Chapter 125
Clang! Swish!
The clash of swords produced sparks as they collided.
The scene of swords clashing multiple times in a second provided a level of flashy excitement and thrill that could not exist in reality.
The dazzling movements and swift swordplay, made possible by Connect, captivated the onlookers with their flamboyance and intensity.
The only problem was that despite their flashiness and intensity, these moves were not yielding any results.
Swish!
‘Damn. Why won’t he budge?’
Wang Chunmyung unleashed all the skills and swordsmanship he possessed to attack Bae Dohyun, but to no avail. None of his attacks were landing.
Bae Dohyun not only stayed within the circle he drew on the floor as promised, but he hadn’t moved a single step since the start of the confrontation.
Slish, thunk!
He even deflected the sword coming at his back without turning his body, simply extending his sword over his shoulder to block it.
The frustration that initially led Wang Chunmyung to rage slowly morphed into a look of defeat on his face.
He had faced many players before, but this was the first time he couldn’t see a way out.
“Hoo.”
For the first time since the final match began, the offense came to a halt.
Wang Chunmyung took a step back to catch his breath.
“So he’s not taking the bait, as expected.”
With no time limit in the final match and Bae Dohyun’s self-imposed restriction, Wang Chunmyung could catch his breath without any qualms.
But that didn’t mean he could just drag out the match. With the broadcast reaching audiences worldwide, he couldn’t afford to show a pathetic performance.
“It’s frustrating, but there’s no winning like this. Shall I change tactics a bit?”
While people thought he only knew how to handle a sword, in reality, on Connect, he had wielded various weapons.
Wang Chunmyung put away his sword and took out a bow and arrow from his inventory.
Twang!
As he shot the arrow, Bae Dohyun deftly dodged it.
“Alright. So he can dodge that much.”
But could he continue to dodge?
Since he had set his own limits, Bae Dohyun’s room to dodge was confined to the small circle. Wang Chunmyung began shooting arrows in rapid succession.
The arrows flying at a distance of just 10 meters were incredibly threatening, as if they would pierce Bae Dohyun’s body any moment. However…
Ping. Clang!
“Trying to block or dodge all of this? Is that possible?”
In reality, Wang Chunmyung’s archery skills, honed through practice, were quite impressive. He could shoot approximately one arrow every 3 seconds by slightly adjusting his position.
His power and accuracy were decent enough to allow him to hunt without a sword in basic hunting grounds. Yet, it was all futile.
Despite shooting until both quivers were empty, he couldn’t even touch a single hair on Bae Dohyun.
“Damn…”
Still feeling challenged, Wang Chunmyung was about to draw the third quiver when suddenly…
Swish, thud!
The bow he was holding snapped in half in response to the rain of arrows unleashed by Bae Dohyun. Subsequently, two arrows flew past on either side of his armpits.
Whizzing through the air, a chilling wind seeped into the gap created by the brushing arrows, sending a shiver down Wang Chunmyung’s spine. Bae Dohyun aimed his bow at him with an icy stare.
“Is your archery better than mine?”
Although grumbling inwardly, Wang Chunmyung reluctantly set aside the broken bow and drew his sword once again. Seeing this, Bae Dohyun calmly stored his bow back into his inventory.
Wang Chunmyung bit his lips in frustration. He never imagined someone would outclass him to such an extent.
As if challenging him to try his best, Bae Dohyun maintained his composed expression throughout.
“Let’s see how long you can keep that expression!”
In the end, Wang Chunmyung made up his mind to use his ultimate skill.
Through the preliminaries and the tournament, some analysis had been made regarding Bae Dohyun’s skills and characteristics. Probably, he possessed psychokinesis.
Psychokinesis was a skill that couldn’t be obtained through normal means, so it wasn’t surprising. Additionally, his skills were roughly classified as general weapon-related skill, psychokinesis, and lastly, short-range teleportation.
