novelraw Chapter 110 : Tomb of the Heaven-Shattering Demon (4)
Chapter 110 : Tomb of the Heaven-Shattering Demon (4)
Kwaaaang!
As the giant tiger fell from the ceiling, quartz scattered. The pure white ores that bounced up resembled a white tiger.
“I’m going crazy.”
I clicked my tongue and widened the distance with the guy. It was a great tiger that was at least 3.5 meters tall and its body length seemed to be well over 10 meters.
An opponent whose very presence was different from the Buddha statue and the rock snake I had faced before.
“Krr, rrrrrr!”
A creepy cracking sound, as if hard glass fragments were rubbing against each other and mimicking a beast’s cry, brushed past my ears.
I reflexively formed several water bullets and fired them at the white tiger.
Chwa-cha-ja-jak!
But the guy, who had dodged them too easily, rushed towards this side.
‘It’s fast!’
At the incredible speed, I first raised my shadow to cover my body and then created a flame bullet to guide it to the side.
Swish!
Then, with a tingling shockwave, the white tiger brushed past me.
‘I’m glad I prepared in many ways.’
It was almost really dangerous. I, who had become invisible, slowly moved away from the guy and slowly gathered my mana.
After getting quite far from the white tiger, which was looking around, I reconstructed my strategy.
A frontal confrontation with an opponent that could move at this speed with that size was impossible. Since its body looked harder than the Buddha statue at a glance, I had to aim for its vital spot strongly and momentarily.
‘I have to pierce the core.’
I slowly recovered my mana while circling the altar, and then I made a decision, leaping towards the ceiling.
And I activated the water stream magic that I had prepared little by little on the walls in all directions towards the white tiger standing in the middle of the altar.
Swaaaaaa-!
A stream of water that poured down on the white tiger’s entire body like a water cannon. Since it was being shot from all directions and in planes, the white tiger couldn’t dodge it all.
However, since there was a distance between the wall and the altar, it could only produce enough power to restrict its movement a little.
‘But this is enough.’
I looked down at the white tiger, which was still rampaging towards the walls, unable to grasp my location, from the edge of the ceiling and smiled.
While hanging from the ceiling wall with my sword stuck in it, I aimed the soaked Daoist Scholar’s Fan. And the moment the water stream magic covered the white tiger’s entire body, I exploded all the mana I had prepared in my body.
“Kwaaaaaa!”
Only then did the white tiger, which had sensed this side, lift its head towards me, but this side was faster.
“Freeze.”
The maximum output magic, Ice Flower.
Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeok!
The white tiger’s entire body, which was covered in water, began to freeze as it was.
Kadeudeudeuk-!
But the white tiger, which ignored this and tried to break the ice and leap at me. With that, I drew the surrounding mana as if to make my circle go berserk and formed an additional magic. A huge electric arrow that was created, bouncing like a flash of light in the air.
Great Lightning Strike.
“Even if it has the form of a beast, it’s an artificial object. It must have at least the organs for minimum operation.”
Just as the white tiger’s quartz thighs were clumping together and its huge body was about to soar.
I aimed the Daoist Scholar’s Fan at the guy and lifted the corner of my mouth.
“I’ll fry you.”
In an instant, a lightning bolt pierced everything that was placed from the ceiling to the ground.
Flash-!
The white tiger’s entire body, which was about to jump out, was covered in a flash of light.
A hot wind of enormous heat blew with a ray of light, and the inside of the altar was shaken. Soon, when the broken night-luminescent pearl emitted a faint light, the figure of the white tiger, with a large amount of quartz peeled off and its head lifted, was revealed below.
Although the outside was quartz, the inside was composed of ore, so the electric shock had worked properly. I took out the First Blade and fired it with all my might at the glabella, where the white tiger’s core was.
Kaang!
But even with the sharpness of the First Blade, it only broke the armor of the glabella and got stuck in the middle, failing to pierce the core.
‘This isn’t enough.’
“Krrrrrr!”
Just then, the white tiger, which had come to its senses before I knew it, stared at this side and jumped.
“Keuk!”
As I dodged from the spot like a stunt, stepping on the ceiling, the white tiger’s fangs brushed past my side.
Just as I thought I had barely dodged and was trying to balance in the air, the quartz attached to the white tiger’s entire body flashed and scattered in all directions.
Fragments of ore that were shot, filling my vision. I immediately swung the Daoist Scholar’s Fan in the air to deflect them.
Chae-chae-chae-chaeng-!
Even though I had barely blocked them, I couldn’t help but be slammed into one wall as if I had been bounced off by the recoil.
“Damn, you’re tricky.”
I quickly covered my body with my shadow and got away from the spot. The white tiger, which had rushed in before I knew it, was biting the place where I had been.
At the hair-raising sight, I carefully widened the distance and organized my thoughts.
‘I’m short on firepower.’
As if to mock the electric shock I had just inflicted, the white tiger’s entire body was gradually recovering.
