Chapter 33: Star, The Test (4)

Chang-Sun merely stood still until the Drake was practically right in front of his face. If not for his sharp gaze, the onlookers would have taken his response for a panic attack.

“W-Will he be okay if he does nothing?”

“That looks too dangerous.”

The spectators were left surprised and perplex. Even the executives were shocked, wondering what to do.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ doubts you for not moving at all.]

The Drake’s jaws opened wide, revealing its sharp fangs. It seemed as if it would tear apart Chang-Sun at any moment.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is certain that you are going to die.]

‘Now!’?

Chang-Sun yelled in his mind.

Whirl―!

He swiftly twisted the drawing tube open, and the spectators saw something flying into the air.

Stab, stab―!

Squuuiirrrt!

Two rays of light, moving so quickly they were invisible to the naked eye, dug into the Drake’s eyes when it was merely two meters away from Chang-Sun.

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

At first, the spectators’ eyes widened in surprise, as they were unable to understand the situation. The gigantic Drake suddenly came to a halt, losing its balance and falling over sideways with both eyes erupting into fountains of blood. Only then did the spectators realize what had happened.

“…!”

“…!”

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“W-What was that?”

“When did he…?!”

They all shouted in astonishment.

Roooarrr!

With a short spear in each eye, the Drake roared in pain. Its eyes were completely destroyed, leaving it blind.

None of the spectators had seen what Chang-Sun did, leaving them shocked. They were not the only ones to be surprised, however; even the Clan executives, who were watching from the far end, were taken aback.

“Team Leader Park! Was that…?” one of the executives’ subordinates quickly asked.

“You’re right. He’s really fast and has good aim for a Player at that level. I think he would be good with a bow too,” Attack Team 1 Leader Park Sang-Ho remarked, bursting into laughter.

The White Tiger Clan’s Attack Teams were under the Clan Leader’s direct supervision, which meant the Attack Team Leaders were all treated as executives.

Sang-Ho was a founding member of the White Tiger Clan, who assisted the Clan Leader ‘Sword Sky Tiger’ and Executive Director Oh. Naturally, that meant he was influential in the Clan, and yet a person of his stature was laughing. He laughed for the simple fact that he too would have failed to follow Chang-Sun’s movements if he had not strengthened his vision with magic.

“It looks like…” Sang-Ho began after calming down with great difficulty.

“…?”

“…?”

“...I need to have him,” Sang-Ho declared, grinning in satisfaction.

“…!”

“…!”

Upon hearing that statement, the other executives started to think quickly.

Meanwhile…

Whoosh, whoosh―!

Chang-Sun moved with great agility, avoiding the Drake as it went on a rampage. When the Drake turned, revealing its weak spot, Chang-Sun infused his magic into the bracelet on his right hand.

Click!

With a sound that resembled a lock opening, the bracelet unraveled strand by strand, elongating into several thin and tough leather cords that touched the floor.

“Whoa, what’s that?”

“He has another weapon in addition to the spears…?”

The spectators’ eyes widened again when Chang-Sun revealed his new weapon.

[Nameless Nine-Tail Whip]

A whip forged by Ou Yezi’s heir for a commission.

The item normally appears to be a bracelet, but it can transform into a whip when infused with the owner’s magic. Nine small whips were woven into one to make this whip, which means it will likely be difficult to master.

· Type: Whip. Infantry weapon.

· Damage: 100~???

· Effect: Multi-Hit. Stacking Damage. Curse Strengthening.

*The artifact will belong to you indefinitely. If you give the spear to somebody else, the weapon’s Effects might disappear.

**The creator has not named the whip, so please give it a suitable name.

When Chang-Sun first received the whip from Choi Bu-Yong, he had been more surprised than when he received the two short spears.

‘I never thought the complete method to forge soft steel would have been passed down to Bu-Yong.’

In truth, the whip Chang-Sun had requested was strange; the difficulty of making it depended on the blacksmith. If an incompetent blacksmith were to weave nine whips into one, it could simply end up too thick to be useful in real combat.

However, Bu-Yong had successfully made the whip’s frame using a unique method that had been passed down to Ou Yezi’s heirs for generations. After that, he had managed to use the entirety of the Flame Tiger’s skin provided by Chang-Sun when making the weapon, creating the perfect infantry weapon.

Naturally, Chang-Sun was very comfortable with the whip as if he had been using one for a very long time, just as with the two short spears.

Whoosh!

Chang-Sun swung his whip powerfully toward the Drake’s head. When it heard the weapon’s sharp crack, the Drake tried to pull its head back; however, before it could get out of the way, Chang-Sun separated the whip into two strands that coiled around the two ends of the short spears in the Drake’s eyes. Chang-Sun yanked hard, sending the spears flying through the air along with the Drake’s ruined eyeballs.

Roooaar!

The pain the Drake felt from having its eyes pulled out was much greater than what it had felt upon their destruction. As it howled and writhed, Chang-Sun jumped into the air, snatching the two spears and combining them into one.

