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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Overlord
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Lee Cheongi gripped his sword so tightly it nearly crumbled in his hand, without even realizing it.
It wasn't because of Rimon's taunt.
Nor was it from any sense of confusion.
The moment he saw those cold eyes...
Instinct had told him as much.
Something had changed.
Even Lee Cheongi himself had no idea what that something was.
But the chilling sensation of facing a beast unleashed from its cage made him react on reflex.
⚙ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚙ 『Emergency Evasion』
Whoosh!
The moment the skill activated and Lee Cheongi's body vanished in a flash, a bluish blade pierced through the lone afterimage left behind.
If he'd reacted even a second slower, that strike wouldn't have stopped at the afterimage—it would've severed Lee Cheongi's neck, slicing through his arteries, trachea, and esophagus in one fell swoop.
Yet dodging it was proof of Lee Cheongi's own prowess.
But he couldn't revel in it.
No, his face hardened instead.
'I didn't see it.'
One reason was that he hadn't grasped how Rimon's sword had sliced through the space where his neck had been.
And another...
"What? Surprised that 『Advance Foresight』 didn't trigger?"
"...How the hell did you do that?"
"Nothing much. Just a simple trick you pick up after killing off enough half-baked precogs to make you sick of them."
Rimon smirked wickedly, chuckling to himself.
Lee Cheongi ground his teeth at the sight.
⚙ SKILL ⚙ 『Advance Foresight』 - One of Lee Cheongi's most vital combat skills among thousands.
『Advance Foresight』 was one of the most useful combat skills among the thousands he possessed.
Even though he lagged behind Rimon in pure swordsmanship, he'd managed to hold his own in this duel largely thanks to it.
He could foresee and evade any future where he took fatal damage, after all.
But with 『Advance Foresight』 blocked, he could no longer block lethal strikes.
That wasn't even the biggest reason for his agitation, though.
"You were holding back on purpose?"
He could tell from that single clash.
If Rimon had wanted to kill him, he could've done so at any time.
"Less 'holding back' and more 'feeling you out.' Feeling you out. When facing someone whose tricks you don't know, you start with the guts—that's just common sense, right?"
Rimon answered nonchalantly.
Then he curled his lips into a mocking sneer.
"What? Did you think only you could probe like that?"
Lee Cheongi had no retort.
Rimon had hit the nail on the head.
Against any other player, maybe. But probing against him, with his arsenal of countless skills? Suicide.
That's why, even before becoming the Infinite Monarch, Lee Cheongi had always gone all-out against foes—observing them, testing for skills worth copying.
He'd rarely been the one tested.
And now, to be probed like this?
By a relic like Rimon, out of touch with the times?
Without even realizing the man could've taken his head anytime?
Grind.
Something writhed deep in Lee Cheongi's chest.
Too murky for rage, too sticky for defeat, too scorching for shame.
He wouldn't have known what it was before.
But after meeting that man, he understood.
The moment he realized this humiliation was crushing him...
Lee Cheongi had already activated his skills.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ 『Limit Break』, 『Transcendent Will』, 『Restriction Release』, 『Future Sacrifice』, 『Hero's Advent』
The natural human limiters unlocked, freeing mind and body from their constraints.
Parts of his stats burned away to explosively boost all abilities temporarily, squeezing every ounce of potential toward a singular goal.
A double-edged sword.
Immense power at the cost of devastating aftereffects.
Honed solely to surpass that man—a unique combination of such skills, refined over hundreds of trials.
The one original skill the Infinite Monarch had forged himself, refusing to copy from others.
✨ ULTIMATE ACTIVATED ✨ [Overlord]
Enveloped in this transcendent realm, Lee Cheongi charged at Rimon, swinging his sword.
Clang!
"Ho?"
Rimon raised one eyebrow.
It wasn't just the massive shock that numbed his hand despite parrying properly.
That same indefinable something Lee Cheongi had sensed from Rimon—he now felt it from Lee Cheongi in return. Something no half-hearted fighter could emit.
"Finally ready to fight for real?"
Lee Cheongi didn't answer.
He just kept attacking Rimon, chaining skills nonstop.
⚡ SKILL CHAIN ⚡ 『Super Acceleration』, 『Lightning Step』, 『Wind Stride』, 『Thousand-Armed Guanyin』, 『Re-Action』
"Hmm, better than before, sure. But this level is still..."
⚡ SKILL CHAIN ⚡ 『Lion's Heart』, 『Divine Might』, 『Muscle Rampage』, 『Inexplicable Strength』, 『Superhuman Strength』
"Still a ways off..."
⚡ SKILL CHAIN ⚡ 『Attribute Fusion』, 『Lightning Imbuement』, 『Flame Imbuement』, 『Frost Imbuement』, 『Curse Imbuement』
"Not enough..."
⚡ SKILL CHAIN ⚡ 『Weapon Manifestation』, 『Death Spirit Summon』, 『Venom Insect Summon』, 『Monstrous Bird Summon』, 『Earth Fiend Summon』
"...Hey, hold up."
⚡ SKILL CHAIN ⚡ 『Invisible Blades』, 『Fireball』, 『Wave Cannon』, 『Space Slash』, 『Gravity Manipulation』
"You crazy bastard?!?!"
