The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become

Chapter 99

Krrrgghhh—!!@@@@

“Shaaah...!”

[Lv 250. Ghost Knight of the Fallen Empire]

[......]

[Lv 250. Ghost Knight of the Fallen Empire]

[Summoned Ghosts: 10/10]

The ghost knights that emerged from the yard of the tiled-roof house.

With their appearance, surrounding all directions — north, south, east, and west.

"...!!"

The Sword Demon seemed startled and took a step back, flinching.

But it was only for a moment.

Soon, it lowered its stance and struck the ground.

Swish—!!

It realized that if it killed the master of the ghost knights, Kang Hyunsoo, they would all disappear.

At that moment,

Swish—!!

Two ghost knights raised their swords, blocking the Sword Demon’s path.

The moment after.

Bang—! Clang—!!

The two swords flew into the air.

The Sword Demon quickly broke through the encirclement by striking the ghost knights' swords away.

If Kang Hyunsoo had bound his hands and sword handles with bandages, perhaps it would have been different. But with a level difference of 200, the power of the Sword Demon was far too great for two ghost knights to handle.

The Sword Demon quickly charged towards Kang Hyunsoo and swung its dual swords.

However,

The Sword Demon’s sword didn’t touch Kang Hyunsoo, as he had already backed away at the moment the demon got close.

"Trying to make me cancel my skills by letting your sword touch mine? What are you going to do about it?"

[Activating]

[Projectile (C)]

Whoooosh—!!

Kang Hyunsoo aimed the Manifestation Sword at the Sword Demon and released a shockwave of energy.

The shockwave pushed both the user and the approaching enemy backward, creating a large gap between them in an instant.

The Sword Demon couldn’t mimic Kang Hyunsoo’s technique, as following it would only increase the distance between them.

As a result,

The Sword Demon’s sword didn’t reach Kang Hyunsoo’s Command Sword, and the Sword Demon found itself back in the encirclement of the ghost knights.

“Haaa!!”

“Skahhh!!”

After that,

The ghost knights charged all at once.

The ones who had been handling the sides and rear, the ones who had re-summoned their swords... All ten ghost knights attacked, slashing and swinging their swords at the Sword Demon.

Whoooom—! Swoosh—! Cha—!!

The swords flew in from all sides.

The Sword Demon tried to counter the joint attack from the ghost knights by swinging its dual swords.

But it couldn’t block every attack.

Even with a 200-level difference, the numerical disadvantage and the ghost knights’ specialized coordination made it difficult for the Sword Demon to defend.

Furthermore,

“How does it feel? Surrounded by swords, you must be loving it?”

Shii—! Kaahhh—!!

Kang Hyunsoo’s distant attacks also contributed to pressuring the Sword Demon.

Every time the Sword Demon aimed for the necks of the ghost knights, Kang Hyunsoo’s sky-cutting blades and Heaven-Opening Slash neutralized the Demon’s counterattacks.

The ghost knights' swords slashed through various parts of the Sword Demon’s body — its arms, legs, stomach, and chest.

“Kuhh! Your improvisation is impressive, Master!”

Swallow, flying in the air, exclaimed in awe at the changed atmosphere of the battlefield.

Until now, Kang Hyunsoo’s plan hadn’t been working as smoothly.

Though it was going much better than his previous life, his goal of clearing quickly hadn’t been achieved.

He had tried to take the Sword Demon down with a single strike using Bloom or activate Beauty Swordsmanship, but he had been repeatedly blocked by the Sword Demon’s powers and curses.

He had even considered using the Berserker's secret technique in the middle, but fighting in that state would have torn his clothes and caused him to sweat, so he hadn’t even tried it.

However, this time, summoning the ghost knight legion was different.

Although it was only a C-rank skill, it had been highly effective against the Sword Demon.

The Sword Demon could only be damaged by its sword, so to defeat it, Kang Hyunsoo would have to keep slashing for days. However, with ten more people now, the rate at which its health decreased had increased tenfold.

Swish—! Slash—! Swoosh—!

“Keek!”

The Sword Demon’s monstrous roar echoed across the yard of the tiled-roof house.

‘I didn’t expect the Command Sword to be this useful.’

The Command Sword, which Kang Hyunsoo hadn’t acquired in his previous life, was now proving invaluable.

