The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 273

The Sword of the Sea laughed and swung his sword.

At that, the blue aura cloaking his sword bent and turned into a surging wave, sweeping away everything around it.

The Sword of the Earth clicked his tongue in annoyance and brought his sword down.

The sword aura cloaking his sword shot out sharply, and its shockwave broke the ground and caused an earthquake, shattering the landscape of the area.

As if the rain called by the clouds was not enough, the sword held by the Sword of the Sea trembled and cried fiercely.

As he swung his sword in that state, the aura that had turned into spheres created dozens of huge water balls in the empty air, each looking to be about 3 meters in size, and like eggs, they created countless sharks from within.

As if shouting that the school of sharks baring their teeth was insolent, the Sword of the Earth's sword cried out.

As the sword was swung in that state, a sharp shockwave burst out like numerous beasts swinging their claws and racing across a field, and the sharp claws of the sword aura tore apart the sharks' bodies.

As if a hole had been pierced in the sky, a rain so heavy it obscured one's vision continued to pour down, and the earth continued to crack and crack again, trying to swallow everything on it.

It looked like a scene where the end of the world was condensed into a small space.

The aftermath of the battle created by the clash of the Sword of the Earth and the Sword of the Sea's attacks was that tremendous, overwhelming, and far beyond the realm of common sense.

And Lee Shin, at the center of that transcendent scene, or more precisely, on the line where their two attacks clashed and tore apart, moved and continued to swing his spear.

If someone were to see Lee Shin now, they might think he was trapped by the attacks of the two rushing in from both sides and couldn't get out.

'Tsk.'

But in the Sword of the Sea's eyes, Lee Shin's current appearance looked the opposite.

Not that he was trapped by their two attacks and couldn't get out.

But that he was not coming out from within the space where their two attacks clashed, and was deflecting the power contained in each other's attacks to make them collide and disappear.

The sight of Lee Shin moving quickly between the attacks and swinging his spear entered the Sword of the Sea's eyes.

Even though his body and mind must have been creaking from simultaneously receiving two attacks whose aftermath alone had the power to change the terrain, there was not a hint of agitation in Lee Shin's eyes.

Without any agitation, they shone calmly, grasping the surrounding situation and at the same time, aiming for an opening in the Sword of the Sea and the Sword of the Earth.

'What a truly annoying guy.'

That was precisely why the Sword of the Earth and the Sword of the Sea were facing each other with Lee Shin in between, unable to approach each other.

If Lee Shin's movements had been disrupted and he had tilted even slightly toward either of them, this balance would not have been maintained.

Because the two would have moved to catch Lee Shin who had approached them, and to interfere with the other who was trying to do so.

But Lee Shin did not come out from the space exactly between the two, where their attacks clashed.

Because of that, the two couldn't move properly, being wary of another enemy besides Lee Shin.

If Lee Shin had been an ordinary peak martial artist, the two would not have moved so cautiously.

The wall called the peak and the transcendent, the absolute, was that big and thick.

But Lee Shin was not a simple peak martial artist.

Lee Shin had more than enough ability to definitively determine the superiority between the two according to his will, the moment they clashed.

The physical restraint using a lifelike, dense killing intent was a threatening move that even the two of them could not ignore.

The reason they had been able to deal with Lee Shin's killing intent head-on so far was purely because there was a difference in class between Lee Shin and them.

If, while fighting an enemy with no difference in class, Lee Shin's killing intent were to be directed at them...

Slice-

It was easy to predict what would happen.

'If I had dealt with that guy as originally planned, things wouldn't have gotten so twisted.'

As the Sword of the Sea was clicking his tongue inwardly, regretting that he hadn't finished Lee Shin at the beginning, or at least hadn't given him a fatal wound that he couldn't recover from.

Grip-

'Is this the power of LV. 7?'

Lee Shin, the very person who had created the nerve-wracking battle of fierce checks, deflected their attacks with the [Yagong] and quietly watched them.

'As expected, they don't seem to have any intention of attacking me recklessly.'

For the two, fighting on the stage Lee Shin had created was an annoying and pride-hurting affair.

But neither of them thought of recklessly overturning the stage Lee Shin had created.

Because they knew well that the current standoff could not last long.

Although Lee Shin was deflecting their two attacks by making them clash, and thus nullifying the impact that should have been directed at him, there was a clear limit to that.

The power contained in the Sword of the Earth's attack was too immense to be deflected without any impact.

And the Sword of the Sea's attack was too unpredictable to be deflected perfectly without any strain.

As a result, Lee Shin's body, which was acting as the medium in the middle, was gradually unable to withstand the impact and was bound to break like it was cracking.

As proof of that, the [Yagong] was now repeatedly cracking and then recovering, and Lee Shin's body was also repeatedly breaking and then recovering.

What Lee Shin was doing now was just buying time.

Tak-

Knowing that, Lee Shin did not stop his sprint on the line of death and continued to observe the two.

'What on earth is it?'

Because he had to find the piece he wanted from the two's appearances.

Lee Shin had tried to use the 'Blessing of ■■■' to gain enlightenment through his closed-door training and climb one step higher.

But contrary to what he had initially resolved, Lee Shin was blocked by the huge wall of the absolute realm, had to be satisfied with reaching the end of the peak, and had to come out of the prison with an incomplete core.

The wall named the absolute, it was the first wall Lee Shin had ever faced.

After learning martial arts, Lee Shin had run all the way to this realm without a single blockage.

If there had been no stat restrictions, Lee Shin might have reached this realm in less than a week.

Lee Shin had that kind of talent.

