SWNOVELXO Chapter 84 - Hell (4)
Chapter 84. Hell (4)
Yuri’s story brought a sly smile to the Tiger-Print Woman’s face.
“Heh, you’re quite commendable. Since you’re such a good boy, I’ll tell you something special.”
“What is it?”
“Ten times. Endure ten hits, and those 5 million points will be yours.”
Upon hearing that, Yuri’s face lit up with hope.
“Wow, that’s a very promising story.”
With those words, Yuri’s leg slammed down onto the ground.
Thud.
Despite the heavy sound that resonated, Yuri’s form barely wavered.
His movement was swift and silent, contrasting the forceful sound.
The secret Magic Body Technique of the Redner Family.
Cloud Step (運步).
Yuri moved like a ghost.
His sword flashed towards the Tiger-Print Woman like a bolt of lightning.
Crackle.
Yuri’s sword, flying towards her, was enveloped in a gleam and electricity.
It was the powerful sword technique he had recently mastered.
At that moment, as he unleashed his powerful strike, Yuri read the gaze of the Tiger-Print Woman following his every move.
Simultaneously, a chill ran down his spine, triggering an alarm.
He immediately executed Cloud Step again.
Whoosh.
Yuri swiftly retreated.
And not a second later, a fist slammed into the spot where he had just been.
Boom!
Watching the ground explode as if it had been hit by a bomb, Yuri swallowed dryly.
‘She’s strong.’
Even though he had sensed the danger and moved right away, the situation had been perilously close.
Meanwhile, the Tiger-Print Woman’s eyes sparkled as she observed Yuri dodging her attack.
“Good reflexes? Or is it good vision? I didn’t hit you hard, but you still dodged it. Well, that’s fine. That’s one hit. Nine more to go.”
She spoke as she lightly cracked her neck.
Crack, crack.
“You seem pretty skilled, so I’ll hit you a bit harder from now on.”
Her words made Yuri’s face tense even more.
Meanwhile, the Tiger-Print Woman lightly bounced up and down before settling into a stance.
Her right leg was slightly spread forward, her right fist extended.
Her left hand was slightly open, positioned near her heart.
The metal gauntlets on both her hands particularly caught Yuri’s eye.
‘As expected, she specializes in hand-to-hand combat.’
He had wondered why she didn’t have a weapon, but the punch that had shattered the ground a moment ago confirmed it.
The Tiger-Print Woman was indeed a practitioner of Martial Arts.
Since this was the first time Yuri was fighting someone like her, he heightened his focus.
‘The distance is roughly 3 meters.’
The moment Yuri measured the distance between himself and the Tiger-Print Woman—
Bang.
A sonic boom erupted from directly in front of him.
As soon as he heard it, Yuri moved immediately.
Yet, somehow, a fist had already crossed the space and was right in front of his face.
Crack.
As the fist grazed the tip of his nose, a strange sound echoed, and blood began to drip from his nostrils.
But Yuri had no time to worry about it.
‘Damn it!’
He had anticipated the attack as soon as he heard the sound and moved preemptively.
Given the distance between them and his Cloud Step, he thought it wouldn’t be difficult to avoid her attack.
But he was wrong.
‘The punch arrived almost as soon as I heard the sound!’
In other words, the Tiger-Print Woman’s speed was on par with, or even faster than, the speed of sound.
This put Yuri in a dire situation instantly.
But the real danger was just beginning.
As Yuri narrowly avoided the first punch, her fist opened and aimed to grab his collar.
Shiver.
‘If I get caught here, it’s over!’
Yuri mustered all his strength, channeling his mana.
The secret Magic Body Technique of the Redner Family.
Thunder Wing (雷翼).
Crackle.
Yuri’s collar narrowly escaped the fingertips of the metal gauntlet as he activated Thunder Wing.
Just as Yuri was about to break away—
Whoosh.
The Tiger-Print Woman’s body spun, her arm lashing out like a whip, aiming for Yuri’s chest with the back of her hand.
Yuri gritted his teeth and unleashed Thunder Wing again.
Crack.
One leap.
Crack.
Another leap.
Only after using Thunder Wing twice more was Yuri finally able to shake her off.
“Gasp, gasp—”
Yuri, who had just used Thunder Wing three times in a row, panted heavily, clenching his teeth.
Punches, palms, fingers, the back of the hand.
And her arms and shoulders.
She freely used every part of her body in her unpredictable attacks, something Yuri had never encountered before.
Particularly, the “punching range” was different from the “sword range,” which left Yuri even more bewildered.
He glared at the Tiger-Print Woman standing more than 5 meters away.
‘I can only use Thunder Wing one more time… maybe twice if I push myself.’
In the past, Yuri could barely manage to use Thunder Wing twice, but now he could use it four to five times.
This was certainly a significant improvement, but in this situation, it was still far from enough.
Meanwhile, the Tiger-Print Woman was equally surprised.
She alternated her gaze between her fist and Yuri.
“You’re quite something.”
Just a moment ago, she had intended to knock Yuri out with her full force.
But that brat had withstood her attacks.
Not just once, but four times in total.
“Six more to go. Let’s see what happens if I get a little more serious.”
As she spoke, the Tiger-Print Woman clashed her fists together.
Clang.
A clear metallic sound rang out, and a change began to occur in her metal gauntlets.
At first, a transparent sheen appeared across the gauntlets.
Then, they began to glow red as if they were being heated in a furnace.
As the glow intensified, red mana flames finally engulfed the metal gauntlets.
Yuri’s eyes gleamed.
‘Strengthening, softening, and tempering.’
From Level 1 to Level 3, the progression.
And then—
Whoosh.
