Chapter 135
Chapter 135
“You should try fighting it . ”
“What?”
Sungyoon"s mouth reacted before he could even think . It showed how surprised he was . However, Hyunwoo had already taken a seat nearby .
“Hmm? What’s wrong? There is no way you want this old man to fight, right?”
He spoke in a nonchalant manner .
“… I’ve been wondering since our last meeting . How old are you?”
“Me? I’m 59 years old . I’ll be celebrating my 60th birthday next year . ”
If he considered that this man was a friend of Jimin’s father, Sungyoon should have expected this . Still, he felt baffled at the sight of a Connector with the face of a 20-year-old man stating that he would turn 60 soon .
As if Hyunwoo was making a show of it, he started to tap at his back like an old man . Sungyoon"s sense of dismay deepened .
“Aigo . The only thing left for an old man like me is to die . ”
“… . ”
“Don’t look back at me like that . Hurry up and fight it . If you get in trouble, I’ll save you . A high rank Connector is looking out for you in your battle . I know you can’t experience this in your company . ”
“You have a point . ”
He remembered the time he had seen a beginner Connector being trained by a high rank Connector within the Beginner’s Labyrinth . He remembered being envious of them .
As the training montage from his memory played in his mind, he realized one of the strongest Connectors would do the same thing for him .
“Moreover, I know about your previous experiences . I’ve also a.s.sessed your Devices and Gems . You can take down an Ogre . ”
Did Hyunwoo’s words buoy his confidence? Sungyoon took a firmer grip on his ax and s.h.i.+eld .
He slowly approached the monster walking at a brisk pace toward them . Unlike his nonchalant manner from before, Hyunwoo became dead serious as he looked at Sungyoon’s back .
‘I wonder what his battle sense is like . ’
Sungyoon had progressed so far that it was almost unbelievable that he was a 1st Gen . Of course, the standards varied . But, Sungyoon was around the level of a high rank 2nd or 3rd Gen Connector .
Even if one’s quality of power was high, it didn’t mean all of that power could translate into the ability to fight .
‘If I’m basing it off his words, he shouldn’t be too bad . ’
Not too bad was an understatement . He was probably very good . Therefore, Hyunwoo’s eyes turned sharp since he didn’t want to miss any of Sungyoon’s movements .
Tuhk!
Sungyoon came to a stop after closing the distance to the Ogre . As always, he pushed his s.h.i.+eld forward and gripped his ax .
Unlike the man who had come to a stop, the Ogre raised its speed . It turned its brisk walk into a full sprint .
Boom! Boom!
The enormous monster let out loud noises .
Ooh-uhhhhhhhh!
It once again let out a loud roar . However, this roar was a bit different than the earlier one, and this time it contained a ma.s.sive amount of murderous intent . It was the roar the monster used when hunting its prey .
In a flash, it reached Sungyoon and swung its fist . Sungyoon’s eyes remained wide open as he kept them trained on the incoming fist .
‘Let’s focus on redirecting the blow for now . ’
He had to get an estimate on how strong the Ogre was . He even unsummoned his ax, so as to only focus on blocking with his s.h.i.+eld .
Boom!
A heavy blow landed on the s.h.i.+eld .
However, the fist couldn’t damage the s.h.i.+eld . And as he had intended, the man deflected the fist upwards .
‘Huh?’
He became surprised . The force that had impacted his s.h.i.+eld was powerful, but it was much lighter than he had expected .
The Ogre’s second fist was already on the way .
‘Let’s try this . ’
This time, he placed his s.h.i.+eld squarely in front of him .
Boooom!
‘Koohk!’
Sungyoon didn’t redirect the fist like before, so the impact he absorbed was much larger . However, it wasn’t unbearable .
Hyunwoo"s words replayed in his mind .
[Moreover, I know about your previous experiences . I’ve also a.s.sessed your Devices and Gems . You can take down an Ogre . ]
Sungyoon was starting to see the truth to his words .
‘At this level… . ’
Sungyoon resummoned his ax .
Ooh-uhhhhhhh!
The Ogre became really mad when two of its attacks failed . It clasped its hands as it swung downwards . It was using its height to its advantage .
Sungyoon quickly dodged to the side .
Hoo-oong!
A violent sound rang out . The power in that attack was enough to cause chills to run down one’s spine . As expected, the power generated using two hands couldn’t be compared to a one-handed attack .
