Ensemble Leveling
Chapter 39: Pride Before the Fall
Beset by hardship and challenge on both sides. In front is the giant scorpion sentinel construct that now obstructs his way and behind him is the deluge of lesser sentinels and the flying variants that are about to just collide with him in seconds.
With his halberd, Judgment of Light drawn again as glimmering incandescent imbued its decayed form. Its EGO, hasn’t yet found a good moment to intervene since the running back until now, sharing the dead-set focus which plastered all over Jihoon’s face and expression.
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Death that I Deserve Truly
Classification: Song Magic
Rank: Intermediate
Effect (MAG 60):
-+[10*MAG]% to all Physical Attributes,
Effect becomes 2*[10*MAG]% at danger, 3*[10*MAG]% at critical.
(Currently: 600%)
-Damage received is reduce by 80% for the duration. Becomes 95% at danger, 99% at critical.
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+Physical Attributes:
-STR: 13 (+133)
-END: 14 (+152)
-AGI: 14 (+144)
-DEX: 13 (+133)
+Non-physical Attributes:
-MAG: 60
+Physical Status: Minorly Injured
+Mental Status: Slight Fatigue
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Back into minimal fighting form again, Jihoon moved immediately into action with only the few seconds left before hell truly broke loose. He didn’t bother even using [Observant] to scan its stat, just the fact that the top 3 made the decision to escape its pursuit instead means that it isn’t something that can be taken lightly. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the luxury of time to even compensate.
So, he called upon all his inner strength which could be mustered with the given stats. And the methods that contribute to his combat.
Judgment of Light 1st Step – Breaking Dawn
Advanced-class Light Magic -Wings that Don’t Reach
Heaven’s Wayward
As the scorpion sentinel poised to strike, shards of delicate light formed into translucent, fragile wings on his back, glimmering like shattered glass reassembled by sheer will.
The rhythm and tension from Death that I Deserve Truly now pulsed within him, synchronizing his movements as he rose into the air. With the powerful flap of the ethereal wings, he propelled himself forward, aiming to end the sentinel with one decisive blow.
With a swift horizontal swing that blazed through the air, the scorpion retaliated with its gigantic pair of pincers. All of this supposedly takes place within the few little seconds but his mind so overdriven that its length distorted into minutes, and perhaps eternity until he is completely assured of its resolve.
Two great forces collided as metal met light scattered into sparks as the halberd’s incandescent edge slide off its hull. Jihoon could see every incoming detail as if he was operating on a different timescale altogether, seeing each individual millisecond instead of the usual seconds.
Yet, his blood continues to boil as adrenaline floods his vein. Forcing his own motion to the command even if time moved in a mire of slowness. Riding the momentum again, taking the lesson of the weapon imparted to him into his heart. Jihoon started to layout a strategy that will end this fight in just seconds.
Recycling the swing of Breaking Dawn, Jihoon redirected the path of the swing as he made full circle toward the giant scorpion again.
Jihoon puts one step back, this took 0.4 seconds. The scorpion moved forward thinking Jihoon overextent his attack only to fall for a straightforward attack.
Judgment of Light 2nd Step – Rising Sun
The halberd moved from near-ground rise sharply as its blade collided with the scorpion’s head as the combined force send both of them airborne. The shaft bent slightly by the raw force output. The flaw of any insect’s physiology is that they can’t flip themselves over with great effort and this further exacerbates by being enlarged.
As the halberd connected with its lower body, the metal hull covering its body shattered by mere force as metal and light turned into an incandescent blend of sparks flying like a volcanic eruption. The trajectory puts him directly above the joint that connects the scorpion’s head and the rest of its body. Term correctly, its thorax.
Judgment of Light 3rd Step – High Noon
All the acrobatic skills that he has now and for the rest of his life all mustered into this moment as he repositioned his body into a direct plunge downward. Without hesitation, Jihoon flapped the wings of light once more it shattered apart completely. Driving all the momentum of all previous motions into this one decisive blow.
Without additional descriptions, Jihoon severed the head of the giant scorpion as the halberd’s spearhead impacted at its thorax like a falling star, officially marking him as the three-fold boss slayer of the trial. Even if he didn’t earn first place in the trial, his reputation as a combatant has been elevated considerably in the eyes of the combatants of this world.
