Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Drinking Negative Dimension Mana
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"Urgh..."
'Where am I?'
I had clearly followed that brat Dragoonia and thrown myself beneath the altar, yet I opened my eyes to the pain of my entire body feeling like it had been beaten to a pulp.
'What is this place?'
I thought for sure I'd leaped into the pyramid's underground, so I expected to be inside the pyramid. But the spot where I lay was a massive cave that appeared to be underground.
Thanks to the glowing jewels embedded in the ceiling, the cave's interior was faintly visible.
'I need to find that brat!'
I couldn't afford to leisurely survey the cave, so I shot up from my spot.
"Gah!"
But the instant I tried to stand, pain screamed through my bones like they were about to shatter.
It was like a threat that one more step would make my body self-destruct.
"Wh-what's wrong with my Air Plate?"
I had no idea what had happened inside that black hole-like pit, but my Air Plate was so mangled it made walking a chore.
It looked just like it'd been properly smashed by an ogre's iron club.
Click.
I removed the damaged plate.
"For now, with magic..."
I'd just tossed off the plate and was about to cast a Heal spell to mend my wounds when a chilling dread suddenly swept over me.
"Th-there's none. Nooooo! My mana is gone!!!!!!!!!!!!"
It was true.
Just moments ago, mana had been surging through my mana hole like an overcharged battery, unable to contain its vigor. Now it had vanished without a trace.
'What the hell! My mana disappeared!'
It felt like treating a woman to luxury goods, only to hear the polite clerk explain your card had exceeded its limit—like getting utterly screwed.
Not only the mana, but my mana circles and hole were gone too.
My body was like an empty apple crate, as if it had never known mana.
'What in the world is this place!'
I looked up at the ceiling, but it was so dizzyingly high that I couldn't make out a thing.
'No sword, no mana. And I don't even know what this place is. Ugh, damn it, I knew it.'
There'd been a problem with today's motto too.
Of all things, it had to be "guts."
Now I really had to grit my teeth and push through with pure grit.
'But where did that brat and the black mage go?'
They definitely hadn't landed in the same spot.
If they had, and we'd ended up together, they wouldn't have let me live.
'Just like those dragon lairs I'd only heard about... Wait, could this be a dragon lair?'
As I scanned the cave, the thought of a dragon lair crossed my mind unconsciously. On a hunch, I looked around carefully.
'There are signs of artificial construction.'
Faint traces of craftsmanship visible in the dim light.
Dragons from history books full of lies, said to grow to hundreds of meters long as adults.
But upon inspection, every direction was perfectly sized for a dragon to frolic in.
'Come to think of it, that brat is Dragoonia, a dragon descendant!'
It fit perfectly.
A dragon might have prepared something for its human descendant.
My mind raced.
The brat was an issue, but the sinister black mage's appearance was an even bigger problem.
And I couldn't just sit here.
As my family taught: when you have no teeth, eat with your gums.
I dragged my creaking body and slowly walked deeper into the cave.
'If it's a dragon lair, there should be guardians, right?'
Dragons had long been treated as impregnable fortresses.
Beautiful legends(?) in history books told of fearless mages and human warriors challenging dragons, only to be smashed by guardians and turned into guardian shit.
Swish.
Right then, an eerie energy emanated from behind me.
'Damn it!'
Who said unlucky bastards fall backward and crack their nose instead of the back of their head?
Of all times, just as I thought of guardians, a murderous aura pressed from behind.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly without thinking.
Swordless, manaless, in my bare body against an invincible dragon guardian... the outcome was obvious.
Game over. I'd be crossing the River Jordan via bullet taxi.
Hiss.
'Filthy bastard! If you're gonna kill me, do it quick—why breathe down my neck like that!'
I'd run into a vicious one.
Not the type for a clean one-shot kill. This one would shove fangs into my neck, suck my blood for a boost, then boil my bones for bone broth.
The worst of the worst guardians.
'Fuck! Fine, before I die, at least let me see your ugly mug. When I get to hell, I'll pay you back a hundredfold with a red-hot poker!'
I had no intention of going to heaven anyway, and no good deeds piled up, so I'd booked my hell ticket early.
