Chapter 243: Bastro Dimension (4)

They were not humans but beasts.

"Have you finished provoking each other?" inquired the adult beastman.

He appeared disinterested in officiating a match with such an obvious outcome.

"Yes."

"I'm also finished."

"The rules are straightforward: subdue your opponent without killing them."

Both Han-Yeol and Kandir nodded in agreement.

"Prepare yourselves," announced the adult beastman officiating the match.

They both took a step back.

Han-Yeol assumed a lower stance and drew his original weapon, the curved blade.

‘

It’s a shame that I don’t have a chain, but oh well, beggars can’t be choosers…’?

he decided to forget about it.

Kandir scoffed after seeing Han-Yeol dual-wield a sword and a blade. He thought with a smirk,

‘Ha! The coward thinks he can do something by using two weapons.’

Chwak!

Kandir took an additional step back with his sizeable left foot and shifted his weight onto it.

“Fight!”

Boom!

Kandir forcefully propelled himself off the ground and sped forward.

Would he not take it easy on Harkan the Coward? No, a beastman warrior never lowered their guard. Their instinct was to incapacitate weaker opponents as quickly as possible and then toy with them until they grew bored. This mentality was ingrained in them from a young age, as they were taught that a warrior's defeat often resulted from overconfidence.

"Die!" Kandir yelled as he swung his weapon of choice, a mace.

It suited his fiery temperament perfectly. However, the issue was that his attack carried a strong intent to kill, as if he were prepared to end the coward's life.

"Harkan!" Riru screamed, her voice echoing.

She feared that the mace might shatter Harkan's skull, causing brain matter to splatter across the floor.

However, Han-Yeol simply clicked his tongue in disapproval. ‘

Tsk… I expected that, but…’

Clang! Thud…!

“Kuheok!”

Han-Yeol sidestepped the mace and swiftly struck Kandir on the waist with the flat surface of his sword. The movement was so rapid that Kandir couldn't react in time and tumbled face-first onto the ground.

"H-Huh?"

"What happened?!"

"What's going on?"

"Hey, Kandir! Fight properly!"

“

Tsk tsk…?

How can you call yourself a warrior?”

That didn't make any sense at all, as a proud beastman warrior would never let their guard down. However, what had just happened was so shocking that everyone could only assume Kandir had dropped his guard as the most plausible explanation.

"Harkan! You're so cool!" exclaimed Riru as she jumped up and down.

She didn't fully understand what had transpired, but she had faith in Harkan. This didn't mean she believed Harkan would defeat Kandir, but at least she stood apart from the other beast people watching the match.

Every single beast in the audience looked down on Harkan and were certain he would lose. After all, he was considered an irredeemable coward who lacked understanding of a warrior's honor. However, Riru believed that Harkan would show everyone else just how impressive he could be.

‘

H-Harkan…’?

Riru was moved by what he had just demonstrated.

‘

Finally…!’

She could tell that she was finally going to see Harkan’s true potential.

“Damn it… I dropped my guard for a second…” Kandir growled as he got up.

He turned around and glared at Han-Yeol. His eyes were red with anger, and he emanated a strong aura of killing intent toward him.

"I'm going to tear you to shreds, even if it means I get disqualified," Kandir threatened, essentially declaring his intent to commit murder.

Though it was against the rules to kill one's opponent, the adult beastman officiating the match didn't seem to be bothered at all.

“

Yawn…”

He lazily yawned and rubbed his eyes, as if officiating the match was a bother to him.

‘Does this mean they won't make a move until someone shows signs of breaking the rule?’

Han-Yeol wondered.

Well, that didn't matter at all. Harkan might be physically disadvantaged as a beastman, but Han-Yeol possessed the knowledge and experience that would easily compensate for the physical weakness.

“Grrrrr…”?

Kandir threateningly growled while dragging his mace on the ground.

However, Han-Yeol simply laughed inside, ‘

Tsk tsk… Look at how immature this guy is.’

Of course, Harkan would have been scared by what Kandir was doing, but not Han-Yeol.

Tak!

