Chapter 16
Chapter 16
3. The System's Anchor -5
Embodiment.
I'd roughly understood it as something like a complete physical transformation, but either way, it was the kind of thing I'd only ever read about in novels.
Honestly, I didn't have the faintest idea what was supposed to happen to my body during Embodiment. What did it even mean for a person's bones and muscles to change?
People's thoughts branch out like tree limbs from what they already know, so the first thing that popped into my head was me lying on an operating table. And then a doctor cutting me open and replacing every bone inside with steel, one by one.
If I had to cram all those impressions into one word, it would be unfamiliar.
It had been the same when I first took in Magic Power.
The usual terms people used to describe Magic Power—the feeling of a second bloodstream flowing through your body, something like that—none of that had happened. After my ability awakened, Magic Power supposedly came into existence, but I couldn't feel it.
The way I handled Magic Power was closer to the sensation of indirectly forcing involuntary muscles—muscles you can't control—to move somehow.
Other people weren't like that, apparently. The ones with good instincts could move and wield Magic Power freely, as if it were their own limbs. Thinking about it that way, my talent for moving Magic Power was probably far below average.
The current training was at the stage of using the body, so I wasn't getting chewed out by that Sergios bastard. But I was already worried that once we got into proper Magic Power training, I'd be hearing all sorts of things.
So,
I always focused on watching.
Learning begins with watching. Whether it was a convenience store part-time job, dancing, or construction-site grunt work. If you watch closely how someone who's already walked the path ahead does it, you can catch the secret sauce called know-how.
Sergios called it Observation. Yeah, watching was the one thing I was confident in. So I felt like if I could just watch this complete transformation, I'd be able to grasp what it really was.
And right now, I was—
—watching something very much like that complete transformation.
Crack-crack-crack—whoooosh!!
The plant bastard, the Monstera, was writhing and pulsing, its form shifting moment by moment. It swelled up like a balloon. Some enormous power rampaging inside its body was reconstructing the plant's entire shape.
Puhak—!
A thick stem burst open, and from inside, 『Shadow』 and 『Glass』 oozed out. Then, as if time were rewinding, the Skills that had emerged pulled at the burst shell and reconstructed its form.
"Is that Embodiment?!"
"In the sense that it transforms the body to match a 『Skill』, it's the same, but it's strictly different. There's nothing good to be gained from watching it, so don't look."
The reassembled stem was thick enough to rival a massive concrete pillar. No one would ever guess that its original form had been a fragile green stalk.
Power granted by some higher being—reconstructing the body.
It was like terraforming. The Skill seemed to be remodeling the house it lived in to make it a bit more comfortable. For a moment, the power called 『Skill』 felt like some kind of parasite, and it gave me a slight chill.
Sucking out the host's nutrients and crawling out—yeah, like cordyceps.
From a larger perspective, what the plant bastards were doing to Earth wasn't much different. Bizarre monsters that burst through Gates and sucked out the planet's vitality to their heart's content... reshaping Earth to their own taste.
I felt like I understood a little of why Sergios was so averse to Skills.
Whatever my personal feelings were, unlike Sergios, I wasn’t in a position where I could afford to reject 『Skills』 entirely.
No matter how much he ranted about his way being the orthodox path, I was going to actively use 『Azure Wind Wanderer』, and if the System gave me other Skills, I'd gratefully gobble them up.
So... that sight of the plant bastard reconstructing its own body with 『Skills』.
I watched carefully and committed it to memory.
Sound carries more information than you'd think. A thud means something like being hit with a warhammer. A bang means if it hits you, you die. In that sense, the laser the ++-grade Monstera casually fired—
Bzzzzzz—boom!!
"Kh...!!"
—was on par with an explosive that could blow away an entire house.
Even though it only grazed my shield, it exploded on contact, and the impact nearly slammed me into the ground. I had to roll a good two full turns across the ground before I could bleed off all the force.
Even mid-transformation, and even though this was only stray leakage from the solar rays it was gathering to deal with Sergios⋯⋯ it had this much power.
