[Sam Quad. The Martial Art I Can Never Give Up!]
Amazingly, the lunatic grabbed the shield blocking his hand—and crushed it.
'If he grabs my bare body with that hand, I'm done for!'
As the lunatic held the crumpled shield and tried to break the knight's balance, Seowoon and the martial artist charged at him together.
Naturally, the martial artist targeted the vital pressure points where qi gathered, swinging his blade, while Seowoon spun wide and struck a punch aimed at the lunatic's Myeongmun point.
Even while his back was exposed, and a blade gleamed threateningly toward his heart, the lunatic didn't even flinch—continuing to focus on the knight. But his body suddenly jolted.
He sensed the sharp threat aimed at his Myeongmun point, and with that, he instantly dropped the shield and twisted away, retreating fast.
Watching the lunatic back off for the first time, Seowoon was certain.
The word vitality had sparked a lightning-fast thought in his mind.
A martial art that absorbs the life force of others—just like his own.
But unlike his technique, this one had to replenish yang energy... and was practiced by a perverted sadist who preyed on men.
As these scattered ideas merged into one undeniable hypothesis, Seowoon whispered,
"Myeongmun, Huiyin, Baihui. Aim for those three pressure points. They're the critical points."
The martial artist looked baffled, not fully understanding, still surprised by how the lunatic had suddenly backed off.
He had many questions, but from the madman's reaction alone, it was clear Seowoon wasn't spouting nonsense.
The knight, seemingly trained in martial arts himself, immediately recognized the names and understood that those were vital energy points.
"Myeongmun can't be pierced unless you attack from behind. Huiyin? No chance unless he voluntarily spreads his legs. That just leaves Baihui..."
Whether the lunatic would ever leave such a gap open was anyone's guess.
The lunatic, lost in thought, no longer charged carelessly and just glared at Seowoon.
It bothered him that, out of all the qi points on his vulnerable body, Seowoon had specifically targeted Myeongmun.
He was just about to speak when he noticed the group passing another potion around.
"This one... You don't have to drink it. It has side effects."
The martial artist took a swig and handed it to Seowoon, who reached out reluctantly.
"Side effects?"
"After ten minutes, all stats drop by 30% for six hours."
Seowoon grimaced but drank the gray liquid.
—The Berserker's Energy surges through your body. For ten minutes, all stats (except special stats) are doubled.—Ding! After ten minutes, all stats will be reduced by 30% for six hours.
Ten minutes. That was how long they had to survive, with their chastity on the line.
Once Seowoon drank it, the alchemist and magician also hardened their expressions, took out strange potions, and chugged them down.
The alchemist, face filled with frustration, pulled out a yellow gem several times the size of his fist and crushed it in one go, surging with magical energy.
It was an act bound to cost him dearly—but apparently, nothing mattered more than preserving their honor.
For the first time, the hastily assembled team charged the lunatic before he could move.
As the enemies rushed him before he could finish thinking, the lunatic scowled and lunged forward, his fiery red hair trailing behind him.
Having your stats doubled was no small thing.
All of Seowoon's stats temporarily exceeded 100—what he saw began to change.
The lunatic, whose movements had once seemed impossibly fast, was now easier to track. His stance, which once seemed full of holes, was clearly covering all angles of attack.
The knight was the first to reach him.
Holding the shield that had already been crushed in the middle, he charged head-on, with the martial artist close behind him.
Seowoon followed behind the two, cloaking his movement.
—Clang!!
The lunatic curved his five fingers like beastly claws and drove them into the shield. The knight's charge stopped like he'd hit a wall.
—Screeeeech!
With an awful tearing of metal, the shield was ripped apart in the lunatic's hand.
At that moment, the martial artist leapt over the knight and brought his sword down.
The strike appeared to leave three afterimages, as if three blades fell at once—but the lunatic raised both arms to block his head in time.
Just as the martial artist's blade clashed with his forearms, the alchemist's crushed yellow gemstone flared and zipped through the air—positioning itself around the lunatic.
"Kalisium!!"
As the alchemist chanted the activation word, five pieces of the shattered gemstone fired beams of light toward the lunatic, forming a glowing net that trapped him.
"Snort!"
The lunatic scoffed dismissively and stomped the ground.
As the net of light wavered, a flicker of surprise finally appeared in his eyes.
Seowoon's seven clones spread out, surrounding him. The lunatic's eyes darted around in search of the real one.
One clone was already behind him. Two on either side, one in front—and one coming down from above.
They all struck at once.
For the first time, the lunatic, slightly slow to react, raised his arms to guard his head and Myeongmun point, drawing more power.
