The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become-Chapter 66: Trial (9)
Whrrk— Whrrk— Whrrrrk—!
The heat that filled the training grounds gradually subsided.
“Wow... the finish is far more magnificent than before the regression.”
Swallow muttered softly while watching the smoke rising into the sky.
In his past life, Kang Hyunsoo had struggled to defeat the head of the family.
It had taken nearly two hours to defeat three knights, fought the commander for thirty minutes, and engaged in a bloody battle with the head of the family for almost an hour.
For several hours, he hadn’t had a moment’s rest, and his body was in tatters before he barely managed to win.
Had it not been for the final desperate strike that pierced the head of the family’s heart, he would have lost and his swordsmanship proficiency would have dropped.
But now...
Everything had changed by 180 degrees.
The knights and commander of the prestigious swordsmanship family were restrained by the newly acquired Ghostly Sword, and the head of the family was subdued by the dual swords and various sword techniques.
Swallow, watching from the side, was left speechless by the overwhelming skill.
However...
Kang Hyunsoo didn’t respond to Swallow’s admiration.
He merely...
“Hah... Hah...”
He simply watched the training ground, where only the ghostly knights remained, while catching his breath, which had grown ragged from using high-level skills in succession.
Though the training grounds were in chaos from explosions, everything had ended perfectly.
At the moment of the final strike...
The head of the family disintegrated in an explosion of black spots, and the commander and knights who followed him vanished into smoke, just like him.
Since the ultimate goal of the swordsmanship quest was to defeat the head of the family, with its disappearance, the subordinates lost their strength and disappeared as well.
It wasn’t a method of gradually solving the side branches, but a focused strategy aimed at the core.
Originally, this would have been impossible due to the high difficulty, but Kang Hyunsoo had successfully completed it, and as a result...
He had drastically reduced the time required.
What had taken over two hours in his previous life had now been completed in less than 30 minutes.
And the result was far better than before.
First...
[You have completed the Swordsmanship Advancement Quest.]
[The conditions have been met, and your title is upgraded.]
[Title: ‘The Warm-hearted Swordsman’ has been upgraded to ‘The Warm-hearted Swordmaster.’]
[Title: The Warm-hearted Swordmaster]
[Effect: Appearance Power +22, Sword Attack Power +25%, Attack Speed +25%, Movement Speed +25%]
[The combination of two talents gradually creates a synergy effect.]
[Additional Effect: 6x experience gain when monsters are defeated.]
The title had been upgraded from ‘Swordsman’ to ‘Swordmaster.’
Appearance Power had increased from +20 to +22, sword-related stats had risen from 18% to 25%, and the additional experience gained had increased from 4x to 6x.
And then...
[By completing the Swordmaster Quest, you acquire one of the swordsmanship techniques of the prestigious swordsmanship family.]
[You have learned the Swordmaster Skill: Pashin (C).]
He had acquired one of the prestigious swordsmanship family’s skills—Pashin.
This skill was given to all hunters who completed the Swordmaster Quest, and its performance was quite decent.
[Swordmaster Skill: Pashin (C) - You thrust your sword forward, destroying objects in front of you and charging forward. Costs 50 mana.]
Pashin (破進) meant “to advance while crushing.”
It was a devastating attack that combined a dash forward with destructive power. It had many practical uses in combat.
While dashes could quickly close the distance between opponents, they were difficult to use if there were obstacles in front or if the opponent countered. However, Pashin could be used much more actively as it allowed him to attack while advancing.
Moreover, if he used Pashin during a dash, his speed would increase, and the destructive power would rise even more.
Of course, he needed the skill and stats to control his speed, but that wasn’t a major concern.
He had already gained plenty of experience using it in his past life, and his stats were increasing rapidly.
Not only had his stats increased by 5 points from leveling up, but...
[You have reached level 200!]
[You have earned additional rewards.]
[All stats increase by +10.]
[Your talent stats increase by +5.]
[You have learned the Swordsmanship Trait: Willpower (D).]
[Willpower (D) - When health falls below 10%, the destructive power of swordsmanship skills increases by +10%.]
The rewards for reaching level 200 included additional stats.
Both his general stats and talent stats increased, and he had also acquired a new swordsmanship trait.
In the end, he had gained quite a lot from this Swordmaster Quest. It wasn’t just one skill or trait he had obtained.
What he had just [N O V E L I G H T] received was growth-oriented, meaning Pashin would eventually upgrade to an Extreme Pashin as its grade rose, and Willpower would become a much stronger safeguard depending on its level.
And now, Kang Hyunsoo, based on what he had just gained...
[Swordsmanship Quest 20]
[Defeat 3,000 B-rank or higher monsters with a sword (0/3,000).]
He was now able to challenge the new quest, which was a tremendous advantage.
Not only had Swordsmanship Quest 20 opened, but with the boost in stats, defeating B-rank or higher monsters would be far easier.
However, that didn’t mean everything was made easier.
[Your charm stat is too low to receive the Absolute Beauty Quest 8.]
[You have been assigned a secondary quest to raise your charm.]
[Secondary Beauty Quest 13]
[Due to lack of sleep, your skin condition has worsened, and your fatigue level is high.]
[Sleep for more than 8 hours (0/8).]
The secondary Beauty Quest that came after completing Absolute Beauty Quest 7 wasn’t much help.
In fact, it became a hindrance.
