Chapter 56

Chapter 6. End (6)

Bang!

Yeonwoo instantly unleashed all the remaining mana. The core overheated, and the mana circuits spewed out power like mad.

Dragon Eye, Battle Will, Sensory Enhancement. The three skills activated simultaneously, placing an immense strain on his body.

However, thanks to this, Yeonwoo was able to push his physical limits to the extreme. He swam through the slowed time, fully deriving the possibilities he had grasped.

It was but a fleeting moment.

Yeonwoo, following what he had 'foreseen,' grabbed Pant's fist and twisted it in the opposite direction.

Crack!

He fiercely struck the monster's abdomen with his knee.

Bang!

“Gah!”

Pant spat out a stream of blood and was sent flying.

'One second.'

The creature grimaced and righted his body in mid-air.

However, Yeonwoo did not even glance at Pant.

Three blades were sweeping toward his head, neck, and ankles. He dodged them by crouching low.

At the same time, he kicked the ground forcefully.

Boom!

'Two seconds.'

The ground sank. A pile of sand shot up.

Yeonwoo plunged into it without hesitation, extending his left hand. His fingertips grabbed Balam's neck.

The creature, whose senses had become extremely sensitive due to the stacked buffs, tried to pull his neck back, but Yeonwoo had already 'foreseen' this.

Swoosh!

The greatsword that had been lodged between his fingers flew in. Balam quickly turned his neck to the side, narrowly avoiding it.

Balam realized that Yeonwoo had expended most of his mana and anticipated his victory.

For the first time, a look of joy appeared in the creature's eyes.

“It’s over…!”

“Yeah, it’s over.”

At that moment.

“You guys.”

This was exactly what Yeonwoo had hoped for.

Creating distance between himself and the two opponents.

He gripped Vigrid and pulled it inward.

Whirr-

The tornado that had been following him like a tail once again swirled inward. The wind was compressed along the blade, and above it, a dark aura bloomed, dyeing the wind black.

The blessing of the sword.

Facing two powerful opponents, the dark aura bloomed to its limit.

Yeonwoo swung Vigrid horizontally.

'Three seconds.'

A diagonal line was drawn.

Bang!

But the result was not so simple.

The compressed wind was released all at once, causing a violent explosion.

The dark aura contained within it shot out in all directions like a sharpened blade, tearing everything apart.

Space.

People.

Even skills.

The thunder fist that was about to explode in mid-air was completely devoured by the dark aura.

Pant, with his entire body mutilated by the dark aura, was sent flying, covered in blood.

The white light that had rained down like a shower was shattered.

Broken fragments of the sword flew upward, and Balam, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, fell to the ground in disbelief.

Thud!

Rumble-

Dust clouds spread thickly.

Shouts of shock from the audience spread throughout the stage.

* * *

〈Time Prediction〉.

Before moving to Area G, when checking the skills for the last time.

Yeonwoo thought about this for a long time.

And the conclusion he reached was one.

‘This is a white elephant.’

The other skills were convenient to use in various ways.

Each one had many uses, and when used together, they could produce a wide range of effects.

But Time Prediction was different.

On the surface, it seemed very good.

Being able to see a very short future.

Where else in the world could there be such an advantage?

Especially, Yeonwoo had experienced battlefields where his life could be lost in a moment. Being able to see even a few seconds into the future was like carrying an extra life.

However.

‘The time is too short. It consumes a lot of mana.’

Because it was an excellent skill, the activation conditions were also very strict.

Time Prediction only showed a few seconds of the future. The duration could be extended by the amount of mana consumed, but the amount of mana consumed was too much.

Even with the mana he had gained from consuming Akasha's snake and the puppet, which was among the highest in the tutorial.

The problem was that even then, there was a strict condition of when it would activate.

‘It’s hard to gauge when my life will be in danger and when I need to activate it.’

In a rapidly changing situation, while dealing with an opponent, it was not enough to just see three seconds into the future; he had to analyze, break down, and unfold the future.

It was easy to say, but it was a crazy thing to do.

Then.

‘I create another technique.’

If he could push his physical limits to the extreme during the predicted future.

‘It’s like adding a gamble on top of a gamble.’

If so, he might be able to turn the tide even in a losing situation.

Of course, if he failed, he would die immediately.

Still, Yeonwoo tried it.

And.

‘It worked better than expected.’

The first attempt at Time Prediction and mana burst was very successful.

* * *

“…!”

“…!”

The players couldn't keep up with what happened in that short moment.

They only instinctively realized that a series of astonishing and shocking events had occurred.

There was only one person who was chasing.

Edora.

She held her attitude more tightly and lifted her head. A golden light shone above her purple eyes.

〈Wisdom Eye〉.

Just as Pant obtained the Thunder Fist, Edora could also obtain a secret technique of the Blue Dragon family.

A skill that discards discrimination and delusion, allowing one to see through the essence of objects.

However, the acquisition process was so difficult that it had become almost Edora's exclusive skill.

It was also the skill that made Pant and his sister rank 1st and 2nd in the tutorial.

Edora used the Wisdom Eye to chase Yeonwoo's movements.

At that moment.

