novelraw Chapter 60 : Chapter 60
Chapter 60 : Chapter 60
Chapter 60. Tracker of the Mountain Sea (4)
Hwa-a-a-ak!
From head to tail tip.
Gyeryong was completely engulfed in black flames.
Those flames were far hotter and more intense than before.
The temperature soared as it was compressed into the shape of a Black Dragon, and the crushing power increased with added rotation.
This shape was not merely for intimidation.
“Kura-a-ack!!”
A scream mixed with the cry of a chicken and the roar of a beast echoed in all directions.
A scream so loud that even Riman grimaced and covered his ears.
Unable to bear the searing pain, Gyeryong began to thrash violently.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!
Its long and massive body rampaged around like a giant flail.
Everything it struck was completely ground away as if a saw blade had passed through.
The place that took a direct hit was none other than the main building of Doban Brewery.
Although it was already a half-collapsed building, it completely collapsed after being swept by the creature's thrashing.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu!!
The site where the building stood instantly became flat ground.
Even though it was merely thrashing from pain, the destructive power was this immense.
If Gyeryong had properly focused and unleashed its power, it was hard to estimate how much urban destruction would have occurred.
Meanwhile, Ha Myeong-yeol, watching this from a distance, shuddered at this unbelievable sight.
“…What on earth is this?”
A snake bigger than a building appearing from the shadows, and an even bigger fire snake swallowing it.
For him, who lived apart from the world of mana, this entire situation didn't feel real at all.
What he felt went beyond fear to overwhelming awe, sublimity, or wonder.
He couldn't dare imagine how mere individuals could generate such power.
Hwa-reu-reu-reu—
The fire gradually subsided.
Gyeryong's white feathers were burnt black to ash, and the flesh beneath the feathers was covered in pitch-black burns.
Everything visible denied the possibility of Gyeryong's survival.
Gyeryong finally collapsed.
Kwa-a-a-ang!!
As the massive body of immense mass fell, an impact that shook the earth exploded.
Simultaneously, dust rose thickly and swept the surroundings.
“Heup……!”
Ha Myeong-yeol covered his nose with his sleeve.
At that moment.
Hwi-rik!
Saya wrapped his tail around Ha Myeong-yeol's waist.
And just like that, he started running while dragging Ha Myeong-yeol.
“Heu-a-ack!”
It was Riman's measure to completely secure Ha Myeong-yeol's safety.
Because the battle was not over yet.
‘With this, the summoned beast is cleared.’
Gyeryong's corpse began to disappear as if crumbling.
Re-summoning would likely be impossible for a while.
First, the biggest obstacle in dealing with the Summoner was removed.
However……
‘The Summoner himself is still alive.’
It is true that the summoned beast is the Summoner's greatest asset, but it is not everything.
The terrifying aspect of a Mage lies not in a single ultimate technique, but in the derivatives that branch out into tens and hundreds by delving into one path.
Therefore, Riman could not rashly estimate how many cards the opponent had left.
Moreover……
‘That Mage, I've never seen him before.’
Finally facing Wong Chen's face.
But Riman didn't know who he was.
Because it was a face he had never met in the game.
‘I know a few Summoners who used Gyeryong… but I haven't seen that guy among them.’
So he couldn't relax his tension.
Even if they used the same summoned beast, the way they utilized the power derived from it varied widely.
Ki-i-i-i—
Riman spread his mana to expand [Detection] more widely.
A setup to thoroughly catch the enemy's movements.
And it was the same for Wong Chen's side.
Wong Chen asked.
“…Which Magic Tower do you belong to? What on earth are you?”
“Is asking about academic background the first thing you do? It's sickening, you Mages.”
“What?”
“But I think I know who you are.”
“You know me……?”
“First off, I know for sure you're not a wanted criminal.”
Because that face wasn't on the Mugan escapee list.
No, if he was there in the first place, there was no way Riman wouldn't have recognized him.
And that means……
“It means there's no problem even if your face gets a little burnt.”
Hwareuk!
Flames rose again from Riman's right hand.
Thumb, index, middle finger.
Three points of flame ignited from three fingers.
Almost simultaneously, Wong Chen also formed a new hand seal.
Reconstructing the barrier to block the fire magic Riman would launch.
But Riman's flame was a fake.
‘The stopped vortex, the devouring maw.’
Because the real magic Riman wove was already running along the ground.
[Quicksand (Yusa)]
The ground beneath Wong Chen's feet collapses.
Ssu-uk!
The solid floor turned into a sand swamp and swallowed Wong Chen.
In an instant, his body sank below the ground.
A look of panic appeared on his face again.
‘Using earth magic following fire magic……?’
Using multiple systems of magic following black flames.
Phenomena contradicting the knowledge he learned at the Magic Tower kept catching his eye.
It was bewildering.
But he didn't reveal it through gestures.
Controlling the body with reason was a basic virtue of a Mage.
Instead, he found a countermeasure in an instant.
A moment later.
Puh-heuk!
A heavy impact exploded beneath his feet.
That impact pushed Wong Chen upward with force.
Puh-heuk!
His body, submerged under the quicksand, sprang up at once.
‘Ho-oh.’
So you can easily break through a mere sand swamp like this.
‘Well, if you're a Mage, you should be able to do that much.’
Riman infused more mana into the flames he had kindled on his three fingertips earlier.
Hu-uk!
The fire grows.
The infused mana began to weave the shape of the flames anew.
Thinner, sharper.
Soon, the flames took on an edge like a blade.
Riman's eyes look at the target floating high in the air.
Wong Chen.
