“Never come forward. Just give me the buffs and stay away. That is how you will help me this time. If you really want to help, Mason can occasionally shake him with magic, or you can buy time with the death knights,” Hyeonu said to the Crescent Moon players shortly before Raccoon appeared.

In the fight against Raccoon, they would be helping by hiding. They should never ever come toward the front. If they did, they would just die.

“Is he that strong?” Mason asked. He didn’t know. It wasn’t just him though. No one knew what type of orc Raccoon was.

“He is a monster. A total monster. Just look for yourselves. You will think the monsters you’ve killed so far will feel like a joke,” Hyeonu said as he looked at the countdown number that was reduced to 10.

Hyeonu raised Tang-E and whispered in Tang-E’s ears, “Tang-E, in a little while, there will be an orc who looks exactly like Raccoon. I will fight him. Do you remember fighting the orc that looked just like Dakan? It is the same as back then. Help me if it is possible. Don’t overdo it.”

“Old Man Raccoon? Master dude, is it okay? I don’t know if you will just get beat up...” Tang-E looked anxiously at Hyeonu. He knew that Hyeonu wouldn’t be able to bear Raccoon’s strength. Raccoon was stronger than Tang-E’s parents, so he definitely wasn’t weak.

‘Master dude isn’t weak, but… fighting or mana...’

“If you have to fight... I’ll cheer you on, Master dude.” Tang-E raised his paws as if to cheer for Hyeonu.

“It’s fine. I can win...” Hyeonu said this, but he wasn’t actually very sure. It was because he didn’t know how powerful Raccoon would be this time.

‘If it is what I’m thinking... I can handle it.’ 

Hyeonu threw Tang-E toward the side of the Crescent Moon players. Tang-E buffed Hyeonu while flying away. He hoped he could be a bit of help to Hyeonu, who would fight Raccoon soon.

“Hurry and buff Master dude. Master dude is in danger,” Tang-E urged. Regardless of whether it was due to Tang-E’s fussing, Yuri buffed Hyeonu with a serious expression.

‘The buffs are all coming in.’

Hyeonu felt his body becoming lighter at the same time as when there was a flash of light in his vision. The light disappeared, and a muscular orc that was 2.5 meters tall appeared in front of Hyeonu.

‘How strong will he be?’ Hyeonu wondered inwardly. Then he prayed desperately, ‘Please have low stats. Please be easy to kill.’

However, Hyeonu’s expectations were only vain dreams. Raccoon reacted to the intense fighting energy and killing intent felt in front of him. He pulled out the white axe and swung it fiercely. The axe split apart the space. The green pure energy crossed the air and reached Hyeonu. The Mysterious Sky Sword, covered with purple pure energy, collided with the green pure energy.

Hyeonu moved the Mysterious Sky Sword as smoothly as possible. Then he momentarily twisted his wrist. The pure energies moving to swallow each other were offset. Raccoon’s green pure energy bounced high and soared into the sky before exploding. It burst in all directions like fireworks.

“This guy... You are very good. You know how to fight.” Raccoon laughed and took slow steps toward Hyeonu. Every time Raccoon took a step, red energy would emerge from his body.

Hyeonu saw the red energy and immediately recognized what it was, ‘Fighting energy!’

Then he raised fighting energy and fired it at Raccoon.

‘Fighting Energy Emission!’

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—fighting energy was battling fighting energy.

[The other party has the ‘fighting energy’ stat.]

[The other party is stronger than you.]

[The player’s stats will drop.]

[The player has the ‘fighting energy’ stat.]

[The stat reduction effect won’t occur.]

Hyeonu frowned at the message windows that momentarily disturbed his breathing. Then he soon smiled.

‘This is okay. I can fight. There is a chance of winning.’

It was worth trying this time compared to that time in the past. The first time he learned Fighting Energy Emission from Raccoon, Hyeonu hadn’t been able to withstand Raccoon’s fighting energy. He could now though. The proof was that Hyeonu didn’t receive any penalties.

‘I have become stronger, but... the biggest factor is that Raccoon is set to be weaker than he was originally.’

Of course, Hyeonu’s growth had leaped forward a lot compared to back then. It was embarrassing to even compare it. However, the decrease in Raccoon’s strength was greater than that. Raccoon was a strong being in the same position as the emperor and Lebron. Yet he had now fallen to a position similar to Hyeonu’s.

‘If not today, when else can I challenge him?’

Hyeonu ran toward Raccoon. They were light and shiny movements that were guided by his foot movements. It was Mysterious Sky Steps.

[The opponent isn’t human.]

[Guardian's Breath is activated.]

[All stats have increased.]

[The damage that the opponent will suffer will increase.]

[The opponent’s stats will drop.]

‘Okay, this has gone through.’

Fighting energy, dignity, and killing intent didn’t work. However, Guardian’s Breath was effective on Raccoon. It was inevitable since there was a difference in species.

‘No... this might not work on the main body either.’

The real Raccoon would have pushed the limitations of being a different species. Hyeonu appeared above Raccoon’s head and swung the Mysterious Sky Sword. He didn’t force it. He used just enough magic power. The important thing now wasn’t how hard he swung but how fast and accurate it was.

Raccoon’s axe, which was covered with green pure energy, deflected the Mysterious Sky Sword. Hyeonu flew back as quickly as he approached. Then he moved his feet in midair. He used the power shown by Raccoon to fly high into the sky.

