◈ Episode 345. Even So, What Does Not Change (1)
My vision flickered.[Skill, “Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme,” is activating.]
Let’s just move past the name of the skill. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to just move past it. As you can see, it was a skill name that pierced straight through the endlessly arrogant Granfell and struck me down to the bone as well.
Swish, swish.
But there was a reason I said we should move on.
Thanks to my experience with curses, I recognized it right away.
This is “that,” isn’t it?
Granfell’s long, flowing hair……!
The cause of this situation was undoubtedly Granfell’s past.[Understanding of Darkness (Curse): Greatly increases compatible mana affinity. However, you must face the past that serves as the source of the compatible mana.
- Current compatible mana affinity: 10%]
Because I had understood Granfell’s past through Understanding of Darkness, I had acquired a skill with a bizarre name, [Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme]
and, as an effect of that skill, my hair had clearly grown long like Granfell’s in the past……!‘This is driving me insane.’Should I call this fortunate?
Perhaps because I had only understood one-tenth of Granfell’s past, at least my hair hadn’t grown long enough to pass my waist. Even so, it easily fell past my shoulders, enough that anyone could tell my hairstyle had changed.‘If this were the Arcana Continent, I wouldn’t even complain.’But this is reality, isn’t it?
There are far too many eyes watching.
And among those eyes are the eyes of my enemies.‘I teased them for weeks about dyeing their hair to copy idols.’At minimum, I’m going to be tormented for three months over this.
But the water had already been spilled.
Accept the situation, Hoyeol.
Now that everyone has seen it.
You know from countless experiences
that it’s better to be even more brazen, don’t you?‘And…….’This also wasn’t a situation where I could complain about embarrassment.
I slowly raised my head.
I could see the mass of flame coming to greet me.
The Extreme Flame Dragon.
It was Yunaxus, burning his remaining lifespan white as he poured out his full power.
“Is that your best, Yunaxus?”
Suddenly, I remembered.
At some point, while researching oddities
—internet surfing—
I had seen a list ranking the pain humans could feel.
First place had definitely been burning pain.
I steeled my resolve.‘Dying of embarrassment is better than burning to death.’But as if to make my resolve meaningless, I heard voices.
After finishing the cleanup of the Zero Mountains,
the Holy War Alliance had come to support me.
“……
Chief Lee?”
More precisely, Marcelo.
And several senior mages of the Magic Tower, including Bellier,
had ended up witnessing me in this state.
“Chief Lee Hoyeol…… Is that you?”
I could tell just from the trembling voice.
They must be wondering what on earth this flowing hair was. If I had originally had long hair and cut it short, at least they could have guessed I’d had a change of heart. But this was the opposite.‘There’s no way to make an excuse.’Of course, this damned personality of mine was far removed from excuses.
As always, I opened my mouth.
But……
“Stand down. This is my battle.”
Why does my manner of speaking feel even more arrogant……?
More precisely, should I say it was putting on more weight? It was a tone befitting a skill named [Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme].
For a moment, I felt cold sweat run down my spine.‘……
Wait, your temperament doesn’t need to return to its prime too, does it?’It was Granfell’s temper, which I, Lee Hoyeol, had been desperately suppressing with my sense of shame. Perhaps because Granfell’s influence had grown stronger, there was a subtle change in the way I spoke.
“Unless you dare to doubt me.”
So prickly he might as well have been a hedgehog.
The fortunate thing was that quick-witted Marcelo was there.
Swoosh. Marcelo bowed his head and replied.
“We will obey Headquarters.”
Thank you, Marcelo……!
Only after Marcelo and the senior mages withdrew was I able to gather my thoughts. Now that I had experienced the skill, I needed to remind myself once again of its exact effect and limits.[Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme (10%): A once-in-an-age genius, an unparalleled talent who would blaspheme even a goddess. Manifests the talent of Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.]
Blaspheme even a goddess?
The description is even more ridiculous, seriously.
