Duo: Birth of the Demon of Wrath
***
"GRAAAAAAHHH!"
Seowoon couldn't understand how the man—emaciated to the point his skin clung to his bones and had turned brown from lack of blood—was still alive and holding on.
He shook his head as the man let out a hoarse scream.
"I don't know if it's more impressive that he's still hanging on, or that Nam Sagwang's beating him without killing him."
Whether it was Zesk, enduring this punishment for twenty minutes with that body, or Nam Sagwang, delivering blow after blow with vigor—both were undeniably remarkable.
"Isn't it time to kill him already? How long are you planning to go on?"
"Hoo… I'm still not over it. Just thinking about how I almost lost my martial arts… and not even from inner demon deviation! Not even to a worthy opponent! Almost lost it to some freakish sorcery! Makes my blood boil!"
-THUD!
With a precise kick to the solar plexus, Zesk bent over like a shrimp, gasping for breath as his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Guh! Urk…"
-Tap!
Sagwang, ever so thoughtful, lightly tapped Zesk on the back.
"KEHHHHH!"
As Zesk finally caught his breath, Sagwang struck him lightly in the throat again.
"Ghk!"
"You know what I've learned after beating countless people to death in this world? Do you know when death hurts the most?"
Though Seowoon knew the question wasn't for him, he responded anyway.
Even he would be beyond furious if his abilities were stolen by some pathetic trickster like that.
"Hm. When you can't breathe?"
"No. When you can't see the end of the pain. When you can't tell if death is coming or if the pain will ever stop. That's when most people try to end it themselves."
-Tap.
As he finished his sentence, Sagwang struck the back of Zesk's neck again, letting him breathe.
"Torture like this is nothing, really. Even pain becomes familiar when it repeats."
As he said that, a sharp, needle-like energy formed at Sagwang's fingertips. Zesk's eyes widened with fear.
"You probably know—there are countless pressure points in the human body. If you stimulate them correctly, you can either save or kill a person. But you know what's truly terrifying?"
"I guess… making someone unable to live or die?"
Sagwang smiled at Seowoon's answer.
"Exactly. A life where you're trapped in endless pain, neither alive nor dead. This needle is crafted from my true internal energy. Once it enters a body, it never disappears."
Without hesitation, Sagwang plunged the energy needle into Zesk's solar plexus.
"GUHHHAAARGH!"
As Zesk rolled on the floor in agony, Sagwang stood up and spoke.
"This is actually a forbidden technique even among orthodox sects. It's a torture method called Ten-Needle Pain. With each needle, the pain multiplies. They say even bone-crushing pain pales in comparison. I'd say your internal organs are probably twisting right about now."
Seeing Zesk's desperate, pleading eyes, Sagwang continued.
"The second needle blinds you, as if your eyes were being gouged out. The third robs you of hearing and brings crushing headaches. The fourth starts tooth pain and renders you mute. The fifth…"
"P-Please… just kill me…"
At last, Zesk begged for death. In his eyes, there was no longer hope, anger, or resentment—only the raw, desperate longing for death.
"Well, if you insist, I'll grant you that. But before that, answer a few things. Now that the damn item is broken, all the power you absorbed—is it returning to its original sources?"
"Ugh… Y-Yeah."
"And the skills on your back and bow—were those stolen too?"
"No… Urk… Those were part of the item's power."
"Then lastly—how did you even get that cursed item?"
"L-Luck… I stayed hidden… then climbed the ranks… found it during a random loot drop… then got it by lottery… GRAAAHH—!"
Unable to finish due to the pain, Zesk screamed. Sagwang, finally granting him mercy, slit his throat.
As life left Zesk's body, a faint smile appeared on his face. Seeing the peace in the dead man's eyes, Seowoon shuddered.
How much pain does it take for someone to welcome death like that?
"You're really an orthodox cultivator, huh?"
The words escaped his mouth instinctively.
"This was me being merciful. Even in the orthodox path, there's no forgiveness for those who steal others' martial arts. And this torture technique? I picked it up back in my prime."
There was nothing more to say.
"Now that I've calmed down, let's go."
"Before that—what about this item?"
Sagwang held up two yellow gems he had pulled from Zesk's chest.
"The risk is too high. To use those sealing stones, you need to embed the cursed absorption stones into your own body. Who would willingly put something in themselves that could shatter and release everything at any moment?"
