[Translator â Pr?ks]
[Proofreader â Pr?ks]
Chapter 166: Awakening
Jonasâs eyes filled with rage.
His stats and the quality of his weapon were clearly superior.
His level was incomparable. Yet, his weapon was broken.
It meant that the difference in swordsmanship was overwhelming.
âHowâŠsuch a level of swordsmanshipâŠâ
Jonas looked at Kim Minwoo as if he had seen something incomprehensible.
He was a magic swordsman.
He had swung his sword for over 20 years, until he took on the important responsibility of his family.
Swordsmanship?
He could confidently say he was one of the top fifteen swordsmen in Germany.
But he lost.
And not just lost.
He was defeated too miserably.
Of course, it wasnât that he had no excuses.
Kim Minwoo had the help of his summoned creature. He was also freely manipulating the elements. Even with his body covered in the power of shadow, the cold that seeped into his grip was chilling.
There were so many variables.
But, even considering all that.
It just didnât make sense.
âDonât try to understand, just accept it. Itâs easier that way.â
Kim Minwooâs advice-like attitude made Jonasâs eyes look vacant for a moment.
Then his eyes blazed.
âI havenât lost yet, kid.â
Gritting his teeth, he utilized the power of shadow.
[Shadow Blade (SS) isâŠ]
A pitch-black sword materialized above his hand. Naturally, this wasted far more energy than imbuing a weapon with power. However, it allowed him to wield a weapon filled with pure shadow power.
It was far sturdier than that Legend-rank sword from before.
âIâll finish you!â
There was no longer any underestimation of his opponent.
A prolonged battle meant certain defeat.
He had to overwhelm him in one fell swoop before any stacking could occur.
[Jonas uses Rampage (SS)âŠ]
Rampage.
He unleashed all the power within his body.
There would be repercussions after the battle, but that didnât matter anymore.
There was a lot riding on this fight.
So he had to win.
Absolutely.
Explosive power engulfed Kim Minwoo and his summoned creatures.
[The power of shadow engulfs you!]
[All stats decrease by 20%!]
[Status effect, âConfusionââŠ]
[Status effect, âDarknessââŠ]
Numerous messages popped up as an added bonus.
* * *
Han Siah looked at Jonas.
He was the magic swordsman who had stood out in their family since she was young.
Time passed.
And they met again.
In an unfortunate way.
Jonas, wielding a chilling power.
After his sword was broken, he rampaged like a berserker. Kim Minwooâs struggle against him was precarious.
Wounds covered his body.
He was barely managing to avoid fatal blows.
Han Siah frowned.
âAgain, because of meâŠâ
Kim Minwoo was suffering because of her connection to the Griff family.
Of course, they were in the same guild, so they werenât complete strangers anymore.
Colleagues⊠she could call them that, right?
But they had only known each other for a day. Han Siah still didnât understand why he was going so far for her.
Anyone in the world.
No one would choose to antagonize the Griffs for the sake of a single girl.
But she seemed to understand one thing.
His promise not to abandon her.
That was real.
It was sincere.
If it wasnât sincere, he wouldnât be fighting like this.
It was the first time in her life when someone was treating her like this.
Not even her family had done so.
Neither her father, nor her mother, Kim Haeun, had ever truly loved her. They only offered sweet words, not genuine affection.
They never showed it through their actions.
Deep down, she knew this.
Yet, like a thirsty tree, she continued to yearn for it.
Because she wanted to be loved.
Because she wanted to believe she was loved.
When that belief was betrayed, she was deeply shocked.
Like being crushed under a heavy burden, she was completely exhausted.
It felt like she could never trust anyone again.
But after just one day.
She wanted to believe in someone again.
Han Siah laughed bitterly.
Was it really that easy to give faith overnight, to trust someone so quickly?
ââŠBut, it canât be helped.â
Wasnât he the first person to show it through his actions?
So, it couldnât be helped.
She was too tired to doubt anyone again. Even if she didnât want to, she couldnât help but trust him.
Like offering a prayer, she clasped her hands together, as was her habit.
Every night, her whole life, she had prayed.
To be free from the familyâs curse. For her mother to truly love her. For her body to no longer be in pain. Those were all prayers for herself.
Her wishes.
But this time was different.
âPlease be safe.â
âI hope youâre not struggling because of me. I hope youâre not hurt.
âI hope youâre safe.
âAnd I hope you win.
It was a prayer for another.
At that moment.
[âFormless Talentâ takes shape!]
[At this moment, your talent has been set in one direction!]
[Overwhelming talent generates a skill!]
Like a sprout opening its eyes to the spring sun, something warm within her slowly blossomed.
A pure white light enveloped her body.
[Skill, Prayer of Hope (S) is created!]
Fwoosh!
Soon, the white light surrounding Han Siah began to shoot towards Kim Minwoo.
ââŠHuh?â
ââŠHuh?â
Jonas and Kim Minwoo, who were engaged in a fierce battle.
As if in pause, both of their bodies stopped abruptly at the same time.
â One of the main characters, âHan Siahâ, begins to twist fate!
â Uncharted territory! Special bonus points are awarded!
â The story begins to change!
â A large amount of achievement points are awarded!
Along with the achievement point messages.
[âHan Siahâ uses Prayer of Hope (S)!]
[All stats increased by 30%!]
[Health and Mana recovered by 30%!]
[Light resists the power of shadow!]
[All status effects are dispelled!]
A pure white light enveloped Kim Minwooâs body.
His vision, which had been wavering and extremely dark, suddenly brightened like midday.