But conversely, because he had walked this far without facing any walls, the existence of the wall that blocked his path for the first time felt unfamiliar and thick.

This feeling was not unique to Lee Shin.

Though not to the extent of Lee Shin, it was a phenomenon that everyone who was called a genius experienced at some point.

Most geniuses who didn't know how high the sky was would fall into despair in front of such a wall.

And, submerged in despair, they would stop growing any further.

'How do I get over this?'

But Lee Shin did not despair.

Instead, he pondered how he could get over this wall and climb above it.

It was an absolute wall, but Lee Shin's instincts were sure that if he broke this wall, he could live this world as he wanted, more enjoyably.

But the feeling of helplessness in the face of the wall did not disappear.

Therefore, Lee Shin continued to ponder even as he left the prison.

-My lord! You are finally out. Now that you are out, hurry and follow me!

While pondering so, Lee Shin had nodded in agreement to Irhegue's words to follow him, and had come to this place.

Grin-

And thanks to that, he was able to secure two good teaching materials that would help him jump over the huge wall.

Lee Shin ignored the pain of the wounds forming on his body and the sensation of blood, and continued to observe the two.

Thanks to that, Lee Shin was slowly but surely finding out.

What those two had and he didn't, and how those two had succeeded in breaking and overcoming the huge wall.

'Is it the heart?'

A single something that remained after continuously clashing with the rugged mountain that blocked the realm of the absolute, and finally breaking through.

In Lee Shin's view, it seemed that such an absolute something existed in their hearts, and what was revealed on the outside seemed to be the sword aura and the Armament.

Realizing that, Lee Shin turned his eyes from the two to himself.

What he had accumulated?

It wasn't that he hadn't done what could be called proper training, but if asked if he had done it as desperately as them, he would shake his head.

Even in Lee Shin's own opinion, he was far from the word 'effort'.

The research he had done in the tutorial at the beginning and what he had done so far were all for the sake of enjoyment.

Something he had continuously accumulated to the point where he could break the wall...

'Do I have something like that?'

The past Lee Shin would have thought of the killing intent that filled his head as his own.

But through many experiences, Lee Shin realized that thought was wrong.

This killing intent was not his own.

It was just something that an unknown entity was giving him.

Just as holding a book doesn't make its contents one's own, this killing intent could not be called Lee Shin's.

Lee Shin was lost in thought.

It was an instinctive action of a martial artist yearning for growth, but it was also the first time in his life that Lee Shin, who always focused on battle, had other thoughts during a fight.

Thanks to that, for the first time in his life, Lee Shin revealed an opening during a fight due to carelessness.

And the Sword of the Earth and the Sword of the Sea were not low-level enough to miss such an opening.

A torrent of sharks and the claws of sword aura poured down, aiming for Lee Shin.

'Tsk, I might have to give up an arm for this.'

At that, Lee Shin clicked his tongue and was thinking of using his left arm as bait to dodge the attack again.

The [Yagong] that Lee Shin was holding did not move according to his will, but moved of its own accord.

As if imitating the Sword of the Sea's octopus legs from a moment ago, huge black thorns shot out from the [Yagong].

Thanks to them acting as a shield, the speed of the attack was slightly slowed, and he was able to safely dodge the attack, but Lee Shin was surprised by the unexpected situation and looked at the [Yagong].

-Tsk, how unpleasant.

'Irhegue?'

And realizing who had created the current situation and helped him, Lee Shin's eyes widened.

-Your body is something I use too, so use it with more care.

Irhegue said so and used the [Yagong]'s ability to return the spear to its original form.

At that, Lee Shin asked with a surprised face.

'You could use the [Yagong] too?'

-It seems to have become possible as I have grown a little this time.

Having said that much, Irhegue then said, as if grumbling.

-But this is done by putting my consciousness into the [Yagong]. And I do not like to put myself in such a piece of iron.

Having said that much, Irhegue spoke in a clipped manner, as if to make him remember clearly.

-I am only helping you now because it seems you are about to be defeated, and I have no choice.

Grin-

'Yeah, thanks.'

-Tsk, as long as you know.

When Lee Shin answered so, Irhegue said, as if grumbling quietly.

But for some reason, Lee Shin seemed to see Irhegue wagging his tail.

-I have roughly understood your thoughts.

Irhegue began and then said quietly but forcefully.

-I will assist your movements for a moment. So try to catch both rabbits.

'Do you think you have enough internal energy?'

-Did you not know? This weapon has been repairing itself not with our internal energy, but with Gaia's blessing as fuel for a while now.

'Ah, really? I was too distracted to notice.'

As he said that, Lee Shin's movements began to gradually change.

He was gradually harmonizing and matching with the changes of the [Yagong] and Irhegue's movements.

Lee Shin said a little playfully.

'It might not be so bad to live there from now on.'

-Do not joke. I am only helping you because it seems you are about to die and because you have shown more sincerity to my subordinates than I thought. Originally, I would not want to enter such an iron.

'Alright, then should I give you one of those guys' bodies?'

-I have no intention of leaving unless it is a body befitting my status.

At that, Lee Shin smiled and said.

"Let's look for one later."

"From the looks of it, this world seems to be a hodgepodge of all sorts of things, so there must be at least one."

Saying so, Lee Shin gradually immersed himself in his inner self.

He decided not to think too complicatedly.

'I'll just clash with everything I have and see what's left at the end.'

Thus, Lee Shin fell into a state of selflessness and swung his spear.

Therefore, he did not know.

That a small light had shone from the choker around his neck.

(End of Chapter)