The Return of the Talented Monopolist is Special

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“… This seems quite different from Stage 2?”

“Yeah, it does…”

The Ines brothers faced the 40 ice statues in front of them, tightly gripping their swords.

The aura of the statues was completely different from Stage 2.

In Stage 2, they seemed to be randomly attacking with various weapons, but the Stage 3 statues were all wielding long greatswords, and…

They moved as if they were one.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

They seemed almost like formal knights who had undergone official training and years of discipline, as the ice statues approached the Ines brothers with restrained movements.

One.

The Ines brothers gritted their teeth and steeled themselves against their fear.

“Ains. You haven’t forgotten, right?”

“One means death.”

“Two means survival.”

“Combination technique, cast!”

The Combination Technique, a martial art practiced by two or more people, was a battle style the Ines brothers had honed together since childhood.

Ains and Jains released their auras and charged toward the ice statues.

Crack!

Bang!

The Ines brothers were holding their ground better than expected.

“If we keep going like this, we might make it…!”

“Don’t tire out! Conserve your stamina!”

“Okay!”

After about twenty minutes, they had cut down half of the 40 statues.

“Phew, phew, huh? What’s that?”

Ains pointed toward the testing area behind the transparent barrier, where Eugene was.

“That guy’s cornered, isn’t he?”

“He looks more focused on dodging than attacking.”

Indeed, Eugene was backed into a corner, desperately dodging the attacks of the statues.

“Hahaha! As expected! It was all luck for that guy!”

“Exactly!”

The Ines brothers gathered their strength and fought with all their might against the remaining 20 statues.

In the process, they were repeatedly stabbed in the shoulder, slashed in the side, and twisted their ankles, facing constant danger.

Each time, the brothers rescued each other, creating synergy as they took down the ice statues one by one.

And then…

“AAAH!”

Thud!

When only two ice statues remained in front of the Ines brothers.

“Phew, hehehe, phew, hahaha!”

“It’s almost over! Eugene must have been watching our amazing performance with his own eyes!”

“Haha! He was probably too busy running away to see it properly…”

While the Ines brothers, breathing heavily and laughing manically, turned to look at Eugene’s testing area.

“…?”

“…?”

In front of the Ines brothers, there were only 20 ice statues lying on the ground in disarray.

“What happened…?”

“Hyung, over there!”

Ains pointed, and there was Eugene, heading toward the 4th-stage fork in the path.

The Ines brothers were left speechless, staring at the back of Eugene’s head.

“Did he really take down all 20 statues in that time…?”

“That’s impossible…”

At first, they were in disbelief.

“No, considering his swordsmanship… and the way he swam… maybe it’s possible?”

“He definitely had a different look in his eyes…”

Soon, they were in awe.

“No, no! No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense! He must have used some kind of cheat while we weren’t looking! Maybe someone helped him!”

“Could that rabbit have helped him?”

“Yeah, maybe!”

Eventually, they began to doubt it.

But in the end, they admitted it.

“His back muscles were insane. They were so defined. If you look closely, his lower body wasn’t neglected either.”

“Maybe he’s the type to find the right pressure points? From what you said, his clarity was really good.”

“Let’s ask him after the test is over.”

“Let’s ask what supplements he’s been taking, too.”

With Eugene having thoroughly stimulated their minds, the Ines brothers charged at the remaining two ice statues.

***

Eugene slowly walked toward the path to the 4th stage.

It was true that he had been cornered and was merely dodging the ice statues’ attacks.

But everything had been part of Eugene’s plan.

‘The basic fencing of Fencel seems to be complete now.’

In Stage 2, he had learned about half of the movements, but in Stage 3, he had focused on observing even the finer details to complete the form of fencing, which is why he hadn’t rushed to attack.

To the Ines brothers, it probably looked like Eugene was being overwhelmed.

The air around him was hot and charged as the Atom swirled, causing his body to heat up. He had used up a significant amount of aura.

‘It definitely wasn’t easy. Not only did the number of statues increase from 10 to 20, but their swordsmanship also incorporated Fencel’s basic fencing techniques more thoroughly.’

In fact, although the statues didn’t use aura, they were even using the ‘One Strike, One Hit’ technique, a characteristic of Fencel’s fencing style.

Because of this, Eugene had to use a denser aura to deal with them and was able to observe Fencel’s swordsmanship even more closely.

‘This is fun. The difficulty has increased, and while I’m physically tired, I’m gaining a lot in return.’

Eugene alternately gazed at the sword in his right hand and his feet.

‘Mixing Fencel fencing with Ghost Acrobatics seems to work perfectly. After passing through this ice cave and finishing the Lion’s Trial…’

Combining footwork and swordsmanship in battle is something only possible when one has a significant understanding of both techniques.

The growth Eugene was experiencing here was something he could never have imagined in his past life.

Though he wasn’t yet at the level to use the ‘One Strike, One Hit’ technique, he would have more opportunities to practice it in Stage 4, so there was no need to worry.

Eugene briefly looked back.

‘Ains, Jains. Their Combination Technique is definitely effective. The two moved as one.’

Although the Ines brothers had fallen into corruption as they grew older in his past life and became infamous as murder maniacs, they still had definite skill.

That’s why Eugene felt regret.

‘If there’s still time for them to be rehabilitated while they’re still young… maybe there’s hope?’

Of course, he had no intention of spending his time teaching the Ines brothers right away.

Maybe if the right opportunity arose, but that was it.

Tadat!

Eugene shrugged and began running toward the 4th stage challenge.

***

“Stage 4 requires defeating 50 ice statues. It’s a whole different level compared to Stage 3.”

“…I understand.”

Eldora nodded at the rabbit’s guidance.

