D.I.O

“Heavenly Circulation of Plums.”

The scattered plum blossoms gathered and centered around Sungmuk as a whole plum blossom. As this occurred, Sungmuk also converged all his sword qi into one.

Ring!

After coming together, the sword qi emitted a strong plum blossom scent, and a plum blossom stem appeared and started unfurling its petals. There were only three buds, but they were more fragrant, distinct, and powerful than any of Sungmuk’s previous attacks.

Each bud seemed tremendously powerful, and they all contained enough pure internal energy to block any missile or easily demolish a modern tank.

“Instill quickness in that which is slow and instill slowness in that which is quick. Once polar opposites become one, normalization can occur.”

With a calm voice, the young man extended his sword in front of him.

Bam!

The first plum blossom bud was cut off and neutralized.

Bam!

Then, the same happened to the second plum blossom bud.

Bam!

Finally, it was the third plum blossom bud’s turn. Yet, immediately after…

Sss.

An incredibly sluggish sword penetrated Sungmuk’s chest. The blooming plum blossoms had already disappeared.

“What… Bright Tai Chi Sword…?”

“Since you recognize my sword skill, it seems I’m using it correctly. This isn’t too strenuous for you, right, Dustin?”

[You look down on me too much. I’m perfectly fine.]

After Dustin spoke, Arthur withdrew his blade. The users around him flinched as they expected a counterattack, but Arthur had collapsed Sungmuk’s balance of essence and qi, so the orc couldn’t summon the necessary strength.

Plop.

As if his legs had lost all strength, Sungmuk collapsed lifelessly to the floor. However, his eyes were still full of vigor, which was odd to see on someone whose heart had been punctured. Sungmuk gazed at Arthur as he spoke.

“For you guys… I heard this place is a playground.”

“Hmm. Even NPCs know this about users?”

“Well… there probably aren’t many like me… but I see. So you do see it as a playground.”

Whoosh.

Sungmuk suddenly forced himself to stand, and this caught the surrounding users by surprise, so they all got into defensive positions. Yet, Sungmuk had only gotten up; he didn’t have the energy to launch an attack. The only reason he had stood was because of his mental power, which attested to his incredible mental fortitude. After getting up, Sungmuk continued speaking.

“Interesting. You… this isn’t the first time you’ve practiced martial arts, right?”

“What a keen observation. I actually spent 100 days inside the training room.”

“A hundred days? Hahaha, a mere 100 days… so you’re saying it’s not your first time practicing martial arts because you’ve trained for 100 days?”

Sungmuk was incredulous. Even if Arthur was born with a sword in his hand, the rate of his development in martial arts was still impossibly quick. Was it truly possible for Arthur to achieve his current level in 100 days?

“Interesting. One guy can employ the Plum Blossom Sword after seeing it once, and another can use the Bright Tai Chi Sword perfectly after just 100 days of training….”

Sungmuk gave a defeated chuckle, but those around him could tell that he was filled with anger and killing intent. In his eyes, the users were all just playing a game for fun, but eventually, Sungmuk smiled.

“I’ll leave it here for today. However, this isn’t the end. And so…”

Sungmuk smiled broadly at all the users around him.

“Just wait.”

Poof!

With that, Sungmuk’s body exploded into a plume of smoke before vanishing.

“… Hmm. I thought monsters only screamed nonsense. I didn’t know they could also be so cool.”

Arthur had momentarily frozen at Sungmuk’s final show of fighting spirit, but eventually, he walked over to where Sungmuk disappeared with a surprised expression. There, he found a red marble the size of half a fist that was protected by a 50-centimeter-thick barrier.

“Let’s see, a Second-Tier Divine Core?”

Arthur was taken aback after mindlessly appraising the item and reading its description.

“A Unique rated core?”

Even the Great Core was only a Rare rated item, and that had been publicly sold but not used yet. Arthur was surprised at the core’s rating, and he reached out to pick it up, but the barrier repelled him.

“… Huh?”

Right in front of Arthur’s eyes, a skinny, pale hand appeared below the core and grasped it.

“It’s mine~.”

The hand’s owner stuck out its tongue, leaving Arthur speechless at such a cute expression. Yet, his firm resolve allowed him to overcome this cuteness overload, and with little delay, he frowned.

“… Why?”

“Experience points and drops belong to the first user to seriously injure a monster, remember? This orc had his arm broken because of my cannon shell.”

The young girl smiled brightly, but the surrounding users weren’t impressed and responded accordingly.

“Wow, what a scammer. You’re stealing in broad daylight, no?”

“He saved you from certain death, but you’re taking his experience points and drops.”

