An Incompetent Fool
'No letting my guard down. No arrogance.'
After reminding himself of the most important rule, he checked for openings to plunge into.
The number of Nether Knights was absurd—like a swarm of wild dogs.
If he got surrounded, even with overwhelming personal power, he'd be beaten to death in no time.
"Kanchyo, hop to the back. I'm jumping off!"
"Understo… huh?! Where are you going, sir?!"
Ganjangmakya and Salamanca were greatswords, but their reach wasn't long like a spear.
They were far from ideal for swinging atop a centaur-like Kentaerephin that lurched every few steps because its legs weren't even the same length.
Not to mention—he had never actually fought on horseback before.
"I'm going!"
At the right moment, he leapt up onto the creature's back, then launched himself forward, both greatswords raised high above his head.
[Explosion Enchant]
The stronger the blade, the bigger the explosion.
He intended to start this fight with all the flash he could muster.
"Krraaah!"
He brought the greatswords down toward the charging Nether Knights.
KWA-AA-AANG!!
The explosion, amplified by Salamanca's effect, swallowed the surrounding area whole.
[Unique Skill of Salamanca: Lava Jet Activated!]
Cracks split open across the ground, and molten lava surged upward.
The Nether Knights, already shredded by the blast, were simply consumed by the flood of lava.
"Keheh…!"
On Kentaerephin's back, Kanchyo gaped.
Dozens of knights wiped out with a single swing.
"Gr-Grandma. The General has become too strong. Grandma? Are you listening?"
Receiving no answer, he glanced back.
For some reason, Elia had gotten off the Kentaerephin and was waving both hands at the rapidly distancing Kanchyo.
"Be careful, raccoon! The faster it runs, the harder it is to control that beast!"
Kanchyo watched her with a solemn expression and nodded.
"She's right. That's a villain, for sure."
He pulled out his minigun and various firearms again.
If it had come to this, he would simply shoot everything that moved—except the General's direction, of course.
"Hoo…!"
Jinhyuk exhaled as he climbed out of the crater he had created.
Then he circled around and began carving through the Nether Knights.
Kanchyo's bombardment had already inflicted significant damage.
Their movements were sluggish—they no longer posed a real threat.
Slash! Slaaash!
He cut down any knight that got in his way, forcing open a path.
If they started to surround him, he used Explosion Enchant to blow an escape route open before repositioning again.
With his boosted stats and the Shoes of Hermes, he completely outclassed them in mobility.
And by hooking Manryeonhancheol around erupting boulders, he executed three-dimensional maneuvers the knights had no hope of following.
They could do little except chase his shadow.
Meanwhile, some distance away from Jinhyuk's battlefield—
"Woohoo! Look at all these materials!"
Elia beamed down at the piles of corpses scattered everywhere.
Momo would gather everything, so they'd be able to make a mountain of chimeras when they got home.
"But more importantly…"
She paused, smiling in deep satisfaction.
"Our master fights well."
Jinhyuk wasn't simply overpowering enemies through raw stats.
He was cleverly guiding the flow of battle and even analyzing terrain for footing, steadily reducing their numbers.
His instantaneous decision-making was also excellent—it made her want to clap her hands like a seal.
"Graaah!!"
She looked at the Nether Knights rushing after Jinhyuk.
He could handle himself just fine, of course. But allowing anything that threatened her master to go unpunished? Absolutely unacceptable.
She stretched out a hand, and an enormous alchemic circle appeared.
[Capella of the Charioteer]
From the circle burst a massive iron bull, which charged straight in and bulldozed through the oncoming knights.
[Arcturus of the Herdsman]
The next alchemic circle formed high above where Nether Knights clustered tightly together.
What emerged was no more than a pebble.
"Arcturus is one of the brightest stars in the northern sky," she murmured softly.
A moment later, blinding light erupted from the pebble—a bomb of pure radiance that turned the entire area into dust.
When the glow faded, nothing was left behind.
"Let's keep going."
Humming cheerfully, she skipped after Jinhyuk.
Her faith in him was unshakable—but that wasn't the point.
No matter what kind of surprise struck, she would protect her master.
That was the foremost creed of Elia Fossenne, Alchemist of the Stars.
CRACK!
Ganjangmakya sliced a knight's torso in half.
At first, he'd felt resistance when striking armor—but not anymore.
The blade simply bisected whatever it touched.
He wiped the blood off his face and checked his next position.
Ganjangmakya's inherent effect made it grow stronger and faster the longer he fought.
His movements now felt almost foreign—too quick to belong to his own body.
Screeeech!
An attack shot in from outside his field of vision. He backstepped.
The massive sword gouged a crater into the ground where he'd stood.
The clustered Nether Knights parted like the Red Sea.
From between them emerged Calista, the unit commander.
He stood easily over three meters tall, his massive frame packed with corded muscle.
'What a show-off.'
He swaggered forward with his shoulders thrown wide, practically shouting, I'm ridiculously strong! with every step.
Anyone else might have described him as a living mountain.
'But this idiot doesn't even know the basics!'
Jinhyuk's evaluation was entirely different.
His sword instructor, Seira, had drilled it into him countless times:
A knight's sword is his life itself.
