- Do you want strength?

He heard a low-pitched voice inside his head.

Kim ShiHoon instinctively realized that was the voice of the martial god Cheon TaeHwang's soul speaking to him.

'I want strength!'

There was no reason to think about it.

There was no time to doubt.

Kim ShiHoon decided to accept the martial god's strength, even if he was about to die.

Ting-.

- You accepted the strength of martial god Cheon TaeHwang.

- Because you aren't ready, you received only part of it.

A blue message window appeared in front of him with a clear bell sound.

He didn't have time to check the contents of it. A strong power rose from inside of his body.

"Ugh!"

It was such a power that it made him worry that it might inflate his body and make it explode.

Kim ShiHoon moaned in pain.

He bit his lips and tried to resist the pain.

He had been waiting for that moment.

He couldn't waste that opportunity he'd waited for such a long time.

Thud-!

His blood veins exploded.

His body turned red, and he felt his head was about to go blank because of the pain.

'I must resist it.'

Kim ShiHoon glared at Kim YeongHoon.

He remembered everything he had to go through because of him.

Compared to those times, physical pain was nothing.

- You've learned upper-level Martial Arts of the Sleeping Dragon Sword Style.

- You've learned Cloud Dragon's Sword Style and the Cloud Dragon's Beam.

- You've obtained a clue for Transformation.

He could hear martial arts teaching within his head.

He naturally understood how to control his overwhelming strength.

Kim ShiHoon controlled the power inside his body and pointed his sword toward Kim YeongHoon.

"Kim YeongHOOONNN!!"

Kim ShiHoon angrily shouted.

Feeling power overflowing from him, ShiHoon used the Cloud Dragon's Beam while leaping toward Kim YeongHoon.

"Wh-what?!"

Kim YeongHoon was surprised after seeing someone who was about to die running toward him while leaking such scary energy.

He raised his sword and tried to block Kim ShiHoon's attack.

Slash-!

"Argh!!"

Kim ShiHoon's sword, wrapped in a cloud of white smoke, went through his sword as if it were a snake and cut his chest.

His unique-rank armor was cut in half by Kim ShiHoon's attack.

While feeling a dizzying pain, dark blood leaked out from his chest.

"Y-you son of a bitch!!!"

Kim YeongHoon angrily swung his sword toward Kim ShiHoon.

Even though he was swinging the sword without thinking about it, because of his high level and pieces of equipment, dangerous energy came out of his sword.

Clang-!

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"Ugh."

Kim ShiHoon, whod blocked Kim YeongHoon's attack, was pushed back.

Even with the strength of the martial god, it was hard to completely overcome the 30 level difference.

'But'

Kim YeongHoon's eyes shone.

Although Kim YeongHoon was stronger and faster than him, he had something that Kim YeongHoon didn't.

Martial Arts.

Techniques that showed the best ways to use weapons that had been polished through the experience of lots of warriors through time.

'Cloud Dragon Sword Style, 3rd Form. Cloud Dragon's Dance.'

The martial gods Cheon TaeHwang's technique spread through Kim ShiHoon's body.

Clouds appeared and blocked Kim YeongHoon's sight.

Sword energy came flying from the clouds and hit Kim YeongHoon.

"Why... Why am I being pushed back by a level 20 player!!"

Kim YeongHoon angrily shouted. He was having a hard time accepting the situation.

Something that shouldn't happen was happening right in front of him.

But he didn't have the experience or techniques to overcome that result.

The reason why he was stronger than Kim ShiHoon to begin with was because of his high level and better pieces of equipment.

"AAHH!!"

Being pushed back by a player who had only finished the third Awakening was already humiliating, but the constant pressure made him feel anxious.

He recklessly attacked Kim ShiHoon as if he were saying, you die, I die.

But there was no way those kinds of attacks would work on Kim ShiHoon, someone who had learned martial arts.

"Ha-ab!"

Kim ShiHoon, who saw a chance, swung his sword toward Kim YeongHoon's neck.

'I won!'

Kim ShiHoon's eyes shone.

But the moment he was about to cut YeongHoons neck, someone appeared in front of him and blocked the attack.

It was the man whod been silently standing next to Kim YeongHoon as if he were a stone statue.

Clang-!

"Cough!"

Kim ShiHoon, who had barely managed to block the man's axe, bounced off.

The impact spread from his sword to the rest of his body, and dark blood spurted out of Kim ShiHoon's mouth.

"Oof, oof! What were you doing until now?! Why did you appear so late!"

Forgetting that it was him who had given the order not to interfere, Kim YeongHoon shouted at him.

Although Kim YeongHoon was unfair to him, he just bowed down without any change in his expression.

"I'm sorry, Vice-leader."

"Cut his limbs and then bring him to me!"

"Yes."

At Kim YeongHoon's shout, the man nodded without any hesitation.

The man's name was Cheon MyeongHo.

He was one of the top players of the Mir Guild and Kim YeongHoon's bodyguard.

He was so big that he was similar to TaeSoo in size, and he was carrying a double-edge axe that matched his size very well.

"If you follow me without giving me any troubles, I'll end things up with just one arm."

"D-don't say b!"

Even while blood was coming out of his mouth, Kim ShiHoon hadn't collapsed yet.

But he could feel it

* * *

lghtnvlubm fr bttr ur rn

Maybe hed had a chance against Kim YeongHoon, but he wouldn't be able to win against that man who resembled a stone statue.

- You've suffered internal injuries.

- If you don't take any measures, the injuries could worsen.

Warning messages appeared in front of him.

Frustrated, Kim ShiHoon kneeled on one knee.

'In the end, I won't be able to cross the wall.'

The wall that existed between him and Kim YeongHoon

There was a huge wall blocking his way.

"Accept it."

Cheon MyeongHo slowly walked toward Kim ShiHoon.

"You'll never be able to surpass the Vice-leader."

"..."

The words that came out of Cheon MyeongHo's mouth pierced Kim ShiHoon's chest.

He wasn't wrong.

It didn't matter how much he tried, he couldn't catch up with Kim YeongHoon.

The starting point was different, so the distance necessary to surpass him was too much.

"Damn..."

Tears flowed down Kim ShiHoon's cheeks.

The face of his mother, whom Kim JaeHyun had abandoned, came to his mind.

I'm sorry for giving birth to you.