Before arriving at the borderlands, Hyunsoo—having traded whispered messages with Nell—thought.

The Heir of the Sky King.

Even Hyunsoo only knew him by rumor.

What was certain was that he was someone raised by a choice of the Asgan Continent’s Ten Legends.

Of course, Hyunsoo had learned swordsmanship from Sword King Barad, but it was only a tiny portion.

He had no chance. But to crush morale in the borderlands, he had to take him.

Hyunsoo’s head cooled.

The Heir of the Sky King was a powerhouse who’d held a spear his entire life.

“But I have power that matches him too, don’t I?”

That power was the artifacts Hyunsoo had made.

[Hyunsoo: Guild members, what are you doing right now?]

[Nell: Ressel said he’s heading to a hunting ground, Bark is in town doing quests, and Belia is praying.]

[Hyunsoo: Can you ask Ressel and Bark—using the gifting function—to lend me the Dragonlight Sword and the Aegis?]

[Nell: That would definitely narrow the gap with the Heir of the Sky King!]

It wasn’t a method he could use often.

The owners were already Ressel and Bark, and they couldn’t lend them while fighting monsters.

But the reason this method worked at all was because it was Hyunsoo.

He was borrowing the artifacts, but they were artifacts only he had made.

BOOOOM—!

[You have been hit by Snake Explosion.]

[HP drops below 52%.]

One explosion alone dropped his HP by a full 8%.

With the Heir of the Sky King stunned in this moment, Hyunsoo was on the verge of being forcibly logged out.

Then—

Two hawks flew in at the same time.

[A gift sent by Ressel has arrived.]

[A gift sent by Bark has arrived.]

[You have equipped the Dragonlight Sword.]

[You have equipped the Aegis.]

Hyunsoo felt powerful strength welling up.

“Prahum Kingdom made artifacts solely for Frak.”

And they called that their own power. Pushing through the dust, Hyunsoo could see it.

[A Snake That Fears Nothing receives a penalty.]

[Downgraded to Normal rank.]

A Snake That Fears Nothing was a double-edged sword.

If it wasn’t vastly outclassed, it grew stronger—like the snake’s shallow temperament.

“Come out! Come out, damn it!”

Seeing the spear that had lost its edge, Frak’s face went white.

“No snake can show its teeth in front of a dragon.”

He looked like he couldn’t understand. Because he’d never experienced something like this before.

And an NPC’s level information was displayed as a total composite of everything.

[Heir of the Sky King Frak Lv.301]

His level had dropped by 39.

Unlike him, Hyunsoo—equipping the Dragonlight Sword and the Aegis—could now exert strength stronger than before.

“W-where did he get artifacts like that...?”

Frak couldn’t understand it.

A nation of blacksmiths.

The Sky King had commanded it for today.

“Make artifacts for my heir.”

More than fifty of the kingdom’s finest blacksmiths had worked for half a year to fit him this spear and armor.

So where had this man gotten artifacts like that?

Frak soon found the inscription—Hyun—engraved on the Dragonlight Sword and on the shield called the Aegis.

They had made his with dozens of men.

“H-he made those alone?”

Suddenly, Frak glanced behind him.

It felt as if the visions of more than fifty blacksmiths were flickering at his back.

Our numbers are definitely greater...

Frak looked at Hyunsoo again.

And Hyunsoo’s “stance” alone felt more overwhelming than the stance of fifty men.

“A mountain.”

Yeah—like a gigantic Mount Taesan.

But Frak steadied himself.

“I can overwhelm him with skill. No matter how good the artifacts are—so what? I don’t even need this lousy spear.”

To begin with, even without this spear, he’d beaten down four knights by himself.

Frak burst forward like light.

KRAAANG—!

He traded blows at speed, aiming for Hyunsoo’s throat.

“As I thought—this guy’s skill isn’t that ama—”

“With the Dragon.”

[The dragon’s power resides in you.]

[Attack speed and movement speed increase by 25%.]

[Sword attack power increases by 25%.]

[Sword mastery increases by 3.]

A small dragon rising from the grip was sucked into his body.

TWANG—!

The hem of his coat flapped.

Hyunsoo snapped his sword up in a single motion, and his eyes met Frak’s.

KREEEE—!

