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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: For Real
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"What do you mean, 'made'? I just tweaked my swordsmanship a little."
As if wondering what all the fuss was about over something this minor.
Rimon answered with complete nonchalance.
But Lee Cheongi couldn't accept it.
"How is this anywhere near 'just a little tweak'?"
"What's the problem? If you stole my swordsmanship, you should be able to pull off at least this much."
It was an absurd claim.
Having acquired the Anti-Demon Dragon-Slaying Sword—even if only through Skill Acquisition—he knew better than anyone.
Rimon's modifications weren't some hasty improvisation, like casually fixing a few forms.
It was a vicious counter, recalculated from the ground up to sever the opponent's throat the instant they charged in, confident of victory!
Without Preemptive Foresight, even Lee Cheongi would have died several times over. Its perfection was that high.
That's why Lee Cheongi could declare it with certainty.
Something absolutely impossible for him.
No matter how much he devoted the rest of his life to refining swordsmanship, he wouldn't create even a single counter-form.
The Anti-Demon Dragon-Slaying Sword was that flawless.
"If you've got time to yap, focus on swinging that sword properly. Don't whine later about getting careless."
Yet the very man who had refined that flawless swordsmanship dozens of times in the blink of an eye.
Rimon didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow.
As if to say, steal it if you can.
He simply kept pressing Lee Cheongi steadily.
Ka-gagagang!
"Kuh...!"
In the end, Lee Cheongi had no choice but to parry Rimon's sword and activate Skill Acquisition.
No matter how quickly it would be broken, without stealing and using it, there was no way to handle the terrifying speed at which Rimon was creating new sword techniques.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Acquired 『Anti-Demon Dragon-Slaying Sword Version 4.3』...] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [『Anti-Demon Dragon-Slaying Sword Version 7.1..., 11.5..., 19.8』...] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [System error, error code xi111a0o44...]
Kang, ka-gang! Chae-jae-jae-jaeng!
It was a truly bizarre battle.
They wielded the exact same swordsmanship.
But its essence kept shifting endlessly.
Crushing insight with crisp precision, overwhelming monotony with flashy variety, slicing through complexity with brutal force, outpacing sluggishness with blinding speed.
There was no room to pause, not even for a moment.
The same swordsmanship... no, precisely because it was the same, the one who fell behind would shatter without fail.
Thus, it wasn't swordplay—it was a clash of creation.
One side created sword techniques.
The other stole them.
An endlessly horrifying struggle of pure skill, one forever chasing and the other pulling ahead from opposite directions.
Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-bat!
By any normal reckoning.
This matchup shouldn't have been possible at all.
Creating a new technique from scratch.
Stealing and mastering it on the fly.
Both required an immense amount of time—years, at least.
Yet the fact that such a fight was happening proved just how cheat-like Rimon's prowess and Lee Cheongi's Skill Acquisition were.
And who held the advantage was clear.
Stealing was easier than creating.
Having the skill was better than lacking it.
No need to doubt it—it was obvious.
But in this moment.
The longer the clash dragged on, the more the cornered one was Lee Cheongi.
Kaaang!
'This is the limit.'
Lee Cheongi thought as he swung his sweat-slicked sword, deflecting Rimon's blade.
No way to keep up any longer.
At first, he'd been confident of his superiority.
Unlike Rimon, who had to invent a new sword technique every instant—one that surpassed every stolen version before it—he just needed to use his skill.
Rimon was human, after all. He had limits.
So if he just endured, Rimon would eventually falter. That's what he'd believed.
But the system messages flashing relentlessly before his eyes showed how vain that hope had been.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [『Anti-Demon Dragon-Slaying Sword Version 93.7..., 102.3.... 142.1]] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [System error, error code xi111a0o44...] [System error, system error...]
Versions skyrocketing like a game patching nonstop to squeeze money from users, even without real updates.
On top of that, error messages filling most of his vision and the mounting pressure.
All of it meant one thing.
'It's getting faster!'
Far from self-destructing, Rimon was accelerating with every exchange!
The speed had grown so intense that using Skill Acquisition was pointless.
To activate it, he needed minimal experience from the fight—but Rimon created a new technique before that could even accumulate.
His opponent was a runaway locomotive, while he was stagnating.
No way to hold out like this.
"...No choice."
That's why.
Lee Cheongi abandoned the clash of creation.
But that didn't mean admitting defeat.
"From now on, I'll fight you for real."
"What bullshit is that 'holding back' crap? You saying you've been going easy on me this whole time?"
"No. It means I'll set aside my pride to beat you."
Rimon sneered.
What nonsense from the guy who'd been hopelessly outmatched in the creation clash?
But Lee Cheongi didn't waver.
He simply opened his mouth in that same cold tone as at the start.
"Emergency Evasion."
Rimon twitched an eyebrow.
