novelraw Chapter 217 : Test (1)
Chapter 217 : Test (1)
Chapter 217: Test (1)
Sanghyun and Frederick’s meeting happened immediately.
There was no reason to delay on either side.
From Sanghyun’s perspective, it was also incredibly welcome news.
The meeting took place at Frederick’s villa.
Frederick personally invited Sanghyun—though calling it a villa was an understatement, it felt more like an enormous theme park.
Even after passing through the heavily secured entrance, it took several more minutes to reach the interior.
Without a map of the inside, it seemed like one could easily forget the way they came.
So, for a brief moment, he wondered what he would do if he ended up kidnapped or something.
Inside the villa.
In the reception room marked as VIP-only, he ended up having an unexpected tea time with Frederick.
Just inhaling the aroma gave a boost of energy, suggesting it had quite a potent awakening effect.
He didn’t think it was a drug or anything. Frederick was actually known to detest stimulant drugs.
Frederick spoke.
“I’d like to express my gratitude again for the recent gate raid. Sophia couldn’t stop praising you. She said the raid wouldn’t have even been possible without you.”
“I’d say the same thing in return. Sophia-nim’s presence was absolutely crucial for me.”
“You’re humble, aren’t you?”
“Knowing when to be humble is important. I’m simply stating the truth.”
“Hearing that makes me respect you even more—it’s quite satisfying from my standpoint.”
“You flatter me.”
Pleasantries were exchanged.
But neither Sanghyun nor Frederick was lying out of politeness. It was all sincere.
That was why Frederick arranged to meet Sanghyun personally.
If he wasn’t genuinely interested, he would’ve sent a subordinate or kept their connection superficial.
“The transfer should have just gone through. I personally confirmed it. It includes the additional 5 billion won for the byproduct recovery.”
“Thank you.”
When Sanghyun checked through his banking app, the balance showed 257.2 billion won.
That included the sale of a legendary-grade Magic Stone, and it made him wonder if it was okay to have that many zeroes.
Sure, it was money that could be spent quickly, but until it was used, it was definitely jaw-dropping.
“You’re welcome to request a raid on the Endless Dungeon at any time. There’s no special order required there.”
“Is there anything else I should be mindful of?”
“We won’t share internal strategy methods, even if you ask. That’s kind of an unspoken rule.”
“That’s only natural. I wasn’t planning to ask, and even if you offered, I’d refuse.”
“There’s a reason for that. You might not believe it, but every Player who got a tip about the strategy died. Without exception.”
“A mental prohibition… something like that?”
“There’s no activated debuff or attack mechanism triggered by it, as far as I know. Could just be coincidence?”
“Since the dungeon manifests differently for each Player, I think strategy tips might actually be more harmful.”
“I agree. Relying on what you know makes you slower to react to variables.”
They both nodded.
As he just said, Sanghyun had no intention of asking for help. That wasn’t what the dungeon was for.
Still, human greed has no end, and mistakes tend to be repeated.
Quite a few Players had apparently died trying to take shortcuts. Enough for Frederick to personally give advice.
“All right. Then the settlement’s done, and the Endless Dungeon talk is over too…”
“Shall we get up?”
He didn’t think Frederick invited him all the way to the villa just to share a cup of tea.
But just as Sanghyun was about to rise, thinking Frederick might be stalling for a reason—
“If you’re okay with it, how about a little sparring match, just for testing purposes? With proper safety gear, of course.”
“It’d be an honor.”
Sanghyun accepted Frederick’s offer without hesitation.
He didn’t have the slightest thought that he could win.
That would be ridiculous. It would be like a story suddenly ending in one chapter.
Sanghyun’s focus was entirely on how long he could endure and respond to Frederick’s attacks.
Frederick was a Player at least twice his level. A veteran who had seen it all.
Of course, Sanghyun also had his experiences from his past life.
But Frederick, just by living this life, likely accumulated even greater experience.
“Shall we head to the training arena? The safety gear has been prepped with top-tier settings, so you won’t have to worry.”
“I’m a little nervous.”
“Thank you for agreeing. I can’t really resist personal curiosity.”
Sanghyun smiled at Frederick’s honesty.
To put it simply, it meant Frederick was interested in Sanghyun’s skills. He wanted to see them, to understand them.
Sanghyun knew better than anyone how rare and meaningful it was to receive the attention of someone of Frederick’s caliber.
Just the fact that they were meeting one-on-one like this was a major recognition.
If they even ended up dueling personally, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he had become one of Frederick’s key people of interest.
‘It still doesn’t feel real.’
It felt so surreal, it was hard to grasp.
Frederick was stronger than even the top five named swordsmen in Korea.
Even just receiving a little of their attention would be enough to make one's heart race—yet this was someone of even greater stature...
At the same time, he worried whether his flaws or weaknesses would stand out too much, but he quickly cast aside those distracting thoughts.
He just needed to do his best. Even if he lacked something, he would humbly accept and acknowledge it.
