Chapter 1073

Chapter 1073

Twitch, twitch–

Arshad, whose Intuition caused him to react to potential candidates with strength and a story, was stunned by the huge stimulation that shook his entire body. That was when he saw someone approach them from a distance.

‘He said that he was a foreigner.’

Unlike the guardians who protected the world, the foreigners had always been given special privileges, the greatest of which was their immortality. They grew stronger just by killing some monsters or receiving missions. Sometimes, these missions would also get them to a certain position.

Athenae favored the foreigners. Because of that, Evaluator Arshad thought the panorama of this man, whom they were tasked to look into, would be insignificant. He believed it would only be a story about this man’s continuous victories. Arshad was certain that this man’s endeavors would not even reach the hem of Ben and Brod’s stories.

Then, the man’s panorama unfolded in front of Arshad’s eyes. The first scene that greeted him was the sight of a huge man sitting in the dark, who looked like he weighed around 200 kilograms. Many voices floated in the man's ears.

–If things continue at this rate, then you will die.

–You have already reached the level your body can no longer hold on and endure.

–High blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis alone have made you reach the limits of your body.

When he heard the voice, the young man looked like he wanted to cry, but he forced a smile on his face and replied.

–I’m fine. I’m really fine!

Bathump!

Arshad felt a faint throbbing in his chest.

He still smiled despite the urge to cry after learning that he had one foot on the grave. After all, he cared for the people around him.

Just like that, the man’s story unfolded in front of Arshad. The scene in front of him flipped quickly. He watched the man tirelessly use his pickaxe for days on end. When Arshad saw this, he thought, ‘Can I do it like him?’

Arshad realized that they thought lightly of the man. They thought he would have an easy life because he was a foreigner.

That was not the case at all.

‘Can I do it like him? Can Captain Evaluator Ruba do it like him? Can the greatest god, Athenae, and “he”, the man we serve, do it like him?’

The answer to that was “no.” It was impossible.

‘Because he’s a weak human...’

He tried to stand up and get over the obstacles in his path.

‘His desire to live.’

It was what kept him from giving up and falling.

‘He would stretch his hand out and...’

He brought a lot of people to his side.

Arshad unknowingly shed tears. How hard was it? How much did he want to collapse?

‘He’s only twenty-one years old.’

It was unbelievable. Even they, who had lived for thousands of years, could not do it. But this young man had done it with his own hands. When the panorama ended, Arshad was greeted by another illusion.

Everything returned back to the first scene that Arshad saw. Although the young man had been smiling as hard as he could, he still burst out in tears in the end.

–Your Majesty.

The man named Brod knelt in front of him and grabbed his hands.

–Hoho. Your Majesty, I will always be by your side, so please don’t worry too much.

Even the old man named Ben stood by his side and patted him on the shoulder.

At that moment, Arshad saw the man’s wide figure shrink. Before he knew it, the young man’s figure had changed; his figure was wonderful, and many people were smiling and standing around him.

‘The hand that he stretched out to help them...’

It has brought a group of people who were willing to protect him.

‘The steps that he took...’

When Arshad blinked, the scene changed, and he saw him standing above the hundreds of millions of people.

At this moment, Arshad realized that this person was the very person the candidates served and worshiped. His initial doubts about this person quickly disappeared.

***

‘Is that an official position?’

After hearing that question, Ruba and the other evaluators could not open their mouths for a long time. If they were to be honest, they truly did not hold an official position. A powerful position such as an “evaluator” should be an official position.

The evaluators thought the emperor would quickly come to their aid, bow down to apologize, and immediately execute Brod and Ben, who had attacked them.

“These crazy bastards! What are you trying to say right now? Huh? Weren’t you the ones who stormed into someone’s empire and broke the arms and the legs of my people?”

The emperor did run, but it was not what they expected.

Slash, slash, slash–!

Ruba saw dents appear all over Minhyuk’s armor. Then, the armor was quickly restored to its original appearance.

‘W-what kind of armor is this?!’

Ruba was flustered. The damage he dealt to the armor was more of a “dent” than a “cut”. It recovered quickly when it was supposed to fall off after being cut down. After all, that was usually what happened to any defensive weapon after meeting Ruba’s attacks.

‘How high is his defensive power...?’

From what Ruba could see, Minhyuk did not look like he was hit hard.

Minhyuk looked at the flustered Ruba and said, “I have something similar.”

The word Destruction appeared on the blade of Minhyuk’s sword, and he swung it at Ruba.

Rumble–

Bang, bang, bang–!

Lightning bolts fell from the sky and struck Ruba. Considering Ruba’s high HP and defensive power, the damage dealt by the lightning bolts was insignificant. On top of that, Ruba’s competitive spirit was triggered when Minhyuk went head to head with him, saying he had a power similar to his own.

Just like that, the two allowed each other’s attacks to land on their bodies. The hounds were constantly biting Minhyukunds, while Ruba was constantly struck by lightning.

“Sir Ruba has already released a seal, but this guy can go head to head and endure this much against him...?”

The other evaluators were shocked.

With every attack he landed on Ruba, Minhyuk could restore his HP thanks to the Slaughterer’s Absorption. As for Ruba, he was regenerating and recovering as well, thanks to his special physique being an evaluator.

In a few short seconds, the two could exchange hundreds of blows. The problem was that Minhyuk’s restoration of HP through the Slaughterer’s Absorption could not keep up with Ruba.

“Dual Swordsmanship Technique.”

Minhyuk, with two swords in hand, attacked Ruba several times faster than before. Of course, Ruba’s physical regeneration could still keep up with his attacks. But right now, it was apparent that the two were fighting on even ground.

‘What...!’ Ruba thought in shock.

Then, at that moment, a small smile appeared on Minhyuk’s face. “Black Dragon Armor.”

The Transcendental’s Armor that covered Minhyuk’s body transformed into the Black Dragon Armor. With the Black Dragon Armor, Ruba was left completely behind. Minhyuk’s defensive power when wearing this armor was much higher than before. Furthermore, this armor had a very huge advantage.

Minhyuk provoked Ruba on purpose. He judged that Ruba would fall for his provocation if he said that he had a similar power and fought head-to-head with him, which created this situation.

“Transcendence.”

[You have activated Transcendence!]

[You have gone beyond your limits and transcended to another realm!]

[You have gone beyond your limits and transcended to another realm!]

[You have gone beyond your limits and transcended to another realm!]

[The Transcendence’s buff effects have now been applied!]

[All of your stats have increased by 35%!]

[All of your attack power has increased by 29%!]

[All of your defensive power has increased by 36%!]

[All of your skill levels have increased by +2!]

[Your resistance to abnormal statuses has increased by 40%!]

[Your total HP and MP have increased by 30%!]

[Transcendence will remain in effect for thirty seconds!]

Ruba’s arrogant nature had implicitly allowed a direct exchange of blows. The attacks during that confrontation had allowed Minhyuk to fulfill the condition needed to activate Transcendence. Because of that, Minhyuk's Destruction’s level had increased by 2. All of his stats had also increased by 35%, while his attack power had increased by 29%

Slash–!

Ruba almost shouted when he saw Minhyuk raise his sword and shoot a black stream of energy toward him. Of course, Minhyuk did not stop attacking him with destruction either.

Thud–

Ruba started getting pushed back and then forced to kneel on one knee. He was left exhausted by the pain and the shock of the blows that he received.

Thud–!

“...!”

“...!”

The other evaluators were left astonished. They watched as the man looked down at Captain Evaluator Ruba, who was forced to kneel on one knee with an arrogant gaze. This was their first time encountering something like this, especially when meeting a “mere” candidate.