The instant he'd been about to slash Lee Cheongi, the man's body vanished and reappeared.
But that was just the beginning.
"Technique Enhancement, Instant Acceleration, Weapon Reinforcement, Giant's Strength."
His swordsmanship sharpened.
His blade's speed surged.
A brilliant glow infused his treasured sword.
Muscles swelled beneath his armor, ready to burst.
Having buffed himself with every skill, he swung down like lightning.
"Super Heavy Strike."
Kuwaaaaang!!!
A slash on another level entirely, packed with enough power to pulverize a mountain.
Rimon deftly deflected it with a twist of his blade, embedding it in the ground, then asked lowly.
"What the hell kind of stunt is this?"
"I said I'd go all out."
"Can't beat me with swordsmanship alone, so you're pulling out all the skills now?"
"You deserve that much."
To Lee Cheongi, it was the highest praise.
An acknowledgment of Rimon as an equal.
In this Iron Age where monarchs were absolutes, it was honor enough for generations.
"...Like I said a million times."
But Rimon wasn't pleased at all.
He just shot back in a strangely languid, sunken voice.
"Save that crap for after you beat me, you deluded fuck."
"If that's what you want."
He didn't hesitate.
True to his word, he unleashed skills without restraint.
Summoning a half-copy doppelganger that couldn't use skills but replicated 80% of his stats.
Stamina Recovery to revitalize his weary body.
Reflexive Armor for a barrier reflecting damage.
Shadow Blade to add follow-up strikes to his sword.
And more: Preemptive Foresight, Light Transformation, Cool-Headed Mind, Iron Man, Third Hand, and so on.
Buffed to the max with countless skills, he unleashed a barrage of slashes.
Kang, ka-gagang, ka-gagagagagang!
Two bodies now.
Drastically enhanced stats.
A arsenal of special abilities and added effects.
Layered in myriad skills, Lee Cheongi's assault was a calamity in human form.
An overwhelming momentum that would raze anything in its path without mercy—unimaginable from the man who'd been on the defensive moments ago.
It was only natural.
He was the Infinite Monarch.
Ruler over infinite skills.
Until now, pride—and the desire to acquire more techniques—had kept him to swordsmanship alone.
Combining countless skills like this was his true style, the full might of a monarch unleashed.
'This time, it's over.'
Thanks to his phenomenal swordsmanship, perhaps.
Rimon endured the ferocious onslaught with just one sword, steadfastly.
It was a sight worthy of awe.
But Lee Cheongi was certain.
Just a matter of time.
'Rimon Asfelder, that was your mistake.'
No matter how sharp the fangs, one ant couldn't topple an elephant.
No matter how superb Rimon's swordsmanship, it couldn't match him going all out.
There had always been an overwhelming stat gap between them.
Especially now.
'You never should have given me the chance to acquire your swordsmanship.'
If it was before he'd learned the Anti-Demon Dragon-Slaying Sword, Rimon might have had a shot.
But not anymore.
Even if he couldn't keep up later, the repeated acquisitions up to that point had made Lee Cheongi terrifyingly stronger.
Stat bonuses alone multiplied him several times over.
Factor in his improved skill?
He was more than twice as strong as when the fight began. No exaggeration.
How could Rimon—who'd been in constant close calls since before the acquisition—possibly win...?
'...Close calls?'
It hit him then.
A chill raced up Lee Cheongi's spine.
'From the start until now... always?'
Lee Cheongi sensed something off.
With skills alone, before acquiring the swordsmanship, during the creation-stealing struggle.
He and Rimon had always been locked in razor-thin battles.
Until now, he hadn't questioned it.
He hadn't gone all out from the beginning, and he'd deliberately prolonged close fights to acquire the swordsmanship.
But after acquiring it?
Even when scrambling just to keep up with Rimon's techniques, had he held back?
Impossible.
As his stats exploded with each theft, facing Rimon's mad creation pace left no room for restraint.
Yet the balance between him and Rimon never broke.
'How is that possible?'
Such a knife-edge deathmatch couldn't persist from the start.
Only two ways it could.
Their skills miraculously equal.
Or one deliberately matching the other.
That's why Lee Cheongi thought unleashing his full power would shatter the balance instantly.
Since he'd created it, after all.
But... what if that was wrong?
What if he hadn't been leading this from the start?
"What's wrong?"
The moment he heard that flat voice and faced Rimon.
Lee Cheongi realized for the first time.
"You said you'd go all out?"
Rimon, who'd been excited, cursing, sneering, and chattering throughout their fight.
But unlike his passionate antics, those golden eyes had never wavered—always coldly sunken.
And one more thing.
Though he'd long been drenched in sweat.
Rimon's face—the one who'd traded blows with him—didn't have a single drop.
"Or."
Lee Cheongi's face hardened rigidly.
Gazing at him, Rimon wore a chilling smile.
"Should I show you mine first?"