The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 12

Kyuuut-!

Kyuut-!

The Horned Rabbits that dodged Lee Shin's attack scattered in different directions, widening the distance.

"So this is how it's going to be, huh?"

Lee Shin wasn't particularly surprised.

He was wounded and bleeding, his stamina was at rock bottom, and even his breathing was ragged.

There was no reason to engage in a short-term battle against such an opponent.

'But that's not a choice the weak can make.'

Shuuk-

Lee Shin threw the dagger he was holding at the Horned Rabbit moving to his right and took out a new weapon from his inventory.

A leather belt with a set of ten throwing knives was gripped in his hand, and he immediately discarded the belt, took out only the throwing knives, and threw them at the creatures.

Kyut-!

Kyuut-!

The two creatures, extremely wary of Lee Shin's unexpected attack, dodged the throwing knives and ran even faster.

In the end, the dagger and throwing knives futilely passed through the air and disappeared, but that was enough.

He hadn't thrown them for an attack in the first place, but with the intention of separating the other two.

Lee Shin ignored the signals from his body and charged toward the Horned Rabbit with all his might.

The Horned Rabbit, seeing Lee Shin's precarious charge, momentarily hesitated, wondering if it should dodge the attack.

It didn't even know that its hesitation itself was Lee Shin's ploy.

Woooong-

"Heave-ho!"

Lee Shin drew up the internal energy in his dantian and strengthened the power in his legs.

Thwack-

At that, Lee Shin's form, just like the Horned Rabbits had done, momentarily accelerated and instantly moved in front of the Horned Rabbit.

The Horned Rabbit's eyes widened in astonishment at Lee Shin's unexpected speed.

Lee Shin, thinking the Horned Rabbit's expression was cute, raised one hand high and took out a new weapon.

Clang-

The heavy greatsword, Gladius, which was difficult to lift even with both hands, was gripped in Lee Shin's hand.

With his current strength, it was impossible to swing a sword of this weight, even with internal energy.

'But if it's just a matter of swinging an object that appeared out of thin air and deciding where it falls, it's more than possible.'

Kugugung-

Lee Shin grinned and dropped the sword with all his might toward where the Horned Rabbit was.

The Horned Rabbit, seeing the Gladius being swung at it, thought it was impossible to block and tried to flee from that spot, but.

Puk-

The short sword gripped in Lee Shin's hand piercing the Horned Rabbit's neck was faster.

Paang-

The moment the Horned Rabbit's form collapsed, Lee Shin's senses detected a small movement from behind.

The Black Horned Rabbit.

The boss of this dungeon had sensed a crisis and had begun to move in earnest.

'Fast.'

Even in his enhanced state with internal energy, it was a tremendous speed that he could only barely react to with his hands.

But that was enough.

Kaaang-!

A morning star appeared in Lee Shin's hand, and the charging Horned Rabbit was sent flying back.

It was an impact that would have knocked out a normal creature, but the Black Horned Rabbit, as soon as it was sent flying and landed on the ground, sprang up like a spring and leaped toward Lee Shin again.

At that, Lee Shin once again took out a weapon from his inventory and blocked the Black Horned Rabbit's attack.

A wall of weapons erected in front of Lee Shin blocked the Black Horned Rabbit's attacks one after another.

Kyuuuk-!

At that, the Black Horned Rabbit felt a sense of crisis and increased its speed even more, and the other two also rushed toward Lee Shin to help it.

Lee Shin tried to hold on somehow, even as minor wounds continued to increase, but he was already at his limit.

The blood that had been slowly flowing from his wounds had stained his clothes, and he had no room to catch his breath as it rose to his chin.

About half of the internal energy in his dantian remained, but with his body in this state, it was useless.

And yet, Lee Shin smiled.

Because this was the kind of fight he had wanted.

Kwaang-!

As his movements gradually slowed and the wounds from the horns increased, one of the Horned Rabbits struck his back with its front paw.

Lee Shin felt his back sting from the Horned Rabbit's claws and quickly rolled on the ground.

The Black Horned Rabbit, aiming for Lee Shin's opening, was shot toward him like a bullet.

But even while rolling on the ground, Lee Shin gripped a new weapon in his hand and blocked the Black Horned Rabbit's attack.

Getting back into a stance, Lee Shin took out new weapons.

A short sword was gripped in his right hand, and a chain sickle in his left.

Lee Shin used the short sword like a shield to block the Black Horned Rabbit and threw the chain sickle at the Horned Rabbits.

But its power was pathetic.

Perhaps the impact of the previous blow was too great, as blood burst from his side, his overworked muscles felt like they would tear at any moment, and his bones, which had been forced into unreasonable movements, began to creak and scream.

As time passed, the chances of victory became slimmer, and the Horned Rabbits also sensed that fact.

Paang-!

Once again, the Black Horned Rabbit attacked, and Lee Shin's exhausted body was sent flying back.

Aiming for that opening, the two Horned Rabbits charged.

A desperate moment.

But at the same time, it was also a familiar situation.

