Chapter 28

Chapter 28.

 

In the middle of his duel with Kim Tae-gwang,

Ha-kyung had no choice but to admit it.

‘In physical ability and even in the power of Mana Refinement, he has the advantage in every way.’

In truth, he was aware of his own shortcomings.

Through Kin-Eater, he could unleash tremendous power, but there were many restrictions.

There had to be a being with a large amount of abyss energy nearby.

And since he was only borrowing it temporarily, it amounted to a single-use burst.

However, when it came to the effectiveness of his equipment artifacts, he was not inferior.

Ha-kyung had doubled the duration of his rapid recovery function with Restoration Veil.

That was why he had not fallen until now.

“Grrrgh! Just die already!”

WHOOM!

Kim Tae-gwang’s fist flew toward Ha-kyung’s face.

Unlike before, the movement seemed endlessly slow.

It felt as though he could dodge it with ease now.

Ha-kyung tilted his head and let the punch slide past him.

Then he drove his fist into the man’s side.

THUD!

“Gah!”

It was the first clean hit.

It was only a single blow, but the tide of battle reversed at once.

The gap in Kim Tae-gwang’s armor, left empty after part of it transformed into a shield,

Had been struck with perfect accuracy.

Ha-kyung targeted that weakness relentlessly.

THUD! THUD-THUD-THUD! CRACK!

Body blows landed one after another from both left and right.

When Kim Tae-gwang lowered his arm to defend, an elbow strike came flying toward his face.

THUUUNG!

“Urgh!”

Kim Tae-gwang’s eyes shook violently.

It seemed he had been unnerved by the sight of Ha-kyung refusing to fall no matter how many times he was hit.

On top of that, even though they had been trading blows for dozens of minutes, Ha-kyung’s strength had not dropped at all.

Kim Tae-gwang shook his head.

It seemed he had judged that he could not win.

Then he tried to raise his right arm.

“I sur…….”

The moment he tried to shout his surrender,

Ha-kyung’s left hand seized Kim Tae-gwang’s arm.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“What do you think you are doing?”

“If you beat someone half to death, you should at least be prepared to get beaten in return.”

“Wh-what?”

KRA-CLANG!

With one upward strike, Kim Tae-gwang’s helmet flew off.

His eyes, filled with fear, were revealed.

It seemed the sight of Ha-kyung, like an immortal, had terrified him.

Of course, Ha-kyung had no intention of going easy on him.

His fist, wrapped in ash-gray energy, crushed Kim Tae-gwang’s face.

CRUNCH!

A top-tier champion.

The reputation the Iron Wall Butcher had built was sinking.

Beneath Ha-kyung’s brutal fists.

***

“Enough!”

After Ha-kyung had struck him roughly ten more times,

The duel was stopped by Kang Woo-jin’s intervention.

Ha-kyung could not help but feel puzzled.

It was not over yet, so why was he stopping it already?

When Ha-kyung looked at him in confusion, Kang Woo-jin pointed at Kim Tae-gwang’s legs.

“He is already half gone. In that state, he cannot fight anymore.”

That was the decisive difference.

Even while being beaten to his heart’s content, Ha-kyung’s lower body had never wavered.

On the other hand, the moment Kim Tae-gwang lost strength in his hand, he nearly collapsed.

Ha-kyung quickly caught the man’s body again.

Then he carefully laid him down.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin announced the result of the duel.

“The winner is the Immortal Tyrant, Lee Ha-kyung. State what you want regarding this dispute.”

“Master Choi Hyun-ki will personally apologize for the Raiders’ conduct in betraying us before the raid had even begun. He will also acknowledge the final reward we obtained on our own. Those are my two demands.”

“Not especially difficult conditions. Hey. What will you do?”

Kang Woo-jin’s gaze turned toward Choi Hyun-ki.

The Raiders Guild was wrapped in a gloomy atmosphere.

They must never have dreamed that Kim Tae-gwang would lose.

On top of that, the guild master himself had to apologize.

It did not suit the Raiders Guild at all, a guild that lived off its own arrogance.

But what could they do?

If they lost the duel, they had no choice but to comply.

Ha-kyung glanced at Mad Dog Kang Woo-jin.

‘The Raiders are a group that threw honor to the dogs long ago. Still, they will not want to make an enemy of this man.’

Soon, Choi Hyun-ki stepped forward with a stiff face.

