Chapter 43: Secluded Training (4)

Whoosh!

Kwon Oh-Jin's wire shot toward Riarc’s arm at near-supersonic speed.

“Hmph!”

Riarc didn’t bother dodging. Instead, he let the wire wrap around his arm and then roughly pulled it. Because of the overwhelming difference in strength, Kwon Oh-Jin was yanked forward like a fish caught on a line.

Riarc hadn't expected Kwon Oh-Jin to strike first after experiencing Riarc’s murderous aura.

“I’ll admit, you’re brave for that! But that’s all!”

Courage without strength was nothing but recklessness.

He lunged at Kwon Oh-Jin, claws slicing through the air. The strike, brimming with murderous intent, carried enough force to shred through a human being as if they were paper.

Just then, Kwon Oh-Jin took off the wire shooter on his left arm. Using the built-up momentum, he slid across the ground and swung his spear at Riarc’s ankle.

“Hup!”

Riarc instantly let go of the wire and jumped. “Not so fast!”

Whoosh!

The spear sliced through empty air.

Kwon Oh-Jin gasped. He had risked it all on this strike, even discarding his wire shooter, but Riarc had dodged it so easily. A failed decisive strike against a mighty opponent meant only one thing—death.

“Let’s see if your courage will still hold after tasting death!”

Riarc mercilessly kicked Kwon Oh-Jin in the stomach, sending him flying like a ragdoll.

Wham!

“Aaargh!!”

A searing pain radiated through his gut, and he could feel the jagged shards of his shattered spine pressing into his flesh. A chilling thought crossed his mind—had the blow destroyed his organs?

Somewhere in the haze, two frantic female voices called out.

“My child!”

“Oh-Jin!”

He coughed, spitting out a thick, dark gob of blood.

“...

Ah.

”

His vision dimmed, and an eerie hollowness crept over him, as though his very soul were slipping away. Just then, a silver light enveloped him.

Woong!

His consciousness cleared, and his wounds completely healed as if time had been rewound.

“Haah! Haaah!”

The excruciating pain of having his organs crushed and bones shattered lingered in his head like a shadow.

“Ah... Ugh.”

He clutched his chest as his legs trembled. He wished to reach for the spear lying in front of him, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

Grinding his teeth, he somehow forced strength into his legs.

“Now that you’ve had a taste, you understand, don’t you?” Riarc asked with a smirk. “So don’t blabber on about real combat—”

Boom!

Before he could finish, Kwon Oh-Jin charged at Riarc.

“Aaaaah!”

He extended his arm toward the ground, and a line of blue sparks enveloped his spear and lifted it into the air for him to grab.

“Oh?”

Riarc was intrigued as he received the strikes.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“So you’re not all talk after all,” Riarc remarked, blocking each attack with ease. “But you see...”

He growled, baring his teeth. His claws, crackling with blue lightning, sliced at Kwon Oh-Jin’s neck.

Whoosh!

Kwon Oh-Jin's flesh charred and crumbled like ash.

“How long do you think you’ll last?”

***

The second, third, fourth, and fifth deaths ensued like a relentless chain. Each time, Vega’s power restored Kwon Oh-Jin, but his mind broke down like a sandcastle being washed away.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“Cough! Gagh!”

He collapsed again, coughing blood. An overwhelming wave of intense pain spread through him. Clinging to the faint thread of consciousness, he gathered his resolve.

Focus. This is what you wanted.

The sensation he was experiencing was impossible to have in an ordinary spar; it was a primal fear that held him together as he teetered on the edge of death.

Don’t think.

He moved based on instinct and not reason.

Don’t overanalyze.

He relied on pure intuition as he had done before.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Riarc narrowed his eyes as he deflected Kwon Oh-Jin’s rapid strikes.

What the hell?

Something felt off to him.

Why is he... becoming harder to handle?

Not much had changed. Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t any faster or stronger. Still...

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Riarc instinctively stumbled back as lightning shot up from below.

“What the...?”

His eyes widened in shock, but before he could figure out what happened, Kwon Oh-Jin's assault continued.

“Haaa, haaa, haa!”

Kwon Oh-Jin felt like he couldn’t breathe. Nonetheless, he forced every ounce of mana from within, repeatedly unleashing Azure Lightning and Explosive Lightning.

This isn’t enough.

They were strong skills but also too straightforward. Against Riarc, they were predictable and easy to block or dodge.

I need a different skill. What else can I do?

Kwon Oh-Jin needed something more efficient, something strong enough to keep Riarc on edge. As he kept thrusting his spear, he fell into thought. Abstract images flashed in his mind, but there was nothing concrete enough to guide him.