Yet, he remembered the promise he made with Aquarius once more. And by compulsion of his duty and integrity, his personal matter is nothing by comparison. The empty eyes within blazed with imperceivable fire as he moved his batter body into motion once more.
The ‘Death that I Deserve Truly’ at first seems to have some genuinely overpowered effect such as the damage reduction but… one of its effects is utterly worthless in this trial due to the Shield Bracelet already acting as the proxy health for the trial. Any damage he received, the Shield Bracelet received first in entirety until its shatter point.
The only other effect of it, is that the more in worse state that he is in, the stronger its Physical stats boosting aspect will be. It has promising multiplier but how can he deliberately ‘reduce’ his own health to meet the requirements.
So, this begs another question, how does the Shield Bracelet consider which damage to count, and which isn’t? By the merits of everyone participating in this trial, damaging their own body to move as fast as they can to proceed. Which if count will make further laps outright impossible due to having only a set amount of stamina to proceed.
Thus, Jihoon comes to his conclusion, that the Shield Bracelet doesn’t count self-damage as required for protection, yet it counts instances that his own actions led to his own harm. The only way to bypass that, is to do the deed himself.
Jihoon drawn out the adamantium survival knife that Rosa had given to him before the participation of the race. Looking at its edge and the gleaming reflection of his harrowing self in it. Using the extended helping hands of others to do the unthinkable to himself.
As Jihoon stared into the gleaming edge of the adamantium knife, he saw the fractured image of himself—a reflection he had come to loathe, a man burdened by contradictions he couldn’t resolve on his own. He could feel the inner tension tightening, as if his mind were balancing on the edge of a knife, just like the blade he held. He had come to Absence and forged connections that tethered him to something beyond himself.
Yet the weight of his own recent past continues to crush down on him.
He remembered Jin Sarae, his once-closest friend back in their world—a friend whose life was ruined by the Gates and the relentless drive for power had driven him to ruination. Watching Jin’s tragic end, seeing the ravages that unchecked ambition had wrought, had left a scar that Jihoon still bores like an open wound. One that he couldn’t ever disclose to his associates of Absence.
Jin had chosen this path willingly, and that strength obtained from such vile method devoured him from the inside out. There’s no forgiveness for what he may have done to others, but Jihoon can easily himself being put into the same dire position as Jin did if he didn’t have the Song Magic or the System from the encounter with the little goddess.
And ever since that moment, he’d silently sworn never to use that power selfishly, never to let himself fall to the same path that had claimed his friend. Yet here he was, standing at a crossroads, realizing that his relentless selflessness might very well drive him to the same end.
Progression fantasy, reveled in power at the expense of everything else meaningful, filled with heroes who cheated their way to godhood without understanding the cost ever. He remembered the bitterness that simmered beneath the surface, his contempt for characters who had been nothing but hollow shells chasing unattainable heights.
And now, his world had morphed into one of those stories—a twisted fantasy where power came with no guidance, no restraint. And where he himself had begun to embody everything that he despised. His hatred extends to himself for being part of it even if he had no means of preventing the circumstances.
‘Cheaters don’t get absolved’
That’s the conclusion that Jihoon had arrived at.
Like the snapping string that tethered himself from the brink. The compulsion surged, an all-consuming drive that left no room for hesitation, no pause for self-preservation.
In a movement too swift to rethink, he tightened his grip on the knife, pressing its edge against his own skin, allowing the slightest nick to break the surface. Pain blossomed, sharp and immediate, but his mind was already bracing for it, as if he’d welcomed it like an old friend.
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Death that I Deserve Truly
Classification: Song Magic
Rank: Intermediate
Effect (MAG 60):
-+[10*MAG]% to all Physical Attributes,
Effect becomes 2*[10*MAG]% at danger, 3*[10*MAG]% at critical.
(Currently: 1,200%)
-Damage received is reduce by 80% for the duration. Becomes 95% at danger, 99% at critical.
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Deadly Obsession
Classification: Innate Passive Skill
Status: (Lv. 1)
Effect:
-Lv. 1: Reduce the effect of injury on physical performance
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by 75%. Can perform 150% of maximum physical limit.
-Lv. 2: ???
-Lv. 3: ???