What had once seemed like just an additional rare sword was now fulfilling its role perfectly.

After over 30 minutes of continuous slashes from the ghost knights,

[Your title has been upgraded.]

[Title: ‘The Handsomest Swordsman’ changes to ‘The Handsomest Sword Demon’.]

[Title: The Handsomest Sword Demon]

[Effect: Appearance Power +50, Sword Attack +50%, Attack Speed +50%, Movement Speed +50%]

[The two talents are synergizing slightly.]

[Additional Effect 1: 10x experience gained from monster kills.]

[Additional Effect 2: 8x experience gained by party members.]

First, the Sword Demon Title Quest had been completed, and the title had changed. Appearance power had not dropped below 10, and...

[You have completed the Sword Demon Quest and gained a new swordsmanship skill.]

[Reward]

[Swordsmanship Skill: Sword Soul Explosion (A) has been acquired.]

Additionally, a new skill had been gained.

And by using the Spectral Knights and Bloom, the Sword Demon was defeated before the 24 hours passed.

This had led to an unexpected result.

Clearly, all the rewards had been received, but then...

[You defeated the Sword Demon before dawn.]

[Special Reward]

[You have acquired the Sword Demon skill: Sword Demon Summon (S).]

“Hmm...?”

Suddenly, a special reward with a new skill was given.

“Oh, a skill I didn’t see in my previous life...!”

Swallow exclaimed in excitement as Kang Hyunsoo opened his skill window to check the reward.

[Sword Demon Skill: Sword Demon Summon (S) - Summons the sword-obsessed demon. The summoned Sword Demon can fight independently or be set to mimic the caster’s actions. Consumes 10 mana per second. Maximum summon time is 6 hours per day.]

The special reward turned out to be the Sword Demon Summon.

Kang Hyunsoo scratched his cheek as he looked at the skill description.

“...It feels like my companions are increasing more and more.”

“Sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? It’s much stronger than the Spectral Knights. Plus, the Command Sword is a rare grade weapon, so you’ll need to upgrade it to a higher grade weapon. At that point, you won’t be able to use the Spectral Knights. This is a nice upgrade.”

“Right. With the completion of the Sword Demon Quest, I can now find the next Hidden Piece too.”

Kang Hyunsoo nodded at Swallow's words.

The next Hidden Piece was a weapon.

Once acquired, he couldn’t replace the Flame Sword, but it made sense to replace the Command Sword.

“Shall we start preparing?”

Kang Hyunsoo took off his clothes covered in dust and prepared to take a shower.

Seeing this, Swallow perched on the laundry rack and said.

“Are you going to find the Hidden Piece right away?”

“Of course. You never know how things will turn out. I need to claim it before someone else does.”

Given there was no particular reason to delay, it made sense to go after the Hidden Piece right away.

But just as Kang Hyunsoo was about to take a shower and head out...

A sudden phone call came in.

It was an unexpected contact.

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

“Oh, is it a date proposal? Go ahead and answer, Master.”

A date proposal? Please...

Kang Hyunsoo shook his head while watching Swallow fly around excitedly.

As expected, it was work-related.

“Hello, Hunter Choi Jiwoo.”

- How are you, Hunter Kang Hyunsoo? We’ve located the base of Babylon.

“Really?”

- Yes, after interrogating the Babylon agents, we finally got them to talk. Multiple testimonies match, so it seems unlikely that it’s a lie.”

“Then we can track down the remnants and prevent any further damage. It seems like things are going well.”

- Yes, but there’s one problem.

“A problem?”

- We’re short on personnel. There are many dungeons on the verge of breaking, and most of our agents are tied up clearing those. They’ve also been deployed to other incidents.”

“Ah... I see.”

But why was she telling me this?

A feeling of confusion passed through Kang Hyunsoo’s mind, but the doubt was soon resolved.

After Kang Hyunsoo responded.

Choi Jiwoo hesitated slightly before cautiously speaking.

- So, I’m asking... If it’s okay with you... Would you like to come with me to the Babylon base?

“Pardon? Me?”

- Yes, just the two of us will go.”

He denied it, but couldn’t help but admit it a bit.

This was...

“Heh, didn’t I tell you?”

It was a date proposal.

A slightly unusual one.