Solo Resurrection

His parents were slaves.

Naturally, Kergo also became a slave the moment he was born.

Kergo never had any complaints about it.

He had never not been a slave for a single moment in his life.

His life changed when he met a knight.

“This one has talent.”

The captain of the royal guard, hailed as the best among knights.

He took Kergo in.

Despite the objections of those around him, the captain recklessly made Kergo his subordinate.

From then on, Kergo opened his eyes to a new world.

Literally a different world.

He tasted exquisite food that seemed like it would make him faint just by touching his tongue, and he met goblin beauties so stunning that his eyes nearly popped out at the sight.

Looking at them, Kergo made a resolution.

“Let’s climb to higher places.”

Not just to be a subordinate, but to become a knight.

To become the strongest knight and enjoy all kinds of wealth and glory.

Kergo had potential.

As his adopter, the captain, had judged, he truly had an incredible talent for swordsmanship.

Unlike other goblins who usually start learning the sword at age 3, Kergo picked up a sword at 8.

But he quickly surpassed his peers, and at the age of 9, he was finally able to enter the ‘Knight Training Institute’.

“Kehehehe!”

It felt like he owned the whole world.

It felt like he was the center of the world.

But the world was cruel.

Most of the trainees at the Knight Institute were children of nobles, and even those who weren’t nobles were children of wealthy families.

There was no one like Kergo who came from a slave background.

“You worm.”

“What was the captain thinking, bringing in such trash?”

There were no allies for him there.

Trainees, instructors, even the director of the institute came personally to rebuke him.

He was a disgrace to the long-standing and traditional Knight Training Institute.

Kergo grew increasingly tired, and his spirit was worn down.

He no longer wanted to pick up a sword.

Training was just tedious and difficult.

The change that came to him in this state was recent.

“Uwaah!”

A human with a fierce appearance.

His sword skills were terrible, but he had absurdly strong physical strength.

It seemed he had never formally learned swordsmanship.

Moreover, his talent was ordinary.

For a goblin, it was questionable whether he could become even a mid-level knight with a lifetime of effort.

It felt like he was making up for that lack of talent with tremendous combat experience and physical abilities.

Clang, clang!

But the human kept trying endlessly.

He seemed to pay no attention to his own life.

Although he clearly possessed incredibly strong power, he didn’t use any other techniques, as if improving his sword skills was his only goal.

*Slash*

“What are you thinking!”

Perhaps because his thoughts had wandered too long.

A long sword wound appeared on Kergo’s arm.

It would have been a terrifying injury in the past, but now he just silently stared at it.

“Keurk!”

Kergo refocused his attention.

Fighting with the human was sharpening his mind once again.

The barriers that had been blocking him were quickly crumbling in these life-and-death battles.

He felt that other goblins were distancing themselves from him even more these days, but it didn’t matter.

They were enemies from the start anyway.

He would keep getting stronger like this.

Then they wouldn’t even be able to be obstacles for him anymore.

Clang, clang

“Good! Keep pushing!”

Kergo and Kang Hyeon’s swords tangled wildly.

***

Ippotranslation

***

[The rank of your Intermediate Swordsmanship skill has increased]

Kang Hyeon cheered at the voice he heard.

“I did it!”

It was an achievement reached after ten long days.

His Intermediate Swordsmanship had finally risen to C rank, becoming Advanced Swordsmanship.

“Good job.”

“Keurr…”

In front of Kang Hyeon stood the goblin who had been with him for the past ten days.

Kang Hyeon’s swordsmanship teacher.

Thanks to this goblin, Kang Hyeon’s sword skills had increased rapidly.

It made a big difference to imitate the goblin’s style instead of his previous wild swinging.

Now he had reached a level where he could subdue three goblins using only his sword.

But for some reason, he could never beat this particular goblin he first met.

“Do monsters get stronger too?”

The creature seemed to be getting stronger even faster than Kang Hyeon.

“Phew, why can I never beat just you?”

Kang Hyeon said as he slumped to the ground.

Kergo, also interpreting this as a break, quietly sat down.

“Keurk!”

Over the past ten days, Kergo had fully adapted to this strange situation.

He was secretly satisfied too.

His skills were also increasing at an unprecedented rate.

“You’re now my swordsmanship teacher. I’ll spare you specially. Don’t die to anyone else. Got it?”

