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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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Chapter 176: Return
Isabella suddenly got up.
Her eyes were filled with shock.
‘What was that just now?’
She had seen the techniques of the mind, including the Heart Sword, Heart Spear, and Heart Fist, while spending time with the four elders. That’s why she understood the first Heart Sword that cut off Lucas’s arm.
However…
‘It disappeared completely in the middle. The body.’
It wasn’t just that he moved too fast for her to catch.
It felt like his body had evaporated, as if it didn’t exist in this world.
“That’s really amazing.”
The Sword Saint, who was nearby, said with shining eyes. Isabella asked in slightly awkward Korean.
“Elder, what was that?”
“His body has left the material plane.”
“…How is that possible?”
“That requires a deep understanding.”
In the first place, it was Kim Minwoo who had taught him the Heart Sword. The boy must have already had a deep understanding of it.
‘That wasn’t the end…’
The ability to freely leave the material plane, not just with weapons but with the body as well. Kim Minwoo had already reached that level.
“I’m learning another lesson.”
He hadn’t even thought of using it like that.
It was truly an eye-opener.
Kim Minwoo’s insights were always far ahead of his.
The fact that the boy had said he couldn’t use the Heart Sword in the first place…
‘It must have been humility. That child was always like that.’
He suddenly remembered what the boy had said when they first met.
— I realized it instinctively. That I can’t go any further. But I don’t want to set my limits already. If it’s a field other than the sword, maybe I can.
He felt his limits even after gaining such insight. So he would move on to a field other than the sword.
That was necromancy.
He suddenly became curious.
While the Sword Saint and the other elders were expressing their admiration, Isabella was thinking something else.
When she sparred with Kim Minwoo.
At that time, Kim Minwoo didn’t use any techniques.
He only used his summoned creatures.
That was only a month ago.
It couldn’t be that he couldn’t use the Heart Sword a month ago and is using it now.
‘Then, did he really go easy on me back then…?’
Isabella’s eyes darkened. Twenty-five years old.
Only one year older than Kim Minwoo.
But the time they had lived as Awakeners was vastly different.
She had awakened at the age of ten and had lived as an Awakener for 15 years.
But what about Kim Minwoo?
He had only been an Awakener for about half a year.
He had been showing amazing growth, but she had always thought she was ahead of him.
Because she had won their last spar.
Of course, she had used all of her items, but items were also part of an Awakener’s strength.
So Isabella had unconsciously thought of herself as superior…
‘But I was wrong.’
It was the opposite.
Objectively, she was far behind.
Even that gap might widen further as time passes.
“The world is vast indeed.”
Isabella said with burning eyes. The competitive spirit that had been dormant within her was already boiling over.
Just then.
A gray aura flowed out of Lucas’s body.
The wriggling aura, like a soul, floated up and headed towards Han Siah.
As the aura was absorbed into Han Siah’s body, the light emanating from her body became whiter and whiter.
Soon after.
Flash!
Light burst out.
* * *
The duel was over.
Isabella walked steadily through the silent training hall.
She said.
“I’ve learned a lot from them. Even today’s duel.”
“Are you going back to your country?”
She nodded.
“I think I need to practice in the field of actual combat, not theory. I have some work to catch up on in my home country.”
Well.
In the first place, she had come to Korea because of Ainel’s tablet.
She had only sparred and taken hostages with techniques like the Heart Fist.
It had already been over a month.
Considering she had planned to return home in half a day, she had stayed for quite a long time.
She must have learned a lot from the four elders.
‘It’s about time for her to go back.’
Wasn’t she one of the busiest Awakeners in the world? If it hadn’t been for the Heart Fist, she wouldn’t have stayed even a day.
“It was a valuable time. I will definitely repay your kindness. And…”
Isabella said with blazing eyes.
“I hope you won’t go easy on me in our next duel.”
“Uh…”
He hadn’t gone easy on her in the first place.
It seemed that the guidance of fate had caused a strange misunderstanding.
Kim Minwoo, who had been pondering for a moment, smiled.
“Well, if you come back with enough skill.”
It would be strange to back out here.
‘It’ll work out somehow.’
Leave tomorrow’s worries to tomorrow’s me. Isabella nodded and looked back.
