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“I don’t think there is a need to accept the defeat of Byeokgyemun as the defeat of the entire warrior; here is as much difference between the sky and the earth as between the four major forces. This is not the defeat of the reinforced warrior, but the defeat of the Wall.”

Kang Min-hyuk’s victory was great. However, the reinforced warriors’ excuses did not acknowledge his achievements; they simply couldn’t accept it. The possibility that wizards, who had been subordinate for a century, might rise above themselves was a predicament that sent subtle panic rippling through the collective mind of warriors worldwide. To dissociate themselves, people devalued Byeokgyemun and Gu Gwang-mo. Only shaving them down would lessen Kang Min-hyuk’s victory and reinforce their illusions of security.

The Wall was a force with a long history, but that was all denied with just one defeat. To highlight the meaning of the non-dance, one of the four major parties had to be destroyed. The four primary forces of Korean swordsmanship were dangerous opponents, and blood would certainly be shed. Kan Min-hyuk knew that he could gain recognition by challenging the small and medium-sized associations – that would be the practical choice, but it wouldn’t have the right effect. He wanted to be known as the most significant force globally and build a tower with that reputation at its foundation. Safe choices weren’t an option, so he took the rough road.

He chose to risk his life in the non-dance.

As the Changcheon Checkpoint’s door opened wide, people stood, waiting, as though they had expected the visit.

* * *

Kwak Do-yeol watched as Kang Min-hyuk walked into the checkpoint, not bothering to stifle his laughter.

Behind Kang Min-hyuk, the crowd that had followed him watched intently, hoping for a spectacle.

Kang Deok-cheol saw Kang Min-hyuk as an attractive opponent. He had no mana talent: a fatal weakness that could not be cured by any other skill set. The Changcheon gate remembered him as the failed successor to Suhomun and overlooked his wizarding achievements as inconsequential.

Kang Deok-cheol upholds the value of physical prowess above all else – by his eye, the world is turned by force. However, Kwak Do-yeol’s idea was a little different. Power could be seen as a gold medal, but a leader should have showmanship. Kang Min-hyuk ticked that box.

“I came to apply for Incompetence.”

Regardless of gender or creed, or class, people tended to react to Kang Min-hyuk. The crowd behind him admired his courage to challenge the Changcheon Swords Gate, which was entirely different from the Byeokgyeokmun. The current challenge meant that he would face the Gangwha warrior head-on.

What would happen if he defeated the Changcheon Sword Gate? It would surely spark a second magical revolution. The prejudice that wizards were weak against reinforced warriors would crumble, and a new world was bound to open. At the moment the legend began, the crowd would be watching.

Kwak Do-yeol calmly observed Kang Min-hyuk as he spoke.

“You have been brilliant since childhood. You were born a leader, so every action you made had a purpose; you have achieved that purpose. I was convinced that you would come to the Changchun Checkpoint when I was told that you had begun non-dance. A mind like yours would need to challenge an opponent with the weight of symbolism behind it.”

Of the four major forces of Korea, Suhomun was, of course, the most esteemed. The other three possessed a similar strength – the Changcheon gate was the most renowned; thus, it made sense that they would be Min-hyuk’s target.

Just as the SME Alliance was preparing for Kang Min-hyuk, Kwak Do-yeol was also waiting. Kwak Do-yeol’s eyes narrowed as a violent momentum rushed through his body, causing his muscles to tense.

“But this time, victory will elude you. We acknowledge your ability – you, who broke down the Wall. Wizard or not, you defeated Gu Gwang-mo, which tells me that your skills are authentic. Therefore, we will treat you as an equal – a true enemy. Elder Chun Mu-baek.”

“Yes.”

A middle-aged man with a rough beard stepped forward. Pride mattered less than blocking Kang Min-hyuk’s path to success – they had to preserve their reputation and to do so, they had to utilize their best warriors.

“Show those who dare challenge the Changcheon Sword Gate who we truly are.”

“Okay.”

Mu-baek was, aside from Mun-ju, the best warrior of the Gate. People were shocked by the choice.

