Tick tick!
A corner of a logistics center with soft leather sofas.
In front of the 77-inch OLED TV, Kim Sol was busily pressing the controller.
The image on the screen showed a medieval knight running across a meadow.
Suddenly, a large, heavily-armored cavalryman appeared.
“Hehehe!”
The horse, covered in armor, reared up violently.
Phew!
Soon, a crescent-shaped halberd sliced through the air.
Tick! Tick!
Each time Kim Sol pressed a button, the character rolled on the ground without pause.
Then, the knight swiftly thrust his blade, targeting gaps in the enemy’s heavy defenses.
It was a precarious situation where one mistake could cost everything.
As solemn music played, sweat began to drip down Kim Sol’s forehead…
“You have to time it precisely. It might seem like the enemy’s preparations take forever, but if you consider the timing of their acceleration…”
“Hey! You should’ve rolled forward there!”
Phew! Phew!
The ghosts of Camelot whispered in her ears.
“Ah! I’ll take care of it!”
The relentless training by the ever-rotating ghosts.
Kim Sol waved her hand in frustration, but Lancelot, who had emerged from the spectral realm, spoke in a low voice.
“That is incorrect. The lord has emphasized this repeatedly. Lady Kim Sol must open her Aura.”
“Hey, wait! I can’t see anything!”
Strength is built through consistent training.
The accumulated energy then manifests as an Aura upon reaching enlightenment.
The path of an Aura user, achievable only through the mastery of both literary and martial arts.
The knights stayed with Kim Sol around the clock for one purpose: to teach her the way.
“Ahh! Kim Jeong-gyeom!”
Kim Sol cried out, exasperated, as her character fell lifeless on the screen.
No matter how wildly she flailed her arms, the ghostly knights merely dispersed like smoke.
A few hours later.
About a hundred guests poured into the subspace.
“Oh… You’re here?”
Baek Min-woo, whose injuries had fully recovered, Song Hyeon-gu at Severance Hospital, and other awakened people who had completed the training program.
All of Pax FC’s power was ready for the fight against Barnaul.
The knights of Camelot were not enough to deal with ten high-ranking warlocks.
“Everyone, follow me.”
Of course, it wasn’t a problem that could be solved by numbers alone.
The two keys to defeating warlocks are auras and sophisticated combined attacks.
It required a considerable amount of training, and above all, an environment in which they could work together in harmony had to be created.
What I had prepared was…
“Is this the place?”
“Something feels eerie…”
An empty room set in subspace.
This space, surrounded by large white walls, was none other than the subspace .
I briefly opened the status window and checked the information about the laboratory’s capabilities.
Tiring!
—
◈ Subspace Laboratory (3)
⁎ However, only confirmed information about the target is reflected in the simulation.
—
The ‘identified target’ was, without a doubt, Guts.
And it was the black magic he used with other black magicians.
“It may not be exactly the same, though.”
Just a few hours ago, I had already recreated Guts’ appearance through simulation.
The limitations of the laboratory’s ability to simulate only ‘confirmed information’ about the subject.
Perhaps because it was beyond my cognitive abilities, the hallucinations reproduced through the simulation were filled with black holes here and there.
Further…
As if that wasn’t all, Lancelot added:
“Each warlock has his own unique pattern for creating illusions. All the warlocks coming this time will have different patterns.”
The black magicians of Barnaul, who were also gifted with creativity.
Because it was unknown what kind of hallucinations they would bring about.
It was a hologram training with many restrictions here and there…
“Even considering all of that, it’s still surprising. A mock training exercise against Barnaul? In all of the dimensions, there’s no other place where such training would be possible except in your subspace.”
Still, it was well worth it.
They said that Barnaul was famous for being shrouded in mystery and leaving no trace.
“So ten people each are enough?”
“Yes. Considering the level of the 6th-tier warlocks, it would be difficult to make a knot higher than that. Even that is already a considerable level.”
It went straight into action.
He formed a group with people with similar fighting styles, including Kim Sol and Minwoo, and used laboratory holograms to recreate the low-level black magicians under Guts.
The sight of the warlocks standing tall as if they had pressed the pause button.
Ten awakened members formed a line, and the ghostly knights busily moved between the holograms and the Paxmen, instructing them on detailed positions and postures.
Phew! Bam!
Sreung!
Paxmen swung their fists and swords in unison.
It was as if they were doing rhythm or gymnastics…
“In Avalon, it was called . It was a fighting method devised to fight against Barnaul.”
In fact, that context was included.
A preliminary attack to track the main body, not to hit it directly.
Knowing as if you don’t know, knowing as if you don’t know.
The name was very fitting for the attack that divided Barnaul’s welcome.
In the face of Barnaul’s hallucinations, overwhelming power meant nothing.
The deceiver and the one who tracks down the deception.
All that remained was a fierce battle of wits between the two.
We were also making thorough preparations on our side…
“Sir, there is a problem.”
After about 30 minutes, Lancelot, who was in charge of the training, suddenly returned to me.
“What is it?”
“It seems a bit too early to be training against warlocks. We all just can’t get the timing right.”
I followed him and looked out at the laboratory where training was in full swing.
