Solo Resurrection

Chapter 107

The Grim Reaper Returns from Death (3)

Objectively speaking, Shin Seong-a’s combat abilities weren’t bad at all.

Among all ability users, she could even be considered top-tier.

However, Shin Seong-a always considered herself lacking and continuously strived to improve.

Given that she was surrounded by monsters, this might have been natural in a way.

After a year of such effort,

Shin Seong-a was proud of herself.

She felt reassured by her rapidly improving skills.

At least until a month ago.

“You guys are pretty amazing too.”

The battle with the boss in the Veil of the Maze thoroughly shattered her complacency.

Extreme helplessness. And anger.

The emotions she felt there began to whip Shin Seong-a into action once again.

“Mr. An Yu-seong.”

“Oh, Older sister. What’s the matter?”

Shin Seong-a approached An Yu-seong, who was in the middle of training, and spoke directly.

“I want to become stronger.”

At those words, An Yu-seong, who had been swinging his sword, came to an abrupt stop.

Wiping away the sweat dripping down, An Yu-seong looked at Shin Seong-a.

“Why so suddenly?”

“I realized my shortcomings in this recent battle. I guess that’s also why you’re training so hard, unlike usual, Mr. An Yu-seong.”

It was true.

An Yu-seong had also received quite a shock from the battle with Veil.

Because of that, An Yu-seong, who usually spent his time at the guild office when not conquering dungeons, had been holed up in the training room for days now.

“You must be busy, but please, I’m asking you.”

An Yu-seong was about to refuse, but when Shin Seong-a even bowed her head to ask, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“Alright. Well, training with older sister might be quite interesting too.”

And so, An Yu-seong’s one-on-one tailored training began.

“Older sister. You have a skill related to eyesight, right? Or maybe it’s an ability. It could even be a unique ability.”

“It’s a unique ability. How did you know?”

Shin Seong-a was taken aback.

She had never mentioned it before, but An Yu-seong seemed to have already known about her core ability.

“That’s obvious if I watch you fight. To excel in close combat like you want now, we first need to look at what your strengths are.”

“Hmm…”

“Older sister’s strengths are exceptional eyesight, agility, flexibility, archery skills, cool-headed situation assessment, and decent combat sense.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s how I see it. There are a few more, but those are the main core. Whether it’s close-range or long-range combat, thinking about how to utilize these strengths as a fundamental basis is where we start.”

“I understand.”

Developing based on one’s strengths and specialties.

An Yu-seong’s words could be considered orthodox.

“Hmm, I just thought about it… Older sister. You’ve seen me fight often, right?”

“Yes.”

“I think you should move much more acrobatically than me. Very acrobatically! You know what I mean?”

“Is that possible..?”

Honestly, she wasn’t confident.

Abandoning her existing fighting style and trying something new was challenging enough, but the more serious problem was being told to move more nimbly than An Yu-seong.

At that level, even professional circus performers would probably shake their heads.

“We won’t know until we try. Still, my instincts tell me there’s a pretty high chance it’ll work.”

An Yu-seong grinned, uttering words that could be either a joke or serious.

“Then let’s start with the basics. Watch carefully.”

An Yu-seong took out two daggers from his inventory.

He throws a dagger with one hand and catches it with the other.

It was juggling using daggers.

“You can do this easily, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then how about this?”

Gradually, new daggers began to be added to An Yu-seong’s hands.

While juggling, he was taking out new daggers from his inventory and adding them to the mix.

The two daggers he started with had now become eight.

“Hmm… I think I could do it with a bit of practice.”

Thanks to her enhanced physical abilities, the juggling itself wasn’t too difficult.

The real challenge was instantly taking out new daggers from the inventory and throwing them accurately.

But even that seemed doable with practice.

“Then how about this?”

Shin Seong-a’s eyes widened at the trick An Yu-seong performed then.

“That’s…!”

An Yu-seong was constantly changing the weapons he was juggling.

The moment he caught a weapon, he put it into his inventory and simultaneously took out a new one to throw again.

Moreover, unlike before, they weren’t even all daggers.

All sorts of equipment were flying through the air at incredible speed, going in and out of the inventory.

“That’s impossible.”

While juggling, he was putting two or three items per second into the inventory while simultaneously taking them out.

This wasn’t juggling anymore; it was a feat that would be challenging even if you were just asked to do it with weapons spread out on the ground.

“Older sister, you need to master this.”

Even as he spoke, An Yu-seong continued throwing weapons.

He even seemed able to control it, changing the types of weapons uniformly.

One moment, daggers were cutting through the air in a line, and the next, maces were rising in succession.

