“!”
Sword clashed against sword, letting out a sharp crack.
At the same time, Dong Bongsu's body, caught in Gosan Gong's form, was flung far to the side.
From the impact, Dong Bongsu unknowingly spat blood from his mouth.
He had suffered an internal injury.
'If the level of my Qi Circulation Art was 1 instead of 2, perhaps... I might have died from that single sword strike.'
'He's stronger than I expected.'
There was a level difference with Gosan Gong, but more than that, there seemed to be a considerable difference between someone who had formally learned the sword of the Murim and himself, who wielded the sword merely as a game skill.
Dong Bongsu opened his Status Window to check the damage.
Despite successfully defending, his Health Gauge had depleted by a whole one-tenth.
If he took the blow with his real body, death would be the only outcome.
He wiped the blood from his lips and pushed himself up again.
He was internally injured, but his expression remained unchanged.
Watching him, Gosan Gong gritted his teeth and attacked once more.
Believing there were more enemies besides Dong Bongsu, Gosan Gong intended to end the fight quickly.
From his hands, the second form of the Heavenly Wind Sword Art, Heavenly Wind Thunderclap, unfolded.
As if the wind followed a thunderbolt crashing down, Gosan Gong's sword dropped straight down from above.
Woong!
The Heavenly Wind Sword Art itself was a Heavy Sword Style, so the wind pressure when the sword cut through the air was immense.
With a sound like a club being swung fiercely through the air, the sword descended upon Dong Bongsu's head.
However.
Dong Bongsu made no move to dodge or block, simply staring blankly at the sight.
Looking more closely, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he were smiling.
What was so amusing?
He, who showed no emotional fluctuation in any situation, what could he possibly be seeing to make him smile at this life-or-death moment?
In truth, Dong Bongsu was simply enjoying the situation.
The fact that he was currently injured felt strangely pleasant.
He was feeling a strange pleasure he could not experience on Modern Earth, where everything went according to his calculations to an empty degree, and where he had enjoyed killing far too easily.
It had happened a few times since he came here, and now was no different.
He had easily thought he could win, but unexpectedly, he was struggling.
No, in a way, he was being pushed back so much that he was no match for his opponent.
At this unexpected result, he was, paradoxically, feeling extreme pleasure.
Perhaps his hunting of predators on Modern Earth was, in a way, in anticipation of such an unforeseen situation.
It was just that all those predators had died without being able to fulfill his wish.
Perhaps, he thought, he could die happily even if he were to die right now.
But.
Not dying… was much better.
Because.
It seemed that this 'New Murim Online' was filled with far more unpredictable events and monsters that could bring him joy.
Pak!
Just as Gosan Gong's sword was about to split Dong Bongsu's head in half!
He took out a piece of scrap iron he usually kept in his Inventory for emergencies, placed it just below his hoodless forehead, and rolled to the side.
It was a technique, yet not a technique, commonly called the Lazy Donkey Roll here.
It was named so because it resembled a lazy donkey rolling frantically on the ground.
Of course, Dong Bongsu would never agree with that.
A lazy donkey would not struggle so fiercely to live.
The name Lazy Donkey Roll itself was wrong.
To abandon one's life for something as trivial as shame? Dong Bongsu couldn't understand it, nor did he need to.
If necessary, what was the big deal about rolling on the ground a hundred, or even a thousand times?
Pakang.
Gosan Gong's sword, cutting through the iron plate that had suddenly appeared in mid-air, embedded itself in the deck.
“…!”
Gosan Gong could not understand.
Where did that iron plate suddenly come from? But he had no time to ponder it for long.
Because after rolling to the side, Dong Bongsu immediately launched a counterattack.
Swoosh.
With a sharp sound tearing through the air, Dong Bongsu's sword flew towards Gosan Gong's side.
The skill Dong Bongsu used this time was also Piercing Yellow Dragon.
“Where do you think you're aiming?!”
From Gosan Gong's perspective, it was laughable.
He had been a little flustered the first time because it was a surprise attack, but now he was already prepared.
And yet, Piercing Yellow Dragon again.
Gosan Gong pulled the sword embedded in the deck and immediately raised it in the direction of Dong Bongsu's approaching sword.
He believed he could easily parry Dong Bongsu's sword again this time.
However!
Something strange happened.
At the very moment, his sword and Dong Bongsu's sword should have clashed.
Suddenly, Dong Bongsu's sword vanished.
Because of that, Gosan Gong's sword cut through the empty air and was raised straight above his head.
In that moment, for just a brief instant, an opening appeared in his posture.
Swoosh!
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Dong Bongsu's sword, which had disappeared, was flying towards him again.
“......!”
Pshh.
Gosan Gong dodged the Beginner's Sword by a hair's breadth.
However, he couldn't dodge it completely, and a long sword wound appeared on his face.
He had no idea what had just happened.
A flying sword disappearing and then reappearing.
Wasn't this something that would make even a ghost wail?
But now was not the time to worry about such things.