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+Physical Attributes:
-STR: 13 (+216) {x1.5}
-END: 14 (+236)
-AGI: 14 (+228) {x1.5}
-DEX: 13 (+216)
+Non-physical Attributes:
-MAG: 60
+Physical Status: Dangerously Injured (-75%)
+Mental Status: Slight Fatigue
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And just like that, his STR and AGI had become 300-ish without utilization of Linked Song Magic. Yet the self-inflicted injuries didn’t conveniently vanish like nothing. Bitterly gritting his agony with his teeth, Jihoon continued his death march once more as blood continues to flow downward, creating an unsightly scene in a remotely bloodless competition despite the violence.
[Deadly Obsession] significantly reduces the effect his own injury felt on himself. Yet from the perspective of others, what sort of madness would they witness in him to perform what he himself deemed required. That for the sake of close others’ happiness, he is willing to expense his own well-being.
In what length does he go, in the struggle to prevail?
The commentators had fallen silent, momentarily struck by the grisly display unfolding on their screens. Then, one spoke up, his voice laced with a mix of horror and disbelief. “Ladies and gentlemen… what on earth are we witnessing here? Jihoon Hyunwoon, the dark horse of this trial, has… he’s injuring himself, intentionally, yet he moves forward as if driven by something beyond any logic or reason.”
“Is this—could this be part of his strategy?” another commentator murmured, unsure, watching Jihoon’s blood-streaked path with unsettled awe. “We’ve seen grit, we’ve seen endurance… but never have I witnessed something quite so… harrowing. What is he trying to prove?”
Down in the entertainment district, Karim sat transfixed, feeling a sinking weight in his gut as he watched Jihoon’s relentless march. He’d seen his fair share of risk-takers, adventurers, and fighters, but this was different. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach—the reckless, almost self-destructive determination in Jihoon’s eyes. Karim clenched his fists, muttering under his breath.
“This kid… he’s about to make a damn scene no one’s going to forget.” He knew that Jihoon’s relentless drive came from a place beyond mere ambition; there was an intensity there that could only end in one of two ways: triumph or disaster.
High above, Rosa watched through the helicopter window, her heart thundering as she took in Jihoon’s battered form. He was using the very knives she had gifted him. She swallowed hard, her hand trembling against the glass.
“Jihoon…” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat. She’d given him those knives to protect himself, never imagining he’d use them to inflict harm on his own body in pursuit of victory. What she saw in him now was both terrifying and awe-inspiring, but mostly… devastating.
Even the top three competitors, Fenrir, Legolas, and Zorn, had noticed. They exchanged uneasy glances, briefly slowing their paces, their competitive spirit flickering as they observed Jihoon’s actions. It was clear something unprecedented has taken place.
What kind of resolve drives a man to those lengths?” Fenrir, the first to speak, muttered to herself.
Legolas, who normally met his rivals with analytical detachment, felt a strange, reluctant admiration mixed with unease. Zorn clenched his fists, sensing the kind of obsessive commitment in Jihoon that was as awe-inspiring as it was unsettling.
None of them could remember the last time they’d felt genuine concern for an opponent. They only knew they were witnessing someone who had gone beyond the typical boundaries of competition—someone whose determination bordered on obsession.
Yet Jihoon continued forward, uncaring to the gazes, the disbelief, the fear, and the respect directed his way. All that mattered was the path ahead, the promise he’d made to himself and to those he cared about. In his mind, there was no choice but to win, no room for failure. First place was the only option—no matter what pain, what cost, or what sufferage he’d carry forward.
The race continued in earnest once more. This time, Jihoon maintained his first place to his best effort as he blazes down the dirt trail with total contempt and fury. The Judgment of Light in his one hand swung with fury like a club at any adversary that stood his way. Moving at the speed of 30 times peak human limit fueled by his [Deadly Obsession] yet his dexterity wasn’t given the boost necessary to control it with finesse.
Like a train without break, where each curve threatens to derail out of the track entirely. Jihoon forcefully used the Judgment of Light to steer his own trajectory out of the way toward what he wanted. A distance of marathon, will be accomplished in 3 minutes. All while the previous top 3 keep up their paces with him but not able to easily overtake him due to their previous usage of Expert-class Magic in considerable numbers.