Treat it as part of your own body. Never throw it carelessly. Never leave it behind.
SCHRRR—
Jinhyuk unwound Manryeonhancheol.
He had no intention of waiting while a fool like this retrieved his weapon.
He wrapped the chain-metal around the embedded greatsword and yanked.
"GRAAAAAARGH!!!"
Calista roared and charged with increased speed.
Jinhyuk clenched his teeth.
Hundreds of kilograms—that sword was unbelievably heavy.
But using Manryeonhancheol's strength and centrifugal force, he tore it free from the earth.
He then hurled it with all his might—sending it flying far, far away.
"Grrrrrrraaa!!"
Calista howled the moment he lost his sword.
Jinhyuk ignored the tantrum and coated his blade in Explosion Enchant.
[Black Shadow Slash]
He carved a long arc through the air.
Empowered by Ganjangmakya's heightened stats, the resulting sword-trail was far longer and sharper than when he'd used it on Ryugai.
TSHAAAAAH!!
A spray of blue blood scattered.
Its sword—its only offense and defense—was gone.
Calista was nothing but an oversized blowhard now.
"Gr…rr…!!"
Even after being split nearly in half, Calista forced himself to turn back toward Jinhyuk.
Jinhyuk seemed to think the fight was already over; he didn't even look back.
Just as Calista wound up to smash his fist into Jinhyuk's back, the lingering sword-trail behind him detonated.
BOOOOM!
The explosion blasted the commander's massive upper body into the air, tearing it away completely.
Thud.
His severed lower half collapsed to the ground, while his torso crashed down moments later.
Jinhyuk slowly exhaled and rose to his feet.
He'd hoped to test Seira's motion detection technique, but the fight had ended too quickly.
A heavy silence settled over the plains.
Normally, monsters did not fear humans.
They saw themselves as higher on the food chain.
But the Nether Knights… stepped back.
Even when they attacked in hordes, their commander, Calista, could never be felled by a mere human.
Yet he had been split apart in a single exchange.
As fear gripped them, a thunderous explosion echoed.
Crystals shattered into glittering fragments.
Kanchyo, having dashed ahead, had blown them apart.
[All summoning crystals have been destroyed! Summoning of the Nether Knights has failed!]
The message appeared, and the countdown timer stopped.
The Nether Knights, realizing their plan had fallen apart, grew even more frantic—
their morale smashed straight through the floor and into the depths below.
Then their commander's greatsword came hurtling down, impaling their ranks.
Seira and Dark emerged at the center, both drenched head-to-toe in blue blood.
"General! I blew them up nicely!"
"You did good, Kanchyo."
He patted the Yordle Ranger's head.
Kanchyo's ears wiggled happily.
"Momo's over there picking up crystal fragments."
As expected of their little homemaker, Momo.
Their party would never starve.
"Well then."
He slung the two greatswords over his shoulders.
"Let's finish this."
The summoning was broken.
The battle—if it could even be called that anymore—was over.
What remained was not a fight.
It was a one-sided hunt.
At the highest point of an ancient castle—
Sluuurp.
The raccoon, Conyu, sipped from a steaming teacup.
Somewhere between the 40th and 51st floors—
a place even Conyu had never seen before.
The moment he was summoned here and saw the Nether Knights, he had thought:
This time… they had gone too far.
No player in the 40th-floor bracket could clear something like this.
It was impossible.
But once again, the one who'd misjudged wasn't them—it was Conyu.
'I never learn, do I…'
He sighed.
But the question marks in his head hadn't disappeared—
they'd only grown bigger.
What are those people?
Barely a month had passed since they'd parted ways on the 20th floor.
And yet… they had grown impossibly strong.
Stronger than logic allowed.
Conyu had seen countless players—but he simply couldn't accept what he was witnessing.
It felt like they were playing under entirely different rules.
Especially their leader, Yoo Jinhyuk.
He had become absurdly strong.
'Is that thing… really human?'
He shook his head as he watched Jinhyuk dominate the battlefield.
Among the party, Jinhyuk used to be the one closest to "normal human."
Not anymore.
Now he stood firmly among the monsters.
Swaaash!
A massive wave of dark sword-energy swept over the battlefield.
It was far stronger and darker than the first time Conyu had seen it.
'What is that…? It's terrifying.'
Conyu squeezed his eyes shut.
If they met again later… just how much stronger would he be?
The very thought made him tremble.
At that moment, as the sword-energy dissolved into the air—
[The Army of the Nether Knights returns to dust!]
The Tower had been cleared.
Minutes later, Jinhyuk's party returned to the castle.
While preparing to rest and then depart, Jinhyuk lit a campfire.
He waved to Conyu once, then sat down.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small shard of armor.
The Tower's rewards had not yet arrived, but the Special Perk Roulette had spun early—
and this was what he'd gotten.
[Fragment of the Black Knight's Armor]
—Growth Quest: Starter Item.
At first, he had only frowned.
From a perk that could award an SSS+ trait… he got a piece of armor?
What was he even supposed to do with this?
But when he read the final line of the description, understanding dawned.
He reread the reward granted upon quest completion.
[Regardless of current level, the rank of Seira Kinkeiten—Captain of the Black Knights—will be raised to Legendary.]
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T/N:
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