Franz was full of enthusiasm. While holding his sword in his hands, he slowly inhaled and exhaled.
Hooooo…
It appeared to be his method of preparing himself. Sungjin swung Blood Vengeance and Ariane through the air by rotating his wrists
Swoosh~ Swoosh
And said,
Hey, Franz if we just spar it’ll be boring, so how about having a small wager? If you can hit me even once with your sword then I’ll…
Yesterday, after buying the elixir he had about a thousand Black Coins left.
Give you a thousand Black Coins.
And if I can’t hit you?
Then you have to give me a thousand.
Franz pressed his lips into a thin line and spoke.
Hrm… That seems rather unfavorable…
Then I won’t use any item active skills.
Even with that, it’s a bit…
Sungjin placed Blood Vengeance back in its scabbard and said,
Then how about this? I’ll only use one sword.
Finally, Franz nodded his head.
… Ok, that’s fine.
Alright.
Franz raised his sword and said,
Then, I’m coming.
He wore a serious expression.
Come whenever,
replied Sungjin as he looked at him.
‘He has no chance if I fight seriously… But if I do that then I won’t be able to take full advantage of Time Reversal… I’ll use the spell after fighting for a while.’
While Sungjin was thinking this,
Hwaaaap!
Franz yelled as he charged towards him. Franz had definitely become much faster than when they had first exchanged blows against each other at the Magician’s Ivory Tower. He came with a fast charge that was accurately aimed at Sungjin’s empty shoulder. Sungjin raised Ariane and blocked his attack.
Clang!
The weight of the attack during the clashing of their swords was also much heavier than before.
‘H’oh…?’
While Sungjin was surprised, Franz suddenly shouted.
Electro.
And then,
Bzzzzzz!!!
Franz’s sword gave off an electrical discharge. The electrical current flowed through Ariane and reached Sungjin which led him to forcefully push Franz’s sword away. Even though Franz was pushed away, the one to take damage was Sungjin.
‘Kuu… A sword that can conduct electricity. So even if I block, I’ll take damage…how troublesome.’
Franz whirled his sword and prepared to attack again. It seemed like he did not want to give Sungjin a chance to think.
Uryaaaaaaa!
He spun his two-handed sword like a windmill towards Sungjin. Blocking that electrified sword wasn’t the answer. Sungjin ducked his head and dodged it.
Bzzt Bzzzzt!
A threatening sound brushed past the top of his head. Franz, who missed, just continued to turn his body around and once more brandished his sword. This time, at a lower angle. Sungjin dodged this one by jumping high.
However, Franz’s sword didn’t stop as it chased the jumping Sungjin. Franz had attacked predicting that the opponent would jump. It wasn’t possible to dodge in mid-air. Sungjin had no choice but to swing Ariane below his feet to block Franz’s sword.
Clang!
When he blocked,
Zzap!
Electricity came flowing through again. The arm holding Ariane became a bit numb, but Sungjin still kicked Franz while in that state.
Haah!
An unexpected blow.
Thud!
Hrk!
It seemed that Franz did not expect Sungjin to kick mid-air while blocking his sword. He staggered after taking a kick to the chest.
Sungjin did not come away unscathed. He was once again zapped with an electric shock when he was forced to block Franz’s Sword. After switching Ariane from his right hand to his left hand, he massaged his right hand once or twice.
‘Geez, taking damage even when I block… It’s such a great advantage for a swordsman.’
Sungjin wasn’t sure how Franz lost, but it seemed like Franz was not at all weak compared to Illich; if anything, Franz was slightly stronger.
‘Was he affected by Illich’s psychological warfare? Then again… Illich was the most cunning of the final 10 people.’
While Sungjin was having such thoughts, Franz suddenly chanted a spell.
What is real is fake and what is fake is real! Illusion!
Franz’s figure split into four parts. Sungjin pursed his lips as he watched this.
Oh ho….’
The four Franz’s spoke at the same time.
I learned some magic as you suggested. It would have been a waste otherwise to not utilize all that Magic and Mind Power.
Really? But there is a difference between knowing how to use magic and properly using it. Shall we see how good you are with it?
Yes! Please confirm it for yourself!
When he observed the four Franz’s that were running towards him, the clones made by Illusion appeared exactly the same. They were impossible to tell apart just by outward appearances. The solutions that came immediately to mind were
‘Cain, bite that one’
Or
‘Soldamyr, tear them apart’
Sungjin could have used Summons to filter out the fakes. However to do so would be to break the rules. Furthermore,
‘Incinerate everything in your path! Fireball!’
Or
‘Binding Frost! Frostbite!’
He could use Magic to incapacitate Franz, but Sungjin wanted to save his Mana for ‘Time Reversal’. Sungjin held his sword as he waited for the approaching four Franz’s. Then two of those figures reached him at the same time.
Hwah!
Hwah!
Their shouts were the same as well.
‘This might require some effort,’ thought Sungjin.
As he slowly backed off, he numbered each of Franz’s figures.
‘The front left is Number 1, the front right is Number 2, back left is Number 3, and the back right is Number 4.’
