Chapter 58

058. Martial World Challenger (2)

Looking at the old man with an appearance straight out of a martial arts novel, I frowned.

Not only had he stolen my trial objective, but I could also sense that he was incredibly strong.

After fighting endlessly in this damned tower, I was starting to get a feel for things.

I could instantly tell who was weak and who was strong.

And this old man, who introduced himself as Baixuanxue, was clearly a formidable opponent.

‘This is insane.’

Gazing at the old man, who seemed as immovable as Mount Tai, I inwardly lamented.

‘I had a bad feeling about this...’

Of all places, to encounter a challenger from another world in the ninth-floor trial, just when the tenth-floor waiting room was within reach...

I immediately heightened my tension and began to prepare for battle.

After all, my trial objective had been stolen, and the tower had designated Baixuanxue as the new target.

‘There’s no other choice.’

To survive, I had to kill this old man.

Right at that moment,

“What is your name?”

The old man suddenly asked, a gentle smile on his face.

‘What is this?’

Is he immersed in some kind of middle school syndrome, like the Black Knight?

But it was different from the Black Knight’s carelessness.

He wasn’t mocking me, nor did it seem like he had some other thoughts in mind.

The old man spoke with a serious expression, as if it were a matter of etiquette.

Even when I didn’t answer and just stared at him,

“You should know the name of the person you face in battle, even if you die.”

The old man tilted his head, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

But I found it hard to understand his actions.

To introduce oneself before a life-or-death battle... It was absurd.

But it didn’t seem like some kind of trick.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any hidden agenda...’

I couldn’t understand why he wanted to introduce himself.

I slightly increased the distance between us and then spoke.

At this distance, I could block or dodge any close or long-range attacks.

‘I can’t let my guard down.’

Like the Black Knight, who used the ridiculous skill Aura, this old man might have a hidden move.

I couldn’t easily give up the distance until I figured it out.

“Why are you asking my name out of the blue?”

“Hmm, you also introduced your position and name...”

It was a non sequitur.

I was also puzzled by why he had introduced his position and name out of the blue...

But just because he said that didn’t mean I had to answer.

“What’s the purpose of asking?”

In other words, I was telling him to cut the crap because I sensed ill intent.

The old man seemed to understand my meaning and narrowed his eyes in disappointment.

“This is difficult. Perhaps it’s because you’re from another world, but we don’t understand each other.”

I agreed with that.

‘It’s like he’s missing a screw or something.’

Despite his frustrating attitude, it seemed he had no ulterior motives...

But I didn’t want to tell him my name.

It might be to activate some unique trait or skill.

Furthermore,

“Your intrusion here isn’t with good intentions, is it?”

You only came here to eliminate competitors in the tower’s competitive system.

There was no good purpose behind the old man’s actions.

Therefore, I had no obligation to answer.

However,

“It’s a matter of etiquette among swordsmen... Your thinking is narrow.”

The old man clicked his tongue in disapproval and drew his sword from his waist.

‘This guy is really something...’

I never thought he would call me narrow-minded for not introducing myself.

I don’t know what kind of place the martial world is, but someone who introduces himself with his position ends up like this.

‘This place isn’t ordinary, that’s for sure.’

Especially if they think it’s proper etiquette to introduce oneself before a life-or-death battle.

Then,

“Fine. If you won’t show proper etiquette, there’s nothing I can do.”

In an instant, the old man’s aura changed sharply.

Swish!

“Farewell, nameless swordsman.”

The old man cleanly slashed at an empty space.

“...?”

I was puzzled by his incomprehensible sword strike.

「Unique Trait ‘Sword Light’ has caused your vision to darken for 5 seconds.」

Light erupted from the old man’s sword, turning my vision white.

‘This is crazy...!’

My efforts to secure a safe distance were mocked as I couldn’t see anything.

Without sight, I couldn’t counter any attacks.

Of course,

「Skill ‘Anti-Demon Power’ has been activated.」

「The duration of vision darkness has been reduced to 2.5 seconds.」

The Anti-Demon Power I had bought with mana circuits reduced the duration, but...

The duration reduction was insignificant against such a cheat-like ability.

At that moment,

「Skill ‘Eagle Eye’ has been activated.」

The skill I absorbed from the dungeon boss changed the situation.

I could feel the old man’s sword thrusting towards my neck.

‘Nice...!’

Just as despair was about to overwhelm me, a ray of hope appeared, and I moved my body.

Of course, I could only sense it; I couldn’t see the exact distance or the opponent’s appearance.

But that was enough.

Swish!

“Gah!”

I twisted my waist to dodge the sword that was about to pierce my neck.

「Achievement ‘Blind Dodge’ has been unlocked.」

「Agility has increased by 2.」

I was slightly grazed, but it wasn’t a significant wound.

「The vision darkness from Unique Trait ‘Sword Light’ has ended.」

“Wha...?”

When my vision cleared, I saw the old man, who looked flustered.

His best move had failed, which was a shock to him.

「Skill ‘Ashen Blood’ has been activated.」

「Skill ‘Instant Acceleration’ has been activated.」

Regardless, I healed the wound on my neck and launched a sword strike.

Whoosh!

As my sword cut through the air, the old man hastily retreated.

“...How did you know?”

I had no obligation to answer his question.

It would be a waste of breath.

Looking at the old man, I said only what I needed to.

“Blessing of the Wind.”

「Skill ‘Blessing of the Wind’ has been activated.」

「All speeds have increased by 30%.」

「Current skill stacking progress – 3/7」

I entrusted my body to the acceleration skill, which was now stacked with Instant Acceleration.