Jihoon tore down the path with an unrelenting ferocity, striking down sentinel constructs in his way with the Judgment of Light, its blade blazing with incandescent rage as if sharing his own fury. While most participants treated the trial as a test of endurance, perhaps even sport, Jihoon fought like a man backed against the wall, where he stood on the fine balance between life and death, each blow carrying a desperation that bordered on savagery.
To those watching, it was clear that Jihoon saw these sentinels not as obstacles, but as sworn enemies—foes he would cut through without mercy.
With the Judgment of Light in hand, Jihoon swung it more like a blunt weapon than a blade, striking with raw, unrefined power that sent constructs reeling, sometimes cracking their exteriors with a single blow.
The sheer speed he moved at, combined with his strength, made each strike a shattering force, breaking apart anything in his path. Jihoon didn’t dodge, he didn’t sidestep—he simply plowed forward, cleaving through anything that dared to obstruct him. It was a method of combat that held no regard for his own body, each harsh, deflecting swing taking its toll on him just as much as it did on the sentinels.
Onlookers were captivated, held in silent awe at the rare and terrifying sight. To Absence’s denizens, such fury hadn’t been seen in hundreds of years, not since the Great Conclave had unified the races and forming the Absence that they are living right now. Such relentless advance was only seen in history textbooks and simulators. Like stepping from another age, where each battle fought to the last and victory came at the cost of blood, sweat and tears.
The Judgment of Light itself took in Jihoon’s furious onslaught with a grim awareness. It recognized the way he wielded it—not with the poise of a soldier or the composure of a seasoned warrior, but with the reckless abandon of someone who saw his own life as a weapon, sacrificing his body and mind as he pushed forward.
It recalled the penitent paladins who had wielded it centuries ago, those who had once fought for absolution with similar desperation. They, too, had taken up the Judgment of Light not to conquer, but to be judged, to prove their own worth by overcoming forces that had far outmatched them.
The Judgment of Light wasn’t really a relic of immeasurable power, more of something forged in sizable numbers as a symbol that its wielders represent. Hence why it is Heroic instead of Legendary or such. There are numerous like it back then but now, to manifest a spirit that endured its own decay is a commendable thing that everyone would agree on.
3 minutes have gone past, and Jihoon’s furious step now threatens to pulverize the asphalt of the urban road beneath. The helicopter that followed him to play his Song Magic seemingly only served no purpose but to bore witness to his rampage. With no Linked Song Magic performed, they don’t have to try too hard to stay ahead of him. Yet they do not know what will happen if they are need to required.
With the checkpoint of Cicones within sight again, the decision to continue or end the race is met once again. Despite his obsession seemingly cloud his judgment, he is perfectly cognizant of his own action even until now. And whether that makes all of his previous action better or not is unknown but…
If he finishes the race here, would the 3 prodigals chasing behind him also concede and end their run here?
Jihoon approached the checkpoint, his eyes fixed on the path ahead as the decision loomed before him. He could stop now, end his torment, and maybe, just maybe, force the three prodigies pursuing him to do the same. The allure of ending the race right there tugged at his mind—a chance to halt, to concede that he’d pushed hard enough. Yet, deep down, he knew his conviction demanded more.
His mind raced as he neared the Cicones checkpoint, the thought of ending the trial now gnawing at him. It would be so easy to stop here, to let go of the battle and await the decisions of the three behind him. Perhaps they’d concede as well, content with the ranks they’d held until now. Or, maybe they’d attempt the third lap and fail under the relentless weight of the trial’s increasing difficulty.
But as much as the thought had tempted him, he knew he couldn’t leave it to chance. The placement of first place, the weight of his promises, and the ferocious need to see it all through burned within him, refusing to let him yield. He would continue, and if they chose to do the same, so be it. Victory was no longer simply a goal, but a necessity for him.
As he reached the checkpoint, he barely paused, pivoting on his heel and setting his path back up the mountain without hesitation. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, the commentators voicing their astonishment. Even his followers, those who had cheered and worried for him thus far, seemed taken aback by his decision.