He approached Ha-kyung, his expression twisting fiercely.

“That damned artifact? Fine. I can acknowledge it as much as you want.”

“And the apology?”

“I… I am….”

Choi Hyun-ki kept stopping mid-sentence.

Of course he did.

They were in a public place.

And he had to apologize to someone he found utterly unacceptable.

In the end, however, he had to say it.

Choi Hyun-ki squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.

Then he spoke as if growling.

“I-I am sorry. Satisfied, you damned bastard?”

“Why is the person apologizing for behaving like that?”

“I said I was sorry!”

Choi Hyun-ki whirled around and strode away.

Ha-kyung shrugged and looked at Kang Woo-jin.

It was a silent question asking whether that was acceptable.

At that, Kang Woo-jin let out a snort of laughter.

“The fact that the word ‘sorry’ came out of that wretched bastard’s mouth is nothing short of a miracle. No matter how hard you try, you will not get anything more than that.”

“Well, then there is nothing we can do.”

“In any case, your skill was remarkable. For a melee damage dealer to win a head-on fight against a tank…… and against a heavyweight like Kim Tae-gwang, no less.”

Kang Woo-jin’s words were not empty flattery.

A quick look around made that clear.

The spectators were continuously recording the situation on their cell phones.

Some had even pulled out laptops.

They were probably reporters.

That was how tremendous the result was.

Ha-kyung replied as if it were nothing.

“I only did it to protect what was mine.”

He said that, but in truth, his heart felt as if it might burst.

Kim Tae-gwang was one of the strongest even among first-generation Awakened.

And Ha-kyung had defeated such a man at only twenty-five years old?

It was practically the same as having risen to the highest ranks of one-on-one combat.

Even Kang Woo-jin, the master of Death Hound, was watching him with interest.

Ha-kyung felt a renewed surge of emotion.

‘I started again from rock bottom, and I finally made it this far. I just have to keep going the same way I have until now.’

The day he would take revenge on the Abyss Ruler did not seem far away.

Then Kang Woo-jin suddenly spoke.

“Ah, this has become troublesome.”

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“I was originally supposed to collaborate with the Raiders. But judging from that old fool’s expression, it looks like the whole thing has fallen through.”

“Ah…….”

Ha-kyung immediately understood Kang Woo-jin’s situation.

He had probably come to the gate to discuss a joint raid.

Then he had intervened in the duel.

It was only natural that cooperation with the Raiders would fall apart.

After all, it was because of Kang Woo-jin that the duel had happened.

There was no way the narrow-minded Choi Hyun-ki would separate public and private matters.

Ha-kyung immediately grasped what Kang Woo-jin meant.

“If you need help, please let me know at any time. I will support you as much as I can.”

“I was about to offer to recruit you, but you draw the line well. You are exactly the kind of talent who would suit us.”

“I have circumstances.”

“I know the general idea. I heard you turned down Yoon Chang-ho too.”

“Yes, well. Something like that happened.”

“However, I cannot take all of those people with me. We have more than enough close-combat personnel.”

Death Hound was a guild centered on tanks and melee damage dealers.

Its nature was the complete opposite of the Raiders.

Ha-kyung nodded readily.

“We only worked together temporarily. We are not a team.”

“That is a relief. Ah, if there is anyone you can recommend, bring them along.”

“You mean among ranged damage dealers or healers?”

“That is right. Then let us meet again soon.”

“Yes, understood.”

Ha-kyung gave Kang Woo-jin a farewell greeting.

Kang Woo-jin mixed in informal speech from time to time, but it did not feel particularly unpleasant.

To begin with, he was old enough to be Ha-kyung’s father, and his speech was only like that on the surface.

In many ways, he had been considerate.

Then Ha-kyung suddenly thought of Choi Hyun-ki.

‘Why do I bristle at him when he is the same age as Kang Woo-jin? Because only someone who acts like an adult deserves to be treated like one.’

Ha-kyung snorted inwardly.

He hoped he would never have to get involved with the Raiders again.

An incompetent ally was more frightening than a competent enemy.

And an ally aiming for the back of your head was far more dangerous.

After parting ways with Kang Woo-jin, his teammates rushed over and surrounded him.

“Ha! I knew this would happen. You won, just as expected.”

“You really looked like the Immortal Tyrant.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ha-kyung.”