Bul-duhk!
Sungyoon immediately got up . A bead of cold sweat ran down his cheek, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling .
‘Should I open up some distance?’
Sssssk!
He unsummoned his ax and s.h.i.+eld . Then, the halberd made its appearance .
Hyunwoo had been watching the battle, and Sungyoon’s action caught his eyes .
‘Is that it?’
He had heard it from Sungyoon, but seeing it with his own eyes was something else . His Gem activation speed was shockingly fast .
‘It is within 0 . 1 seconds . No . It is almost useless to talk about time . ’
It really was instantaneous . This special attribute would become Sungyoon’s greatest advantage as a Connector .
“Hoohp!”
Using the long reach to his advantage, Sungyoon stabbed the Ogre with his spear blade .
Puh-uhk!
The monster"s arm struck the halberd from the side . Sungyoon couldn’t overcome its strength, so his halberd was flung away .
A normal Connector would be in trouble at this point, but Sungyoon reacted to the crisis in a simple manner .
Hoohk!
He didn’t slow down as he unsummoned the halberd, and charged forward while raising his s.h.i.+eld .
Boom!
The shock was transferred through the s.h.i.+eld . The Ogre quickly tried to block Sungyoon from getting close, and it swung its arm .
Sungyoon’s progress stalled, and he slid back a little bit . But his s.h.i.+eld disappeared, and the halberd reappeared . Sungyoon swung the weapon .
Because the ogre had swung its arm in desperation, it couldn’t react to this attack .
Kwah-jeek!
The ax blade of the halberd pierced the Ogre’s arm .
Ggoo-uhhhhhhhhhhh!
The monster screamed in pain .
Sungyoon was taken aback by the result .
‘It is this easy?’
Although he had met resistance, it didn’t feel like trying to cut through tough leather with a blunt blade .
After being injured, the Ogre started moving in a more violent manner .
Koo-uhhhhhhh!
The monster indiscriminately attacked Sungyoon .
It swung its fist and kicked out .
Using its ma.s.sive body, it also tried to slam him . But Sungyoon remained calm as he blocked all the attacks .
In truth, he was feeling a bit overwhelmed . His nerves were frayed, and it felt as if his throat was burning .
However, he was starting to corner the Ogre .
Many wounds had appeared on the monster"s body .
Most of them were small, but a couple of them were critical .
Still, the Ogre was tough . It used the pain from its wound to boost its rage, but its body was starting to slow down .
This deterioration gave Sungyoon some room to breathe . He was able to go more on the offensive .
Kwah-jeek!
The ax struck the Ogre’s thigh .
The edge of the weapon got caught in something hard . It seemed Sungyoon had sliced through leather, skin, and muscle to reach the bone .
Koo-ahhhhhh!
The Ogre attacked once again .
Sungyoon slid past its attack . He had unsummoned his ax and s.h.i.+eld so that he could move in a more agile manner .
As soon as he dodged the attack, he summoned his halberd . He placed the hook behind the monster"s leg as he pulled .
Hwee-chung!
He couldn’t make the Ogre fall, but he was able to make it lose its balance .
Puh-uh-uhk!
He once again summoned and brought down his ax, aiming for the forearm this time .
Then he let go of the weapon and immediately retreated .
Hoo-ook!
The ax, which had been embedded in the wound, disappeared . It reappeared in Sungyoon’s hand .
Sungyoon was clearly at an advantage, but this didn’t mean he could kill the Ogre in short order . Even as it bled all over the place, the monster was putting up a desperate fight .
‘Should I try it?’
There was a move that he wanted to try out . It was something that had always been on his mind
Sungyoon unsummoned his ax, and pushed his s.h.i.+eld forward .
Hoo-oong!
A fist flew toward him once again, but Sungyoon deflected it again .
He did his best not to be pushed backward . Then he summoned his halberd and raised his s.h.i.+eld .
The Ogre knew an attack would be coming, so it quickly extended its hand .
However, this attack was different compared to his past attacks .
The man brought down the ax blade of the halberd with all his might . And when the blade was about to land on the Ogre’s hand, something happened .
Boom!
Sungyoon let his magical energy flow into his Gravity-magic Gem .
In a flash, the gravity increased eight-fold .
Surprisingly, the spell wasn"t directed toward the Ogre . He had placed it on himself .