The mana flames were swiftly absorbed into the metal gauntlets.
Soon, the gauntlets appeared to be encased in a translucent red barrier.
The sight of Johan’s assigned task appearing before Yuri didn’t bring him any joy.
After all, it was he who had to face it head-on.
Conflict flickered in Yuri’s eyes.
‘Should I use Magic Flow (마류)?’
But he quickly shook his head internally.
‘Not now.’
His body wasn’t in good condition.
Even if he used Magic Flow at this point, it wouldn’t prevent defeat.
In that case…
‘I’ll save it for later.’
Today was already a lost cause.
He decided to save his trump card for his next attempt, aiming for a more perfect victory.
Yuri resolved this and smiled wryly, as if giving up.
“Damn… it’s going to hurt a bit if I get hit.”
With that muttered remark, Yuri charged at the Tiger-Print Woman.
‘Even if I don’t use Magic Flow… it doesn’t mean I’ve lost yet!’
Yuri pressed forward, aiming for the slim chance of victory.
Though he knew defeat was almost certain, his expression oddly radiated clarity.
Crackle!
Boom!
As lightning surged into the night sky and the sound of explosions echoed, a calm settled over the forest.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped Yuri’s lips.
He barely managed to open his eyes, dark circles clearly visible under them.
‘D-dying here.’
The pain was excruciating, as if he really might die.
From head to toe, there wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t ache.
Even his finger joints throbbed with pain.
This was the price of pushing Thunder Wing to its limit.
‘I understand now why the Old Man got constipated when he couldn’t even go to the bathroom…’
Did he experience this kind of pain frequently from overusing Thunder Wing?
If so, it made sense that he got constipated.
This was the kind of pain that would make you forget about going to the bathroom.
“Hah…”
Yuri took deep breaths, trying to ignore the pain.
He gazed up at the unfamiliar ceiling through blurry eyes and recalled the battle with the Tiger-Print Woman.
‘…It was just one hit.’
Contrary to his bold charge, Yuri was knocked out with a single blow.
And that was after using Thunder Wing two more times in succession.
‘I wasn’t too slow.’
The problem was the destructive power.
‘Was that a **Magic Sword… or should I call it a Magic Fist?’
No matter how much he struck, his powerful sword technique couldn’t penetrate the Tiger-Print Woman’s Magic Fist.
It felt like striking a chunk of steel.
Moreover, the destructive power was so overwhelming that his hand was shredded instantly.
If his sword, White, hadn’t been made of White Steel, or if he hadn’t mastered the powerful sword technique recently, the sword would have shattered.
‘I understand now what the Magic Flow Realm is.’
The Strengthening, Softening, and Tempering realm simply enhanced the original functions of a weapon.
However, the Magic Flow Realm didn’t just enhance; it imbued a weapon with transcendent destructive power.
This power was completely beyond the realm of physical strength.
It was almost like magic in a story.
‘So that’s why it’s called the Magic Flow Realm.’
And the Tiger-Print Woman wielded the Magic Fist.
‘The problem is… I don’t think that’s the extent of it.’
From his battle with her, Yuri realized her skill wasn’t just limited to Level 4.
At the time, she had only displayed strength matching a Level 4 practitioner.
Her true strength remained a mystery.
‘How am I supposed to beat someone like that?’
Even if all 50 cadets attacked together, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
One punch from her could take out a dozen or more people.
‘I need to come up with a strategy for my next challenge.’
With this thought, Yuri blinked his eyes.
Finally, the blurry vision that had been staring at the ceiling began to clear.
“…But where am I?”
It looked like a ceiling made of cloth.
‘Is this a tent?’
But who had brought him here?
Forget it, I’ll think about it later. I should just get some more sleep.
…Just as Yuri was about to close his eyes again.
“He’s awake.”
“I’m hungry.”
Two faces suddenly popped into Yuri’s view.
Left and right.
Seeing the faces abruptly invade his personal space from both sides, Yuri flinched in shock.
“Damn it, you scared me!”
Yuri, still lying down, jerked his body, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his limbs.
“Gah!”
Yuri let out a strange cry of pain, making Arin and Poppy tilt their heads in confusion.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Is he hungry?”
As Arin kept tilting her head, she casually poked Yuri’s arm with her finger.
Poke.
“Gah!”
Seeing Yuri flail again, they finally realized that his condition wasn’t normal.
Arin’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh, really? Is that how it is?”
She raised her index fingers and began poking various parts of Yuri’s body.
Poke.
“You…”
“Ow!”
Poke.
“Dared…”
“Eek!”
Poke.
“To…”
“Argh!”
Poke.
“Throw me?!”
“Ahh!”
Poke, poke, poke.
“You bad guy!”
“Ow!”
Poke, poke, poke, poke.
With every jab of her fingers, Yuri’s body convulsed as if struck by lightning.
Finally, after Yuri started drooling from the pain, Arin seemed to have calmed down and stopped poking him.
“Hah… I’ll let you off this time.”
Of course, Yuri was already halfway unconscious by then and couldn’t respond.
Meanwhile, Poppy, who had been watching this with an awkward smile, placed his hand on Yuri’s body.
Having just been thoroughly tormented by Arin, Yuri flinched reflexively at Poppy’s touch.
Ignoring Yuri’s reaction, Poppy began to massage his arm.
Yuri’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘…Huh? That feels good.’
Even the slightest touch had caused intense pain before.
But as Poppy massaged him, the pain subsided, replaced by a soothing sensation.
Massage, massage.
Poppy continued to massage various parts of Yuri’s body for quite some time before finally stopping.
Afterward, Yuri blinked and cautiously raised his upper body.