– Pararararak!
The yellow talisman flies like a golf ball. With just the ability to toss business cards like this, I could easily earn 20,000 won an hour. Hayoung’s talisman magic is just that overwhelming.
– Hwaruk!
As the talisman burns, it forms a sort of barrier. The talismans covering the world ignited at once, creating a wall of flames that quickly closed in on us like a box trapping a greedy person.
“No way!”
Yoho, charging at me, was startled and unleashed his lightning power.
– Pachik!
“Khahak!”
He couldn’t dispel all the barriers tightening around him, and flames engulfed his body as he let out a scream.
Is it not enough to kill him?
But the moment he exerted his energy to lift the barrier, the pace shifted in our favor. Hayoung’s talismans not only dealt damage but also bought us a turn.
“Serin!”
“Yes!”
As I surged towards the Yoho, who had just dispelled the barrier, I awakened my sword spirit.
“Your talismans and magic are all over the place!”
Electricity still crackled around Yoho’s claws. But I know I can sufficiently offset his lightning with my spirit energy.
“Khwaaaah!”
With a shout, I unleashed my Spirit Strike!
“Lightning Scratch!”
My Spirit Strike clashed with Yoho’s bright yellow claws.
– Pachik!
The force of lightning rebounded, but I amplified my spirit energy to negate it. The ominous purple energy began to suppress Yoho’s momentum.
“Are you a demon?!”
“I’m human, you bastard!”
“Nonsense! How can a human have such energy?!”
– Tsuput!
The clash was just noise. Suddenly, Serin appeared from the side, cloaked in a blue sword aura, delivering a powerful strike.
“Eek!”
Yoho swung his other hand as if to tear the space apart, attempting to block Serin’s blade.
– Paaang!
There’s no way he could defend with just one hand. As the lightning dissipated, a deep cut appeared on his palm.
“No way!”
Serin’s eyes widened in surprise. Despite landing such a perfect ambush, she couldn’t sever his hand. Just this alone showed how mighty Yoho really was.
“Spirit Transformation!”
Taking advantage of the moment, I launched my Spirit Transformation with my left hand.
Target: Yoho’s face!
“What the?!”
The fireball struck Yoho’s face.
“Kaeng!”
Yoho quickly recoiled as flames licked at his features. But even in this moment, Hayoung wasn’t just idly watching.
“Gotcha!”
A spell had already brewed behind Yoho, laid out by Hayoung. Is it a barrier made from talismans? The moment Yoho tried to pull back, flames erupted like a trap going off.
– Hwaruuk!
“Kaeng, Kaehyeng!”
Yoho’s screams echoed as he was engulfed in fire!
“Now’s our chance, Geunhyeop! Attack from both sides again!”
“Right!”
I’ll finish him off with Ghost Spirit One Sword and Ghost Spirit Flow Slash!
But…
– Hwaak!
The moment the fire cleared, Yoho’s figure changed. Originally appearing as a human with fox ears, he suddenly transformed into a fox the size of a person.
“Kaeng…! How dare you, puny martial artists!”
“Hey, you just turned into a fox!”
“Shut up!”
Bright yellow light emanated from the fox’s eyes. At the same time, its mouth opened wide, revealing the crackling lightning within.
“Crazy!”
Is that Lightning Breath?!
“Spirit Transformaaaation!”
I won’t let you breathe anything!
– Hwaruuk!
My Spirit Transformation flew towards the fox’s mouth, and just as it seemed to disappear inside…
– Puhwaaaang!
A massive explosion erupted!
“Hooh!”
“Oh my!”
The two women gasped in awe.
“Cough…!”
As the smoke cleared, we saw the fox battered and bloodied. But that wasn’t all. The Spirit Transformation had done its job well, having severed its lower jaw completely.
Total domination!
“Crazy! Fox! Your jaw is missing!”
“Khek…!”
With eyes filled with rage.
But this guy was just our prey now.
A powerful demon? He was already dead the moment he dared to challenge our trio. No one could outmatch us when we combined our skills.
At our level, a swordsman and a mage collaborating against a single target would have no chance of losing.
“Fox! Fox! What are you doing!”
Excitedly, I charged straight at the fox.
“Geunhyeop! Team attack!”
“Okay!”
He’s already a mess. If we push harder, we can take him down. Just as I thought of using Ghost Spirit One Sword…
“Keheng!”
– Pachik!
The fox encased itself in crackling lightning and exploded outward.
“Kah!”
A jolt of energy grazed my skin. I struggled to unleash my spirit energy for defense, but my vision was compromised and an intense sense of danger washed over me.
It would attack while I couldn’t see…!
– Hwaak!
So I unleashed the Heavenly Thunder Sword.
“Uuh?”
As my vision returned, I saw the now smaller fox dashing away at incredible speed.
“Darn it! We missed! To flee while obstructing my view…!”
