Boundless Necromancer

Chapter 71: Trial of the 10th floor (2)

Chapter 71: Trial of the 10th floor (2)

I looked at the bewildered man with a cold smile.

This man, who was ranked 6th in the evaluation rankings, was the one I saw when I was in the waiting room on the 4th floor.

‘I’m sure his real name was Kim Seungjun…’

I didn’t forget that he was also the one who suddenly froze the community by emphasizing that the theme of the 4th-floor trial was ‘competition’.

Of course, thanks to that, I was able to prepare for the shock of homicide a little, but…

‘Now I understand his purpose in telling the theme of the trial.’

The challenger right in front of me didn’t tell us about the trial of competition with pure intentions.

It must’ve been just to create a situation where he could gain the most benefit by actively forming a competitive structure.

What prepared me for homicide in the process was simply the additional factor I had obtained using his constructed situation.

In other words, there was no reason for me to be silent about Kim Seungjun’s asshole behavior.

And…

「 Administrator ‘Iron-blooded Monarch’ is furious with the one who tried to harm her contractor. 」 

「 Administrator ‘Gluttony’ tilts his head, wondering what’s going on. 」 

「 Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ is looking forward to your refreshing move. 」 

Even the administrators who started watching me all of a sudden seemed to dislike Kim Seungjun, so I had no reason to hesitate anymore.

“…”

I glared at Kim Seungjun, who looked at me with his mouth tightly shut and smiled softly.

“Kim Seungjun-ssi.”

I continued watching Kim Seungjun flinch and step back at my words to him.

“The things you were blabbering just now were quite interesting.”

Although it was a cooperative theme, the statement he said that they should cooperate and kill me because we could become competitors in the future was interesting.

It was even more interesting since, for one moment, it pressured me to the point that I had to ponder over whether I could kill all three of them together.

However, Kim Seungjun had a lukewarm attitude, perhaps thinking it wasn’t much of a big deal.

“T-That’s….. I can explain it through conversa…”

“No, No. How could you explain it through conversation at this moment.”

“Didn’t you blabber it that way since you had enough strength to handle what you’ve said?”

But how could you talk like a bitch there, saying things like explaining it through conversation?

When I added those words, I could see Kim Seungjun’s eyes shaking rapidly.

It was understandable.

Most of the challengers’ combat abilities got stronger in proportion to their Evaluation Rankings.

But Kim Seungjun’s Evaluation ranking was 6th, and I was in 3rd place, which was higher than that, so…

It was easy to predict that the pressure Kim Seungjun felt right now would be severe because of the two challengers who had declared that they wouldn’t interfere.

However, just like a bug that acts desperately when they’re cornered, Kim Seungjun was no different.

He looked at me slowly approaching him and opened his mouth as though frightened and began to speak.

“P-Please wait a minute…! Calm down and think about it! It’ll be a loss for both of us if we fight against each other!”

“…?”

“Are you really sure that the two behind us won’t attack!?”

“…”

“Even if I look like this, I’m also 6th place in the Evaluation ranking. I won’t just stay still if I’m attacked, which will damage you, Han Sungyeun-nim.”

“So what?”

“What I’m saying is that If they take the advantage and break in to kill both of us, there’s no other ending that’s worse than that.”

At those words, Kim Seunghoon and Oh Choonseok frowned as though they were dumbfounded, but…

Kim Seungjun glanced at them and continued his words with a sullen smile as though he didn’t care at all.

“Even if we fight and waste our strength, we’ll have to endure the trial of the 10th floor, so there would be nothing good for you, Hang Sungyeun-nim. There’s a chance that those two might attack you. Even if that’s not the case, the trial of the 10th floor might be harder than you think, and you could be fatally injured from the wounds accumulated on your bo…”

It was just all disgusting words to hear.

“I don’t know why you’re talking about this bullshit for so long.”

“What do you…”

“In the end, I think you’re speaking under the assumption that I’ll receive a lot of damage…… But that’s ridiculous.”

“To take a lot of damage from a guy who’s just all talk, and to get marked by other challengers because of that.”

It was a story that would make even a passing dog laugh.

When I sarcastically said so, Kim Seungjun took a fighting stance as if he got the idea of what was going to happen.

A book that spread purple energy suddenly appeared in the empty air.

He took an item out from the inventory in preparation for a fight.

Flutter!

The book held in Kim Seungjun’s right hand opened by itself and began to spread out intense energy.

He started shouting only then, wiping out all the manners he had while making a bloody smile.

“You fucking bastard… It looks like you don’t understand because I’m saying it nicely, but it’s not just you who’s known for something, but I’m also…!?”

***

Reaper Scans

***

However, Kim Seungjun’s words couldn’t be continued further and had to be cut off, as if he was in shock.

「 Activating the skill ‘Instant Acceleration.’ 」

This was because I activated the Instant acceleration that ranked up in the duel with Katheryn Benett and began to seriously rush toward him.

Of course…

「 The wind of the swamp spirit wraps around the user’s feet.」

「 Temporarily sealing the acceleration that uses mana.」

As Kim Seungjun didn’t just climb the tower for nothing— he sealed off my feet, which he judged as a threat.

But even if he did, I had already prepared for such weakening abilities a long time ago.