“Keurk!”

“Yeah, yeah. Keurk or karuk or whatever. It’s so annoying to hear. Tsk.”

Kang Hyeon clicked his tongue and got up.

Having achieved his goal, it was time to graduate from the Knight Training Institute.

As he turned to head towards the entrance, Kang Hyeon stopped.

“Hey!”

Kang Hyeon called out to Kergo and pointed at himself.

“Kang Hyeon. It’s Kang Hyeon.”

“Keurk?”

“My name is Kang Hyeon, man. Kang Hyeon! Got it? Kang Hyeon.”

Kergo nodded at Kang Hyeon’s sudden self-introduction.

Then he pointed at himself.

“Kergo.”

“Kergo? That’s your name?”

“Kergo. Kang Hyeon.”

Kergo repeated Kang Hyeon’s and his own name, moving his finger back and forth.

“Okay. Kergo. See you next time if we can. I’m going.”

Kang Hyeon rubbed the bridge of his nose once and turned around coolly.

“Keurk! Kang Hyeon!”

Kergo waved his hand towards Kang Hyeon.

If interpreted, it meant, ‘See you again, Kang Hyeon!’

This was the first friendship between an Earthling and a monster.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“An Yu-seong!”

Guild office.

Kang Hyeon burst through the door shouting.

“Kang Hyeon. Where did you go? I thought I was going to die of boredom.”

“Were you that bored?”

“Yes.”

“Then come out, bastard. Let’s have a match.”

“What?”

An Yu-seong looked bewildered at Kang Hyeon’s sudden words.

“I said let’s have a match. Same rules as last time.”

“I don’t think anything has changed since then…”

An Yu-seong looked Kang Hyeon up and down.

“We’ll see about that when we fight.”

***

Ippotranslation

***

Blood dripped with every step Kang Hyeon took.

The Badass Guild office instantly transformed into a horror movie set.

“How many days has it been now?”

“He’s been in that state ever since that day…”

“I’m so scared I don’t even want to come to work anymore.”

The now considerably increased number of Badass Guild office workers. They all turned their heads away from the foul smell that emanated whenever Kang Hyeon appeared.

But no one dared to speak up.

“Haa…”

Kang Hyeon collapsed into his chair at his desk.

“Shit…”

Kang Hyeon was really confident.

He thought that even if he couldn’t win, at least he wouldn’t be defeated as helplessly as that day.

The result was 5 losses out of 5 matches.

The gap with An Yu-seong was still as wide as ever.

“Oh? This is pretty good. I can add this to the Naked Kang Hyeon series.”

An Yu-seong, sitting on the floor, was fiddling with something.

It was a figurine of Kang Hyeon, stripped naked and raising his arms in victory.

‘That bastard…’

Every time Kang Hyeon lost a match, a new figurine was released.

In just three days, five figurines had been produced.

It was an unbelievable speed, but An Yu-seong seemed to be pouring even his personal funds into it.

Of course, the market reaction was the worst.

Kang Hyeon was now socially ranked as a pervert.

-What is Kang Hyeon thinking these days? I feel like vomiting every time I see the figurines.

-For real. I understand wanting to show off a good body, but this is too much. It’s not like he’s an exhibitionist or something.

-Sales are poor too, I don’t know what he’s thinking producing such things continuously.

-What’s more surprising is that there are people who keep buying them.

-I preferred the first Satan’s Doll. Now I get goosebumps just seeing Kang Hyeon’s photos on the internet.

Kang Hyeon, reading the posts on the internet, barely resisted the urge to throw his smartphone.

“Kang Hyeon. Where are you going again?”

“Dungeon.”

“Oh? Then let’s go together.”

“Get lost!”

Kang Hyeon, in a fit of petty anger, stormed out of the office.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“I want to win. I desperately want to win!”

Kang Hyeon shouted with bloodshot eyes.

He seemed to have completely forgotten his original purpose of improving his weaknesses and strengthening his abilities.

‘The skill of handling a sword. In itself, there’s not much difference between him and me. The important thing lies elsewhere.’

This was what Kang Hyeon realized after the last few sparring matches.

An Yu-seong could quickly understand and handle any weapon well, but there wasn’t anything beyond that.

