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* * *
Could a fish that had lived its entire life in a narrow fishbowl feel this sensation when first swept into a vast ocean? Even if he had been fully prepared, it couldn’t have been to this extent.
‘This is the mana hyung can use right now?’
Every time he moved his fingertips, he had the illusion of being able to touch formless mana. The mana was that vivid and dense.
‘With this kind of mana, no wonder he can use something like 12-layered Stigma…’
Doun, whom he’d watched from the side for quite a long time, was someone who had reached an unbelievable level. Separate from his soft and gentle personality with no rough edges, during conquest, the word “invincible” suited Magnetic perfectly.
Samin both respected and envied Doun’s appearance. He’d often been vaguely curious about just how much mana Doun had.
But when he actually felt it directly, it was an impossible level. What was even more shocking was that this wasn’t Doun’s maximum.
‘Why did he set aside mana again… He said he’d fix his habits but hasn’t changed at all, Lee Doun.’
Just as he had arbitrarily taken Doun’s injuries on Floor 54, Doun had arbitrarily shared his mana with Samin.
As a result, Samin could vividly feel Doun’s obsessive mana distribution. Despite sharing all his mana with him, he could clearly detect mana that was strangely wrapped in a thin membrane.
‘Is this the spare mana hyung mentioned? Crazy, this isn’t spare mana but just regular B-rank hunter mana.’
Just by feeling Doun’s mana, Samin became confident he could easily kill the magical beast in front of him.
“Samin!”
Doun’s voice scattered his thoughts.
‘Let’s deal with that thing first.’
Samin kicked off the ground with all his strength.
Crack!
He could clearly feel his muscles expanding from the skill cast using Doun’s mana. He activated all the skills he couldn’t use freely due to mana shortage. Even so, Doun’s mana remained abundant.
‘Fuck. No wonder they kept sticking straws in.’
Having tasted the vast amount of mana he could directly use, he let out a hollow laugh. Doun’s mana would be like a drug for hunters—once addicted, they’d keep thinking about it and couldn’t quit.
To add a bit of exaggeration, it felt like holding omnipotence that made him confident he could do anything, so how could anyone give this up?
‘No time to think about such things.’
Samin focused on battle. As gasification was blocked several times, the floor boss’s aura wavered unstably as if expressing anger for the first time. Looking up at the floor boss that seemed ready to go berserk any moment, Samin narrowed his eyes.
‘Will this work?’
Even useless doubt was only momentary. His lean and solid body shot up into the air. Rising into the air, Samin concentrated on a strike that could maximize his abilities.
The skill manifested using the mana Doun allowed transformed Samin’s muscles to be firm yet elastic. His strength increased, and a strike loaded with multiple layers of attack power enhancement buffs suddenly fell upon the floor boss.
THOOM!
The enormous shockwave pushed back those standing nearby. Eyes flashed before them along with a tremendous roar.
“Ugh…”
Samin groaned at the thrilling shockwave that started from his fist, passed his shoulder blade, and reached his skull. Despite the terrible pain that momentarily knocked him unconscious, his whole body trembled.
‘It’s dead.’
Saaaah—.
The heat rising around the mercilessly cracked stone floor was tremendous. It was debris from the massive energy contained solely in a human’s right fist.
Samin swallowed his pained groan. The aftermath of excessive skill use was severe. The shockwave that even an S-rank hunter’s body couldn’t withstand had shattered everything from Samin’s fingers to his radius. His right hand was already no different from a rag.
“Haah…”
Samin, completely overwhelmed by hormones excessively secreted by his brain to forget the pain, let out a long rough breath. His eyes facing forward contained nothing.
‘…’
Though thoughts surging and scattering simultaneously were overflowing, his mind was rather like an empty state. The end of excessive thinking was thoughtlessness.
To bring back his dazed mind, Samin shook his drooping arm. Only when pain arose from the arm swaying like a tentacle with broken bones did he finally realize reality.
‘It wasn’t a delusion.’
There was no way he could see the notification windows layered before his eyes. For Samin, who realized this was reality rather than imagination, the only thing now was the face of the man running toward him through the opaque hologram.
“You right now…!”