Yeonwoo's figure, piercing through the dust cloud, came into view.

‘Four seconds.’

Yeonwoo twisted his body in mid-air.

He realized that the two elements he had expected to work well together were even better than he had anticipated.

By predicting the future with Time Prediction, enhancing his body to the maximum with Dragon Eye, Battle Will, and Sensory Enhancement, and using Swift Step to move quickly, he could withstand the immense strain with physical resistance.

If he hadn't obtained the Adamantine Body, he wouldn't have dared to try.

But Yeonwoo did it, and now only the final goal remained.

There.

Edora stood.

With a golden light in her eyes.

She had brought out something he had glimpsed before and was looking at him in the same way.

One second remained.

‘I’ll end it with this.’

Yeonwoo pushed his mana circuits to the limit. The core rotated fiercely once more, extracting the remaining output.

Boom!

He kicked the air. He rushed toward Edora in a parabolic arc.

Swoosh-

Swish!

Edora also separated her attitude, which she had been holding like a puppet, from its sheath.

Shinmadō. A treasured sword named for the power of both a deity and a demon.

Swish!

Vigrid, which was about to fall on Edora's head, was blocked by the Shinmadō.

But this was already ‘foreseen’.

The problem was what came next.

Just before landing, Yeonwoo twisted his body.

The dagger hidden in his sleeve suddenly appeared in his left hand. He slashed at Edora's neck.

He was confident of victory. According to the ‘foreseen’ scenario, Edora would fall, bleeding from here.

But.

Clang!

Edora slightly turned the Shinmadō to protect her neck.

Since the blade's surface was so wide, a slight change in direction was enough.

Krushna's dagger was deflected weakly.

‘Blocked?’

A glint appeared in Yeonwoo's eyes.

He twisted his body again and thrust Vigrid three times deeply.

Clank!

But even that, Edora deflected with ease.

Bang!

She even counterattacked.

Swinging the Shinmadō vertically, she cut off Vigrid's trajectory mid-way.

Yeonwoo was pushed back by the shockwave. Two deep grooves were left where he had passed.

Whirl!

The dust cloud was blown away by the aftershock.

Yeonwoo and Edora stood facing each other, glaring.

“You’re strong. Really.”

Edora moved her cherry lips.

But Yeonwoo only narrowed his eyes. The last remaining Time Prediction had been blocked.

‘Those eyes. It’s because of those eyes.’

Yeonwoo realized that the golden light in Edora's eyes, the ‘something’ she was hiding, had seen through his prediction.

Click.

At that moment, the last remaining second disappeared, and the pocket watch's spring stopped.

His overheated body slumped. As the core and mana circuits stopped outputting, immense fatigue and dizziness hit Yeonwoo all at once.

But he couldn't show a weak appearance.

Yeonwoo stood firm, staring at Edora.

“Will you continue?”

Edora asked with a slightly worried tone, as if she knew his physical condition.

At the same time, she didn't let go of the Shinmadō, indicating that she could attack at any moment.

But.

Yeonwoo suddenly shook his head and relaxed his stance. He sheathed Vigrid in the scabbard on his back.

Click!

“No. I’m done.”

“You made a good decision. You faced off against so many players, including Oppa and Balam. You’re really amazing.”

Edora smiled and continued.

“I’ve never met anyone like you. I’d like to give you the first place, but… we have our own urgent reasons.”

A tone of apology.

But hidden within was a firm resolve not to give up the points.

However.

Yeonwoo burst into a laugh.

“Strange. Why do you think I gave up?”

“What?”

Just as Edora was about to ask what he meant.

Yeonwoo suddenly extended his left hand forward.

Five golden crystals dangled from his fingertips, dancing.

Edora was startled and quickly checked her waist.

But the golden crystals that should have been there, the ones Pant had given her, were gone.

“Wh-What…?”

Edora looked at Yeonwoo with disbelief.

Her eyes were full of confusion.

The Wisdom Eye sees through the truth.

Therefore, it could instantly judge the thoughts and intentions of the opponent, allowing her to block attacks in advance.

The reason all of Yeonwoo's Time Predictions were blocked was due to this.

In a way, they were in a relationship of natural enemies due to the nature of their skills.

But how did he manage to take the golden crystals without her Wisdom Eye noticing?

Yeonwoo chuckled and pocketed the golden crystals.

“Your eyes, it seems they can only see through what is within your field of vision. Isn’t that right?”

“…!”

Edora was shocked that the weakness of the Wisdom Eye was so easily exposed.

And she could now deduce what Yeonwoo had done.

Krushna's dagger.

While the dagger was deflected and fell, he had used it to pull her toward that direction, cutting the string connecting her belt and the golden crystals.

She had been so focused on reading Yeonwoo's fierce attacks that she couldn't detect such a 'coincidental' element.

Fortunately, she had only lost half of the golden crystals, but even that was a painful loss.

“I’ll take good care of these.”

Yeonwoo attached the golden crystals to his waist.

Ding.

Ding.

[The tutorial ranking has been updated.]

[The tutorial ranking]

1st. Anonymous (510,590 Points)

2nd. Edora (60,000 Points)

3rd. Brak (13,200 Points)

……