The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 11

Immersing himself in the ecstasy of a life-or-death battle, Lee Shin assessed the situation before him.

Because of the Black Horned Rabbit hiding and waiting for an opportunity, Lee Shin couldn't recklessly attack, even while keeping his eyes on the Horned Rabbits' necks.

Just as he was waiting for the moment to finish it, it would also be waiting for the moment it could surely finish him.

Kyuuuu-!

Kyuu-!

But conversely, the Horned Rabbits' attacks never reached Lee Shin either.

Lee Shin's senses, which were already sharper than a beast's, were extending without limit, using the life-threatening crisis as a stepping stone.

He could even faintly feel the presence of the Black Horned Rabbit, which he couldn't feel just a moment ago.

For such a Lee Shin, dodging the Horned Rabbits' attacks was nothing.

By moving his feet a few times and changing his position, Lee Shin began to twist the Horned Rabbits, which were moving as a single net, in reverse.

The situation of the Horned Rabbits' all-out attacks futilely cutting through the air repeated.

A strange standoff was created where one side unilaterally received attacks and the other unilaterally poured them on.

However, Lee Shin could see the end of this standoff.

Right now, this situation was continuing in his favor, but in a little while, this balance would tilt toward the Horned Rabbits.

'Haa, I really need to do something about this body. If I had known this would happen, I would have exercised from time to time while playing the game.'

Although it had gotten a little better as his stats went up, his stamina was still terrible.

Until now, his lack of stamina hadn't been prominent because he had read the moves in advance and moved with minimal effort.

But before long, he would collapse on his own.

'A dead end, huh.'

Lee Shin quietly clicked his tongue and raised his sword.

He wanted to enjoy the afterglow of this moment a little longer.

But his weak body did not allow it.

Clank-

"It was a matter of sooner or later, but it was a problem with no choice from the beginning."

Muttering so, Lee Shin swung his sword toward the Horned Rabbit's eye.

Stamina was not the only thing Lee Shin's body lacked.

His strength was also less than half of the Horned Rabbit's.

As a result, the places Lee Shin's sword naturally aimed for were soft and weak vital spots like the eyes.

Kadeudeudeuk-!

"Huh?"

The Horned Rabbit saw through that fact as well.

Unlike its appearance, the Horned Rabbit did not have the intelligence of a mere rabbit.

A being with both great power and intellect.

That was why they were monsters.

Kadeuk-

The Horned Rabbit bit down hard on the sword in its mouth.

At that, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the body of the sword.

It hadn't completely dodged Lee Shin's attack, so one of the Horned Rabbit's eyes was cut, and a clear red line was drawn on its face.

But as if to say it didn't care about such things, the Horned Rabbit's remaining eye burned with fire.

At that, Lee Shin smiled even more darkly, admitting that he had underestimated the Horned Rabbit too much.

This was a boss room, and these creatures in front of him were the elite soldiers carefully selected by the dungeon.

Thwack-!

Lee Shin's ears detected a now-familiar sound.

At that, he let go of the sword in his hand without any lingering attachment and moved his feet to get out of that spot.

But he was a little too late.

Jjiiik-

For the first time, a Horned Rabbit's horn grazed past Lee Shin, and the clothes he was wearing were cut, with red blood flowing out from between them.

Swoosh-

Feeling the stinging pain rising from the wound where blood was flowing, Lee Shin was reminded anew that the place he was in now was not a game, but reality.

Until now, he had only fought in the tutorial where he felt no pain even when injured, and he had never been hit by an enemy like this and received a wound that could be called an injury on his way here, so this was the first time he was feeling proper pain.

A sensation as if his body was getting hot and his insides were getting cold at the same time filled his body.

As Lee Shin was being reminded anew that this was not a game, the one-eyed Horned Rabbit that had caught his sword spat it out and rushed toward him.

It was a thought not to give him any opening.

Lee Shin staggered from his wounded body, and his only weapon had just broken.

Now was the chance.

Having made that judgment, the Horned Rabbit rushed forward without hesitation.

The moment the Horned Rabbit charged, its horn gleaming.

"I didn't plan on using it already."

Shhh-

Lee Shin muttered, looking at the charging Horned Rabbit, and swung his empty hand, which was holding nothing.

That was the last thing the one-eyed Horned Rabbit saw alive.

Scrape-

The Horned Rabbit, its head severed along the trajectory of Lee Shin's hand swing, collapsed and sank to the ground, and the Horned Rabbits that were about to follow it once again widened the distance.

The same scene as before.

But in Lee Shin's eyes as he looked at the scene, there was no disappointment, unlike before.

On the contrary, it was full of joy.

"Well, I was planning on using it from the moment I thought of coming in here anyway, so does it matter?"

