ch 112
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Kim Do-yoon had the skills of a B-grade Holder.
I don’t know how much his skills in the original work differ from now, but in the story, he had skills comparable to any warrior-type upper class Holder.
If I had to compare, his skills were similar to Ha Do-kwon’s when he caused trouble at the end-of-semester evaluations.
That Kim Do-yoon, empowered by a [Berserk Potion], was charging at Moon Ga-eun with all his might.
Judging by his momentum and appearance… There was no doubt it was a [Ruthless Charge] utilizing assault runes.
‘That bastard…’
Anger rose up slightly.
His intentions were obvious.
While we let our guard down, he planned to take out the long-range fighters first then attack me.
Or perhaps, driven by his psychopathic nature that takes pleasure in murdering women, his body moved on its own instinctively.
Either way…
My goal of protecting Moon Ga-eun from that bastard remained unchanged.
‘Can’t use magic power.’
It was already too late to use magic power once Kim Do-yoon started moving.
Magic power takes a lot of time not only for arranging and invoking, but even for sensing it.
It’s not without reason that mage-type Holders take so long to prepare their attacks.
Skills like [Fragmented Earth Garden] or [Penetrating Brain Strike] were not fast enough to stop him at this golden timing.
‘There are three ways.’
One is [Declaration of Domination] of [Oppression].
It’s one of the few abnormal status skills I have, and it was a skill that paid for itself even during the Ha DO-kwon incident.
However, there is one downside to this.
If the opponent’s Stat is high, there is a possibility that ‘fear’ will not be applied.
It was the only way to stop him during Ha Do-kwon’s time, and I used it because time was running out…
Expecting the opponent to have a low Stat again was a way to rely too much on luck.
‘Can’t use a shield either.’
Blocking his charge head-on with a shield was also dangerous.
I learned this the hard way when hunting the ‘Red Drake’.
Back then, although I blocked its attack, my whole body was battered and I nearly died.
Here too, I could probably block and counterattack somehow, but that would likely endanger Moon Ga-eun.
Blocking a [Ruthless Charge] head-on, even with good defensive abilities, was reckless.
“Hup…!!”
That left me with one method.
An eye for an eye. Fight charge with charge.
Although I was greatly inferior to Kim Do-yoon who started charging first in terms of acceleration, the rare rune [Sprint of Fury] could cover for this to some degree.
I utilized both [Rage Rush] and [Ruthless Charge] simultaneously.
“Uwaaah—!!”
Crash-!!
Kim Do-yoon, screaming as he closed in.
I too rushed toward him and we collided.
What happens when [Ruthless Charge] clashes with [Ruthless Charge]?
The answer is ‘the charges end’.
Whether blocking with a shield or countering with an opposing charge…
Assault runes stop providing assistance once an obstacle or target is reached.
However, this does not negate the effects of [Ruthless Charge].
The special effect of striking the target with twice one’s strength.
These effects collide, and the one with lower strength stat takes damage equal to the difference.
This was why I couldn’t use this method against the A-grade monster Red Drake.
“Ugh…!!”
I promptly utilized [Harden] to brace myself.
Kim Do-yoon’s strength stat doubled by the ‘Berserk Potion’.
Although greatly amplified, my strength stat was no pushover either, enough to withstand the impact.
“Die… Do Jae-hyun… I’ll kill you….”
Whoosh—!
The sound of a blade cutting through air.
Victorious from the collision, Kim Do-yoon swung his sword at me quickly.
‘Damn.’
Even in that frenzy, I nimbly switched weapons to [Goblin Bronze Shield] and blocked his attack.
There were two reasons I didn’t block with my sword.
First, in my current destabilized stance, blocking with a shield was more efficient than parrying with a sword.
And secondly…
‘Iron Wall Defense!’
Boom—!!
An enormous impact hit the shield in my hand.
The second reason I held up the shield.
It was due to Kim Do-yoon’s special epic-grade rune.
[Bursting Blade Aura].
A powerful epic rune that can freely create explosions on struck targets.
A rune with composite damage combining physical attacks and magic power, it was the number one contributor that made Kim Do-yoon a strong Holder.
Blocking such attacks recklessly with a sword was too dangerous.
“Do Jae-hyun!”
A sudden explosion followed.
Moon Ga-eun behind me cried out in surprise.
Fortunately, proper skill usage in the nick of time allowed me to block his attack again.