* * *

It was a series of surprises. Not only was it unexpected of Kang Min-hyuk to choose Changcheon Swords Gate, but Kwak Do-yeol boldly chose Cheon Mu-baek as the gatekeeper of the signboard. Thousand Mu-baek was a strong man – he corresponded to Jeong Pan-ho’s role in Suhomun. The public opinion stated that he was weaker than Jeon Pan-ho, but it was still an extreme force against Kang Min-hyuk.

Mu-baek drew his sword. The blade glinted slyly in the sunlight, and Cheon Mu-baek spoke, his voice cold, “This risk was your choice. Whatever the outcome of this duel, I don’t think you should blame me for this. I harbor no resentment against you – you chose Chengcheon, and Changcheon chose me.”

The moment Chun Mu-baek’s words ran dry, the duel began.

Hwaak-!

The first player was Kang Min-hyuk; he immediately activated the imprint magic.

“Fire Field!”

The flames rose, forming a fire boundary between his opponent and himself, and he pulled forms from the inferno to aid his purpose.

“Fire Arrow.”

Dozens of arrows swarmed Thousand Mu-baek, plunging him into hellfire in the Blink of an eye.

However, Kang Min-hyuk’s attack did not work. Cheon Mu-baek caused a sword breeze, concentrated the flames in one place, and dug into a crack in the fire field. As Kang Min-hyuk’s gaze followed Cheon Mu-baek and tried to cast a new spell, Cheon Mu-baek stomped hard upon the ground.

Thud.

Rumble.

The ground shook, and the resulting mana interfered with Kang Min-hyuk’s casting. Simultaneously, Thousand Mu-baek flew through the air like a hunting hawk, the tip of his blade shining dangerously.

The linkage of the attack was too fast. Kang Min-hyuk hurriedly entered the realm of space.

“Blink.”

Pabat.

Kang Min-hyuk disappeared, leaving Cheon Mu-baek wide-eyed with surprise. Space magic was an unknown technique, and he must have felt the same confusion as Kang Min-hyuk when Chris Kyle had used it.

“Hold trap.”

Pabababak!

The tendrils of the hold wrapped around Thousand Mu-baek. You cannot easily destroy an effective bind without magic. Kang Min-hyuk’s head turned tight as he quickly finished casting the fifth circle magic.

“Thunder Cannon.”

Rumble.

It was a perfect connection. The moment Kang Min-hyuk thought that Cheon Mu-baek was hit, he disappeared from view.

“Damn!”

The hold trap was released. Cheon Mu-baek did not know mana’s flow, so he must have destroyed the web with his aura alone. Thunder canon exploded in the empty space the trap had been and served no damage whatsoever. Mu-baek took to the air again in flight and aimed his sword at Kang Min-hyuk’s head.

“Blink.”

Pabat!

“Where?!”

Kang Min-hyuk disappeared, but it didn’t work. Chun Mu-baek’s gaze followed Kang Min-hyuk, and just as he used his super senses to grasp the flow of mana, Mu-baek instinctively knew how to destroy Blink. He dug his heels into the ground, and Changcheon’s energy wrapped around him. Before Blink’s natural conclusion, Kang Min-hyuk reappeared.

The Changcheon sword was too fast, and their footsteps amplified the speed. The blade sliced the air and sunk into Kang Min-hyuk’s body, which split from head to toe.

“Ugh!”

People burst into an uproar, but the image of Kang Min-hyuk faded and scattered into the wind. He had used Mirage after Blink in expectation of an attack. Mu-baek had also expected Min-hyuk’s move – they had grasped his technique after watching the Byeokgyemun video over and over.

Kang Min-hyuk couldn’t hide behind a fantasy forever – to cast. He had to become tangible again. No matter how quickly he could launch, the sword would be waiting, ready to strike.

“Thunder Cat!”

The blade flashed. Before Min-hyuk could even begin casting, Thousand Mu-baek lunged in with his sword and penetrated Kang Min-hyuk’s flesh.

“Finished!”

The swordsman was certain.

His technique was admirable, yes, but no wizard could ever defeat a warrior.

