Chapter 128 : Chapter 128

Chapter 128 : Dragon's Trial (4)

I entered the portal.

A place completely different from the forest where the High Dragon’s Nest was located unfolded before my eyes.

As soon as I entered the space, I felt an ominous aura of Demonic Energy.

This gray land with such an atmosphere was not unfamiliar.

I naturally recalled the imperial quest I had carried out with Eidon when I was staying in Ostrum.

‘This aura is similar to the one in the forest where the Erosion occurred. Is this... Myeolji?’

I probably hadn't actually entered Myeolji.

The Dome surrounding Myeolji was not a place one could easily go in and out of just by creating a portal.

Hike must have recreated Myeolji with Dragon Speech.

Even though she might not have been able to create a portal that could move me to Myeolji, the power of the Dragon Speech was amazing.

She recreated Myeolji so precisely that I couldn’t believe it was an artificially created space.

I could even feel Demonic Energy in the wind that brushed past me, and every step I took scattered ashes.

Of course, there was a difference.

Even after walking for a long time, nothing attacked me.

In the Erosion area, even every single tree would rush to kill me, but in this space, it felt like I was the only living being.

Nevertheless, the tension was gradually building.

It wasn’t just because Baden had warned me that this trial would be difficult.

I wondered if this was what it felt like to go to Myeolji.

The highly concentrated Demonic Energy was pressuring me so much that it was hard to even breathe.

‘Hike must have wanted me to experience Myeolji in advance through this trial... but there must be something else, right?’

She wouldn't have given me a trial of simply adapting to the environment of Myeolji.

It was difficult, but not impossible to adapt.

I stimulated my Dragon Heart and released Mana.

As I dominated my surroundings with my Mana, it became a little easier to breathe.

– Try to transform it into an aura.

– Are you telling me to put an aura on my whole body, not just on the blade?

– Exactly.

– From now on, strive to maintain this state.

Recalling Hike’s teachings, I didn't just release Mana but also transformed it into an aura.

The first time was difficult, but now it wasn’t so hard.

I had also gained a knack for it, and it was also thanks to the teachings of the Dragon Lord that were passed on to me during the second-stage Heart Engraving.

‘I have to practice so I can maintain this even while fighting.’

What if I use Termination on top of this?

A very complicated calculation would have to be made in my head.

But I could instinctively tell that if I could adapt, I would be able to develop even further.

I practiced using Mana by adding Termination.

Before I knew it, I was so focused that I forgot I was in a trial and that this place was a space created in the likeness of Myeolji.

Surrounding my whole body with an aura and using Termination gradually became more familiar.

Not satisfied with that, I also practiced by swinging my sword.

Training in the middle of Myeolji, where thick Demonic Energy was swirling, was definitely helpful.

I was gradually learning how to use Mana.

Clack-clack, clack-clack.

Then I heard a strange sound of footsteps.

I looked in the direction the sound came from.

A wooden dummy holding a wooden sword was creaking and approaching me.

It was the kind of appearance I would see when going through a tutorial in a game.

The kind of wooden dummy you’d use to practice your skills by hitting it.

However, unlike its homely and even familiar appearance, the momentum it gave off was terrifying.

The creature approached me, waving its thin arms and legs, and then stood in front of me, raising its sword and taking a stance.

There was no specific explanation, but I instinctively knew that this was the object of the trial that I had to overcome.

I also gripped Maron tightly and got into a defensive stance.

Soon, Mana gushed from the wooden dummy’s body.

At the same time, my eyes widened.

‘It’s similar to... my Mana? No, should I say it’s identical?’

Soon, the wooden dummy kicked off the ground and rushed towards me.

The creature swung its wooden sword simply. Without time to react, my neck was cut off.

***

“Huff, huff...”

I breathed heavily and touched my neck.

Surprisingly, my neck was attached.

I didn’t feel a sense of relief.

Fear came over me.

I had thought a few times that I might die in this world.

I believed I was prepared for it.

But the feeling I experienced at the moment my head was cut off was so terrible.

A vivid pain came over me, to the point that I couldn’t believe I was alive right now.

But I couldn’t just lie there.

Clack-clack.

Because I heard the sound of footsteps again.

I added more strength to my hand holding Maron to stop it from trembling.

I contemplated how I should react if it rushed towards me again.

I had already unfurled [Intangible Armor] and extended the area of Termination with great effort.

Fortunately, perhaps because I was able to extend it wider than before, the area where the wooden dummy was standing also became part of my domain.

The wooden dummy took a stance.

It gathered strength at the tip of its feet and rushed towards me.

Kwang!

The wooden sword and Maron clashed with such force that it sounded like a cannonball exploding.

Fortunately, I was inside the Termination area of Termination, so I could react.

My hand was so numb it felt like it was torn, but I had no time to feel the pain.

The wooden dummy’s sword drew a graceful curve and flew towards me again.

I also used the Linked Sword.

The offense and defense continued for a long time.

But I was terribly lacking compared to the wooden dummy.

[Intangible Armor] was torn apart after an attack that exceeded its limit, and my left arm was badly wounded and dangled limply.

