Chapter 18: Stat Training Center （2）
In the darkness.
Kang San focused his senses.
The moment a flash of sharp energy appeared, he instinctively raised his shield. A powerful impact reverberated through it.
Thwack!
Papat.
That was the beginning.
Without a moment to breathe after blocking the first attack, arrows were fired from all directions at regular intervals. He managed to block or dodge most of the attacks with his shield. The first stage of training was at a level that Kang San could handle with his abilities. The problem was that the gravity occasionally made some attacks overwhelming.
Pat!
An arrow cutting through the darkness.
After dodging two arrows in front, another one appeared behind them.
It was an attack precisely aimed at his blind spot.
Thanks to his focused senses, he was able to react quickly, but the problem was that his body reacted slower than his mind.
‘Too late.’
Dodging was impossible.
It wasn’t within the range he could block with his shield either.
Kang San made an efficient decision.
As a Tanker, there would be times when he had to choose to expose his bare skin instead of risking a fatal blow.
Just like now.
‘Iron Man.’
Puck!
The arrow struck.
Thanks to Iron Man increasing his defense, the impact was lessened, but the pain of the arrow piercing his flesh wouldn’t easily become familiar. However, Kang San tried to react as calmly as possible. Making the decision to expose his bare skin and getting used to the pain were essential for a Tanker. Since he had chosen a dangerous path where a split second could take his life, Kang San tried to get used to it as a Tanker.
Papapak!
The training continued.
For an hour, arrows were fired relentlessly. The training ended when he was out of breath and his body felt heavy.
『One hour has passed.』
『The training is over. The next training will begin in 3 hours.』
“Finally, it’s over.”
Barely the first stage.
It was his second time going through the first stage of training, but it was still difficult enough that he couldn’t move on to the next stage.
Considering the conditions of the Stat Training Center, he had to reach at least the 5th stage. The thought alone was mentally exhausting. While dodging arrow attacks in the dark sounded easy, it was a pain to avoid life-threatening attacks for an entire hour. The training wasn’t originally like this. The reaction speed training he had experienced before involved dodging rubber bullets, but things had changed with Azmoon’s Trial.
‘Think positive, think positive… bullshit.’
He swallowed his curse.
He had to get used to it, but it was still difficult.
Dragging his exhausted body out to the waiting room, Kang San burst into laughter at his reflection in the mirror.
“This is disastrous.”
Kang San’s appearance was a mess.
Blood Man.
His body was drenched in blood.
Although he had used Healing Aura to heal himself concurrently, it didn’t make all the arrow-pierced clothes and spilled blood disappear. The clothes Kang San was wearing had turned into rags, and the white parts were stained red. He usually wore armor when going out hunting, but choosing ordinary clothes for training had resulted in this.
Kang San let out a weak chuckle, “Puhuhu.”
Seeing himself in this state from the very first stage, he couldn’t help but worry about the next 300 days.
‘But I have to do it.’
This wasn’t a game.
Becoming stronger required a corresponding price, and he could gain great rewards in a short time by risking his life.
Kang San believed that.
Since his growth had been slower than others, he needed to put in dozens of times more effort to surpass them.
There was no time to rest.
It was time to move on to the next training.
Kang San dragged his heavy body and entered the Skill Proficiency Training Center.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
The interior of the training center was quite simple.
A metal door was installed at the end of a wide, flat space. Kang San could directly set how many monsters to summon at once. The type of monster was the same Lizardmen as during the Link. Since he had requested a similar environment to that time, 20 Lizardmen were waiting beyond the metal door.
‘Five for now.’
Beep.
『Settings have been entered.』
It was such a convenient world.
A system that provided monsters for training.
Although the monster grades were limited from the higher grades onwards, it was still the best training available at the lower grades. And all the monster byproducts had to be handed over to the Stat Training Center. This was because the users of the training center only purchased the right to train, not the right to gain financial benefits from the monsters.
Creak.
The door opened.
As the dark space was illuminated by the light, 10 Lizardmen, emaciated from hunger, could be seen inside.
Krrrrrrr.
Kyaak!
