The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become-Chapter 143: Friends (4)

[Sword King Title Quest Failed]

[Returning to Initial Entry Point.]

“Tsk... Damn old man. Couldn't you have gone a little easier?”

In the spacious living room of his lodging, Kang Hyunsoo lay sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling as he grumbled.

It had been days—how many exactly, he’d lost count.

The failures of the Sword King Title Quest kept piling up.

At first, he thought it would end quickly.

After emerging from the Ant Dungeon, he planned to clear it as fast as possible, then bought a haul of alcohol and snacks to offer the Sword King.

It was a gesture of consideration, knowing the Sword King would be alone again once the quest was over.

But the Sword King’s resistance was far more intense than anticipated.

Even as Kang Hyunsoo wielded the Flame Sword and Thunder Sword in dual-wielding style to pressure him—

[Sword King Title Quest Failed]

[Returning to Initial Entry Point.]

—he was easily blocked and countered.

After several attempts, Kang Hyunsoo stared at the Sword King with incredulous eyes.

- "What’s going on, sir? How are you stronger than before?"

- "Hmph. Did you think I’ve been idling all this time?"

Perhaps it was because the Sword King hadn’t been affected by regression?

He had grown even stronger than before Hyunsoo’s regression.

Despite having dual-wielded swords, mastered Thunder Blade techniques, and gained boosted stats from Appearance Power, Kang Hyunsoo couldn’t defeat him.

When he first entered the Sword King’s realm, he had arrogantly assumed he would easily dominate, even toyed with the idea of teaching the Sword King some swordsmanship. But such hubris was misplaced.

- "So, you ascended to the rank of Sword Emperor, only to perform this poorly?"

- "Just because your looks have improved, you’ve gotten soft! Where is that crude tenacity of yours that once charged recklessly, scars and all?"

- "If you can’t wield two swords freely, you’d be better off sticking to just one! A break in the flow leaves an opening!"

One day, two days, three days...

No matter how many times he challenged the Sword King, he couldn’t win, just like in his past life.

Instead, he received teachings.

Not that it was entirely one-sided.

Unlike before, their battles didn’t end with a single strike. They exchanged no fewer than 100 blows, and Hyunsoo even unveiled some of his hidden cards.

[Activation]

[Charm (D)]

A skill that momentarily halts the opponent’s movements.

While not a sword technique, Kang Hyunsoo deployed his Charm skill to exploit an opening in the Sword King’s defense.

However—

- "Hah! Insolent brat! Do you think such trickery will work on me?!"

The Sword King wasn’t fazed in the slightest.

The moment Hyunsoo activated the skill, the Sword King closed his eyes and relied solely on his mastery of aura to fight.

Somehow, even with his eyes shut, the Sword King could sense his surroundings and Hyunsoo’s movements perfectly.

With things like this—

[Sword King Title Quest Failed]

[Returning to Initial Entry Point.]

Swallow, watching from the side, was unbothered as Hyunsoo reappeared in the living room. The bird was lounging in front of the TV, munching on fruit.

“Master, care for a bite? These grapes are surprisingly sweet,” Swallow teased, barely looking up.

Initially, Swallow had shown immense curiosity, marveling at how the Sword King had returned despite regression and even pestering Hyunsoo to bring him along to meet the legend. But as time passed, even Swallow’s enthusiasm waned.

The Sword King’s realm didn’t allow for summoning or communication, leaving Swallow with no option but to cheer from the sidelines—a task he’d grown half-hearted about.

While replaying the last battle in his mind, Hyunsoo heard the voice of a news anchor from the TV:

- "Good evening, viewers. The global SS-class Forced Dungeon Break deadline is fast approaching. Leaders from nations such as the United States and Japan have declared states of emergency, urging citizens to evacuate...."

Still lying on the floor, Hyunsoo asked Swallow, “How long until the Forced Dungeon Break hits?”

“Six hours, Master. Oh, by the way, both Chief Choi Jiwoo and Hunter Bureau Director Go Kyungseok called for you. They’re looking for you.”

“Got it. It’s about time.”

There was a hint of regret in Hyunsoo’s voice.

Time was running out.

The end of this quest drew near.

He got up, entered a storage room, and returned with two swords in hand. Then, he generated the portal to the Sword King’s realm.

As he prepared to step through, Swallow adjusted his sunglasses and said, “So, it’s the last round. Good luck, Master.”

“Yeah. I’ll be back.”

With a bright flash, the scenery shifted in an instant.

[You have entered the Sword King’s Realm.]

[Objective: Defeat the Sword King and ascend to the pinnacle of swordsmanship.]

[Upon failure or death, you will return to your previous location.]

As he stepped through the portal, Hyunsoo spotted the Sword King standing silently before a distant waterfall.

“Shall we begin?” the Sword King asked.

“Just a moment, sir.”

Hyunsoo shook his head and walked off to the side.

Then—

Thunk. Thunk.

He drove the two swords he brought from his lodging into the ground.

At first glance, it seemed like an unrelated, nonsensical action.

But the Sword King understood.

“...The time has come, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. It seems so.”

This was to be their final battle.

Yet, the swords Hyunsoo brought piqued the Sword King’s curiosity.

“What are those?”

“They’re the swords of Seo Jieun and Choi Taehun. I thought you could look at them when you get lonely and think of me.”

