Chapter 97

"What kind of bet?"

Byeon Gilsup tilted his neck, probably wondering what kind of nonsense I was spouting all of a sudden.

"I will not move from this spot."

"...What?"

"The first strike, I won't defend against it at all."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you know where the vital points of humans are. Try attacking one of those points with all your strength. Of course, I won't dodge."

Gilsup's expression hardened. He was likely thinking that I was underestimating him right now.

"Will I truly be able to take that hit without dodging, or will I die?"

"Just what in the world are you saying?"

"Exactly as it sounds. I am certain that I will be able to take that attack without any damage." I provoked him a little more. "The reason why I requested a private PVP today was to show everyone here a new world."

I wanted to show these frogs in a well that the sky was far bigger than the well-sized piece they'd been staring up at all this time.

"I will defeat you with an overwhelming difference in skill. To convince everyone in Taeguk Shield."

The spear Gilsup was holding quivered.

"How about it, Mr. Byeon Gilsup? An attack with every ounce of your strength. Would you like to try? I swear that I am not a tank. Let's bet on whether someone who isn't a tank like me can take such an attack without any damage or not."

Sure enough—

[The 'Lady of the Scales' advises against unnecessary provocation.]

[The 'Nameless Observer' observes.]

[The 'Courageous Lion King' is frustrated.]

[The 'Whispering Devil' claps his hands with glee.]

[The 'Herdsman of Las Vegas' is very interested.]

Gilsup raised his spear. "Fine," he gritted, grinding his teeth. "That high and mighty confidence of yours, let's see how long it can last."

It looked like he was pretty pissed off. Well, he was a Player with a lot of pride, so he was probably even more galled. Who would have thought that a non-combat class Player who wasn't even a tank, but a sovereign, would ever be treated with such scorn?

'I can't say for certain, but…'

There was a high chance the Herdsman of Las Vegas made 'some kind of proposal' to Gilsup. If he accepted my bet, he might have a chance at a big reward.

'Which is why he accepted without hesitation.'

All the Taeguk Shield guild members were staring at me in bafflement, except for just one of them, Cheon Sooji. That made me sweat a bit—was 'Mirror Sight' too effective? There was slight but unmistakable interest in her gaze.

'Whatever, it'll probably fade soon.'

"I'll make you regret it within one minute," said Gilsup.

Our PVP match began.

* * *

Byeon Gilsup raised the main weapon he'd enjoyed using lately, 'Nox's Spear'. It had an attack power of around 35.

He was sure of it.

'Excluding powerful blunt weapons, it has the highest damage.'

Blunt weapons could deal a heavy, powerful blow, but they were much harder to swing. To use them, you had to sacrifice a lot of dexterity. But Gilsup's weapon was different.

'I believe in you, Nox's Spear.'

He finished all his preparations to penetrate the heart of the rookie who had arrogantly claimed he would show them all a different sky.

'I'll stab through.'

He drew back his arm, leveling his spear so it was parallel to the ground. A single-point stab. When his speartip reached the target point, he would increase the rotational force.

'You will definitely regret this.'

He loaded the balls of his feet with far more strength than usual. That was so he could deliver a 'stab' with all his weight behind it. You couldn't use such an exaggerated movement in a real battle, since there would be too much danger of counterattack if you threw all your weight into one attack like this.

'I'll stab his heart.'

Song Kiyeol observed Gilsup in silence. He, of course, did not doubt Gilsup's powerful stab.

'His target seems to be the heart.'

The heart was a big weak point for humans. And yet, Hyukjin was allowing an undefended attack on such a vulnerable spot. Did sovereign Players have some kind defense skill?

"Here I come!"

Gilsup's spear surged forward in a horizontal line with all his weight behind it, looking like he was one with the spear. The point of his spear rushed in unwaveringly, aiming precisely for a single spot.

Hyukjin wasn't all that shaken by it.

'It's coming.'

There was a very brief moment during which he read Gilsup's movement. This was the strongest single attack Gilsup was capable of, his strongest stab. He saw how Gilsup's body moved to create the stab, how the mana in his body flowed.

Thud!

Something hit his heart.

[The Great Orc Warrior's partial set effect is activating.]

[All damage has been nullified.]

The strike that should have gone through his heart felt like a kid's weak fist hitting his chest. Actually, it couldn't even really be called an 'impact', since it was as weak as the kind of drumming you did when your chest felt stuffy.

"Huh…?"

Gilsup made an expression of disbelief.

'There was… zero damage?'

Hyukjin grinned. "Are you sure that was your strongest attack?"

Song Kiyeol was just as flabbergasted. He did think that Hyukjin had something up his sleeve, but he never thought Hyukjin would be able to shrug off Gilsup's attack with absolutely zero damage.

'What in the world was that?'

Just then, Han Seokmin said, "It's the power of items."

Hyukjin nodded. He hadn't intended on keeping it a secret anyway, and he knew that Taeguk Shield had Han Seokmin. He had seen a glimpse of Han Seokmin's ability in action in the Hill of Blowing Wind. This man, who would one day become famous as the 'Analyst', wouldn't find it difficult to figure out this much.