But at that moment, a shadow zipped through between the knight's legs, and cold sweat trickled down the lunatic's back.
—Spurt!
The clone descending from above was impaled.
The lunatic's face turned pale.
The weapon wrapped around Seowoon's fist—Hamit, the bandage weapon—had transformed into a pointed gauntlet, now stained with fresh blood.
As the yellow net was finally shattered, the lunatic burst upward—only to meet hundreds of jagged stone spears shooting up from the ground.
"Huff... Huff..."
The knight, who had lost his shield in the initial clash, now had deep cuts across his arm.
"Cough!"
Behind him, the martial artist clutched his chest, blood spurting from his mouth.
There were five puncture wounds in his torso, bleeding profusely.
The only one left unscathed was Seowoon.
Yet his expression remained grim.
'Too shallow.'
If he'd driven the strike just one inch deeper, he could've ended it—but he fell short.
He quickly tore a scroll. Their wounds closed somewhat, but neither ally looked relieved.
Chunks of rock crashed down, and the lunatic—his clothes in tatters—glared at them with a coldness he'd never shown before.
Their desperate attack had failed. Feeling morale slip, Seowoon spoke up.
"This isn't bad. We dealt some serious damage."
It sounded like a mutter to himself, but there's no way the knight and martial artist didn't hear.
The lunatic, now swatting away spells and dodging others, never took his eyes off Seowoon.
'I can't retreat either.'
If they lost here, it wouldn't just mean getting left behind. If Ki-chan and Lyle did their part well, they might even survive this ordeal.
But the humiliation the martial artist had warned about—the thought alone was unbearable.
As the magician's spells began to dwindle, the lunatic advanced toward the group again.
—Crunch!
The knight pulled out a new shield and charged—but couldn't block even two strikes. He coughed blood and fell back.
Meanwhile, the martial artist, who had slashed the lunatic's leg and made him bleed, once again took five holes to the chest and was knocked away.
Even Seowoon's eight-fold shadow strike couldn't pierce the lunatic's critical points, and under the overwhelming power of the lunatic's raging internal energy, the clones vanished in an instant.
Fighting through the immense pressure, Seowoon threw a punch—but the lunatic finally got hold of him.
His hand clamped around Seowoon's neck.
"Khk!"
His breath stopped. His strength drained from his entire body.
Even so, he clenched his teeth and unleashed another punch—triggering two barriers in the process. He swung fists and kicked wildly.
Even as he dangled from the lunatic's grip, he never stopped struggling.
But the lunatic didn't budge, as if humoring a child's tantrum.
—Thunk! Thud!
Just then, sharp spikes shot from the ground—piercing his side and dangling arm.
It was a spell Seowoon had seen once before.
'No way...'
Feeling the surge of mana, he looked up—and there, riding an airboard with bloodshot eyes, was Lyle.
Of course, Ki-chan, running hard behind him, also came into view.
'Those idiots!'
The thought crossed his mind—but this was no time to say it out loud.
—Target Myeongmun, Huiyin, and Baihui only. Everything else is meaningless.—
As Ki-chan's staff sparked with lightning, he nodded—and fired a bolt straight at the lunatic's back.
—CRACKLE!
"Haah!!"
As expected of a martial artist, the lunatic instantly expelled the lightning that had been burning his body using a powerful qi step. The moment he glanced behind him, Lyle once again raised stone spikes from the ground.
This time, the lunatic had no choice but to throw Seowoon away and retreat.
The precise physical magic attack struck upward from between his legs, directly targeting Huiyin, and a grimace spread across the lunatic's face.
While Seowoon dangled in his grip and bought a few seconds, the alchemist's healing items had finally helped the knight and martial artist get back on their feet.
"We're completely out of healing items now."
Hearing that, Seowoon's expression darkened.
"Doesn't matter anymore. At this point, healing's irrelevant. If we go down, it's over. We've got less than three minutes left."
When the short-term buff ended, they'd be finished.
If they fell here and couldn't kill themselves in time, they'd live the rest of their lives with an unforgettable, humiliating memory.
As Ki-chan charged with both hands crackling with lightning magic, the three others also rushed at the lunatic.
Seowoon watched as Ki-chan couldn't even graze the Baihui point before getting blown away, blood spraying from his mouth.
That was what it looked like when someone misjudged by even a single second.
Sure enough, the lunatic flipped midair and shattered the sharp spikes erupting from the ground with his bare hands.
At the same time, the knight's body glowed with golden light and collided with the lunatic.
