Chapter 98: Vekveta, Lamb Of The Demon (8)

The red-haired man looking at Taesan grimaced.

“You’re just a kid.”

He had a face that belonged to someone who was barely twenty. Age usually corresponded with strength. If he had practiced martial arts in his twenties, it wouldn’t even have been for more than ten years.

“We four had to come for this brat.”

The white-haired man snorted.

“Do you think I came here because I wanted to?”

They were the Swordmasters, the strongest people in this world. Even a mage tower master could not match them.

Yet, they had to gang up to face one person. It was a matter of bruised pride.

Furthermore, they belonged to different countries. It was not pleasant having to join forces from a competitive relationship.

The blue-haired man spoke calmly.

“It’s a direct command from the Lord. Don’t complain.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The white-haired man blew out a nose in discomfort.

“Ho-ho!”

The blond man lighted up his eyes, looking at Taesan.

“Are you the knight protecting the princess? You’re brave!”

Unlike the other Swordmasters, he sent a gaze of admiration towards Taesan.

The red-haired man took a rough step forward.

“Move aside, Atria.”

“Hmm? Do you plan to do it alone?”

“Or should we all attack together? Against this runt?”

“That would feel bad.”

The blond Swordmaster called Atria obediently stepped back.

They knew that Taesan was a mage. And if they were Swordmasters, they could gain the upper hand even if their opponent was a tower master.

“I’ll go first.”

“As you wish.”

The other Swordmasters also retreated.

The red-haired man drew his sword. It was a long sword with no particular features. A blue light surged over it.

It was deeper and larger than Garant’s. The red-haired man took a stance.

“Shall we try it?”

“Nice.”

Taesan smiled.

Aura. He was now finally seeing its proper usage.

Bang.

The red-haired man struck, and Taesan moved his arm.

Clang!

The swords clashed. The red-haired man’s momentum increased slightly.

“A famed sword, huh.”

Despite the clash of Auras, Taesan’s sword did not have the smallest chip. Greed surfaced on the red-haired man’s face.

“I’ll have to take it as a trophy.”

Crash!

A blue light flickered, aiming at Taesan’s entire body. It was much faster than Garant.

‘This isn’t physical speed.’

It seemed like he had enhanced his physical abilities with something like Aura.

But it wasn’t that impressive. It was a speed that could be entirely countered with leisurely movements.

“Ho, you’re impressive.”

The red-haired man spoke in admiration, not knowing that Taesan was controlling his strength.

“I heard you were a mage, but have you also trained your body? Nice.”

The red-haired man chuckled.

“I should get serious, too.”

Crack.

Five swords at the back of the red-haired man were unsheathed. The swords wrapped in blue light floated freely in the air.

“I heard rumors. You can erase attacks. But how many times can you do that?”

The swords accelerated. They moved freely and aimed at Taesan’s entire body as if they were alive.

Following that, the red-haired man charged towards Taesan.

‘Ether Sword?’

A technique from martial arts novels, where the swords were freely controlled, a sword technique that didn’t seem like one.

That was being shown now.

Taesan moved. He kicked the ground, avoiding a sword that was aimed at his legs, and twisted his waist to let it pass. Then, he parried the sword.

Clang!

However, he couldn’t block all the attacks. He allowed attacks from all sides.

[Your First Absolute Nullification of Attack has been activated.]

The blue sword returned to its previous state before it struck his body.

“It truly feels like time is reversing.”

The red-haired man admired and controlled the sword with a youthful face.

This time, he targeted the upper body, lower body, and head. He bent his body and moved the sword to block, but like a living thing, the blue sword followed Taesan’s evasion and attacked.

“Heh.”

The attack nullification had all run out. Taesan roughly moved his body to fend off the swords aiming at him, but one sword grazed his shoulder.

He never imagined he could fire Aura.

“Hop!”

Atria moved the great sword with an interested face. The Aura inscribed on the great sword was several times larger than the sword itself.

Whoosh!

The great sword, as large as a tree trunk, collided with Taesan’s sword. Taesan, pushed back by the force, took a step back.