What am I supposed to—

Crunch!

“Gah! Ugh!”

Riarc had struck him, and Kwon Oh-Jin faced death once more. In the flickering haze of his consciousness, a single question surfaced.

Why am I making this so complicated? I already have everything I need, don’t I?

“Ah.”

Why did I overthink this? It’s so simple.

His shoulder shook as he chuckled to himself. Relaxing his grip on the spear, he slowly raised his other arm.

If the Stigma of Lyra isn’t enough...

Woong!

His chest began to glow intensely.

I just need to add another one.

[The Stigma of Lyra and the Stigma of Owl Nebula have connected!]

[Kwon Oh-Jin has acquired the composite skill Lightning Feathers Lv MAX!]

[The conditions for the Black Heaven’s fourth enlightenment have been partially met!]

Dozens of blue lightning feathers shot toward Riarc.

Crackle!

Startled, Riarc slashed at the feathers, but they pierced between his claws and tore into his flesh.

“Ugh!”

Red blood splattered out from between his silver fur.

“This is...” Riarc grumbled in disbelief. Among the skills derived from the Stigma of Lyra, there weren’t any that could create feathers of lightning.

Did he just... create this skill on the spot?

Riarc’s eyes quivered. Creating new techniques using one’s Stigma wasn’t impossible. After all, he had created Lightning Claw himself.

Still, how could a newbie Awakener manage such a feat?

An unsettling realization he had been trying to ignore swallowed his mind and sent shivers down his spine.

“So this is... the Heaven-Defying Star.”

Kwon Oh-Jin staggered after shooting out the feathers. A clear ring echoed in his ears.

[The Stigma of Lyra has been promoted to four stars!]

[Thunderbolt has reached Lv5!]

Kwon Oh-Jin had become a four-star Awakener in less than half a year—an unprecedented pace. However, he had no time to savor his progress.

“

Grrr!

You conceited fuck!”

Even with Kwon Oh-Jin's new skill and star status, there was still a massive gap in strength between him and Riarc.

Whoosh!

Riarc’s sharp claws shredded Kwon Oh-Jin's flesh.

“Kugh!”

Incredible agony consumed him.

“Aaaargh!”

Six, seven, eight... the number of his demises continued to climb.

“Do you think your talent alone can change fate itself?”

Riarc’s ferocity grew as he relentlessly drove Kwon Oh-Jin to his death. Despite his immense growth, Kwon Oh-Jin was still helpless against Riarc’s unyielding might. Just as Kwon Oh-Jin's death count exceeded well into the double digits, Vega stepped in between the two.

“Enough!”

“Haa, haa, haa!”

Riarc panted as he ceased his persistent onslaught.

Vega looked down at him coldly. “You've gone too far.”

Having calmed down a bit after a brief silence, Riarc finally noticed Kwon Oh-Jin’s state. He was lying on the ground, unconscious from the shock of repeated death.

“Hey, Oh-Jin! Kwon Oh-Jin! Wake up, you idiot!” Song Ha-Eun shouted as she held him in her arms, tears streaming down her face.

Riarc knelt before Vega, bowing his head low. “... I apologize.”

I made a mistake.

Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he cursed himself. He had lost all reason and self-control the moment he recognized Kwon Oh-Jin’s boundless potential, which shone like a star in the night sky. Riarc bit his lip, furious with himself for allowing his envy to make such an error.

You fool!

“Riarc, I understand how you feel,” Vega expressed in a low, calm voice. "This child must have come as a shock to you since you have been stuck in front of a

wall

for so long.”

Riarc flinched.

“However, I can’t help but be disappointed in you for forgetting your place and acting so recklessly.”

Riarc lowered his head even more, lips pressed tight. He had no excuses.

“When that human—no, when the Heaven-Defying Star wakes up, I will offer him my sincerest apology,” he declared. “If he rejects it, I will do whatever it takes to make amends—even if that means ending my own life.”

Riarc meant every word.

“

Haaa...

Let’s wait until he recovers first.”

Vega sighed softly and turned.

“... Huh?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. Kwon Oh-Jin, somehow back on his feet.

“My child, are you—”

“Not yet,” he interrupted, taking a faltering step forward. He looked down at Riarc, still kneeling on the ground, and smiled—a bright, almost unsettling grin.

“You... can keep going, right?”

“What?” Riarc asked, his pupils trembling.

“We can... keep going, can’t we?" Kwon Oh-Jin echoed.

“What are you saying...?”

Riarc raised his head, his face frozen in shock.

“You...”

Riarc’s shoulders quivered.

“What the hell are you?”