"Thought so."
"And someone like the Heavenly Demon? He could probably break the seal."
Without hesitation, Sagwang crushed Merthy's item.
Even in a world where people kill and loot others for their skills and those skills turn into items, there was something fundamentally wrong with that thing. Sagwang smashed it, then continued digging through the chest.
And then came the item that had tormented Seowoon:
***
[Spider Wire]
Fires wires in your desired direction, assisting movement. Injecting mana or other energy increases movement speed.
***
"This cursed item—don't want it?"
"That one… I do."
Sagwang, surprised, tossed him a thin backpack.
"Omni-directional movement… How many new variables can this create?"
Seowoon slung the pack over his shoulders.
Instantly, eight wires extended from it, connecting to his body with the uncanny naturalness of a new limb.
As Seowoon smiled slightly, Sagwang tossed him one more item.
***
[Brilliantly Enhanced Sislin's Bow Frame]
Increases arrow speed by 50%
Indestructible
Enhances arrow penetration by 20%
Special Skill: Inescapable Capture (usable once per day)
Pulls the captured target to within 3 meters of the skill's user
"Ah, this one too."
[Sisslin's Bowstring. When attached to a bow, increases arrow speed by 20% and boosts penetration power by 10%.]
The newly acquired bow offered the same 70% increase in arrow speed as his current enhanced Black Kyre Bow, but what caught Seowoon's eye was the extra 30% penetration power attached as an option.
"Indestructible, huh…"
But what truly seized Seowoon's attention was the "Indestructible" trait.
"Sagwang, try using Sugang on it."
As Seowoon gripped the bow like a staff and channeled his inner energy into it, the bow stiffened, standing tall like a solid rod.
Sagwang, immediately grasping Seowoon's intent just from watching, swung his sword toward the bow.
Clang!
Though his hand rang from the impact, the bow withstood Sagwang's ki-infused strike without so much as a scratch.
"If armor had this trait…"
"Theoretically, it'd be unkillable, right?"
"There can't be armor like that… right?"
Sagwang thought for a moment, then smirked.
"What if you enhanced your dragon armor until it shone?"
Seowoon's eyes lit up.
Enhancing the Black Dragon Armor set—an item so valuable it was impossible to put a price on—in such a way? And not just enhancing it once or twice, but until it glowed? If successful, there would be no debate: it would become a one-of-a-kind item in the entire world. But…
"Doing something that insane…"
Seowoon had spent his middle school years playing an online game popular among grown men. One of that game's core systems? Equipment enhancement. He'd done it countless times.
He had long since realized that upgrading gear was a gamble between tripling its value or watching it vanish into nothingness.
And unfortunately, he had also learned something even worse—that he liked the thrill of that gamble.
"Think we can get a Sky Enhancement Stone?"
He murmured it almost to himself, but Sagwang flinched in shock.
"You're actually considering it?!"
"N-no, I just meant… maybe strengthening it once wouldn't be a bad idea."
Sagwang eyed him suspiciously, but then stood up and handed over a pair of earrings.
"This is all I found in the accessory category."
[Earrings Holding the Smile of Goddess Mercury. Increases the wearer's Luck.]
"Huh?"
Seowoon immediately put them on. The claim that they boosted a stat that didn't even exist was strange enough to intrigue him.
He hadn't pierced his ears, but without hesitation, he jammed them in, tearing his earlobes on the spot—and a chime rang out.
Ding! A special stat, Luck, has been created.
"How does that work?"
Special Stat – Luck: 20
In games, Luck was easy to apply. It affected item drops, gold rates, and more. But in real life? It took him a second to figure it out.
"Items that drop randomly… Ah!"
Then it clicked: the very mechanics of this world mirrored Earth's games.
From the final five-player draw phase, to the items dropped by hunted players, to loot found on monsters and scattered across the map—everything was randomized.
"This might be a bigger variable than I thought!"
Sagwang looked at him curiously, so Seowoon explained the implications of the Luck stat. Sagwang offered a new perspective.
"What if two players fought under the exact same conditions? One has Luck, the other doesn't. They stab each other at the same time—who do you think survives?"
Seowoon was stunned.
"I don't know when this luck system came into play, but the ones in the know must be abusing it already."
