Pandora [40]

Jin-Woo hoped his raging emotions didn't make it to his face. Anger, surprise, and disbelief appeared first. Then it was confusion, right before it was even stronger bewilderment.

If Pandora—which was extremely unlikely—the information could've been used for several other things. Just blatantly telling Jin-Woo was a rather impractical idea, that is, if she was his enemy.

But clearly, she was working with Yogumunt, especially after actively telling the Sovereign to ready himself to kill Jin-Woo. But the situation wasn't as clear as it seemed. If she truly wanted Jin-Woo dead, there'd be very little reason to send Yogumunt away to do so.

She could just kill him herself, or—if she didn't want to dirty her own hands—she could tell Yogumunt to attack him at that instant.

But she didn't do that.

Instead, she introduced herself. That could only mean that—

"You want something from me, right?" Jin-Woo said after a moment.

Pandora pouted, her hands falling to her hips. "And what if I just want to be your friend, huh?"

Jin-Woo stared at her.

She looked away, rolling her eyes. "Fine then, sheesh. Stop yelling, God, you're loud."

Jin-Woo squinted.

She turned back to him, smiling with Julie's face. Her eyes glistened with glee. "Let's play a quiz game then!"

Jin-Woo stared hard before Pandora pumped her index finger into the air. "Question number one! What's your strongest trait in a battle?!"

Jin-Woo stared harder, but this proved to be the wrong option. Before he could react, the woman whispered in his ear, vanishing from her spot. "You have to play, or else you'll never win!"

A foot firmly lodged itself in Jin-Woo's gut, lifting him from the ground before he could recollect his bearings. He flew through two more walls, tumbling into a swiveling chair as debris and dust flew into the air.

Jin-Woo desperately gasped for air, the attack gladly only hitting his MP rather than his HP.

'Umbra Shade and Wolf's Deity Coat are saving my ass here, still that blow stole a chunk of my MP away…!' Jin-Woo barely steadied himself, looking up to Pandora, who happily bobbed her head.

"Okay, Jin-Woo, we're gonna try again! Question number one, what's your strongest trait in a battle?!"

Jin-Woo responded quickly. "It's my reflexes."

Pandora made a sound, trying to roughly imitate a buzzer. "Wrong, wrong, wrong! The correct answer is your speed! You've always been really fast! Like, dodging that red knight's sword with minimal assistance! So, Jin-Woo Sung, I want you to attack me with everything you've got!"

Jin-Woo squinted, rising from his spot and lightly dusting himself off.

"Everything I've got?"

"Mhm! And if you don't, I'll hit you twice as hard."

Jin-Woo took a breath in.

Playing into his enemy's palm didn't seem horribly smart, but he couldn't find any other avenues of success. He hoped she'd leave like she told Yogumunt she would after her little game was over, so he humored her, even if he wasn't particularly interested in her antics.

And then he breathed out, dashing through the space with his everything. He appeared before Pandora in a fraction of a second, his fist clenched tightly as it launched towards Pandora's stomach. His fist slammed into her, dust rocketing after him.

However, Jin-Woo suddenly had a familiar feeling of dread arise within him.

He could feel Pandora's fingers gripping onto his clenched fist. She hadn't moved at inch. She looked down to him with a chiding gaze.

"Well, we did warn you. Here's the penalty!"

Dread rose as time slowed.

Jin-Woo could only move on instinct. He didn't have time for anything else.

[Soul Mimicry has been activated.]

[Slot Number Three, "Jill" has been activated.]

[Death Shell Lv. 1 (+3) has been activated.]

[The skill is stronger due to the Summon's higher rank.]

Pandora's fist didn't just slam into Jin-Woo, it threatened to go through him entirely. Even with Umbra Shade, Wolf Deity's Coat, and Death Shell, along with his fusing with Tempest and Igris, the attack took all his MP and dipped into his HP by about 50%.

"Gah—!" Jin-Woo choked, coughing up blood.

The only reason why he wasn't launched away was because of Pandora's hold on his fist. She let go and he crumpled to the ground, coughing and trying to catch his breath.

"Try again! This time, I'll go four times harder!" Pandora turned around and started whistling as she walked away from Jin-Woo. Jill wanted to take the shot for an attack, but Jin-Woo stopped her.

'Can I… beat such a monster…? Could I defeat it even with Fanzer and Ichigo's help?' He doubted himself, that was undeniable. After being faced with such an indomitable wall, his conviction faltered.

He smiled to himself, slowly rising from his spot.

'Well, fuck it. If I'm going out, it'll be swinging. I'm making it home today, and there's nobody who could stop that,' Jin-Woo thought, spitting blood out of his mouth. 'I trust myself more than ever. And I trust that I can do this.'

Pandora turned on her heel, giving Jin-Woo a smile.

"Oooooh, you got up? See, I told you he wouldn't just die!" Pandora giggled, her smile growing wider.

"You wanted everything, right?" Jin-Woo asked again.

Pandora blinked before clapping. "Yes, yes, we want absolutely everything you've got! Give us your everything, Jin-Woo!"

"I see," Jin-Woo began lowering himself into position, his health and MP rising steadily thanks to his various boosts. However, he doubted just using his skills would be enough, that was what he'd just tried, after all.

He activated Soul Empowerment.

The skill was quite easy to overlook, but at a time like this, it was the centerpiece to his goals.

