Chapter 677 – The Same But Different (2) #PART1

That thought crossed my mind.

‘How many times has it been now?’

It was my first time meeting the Weapon Master.
But the Weapon Master already knew me.
Not as Grandfell—
But as Lee Hoyeol.
He greeted me like he was glad to see me.
Maybe that’s why the question suddenly struck me.

‘…Just how many times have I stood before you?’

I know Lee Hoyeol very well.
Naturally—because I am Lee Hoyeol.

As for why the Weapon Master remembers me…

‘Perhaps it’s like the sandstorm I encountered in hell.’

Most likely, this too was part of a plan laid by the previous Lee Hoyeol for the sake of his future self. In the past, I might have been overjoyed, thinking that he could eat it raw.

Because no matter how I looked at it, this didn’t seem like content meant to be cleared.

‘The prerequisites alone make no sense.’

The Weapon Master.

This space-time duel event only unlocks for players who clear the Zero Mountain Range.
But in the Arcana Continent Chronicles, the Zero Mountain Range is never cleared.

‘Is it even possible to hunt down dozens of dragons?’

Sensing movement, I turned my gaze to the stands.
There were players like Nam Taemin, who had reached the ranks of Transcendents.
And Arcana Continent’s own Transcendents, like the witch of the southern sea, Mary.

“Hoyeol…”

Their eyes reflected deep unease.

‘Can’t blame them.’

To anyone watching, I must’ve looked unstable.

A memorial for Harkon, a return from hell, and then immediately facing the Great Collapse of the Demon World.
Barely any time to understand the situation before I reached the peak of the Zero Mountain Range.
And now, a duel in the space-time arena with the Weapon Master?

I laughed inwardly.

‘For someone who said he put down his burdens, I sure am busy.’

But now, I knew.

Like I said earlier,
this wasn’t my first time experiencing all of this.
My body moved to prove that very fact.

“…As expected, I’m still lacking, aren’t I?”

Not in the mood, huh?

‘Did he misunderstand?’

It seemed the Weapon Master had interpreted my words as a reflection of my own inadequacy.
Of course, if he had backed down just because of that, this event wouldn’t be called one of the Arcana Continent Chronicle’s ultimate contents.

“Even so, I’ll strive to earn your recognition.”

Goooooo—

Swords. Spears. Bows…
Various weapons floated behind him.
They weren’t real weapons.
His sword aura had taken the shape of them.

Trying to describe how advanced it was to shape aura like that?
Better to let the reactions in the stands speak for me.

“W-what the hell is that?!”

Even the great Nam Taemin, Leonie, and Hisagi stammered in disbelief.

“T-that’s supposed to be sword aura?!”

The strongest aura I had seen until now was Harkon’s—
so strong it practically needed its own name: Sword Force.

‘I had reached that level myself once.’

But the Weapon Master’s aura went beyond that.
It had become its own independent form.
Can I guess its destructive power? Not really.
But considering I didn’t even think of using my tried-and-true architectural magic—

‘There’s no way to block this with magic.’

In Arcana system terms, sword aura ignores defense and deals fixed damage.
Simply put, the only thing that can counter sword aura of this level is sword aura of equal strength.

Shhhhhh—

Soon, a barrage of aura in the shape of arrows rained down on me.
A murmur swept through the audience again.
Camilla of the Shining Guild, the strongest ranged DPS, spoke up:

“…That’s dangerous.”

And as the best archer, of course she had sharp eyes.
But I didn’t step back even slightly.
I merely stood still and watched the raining arrow-like aura.

Even attacks close to light-speed felt familiar now.

…!!!
Ttogak.

My body responded instinctively.

Shaaak—

I simply stepped forward—
and the aura attacks narrowly missed me.
To be exact, I was moving along the only path that avoided the attacks coming from all directions.

Whoosh—

Even the sword aura that wasn’t shaped like arrows missed me.
Aura so deadly that even a graze could be fatal—
but to me, it felt no more than a passing breeze.

‘I guess that makes sense.’

I hated to admit it—it felt like spitting in my own face—

But the one who gave the Weapon Master his enlightenment in martial arts…
Was none other than a past version of Lee Hoyeol.

‘Seriously, past Hoyeol… You were such a bastard.’

‘To leave something like this behind as a setup…’

Who the hell did I learn that from?

Sssssss—

The Weapon Master’s aura began to fade.
As if returning to its original owner,
his aura started to circle around me.

“As I thought… I can’t resist you.”

And at that moment—

“O God of Martial Arts.”

The light vanished from the man’s eyes.

“…Did he just say the Commander is the Martial God? What the hell does that mean?”
“Bro! Didn’t you feel it? You’re a warrior!”
“No, that’s way beyond anything I can describe.”

The Lightning Child asked Dongchun, the Warrior of Sunrise.
But Dongchun shook his head.
In a daze, he murmured:

“A movement that seems to embody martial arts itself…”

How did I appear to others?
A player who overcame a trial even more dangerous than the Zero Mountain Range?
Or perhaps an ally—but one with power so terrifying, I was a walking time bomb?

Well, it didn’t matter.

‘Even if it’s uncomfortable to hear, it’s not wrong.’

…Kkug.

But what mattered most was my own feelings—
Lee Hoyeol’s feelings.
And the truth was… I didn’t like it.
I looked at the Weapon Master as he crumbled, his sword aura lost.

‘The me from the past… saw you only as a piece on the board.’

Just a setup, left behind for a future self.

‘It’s terrifying.’

The traces of past iterations of Lee Hoyeol whispered to me.
The power he left behind in the Weapon Master—
That was only a fraction of it.
And I’d have to face countless more setups like this.

‘How many more times do I have to do this?’

Shall I describe it in Arcana Chronicle terms?

I had cleared every piece of content—
and now I was dealing with the final hidden contents.
But all of those final contents were nothing more than setups left by past Lee Hoyeols.

‘…It’s horrifying.’

Even if time had reversed.
Even if it had been erased.
Even if there were reasons.
Even if others felt differently.

The fact remains:
I used setups to manipulate someone’s life.

I asked myself:

‘There’s no pride in this, is there—past Lee Hoyeol?’

It felt like I could hear your voice.

-“It is pride.”

You always went on about pride—
Maybe because of me.
Maybe because you, who committed such shameless acts, needed to constantly be reminded of what pride even meant.

I said nothing.
But I meant it.

‘Still, thanks… for everything.’

And then, a question occurred to me.

Did past Hoyeol ever feel this way too?
I, the current Hoyeol, have no way of knowing.
But what’s certain is this:

‘I’m an adult now.’

This time, I won’t waver like I did in my youth.
Like an adult, I won’t run away.
I’ll face the karma left behind by past Lee Hoyeol.

‘Yes, this is just the first step.’

To stay calm, I repeated it endlessly in my mind.

This isn’t the first time I’ve witnessed the Weapon Master’s death.
Nor the first time he looked at me with those eyes.
Nor the first time the audience held their breath.
Nor the first time my deeds shook the world.

All of it had happened before—many times before.

‘That’s why I…’

…have no right to complain.

With that resolve, I no longer needed your mask, Grandfell.
More than ever, I was fully present—
Watching the Weapon Master’s final moments.

Silently, without saying a word.

“You truly won’t speak to me… not even at the end…”

So emotionless.
So cold.
So unlike the man I used to be.

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