Chapter 270
As the troll-variant boss collapsed into chunks of flesh, the echo of the sword being sheathed still lingered.
Viewers reacted immediately to the sound.
—????????
—What the hell was that????
—What did I just watch????
—Didn’t they say it had resistance to slashes and cuts???
—Okay, sure, it’s not immune, but still...
—That’s how effective that was??
While the viewers reeled, the commentary spirit finally snapped out of the shock and resumed speaking—though his voice still trembled.
[W-What just happened?! Team 133’s player, Silva?! Unbelievable s-skill on display!!! But their identity remains hidden under that robe!!! Who are they really?!]
The viewers couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment.
Sure, there were plenty of players capable of taking down a boss like that in one strike.
Even in this survival match, there were quite a few.
But something about this mysterious, robe-clad figure with such an aura of mystique... made it impossible to look away.
—LMAO I really thought this whole event was gonna be the Forbiddenz show ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—But we got the Mage Tower team, the Knights, and now these guys—pretty balanced, actually.
—It’s basically a four-team showdown now.
—Total dark horse, lol.
The underdog effect—the emergence of a mysterious new contender—was something audiences loved.
Nobody liked a one-sided show, after all.
But not everyone was pleased.
Naturally, the commentary spirit’s voice was audible to all participants in the survival field.
That included both users and NPCs.
Which meant some teams were starting to feel nervous at the appearance of this dark horse.
The three teams mentioned by viewers wore strange expressions.
“So that’s the one with the cursed weapon,” muttered Jaya, leader of the Forbiddenz.
“...Sigh, another obstacle to our mission,” said Gam, leader of the Featherwing Knights, with an irritated tone.
And the mages of the Serul Mage Tower—
“...A dark horse, is it? We can’t let our research specimen be stolen,” one muttered grimly.
Since all of them had an interest in obtaining the cursed weapon, tension naturally ran high.
Meanwhile, Team 133—still cloaked in black—vanished again without saying a word.
So stealthy, even the commentary spirit struggled to follow.
[Ahhh!!! Team 133 is going full stealth!!! Even I, who can see everything for commentary, can barely make them out!!! Just how high is their level?!]
After that announcement—
All three teams dropped their plans to pursue Team 133.
At least for this match, they knew they wouldn’t be able to handle them.
The Forbiddenz quickly shifted focus to eliminating other teams and advancing to the finals through brute force.
The Knights maintained a cautious, defensive stance, focused on survival.
The mages tried to avoid conflict as much as possible, but whenever they encountered enemies, they fought head-on.
Their icy spells dropped the temperature in the area significantly, deterring other teams from even approaching.
So the survival match continued in a fairly stable rhythm.
Viewers began to grow fatigued as things dragged on.
Until—
Two of the four teams considered likely to win finally came face to face.
8.
A dense jungle.
And within it, a spearman carved through every living thing he came across as he sprinted forward.
Whoooosh—!!!
Though wielded like a sword, it was unmistakably a spear.
It radiated lethal energy, slicing through anything it passed.
Each swing of the spear sent shockwaves through the ground, like an earthquake erupting beneath their feet.
BOOOOOMMMM——!!!
With the raw power of the skill combined with the user's battle sense, the attack annihilated everything in the area.
A nearby team was wiped out instantly.
They couldn’t even block the first strike.
Keron of the Forbiddenz, the spearman, had still found it boring up until now—
But this time, he couldn’t help but smile.
Everything within range had been reduced to rubble.
Except one spot.
As if something solid had blocked the attack.
Spotting that anomaly, Keron grinned and shouted.
“Puhaha! This is gonna be fun! They say you're good with a sword, huh?”
From the transparent barrier stepped a man in a black robe, slowly walking forward.
A sword hung at his waist. His robed companions remained still, not moving an inch.
He’s finally here.
Keron felt a surge of excitement.
He hadn’t expected to find him—much less reveal him with a wide-area attack.
One of the robed allies behind the swordsman had a hand pressed to his forehead.
But ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) he didn’t seem like he intended to step in.
He just looked a little exasperated.
That only boosted Keron’s mood.
Made him feel acknowledged.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
‘Yeah, anyone would feel annoyed running into me.'
That’s how Keron saw it.
Totally unaware that the reality was quite different.
The black-robed swordsman slowly drew his blade.
Keron adjusted his grip on his spear.
He couldn’t treat this guy the same way he handled weaklings.
Still grinning, Keron spoke.
“Silva, was it?”
“...That is correct.”
He hadn’t expected a reply.
But the man answered plainly.
Finding it unexpectedly amusing, Keron scanned the surroundings.
No signs of any incoming presence.
Even detection-type skills turned up nothing.
They could fight here for a while without interruption.
So he readied his stance more seriously.
Then came an unexpected line.
“Hm, you seem to find me quite troublesome. Very well. I’ll humor you.”
So he had been getting under his skin.
Keron grinned, then charged with his spear.
He shot forward, the tip of his weapon launching straight out.
His lunge became a flash—a strike faster than most could track.
But the swordsman, Silva, calmly shifted into a high guard stance and deflected the spearhead with practiced ease.
The blade was angled off-course along Silva’s sword, redirected cleanly.
But Keron was quick.
He withdrew the spear instantly and swung the opposite end—the butt of the shaft—toward Silva’s unguarded side.