‘An Yu-seong is just naturally gifted when it comes to fighting. Balance, dynamic vision, judgment ability, even utilizing his body. He maximizes efficiency beyond simple stats by utilizing everything to the fullest.’

That’s why Kang Hyeon constantly pondered.

How could he beat An Yu-seong?

Was overwhelming physical prowess and superior strength the only way?

‘Physical ability and a tough fighting style are certainly strong weapons, but that alone is not enough.’

He couldn’t keep relying on superior body regeneration and resurrection to recklessly push through.

Having already tasted those limits, he started this sparring to find a new breakthrough.

“What I’m good at… My own strengths…”

Muttering as he walked, Kang Hyeon finally arrived at his destination.

“Keuruk!”

“It’s been a while. Three days, is it?”

Perhaps because they had been stuck together every day for a while.

Although only three days had passed, it felt like they were meeting after a very long time.

“But, you look a bit tired?”

Kang Hyeon said, looking at Kergo.

In fact, Kergo’s condition was far worse than just looking a bit tired.

He had countless more injuries than when he was with Kang Hyeon, and there was a fierce light swirling in his eyes.

“Keurreu…”

“Yeah. No need to explain. I’m frustrated too, so let’s warm up first.”

Kang Hyeon took his stance, holding Bilgein’s longsword.

“Shall we begin?”

As he spoke, Kang Hyeon dashed forward as if bouncing.

At that moment, a faint light enveloped Kergo’s sword.

‘What’s this?’

Kang Hyeon’s keen senses told him it was magic.

‘Is he using a skill?’

He had never seen Kergo use a skill before.

While there were occasionally monsters that used skills, they were mostly magic-type monsters.

He had only heard rumors of combat-type monsters using skills.

‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll do as I always have.’

If need be, he could use skills himself.

Kang Hyeon stopped pondering and clashed swords.

-Clang!

The moment their swords met, Kang Hyeon’s sword vibrated greatly.

“What the!?”

As soon as the swords clashed, Kang Hyeon could feel it.

Bilgein’s longsword had cracked.

Kang Hyeon hastily retreated and checked the condition of the sword.

Name: Bilgein’s Longsword

Grade: B

Durability: 287/500

Ability: Berserker, Durability Enhancement

“This is crazy!”

Bilgein’s longsword had barely lost any durability no matter how roughly Kang Hyeon used it until now.

“It lost over 100 in one go?”

The durability of such a sword had decreased by an enormous amount.

“You. What did you do?”

“Keuruk!”

When Kang Hyeon glared and spoke, Kergo grinned.

Kang Hyeon didn’t know, but over the past three days, Kergo had been in fierce battles with numerous goblins in the dungeon.

The goblins had completely recognized Kergo, who accompanied Kang Hyeon, as an enemy.

But Kergo endured among them, even when his former instructors, the goblins, attacked him en masse.

And as a result.

He finally reached the level of imbuing his sword with magic.

“Keurreuk.”

Kergo no longer resented Kang Hyeon.

After all, he had made him this strong.

“Geur, Keurreuk (Now, die).”

Smiling as he spoke, Kergo charged at full force.

-Clang!

Kang Hyeon clashed swords again and stepped back.

This time he tried to deflect the sword as much as possible, but still, nearly 10 points of durability were lost.

“You bastard. So you learned something, huh?”

Kergo didn’t answer Kang Hyeon’s words and continued swinging his sword.

-Slash!

Wounds began to gradually increase on Kang Hyeon’s body as he was helplessly pushed back.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

“Keur…”

“Uaah!”

[Roar of the Enraged Lion has been activated]

[All enemies’ morale and stats have decreased]

As soon as he used Roar of the Enraged Lion, Kang Hyeon activated all his buffs.

“Clench your teeth tight.”

-Whoosh!

The moment Kang Hyeon kicked off the ground, the floor cracked like a spider web, unable to withstand the impact.

Kang Hyeon running down the corridor seemed twice as fast as before.

“Keuruk?”

Kang Hyeon’s fully buffed state.

Kergo had seen it before but had never experienced it firsthand.

And Kang Hyeon in this state seemed much stronger than Kergo had anticipated.

“Keurreung.”

A flustered Kergo scratched his head and laughed as if embarrassed.

“Too late, you bastard.”

-Thud!