They were situations he had experienced and overcome many times in the tutorial.

'No, rather, there were more intense situations when I was in the tutorial.'

At that time, the number of times he had fought with all his limbs properly attached was countable on one hand.

There were times when his vision narrowed, and if he couldn't push his senses to the limit, he would lose consciousness without even knowing how he died.

But Lee Shin felt the current situation more deeply.

He knew the reason.

Tension.

The thrill for his life, which he couldn't feel in the tutorial, was making his heart beat faster.

'Should I just die?'

For a moment, that thought flashed through Lee Shin's mind.

He felt like he could die peacefully if he died feeling this way.

In the first place, Lee Shin was just living because he was alive.

He didn't have much lingering attachment to living.

He had found it hard to find fun in reality, so he had immersed himself in the imagination of books and comics, but it was still boring.

For Lee Shin, living was nothing more than forcibly continuing a boring act.

But at the same time, the thought of wanting to continue living came to mind.

He wanted to continue feeling this incredibly intense and addictive sensation.

That's why he couldn't die.

The game had only just begun.

He was curious about what remained after this to end the game already.

And crucially, Lee Shin had no intention of letting go of what had come into his hands.

And that included his still vigorously beating heart.

Bzzzt-

At the same time he made up his mind, Lee Shin felt something move within his inner self.

A feeling as if a black wave was crashing in his heart, enveloping everything and painting it over with a single color.

The moment that wave swallowed everything, the system's voice pierced his ears.

-Madness is encroaching on your body.

***

Madness.

It is commonly used to describe a tremendous obsession with something specific, actions that ignore the gazes of others, and a storm of uncontrollable emotions.

But strictly speaking, all of that is often a facet of madness rather than madness itself.

The essence of madness is not an intense and destructive impulse.

Something bizarre and alien, something that makes ordinary people refuse to understand what they cannot comprehend.

That is the true nature of what people call madness.

Swoosh-

In that sense, the current Lee Shin could be said to be madness molded into a person.

Puk- Puk-

Lee Shin, in his staggering posture, picked up a weapon rolling on the floor and plunged it into the heads of the two Horned Rabbits that were charging at him.

At that, the Horned Rabbits died without even knowing they were dead.

But even after killing two Horned Rabbits, Lee Shin stood there blankly, defenseless, as if possessed by something.

But even seeing that, the Black Horned Rabbit could do nothing.

Countless emotions arose in the Black Horned Rabbit's eyes as it looked at Lee Shin, and those emotions were saying one thing.

Do not get close.

The current Lee Shin was wrapped in an atmosphere too alien to be defined by a single word.

The Black Horned Rabbit, thinking it wanted to get away from Lee Shin immediately, unconsciously took a few steps back.

The killing intent and fighting spirit that had filled its body while fighting for its life just a moment ago had vanished as if washed away, and fear took its place.

"Ah, so this is what it's like."

At that moment, Lee Shin straightened his swaying body and corrected his posture.

His tone had become a little calmer, but his way of speaking itself was not much different from before.

But the atmosphere surrounding him, far from disappearing, had become even thicker, making him a completely different person from just a moment ago.

Lee Shin instinctively walked lightly toward the trembling Black Horned Rabbit and checked his condition.

His whole body was overflowing with strength.

It was to the point where it could be said to be the same state as when he first entered the boss room.

Lee Shin listened to the sound coming from his body and tilted his head.

Kkudeuk- Bbajik- Kkudeudeuk-

A terrible sound, as if misaligned gears were forcibly turning, was echoing from within his body.

'It feels like my bones and flesh are being ground up in real time, and my muscles are tearing. No, is it not a metaphor, but actually happening?'

He couldn't tell from the outside, but Lee Shin was feeling the pain of his bones being cut and his muscles being pushed in real time.

However, even in the midst of a pain so great that an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to breathe properly, Lee Shin just moved his body as calmly as usual.

And that was natural for him.

In the first place, Lee Shin was not afraid of the pain from wounds.

He could feel the pain as it was, but to him, pain was nothing more than a good coffee that cleared his mind.

"Well, I think I have a rough idea of what kind of skill [Madness] is."

A skill that activates in a specific situation, probably a situation where one's mind is dramatically uplifted.

A super-doping that allows the user to move without thinking about their body in order to achieve the goal they wish to achieve.

'A skill that creates the worst and best state... how ironic.'

Thinking that he had obtained a much more interesting skill than he had thought, Lee Shin looked at the Black Horned Rabbit.

The Black Horned Rabbit, which had come to its senses again at some point, was burning with hostility toward him, albeit faintly.

But now, Lee Shin showed no interest in the Black Horned Rabbit.

No one gives attention to a broken toy.

"If I stay in this state, the aftereffects will be severe, so I should end this quickly."

Lee Shin picked up a dagger rolling on the floor and, drawing out all the remaining internal energy in his body, rushed toward the Black Horned Rabbit.

A body exhausted from continuous fighting.

A body that had once again regained the vitality it had before the fight.

The outcome was decided in an instant.

(End of Chapter)