Shin Seong-a stopped trying to figure out the extent of this crazy man’s abilities before her.

“Sigh, is there a reason for this?”

“You lack power. So you have no choice but to create openings through unpredictability and attack vital points.”

“Hmm…”

“If your talent for magic was at Brother Kang Hyeon’s level, this might have been unnecessary, but from what I see, your magic talent is average. It might even be below that.”

“Yes.”

“So this is the only way.”

Shin Seong-a understood the conclusion An Yu-seong reached.

However, she couldn’t comprehend the content.

“Could you show me specifically what method you mean?”

“Then, I’ll attack, so try to block it, okay?”

“Alright.”

An Yu-seong and Shin Seong-a faced each other. Shin Seong-a held a dagger, while An Yu-seong was empty-handed.

“Here I come.”

Suddenly, three red daggers appeared in An Yu-seong’s hands.

Without a moment’s hesitation, An Yu-seong threw the daggers at Shin Seong-a.

-Swoosh

The daggers flew at an incredible speed.

The accuracy was needless to say.

As soon as An Yu-seong threw the daggers, he began running too.

This was a method he often used.

Shin Seong-a quickly tried to react.

Or rather, she attempted to react.

‘Oh no!’

A new dagger was flying towards the direction Shin Seong-a was trying to dodge.

After drawing attention with the three red daggers at first, he had thrown a dark-colored dagger that went unnoticed.

-Ting!

Fortunately, Shin Seong-a managed to deflect the dagger with her excellent reflexes.

But that was the end.

An Yu-seong’s dagger was already at her throat.

“How was it?”

“I’m baffled…”

“Right? You probably think it’s absurd even to yourself. To fall for such a simple trick. But whether you fall for a trick or a serious all-out attack, if you die, that’s the end.”

Having already witnessed numerous deaths, Shin Seong-a understood this acutely.

“Unpredictability. Older sister, you need to constantly create variables. Almost to the point where it becomes instinct.”

“What are some examples?”

“Could you swing your sword at me once? With full force.”

At An Yu-seong’s words, Shin Seong-a swung her sword with all her might.

-Clang!

The strength of ability users far exceeds common sense.

An Yu-seong used the strong recoil from the sword clash to propel himself backward.

Simultaneously, he created daggers in both hands and threw them.

-Thud!

The daggers flew past both sides of Shin Seong-a’s head and embedded themselves in the wall.

“Like this, you throw daggers while rushing at the enemy again.”

“Hmm…”

“Ability users are using excessive strength compared to their body weight. If you use this well, even if the opponent is stronger, you can turn it into your advantage.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“You might think, ‘Is that all? Everyone thinks of that.’ And you’re right. But I’ve never seen anyone truly utilize this properly. Everyone knows it in their head, but their body doesn’t follow.”

“I see…”

“To add to this explanation, you should use a bow like me throwing daggers, but it would be even better for you to use a bow.”

“Use a bow in close combat?”

“Get rid of your preconceptions. We need to use your strengths. A bow is much stronger than daggers. What if, in that moment of jumping back like just now, you switched to a bow and fired an arrow? What if it was a powerful magic arrow? The battle could end in an instant. Moreover, if you dodge an enemy’s attack and simultaneously shoot an arrow right in their face? They’d usually be flustered and create an opening.”

Shin Seong-a finally realized what An Yu-seong was ultimately trying to say.

“It won’t be an easy path, will it?”

“There are paths that seem relatively easier. Like using poison on weapons. But those things ultimately have limits. You could say they’re meaningless without a foundation in the basics.”

“Hmm…”

“Someone of your caliber can definitely do it. It’ll take quite some time though.”

“I understand. Thank you for your guidance.”

After that, Shin Seong-a devoted herself to training, even cutting into her sleeping time.

When her condition was good, she sparred with An Yu-seong, and when her stamina was low, she practiced alone.

Days passed like this: training through the night until exhaustion took over, falling asleep, and then sparring with An Yu-seong again upon waking.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“Hahaha! Hey, what are you planning to do with that cute little dagger?”

“I doubt it could even draw a drop of blood if it stabbed me.”

“Hahahahaha!”

The ability users of the Liberation Alliance exchanged unfunny jokes among themselves and laughed boisterously.

Most of it was incomprehensible, a mix of English and Russian, but that wasn’t particularly important right now.

“You there. Your name was Shin Seong-a? Why don’t you just quietly surrender?”

The bald-headed one addressed her in broken English.

Shin Seong-a smirked and raised her hands.

“Xuck you. Xtich”

(Fuck you. Bitch.)

The bald man was startled by the sudden burst of quintessential English profanity.