The Lizardmen rushed in at once.
Compared to the Link, it was a considerably smaller number, but Kang San didn’t let his guard down for a moment.
『Guardian’s Will has been activated.』
『Since the number of enemies you are facing is 5, your defense and health regeneration will increase by 5% each.』
A mere 5%.
Ironically, during the Link, he was able to endure better because of the large number of opponents. The attacks of the Lizardmen, who were of the same grade, didn’t cause much damage due to his high defense, and Kang San had shown his prowess by making good use of the terrain and dealing with 20 Lizardmen. But it was different now. In a situation where a single attack could lead to a fatal blow, the same brute-force combat method as before was impossible.
Whoosh!
Clang!
He started by lightly blocking with his shield.
At the same time, he dodged the Lizardman’s follow-up attack with a side step and swung his sword the moment an opening appeared.
Slice!
Kyaaaak!
Blood splattered on the Lizardman’s forearm.
From then on, it was a continuous exchange of attacks. The starving Lizardmen rushed in, neglecting defense, and Kang San calmly dealt with them by blocking with his shield and counterattacking. He could definitely feel that he had become exponentially stronger compared to before. Ordinary Hunters usually struggled even when dealing with 2~3 monsters of the same grade, but Kang San, equipped with stats and skills, displayed outstanding power despite the gravity penalty.
‘Blood Demon Sword Technique, First Style: Blade K*ll ‘
Flash.
The killing intent exploded.
The moment the Lizardman, who had revealed an opening, looked up at Kang San, its body was split in two.
Puhwak!
『Blood Demon Art’s effect has been activated.』
『Attack power is temporarily increased by 1%.』
The first sacrifice.
His heart pounded.
Even though the side effects of Blood Demon Art hadn’t fully kicked in yet, Kang San recalled the moment when he was covered in blood. The feeling of gradually losing his sanity in exchange for powerful force. Kang San wanted to recreate that state again. Blood Demon Art was a way to solve his lack of attack power, and in order to utilize it properly, he had to confront the problem head-on.
And.
‘Since I’ve already learned Blood Demon Art, it has become a problem I must solve.’
Head-on confrontation.
Kang San defeated the Lizardmen one by one.
As soon as he finished off the 5 Lizardmen, he immediately summoned 5 more, continuing the effect of Blood Demon Art.
Finally.
『Blood Demon Art’s effect has been activated.』
『Attack power is temporarily increased by 10%.』
10.
His body was burning hot.
It seemed that there was a general increase in abilities that wasn’t expressed numerically. The enhancement of his senses allowed him to react easily to the opponent’s attacks, and above all, being able to instantly grasp the opponent’s vital points was a huge advantage. It took quite some time to deal with 10, but once the effect of Blood Demon Art kicked in, he dealt with the Lizardmen at an incomparably faster pace. The Lizardmen were being slaughtered in an instant. Around the time Kang San had also sustained a fair amount of injuries, he sent the 20th Lizardman’s head flying into the air.
Slice!
Thud, roll.
『Blood Demon Art’s effect has been activated.』
『Attack power is temporarily increased by 20%.』
“Huff.”
Kang San took a deep breath.
His pupils dilated.
This time, even Guardian’s Will couldn’t be activated due to its cooldown.
Blood Demon Art.
The devil dormant within it had opened its eyes.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
It was a fragment of a memory.
A man.
To be precise, a Blood Demon in the form of Kang San wandered the world aimlessly.
His hair had turned into rags, and his eyes, devoid of any will to live, were no different from being dead.
Then one day.
An old man blocked the Blood Demon’s path.
“Your eyes are filled with a tremendous amount of killing intent for someone who has given up on life. I wonder what would happen to the world if someone like you had ‘power’. The appearance of a cruel murderer would turn the Murim upside down. Kekeke, it’s an amusing thought. Child. You have been given a great opportunity. So, to gain confidence in whether I should grant you this opportunity, prove to me how thirsty you are for murder within the next 100 days. If you prove your worth, I will grant you an overwhelming power that no one can rival.”
The Blood Demon looked up at the old man.
