100 Floors All Master - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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All Master of 100 Floors Episode 022

3rd Floor. Dungeon (4)

Clang!

Sword clashes against sword. Kang Jun-hyeok’s blade sharply thrusts toward Alessandro’s vital points.

The speed is truly swift. The power contained in the sword is also tremendous. In terms of pure strength and speed alone, Alessandro shouldn’t even be able to defend easily.

But in reality, it was the opposite.

Alessandro moves his sword smoothly. Though clearly slower than Kang Jun-hyeok’s sword strikes, he deflects and parries every trajectory as if he had been waiting for them.

Clank!

Alessandro’s sword slides down along Kang Jun-hyeok’s blade like it’s scraping against it. It aims directly for the tendons in Kang Jun-hyeok’s wrist.

Kang Jun-hyeok roughly moves his wrist to shake off Alessandro’s sword, but he can’t respond perfectly. The blade cuts Kang Jun-hyeok’s wrist.

Thud.

Kang Jun-hyeok steps back, puts his sword into Manbyeonggi, and draws out a spear. He takes his stance and explosively kicks off the ground. He thrusts at Alessandro’s neck at a speed difficult to react to.

[Sharp!]

Alessandro neither blocked, dodged, nor stepped back.

He stepped forward while only leaning his upper body backward. The spear tip passed over Alessandro’s head.

[A spear thrust once must be withdrawn.]

Kang Jun-hyeok clicks his tongue and quickly pulls his arm back to withdraw the spear. Alessandro snaps his head forward from its backward position and thrusts with his sword.

Slash.

The blade grazes past Kang Jun-hyeok’s shoulder.

This time Kang Jun-hyeok draws out a greatsword. He kicks off the ground to strike down with pure force.

Whiiing!

But Alessandro deflects it very lightly, simply by tilting his sword.

Using the rebound, he thrusts at the chest. Though Kang Jun-hyeok quickly twisted his body to evade, the sword slashed a long cut across his chest.

“Hmm.”

Kang Jun-hyeok steps back and puts away the greatsword.

Martial Arts, Spear Technique, Sword Technique, Greatsword Mastery, Dagger Technique.

He had tried them all, but couldn’t reach Alessandro. With just one dark-colored sword, he deflects everything.

It was marvelous swordsmanship. Sword techniques that even his past life self rarely witnessed. To accomplish such things with pure skill alone, without even the assistance of passive skills. It was almost unbelievable.

“Damn strong.”

[….]

Manbyeonggi thought quietly.

There was no chance of victory.

At this rate, Kang Jun-hyeok would be defeated by Alessandro.

That wasn’t a biased thought, but simply a cold truth. Though Kang Jun-hyeok was certainly more than twice as fast and more than twice as strong as Alessandro, there existed techniques that still couldn’t be reached.

Of course, from Manbyeonggi’s perspective, Alessandro’s swordsmanship wasn’t impressive at all.

It was clumsy and full of openings, nothing more than a child’s play.

But technique was always relative. At least it wasn’t at a level the current Kang Jun-hyeok could reach.

Kang Jun-hyeok would die at Alessandro’s hands.

‘…Should I.’

Give some advice.

For a moment, that thought crossed Manbyeonggi’s mind.

But advice?

What could he tell him to do?

He was already broken, ruined, and collapsed.

More than anything, it wasn’t a gap that could be changed with just a few words of advice. Manbyeonggi ultimately remained silent.

The battle continued after that.

But nothing changed.

Alessandro’s swordsmanship was superior to Kang Jun-hyeok’s. With such overwhelming technique, he couldn’t even counterattack and kept taking damage, so his proficiency didn’t even increase.

Swoosh.

The blade scrapes Kang Jun-hyeok’s cheek. Kang Jun-hyeok frowns and steps back. Alessandro mutters with a displeased expression.

[…Just how much stamina do you have?]

No matter how much he cut, Kang Jun-hyeok wouldn’t die. If not for the System’s protection, he would have died from blood loss long ago.

High-level stamina. And the defense from his equipment was drastically reducing the damage. His health had only just reached the halfway point.

[But even so.]

Nothing changes. Alessandro grips his sword with both hands.

