Solo Max-Level Newbie
chapter-229

Chapter 229: A Day Off at the Fortress (1)

In the private training ground of the fortress, Jinhyuk slowly adjusted his breathing in the center of the room.

“Phew…”

He could feel the magic power spreading throughout his body.

As he lightly swung his newly acquired ‘Greatsword of the Light Warrior,’ a blue trajectory was drawn in the empty air.

Vrooom!

A single strike mixed with appropriate speed and weight.

The sword dance, reminiscent of a rampaging beast, continued for dozens of minutes.

Some distance away, a few onlookers were watching the scene.

“…Boring. I thought we finally had some free time to have fun, but he’s just training again.”

Elis puffed her cheeks, seemingly irked.

“But. Really, Jinhyuk-nim is amazing. Look at that, sis. He swings that huge greatsword so easily… Wow. He just missed the sword three times.”

Andrea exclaimed in admiration again and again.

Looks like she left the mental ward to her subordinates because her face was carefree and giggling…

If the manager saw this, they’d probably sigh deeply.

“…”

Finally, Wol Young stood silently in the shadows, mouth firmly closed.

Her complex feelings toward Jinhyuk were evident on her face.

The sword dance Jinhyuk presented was flawless.

The sound of the sword splitting the air was calming enough to settle one’s mind.

“Well… Not bad for a human. Though he’s far from my noble self. Still, aside from me, there’s no one who could beat the guy.”

Elis grudgingly nodded her head despite the constant exclamations of admiration.

Just then.

Abruptly.

The greatsword stopped.

Jinhyuk, wiping off the sweat, smiled satisfactorily.

‘I think I get it now.’

Since he had to use various weapons depending on the situation, he had to handle this new greatsword freely as well.

Although there were onlookers like ticks, he didn’t use ‘Berserker’…

Yet, he had still achieved proficiency with the new weapon.

‘Now, I should raise the stats I’ve been saving up.’

Distributing stats was one of the most anticipated parts of a raid.

The growth through leveling up was proof of overcoming powerful enemies and a driving force to feel stronger.

Jinhyuk activated his personal status window for the first time in a while.

Ding!

Name: Kang Jinhyuk

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Level: 86

Strength 71 Agility 30 Stamina 40 Magic Power 188 Gap 100 Luck 10 Adaptability 78 Energy 32.53

Available Stat Points: 18

Coins: 56,150

Job: Rune Interpreter

Unique Abilities: ‘Fusion’, ‘Sword Tomb’, ‘Star’s Blessing’, ‘Judgement of Anubis’, ‘Blood Magic’, ‘Mandala’, ‘1-Second Invincibility’, ‘Thousand Poison’, ‘White Savage Beast’, ‘Sharing of All Fortunes’, ‘Sanctuary of the Sun’, ‘Imperial Dark Sky Technique’, ‘Titan Strike’, ‘Breath of the Fire Dragon’, ‘High-Speed Sword’, ‘Tombgrave’s Right Arm’, ‘Berserker’

Skills: The number of learned skills is too many, switched to ‘folded’ state.

Barriers: The number of learned barriers is too many, switched to ‘folded’ state.

He secured a total of 18 stats with a 6-level increase.

Moreover, the four unique abilities he acquired since coming to the empire caught his eye.

‘To smoothly handle the ‘Greatsword of the Light Warrior’ and the ability ‘Berserker’… I’m going to have to start investing in strength.’

Considering even making higher abilities through fusion, the importance of the strength stat increased even more.

Without hesitation, Jinhyuk invested all the obtained stats in strength.

[Your strength has increased from 71 → 89.]

Definitely.

The weight of the greatsword felt noticeably lighter.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart pounded pleasantly.

He couldn’t help but be excited, achieving growth and targets so ideally.

‘…Gaining the fortress means I can now fully exercise influence in the power struggles of the middle layers.’

He already had a plan for every move.

All that remained was to calmly wait for the perfect timing.

Okay, then let’s try…

Jinhyuk recalled his unique abilities and skills stored in ‘Memory of the World.’

Golden parchment unfolded, and the fruits of his labor thus far were displayed.

Among them, Jinhyuk selected three skills.

[Unique Abilities ‘High-Speed Sword’, Skill ‘Sword Draw’, and Unique Ability ‘Sanctuary of the Sun’ are fusing!]

A dazzling light flickered.

Right at that moment.

‘…Now!

Jinhyuk spread a barrier over a strand of golden mist.

[A 5-star ‘Forced Spatial Constraint’ barrier activates!]

Ancient runes of white reacted with the mist, constructing a glamorous magic circle.

1 second… 2 seconds.

Though the moment was brief, it felt eternal.

And just then.

Fizz!

Blue sparks erupted elaborately.

…Success!

It was a challenging combination, but fortunately, his body seemed to remember.

[You have fused the Unique Ability ‘Realm of Wind’!]

[The fused ability will be stored in ‘Memory of the World’.]

[Realm of Wind]

Difficulty of Acquisition: Immeasurable

Description: The caster can determine the size of the realm based on their proficiency and available magic power, with all speeds within the realm of swiftness increasing by 100%.

[Maximum duration is 5 minutes.]

A full twice as fast!

He was already moving at hard-to-follow speeds, but this would allow for much faster attacks and movements.

‘I really want to use this right away…’

His body was itching with eagerness to try it out.

Ah! By the way, if I use that method, I can test the skill and also take a good bite out of the onlookers.

