The Child Who Repaid Grace: Seowoon
Ding! All stats are increased by 30% for 10 days.
Buff Monster Hunt Successful! Jin Seowoon.
The notification sounded just as Seowoon lunged forward, thrusting his fist at the martial artist charging in from the front.
He had no intention of getting into close combat from the start, especially surrounded by enemies on all sides.
With a flick of his fist, he unleashed a burst of qi through the air. The martial artist, true to his nature, met it head-on with his own internal energy, refusing to back down.
Thunk!
But the force of Seowoon's qi was stronger than expected, forcing the martial artist to twist aside at the last moment, a scowl creasing his brow.
It was clear he hadn't imagined his own internal force would be overpowered by something like qi.
Quickly retreating, he yanked out two throwing daggers embedded in his body. The gush of blood subsided almost instantly, the bleeding stopping as his wounds began to close up. Thanks to his troll leather armor, Seowoon's form melted seamlessly into the shadows.
"It's the Cloak of Invisibility! Light up around the mages!"
At someone's shout, orbs of light began rising all around.
In the meantime, Seowoon ripped a healing scroll, stashing the Cloak of Invisibility into his subspace before dashing back into the fray.
He couldn't hide anymore, so it was better to strike first while the enemy formation was still shaky.
Shriek! Clang!
He hurled the two daggers, still brimming with internal energy, at the mages firing light orbs into the air. The shields of two mages shattered instantly.
Four knights sprang forward to shield the mages, who quickly fell back.
Four robed mages, the witch I missed last time, four knights, and one martial artist.
It was a bad idea to let the mages free-cast behind the knights while he was stuck fighting up front.
He had to focus everything on taking down those damned mages, no matter what.
Making his decision mid-charge, Seowoon leapt over the tense knights, launching himself high into the air.
He gathered all his internal energy into his fists, ready to blast the mages with qi—but before he could, the martial artist suddenly appeared in front of him, slashing his curved sword.
The blade slithered like a snake, aiming straight for his face, and Seowoon instinctively grimaced.
The sword's erratic, lightning-fast movements made it impossible to predict or counter.
Clang!
He crossed his arms just in time to block, and the moment the blade stabbed at the back of his hands, he was shoved backward by sheer force.
The martial artist couldn't understand why his sword hadn't pierced Seowoon's hands—or why the recoil had been so powerful that even he'd been forced back. But pressing further wasn't an option.
"Block the entrance!"
At a mage's shout, the enemies rushed toward the entrance, quickly forming a defensive wall with their backs to it.
But Seowoon hadn't come in here with any thoughts of escape.
It was either die here—or win the game in first place.
Damn that martial artist…
"Big trouble, boss!"
"I knew this was coming."
With that thought, his body moved.
This time, instead of charging head-on, he ran up the cavern wall, circling to the side.
By then, the mages had finished their casting, and spells began flying toward him.
Flames and gusts of wind intertwined, amplifying each other as they surged at Seowoon.
He didn't realize it, but when mages teamed up to attack, their basic tactic was to use synergistic elements—fire and wind, water and ice—creating combos that didn't interfere with each other even if they weren't well-coordinated.
The wind whipped up from behind, feeding the advancing fire magic until it grew massive, engulfing Seowoon entirely.
The combined force of fire and wind lit up the cavern in a blazing inferno where Seowoon had been.
Fwoosh!
But then, through the flames, Seowoon emerged, still moving. The mages stared, mouths agape.
We should've killed him back then.
Seowoon's eyes locked onto the witch, who was standing a bit apart from the other mages, muttering over an annoying-looking wooden puppet she held over her head.
When he learned 4th-circle magic, his base magic resistance stat had hit 20.
That meant Seowoon's current magic resistance was 234.
Even when it was just 90, he'd been able to tank most spells head-on.
Unless they were on the level of Escrow, a top-tier mage, this much was nothing he couldn't endure.
The enemy wasn't just going to stand there and let him flank them.
As Seowoon kept climbing the wall toward them, the knights quickly moved to block any path he could take to attack, and once again the martial artist lunged, cutting off his advance.
The knights stuck close to the mages, protecting them. The mages cast powerful spells from a distance. The martial artist engaged Seowoon directly, stalling for time.
For an impromptu team-up, their strategy was surprisingly effective.
The martial artist, having learned from their last clash, now dodged all of Seowoon's qi blasts with precise swordplay, refusing to get hit.
As expected of a martial artist with sharp senses—he wasn't as easy to strike as the knights.
The whip-like sword lashed through the air again, slithering like a snake.
