CHAPTER 34

The Man with the Most Kills (End)

Unlike other knights who wrapped themselves tightly in full plate armor, there was a reason why this man only wore a breastplate.

When he threw off the cracked breastplate, his solid and muscular chest and abs were revealed.

As he wiped the blood from his lips, Kang Ki-chan, who had managed to rise, adjusted his sword.

Indeed, the two of them were the strongest duo they had met so far in the second round.

If they had met earlier, it would have been almost impossible to handle them, their balance was so perfect.

Especially Kang Ki-chan, who combined martial arts and magic, shifted positions fluidly, alternating between long-range suppression and close combat.

However, it wasn't just Kang Ki-chan who could handle both magic and close combat.

The ice lance, which shot out from close range while emitting cold air, was incredibly powerful.

The cold aura, which froze the body even with the slightest touch, was thrown from close range, making it impossible to dodge without large movements.

On the other hand, while Kang Ki-chan's magic was diverse, he simply endured most attacks with his body, not even giving them a second thought. Despite the 2v1 situation, the chances of victory for Kang Ki-chan's duo were gradually dwindling.

As the man who had been swinging his mace stepped back to avoid the ice lance, Seowoon's clones increased to four.

Kang Ki-chan was so shocked that his mouth hung open.

He wasn't unfamiliar with afterimages or techniques like the Distorted Illusions, but what was happening now wasn't even close to that.

It wasn't like something out of a movie, like The Matrix—with afterimages splitting into four, creating clones that moved differently from one another. Goosebumps crept up his neck.

As the three clones of Seowoon attacked from different directions, Kang Ki-chan, whose jaw was tightly clenched, unleashed his most powerful technique, drawing on all his internal energy.

Despite his internal injuries, his Qi screamed out in protest as blood spurted from his mouth, but there was no time to worry about that now.

If he allowed another reckless punch from the opponent, he might never get up again.

"I finally got my hands on this!"

As Kang Ki-chan swore that he wouldn't die here, his sword swung.

"Hu···."

Pwoooosh!

After enduring his internal injuries to deliver a strike, Kang Ki-chan's sword cleanly sliced through the three clones of Seowoon, making him feel more emptiness than joy.

At the same time, his head turned toward the sound behind him.

Blood poured like a waterfall from his teammate's mouth, who had taken a direct hit from Seowoon's strike to the left chest.

Despite this, Seowoon's fists continued pounding the man's body.

With the sound of the teammate's collapse ringing in his ears, and his face losing its color due to internal injuries, Kang Ki-chan rushed toward Seowoon.

A frightening aura surrounded his sword.

It felt as though the sword could cut through anything with a single touch, and the pressure was even felt from a distance.

But if Seowoon was scared by that, he would have never been able to use fist technique (a forbidden martial art) in the first place.

Seowoon, flying toward him, delivered a punch, and Kang Ki-chan gripped his sword tighter.

He vowed not to fall victim so easily again, just like before.

Pak!

Was it the will behind the strike that made it work?

Blood spurted from Seowoon's elbow as it collided with Kang Ki-chan's sword.

The skin tore open, long and narrow, and blood flowed freely.

Thuk.

But even with that preparation, Kang Ki-chan's sword was pushed to the side by more than 30 centimeters.

Then, a light jab, like Seowoon's punch, struck Kang Ki-chan's chest.

"Cough!"

For a moment, Kang Ki-chan touched his chest, trying to figure out what had just happened, but then he coughed violently, spitting out dark blood.

With a sharp pain, he felt his heart stop beating.

"Wh-what round is this?"

With death looming, Kang Ki-chan managed to ask.

"…Second round."

"No way… Deep web… Survivor community…"

Unable to finish his sentence, Kang Ki-chan collapsed forward.

The two bodies disappeared, and a box appeared before them. Seowoon stood, staring at it, lost in thought.

"Deep web? Survivor community? Was he trying to say community? What's the deep web?"

The first Earthling Seowoon had encountered, a player from the same country, was no longer in the picture. While he didn't feel great about it, there was no other choice.

In this game, it was crucial to eliminate any strong competitors early, or else there would be no peace later.

Kang Ki-chan was smart, quick-witted, and, above all, strong.

Seowoon pushed the questions to the back of his mind and opened the box in front of him.

Whoooosh.

Seowoon squinted, his eyes tightly closed as an unfamiliar phenomenon unfolded.

He had opened countless boxes before, but never had one emitted such a bright light.

For a moment, the golden light that had enveloped Seowoon disappeared, as if it had never been there.

When he opened his eyes, a golden box, reflecting the light as though it were the center of attention, caught his eye.

Unconsciously, his hand reached out to the box first.

[Ding ding ding! You have obtained a Golden Weapon Box!]

"What is this?"

[Golden Weapon Box. A rare random weapon box that only drops at a low chance after defeating a special monster. When opened, it gives a random special weapon.]

"There really is all sorts of stuff here…"

Even as he said that, he couldn't stop his heart from racing.

His heart pounded with a strange excitement, and his hand trembled slightly.

As he opened the box with trembling hands, something seemed to shimmer in gold from inside.

He reached in and grabbed the object. The moment he pulled it out—

[Ding! You have drawn the Unruly Hamit! Congratulations!]

"What kind of weapon name is… that?"

A strange sense of unease swept over him.

For someone like him, who had trained primarily in bare-handed martial arts, the ideal weapon would be something like the divine artifact he had obtained during his first run—one that wrapped around the hands.

But the name, which gave no hint of the weapon type, made him frown.

Above all, the word 'unruly' seriously bothered him.