More importantly.‘Granfell’s talent, huh.’Until now, I had thought I had benefited plenty from that talent.
Hadn’t I manifested other people’s magic the moment I saw it? Didn’t I also possess physical potential that didn’t fall behind that magical talent, allowing me to manifest Sword Qi right away?
Thanks to a talent so absurd it made my face burn,
I had struggled this far without sinking beneath pride.
However, the moment I released my mana,
I realized it.
That had not been Granfell’s full power.
A brilliant silver scattered through my vision.
That wasn’t something like fluttering hair.
Within the shabby body of me, Lee Hoyeol.
Within the limits of an insignificant player.
The head of the great house of Claudi,
Granfell’s full power had been suppressed.『Granfell’s talent was not limited to a single thing.』Ziiing—Gwicheol in my grasp resonated intensely.
-My master. You truly move me beyond words.
The Sword Gang wrapped around Gwicheol shone even more distinctly.
No, it went beyond emitting light and began to spill out uncontrollably.
I recalled an unchanging truth.
Sword Qi grows denser at the crossroads of life and death.
There really is no end to this, no matter how much I peel back.
I’ve only uncovered one-tenth of the past,
yet the Sword Qi is already at this level.
In the remaining nine-tenths of the past I still don’t know,
just what……
kind of life did you live, Granfell?...
“Haaah.”
The plate armor heaved heavily.
The lion emblem of the Lionheart engraved on his shoulder.
In the heat of the Extreme Flame Dragon, the emblem was boiling and bubbling.
“Haaah.”
From his airway to his lungs,
it seemed he had suffered severe burns.
So this was what it felt like to breathe inside fire, he thought.
“Urgh…….”
Harkon desperately lifted his upper body and looked around.
He could see the adventurers who had risked their lives with him.
No, his proud disciples.
Everyone’s condition was not much different from his own.
“This is……!”
Among them, Nam Taemin looked gravely critical.
A barbarian’s wildness made him forget pain; it did not cancel it out.
The price of tearing off several of a dragon’s scales could not be small.
Twitch……!
Harkon moved his hand and searched his breast.
He was looking for the elixir to use in an emergency.
There was only one bottle of elixir.
But Harkon gripped the elixir and crawled toward Nam Taemin.
Drag—Just as he dragged his unresponsive lower body toward Nam Taemin,
he sensed a presence.
When he struggled to open his eyelids, the Chief of the Magic Tower, Marcelo, was there.
Harkon said,
“……
Taemin, before me.”
“There is no need to worry, Sir Harkon.”
Marcelo swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape.
The plate greaves, not only horribly crushed but boiling hot, caught his eye. From the knees to the tips of his feet, they must have been shattered. It was astonishing enough that he had not lost consciousness, yet in such a state, he was worrying about another.
“Senior Bellier will heal him.”
It must have truly been a deathly battle.
Marcelo manifested healing magic.
With the exception of his two crushed legs, Harkon’s condition rapidly improved.
“……!”
Perhaps because of that, Harkon was able to witness it.
Hoyeol facing Yunaxus.
Harkon opened his mouth.
“……
Chief Marcelo, may I ask you one thing?”
“Anything.”
“If I am not seeing things……”
His voice was trembling.
“……
That is the lord I know, is it not?”
Someone might say,
Was the long silver hair really that shocking?
But Marcelo had guessed it.
There was a more fundamental reason Harkon had asked that question.
Because Harkon had devoted his entire life to the sword,
he could recognize the change.
“Sword Gang……? No, that isn’t Sword Qi or Sword Gang.”
The stage above Sword Qi was Sword Gang.
But that looked like something that had transcended even Sword Gang.
Even if they assumed that, during the past six days when his whereabouts had been unknown,
Hoyeol had trained to the extreme,
it was surely a realm he could not have reached.
For Sword Gang to shine brightly.
And not merely shine,
but spill out uncontrollably.
Between those two states, there would be a difference of tens, hundreds of times.
So Harkon could not help but ask.
Was that truly
the Hoyeol he knew?
