Chapter 313. Clash (2)

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-Rumble-

From the fortress Hansoo had come from.

The change occurring inside it was finishing up.

“Ha…”

Taesang landed on the ground, letting out a deep breath.

And then made an expression full of glee.

‘This was it, huh?’

He knew now.

As to why the transcendents were so much stronger than normal people.

It was because they could manipulate and use the eight different types of runes in any way they wanted.

And Akran had asked Taesang with a nervous expression at this point.

“What… What’s changed exactly?”

Though Akran had asked the question, Taesang’s comrades were looking at him with curious expressions as well.

Then-

-Booom!-

“Damn! Run! They’re rushing in here!”

One of the adventurers standing guard outside shouted a warning as he blocked the Kang-Kions from rushing through the main door.

‘Oh, right!’

Akran had forgotten about their current situation due to the scene that had been unfolding in front of him.

Forgotten that their current situation was not that great.

‘We have to run now!’

Then-

“It’s alright.”

Taesang spoke out confidently.

A calm, resolute voice.

‘He-up!’

Taesang breathed in deeply and then reached out with his fist.

Very, very slowly.

Like a martial expert practicing a stance.

But the changes occurring inside him weren’t as simple.

-Whoooosh!-

The numbers that determined his strength skyrocketed as everything changed.

To fit the needs of Taesang’s every movement.

For one objective and one objective only.

Destruction of the enemy.

The slowly extended fist accelerated and by the time his arm was fully extended, it was so fast that no one could catch sight of it.

And within that short span where one couldn’t even blink an eye.

-Booom!-

Moving faster than the speed of sound, his fists created a sonic boom.

Then-

Roaar!

Kuooo!

The Kang-Kions that had been rushing towards them had all disintegrated.

The shockwave was so powerful that not only were the Kang-Kions destroyed, the storage area—so sturdily built that normal people could spend ages trying to dent its walls—began to break apart as well.

-Rumble-

“Oh…”

“Woah…”

Akran and Taesang’s comrades’ jaws dropped in disbelief.

Taesang had been the same as them until just a while ago.

But after this short change-

He had risen to a new existence.

‘… Will it be okay?’

Akran made a worried expression.

If a person’s mental state couldn’t accept the increase in strength, there were bound to be issues.

And Taesang’s situation was just that; his strength had exponentially increased in a short amount of time.

To achieve powers that one had never dealt with before in an instant.

‘This is not fair. This is the same as cheating.’

If there really was a God, He must be a perverse one.

Akran realized the possible dangers of this change.

Since as far as he knew, humans weren’t the most benevolent of species.

And Akran frowned.

Misun then asked Taesang with a curious expression.

“Have you… really become a transcendent?”

Taesang frowned at the damage he’d wrought and shook his head.

“No, sadly I’m not.”

He knew it instinctively.

That he had not gone past the wall.

Other transcendents would’ve long since destroyed the boundaries between all eight runes and restructured them.

He knew that having limits in his control of the numbers was a clear answer.

Though he was many times stronger than a normal fighter, a stronger person would be able to control all the numbers that represented their strength with ease.

‘I wish there had been a bit more crystals…’

And in Taesang’s eyes, the crystals of the Kang-Kions appeared.

His expression brightened up when he saw the crystals littered on the floor.

‘Will it work?’

Taesang extended his hands towards a crystal on the ground.

And to his surprise, the crystal turned into violet smoke as it entered his body.

-Whooosh!-

It was weak, but he felt himself getting stronger.

And as he felt this-

‘Good!’

Taesang smiled.

There were still a lot of crystals to be collected.

“I’ll head out first then!”

-Whoosh!-

The quicker he moved, the more people would be able to survive.

As Taesang flew out, he absorbed every single crystal he came across.

And Akran made a gloomy expression as he watched this.

“… I don’t feel good about this.”

He didn’t know if Taesang was aware of it, but he had directly broken the rules.

Everyone had agreed that the precious crystals would be distributed and watched over.

And Taesang had devoured all of them.

Though the ones he had killed himself weren’t the issue.

‘… What about the crystals that were absorbed inside you?’

Though the man from before had forcibly shoved them into Taesang’s body, there was no doubt that Taesang was the one who ate thousands of crystals—crystals that had been collected over the years by everyone’s contributions, all with their lives on the line.

If he had some sense of responsibility, he wouldn’t have done such a thing.

And it was at this moment that a thought appeared in his head.