At Ma Do-hyuk and the tanks’ cheers, Ha-kyung felt overwhelmed.

They even tried to toss him into the air in celebration.

He somehow managed to stop them, but it did not feel unpleasant.

For some reason, it felt warm and human.

***

After returning home, Ha-kyung took a long rest.

An Extreme-grade boss raid, followed by a duel with Kim Tae-gwang.

It felt as though fatigue had accumulated inside him like madness.

He sprawled on the sofa and turned on his cell phone.

‘Let us see what people are saying.’

Ha-kyung accessed the Awakened community.

It was the very site Reporter Moon Jeong-hoon had told him about.

Sure enough, countless posts related to Ha-kyung had been uploaded.

[Duel] Immortal Tyrant Lee Ha-kyung defeats the Iron Wall Butcher Kim Tae-gwang.

―Choi Hyun-ki, who would die before swallowing his pride, even apologized. What the hell is this guy?

└You saw that in person? I am seriously jealous. I only watched the video, and the level of that duel was insane.

└Where did all those idiots go who were throwing a fit last time, saying people were overhyping the Immortal Tyrant?

└You know how those forest friends act. The moment they find something to nitpick, they tear into it as much as they can, then run off in their underwear when the truth comes out.

└Wow! The way he did not go down even after taking all those hits was incredible. Kim Tae-gwang, on the other hand, got sent halfway to the grave after just a few punches.

└Did Kim Tae-gwang die?

└Hey, you moron. It means he lost. Do you not know that if you kill your opponent in a duel, you automatically lose by forfeit?

└No, you could have just explained it. Why are you talking like that?

└Isn’t the idiot the one expecting polite speech on an online forum?

Rough language was flying everywhere, but the conclusion was one thing.

Ha-kyung’s achievements had become known to the entire world.

And a level of fame incomparable to before was about to come rushing in.

Of course, Ha-kyung was not someone obsessed with fame.

‘It is good to become famous. It will make it easier to participate as a guest member. But…… do I really need to?’

In truth, there were already plenty of places asking him to come.

All he had to do was place a call to the guild masters whose contact information he had exchanged.

Then he would be able to enter most dungeons easily.

The reason Ha-kyung did not go just anywhere was simple.

The dungeons that sent requests for support were far too low in grade.

‘From Unknown grade onward, they are rare, so there is nothing I can do about that.’

Even so, guest member contracts would become easier from now on.

He had built good relationships with outstanding people.

Of course, excluding the Raiders.

Although he rested for a while, Ha-kyung was busy in his own way.

First, he had to register the artifact with the Association.

After that, he sent the payment to his teammates.

The amount set for Curse Breaker was 150 billion won.

It was on par with Tyrant’s Bracelet.

Ha-kyung immediately transferred 120 billion won.

And now, Curse Breaker became his property.

‘Curse resistance…… I truly obtained something excellent.’

From now on, he would be able to handle enemies like Pain Bringer more easily.

A few days of rest were enough.

Once Ha-kyung recovered his strength, he scheduled a meeting with Kang Woo-jin.

He had signed a guest member contract with the Death Hound Guild.

A few days later.

He joined the raid party in front of the Abyss Gate.

As expected of a group formed by Kang Woo-jin, everyone was a tank or a melee damage dealer.

Even so, the reason they had recruited Ha-kyung was purely because of his skill.

‘Maybe it is because I am alone, but this feels a little awkward.’

He could feel the Death Hound guild members glancing at him.

It was probably because of the result of his duel with Kim Tae-gwang.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin approached and spoke to him.

“You came.”

“Hello.”

“But why are you alone? I heard you were recommending a healer.”

“He should appear soon. Ah, there he is.”

Ha-kyung pointed at a man walking over from the direction of the convenience facilities.

A priest’s robe and a long staff.

A mysterious man wearing an ornate circlet.

Kang Woo-jin tilted his head when he saw the person Ha-kyung had brought.

“I doubt there is any guest member capable of running high-grade dungeons whom I do not know.”

“You probably know him.”

“He is definitely a face I have never seen before. So who exactly is that man?”

“I do not know his name either. All I know is that he is called the Great Sage…….”

As Ha-kyung trailed off,

Kang Woo-jin could not close his open mouth.

“Wait, you are telling me you are close enough to bring the Great Sage?”

Seeing him shout like that only left Ha-kyung puzzled.

‘Is it really that surprising?’