Echoes of defiance (2nd Floor)

Jun-ha's mind raced with possibilities. The newly acquired skill seemed to bolster his confidence, enhancing his ability to strategize and adapt in this strange, deadly environment.

He could feel his intelligence sharpening, his thoughts coming quicker and clearer as if the very air around him had changed.

But there was no time to dwell on this new development. The elves were still advancing, and the battle was far from over.

Unfortunately, the elves outnumbered the participants, who were only around a thousand, while the elves' army exceeded that number by far too much.

As the individuals who were fighters and swordsmen rushed to battle the elves without a tank or support, they fell one by one, just as Jun-ha had predicted.

The front gate, their last line of defense, shattered under the relentless assault. The elves poured through, their enchanted magical weapons gleaming ominously in the dim light.

Each weapon seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, dealing far more damage than the contestants' basic equipment could withstand.

It became a neck-and-neck battle, with every participant fighting desperately, knowing they hadn't yet earned any useful skills to truly stand a chance.

Jun-ha stood amidst the chaos, his eyes darting from one point of the battlefield to another. His mind raced, trying to find a way out of the dire situation.

He could see Volya in the thick of it, slashing through elves with powerful swings, but even the Russian giant was starting to tire.

The sheer number of enemies was wearing him down.

Jae-Hwa, too, was struggling, her arrows no longer finding their marks with the same accuracy.

The elves had closed the distance, forcing her into close combat where she was at a disadvantage.

Jun-ha knew he had to act fast or they would all be overwhelmed.

The crystal at the center of the battlefield, their last hope, began to flicker.

The participants fought to protect it, but the elves were relentless, their red eyes fixed on the glowing orb with a terrifying intensity.

If the crystal fell, it would all be over.

Jun-ha's breath came in ragged gasps as he pulled back his bowstring, aiming for another elf. His arms were heavy, his muscles burning with exhaustion, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't let them win.

Just as he released the arrow, a surge of pain shot through his side. He gasped, looking down to see an arrow embedded in his flesh, the tip of it glowing with a faint blue light—enchanted.

The pain was sharp, searing through him like fire, and his knees buckled beneath him.

"Jun-ha!" Volya's voice boomed over the noise of battle as he slashed his way toward him.

The Russian giant fought like a man possessed, but even he couldn't cover the distance in time.

Jun-ha fell to the ground, the world spinning around him. He could see the elves closing in, their faces twisted into sneers of triumph.

The crystal was now just a few meters away, its glow fading with every passing second.

His vision blurred, his strength waning. This was it.

He had failed.

All his life, he had been the one who was never enough. The loner. The outcast.

Now, even in this strange world, he was still not enough. But then, something flickered in his mind—a memory.

His mother's face, her soft voice telling him he was special, that he could do anything he set his mind to. It was a lie, of course, a comforting lie. But maybe, just maybe, there was still some truth in it.

"Haha, how ridiculous," Jun-ha scoffed as he forced himself to stand on his two feet. "LIES! LIES! ALL LIES!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking with a mixture of fury and despair.

The battlefield seemed to pause, as if even the air itself held its breath.

All the elves turned their attention to him, their red eyes gleaming with a mixture of psychotic and malice.

Jun-ha felt the weight of their gaze, but something inside him had snapped.

He didn't care anymore. If he was going to die, then he would do it on his own terms, not as a cowering victim but as someone who had finally taken control of his fate.

At that moment, a familiar chime echoed in his mind, cutting through the chaos around him. A new status window appeared before his eyes:

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Jun-ha

Level: 3

Experience: 190/400

New Skill Unlocked: Berserker's Wrath (Level 1)Berserker's Wrath (description):

Unleash the fury buried deep within. Increases physical strength and endurance by 50% for a short period. (consumes 150 MP)

Be warned: the user will lose self-control and become more vulnerable to reckless actions.

A surge of power coursed through Jun-ha's veins, his muscles tensing, and his senses sharpening.

The pain in his side dulled, replaced by a seething rage that demanded release. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, faster and stronger than ever before.

Jun-ha's vision turned red as the Berserker's Wrath took hold, his body moving on pure instinct.

He grabbed a discarded sword from the ground, the weight of it feeling almost nothing in his hands now. With a guttural roar, he charged at the nearest elf, swinging the blade with all his might.

The elf barely had time to react before the sword cleaved through its armor, sending it crashing to the ground in a spray of blood.

The other elves hesitated for a split second, taken aback by the sudden ferocity, but they quickly recovered and charged at him.

Jun-ha welcomed the onslaught, his mind blank except for the overwhelming need to destroy anything in his path.

He slashed and hacked through the elves, each strike fueled by the fury of a lifetime of pent-up anger and frustration.

The elves fell before him, their blood soaking into the earth. But even as he fought, a part of him knew this couldn't last.

The Berserker's Wrath was burning through his energy at an alarming rate, and soon his body would give out.

Yet, in that moment, Jun-ha didn't care. He wanted to leave a mark, to show that even someone like him could make a difference, if only for a fleeting moment.

The other participants watched in awe and horror as Jun-ha tore through the elven ranks.

Even Volya and Jae-Hwa were momentarily stunned by the sheer savagery of his attacks. It was as if a force of nature had been unleashed, unstoppable and devastating.

But then, as quickly as it had come, the Berserker's Wrath began to fade. Jun-ha's movements slowed, his strength ebbing away. His vision blurred again, and the pain in his side returned with a vengeance.

He staggered, barely able to lift his sword anymore.

An elf, sensing his weakness, lunged at him from the side. Jun-ha tried to raise his weapon to block, but his body wouldn't respond.

The elf's blade struck true, slashing across his arm and sending him to his knees.Jun-ha gasped, the taste of blood filling his mouth. He could hear the crystal humming faintly behind him, its light growing dimmer as the battle raged on. The end was near, but at least he had fought back.

At least he hadn't gone quietly.