“Wait a moment, what is this-!”
Kwa-a-ang!
As always, Geon-joo’s words unfortunately couldn’t reach their conclusion, and the mutant, which had become a cannon fodder against its will, crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar. Since the mutant was thrown from a distance where Sa-yoon appeared to be the size of a finger, the sound it made upon colliding with the ground was not small at all.
Is it dead?
Geon-joo, who had a reasonable suspicion, soon saw the monster rising with a chik-chik sound and gripped his sword.
Eyes meet with the one-eyed monster. Geon-joo’s entire body broke out in small goosebumps upon encountering an A-grade for the first time.
He had faced a first-rate Palsillokus before, but the feeling, momentum, atmosphere, and pressure were all different from back then.
Sa-yoon had sent the mutant thinking that Geon-joo could handle it since their physiques were similar, but an A-grade is an A-grade. It would be a lie to say that the energy emanating from the creature’s body, which was similar to a human’s, was ordinary.
Perhaps angered by being thrown, the mutant exhaled through its nose and moved its fingers. clang-clang. The fingertips, hard and sharp as if made of steel, made an eerie grinding sound.
Chi-i-ik!
The creature, standing up straight from its spot, cried out while looking at Geon-joo. Unable to vent its anger towards Sa-yoon, the mutant’s rage was entirely directed at Geon-joo, whose only crime was catching Sa-yoon’s eye and entering the gate together.
The surging energy shot out like a spear. Geon-joo frowned at the intangible force. At the same time, the mutant kicked the ground and charged.
Fast!
It was a speed and momentum that would have caused his body to freeze and fail to react properly if it were his first time facing a higher-level monster.
However, Geon-joo had already encountered an Unknown before. Although he was dangling from Sa-yoon, he had seen the earth dragon up close, and above all, he had closely observed all the battles Sa-yoon fought while carrying him.
Compared to the energy emitted by Sa-yoon and the monsters at that time, the mutant’s energy was feeble.
Is this why they say experience is important? Geon-joo, who had gained a small realization, brought the sword he was holding in front of his chest.
Ka-ga-gak!
The blade and fingertips collided. Geon-joo, who had blocked the creature’s fingertips aiming straight for his heart by lowering his sword, gritted his teeth.
“What strength…!”
The mutant’s fingertips pushed in strongly, as if they would pierce through the sword. It was a fierce force that would have shattered the sword long ago if it weren’t an SS-grade.
He had let his guard down because its physique was similar to his, but its monstrous strength was unexpected.
It was at that moment when Geon-joo was groaning and enduring the creature’s force by gripping the sword with both hands to avoid being pushed back.
“I must be going crazy, pretty boy. You’re blocking it crudely like that! Did you sell that unpleasant genius you showed at the Unbelieving Tower to a soup restaurant? Hold the sword at an angle and deflect it!”
Sa-yoon, who had increased his speed and rushed over to watch Geon-joo’s battle with the mutant, shouted in panic upon seeing Geon-joo’s combat.
When he was speaking gently and kindly, calling him pretty boy, pretty boy, it was one thing, but now, an undisguised disdain seeped through his voice. Geon-joo, biting his lips, twisted his wrist as Sa-yoon had said.
As the blade twisted, the mutant’s claws grazed the sword. The tense confrontation loosened, and the creature’s body tilted. Not missing that opening, Geon-joo shifted his body to the left and swung his sword at the mutant’s neck.
Seo-geok!
The silver blade dug into the mutant’s body by about half a span.
Chi-i-ik!
The creature, reacting to the pain, hurriedly raised its hand.
Ka-gang!
Once again, the sword and claws collided, and both Geon-joo and the mutant took a step back, retreating from each other.
The confrontation continued as it was.
Chik-chik, a slightly roughened breathing sound escaped from the mutant’s mouth. It was now wary of Geon-joo. Geon-joo also realized that even if he was a B-grade, he wouldn’t be helplessly beaten as long as he had a good sword, and his eyes were filled with enthusiasm.
Instead of charging in recklessly, he sought an opportunity. Although he had realized through the earlier confrontation that it was a manageable battle, it didn’t mean that he and the mutant were on the same level. A moment of carelessness could lead to death, so Geon-joo, adding caution to his attacks, regulated his breathing and endured the mutant’s fierce energy with his entire body.
‘If I focus and the creature shows an opening…’
“Are you performing ancestral rites? If other monsters come while you’re doing this, are you going to catch them? Grasp the flow, pretty boy. If you’re winning, push forward, and if it’s dangerous, retreat. Where in the world do you find someone retreating when they’re winning? Do you think life is all about luck? Fighting is also about luck and the flow of the battle!”
Suddenly, Sa-yoon’s voice flew in like a shout. Geon-joo, who heard the words that seemed to lament how he had brought along someone he thought was a genius but turned out to be worse than a dullard, gnashed his teeth.
