Chapter 185
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Mana Man Kim Katt
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A pitch-black space.
"What... is this?"
It was a pitch-dark space without a single point of light, yet for some reason, my body was perfectly visible. The macho warrior's flesh covered in scars and hickeys. In its primal state, without a thread of clothing.
What the hell?
"It's the form you were born in."
Out of habit, I tried deploying the third form of the Thread Hall Fist Technique. Pa-pa-pat! There were no issues. Gravity was the same, and there were no restrictions on moving my body.
Inner world.
Instinctively, I realized it.
"Could this be... my inner world?"
The moment I acknowledged it, the surroundings began to warp like a dreamscape shifting. I let myself go with the flow. I didn't know exactly, but it didn't feel harmful. And then.
Ppa-bam.
A spotlight ignited, beaming light straight at me. I raised an arm to shield my eyes, but of course, they didn't hurt. I boldly guessed it was because this wasn't real light, but the light of the inner world.
I stood at the center of that world.
"Ahh."
Faint afterimages flickered into view.
They were images of me in battle.
From miscellaneous monsters to past fights, and even relatively recent bloodbaths. The scenes rotated all around like a panorama, yet it was as if I had eyes in the back of my head—everything was crystal clear.
Is this the effect of the circlet?
It's incredibly detailed for meditation.
Then I should do what needs doing.
I reached out my hand. And gripped a sword. No, not actually. I didn't have a sword. Mind Sword. It was a sword of the heart.
I focused on one screen.
The most recent one—the fight with the orc.
Suddenly, the sensations from then felt as real as reality. Pre-Cambrian. Outdated jazz. The orc in a tuxedo. And contrasting with children starving in the Third World, people rejoicing at the reunification of East and West Germany.
Finally,
The completion of the Tower of Babel.
It was a jumble of chaotic concepts even I, the person involved, couldn't comprehend.
The confusion of battling in a mana-drunk state, high as a kite... it hit me like reality. Not something I could grasp in my right mind.
"The trivial stuff doesn't matter."
I moved my body.
At the same time, I reviewed the past.
The power boiling up from within.
Unbelievable courage.
The fighting spirit reaching omnipotence.
All of it felt vividly clear.
"Hmm."
So this was the sensation.
I swung the sword.
No.
I extended my hand.
The scattered emotions, like threads, faintly but unmistakably present, gathered like thin strands. Wavering, unstable—like a hastily woven dream.
I grasped them.
"...!"
An irresistible impulse surged... I had to run! Suddenly, I bolted. Ran and kept running.
"Ruuuun— hyaaaah!"
The pitch-black space was infinite itself. No matter how far I ran, no end in sight, the horizon constantly renewing. "Dejaaaaah!!!" Let's see who wins. I raced to the edge of my inner world.
How long did I run?
No clock, so I couldn't tell the exact time.
Wall.
Was that the limit?
Ahead of me loomed a massive wall darker than any black in this world, stretching endlessly along the horizon.
"The me that confines myself."
I looked up—no end there either.
Could I...
Climb this?
I didn't know for sure, but it felt like only by surmounting it could I achieve growth.
Then.
I have to climb it.
"But right now, I can't."
Obviously.
No way to scale a wall that big.
Train and surpass it properly. Anyway, I now had some idea about this space and the circlet. This was my inner world. The circlet was a tool to enter it.
Just now, I watched and felt past battle footage, reliving my emotions.
Repeat that, and surely I'd surpass the limit.
That's how it felt.
With that resolve, the spotlight's light grew brighter. The beam that had only lit me now illuminated the surroundings. Objects around me gained color and form, like criminals emerging in the dead of night.
"Hmm? This is?"
Familiar items.
Computer, television, dresser. Knife and clothes. Biographies, baseball bat. Even a carriage and a car, my armor, and a beached whale dead with guts spilling from its mouth.
"This is...?"
Among them, the jar of solitude.
The jar holding my boyhood dreams.
Gulp.
Slowly, I approached it.
Checked inside.
"..."
Fortunately, no bugs.
Just pitch-black darkness.
Was what Pandora's box held truly hope?
"I don't know."
Can't say.
"I'm not... Pandora. Can't know what I've never seen."
Anyway, amid these familiar items lined up, I knocked on the door within again, recalling past battles. Fantasies bloomed like from a madman's world, floating up.
Tsssh! Tsssh!!
When crises hit, I awakened inner power to overcome adversity. Was that truly my power?
I'd thought it was just macho strength from training and tempering.
But it was mana.
Doubt.
When did I awaken to mana?
During the orc fight? Or before?
To confirm, I focused my mind, possessing my past self fighting the orc like a vessel. Burning passion, hot blood... The orc stronger than me. Normally, win rate around 50%.
50%.
Win rate against the orc.