I steeled myself.
A man should die shouting "Guts!" at least.
'One, two, three!'
I counted in my head and whipped around with all my strength.
"Hey! You son of a—"
"Kaaaaaaaack!"
I'd meant to yell "Hey, you bastard!" but a piercing shriek ripped out first—from whatever was behind me.
'Aaack, what the hell is this!!!!!'
I'd imagined fangs jutting out or an ogre wielding a skull-crushing club. But the thing before my eyes...
'A... a woman?'
Incredibly, the figure was a woman—a blonde in ornate golden robes etched with unknown runes.
'Why's a woman in a place like this?'
Even tough slimes with their tenacious life force couldn't survive here.
Yet there was a woman.
I yelled in shock, but she retained her noble beauty even then.
'Golden eyes?'
Her striking deep blonde hair framed eyes that were pure gold.
"Who are you?"
The question slipped out unconsciously.
".....?"
She shut her mouth at my words, blinking her mysterious golden eyes.
'An idiot?'
The word that flashed in my mind was "idiot."
Her eyes held nothing.
No human emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.
"Can't you speak?"
I pointed at my mouth, asking if she couldn't talk.
In response, she just blinked her big eyes open and shut.
'Who the hell are you?'
Luckily, it wasn't a ferocious guardian but a beautiful golden-eyed woman, so I relaxed a bit. But questions flooded in too.
Boom!
"Huh!"
Then, a sudden explosion echoed from far off.
Whoosh.
Without a word, her golden locks whipped as she vanished.
I couldn't grab her.
She bolted away at a speed like she'd cast Haste.
"Wa-wait! Take me with you!!!!!"
Thud thud thud.
If the vanishing woman was a sleek sports car, my mana-less self was a rusty tricycle.
It had been ages since I'd sweated through my soles chasing after her.
My instincts screamed.
What I needed now was pure speed.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
"Huff huff..."
I had no clue how long I'd sprinted at full tilt.
I'd chased the golden-eyed woman, but she vanished at some point. After nearly two kilometers of all-out running, my body was like a broken-down train, heaving for breath.
'Where am I now?'
Blindly dashing led me to a sudden stone building.
Incredibly, amid the cave stood a massive structure in ancient architectural style.
Whirr, whirr.
Mana was flowing from inside the building.
Cold, chilling negative dimension mana.
Pure negative dimension mana that would make any black mage flip out and absorb it on sight enveloped the entire stone edifice.
Swish swish.
'Huh?'
That wasn't all.
As I gulped down air harshly, the cloudy negative dimension mana drifting around started piling into my body with my breaths.
'What kind of sorcery is this!!!'
Like it had been waiting for my internal mana to vanish, the negative dimension mana accumulated inside me.
"Huff huff..."
As the mana absorbed, my trembling body calmed.
Positive mana or negative mana—both were mana, after all.
Moreover, my mana breathing technique was a one-of-a-kind method that could absorb anything between heaven and earth.
As negative dimension mana built up with my breaths, a refreshing sensation spread.
The invigorating mana energy coursing through me made me understand why drug addicts can't quit—like a clean high flooding my whole body.
Whirr.
'M-my mana circles are back!'
Incredibly, the negative dimension mana accumulated, swiftly forming a 1st circle mana hole.
A reality I couldn't believe even seeing it.
Step.
To absorb even denser negative dimension mana, I unconsciously moved toward where it writhed.
"Haa..."
Euphoria washed over me.
The more I inhaled, the thicker it accumulated.
Whirrr.
A 2nd circle mana hole swirled near my waist, drawing in a flood of mana.
Step step.
Drunk on mana, I took another step into the stone building where the negative dimension mana squirmed.
Crunch.
I'd stepped on shattered debris beneath my feet entering the massive stone building.
"Huff huff..."
Intoxicated by mana's breath, my mind grew hazy.
My first time experiencing mana recovery.
The moment I entered, 3rd circle mana activated before I knew it.
A cold, cool negative dimension mana I'd never felt before.
Step step.
Whirrrrrr.
My feet wouldn't stop.
It whispered to me.
From the depths, the mana lured me, beckoning me to come.