Chapter 143
The attack landed precisely.
When he struck the temple, he felt the grip on his legs loosen. In that gap, Choi Hyun-seok retreated backward.
‘What kind of skull is this tough?’
His shin that had struck the enemy was throbbing. Even though he was the one attacking, it felt like he had received more damage instead.
Choi Hyun-seok tried to think positively while catching his breath.
‘The enemy didn’t escape unharmed either.’
He could see cracks near Lophar Dozer’s temple. However, before even a few seconds passed, the wound completely disappeared.
Choi Hyun-seok clicked his tongue with a frown. As expected, this wouldn’t be easy.
“How fascinating… This is magic I’ve never seen before. Were Heroes beings that wielded such power…?”
Lophar Dozer spoke as he got up. In that moment, Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes lit up.
“I heard you died 250 years ago. Were there Heroes back then too?”
Perhaps he could obtain new information about Heroes.
But Lophar Dozer didn’t answer.
He muttered while looking up at the sky.
-250 years… I see… That much time has passed…
Without flesh, it was impossible to tell what expression he was making.
However, the atmosphere he gave off was dark.
He looked down at his body which was nothing but bones.
-So the demon race… The war still hasn’t ended…
“That’s right.”
-Even though I gave everything…
Suddenly, blue ghostfire flickered in Lophar Dozer’s eyes.
He clutched his head and shouted.
“Ugh…! Not yet, not yet…!”
Lophar Dozer suddenly raised his spear.
Choi Hyun-seok took a stance to respond at any moment.
“I still have things I must do…!”
Just as he thought the battle was about to begin.
Suddenly Lophar Dozer brought down his spear.
More precisely, he struck down on the skull of the magical beast he was riding.
“Kieeeeeeee!”
The magical beast screamed.
Lophar Dozer didn’t stop and continued to strike down with his spear.
‘What is this madman doing!?’
Though bewildered, Choi Hyun-seok decided to observe the situation for now.
-I am Lophar Dozer, knight of the Mariette Kingdom!
“Kieeeeee!”
-I protect humanity!
The dominant entity, Lophar Dozer, was practically the king of the undead here.
The magical beast could only wail without even being able to resist.
Choi Hyun-seok gradually grasped the situation.
‘He seems half-insane, but his rationality still exists. Seems he has memories from when he was alive too.’
Even as he was thinking, Lophar Dozer continued striking the magical beast’s skull.
Cracks started forming on the magical beast’s sturdy crown.
“I am loyal to the Mariette Kingdom… I protect humanity…”
Lophar Dozer kept repeating the same words.
His spear finally pierced through the magical beast’s skull.
At that moment, Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened.
‘This isn’t the time!’
It wasn’t the time to just stand and watch.
He might miss a golden opportunity.
‘I can’t just let the experience points go.’
Choi Hyun-seok finished calculating in his head.
‘This giant magical beast’s combat power is nearly 200,000. Just landing the finishing blow will give tremendous experience.’
It was practically free experience points.
He couldn’t let it die by Lophar Dozer’s hands.
Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes sparkled.
‘Timing is crucial. I need to destroy it right before the skull completely shatters.’
The weakness of the undead is clear.
It’s cutting off the flow of magic power.
With his excellent sensing and control abilities, Choi Hyun-seok could clearly feel it.
The magical power stored in the skull spreads throughout the body through the cervical spine.
In other words, undead die when you cut the cervical spine or destroy the skull.
‘For experience points, even if I have to push myself a bit…!’
Choi Hyun-seok gathered magical power.
He kicked off the magical beast’s back and leaped into the air while watching for his chance.
‘Right now!’
The sense honed from countless finishing blows was telling him.
That now was the time to strike the finishing blow.
Leaping into the air, he split his legs 180 degrees.
Reidrun-style Fighting Technique
Form 2 – Head Smash
His leg dropped vertically.
Faced with the ominous power, Lophar Dozer chose to retreat rather than block.
Whoosh!
The attack was missed.
However, Choi Hyun-seok cheered.
‘Got it!’
His leg that passed by Lophar Dozer struck straight down on the magical beast’s skull.
Boom!
