Episode 76

Damn it! Now he knew what was going on. The Supreme Pavilion Lord sent his men to attack Seo Ryeong and Yorim; then, when they were desperate, Sama Gwi killed his own men to win their favor. With that, he was able to easily find Seol-Hwi.

Seol-Hwi wasn’t wearing his mask, so Sama Gwi went for the kill before Seol-Hwi had a chance to say anything.

6… 5…

Should he focus on defense? Does he risk it and counterattack?

Shit. Whatever. This is it. I have to fight. There didn’t seem to be any way out of this; even if he died, he’d at least figure out why Sama Gwi was so dead set on hunting him down. Conveniently, Seol-Hwi had recently acquired just the thing to make the Pavilion Lord’s life difficult.

Combat Mode: <Simulation Lv.2>

<Analyzing Seol-Hwi’s martial arts.>

…

<Analysis complete.>

<Which simulation would you like to use?>

A counterattack? Inflict a fatal wound? A lot of ideas flickered through his head, but in the end, he chose:

“Tell me how to stop the Supreme Pavilion Lord from breathing!”

He waited.

<Analyzing…>

Seol-Hwi eagerly awaited the results.

<Sorry. There is no way to defeat the opponent with Seol-Hwi’s skills.>

<Instead, the following two options are available.>

▶ Avoid all attacks in a single move.

▷ Push the enemy out the door, but take slight injuries in the process.

Damn. Even the simulation couldn’t compensate for the gap between Seol-Hwi and the Pavilion Lord. Harming his opponent wasn’t going to be easy.

I can’t let him exploit my opening. I need to push him back.

▶ Push the enemy out the door, but take slight injuries in the process.

Seol-Hwi’s vision was filled with instructions.

As soon as time was moving again, the Supreme Pavilion Lord’s left hand shot towards Seol-Hwi’s chin like a lightning bolt. Seol-Hwi’s left hand snapped upwards a beat later and deflected the attack; at the same time, his other hand was headed for Sama Gwi’s chest, covered in internal energy.

However, his opponent was a lot stronger than him. Everything changed in the blink of an eye. Even with his posture broken, Sama Gwi managed to grab Seol-Hwi’s attacking hand and immediately responded.

But Seol-Hwi knew exactly how to move. He raised his hand, clearing his vision and blocking his opponent’s attack at the same time, while simultaneously striking at the Pavilion Lord’s lower body. And then he twisted his body.

“Huh…!?” The Supreme Pavilion Lord realized he’d misjudged and hastily pulled his hands back. His hands collided with Seol-Hwi’s crossed arms; he stumbled but still stood, while Seol-Hwi was pushed back.

Sama Gwi’s face stiffened; despite being obviously stronger and more experienced, his surprise attack hadn’t been all that effective.

“…How the hell did you do that?” The idea of a lowly bug blocking his attack was astounding.

“Why? Am I not supposed to learn things?”

Seol-Hwi had suffered minor wounds, but that was predicted by the simulation. He was actually feeling quite good—like he actually had a shot.

“How many times are you going to butt into my life?”

The Supreme Pavilion Lord grunted and narrowed his eyes. He really wanted to end this fight quickly, but he had things to ask before he attacked.

“You… did you have all of this planned?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“…What did you take from my offi—”

“Excuse me.” Seol-Hwi gave him a look. “Don’t go around in circles with your words. The map. Just say you couldn’t find it, so you came here.”

Sama Gwi’s eyes bulged like he’d been stabbed.

“Ahahahah! Hahahah!” He laughed like a madman. “Okay… Now I know for sure.” A strange smile formed on his lips. “I need to kill you today.”

“I’m sure, too.” Seol-Hwi paused for a moment and pondered the courage it took him to fight this man. For him, this was both a blessing and revenge. “Well, unless I kill you, you bastard, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Seol-Hwi’s gaze turned to the sky. He fought knowing he’d die; he’d die without regrets.

Combat Mode: <AI>

Seol-Hwi’s view moved to watch the AI and Supreme Pavilion Lord.

“Ah, seriously. Fuck. Fuck!”

The AI was swearing again. To be honest, Seol-Hwi felt guilty about entrusting this fight to the AI.