As befitting the protagonist of today’s duel, a large crowd was already gathering around him.
“You must be busy. I’ll be going now.”
Isabella was the first to leave.
The waiting reporters swarmed her, thrusting microphones and asking questions.
“Isabella! How did the duel go?”
“Kim Minwoo won. Overwhelmingly.”
A buzz of excitement filled the air.
“You’re saying… he won overwhelmingly?”
“That’s how it looked to me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my country.”
“Excuse me? You’re returning?”
“Don’t I need to train? If I want to catch up to Kim Minwoo.”
…Catch up?
That was a strange way to put it.
Wasn’t that usually something the one behind said about the one ahead?
Just then.
Isabella looked around and spoke.
“Isn’t it about time for the Phobos ranking selection? I think a new world ranker will be born this time. And at a pretty high rank, too.”
Phobos.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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A company that ranked Awakeners every June, their magazine was very famous. Individual job rankings were also popular, but the all-job integrated ranking was truly the most splendid flower. In particular, Isabella’s statement contained an unusual implication.
World ranker.
Top 200 in the all-job integrated ranking.
In other words, it was a title given to the 200 strongest Awakeners in the world.
Although it was said to be a ranking of only active Awakeners, as retirees were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Considering that the Awakener population exceeded one billion, it was no exaggeration to say they were the pinnacle of strength.
That much was understandable.
Even Lucas was a world ranker in the top 200.
And didn’t Kim Minwoo defeat Lucas?
Kim Minwoo would also likely become a world ranker with a high probability.
However, the words “high rank” needed to be taken seriously.
It was Isabella, ranked 9th in the world, who had said it.
Her words, having entered the top 10 at the mere age of 20, held credibility.
And a lot of it.
“You mean he’s that good?”
“How did they even fight…”
In any case, one thing was certain through this conversation.
At the very least, Isabella held Kim Minwoo in very high regard.
* * *
Victory in the duel.
It was news that shook not only Korea but the entire world.
Not only was Lucas a world ranker, but he had also fought Kim Minwoo while using evil powers.
That fact was testified to by spectators from numerous countries.
And yet, they said he won.
A rookie who had only been awakened for half a year.
It was news that could not help but shake the world.
Moreover, there was no room for manipulation in this. It was because of a video that had surfaced on NewTube.
A video capturing the process of Lucas and Kim Minwoo being transported as a white domain formed. It was a clean video without any tricks or manipulation.
— The duel really happened and he won;; What kind of growth rate is this? He destroyed a world ranker in half a year after awakening?
— There was no room for manipulation in the first place. Look at how many observers there were lol. Countries participated evenly.
— Real talk XD. Did you see the Griff guys? They were returning home with long faces.
— What can they do about it lol? They’re already screwed. With Lucas gone, how are they going to defend themselves?
— So, do you think Kim Minwoo will be selected as a world ranker this time?
— Definitely lmao. The moment he took down Lucas, it was obvious he’d be ranked. The question is, what rank will he get?
— Who was the number 1 Necromancer ranker again? Hamoln? Someone like that.
— Yeah. Level 1,132. An American Awakener. He’s SS-rank because of his high level. But he’s kind of a nobody. In the integrated ranking, he’s not even in the top 1,000 lol.
— No one even counts the top ranker of a non-mainstream class as a real top ranker. But Kim Minwoo will be different.
— That’s why I asked twice what rank he’ll get.
— If you look at the selection criteria, there are so many things like recognition, level, gate clearing achievements, growth potential, equipment, skills, etc. lol. So no one knows what rank he’ll get lol.
— Can he really become a ranker? He wasn’t even ranked before. He was a nobody to Phobos.
— A nobody my ass 🤣 Are those guys cavemen? That they haven’t heard of Kim Minwoo??
— Anyway, his level and gate clearing achievements are almost zero, right?
— What do you expect in 6 months lol. Anyway, one thing is for sure… the Phobos guys are probably freaking out. This is probably the first time this has happened.
Kim Minwoo turned off his phone after looking at the comments.
‘World ranking, huh.’
First of all, it was certain that he would be ranked 1st among Necromancers. This was because there were hardly any Awakeners who were doing as well as him in the Necromancer class.