Thanks to [Iron Wall Defense] activated at the right timing, I blocked the lethality of the explosion.
But I couldn’t fully withstand the pressure, getting pushed back with my shield still raised.
Moon Ga-eun, who was preparing a counterattack, caught me.
“Do, Do Jae-hyun. You okay?”
“…..”
Her unintentional back hug flustered me a bit, but this was no time to worry about that.
Without taking my eyes off the front, I answered.
“I’m fine. You were getting ready to provide cover fire?”
“Oh, yeah. But what the heck happened here…”
“Don’t know. Let’s block him first then think. I’ll create an opening, so hit him when the timing’s right. Use your Extreme Shot if you can.”
“Got it. Be careful….”
I nodded slightly.
No idea if some order suddenly came down from the <Villains> for Kim Do-yoon to attack us, but…
Kim Do-yoon’s plan was certainly successful.
From the start, he chugged a [Berserk Potion] to create an overwhelming difference in abilities I couldn’t catch up to, then rushed to take out Moon Ga-eun the archer first to shut down long-range attacks.
And even if that was blocked, he would overwhelm me with his unique rune abilities and amplified stats.
It was a blitz giving me no room to properly defend, even if the plan seemed simple and crude.
‘That’s why they only sent Kim Do-yoon.’
An order to eliminate me.
Why did <Villains> only send Kim Do-yoon for that plan?
They probably determined that a berserk Kim Do-yoon alone would be enough to take me out.
No matter how fast my growth rate, considering the ‘Ha Do-kwon incident’ where I was helpless…
Sending just Kim Do-yoon hopped up on Berserk Potion seemed sufficient to suppress me.
‘…That’s based on normal calculations.’
But that was a miscalculation.
There was too big a difference between me at that time and now.
[Rune Hunter], and [Effort of the Seeker].
My growth rate, boosted by the two legendary runes, was beyond normal calculations.
Just looking at my ability to block Kim Do-yoon’s attacks showed that.
The assault runes [Rage Rush].
Plus the added [Ruthless Charge].
Blocking the second attack with [Goblin Bronze Shield] and the skill [Iron Wall Defense].
Most of the runes, skills, and items I used to defend…
Were gained after the ‘Ha Do-kwon incident’.
Even I was surprised by this speed of growth, let alone the <Villains> anticipating it.
“Do Jae-hyun… I’ll kill you… hehe… the girl too… I’ll kill her too….”
“You crazy bastard.”
Foul language naturally spilled out at his murmuring as he emerged from the smoke.
After drinking a [Berserk Potion], most Holders lose reason and are driven only by the purpose they drank the potion for and their innate nature.
Kim Do-yoon’s original goal was to kill me.
And his instinct was to murder women.
The mental pleasure gained from that was now driving him.
In short, if I fell here, Moon Ga-eun would die too.
I couldn’t help but curse at that disgusting sight.
“Uuu, uwaaah—!!”
The deranged Kim Do-yoon lost his mind again as he prepared to fight.
All the unexpected defenses were over.
Now I too had to prepare a counterattack.
‘First… balance our stats.’
Kim Do-yoon’s amplified stats right now were enormous.
If average main stats for ordinary B-grade Holders are around 50, his [Berserk Potion] boosted 1.5x stats would be 70~80.
With my current stats, I was no match for him.
In my position of having to face him head-on, I needed to even the stats to get a fight going.
Runes that boost stats are [Descendant of the Barbarian King] and [Oppression].
But right now, I didn’t satisfy the conditions for both runes.
I needed a way to raise my stats without any conditions or penalties.
And I had just one method left for that.
‘Berserk.’
Rumble—
An indescribable aura surrounded me.
My body grew hot, blood rushed to my head.
Overflowing power filled my hands gripping my weapons.
Indeed.
So this is [Berserk].
[Berserk], the derived skill of [Descendant of the Barbarian King], increases stats by 50% for 10 minutes.
The same exact effect as the [Berserk Potions] Ha Do-kwon and now Kim Do-yoon were using.
Yet it was a broken skill with practically no penalties.
Brimming with the surging power…
I looked at Kim Do-yoon, ready to charge.
And grinned as I spoke.
“Let’s fight fair and square, you bastard.”
The murderous bastard who had pushed me back abusing buffs.
I too now had stats on par with him.
We were back to square one.
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