Chapter 101: The Meaning Of Faith (4) |
I stepped outside.
The air felt a bit warm, and the dark sky welcomed me.
I walked toward a less crowded area.
The nearby Mines had been hunted down by Seolhwa Ryeon, leaving it scarce, so I had to venture a bit further away.
Most Mines in the Seoul area weren’t that strong, except for a few powerful ones.
I caught a taxi and headed downward.
The fare was about 30,000 won, but I felt indifferent to it. In the past, my hands would have trembled at such an expense.
I headed down an alleyway, toward the hideout of the Mines that the Electronic Witch had informed me about.
I observed my body and manifested the flames of the Spirit.
The Spirit flames, born of the power of Defying Heaven, ignited. Black flames lingered in my hand and then disappeared.
“…This is better than I thought?”
The Energy of Defying Heaven didn’t reject the Spirit flames. Perhaps it was thanks to the Conceptual Stat that governs concepts.
“I’ll have to experiment with this later.”
If Defying Heaven can fuse with other powers I possess, I can change a lot of plans. For the better.
Or perhaps it’s because the Spirit flames are compatible with the energy I use.
But before that, I needed to test this first. I was curious about its destructive power.
The Black Flames (黑炎).
Whoosh.
Black flames rose from my hand.
The power I felt was one that sought to negate everything except myself.
It carried the nature of flames, desiring to burn everything.
The Energy of Defying Heaven transformed into a power that negates and burns everything.
Instinctively, I realized that the Spirit flames were a power well-matched with the Energy of Defying Heaven.
[Advanced Spirit Energy Strengthening Skill (B) proficiency increases.]
[Dexterity (B+) proficiency increases.]
[Spirit Flames (S-) proficiency increases.]
“Huh? What’s this? Did someone lose their way?”
Click.
As something activated in my mind, Divine Sight was triggered.
My eyes, upon seeing the bright dawn, identified the other as a Mine.
Whoosh.
“Black flames…?”
Those were the Mine’s last words.
The black flames, following my will, shot towards the Mine, leaving nothing but ashes in their wake.
‘Absurd?’
Such extreme aggression.
Yet, I realized I couldn’t use this power often.
Using the Black Flames, I felt a greater consumption of mental energy than expected. Moreover, my hand, which had unleashed the Black Flames, was scorched. It hurt quite a bit.
I took out a potion from the subspace, sprayed half on my hand, and drank the other half. It tasted like lemon wasabi mayo.
‘The taste is kind of weird?’
As I frowned, I heard someone approaching from behind. I quickly turned around.
“Hello.”
A familiar voice sounded.
As I turned, I saw a familiar figure. A woman in a black dress, with flowing black hair.
The Brigade of Eternal Heaven. She was the Witch Maiden.
“…Why are you here?”
“I have some news to share. But you’ve become stronger in the meantime.”
Her voice sounded somewhat ecstatic.
The trace was gone in an instant. It was such a brief moment that it almost seemed like an illusion.
“What is it?”
“The Brigade of Eternal Heaven is targeting you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. They plan to negotiate with The Overlord by capturing you alive. The Overlord is currently keeping the deputy leader alive.”
“……”
I understood The Overlord’s thoughts.
He wouldn’t run away. If they wanted to save the deputy leader’s life, they needed to come to him.
“But why are you telling me this?”
I already knew. The Witch Maiden was an outsider in the Brigade of Eternal Heaven.
Her goal was…
“You are a descendant of Heavenly Demon. I admire Heavenly Demon, and that’s why I chose the nickname ‘Witch Maiden’. Though, this might not be enough.”
The Witch Maiden said this and showed me a smile.
“Anyway, be careful. They see the power you possess as a power to counter magic.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. They will probably prepare thoroughly. Your abilities are not something we can underestimate.”
The Witch Maiden said this, looking at me.
“And maybe, the Nazi admirals might join them.”
“The Nazis too?”
“Yes. It seems our leader is more cautious than I thought.”
The Witch Maiden said this and then looked towards the school.
“And they are wary of the beings behind you. The Emperor and Celestial. If either of them gets more involved, the entire Brigade of Eternal Heaven’s life is at risk.”
“So, they just shouldn’t do it, right?”
“……The leader loves the Brigade of Eternal Heaven.”
“……”
I held back my urge to scoff at the Witch Maiden’s words.
The leader of the Brigade of Eternal Heaven doesn’t love the Brigade. It’s something more fundamental.
Each and every one of them is the leader’s power.
“Anyway, thanks. Is that what you came to tell me?”
“Yes.”
With that, as if her business was done, the Witch Maiden turned her back and left.
I watched her for a moment, then resumed hunting Mines.
After finishing the Mine hunting and cleaning up,
I had to change my clothes and clean off the blood, thanks to the Mask of Illusion.