Clack!

When the two joints interlocked with each other, the blade in the spear’s rear end retracted, and the one in its front end lengthened. From an ordinary long spear, it had instantly turned into a glaive. Pointing the spear downward, Chang-Sun drove it into the Drake’s nape.

Stab!

Squirt!

The spear embedded itself into a part of the Drake’s neck that was not covered in scales with such force that half of the blade disappeared into the monster’s body.

Roaaaarr!

Trying to shake Chang-Sun off its nape somehow, the Drake writhed violently and spun its tail fiercely like a cow trying to force a fly off its back. However, Chang-Sun had already finished preparing his next attack, pulling out his spear and retreating far away from the Drake.

Swoosh, swoosh!

Slash, slash, slash―!

Stab!

Swiftly avoiding the Drake’s attacks, Chang-Sun continued to unleash perfect attack after perfect attack, only striking the monster’s joints that remained unprotected by its scales.

Roar! Roaaar!

Several wounds large and small appeared on the Drake’s body, causing large pools of its blood to gather on the floor. The spectators could hear Chang-Sun’s footsteps splashing through the blood as he ran swiftly across the floor.

“Un-Unbelievable!”

“What are those weapons?”

“How can a Level 25 Player be that fast…”

“Every hit effect from his attacks is gold! Wait, doesn’t that mean all of his attacks are critical hits? Is he really a human?”

“M-Monster…!”

The spectators gaped. The sound of Chang-Sun’s steps was like the footfalls of the Grim Reaper, both to the Drake and the audience watching the one-sided massacre.

As the Drake’s body was increasingly covered with cuts, it became slower and slower.

[The Skill ‘Blood Toxin’ has been activated!]

[Paralytic toxin spreads throughout the Drake’s body.]

[The Drake has fallen into the ‘Paralyzed’ state.]

[Deadly toxin spreads throughout the Drake’s body.]

[The Drake has fallen into the ‘Poisoned’ state.]

…

[The Drake has fallen into the ‘Brink of Death’ state due to excessive bleeding!]

As Chang-Sun continuously attacked the Drake with his blood toxin, the monster’s wounds only worsened, causing more and more damage to it.

Thump!

In the end, one of the Drake’s hind legs gave out, and it hit the ground with such a violent tremor that even Chang-Sun felt the aftershocks for some time. It was no longer the same violent Drake from before, as its entire body was covered with bruises and cuts.

Pant! Pant…!

Wheeze―!

The Drake’s breathing was shallow and ragged, but it howled plaintively with its last reserves of strength, seemingly unwilling to die just like that. However, Chang-Sun climbed onto the Drake’s head, almost seeming to be mocking it as he shoved his long spear into one of the eye sockets he had previously stabbed with a short spear.

Shank!

Chang-Sun drove his long spear so deep into the Drake’s head that he directly penetrated its brain, piercing through what little remained of its eye.

Crrrr…

With its dying breath, the Drake’s head fell to the floor with a powerful thud.

[Successfully killed the Drake!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[The level of the Skill ‘Lesser Spearmanship’ has increased!]

…

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ speaks high praise of your hunting skill, which has been leveling up day by day!]

[As a bonus reward, your Strength has increased by 5 points.]

Perhaps because Chang-Sun had killed a monster that was at a much higher level than himself, successfully driving it into a corner as he hunted, he leveled up two times in a row.

After withdrawing his long spear, Chang-Sun turned to look in the executives’ direction, completely covered the Drake’s blood. Despite his hideous appearance, his eyes shone ferociously. Some of the more old-fashioned executives frowned; to them, Chang-Sun appeared to be arrogantly showing off his ability. However, the more aggressive executives’ eyes shone just as brightly as Chang-Sun’s own.

“I definitely want that rookie! Bring him here, Cheong-Su!” Team Leader Sang-Ho shouted as he sprang up from his seat.

“Yes, sir!” Cheong-Su replied with a bow.

Considering his combat instinct and his Magic Class, Chang-Sun was a valuable asset that Sang-Ho could use in combat right away—no, more than that, Chang-Sun was a genius.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ greatly admires the fight that took place just now!]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ strongly expresses his desire to have a new ‘fang’.]

Above all, even Sang-Ho’s Guardian was satisfied with Chang-Sun. That meant he had to snatch the man away before the other team leaders did, especially before the Attack Team 2 Leader, who had recently become the biggest rival of Attack Team 1. Right after Sang-Ho sent his assistant, his right-hand man…

Swoosh―!

“No way…!” Sang-Ho muttered, frowning as he saw someone’s shadow flying over his head. He realized he was too late, as the shadow fell directly onto Chang-Sun.

Boooom!

“Whoa, you can even block this, huh?” Seo Jeong-Gwon, the Attack Team 2 Leader, remarked. He smiled broadly, revealing his canines and seemingly enjoying the situation a great deal.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ smiles viciously!]

