Chapter 88
Chapter 88
12. Embodiment -1
Sergios invited us to his planet.
It was pretty unexpected. I'd suggested a few times that it'd be nice if our planets could interact, but every time, that Sergios bastard refused, saying, "Your planet couldn't handle the homeland of heroes."
I'd figured he was the type to be thorough about personal information, so this time too I assumed he'd pick some quiet, deserted stage as the meeting place. But for whatever reason, this time he'd called us to his own planet.
So⋯⋯ this was the first time I'd set foot on the planet where this guy lived. Since he was always singing songs about heroes, heroes, I'd been curious what kind of place it was, but unfortunately, the place we were summoned to wasn't a populated area.
A valley with a large cave nestled in it.
And not just any valley—one with claw marks the size of a person scattered all over the ground. Judging by the shape of the claws, they looked like they came from some kind of beast, but at that size, it was monster territory, not animal.
Elijah, who'd come along as an observer for the rite, clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with fascination.
"Noah, these tracks look like they're from some kind of four-legged beast. I can't even guess how big it was! I don't know much about animals, but⋯⋯ if I had to guess, maybe a leopard or a tiger?"
"Beats me. Or maybe someone used a weirdly shaped weapon."
"Hmm, that sounds plausible too!"
As we chatted and approached the cave, Sergios's figure gradually came into view. He was waiting in front of the cave with his arms crossed and his spear tucked against his side.
Whether he'd overheard my conversation with Elijah from a distance, or whether this was just his standard explanation for visitors to this place, he explained flatly.
"It was a real beast. A lion over fifteen meters long, killed by one of the three great heroes, who strangled it with both arms."
"A fifteen-meter lion? That's⋯⋯ impossible unless your arms stretch like rubber, isn't it?"
"That hero was also fifteen meters tall."
"Aha."
What is this, a kaiju showdown?
While I was imagining a giant wrestling a lion the size of a decent villa building, Elijah smiled and extended her hand to Sergios.
It was the first meeting between the two of them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Elijah. I've heard a lot about you from Noah."
"I have no name to reveal to a citizen."
"Just as I'd heard! You're a type I've never met before, so this is fun. Still, you won't stop this citizen from quietly observing a duel between two heroes, will you, Sergios?"
"I never told you my name, citizen. Do not address me as you please."
Sergios shot back sharply. There he goes again. I'd told Elijah before we came that the guy was a bit unhinged and not to take him too seriously, but hearing it said to her face had to feel different.
I was about to jump into the conversation to mediate—support fire wearing the mask of arbitration—when Elijah's eyes went wide and she spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Then how should this citizen cheer for you, hero? The spear-carrier who won't give his name? Or the gentleman whose facial aesthetics are about one notch more defective than the white-haired hero next to him?"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
At that cheerful jab, Sergios's expression went blank.
"Pfft."
I turned my head and covered my mouth with the back of my hand. Sergios glared at me fiercely, as if asking what the hell I'd brought, but what could I do? You started it. If you don't like it, talk nicer.
Still, I did need to defuse the fight. I straightened my expression and opened my mouth.
"Elijah's combat power is impressive. Enough to rival me, and she'll be promoted to C-rank soon. Isn't that hero material?"
"One who does not train and relies only on tools is no hero. A citizen."
"Ah, Elijah is an android⋯⋯ a machine. So her body has a hard time learning martial arts in the first place, but I think Elijah's mindset is close to a hero's. Isn't that enough to acknowledge her as a hero?"
"⋯⋯And you're an idiot."
This bastard starts shit the moment I see him for the first time in a while, goddamn.
The sudden personal attack made my head spin. Where in that conversation was there anything worth insulting? It almost felt like he was deliberately provoking me as combat doping, since we'd have to fight soon anyway.
Then Sergios spoke, as if exasperated.
"With those good eyes of yours, does that woman really look like she can't learn martial arts?"
"What?"
"Machine or doll, if it has the form of a person, it can learn martial arts. What matters is not the form, but the will."
At that, Elijah's eyes went wide and she cut in.
"Oh? Then can I go swoosh like Noah too?"
"Impossible. You are not a hero, but a citizen."
"Didn't you just say it was possible⋯⋯?"
"It is possible. If you stop being a citizen."
Elijah turned her head and gave me a look asking me to interpret that. Sorry, but I didn't get it either. That was hero theory beyond my comprehension.
But⋯⋯ Sergios, annoyingly enough, was a System senior who knew more than I did. So that couldn't have been empty words.
That said, if I asked him to explain in detail, he was the type to just toss out "figure it out yourself" and shut his mouth. I'd have to approach this in a pretty "heroic" way.
"Let's make a bet, Sergios."
"A bet?"
"If I block all your attacks with my shield during the rite, I win. If you touch anywhere other than my shield, I lose. If I win, tell me without beating around the bush. If I lose, do whatever you want."
"⋯⋯Fine, you half-baked hero."
Swish—
Sergios muttered that as the corner of his mouth curled up and he gripped his spear. The expression and tone made it confusing, but since "hero" had replaced "citizen" in the conversation⋯⋯ that was probably close to a compliment.
It probably meant he liked the act of standing by a friend. As expected, he was weird yet normal—an amusing bastard, no doubt about it.
What we were about to undergo.