‘It is dirty.’ Hyeonu bit his lip. It was one exchange, but it was enough for him to grasp an understanding of Raccoon’s power.

‘It is similar if I use the buffs?’

Even if Hyeonu used all of his buffs, he would only be of a similar level to Raccoon. Moreover, Hyeonu couldn’t use the buffs right away. It didn’t seem like it would be easy to fight against Raccoon in the short duration of the buffs.

‘Hold on for as long as I can...’

Hyeonu had to use the buffs after making the most of Raccoon’s magic power or strength. Raccoon was alone, while Hyeonu had Tang-E and Yuri to restore his physical strength.

‘I’m glad Yuri has the magic power recovery buff.’

More fortunately, Yuri had a buff to help restore magic power. As long as he didn’t use all his magic power in an instant… it was okay for him to aim for a long-term battle. Hyeonu descended toward Raccoon again and swung the Mysterious Sky Sword. The purple pure energy quickly appeared and then disappeared. Hyeonu used his special skill.

Raccoon looked puzzled by the pure energy that appeared in front of him in an instant. No, he wasn’t puzzled; he was joyful. The eager movement of Raccoon’s axe supported that.

Raccoon’s axe naturally struck Hyeonu’s pure energy. Hyeonu was hit by the heavy blow and faltered again. This time, he didn’t retreat anywhere. Instead, he used the power to fly faster toward Raccoon.

Hyeonu put the Mysterious Sky Sword away and raised his fists. Then short daggers appeared in both of Hyeonu’s hands. The daggers were made with pure energy—a monstrous use of magic power that other players couldn’t even dare dream of doing.

Hyeonu made the most of Mysterious Sky Steps. Raccoon’s eyes were dazzled by the superficial movement. Hyeonu’s figure split into three or four copies and shot at Raccoon. The clones swung daggers with different appearances. One quickly swung the dagger while another condensed strength to speed up.

Raccoon saw it and grasped the authenticity of the clones. However, it wasn’t easy to distinguish with the eyes. Additionally, trying to distinguish the clones was a very foolish thing to do.

“Where did you get such petty tricks? Hahaha!” Raccoon burst out laughing. His voice was filled with powerful fighting energy and magic power. As Raccoon’s laughter rang out, Hyeonu’s clones disappeared, leaving behind just one. Only Hyeonu’s real appearance remained.

‘What is this again?’

Hyeonu couldn’t hide his flustered expression this time. It was the first time Mysterious Sky Steps had been defeated in this way.

‘Cheating the eyes doesn’t work. Then what is this?’

Hyeonu changed his mind immediately. There was no need to waste magic power by sticking to something that didn’t exist. Even so, he was still flustered. Hyeonu swiftly abandoned the Mysterious Sky Steps. To be precise, he only kept the acceleration and stayed quick and light.

A deep smile appeared on Raccoon’s face when he saw that Hyeonu’s movements accelerated in an instant. He was pleased with Hyeonu’s judgment.

“Good judgment! Change it when the attacks don’t work! There is no need to cling to it ignorantly!” Raccoon yelled while rushing toward Hyeonu. Slow and heavy at the same time, Raccoon’s movements were the opposite of Hyeonu’s. The moment Raccoon’s feet touched the ground, it collapsed while the air hardened.

The fast moving Hyeonu and slow moving Raccoon collided. With the daggers in his hands, Hyeonu quickly struck Raccoon’s axe, which was covered with green pure energy.

Hyeonu slashed at Raccoon’s axe little by little before it finally stopped its attack. He didn’t miss this split-second moment and shoved the dagger into Raccoon’s torso. A huge explosion burst from Raccoon’s body and pushed Hyeonu away.

Hyeonu’s hand, which was pushing the dagger, was surrounded by a red light that looked like blood at first glance. It didn’t just look like blood; it was actually blood. The blood soon stopped spilling out due to Tang-E’s buffs and Yuri’s buffs. They had a synergy with Hyeonu’s high health, and his worn-out health soon recovered.

‘There’s pure energy...?’

Hyeonu saw it clearly. A layer of green film had appeared on Raccoon’s shoulder just before Hyeonu’s purple dagger struck it. The green membrane deflected Hyeonu’s attack and produced a huge repulsion. It was more like the backlash of magic power, rather than a physical shock. The wound on Hyeonu’s hand was created as part of the aftermath of his dagger exploding.

‘How much do I have to pay attention to while fighting?’

Hyeonu got goosebumps. At the same time, he was annoyed. It was just a battle, but there were so many places he had to pay attention to. From start to end, there was nothing that could be passed over lightly.

‘Even so, I can cross a wall in this fight.’

There would definitely be something for him to gain, no matter whether he won or lost. Currently, he wasn’t worried about the record of the raid time attack. The key thing was for Hyeonu to win against this orc that was a mass of muscles. Hyeonu removed the dagger held in his left hand and pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword, swinging it at a tremendous speed.

Purple pure energy was formed along the trajectory of Hyeonu’s sword and quickly shot toward Raccoon. Hyeonu moved without even checking what happened to his pure energy. Speed...

His choice was to beat Raccoon with speed. He would reduce Raccoon’s response time as much as possible. However, the purple pure energy disappeared in vain. Raccoon’s axe split the purple pure energy in half and sent it bouncing far away across the field.

Unlike Hyeonu, who had a solemn expression, Raccoon laughed like he was having fun: “More! Make it more fun! Hahaha!”