The Veteran Player Already Knows

Chapter 143 - Climax (3)

Sometimes, it even appeared in his dreams.

The day of his bitter defeat, when he had his crying daughters evacuated, his wife collapsed, and he himself knelt before an overwhelmingly strong enemy.

The day that marked the end of his journey, wandering in search of a stronger opponent to attain the pinnacle of martial arts.

That day was never forgotten in Seo Jin-seong's mind.

And his hostility towards the Lancester family, who had created that scene, had never once faded.

For that purpose, he devoted himself to training.

He pumped his body full of forbidden or side-effect-ridden procedures, and even used dangerous equipment that was only found on the black market.

Days where he would do anything to become stronger. Solely for revenge.

And.

In a situation where that sweet revenge was right before his eyes.

Seo Jin-seong was surprisingly indifferent.

"...What's with that expression."

It was to the point where Damian Lancester, who was now in front of him, asked him that question.

Perhaps because the fortress he had worked so hard to build was destroyed in an instant, a mixture of shock and fear was still lingering on Damian's face.

And that face was giving further impetus to the emotions Seo Jin-seong was feeling right now.

That is to say.

This guy, Damian Lancester.

"..."

The thought that he might not be such a difficult opponent after all.

That kind of thought.

At first, when he heard that he would be sent in here alone, he had thought it was a crazy idea.

-No, I'm telling you, Mr. Seo Jin-seong can do it alone.

-...Me? Against Lancester?

-To be honest, Damian isn't even the strongest one there. If it were their leader, I wouldn't say anything.

-But isn't he also an EX-rank Climber…

-Mr. Seo Jin-seong. I'm only a B-rank in terms of rating right now, but I've smashed that guy's head in twice, right?

-...

-You're an S-rank, Mr. Seo Jin-seong. Wouldn't you be able to do even better?

-Isn't that only possible because it's you?

-That's right. And the person who can do it is giving you his firm assurance.

He still remembered the sight of Kim Gyu-sik smirking as he said that.

-I've already shown you how to do it. So it's possible. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given such an order in the first place, right?

-...

After being forcibly sent in after hearing those words, he was now facing Lancester alone.

And clearly.

Now that he was actually facing him, the thought that it might really be possible was surging up.

Kim Gyu-sik had said he had shown him the 'method'. He must have been talking about the blow that split the storm before.

He couldn't immediately imitate a trick of such terrifying depth just by seeing it on the spot.

But a conviction that just by 'imitating' it, he could somehow defeat this guy. That kind of conviction.

"You... you too... looking at me with those eyes... I'll kill you..."

It seemed his feelings were showing plainly on his face, as Damian began to mutter those words with nearly unfocused eyes.

"After I kill you, it's that Kim Gyu-sik guy... that damn bug..."

"...Well, you don't recognize me, I see."

At the reaction that he didn't even know who he was, Seo Jin-seong smirked and drew his sword.

He was sure they had met before, but it seemed to be a phenomenon caused by his body becoming younger.

It was a side effect that came from forcibly stuffing various things into his body in the process of becoming stronger, but the 'abilities' he had obtained in return would be useful in this place.

[ Engraving: Berserk ]

[ Engraving: Immortality ]

[ Engraving: Heavenly Strength ]

[ Engraving: Impenetrability ]

[ Engraving... ]

The dozens, hundreds of mana engravings embedded in his body all shone at once, brightly illuminating the surroundings.

He had originally intended to use them to kill 'that guy,' the head of the Lancester family, but well.

Let's just use them for a test run for now.

In the first place, a reason to not have to rely on such things had just come up a short while ago.

If he continued to follow that man's back, he would surely continue to show him the way to a place he had not yet reached.

"Oh, right. You keep talking about killing Mr. Kim Gyu-sik."

In that sense.

This guy held no more meaning than a 'stepping stone.'

The supreme Lancester? So what?

He was connected to the man who would shine most brilliantly at the very end.

"You should first reflect on whether those words are befitting of your station."

Therefore.

He continued with a smirk.

"You weakling."

"...Y-you piece of trash-!!"

Watching Damian rush towards him as if a berserk button had been pressed, Seo Jin-seong smirked and took a stance.

A guy like you would never be able to reach that man in your entire life.

A blow containing that thought scattered a terrifying sword light around him.

***

"...Is he really going to be okay?"

"He's really going to be fine."

I said, reassuring the Seo sisters who were looking anxious.

They were probably like this because he had gone to take on Damian alone, but I had repeatedly told them that Mr. Seo Jin-seong was a card that could be used until the ending because he still had room to grow there.

Feeding him experience points by having him fight with the Lancester enemies was a process he had to go through at least once.

‘Rather...’

That person's true scariness lay in the fact that he grew stronger in real-time during battle.

As a person who had reached the pinnacle in terms of 'skill' among all NPCs, he was someone who could vaguely imitate an opponent's skills just by exchanging a few blows or watching them fight a few times.

So it was better to throw him into various situations as much as possible to have him copy others' skills.

Because.