Doun couldn’t finish his words. Samin stood stepping on the pool of blood that had begun spreading widely from his feet and looked around.
Only then did expressions full of shock and confusion enter his sight. Feeling the healing skills pouring onto his body along with the murmuring noise, Samin thought.
‘Hyung has been living with this sensation all along. Is that why he tried to shoulder everything alone?’
After that, he could only stare blankly at his lover’s face, which had turned ashen while looking at him in silence for quite a while. His heart felt strangely complicated.
* * *
Doun had no choice but to be shocked.
‘I didn’t share mana for him to do something like that…!’
Based on the behavior Samin, who had become his lover, had shown so far, he believed that inside the tower, he would act more coolly than anyone. Even though he enjoyed talking nonsense and was frivolous, during conquest he was serious and objective.
However, that very thought was a mistake. Looking back, the first people who received his mana sharing had acted similarly to Samin. They would use all the skills they couldn’t try due to their own mana limitations, as if venting.
Since it wasn’t an appropriate skill combination their bodies could handle, problems inevitably occurred. He knew this better than anyone.
‘This really is my mistake.’
If he had at least given a hint before casting mana sharing, this scene wouldn’t have unfolded. There was no way guidance windows announcing conquest success could enter his sight right now without awareness. Despite it being Floor 55 that he so desperately wanted to conquer, Doun looked at the blood-covered Samin.
Samin’s right hand was terrible. All the bones must have been shattered as his fingers drooped like mollusks. Seeing the blood pouring between torn and burst skin and muscles that couldn’t withstand the overload suddenly made him feel nauseous belatedly.
It wasn’t unusual to see others’ blood or injury sites, but uniquely when seeing Samin’s wounds, rational thinking became impossible.
Despite blood pouring from his body enough to make onlookers turn pale, Samin also stood dazed like Doun. He seemed like someone who didn’t know how to react.
“Hyung! Are your hand bones okay?”
“Guild Master-nim! Are you crazy?”
“Min-ah, what the hell was that just now!”
After belatedly checking the notification windows, Seo Subin and guild members who came running in shock questioned noisily. Despite the persistent interrogation, Samin remained consistently silent. Glancing at his mangled skin and muscles beginning to heal from the concentrated healing skills and potions, Samin finally muttered.
“…Doun hyung.”
When his name was called, Doun slowly met his gaze and answered in a calm voice.
“If I knew you’d use skills like that, I wouldn’t have shared mana with you…”
Doun didn’t raise his voice angrily either. Rather, he was calm to an unsettling degree.
‘Mana sharing? What’s this talk suddenly?’
The guild members standing nearby were visibly shaken by the words “mana sharing.” There was no one who didn’t know what mana sharing meant from Magnetic. Choi Jiyoon couldn’t even properly get drunk on the joy of bringing back the title of highest floor guild solo conquest success.
Inferring from the context of the conversation, Samin had received mana sharing from Doun. And Doun seemed to regret it.
However, not knowing exactly what circumstances led to this, they couldn’t rashly add their words. Even though Seo Subin and Seong Suyeon had fixed Samin’s shattered arm, the atmosphere wasn’t entirely pleasant.
“Wow, we succeeded in conquering Floor 55 with just our guild members?”
Samin spoke his first words as if trying to organize the chaotic situation. Then everyone nodded with bewildered faces.
“Everyone worked hard.”
Doun recited the words he always said when conquest ended in a calm voice. His expression was so gentle it was almost unsettling.
“…”
Samin swallowed the unorganized words down his throat. He just wanted to share his impressions about mana sharing with Doun standing a few steps away, but he had no idea what to say.
He wanted to ask why he shared mana with him, but also wanted to gush about how the mana amount was at an amazing level. But the reason Samin couldn’t do this was because of a sense of helplessness far exceeding such impressions.
‘Saying I’d support Doun hyung was complete bullshit. Who’s supporting whom? If only I don’t drag hyung down.’
His feelings of genuinely liking and admiring Doun were real. But the more he learned about the power and skills Doun possessed, the more distant Samin felt.
Doun began to feel like too large an existence for him to support. He wanted to become a solid support, but at this rate, he was like a toothpick that seemed ready to break at any moment.
‘First… I need to talk with hyung.’