Kandir kicked off the ground once again and lunged at Han-Yeol. It was an incredibly swift movement that would have been nearly impossible to see, assuming they were of the same age and skill level, of course.

‘Hmm… What should I do? I’m not allowed to kill him, right?’?

Han-Yeol wondered.

He faced a significant dilemma now. His opponent wanted to kill him, but he wasn't allowed to resort to lethal self-defense.

Apart from Harkan's disposition, the rules explicitly stated that killing one's opponent would lead to disqualification, and Han-Yeol had no intention of losing. After all, there was no point in participating in a tournament like this unless he emerged as the victor.

‘

Tsk… I guess I have no choice,’?

Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and thought.

There was another reason why he could not kill Kandir, but that was going to be revealed later on.

“

Kwaaaaaah!”?

Kandir roared like a beast as he lunged at Han-Yeol.

Whoosh!

Han-Yeol tightly gripped his weapons and used a skill, ‘

Hard Counter!’

Harkan might have been physically weak, but he was still a beastman who possessed a particular skill.

Han-Yeol chose a skill that he believed perfectly complemented his combat style from the limited skills Harkan had.

Shwooosh!

‘Oh?’

Han-Yeol could discern Kandir's movement pattern, anticipate the trajectory of his mace, and determine how to counterattack immediately after employing the skill. It was somewhat akin to how the Sixth Sense worked, but this skill displayed his counterattack options by highlighting his enemy's body parts.

‘

I see…’?

Han-Yeol smirked.

‘

Hmm? This arrogant coward!’

Kandir was perplexed and enraged after noticing Harkan’s smirk.

Harkan was nothing more than trash to Kandir, yet that "trash" was arrogantly smirking while facing him? This was something unforgivable.

Whoosh!

Kandir aimed his mace at Harkan’s head.

‘

Oh? This skill is quite useful. I didn’t learn how to properly counterattack from Kajikar, but this skill is doing it for me,’?

Han-Yeol thought as he saw the mace’s trajectory change, making it easier for him to counterattack.

He moved his body just as the skill told him to before swinging his sword.

Clang! Puuuuk!

“Kuheok!”

If Kandir had followed the sword trajectory that the skill was suggesting, he would have been beheaded. However, Han-Yeol had to ensure that he didn't kill his opponent due to the rules. So, he parried the mace and instead smashed his elbow into Kandir's face.

“

Argh!?

You dare to hit me, you piece of trash?!” Kandir raged.

It was a clean hit, but it was not effective at all.

‘

Oh?’?

However, the adult beastman, who had appeared bored until a moment ago, suddenly became interested in Han-Yeol's recent movement, which was both efficient and lethal.

‘He could have killed him just now, but he deliberately changed his approach at the last second?’

The adult beastman could easily decipher Han-Yeol's actions. Although Han-Yeol was a Master Rank Hunter, he currently inhabited Harkan's feeble body. Moreover, Hard Counter was rated E Rank, making it challenging for him to execute a flawless counterattack.

However, that wasn't the most crucial issue at the moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!?

Kandir swung his mace in an attempt to hit his target.

‘

Tsk…’?

Han-Yeol jumped back and retreated for now.

Tak!

‘This skill uses quite a bit of mana…’?

he could sense a substantial amount of mana being depleted, even though he had only used the skill once.

"You little rat! Face me head-on instead of skulking around!" Kandir shouted, clearly frustrated.

The crowd was now stirred up, with nearly every spectator cheering for Kandir.

"Crush him to a pulp!"

"Just hurry up and finish him, Kandir!"

Despite Kandir's vicious temperament, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing for a beastman. His temper had led to him killing his opponent last year and getting disqualified, but he hadn't faced any other punishment for it.

"You're doing great, Harkan!" Riru continued to cheer for Harkan.

She had noticed that he seemed different today, and she welcomed this change, as he was no longer the same pitiable Harkan.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!?

Kandir unleashed a barrage of attacks at Han-Yeol, but he failed to make a single connection. He narrowly grazed his fur twice, but those were the closest instances to hitting him.