Endless dragon cries rang from the blade in Hyunsoo’s hand.

Frak swung his spear like he’d gone mad.

But it was different from before.

Just by holding a single sword, Hyunsoo’s movement changed completely.

TWANG—!

His sword slashes cut off every trajectory of the spear.

Left.

Frak stabbed once at the shield on Hyunsoo’s left, then tried to spin on the shockwave and slice Hyunsoo—

KRAAANG—!

But—

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!

The instant spear-tip met shield—no, the instant he faced that shield—Frak’s fingertips began to freeze.

That solid shield controlled his movement, and in that moment Hyunsoo, expressionless, brought the sword down.

[Dragon’s Claw]

[Dragon’s Claw descends with an additional 600% attack power alongside the sword swing.]

Two Dragon’s Claws—first strike.

CRUNCH—!

They smashed into Frak’s chest.

[The Heir of the Sky King’s HP drops below 68%.]

Then the second strike came down with even greater force.

CRUNCH—!

[You have dealt a critical hit.]

[The Heir of the Sky King’s HP drops below 50%.]

Staggering, Frak realized the severity of their wounds had become equal.

In that moment, the Heir of the Sky King understood.

“His level is low, but...”

His physical strength defied common sense.

And even if his skill was lacking—

“His artifacts transcend everything.”

And Hyunsoo heard a puzzling notification.

[You overwhelmingly reverse the situation.]

“Why am I hearing a notification like that?”

Every notification had a reason.

There was no such thing as a notification that “just happened.”

Hyunsoo looked at the Heir of the Sky King.

A face falling into panic.

Then he did something strange.

Frak turned his body and gave a small bow toward where the Sky King Ben was.

When he turned back, the Heir of the Sky King’s face looked like he’d already predicted defeat.

If they kept trading blows, Frak was confident he could shave Hyunsoo’s HP down to 10%.

But even so, in the end he would lose.

Hyunsoo’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t tell me...”

Named monsters and named NPCs had at least one power that represented them.

Frak murmured:

“Spear Overcome.”

[Incomplete.]

[Burning life force, all things are amplified.]

[All stats increase.]

[All skills increase.]

[Can be maintained for 40 seconds. When 40 seconds passj draws to a close, you die.]

Twitch-twitch—

Frak’s muscles contracted and relaxed without end.

HISSSS—

Steam rose from his body as it reddened with heat.

Frak stared at Hyunsoo with bloodshot eyes.

[A new story begins.]

[Heir of the Sky King Frak Lv.359]

Hyunsoo had already heard the notification of a new story beginning once before—

Ding!

[Sudden Quest: Ben’s Disciple]

Rank: SS

Restriction: The one who triggered the new episode

Reward: Kingdom Contribution, more Sky King’s Heart, and experience gained as if you hunted a monster.

Penalty on failure: Decrease in affinity with Barad and the Sky King.

Description: Frak is someone Sky King Ben cherishes. Frak, who activated the incomplete Spear Overcome, will die when 40 seconds pass. That is how strong his desire to win is. Defeat him before 40 seconds pass and he dies.

The previous Sudden Quest had been rank S. It was upgraded one step higher—to rank SS.

Users couldn’t receive SS-rank quests often.

It meant it was that difficult, that hard.

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

Cold sweat ran down Hyunsoo’s back.

By level, Hyunsoo was a user in the 250s.

Frak’s level had risen to 359.

In a spar like this, you normally didn’t die.

By the special power of mages, it automatically ended when 1% HP remained. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

But Frak—by unleashing that power—would truly die after 40 seconds.

In that moment—

Frak pushed off with his toes and moved.

KRAAANG—!

Hyunsoo’s pupils shook as he blocked a straight-line thrust with his shield.

“It’s completely different from before.”

Grrrrk—

Just blocking the spear with his shield gouged the ground under his feet, and Hyunsoo was pushed back.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!

The Aegis froze his hand, but Frak pressed in like he didn’t care anymore.

“Ghk!”

[HP drops below 35%.]

[HP drops below 30%.]

Speed, power, attack strength, skill.

Frak held the advantage in everything.

Hyunsoo responded with what he could still overwhelm him with.

“Wave of Frost.”

A freezing wave surged from the shield.