Dong Bongsu's attack was not over yet.
Papat!
Gosan Gong hastily retreated backward.
Dong Bongsu immediately followed, this time executing the first form of the Three Forces Sword Art, Thousand Army Sweep.
[Three Forces Sword Art First Form: Thousand Army Sweep Lv.4 Proficiency: 33.0%]
A common sword art in the Murim.
Even ordinary people without Internal Energy can learn it.
Thousand Army Sweep is an enhanced version of a sideways slash.
All action bonuses for this skill are related to the proficiency of related skills and whether Sword Qi/Sword Aura is used.
Currently Applied Level: Lv.4
(Player can adjust the level of this skill.)
Horizontal Slash Range Bonus: 4%
Horizontal Slash Attack Power Bonus: 4%
Horizontal Slash Casting Speed Bonus: -3%
QP Consumed Per Use: 60 QP
Thousand Army Sweep, like Piercing Yellow Dragon, had reached level 4.
The way Thousand Army Sweep unfolded was very similar to Heavenly Wind Flowing Cloud, the form Gosan Gong had used earlier.
This time, Dong Bongsu was attacking, and Gosan Gong had to defend, making the situation the reverse of before.
Now, Gosan Gong pointed the tip of his sword downward and blocked Dong Bongsu's sword.
No, he intended to.
Dong Bongsu's sword once again vanished at the moment the two swords were about to clash…
Just as Gosan Gong was about to raise his sword forward, looking blank and bewildered.
Swiiish!
Dong Bongsu's sword reappeared.
But the sword was now in his left hand, not his right.
His right hand had already cut through the air, passing in front of Gosan Gong, and the sword that was in his right hand was now in his left.
The rotational force of the swing was preserved, so the power of Dong Bongsu's sword remained the same.
Only the position of his hand had changed.
This time too, without a moment to think about what had happened, Gosan Gong again turned his sword sideways to block the Beginner's Sword.
“Keuk!”
Because he had defended abruptly rather than in preparation, he couldn't fully channel his Internal Energy into the sword.
As a result, Gosan Gong was sent flying sideways, just as Dong Bongsu had been earlier.
Thud.
Unlike Dong Bongsu, Gosan Gong crashed hard against the side of the ship.
He wasn't internally injured like Dong Bongsu, but the psychological shock was considerable.
'What in the world is this sorcery!?'
It was a sword art he had never heard of or seen before.
No. Could something like this even be called a sword art?
He didn't know.
Swoosh-.
The sound of cutting through the air was heard again as Dong Bongsu's attacks continued.
Although he was having difficulty dodging, Gosan Gong, having figured out the pattern of the unorthodox attacks, was able to block or evade Dong Bongsu's attacks more easily than before.
He had switched his approach to maintaining as much distance as possible to prepare for the irregular attacks.
For a while after that, Gosan Gong's Heavenly Wind Sword Art and Dong Bongsu's Three Forces Sword Art, which mobilized the Inventory Divine Art, clashed.
At a glance, it seemed difficult to determine who had the upper hand.
But in reality, Dong Bongsu was the one cornered.
'Only 1 minute left.'
[Qi Circulation Art Lv.2 Proficiency: 38.9%]
A training method that artificially guides the Qi accumulated in the Dantian through the Meridians distributed throughout the body.
When cast, it temporarily increases Attack Power and Defense Power.
Duration/Cooldown: 5/10 (minutes)
QP Consumed Per Use: 200 QP
Current Skill Bonus: 60%
The duration of Qi Circulation Art was only 5 minutes.
In contrast, the cooldown was 10 minutes.
4 minutes had already passed.
In just 1 more minute, he would have to fight for the next 5 minutes without the Qi Circulation Art.
Death.
In the current situation, wouldn't that be synonymous with being told to die?
'What should I do?'
Dong Bongsu was fighting using almost everything he had at his disposal.
And still, he couldn't overpower Gosan Gong.
There were one or two more things he could do, but there was a high chance they wouldn't work either.
He was trying to save them as much as possible while looking for an opportunity, but Gosan Gong, who had already figured out the weakness of the Inventory Divine Art, would retreat rather than try to block and then attack, repeating this pattern.
Did that mean this was the end?
Even while continuing the battle, Dong Bongsu's mind did not rest for a moment.
He was analyzing the enemy's action patterns, predicting future attacks, and constantly thinking of a way to ultimately kill Gosan Gong.
But a solution did not come easily.
Pak~!
As his attention was divided, an opening was created.
Gosan Gong's sword, which had slipped through the gap without missing a beat, lightly grazed Dong Bongsu's arm.
A stinging pain was transmitted to his central nervous system, and his body tingled slightly.
At the same time, his Health Gauge decreased just a little.
'My Health Gauge went down?'
Health Gauge… Health Gauge…!?
Seeing his Health Gauge decrease slightly, a thought like a bolt of lightning flashed through Dong Bongsu's mind.
He had finally thought of a way to get rid of Gosan Gong.
'There's no time. I have to do it now.'