Though she clearly looked tired, with a bit of sweat on her forehead, her eyes remained vividly alive.

Of course, she was troubled.

‘20 statues were a bit tough, but 50? If I fail this, I’m out right away. What should I do?’

Eldora was keenly aware of how much the difficulty increased as the stages progressed.

She compared her desire for a sense of accomplishment to the realistic possibility of success.

“You’ve made it all the way to Stage 4, so I’ll give you a chance to turn back and choose ‘pass’ now. Think carefully.”

“I understand, so can you be quiet? I’m thinking.”

“…”

If she rashly attempted the challenge and gave up halfway, the Lion’s Trial would be over for good.

While Eldora was deep in thought, Eugene walked up behind her.

“Just go in, right? There are 50 ice statues.”

Eldora looked at Eugene with disbelief.

“How did you get here…!”

She couldn’t believe it at first, but soon accepted the situation.

‘Did his aura level change in that short time? No, it doesn’t seem to be just his aura…’

Considering the aura Eugene was emitting along with the incredible swimming skills he had shown under the lake, it wasn’t too surprising.

“I’m going in first.”

Without paying any attention to Eldora, Eugene tried to step into the testing area.

Eldora hurriedly grabbed his wrist.

“Wait, let’s talk for a moment.”

“What talk? There’s no time.”

The rabbit had informed them of the remaining time.

“About an hour left. If you exceed the time limit, you’ll fail—”

“Yujin Rober, just a moment. I have a suggestion.”

“A suggestion? What is it? Hurry up.”

Eldora looked directly into Eugene’s eyes.

“Only you and I have made it this far.”

“Yeah. So?”

“You know that when two people enter the same testing area, the number of statues doubles, right? Let’s go in together and bet on who can take down more.”

“You want us to handle 100 statues?”

“I’m talking about determining the hierarchy. It’ll be more certain to go in together and count exactly who defeated more than doing separate trials.”

“Determining hierarchy… hmm.”

Eugene paused to look at Eldora’s expression, then tilted his head.

“You look a bit tired already. Even if it’s the two of us, you want to face 100 statues? Are you overestimating me, or are you trying to make me look bad?”

Eldora furrowed her brows tightly.

“I’m not trying to do that.”

She swallowed the words that followed.

‘It was strange from the start when she hesitated at the starting point, and even more so when she didn’t go right into the ice cave. But now that we’ve reached Stage 4, her aura level has increased significantly.’

She wondered if this was the proper way to take the test.

‘There are so many suspicious things. I’m curious about what she did in the meantime…!’

While the reason for determining the hierarchy wasn’t a lie, Eldora’s true motive was her curiosity.

Eugene wanted to see with his own eyes if Eldora had really made it this far with her own strength.

Of course, just moments ago, he had hesitated about facing 50 statues, but now that he was directly witnessing Eugene’s growth, his fatigue seemed to vanish.

However, Eugene shook his head.

“I’m not interested in ranking. So there’s no reason for me to enter the same testing area as you and fight side by side. That’s the end of the discussion.”

When Eugene tried to turn and walk away, Eldora grabbed his wrist again.

“Wait, wait, if you win, I’ll give you a reward!”

“Ugh… a reward? What kind of reward?”

“One of my treasured… expensive treasures. You won’t be disappointed. But you have to put something on the line too.”

Eugene smiled inwardly.

In fact, Eldora’s offer wasn’t bad.

‘It’s a rare opportunity to see the great Eldora’s swordsmanship up close, the same Eldora who became the first female head of the family in my previous life.’

She wasn’t called a genius for nothing.

To Eugene, Eldora was the strongest person of his age, so there would definitely be things to learn from her.

Moreover,

‘I was planning to practice “one-hit strikes” by facing as many ice statues as possible anyway.’

The more ice statues there were, the more opportunities to use his swordsmanship. So, Eldora’s offer wasn’t bad for Eugene.

However, instead of agreeing right away, he was thinking about how to get more from Eldora.

But now, she was offering him an expensive treasure. Treasure was not something Eugene lacked.

‘She probably just wants to confirm whether I’ve truly made it here on my own. Fine. What else is there to take from her…’

As Eugene shook his head and was about to speak, he stopped.

‘Wait… there must be something else I can gain.’

Eugene smiled faintly.

“I don’t need treasure. Let’s do this. If you win, I’ll give you a treasure.”

“…What kind of treasure?”

“You have long hair, so how about a golden rose pin or something like that? How does that sound?”

“…Good.”

“Then, if I win, you’ll grant me a wish.”

Eldora raised an eyebrow.

“Huh? What wish do you think you have? If you’re going to make a wish, just say it now.”

“I’ll tell you one later, within reason. Is that okay?”

“…Fine. But no unreasonable wishes. It’s a promise.”

The rabbit, who had been watching, muttered to himself.

“My wish is that you two fail the test and drag yourselves home… Please, please…”

Eugene and Eldora simultaneously flicked the rabbit on the head, and it slumped its ears, reluctantly helping them with their positions.

Eldora glanced sideways at Eugene and then looked forward again.

“The one who kills more statues wins. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it…”

Eugene nodded as he was about to agree.

He heard a faint chuckle from Eldora as she muttered almost to herself.

“I’ll be… first place. Only I can be first place…”

Eugene, who had been indifferent, suddenly furrowed his brows.

‘Is she… really crazy?’

He couldn’t be sure until he saw her fight, but somehow, he felt like this trial was going to be quite an exciting one.

He would have to face 100 ice statues, where his swordsmanship would improve significantly once again.

And this time, he would be with Eldora, who was set to become the head of the Pendcel family.

This return of the Talent Devourer is special.