“...I thought it was a gift, but you brought me trash.”

“I considered other swords, but even a mythical-grade weapon would pale compared to yours. So I brought something meaningful to me instead.”

“Tsk, some things never change. You’re as foolish as ever!”

With an irritated growl, the Sword King swung his blade, and suddenly—

CRACK!

The sky split open, and a translucent sword tore through space, plunging into the ground with immense force.

The impact shattered the rock beneath it.

“Tch. Could you stop using the Heaven-Cleaving Sword? I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve cracked my skull with it.”

The Heaven-Cleaving Sword was a technique that summoned a sword from the heavens, piercing the earth upon activation. It was fast, powerful, and nearly impossible to evade.

Hyunsoo had dodged purely on instinct, a result of multiple prior experiences.

“Fine, I’ll deal with you differently this time!”

With that, the Sword King launched forward.

CLANG! CLANG! SWISH! SWISH!

Countless strikes rained down as shockwaves and sonic booms filled the air.

But none of them landed.

As the Sword King closed the gap—

[Activation]

[Bloom (SS)]

[For 3 minutes, latent beauty is elevated to its maximum.]

[Appearance Power: 999]

[Effect of Appearance Power: All stats +3,996]

Kang Hyunsoo had activated Bloom.

“What... What is this absurd power?!”

Even the Sword King’s eyes widened at the explosive display of strength.

“It’s been an honor, sir. But it seems it’s time for me to go.”

In truth, over the past few days, Kang Hyunsoo hadn’t been giving it his all.

This quest was his only chance to face the Sword King again. He wanted to prolong it as much as possible.

At first, he humored the Sword King by fighting one-handed with the Thunder Sword. Then, he switched to the Flame Sword, showcasing his Solar Swordsmanship.

Gradually, he escalated from D-rank to SS-rank skills.

The Sword King countered each of Hyunsoo’s techniques with expert precision. Only after confirming the Sword King’s formidable skill did Hyunsoo reveal Choi Taehun’s hidden piece: dual-wielding swordsmanship.

Even then, Hyunsoo held back, ensuring the Sword King had time to adjust to his attacks.

He thought this approach was the right one.

After all, while the Sword King was undoubtedly powerful, Kang Hyunsoo had reached the rank of Sword Emperor in his previous life. He had monopolized hidden pieces and inherited the Sin of Lust.

Even so, defeating the Sword King without Bloom seemed impossible.

After a brief farewell, Hyunsoo launched a full-on assault.

With his massively amplified stats from Bloom, he dodged every attack the Sword King threw at him while landing all of his own.

Small wounds appeared on the Sword King’s arms and legs.

Now, all that was left was to finish the Sword King and complete the title quest.

For the finale, Hyunsoo prepared his ultimate technique.

[Activation]

[Titan Cleave (SSS)]

The summoned Titan brought down its colossal greatsword, unleashing an SSS-rank technique.

“......!!”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

The Sword King leapt backward, putting a great distance between them to avoid the massive strike.

[Activation]

[Divine Beast Descent (SSS)]

“RAAAAAAAHH!!”

“You... You’re summoning a dragon?!”

Aphelion, the divine beast of Solar Swordsmanship, materialized and unleashed its breath attack.

Compared to his previous life, Hyunsoo’s swordsmanship had reached an overwhelmingly destructive level. The fiery breath was so powerful that it evaporated the waterfall, engulfing the Sword King and his surroundings entirely.

‘If only I had a little more time....’

Regret tinged Hyunsoo’s thoughts as he awaited the quest completion message, ready to bid the Sword King farewell.

But—

Whooosh—!!

The Sword King was no pushover.

Even after taking Aphelion’s breath attack head-on, he neutralized it with a sword technique that created massive water pillars.

And he wasn’t finished.

“Impressive, but you’ve still got a long way to go!!”

“......!!”

The Sword King charged, his blade slashing from every direction.

Left, right, above, below—the Sword [N O V E L I G H T] King’s strikes came from all angles, leaving Hyunsoo’s eyes wide with astonishment.

Truthfully, Hyunsoo had expected to win with two SSS-rank skills. But he was wrong.

Yet, he didn’t falter or panic.

[Achieved: 100 Combo Evasion!]

[You have flawlessly evaded 100 consecutive attacks.]

[Unlocked: Fusion Talent – Beauty Swordsmanship.]

Hyunsoo still had a hidden card to play.

Until now, he’d never managed to evade 100 consecutive attacks from the Sword King. But with Bloom, he finally accomplished it.

As soon as the notification appeared, Hyunsoo initiated his counterattack.

“It’s over, sir!!”

[Activation]

[Blossom (SS)]

Petals of light accompanied by streaks of soft pink slashed toward the Sword King.

The Sword King’s aura shimmered around his blade, but the overwhelming petals disintegrated all magical defenses in their path.

Their swords clashed—

CLANG—!!

“......!!”

Hyunsoo’s blossoming strike failed to pierce the Sword King’s blade.

For the first time, he found himself in a situation he couldn’t predict.

Before he could react—

BAM—!!

“Urgh...!!”

The Sword King’s foot landed squarely on Hyunsoo’s abdomen, sending him flying backward.

Following up swiftly, the Sword King unleashed a thunderous slash.

“You fool. Did you really think such paltry tricks could overwhelm me?!”

The Sword King’s power surpassed all expectations.