“Hah! Did Yoho really run away? How sly of him! Ugh!”
He was too fast to track. Hayoung tried to launch a fireball in disappointment, but couldn’t hit the fox fleeing faster than Serin could jump.
“To think he would run away!”
If I had consumed that fox’s energy, I could have controlled lightning too!
“What a bummer!”
It was truly disappointing to lose track of the fox.
Should we chase? That thought crossed my mind, but who knows what else could be waiting? We should retreat. Besides, we wiped out the Bijo Nachals, so we accomplished our mission.
“Haah… Don’t be too disappointed. That Lightning Demon Fox was powerful, even though we clearly had the upper hand. A one-on-one fight would have certainly ended poorly for us.”
Serin said calmly.
“That we could fight against such a demon proves our growth. Not being able to kill him is regrettable, but surely there will be another chance.”
“Right… it’s not like we gained nothing. Just this experience with our team tactics alone will help us grow even further.”
“Exactly, Geunhyeop.”
Let’s put off going over the battle details for later.
“Let’s gather what we can! There seems to be something in that cave!”
“Yes. Wi Hayoung, please set up a barrier for security.”
“Got it. Let’s search quickly.”
Then let’s conduct a search.
– Paaat!
I entered the cave with Serin. Inside, the scent of loot flooded the air.
“I found it!”
“Ooh!”
Serin quickly spotted boxes. Items seized from various transport agencies. But there seemed to be too many to take them all.
“Let’s grab the rare and valuable ones first.”
“Yes.”
We need to gather as much as we can carry.
This is so frustrating.
“Let’s see… oh? What’s this?”
While rummaging through the items, I found a book.
“A Martial Art Book!”
I had found a Martial Art Book!
“A Martial Art Book?! Really?!”
“Hey! Look at this!”
“What is…?”
“Why? What is it?”
Without a title on the cover, Serin frowned. Then she snatched the book from my hands and harshly flipped through the pages.
“I can’t believe it! This is martial arts!”
“Martial arts?!”
“Death-Grabbing Ascension Claw! This technique was used by the notorious demon master of the past! This must be the origin of the martial arts used by the Bijo Nachals!”
The very technique used by the demon master…!
I held my breath, but for a moment, I also thought this.
That time when Yoho scratched with ghost energy — wasn’t that pretty cool? Plus, the martial arts the Bijo Nachals used also looked quite decent.
I’ve heard about martial arts but have no idea what they truly entail. Anyway, if it’s an evil martial art, wouldn’t it fit well with my spirit energy?
If I learn it, I might be able to create a new technique.
“Geunhyeop! Get a grip! You shouldn’t learn something like that! Who knows what side effects it could have!”
“Oh, I’ll just check the techniques! Maybe I can incorporate it into my own moves!”
“Even so!”
I envisioned myself infusing spirit energy into my claws, slashing through the air. Wouldn’t this be just like Ghost Claw? But I couldn’t just use it as it is, so let’s call it Ghost Spirit Claw.
“Alright. Serin, let’s just keep it for now. I have no intention of learning any strange martial arts.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. After all, I’m focused on creating my own techniques rather than just learning martial arts. Death-Grabbing Ascension Claw is definitely a dangerous technique. So I won’t learn it, just confirm if there’s anything I can reference from it.”
“…Hmmm.”
Serin frowned, looking unhappy.
Just then.
“Hey! I found this! I think the fox dropped it!”
“What is it?”
Hayoung ran over holding a box.
Was it something the fox had?
“Look at this!”
“What is this?”
Inside the box was what looked like some kind of bracelet.
It had chain-like strings attached to the metallic feather tips, and the design was quite luxurious. It seemed old too.
“Could this… be an artifact?”
“It seems like it! I can feel some energy from it!”
“An artifact?”
Since Hayoung, being a shaman, had seen various artifacts, she wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept. But it was her first time seeing a bracelet-shaped artifact.
“Hayoung, what kind of effect does it have?”
“I think we’ll need to experiment to find out. But these feathers… don’t they look like phoenix feathers?”
“I can’t tell.”
A feather’s a feather.
“The phoenix, you say?”
“Yeah! This might be a treasure from the Bijo Nachals! I have no idea why Yoho had it, but I’m convinced this is an artifact made from phoenix feathers!”
“No way!”
That’s amazing!
“But what about that book?”
“Oh, this? It’s a Martial Art Book. It’s about something called Death-Grabbing Ascension Claw.”
“What?! You’re not going to practice that, are you?”
“…”
“Please don’t look at me like that.”
“Haah. Wi Hayoung. Just look at this. It’s true.”
“That needs some serious education… huh?”
– Poke poke.
With the tip of her finger, Hayoung poked my cheek.
Come on, what’s the big deal about practicing martial arts?
I’m wronged! Totally wronged!
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