The two continued discussing the implications of the new stat until it was time to move.
"Try not to get kidnapped again, yeah?" Seowoon joked.
Sagwang grimaced. "Don't remind me. What a disgrace."
As they began running from the station, a tunnel named Munhak Tunnel quickly came into view.
Stay alert. Someone's definitely camping nearby.
Sagwang nodded at Seowoon's telepathic message.
This wasn't just any area—it was the zone of the Buff Monster. With Crown-ranked players in the vicinity, no one would attempt a reckless raid, but passive monitoring? Absolutely.
Now that they had decided not to avoid the Heavenly Demon, they were turning the tables. They'd target the players instead.
Kuwaaaeeeh!
A roar, laced with metallic echoes, rang out from the tunnel. The two looked at each other.
Sounds like someone's attempting a raid?
What do we do?
Sagwang's question made Seowoon pause for a moment.
Let's go with Plan A.
The telepathic message sent, Seowoon ripped out some hair.
He strapped gear all over his waist and bolted into the tunnel.
Tensed up and fully alert, what he saw inside was beyond belief.
"No way. There's no way something like that exists on Earth!"
The Buff Monster—shaped like a massive lizard—wasn't that out of place at first glance.
But with horns sprouting from its back and a tail shaped like a spiked mace, this was no creature of the modern world.
"Are they summoning extinct dinosaurs now…?"
BOOM!
The dinosaur roared and curled its body as it swung its tail, knocking the two players who had been fighting the monster backward.
'No way…'
At the same time, the creature began rolling through the tunnel—which looked far too narrow for it—with terrifying speed, turning the scene into complete chaos.
Having already spotted Seowoon, the two players weren't fighting the monster aggressively anymore. Instead, they focused on avoiding its attacks while trying not to turn their backs on Seowoon.
The monster was already covered in blood, spraying crimson in all directions, while Seowoon rushed in, grimacing at both the beast and the players keeping their guard up.
Pulling two grenades from his pouch, he held one in each hand. With a flick of his thumbs, he snapped off the safety clips and yanked out both pins with his teeth as he charged forward. The expressions of the two players, still battling the buff monster, twisted in horror.
Whether it was the arrogance of the enemy showing an opening or the frustration of being interrupted during a critical moment, it wasn't clear—but one of the knights raised his aura-charged sword and rushed in alongside him.
Right as the knight closed the distance, the monster—curled up once again—came rolling in behind Seowoon.
-Tick! Clatter…
In the chaos, the grenade left Seowoon's hand and rolled perfectly between the two attackers.
-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!
With the explosion, the middle of the tunnel collapsed.
From a distance, two other players who had been watching the tunnel saw the gray dust burst outward with a deafening roar.
"You've been looking more and more like someone obsessed with explosions lately."
At Namsagwang's words, Seowoon didn't bother to deny it.
Magic explosion scrolls varied in power depending on the scroll, but they were incredibly efficient.
There was no better way to shake the battlefield, disorient enemies, and deal damage all at once.
On top of that, now that he could control physical clones, he could use them to move the bombs around—gaining both safety and a tactical lure all in one.
"Why wouldn't I use something this profitable?"
As Seowoon said this, Namsagwang shook his head with a sigh. Just then, a blood-soaked monster raised its head and roared atop the rubble of the collapsed tunnel.
-ROOOAAAARRRGH!
"No death notifications… so they're not dead?"
"Could be unconscious… or just pretending. We'll find out soon enough. They're still in the buff monster's territory."
-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The monster slammed its tail against the debris in rage, and from the rubble, two players covered in gray dust came bursting out.
At that exact moment, Seowoon smiled.
The knight, bleeding through his armor like the dinosaur itself, and the martial artist, whose clothes were completely shredded, both looked severely damaged.
Drawing his newly acquired bow, Seowoon nocked a special arrow and aimed—not at the monster, but at the injured knight still fighting.
Beside him, Namsagwang raised his hand to signal.
The moment his hand dropped, Seowoon released the bowstring.
-SWISH!
-BOOM-BOOM!
The arrow flew, and in perfect sync, two of Seowoon's planted claymores exploded, blending into the chaos.
Just when the enemy thought the explosions were over, another wave of blasts engulfed them from front and rear—right as Seowoon's arrow pierced through.
'A proper bomb drop should at least be like this.'
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