The white-haired Swordmaster struck down at Taesan. The blue Aura clinging to the sword rippled like a snake, aiming for Taesan’s neck.

[You have activated Repulsion.]

An invisible force spread out from Taesan. As the white-haired man was pushed back slightly, Taesan increased the distance.

‘This is totally a martial arts novel.’

Taesan let out a hollow laugh while avoiding the incoming Aura.

He overwhelmingly excelled in power and speed. The Swordmasters were of the level of the adventurers he had been killing so far on the 20th floor of the labyrinth.

It was astonishing that the Swordmasters had become so strong without the assistance of the system, but it wasn’t threatening. He could trample them at any time if he just considered their power and speed.

However, they were quite tricky.

An Aura that shot out like sword energy. An Aura that moved like a creature from the sword.

And Aura that surpassed the great sword, growing to the size of a building.

Due to the peculiarities of Aura and the damage that surpassed his defense, Taesan was not able to suppress them easily.

He couldn’t break through unless he was willing to take damage.

Zap!

The Aura was fired like a storm. Taesan widened the distance and deflected, but he could not completely block it.

An Aura struck Taesan’s thigh.

[56 damage to you.]

“Hop!”

A giant sword made of Aura swung through the air. Taesan blocked it but was pushed back and hit a tree.

‘Similar to me.’

Taesan had been winning against enemies who had superior stats by responding with information and skills.

They were the same. Although their stats were inferior to Taesan’s, they were pressuring Taesan using an excellent technique called Aura.

However, there was a decisive difference between Taesan and them.

[You have activated the Robe of Obscurity.]

The Robe of Obscurity hid the physical body for one second. The moment it was activated, Taesan’s body disappeared.

When even the trace vanished, the Swordmasters were flustered and stopped their swords.

During this, Taesan positioned himself next to the white-haired Swordmaster who used the great sword.

Whack.

“Ugh!”

The white-haired Swordmaster, who reflexively sensed danger, created a shield out of Aura, and Taesan’s sword was repelled.

Taesan swung his sword again.

[You have activated the Heavy Strike.]

Crack!

The Aura shattered. The white-haired Swordmaster was left defenseless.

“No!”

Even though they were three, they could not suppress him. If one died, the outcome was clear.

The blue-haired Swordmaster swiftly fired countless auras, but they were deflected by Ice Arrows.

However, not all were blocked, and some struck Taesan’s body. His shoulder was brutally pierced.

Taesan calmly held his sword.

[You have activated Unyielding Will. You can ignore injuries and fight for 10 seconds.]

Taesan’s sword pierced the white-haired Swordmaster. The white-haired man spat out blood and fell.

The blue-haired one growled out.

“Why won’t you die!”

His Aura pierced through Taesan’s entire body. Despite the brutal injury, Taesan did not fall.

“I’m different from you guys.”

With a somber voice, Taesan charged towards the blue-haired one, who gritted his teeth and used his Aura.

The Aura that cut everything in its path flew, drawing a crescent in the air.

Taesan’s response was simple. He avoided attacks that were aimed at the head and heart and charged while accepting the rest of the attacks.

Unable to stop Taesan, who ignored defense, the blue-haired Swordmaster died.

“It hurts.”

Pulling out the sword stuck in his stomach, Taesan checked his health.

[Shield: 0/192] [Health: 1522/2250]

“It has worn down quite a bit.”

Taesan would not die even if a sword pierced his head or heart. He was practically immortal as long as his health was not at zero.

In contrast, they had incredibly frail bodies that would die if their chest was stabbed or their head was decapitated.

The difference was clear.

“But that’s fine.”

On the contrary, it meant that he had to fight against an endlessly weakening enemy, risking health loss due to a single blow of Aura.

Of course, Taesan was not at full strength either. If he had fully utilized his skills, he could have suppressed them more easily.

For instance, if he had just activated Forced Duel, it would have been a 1:1 situation and much easier to handle.

But there would have been a definite consumption of health. Learning about Aura was worth that much.

“Only you are left.”

Taesan pointed his sword at the blonde-haired Swordmaster. Atria. Atria smiled lightly and raised his hand.

“I surrender.”