C13

I stretched my body, as I finally stood at the opposite side.

[ Titles and Achievement Locked! ]

[ Skills related to the Heavenly Demon will be locked! ]

[ Stats will be locked! ]

'Huh.'

[ Baek Hyunjin ]

[ Level : 1 ]

[ Strength : 45]

[ Agility : 45 ]

[Endurance : 60 ]

[ Mana : 45 ]

[ Luck : 25 ]

[ Qi : 10 ]

I looked at my hand, the ring the Grand Witch gave me was still there.

I sighed in relief, looks like I have to hunt for more Ring or Necklace artifacts.

'I thought it was going to be easy, I should probably equip everything I have next time.'

"You look lost little boy, I suggest you give up."

The man earlier had told me, I analyzed him from afar and thought, I can handle him.

I took a deep breath, I had to readjust myself once more, I am talented, that was my prompt I created, If I was to lose here then I myself should just start being a civilian.

When the Gong Sounded the person in front of me rushed at me, I dodged the punches with ease, I could sense that I still had an advantage.

'There.'

After dodging one of his punches that aimed for my face, I swiftly kicked his abdomen with the strength that I had.

"Wow."

A lot of people exclaimed as this time he was sent flying.

[ Reward Updated! ]

[ Continue? ]

Time had stopped, the cheers that were here before suddenly became silent as if everything was a lie.

"Yes."

The sound that had ceased returned, the gong sounded once again, this time a man appeared he had a sword on his waist, he unsheathed it.

"Yoo Minwoo."

The man told Hyunjin his name, perhaps it was a custom? He decided to say a name as well."

"Sung Jiwoo."

He thought of a name that appeared in his mind.

"I'll remember that."

Hyunjin just nodded.

With that a familiar stance was unfolding in front of Hyunjin's eyes.

'He's aiming to end it immediately.'

He had seen Namgoong Yeonhwa do the same earlier, so he was confident this time as well.

'I think I can do it'

Contrary to his expectations, the sword was faster this time, he felt a tingling sensation on the cheek.

Alarm bells began ringing on his mind as the person in front of him was too fast for him.

He was trying to dodge everything, a few landed and small cuts then appeared slowly in his body.

'Damn it.'

After a few minutes of getting cut he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath, when he suddenly felt something coming near in his head.

'Got you.'

He parried the sword with his right arm, grabbed the man's wrist and swiftly thrust his palm towards his chest.

The man was sent flying out of the arena immediately.

[ Reward Updated! ]

[ Continue? ]

It was the same this time as well.

"Yes."

The crowd buzzed with excitement, the gong sounded once more.

This time, his opponent seemed like a seasoned master, radiating a powerful aura.

"Sung Jiwoo, prepare yourself, you have gotten lucky."

As soon as he said that, this time, for real, I was punched in the face.

The sensation hurt me, I could feel something wet dripping down on my nose, as I looked at it, it was blood, unmistakably mine.

'So this is the sensation of getting hurt huh.'

I laughed, to them it might seem a bit out of place, but to me, it was a new feeling, it was exhilarating to know that I was really in the game.

At the same time, it was a reminder, that I could die.

So I decided to use some of my cards that I've had prepared in times like this. 

If the fight with Bae Minseo was a test to see how far I could go along with my passive skills, now is the time to test everything I had without it.

[ Absolute Focus {B+} : Grants the user the ability to intensely concentrate on a chosen target or task, enhancing precision and reaction time ]

This time, the world felt slower, now It felt I could catch up to him.

As his fist was thrown towards my face.

[ Blink {F} : Teleports a short distance. ]

[ Precision Strike {D} : Strikes one area with extreme precision ]

I appeared behind him and kicked his spine, I could hear the crowd burst in amazement as it had happened within a single second.

[ Blink ]

As the master was still being launched forward after being kicked behind the back.

[ Precision Strike ]

I was now in front of him once more and I kicked him in the chin with all the strength that I had sending him flying upwards.

[ Blink ]

Now we were in mid air I was still above him, his face turned toward me as his back was facing me once more.

[ Precision Strike ]

I kicked his spine once more.

[ Precision Strike ]

I spun my body in quick succession to deliver one more kick using the previous kick as momentum before he fell down.

[ You've hit the same area three times in a row! ]

[ Landed a critical hit! ]

As his body crashed towards the floor, people rang in excitement as after a few seconds he didn't get up anymore.

[ Reward Updated! ]

Finally, was it the end? 

I wondered what reward I could get after all it was three consecutive battles and almost everything I had were locked.

[ Congratu- ]

Then something felt amiss, it was the first time a message had been broken like that. 

As I looked in front of me, there was now a man, he had wore black robes and now he was staring at me.

His gaze was the same as earlier.

"Interesting, truly interesting, why do I feel I have a slight connection with you, no matter, since you've come this far allow me to lecture you as the final reward."

[ Quest updated! ]

What the hell, suddenly the area became dark as if I was trapped, the environment that was noisy had became quiet all of a sudden

[ Quest : The Broken Handle's Legacy! ]

[ Survive the onslaught from '???' ]

This time I activated the same skills, as I blinked away from him, but he had already appeared behind me.

"Interesting."

I blinked further away this time, but every time I used it he would have appeared me.

I then felt a palm strike behind my back.

"It's not a movement art, but at the same time it feels like one, quite a peculiar art."

As I was on the ground I spurted blood as it was truly serious, as I looked at him I blinked once more.

"You're quite tenacious, normally a few would of have died from that strike."

He immediately appeared in front of me once more and hit my chest with his palm again, I was sent flying and crashing onto the barrier he had created.

"Still breathing?"

I looked at him as I tried to move.

His hand was glowing, it was emitting a dark faint aura.

I could see it, it looked like he waited for me to stand up so I obliged.

As I readied myself.

'Ah.'

My vision suddenly turned black, I felt something grab my head.

'So this is what it feels like.'

The man bashed Hyunjin's head in the ground, and after a few minutes, he let go.

Seeing at Hyunjin's body made him feel a bit disappointed, he thought he was like him but perhaps it was just a thought.

As he was getting ready to leave and release the barrier.

He suddenly felt a pressure, a pressure that confirmed his suspicions.

[ Ring of the Beloved activating! ]

[ Once a month when the user is at the brink of death instantly restores 50% of vitality and strength ]

"So that's how you do it."

I said as I felt his Qi in his hands, I could feel the difference, so that is how I should apply Qi and not only in skills.

I'm so stupid for not thinking of using Qi to enhance my entire body.

If mana is used for skills, a source of power that can be harnessed and manipulated to perform spells, manipulate elements, the environment around me and externally strengthening me.

Qi is a vital life force or energy that flows through all living things, to which I can use to even enhance myself further not only can it be used externally, but also internally.

I suddenly laughed once more, ah how stupid was I to forget a fundamental thing.

Suddenly I heard the man in front of me laugh as well.

"Good, Good, to think you've finally grasped my intention, even with a little amount of Qi inside you its still enough."

"So you were teaching me?"

I asked, who the hell would teach a person like that!?

"Perhaps, I knew you had Qi, but you also have a something that I'm not quite familiar with inside you, I was testing you out if it was Demonic Qi or not."

"And?"

"Sadly it was not, its something I cannot describe yet but it feels familiar, I think-."

I immediately blinked forward in front of him aiming for his face with my fist infused with Qi.

He swatted my fist and struck my chest once more, this time it wasn't painful as I used Qi to protect my body.

"Impressive, you're finally learning, shall we start the second session?"