Chapter 113 : Chapter 113

Chapter 113

In the Flask Mountain Range, where the 7-star monsters had each formed their own territories in the north, south, east, and west, and the center.

In a deep place that belonged to none of them, there was a mine.

A place once used by dwarves, now abandoned and classified as a deserted mine.

[…….]

There, a goblin opened its eyes.

Quietly.

[…….]

And silently.

[…….]

The goblin blinked its eyes, focusing on the sensations of its body.

In its mind, a hazy memory was gradually becoming clearer.

[…….]

Could it have been 200 years? It seemed that no short amount of time had passed.

The goblin was able to recognize this because of the changes that had appeared in its body.

It suddenly looked down at its hands.

Saaaaa.

Black, poisonous, and eerie.

The energy that humans called evil energy shimmered like a heat haze.

[…….]

It was strange.

Evil energy was not something a monster of its level could possess.

It was a goblin.

A weak being that could not even face a single Orc, another 1-star monster, in a one-on-one fight.

Even the king of goblins was classified as a mere 5-star monster, so an ordinary individual could even be hunted by a Ranger without a Mana Heart.

But.

‘How do I know this fact?’

Why was its mind filled with this much memory and knowledge?

Wasn't this like perceiving the entity of a goblin from a human's point of view?

[So you don’t like it?]

[…!!]

The goblin flinched at the voice in its head.

It was human speech.

It understood the human language.

[What is this…]

The goblin was once again surprised by the words it had uttered.

[How am I… speaking human language…]

It walked across the dusty floor to a puddle of water.

Splash.

It confirmed its reflection on the surface of the water.

Veins stood out on its red skin.

Its body was the size of an underdeveloped human, but its bulging muscles were large enough to be called an Orgr's.

The boiling evil energy was uncontrolled, shimmering like a heat haze outside its body.

A 7-star monster.

If evaluated by human standards, it would be around that level.

It was a physical ability that truly transcended its species.

Why did it possess such power?

It searched through its memories.

[I was definitely…]

That day.

[Dead?]

It felt as if a few incomplete memories were rummaging through its mind.

That wasn't what was important.

[This power.]

With this immense power, it could become the ruler of the mountain range.

It could become the king of its species and organize an army.

[Perhaps it could even merge with other species.]

Now spouting fluent human words, it shivered.

It wanted to burst out of this cramped mine right now.

It wanted to go outside and organize an army.

It wanted to cause a wave and hear the screams of humans and smell their blood.

As it was thinking that.

It felt someone's presence.

“I can’t believe there was a deserted mine in a place like this.”

“Hng~ It’s a place that stopped operating a long time ago. It’s my first time in here too, so don’t ask too many questions.”

“Then shouldn’t we re-evaluate the price of the information?”

“I don’t haggle over prices~”

The voices of a human man and woman.

Prey had walked in on its own.

[Heh… Heheh…]

This was its first hunt since being reborn.

[I shall bless the king's birth with blood.]

Thinking that its way of thinking was quite similar to a human's.

A grin.

Smiling like a human, it walked towards the source of the sound.

***

“It’s cramped.”

Killian raised mana on his sword blade and spread it throughout the mine.

The mana, spreading like fireflies, revealed the interior of the mine. At a glance, it looked like it had been neglected for hundreds of years.

“You can use magic too?”

“This isn’t magic.”

It was just a matter of concentrating mana on the sword and then spreading it out individually.

But in Orchid Owl’s eyes, it must have looked like magic.

“It's strange~ Your mana is different from that of ordinary knights.”

“…?”

“I don’t feel the resonance heard when knights use their Styles through a blade, nor the vibrations felt when mages use their Shiks, nor the directionality that occurs when Walkers who have concealed their presence use mana.”

“…”

Killian was inwardly surprised by her assessment.

‘She’s finely distinguishing the differences in mana.’

It was an instinctive sense.

“You have good senses.”

Killian’s way of using mana was different from that of a typical mana user.

The Styles that used blades as a medium, the Shiks that calculated what was imagined, the directionality that made the body move.

It was none of those.

“The Gate.”

“Huh?”

Although he also used the principles of Styles and Shiks to use mana while sealed in a blade.

Once he could handle all mana, he would be able to use the power of the Gate that even the Gods feared.

‘Well, that’s a realm even Edan couldn’t reach.’

The first 9-star to be born in thousands of years.

Even Edan, who had mastered that level, did not realize the mysteries of the Gate until he died.

‘We’ll have to see.’

What was certain was that understanding the mysteries of the Gate would grant him a transcendent power capable of facing multiple Gods.

‘10-star.’

A power that could not be reproduced while trapped in a blade.

It was the realm he sought to reach with Killian’s body.

“Gate??”

“…”

“That's a concept I’ve never heard of before. Come to think of it, your mana color is blue. Haven’t you awakened any other colors?”

“You’re full of questions today.”

“Hee~ You’re not going to tell me?”

Orchid Owl said, looking at Killian’s greatsword.

“Not for free.”

“You’re more of a materialist than you look, man~”

“Well, you’re quite expensive.”

A grin.

A smirk.

Killian, who had exchanged a casual smile with her, moved his feet.

Orchid was cooperating only because he held what she wanted, and she might betray him at any time once she got it.

‘I don’t know about Crimson Wolf, but there’s no need to teach this woman.’