Clang, clang-clang, kagagagang! Kwaaaaang!
Swords clashing alone sparked flames and lightning, cratered the ground, and whipped up storms.
Endless summons lunged from all directions—front, back, left, right, sky, and earth—while attack skills blasted them all away in droves.
Rimon was dumbfounded by it all.
Relentless skill chaining was familiar enough.
True to the Infinite Monarch, unleashing a barrage of skills was his signature style.
But the density now was on another level entirely.
Hundreds of skills activating simultaneously!
Skills pouring denser than raindrops—he parried, slashed, and dodged in a frenzy, finally bellowing out.
"Hey, you punk! I said show your real strength, not put on a skill parade!"
"Pulling off a parade is a skill."
"You call that shit talking sense?!"
"Yell all you want. In the end, I'll be the victor."
Lee Cheongi declared coldly.
Rimon dismissed it as a parade, but this realm was no joke.
Skills grew stronger when stacked—that was the rule.
Yet few actually did it.
Not just lack of skills; the bodily strain scaled exponentially.
Two skills alone caused headaches or dizziness; sustaining them led to blackout.
Most players stuck to one or two mains for that reason.
Lee Cheongi defied it.
He'd trained and geared to handle a dozen at once.
No point in hoarding skills if you couldn't use them—pearls before swine.
The effort paid off.
A dozen active skills outclassed a thousand one-trick players.
Even Rimon rated him trickier than most for it.
What if hundreds stayed active?
And he unleashed hundreds more at once?
Lee Cheongi was certain.
He could sweep thousands—millions—of players effortlessly.
That's why he named it [Overlord].
A power transcending even monarchs hailed as this era's absolutes.
The cost was steep, of course.
Skull-splitting pain was baseline.
Veins bulging everywhere, muscles throbbing.
His body and mind teetered on collapse from the overload.
This transcendent state pushed him beyond limits in every sense.
Yet Lee Cheongi pressed on.
As if he'd cripple himself permanently to fell Rimon.
Healing skills patched his crumbling form in real-time as he kept unleashing more.
"...I see. I get that this is your all now."
Parrying the onslaught with his sword, Rimon murmured softly.
It was obvious at a glance.
Lee Cheongi was burning his very lifespan in this fight.
"One last check, though... You got nothing more?"
"More what?"
"I'm asking if this is all 'you lot' can show."
"What the...?"
Lee Cheongi furrowed his brow at the cryptic words, then froze.
Rimon stared straight at him.
Even after witnessing [Overlord], those pitch-black eyes remained flatly unimpressed.
"Fine. That's enough if that's it."
As if no answer was needed, Rimon nodded to himself.
Then, gripping his sword two-handed, he spoke languidly.
"Time to end this."
"...!"
In that instant...
Lee Cheongi's pupils contracted.
Not just because Rimon, who'd fought one-handed till now, finally gripped with both.
Not just the chill of standing still before him, like a blade at his throat.
His instincts, honed raiding countless dungeons, screamed it.
Flee this place now.
Don't let him swing.
Everything ends if you do.
Crunch.
But Lee Cheongi ignored the warning.
No—denied it.
Fleeing here? His pride as monarch forbade it.
So he charged Rimon.
Biting down till his gums bled, he unleashed skills with abandon.
💥 ULTIMATE ASSAULT 💥
『Demon-Slaying Dragon Sword』, 『Blade Storm』, 『Ultimate Strike』, 『Asura Blood Wave Slash』, 『Magic Sword』, 『Power Focus』, 『Attribute Fusion』, 『Freezing Storm』, 『Inferno Array』, 『Heavenly Thunder Hell』, 『Wave Cannon』, 『Space Slash』, 『Defense Pierce』, 『Power Boost』...
Sword skills, attacks, buffs—1,000 simultaneous activations, defying even [Overlord]'s limits. A suicidal barrage.
Sword skills, attacks, buffs—all unleashed at once, totaling a thousand!
The recoil alone burst veins, tore muscles; blood surged from ruptured organs up his throat, brain boiling like melting lead.
Sills raged everywhere, shredding, scorching, and freezing his skin in the backlash.
Still, he didn't stop.
Pouring all thousand rampaging skills at Rimon in one go.
A heaven-shaking strike.
Mountains would shatter, cities turn to rubble, seas evaporate wholesale—a storm of annihilation.
Even grazing it would've obliterated dozens of kilometers around.
Yet facing this maelstrom, Rimon didn't flinch.
He merely swung his sword with a bored expression.
It wasn't fast.
It wasn't mighty.
It wasn't flashy.
Glacially slow, soft, serene—like a single, elegant step in a sword dance. Graceful. Beautiful.
And as that languid blade reached the end of its arc...
"『Demon-Slaying Dragon Sword Secret Art』 斬魔龍殺劍 奧義 Demons fall like dew from the sword's tip 魔像劍尖上的露珠一樣落下"
⟨ Demon-Slaying Dragon Sword Oui ⟩
The world split apart.
The thousand skills shattered.
A single flash pierced Lee Cheongi.