“Really. For real. That fucking bastard doesn’t do shit…”

Seol-Hwi felt like the AI was twisting a knife into his guts. Even the Supreme Pavilion Lord was looking at the AI like he’d gone crazy.

“What’re you looking at, huh? Fucking bastard.” AI Seol-Hwi had his own personality. He grinned at Sama Gwi, whose expression went stiff.

He’s coming. Seol-Hwi had a gut feeling. Now that he’d landed a hit once, the Supreme Pavilion Lord would be fighting harder. Seol-Hwi figured that the AI would go all-in on either defense or attack.

The Supreme Pavilion Lord began by dashing back through the door, shortening the distance between them by half.

What the—?! Seol-Hwi blinked, confused. Time had stopped—no, it hadn’t stopped, but Sama Gwi was moving very slowly.

A simulation! He had no idea that the AI was able to use it as well. But the movement… Something was odd about the illusions spreading out across the area. Is it because the Simulation is Lv.2 now?

He didn’t know, and he didn’t have time to think about it. Time had re-accelerated.

The Wind God emerged from Seol-Hwi’s sword at blinding speed, almost destroying the building. The Supreme Pavilion Lord was almost blown away.

Now, the AI was running forward at full speed. Ice energy and snow particles rose in all directions—the White Light Body Demonic Martial Arts, and a lot more extravagant than what Seol-Hwi could do.

But the Supreme Pavilion Lord’s reaction was equally surprising. Despite his shock, he recovered quickly and gathered fire energy to melt the AI’s ice energy.

It wasn’t a perfect defense. Besides, it was a wasted effort. The AI used the ice to deceive Sama Gwi’s eyes rather than to attack. While the Pavilion Lord was busy, the AI had narrowed the distance.

The Wind God Sword? Again?! Wind, storm, and lighting were unleashed as AI Seol-Hwi seamlessly used the Wind God three times. Sama Gwi could not stop this tempest.

The AI stopped attacking. Slowly, the crumbling building, flying splinters, and clouds of smoke settled.

“Fucking thing,” the AI mumbled.

The Supreme Pavilion Lord slowly emerged. However, his clothes were in tatters; it seemed he’d suffered a bit.

He’s crazy. Great. Even with the difference in combat power… Seol-Hwi knew he wouldn’t be able to push Sama Gwi back even if he had the chance. That said, it seemed the AI’s abilities had risen as Seol-Hwi’s had.

“You fuck—!” The Supreme Pavilion Lord’s eyes were red with rage. It looked like he was about to pull out all the stops.

The AI looked up at Seol-Hwi. “You dumb bastard. If you get a fucking divine weapon, at least release its fucking seal!”

Seal—Oh, the sword?

“Oh, you dumbass…” He shook his head and turned back to glare at the Supreme Pavilion Lord.

After a moment of silence, the Supreme Pavilion Lord moved.

What?! He’s even faster!

In the blink of an eye, his fist struck AI Seol-Hwi’s stomach. The AI tried to defend, but it was already too late.

“Agh!” The AI staggered several feet back.

He didn’t even have time to fix his posture before the Supreme Pavilion Lord was hitting him again.

“Ugh!” Despite the pain, the AI got up right away. He threw his sword, forcing the Supreme Pavilion Lord to stop, but he was able to block the blade thanks to the fire energy coating his hands.

“You brat…” The AI smiled. “…You made me work a little.”

“The fun ends here,” Sama Gwi spat. “Just die.” He began to gather increasingly strong fire energy.

However, even though he was cornered, the AI remained confident.

“Damn you. My death, my choice.”

The first blow made the AI stumble.

This is…

The Supreme Pavilion Lord dashed in and grabbed the AI by the hair.

“It’s over.”

However, the AI’s mouth stretched into a mad grin.

“I told you, didn’t I? My death, my choice.” Vein-like lines crept around his eyes, and steam rose from his head.

The AI had ignited all the internal energy in his body.

And then he exploded.

Seol-hwi’s vision faded away as the building trembled from the massive blast.

<Five lives left.>

It began again.

▶ Restart from the Beginning.

▷ Continue

▷ Restart from Save Point.

Another life.