All Stat Slayer

Chapter 37: (1): Season 1: Preparation

She was incredibly fast, to the extent that everything Jong-won had described about her abilities could be summarized. Jong-won, who focused on increasing his strength stat, couldn’t even land a proper hit on her, resulting in a perfect defeat. But what he witnessed at that moment was unexpected.

Hong Se-young suddenly disappeared and reappeared. Not only Jong-won but even Hyun-seok missed her movements. Her main weapon was a long rapier-like sword. However, it seemed she also used a short dagger. In an instant, she held a dagger with a blue glimmer against Hyun-seok’s neck. She was confident in her victory. Trying to hide her emotions, she spoke with a slightly excited voice.

“Surrender. This dagger is poisoned. No matter how high your defense is, it will cause a fatal injury.”

Jong-won had never seen such a move before. It seemed to be a secret move she had hidden to face the Platinum Slayer. It was a sudden attack targeting a vulnerable spot. If the attack had landed, a critical hit would surely have occurred. Jong-won was also surprised. He had felt she was fast before, but she had never disappeared so abruptly in front of him like that.

Hyun-seok quickly grasped the situation.

‘There’s no way all her stats are higher than mine. Agility, in particular, should be significantly lower than mine as the first to surpass 200 stats. In that case, it’s likely that her movements are enabled by a skill. The fact that I couldn’t perceive it with my eyes is something like a momentary teleportation. Moreover, the fact that she uses a poison dagger reveals that she can’t break through my defense with her attack power alone.’

Hyun-seok smirked. In reality, a poison dagger would be terrifying. The injuries caused by poison would be much greater than the wounds inflicted by the dagger itself. However, they were currently in a battle. And Hyun-seok was a Slayer that surpassed the standards of normal mode.

Hyun-seok lightly brought the dagger close to his neck. It didn’t cause much damage. He applied a little more force. It was a situation where he pushed the dagger away from his throat. As he exerted more force, her dagger started to give way.

Se-young’s complexion began to pale slightly.

“W-What are you doing…!”

Hyun-seok also heard a notification sound. The statement that the dagger was poisoned turned out not to be a lie.

[Poisoned.]

[Damage -1]

[Damage -1]

[Damage -1]

The problem was that the rate at which he was receiving damage was much slower than the rate at which his health points were replenishing. Even though Hyun-seok had strong resistance, it only decreased by -3. Se-young clenched her teeth and distanced herself. It seemed like an extraordinary move, far from an ordinary one.

Se-young couldn’t believe it. Although she was stoic, she unconsciously murmured.

‘How is this possible…? This is a deadly poison that can kill trolls…’

The key to killing trolls is undoubtedly a lethal poison. If it is a poison that can kill a monster measuring 3 meters, which also boasts tremendous regenerative power, it can easily overpower a human.

Furthermore, the fear of poison lies in its ability to ignore defense. So far, stats like “resistance” had not appeared. In Se-young’s eyes, it seemed like Hyun-seok wasn’t taking any damage at all. To be precise, it decreased by -1 each time, but how much lower would it go out of 100,000? Se-young felt as if the poison dagger had no effect at all.

While watching her retreat, Hyun-seok smirked.

‘Indeed… It seems like a type of combat that relies on technique and speed.’

Although it would be necessary to test how it would fare against monsters, it was clear that in a one-on-one battle, skill and speed were far more advantageous than sheer power.

She started to make her move. Judging by her expression, she was quite formidable. Hyun-seok wasn’t familiar with “martial arts.”

‘Kendo… No, maybe it’s more like fencing?’

It seemed like she employed swordsmanship based on fencing as a foundation. Her footwork was incredibly fast and consistent. Hyun-seok knew this because he had been learning boxing. Footwork was the foundation of boxing. It could be said that the movement of the lower body was more important than the movement of the upper body when it came to occupying a favorable position and not allowing the opponent to attack.

‘But should I call this cute…?’

Normally, one should feel disoriented by such rapid and dazzling movements. However, he didn’t feel that way at all. It was like watching a kindergarten kid playing pranks. At the moment when her secret move went awry, the outcome was already decided.

On the other hand, Jong-won felt an entirely different emotion.

“Damn it… Her deceptive movements from the beginning… She’s no joke from a distance.”

In martial arts novels, one could sense the opponent’s momentum and be overwhelmed by it or even overwhelm the opponent. It wasn’t something that only existed in martial arts novels. In reality, when facing someone who had trained professionally and encountered their footwork, an ordinary person would feel helpless. That’s how Jong-won felt at that moment. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of powerlessness. Even if he mindlessly charged in, he would receive a heavy blow. Even if he didn’t charge in, he would still receive a blow. It felt like an absurd situation.

“But anyway…”

Se-young stabbed with her sword.

“Haat!”

She stabbed twice in quick succession. It was almost simultaneous attacks, and although Hyun-seok managed to evade one, he was hit by the other. It was near his heart. There was a risk of a critical hit, so stabbing the heart was not allowed, but it was possible to pierce the surrounding area. Apparently, even Platinum Slayers are ordinary people in terms of physical abilities. Although she seemed to have trained quite hard in sports, that was all.

Se-young gritted her teeth.

“Gotcha!”

However, in that fleeting moment, Hyun-seok moved slightly. He had anticipated the second attack and tried to avoid it somehow, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Hyun-seok was still not accustomed to his own power. Although he continued to practice, going from 100 stats to over 200 (with 300 strength) was an enormous increase in power. While it might be possible to deliver a powerful blow, it wasn’t so easy to dodge in terms of evasion.

Jong-won trembled his head.

‘If he made up his mind, he could have avoided it…’

Jong-won knew Hyun-seok’s abilities. Even though he wasn’t used to his strength and lacked in external physical aspects compared to the woman, if he set his mind to it, he could have easily avoided such attacks. After all, his physical abilities were excessively superior. Even a 5-year-old child who is good at fighting couldn’t defeat an average adult male.

‘He’s being completely off guard. He might end up with a critical hit.’

And indeed, a critical hit occurred. Hyun-seok heard the notification sound.josei

[Critical damage applied.]

And that happy message reached Se-young too.

[Critical damage applied.]

However, that happy message disappointed Se-young. Her face turned pale. She could see her trying to restrain herself, but she seemed genuinely startled. Critical hits were taboo. Although it was a mistake, it still meant breaking a taboo. In reality, a critical hit could kill a person, as the damage inflicted was uncertain.

But when it actually happened, Hyun-seok felt at ease.

“Oh, a critical hit.”

Such things as critical damage, he had experienced them a lot when facing orcs. He had become familiar with them a long time ago. After all, when mindlessly pushing forward with brute force, regardless of defense, a critical hit was the result. This notification sound was very familiar to him. And when critical damage was received, another notification sound would follow.

[Critical damage applied.]

[Damage -0]

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