Chapter 35: I Told You, I'm Stronger Than You Think (3)

"Good choice." Mun Yeong-Ho smirked upon seeing that Oh Kang-Woo had accepted his proposal.

He was excited at the thought of teaching that cheeky newbie a lesson.

'I'll make sure he can't ever disrespect the guild master again,'

Yeong-Ho thought.

He touched his left eye and could feel the slash-like scar throbbing.

Yeong-Ho had been ambushed by a Chaos Player when he was just a newbie Player, and Cha Yeon-Joo had saved him. Yeon-Joo wasn't simply Yeong-Ho's guild master. She was his savior and his master, to whom he had sworn his loyalty. Additionally… she was the woman he loved.

'How dare someone like you…'?

Yeong-Ho glared at Kang-Woo.

The moment that he heard Kang-Woo call Yeon-Joo

noona

, Yeong-Ho felt sick. He felt as if Kang-Woo was making fun of the feelings of affection he had toward Yeon-Joo that he'd been lovingly accumulating over the years.

'I…'

Yeong-Ho gazed at Yeon-Joo.

Yeon-Joo was currently glaring at him, but she looked beautiful even though she was angry.

The fact that Kang-Woo had gotten close with Yeon-Joo, an elusive beauty, so easily enraged Yeong-Ho even more.

'I'll let you realize the huge gap between us.'

He had to teach a lesson to the newbie, who acted all high and mighty just because he had talent. Yeong-Ho had concluded that if he didn't take Kang-Woo down a few pegs now, there was a chance of him betraying them in the future.

While justifying his actions to himself, Yeong-Ho took Kang-Woo to the sparring room on the fifth floor. Kang-Woo followed him into the room in a very relaxed manner, but it just enraged Yeong-Ho even more to see Kang-Woo behaving so calmly as if he were on a field trip.

Click.

"This is the sparring room," Yeong-Ho said.

"Whoa. Pretty sick facility!" Kang-Woo exclaimed in surprise while looking around the huge sparring room, which occupied an entire floor.

"Let's see how long you can keep that relaxed attitude up for."

"Okay. Take a good look." Kang-Woo shrugged and went to stand on one side of the sparring room.

Yeon-Joo approached him and said, "This is just insane. Stop it."

"Hahaha. I told you, it'll be fine," Kang-Woo replied casually.

"You'll regret it," Yeon-Joo warned seriously.

Upon hearing that, Kang-Woo turned toward her and smiled.

He understood why Yeon-Joo was so worried. Normally, it would be impossible for a newbie Player to defeat an executive of a large guild.

'But…'

Yeon-Joo didn't know much about Kang-Woo. She understood absolutely nothing about his true self.

"Let's begin," Yeong-Ho said. He stood still with his arms by his side without even unsheathing his sword. "I'll give you three freebies. Attack me."

"Wow, you've been reading too many martial arts novels," Kang-Woo remarked.

"…"

"Stop putting on airs and take out your sword, man," Kang-Woo advised.

He didn't want to hear Yeong-Ho say silly excuses like he would've won if he hadn't given Kang-Woo those three free attacks.

'If we're gonna do this, we should do it properly,'?

Kang-Woo thought.

If there was a need to hide his strength, he would without a shadow of a doubt. However, if he had to show it, he would give it everything he had. Right now, it was time to show it. That way, his value would rise, and he would be able to get even better rewards.

"What are you doing? I told you to take out your sword," Kang-Woo said.

"I don't intend to go all out against a newbie," Yeong-Ho replied.

"Oh, really?" A smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face.

He found Yeong-Ho's arrogant nature far too ridiculous and pathetic.

"Well, suit yourself," Kang-Woo said in the end.

He squatted down with his arms drooping straight down. His stance looked like a bowstring being drawn. Kang-Woo concentrated demonic energy on his feet and activated the Authority of Haste.

Bang!!!

His body shot forward.

Yeong-Ho's eyes widened in shock as he had been waiting motionlessly for Kang-Woo to attack.

"Wh—?!" Yeong-Ho uttered.

Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky to change his trajectory in the air. Ignoring the law of inertia, he changed directions at a speed that was physically impossible. Then Kang-Woo struck Yeong-Ho in the stomach as hard as he could with a roundhouse kick.

Smack!

"Kurgggghhhh!!"

Yeong-Ho was pushed back as if he were a ball, and he bounced off the ground like a skipping stone thrown into a lake. He went smashing into a wall, which caused smoke to pour out of it.

"Bleeeggghhhh!!" Yeong-Ho dropped to his knees and vomited on the floor on his knees because of the pain ripping through his guts.

The word unsightly was not enough to fully describe how pathetic he looked.

"

Cough! Cough!

H-How…?" Yeong-Ho uttered.

He staggered while getting up and looked at Kang-Woo in shock.

"Wh-What the hell? What just happened?" Yeon-Joo was also stunned and lost for words after witnessing Kang-Woo's demonstration.

She looked back and forth between Kang-Woo and the vomiting Yeong-Ho.

Someone who had been a Player for only two weeks had won against a Player who had achieved their Seventh Awakening. Furthermore, Yeong-Ho was strong enough to be the battle operation commander of the Red Rose Guild. So, seeing him get blown away with one strike made Yeon-Joo wonder if she was currently dreaming.