Still, I kept swinging my sword.

At least while fighting, I had no distracting thoughts.

I even erased the thought that I had died and come back to life inside this Dragon Speech space created by Hike.

I was simply engrossed in the fight.

The wooden dummy had thin limbs and no discernible facial features, so I couldn’t read its expression.

But for some reason, I felt that it was fighting me with all its might.

“...Next time will be different.”

The wooden dummy swung its sword at me as I finally collapsed.

***

I don’t know how many times I fought and how many times I died. I counted up to a hundred.

No, I was even starting to forget how long I had been in this world.

Fear? I had almost completely gotten rid of it.

Even if I wasn’t calm at the moment of death, there was more stubbornness left than fear now.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was conceited enough to believe that I had overcome the fear of death.

Ever since I learned that I wouldn’t die in this space, I was trying everything I could.

I didn’t think I had little practical experience until now, but the combat experience I was gaining from the second trial was clearly accumulating.

Kwang! Kwang!

Every time the swords clashed, my whole body hurt as if it was being torn apart, but I didn’t give up easily now.

I gripped Maron tightly as if wringing it out and swung it.

Kwang!

At my powerful attack, the wooden dummy staggered and took a few steps back.

But the creature spread its thick Mana and rushed towards me.

[Tune, ‘Black Flame’s level has increased.]

[Black Flame Lv.4 -> Black Flame Lv.5]

[Tune, ‘Wings of Ainsitel’s level has increased.]

[Wings of Ainsitel Lv.6 -> Wings of Ainsitel Lv.7]

[Tune, ‘Gravity Manipulation’s level has increased.]

[Gravity Manipulation Lv.2 -> Black Flame Lv.3]

[Tune, ‘Fear’s level has increased.]

...

Even though this was a virtual space created by Dragon Speech, the achievements I made here were not an illusion.

My efforts of dying over and over again while swinging my sword and using my Tunes showed their worth.

The level of my Tunes increased, and the area of Termination expanded. Surrounding my whole body with an aura also felt natural now.

The thick Demonic Energy surrounding me could no longer choke my breathing.

‘Still... I can’t win.’

I knew the reason.

That wooden dummy used the same Mana as me.

At first, I thought its identity was a future version of myself.

It held the same Mana as me, and the way it swung its sword was similar, like the Linked Sword.

I was briefly excited, thinking that if I became stronger in the future, I could reach that level.

But after dying dozens of times more, I knew.

The wooden dummy was not a future version of me.

Its identity was Adjak.

To be precise, it was a replica made in Adjak’s likeness.

Ironically, Hike made me fight Adjak.

Of course, it was probably not at the same level as Adjak.

The creature couldn’t even use Tunes, and it had the physical limitations of a wooden dummy.

The fact that it could mimic Adjak’s Mana was what kept its body from breaking.

The wooden dummy with an aura surrounding its entire body was not a simple piece of wood.

It felt like an unbreakable giant tree was standing in front of me.

It was a giant tree that couldn’t even be scratched no matter how many times I swung my axe. Still, I had to cut it down.

Mana, Aura, Intent, Tune, Magic.

I mobilized everything I could right now to fight the wooden dummy.

I didn’t just use them individually, but I also combined and transformed them as I fought.

I had also made great progress in terms of technique.

I could instinctively tell that after finishing the second trial and going out into the world, I would have grown to a new level, no, to an incomparable level.

But fighting the wooden dummy was too much.

The best I could do was to make the dummy stagger and take a few steps back.

I had to change.

If I didn’t grow significantly, I would just keep dying here.

No matter how far removed death in this place was from real death, and no matter how my spirit was not yet broken.

I didn't know how long I could hold out.

I didn’t rush at the wooden dummy that had taken a few steps back.

Even if I did, all I could do was make the dummy’s frail legs take a few more steps back.

I twisted my sword again.

‘I must achieve a Fourfold Transformation.’

I had just reached the 7th Rank a few days ago.

Rank wasn’t something you could just raise instantly.

Reaching the 7th Rank in just over three years since I started officially raising my rank was a surprising achievement.

There were countless ordinary people in the world who couldn’t surpass the 4th Rank even if they trained their whole lives, and there were also many talented people who couldn’t reach the 7th Rank.

But my companions and I all reached the 7th Rank.

We deserved to be praised as the greatest talents anywhere on the continent.

But I couldn’t be satisfied with being a genius that could be found anywhere on the continent.

I had to become the greatest being in this world.

An irreplaceable being.

To do that, I had to reach the 8th Rank, which allowed me to use Fourfold Transformation.

Fourfold Transformation, the ultimate form of Intent, refers to the stage where a person's Intent can influence the world.

I recalled Tayon’s Fourfold Transformation.

It was the only Fourfold Transformation I had ever witnessed, so I couldn’t refer to others.

But that was enough.

I recalled the techniques I usually used.

Since I had used everything I had while fighting the wooden dummy, it wasn’t hard to recall them.

Among them, which one could be enhanced and developed with the intent to move the world?

There was only one.

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