302 – The Returner’s Fight (21)

Currently, I have two options.

First, approach Cheonma while using Hanki. I can approach him while getting through the dark magic, spear, bow, and any number of long-range attacks he’s spewing out. This time, I can use my magic power, so I can move more quickly, but the problem is that Cheonma will never let his guard down.

Second, use Hanki by surprise after exhausting Cheonma’s skills. However, in this case, I have to exhaust all of my skills without using any magic power. Or I can create a situation where I can’t use my long-range weapon.

Just because I don’t use magic doesn’t mean Cheonma won’t use long-range attacks. As you can see in the fight with Choi Jiwon, he’ll actively mix in checks. Instead, he won’t grit his teeth and keep his distance, which will ultimately lead to the exhaustion of his dark skills. Cheonma doesn’t know that I’ll retreat if I get hit once. He’ll try to exploit the gap in information.

“Whew.”

The former is difficult, but I can win if I just break through the dark skills. The latter will definitely take a long time, but it’s more likely. It’s not like I can swing my sword around and use the sword curtain from a martial arts novel, but my heart is more in the latter.

‘But what on earth is the cold energy?’

I had some doubts about the power called ‘cold energy.’ But I’ll let it slide for now. Who would have thought that the cold energy from a cold on the 10th floor would work on the fearsome Cheonma on the 28th floor? For now, I’ll use it because it’s usable, but later I’ll learn about the source of this power.

Anyway. I set my goal to fight Cheonma ‘without using magic’. But putting that into practice is another story. It will take a very long time. I will grow that much, but it will be that much more painful.

“This time, the benefits are okay…”

Fortunately, the 28th floor is a very good environment for repeating the regression.

You won’t have to starve in the cold. Food, clothing, and shelter are provided as a basic requirement, and there are plenty of things to enjoy. If necessary, you can return to reality and rest well. Should I say that there are no fatal restrictions?

Or not? Is it more difficult because there are no restrictions? If I had no other choice but to defeat Cheonma, I might have been more desperate. I might have been more desperate to survive.

However, the reason I am fighting now is for the future of humanity. If I were a very, very selfish person, I could have just ignored Cheonma and moved on to the next floor. After all, I won’t be the one dying, and I will also be keeping the latecomers in check. You might think, “I’ll just break the tower if I break it~”

No. Rather, it is better to leave Cheonma alone. Considering the influence in reality, eliminating latecomers can be a definite advantage. Players after that cannot go beyond the 28th floor, and only players who have already passed the 28th floor will continue to grow. In terms of power, Cheonma can act as a strong guardian.

“… Could the Archangel return, even if late?”

However, since there is a variable called the Archangel, this will also remain an unknown number. What’s the point of thinking about this? It’ll just give you a headache.

“Ugh.”

The excuse was long. It felt like he was just saying in a roundabout way that he didn’t want to do it. It doesn’t feel real because I didn’t witness the destruction of humanity with my own eyes, and I didn’t see Cheonma slaughtering all the players.

“I have to do it.”

But I have to do it. Because I have to do it. Because I have to win.

First of all, the sword. Against Cheonma, who doesn’t use magic, I have to gain an advantage in swordsmanship.

It will work out if I keep doing it. I believe so.

**

Cheonma uses a sword at the beginning. According to Choi Ji-won, it’s because he is most confident in the sword.

But as I said before, this guy doesn’t use magic. He fights only with the combination of the physical abilities of the water man and swordsmanship, but his swordsmanship is so great that even average players die without being able to use it.

Choi Ji-won used ‘Heart of the Lightning’ as an answer to this. He overwhelmed Cheonma, who couldn’t use magic, with his overwhelming specs. I can’t do that. If I use magic, he’ll notice and run away.

So swordsmanship vs. swordsmanship. We have to fight head-on.

My physical specs without using magic are… my weak advantage. The water man race is basically fast and strong, but I’m a player. Thanks to my achievement level, I’ve never heard anyone say that I’ve lost by one body. The

fact that Choi Ji-won was pushed back is proof that Cheonma’s skills are that great. I have to approach him with a humble attitude. He’s not an opponent that you can easily defeat.

“…”

With that mindset, I held my sword defensively. As expected, it didn’t fit my body. I always focused on attacking, thinking that I’d just retreat if I got hit anyway. Most of that was finished in one go, so my swordsmanship was the same as attacking. Even though Choi Ji-won taught me some swordsmanship, my basic approach did not change. How could

a guy who only knows how to attack fight the strongest Cheonma right now…? That thought suddenly occurred to me, and my confidence disappeared. Since I couldn’t use magical power or cold energy, I felt that I didn’t have much as a person.

