52 – Fissure (4)
Ooong—
“…Ha.”
Feeling the frequent vibrations of the sword, I let out a deep sigh.
As I lifted my head to examine the wolf’s body with a cautious mind, fortunately, it no longer moved.
It was truly a creepy creature, to the point of being compared to a disaster-level demon.
In reality, I haven’t suffered any damage in this fight.
At least, there isn’t a single external wound.
However, that’s just it, no external wounds.
I have consumed mana and mental strength to the point of exhaustion.
Using Geomgang, maintaining it for quite a while, and using a big technique at the end.
I don’t usually use Geomgang or the last technique unless absolutely necessary.
Because the cost is too high.
Especially Geomgang.
It’s true that Geomgang is a very powerful technique.
It could easily cut through the body of the tentacle wolf that couldn’t even be wounded by swords and even cut through the armor made to withstand such attacks.
But the cost is too high.
Magic is voraciously consumed, and determination is no different.
Just like how using determination depletes mental strength, which is a finite resource, the sensation of real-time mental energy being drained starts the moment one uses determination.
Because of that, unless it’s a truly necessary situation, one doesn’t feel like using it much.
It can be likened to a technique where one exerts all their power in a single moment.
Given that unexpected events like today might occur again, personally, I would like to quickly master the use of determination freely, but that is easier said than done.
There are no potions to rapidly increase magic, and no matter how hard one trains, one’s skills won’t progress overnight.
Unless one experiences a miracle, reaching that level quickly will be difficult.
With those thoughts in mind, I sharpened my sword.
In any case, I successfully dealt with a tentacled wolf.
And all without a single major injury.
It was undoubtedly a significant achievement, even an accomplishment.
Even if I were to be considered a top swordsman, defeating a calamity-level monster requires taking risks.
However, that doesn’t mean I am distinctly superior to other top swordsman.
Strictly speaking, the matchup was favorable.
The tentacled wolf’s most prominent strengths are its exceptional defense, regeneration, and vitality.
Its resilience is such that even a mixed strike of determination-infused swordplay only results in non-lethal wounds.
Add to that the armor shown when I tried to cut its neck, and there probably aren’t many ways to inflict fatal damage on it.
It would be impossible for a swordsman below the top tier, and even magic might not fare much better. Unless it’s a spell cast by a mage of the level of the Academy’s head, Belluid.
Moreover, even if some damage is inflicted, its regenerative ability quickly heals wounds, and its tough vitality ensures it doesn’t die even if its throat is cut.
Releasing such a creature in a city without restraint would likely cause it to wreak havoc without suffering much harm, ultimately leading to the city’s destruction.
Half-hearted responses would simply be disregarded, and everything would likely be annihilated.
Even a well-trained army wouldn’t be able to stop it.
No matter how many elite soldiers gather, without employing special means, they would likely be unable to defeat it and would certainly only suffer losses.
It would truly be fitting to call it a calamity-level monstrosity.
The reason I was relatively easily able to deal with it was solely due to the favorable matchup, as mentioned earlier.
Thanks to my possession of determination, a means to pierce through the tentacled wolf’s foundation of defense, I could.
Otherwise, it would have been challenging for me to handle it so easily.
No matter how I think about it, luck must have been on my side.
With those thoughts in mind, I began to move my body.
Despite being extremely tired, there is no time to stand still and rest.
The situation is not yet completely resolved.
Now, a choice must be made.
Whether to help Edan deal with another wolf, or assist the group.
The answer to that dilemma didn’t take long to come.
“I will help the group.”
That’s Edan for you.
A hunter who has felled countless monsters, even calamity-level ones, and survived, an expert in hunting monsters.
So, there shouldn’t be much cause for concern.
I am a bit worried about whether Edan has a way to penetrate the tentacled wolf’s defense, but apart from determination, Edan surpasses me in attack power, so I felt it would probably be fine.
…And above all, I was more concerned about the group’s well-being.
I stand above the lake.
And where my companions have settled is around the villa.
Even from here, I can see the scene over there.
Due to the noisy monsters, it’s not perfectly clear, but I could tell they were managing somehow.
However, how long that would last was uncertain.
It was just a feeling of holding up well, not a relaxed atmosphere, considering there are limits to human strength and magic.
So, I thought it best to help my companions tidy up the surroundings first, and if Edan still doesn’t return, then it wouldn’t hurt to go help Edan.
With that thought in mind, I was about to head back to the villa.
Crack!
A bizarre sensation enveloped my entire body.
I immediately turned around.
To the island lying in the center of the lake.
The crack still open, illuminating the space beyond dimensions.
Thump, thump—
My heart started beating fiercely.
Something.
A hunch that something was happening over there.
It was strange upon reflection.
A fissure of a scale even Edan had never seen suddenly appeared without any warning, and now, calamity-level monsters that were hard to find even on the front lines had appeared, not to mention countless other monsters.
It was too much to dismiss as mere coincidence.
A sudden thought crossed my mind that there might be some cause.
And that cause might not have been completely resolved yet.
My intuition warned me.
There is something over there.
***
The man, Brian, arrived at his destination the night before.
After shaking off the pursuit of thugs during the journey, he finally reached the island in the center of the lake, his destination.
Without time to savor the fact, he immediately prepared for the ritual.
There was no time to waste.
Even though he had evaded the pursuers, if time passed, they would use any means to chase him again.
Thus, the hurried preparation for the ritual continued until dawn.
As the sun peeked over the mountains, Brian, who had finished his preparations, reached into his bosom and pulled out ‘it.’
Something piled on a plain black cloth, something he had stolen from the organization after risking his life and devising a perfect plan.
Carefully, Brian placed it on the prepared altar.
And finally, he began the ritual.
Various catalysts and magic circles made of mana stones greedily absorbed the magic flowing from the stones placed all around, beginning to bring about a single phenomenon.
The space began to tremble.
The magic circle that the man, Brian, had set up and activated was solely created for that purpose.
Shaking the space, making the “wall” thin.
Originally, even with such thorough preparations, it would have been difficult to have a significant impact on the “wall,” but now was an exception.
Due to the special advantage of the island in the center of this lake, the vibrations generated by the magic circle eventually affected the “wall.”
In the past, it was said that it was touched by one of the “Kings of Another World,” and that place was none other than this island.
There is even a story that the lake itself was formed by that event.
In this place, where the wall has once been greatly shattered, the magic circle operates even more efficiently.
As a result, the wall becomes as thin as possible and finally reaches the world beyond it.
And it spreads the scent of “it” placed in the center of the magic circle there.
At that moment, Brian prayed.
Please let the scent reach one of the “Kings.”
Please let them acknowledge it themselves.
How long had he waited with such earnestness?
─────.
A voice was heard.
No, can it even be called a voice?
No, perhaps it wasn’t even a sound.
At the very least, it was not a language.
It was a voice that directly resonated in the mind.
And it was will.
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Brian couldn’t understand that language, but he understood the intention.
That a great being had acknowledged him. And that it was pleased with the homage towards itself.
───.
The great being personally inquired.
What do you desire?
To this, Brian brought forth the prepared answer.
Eternal life and overwhelming power.
That was what he desired.
Everyone wishes for it, but in the end, it is an unattainable wish.
To fulfill what everyone desires, he devised grand plans and stole the organization’s secrets.
All for this moment.
─────.
The great being smiled.
No, it would be more accurate to say that such a feeling arose.
Finally, the great being reached out beyond the spatial wall.
And at last, that hand touched Brian.
With that, he broke the mold.
The mold of being human.