For a human, that's impressive. No matter the training, killing such a monster one-on-one is tough.
However.
100%.
Using mana, I wouldn't lose.
Kobold Guardian? Now recalling the dungeon memory. Kyuuuusaah! The dark surroundings assimilated into the underground labyrinth. From a distance, I watched myself fight the Kobold Guardian.
Kyuuuuuu!!!
Strong.
But... compared to the orc?
Slightly weaker.
Yet the difference was absolute. I never lost to the guardian. Even barehanded, overwhelming. So, did I use mana then?
"...!"
I feel it!
Very faint, like a grain of sand on the sea compared to my current mana, but wriggling power definitely existed!
"This time!"
Thus, lost in trance, I delved into the past. Observing my fights from a spectator's view was intriguing. Flaws visible, better attack paths apparent.
Maybe the familiar items boosted training efficiency... Was that why they were in the inner world?
After a long while.
I checked memories from quite far back.
Suddenly, extreme fatigue hit.
The surrounding world began collapsing.
Pachik.
Cracks formed in the dark world, space crumbling... Reaching the limit? Mental strength, meditation duration, or the circlet's strange power. Considerable consumption either way.
I felt the circlet above my head.
Even naked, I was wearing that.
"Alright... that's it for today."
I grasped the circlet. Strong power and an inexplicable pull transmitted through my fingertips. Removing it would return me to reality.
I tried to take it off.
Tuk.
In the final moment, something entered my vision.
"What?"
It was... unclear, but like iron bars caging something. Couldn't check closely. Already removed the circlet.
"..."
I opened my eyes.
"Ah, aah. Major fatigue."
It was the inn room.
I sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the circlet. Uncrossing, my body was drenched in sweat. The seat soaked too.
Grrrowl.
Ravenous hunger too.
I got up and stepped down to the floor.
"Time..."
Started midday, now sun setting. About 4 hours in the inner world? Cloudy and Winia not back yet.
Feeling sticky, showered again. Ate bread and sausage bought earlier to fill my stomach.
Man, so many hickeys on my body.
Won't die from internal bleeding?
Anyway, food restored some energy. Slipped on underwear, sat in chair, pondered 'mana'.
Mana.
Meditation.
But despite effort, it felt hazy and vague, like a forgotten old dream. In the inner world, mana was sharper than anything, but not in reality.
Couldn't think straight.
Sensation alien too.
"Hmm... tricky."
Drew the sword. Sring. Gripped the one from the scabbard, assumed stance. Deployed Thread Hall Swordsmanship. Ultimate sword art fusing swordsmanship learned from Karin with my original Thread Hall Fist.
Shiiik!
Shk!
The sharp blade cleaved the heavy air filling the room. This feel... not it. Movements light, slashes sharp, but no sense of wielding mana.
"Frustrating."
Obviously, mastery lacking.
"And... annoying."
Power in my body, yet uncontrollable—infuriating. Could I fully make it mine?
"Bullshit."
I can.
Didn't I grasp the clue in the inner world?
I definitely can.
I am Heavenly Demon Kim Katt.
Nothing impossible for the Heavenly Demon.
Starts tomorrow.
Mornings at Swordsman Guild for physical and technical training, then back for circlet and mental honing. That'll do it.
Kkiiik.
While planning, door opened.
Cloudy entered.
"Oh? Cloudy? Alone? Didn't you go with Winia?"
"You're back first? Split with Winia. She had stuff to do."
Looked like she'd been shopping. New clothes? Or sightseeing? She set down luggage, shed outerwear.
"Hmm... but."
Down to underwear, Cloudy approached.
Purple matching her hair.
Long, straight legs like a model's. Beautiful. And above all, her childbearing hips and huge ass felt incredibly sexy. Waist... slimmer than Winia's? No excess fat, toned and elastic.
This was a dark elf's body?
"Hehe, what? Staring with such hot eyes. Come to think, it's been forever since we were alone? Shall we enjoy intimately till Winia returns?"
As expected, the lewd half-elf big sis who does anything!
Knows my heart too well!
"An offer I can't refuse!"
Approaching Cloudy gripped my rock-hard penis. Slim fingers' soft wrap excited me.
"Mm?"
Then, sensing something, she fondled more.
Man, treating it like a toy lately.
"...Katt? Mana?"
Cloudy looked up at my face.
Not the cock, but felt mana while touching it—whatever, I proudly declared in that state.
"You 'sensed' it? My 'mana'."
Her eyes widened hugely.
"...Guildmaster said I have mana."
A bit shy, scratching cheek—
"Katt!"
Cloudy cried my name, pouncing fiercely.
Chair toppled backward immediately.
"W-wait! To the bed!"
"Kyaa!"
Hearts in her eyes, Cloudy ravished me relentlessly. Intense grip fiercer than usual—I lost my mind.