In the blink of an eye, I closed the distance and swung my sword with my right hand.

“Such a heretical move...!”

The old man finally realized I wouldn’t answer any of his questions, clenched his lips, and parried my sword.

Clang!

The swords clashed, and sparks flew between the blades.

The old man calmly parried my attack, returning it to nothing.

Even his fingertips trembling suggested that his stats weren’t much lower than mine.

‘How can his stats be on par with mine, even after all this growth?’

Thanks to necromancy, I had boosted my stats, but even the Black Knight couldn’t overwhelm me with stats...

This old man, who introduced himself as a grand elder of the martial alliance, was different.

Even using both hands, he didn’t fall behind me, meaning his stats were higher than I had anticipated.

Moreover,

The old man didn’t waste a single breath, even though he had spoken unnecessarily.

I was more composed, despite not speaking at all.

‘Is this a matter of skill?’

I thought I was quite good with swords, thanks to my sword skill...

But the old man was also quite skilled.

‘A skilled swordsman with stats on par with mine...’

A chill ran down my spine.

The old man’s eyes glinted with killing intent, and he spoke coldly.

“I’ll fight you seriously from now on.”

His tone suggested he had been holding back, but I had no time to think.

In an instant, the old man’s sword cut through the air again...

「Unique Trait ‘Sword Light’ has caused your vision to darken for 5 seconds.」

My vision was once again filled with light, making everything invisible.

「Skill ‘Anti-Demon Power’ has been activated.」

「The duration of vision darkness has been reduced to 2.5 seconds.」

However, the darkness made my senses even sharper.

「Skill ‘Eagle Eye’ is active.」

Eagle Eye allowed me to sense attacks that didn’t enter my field of vision.

With the darkness, I could detect attacks from all directions.

Of course, the old man’s sword was still fiercely swift.

Swish!

The sound of the sword cutting through the air was clear, as if he was no longer hiding anything.

I relied on Eagle Eye to move my body, but the sword strikes didn’t stop.

‘Why is his attack speed so high...?’

I felt like I had dodged seven sword strikes, but the darkness hadn’t cleared.

In less than three seconds, the old man had launched over seven strikes.

Moreover, I was in a state where all my speeds were increased by 30% due to ‘Blessing of the Wind’.

The old man had easily kept up with this increased speed.

‘No, he’s even surpassing it...!’

「The vision darkness from Unique Trait ‘Sword Light’ has ended.」

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing filled the ninth-floor stage.

Unconsciously, I blocked the old man’s sword the moment my vision cleared...

But the old man, as if he had anticipated this, easily controlled the sword’s recoil and thrust again.

It was a powerful strike, combining overwhelming skill with insane attack speed.

‘Dodging is impossible.’

I made a quick, cold judgment and raised the shield on my left arm.

I didn’t think this shield alone could defend against the attack.

I only used it to reduce the impact.

It was almost impossible to block the old man’s thrust with just this shield.

The old man, knowing this, smiled and accelerated his sword.

Of course,

「Special effect of ‘Banded Iron Pendant (B)’ ‘Steel’s Protection’ has been activated.」

「10% of all physical damage is absorbed by the skin.」

I had no intention of taking such an attack without protection.

Crash!

The shield on my left arm shattered, scattering fragments.

The sword pierced halfway through my left arm, and I shook it off.

Swish!

The sword left a deep gash, but it didn’t matter much.

The pain was reduced by a skill effect, and healing began immediately.

「Special effect of ‘Banded Iron Pendant (B)’ ‘Steel’s Protection’ has been deactivated.」

To conserve mana, I deactivated Steel’s Protection and then stepped back, glaring at the old man and clutching my left arm.

‘He’s a monster...’

His skill was clearly superior, and his stats were on par with mine.

Moreover, his unique traits and skills were cheat-like, making it hard to attack.

I could barely counter, but I couldn’t take control of the fight.

‘If this continues, I’ll lose.’

The healing ability of Ashen Blood wasn’t infinite.

It was a stamina-consuming ability with a set limit.

Even if my left arm was severed, it would be restored, and it quickly returned to normal.

Seeing this, the old man narrowed his eyes.

“Seeing all your injuries heal, I see you use dark arts.”

I didn’t respond, instead switching to a two-handed grip on my sword, as my shield was broken.

“Your talent in martial arts seemed genuine, but it’s all borrowed from somewhere...”

Was the unique trait the old man used also obtained from the tower?

Even mixing skills while moving would be considered dark arts.

‘The ultimate hypocrite.’

Seeing the old man babbling like a lunatic, I thought.

“...”

Now, I had to fight without any safety equipment, not even a shield.

Of course, I had the Banded Iron Pendant, but I couldn’t rely on it completely.

‘I need to end this quickly.’

To win, I needed a way to overwhelm this old man.

And...

I immediately realized that the solution wasn’t far away.

“Blessing of the Wind.”

「Skill ‘Blessing of the Wind’ has been activated.」

「All speeds have increased by 70%.」

「Current skill stacking progress – 7/7」

「All stacking is complete, so ‘Blessing of the Wind’ has a one-day cooldown.」

The only way was to overwhelm him with the fully stacked Blessing of the Wind skill.

“Using dark arts again?”

The old man looked at me, bewildered.

However,

“Relying on borrowed abilities...?”

Whoosh!

Did he realize that all my speeds had increased by 70%?

“What is this...?”

A gentle breeze enveloped my body, and the old man’s face hardened.

“Are all these borrowed abilities?”

I looked at the old man and smiled bitterly.

“Then, let’s see if you can die by these borrowed abilities.”

This was the beginning of the reversal.