“You. mouth is Bitch. You so Xucking Xussy.”

(You. All talk. Such a fucking pussy.)

A barrage of curses followed.

Shin Seong-a had a mocking smile on her lips, further provoking the anger of those watching.

As expected, the bald man, now enraged to his scalp, turned beet red.

“Suka! I’ll tear that insolent mouth of yours right now!”

The furious baldy charged forward with a roar.

Shin Seong-a quickly threw her jacket.

-Swish

The bald man snorted at the jacket flying towards his face.

“What kind of cheap trick is this!?”

He swung his sword, easily cutting the jacket in two.

“Pavel! Danger!”

A sudden shout from behind.

Simultaneously, the face of the bald man called Pavel hardened.

‘Damn it. To fall for such a cheap trick…’

An arrow flew along with the jacket.

It was aimed precisely at Pavel’s eye.

“Aaargh! Paveeel!”

“Kill that bitch right now!”

His comrades charged forward with angry howls at Pavel’s futile death.

“I’ll tear you to shreds!”

“Ring of Fire!”

“Bonds of Sin.”

Although it was a life-or-death situation, Shin Seong-a remained calm.

‘Five enemies left now. Three are close-combat types, and two are proficient in magic.’

Even as she thought this, her feet were in constant motion.

“How is she so fast!?”

“This little rat!”

Shin Seong-a avoided all attacks with dazzling movements like a circus performer and quickly ran to the back.

-Thwack!

Arrows flew in rapid succession.

Her accuracy was unbelievable for someone shooting while running.

“Mere arrows!”

The man casting magic from behind calmly deployed a defensive spell despite the sudden attack.

-Boom!

The magic arrow collided with the barrier, raising dust with a thunderous sound.

“Where are you.”

The man still maintained his barrier, prepared for any eventuality.

“Watch out!”

“What?”

“It’s coming from above!”

He quickly looked up at his comrade’s warning, but it was too late.

What he saw was Shin Seong-a plunging a dagger down at his head.

-Crack!

“You idiots! Wake up!”

“I told you all not to let your guard down! How could this happen with just one girl?!”

As two comrades fell in an instant, the others became alert.

Shin Seong-a and the enemies glared at each other in a standoff.

‘It’ll be hard to use surprise or tricks anymore.’

She had taken out two by exploiting their carelessness, but now they were seriously on guard.

It seemed she’d have to break through head-on.

‘There’s no time to hesitate.’

It would be disastrous if she got caught by those coming from behind.

The precious opportunity Kang-hyeon had created.

She absolutely must not fail.

Having organized her thoughts, Shin Seong-a nocked three arrows at once.

Then she moved her arm at an incredible speed, unleashing a torrent of arrows.

She had hundreds of each type of arrow stacked in her inventory anyway.

Having practiced countless times to retrieve items from her inventory, her rate of fire was like that of a machine gun.

‘This will only buy time. I need to get close somehow to finish them.’

But the enemies were also high-level ability users.

They easily dodged the incoming arrows, and even when arrows did hit, they merely bounced off their armor without penetrating.

“Got you!”

A man who had broken through the arrow rain lunged at Shin Seong-a with his spear.

Shin Seong-a quickly twisted her body to avoid the spear and swung her dagger.

-Clang!

Sparks flew as the dagger scraped against the armor.

“Do you know how much this costs? That toy knife of yours won’t even scratch…”

The man speaking smugly in English suddenly yelped and swung his spear.

An arrow was flying towards his face.

-Clang!

‘Damn, what power this arrow has..!’

But this arrow wasn’t like the previous wooden ones.

A solid piece of iron.

The heavy arrow, with shaft, tip, and fletching all made of steel, packed a completely different level of power.

‘This is bad!’

Shin Seong-a had deliberately used only light arrows with weak power.

Because of this, the man who had grown accustomed to them couldn’t properly deflect the suddenly powerful arrow.

The man’s arm was pushed back, creating a small opening.

Shin Seong-a didn’t miss that moment and closed in, thrusting her dagger.

“Urk, ugh…”

The dagger pierced the seam of the armor near the man’s neck.

“Looks like more than a drop of blood is coming out. Don’t you think?”

The man glared at Shin Seong-a with bloodshot eyes.

“In your next life, it might be better to improve your skills rather than your armor.”

Shin Seong-a smirked, meeting his gaze directly. She twisted and pulled out the dagger, and with an unpleasant sound, blood gushed out like a waterfall.

“Guhurk!”

“Danila!! Damn it!”

As the man, Danila, spewed blood, Shin Seong-a kicked him away and raised her hand, waggling her index finger.

“Come on.”