novelraw Chapter 222 : Amsa Station (4)
Chapter 222 : Amsa Station (4)
Chapter 222: Amsa Station (4)
Around that time.
“Huff. Huff.”
A man was dripping with sweat, completely focused on his training.
The floor of the training ground was soaked with sweat. Not just damp, but as if someone had poured water all over it.
Countless empty water bottles strewn about gave a glimpse of how much sweat he had shed.
The clock to the right displayed: 25 hours 35 minutes and 12 seconds elapsed since the start.
The ‘start’ referred to the beginning of training, meaning a full day had already passed.
Sleep? Of course, he hadn’t slept.
If he had slept, the counting clock would have been paused too.
“Looks like my pride really took a hit. I thought I was fine, but guess not.”
That man, Do Kyungsoo, muttered while irritably wiping the sweat trickling down his forehead.
The memory that kept coming back to him was of the raid he tackled with Sanghyun.
The one where Sanghyun had essentially been the lead, and he had no choice but to acknowledge him.
He thought he had accepted Sanghyun’s skills with a cool head back then, but every time the memory resurfaced, it was hard.
Even now, the reason he was immersed in such grueling training was because those memories kept surfacing.
It wasn’t that his pride was hurt by benefiting from Sanghyun, nor was he in a bad mood because of it.
He was just furious with himself for being so incompetent at that moment.
So he felt he had to relentlessly push himself to let off steam, and right now, this was a form of self-punishment.
But after taking a short break and cooling down his heated body with cold water, his agitation settled down.
In the end, this state of his wasn’t because of Sanghyun, but due to his own shortcomings.
The roles had reversed, and the rational thought that he shouldn't resent Sanghyun took firm hold.
Then the thought that had been stuck in his mind lately circled back to strike Do Kyungsoo again.
“There’s definitely a high chance that full-scale interference will begin soon.”
He had been keeping a close ear to various sources about Sanghyun’s recent unusual movements.
He learned that Sanghyun had gone to America and worked as a mercenary in the Nobility Guild.
Additionally, the internal feedback about him was very positive, and he had even caught the attention of the guild master, Frederick Villain.
Rather than acquiring a secret, it was closer to picking up information that Nobility Guild subtly leaked.
It was clearly a strategic dissemination of information.
That meant the Nobility Guild liked Sanghyun quite a lot.
So by subtly revealing their connection to him, they were preventing other guilds from approaching him.
This kind of rumor spreading was good news for someone like Do Kyungsoo, who was favorable toward Sanghyun.
From the moment he started liking Sanghyun, Do Kyungsoo had hoped he would take off properly.
He genuinely wanted to support Sanghyun’s growth, and if needed, be the bridge for him.
It wasn’t simply out of gratitude for Sanghyun’s help in the past raid.
It was a senior player recognizing talent and cherishing it. A very pure emotion.
The problem was that just as the number of people who supported Sanghyun increased, so did those who didn’t.
“Dokgo Yoon and So Hyeongjun—those bastards aren’t even worth looking at. They’ll find some way to nitpick, just like they did with me.”
Sword Devil Dokgo Yoon and Sword God So Hyeongjun.
Just thinking about their names and faces made Do Kyungsoo’s expression distort.
It was fine that they were self-absorbed, but their flaw was their jealousy of others’ growth.
Dokgo Yoon was the type to show outright hostility, while So Hyeongjun tended to manipulate the media.
Especially active in media, So Hyeongjun used his close journalist contacts to spread fake news.
Even now, malicious rumors still hovered around Do Kyungsoo—like speculation about being gay or incest.
Being rumored to be gay was whatever, but the incest accusation deeply scarred Do Kyunghye.
Because of that, Do Kyunghye still refuses to do interviews with any media outlet.
Only one exception—the PR team run by Do Kyungsoo’s Sword Demon-Sword God team.
“Jeong Heeseon—she’s definitely an opportunist, so she’ll go wherever Dokgo Yoon and So Hyeongjun go.”
Do Kyungsoo gritted his teeth.
These were so-called big-name sword players said to represent Korea.
But he didn’t think even one of them had the grace that should come with that status.
If there was anyone left to consider, it was Conductor of Blades Kang Boah, who hadn’t yet crossed his mind.
But she was an unpredictable player, so he couldn’t feel confident about her either.
“No way Shin Sanghyun would join the Sword Demon-Sword God team. It’s not even a good offer. Then…”
Do Kyungsoo fell into serious thought.
He wanted to protect Sanghyun.
He wanted to be his backing, his shield.
If Shin Sanghyun grew, it would undoubtedly change the landscape for sword players in Korea.
Do Kyungsoo was convinced he could become a player representing Korea.
No, he even thought Sanghyun might have already reached that level.
“I don’t want him to go through the same storms I did…”
At that moment—
Vrrrrrrr!
His phone rang.
The name on the screen was familiar—very familiar—but at this moment, also a bit unexpected.