This time, it mixed in feints, making its motion even more unpredictable and wild.
Seeing the blade coming for his chest's pressure point, his neck, and even his groin all at once, Seowoon couldn't help but instinctively jerk his hips back.
'This bastard!'
Wasn't there supposed to be some unspoken rule between men?
The guy completely ignored that, shamelessly aiming for the dirtiest of targets, and rage boiled up inside Seowoon.
Charging toward the unpredictable blade that could strike his groin, chest, or neck at any moment, he threw out his fist.
If it stabbed for his groin? He'd lead with his thigh, twist his hips, and sacrifice a leg to kill the bastard.
If it went for his chest? He'd turn his body, take it in the side, and kill the bastard.
His neck? That, he guarded thoroughly with his iron-hard guard.
No matter what, no matter the damage, now that he'd closed the distance, he would kill him.
That was the only thing on his mind.
It wasn't even a conscious strategy—but this was the essence of fist technique rising principle. It was the one and only philosophy fist technique pursued.
Ironically, it was the martial artist who panicked.
Normally, when he used this technique, the opponent would always retreat.
By surging his inner power a bit excessively, he'd force them to back off, creating an opening. That was how this move worked. But this was the first time he'd faced an enemy who charged straight in.
Gritting his teeth, the martial artist thrust his sword.
The tip of the sword grazed Seowoon's thigh as it extended, blood droplets scattering. The whip-sword curved like a snake, wrapping around his outstretched arm and flying straight for his neck.
Now, it was do-or-die. One of them was about to face total disaster.
At that moment, Seowoon's arm twisted, his elbow bending just slightly.
—the rotational strike.
It was Seowoon's win, tracking the enemy's sword all the way to the end and confirming the final blade path.
The instant his elbow struck the sword's flat, the weapon was violently knocked off course, flying back whether the martial artist liked it or not.
The martial artist's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Whack!
Typical martial artist reaction.
Abandoning his whip-sword in a flash, the guy swung his arm around to block Seowoon's crushing counterblow heading for his chest, and simultaneously jabbed out with his other hand.
His face twisted in pain—seemed like the blocking arm might've broken.
Thunk!
But the guy wasn't exactly a fast learner.
Did he really think a close-range jab could land, when even a sword was deflected by that rotational strike?
Tututut.
Seowoon deflected the jab with his rotational strike, followed it up with three light punches, and then burst past the man, charging straight into the clustered enemies.
The moment he launched himself at the knights, fists flying, the martial artist behind him sprayed blood like a fountain from his mouth, nose, and ears and collapsed.
"DIS ALL!!"
The witch, who had been muttering to herself for a while, jumped up, shrieking as she saw Seowoon hurtling toward the mages past the knights.
And in that moment, Seowoon felt the strength drain from his body like a floodgate opening.
[Ding! You failed to resist a debuff skill. For the next 30 minutes, all your stats are reduced by 40%. Kill the caster to remove the debuff immediately.]
He'd stacked a 30% buff thanks to the buff monster. But now, one shot of this debuff had slashed him down by 40%.
Grinding his teeth, Seowoon kept punching out power technique blasts while weaving through incoming spells.
— Look on the bright side, master. If it weren't for Black Argon, you'd have eaten the full 40% debuff with no mitigation. On paper, since you were buffed, this 40% drop actually saved you some trouble.
Like he didn't know that already? He didn't need Hamit's smug little reminder.
Still, it wasn't like he could stop cursing under his breath.
A massive phoenix of fire engulfed Seowoon's figure again, and searing heat scorched every inch of his body.
Bwak!
At the same time, a giant stone hand smashed out from the wall, swatting Seowoon like a fly and slamming him hard into the ground.
"Use physical-type magic! His magic resistance isn't normal!"
Wooden spears hurtled toward the downed Seowoon.
The knights must've decided that, if they couldn't fight hand-to-hand, they'd at least throw their spears.
But Seowoon sprang up the moment he hit the ground, twisting his body lightly to dodge the incoming spears and dashing forward again.
Not the plan he wanted, but there was no other choice now.
'I need to thin out the knights.'
As long as those guys were standing, he couldn't even dream of laying a finger on the mages.
He hadn't even managed to put out the last sparks burning on his shoulders and arms, but he was already lunging forward again, looking desperate.
Puhp!
"Fall back!"
Pbak!
"Watch out!"
Kaang!
Surrounded by knights, Seowoon kept trading blows, sticking close to them so that the mages' magic would hit their own side too. But the mages were no fools—they used pinpoint-precision physical magic to harass Seowoon while keeping the collateral damage minimal.