Towards him, Riman swung his hand as if scratching the empty air.
[Fire Claw (Hwajo)]
Swaaek!
Three slashes made of flame flew toward Wong Chen.
Flames with cutting power capable of slicing even through shields.
Moreover, Wong Chen's body was floating in the air.
He had nowhere to dodge.
And this situation itself was intended by Riman.
Kindling fire on three fingers earlier was the setup from the start.
When fighting Gyeryong earlier, Riman showed himself using fire magic to make him mistake him for a Pyromancer.
After that, if he kindles fire on his fingers, Wong Chen's gaze inevitably turns to Riman's fingers naturally.
After catching his attention like that.
Riman activated [Quicksand] to collapse the ground beneath him.
If he suppressed him with this, it would be the best.
But what if he escaped the [Quicksand]?
Then he would instantly fire [Fire Claw] with the fire kindled in advance.
Preparing countermeasures for all possibilities of actions the opponent might show and laying the groundwork.
That was Riman's way of fighting.
It was the same earlier.
The moment he fired the oil arrow, the action Wong Chen could take was one of two.
Die, or deflect the arrow.
If he died, the battle ended there.
But deflect the arrow?
Then he would immediately use that broken oil to create a Black Dragon and burn the summoned beast.
Like this, Riman continued to force a lose-lose choice on the opponent no matter what he picked.
It was the same now.
As a result, Wong Chen was exposed to fire magic with his bare body in mid-air without a foothold.
A perfect dilemma.
However……
Tu-ung!
A shockwave generated beneath Wong Chen's feet pushed him away strongly.
His body sharply turned in mid-air, dodging all the slashes of [Fire Claw].
‘What is that magic?’
No……
‘Is it not magic?’
Sa-ak—
Wong Chen landed lightly on the floor.
Even though he fell from quite a height, no sound came from beneath his feet.
He showed no sign of strain on his body either.
‘He didn't cushion it using anti-gravity or wind.’
Then the answer was simple.
‘That guy has something in his shoes.’
Just as his thoughts reached that point.
Chwahak!
The shadow beneath the guy's feet began to grow again.
In that fleeting moment falling from the sky to the ground, he had formed a new hand seal and activated another magic.
Charararak……!
His swelling shadow split into several small circles and began to scatter all over the ground.
‘What is it?’
It was magic he didn't know.
However, just as he summoned Gyeryong from the shadow earlier, he could only predict that something would be summoned from those small shadows as well.
Hu-ung!
Riman layered a barrier on top of the barrier.
When unable to know what technique the opponent would use, going defensive first was the standard.
In the very next moment.
Pong!
An egg popped out of the shadow.
Dozens of shadow circles were scattered all over the ground.
Large white eggs began to pop out from those places.
Po-po-po-pong!
The silhouettes of the summoned eggs were similar to ordinary bird eggs.
But their diameter was over 1 meter.
‘Are they Gyeryong’s eggs?’
But that was just a guess.
Riman still couldn't know what would come out of those eggs, or no, if they were even eggs.
So—
Ki-i-ing!
Riman spread [Detection] even more densely to scan the eggs.
To figure out the identity of those eggs.
And what Riman felt at that moment was—
‘…Uh?’
The surface of the egg gradually swelling and increasing in curvature.
Simultaneously, the surface temperature of the egg rising rapidly.
Added to that, the pulse of mana intensifying around the eggs.
All these phenomena pointed to one thing.
‘Explosion.’
Hu-uk!
Riman shot mana down to his feet at once.
The permeated mana forces a new shape onto the ground.
The aspect of the earth is reconstructed in an instant.
It rises.
The floor soon becomes a wall.
[Earth Wall (Tobyeok)]
Kurururuk!
A thick cylindrical rock wall rose up and surrounded Riman.
And at the same time, a word with a strange tremor flowed from Wong Chen's mouth.
“[Broken Egg (Paran)].”
His single word broke the eggs.
Dozens of white eggs he summoned exploded all at once.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!
Blast pressure swept the ground, and eggshell fragments accelerated by the pressure scattered in all directions.
Since the strength of the fragments was immense, the power far exceeded that of grenades or mortar shells.
Watching that scene, Wong Chen muttered inwardly.
‘But this isn't the end.’
Eggs proceed to the next stage by breaking.
Becoming a dish, or birthing life.
And Wong Chen had no intention of frying eggs during battle.
Sabak……
New footsteps began to be heard on the battlefield.
Something walked out from within the burst eggshells.
Their height and silhouette were similar to an adult male, but everything else was different.
Both forearms and calves were wrinkled like bird legs, and thick claws were attached to their fingers and toes.
And where eyes, nose, and mouth should be, there was nothing, and a massive beak covered the face like a mask.
Oviparous Humans (Nansaeng-in).
Humans born from eggs.
Two from each egg.
Nearly 200 Oviparous Humans began to approach, surrounding Riman's earth wall.
These Oviparous Humans were victims eaten by Gyeryong.
Beings remodeled into monsters without self-awareness after having all their memories stolen completely inside Gyeryong's stomach.
They felt no pain, and thus felt no fear.
And because of that, each Oviparous Human could exert muscular strength far exceeding that of ordinary people.
Since the limiters controlling muscles were released due to the lack of fear of body damage.
And such things began to move in perfect order according to the caster's command.
“Kill him.”
“Kyahhaaaaaack!!”
Dudududu!
With strange screams, the Gyeryong-men lunged at Riman, brandishing their claws.
And at that moment.
Kuruk—
The rock wall surrounding Riman began to tremble minutely.