There was a thunderous sound as his foot embedded in the skull.
The skull that was already cracked and about to break couldn’t withstand it.
Crash!
The magical beast’s skull shattered into pieces and scattered everywhere.
At the same time, the magical beast collapsed.
As the magical power connecting the bones disappeared, it returned to being mere remains.
Rumble!
Choi Hyun-seok avoided the collapsing pile of bones.
Soon after, a pleasant alarm rang in his ears.
[Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!]….
“That’s right!”
The alarm rang exactly 10 times.
His level increased by 10 from a single attack.
Though he used quite a bit of magical power, it was well worth it.
‘Let me raise my stats now.’
The battle entered a brief lull due to the dust raised by the giant magical beast collapsing.
Choi Hyun-seok checked his status window during this gap.
▫Name: Choi Hyun-seok
▫Title: Regular Hero
▫Level: 713
- Strength: 235
- Agility: 232
- Stamina: 236
- Magic: 280
- Demonic Energy: 265
- Charisma: 92
- Fighting Spirit: 37
- Bonus Points: 16
Bonus points 16.
In other words, this means his level increased by 16 in this battle.
Before killing the monster just now, it seems he had already gained 6 levels while fighting the undead.
‘Tsk, the other stats remain the same.’
If there’s one disappointing thing, it’s that the stats haven’t changed.
Originally, even without leveling up, stats would occasionally increase through training or combat.
However, lately, stats haven’t been increasing in that way.
It seemed to be because it had become harder to push himself to the limit as his physical abilities improved.
‘Well, I gained 16 levels, so I should be satisfied.’
Choi Hyun-seok immediately distributed his stats.
▫Level: 713
- Strength: 236
- Agility: 236
- Stamina: 236
- Magic: 286
- Demonic Energy: 270
- Charisma: 92
- Fighting Spirit: 37
He invested the points mainly in demonic energy and magical power.
As Rachel had advised before, he believed that magical power and demonic energy would play a bigger role than simple stats going forward.
Swoosh…!
While he was distributing his stats,
The dust that had formed when the monster fell was clearing.
Finally revealed, Lophar Dozer stood still holding his spear.
-I… Protect humanity… I… Humanity…
Lophar Dozer kept muttering the same words.
He suddenly crushed the head of a nearby undead.
-I… Humanity…
Though trembling, Lophar Dozer continued to crush the undead.
Seeing this, Choi Hyun-seok took a step back.
“Bobo. Stay back for now.”
“Kwang!”
He approached Abelson.
“Ms. Abelson. What’s going on?”
“Well…”
Abelson was equally puzzled by the situation.
Who would have thought that Lophar Dozer, revived as an undead, would destroy other undead.
She continued speaking.
“I suspect that the spiritual caliber of the person called Lophar Dozer is resisting the necromancy. You could call it a kind of willpower.”
“Isn’t it good if we leave him be? He’ll destroy all the other undead.”
“But Lophar Dozer will survive.”
“Is that bad? From what I’m seeing now, it seems rather good.”
After all, he says he protects humanity, so wouldn’t leaving him mean gaining a reliable ally?
Having gained plenty of levels, he wondered if there was really any need to confront this monster.
However, Abelson shook her head.
“No. Undead revived through necromancy are bound to harbor hatred towards the living. Even if it seems fine now, problems will definitely arise.”
As she was speaking,
Suddenly Lophar Dozer stopped.
-I, I…
He was now trembling so much he could barely hold his spear straight.
-I… Protect humanity… I…
The demonic energy in the surroundings began gathering around Lophar Dozer.
Even the demonic energy flowing from the destroyed undead was all absorbed by him.
Gradually, Lophar Dozer’s trembling subsided.
-I…
He smashed the skull of a nearby skeleton with his spear.
Lophar Dozer was no longer trembling.
Once his body stabilized, he began destroying the undead at a speed incomparable to before.
Crack, Bang!
Abelson blankly watched as the undead were mercilessly destroyed.
That’s when Choi Hyun-seok urgently shouted.
“We need to stop him.”
“What?”
“His demonic energy is recovering rapidly. If he’s really going to become an enemy as you said, Ms. Abelson, we need to strike before it’s too late. And…”
Choi Hyun-seok could feel it.