“Today, it didn’t increase at all.”
It felt like Defying Heaven had reached its limit here. Now I need to hunt stronger Mines to increase it. As I walked, feeling slightly bitter, a strong sense of unease struck me.
The senses of the Sword Demon warned me.
────────!
A ringing in my ears resounded.
Starting from the city, the ringing engulfed the surroundings.
Hearing the ringing, the reaction of the Sword Demon was intense.
I adjusted my mask and stepped forward.
Ding.
A translucent blue window appeared in front of me.
Sub Quest Chapter. 1: The Proof of Faith.
You have attained faith through the study of alchemy.
In this world, your name has become synonymous with alchemy, revered as divine.
However, the divinity you truly seek is not that of the god of alchemy.
You must demonstrate your worth to the outside world to achieve your own divinity.
◈Reward: Fragment of the Conceptual Stat of Divinity.
“……”
As soon as I saw the quest, various thoughts came to mind: the Alchemy Guild and the Heaven Society.
‘Conceptual Stat of Divinity.’
Divinity must be attained.
But I didn’t want to become the god of alchemy.
Although alchemy is a very useful discipline and my main focus, gaining divinity through it wouldn’t yield positive results.
It’s what’s commonly referred to as the prayer meta.
A life dedicated to supporting others from behind, not stepping forward, but cheering them on.
It’s not a bad life. It would be comfortable.
I smirked. If I had desired such a life, I wouldn’t have struggled so much from the beginning until now.
I ran towards the source of the explosion.
“Kyaaak!”
“Why is there an explosion in the city center…!”
“It’s a Mine! Contact the association right away!”
After running a bit, I saw citizens screaming and scattering in all directions.
There were too many people. It was chaotic. I wrapped the Energy of Defying Heaven around my feet and leaped high.
Thud!
I landed on a streetlight and leaped again, then I saw the rampaging Mine. It was about 2 meters tall.
Its body was grotesque. Where arms should be, there were huge tentacle-like appendages, crushing the surrounding buildings.
-Kuooooo!
Its mouth, occupying half of its face, opened wide and roared.
People nearby, hearing the roar, bled from their ears, either dying or in agony.
“Ah, I warned it not to rampage like that. This is why I hate beings with powers from other worlds.”
The tone was too casual, inappropriately mismatched with the situation. The man spoke in a somewhat off-kilter manner.
‘What’s that?’
I looked at the man. He was an entity I had never encountered in the game.
“Well, they say as long as you end up in Seoul, no matter the route, right? It feels like I’ve been through Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and then took a train to Seoul.”
The man smirked.
“Hey, destroy it.”
At the man’s command, the Mine moved. It charged at me.
Kwaang!
“……?”
“Son of a b—*───!!”
I dodged slightly, and the Mine obliterated the arm of the villain-like guy.
‘What’s this?’
I was confused, but my body moved first.
I drew Black Heaven from White Rouge. The Energy of Defying Heaven clung to Black Heaven, forming a blade.
Lee Seo-ha Original.
Rakshasa Flash (羅刹閃).
A black flash darted in a straight line. The black flash, blending into the night sky, shot towards the Mine. The target was its chest.
At the same time, the senses of the Sword Demon rang out, warning me that I might die.
As I retracted Black Heaven, I blocked the side. A giant hammer-like object, wrapped in demonic energy, struck Black Heaven.
Jeeooong!
“Ugh!”
A massive shockwave hit my body. I scattered the impact and retreated far back.
“Hiya. That’s quite a find. I thought I struck a blind spot, but it even counterattacked?”
With a chuckle, the man previously attacked by the Mine stood up. His hand had long since regenerated.
“But you damn dog. I told you to hit moderately. F—, it’s good for ambushing, but you should’ve reduced my power just right.”
The man muttered curses and spat.
‘Regeneration type?’
The man’s eyes glimmered.
“That’s a unique mask. Even with one eye broken, it’s hard to identify. Is it an illusion? Well… whichever it is, it’ll sell for a high price.”
The man mumbled as he walked towards me. I breathed calmly.
‘This is worse than I thought.’
The surprise attack had been significant.
I rallied my energy, looking ahead. My head felt a bit dizzy.
Thump.
At the same time, my inner faith responded. The power of faith, which hadn’t been moving properly, bared its fangs.
[Special Stat Faith reacts to Ma.]
Whoosh.
Golden light lingered in my hand, a power different from what I had used before, warm yet changing according to my will.
‘This is.’
Usually, faith was a power residing within me, giving vitality to my body, but I hadn’t been using its full potential.
Until now.
Whooosh!
The Spirit Flames resonated, adding the nature of flames to faith.
Golden flames, burning bright, revealed themselves to the world.****