Chapter 35
The constellations’ excitement had reached its peak.
A frenzy of blazing starlight!
Mad cheers swept across the skies.
– At last, a proper battlefield has been set!
– Triple-A vs. Triple-A!
– Shame it’s not S-rank, though.
– Are you kidding? Just having a ‘Colosseum’ match at all is rare! What matters most is that their levels match.
– The best match-up we’ve seen so far…!
Each constellation weighed the odds based on their expectations and calculations—
And confidently backed their judgment.
[‘One Who Stirs the Winds’ dismisses the outcome and sides with ‘Monster Professor’.]
[‘Judge of the Void’ strongly agrees.]
The Judge of the Void was one of the creators of the Trial of the Swordmaster.
Last time, he had reluctantly agreed with the other constellations after Doyun’s logic convinced them…
But Doyun’s method of clearing the trial had been an insult to his sense of justice.
Since that day,
He had ground his teeth in anticipation, vowing to set that arrogant human straight.
And now, the long-awaited moment had arrived.
[‘Judge of the Void’ shares his evaluation of the ‘Strange Hunter’.]
[Improvisation, trickery, and bizarre solutions. The ‘Strange Hunter’ has barely scraped by using cheap tricks.]
[Trial of the Swordmaster, NPC massacre, Black Ghost raid—all done with cunning and loopholes. So unprincipled that he stopped watching out of disgust.]
[He firmly declares that someone so lacking in fundamentals stands zero chance against the ‘Monster Professor’, who tenaciously overcame the ‘Trial of the Dark Hall’.]
The analysis made sense to many, and the constellations’ bets began heavily favoring one side.
[‘Dark Giant’ bets 100,000P on Erast Walter…]
[‘Revolutionary of Twilight’ bets 75,000P on Erast Walter…]
[‘Ashen Phoenix’ bets 65,000P on Erast Walter…]
…
…
In a way, what the Judge of the Void was doing was cutting his own throat.
If he truly believed the ‘Monster Professor’ would win, shouldn’t he boost the opponent’s odds to tilt the payout in his favor?
But he didn’t care about a few tens of thousands of points.
What truly mattered was showcasing his judgment in a match of this magnitude—
To imprint the belief: “Whoever the Judge of the Void names turns out to be the real deal.”
And as an added benefit—
‘…It’s essentially decided. The scythe of judgment will follow the path of prophecy. Hyun Doyun’s fate is sealed!’
Of course, not every constellation was in agreement.
Some still sought other possibilities.
[‘Celestial Monarch’ bets 30,000P on Hyun Doyun. “Can’t resist a ripe underdog bet!”]
[‘Ice Queen’ bets 50,000P on Hyun Doyun. “Still… if it’s Doyun…”]
[‘Patron of Destruction’ bets 500,000P on Hyun Doyun. “Fools. Just watch.”]
[Betting closed]
[Erast Walter – 3,800,000P!]
[Hyun Doyun – 1,250,000P!]
[‘Erast Walter’ ■■■■■■■□□□ ‘Hyun Doyun’]
[Final payout ratio: 1.33 : 4.04]
As Doyun cracked his neck, the outer blade of the chained scythe hissed through the air.
CRACK!
The tightly drawn chain—
Erast Walter twitched his arm, and the scythe recoiled, only to strike again—this time the inner blade shooting straight for Doyun’s neck.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A relentless barrage that left no room to breathe.
Fierce and sharp, no doubt—but was it enough to justify the overwhelming 7:3 odds?
‘Is it really that one-sided?’
The moment he looked up—
Dozens of black figures encircled him.
“Close the formation.”
At Erast Walter’s command, undead beasts surged in from all directions.
-This is it! Freiburg is basically the ‘Monster Professor’s’ home turf.
-At this level, even a blink decides the fight.
-But to skew it this hard? Talk about a tilted playing field!