“I’m being dragged around too much?”
Indeed, it was as he said.
The sight of black magicians scattering and returning every moment.
The knights were lighting up their auras to reveal the purple lines of the warlocks, but rather than trying to break the trick, they were all too busy dodging the flying attacks.
“The reaction speed is lacking. Since it is a hallucination whose pattern changes every hour, I have to keep up without falling behind… but that is not going well.”
“This…”
Paxmen, each with their own unique awakening abilities.
However, even if the body is strengthened and weapon proficiency is gained, it is not possible to completely transcend all areas.
Because the ability to read the movements of the illusions, and the agility to step and swing the weapon accordingly, were separate realms from the awakening ability.
There were only two cases where both visual acuity and reflexes were present.
Like the knights of Camelot, they underwent bone-cutting training while alive…
“Is it just Kim Sol for now?”
“Yes. The aurora has already bloomed.”
Having overwhelming talent.
“Euuum…”
It was a difficult situation.
The illusion of Barnaul that had been bothering us throughout the fight.
This time, we were going to be dragged around by those guys tenfold.
While I was so lost in thought,
“Hmm?”
From the portal leading outside, word came that someone wanted to enter.
The location was Beijing.
The identities of the dozens of visitors were…
“Unyang?”
They were Chinese martial artists who had set out to find an elixir.
.
.
.
I went straight out of the portal to meet them, and we exchanged lottery tickets with smiling faces.
“I’ve heard many tales of bravery. Great Hero Jeonggyeom.”
It had been quite some time since I had seen Yunyang in person, but in fact, I had been in constant contact with Beijing.
“Me too. I heard that something good happened in Yunnan…”
“Haha, yes, of course. This is it.”
He took out a small, black-painted wooden box.
When I opened the lid, the inside was covered with a red handkerchief with gold embroidery, and when I removed the handkerchief, two black, round beads were revealed.
“Actually, I ate one. But this was really…”
“Is there any problem…?”
“No, the effect was definitely there. The only problem is that it’s a consumable.”
An elixir that is generally known to increase internal energy.
However, Yunyang added that unfortunately, medicine at that level has not yet been obtained.
This is because the awakened ones who can create the elixir have not yet reached a sufficient level.
“This is a medicinal herb called Cheongsimdan, and it has the effect of purifying the qi and blood vessels. However, the effect is temporary, so the first thing that comes to mind is Jeonggyeom Daehyeop.”
“If it’s the Giwa bloodline… What kind of effects can I expect it to have exactly?”
“From my perspective as a user of martial arts, my senses have become more sensitive and my responses have become much faster.”
Sensitive sense and response.
It was inevitable that body vision and reaction speed would come to mind.
Because I just came out of the Paxmans’ hallucinations of Barnaul, drooping like turtles.
“That’s great. Just in time…”
I told Yunyang that we are fighting against the dimension of the black magicians called Barnaul.
I added that this was the moment when the awakened needed more sensitivity and agility than anything else to break through their illusions.
Fortunately, the elixir was an item that could be accepted through the pharmaceutical category.
Furthermore, if it could be copied infinitely while being stored in subspace, it would also be possible to compensate for the weakness of the Cheongsimdan as a consumable.
“That’s great! Cheongsimdan will definitely help.”
Yunyang also welcomed me and pledged to cooperate with me.
“We will also help. Coincidentally, the martial artists are quite skilled at using swords.”
Yunyang snickered and joked.
At the moment when a strong support group appeared, my shoulders were starting to feel a little lighter.
He, whose expression had hardened, told me some new news.
“But, Grandmaster. Actually, there is one more piece of news. I heard that there is a rift in mainland China.”
“A rift?”
“Yes, at first I thought it was just a normal spot where monsters appear… but its size was unusual for that to be the case. But it wasn’t a gate portal either.”
“Where is it?”
For now, I decided to be careful.
The invasion of Barnaul is about to begin, and if another wave of enemies rushes in, it will be quite a headache.
But…
“Have you ever heard of the Terracotta Army?”
I could tell right away when I heard the location.
This could only be Barnaul’s doing.
“Of course… I’ve heard of it.”
A historic site located near the tomb of Qin Shi Huang.
It was a horrific place where thousands of earthen soldiers made of baked clay were said to have been buried alive, while thousands of people were actually buried alive.
I couldn’t think of any other force.
Because there were corpses, antiques, and all the materials that Barnaul loved.
“That’s a good thing. At least we can prepare for it.”
Yunyang and I decided to check the rift that appeared in the Byungma Yong the next day.
If we could pinpoint where they’d come in, we could set up camp around that spot.
“Please go in first.”
He immediately accepted Cheongsimdan into the subspace and returned to the subspace with Yunyang.
First, it was to feed the awakened people the infinitely replicated Cheongsimdan.
Secondly, it was to show the illusions of black magicians to the martial artists.
“…”
Yunyang looked at the knights’ .
The knights’ blades scattered as elaborately as a puzzle and as gorgeously as flower petals.
After the black magic and aura had covered and illuminated each other dozens of times…
“Jeonggyeom Daehyeop. That…”
Unyang asked me.
“Isn’t that a formation?”
LUNA-CAVE
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