---

Chapter 260

As Yeon-woo’s footsteps echoed, the surrounding environment shifted. Initially, it was a labyrinth, but now it stood transformed into the heart of a park. It was a landscape familiar to Yeon-woo.

“…So, what I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.”

The biggest reason Yeon-woo chose to endure the danger and train through trauma was that if all the enemies in this dream were manifestations of his trauma, then that being had to be real.

“…What the heck, where am I?”

A voice that was all too familiar reached Yeon-woo’s ears. It wasn’t a voice he knew well, but just hearing it sent shivers down his spine.

A faded blonde man, cloaked in a decadent aura, appeared before him. The Gloomy Monster, Christopher, stood there, representing a genuine trauma.

Until now, the apparitions that had appeared were mostly entities that Yeon-woo had managed to overcome either by himself or with help, but this man was different. Rather than having overcome or surpassed it, he felt more like someone who narrowly survived.

It felt as though his heart would leap out of his mouth. In that single moment, his mind went blank, leaving him devoid of thoughts.

…He was tense. How long had it been since he’d felt this much tension since his return? Even Yeon-woo, who usually maintained a slight state of alertness, felt his palms drenched in sweat.

“O-, what was your name again… Right, Yeon-woo, wasn’t it? Hello? Nice to meet you, wanna die?”

“At least your speech has improved, but your brain is still the same.”

Responding to Christopher’s cheerful smile and the nonchalant words coming out of his mouth, Yeon-woo grimaced and spat back.

Yeah, how much could a person change just because they’ve had a head injury? Better not expect too much.

With a slight grin, Yeon-woo silently presented his sword. Christopher, who always wore a blank expression, lifted the corners of his mouth and shrugged off his wrist.

He seemed in no mood to take a stance. That innate laziness and arrogance of his didn’t seem to change at all.

To advance in martial arts, what one needed was not an equal partner but a fight against an overwhelming powerhouse. The moment Yeon-woo stood before Christopher, he keenly felt that truth deep within his heart.

An overwhelming presence radiated from Christopher, as if countless arms sprouted from behind him. Countless attacks formed and shattered in his mind.

The Skull Knight, who had roughly equal skills, could be subdued with intricate attacks led by the number of strikes, but such tactics were meaningless before this man.

The existence of a strong opponent enriched the martial artist’s ability to conceptualize. They would devise every means to break through this scenario.

From plans that might be called desperate measures, to brilliant strategies that could never arise through repetitive training, ideas began to bubble up in his mind.

The only issue was that most of those options were instantly discarded, hindered by that man’s absurd durability.

Yeon-woo’s senses told him that Christopher’s physical strength surpassed that of White. What an utterly ridiculous guy.

Even after countless sessions of image training, pondering how to face Christopher upon their next encounter, no practical method came to mind to handle that strong body.

What he realized through that was that Yeon-woo lacked a means to lead the fight like Kim Yoo-min did.

The scene of Christopher being struck down through pinpoint accurate strikes delivering shock to his insides lingered in his memory.

Who among those at the Academy could create such a sight against that man? Excluding the three top professors, nobody could do so.

An Aura Master was a rarity, and to thoroughly beat such an Aura Master would stand as a monumental achievement.

‘…Can I win?’

No, it’s impossible. I need to collect myself. My goal was merely to withstand in front of this trauma alone. Who was trying to beat an Aura Master at the initial level with an expert’s mid-level skills?

Even as he thought this, the master of the illusion was likely sweetly feasting on his fear. However, he had no doubt that Christopher’s illusion would lead him toward becoming an expert in the later stages.

The sound of Christopher’s footsteps echoed steadily. Just that alone put Yeon-woo’s body on high alert.

Yeah, this is real trauma. Though he had borne that guy’s serious punches before, having nearly died, the fear took precedence.

Doing whatever it took to let the chill seep in. Focusing on using shadows would be essential. He’d need to use courage selectively based on the moment’s circumstances. To confront the sturdily built Christopher, he needed to maximize the three mentioned strategies.

Fortunately, Christopher seemed largely unconcerned with anything that stuck to his body. His body was so robust and his senses so dull that he had no need to worry about minor things clinging to him.

Yeon-woo swung his right hand. The extending Doppleganger plunged into Christopher’s shadow. Really, latching onto that man’s shadow to bind his ankles wasn’t the most effective strategy.

In that case, let’s change the nature of the shadow. Rather than having the shadows leap out and ensnare the opponent, the shadows would erode the ground, causing Christopher to sink into his own shadow.

“What the heck, what did you do?”

“…Damn it, start speaking properly! It’s making me uncomfortable!”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard someone criticize my speech like this. You really won’t tell me, huh?”

Yeon-woo snapped back at what felt like an exhausting attempt at conversation. Seeing Christopher grinning and saying that, he lightly darted towards Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo, who knew a differently styled Christopher, hurriedly gripped White in a reverse hold, bracing it like a shield against his arm.

Christopher dashed right up within the blink of an eye, planting his foot with intensity. The powerful stomp sent tremors echoing throughout the dream world.

It felt like an earthquake with the tremendous impact flowing through the ground. If he tried to block such a massive force with only his palms, it was guaranteed that his arms and even his entire body would break apart. Though he could escape by using his senses to tumble away, he preferred not to.

As Christopher’s hand touched the surface of White’s blade, Yeon-woo crouched backward, launching himself into the air. The high momentum propelled his body, and he soon realized he was slamming against a wall.

His back felt hot. Despite trying to dissipate the energy, the immense shock felt as if it was going to crush his back.

“Khah…!!”

He felt air rushing from his lungs through his mouth. But it wasn’t the time to be like this.

Additional attacks might not follow, but if he stalled due to pain at this moment, things would not go according to plan.