I tried to concentrate my consciousness to replenish my mana, but my circle throbbed. No, it hurt as if it was burning. The limit of my durability was approaching.
My stamina was at the bottom, and even my body couldn’t keep up.
‘My consciousness is also gradually fading.’
Although I was barely holding on with [Will of the Extreme], I had been performing high-level calculations for over 10 hours. It wouldn’t be strange if the film cut off at any moment.
‘I’ll have to bet everything on the next one.’
My greatest weapon right now was stealth. The fact that I could launch a preemptive attack at any time.
After recovering my mana, I began to plant magic little by little in the surroundings like before.
I discarded the thought that it wouldn’t work this time. Because it would be too much of a cheat if a monster like that had learning abilities.
As I prepared all my mana, my two legs staggered for a moment.
‘Is this the limit?’
I had been using magic freely to the point where my mana circuit would burn out. An operation that had far surpassed the critical point, of course, there was no way there wouldn’t be a recoil.
I could tell instinctively. This was really the last challenge.
I stood at the entrance where I had first entered the altar and activated all the magic I had planted.
A rush of water stream, and Ice Flower.
“Kwaaaaaa!”
As I concentrated my mana in the air, the white tiger, which had spotted this side again.
It began to rush, scattering ice fragments wildly. In a few seconds, those fangs would bite my head.
The sound of my heart slowly fades away. The reaction of my body is erased, and only my consciousness remains, leaping towards the next realm.
In a critical situation, a high level of concentration that faced the best talent reached a new realm.
The roar of the white tiger stretches, and the white tiger’s entire body is magnified. The glabella, the target, was clearly visible above the fangs and the wrinkled nose.
As if there were only the guy and me in this world. Time flowed like slow motion.
I poured out all my mana and formed a giant spear of flame lightning in front of my eyes. And I realized instinctively.
‘This isn’t enough.’
Even with the maximum firepower magic, even with the all-out First Blade, it wasn’t enough.
‘Then…!’
I had to pour out all the power I had.
First, I put all the internal energy in my body into it and stood the First Blade, which had been honed with sword qi, in front of my eyes, aiming at the white tiger’s glabella. And I concentrated all my nerves and compressed the giant spear of flame lightning as if to wrap it around the First Blade.
Kwaaaaaa!!
Pajijijik!!
Flames and electric shocks collide and harmonize, being engraved on the First Blade. The blade of the First Blade begins to turn from red to pure white.
A qi wave that seemed like it would explode at any moment dominated the area. My hair flew wildly, and a hot wind and sparks flew crazily in all directions.
A destructive technique that could not be handled even though it was swallowing all the mana in my circle, which was being filled in real time.
Flame Lightning First Blade Spear.
All of that was accomplished in an instant.
Even in the time that stretched like eternity, the white tiger was rushing. In a state of trying to swallow me with its mouth open before I knew it.
I extended my arm holding the Daoist Scholar’s Fan forward and aimed at the white tiger. It was a posture as if I was holding an invisible bow.
As it was, the bowstring was already pulled taut to its limit. All that was left was to shoot.
“Pierce.”
The sound of the world disappeared. Soon, a thrilling shockwave that announced destruction erupted, and a single ray of light crossed everything in a straight line.
Beyond the vision that was briefly blurred by the ray of light, the only thing that could be recognized was the head of the white tiger, which had been blown out in a circle.
A continuing hot wind and a noise that hit my ears belatedly. In the midst of that, I could only face the body of the white tiger, which was scattering into countless fragments of quartz.
“…I won.”
I had finally defeated that monster.
I staggered but barely stood on the spot and calmed down the blood vessels and mana circuit that were running wild from the recoil.
If I were an ordinary genius, it was a reaction that would have killed me several times from qi deviation. It was an opponent that I couldn’t have won against if I hadn’t used an absurd mana rampage and internal energy operation in parallel.
I stood and continued to circulate my qi. The condition was more serious than I thought. The rampaging energy veins and circuit, which might have been more dangerous than the white tiger, were trying to tear my body to shreds.
The qi deviation continued for several shichen.
Black blood burst out from my mouth, and I crossed the threshold of death several times.
And so, after finally regaining a precarious stability in my circle and body with a miraculous control, I was barely able to open my eyes.
In front of me, fragments of quartz were scattered and sparkling in all directions, like a beautiful frost flower field in winter.
I stood alone for a moment in the dazzling scenery. Then, even this sight felt like a provision.
Pasak-!
The glass fragments that were breaking under my feet, in the midst of that, I suddenly discovered something that was still maintaining its form.
“A fang?”
I picked up the fang that had fallen to the floor without breaking.
Then, as if it had been waiting, the dagger-sized fang broke and scattered into powder. And only a bottle made of quartz remained in my hand.
A bottle containing some kind of sloshing liquid. The moment I saw it, my two eyes widened.