It swallowed Frak as he thrust his spear, freezing his entire ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) body.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!

[The Heir of the Sky King’s HP drops below 35%.]

Wave of Frost originally had the power to freeze an enemy completely.

With his neck frozen up, Frak twisted his lips.

“No more cheap tricks!”

CLANG—!

[In Spear Overcome state, you resist all status effects.]

Ice shards shattered, and the Sky King’s spear stabbed Hyunsoo’s chest three times.

THUNK, THUNK, THUNK—!

[HP drops below 15%.]

[Status effect Bleeding is applied.]

[It is not easy to keep your body steady.]

And Hyunsoo checked the elapsed time without even realizing it.

[15 seconds.]

[12 seconds.]

[10 seconds.]

Frak shot high into the sky.

“It’s over.”

*****

Hyunsoo’s vision blurred.

[9 seconds.]

Hyunsoo judged it too.

They could each exchange only a single decisive blow.

And if they traded that single blow, Hyunsoo would lose.

Hyunsoo’s remaining HP was far less, and he couldn’t shave 35% off Frak’s HP in one hit.

But Hyunsoo didn’t know how to back down.

“I want to win.”

Was it because he wanted to save Frak?

Not that kind of thing.

Hyunsoo was selfish. Who cared if Frak died?

The cheer of the Kingdom of Goyard’s side he would win, and the words in the reward—someone Sky King Ben cherished.

And the maximized feelings tied to that.

“What can I do right now?”

A sword with a dragon residing in it.

But even if he landed this power directly on Frak, Hyunsoo would lose.

“I lost...”

“Sir Frak burned his life and beat him.”

Other voices came through.

[7 seconds.]

Frak fell in a straight line with his spear.

“Break, you damned blacksmith bastard!”

Break.

Hyunsoo rolled the word around in his mouth.

Then he looked at the Dragonlight Sword in his hand.

His chest boiled hot. The sword gave him a single spark of inspiration.

FLAP—!

Wolf Leap.

He launched upward, meeting the fall, eyes locking on Frak as he descended.

“The owner of this sword was Haemosu. The founder of a place called North Buyeo. He had countless moments where he nearly lost. But he never gave up, and every time he must’ve recited words like this.”

Frak couldn’t understand.

It was obvious Hyunsoo would lose. In that moment, Hyunsoo’s hand reached him and stopped him.

Lord’s Command.

Frak sneered.

Just 3 seconds.

The time it could hold him.

But then—

KRRRK-KRRRK—

As he fell, Frak heard a strange sound.

It was the sound of armor.

In that instant, he remembered a single T-shirt.

A single T-shirt is connected by thread.

All armor is the same.

The thread is something that snaps easily—but you sew it densely, and it becomes complete.

Then—

Hyunsoo’s fingers jerked hard to the side.

And materials like thread were ripped out.

FWOOOSH—!

Those materials scattered in midair. And with them, Frak saw the center of the plate armor he wore collapse inward.

“...!”

[Defense is greatly weakened.]

[A vital point is exposed.]

Frak’s face drained of blood.

“He wasn’t supposed to be able to win.”

But even at the last moment, Hyunsoo found a way to win.

KREEEEE—!!

He swung his sword before Frak could.

A massive dragon roared and smashed into Frak.

RRRRUMBLE—!

Frak felt damage so severe it could kill him.

[4 seconds.]

[Spear Overcome is interrupted.]

Suddenly Frak remembered what Hyunsoo had said.

“But he never gave up, and every time he must’ve recited words like this.”

Curious about those words, Frak looked at Hyunsoo—who began to fall before him.

With blood on his face, Hyunsoo smiled and said:

“Even if it breaks.”

Yeah—meaning, even if it breaks, you win anyway.

Hyunsoo’s heart pounded as he fell.

“...He’s the enemy, but I acknowledge him.”

“He’s an incredible knight!!”

Because that voice came from Prahum Kingdom’s army.

And in his falling vision, he saw Sky King Ben rising to his feet, looking down at him.

“Ben is a door to a new world.”

BOOOOM—!

Notifications slammed into Hyunsoo as he crashed into the ground.

[...]

[...]

[...]

[...]

And between the endless notifications—

the last one sent Hyunsoo into ecstasy.

[You have won Sky King Ben’s heart.]