Chapter142
Slump.
"Haa..."
The shoulder slashed by Vlad burns with pain.
Although it is healing quickly thanks to the Mad Dragon's power, there is nothing to be done about the pain.
My vision grows dim.
My grip had burst from Vlad's brute strength, and all my joints throbbed.
A sudden chill washed over me, and my hands and feet trembled. An immense fatigue assailed me.
It seemed to be because I had consumed my mental strength to the extreme limit and driven my body to the brink while fighting Vlad.
The underground staircase leading down to the next floor.
Kalias, sitting halfway down, let out a frail breath.
"Hurting all alone in a place like this... why does it feel so pitiful?"
Heh.
Even he found it so absurd that only a laugh could escape.
Perhaps because his condition was poor, he felt inexplicably drowsy and lethargic. He felt like he should at least take a nap and wake up.
His body was as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and his eyelids drooped as if rocks were placed on them.
However.
Kalias snapped awake.
Because a skull caught his eye.
It wasn't a living, moving skeleton.
Just.
The skull of one who had met their death here.
Like Kalias, it was the skull of someone who had sat on the giant stairs to rest and died right there.
His hazy mind snapped wide awake.
He soon took out a potion from his embrace and drank it.
The TD potion Beatrice had made for him.
After drinking it, he felt much better.
Kalias jumped up and approached the skull.
It looked like quite an old skull.
How old could it be?
A hundred years? Five hundred years? Or maybe a thousand?
I don't know.
The clothes and armor it wore were worn and on the verge of crumbling, and the sword in its hand was the same.
Judging by the traces, it seemed its sword and armor had been nearly destroyed after fighting Vlad.
To the point where he thought so.
"They must have been different from me."
Unlike himself.
They probably fought fair and square.
And they probably won.
Kalias reached his hand into the skeleton's embrace.
And took something out.
"Holy Stone... A Saint, huh."
They were low-grade, but three of them came out.
It was no different from showing their strength in life.
"......"
Many thoughts crossed his mind.
If this world were just a game.
Then this skull would have been nothing more than part of the scenery.
But this is not a game.
This skull too, must have had its own life and beliefs when it was alive.
Kalias, looking at the nameless skull, turned back to the stairs.
And checked the notification window.
[You have defeated the Death Knight, Vlad. A reward will be given.]
[The hero who was active in the Dragon-Demon War. Vlad. He was Titeo's close friend and family, and although he became a Death Knight, he still possessed formidable strength.]
[This is an impossible victory.]
[A higher reward is given.]
[As a reward, the balance of Mind, Qi, and Body is achieved.]
[......]
[The traces of the Mind are weak. Modifying the reward.]
[Mind Image is constructed.]
[The Mind is further strengthened.]
Mind Image.
It refers to a state of mind, but to a knight, it means a phenomenon forged by the mind.
Another interpretation is that it is also belief.
Belief in oneself.
Belief in the sword.
If you imbue Qi into a sword, the sword gains stronger hardness and cutting power.
But Qi is Qi.
It refers to a formless energy.
If you put that into a sword, it has no shape.
However, if there is Mind, it creates a shape.
It makes the existing shape more whole, more complete.
It is the power of belief.
It makes the impossible possible simply through belief.
Like a miracle of god.
The power of the mind that performs it.
We call that the Mind.
To those who construct a domain, it is called a Mind Image, and to those who achieve all of that, we call them—
"Master."
Or Transcendent.
"I didn't even realize I had gained the Mind, not being in my right mind."
Mind, Qi, Body.
When they reach a certain limit, form a trinity, and break down the wall, the realm they can reach is precisely Master.
Kalias's Body and Qi had already been blocked by the wall, stopping their growth. But the Mind alone couldn't be grasped at all.
If one cannot form the Mind, they can never reach Master.
The easiest yet most difficult thing is the Mind.
Because it is belief.
Where on earth is there a person with unshakable belief in themselves?
The foolish doubt their surroundings.
The wise doubt themselves.
"I am wise."
The event of belief taking the form of conviction does not come easily.
Kalias also had not been able to gain the Mind.
The very first thing he had to do after becoming Kalias was to doubt himself and avoid things.
Having to become a scoundrel and suppress his actions, and having to control and repress his emotions—it was only natural.
Moreover, he was weak.
He was weaker than anyone, yet more vicious and malicious than anyone.
Thus, he had no awakening of the Mind.
No, he couldn't have from the start.
Since he had no choice but to think of Kalias and himself separately, let alone the union of Mind, Qi, and Body, no belief arose.
This was less a matter of aptitude and more due to Kalias's unique circumstances.
'That's why I had no choice but to risk my life.'
There are countless people who spend their whole lives trying but fail to gain the Mind.
No matter how strong a swordsmanship and sword one possesses, those who fail to gain the Mind cannot enter the ranks of Master.
What could be the reason that most of the strong ones in Carpe fail to reach the ranks of Master, remaining one step away?
There is always a reason for everything.
That is how the Mind is simple yet not easy to master.
Thus, Kalias thought.
Originally, the upper floors of the tower were places to help with Mind, Qi, and Body. The lower floors help with Body and Qi. The upper floors help achieve balance in the Mind and Mind, Qi, Body.
Kalias was the one who designed all of it.
Therefore, he was not satisfied.
"The upper floors are slow."
There are also many restrictions.
It's more efficient than learning alone since he could receive help, but if he had trained there, he probably wouldn't have achieved it in just 3 years.
"With my aptitude, it's not enough."
He might never have gained it at all.
Many beings head to Agathod, but very few reach the upper floors.
Kalias was special compared to others, and he lacked self-confidence.
That was why he hadn't gained the Mind until now, but it couldn't be helped.
