maintain formidable combat power through the power of the Evolved Creature but clearly had about three minutes left at most.
I took a step toward him.
Ko Hyuk, uninterested in me, gazed at the three summoned creatures in tatters with a face of disappointment.
He must’ve thought he could take them out with a little more effort, but he didn’t seem to realize that as Yeon-hee canceled each summoning, the situation wasn’t going to improve.
Despite that, there was a gleam of life in Ko Hyuk’s eyes.
He must’ve heard that I was the strongest among Yeon-hee’s summoned creatures.
There was a bubbling ambition in his gaze.
“How strong… I’ll find out…”
‘It’s clear his brain’s gone a bit fuzzy.’
Ko Hyuk began to circle me.
Jjing- jing-!
He struck his knuckles together hard, signaling his readiness to attack at any moment.
The speed was truly impressive—
It rivaled Ara’s [Lightning Step], and he’d likely have faster reaction times than her.
Even while Ko Hyuk radiated murderous intent toward me, I was lost in thought. His physical abilities were undoubtedly impressive, but that’s just about it.
His combat power was slightly above the Alpha Trio, and that no longer piqued my interest.
“……”
Whether he noticed I wasn’t focused on the fight, Ko Hyuk charged directly at Yeon-hee.
Though he had shown interest in me, it was clear that he didn’t forget that the victory in the match was his goal.
The closer he got to Yeon-hee, the more I could sense the widening of his mouth and the ecstatic expression on his face, and even the droplets of sweat and muscle movements flew through the air.
Looking at his expression, it was obvious he thought I had gotten careless and forgotten to protect Yeon-hee.
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