Chapter 296
C296
"Uh..."
"Team Leader, this is..."
Harggan's team members looked perplexed on the other side of the wide-open door.
Harggan had returned earlier than expected.
Furthermore, alongside him was a familiar face.
"Say hello. This is the team member who will climb the Tower with us starting today."
Harggan pointed to YuWon with a nod.
"I-It's... Kim YuWon...? Nice to meet you."
"N-Nice... to meet you."
The way they treated YuWon was quite different now.
During the tutorial, they simply thought he was exceptional compared to the others, but now it was not just that.
They were all Players who had crossed the Tower and reached this point.
Moreover, they were rookies approaching Ranker status.
Naturally, they had a clear understanding of the Ranker title and the existence of High-Rankers.
And YuWon, at that moment, had a rank that competed with the best even among those High-Rankers.
It was a completely different experience to climb the Tower with someone like YuWon.
And in the midst of it, there was one person who saw YuWon for a different reason than the others.
"Nice to meet you."
Lee Sung-yoon.
A player from Earth, just like YuWon.
Seeing someone from his homeland after a long time, Lee Sung-yoon reached out his hand towards YuWon.
"Oh, yeah."
YuWon shook hands with Lee Sung-yoon as a representative. It had been a while since he had seen those faces. It was comforting, if only a little.
But the greetings would have to wait.
"We have a trial tomorrow."
Now was not the time to chat and socialize informally.
"Go outside."
Before they could respond, YuWon immediately walked out the door.
Seeing YuWon leave without saying a word, the team members couldn't help but exchange glances.
Go outside.
Understanding their expressions, Harggan shrugged as if he understood.
"That's just how that guy is, anyway."
It was like telling them to do as they were asked.
Harggan was the first to follow YuWon outside.
The team's residence was a cabin located a little away from the city. There was a not-so-small yard in front, and YuWon stood right in the middle of it.
"Zeus has asked me a favor. He asked me to train his son."
The team members watched as Harggan and Zeus disappeared somewhere.
It turned out to be for training.
Training received from Zeus himself, a former Guild Master and one of the top High-Rankers in this massive Tower.
Surely, that was worth much more than could be quantified.
"Those who wield melee weapons, come this way. Harggan and Lee Sung-yoon, come this way."
Harggan's team had dwindled.
Half of their fellow members from the first Tutorial had dropped out. Now only Paladinthe and Elador, Yolche, Lee Sung-yoon, and two others remained.
The group split into two.
Those who wielded white weapons and those who fought with magical abilities.
In the midst of those divisions, YuWon summoned another leader.
Shh.
A pale-skinned swordsman with a somber gaze, wielding a blood-red sword.
Susanoo.
He appeared in front of YuWon and stood upright.
"I suppose you have an idea of what I'm going to ask of you, don't you?"
-Are you telling me to teach these rookies?
"Yes, exactly that."
With a firm response, Susanoo had nothing more to say.
After all, he was in a position where he could do nothing but obey YuWon's orders.
-...Understood.
If that's what you're asking of me, what can I do?
Susanoo looked at the Players in front of him as if venting his frustration.
-The way of wielding a sword is secondary. First, let's fix your mentality.
Tension could be felt among the team members facing Susanoo.
It would likely be quite difficult.
Receiving training from Susanoo was undoubtedly a challenging task.
But...
"There is no Ranker who wields the sword better than him." (Asura)
That was confirmed by Asura's own eyes.
At least in terms of sword skills, Susanoo surpassed Asura.
Which means...
He is the best sword wielder in this Tower.
We can entrust him with the weapon handling part.
But more than that, the most important thing for him at this moment was Harggan.
"There are three people left."
YuWon looked at the three players.
Harggan, Lee Sung-yoon, and Elador.
Undoubtedly, there were more people in the group who didn't wield weapons than those who did.
It was natural.
In this dangerous world, it's not easy to protect oneself without having a weapon.
However, having nothing in their hands meant...
"It means he has exceptional talent for magic."
YuWon already knew Harggan's talent.
Elador, the elf, also had the potential to become a skilled Ranker in the future.
Only one player remained.
"Lee Sung-yoon."
Originally, he was someone who wouldn't have passed the Tutorial. As such, YuWon didn't know how talented he was.
He had seen it with his own eyes.
Although he wasn't a Pure Blood of the Tower, he showed skills in using mana since the Tutorial.
YuWon wanted to confirm how far the player named Lee Sung-yoon could go.
"I have always believed that real experience is the best training."
Zzzzzz...
Colorless spheres appeared around YuWon.
"Even if you die during this training, I can't do anything about it. So..."
Shuaaaa...
Countless mana cannons came into existence.
Tens, hundreds.
Lee Sung-yoon widened his eyes and opened his mouth seeing the thousands of mana cannons.
"Try to block them as best as you can. The three of you must work together."
Glup...
They swallowed hard due to the accumulated tension. Although they had only seen Zeus, a High-Ranker, they were sure that Kim YuWon as a High-Ranker was not weak either.