[Unruly Hamit. A sentient weapon that parasitizes its wielder.]

"It's sentient?"

—Oh! Who is the one who has summoned me? Are you truly worthy of becoming my master?—

Seowoon looked down at the squishy, silicone-like thing in his hand.

"This… this is supposed to be a weapon?"

—How dare you! I am no 'this'! I am Erseus Hamit!—

"Sigh… What kind of weapon is this soft thing…"

Just as he muttered with an exasperated expression and opened his subspace—

—Wait! Wait! I can transform. I can transform into a weapon!—

At the urgent cry of the weapon, Seowoon closed the subspace.

"You can transform?"

—Ahem! Of course. This Hamit can transform into any weapon that exists in the world. Now, tell me—what kind of weapon do you use?—

"I don't use one."

—…—

In the heavy silence that reeked of shock, Seowoon stared at the Hamit in his hand.

—A b-barehanded martial artist, huh? Well, of course! Real men fight with their fists! But did you know? There are weapons for martial artists too.—

The silicone blob hastily finished its sentence, and then it began to emit a gentle light and change shape.

—Hahaha! What do you think of this brilliant and sturdy form?—

Golden gauntlets.

The radiant gold gleamed even in the smallest light, and sharp spikes protruded from the knuckle area.

Reluctantly, Seowoon removed the power gloves he was wearing and tried on the gauntlets, clenching and unclenching his fist.

"It doesn't feel bad—it supports the wrist well… but it looks uncomfortable to wear all the time, and it would get in the way of using a bow… And most of all, it stands out way too much."

—Sheesh, you're a picky master.—

As it spoke, it changed again—this time to black, and the finger sections disappeared.

It definitely made finger movement easier and reduced discomfort, but he still wasn't entirely satisfied.

"Hmm… I don't know. I think that divine artifact I found before was way better."

—What?! How dare you compare me to something else? To me—who possesses a grand intellect—!—

As Hamit's noisy complaints rang in his ears, Seowoon opened the subspace again, instantly silencing it.

"I don't like noisy things."

—…C-could I at least ask what kind of weapon that artifact was, Master?—

Judging by how quickly its attitude changed, it didn't seem completely brainless.

"It was like a bandage—something you wrap around your fists and arms…"

—A-a mere strip of cloth?!—

"For just a strip of cloth, it could protect my fists from most bladed weapons."

—So basically just a durable piece of cloth.—

Seowoon rolled his eyes, then nodded.

"If you want to be precise, yeah."

—Unbelievable… I've never met a master like this in my life.—

After muttering, Hamit emitted light again and transformed into two long strips of bandage.

Looking at the black bandages, Seowoon loosely wrapped them around his fists and wrists. The ends automatically sealed themselves with a snap, eliminating the need for knots.

The snug fit around his fists made him miss his power gloves a little, but it was a tolerable trade-off.

"You better be grateful that I'm using you even though my strength drops because of it. So don't go blabbering on for no reason."

—Wh-what?! I—!—

The moment he reached for the subspace again, Hamit's voice immediately went silent.

"Haa… I'm not someone who deserves to be treated like this. Once, countless heroes were even willing to wage war just to obtain me."

"It is certainly fascinating, but in my world, talking objects are common. I don't know how it was in your world, but if you knew how commonplace talking items are nowadays, you'd realize how much your value has fallen."

-!!!-

There were no words, but a strong sense of agitation could be felt at the mention of many talking items.

'Well, it's not a lie. From smartphones to various AI gadgets, there are tons of them.'

Thinking that, Seowoon checked the items in the remaining box.

'Most of these are the items they were wearing. This magic book called Lightning Chain is for 5th-circle use. Tch. What a shame.'

It seemed like a spell that could be used for area-of-effect magic if enemies swarmed, but Seowoon couldn't learn it.

The situation was similar with the box from the warrior who wielded a mace. He had somewhat expected a decent accessory, but nothing noteworthy came out.

'Well, even this much isn't too bad. I did pick up something interesting-looking.'

"Just interesting-looking? That's it? You should be more excited!"

"Wait… can you read my thoughts too?"

At the discomfort clearly present in Seowoon's voice, Hamit cautiously answered.

"R-rather than reading, it's more of a sharing concept… to enhance combat efficiency…"

Well, that's what it claimed, but what could he do? It was obvious that constantly talking with a weapon wouldn't have only positive effects.

"Do you have any other functions?"

"My existence itself is special… Well, not exactly. I'm a weapon that grows with my master, and currently, I can use a random skill once a day."

As Seowoon opened his subspace, Hamit quickly gave the answer he wanted, causing Seowoon's eyes to light up.

"What kind of skill is it?"

"For now, once a day, you can use one randomly chosen skill from a preset pool."

"No, I mean, what kind of skills are in that pool?!"

As his tone rose, Hamit glowed again, and a small roulette wheel appeared in front of Seowoon.

The wheel was filled with the names of various skills.

Among them, a skill called "Charging" occupied the largest segment, while a skill labeled "Resurrection" was squeezed into a tiny sliver, so small it made one doubt whether it could even be landed on.

"This Resurrection… don't tell me…"

"It's an incredible power that defies death."

"Ah…"

After collecting his thoughts for a moment, Seowoon lifted the corners of his mouth.

"That's actually pretty useful."

"Now do you see how special I am?"

"Alright. You're useful. Map."

As Seowoon praised Hamit just enough to satisfy its desire for approval and summoned the map, Hamit spoke again.

"I feel something unpleasant. Like something is targeting us… I sense a filthy presence aiming for your life nearby."

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