The only reason Kandir came close to hitting Harkan was that Han-Yeol was not fully accustomed to his current body. He calculated the mace's trajectory but moved as if he were still a human, resulting in him almost getting hit twice.

Naturally, Kandir grew even more infuriated after repeatedly failing to land a single blow.

“

Grrrr…!?

You dare evade my attacks?!”

Kandir might not have attained the status of a warrior yet, but he already possessed the pride of one. His pride couldn't accept the fact that he couldn't land a single hit on Harkan.

“

Yawn…?

Your mace is too slow. Was that an attack just now? This is so boring…” Han-Yeol sneered while faking a yawn.

“You!” Kandir screamed as his anger reached its peak.

He couldn't control his rage and entered 'Rage Mode,' his entire body enveloped in a red aura.

Han-Yeol was clueless about what was happening, but he instinctively sensed that something was amiss. ‘

Did I taunt him too much…?’?

Han-Yeol realized that he had gotten carried away and made a mistake.

“

Grrrwaaaaah!”

Boom!

Kandir kicked off the ground and shot forward like a bullet.

Whoosh! Bam! Clang!

His attacks became faster all of a sudden.

“

Keuk!”

Kandir was stronger and faster than Harkan.

In fact, it was more accurate to say that Harkan actually possessed far superior physical abilities compared to Kandir.

However, if this body were being controlled by its original owner, Harkan, then this match would have been over even before Kandir broke a sweat. Kandir could have achieved victory, honor, and his woman in a matter of a few seconds.

Unfortunately, luck was not on Kandir's side, as Han-Yeol could clearly see Kandir's attacks without much difficulty.

Whoosh!

Kandir swung his mace with all his strength but ended up being shocked.

“H-Huh?!”

Why? It was because Han-Yeol used his skill once again.

‘

Hard Counter!’

And used Kandir’s strength against him.

It was a move not commonly used by the beastmen, but it was undoubtedly effective. Han-Yeol immediately followed it up with another skill.

‘Waist Slash!’

Chwak!

“Grrwaaaah!”?

Kandir roared in agony as blood splattered on the ground.

‘

Wow~ This is quite exciting,’?

Han-Yeol thought, having managed to cut Kandir deeper than he thought he would.

“

Grrr…!”?

However, Kandir did not fall down; instead, he growled even more menacingly.

A human being would have already collapsed if they had sustained a wound like this, but Kandir was a beastman, belonging to an extremely resilient race.

Han-Yeol wasn't surprised in the least, as he had already anticipated this.

Tak!

He jumped into the air and twisted his body.

“…?!”

Kandir was utterly shocked and baffled by the unusual movements Harkan had just displayed. He had never learned or seen anything like it before, and witnessing such a strange movement caused him to drop his guard.

Whoosh! Pukeok!

“Argh!”

Han-Yeol jumped about a meter high before making a somersault to smack his heel on top of Kandir’s head.

‘

I’ve always wanted to try this out!’?

he thought while feeling his adrenaline pumping.

It would have been inefficient and outright foolish to attempt something like this against a monster. Moreover, it wasn't even possible because a monster's body differed from that of a human being.

However, the situation was different in this match between Harkan and Kandir. Both of them were beastmen and possessed a similar anatomy to humanoids. Additionally, despite Kandir's larger size compared to Han-Yeol, he lacked greater experience.

That was the reason using such a flashy attack didn't carry many risks for Han-Yeol. But the story didn't end there.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!?

“Yelp! Yelp!”

“Hahaha! Die! Dieee!”

“…”

Han-Yeol mercilessly pummeled Kandir, leaving the watching beastmen completely speechless.

"H-Hey... Are you seeing what I'm seeing right now...?"

"Yeah, that's Harkan the Coward, isn't it?"

"He's actually beating that tyrant, Kandir?"

"No, he's giving him a one-sided beating right now! Look!"

The beastmen were utterly speechless at what they were witnessing.

“

Kyah!?

Harkan!”

On the other hand, Riru screamed and jumped like a cheerleader.

Puk!

“You!”

Puk!

“Talk!”

Puk!

“Too!”

Puk!

“Much!”