He had 183 summons. Excluding the three named summons, that was still 180. He had split his forces up to assist Fanzer and Ichigo, but he hadn't sensed anything with their presences, so they couldn't be in combat yet.

Facing such an important situation, Jin-Woo decided to trust in Ichigo and Fanzer entirely, without hesitation.

He left ten hyakki to protect Byung-Ho, and all the other 170 Summons, he used Soul Empowerment on. Shadows raced across the ground, falling into his shadow before entirely disappearing. As the Summons' presences disappeared, Jin-Woo could feel himself brimming with a familiar power, the power of potential.

170 status points he didn't have prior rung out in his status screen, just begging to be used.

He pulled up his status menu and threw all the points into Agility. Maybe splitting it up was a smarter decision, but because his life suddenly depended on his speed, he didn't feel like skimping out on the points.

[Agility: 150 -> 320]

The jump was astronomical. He could feel power race through him as notifications filled his vision.

[Due to Agility hitting 200, you have received a new skill.]

[Legendary Kitsune's Mastery | Lv. Max]

A legendary kitsune who surpassed mere divinity and stepped into a new realm of mythology, becoming a myth among kitsune of all types. This legendary kitsune isn't just fast, but also has incredible control of its speed, never going faster or slower than it wants to. This mastery has allowed for even the strongest opponents to be caught off-guard. The essence of this monster permeates through your body, granting you incredible control of your speed.

[Due to Agility hitting 250, you have received a new skill.]

[The First Nine-Tailed Fox, Tamamo-no-Mae| Lv. Max]

The first Nine-Tailed Fox rose from the depths of kitsune-kind and became a human known for her beauty and intelligence. She blended in with humans for ages, hunting other humans and monsters with incredulous efficiency. Tamamo-no-Mae was the pinnacle of kitsune-kind, and now you stand right next to her level of notoriety.

500% Increase to Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and Evasion.

400% Increase to the Effects of Agility-based skills.

30% Increase to HP Regeneration and MP Regeneration.

Kitsune summon strength tripled upon summoning.

[Due to Agility hitting 300, you have received a new skill.]

He couldn't even look at the last skill as his body felt like a waterfall of power had suddenly began pushing through him. It didn't feel uncomfortable or unnatural, rather, it felt like it should've been there all along, like his system had finally cleared up. He didn't falter, unwilling to show even an ounce of weakness in front of Pandora.

With a breath, he steadied himself, feeling opening and clenching his fists.

He could feel the information of his last skill in his mind. It was certainly costly—the costliest skill he'd ever gained—but he gladly didn't have any plans of using it for very long. He took a few deep breaths, allowing his energy to flow through his body naturally.

Apparently impatient for Jin-Woo to attack her, Pandora lackadaisically yawned. After drawing Jin-Woo's attention to her, she cleared her throat and pointed at him. "You better not just hit us with some lame attack again! Make sure to use everything, not just what you perceive as speed! Your everything needs to be in this one attack!"

"My everything? Then don't get blown away," Jin-Woo warned her, causing Pandora's smile to widen.

She clapped excitedly. "Good, good!"

Jin-Woo took a deep breath in. He hated to admit it, but Pandora's words helped him. His perception of his speed was linked to the level of his Agility, but several of his other stats affected and shifted his speed.

He focused his Strength on his legs and arms, feeling power flow through him. His Intelligence assisted him, Mana of Death flowing naturally to the most important parts.

He focused his Dexterity on his body, using that mastery of weapons like his very own body was a weapon. Truly, it was the best weapon he could ever have.

He focused his Vitality on his entire body, never letting the concentration slip or wane.

Even his Faith and Luck weren't left behind, focusing those two on his belief in winning.

All his stats worked as one, rather than separate entities. With this, it was as if he reached a momentary state of nirvana, his body, mind, and soul working without a bit of hesitation.

His skills, new and old, only assisted his focus, allowing him to push himself even further.

Jin-Woo looked at his enemy, took a breath, and readied himself.

The world suddenly disappeared, leaving Jin-Woo and Pandora alone. Nothing else mattered in that instant.

Then, when the world reappeared, it was Jin-Woo who was gone.

"Wait… where did he—"

A fist, cloaked in pure shadowy darkness, slammed into Pandora's stomach. A sonic boom shot out as Pandora's eyes widened, being lifted from the ground against her will.

Then, in the next instant, she was flung away. Despite her strength, she flew like a thrown rock, unable to slow down or stop herself. As she crashed through several castle walls, Jin-Woo stood straight up, exactly in the spot where Pandora used to be.

"Hm? Well, I guess you got flung away after all, huh?"

[Inari Okami, the God of Kitsune's Infinite Strike| Lv. Max | MP: 5000]

Inari Okami was a Nine-Tailed Fox just like Tamamo-no-Mae; however, Inari didn't linger on hunting those who were weaker, rather, Inari only fought against those who were stronger. Inari couldn't afford satisfaction of strength when her opponents would constantly be stronger than her. In order to combat this, Inari made a technique to surpass her opponents, even if they were in a different league than her.

Infinite Strike doubles Agility and all Agility-based effects for an instant, allowing for a massive increase in momentary speed. This speed is converted directly into an incredible attack.

This skills costs 5000 MP upon activation, and it's 5000 MP every second it's kept active. This cost cannot be lowered.