This secondary quest wasn’t about completing a raid but just getting some sleep.
He had definitely pushed himself too hard so far.
There had even been a time when his fatigue had reached a point where he passed out during a battle with Babylon.
Kang Hyunsoo surveyed his now-quiet surroundings and opened his mouth.
“Hah, I’m just glad it worked out. With this, I guess... I can rest for a bit.”
“That’s right, Master. Overworking damages your beauty. You should rest now. Originally, we were only supposed to clear the Yellow Tomb Dungeon, but what you’ve done is already incredible.”
“Well, that’s true. But Swallow, why do you keep praising me so eerily lately?”
“As I’ve always said, I’m just stating the facts. You’ve definitely achieved more than expected, and if I don’t suggest resting, you’d probably go for another raid.”
“Hmmm... You’re right about that.”
Kang Hyunsoo nodded while stroking his chin at Swallow's words.
If he had received these rewards in his past life, he would have immediately kept pushing himself, thinking he needed to keep raiding.
Before his regression, he had valued effort above all else, believing that with enough hard work, he could overcome anything, even his appearance.
So in his previous life, he neglected things that seemed unnecessary for growth, like hygiene and sleep, and focused solely on swordsmanship and raids.
He had even let Choi Taehun and Seo Jieun take the hidden pieces, receiving a low share of the settlement, so he had to make up for the lack of items through sheer effort.
But this time, things were different.
The hidden pieces of those two were now in his hands, and he had gained the "Beauty" talent, which made rest and daily life a part of his growth.
There was no need to stubbornly focus only on raids like before.
In fact, paying attention to other external factors was far more efficient than just focusing on raids.
"Alright, let's head home. I need to wash up and get some sleep."
[You have sweated a lot.]
[Your body odor has intensified.]
[Appearance Power -1.]
[Appearance Power: 53]
It was the perfect time to wash up.
Hyunsoo nodded at Swallow's suggestion and headed for the portal in the middle of the training grounds.
Whoosh—!!
[Ending the Swordmaster Quest.]
[Escaping the B-rank dungeon.]
In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed twice.
After passing through the portal in the training grounds, he found himself in the Yellow Tomb Dungeon, and after using the portal there, he was instantly transported to Olympic Park.
A sky tinged with deep darkness.
He had entered the dungeon in the late afternoon, but now it seemed to be deep into the night.
Swallow looked up at the sky and spoke.
“It seems we’ve come out pretty quickly, Master. When you said you were going to do the Swordmaster Quest, I thought it would be morning by the time it was finished.”
“Thanks to just defeating the head of the family. Should we check the time? Hmm? But why are there so many notifications...?”
Hyunsoo took out his phone to check the time and was slightly surprised.
There had been nothing before entering the dungeon, but now there were quite a few messages.
The first one came from...
<Yoo Hana Hunter – Oppa, I just finished my shift! I heard from Jieun unni that you were discharged. Are you feeling alright?>
It was Yoo Hana.
She had sent the message after hearing about his discharge while she was heading to her part-time job at OnlyYoung, worried about his well-being.
The message expressed concern, but Hyunsoo wasn't the only one who was being worried about.
<Samcheon Guild Jin Seoyun – Hunter Kang Hyunsoo! I received some contact from the Hunter Bureau regarding Babylon. Is everything alright?>
<Samcheon Guild Min Dongchan – There was an explosion at Jaewon University. Are you okay?>
<Samcheon Guild Ha Jaesung – I tried calling but couldn’t get through. You're not in a dungeon, right?>
<Samcheon Guild Han Sungbin – Hyung! Call me anytime if things get dangerous! I’ll rush over right away!!>
The hunters from the Samcheon Guild had also sent messages, though they weren’t sure where or what they had heard.
There were even...
<Missed Calls>
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<Yoo Hana Hunter (1)>
<Samcheon Guild Jin Seoyun (2)>
<Samcheon Guild Ha Jaesung (1)>
<Hunter Bureau Choi Jiwoo (1)>
There were missed calls too.
In the brief time between entering and exiting the Yellow Tomb Dungeon, he had received a lot of contact.
Then...
“You’re becoming more and more popular, Master. At this rate, you might become a big star! Hehe!”
Swallow, looking at the phone beside him, gave a sarcastic congratulation, mixed with a smirk.
Hyunsoo furrowed his brows and shot back.
“A big star, my foot...”
“Aren’t you in contact with the Hunter Bureau’s star? You’re already a star in my book!”
“......”
Hyunsoo wanted to retort but had no words.
It was true, after all.
Underneath the messages from Yoo Hana and the Samcheon Guild hunters, there was another one.
<Hunter Bureau Choi Jiwoo – Hunter Kang Hyunsoo! The director has approved a private assessment. However, the director’s schedule is tight, so we’ll need to coordinate. Could you possibly come to the Hunter Bureau at 3 AM? >
This message was from Choi Jiwoo, confirming the approval of the private assessment.
It seemed she had gone to Go Kyungseok during the dungeon break to make this request.
Without having to say anything, it was clear that Choi Jiwoo was taking special care of him.
For the star of the Hunter Bureau to be so considerate, if word got out, Hyunsoo would surely become a star soon enough.
However, Hyunsoo wasn’t interested in that and didn’t want to think too deeply about it.
What mattered right now was...
“I guess I’ll sleep later.”
After all, he had to attend the private assessment in just a few hours.