Suddenly, Kang Min-hyuk’s form flickered like white noise.

It was another illusion.

* * *

As Klinssman, he held confrontations with numerous wizards. When the fight was over, Kang Min-hyuk always fell into trouble.

“The wizard is strong. But could he beat the four major elders?”

A seventh circle wizard or higher might have had a chance, but the wizards below it would honestly find it impossible. A gifted, intuitive, and observant warrior would be able to predict his strategy, even with his new modes of magic. Eventually, a solution came to him: a dual illusion.

Following the double illusion, Mu-baek’s surprise created a space within which Kang Min-hyuk could cast.

“Thunder Canon!”

Pababak!

“Wow.”

Electricity zapped and popped. If the attack were well-targeted, no matter the opponent’s strength, they would receive damage. It caused Cheon Mu-baek to move back as his internal mana worked to reduce the electric shock effects. Kang Min-hyuk took the opportunity to attack.

“Chain Lightning.”

Chijichi!

An electric bundle rose. Cheon Mu-baek quickly escaped from the magic range, but Kang Min-hyuk attacked him using the coordinate control he had learned from Chris Kyle. Although it was not suitable for the attack, the expression of Thousand Mu-baek was agonized due to the residual electricity within him.

“Jackanapes.”

Pow-!

Mana exploded from his body: A wave of it swept through the area, and he struck the ground, draining all of the remaining electricity from inside. He used the secret of the Changcheon Sword Gate – Ilseom (一閃) – immediately, and in the Blink of an eye, he was in front of Kang Min-hyuk.

At the last moment, Cheon Mu-baek’s eyes shook.

“Illusion.”

Kang Min-hyuk’s body split into two. As he ran on both sides at once, both aspects of him used magic as though they were his true forms.

“Chain Lightning.”

“Chain Lightning.”

The electricity burst and Thousand Mu-baek’s concern began to bubble.

There were different forms of Illusion – it could be adapted to the wizard’s skills using it. Min-hyuk’s bony-brained duality meant that one of his minds could move the body, and the other could move the illusion. The warrior couldn’t tell which form was real and which was the product of fantasy magic.

“Giant Hold.”

Illusion tied Thousand Mu-baek, and in the gap it created, Kang Min-hyuk used magic.

“Thunder Cannon.”

Pababak.

Cheon Mu-baek showed signs of a struggle; his confusion merged with his pain, and he fell into the swamp. Mu-baek’s strength was notable, but that didn’t make him invincible. The longer the battle stretched out, the closer to collapse he drew.

As lightning illuminated the sky and fell back down to earth, Mu-baek was waiting. He chose his timing to adapt to the illusion, blocked a lightning strike with his sword, and revealed the power of Ilseom once more to appear in front of Illusion.

‘Flash (閃光).’

A powerful aura rose from him.

Thousand Mu-baek’s speed transcended human limits, cut down the illusion, and ran toward the main body.

He was convinced that it was another illusion, so he used flash. Because of the flash, he could land a blow almost simultaneously. It would not be avoidable by any wizard.

Kang Min-hyuk laughed. It wasn’t an illusion. From the beginning, Chun Mu-baek was aiming for Kang Min-hyuk’s body; he hadn’t used Blink and Mirage.

Dominic Green often competed with Kang Min-hyuk, but something he said to Kang Min-hyuk had stuck with him.

“If a wizard overcomes fear, there is no one he cannot beat.”

Naturally, the magic that targets vital spots at close range is more potent than a spell cast from afar. Kang Min-hyuk’s sense was activated. In an instant, the sword, swung by Cheon Mu-baek, flowed aside, and Kang Min-hyuk generated powerful mana.

“Burn flare, chloride.”

Wow.

Flames were absorbed from the surroundings. In an instant, an intense eruption that seemed to melt the atmosphere itself broke out, causing an explosion.

Kwakwakwang!

Rumble Rumble Rumble!

Even Thousand Mu-baek had no way to withstand chloride.

He knelt, submerged in the fire, and Kwak Do-yeol’s face stared, dumb-struck in his astonishment.