Bzzzzzzz—
The Monstera drank in the sunlight to its fullest, condensing pitch-black shadow inside and gathering it at the center of each leaf. Once all of that finished charging, a barrage I didn't want to imagine would come pouring out.
No, I shouldn't wait for it to charge. If that thing finished absorbing power before then and reached +++, even these leftover attacks would have me screaming. Not the spear guy—me.
Either way, for multiple reasons, we needed to force a short, decisive battle.
Meanwhile, Sergios was swinging his spear like a windmill, defending himself from dozens of beams. I'd wondered how he was deflecting beams with a spear and wind.
Glint, glint.
The wind his spear stirred up had the Monstera's glass shards mixed into it. He was manipulating those to reflect and block the lasers.
Smarter than I thought...!
"『Azure Wind Wanderer』!"
Whooosh—!
I raised wind too and gathered the scattered glass shards. Precise manipulation like Sergios’s was impossible for me, so I shaped a simple wind shield spiraling in one direction.
Bzzzzz—grrrrrrk.
The laser blocked by the wind shield bent away. Maybe because I'd used the Monstera's glass shards, there was no explosion like before. With this, it seemed like I could at least match the tempo and keep up.
I crouched low, minimizing my exposed profile, and ran. Only then was I able to catch up to Sergios, who had been silently advancing ahead of me. He let out a short scoff.
"You're late. Didn't you say you'd assist me?"
"Quit grumbling and tell me why we're closing the distance. Couldn't we just take it out from range like in phase one earlier?"
"Firepower is insufficient. Look closely at that variant's outline."
Outline?
Not the surface, but the outline—so he meant I should observe the edges of the plant bastard. I narrowed my eyes while deflecting lasers. There was definitely something there.
More than light or matter, it was something⋯⋯ like a faintly perceptible wavelength. Something difficult to describe was shimmering there.
"...There's a semi-transparent aura-like thing. It looks like some kind of barrier. What is it?"
"A barrier, is it? An accurate expression. World predators of a certain rank or higher become as hard as the fragments of the world they've wrapped around themselves. To pierce through that, you have to thrust with focused force at close range."
"Then my attacks won't even leave a scratch."
"Good, you grasp your place quickly. Gauging where to lie down is also a virtue of a hero."
...That bastard has a talent for making compliments sound like insults.
That cleanly eliminated the sub-DPS role. It’d be better to create openings for Sergios to push in, draw aggro, and pull attacks off him at the right time.
Currently, the aggro was focused on Sergios. Since he was the one who'd ground its body to powder, naturally its attention was on him. So how do I draw its gaze this way?
Ultimately, what determines the direction of an attack is a sense of threat.
Tadat—!
I ran toward the amber exposed on the ground. Toward the source of the power that thing was greedily sucking up—the System's terminal.
Of course, I... didn't have the faintest clue how to rescue a person trapped like that. But would the plant know that?
Sssss—
The leaves let out an ominous sound and turned toward me.
Good, it took the bait. I raised my shield and put force into it.
Bzzzzzz—!!
Immediately after, a laser dozens of times stronger than before flew at me. As if to say, come any closer and I'll kill you.
Half of the laser barrage was blocked by 『Azure Wind Wanderer』. But the remaining half alone was more than five strands. I couldn't block that with this relatively tiny shield.
Let's turn the bastard's attack against it. I angled my shield against the first incoming laser. Then, an explosion!
Boom—! Crackle-crackle—!
I didn't resist the shockwave of the explosion. My body went flying just like that, and the remaining lasers struck directly where I'd been, scorching the ground.
"Kh...!! Hahaha!"
See that.
Even if I can't pierce the barrier and deal damage, even if I don't deal any, if I get on the plant bastard's nerves enough, the attacks will naturally focus on me!
The Monstera's attack ratio shifted from the original 1:9 to 4:6.
"How's that? I told you I'd be useful if used well!"
"Certainly, it's passable. Though it's only enough to polish the road I walk on."