As Number 1 and 2 Franz’s simultaneously charged at him, he quickly ran to the left. When both Number 1 and 2 Franz’s made a sharp turn, the Number 1 Franz was almost cut in half by the Number 2 Franz’s sword.
‘That one is fake.’
As expected, Franz wasn’t used to operating the magic. He did not yet know that collisions between the real and the fake, and between the fake and the fake could cause them to disappear.
Now only three were left. Although it was unknown which of the three was real, Franz seemed to have realized his mistake and this time the three figures separated far from each other and attacked.
‘Which one is real…’
If he could use two swords, then he wouldn’t be too worried, but since he could only use one his only option was to take a guess. Sungjin ran towards the one who was approaching him from the front. He avoided the swinging sword and cut that one’s forearm. As soon as he did so, the illusion vanished.
‘This one’s also a bust.’
The Number 3 and 4 Franz’s came running from both the front and the back. The time to respond kept growing shorter, but there was no other choice. Sungjin turned towards Number 3 and stabbed that one’s wrist before his sword could touch him.
Poof
However, that one was also a fake. Sungjin hurriedly turned his neck. And at that moment,
Slice
The Number 4 Franz’s sword grazed past the back of Sungjin’s hand.
Woohoo!
Franz stabbed his sword into the ground and shouted loudly.
Mister Kei it’s a thousand! A thousand! Will you keep your promise?
After looking at Franz with a slightly dejected expression, Sungjin said.
Aah, I’ll keep it. That is if you can remember.
Huh?
Sungjin immediately used his active skills in a flash when Franz tilted his head.
Empower Magic
The Ring of the Great Sage began to shine brightly.
Mana Flow
Ariane cried out.
Wooooooong
All the preparations were done. Sungjin immediately chanted the spell.
Decisions that are never wrong, Regrets that never come to pass. Time Reversal.
Franz stood by his grounded sword and stared at Sungjin. At the same time, Soldamyr who had been standing slightly apart from the two with his arms crossed made a slightly emotional expression as he gathered his arms together. During that short moment, Sungjin thought,
‘Did this work properly?’
Then, Franz’s lips moved. Very, very slowly.
What Magic spell issss thaaaaaaaaa…
The words he spoke stretched as if they were words from a stretched tape. It felt as if time was flowing slowly, then suddenly time stopped. And,
‘Did it work?’
When Sungjin thought this again, suddenly time began to flow backwards. Soldamyr, who had been bringing his hands together, spread them and recrossed his arms, and Franz who had stabbed his sword into the ground picked it up again and held it.
Sungjin was also caught up in the Time Reversal. In the backwards flow of time, his view and his movements were also reversing. The back of his hand that had been cut by the Number 4 Franz was nicked by the sword again.
If there was a difference, then it was that as he was hit by the sword, the wound closed behind it. After Number 4, the Number 3’s wrist was stabbed once again. Then with a ‘poof’ sound, the Number 2 Franz was remade, and he could see Number 1 who was cut by Number 2 Franz also appear again.
‘Until when is it going back?’
As Sungjin was pondering this, the reversal seemed to slow down. Time stopped once more and then it resumed.
Hwah!
Hwah!
The two Franz’s Number 1 and Number 2 charged towards Sungjin. Both were illusions. Regardless of whether they came or not, Sungjin just stood there. Number 1 and 2 swung their swords and attacked Sungjin’s neck and shoulders, respectively.
Poof
The moment the swords touched him they disappeared on their own. Afterwards,
Uryaah!
Uryaah!
Number 3 and 4 Franz’s jumped and came flying.
‘The answer is Number 4’
Sungjin similarly ignored the flying Number 3 and hit Number 4’s approaching wrist with the back of Ariane.
Thwap!
And with that sound,
Ugh!
Franz, who had lost his balance, fell. He stared at Sungjin as if he had seen a ghost and asked,
How… How did… you know?
Sungjin was about to reply when at that time the Operator let out a warning.
[Low Mana]
‘…The used Mana…It seems that this doesn’t come back.’
Sungjin raised his ring and said,
Empower Magic.
[On Cooldown]
As expected, The Ring of the Great Sage was on cooldown.
‘…Hrm…’
Sungjin became lost in his thoughts.
‘If you use the spell, then your Mana and active skills remain used. However, if it wasn’t like that…You could keep using it until you returned to the past…’
As Sungjin was having such thoughts, Soldamyr approached and said,
If Master’s Mana is low, then …
Sungjin looked at the genie. Now that he thought about it, Soldamyr had wanted to use Time Reversal all of his life, but if the Magic worked like this, then he would never be able to witness the spell in action.
This was because, if Sungjin used this spell then those around him would see him use it and then forget about it the next moment.
Even the current Soldamyr was confused about whether Sungjin had used the spell or not. The item was definitely used, but he was standing there as if nothing had happened. Sungjin returned Ariane to its scabbard and said,
Let’s end today’s spar here. Thank you, Franz. Go inside and rest. After a bit, let’s eat breakfast together.
Ah… Ok Kei.
After Sunjin nodded his head once, he called Soldamyr over.
Soldamyr, come here for a bit.
Yes, master.
Soldamyr clearly did not see the effects of the magic. After explaining the effects to Soldamyr, Sungjin would have to consult him on how and when to best utilize it.
