“Fourteen times,” Blass said as Dohyuk’s bloody body fell to the ground.
“It’s futile.”
“…”
“There’s a difference between flesh and metal, but you yet to land a single blow on my body.”
Dohyuk tried to speak, but instead of making a sound, he spat out blood.
“Why? Is it different than what you expected?”
“…”
“But this is the real way. This is how you learn how to fight. You don’t learn by reading some weird scrolls.”
Blass never spoke as he moved. He just thrust his fists with his skills and attacked Dohyuk. Dohyuk raised his head.
[Nothing gained.]
[Nothing gained.]
[Nothing gained.]
[Nothing gained.]
The same message kept popping up in the corner of his sight. He somehow realized that it was different from the ‘system’ he was used to. Just like when he used Divine Power, he kind of sensed the difference. He realized that in order to gain it, he had to…
‘I have to do it on my own.’
As Blass said, it wasn’t easy to learn such skills in the first place.
“Take it,” A metal hair band popped up on the ground front of Dohyuk. As with other the 13 times, this too was probably from Jung Ilgyu’s collection hidden deep within this labyrinth. Dohyuk finished digesting and rose up.
“If you are ready, fight me again.”
“How long are you going to keep going?”
“I’m sure you know how long it will be. It’s until you learn my lessons. It was you who said you will heal your wounds and recover your Stamina as long as you digest a ranked item.”
“I don’t have time right now.”
Only 48 hours were left. When time was up, Jung Ilgyu would be traveling across the sea after killing tens of thousands of people. He was going to try to take everything here before he left, and he will dispose of the things he cannot take. Unlike the collection here, Dohyuk had to fight the beast with his ‘full set’.
Dohyuk tried to reason with Blass. “I understand your motive and what you are trying to teach… I also know that it will be very useful if I learn it correctly in the end.”
“Then?”
“Three days. After that, I will give it my all and the time to master your skills. But what I learned for now should be enough.”
“Enough? With what you’ve learned?”
Blass scoffed. “What have you learned? Do not disappoint me.”
All the violence he unleashed upon Dohyuk was the optimal method. But even so, it was too short to actually learn anything.
“You have not learned a thing. Not one bit at all. And I have not witnessed anything that allows me to trust you yet.”
It wasn’t completely true. After their 14 skirmishes, Dohyuk’s movements that changed each time was very shocking to Blass. The potential was exceptional. So, he thought that maybe if he put in some time, there was a chance for his hope to become a reality.
“Even if you are speaking the truth, I cannot let you go. Since you are weaker than me, you will need my permission to leave this place.”
“…”
Dohyuk tried to respond, but Blass sensed something. There was a trespasser entering the labyrinth, but it wasn’t much of a deal. No god would be able to use their power inside the labyrinth and if it was a human, nothing could fight against him in here.
To his surprise, he heard metal being ripped apart. The trespasser was breaking in, destroying everything in its path, even his puppets that were stationed to fend off any trespassers.
“Wait.” Blass raised his hand at Dohyuk. Even if he didn’t control his puppets, it was certain that the trespasser was pretty powerful. If he could not afford to be disturbed during the lesson, he needed to seek out this trespasser and kill them.
“Wait. We have a guest. I see that the mad vampire has found a good puppet….”
Before Blass can finish, Dohyuk launched himself against him.
Blass raised his fist dumbfoundedly. Was this man a fool? Did the man think he was not ready for a surprise attack like this? And even if he did succeed, there was no way that he would set Dohyuk free. His current settings were tweaked to match Dohyuk’s current stats.
“Foolish.” Blass scoffed and swung his fist that had dropped Dohyuk 14 times already. This time, however, Dohyuk thrust his fist against the metal. There was the sound of metal clanging, but it wasn’t just a single sound. As Dohyuk’s fist threw Blass’s body to the side, a bloody trespasser ripped the metal wall and appeared in the room.
“I guess this is enough for you to trust me,” Dohyuk said as he turned toward the trespasser. Blass quickly stood up.
“He’s too powerful for you to fight against.”
“I know.” He replied and added, “But so are you.”
“What?”
“My Strength and Agility aren’t at 450. They’re 300.”
Blass was a bit slow to understand what he meant by that as he watched Dohyuk walk up to the trespasser, Jung Ilhu.