So he came down to the underground.
He did so even knowing he could die.
With his life as collateral, quickly.
To become stronger more efficiently.
Of course, it wasn't baseless confidence.
Because, no matter what, everything in this world was possible to conquer.
"Because I made it that way."
It couldn't be said for all, but most of it was. And the 6th underground floor guarded by the
Because it was in the palm of Kalias's hand.
Silver divine power gathered in his hand.
It formed a single flower.
It was a Red Spider Lily.
Originally, visualizing Qi was something he was familiar with since learning the Silver Flower Sword.
But it wasn't perfect.
The Red Spider Lily he created took shape, but it was so ethereal that it seemed like it would blow away in the wind.
Like smoke creeping up above the Red Spider Lily, the deficiency in divine power was severe.
Because of that, its power was also weak.
Although just witnessing Stella's true Pahwaro allowed him to imbue a little Mind. Having experienced a fraction of its power, which was no different from a miraculous encounter, he knew better than anyone.
But that was only limited to Pahwaro.
Other techniques were not possible.
But now it is.
"System correction."
He had written that to gain the Mind, so-called enlightenment was necessary.
Even without a significant change in his state of mind, he became able to imbue the Mind not only into Pahwaro but into all techniques.
He could imbue the Mind into all techniques.
Compared to a Master, the power would be infinitely feeble, but it was a Mind that had just blossomed. The potential for growth was soaring.
He needed to understand and master the Mind more deeply, but right now, he had neither the time nor the mastery, so it couldn't be helped.
"This is only the 2nd floor."
The underground went up to the 6th floor.
There was still a long way to go.
But thinking positively, it also meant there were many opportunities to grow.
Kalias, who had reached the 3rd floor without realizing it, looked at the bas-relief where demons were carved more intensely than dragons, and opened it wide.
Rumble!
Whoosh.
Flash!
A pure white light swallowed Kalias.
* * *
Rustle.
One year since Vlad died.
Even though he was missing one hand, Titeo bound his arm with a shield.
And fought.
Fought and fought again.
That he had to do so.
He made a vow to himself that he had to fight, if only for Vlad's sake.
Like that, one year passed, and two years passed. Every time he fought, death loomed over him.
Titeo rather wished for death.
He wanted to die an honorable death in battle.
Even if this single body crumbled and died, he thought that doing so would be the only way to repay those who died in his stead.
If the war ended, he felt it would rather be even harder to endure.
He would die an honorable death in battle.
So that he, too.
Like the comrades who had fallen before him.
Would be together with his heroes.
Was that why?
The battles, which had been passive, became more aggressive because he wished for death.
He always risked his life.
However, because of that, he actually ended up growing stronger. It was thanks to crossing the line between life and death several times a day.
As battles repeated, Titeo grew stronger.
He was just steps away from entering the ranks of Transcendence.
On the battlefield, Titeo's name spread widely, to the point where even demons and dragons took notice of him at least once.
[That was enough.]
But fate did not wish for his death. He kept escaping death.
In a direction he did not want.
"Titeo, you bastard! Get out of the way!!"
Boom!! Slash!
He was caught in a surprise attack by a dragon and a demon.
That day, many comrades died.
At some point, people started following his back as he fought risking his life. This was the moment he paid the price for ignoring that.
"Laribie!"
"Titeo! Live! Survive and make the war humanity's!!"
The exploding body of his comrade.
His own body pushed away and buried in the sand.
The scattering red sand.
The fresh blood spilled in the air.
"Biota!"
"Titeo! It's dangerous!"
The voices of his comrades shouting something buzzed and couldn't be heard.
The comrades picking him up and dragging him away.
Titeo shed tears.
The ones he had ignored followed his back, and died for him again.
He wept bitterly.
Cried and cried again.
His resolution to never cry again turned to foam and flowed away.
Stab!
"It's a demon! Protect Titeo!!"
The corrupted beings that sprang from the sand once again chased after them.
Their weapons cut down his comrades.
Slish!
The falling drops of blood hotly drenched Titeo's entire body.
"Ah..."
Again.
Again, they die leaving only him behind.
Tears welled up in Titeo's eyes.
The welling tears flowed down his cheeks.
"Kill me..."
He didn't want to live anymore.
He didn't want to suffer anymore.
He wished for death.
But it was not fulfilled.
[Do you desire death?]
"Yes, so kill me already!!"
The demon looked at him with bizarre eyes and sneered.
[O Weeping Titeo. Why do you stand on this battlefield?]
"I... to end the war."
[Yet you desire death? Is that your belief?]
"......"
[Death is merely a place of refuge. Live. Live and save your comrades.]
"Are you mocking me...?"
It was outrageous for the very person who had just killed his comrades to say that.
As expected of a corrupted being.
He was mocking him.
"Are you trying to corrupt me?"
[Corrupt?]
The demon looked puzzled, then burst into laughter.
In the middle of the dizzying battlefield, he twisted his waist and roared with laughter.
As Titeo, unable to understand why he was acting like that, saw his face gradually distort.
[What a funny guy. Why do you think I would try to corrupt you?]
"I know full well that demons are originally such beings!"
He had seen many comrades corrupted by them.
[It's true that we are such beings. But we don't do that to just anyone.]
Titeo's face flushed hot.
It meant that he wasn't even worth that, so it was only natural.
The hand gripping his sword trembled.
[Seems you misunderstood something. It's not because you're lacking.]
"What do you mean?"
[I mean exactly what I said.]
Exactly what he said?
To help him understand, the demon spoke gently once again.
[There is no way to corrupt someone who is already corrupted, is there?]
Titeo did not know that behind that voice lay vile malice.