「Activating the skill ‘Mana Resistance’.」

「The wind of the swamp spirit completely disappears.」

Without even having to use a skill such as Forceful Breakthrough, I immediately regained my speed by the Mana Resistance only.

“No way, what kind of insane Mana resistance is th…!”

At the same time, while Kim Seungjun was spitting out his complaint, I was able to reach right in front of him and—

Crunch.

The moment I arrived in front of him, I kicked Kim Seungjun’s stomach without hesitation.

The reason why I didn’t use my sword right away was to see the hidden card that Kim Seungjun was hiding.

Just in case, since there would be nothing more complicated than getting attacked during that gap after him blocking my sword.

Slam…!

A loud sound echoed from the place where my feet were stuck, and Kim Seungjun’s body flew backward, but…

“K-Kuhughh…!”

Seemingly, he looked slightly shocked, but it didn’t seem like he had received that much damage in reality.

Kim Seungjun, who flew backward, groaned and glared at me without falling to the floor.

Well, since Kim Seungjun was drooling a little bit, it didn’t feel like a threat even if I received those glares.

I had a sensation on my feet, clearly piercing through and destroying something, but seeing that he was in good shape, he seemed to have done something.

‘I wondered why he was wearing a red suit, but I guess it was an item after all.”

It was within my expectation, so I wasn’t bewildered.

It looked like a protection-type of an item, but it didn’t seem to alleviate the direct impact.

Judging from the fact that I felt I was blocked while piercing through something when I attacked, it seems like an item that absorbs the shock by creating a shield when attacked…

‘If I used the sword right away, it might have been blocked by the shield for a while.’

Even better, since I attacked briefly and backed off, I could see what kind of hand the opponent was holding.

Regardless of the opponent being weaker than me, since he was a challenger who was on the top leaderboard of the Evaluation Ranking, it was important to figure out Kim Seungjun’s ability.

However…

Naturally, I didn’t hesitate any longer after realizing that he didn’t have a lot of skills to protect himself.

I didn’t pull my kick just now, but I did it with an intention to at least break his ribs.

Getting your bones fractured in a battle is like death, so all means of defense must’ve been used by him.

That being said, the protection-type ability that was used to block the attack he just used must be the only means of Kim Seungjun protecting himself.

‘If this is all of your defense, then I can’t lose even if I wanted to.’

At that, I immediately activated the skill with a deeper smile.

「 Activating the skill ‘Wind’s Blessing.’ 」 

「 All speeds increased by 40%. 」 

「 Number of stacks - 4/7 」 

Whoosh…!

The Wind’s Blessing that was activated instantly accelerated my feet a little more, and my body moved like a breeze.

The reason why I didn’t go all out was to prepare for the second battle if it occurred later on, as Kim Seungjun said, as there were two challengers watching me from behind.

I could prepare for an emergency by making them think that this speed was the best I could pull off right now.

However, Kim Seungjun, who was in front of me, immediately unfolded all of his powers as though he didn’t even care about that matter anymore after getting struck once.

“Fucckkkkkkkk…! Die, you son of a bitch…!”

The moment when he clearly revealed his malice and held out his left hand while holding a book in his right hand while drooling.

A chain of a lightning bolt from Kim Seungjun’s left arm began to rush in at a violent speed as though wrapping around his front.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt……..!!

‘He was saying stuff like if I’ll be alright after fighting each other, but I guess he deserved to say that.’

As I watched the blue chains rushing in as if they were swallowing up the space, the words Kim Seungjun said didn’t seem to be a complete bluff.

「 Administrator ‘Iron-blooded Monarch’ advises not to touch the chain of the lightning bolt. 」 

「 Administrator ‘Gluttony’ Spectates your battle with interest. 」 

「 Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ expects you to show off your swordsmanship. 」 

The administrators who watched also threw messages to me as they knew that.

But even seeing such a lightning bolt, I didn’t feel that much sense of danger.

That was because…

「 Activating the skill ‘Counter Shield’. 」 

I prepared for this kind of situation in the waiting room in advance.

Whurr!

As I extended out my left arm and activated the skill, a large shield with a reddish glow spread over the palm of my hand.

And…….

Claaaaaaaaaaaang!

The chain of lightning bolt released by Kim Seungjun loudly crashed into the shield and dispersed, and in the meantime, I felt the lightning partially being absorbed by the shield.

Of course, since it was pretty powerful, it consumed quite a lot of mana to increase the toughness of the shield, but that much shock was stacked up on the shield.

Counter Shield was a skill that absorbed a certain amount of damage received and then reflected the accumulated amount of damage the other way round.

In other words, this shield that blocked the skill that Kim Seungjun had just fired with all his might had some part of Kim Seungjun’s power.

“Wh-What is this… You blocked this skill that easily…!?

It was clear what to do now.

I made the size of the shield small enough to fit my hand's palm, looked at Kim Seungjun in shock, and smiled.

“I’ll give you back just the amount I have received, so try your best to block it.”

And at the same time—

「The skill ‘Counter Shield’ releases the accumulated damage at once. 」 

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaam—!

A lightning bolt flashed from the small shield floating in the palm of my hand, and a circular beam of light poured out.

——

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