[You are certainly remarkable. More overwhelming than any Player I’ve seen in this place. That’s why it’s regrettable. If you hadn’t entered here and had been satisfied with the underground rewards and left, you could have bloomed your potential to your heart’s content.]

“Someone like that wouldn’t have entered the underground in the first place.”

A greedy Player who entered the underground and had the talent to clear it wouldn’t back down after seeing a new Quest.

“And you had no intention of letting Players who cleared the underground go anyway, right? The bricks next to the door were obviously strange. Anyone could see they were saying ‘please come in.’ Don’t act innocent now.”

[…Sharp. I won’t deny it.]

Alessandro smiled bitterly as if hit right on target.

[I am one with many sins. Though I’m a failure, I’m burying you who have the rightful qualifications to climb the Tower in this place. But I won’t apologize.]

Alessandro spoke proudly. Like a hero, like a great knight.

[I will climb the Tower and save this universe. So please rest in peace.]

“Well.”

Kang Jun-hyeok had an ambiguous expression.

“That’ll be difficult with this method.”

In that voice was the emotion of one who had reached the summit trailing off while looking at a childish challenger.

Alessandro momentarily felt like he had become a boy dreaming impossible dreams. Provoked, he reflexively retorted.

[I can do it. Even if I start over as a Player from the beginning, my experience and skills won’t disappear.]

“That’s probably true.”

Kang Jun-hyeok didn’t deny that point.

Alessandro was excellent.

Even Kang Jun-hyeok, who had reached the 100th Floor of the Tower, couldn’t cope with Alessandro’s swordsmanship.

“No matter how hard I try, I probably can’t reach you in swordsmanship.”

That was a difference in innate talent. He mastered many things quickly, but couldn’t reach the pinnacle. Even if he trained for the rest of his life, he couldn’t defeat Alessandro in the realm of the sword.

But it didn’t matter.

He wasn’t something like a swordsman.

“You’re a very excellent swordsman. But unfortunately, this place is called the Tower.”

[…What do you mean by that?]

“It’s a simple story.”

The title for those who climb the Tower wasn’t swordsman.

It was Player.

‘Then.’

Kang Jun-hyeok analyzed while consuming the cost of stamina.

About the strengths and weaknesses of the boss called Alessandro.

Now it was time to strategize.

“It’ll be different from now on.”

Thud.

Kang Jun-hyeok draws his greatsword and charges. He roughly kicks off the ground and tries to crush with force.

Alessandro was puzzled. That action was no different from before.

So Alessandro, just like before, tried to lightly deflect and cut Kang Jun-hyeok’s neck. Alessandro’s sword moves smoothly, deflecting the greatsword’s trajectory. It aims for Kang Jun-hyeok’s thigh.

But from here, there was a difference.

Kang Jun-hyeok didn’t try to dodge or block.

He simply took one more step forward. Alessandro’s sword cut Kang Jun-hyeok’s thigh.

That was certainly considerable damage to Kang Jun-hyeok.

To be precise, roughly damage that would reduce health by about 12 points.

Kang Jun-hyeok gripped his great sword with fierce strength and pulled it roughly. Alessandro hastily protected himself with his sword.

Claaang!

Alessandro’s body flew backward as if bounced away. He quickly regained his stance, but his confusion was palpable even through his helmet.

[Wha… what!]

Kang Jun-hyeok attacked him even while getting his thigh slashed. It was insane. To expose a vital point during light probing. It was like giving bone to take flesh.

But Kang Jun-hyeok, with his thigh cut, immediately rushed at him. Alessandro, who hastily defended against the unexpected attack, realized something in that moment.

[…Ah.]

Players in the Tower are protected by the System and don’t suffer injuries from attacks.

In other words, as long as health held out, there was no need to defend.

That was a privilege granted only to Players.

Claaang!

After that, the situation changed. Kang Jun-hyeok no longer tried to respond to Alessandro’s attacks. He simply tried to trade attacks.

[This!]

Alessandro had killed forty-two Players so far, but they all instinctively tried to protect vital points or block attacks. This was the first time someone pushed forward with pure health like this.

But Alessandro was an excellent warrior with countless experiences.