'Seeing as he concluded that 'it's the power of items' instead of 'it's probably the power of items', he's pretty skilled.'

The Analyst Han Seokmin. He might be second best now, but he would be a big help later on. Plus, he would be a pretty good match with Hyukjin, an Observer.

Song Kiyeol still had a look of disbelief on his face. No matter how good the item was, how could it completely nullify Gilsup's attack? It was mind-boggling. No item he could think of was capable of that. That mystery item Hyukjin possessed had completely blocked an attack from a determined spearman aiming at a vital point. Wasn't that essentially like giving you a second life?

Hyukjin explained. "Being overgeared is also a skill."

Since he had decided to show them the broad sky above, he elaborated in slightly greater detail. Simply subduing Byeon Gilsup was meaningless.

"A set effect that completely blocks any attack from under level 35 kicked in."

"...There's an effect like that?"

"Do you think President Song was blinded by new tech for no reason? Think he didn't expect an effect like this?" Hyukjin continued to talk to Kiyeol, completely ignoring the spearman he was in a PVP with. "Do not underestimate new tech too much."

Since he was doing this, he wanted to raise them well.

"Because Taeguk Shield may just become the cornerstone business of Sungshin."

That was enough to drive in his point. Song Kiyeol had seen the power of 'new tech' for himself. Having a vague estimation of something's power was world's apart from seeing it in action.

Kiyeol felt goosebumps rise on his arms. 'Mr. Kim Hyukjin isn't PVPing right now…' he thought numbly.

This wasn't a PVP. It was a lecture, one given to him and the guild members Taeguk Shield while everyone was gathered in one spot.

'He's educating us.'

It stung his pride, but Kiyeol would take what was offered. The business that could give him a definite edge in the competition with his little sister… was the new tech business. The attack just now had engraved that lesson in his bones.

Hyukjin smiled.

Summary: Guildmaster who Met his Teacher

Song Kiyeol seemed to finally have the right mindset. Only once he was satisfied with his progress on the Guildmaster did Hyukjin turn his gaze back to Byeon Gilsup. The spearman looked like he had suffered quite the shock.

"There is a wide range of item effects. The effect and worth of items will completely change based on how you distribute and use them."

"..."

Gilsup regripped his spear.

"I've lost the bet, but I haven't lost the PVP yet."

"That's true." Hyukjin tossed him a little hope. "The absolute defense ability I just used can only be used once per day."

Before he regressed, the set effect of the Great Orc Warrior set was simply a natural part of everyday life, something so well-known that there were all sorts of strategies that hinged on it. There was no need to bend over backwards to keep it a secret, so he used it to teach a lesson instead.

'The Players need to get their act together.'

Thanks to Hyukjin, the difficulty of the Korean server was noticeably reduced, and as a result, the Players were quite a bit weaker than they were in the past. He judged that a little education was necessary in order to strengthen what was weakened.

"If Taeguk Shield changes first, becoming more proactive after realizing the worth of new tech for themselves, it will definitely influence the other Players to do the same."

This wasn't just a PVP, but a stroke in the big picture. The Guardians who were watching all this from one step away scrambled to send messages.

[The 'Lady of the Scales' is awed by your unbiased view.]

[The 'Barrier of Blue Light' keenly understands your feelings.]

The justice-aligned Lady and defense-attribute Barrier Guardians actively endorsed him,

[The 'Courageous Lion King' is bored.]

the courage-lover was bored,

[The 'Whispering Devil' snorts at your scheme.]

and the Whispering Devil wasn't very amused by his Playing.

[The 'Nameless Observer' continues to observe.]

The Nameless Observer seemed to always be among the five Guardians who sent messages. As usual, they were maintaining their neutral position.

'In any case, I've sufficiently shown the Guardians the picture I'm going for, too.'

That meant it was time to wrap up the PVP.

"Let's return to the PVP," said Hyukjin. Then, he pulled out Yeonseo's sword, the item of a grade he hadn't even been sure had existed.

"This time, I will use a sword."

The movements of the future Spear Demon Byeon Gilsup were fast. He appeared to be stepping straight forward, but suddenly swerved right and left as he aimed for Hyukjin's side.

"Hiya!"

He made it seem like he was going for the side, but his spear whipped upwards without any warning and came down like a guillotine.

Whumpf–!

His spear shaft came hurtling down towards the crown of Hyukjin's head.

Hyukjin had completely read Gilsup's movements. He nudged the spear shaft away with his palm, twisting.

It was difficult to block a vertical strike from the bottom. At worst, the impact could even fracture his wrist. Instead of opting for a reckless head-on match of strength, Hyukjin slipped away to the side.

'I can see the opening.'

If he immediately rushed in and swung his sword, he could easily subdue Gilsup. However, he didn't do so.

'What a… strange feeling.'

It was similar to what he had experienced when fighting Kim Taechun, an opponent far weaker than himself; a similar feeling to when he'd gotten Eye of Perception's special power, 'Future Sight'. A strange feeling, like he could see something.

'No, I can actually see it more clearly than that.'

The King of Swords Asura was showing him the sword path, and unbeknownst to Hyukjin, he was being drawn into it.

Hyukjin, who had never learned swordsmanship, began to learn.

____