“It’s a common argument among analysts that psychic abilities don’t have significant power in the early stages.”
In reality, Bae Dohyun’s psychokinesis couldn’t be considered powerful. His talent lied in utilizing it effectively in various situations.
The general weapon skill could be helpful in using different weapons, but its own power was proven to be lacking.
The short-range teleportation device may pose a great threat in short-range combat, but it was fine for Bae Dohyun to not worry about it since he had put a restraint on himself.
“This is something you won’t be able to withstand.”
His unique characteristic, Ki Swordsmanship (S-), surpassed the realm of swordsmanship and allowed him to use “mana” in this world. Wang Chunmyung tightly gripped his sword and activated his special skill [Ki Sword (氣檢)].
Whooong.
A powerful mana energy filled the sword and was transmitted to Wang Chunmyung through the sword hilt. With a hint of bluish energy emanating from the sword, it seemed to be ready to conclude the match with a sharp momentum, flying towards Bae Dohyun.
“It’s over!”
Wang Chunmyung shouted confidently. Ki Sword, known here as Mana Sword, was a formidable skill that could easily cut through ordinary weapons in one blow.
If the weapon did not contain mana, there was no way to defend against this attack. However, Wang Chunmyung’s confidence quickly deflated like a balloon losing air.
Crack. Crack!
“What? Huh?”
Although there was definitely a bluish aura of mana on his sword, why was Bae Dohyun’s sword unscathed? When Ki Sword was activated, the power of the sword increased several times, so how could he casually withstand it like that?
Wang Chunmyung, in a flustered state, unconsciously continued his attack, but once his secret move was blocked, the outcome of the match was already decided. And the result of not focusing on the duel was catastrophic.
Swish, whoosh.
The whip attached to Bae Dohyun’s sword wrapped around Wang Chunmyung’s left ankle, pulling him inside the circle.
“What!”
Wang Chunmyung tried to push back belatedly but, already off balance, he was being drawn closer to Bae Dohyun’s range.
Clang!
When Bae Dohyun struck with his sword, Wang Chunmyung’s grip shattered, and the sword flew away.
“Do they teach fist techniques at Mount Hua?”
Bae Dohyun casually inquired as he swiftly threw his own sword to the side.
“Come to think of it, do they teach fist techniques properly?”
Before Wang Chunmyung could give a response, Bae Dohyun’s fist landed coolly on his face, followed by a series of punches and kicks, leaving Wang Chunmyung dazed and bewildered.
Wang Chunmyung, covering his face with both arms, tried to widen the distance to escape by any means, but it was impossible due to his ankles being tied up.
“Ha, haaa…”
Unable to bear the pain any longer, he attempted to surrender, but Bae Dohyun was ruthless.
“Now, where do you think you’re going?”
Just because he took a few hits while happily attacking, he thought he could surrender? Bae Dohyun wasn’t someone with a soft personality.
Thud, thud, crack.
In the end, Wang Chunmyung was beaten until he lost consciousness and even more, until he actually died.
Due to the city’s feature of being able to resurrect without penalties, Bae Dohyun believed that it was better to cleanly die and come back to life rather than having a half-hearted grip on survival.
“Well, after beating him up like this, he might not spout nonsense when we meet next time.”
“Respect for the Strong.”
A phrase often seen in martial arts novels, isn’t it?
He hoped that Wang Chunmyung realized that with his petty sense of justice, he could also be exposed.
And so, the final match concluded with Bae Dohyun’s overwhelming victory.
* * *
The news of Bae Dohyun’s victory dominated the main pages of various portal sites.
Expert speculators who predicted Wang Chunmyung’s victory or anticipated an intense battle were left speechless by the unexpectedly one-sided outcome.
While posts saying “I knew this would happen” flooded the community, those who doubted Bae Dohyun’s position as the top player in Connect were nowhere to be found.
And those who had been cursing Bae Dohyun in Korean online communities quickly switched sides to praising him.