No, that title was wrong.
Kang San’s past life at that time was just an ordinary man, and the old man looking down at him was the one who was truly called the Blood Demon.
His mouth was parched.
The man barely managed to open his cracked lips, which hadn’t had a drop of water for a week, and spoke with eyes blazing with killing intent.
“You will see me again.”
100 days later.
The man had killed countless people.
His reputation spread far and wide, and rumors circulated to the extent that the number of people who died at his hands reached over a hundred. He didn’t discriminate against his opponents.
Whether they were demonic cultivators, righteous faction members, or even ordinary people, no one could escape the man’s grasp.
That was how the Blood Demon Art began.
“Blood Demon Art is a martial art that gains ‘power’ from killing intent.”
The Blood Demon’s teachings.
Those words were deeply etched in Kang San’s heart.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
『You have fallen into Qi Deviation.』
“Ugh.”
Splatter.
Kang San vomited everything in his stomach.
His heart pounded.
His mind was spinning, and his face flushed red from the blood that was boiling over and about to explode.
“Kuuugh.”
Killing intent surged.
The root of Blood Demon Art.
With the power gained by killing people, Kang San, despite not intending to, started killing people in his mind. Each time, a disgusting smell hit the back of his throat. Even just imagining it, the illusion that he had actually killed people was unbearable.
“Sh…it.”
Dealing with 20 Lizardmen without Guardian’s Will.
That was a mistake.
Guardian’s Will was Kang San’s safety net, but by abandoning it, he had stepped into dangerous territory.
But even if he could turn back time, Kang San’s choice would have been the same.
Blood Demon Art.
The power that had already become a part of him.
He couldn’t rely on Guardian’s Will forever, so he had to make it his own.
“Huu, huup.”
He took rough breaths.
The act of killing people.
He felt himself becoming assimilated with it just by imagining it.
Kang San gritted his teeth.
He desperately denied the presence of the Blood Demon that was trying to overshadow him.
‘I’m different from that b*stard.’
During the Link incident.
Kang San had received positive emotions by saving people. Ordinary people who might have died if it weren’t for his help. He couldn’t help but smile when they expressed their gratitude after being saved by him.
That was him.
Unlike the murderer who indiscriminately killed people just because he needed power, he had a warm heart.
‘If I was meant to be a murderer, I would have already fallen into the abyss.’
The past years.
Kang San’s life had been full of twists and turns.
As misfortunes repeated, there were incidents that almost pushed him into the clutches of evil.
One day.
Kang San had been subjected to excessive physical punishment by a teacher.
Due to repeated misfortunes, he was often late or absent from school, and his homeroom teacher at the time was someone who enjoyed using corporal punishment to the point of being called a mad dog. That day, Kang San was beaten until his buttocks were bruised. As the beatings accumulated day after day, Kang San thought that he might as well k*ll the teacher if he was going to be beaten like this anyway.
Was his misfortune his fault?
No.
He was truly trying to live his life diligently, but he couldn’t fight against the misfortunes that struck without warning.
The bus overturning.
The subway stopping.
Due to being unjustly punished for various incidents, a demon tried to awaken within Kang San’s heart.
At that moment.
Kang San suddenly remembered his parents.
‘At least I survived.’
His parents who had died when he was young.
He didn’t remember clearly, but they had said that they had sacrificed themselves for him.
It was a life that they had risked their lives to save.
He didn’t want to ruin such a life because of some trash who took out his frustrations on students through violence.
He suppressed his killing intent.
Instead of resorting to violence, Kang San responded rationally by reporting the teacher to the education office.
25 years of life.
That was how Kang San had lived.
He didn’t want to kneel before a past life he didn’t even know existed, a Blood Demon, and become a slave to killing intent.
“…I haven’t lived all this time to become a b*stard like you.”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, his mind cleared.
The killing intent that had been gripping his mind vanished at once.
And then.
『You have fulfilled the special conditions of Blood Demon Art.』
『Blood Demon Art has been upgraded to 2 stars.』
Blood Demon Art.
It had undergone a new transformation.