"Two more, right?" Kang-Woo said.

He extended his hands toward Yeong-Ho, who was barely able to stand. Then a black spear manifested out of thin air and flew toward Yeong-Ho.

"Hup!" Yeong-Ho dodged the spear with a shout and quickly took out his sword.

His face was pale as he pointed his sword at Kang-Woo.

"Hmm? I thought you were gonna give me three freebies," Kang-Woo commented while walking toward Yeong-Ho.

Yeong-Ho didn't answer his question.

No, he couldn't do so. He focused on the fight and grabbed his sword tightly. Cold sweat flowed down his back.

'That was dangerous,'

Yeong-Ho thought.

He probably would've lost consciousness from that one blow if it hadn't been for the power of his Unique-grade equipment, Gargoyle Armor.

Yeong-Ho looked at Kang-Woo with a wavering gaze.

'He's only been a Player for two weeks?'

It didn't make sense.

Not even Cha Yeon-Joo nor Baek Kang-Hyun had been that strong in just two weeks. This was a situation where it was as if a three-year-old baby had thrown a fully mature adult. Not even the word genius could explain what was going on.

"What kind of trick did you pull?" Yeong-Ho questioned.

"I didn't pull any tricks. I'm just stronger than you," Kang-Woo answered.

"Bullshit! How could a two-week-old Player possibly be—"

"Oh, so you're aware that you had proposed something so absurd that it could be called bullshit, huh?"

"…"

"And now that things aren't going as you'd planned, you're crying and complaining."

"Th-That's not…"

Upon seeing that Yeong-Ho was lost for words, Kang-Woo laughed for a while.

Then, he turned serious and spoke in a cold voice, "Stop fucking around, you pathetic piece of shit."

"Urgh." Yeong-Ho frowned.

He was trembling, and his face turned red.

'I guess I've hit a nerve.'?

Kang-Woo smirked when he saw Yeong-Ho's reaction.

"Y-You bastard!!" Yeong-Ho yelled.

The sneer on Kang-Woo's face drove Yeong-Ho mad, and he clenched his sword angrily.

'I can't let it end like this,'

Yeong-Ho thought.

He and Kang-Woo weren't the only ones here. Yeon-Joo, the woman he loved, was watching over their duel. He couldn't let her see such a pathetic side of himself.

Yeong-Ho raised his sword and shouted, "Divine Execution Sword!"

A pale bluish aura shot upward from the sword. His sword grew in length, reaching over ten meters long. It was emitting a powerful energy.

"Can you only use that technique by shouting such a cringey name?"

"…"

"No, right? You only did that to look cool, huh?"

"Sh-Shut up!"

"You just threw up while trying to put on airs. Isn't it a little bit late to try to look cool?"

"Y-You son of a—!"

"You should've just taken out your sword when I told you to. You trying to look cool after all that only makes you look more pathetic."

"Aaaarrrgghhh!!!"

The harsh criticism made Yeong-Ho even angrier than before. He charged at Kang-Woo in a blind rage.

Kang-Woo, on the other hand, calmly analyzed Yeong-Ho's movements.

'He's strong, I'll give him that.'

The power of Yeong-Ho's sword, which was emitting a blue aura, was formidable. It was an attack so strong that Kang-Woo would probably struggle to block it even with the Authority of Invulnerability.

'He would've been a hard opponent to fight under normal circumstances.'

If Yeong-Ho had fought with everything he had from the beginning, it would've probably been a hard fight.

'But…'

Kang-Woo looked at Yeong-Ho charging straight at him in a fit of rage. There was no way Kang-Woo would lose against someone who had completely lost his rationality, no matter how strong he was.

'Authority of Shadows.'

Kang-Woo's shadow lengthened as it traveled across the floor.

"Die!!" Yeong-Ho yelled.

Normally, Yeong-Ho would've been able to notice the shadow approaching him on the floor. However, because he had lost all sense of reason due to Kang-Woo's provocation, Yeong-Ho was totally unaware of the shadow attaching to his own.

'Eclipse.'

After checking that the shadows were connected, Kang-Woo smiled and activated the special power of the Authority of Shadows.

Yeong-Ho slashed his sword straight down at Kang-Woo's head.

"W-Wait, Yeong-Ho!" Yeon-Joo called out.

She ran toward them after seeing that Yeong-Ho was clearly trying to kill Kang-Woo in the duel.

Yeong-Ho was usually so calm to the point that he was emotionless. Even Yeon-Joo, who had known him for many years, had never seen him be so enraged that he had lost his rationality.

However, before Yeon-Joo could block Yeong-Ho's sword, Kang-Woo turned into a black blob and melted into the ground.

"Wh-What the—?!" Yeong-Ho shouted in surprise.

He looked around in search of Kang-Woo, who had suddenly disappeared.

Tap.

"All right, here comes the third," Kang-Woo said.

He suddenly appeared from Yeong-Ho's shadow and placed his hand on Yeong-Ho's back. The Authority of Waves spread throughout Yeong-Ho's body.

"

Cough!

" He vomited blood.

Then, he lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.

Yeon-Joo, who had run in to stop the battle, looked at Kang-Woo with a blank expression.

Kang-Woo calmly turned around to face her and said, "See? I told you, I'm stronger than you think."