Jinhyuk glanced to the side.

“Don’t you find it boring to just watch from afar?”

“If you know that, why don’t you join in the fun? Both the empire and martial arts world are just watching each other; it’s really boring.”

“Playing is boring. Why don’t we make a bet instead? You know the game of tag? Touch the opponent’s body with your hand to win. The time limit is 3 minutes. If you catch me within that time, you win.”

The tip of the greatsword followed Elis, Andrea, and Wol Young.

“You can’t be serious… You mean you can just run away in that time?”

Elis’ eyebrows twisted in vexation.

Understandable, considering it was a statement that could bruise the pride of Ataraxia’s chief.

Moreover, even though Andrea was responsible for a lower floor, she was the boss monster of an entire tier.

“Me? Not just Elis-uni, but all of us?”

Her eyes wide, she seemed unsure if she heard correctly.

“…My lord. As great as you are, taking on all three at once in a bet is too much, I think…”

Even Wol Young joined in.

Anyway. They all talk too much.

“If you win, I’ll grant each of you a wish. On the other hand, if I win, you must follow my orders without a peep… How about it?”

“You’re serious? Even if it’s not them, you’ve got me too, you know?”

“You’re the easiest.”

“…”

For a moment, Elis’ face looked like it hosted a demon.

Or perhaps it wasn’t just an illusion.

“You really will grant a wish if we win? Even if it’s them, I’m also here, you understand?”

Jinhyuk grinned.

Provocations like this ensured they’d bite the bait without fail.

He indeed had an important favor to ask each of them.

This way, he could legally use them without bothering his conscience.

“You’re dead…!”

The figure of Elis vanished.

Simultaneously.

“I have a wish for you too, Jinhyuk-nim. It’s good timing; I want something from you.”

“You’ll regret it.”

Andrea and Wol Young accepted the bet.

＊＊＊

They all knew Jinhyuk was impressive.

They had witnessed him overcome impossible tasks time and again.

But this was different.

Even for a flying monster, there was no way to win a bet against three.

Especially since there was a condition of not being caught even once.

But as they approached Jinhyuk’s vicinity, they felt a strong sense of strangeness.

‘What… What is this?’

‘The speed is…’

‘How can this be? Can’t even grasp a shadow with Silent Step?’

This wasn’t just fast.

It was like dealing with a ghost.

Jinhyuk’s figure had already disappeared from their sight numerous times.

Initially, they thought it was an easy bet, but as time passed, a dark shadow began to fall on their faces.

Losing to a crafty boss could spell disaster…

Which they knew better than anyone else.

But no matter how hard they tried, the result was the same.

Thump!

“Eek!”

Andrea’s fingertips missed Jinhyuk’s collar in frustration.

“Shame. But you’re moving better than before. You can probably handle a decent assault team on your own now?”

“Hey, don’t provoke me!”

Andrea rotated 180 degrees and lowered her center of gravity.

Voom!

The wind surged, and her small body moved like a flying squirrel.

Only 1 minute remained.

There was no time to be choosy about methods.

“We must attack all at once.”

Andrea shouted urgently.

“Attack my foot. Just kill him! Really kill him! We must nullify the bet by getting rid of him!”

Elis felt fear instinctively and spat out red blood droplets.

This was more than half-serious.

Kwakwakwakwa!

Blood droplets stormed towards Jinhyuk at once.

“Hey. That skill… Are you seriously trying to kill me? This is supposed to be fun!”

“If I’m at your mercy, I’d rather die clean! You rotten kid!”

Elis quickly carried out a second attack.

[Elis uses Lv?? ‘Blood Fog’.]

Now, a bloody mist obscured their vision.

Not a direct attack.

Rather, it was facilitating for others.

‘She’s setting up for a strike from Wol Young or Andrea.’

[Wol Young activates the unique ability ‘Shadow Kill’.]

Indeed.

A rumble from the shadows signaled Wol Young’s presence.

A spatial movement technique that’s inevitable even with preparation.

Yet, even that speed couldn’t surpass ‘Realm of Wind’.

Wol Young lost sight of Jinhyuk.

“Huh?”

It’s natural to tip forward when your target vanishes.

Wol Young collided head-on with Andrea.

Crash!

“Ugh.”

“Ouch…”

Wol Young and Andrea slumped to the spot.

They realized it was futile to continue.

Left alone, Elis chased after Jinhyuk, sweating profusely.

3 minutes had long passed, but it didn’t seem very important.

“Aren’t you giving up? Time’s already over.”

“No… Hey. Honestly, this is cheating. I haven’t used my real power yet. Unseal me completely and let’s have a fair fight, what’s with being sneaky?”

“No.”

“Eh?”

“Why would I do something that puts me at a disadvantage? I’m having fun as it is.”

Jinhyuk moved behind Elis and gave her a flick on the head.

Flick!

“Hey! If you really catch me… Aaack!”

Flick!

The sound of flicking resonated repeatedly.

“Ah! Hey. You hit the bone… the bone.”

“I know.”

Flick! Flick! Flick!

The rhythm grew more intense. It was almost grandiose as an opera.

Eventually.

“Stop! I lost. I admit defeat!”

Elis crouched and covered her head, admitting defeat.

‘If even Elis can’t catch me, then I’ve done enough performance testing.’

Jinhyuk’s lips curled upwards.

He was pleased with ‘Realm of Wind,’ and the thought of everyone’s reaction to discussing the punishment added to his smile.