He composed himself from his confusion and moved his sword coldly to deflect attacks and counterattack.

Clatter clatter clang!

Alessandro’s sword slid along the great sword, aiming for the tendons in Kang Jun-hyeok’s wrist. It was the instinct of a skilled swordsman.

Kang Jun-hyeok didn’t dodge. Rather, he pushed his wrist forward as if telling him to cut it freely. Alessandro’s sword precisely severed the tendons.

Claaang!

[Ugh!]

But the power contained in Kang Jun-hyeok’s sword didn’t diminish at all. Alessandro couldn’t withstand it and flew back, staggering.

Clearly Kang Jun-hyeok was the one being attacked, but he was also the one pressing forward.

Kang Jun-hyeok immediately rushed toward the staggering Alessandro. He put the great sword into All Weapons and drew out a spear. Gripping it strongly with both hands, he thrust it forward.

Alessandro, as before, leaned his head back to evade. A spear thrust once had to be recovered. He planned to spring forward during the gap of recovering the spear and counterattack.

And that was a misjudgment.

[Thrust.]

Kang Jun-hyeok’s body showed strange movement. Without recovering the spear, he maintained that posture and traced an incomprehensible trajectory to stab Alessandro.

Active Skills are gifts bestowed upon Players by the Master of the Universe.

In any posture, in any situation, if the Thrust Skill is activated, it will definitely stab the opponent. That was what Active Skills were.

From Alessandro’s perspective, it was neither easy to accept nor adapt to. Even though he had already seen the Thrust Skill, Alessandro panicked and twisted his body.

Claaang!

The spear pierced Alessandro’s helmet. The helmet cracked and fissures spread. Alessandro rolled on the ground and hastily created distance.

Kang Jun-hyeok, having seized momentum, didn’t stop. He rushed in once more and thrust his spear. Though the Thrust Skill had a cooldown, Alessandro, who didn’t know this, had no choice but to be wary.

So instead of deflecting the spear, he actually approached. He let the spear’s trajectory flow to the side and closed in on Kang Jun-hyeok.

The advantage and disadvantage of spears was distance. Against distant opponents, they gained overwhelming reach superiority, but conversely, they were helpless against close opponents. It was a movement targeting that point.

But that too was a misjudgment.

The spear disappeared from Kang Jun-hyeok’s hand and a dagger appeared.

Tower equipment. All Weapons.

Its ability allowed free weapon changes even during combat. Kang Jun-hyeok, gripping the dagger, aimed for Alessandro’s nape as he closed in.

[…Ugh!]

Feeling the blade at the back of his neck, Alessandro twisted his body. He barely evaded but not perfectly. More cracks spread through his helmet.

“You’re responding to this too? Damn, you’re strong.”

Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue and thrust the dagger. Alessandro took stance to respond to the dagger. At that moment, the dagger changed to a great sword. He tried to hastily change his stance but it was already too late.

Claaang!

[Ugh!]

Alessandro’s body flew away.

[…This, is.]

Manbyeonggi let out a groan.

Alessandro’s sword technique was sublime.

Kang Jun-hyeok was at a level he could never reach.

According to his calculations, he could never win.

But this place was the Tower.

It wasn’t the universe.

What was given to those who entered the Tower was the System – a new order and law.

And Players were beings who climbed the Tower on top of the System. Existing common sense and concepts didn’t matter at all. Sword technique was merely a tool, not everything.

Those who climb the Tower are Players, not swordsmen.

That was the meaning of what Kang Jun-hyeok had said.

Manbyeonggi, realizing this meaning, got goosebumps. He had shown glimpses of this when facing the Goblin King before, but compared to what he was showing now, that was just a fragment.

And because of that, Manbyeonggi realized another fact.

This was a level that could never be reached with something like a Fake Tower.

The structure of the battle changed. From Alessandro’s overwhelming advantage to Kang Jun-hyeok’s advantage. Kang Jun-hyeok brought down his dagger. Alessandro grabbed his wrist with both hands but couldn’t block it due to the overwhelming stat advantage.

Clang!

The dagger grazed past Alessandro’s helmet. Cracks began spreading like spider webs through the helmet.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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