He couldn’t concentrate on the battle at all.
Who was the one who dragged him to the gate against his will in the first place!
He felt so wronged and frustrated that his insides were about to turn inside out. Even during that time, Sa-yoon’s nagging disguised as advice continued, so Geon-joo, unable to bear it any longer, leaped.
With a single bound, he closed the distance and swung his sword, raising his eyes.
“Ambush it! What does it matter if you don’t have skills! In a fight, unexpected attacks are the best!”
clang! clang! clang!
At first, the mutant blocked the sword with one hand, but as the attacks intensified, it used both hands to deal with Geon-joo. With one more hand assisting, Geon-joo was pushed back in terms of strength. Just as Geon-joo’s brows were about to furrow, kka-deuk! The mutant grasped the blade with its hand.
“What…!”
It was an SS-grade.
It was a moment of surprise at the crude response of grasping the blade, which would deeply cut with just a graze, with its bare hand.
“Kick the abdomen!”
“…?”
“I said kick the stomach, the stomach!”
His body reacted first to the advice that pierced his ears. Raising his foot, he kicked the abdomen and pulled out the sword. At the same time, the mutant let out a scream.
“Chi-e-ek!”
The creature, with blood dripping, charged again as if enraged. Its momentum was fiercer than before. Geon-joo, tightly gripping the sword’s hilt, inhaled and tried to receive the creature.
“Why are you blocking a charging enemy? Are you an A-grade? Dodge and ambush! Ambush!”
Did a ghost who died from not being able to ambush possess him?
As Geon-joo tried to face the mutant charging like a bull, Sa-yoon shouted with veins bulging on his neck, showing a displeased expression. He tapped his chest a few times and grabbed the back of his neck, groaning as if he would collapse at any moment if Geon-joo didn’t listen to him.
In the end, Geon-joo obediently retreated.
He dodged the creature rushing in as if it were a bullfight and struck its exposed neck. The sword flew back to the neck that had almost fully regenerated and recovered. Chi-e-e-ek! The mutant let out its distinctive scream.
“Think, pretty boy. What to do next.”
Sa-yoon, who had been continuously shouting, finally calmed his excitement and advised in a low voice. That voice sounded like a warning, so Geon-joo swung his sword.
clang!
Just as the sword that had touched the neck was pushed back by the claws, Geon-joo kicked the creature with his foot, and when that foot was blocked by the sharp claws, he endured the pain and thrust his sword towards the creature’s shoulder.
Stabbing forcefully, he struck the head with his elbow. The staggering mutant spewed blood and shouted roughly.
“Ssae-aek!”
“…!”
The creature’s movements became even faster. Geon-joo, instinctively raising his sword to block the attack from the mutant moving too fast for his eyes to follow, furrowed his brows.
clang! clang! clang!
The attacks intensified. Lacking the ability to twist and deflect the blade to block them, Geon-joo eventually allowed one of the mutant’s attacks.
Pu-uk!
“Ugh!”
The claws penetrated his shoulder. Swallowing a groan, Geon-joo stepped back, and the mutant, seizing the momentum, attacked with its claws as a weapon without giving him a moment to breathe.
‘What do I do here…!’
They said battle was a fight for the flow, and it already felt like that flow had been taken over by the mutant. Just as Geon-joo was thinking about how to respond, Sa-yoon, who had been watching the battle, shouted as if his insides were about to burst.
“What are you doing, man! Don’t think when you’re in a hurry! Swing as you feel it! Aren’t you a genius?”
Didn’t he just tell me to think a moment ago?
Geon-joo’s dissatisfaction that he couldn’t swallow surfaced on his face at Sa-yoon’s words that changed as easily as flipping a palm. But what could he do? When an S-grade told a B-grade to swing, the B-grade had no choice but to swing. Geon-joo, swallowing his absurdity and resentment, gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Kang, kang, kang!
The claws and sword interlocked several times, then released, and each other’s vision turned red once. Even if he was injured, Geon-joo now knew that the one who retreated would lose. If he easily retreated, it would be the same as allowing an attack, so he dug deeper inside like a creature that had forgotten fear.
Even if he had to give up flesh, he had to seize the bone.
Seo-geok!
Geon-joo, who had been intensifying his attacks, allowed the claws to enter one of his shoulders, and he stabbed the end of his sword into the eye of the mutant that had shown an opening. Immediately after, a white hand grabbed the arm of the mutant that was grasping his shoulder and overturned it.
“That’s right!”
Sa-yoon, who had at some point become a spectator rather than an adviser, stood up abruptly, applauding and cheering. The mutant, rolling forward as soon as it was thrown to the ground, nimbly reacted and rose to its feet, not easily falling as Geon-joo had intended.
As the mutant staggered to its feet, Geon-joo charged. Once again, the exchange between the two continued in a tense manner. Ttuk, cold sweat flowed down Geon-joo’s face.