Thanks to Bae Dohyun’s victory, Korea secured an additional 12% of Connect lottery tickets for the next three months, and prospective players cheered with joy.
Existing Korean players also expressed their gratitude to Bae Dohyun while enjoying a one-month exemption from user fees.
On the other hand, connect, which garnered tremendous promotional effects through this tournament broadcast and succeeded in driving hype, pushed forward with establishing a system for popular players’ personal broadcasting.
With various benefits and support to attract viewers from platforms like YouTube, twitch, and PAPRIKA, Connect players started engaging in full-fledged streaming activities.
Despite the announcement that Bae Dohyun’s personal channel and First Knight Order’s official channel would not conduct live streaming, they attracted the most subscribers.
Videos compiling Bae Dohyun’s achievements during the tournament skyrocketed in views as soon as they were uploaded, gaining millions of views explosively.
The First Knight Order’s official channel also received significant attention from the public.
Witnessing videos being uploaded even though they weren’t affiliated with any player yet, some viewers seemed to mistake the First Knight Order channel for Connect’s promotional channel.
But in reality, the one managing the official Connect channel was none other than Rabel.
She utilized Bae Dohyun’s know-how in his past life, from operating a personal channel and materials studied through the internet to edit videos herself, and the quality was enough to make even the so-called experts step aside.
Currently, she was mainly uploading videos focusing on Academy news, but she planned to utilize it as a strategic means in the future, rather than just a simple promotional channel.
The final list of accepted candidates for the First Knight Order Academy was announced. Among the 600 players who obtained the qualification as first-year students of the academy, there were about 60 non-combat occupational candidates.
The accepted students were provided with basic necessities during the three-month training period.
Players couldn’t help but be amazed by the accommodations comparable to top-notch 5-star hotels, luxurious buffet-style restaurants, and neat training uniforms provided daily.
As the videos filmed by players who started their own broadcasts and received permission from the academy began to be uploaded, not only other players but also general viewers felt envious.
-Oh, here I am having meals with plain bread and a glass of milk, while someone gets to enjoy a luxury buffet for every meal. It’s so unfair.ㅠㅠ
-So jealous. Their accommodations are way better than my studio apartment….
-Wish to get out of the basic provided clothes. After one hunting trip, the clothes are all smudged with monster blood and sweat, and the smell is unbearable.
-It’s almost like hitting the jackpot. It’s almost impossible for ordinary players to catch up with the academy students, isn’t it?
-Really. Even after hunting all day, once you take care of the meals, equipment repairs, laundry, there’s hardly anything left. It’s almost like reality, and there are not just one or two things to take care of.
-When will the next recruitment be? Did they announce it by any chance?
-It’s a 3-month course, so maybe they won’t recruit again after it’s over?
-So much discrimination from the start. I wish the academy didn’t exist at all.
-Instead of complaining, how about improving your skills to aim for the next batch?
For the 16 who passed through the competition, much more aggressive rewards and treatments were provided. Upgraded accommodations were provided, along with specialized equipment tailored to each individual’s characteristics.
Additionally, during the academy’s training period, they were given a ‘Portal Pass’ that allowed them to freely move between starting cities and were also issued entry permits to Thurium, the capital of the Ruben Kingdom.
In other words, new players were freed from the constraint of not being able to leave the free city area. Moreover, in the case of the portal, if not approved at the destination point, its use was restricted.
Therefore, in general, players had to arrive in the respective city on foot to receive a residence permit, but they were able to skip that process and immediately head to the capital.
The winner, Bae Dohyun, received special rewards. Regardless of academy graduation, he immediately gained guild member status and could receive guild quests.
However, this announcement was simply a pretext for him to operate as Raul going forward, as he planned to participate only in some practical exercises and the graduation exams without attending academy classes.
With Raul absent, an uneasy atmosphere was felt around the territory. It was time for his to return to his main profession.
(To be continued…)