âPrayer of Hope?â
He quickly grasped the message that Han Siahâs fate had been twisted.
This looked exactly like a priest-exclusive skill.
But her class was mage.
And her talent was also mage.
But not anymore.
Her class remained mage, but her talent had been changed to that of a priest.
[Translator â Pr?ks]
[Proofreader â Pr?ks]
He could somewhat guess why.
Unlike before, Han Siahâs talent had been stretched too thin.
So much so that it was difficult to maintain the archetype of a mage.
Having no archetype basically meant her talentâs direction wasnât set.
It seemed it had been solidified into a priest.
One thing seemed certain for now. âItâs not for killing.â
The buff effect was no joke.
Jonas, who wielded a strange power.
The source of that power looked very formidable at a glance.
The fact that he could inflict all sorts of status effects was evident. But to dispel them all in one go was a testament to her incredible talent.
Moreover,
âItâs only 20% of her full potential.â
The remaining 80% was stolen by Lucas, the head of the family. If that were returned, just how great would her talent be?
Park Si-woo and Seo Ye-rim.
Her talent wouldnât be inferior even compared to the two main characters.
After all, Han Siah was also a main character.
Even better,
âThe light attribute nullification doesnât apply.â
This was the key.
Originally, the Death Lord nullified all light attribute skills.
But that only applied when being attacked by light attribute skills.
It seemed he readily accepted buffs like these.
Well, it was the same during the Super Rookie Selection.
When they attempted the Efrax raid, Kim Minwoo also received buffs.
Considering that, the current influx of priest buffs wasnât a strange sight.
âThanks to this, itâs become manageable.â
Being pushed into a defensive position.
It was half intentional.
He couldnât endlessly draw out that kind of power. There was no reason to desperately push while under status effects.
So he was defending, but it seemed like he was in a pinch.
âThanks Jonas. Thanks to you, Han Siah awakened.â
ââŠâ
Jonasâs face crumpled like he had eaten something rotten.
The time of his Rampage was running out.
He thought he could somehow suppress Kim Minwoo if he pushed through, but everything was ruined.
It was all because of Han Siahâs blessings.
âShe was a priest?â
Not a mage?
He was dumbfounded, not understanding what had happened.
Was that why she always barely passed the familyâs tests?
Anyway,
The situation was already the worst.
Kim Minwoo, now invigorated, pushed him back.
The summoned creatures did the same.
Jonas was helplessly pushed back by their combined attacks.
The power he gained from Rampage was gradually diminishing.
âI lost.â
It was literally true.
The power of shadow he received wasnât infinite. Yet, he couldnât bring himself to surrender because he knew what would happen next.
The mages of Griff.
And himself.
All would be taken prisoner.
They had caused such a commotion, the Korean government wouldnât treat them kindly.
He tried to endure it somehow.
But cruelly, Kim Minwoo thoroughly destroyed his equipment. Even though it was enveloped in the power of darkness, it couldnât withstand the repeated attacks.
His gauntlets were broken.
His pauldrons were shattered.
His armor started to crack. He couldnât win even when his power was at its peak, let alone now.
ââŠI lost.â
Jonas finally said bitterly.
However, Kim Minwoo continued his attacks without paying any heed.
âI said I lost.â
âOh, okay.â
âNo, I lost!â
âYeah, I heard you.â
Crack!
Jonasâs armor shattered into pieces. He, now wearing only a T-shirt, spoke urgently.
âNo, I said I lost! Why do you keep attacking?â
âYou still have a lot of equipment left, donât you?â
âThis crazy bastardâŠ!â
He couldnât stop fighting either. Not blocking when someone was openly swinging a sword at him would also be crazy.
Kim Minwooâs sword struck his lower garment.
Clang!
A clear sound rang out.
Jonasâs face turned pale.
This crazy bastard was really trying to break all of his equipment.
âS-Stop it!â
âYou didnât stop, did you? So why should I?â
Back at the airport, when he was blasting away the Awakened.
Did he stop when they asked him to?
No.
There was a saying.
You can come in as you please, but you canât leave as you please.
So he intended to see this through to the end.
Wouldnât it be a lovely sight to see the Griff leadership running around in their underwear?
Jonasâs body felt lighter and lighter.
* * *
When the battle ended.
Jonas was literally wearing only his underwear. His T-shirt and pants had been shredded by the spirit sword.
Jonas knelt on the ground, his face filled with despair. The Griff mages were in the same state.
After their leader was completely subdued, their resistance was practically nonexistent.
âCruel bastardâŠâ
âTo think the captain would be humiliated like thisâŠâ
The 3rd Knight Commander of the Griff.
The title was meaningless as he was thoroughly humiliated. And it was all being captured on video.
An international disgrace.
They couldnât help but lose all their fighting spirit. They could easily end up in the same situation.
Han Younggil approached.
âTh-Thatâs amazing. To think you could subdue them like thatâŠâ
It was a statement filled with multiple meanings.
âWhen you do something, you have to do it right.â
âYes, youâre right. By the way, I didnât know author Jonas could use such strange powers. Could all the Griff executives be like that?â
Han Younggil asked with a hardened expression.
It was understandable.
The Korean government and Griff were already at odds. In such a situation, seeing the use of bizarre powers was enough to make anyone tense.
âWe can just ask him. Hey, Mr. Jonas.â
ââŠYes.â
âWhat exactly was that power?â
With only his underwear left, he pointed the sword at him and asked.
[Translator â Pr?ks]
[Proofreader â Pr?ks]