“This is!”
Azure Jade Nectar, a great elixir made by nature. In the original work, it was known to be a top-tier elixir that was dropped with a rare probability when you hunted a white tiger, but in reality, it seemed you could obtain it for sure.
‘This is the best.’
Since I had eaten a Great Return Pill a while ago, I couldn’t absorb it right away, but it was good to have as a spare.
Because I had an absorption rate and adaptability that were incomparable to others due to the influence of Transcendent Growth.
With my body depleted of internal energy, I struggled to pull out the First Blade that was stuck in the wall and then reattached it to the Daoist Scholar’s Fan. And then I returned to Oh Cho-sam, who was comfortably passed out.
“Get up.”
I said, kicking him.
My mana and internal energy were completely used up, and my body was half-broken, so I didn’t want to carry this guy too.
After kicking him several times, Oh Cho-sam finally got up.
“Just a little more… Ugh! Huh?!”
As if he had finally grasped the situation, the guy jumped up and looked at me and the surroundings.
“What happened here?!”
“There was an enemy, and I defeated it. We have to go now.”
“What? The treasure…?”
To shut the mouth of the guy who was still talking about treasure even though he had been comfortably passed out, I pointed to the ceiling.
In the hole in the sky where the white tiger had fallen, a large hole was pierced, and an unusual current of air was gathering and scattering around it.
A sign that looked dangerous at a glance.
This place was the crossroads of several large energy veins. Since the altar itself, which had gathered and maintained that huge energy, was broken, it was bound to be like this.
And besides, the fact that most of the mana and energy that had been full before had disappeared was also a big factor.
It had borne the enormous power that went into the release of the divine object, and it had moved various guardians from the terracotta soldiers to the white tiger, so it was natural. Even I had poured out a huge amount of mana that was overwhelming just to use.
Of course, the inside of this altar was now empty.
A can full of water doesn’t get crushed in the water, but an empty can does, and this place was also in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any time.
“Follow me.”
I walked towards the altar that the white tiger had broken. When I had Oh Cho-sam clear the debris, a staircase leading to the basement appeared below.
“…Is this okay?”
“There’s no time for that.”
I didn’t even wait for his words and immediately went down the stairs.
“L-let’s go together!”
Oh Cho-sam, who had been listening to the sound of the blade-like wind swirling wildly above, came down the stairs.
After walking for a long time along a dark passage with small night-luminescent pearls attached here and there, a light was seen at the end.
The exit was a narrow gap between large rocks. Since it was in a clever blind spot that could never be found from the outside, we lowered our posture and came out.
And when I lifted my head, the rocky mountain and the forest that was spread out in all directions came into view.
It was the outer area of the rocky area in the mountain range connected to the spiritual mountain, the outer grounds of the Martial Academy where the forest was spread out.
‘We’ve come quite a far way.’
It was at least a few kilometers away from where we had come from.
When I lifted my head to check the time, the sun was at its zenith. Since we had entered in the early evening and had just come out, we had been there for more than half a day.
In other words, we had been fighting for over 12 hours. So there was no way my body would be fine.
Banjjak-
Just then, the night-luminescent pearl along the passage we had come from flickered and then emitted a light and crumbled.
“…What is this?”
“Step back.”
I said, moving away from the gap in the rock. Soon, with a heavy tremor as if something was breaking in the distance, the huge rock that was above the exit we had come out of slid down and filled the hole.
The entire passage must have been filled in that way. Even if we dug in like this, we wouldn’t be able to find the entrance again.
“The treasure…”
Oh Cho-sam made a crying face next to me. Of course, it was none of my business.
“Think of it as a good experience. If it weren’t for me, you would have been dead already.”
“Yes, yes!”
Oh Cho-sam, who had just been frustrated, also completed his situation assessment after seeing my messy state from the battle.
Since I was even stained with blood from coughing up blood, he couldn’t say things like whether I had found the treasure or if he had a share.
“Good that you know.”
Saying so, I set the direction to go to the Martial Academy. Since I had been indebted to him, I was planning to leave the mountain beasts we would encounter on the way back to this guy.
Although my body and mind were crazy tired, I had gained a lot.
I had released the divine object, the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, greatly increased my proficiency in the Art of Controlling the Fan with Qi, and had also achieved an expansion of my circle by facing my limits several times.
That’s why I was about to move my feet with a tired but satisfied feeling. But I couldn’t.
Thud-
It was because of Oh Cho-sam, who had lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor before I knew it, and the numerous gazes that were surrounding me. It was an intuition, but each and every one of those gazes was definitely not human.
“…Come out.”
I softly called the mastermind of this situation. Then, a middle-aged man revealed his appearance from the middle of the forest.
“It’s been a while.”
A scar on his face, a man I knew well.
The King of Insects, Go Du-gyeong. He, the head of the mountain keepers of the Martial Academy and a visiting professor, was guarding this place.
(End of Chapter)