BOOM——!!!
As the explosive boom rang out beside the swordsman’s side, Keron’s face twisted in frustration.
He had lifted his leg and blocked the blow with the armored plating on his knee.
Silva’s posture, too, remained solid—only a deep footprint was left in the ground beneath him.
Clear proof that the attack had been blocked.
With his face still hidden by the robe, there was no way to tell how much damage, if any, had actually landed.
So Keron swiftly tried to withdraw.
‘Damn it.’
If an attack failed, staying put was just asking to be killed.
But—
“Impressive.”
Silva’s voice murmured an appraisal just as Keron tightened his grip on the spear and lifted it in a defensive stance.
Then, too late—Silva’s sword slashed down toward where Keron had just stood.
Srrrng!
KWA-GA-GA-GAAANG——!!!
Ssssccccchhhhh——!
Though he blocked it just in time, the impact rippled across the spearhead like a heat haze, and Keron, bracing with both legs, was still driven back hard—carving a trench in the jungle floor.
How the hell did that sword swing carry so much force from that position?
It had happened in a split-second—far too brief a moment for skill activation.
Sure, Keron also knew techniques that maximized physical stats by leveraging passives.
But to do it with this level of finesse? That wasn’t normal.
‘What the hell...’
This wasn’t just someone who “knew how to use a sword.”
As someone who had trained with spears even in the real world, Keron could feel it clearly.
The man standing before him was a master.
Once he realized that, Keron swallowed hard and ran quick mental calculations.
Could he win against this master?
The more he calculated, the slimmer his chances became.
‘With my cursed power sealed... this is my limit.’
And yet fleeing now wasn’t an option either.
As Silva charged again, Keron raised his spear.
In terms of reach, a spear had a clear advantage over a sword.
If their skill levels were equal, the spear would dominate.
But if there was a gap in skill—
That advantage would vanish.
Keron thrust his spear forward at blinding speed.
A flurry of pinpoint strikes, raining down like a storm.
But Silva dodged them one by one, and deflected a few with graceful parries.
The moment Keron entered Silva’s attack range—
The spear’s pinpoint stabs transformed into sweeping arcs to block Silva’s sword.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!!!
The commentary spirit was shouting something frantically.
But Keron couldn’t spare the attention.
Each slash could turn into a fatal wound if he wasn’t fully focused.
The flurry of blade lines carved through everything around them.
Everything except the spear he used to block.
Slice! Slice!
SHHRRRAAAKK!!!
Srrrrrng!
Silva’s sword cleaved through the surroundings, mercilessly slicing everything to ribbons.
But Keron managed to block the blade with his spear—barely.
He couldn’t block everything, though.
Thin cuts opened all over Keron’s body, and blood began to stream.
Still, the fire in his eyes didn’t go out.
Then, in the midst of that fierce defense—
Keron’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
He’d been waiting for it—the moment Silva withdrew his sword, even for a split second.
Keron launched his counterattack.
As Silva pulled his blade back, Keron drove his spear forward.
The blade of the spear, now a deadly arc, cut through the air, pressure building as he packed a skill into it.
Far stronger than any strike he’d used so far, the energy surged into a singular line aimed straight at Silva.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GAAAA——!!!
They were less than two swords’ length apart.
With Silva’s sword still being drawn back, blocking that vicious arc with a mere weapon should’ve been impossible.
But then—
Silva spun lightly, wrist twisting as if his arm had become a whip. His blade flowed like a serpent, tracing a flexible curve toward the incoming spear.
A serene green aura flared around the sword as it met the incoming strike.
The violent spear aura and the graceful green glow collided.
And in an instant, all color vanished from the area.
The sheer force of the clash devoured the surroundings, uprooting the jungle itself.
The earth exploded, trees torn from their roots, a massive crater forming where they stood.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GAAA——!!!
[U-U-Unbelievable!!! The two skills have collided, unleashing a massive shockwave!!! The dust is so thick I can barely see, but both figures are still standing!!!]
—Holy sh*t;;;
—What the hell is this?????
—Insane;;;
—Whoa;;;;
—I seriously hate the Forbiddenz, but damn if Keron isn’t skilled.
—But who the hell is this Silva guy????
As the stunned viewers stared—
The dust began to clear, revealing the two silhouettes.
But then—
As the dust fully lifted...
Silva’s robe had been torn in several places, revealing his true appearance.
The elegant, breathtaking features of a young elven swordsman.
And Keron—whose silhouette had seemed intact—
Was revealed to be missing his head entirely.
Keron’s body collapsed.
And Silva—no, Silvanor—stood quietly, face now exposed, and turned to Seong with a troubled expression.
“My apologies.”
He had failed to preserve the robe, and his face had been revealed.
As expected—
—WHAT??? HE’S AN ELF!!!!
—He’s a freaking elven swordsman!?
—That’s so cool;;;
—Kyaaaa he’s so hot!! (fangirl squeal)
At their reaction, Seong scratched his cheek awkwardly and muttered.
“Sigh, I knew this would happen.”
He’d tried so hard to keep Silvanor’s identity hidden.
Oh well... nothing to be done now.
—W-Well... they still might not know he’s a high elf...
Beside him, Fiora offered a bit of reassurance—her interference spell had worked well enough.
There was no turning back now.
“Let’s start moving for real.”