With the enemy’s firepower split, Sergios was able to close the distance much faster, and he was now almost on top of the plant bastard.
Now I just had to not die while getting pummeled by the laser barrage. I frantically flung my body this way and that, enduring.
Whoooosh—
Meanwhile, Sergios began to charge. The air currents in the area converged on a single point. Three wind serpents coiled around his spear, drawing spirals. The mighty strike he'd fired earlier was being prepared again.
Now the Monstera would have to make a choice. Release the power it had gathered so far, even prematurely, to save its life—or gamble on holding it all in, taking the hit with its body, and then counterattacking.
Among humans, some would occasionally choose the latter. But would plant bastards have the nerve to stake their lives?
Flash—flash, flash—
Yes, the Monstera chose to release. Countless leaves lit up, heating to a searing glow.
And then.
"—Three-Origin Fusion, 『Intercept-Grasp-Thrust』."
Kiiiiiiing—!!
The blinding flash that erupted from the Monstera's leaves and the storm that burst from Sergios's grip happened simultaneously.
The clash between the high-density solar rays and condensed wind became a contest that seemed to transcend physical law. The two forces fought fiercely to push each other back. And then—
Huk—
They canceled out.
A brief silence settled where the light and storm had subsided, but only for a moment. The Monstera and Sergios both began gathering power again at the same time.
Wind coiled again, and light gathered again. But the previous clash had already decided it. Sergios's side was far faster and stronger. So one more direct hit would end the fight.
Just as I started to relax.
An ominous sound that made my easing tension spike came through. Sssk—the sound of something smoothly crawling along the ground.
I thought it might be a snake slithering through the forest, but there was no way an intact snake could have survived in the spot where that clash had just happened. That pitch-black shape... was shadow.
『Shadow』!
Right, the Monstera had apparently obtained a fragment of shadow. Gathering sunlight with 『Glass』 wasn't all it had!
Chaaaak—!!
Shadow rose from the ground like a net and hung in front of the Monstera like a shield. A dense wall of two, even three layers.
Sergios's eyebrow twitched.
"...Damn it, Sergios. What's your read? Can you pierce it?"
"A hero does not retreat even from a losing battle."
"That means you can't pierce it, damn it!"
"That thing's growth speed was faster than I expected. The matchup was bad too. If I used Four-Origin Fusion, which I haven't yet mastered, it would be possible, but... there doesn't seem to be enough time for that."
Crackle—
[■-grade pack lea■er monster var■ant: 『Mo■stera deli■■osa+++』 has appear■d—]
The System sounded a warning. And from the gaps in the Monstera's body, thick lava began dripping down in globs. The third Skill was 『Lava』, was that it?
"I knew the System's terminal had a 『Lock』 on it to prepare for situations like this, but now I see why. Just absorbing the terminal made it jump two whole stages."
"Instead of chewing over the cause like you've attained enlightenment, if this isn't going to work, we should run!"
"No. If we flee, that thing will fire while we're running. Then we both die. But if I stay... you can save your life. Go."
"Goddamn it."
What do I do.
Should I use... 『White Lightning』?
No. Didn't I say I'd save it even if it killed me? It's a cold thing to say, but it's not a power to use for some spear guy I have no connection to. I really want to use it at a moment I won't regret.
And before that, there was one more thing. A method worth trying.
The Monstera's transformation I'd been watching closely. Inferring from that—
"Sergios, this complete transformation... Embodiment. It can be done with 『Martial Arts』 you've cultivated yourself, but... it can also be done with a 『Skill』 bestowed by someone, right? Like those plant bastards."
"...I've heard of something called 『Internalization』. But that is a heresy. I warned you, didn't I? That Skills are subordinate to a higher concept. You're quick-witted, so you understand. Fusing such a 『God's Blessing (Skill)』 with your body means—"
Yeah. Maybe a hierarchical relationship beyond the Skill itself. For instance, I might end up subordinated to 『Sky Roamer』.
But if it's a situation where I need to use it, I have to use anything.