Blood trickled down from a cut that grazed his head, but Seowoon fought on, refusing to yield.
Two knights' breastplates were shattered, and two others had one arm wrecked, now forced to fight with only their remaining arm.
Both sides were badly injured, but no one had the chance to use a healing scroll.
The problem was the mages.
For some reason, out of the four mages, the scrawny one had been wheezing and barely casting spells from the start. When he did throw one, it flew off in the wrong direction, so Seowoon had pretty much ignored him.
But what really gnawed at Seowoon was how the other mages still seemed completely unscathed.
He'd wasted too much inner power early on trying to crush the knights fast. That was his mistake.
Knights fighting solo were nothing like these tightly packed formations. These guys covered each other's gaps perfectly, working like a well-oiled machine to guard their mages.
It made Seowoon wonder if this was really just a hastily thrown-together team.
"We can win! Hang in there!"
KWAKWAKWANG!
Seowoon surged his inner power one more time and unleashed a barrage of power technique blasts—but the knights, having taken a few hits by now, scattered at the slightest twitch of his shoulders, rolling out of range before he even finished the move.
'Damn it!'
The difference between one-on-one and being outnumbered was immense. Especially in close combat, being outnumbered was a brutal challenge for the inexperienced Seowoon.
—Boom! Boom! Boom!
Stone pillars erupted from the ground, shaking the earth. Seowoon, who had suffered once before from that brutally physical spell, quickly leapt back.
But no sooner had he retreated than another pillar shot up beneath his feet, and the knight behind him thrust his spear forward.
He spun backward, deflecting the spear with a counterstrike, but immediately the remaining three knights charged at him all at once.
Their movements were precise, leaving no opening for Seowoon to land a counterattack on any of his attackers.
This relentless pattern made it impossible to thin their numbers.
The fact that he'd managed to push them this far was impressive in itself.
—Crash!
"Gahk! Wh-what the…?"
"You bastard! What are you doing?!"
The knights, who had just attacked in unison, suddenly staggered back.
All five combatants glanced sharply toward the chaotic formation of enemy mages.
There, a small-framed mage in a hooded robe was glaring across the battlefield—and had just summoned a jagged spike of rock from the earth, impaling the witch who had relentlessly targeted Seowoon with her spells.
The startled enemy mages turned their murderous glares on him, but instead of responding, he began casting another spell.
"Not so fast!"
—Crack!
A spell shot from a mage's hand just as he jerked in reflex. The small-framed mage's legs shattered on impact, and he crumpled to the ground.
His robe fluttered as he fell, the hood slipping off to reveal his face.
"You…"
The mage, pale-faced and staring at Seowoon, was someone he recognized.
The mage—no, the child—forced a smile at Seowoon and seemed to try to say something.
—Crunch.
But the child couldn't speak.
Another mage had mercilessly cast a spell, crushing the child's head.
[Ding! Debuff has been removed.]
As the system notification chimed, a surge of strength welled up within Seowoon once again.
The desperate act of that boy, who had clung to life and waited for his moment, was an immeasurable help to Seowoon.
He had only tossed the boy a spare item, never expecting it would come back to him like this. And now an unfamiliar, searing rage boiled up inside him.
Was it because of the sheer cruelty of smashing the head of a child—an actual child by Earth standards—without hesitation?
Or was it the boy's determination to repay a small kindness with his life that stirred Seowoon so deeply?
He couldn't say for sure.
After all, this was a game where you had no choice but to kill or be killed.
And yet, the anger kept rising.
"F-fast…!"
—Smash!
Before the mage could even finish speaking—realizing the debuff had been lifted—Seowoon's fist crashed down, instantly silencing one of the knights for good.
"It's his clones! Get ready!"
The knights, wary from past injuries inflicted by Seowoon's clones, moved quickly, trying to distinguish the real one from the fakes as three more Seowoons appeared.
But all three clones rushing toward them were mere illusions.
"Here!"
One mage shouted, slamming a rising wall of earth toward the two incoming Seowoons.
—Boom!
Seowoon broke through the wall in an instant, and a barrage of spells rained down on him.
Smashing through a giant stone fist, pushing through searing flames—he relentlessly closed the gap. Before the knights could even catch up, three mages coughed blood and crumpled to the ground.
The remaining three knights could only stare, frozen in shock.
As despair flashed across their faces, Seowoon—now multiplied into six—charged at them.
[Ding ding ding ding! Cloyd Survival has ended.]
[Ta-da-da-da-dum! Congratulations on becoming the last one standing!
You have earned the right to participate in the next game.
You will receive the largest reward for this game.]
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