After Lophar Dozer’s trembling subsided, his aura changed.
Though he was still destroying the undead, his purpose was different from before.
-I become stronger…
Lophar Dozer said.
-I will kill humanity.
***
He ran straight toward Lophar Dozer.
‘Can’t waste time.’
All the demonic energy in the vicinity was gathering around Lophar Dozer.
He kept absorbing demonic energy as if there was no limit.
Now even the undead gathered near him were committing suicide.
The demonic energy leaking from their destruction was also absorbed by Lophar Dozer.
He knew.
That becoming stronger himself was more efficient than having many other undead.
“Bobo! Go all out!”
“Kwang!”
Though brief, they had sufficiently confirmed Lophar Dozer’s power.
This was no time for probing attacks.
They needed to destroy him immediately before it was too late.
He approached Lophar Dozer and immediately thrust his fist.
Whoosh!
His fist passed through the air.
Choi Hyun-seok tried to launch consecutive attacks but had to dodge the incoming counterattack.
Slash-!
Choi Hyun-seok frowned.
Blood droplets splattered as the spear blade grazed his skin, which he hadn’t completely dodged.
‘The speed is too fast.’
It was a result of the fundamental difference in physical specs.
By feel, his speed is a step above Reidrun.
Choi Hyun-seok could barely keep up with that speed.
“Kwaaang!”
At that moment, Bobo seized the opportunity and swung his front paw.
Lophar Dozer blocked it with his spear, but due to the weight difference, he had no choice but to be thrown back.
Kuung!
The thrown one crashed into a large tree.
A tree that would take both arms to wrap around breaks with a cracking sound.
Choi Hyun-seok clenched his fist and ran.
“Good! Keep pushing like this!”
Alone, he couldn’t have won.
But with Bobo, it’s possible.
‘I need to pour out everything I’ve got.’
The longer the fight drags on, the more disadvantageous it will become.
Choi Hyun-seok thought he needed to push hard and decide the match in one go.
Reidrun-style Fighting Technique
Form 1 – First Battle Kill
The simplest yet most powerful fighting technique.
First Battle Kill flew towards Lophar Dozer.
In that instant, demonic energy imbues his spear.
Screech!
The storm-like demonic energy split apart in an instant.
Choi Hyun-seok continued his attack without concern.
Nobilrace
Form 2 – Expression of Respect
He launches another attack aimed at Lophar Dozer’s lower body.
‘The beings of this world are relatively weak against lower body attacks.’
From his experience so far, the enemies of this land often showed weakness against lower-body attacks.
It seemed they were slow to respond, probably due to unfamiliarity.
Tuck!
However, Lophar Dozer blocked Choi Hyun-seok’s leg with his spear.
He blocked the fighting technique attack using only demonic energy.
Choi Hyun-seok clenched his molars.
‘Keep going like this!’
His body starts to strain from using fighting techniques in succession.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop.
He had to finish him off before the offense and defense reversed.
Choi Hyun-seok quickly dove into his range.
‘A spear has long reach but is hard to handle at extremely close range.’
The basics of fighting is drawing the opponent into your own distance.
Sticking close to him, Choi Hyun-seok once again drew up magical power and demonic energy.
Nobilrace
Form 3 – Price of Arrogance
Fists fly repeatedly towards the abdomen.
As expected, he couldn’t respond and allowed the punches through.
As the fist precisely struck the ribs, a purple flash burst forth.
‘Got it!’
He could tell by the feeling.
The attack landed perfectly.
Kwaaaa-!
Ribs shattered and fragments flew.
At that moment when Choi Hyun-seok was showing a satisfied smile.
‘Oh no…’
Lophar Dozer’s fist comes flying.
More precisely, he struck Choi Hyun-seok with the hand holding the spear.
‘Shit. This is ridiculous.’
It should have been an impossible response.
However, due to the undead characteristic of not feeling pain, he could move even while taking attacks.
Additionally, his ridiculous physical specs granted tremendous power even to wild punches.
Pueok!
Along with an impact that felt like it would break his neck, Choi Hyun-seok went flying.