“…”

“That’s what making a deal is all about.”

“That’s so mean~”

“It might have been different if you had found out the true identity of the being here for sure.”

“If I had, there would have been a bloodbath already, don’t you think?”

“I wonder who would have benefited the most at the end of that bloodbath.”

“Huhu.”

Ignoring Orchid Owl’s words, he focused his senses and took a step.

‘Monsters have a tendency to eliminate new competitors when they appear.’

But the five 7-star monsters, each leading their own packs in the mountain range, had not dealt with the one here.

It was one of two things.

‘They either couldn’t detect it, or they felt it was too dangerous to face.’

No matter how vast the mountain range was, considering that even the mages of the Benjamin family did not know about it, the former possibility seemed more likely so far.

It was to the extent that it would not have been discovered unless a Night Walker of Orchid Owl’s caliber had desperately searched for it.

But if time passed like this, it might have eventually clashed with other monsters.

‘I hope it’s not an 8-star.’

To stably face an 8-star monster, one must reach the 8-star level.

Trying to subjugate one without being at that level would mean being prepared for annihilation.

‘Well, this woman could probably get her body out of it somehow.’

If it was just about running away without fighting, Killian was also confident.

At that moment.

“…”

“…”

Killian and Orchid Owl stopped in their tracks at what could be called the same time.

“It’s here.”

“Creepy, isn’t it~?”

Boom.

Orchid Owl moved out of the way, and Killian swung his greatsword to deflect the opponent's attack.

A red monster, engaged in a power struggle with his greatsword, was visible before him.

“A goblin?”

[That is incorrect.]

The goblin that spoke human words raised the corners of its mouth in a smirk.

[I am the one destined to become the master of all the mountain ranges.]

Bang!

The goblin roughly pushed the greatsword away.

Killian, who had created distance, corrected his stance.

“It was just a goblin.”

Contrary to his words, the presence it exuded was already more than enough to be called a 7-star monster.

He had been curious all along.

Even after entering the mine, why couldn't he feel the characteristic evil energy of a high-level monster or a poisonous aura like Agnil's?

Seeing it in person, he thought he understood the reason.

“You were hiding both the poisonous and evil energy with your radiance.”

The radiance that enveloped the Grotesquery’s body.

It was a different case from Agnil, whose body itself was rotting away.

Kwaang.

Killian was pushed back by the goblin’s monstrous strength.

The overall skill he felt was 7-star.

‘No more, no less.’

However.

“It can speak human language.”

There were intelligent monsters, but not all of them could speak human words.

Even Death Knights and Liches, who were once human, usually lost a certain degree of intellect upon becoming monsters.

‘This one is different.’

It was speaking human words and mimicking human thought processes.

It was a rare case even for Killian, who had lived for a long time.

“Let's try to subdue it first.”

Carpe.

Killian’s blue mana began to dominate the space.

Rumble.

The goblin's movements slowed under the descending haki.

Kwaang. Boom.

They continued to exchange blows in that state.

“To attack without a weapon. What do you take a Sword Master for?”

Killian’s greatsword swung towards the opponent's left arm.

Slice!

Following that, it was a matter of moments to cut off its right arm and both legs.

Thud.

The goblin, with its legs cut off below the knees, propped itself up on its shortened arms.

A look of bewilderment appeared on its face.

‘Wh-why…’

It was a being born to become the king of its species, to reign supreme.

‘Why am I bowing my head to a guy like this?’

Tuk.

Killian’s greatsword touched the goblin's neck.

“Don’t move. Or I'll have to send your head flying.”

[…!!]

The survival instinct was triggered by fear.

[S-spare me…]

“I’ll think about it.”

[My life… just don’t kill me…]

“That depends on your answers. Why is a thing like you using the power of the Grotesquery?”

[Gro-Grotesquery…?]

It was a name it had never heard before.

“…”

Killian stared at the goblin indifferently.

‘It doesn’t seem to be lying. Does it not even know the source of its own power?’

It seemed he needed to take a look at its memories.

“Orchid, we're capturing this one and taking it with us.”

The moment he said that.

“…!!”

Killian dodged a sudden burst of killing intent.

At the same time, he looked in the direction of the killing intent.

There, stood a goblin that looked exactly the same as the one he had just subdued.

“…”

Killian turned his head again to check the goblin he had subdued.

It was gone.

The body of the one that had been miserably begging for its life had vanished without a trace.

‘What is this situation now.’

Killian let out a hollow laugh and took his stance again.

The creature approached.

First Flash.

Crack!

The technique unleashed with the greatsword blew away half of the goblin’s upper body.

“Kack… spare me…”

The goblin begged for its life, shedding red tears.

And.

Boom!

Killian once again dodged the ensuing killing intent.

What came down on the spot he had just vacated was the goblin’s red fist.

In the meantime, the body of the goblin he had just subdued had vanished again.

“Tsk.”

Killian clicked his tongue as he looked at the newly appeared goblin.

“The Curse of Immortality, is it?”

Besides this, numerous other curses used by the Grotesquery came to mind.

Crack.

As he watched the goblin, which, unlike before, blocked his sword.

[Human, I am the one destined to become the master of all the mountain ranges.]

“It seems I’ve fallen into a troublesome trap.”

Boom!!

Killian was slammed into the wall of the mine.

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