"Explain that Internalization or whatever it is to me. While you're gathering energy into your spear, I'll block the bastard's attacks with it. Then you fire your spear at it. So they don't cancel each other out."
"............"
"If you land one clean hit without it being blocked, you can tear out the bastard's roots, can't you? If you don't have another plan, let's proceed."
“⋯⋯You really are quick on the uptake.”
Sergios gathered wind and recited the incantation with a face like he was chewing on a bitter persimmon. He said it was a method of forcibly achieving Unification, as if cramming power into the body.
I didn't understand this incantation well either. It seemed to be an explanation about gathering how much Magic Power into which meridian and so on. I didn't know exactly how to do it.
But I understood the general idea.
Glint, glint-glint—
The Monstera prepared to fire its third solar ray. I saw Sergios swallow dryly. His Adam's apple had just moved. He was facing the plant bastard head-on, but somehow it felt like he was saying this with his back.
Asking if I could really block it. Asking if he could trust me.
Of course I can. I'm a good student. I can apply what I've seen once, thoroughly. What came to mind was Sergios deflecting the beams with the Monstera's glass shards.
I was going to do that on a slightly larger scale.
"『Azure Wind Wanderer』, come. Wind, sweep the earth. Clouds, descend to the ground at once."
Sssssss—!
The wind blew, gathering the glass shards on the ground into one place. And at that spot, clouds—that is, water vapor—billowed up. And then compressed. More, more.
I'll give my body for the power that's lacking. More!
"『Azure Wind Wanderer: Shield』!"
That moment. The moment I realized I'd crossed some threshold.
Sssk. For an instant, my fingertips scattered into cloud and then returned. A chill shot down my spine. Because it felt like I might scatter and disappear just like that.
Apart from that unpleasant experience.
Goooooo—fssk, fssssk.
The effect was certain. The cloud drew a leisurely spiral. Something far beyond the limits of what I could command had been created.
What was born was a highly concentrated cloud thickly mixed with fine glass powder.
The Monstera moved.
Kiiiiiiing—
"It's coming. Once I block it, fire right away!"
"............ ............!!"
Sergios seemed to answer something, but the plant bastard's attack was fast. The sun's radiance filled the dim forest once again.
Kwaaaaa—!!
The condensed beam was fired at the cloud I'd hastily thrown together. At a glance, it looked like it would just evaporate and vanish. Fleeting.
But do you know why rainbows form?
It's a phenomenon that appears when sunlight is reflected and refracted by water droplets in the air.
I understood that the battle between 『Skills』 transcended physical laws. Otherwise, the very idea of a laser and condensed wind clashing wouldn't make sense. But!
Even in such clashes, physical laws—the properties of the world—were clearly exerting influence in turn. Fire melts iron, iron cuts wood, and sunlight splitting into a rainbow is a natural principle of the world.
Therefore.
Paaaaah—!
The laser the Monstera fired scattered to the extreme, unable to harm anyone—and spread out as a rainbow illuminating everything around.
And through the center of that rainbow, a storm that pierced as if carving it out—
"—Four-Origin Fusion, 『Throw-Intercept-Grasp-Thrust』."
Blew.
Kyaoooo—
There was no scream. The Monstera died quietly, as befitted a plant.
"Cough, cough... ptui."
"Do you have internal bleeding?"
"When you use power beyond your station, your body pays the price. Whether it's you or me."
"Well, I'm... fine for now. And it didn't feel like I went all the way, either."
Maybe about thirty percent of the way across, I'd say.
Ragged for various reasons, we dragged our exhausted steps toward the Monstera's remains. The purpose of this fight—the village's missing person and the System's terminal. We had to save the person trapped in the amber.
As we approached, the blurry figure became clearer. Blonde hair. Blonde and long. And a woman. The missing person was said to be a village woman, so of course she'd be a woman.
And her face was quite cute... and also, somewhere. The sight of her asleep with her eyes closed. So pure it almost reminded me of a newborn baby.
A face I knew.
"......Eve?"
The appearance of the 'terminal' inside the amber looked exactly like my ex-girlfriend back on Earth.