Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 400: Two Blades (1)
—
*Name:* Yamata no Orochi
*Gender:* Male
*Age:* ???
*Level:* ???
*Strength:* 245
*Agility:* 215
*Stamina:* 236
*Magic Power:* 101
*Available Stat Points:* 0
*Unique Divine Weapon:* Eight Swamps
*Unique Ability:* Wide-Area Petrification
*Skills:*
– *Yata no Kagami* Lv31
– *Gigantification* Lv31
– *Spiral Hallucination* Lv30
– *Extreme Poison Magic* Lv29
– *Infernal Constriction* Lv29
—
[*Copy Conditions:* Yamata no Orochi, a divinity of the Eastern pantheon, currently restricted in power. Facing this divinity without abilities is akin to suicide. However, should you overturn the overwhelming disadvantage and deliver a critical blow, forcing its return to its original floor, you may copy one of its Unique Weapons, Abilities, or Skills.]
A figure from Japanese mythology, exuding an aura as fearsome as its name suggested.
If it weren’t for its restrictions, its true form wouldn’t just fill the tent but would likely cover the entire area.
*”Kraaargh!”*
*”Ssshhkk!”*
“Such a delicious-looking human. I’d love to devour you in one bite.”
“Kukuku. Patience. It won’t do any good to eat him here.”
“When you come to our domain, I’ll make sure to eat you properly, little brat.”
The venomous breath corroded the tent’s interior, filling it with a pungent, acrid stench.
*Ssshh!*
[Yamata no Orochi activates Lv31 *Yata no Kagami*!]
The skill triggered an illusionary haze, distorting Jinhyuk’s vision and filling his mind with deceptive images.
The forced effect, introduced through the serpent’s breath, was among the upper echelons of mental abilities.
No wonder Oh Ji-Won was so confident.
Alone in this tent, his assuredness finally made sense.
“It’s a sacred relic borrowed through a special contract with Japan. No matter how skilled you are, facing this divinity barehanded is impossible.”
“Well, you’re not entirely wrong.”
Even with adaptive stats, defeating a manifested divinity was a tall order.
But Oh Ji-Won had misunderstood one crucial detail.
“You’re not the only one benefiting from the unsealing effect.”
The *Circus Zone* affected all players within it equally.
*Snap.*
Jinhyuk casually snapped his fingers.
In response, multiple status windows flooded into view.
—
[The divinity *Rotting Heart* shows hostility toward anyone touching its apostle candidate!]
[The divinity *Black Hound* hastens its arrival, eager to settle its debt.]
[The divinity *Howling Thunder* grips Mjolnir tightly!]
—
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Blue sparks of divine power surged as multiple high-ranking divinities began manifesting, shaking the very atmosphere of the first floor.
“W-what is this? H-how can this be happening…?”
Oh Ji-Won’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
These were beings he had only heard about, entities he thought he might one day encounter at the peak of the Tower. Yet here they were, appearing in front of him.
“A human like this…?”
Even Yamata no Orochi, stunned, could not hide its astonishment.
Among divinities, there was a hierarchy.
For the relatively weaker Eastern divinities, figures from the Abyss, Egypt, and Ragnarok were nothing short of cataclysmic nightmares.
And here, three such divinities stood.
—
[The divinity *Rotting Heart* asks if it should personally ferment snake wine.]
[The divinity *Howling Thunder* suggests roasting the serpent might be more enjoyable.]
[The divinity *Black Hound* declares its readiness to act.]
—
The storm of magical power intensified.
A glowing orb of light coalesced in the sky above.
They were descending.
The powerful figures who had dwelled on the upper floors.
—
[Three Divinities are Manifesting!]
The tent disintegrated under the weight of their arrival.
—
Before the massive serpent, three divinities appeared.
“My, quite the crowd. Sorry, but that human is *my* apostle.”
Beriel brushed back his hair with a sigh.
“The Abyss and Ragnarok? You’ve been quite busy roaming around. For your information, I was the first to form a bond with him.”
Anubis growled, gripping his long scythe tightly.
“I owe him a great debt. I’m here to repay it.”
Thor, wielding a bloodstained hammer, spoke last. His armor, smeared with crimson, suggested he had just emerged from a fierce battle.
The sight of these three together was awe-inspiring, a gathering of unparalleled might.
Of course, this strength would only shine when they worked together.
“You weaklings think you’re worthy of a contract with my apostle?”
“What did you just say? Who are you calling weak, you long-haired brat? I could crush you by myself.”
“Haha, that’s rich. Go ahead and try.”
“With pleasure.”
Beriel and Anubis began mustering their powers.
As expected, the prideful beings from different factions held no love for each other.
“Wait! Instead of fighting among ourselves, how about we settle this with a challenge? Let the winner claim the contract. Fighting here would only harm the human.”
“Hmm. That’s reasonable. To bond with such a talented player, one must prove themselves.”
“So, the strongest among us wins? Fine. I’ll fight with the pride of a true demon.”
“Then whoever kills that snake first is the winner.”
Their collective wrath turned toward Orochi.
The serpent flinched and instinctively recoiled.
However.
“That won’t be necessary,” Jinhyuk intervened.
This display was nothing more than a performance to shatter Oh Ji-Won’s confidence.
There was no need for multiple divinities to gang up on a single serpent, unworthy of being called a dragon.
*Step.*
Jinhyuk walked forward.
“What are you doing now?”
All eight of Orochi’s heads swiveled toward him.
“What does it look like? The audience is here, so let’s put on a proper show.”
“Are you insane? You’re going to face me without the help of the divinities?”