Werewolves with claws like blades, armed skeleton warriors, and bloated corpse weapons—all charged at once.
As Doyun steadied his breath, deep inner energy erupted from his core.
[Heavenly Sword Art (Legendary)]
└ [Stage 2: Annihilation]
FLASH!
Explosive sword energy whipped out in all directions, slicing undead in half.
‘Absurd.’
He’d only come to negotiate, yet was met with this ridiculous hostility.
And the constellations were giddily raising the stakes.
Adding to it, personal grudges now took center stage.
‘Constellations who stir conflict and stage these Colosseums just for fun.’
He had never expected much from them, but the Judge of the Void had truly crossed the line this time.
Still, there was one gain:
‘Judging by the awful odds, word of the Black Flame Horse incident hasn’t spread.’
Which meant the constellations’ predictions were reasonable based on publicly known information.
“Graaaaah…”
The undead horde surged again.
Doyun slashed in an arc with his flame sword, the burning blade tearing through the encirclement.
FLASH!
In that moment of broken formation, Doyun’s figure darted diagonally like lightning.
[Thunderstep Art (Heroic)]
└ [Stage 2: Leaping Thunder]
ZAAAAP!
‘The constellations are making a fatal error.’
The view from above gives the illusion of control.
In earlier stages, Doyun and the other three Guardians of the Nation had paid dearly for such illusions.
A classic case:
-190cm, 120kg vs. 180cm, 100kg. Who wins?
The larger opponent seems obvious—
But once the fight begins?
The smaller one dismantles the larger easily.
Stats are just numbers.
Victory lies beyond them.
-‘Skill’ amplifies advantages.
-‘Judgment’ overturns disadvantages.
-‘Instinct’ captures moments.
-‘Will’ is the strength to rise again.
The sum of all these is real combat.
Even among superhumans—
Even if someone has a broken ability or god-tier skill—
‘In the end, it’s the better fighter who wins!’
SWOOSH─
Doyun’s flaming sword thrust toward Erast Walter’s brow.
CLANG!
Just 3cm from impact.
The protective shield burst with a sharp crack.
The sticky, ashen barrier shattered into pieces.
Walter’s eyeballs nearly popped—but his expression didn’t twitch.
“……”
No flinch—only cold green eyes boring into Doyun.
And both hands… clasped behind his back?
‘Behind his back?’
SWISH!
The chained scythe struck from behind like a silent snake.
But with a graceful twist like a mermaid’s tail—
Doyun dodged, then lunged forward with momentum.
Twisting his grip, he slashed horizontally.
But—
CLINK!
Chains coiled around his thigh, binding him.
His charge halted—
The blade’s tip stopped just short of Walter’s heart.
Only one step too short.
“Disappointed?”
Walter sneered.
“Not even close.”
BOOM!
The chain exploded, severed by Doyun’s burst of transcendent inner energy.
“…!”
For the first time, Walter’s mask cracked.
He quickly performed a hand sign and launched bone bullets from a gray mist.
RATATAT!
Doyun twirled his blade, shattering them all, then threw his sword.
Activating another technique—
[Thunderstep Art (Heroic)]
└ [Stage 1: Residual Thunder]
Doyun’s afterimages shredded apart—
POP!
“Guh!”
Walter tried to counter with his bone bullets, but…
He was already there.
‘Cancel summon. Activate [Guardian’s Blade].’
Doyun blinked through space, retrieved his flaming sword, and slashed.
SPLURT!
“Grgh!”
A spray of blood erupted.
But Walter didn’t go down easily.
As the blade cut into his shoulder—
A monstrous ghostly hand erupted from his back and smacked Doyun full force.
CLANG!
Sparks flew like fireflies.
Their weapons clashed, but Doyun missed his chance to press the advantage.
Walter grimaced at his wound, too mangled to tell whether it was a burn or a cut.
“You… weren’t you just a shop clerk?”
“And you—what the hell did you do in your youth?”