Frederick wouldn’t be expecting perfection beyond himself from Sanghyun, either.
So he decided to let go of the pressure. As if he were going into battle with nothing to lose!
Soon, the two arrived at the training arena and immediately changed into safety gear.
The suit completely covered their bodies except for their faces, and despite its appearance, it was incredibly flexible.
There wasn’t the slightest discomfort in movement. It felt like… wearing nothing at all.
“You’d be surprised at the cost of just one of these suits.”
“About 50 billion won… maybe?”
“Unfortunately, you’d have to double that.”
“…So the suit I’m wearing right now is worth nearly as much as an epic-grade Artifact?”
“That’s correct.”
Sanghyun was stunned.
Even in his past life, he had never worn such high-grade training or sparring gear.
Though he had become a reasonably skilled sword-wielding Player over time, he never lived a luxurious life.
So he was a complete novice in this area—yet just one training suit cost 100 billion won.
And there were at least 10 of those suits on display in this training area alone. It made his sense of financial reality spin.
They stood facing each other in the center of the training arena.
Sanghyun held his Nameless Sword, while Frederick wielded a spear.
In terms of length, Frederick’s spear was longer, and it gave off a blazing effect that made it all the more intimidating.
‘This might be the first time I’ve properly faced off against a spear since my regression.’
It definitely wasn’t a weapon he was familiar with.
That’s exactly why Frederick was called such an exceptional Player—because he handled such difficult weapons so well.
“When durability drops below 20%, an alarm will go off. That’s when we stop.”
“Understood.”
“And if a skill with power above a certain output is detected, interference will activate throughout the training arena.”
“By interference, do you mean skill suppression?”
“That’s right. So you won’t need to worry about any accidents caused by losing control in the heat of emotion.”
Frederick’s reassurance wiped away the last of Sanghyun’s anxiety.
Now he could fight freely until his durability dropped!
“Let’s begin!”
As soon as Frederick shouted, Sanghyun charged in first.
He didn’t know if “strike first, win first” would work on Frederick, but he wanted to be aggressive.
After all, Frederick was also a melee damage dealer wielding a spear. Close-quarters combat was inevitable, so making the first move felt advantageous.
But—
Whoosh!
“…!”
Frederick had the exact same thought. In an instant, he appeared right in front of Sanghyun.
It seemed he had a Blink-type short-distance movement skill.
Because of that, Sanghyun’s stance broke. His prediction was thrown off, and his reaction lagged by half a beat.
Clang!
“Urgh!”
Frederick’s spear struck Sanghyun’s Nameless Sword, and his body was pushed far back.
A surge of pain coursed through his entire body. For a moment, he almost let go of his sword.
Sanghyun thought to himself.
What did Frederick mean by showing such clear power right from the start?
There was no way Frederick didn’t know he had the advantage in both level and firepower—Sanghyun knew it too.
‘He’s not telling me to block or conserve. Nor is he asking me to show defense. He’s demanding I go more on the offensive.’
Ultimately, a swordsman must show what can be done with a sword.
Defense was important, but one couldn’t achieve more than a draw with defense alone.
This might be the first and last opportunity! Sanghyun threw away the last sandbag weighing down his heart.
‘Status effects don’t apply here anyway, so I’ll leave that out of my calculations!’
Sanghyun immediately activated his Over Psychedelic skill and closed the gap with a frontal rush skill toward Frederick.
The blood boiling in his body and his determination blended into a heat bordering on madness.
Frederick paused briefly at the sight. Sanghyun’s awakening level was higher than expected.
‘So he can trigger such an awakening skill from the start, even without specific conditions.’
It was fascinating.
Over Psychedelic, a berserk-type awakening skill, typically required conditions to activate.
Like having HP below a certain level, or being in a bleeding state—such handicaps were usually needed.
Its purpose was to push one’s mental limits and draw out superhuman strength, feeding on pain.
But Sanghyun, without any of those conditions, was already charging in a frenzy.
Clang!
Their swords clashed.
In that moment, just for an instant, Frederick was pushed back. At the same time, Sanghyun unleashed his next skill.
It was as if he had known Frederick would recoil—or perhaps he made the decision extremely fast.
Thud!
With the activation of a fierce charge skill, a sonic boom rang out as Sanghyun collided with Frederick.
After the first impact, Sanghyun used his momentum to crash into him once more.
From the defender’s perspective, once the body’s center of mass was pushed back, they’d be driven even further with a second strike.
In other words, the instability would spike rapidly before they had a chance to recover their balance.
“…!”
The tactic worked.
Frederick’s right foot rose more than halfway off the ground, his body leaning slightly backward.
In a normal spar, this might have been a trivial opening. A change with no real consequence.
However—
Fwoosh!
At some point, Sanghyun’s sword had ignited into flames and was now thrusting forward menacingly.
It was a sharp strike that came faster than Frederick had anticipated—always at least half a beat ahead.
‘This is fun.’
Maybe that was why?
For the first time, a smile tugged at the corners of Frederick’s usually expressionless lips.