“S-shut up! The game made the rules, not me!”

Slightly embarrassed, Cruze held the core close to her chest as her face flushed red. Arthur didn’t have the heart to snatch the core away from the young girl, so he just shrugged.

“Well, whatever.”

“… Really?”

Cruze’s eyes widened at Arthur’s apparent resignation. However, when he saw this, Arthur chuckled.

“There are still three left. I’ll be taking all of them anyway.”

“…”

Arthur spoke as if he had stored the overwhelmingly powerful monster leaders for later consumption, leaving the other users speechless at his laid-back attitude. Still, they couldn’t help but accept the truth in his words. The power he had just displayed was undoubtedly beyond belief.

Arthur looked up and surveyed the battlefield, as the fierce fighting was still ongoing. As he did so, he scanned the users and monsters, reading their power levels and combat abilities. It was as if Arthur could grasp the entire battlefield and see everything clearly. He was able to do this because he was the most formidable being on the battlefield by far, with his nearest competitor being the core-hugging Cruze. Everyone else was miles behind him.

“As I thought, users don’t put in any effort.”

[You’re still talking about that?]

Arthur stood atop the village wall as Dustin complained. Tens of arrows flew towards him, but…

Ping!

His sword moved like a ray of light, and rather than a sword technique, his actions seemed to originate from light itself, as light beams circulated and enveloped his body. This skill had nullified all of Sungmuk’s attacks, so it didn’t appear as if speed could overcome him. He had such perfect defense that a bucket of water wouldn’t be able to get him wet even if it was poured over his head.

Bam!

Arthur jumped from the village wall down onto the battlefield. The monsters naturally rushed towards him, but Arthur swept through them like a wolf placed in a sheep pen.

“W-where the hell did a guy like that come from?”

“I use a light dispersion technique as well, yet… I understand that he’s a higher level, but how can two humans be so different?!”

The players cried out as they watched Arthur. Did this scene make them angry? Nevertheless, Cruze jumped down from the wall as well.

“Roar!”

A large monster licked its lips after seeing the smallish girl abruptly appear in front of it. However, at that moment, Cruze shouted.

“Install complete! Loading!”

Instantly, aura poured out of her, creating lines and planes like a digital graphics program. Soon, those design elements became a full-sized tank.

Boom!

The Leopard 2A6 rolled over the large monster effortlessly and started firing at the other mobs. Cruze had begun the materialization while she was still falling, so the tank had formed ten meters above the ground; however, since it was made of aura, it wasn’t damaged after hitting the ground. Cruze’s tank was so well-built that it could probably survive a fall off a cliff.

“Wow… who are those monsters?”

Adol had been severely injured from Sungmuk’s attacks, but he couldn’t help but sigh defeatedly after observing the scene. He was also in the top one percent of users in terms of combat ability and power, but Cruze was in a whole different dimension, leaving Adol at a loss for words. Instead of trying to quantify how many times stronger she was, Adol realized that Cruze’s foundation gave her a fundamentally different skill set and abilities.

“Hey! I found another patient!”

As his gaze became unfocused while he contemplated, Adol was approached by a young man in his twenties who wore a white robe. This robe didn’t have any special effects; it just allowed the young man to move about freely. With little delay, the young man reached Adol and cried out.

“Dalian! This guy is in bad shape; I need some help!”

The young man’s prayers were impersonal and even somewhat discourteous, but the divine power arising from his hand was definitely a god’s holy power. It was a divine power user.

Whoosh.

Previously, Adol couldn’t even bend his fingers, but after being healed, he was able to get up and check his body’s status. Other than his low internal energy levels, it seemed that he’d fully recovered from his injuries. And as for Hanma…

“Oh! I’m fully recovered!”

Hanma stood up and shouted energetically.

“Wow! Is this why life force and divine power users are called the best team?”

As an internal energy user, Adol couldn’t fully recover even after being healed by a divine power user. The reason why was clear. Even if the physical body could be healed, internal energy could only naturally regenerate. However, it was different for life force users, as they could almost fully recover from a divine power user’s healing. This was why physical martial artists, like life force users, sought priests and vice versa.

Bam!

Adol watched as tens of monsters were mowed down from the tank’s constant barrage of bullets and cannon fire. The tide of battle had shifted to the users’ advantage. After all, the remaining players were relatively strong, they had the advantageous village walls, and the monsters had lost their leader, Sungmuk.

“Let’s rejoin the battle.”

“Alright!”

Adol and Hanma started fighting the monsters who were trying to scale the village wall. The battle continued.