[ !Notification! ]

[ A large number of changes occur in the target's skill set! ]

[ ‘Spatial Perception’ is added to ‘Seo Jin-seong’'s skill set! ]

[ ‘Sending the Slash’ is added! ]

[ ‘Ascending the Void’ is added! ]

[ ‘Reversal Graviton’ is... ]

"..."

Because sometimes, when a jackpot hit, he would end up 'absorbing' the opponent whole like this.

It was a bit of an overkill this time, but anyway, the more skills he consumed like this, the greater the benefit for me.

Anyway, since I had three slots open for him right now. It was a benefit as long as I found the optimal combination and picked them.

‘That's that...’

I took a deep breath and cleared the window from my sight.

The fact that he was copying all these skills probably meant that Mr. Seo Jin-seong had the upper hand in the 1v1 duel.

If the balance completely broke on that side and Mr. Seo Jin-seong was victorious, then naturally, I would become the first place in this ordeal.

Which meant.

It was time for someone who would find that very, very, very displeasing to hastily pull out something.

-...!

----!!

---!!!!!!!

A roar and a vibration.

Of course, it was the kind of noise that had been echoing continuously while I was pounding on Damian's fortress, but it was on a completely different level from what had happened so far. It was explosive.

A level of vibration and roar that felt as if the entire ground nearby was being overturned.

"This is...?!"

"From deep underground, something is... coming up!"

I nodded as I heard those voices from around me.

Well, it was about time for it to come out.

[ The Floor Master appears! ]

[ We wish all conquerors the best of luck. ]

With that message.

A part of the vast land spread out around us.

Mainly, centering on the EX-rank dungeon where Mr. Seo Jin-seong and I had first landed after the ordeal began.

Completely collapsed.

-!!

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And from within, a giant that seemed to shake the entire world appeared.

A size that seemed to be at least a few hundred meters. And despite that size, perfectly and intricately packed muscles all over its body. Complex magical symbols and hieroglyphs engraved on top.

As if to put the finishing touch, giant cold weapons attached to both hands.

With every step it took and every breath it drew, an overwhelming presence as if the entire universe was bowing before it.

"A Titan...?! This is insane...!"

Ms. Seo Hye-in, who usually only let out well-ordered words, let out a fierce reaction, but I fully understood.

No, well.

It was a Titan, of all things. An EX-rank demonic beast.

"We must retreat! With this force, there's no way we can do anything about that...!"

"A Titan...? Is that thing that amazing?"

And Darien, who had been silent until now, tilted her head and asked that question.

No, it was rather strange to ask that even after seeing that huge thing.

"It's a demonic beast that was only passed down in legends. Its specific hunting methods and combat style have been lost, but it's the one that nearly destroyed a continent during the first Gate phenomenon! What were they thinking, summoning something like that...!"

Ms. Seo Hye-in spouted those words with a pale face.

But even as she said that, she suddenly fell silent as if she had realized something.

It was probably because she had realized that there was something more dangerous than the immediate appearance of the Titan.

Mainly, it seemed she had a gut feeling after seeing my grinning face.

"...Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?"

"Yes?"

"It's not true, right?"

"What is."

"..."

Perhaps realizing that the sense of crisis she felt was true, Ms. Seo Hye-in closed her eyes with a dizzy expression.

I smirked at that sight.

And set my watch.

Weren't all the Round Table members who hated me like that?

They would rather kill everyone who participated in this ordeal by pulling out a monster that none of them could handle, than see me take first place.

However.

"...There are always kids who have to learn the hard way."

What I found ridiculous was.

That they had learned nothing from the fact that Evangeline had approached me with the same method, only to get beaten to a pulp and have her position usurped by me.

"We're all going to die..."

"Why would we die? I'm going to do it alone anyway."

"..."

As I said that to the crying Ms. Seo Hye-in, a silence fell over the area.

It was a reaction of not knowing what on earth this person was saying.

"...No, if you were going to do that, why did you keep all the troops alive without a single one dying until now?"

"To draw that out."

Well, the choice of a Titan itself was rather rational.

From the Knight of the Southern Yellow's perspective.

In the first place, I was unrivaled in terms of 'military force' within the ordeal, having swept through the entire zone. A demonic beast that could be solved with a head-on battle wouldn't do, so his intention was probably to neutralize that with a Titan, whose individual combat power was truly overwhelming.

Probably with the thought that since that was my 'main force' and 'main strength,' if he just got rid of that, things would somehow work out.

‘Hmm. That's right.’

I had deliberately kept every single one alive and brought them here to make you think that way.

To make you think, 'Ah, this guy values his troops. That's his core and weakness that he's extremely concerned about.'

To make you choose the Titan among all the possible options.

An idiot like the Knight of the Southern Yellow would probably never know.

That that was the psychological trap I had set.

"In the first place."

No matter how large the number.

No matter how good the quality of the troops.

As long as a guy like 'me' existed.

"I'm probably better at catching that thing than all of you combined."

The main force and the main strength.

Was always 'me alone.'