Within moments, he crossed paths with Fenrir, Legolas, and Zorn, who were descending at staggering speeds. The air between them crackled with tension. None of them exchanged words, yet the determination in their eyes and the mutual respect was palpable. For a brief, loaded second, they each understood that there would be no concessions, no easy victories. This would go on until one of them claimed the trial’s highest honor.
And then, as if in agreement, the top three turned, following his lead and setting off toward their third lap. The stakes were raised, and the final stretch of the race was poised to test the very limits of their strength, endurance, and willpower.
The crowd erupted as the commentator’s voice cracked through the airwaves with sheer, electrifying excitement.
“In an unprecedented turn of events, Jihoon and the top three have all decided to attempt a third lap! This… this has only happened a few times in the entire history of the Odyssey! I can’t believe what we’re witnessing! Fenrir, Legolas, Zorn, and Jihoon are rewriting the legend of this trial with every step. And for those just tuning in, they’re not just racing now—they’re defying the limits of what anyone thought possible!”
The roar of the crowd echoed across Cicones, filling every screen and every corner of the city with a contagious energy. Viewers were glued to the edge of their seats, breathless with anticipation. Commentators scrambled to analyze the implications of Lap 3, a feat few had dared, and even fewer had survived.
And then, a shift in the atmosphere sent an icy chill racing through the entirety of the trial route.
Jihoon felt it first—a pulsing, oppressive aura creeping over the landscape like a storm. It was beyond anything he’d sensed before, a menacing presence that seemed to bleed malice into the very air. As if by unspoken command, he glanced over his shoulder, the top three doing the same.
At the very checkpoint which all of them have turned away as declaration of conquering Lap 3, an immense, towering figure is deployed. That is their challenge of Lap 3.
Jihoon used his [Observant] on it, and all he got was immense dread in exchange.
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Sentinel Construct Model 108 - Thanatos
Name: Thanatos
Level: ????
Race: Non-sentient Mechanical Construct
+Physical Attributes:
-STR: ????
-END: ????
-AGI: 3??
-DEX: ????
+Non-physical Attributes:
-INT: NAN
-CHA: NAN
-MAG: ????
-Active Skill:
+Void Reaver (Master):
Instantly disrupts ambient mana in a 50-meter radius,
weakening the potency of spells and skills in that area by 70%.
+Soulflare Barrage (Expert):
Launches beams of volatile, disruptive energy capable
of overwhelming most magical defenses.
+Cataclysmic Pulse (Expert):
A powerful concussive blast from its core,
annihilating anything within range.
+Absolute Pursuit (Passive):
Can mark any target within its sight, locking onto them
with uncanny precision, making pursuit evasion nearly impossible.
-Description:
An elite construct, modeled after the mythological entity Thanatos,
it was designed to embody the inevitability of death and its personfication.
Its appearance alone is deliberately designed to instill a primal fear, and so that
even the boldest champions are advised to retreat when facing it.
It is made for one purpose—to end the journey of any who attempt the ultimate trial.
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Jihoon took in the information and the weight of Lap 3 sank to the point that his obsession can’t blind him from the overwhelming danger. That’s the how terrible the situation has dawned upon him. And the 3 that also chose to continue like him also come to the same conclusion like he did.
Fenrir, despite bearing the legacy of the Devourer that her lineage has, sulked like a dog caught doing something bad. Legolas, having undergone numerous dangerous missions that his position as a commando felt shuddered in a very long while. And Zorn’s mind flashed like a broken record while seemingly staring into the thousand yards ahead as if seeing someone getting devoured alive by a steel processing machine in real time.
Yet the horror didn’t last as they all pulled themselves out of the nightmarish reverie. All of them only has roughly in 300-ish in average with Physical Attributes with specialized attributes here and there due to their capacity. There’s no possible way for them to defeat the Thanatos sentinel, even just being caught in direct contact is instant disqualification and after making it this far, the effort expended is too much to bear if they lose here right now.
All of them nodded at one another because a shared sentiment is exchanged without a single word uttered. They can’t complete Lap 3 alone without it becoming so difficult that it is borderline impossible. The other sentinels were surging with increased aggression, every one of them amplifying their assault as if to echo the threat of Thanatos, forming an impenetrable wall of threats.
For as much as he despised the idea that he had arrived right now, the only feasible way forward—the only possible way to survive the nightmare that Lap 3 had become—was for the four of them to work together.