“Yep. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“…You truly are arrogant. Perhaps you’re just too foolish to see the edge of the cliff you’re leaping off.”
The venomous aura around Orochi thickened.
‘How dare a mere human confront me barehanded?’
There was no need to think twice.
He would devour this fool and instill fear in his very soul.
—
*Boom!*
Orochi’s massive body surged forward with astonishing speed, given its enormous size.
It reached Jinhyuk’s flank in the blink of an eye and opened its jaws wide.
“Die!”
*Crunch!*
Its fangs clamped shut.
Yet, no elimination message appeared.
There were no screams.
“Is this what a so-called divinity resorts to? Sneaky ambushes. Tsk, tsk.”
“You… dodged that?”
‘A mere human, on top of that, one who is unable to use abilities?’
*Impossible!*
Even with the event’s restrictions, there was no way his surprise attack could be avoided by a human.
Orochi’s heads began moving faster, zigzagging erratically.
*Snap! Chomp!*
Its jaws snapped shut, attempting to swallow Jinhyuk whole.
Yet, no matter how many times it tried, the outcome remained unchanged.
Jinhyuk slipped away, maintaining a precarious but steady distance, like a slippery eel.
‘This is why experience matters.’
Had this been his first encounter with Orochi, the initial attack would have ended him. Its speed and surprise strikes from blind angles were nearly impossible to react to.
But Jinhyuk knew the strategy to counter it.
He focused all his senses.
*Sound.*
Before each attack, a faint *”shhkk”* sound heralded the direction of the incoming strike.
And 0.3 seconds after the sound, the attack followed.
*Snap!*
Once again, its fangs clamped down, catching nothing but air.
*If I’ve dodged this much, it’s about time…*
Just as Jinhyuk thought that—
*”Kraaargh!”*
“Stop running around like a fly!”
“You’re so annoying! Annoying! ANNOYING!”
Orochi’s patience had reached its breaking point.
The serpent thrashed its enormous body wildly in fury, expressing its uncontrollable rage.
This was its limit.
Pride be damned—it was now ready to obliterate Jinhyuk entirely, no matter what it took.
—
[Yamata no Orochi activates its unique ability, *Wide-Area Petrification*!]
*Whirr!*
Jinhyuk’s movements ceased abruptly.
*First ‘Yata no Kagami,’ now ‘Wide-Area Petrification.’*
Multiple crowd-control effects had stacked on him.
“Ugh…!”
At best, he could barely move his hands.
“Ha-ha-ha! Caught like a fly in a spider’s web!”
At this point, Orochi could end it with a single blow. A swing of its tail would be enough to crush him into pulp.
But Orochi didn’t intend to finish it so quickly.
It wanted to thoroughly break him, ensuring the fear of this moment lingered even if Jinhyuk ascended further in the Tower.
—
[Yamata no Orochi activates its unique divine weapon, *Eight Swamps*!]
*Crackle!*
Eight green spheres began forming at the serpent’s eight mouths.
Unlike a traditional dragon’s linear breath attack, Orochi’s breath scattered toxic particles across a wide area.
Its intent wasn’t sheer destructive power but maximum coverage, creating a massive swamp of acidic mist.
That was the essence of the *Eight Swamps*.
—
At that exact moment, Jinhyuk raised the blade in his hand.
He had been waiting for this.
Waiting for the precise moment when Orochi would overcommit to its ability, certain of its victory.
As the toxic particles formed, the concentration required to manifest the *Eight Swamps* weakened the effects of Orochi’s illusions and hallucinations.
—
[The special ability of ‘Crimson Lotus’ is unlocked.]
Amidst the dense green mist, a small flame flickered.
Tiny enough to be easily overlooked.
But that minuscule spark blossomed into a massive inferno in mere seconds.
“A wide-area breath versus a focused breath… We both know which one’s stronger, don’t we?”
No response was needed.
Orochi’s eyes, filled with shock, spoke volumes.
—
[The Red Dragon ‘Vesilmikan’ activates its breath!]
*Boom! Boom! BOOM!*
A red streak of fire tore through the air.
The flames incinerated the toxic mist, piercing straight through Orochi’s chest.
*”Kiieeeek!”*
“My body… my body is burning!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Screams of agony echoed through the battlefield.
For a creature that had spent its existence dissolving others with its venom, experiencing such pain was utterly foreign.
The only solace was that Vesilmikan’s breath was so intense that it burned quickly.
“How… how does a human wield a dragon’s breath…?”
Before Orochi could process its disbelief, its projection crumbled into ash, dispersing into the void.
—
[The relic ‘Snake’s Shedded Skin’ has been destroyed.]
[Successfully copied the unique divine weapon, ‘Eight Swamps’!]
[The main event, ‘Plunder Battle,’ has ended.]
The battle was over.
Of course, some still struggled to accept the result.
—
“No… This can’t be… I worked so hard to get this…. Haha… This must be a dream. That’s it. I’ll wake up soon. I’m the heir to an empire! If I resolve this, everything will go as I want… Haha. Yes, that’s right. All I need is this relic. This relic will fix everything….”
Oh Ji-Won, trembling, clutched the charred remnants of the destroyed relic.
Since the relic was loaned rather than owned, its destruction left him with an unpayable debt to Japan.
A debt so immense it could never be repaid.
But his misfortune wasn’t over yet.
“Already crying? Watching you snivel like that almost makes me feel sorry for you.”
Jinhyuk’s voice cut through.
Oh Ji-Won’s despair had only just begun.
“Well then, how about we settle the score between us now?”
Jinhyuk pressed his dual daggers against Oh Ji-Won’s trembling throat.