They both thought the same thing:
‘…Why is he so damn good at fighting?’
But one thing was clear:
Walter had taken the heavier damage.
He backed away clutching his wound—
Doyun gave chase.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Steel-plated hooves pounded the earth.
The boar beast from earlier.
It blocked Doyun’s path, body-checking like a battering ram.
“Tch. Annoying—!”
SLASH!
The flame sword cleaved through—
THUNK!
The boar’s head flew.
But even headless—
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
It kept charging.
Such is the undead’s nature.
Doyun plunged his blade through a gap in the armor, immobilizing it.
Meanwhile, Walter steadied himself and tried to summon more dark energy.
‘…The black mana isn’t flowing.’
The wound was too deep.
This was his first match as an Awakened.
His moment of panic proved costly.
Constellations grew restless.
[‘Ashen Phoenix’ screeches! “What are you doing? Attack, now…!”]
[‘Revolutionary of Twilight’ tilts his head. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”]
[‘One Who Stirs the Winds’ is in a panic. “T-this is not what I signed up for…!”]
[‘One Who Stirs the Winds’ sponsors ‘Wind of Healing’ to Erast Walter. -30,000P]
[‘Dark Giant’ quietly grants ‘Blessing of Darkness’ to Erast Walter. -45,000P]
This was it.
The trap set by the Judge of the Void.
A low-payout match ensures that those who bet heavily can’t afford an upset.
To prevent loss, they’re forced to sponsor their fighter mid-battle.
Walter’s color returned.
“My turn now.”
As he released black mana—
Corpses scattered across the campus twitched.
A dead army rose—
And Doyun was left an island among them.
“So much power…”
Walter’s eyes gleamed ominously.
Now he could wield it as intended.
As the undead swarmed Doyun, he invoked a hidden trick.
A black puddle formed under Doyun’s feet—
From it, a ghostly hand surged up and grabbed his leg.
SQUELCH!
Though he twisted away just in time, a chunk of thigh flesh tore off.
Screaming nerves and blood vessels erupted.
Still, Doyun felt lucky.
He narrowly escaped.
Which meant—
He must not fight Walter in dark magic.
So instead—
‘End this quickly.’
[Heavenly Sword Art (Legendary)]
└ [Stage 3: Severing Silk]
Vast internal energy erupted from his core, forming fine blue threads.
Everywhere they touched—
The monsters were shredded.
Slashed, torn, splintered—blown to bits.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
KABOOOOOM—!
The campus shook with explosive force.
“Kh… Gah!”
Walter spat blood, barely withstanding the [Severing Silk].
Above him—
DRIP DROP.
Shards of what once were ‘undead’ fell like rain.
[‘One Who Stirs the Winds’ freezes. “W-What the hell? He was hiding a move like that??”]
[‘Ice Queen’s’ lips curl into a smirk. “How interesting.”]
[‘Patron of Destruction’ chuckles. “Told ya to just watch.”]
[‘Judge of the Void’ trembles with rage. “……”]
WHOOSH!
Doyun soared toward Walter.
The flaming sword roared—
And was about to pierce his heart.
But—
“……?”
It stopped.
Right before the kill.
The fiery blade hung in mid-air.
“That’s enough, don’t you think? The play is over.”
“You?”
Walter’s eyes shook as he looked up.
“…You noticed?”
“Of course.”
“Since when?”
“From the beginning.”
Doyun lowered his sword.
“The acting was convincing, but it lacked soul.”
Still, he had to admit it.
He couldn’t help but be impressed.
Walter’s switch wasn’t from pride or rage—
‘It was to maximize profit.’
The Trial of the Dark Hall is a one-time, irreversible trial upon 3rd-stage clear.
Walter wanted to know:
Was Doyun capable of finishing it?
Could he really close the final gate?
Would that eliminate Walter’s chance forever?
‘…That’s what this Monster Professor was testing!’