Marcelo answered.
For some reason, that answer was subtle.
“I, too, would like to believe so.”...
When had she first noticed the sense of incongruity?
Tracing back, it had begun on the Arcana Continent.
More precisely, from the moment Lord Claudi showed interest in twilight mana.
The great house, Claudi.
Even within that House of Claudi, Lord Granfell had been called Claudi itself. Why would such a Lord Granfell take interest in something like twilight mana?
Of course, Mary had been impressed when he immediately understood twilight mana. But her doubt remained. Before the greatness of Claudi, twilight mana was nothing more than something so trivial it could be dismissed as “mere.”
But as she watched from closer by,
and for a longer time,
she came to realize.
Though she did not know the reason,
Lord Claudi was clearly unable to fully display the abilities of that time. Mary had dared to worry for such a Claudi and had flown over on her broom to support him.
Color returned to Mary’s face.
“At last, you have regained them.”
The radiant abilities of that time, of the past.
“…….”
Jesse stood behind Mary, looking at the same scene.
Had his hair grown long in the week they had not met?
Staring quietly at Hoyeol, Jesse opened her mouth.
“He feels somehow unfamiliar.”
Naturally, each person’s impressions differed depending on their point of view. However, even if their points of view differed, there were clearly facts that did not change.
Such a fact existed on the current battlefield as well.
Ziiing—What awakened Nam Cheolmin was the occupational disease of an analyst.
Another emergency update.──────[Emergency Update]
A new boss monster has been added.‘Extreme Flame Dragon Yunaxus’: Lv. 3,500──────“……!”
The Elder Dragon Yunaxus, who had swallowed the evil fruit, had been level 2,500.
But the phase had progressed,
and his level had risen by an additional 1,000 levels.‘Data remains somehow and proves useful. But.’……
Would the day ever come when this could be used?
Even as he recorded it with the drone, he wondered whether there would ever be a day when they could use such data. After all, thousands of levels. It was a realm he could not even imagine reaching.
That was why it was even more unbelievable. Even while watching through the drone, even while leaving it as a record, even while hearing the audio clearly, he could not believe it.
“What am I looking at……?”
Because Commander-in-Chief Hoyeol was overwhelming such a monster.
At first, he had thought
that because Hoyeol was the Dark Dragon who reigned above all dragons,
perhaps Yunaxus was not exerting his full power.
But no matter how one looked at it, Yunaxus was not in a normal state.
The current Yunaxus was not the king of all things, but a tyrant rampaging wildly.
And Hoyeol was overwhelming such a Yunaxus.
Moreover, it was not an ordinary hunt.
It was as though……
-“I will keep you company until the very end, Yunaxus.”
-“Lukewarm. Is that truly your full power?”
-“Burn everything you have to white ash.”
It looked like he was indulging a tantrum. As if he was generously playing along with Yunaxus as he rampaged like a young beast. Nam Cheolmin unknowingly swallowed a hiccup.
“Hic.”
Because he had realized it anew.A monster at level 3,500 was being toyed with in the palm of his hand…… Which meant, even with a conservative estimate, the Commander-in-Chief’s level had to be approaching at least 4,000.
“Is, is that a physically possible number?”
Before and after the Cataclysm, the level system of the Arcana Continent Chronicle had not changed much. Every 100 levels, there existed a so-called wailing section, where the experience required to level up increased drastically.
A vast amount of information flashed through his mind.
The average level of monsters that appeared before the Cataclysm.
The appropriate levels of rifts updated into reality after the Cataclysm.
And the average levels of monsters that appeared in those rifts.
No matter how he combined those numbers……
“……
It’s impossible.”
He could not reach Hoyeol’s estimated level, 4,000.
Then what on earth was it?
This scene I’m seeing right now……?
Amid the differing points of view,
one fact was revealed once again.
The heat slowly died down.
Hoyeol opened his mouth.
“You have suffered for an eternity, Yunaxus.”
The king of all things had fallen.