Chang-Sun glared at Jeong-Gwon, whose presence made him think of one word—ferocity. That was the most suitable word to describe Jeong-Gwon, who had revealed his strong desire to fight and kill Chang-Sun… and on top of that, the man also reeked of Heoju’s disgusting stench.

“You can even take my [Tiger Disaster] on top of my [Tiger Kill]? You truly are something, even more than I expected,” Jeong-Gwon remarked with a grin. “I like you, so join my team. I’ll train you real nicely and teach you what a real ‘tiger’ is.”

It looked as if Jeong-Gwon would not stop attacking Chang-Sun until he provided a proper answer—no, Jeong-Gwon would continue attacking Chang-Sun to figure out the fullest extent of his abilities.

Chang-Sun pondered whether or not to fight back, because both options had advantages and disadvantages. He looked calmly at Jeong-Gwon as he thought,

‘If I fight back, my value will increase and attract more of Heoju’s attention. Still, I should pull out all the stops in the ‘Black Blood Mountain Range’, not here...’

Although he had intentionally avoided leveling up, Chang-Sun had not spent the past month remaining idle; instead, he had been improving his basic skills and cultivating numerous abilities, in order to gain as much as he could from the new Player training he would receive after he was done with the audition.

The ‘Black Blood Mountain Range’ was one of the many Dungeons the White Tiger Clan kept open. It was wide and divided into sectors with various difficulties, which meant it had been used as a training institute for some time. However, it held a great secret that was unknown to most people; even the White Tiger Clan, and the dungeon’s original Heoju, were not aware of it.

‘I can level up the [Fire of the Eight Trigrams Brazier] in there,’?

Chang-Sun thought. Even as he continued thinking, however, Jeong-Gwon’s endless barrage of attacks made him wonder whether it was finally time to counterattack.

“Why don’t you stop there?” a voice called out, as an even more ferocious man than Jeong-Gwon landed in between the two.

Leaving four scratches on the floor that resembled the trail of a beast’s claws, Jeong-Gwon quickly retreated far away from Chang-Sun, turning to look at the man. He asked with a frown, “Do you want to die, Team Leader Park?”

“I see the ignorant Team Leader 2 is still rude to his senior,” Team Leader Sang-Ho replied, smiling coldly as he emitted a [Tiger Kill] aura that was just as strong as Jeong-Gwon’s own. Even though he looked like a normal middle-aged man, his pointed gaze remained incredibly sharp.

“Ha! Just as you always say, I’m too ignorant to know what manners are,” Jeong-Gwon replied with a smirk.

“Why are you saying that with pride? Anyway, step away from him,” Sang-Ho said, waving a hand.

“I’m taking one of mine away, so what’s the problem?” Jeong-Gwon asked with a grin.

“His personnel appointment hasn’t been decided yet, has it?” Sang-Ho replied, tilting his head.

Pzz, pzzzz!

Rummmbblee

―

!

The clash of two [Tiger Kill] auras created a raging storm of energy inside Sector 3.

“Wh-What’s going on?”

“Are the Attack Team Leaders fighting right now?”

“They’re doing that to recruit just one talented guy, right? Man, it’s so cool!”

As Jeong-Gwon and Team Leader Sang-Ho frequently appeared in the media, the spectators watched the fight with great interest. Worried that strange rumors would spread, several ordinary White Tiger Clan employees tried to control the spectators, but it was not easy, as the fight was getting worse.

“I’m sorry, but I have to join this fight too,” a young man said as he stepped forward.

“Whoa! I really didn’t want to meddle in the two team leaders’ fight… Well, what can I do, since I want him too?” another man remarked as he stepped up, dragging his slippers across the floor as he scratched his head.

The young man was Attack Team 3 Leader Kang Seong-Woo, also known as ‘Homotherium’. The man who was scratching his head was Attack Team Leader 4 Yoo Hyeon-Jin, also known as ‘Dinofelis’.

All four ‘pillars’ of the Attack Department had stepped up. Unlike Jeong-Gwon, the Attack Team 3 and 4 Leaders were polite to Team Leader Sang-Ho, who was more experienced than them; despite that, they each revealed their desire to never lose, revealing their [Tiger Kill] auras in turn.

Swoosh, swish, whoosh!

Four [Tiger Kill] auras combined and created a fierce whirlpool, sweeping away everything on the floor of Sector C.

“You bastards must think team leaders are all the same because the higher-ups coddle you guys, huh?” Team Leader Sang-Ho angrily snapped as he rummaged around in his inventory, raising an eyebrow; the fact that his juniors were challenging him hurt his pride.

All the other team leaders opened their inventories. The four team leaders emanated so much energy, it was as if an all-out battle would break out at any second. The clash of four [Tiger Kill] auras made the atmosphere around the team leaders intensify constantly; thus, Chang-Sun furtively stepped back, watching the growing conflict with great interest.

‘I hope a bloodbath takes place,’

Chang-Sun thought, his eyes shining.