It was Frederick Villain.
A call from the master of the Nobility Guild.
Meanwhile, the three mysterious monsters atop the steel tower dropped to the ground as Sanghyun’s group arrived.
Two of them landed directly, their bodies strong enough to withstand the fall from that height.
One had wings on its back and fluttered down for a stable landing.
Each of the three had different characteristics.
A burly, brute-force type.
A muscular, crocodile-type.
And a small, agile, fox-type.
All three had the common humanoid monster trait of bipedal movement, and the atmosphere they gave off was extraordinary.
What sparked both curiosity and concern in Sanghyun’s group was their names.
Displayed as ‘???’.
It didn’t mean their names were literally question marks, but that the system couldn’t identify them.
It wasn’t a common occurrence, but when unknown monsters appeared in a dungeon, that label was used.
It wasn’t intentional but rather the inevitable result of system error.
When an entity not in the system’s database appeared, it was always marked as ???.
“Looks like the numbers match, so one-on-one might be best. I’ll take the crocodile.”
Sanghyun pointed to the one that looked the most intimidating—and at the same time, like the leader.
Jo Jinho flinched.
Maybe because it felt like Sanghyun was volunteering for hardship. So Sanghyun added:
“The big brute on the left feels tougher for me to handle. That’s why. Please, Jo Jinho-nim.”
Sanghyun chose to elevate Jo Jinho’s value and hid his own presence with humility.
“I’ll take the fox.”
The remaining monster was naturally assigned to Shin Taeri. It looked fast, so she was best suited for it.
“I’ll support you from range with crowd control or disruption skills. Let’s get the timing right.”
At Sanghyun’s words, Jo Jinho and Shin Taeri nodded with confident expressions.
A swordsman player providing long-range support—an idea that defied conventional understanding.
“Urajirirazrat!”
“Jogatnosrat!”
The three monsters shouted incomprehensible words. Sanghyun frowned at the unpleasant tone he sensed.
“Must be my imagination, but that really sounded like swearing.”
He gripped the Nameless Sword tightly.
They had to fight enemies with no available intel, whose traits were completely unknown. Lowering their guard was not an option.
“Kroarrr!”
Then, the crocodile roared.
An Intimidation Roar—an aura-based status effect!
【Before the Drink Cools】
■ Title Rank: C-grade
■ Title Description: (…omitted)
For two hours after entering a dungeon, all players including the user become immune to Intimidation status effects.
Thanks to Sanghyun’s title “Before the Drink Cools,” none of them were affected in the slightest.
“Oh.”
“Wow.”
Short, but heavily loaded exclamations came from Jo Jinho and Shin Taeri.
Of course, both of them had skills to counter Intimidation. Similar to Sanghyun’s Recovery-type skills.
But they had long cooldowns and high mana costs, so they preferred not to use them if possible.
Thanks to Sanghyun’s title, they didn’t have to worry about the Intimidation Roar at all.
The title’s effects were clearly displayed for them, too. For the next hour and a half, they’d be completely resistant.
“Haap!”
Sanghyun let out a powerful shout and immediately activated the Over Psychedelic skill from the start.
If the enemy was one they could calculate and assess, he wouldn’t have opened with an Awakening skill.
But now, they were fighting opponents whose levels and skills couldn’t be gauged in any way.
Saving power under the label of a hidden trump card or secret move here would’ve been dangerously naive.
At that moment—
“Rukarat!”
The crocodile spun its body rapidly, releasing silver bullets of unknown power from within.
As if it had kept bullets hidden inside its body all along.
It seemed to be using its rotational force as propulsion, aiming to pierce its enemies.
『Defensive Sword』
He used the skill instantly.
Not just to protect himself, but also to shield Shin Taeri and Jo Jinho.
‘No. Go more offensive.’
Sanghyun changed his thinking.
He was initially going to play defensively, but decided it was better to go on the offensive.
//slw yellow 『Defensive Sword – Perfect Shield』
He used the perfect skill that provided one second of invincibility. At the same time, he shouted:
“Invincible!”
Even without further explanation, the two veterans would immediately understand.
As expected, the moment Sanghyun’s words rang out, Jo Jinho and Shin Taeri accelerated their charges.
They read the unstated message in Sanghyun’s call: trust the invincibility and launch a full assault.
At that moment, the bullets fired by the crocodile hit all three of them—but nothing happened.
The bullets that touched the Perfect Shield only made a clear ripple on the surface before dropping harmlessly to the ground.
“Mahirat…?”
The crocodile’s expression suddenly turned vacant, as if it had mentally shut down.
Like someone who’d just watched their trump card get effortlessly blocked.
Which meant—
If its finisher was blocked, then it likely had no solid defense prepared for the counterattack.
『Knockback Burst』
“My turn.”
A smile formed on Sanghyun’s lips, who had already picked his counterattack skill.
He had taken one turn—now it was time to return one. And if possible, he intended to show them hell.