In the hand of Lee Shin who said so, the hilt of a giant dao was gripped.

***

"Haa, I had a feeling it would be like this."

When checking the functions of the system that had been activated after awakening as a player, Lee Shin had clicked his tongue unconsciously while looking at the tutorial sword in his inventory.

The worry he had when he came outside after finishing his conversation with the system had become a reality.

Lee Shin had used more than one or two weapons in the tutorial.

So Lee Shin had been curious about what kind of weapon would be in his inventory, but by then he was already outside and had no chance to ask.

He had also believed that the work wouldn't be done so sloppily.

Well, in the end, he was betrayed.

"Seeing that a sword came in, it seems the method is to put the first item used in the tutorial into the inventory."

Lee Shin accepted it as such while looking at his inventory.

The weapon was a bit disappointing, but he already had the experience of handling all weapons like his own limbs in the tutorial.

In other words, there was only a difference in the feel of swinging it; the type of weapon didn't really matter.

If he really didn't like it, there was also the method of just getting a new weapon.

Nodding his head roughly, the moment he drew the sword from his inventory before entering the dungeon.

"Hmm?"

Lee Shin noticed something was strange.

Normally, the moment he took out the sword from his inventory, the inventory would have been deactivated.

At that time, Lee Shin was before entering the dungeon, so of course his level was 0, and all the inventory slots were blocked.

But even though he had taken out the sword, one slot in his inventory was still activated.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, it wasn't just activated.

Something new was there, replacing the spot where the sword had been.

Filling the one slot in the inventory was a blade, a dao of a familiar shape to Lee Shin.

Seeing that, a possibility came to Lee Shin's mind.

Error.

Players outside the rankings are given the item they handled in the tutorial.

Then what would happen to Lee Shin, who had handled numerous weapons in the tutorial?

Lee Shin's mind momentarily came up with various hypotheses and, after going through several intermediate processes, instantly reached the answer to that question.

Selects numerous weapons – system transmits the weapon the player selected in the tutorial – sword enters one inventory slot – slot is blocked as the sword enters, and the rest of the weapons are on standby for transmission – sword disappears, and the next weapon in order appears.

When his thoughts reached that point, a smile naturally lingered on Lee Shin's lips.

Chwaak-

"At least until I use up all the weapons in my inventory, I think I can get as much out of it as a unique grade item."

Lee Shin let go of the dao embedded in the Horned Rabbit's head and slowly walked toward the remaining three Horned Rabbits.

There was no need to retrieve the weapon.

Countless weapons were still sleeping in his inventory.

Lee Shin lightly shook his empty hand while listening to the sound of the hiding Black Horned Rabbit's heart pounding rapidly.

Then, as if a deck of cards had appeared in a magician's hand, a dagger that fit perfectly in one hand was gripped in his hand.

Lee Shin looked at the dagger that appeared in his hand with slightly disappointed eyes.

"Hmm, it seems that one's order was pushed back because I used it again at the end."

Lee Shin was a little disappointed, but on second thought, it wasn't something to be so disappointed about.

It felt strangely empty without the weapon he wanted, but right now, using various weapons was a more effective way to fight.

"Right, well. It'll probably come out at the end anyway."

Deciding to think positively, Lee Shin swung the dagger in his hand in the air, lightly bringing back past memories.

The memory of piercing the heads of hundreds of monsters with a single dagger in the tutorial.

As he slowly recalled that memory, his hand became faster and faster, slashing through the air.

"Fortunately, it hasn't rusted yet."

Lee Shin chuckled, finding the feel of it better than he thought.

Certainly, since his body lacked strength, a light weapon like this was easier to use than a long sword or dao.

After finishing his short period of adaptation, Lee Shin rushed toward the Horned Rabbit.

The situation was reversed once again.

The Horned Rabbits were wary of Lee Shin and hesitated to get close.

But this was not because he had shown overwhelming skill, but because he had shown them something beyond their comprehension.

Therefore, this situation could not last long.

It was a highly volatile magic where the bubble would start to disappear as they got used to the trick he was showing them after a little time.

And crucially, it was just taking out items that appeared sequentially in his inventory; he was not in a situation where he could freely take out and fight with the weapon he wanted.

And among the numerous weapons Lee Shin had handled in the tutorial in the past, there were many strange weapons that made him think, 'Should this even be considered a weapon?'

'The blood from the wound is making my mind feel a bit hazy, I should probably end this soon.'

Feeling a little disappointed by that fact, Lee Shin approached the spot where the three Horned Rabbits were gathered and swung his empty right hand.

Kuuung-!

A giant greatsword, so large it was difficult to hold with both hands, appeared in the air and shattered the spot where the Horned Rabbits were.

At that impact, the boss room shook as if it would collapse.

(End of Chapter)