Forcing White to swing and clear the dust, Yeon-woo looked through his blurred vision at Christopher. Christopher wore a dazed expression, with one leg sunk more than half into the shadow.

“What is this? You’re using something interesting, aren’t you?”

He hadn’t thought he’d get trapped that deep, but it seemed the prior stance had dictated this. Yeon-woo nodded as if he had anticipated it all.

“Just as I expected!!”

“A brilliant strategist, I see!”

Receiving pure admiration only seemed to embarrass Yeon-woo even more. He merely wanted to bluff like a clever person, but his words stumbled out as though he were dim-witted.

It seemed that changing the property of the shadows into a quicksand made it difficult for Christopher to escape easily, as he struggled even when Yeon-woo charged him.

“Binding and attacking is a bit underhanded, don’t you think?”

“Then go ahead and untie yourself!”

Yeon-woo responded cynically as he swung White. The pure white blade painted arcs in the air.

Upon the beautifully pure white blade, a thin layer of aura intertwined with frost. It was the Elemental Enhancement of Ice layered onto the Aura Blade.

“Don’t do that-.”

Christopher muttered, pouting. The only explanation for such an irrational act would be that he had lost his mind.

However, the sound made when the sword and palm collided was not that of fabric being cut.

Kaaang–!!

It wasn’t the sound of a human body, but rather, the blade was deflected. Experience told him this was no ordinary encounter, but an utterly nonsensical one.

The moment the Aura Blade was activated, the sword no longer served as just an ordinary weapon; it emitted unmatched power, yet that man received it with his bare skin.

But the fact that injuries occurred was significant.

Coldness can be a truly deadly thing. If one overwhelms the opponent with Elemental Mana, they could create an ice statue, and should they push deep enough inside, it could cause a condition called Stasis.

How effective it would be against an Aura Master remained unclear, but for someone as dull as that man, there might be a chance.

Even with his lazy movements, Christopher’s arm seemed to track Yeon-woo’s sword. He definitely wasn’t an Aura Master for nothing.

However, with each passing moment, the amount of superficial wounds multiplied, and when Christopher burst out of the shadowy mire, his entire body was nearly covered in cuts.

Moreover, it didn’t seem like it was merely his perception; with each wound that appeared, Christopher’s durability decreased gradually.

Ultimately, that stamina seemed to stem from his mana. If so, then inducing some form of pseudo-stasis could lead to breaking that ultimate shield.

It was however questionable how effective that would be on the real Christopher, given how many changes he seemed to have gone through.

This illusion was shaped based purely on the Christopher he faced back then.

“Hmm, this is tough. You’re stronger than I expected?”

Muttering this, Christopher clenched his hanging right hand. If he had made a fist, then Yeon-woo knew what would come. It was the blow he had previously either mitigated or blocked.

If he did the same as before, he could block it. But that would hold no meaning. Trusting the inspiration that had come to him, Yeon-woo gripped his sword tightly.

An arm swept through the air like a beam of light. The overwhelming might tore through space. That strike, in essence, was not an attack on the enemy at all.

It was just swinging a fist toward the opponent and somehow managing to land a blow that resulted in the enemy meeting their demise due to the shockwave—a collection of absurd actions and outcomes.

The punch seemed to entirely disregard the laws of physics, making it impossible to explain why it would end that way, no matter the cause and effect.

In other words, even if this were the dream world, should he take that punch, there was a possibility Yeon-woo would physically die.

Yet, Yeon-woo made his decision to face this challenge. He had already witnessed that strike once. The Christopher before him had no idea Yeon-woo knew that.

Therefore, it was in Yeon-woo’s favor.

Charging toward the emanating shockwave, Yeon-woo threw himself forward. Gathering his focus to its limits as death loomed ahead.

The perception of time shifted. The world appeared to slow down.

He swung down from above. One strike was insufficient. Two would be necessary to break through that wall.

But merely breaking through wouldn’t suffice. Making a proper attack meant disregarding defense entirely.

There was no moment when Christopher’s guard would weaken beyond the intensity of that strike.

If it could be sliced, now was the time.

He made one downward slash to create a gap. While that gap closed, he struck again. This had to be repeated indefinitely. The power of any single strike couldn’t be excessive or insufficient.

It needed to be constant and uniform, the exact same strike repeated countless times.

And that was Yeon-woo’s specialty. The downward slash he trained to perfection never wavered. Since he swung his sword the same way tens of thousands of times, it remained steady.

In that fleeting moment, eternal life transformed. A desperate struggle could finally yield him a decisive victory.

At some point, he felt his left arm free. Yeon-woo didn’t dwell on it. When he swung his blade with the remaining arm, his vision cleared.

A massive column-like shape of ‘destruction’ erected between him and Christopher collapsed. Yeon-woo, with gaping holes across his body, smiled faintly.

The right arm naturally rose like the blade of a guillotine.

“…You.”

“With this, I… cough, I won, right? You really suck at fighting—”

The descending pure white blade split Christopher’s right trapezius. Not wanting to feel the sensation of flesh severing through his hand, Yeon-woo quickly turned his head.

Before he could even allow himself to feel the lingering moment, a crude caricature-like entity had lifted a dagger up toward him.

*

“What the heck, what!?”

Upon opening his eyes, Yeon-woo realized a jester-like figure was raising a dagger high in front of him. His reaction was immediate, especially since the jester was slower.

Instinctively reaching out, he struck the wrist clenching the dagger. Lifting a knee, he battered the jester in the gut, causing it to stagger backward, drooling filthy spit.

In that moment, Yeon-woo sprung up like a spring, seizing the dagger.

“Are you the master of this Gate?”

Twisting the purplish blade resembling lightning, he spoke.

(To be continued…)

 

---