And since he had defeated Lucas, it was a natural result.
‘The problem is the integrated ranking.’
Honestly, he hadn’t thought of becoming a world ranker this year.
It wasn’t easy to be in the top 200 in the first place.
He had been expecting to be included in the Necromancer rankings at best.
‘Things worked out well.’
Thanks to the guidance of fate, things went smoothly. However, there were still obstacles.
His level was very low, and since hidden gates were excluded from gate clearing achievements, his contribution score was not high compared to other rankers.
‘And most importantly, I’m not currently ranked.’
To enter the top 200, also known as world rankers, in one go?
It was very, very difficult.
Even Isabella had played around in the 1,000th rank in her third year of awakening, and then slowly climbed up to 900th, 800th, and so on, over the course of a year.
It was all a happening thanks to the guidance of fate.
If it weren’t for this skill, he wouldn’t have been able to catch Lucas now, and it would have been difficult to receive Isabella’s splendid lip service.
Misunderstanding and misconception.
Anyway, thanks to that…
“If things go well, I might be able to enter the top 200 in one go?”
-Coo.
Hayang, who was sitting on his shoulder, bobbed his head excitedly.
Anyway.
The Phobos side would come to check it out anyway, so he could talk about it then.
He looked at the achievements he had gained this time.
First, the Command Sword.
No, now renamed ‘Shadow Sword.’
[Shadow Sword]
[Rank: Ancient]
〈Rune of Severing II〉, 〈Rune of Absorption II〉, 〈Rune of Execution II〉
[The sword has grown stronger by absorbing the power of the Shadow Apostle. It can now utilize the power of shadows.]
[Usage Restriction: Kim Minwoo]
[Effect 1. Absorbs a significant portion of health and mana when inflicting damage on an enemy.]
[Effect 2. Shadow Imprisonment (SS) usable.]
[Effect 3. Shadow Movement (SS) usable.]
[Effect 4. Requires shadow power for growth. (??/??)]
The existing Command Sword could absorb the blood of strong enemies.
However, this function had been limited for a while, and the reason was simple.
‘It was because of the Blood Jade.’
When he hunted the dragonkin in the Orc Gate, the Blood Jade sucked the blood first.
So there was no blood left for the Command Sword.
The formal witch was skinned clean by Merhen, so it couldn’t suck anything.
And Iris…
‘She’s working underground right now.’
There was no food for the Command Sword.
But this time, Lucas was different.
The Command Sword, not the Blood Jade, sucked the blood, and as a result, it grew.
From Legend+ rank to Ancient rank.
Its abilities were quite lucrative.
The absorption of health and mana changed from “some” to “a significant portion.”
And shadow-related skills were created.
Shadow Imprisonment was a suppression skill that made the enemy immobile by stabbing their shadow.
Shadow Movement was, as the name suggests, a skill that allowed movement through shadows. The downside was that it consumed a lot of mana to use once.
‘But the effect is good.’
Moreover, the growth potential was still there. It had just changed from requiring the blood of strong enemies to requiring ‘shadow power.’
It seemed like he could get it by hunting those shadow guys.
He just had to kill all the guys using that dark power.
That wasn’t all he got.
He defeated Lucas, a main villain.
And he got Han Siah’s talent back?
He even received rewards related to achievement points.
The peculiarity was….
● You have hunted the ‘priest’ of Hardronox!
● The fate of ‘Han Siah’, one of the main characters, begins to twist greatly!
● All related rewards are combined into one special reward!
● As a special reward, you are given a job change coupon!
Instead of points, he was given a job change coupon.
The job change coupon he bought last time with a 99% discount was 230 points.
That means the original price was 23,000 points.
There was no way he would be given 23,000 points just for catching Lucas and twisting Han Siah’s fate.
That meant.
‘They intervened, just like last time.’
Han Siah’s job was a mage.
But her talent was closer to a priest.
He thought they would somehow correct this, and they really did.
And unlike the 99% discount last time, they just gave it to him.
Fortunately, there was no condition like having to use it within 1 minute like last time, so he was keeping it for now.
‘I should give it to her soon.’
To make her a priest.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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