‘Koo-ooooooook!’
As he felt the increase of gravity on his whole body, he continued to bring down the halberd with all his might . The increase in gravity meant an increase in acceleration . The speed at which the halberd was coming down had increased .
Speed meant power, and weight also meant power .
The halberd clashed against the Ogre’s fist .
Until now, although he could inflict critical wounds, the wounds were only deep enough to cut a little bit into the Ogre’s bones . However, this strike was different .
Kwah-doo-doohk!
The sound generated was different . The halberd split apart the Ogre’s fist, and the ax blade kept traveling forward until it came to a stop at the middle of its forearm .
Ggoo-uhhhhhhhh!
The Ogre screamed . This pain was on a different level compared to the pain from before .
It desperately swung its other arm .
Boom!
Sungyoon summoned his s.h.i.+eld, and it clashed against the Ogre’s arm once again .
However, Sungyoon wasn’t pushed backward this time . The increased gravity on his body hadn’t dissipated .
He stood tall like a large boulder . After he released his spell, he once again summoned his ax .
The man immediately brought it down .
Kwah-jeek!
The ax pierced the Ogre’s chest, and the monster let out another cry .
It tried to attack Sungyoon, but the connector had already raised his s.h.i.+eld .
Puh-uhk!
Since he had released his spell, he was pushed back a couple of steps this time . But that was all . He didn’t suffer any significant damage .
In comparison, one of the Ogre’s arms was rendered useless, and there were wounds all over its body .
The result of the fight was obvious .
Boom!
After a small amount of time, the Ogre finally fell . The lifeless monster bled out on the floor . After Sungyoon made sure it was dead, he stared at the corpse .
‘I did this . . . ’
The Ogre had easily won against the Bigfoot . And his fight with the Ogre had been arduous, but he was able to solo it .
“Didn’t I tell you it’d turn out like this?”
Hyunwoo walked in a c.o.c.ky manner .
“I told you that you"d be able to kill it at your skill level . ”
“Yes, you did . ”
Still, it wasn’t an easy fight . Sungyoon unnecessarily wiped at his brow .
“You have an interesting fighting style . ”
“What do you mean?”
“You fight as you switch between weapons . ”
Hyunwoo had been deeply moved by the sight of Sungyoon fighting .
“I’m a.s.suming this fighting style is possible because your Gem activation speed is fast?”
“Yes . I found that it is advantageous for me to switch to a weapon best suited for the moment . ”
“You also instantaneously activated a spell too . ”
The Gravity magic wasn’t visible, so he couldn’t pick up on everything . However, Hyunwoo guessed that Sungyoon had placed a spell on himself instead of the Ogre .
“Yes . I increased the weight of my weapon to increase its destructive capability . ”
“You are quite creative . Are you sure this is your first time fighting against an Ogre?”
“Yes . ”
Hyunwoo thought about Sungyoon’s battle .
Since it was the man"s first time fighting the Ogre, he had taken it slow to get a gauge of the Ogre’s power . Then he started attacking the monster with very well-timed attacks .
‘Then there is the Gem activation speed . . . ’
Sungyoon was able to take great advantage of his Gem activation speed . If a Connector failed to use one’s awesome ability to great effect in battle, it was like placing a pearl necklace on a pig .
From what he had observed, Hyunwoo would give Sungyoon’s battle sense a pa.s.sing grade . No, he would give a higher grade .
It seemed Sungyoon wanted to observe the Ogre before it disappeared . He kept poking it with his halberd . Hyunwoo inwardly laughed when he saw this .
Hwahk!
Suddenly a light appeared with the labyrinth . Hyunwoo and Sungyoon naturally turned to look at the source .
The ball of light in the air signaled the imminent appearance of a monster .
“It seems another one is about to appear . ”
Unlike the tense Sungyoon, Hyunwoo’s voice held no emotion as he scratched his chin . The light started getting larger and larger as it got ready to spit out a monster .
Hoo-ook!
Then, the light disappeared as fast as it had appeared .
But a monster was left behind in its place .
Sungyoon’s face stiffened . After defeating the Ogre, confidence was starting to sprout a little bit from between his beaten down self-esteem . However, his confidence went back into the cave when he saw the monster that had appeared from the light .
The newly arrived monster was that intimidating . Hyunwoo revealed its ident.i.ty .
“It is a Cyclops . ”