“…”

“…”

Cheonma was quietly watching me as I agonized. The guy narrowed his eyes while holding his sword.

-The match begins.

“Let’s go.”

Okay, let’s clear my head. Let’s do what I’m good at. Even though I don’t have magical power, I still have the experience I’ve gained so far. Take a deep breath. Lower your stance.

“Huh!”

Putting all the weight of your body into the cut. -Chae

-ae-aeng!!!

Sparks fly. The wind brushes my ears. My eyes, which have forgotten to blink, sting. Attack, attack, attack. I focused all my nerves on attacking, and Cheonma was quietly blocking my attacks.

I felt it intuitively. Cheonma must have figured out my martial arts. Choi Jiwon would have changed his swordsmanship to resist, but I didn’t have that level of talent.

“Really… this is strange.”

Cheonma said, tilting his head. Our swords were facing each other. He twisted his sword to drain my strength, and then he ripped my waist with his nails, which had lost its center of gravity.

“Ugh…”

“I don’t understand.”

This was.

The beginning of countless regressions.

[You took damage.]

[You regress to when you first entered the 28th floor.]

***

‘I was too nervous.’

Choi Jiwon’s voice echoed faintly.

‘You were overly nervous because you weren’t using magic. As a man, have some confidence. What if your opponent is Cheonma? Is there even a guarantee that I will definitely lose? And what if I lose?’

What did I say at that time? I think I pounded my chest to gain confidence.

What happened next? I rushed at Cheonma, and my stomach was pierced by a counterattack.

Then… I tried to attack without giving him a chance, and my wrist was completely cut off.

Then I tried to defend myself, and Cheonma pierced me.

Then Cheonma criticized me for having no talent. Then

I cried while drinking, saying that I couldn’t really beat Cheonma with my talent, and that I was nothing without magic power. I was comforted by Jiwon.

Then… Then…

I pulled myself together, and rushed at Cheonma again. I lost. I lost again. I kept losing.

Thinking that there was no answer, I looked into the direction of my magic power. I accepted the reality that no matter what I did, I would inevitably get hurt by the secret weapon.

I fought again, and fought again, and went to reality and back, and fought.

I shouldn’t get hit even once against someone much stronger than me. No one would say this is easy.

It was painful. I wanted to give up. I was annoyed. Why do I have to do this? Why can’t Jiwon just do it? Or can’t Kang Chan come up to the 28th floor and punch Cheonma to death? I cursed fate.

Cheonma was a monster. He absorbed my swordsmanship within 10 minutes and figured out that I wasn’t used to defense. He figured out that while the quality of my attacks was high, my defense was terrible. After figuring it out, he easily toyed with me. After all, he was a genius. When

people become weak, I wanted to rely on Jiwon, but Choi Jiwon would have to go through countless regressions to defeat Cheonma. In the process, we would exhaust the emotion called love… and the worst could happen. I had no choice but to grit my teeth as I watched Choi Jiwon hug me and tell me to cheer up.

So I couldn’t give up. There are ways for ordinary people. I studied and studied. What was the best move I could make? What kind of attack would be the most difficult for the opponent? During the grace period before fighting Cheonma, I reviewed the past fights and thought about the best move over and over again.

At the same time, I felt it. I am not a genius. Choi Jiwon could only come up with an answer that was easy to come up with after racking his brain. The genius’s 10 seconds took me 6 hours, or more.

Time goes back. The world resets. In the process, time was steadily accumulating in my soul.

My defenses increased. I brought my immature defenses up to a decent level.

My attacks became sharp. I could handle heavy swords, sharp swords, and fancy swords. They were all based on Cheonma’s swords, and I modified them to suit my taste.

What started out as blindly following along gradually reached the stage of understanding. Choi Jiwon, a great teacher, was by my side, and Cheonma, the strongest teaching material, was fighting me.

“Ah.”

And at some point, I realized. How great my existing swordsmanship was. Why did Choi Ji-won refrain from excessive teaching?

A clone. The guy had walked the same path as me now. In unfavorable situations, he twisted his body to devise a strategy to win in any way. I realized that fact.

I stopped following the Sword of Heaven. I stopped at adding one or two defensive techniques to my existing swordsmanship. Instead, I decided to further develop my swordsmanship.

However, following the Sword of Heaven was not completely meaningless. As time passed and experience accumulated.

Slowly.

The Sword of Heaven began to appear.