‘The Dark King… had he been insane in the beginning?’

That guy should have also been quite normal at the start…

Akran’s expression suddenly turned grim.

***

-Boom!-

A different type of energy surrounded the Dark King’s fist.

And seven, vicious-looking claws extended out from his fist.

Seven black claws that let out a vicious aura.

<Claws of Loongken>

A skill which focused solely on offensive power from the <Loongken> race, a powerful abyssal race.

This was the skill the man who had turned him into a transcendent from a normal human being living in the <Oasis> had given him.

— It’s a skill that belongs in the top 100. Even higher among the attacking skills. Practice this well if you don’t want to die an early death.

He had practiced madly because of those words in the beginning, but soon realized.

He had realized that there was nothing that could threaten him anymore.

Any random skill could wipe out the other humans, whereas most of the other transcendents were located near the <Oasis> in the west and had no reason to cross paths with him.

So instead of this skill, he had used random weak skills.

Since he had been proud of the fact that he could rule over everyone with such skills.

But now he had started to regret doing so.

‘Will this work?’

-Whooosh!-

A dark orb of light was shining vigorously to the point of exploding on the tip of Hansoo’s spear, which was quickly approaching him.

But he soon shook his head and focused on his hand.

He had no reason to lose, right?

‘I WILL WIN.’

He was stronger.

He had beaten Hansoo back with even those puny skills.

With this skill, with the Claws of Loongken, he could easily annihilate Hansoo in just an instant.

‘I will erase you and show the world!’

His new strength.

He would show them what he had done.

He would show the owner of the Oasis.

“Die!”

-Boooooom!-

The numbers inside the Dark King were running rampant because of the <Claws of Loongken>.

His fist accelerated as it ripped through space towards the spear.

Then-

Kuududududuk!

The dark orb on the tip of the spear and the claws collided.

‘I’m winning…!’

But then-

A horrifying scene occurred.

Kuduk!

‘… Huh?’

The Dark King’s expression darkened.

Hansoo’s spear, which should’ve long been destroyed, continued to approach him.

The claws, which could even break mountains apart, were shattering one-by-one as his fist started to also break apart.

‘No… NO!’

But even before the Dark King could make a shocked expression.

-BOOM!-

The spear had pushed through all obstructions and smashed into his body.

The power that had been granted to him by the Abyssal Crystals had tried to defend him, but it was all futile.

“Ahhhhh!”

The Dark King screamed in pain.

His four limbs twisted into strange angles as his intestines got compressed to a degree of implosion.

His muscles blew apart, and his bones disintegrated.

‘… No way… how… how could… I…’

He was definitely stronger.

He had the stronger skill.

But the result was the exact opposite.

The Dark King stared at Hansoo with disbelief as his body flew back and smashed into the walls of the War Fortress.

-Boom!-

“Ugh… Why…?”

The Dark King barely managed to ask as he watched Hansoo walk towards him.

He wanted to know why he had lost even in the last seconds of his life.

But sadly, Hansoo did not answer him.

“Why are you asking?”

“… H-Huh?”

“There’s no need for you to know anymore.”

It was the first time he had felt fearful of this voice.

And it was at this moment that the countless vicious things he had done to his defeated opponents flashed past his eyes.

Though he’d always said that the loser surrenders everything.

And now that he was in the same situation, he wanted to beat up his past self for saying so.

“Arrgh…”

The Dark King felt regret as he stared at Hansoo’s cold eyes and the red energy on his hands.

‘I should not have left the city…’

The city that was located in the middle of the tundra.

The city that had protected them against the abyssal race and the other transcendent beings, like an oasis would in a desert.

— Are you really going to leave?

‘Ekidu… Karhal.’

The Dark King made a regretful expression as he looked towards the city in the west that those two transcendents had created, and were defending with all their might.

***

-Rumble-

“Did it finish already?”

Taesang mumbled quietly as he dashed towards the War Fortress.

A tremendously loud noise could be heard in the distance.

And the silence that followed after it.

This had told him that the fight had ended.

‘But why did he tell me to come?’

He actually pondered if he should go or not.

Since he felt like he didn’t really need to listen to the man’s commands.

Since he’d been quite rude the entire time.

‘He should at least tell me what’s going on…’

But a sense of expectation drove Taesang.

Since that man might give him another reward.

That man was like an angel that had descended from heaven.

An angel that had opened up a whole new world for him.

‘Hopefully this time as well…’

Taesang quickly dashed towards the War Fortress.