Samin glanced at Doun, who was still expressionless. What was he thinking again? Today he was strangely scared to ask.
* * *
[Welcome to Veritas System access.]
[Chat┃(Breaking News) Yeoun Floor 55 4 hours 16 minutes clear (8321)]
(Video)
(Source: Yeoun Guild Official Channel)
(8,321 comments)
-First comment
-Hey what happened at the end, what’s that new skill of Slope’s?
└Did he get something other than movement skills too???
└└What new skill comes out randomly like thatㅋㅋㅋ He probably just gathered spirit bomb to land the final blow
-That bastard finally earned his keep once. He freeloaded so hard until now, so he should carry going forwardㅋㅋ
-Who died? Who died? Who died? Who died? Who died? Who died?
└Nobody died you crazy bastard
└└Did the dungeon break? Why is some beast bastard posting comments instead of a human?
└└└Really creepy… Tower Lord please add a block functionㅠㅠㅠ
* * *
[Chat┃As expected, late-comer benefits are fucked (273)]
They watched Cheonsol’s conquest attempts until they were worn out, then cleared it themselves with 0 deaths, what bullshit luckㅋㅋㅋㅋ
(273 comments)
-Blocked
-Yeoun haters are revving up again
└(Author): I’m not a Yeoun anti?
└└Then you’re mentally ill?
└└└(Author): I’m not mentally ill either?
-Honestly Yeoun being cunning is right, you can see how they tried not to take any losses^^
└It’s not being cunning, it’s pursuing safety you idiot
└└What safety pursuit? Copying others’ conquest methods and freeloadingㅋㅋㅋ
-Fucking hell, anyone can see Yeoun did well but basement rage kids, seriously why do they live
-No I knew Slope was close combat focused but what was that, what did he do to pierce the floor boss’s head?
└His fist
└└Who doesn’t know that, why ask?
-Wow… did he gather spirit bomb then pierce it in one shot? Slope looks different now ㄹㅇ
-Hey with Slope’s mana pool that attack shouldn’t be possible?
└That’s what I’m sayingㅋㅋ maybe…?
-Did he take a loan from the mana bank or somethingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ??ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
.
.
-I keep rewatching the video but no matter how well you distribute mana, calculations show that bastard is in potion addiction state right now, so where did the mana to use that come from
-Ah Doun.. again..?
-Fuck I knew this bastard would pull this shit, took our hyung and eventually built up to squeeze out mana, thought it wouldn’t be obvious huhㅡㅡ
-Is Magnetic now Slope’s mana battery?ㅜㅜ
-Basement hunter bastards’ level well seen, spouting things as facts when they’re not even official
-Is there no chance of Magnetic leaving Yeoun and going elsewhere?
└If Zodiac’s horoscope says a benefactor appears from where Magnetic’s house is, it’s possible
└└Where does Magnetic live
└└└Don’t know
* * *
[Chat┃Just Magnetic fans come for a sec (612)]
What do you think of this conquest?
First, I think Slope is fucking strong but..
(612 comments)
-Anyone can see he landed the final blow right now with mana link benefits, fucking absurd..
-If Magnetic accepted the link, you can’t just blame Slope?
└Then why is Timer getting criticized?
└└That bastard did other shit too so he gets criticized; Slope is obviously someone who sucks up and coddles, so he could give mana link once as a reward
└└└Look at your wording ㅅㅂ what do you mean “give”
-Ah I feel fucking weird, hard to explain but I just congratulate the guild solo conquest.. Happy nobody died
└22 That’s exactly how I feel
└3 Should congratulate what needs congratulating ㅇㅇ
-But objectively looking, all Yeoun kids are just Magnetic fans, will they suck him dry like those Chronos bastards? Especially Bright Sol searches Vertanic often, so maybe…
-It’s not even confirmed if it’s real or not but just speculating and beating them doesn’t look good either
└Agree ㅇㅇ Let’s wait first, Bright Sol will post on StarStar after conquest ends, not too late to ask then
└└ㅋㅋ Would you confess if you used mana link?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ You’d play dumb and say you don’t knowㅋㅋㅋㅋ Hunters lying isn’t a day or two thingㅋㅋ
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