***

When Merlin arrived at the battlefield, Sungmuk was having his way with the users. Of course, Merlin wanted to help by attacking from a distance, but he decided not to act when he saw a tank appear.

“Huh?! A modern weapon? How could such- hmm?”

Since Merlin was experienced in recognizing spiritual power, he soon realized that the tank wasn’t made of physical materials but spiritual power. Spiritual power was different from his magic power and internal energy. When he saw the tank, Merlin’s jaw dropped in awe, and he struggled to regain his bearings. He had never thought that it was possible to use a specialized power in such a way. As such, he hid and observed the battle.

He was significantly far from the battle near the village wall, but he didn’t have any issues since he was using Enhanced Eyesight. At this distance, he could even read a book.

He saw everything. The Thousand Plum Blossom Scent that Sungmuk released when he was backed into a corner, the sword qi that nearly wiped the users out, and…

“Huh?”

He saw a young man jump into the middle of the blooming plum blossoms, plunging his sword into Sungmuk’s chest and penetrating his heart.

“What?”

The young man had mastered the sword skill, displaying it in its entirety without any flaws. Even Merlin couldn’t comprehend the complete concept and foundation of the skill.

“He’s a… user? That guy? Does he really live in the same reality as me?”

Merlin had known something about himself from quite a young age.

He was different.

There was no way he couldn’t know; he was more like a monster than a human being. Whenever he explained this quality to others, they feared him. For instance, while other children marveled at a passing airplane, Merlin was observing and understanding the theoretical concepts of airflow around the plane’s wings and why the plane was able to fly. When someone breakdanced, Merlin could see what muscles they utilized and when, in addition to how they could perform certain moves with their skeletal structure and movements.

He understood how the whole world worked just from observing it.

Yet, the world could not understand him, and humans were naturally afraid of things they didn’t understand. Many people feared him, and when he turned ten, he truly understood how different he was from everyone else.

That’s why he decided to run away.

Afterward, he lived as an average child. No, to be specific, he spent his time as a slightly struggling child. Since there were many struggling children, he was easily able to meld into society. Yet, a few people recognized his special abilities, so he’d constantly run away, live in one place for a while, and then flee once more.

However, right now, he saw a human who seemed ‘similar’ to him.

Ba-bum.

Merlin felt something arising from his chest.

“Ah…!”

It was pure excitement. Merlin had never met another person like him in his entire life.

So, he felt happy.

Happy.

He was so happy that he thought he’d go mad.

“Ah…!”

His Golden Pill Immortal Technique started roiling, and due to the overwhelming internal energy within him, some energy leaked out, which allowed others to notice him. One of the monsters sensed him and instantly charged in his direction. Although Merlin had released some internal energy, he was still pretty far from the monsters, so the one that had just recognized him must have been at a high level.

“You! What are you doing hiding here!”

It was a giant bee. Its body was 1.5 meters long, and it had six legs or arms that all carried wooden wands. It seemed to be a magic-based monster.

“… Hmm. Alright, whatever. I’ll attack, so see if you can defend yourself.”

“What the hell are you-”

Woong.

Like a sudden gust of wind, Merlin’s body instantly moved forward. This was done without any preparatory move, so it would have surprised most people, but the bee was unperturbed. It screamed and waved its six wands simultaneously.

“Foolish being!”

Whoosh!

The bee created six shields. Astonishingly, it was able to cast six different pre-prepared spells at the same time! However, Merlin didn’t care, and he swung his right hand forward.

“Melding slow and fast into one, connecting polar opposites - that is probably Tai Chi.”

As one foot remained firmly rooted to the ground, his hand moved forward. Of course, there were six shields between him and the bee, but they were no match for him. Actually, this wasn’t accurate, as the shields were instead being absorbed into Merlin’s attack and improving its power.

“W-what?”

Stupefied, the bee momentarily stood defenseless. After all, a shield was a defensive barrier that protected one from another’s attack. If it couldn’t entirely block the assault, it could at least weaken it. Yet, Merlin’s attack was getting stronger as it passed through each shield?

The first, second, third, and fourth shields melted into Merlin’s hand attack and added power to it. Merlin was only able to absorb these shields, but this was already enough. With the added force, Merlin broke through the remaining two shields and struck the bee.

Boom!

The bee’s body distorted and burst into a plume of black smoke, but despite his attack’s destructiveness, Merlin frowned. He had not been able to completely recreate Arthur’s skill.

“Is it at the third- no, fourth level?”

A single instance of comprehension had allowed him to use this much force, but it seemed he’d need much more time to reach Arthur’s level. However, Merlin couldn’t deny the skill’s devastating capabilities.

It was an attack-based countermove.