Chapter 264

Chapter 264

[Adventure 33-(Special). ‘Back Then’

You have found yourself in a peculiar situation.

Through the powers of Mi Ah, a member of the Soul Eyes Tribe, you have been transported into the world of a drawing.

But this is all part of your plan.

You are now in an ancient past, before the mysterious Luminous Bell became a legend. Here, you have met a younger Mi Ah, knowing that she will eventually discover the Luminous Bell.

Your mission is to find the Luminous Bell in this world.

Objective: Find the Luminous Bell.

Caution. This Adventure is very dangerous.

Caution. This Adventure can change at a moment’s notice.

Remaining Time [Unknown]]

The word ‘spar’ was never mentioned in the Adventure. In fact, Hye Myeong’s name wasn’t mentioned, either.

In other words, sparring with Hye Myeong was not necessary to complete this Adventure.

Step...

Even so, Seol continued to walk toward Hye Myeong.

In fact, this was more important for him, personally, than the entire Adventure.

He had an opportunity to test how far he had come compared to Hye Myeong.

Although Seol recognized that the difference between Hye Myeong now and the Hye Myeong who challenged Ascension was the difference between heaven and earth, he was still the same individual.

‘I need to test it.’

Sensing Seol’s fighting spirit, Hye Myeong smiled as well.

“I can already tell I’m going to break a sweat. Mi Ah, could you back up a bit more?”

“Even more than this?”

“Yeah, you’ll need to get much farther away.”

“...Okay. Is it okay... if I draw it?”

“Hm...”

“Was that a yes? I want to draw!”

“...Sure.”

“Hehe...”

Normally, Hye Myeong disliked it when Mi Ah drew anything, aware of the dangers of her power.

His concerns were not unfounded either.

After all, Seol’s party arrived at the exact moment he caved to Mi Ah’s demands and allowed her to draw a picture.

“I knew it the moment I met you,” said Hye Myeong.

“What are you talking about?” asked Seol.

“You’re hiding your powers.”

“.......”

“Haha! At least you’re not denying it. You really are something special, huh? My opinion of the Artifact Association has changed because of you. I used to think you were just a bunch of antique-collecting weirdos, but it turns out, there are people like you.”

“Do we need this long conversation to spar?”

“Ah, you’re right. Mi Ah, give us the signal.”

“Okay, then...”

Inhale...

That wasn’t the sound of Hye Myeong inhaling the air.

It was the sound of him reabsorbing the energy he had released back into his body.

“Begin!” Mi Ah shouted.

Hye Myeong immediately went on the offensive with the signal.

“Let’s start off easy...”

Fwip!

[Hye Myeong used Afflictive Hindrances.]

[Whenever you use a skill, an afterimage is created, mimicking your movements. These afterimages can deal up to 10% of your damage.]

Woooosh...

In an instant, it looked as though Hye Myeong had split into multiple people.

[Hye Myeong used Samadhi.]

[You enter a deep state of concentration, releasing ki that deals fixed damage.]

Fuuuu...

Hye Myeong’s eyes then shone with a golden aura.

“Haah!”

Fwirl!

He immediately thrust his staff, aiming for Seol’s chest.

Fssssss...

Bam!

“Wha! I can’t believe it changed into a sword!”

Before Hye Myeong realized it, Agony had transformed into a sword and deflected his staff.

Fwirl...

Seol then entered the Night Crow form.

His aura expanded instantly, becoming utterly massive.

“...This might be a bit too much,” said Hye Myeong.

“You’re overreacting.”

“No, seriously.”Th.ê most uptod/ate novels a/re published on n(0)velbj)n(.)c/o/m

Baaaam!

Woosh...

As Seol swatted away Hye Myeong’s staff again, he stamped its end on the ground and unleashed a powerful kick with all his weight.

Baaaaaam!

Since Seol was also trained in hand-to-hand combat, he blocked the kick without using his sword.

“Not bad!”

Hye Myeong’s movements shifted.

[Hye Myeong used Link: Bell Ring.]

[Abnormal Status: Stunned is applied if the target blocks your attack.]

Hye Myeong was quite confident in this combination of his skills. Not only was the ki flowing out of him perfect for tricking his enemies, but even if they managed to block his attack, they would suffer a bigger penalty.

However...

Fwoooosh...

“You dodged that?”

Tricks like that were pointless before Seol’s Eyes of Foresight.