Just like before, the knight's skill blasted the lunatic away—but this time, the knight collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, his neck clearly broken.
The martial artist, swinging a qi-charged blade, narrowly missed the Baihui and stared in frustration.
Even while flying backward, the lunatic twisted his body grotesquely to avoid the blow—it was burned into Seowoon's mind.
"Grahhh!"
Past the bleeding martial artist, Seowoon, with the lunatic's handprint still seared into his neck, used Silent Phantom Steps to stretch his form and charge again—but the lunatic's glowing red fingertips zeroed in on his real body.
Seowoon had no intention of dodging the attack aimed straight for his heart. He threw a punch.
—Crack!
A sickening sound rang out as his arm and fist bent at unnatural angles.
Once again, the lunatic grabbed Seowoon by the neck—this time with no resistance. Seowoon dangled helplessly.
"How did you know my vital points? No one knows the true form of my martial art."
Even as he choked, Seowoon managed to speak, his voice rasping.
"Because... I... I learned... the same martial art as youuuuu!!"
Seowoon clenched his fist and activated Kayer Resonance as he spoke.
The moment emotion rippled across the lunatic's face, he tilted his head.
A strange system alert echoed in his mind—his physical defense had dropped by 10%.
That's when he finally sensed something was off.
He looked down at Seowoon's broken arm—and saw that the weird gauntlet he'd been gripping had vanished. His hand was now bare.
Something felt wrong. He glanced at his other hand—and saw he was holding a whip.
Following the length of the whip downward, he realized the end of it lay coiled at his feet.
The moment the lunatic figured it out, Seowoon shouted:
"Hamit!!!!"
—Shlkkk!
The whip lying at his feet suddenly raised its "head" like a serpent and drove itself straight through the lunatic.
Empowered by all of Seowoon's remaining inner strength, Hamit pierced Huiyin, tore through the Dantian, and burst out through the Baihui.
—Thud.
The lunatic collapsed to the ground—and Seowoon fell with him, his entire body trembling.
His strength had been completely drained. An overwhelming sense of powerlessness swept over him.
The potion's side effect had kicked in.
Yet even through the pain and exhaustion, Seowoon could feel an immense surge of vital energy.
It was eerily similar to the energy from Namsagwang.
Despite the agony and broken throat, Seowoon focused the last of his consciousness to activate the Absorption Gate.
And then, from Seowoon's mouth, a roar exploded out.
"Kraaaaaahhh!!"
His voice cracked and tore from overuse, but he forced out the scream like a battle cry as he turned toward Ki-chan.
Ki-chan's lifeless eyes.
His body was cooling rapidly—and at that moment, a system alert popped up.
—Ding! A teammate's "Over" state will expire soon. To save them, place your hand on the teammate and activate "Touch of Revival."
Following the prompt, Seowoon placed his hand on Ki-chan, and his palm began to glow faintly. After one minute, light returned to Ki-chan's eyes.
"Pwahh!!"
He gasped and jolted upright.
"Hyung!"
Lyle, who had been casting a healing spell on Seowoon's badly damaged throat, finally released his hand. Breathing now easier, Seowoon reached up and gently touched his neck.
The physical injuries were mostly healed, and even the internal injuries—those no spell could treat—were being held down by the vast life force he had absorbed.
Turning around, Seowoon looked at the lunatic—now transformed into a chest—and saw the knight and martial artist finally staggering back to their feet.
Just moments ago, they had been comrades fighting for their lives. Now, they were rivals again.
The air shifted as the former allies silently calculated each other's remaining strength.
The knight spoke first.
"We fought side by side. Do we really need to risk being left behind over this?"
Of course not. Seowoon didn't want to throw down with them now either.
But there was something he absolutely could not yield.
Seowoon's eyes met those of the martial artist—both staring at the chest.
Without a word, the fire in their eyes flared.
"I don't want to fight you—but I won't give up that chest."
The moment Seowoon spoke, Ki-chan and Lyle immediately fell back and assumed combat positions.
The martial artist stared at the chest a little longer before shaking his head.
"That treasure... is too dangerous for us to handle. Didn't they say treasure brings disaster? We'll back off."
After long deliberation, he finally declared their retreat—carefully watching Seowoon's group as they withdrew.
Once they were gone from view, Seowoon let out a sigh and approached the chest.
He didn't mind giving up the life-absorbing demonic technique—he already had a safer method for acquiring that kind of martial art.
But there was one martial art he could never give up.
'Please... let it be in there.'
If luck wasn't on his side, the martial art he desperately wanted might not be inside that chest.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]