Being able to handle that massive amount of mana cannons without a hint of hesitation required a skill that only a few in the Tower possessed.
It was as if merely observing was a learning experience in itself.
Such mastery exists...
Lee Sung-yoon could only be amazed by seeing this.
"It's good that it's simple."
Fwoshhhh!
Harggan also instantly elevated his power.
In the next moment...
Kwaang!
Harggan's team and YuWon's Arcane Power clashed.
***
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***
"It's about concentration."
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Amidst intense bombardment.
YuWon's voice was surprisingly clear.
"That's the most basic. Even if you can create and disperse mana cannons, if you can't hit properly, you'll be no different from a child holding a toy sword."
Lee Sung-yoon realized those words were directed at him.
Mana cannons.
It was the tool he had been working with since the Tutorial.
Now, YuWon was teaching him how to use it.
"While drawing a circle with your left hand, feel as if you're drawing a triangle with your right hand. It's the sensation that each entity is being handled by a completely different person. That's how you increase them one by one, adding different entities."
One by one, the number of mana cannons increased.
Following YuWon's instructions, Lee Sung-yoon imagined and created several additional mana cannons right in that spot.
And at that moment...
"Hey, dude!"
Kwarrng!
Harggan unleashed a lightning bolt as he raised his voice.
"Why do you only care about Lee Sung-yoon all day?"
"What, are you jealous now?"
"Don't you have anything else to say to me?"
"You're doing well."
"...Can't you praise me more cleverly, you bastard?"
It wasn't just a casual observation.
Indeed, Harggan had nothing to work on with YuWon.
Whether it was because he had followed an elite course since he was young, there were no issues like wasting his Arcane Power or not utilizing his skills properly.
Of course, if he wanted to, there was nothing he couldn't do.
It's not that there were no other problems aside from the fundamental skills.
But...
'For now, this guy comes first.'
YuWon's eyes shone as he looked at Lee Sung-yoon.
It had been a long time since he found a precious gem.
Why someone like him hadn't been known until now?
The world's evaluation of Lee Sung-yoon was nothing more than "Harggan's team member," nothing else was known.
Lee Sung-yoon had only played the support role for the team and hadn't stepped to the forefront, which was natural.
But what YuWon saw in him was a truly valuable talent.
"He is capable of absorbing everything he is taught. Whether it's improving the speed at which he fabricates his mana cannons or solving problems..."
In comparison, his physical abilities were nothing special.
He was better than players of a similar level, but compared to his talent, it was quite unsatisfactory.
However, Lee Sung-yoon's talent in relation to Mana was outstanding.
"A brilliant talent."
YuWon didn't ask for anything more.
He only practiced the amount of mana cannons he could create and his control over them.
For now, that was enough.
It wouldn't be too late to further polish those skills after becoming a Ranker.
If he found a suitable ability in the future, even if he didn't, his brilliant value would expand.
"Let's increase a little more."
With that idea in mind, YuWon pushed Lee Sung-yoon even harder.
The number of mana cannons falling from the sky increased.
Lee Sung-yoon, who had been defending himself to the limit, quickly noticed the change.
Zzzzz...
One more mana cannon was added to the ones Lee Sung-yoon already had.
Now they were one hundred.
It was a number that not even the top-ranked players could produce.
Hwaahhhh!
YuWon's attack on Lee Sung-yoon intensified. In response, Lee Sung-yoon increased his Arcane Power to keep up the pace.
To block it somehow.
Lee Sung-yoon's eyes, pushed to the extreme, gradually lost their focus.
"Is it a trance?"
It seemed like Lee Sung-yoon was very focused on increasing the number of mana cannons.
It's good that he's concentrated, but this is dangerous.
This was his limit.
Ung...
The mana cannons, totaling over a hundred, stopped.
Lee Sung-yoon halted when his magic power ceased to move as he wanted. In the next moment, he could meet YuWon's eyes.
Fwoosh...
YuWon's pupils burned in red.
His Golden Cinder Eyes countered Lee Sung-yoon's Arcane Power.
"Let's take a quick break."
"Ah, yes."
Thud-.
After relaxing, Lee Sung-yoon slumped to the ground.
"You've worked hard..."
He felt dazed.
What had he exactly done?
Not only Lee Sung-yoon was surprised. Harggan was too.
And in that moment, YuWon, looking at Lee Sung-yoon, said.
"It's your team that ruined you."
YuWon dropped a bomb out of nowhere, a verbal bomb.
Naturally, there was no way Harggan would stay silent.
"What are you talking about?"
His team was the one that ruined Lee Sung-yoon.
As the team leader, Harggan couldn't let it pass.
"Don't misunderstand me. I didn't say it with ill intentions."
"Explain it properly, then."
He knew that YuWon wasn't someone who spoke empty words.
It was probably true that he didn't mean it seriously. But Harggan desperately wanted an explanation.
So...
"Throughout the way up the Tower..."
YuWon looked at Lee Sung-yoon and said, as if it were obvious.
"You have never experienced any dangerous moments, have you?"
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