Baaaaaam...

“Krgh...”

Seol knocked Hye Myeong’s staff aside, sending him sprawling.

Fwoosh... fwoosh...

“Hye Myeong! Are you alright?” shouted Mi Ah.

And then... the two collided.

Crackle...

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

“Krgh...”

“Bwargh!”

The explosion sent both of them flying, and with that, their sparring match ended, leaving a massive scar on the plateau.

“H-Have you lost your mind?!”

“You must be insane!”

Mi Ah darted to Hye Myeong, as Chi Woo and Seol Hong did Seol.

Stand!

Fwip!

However, it seemed as if their worries were for nothing. The two quickly stood up as if nothing had happened.

“Haah... Haah... Haaaaah... Man... Haah...”

Hye Myeong laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Fuu... Fuuu...”

However, Seol had also expected that response from him.

Hye Myeong had never once met an opponent who could actually test him.

Although some enemies had been troublesome, he never had to fight this hard before. Thanks to Hye Myeong’s monstrous growth, he had been able to defeat any opponent with just a bit of time.

“What... What the hell are you?”

Seol was undoubtedly different from the enemies that Hye Myeong had fought so far.

Even though Seol couldn’t use all of his strength, Hye Myeong must have been completely astonished by the abilities he demonstrated with Karuna.

“You’re hiding more, aren’t you? Fuu... I feel like I’m going to throw up... Bwrgh... L-Let’s fight again later.”

Hye Myeong quickly covered his mouth and ran off.

With that, their sparring match came to an end.

* * *

“I won, right?” said Hye Myeong.

“It wasn’t me who threw up.”

“You must’ve done something to the food. No wonder my stomach was...”

“If we ate your rotten corn porridge, we would’ve thrown up way before the fight.”

“...You’re right, I’ll admit it.”

- LOOOOL You’re the loser if you threw up, Hye Myeong~

- Back in my days, it was whoever nose bled first.

- The winner in a battle between experts is decided by who throws up first.

- I don’t want to be an expert then...

- It’s alright. You won’t ever become an expert if you do nothing at home all day.

- Phew! That’s a relief!

Hye Myeong's face had turned pale by the time he returned, having thrown up.

“Haah... Man... How does this make any sense?”

Chi Woo then appeared to mock him.

“So, Hye Myeong, you lost?”

“...I didn’t lose, though.”

“Mhm... Sure. That seems right.”

It seemed that Chi Woo had an exceptional talent for annoying people.

“Did you beat him, then?” asked Hye Myeong.

“Me?”

Chi Woo stole a glance at Seol.

“I... have infinite potential.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“I haven’t fought him yet.”

“Then fight him right now.”

“No! Do you think I’d be satisfied beating Kang Seol right now? He’s clearly tired. I can’t fight him under such unfair conditions. Seol Hong, you agree, right?”

“...Yeah.”

Still, it seemed like Seol Hong was on Chi Woo’s side.

For the first time in a long time, Seol felt relieved.

His expectations for his 10 strongest pieces were already high, but they skyrocketed after encountering Finn Modria’s copy.

He had only managed to defeat it by sacrificing an arm and Toki’s soul.

‘...I’m going the right way.’

Although Seol knew he would struggle against Hye Myeong once he received the Awakening from the Golden Divine Statue, he also recognized that Hye Myeong was much further along in his journey. Seol was confident he could reach that level as well.

He was doing well.

He wasn’t wrong.

Having this moment to return to the past and confirm this with Hye Myeong was a tremendous help to Seol.

In fact, it might even be more valuable to him than the Luminous Bell.

“Kang Seol,” called Hye Myeong.

“Yes?”

“I felt something while sparring with you, and...” Hye Myeong scratched his head, unsure how to put it into words. “What is that inside of you?”

“...Inside of me?”

“Yes, it was black and heavy... it kind of felt like you were stuffed with something.”

“Ah.”

The void.

Hye Myeong was likely referring to the void.

Still, Seol was shocked that Hye Myeong could sense that; Seol couldn’t get a sense of Hye Myeong’s powers at all.

“Is it fine to leave it alone like that?”

“...What?”

Bathump...

Bathump...

Seol then looked down at his chest.

“It’s still beating, right?”

Thump... Thump...

Crackle...

“Urgh...”

A piercing ringing filled Seol's head as he heard someone’s voice.

- ...Open the door, Seol.

Thud...

Thud...