The rite of the First-Realm Ladder Ascension Method, 『Battle-Demon Ascension (鬪鬼昇格)』.
[This rite promotes the Embodiment of only one sparring partner (一人). One sparring partner and one receiving partner stand facing each other and offer a standing bow without leaving the circle. The receiving partner is the anvil for harmonizing the sparring partner's three bodies (三體), so fight fiercely but do not strike first. The receiving partner must possess the skill to withstand the sparring partner's attacks—]
Intuitively speaking, it was a rite where you fought each other at full strength and awakened. According to the manual, you were supposed to observe formalities before starting, but between men, a few exchanged words and that brief moment of gripping your weapons was the formality.
Which meant all that was left now was to fight.
Clink—
I raised my dagger and shield and readied for battle. No need to drag it out. I tapped the heavy shield's surface with the dagger's hilt—thud, thud—and provoked him lightly.
"Come."
"Here I come."
Soon. The instant the words ended.
Whoooosh——!!
With a single gust of wind, Sergios's spear tip was at my nose in an instant.
Right, I knew he'd thrust without even pretending to hesitate⋯⋯!!
Clang—!!
From the moment "Here I" left Sergios's mouth, I'd already been issuing commands to every muscle in my body. I tilted my body back to create space while raising my shield, deflecting the spear upward.
But the spear, which had seemed to be knocked upward, quickly and deftly changed its trajectory, aiming for my heart and then my knee in succession. I calmly solidified my defensive stance and blocked the spear strikes head-on.
Clack—! Clang!
[Impact Conversion: 34%]
A thrust intense enough to punch straight through most metals. If this shield⋯⋯ hadn't been 『Claw』, taking it head-on would've been suicide. I'd have had to deflect it somehow.
Sergios seemed to have figured that out from the feel of it too.
"That's no ordinary shield. Didn't I tell you not to rely on artifacts?"
"I don't have a hobby of leaving usable things idle. And there were times I'd have died without this. Gotta survive first if I'm gonna grow, right?"
"Overcoming those crises with your own strength alone is what skill means."
"Then, Mr. Skilled, why don't you try piercing the shield of Mr. Skill-less⋯⋯ go!"
I thrust out the dagger I'd hidden behind the shield in a surprise attack. Sergios snorted and reacted nimbly, trying to knock it away with the spear shaft. But this was a feint.
『Glass Sword』.
The dagger that had been slashing in a straight line melted into transparency at some point. And then I released the strength in my fingers and let go. In other words, an "invisible throw."
Sergios read the dagger's trajectory by deducing from my movements up to the moment of the throw. He thrust the spear shaft into that trajectory, but it was slightly off. The dagger grazed past.
Fssst—
And a shallow cut was etched into Sergios's cheek. Surprised, you bastard?
"⋯⋯Your tricks have improved."
"Calling it a trick after you got hit is a little ugly."
"Strutting as if you've scored with a trivial scratch is uglier, isn't it?"
"You should say that after you've landed a scratch of your own."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Sergios seemed to accept my flawless logic, or rather, he seemed to resolve to do just that. He began using skills. The wind rose.
"『Whirlwind Thrust (旋風扎)』."
Here it comes!
"Ngh⋯⋯!!"
Clangclangclang——!! Chaaang!
Even after blocking with my shield and bleeding the impact into the ground, my feet still lifted about ten centimeters off the ground—a thrust of ferocious power. Still no joke.
You'd think he'd show an opening for a moment after firing off a technique like that, but a follow-up came flying immediately. The spear shaft, bent wide, swept in at my lower body. Lifting into the air was too risky, so instead I planted my shield into the ground and blocked it honestly.
Thud—!!
After that, I rose and launched a counterattack.
But I felt it anew—that Sergios was a spearman with every stat maxed out across the board. No gaps in offense or defense.
Attacks aimed at the body's centerline—from inside to out.
"『Moran (冒攔)』."
Attacks surging in from outside the body—from outside to in.
"『Afterwave Grasp (後波拿)』."
And after scattering the enemy's attacks like that, what came firing again without any delay—the thrust.
"『Whirlwind Thrust (旋風扎)』."
You shameless bastard!
"『Azure Wind Wanderer』!"
Whoooong——!!
I wrapped the shield's surface in a vortex of opposite trajectory—the reverse of Sergios's spiraling wind. The two winds spun like interlocking gears and canceled each other out. Even so, the spear tip still reached the shield.
Thud—!!
[Impact Conversion: 75%]
Since this battle was ultimately for the sake of the rite, I had no intention of using 『Claw』's greatsword transformation gimmick, but the charge was filling up at a terrifying rate, shooting up in an instant. By the end of the fight, it'd probably hit 300%.
He was still strong. I'd thought I'd closed the gap considerably after picking up all sorts of skills and equipment, but I still wasn't at the level of beating Sergios down. Especially⋯⋯ when it came to facing him.
I needed to block "that" comfortably.
Whoooosh——
Air currents strong enough to disrupt breathing swept across the area. Three streams of wind, each with a different form, swirled and gathered at the tip of Sergios's spear.
"Moran, Afterwave Grasp, Whirlwind Thrust—— converge."
It was the precursor to the signature technique of a man unleashing three skills simultaneously.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
I gathered my skills too. Quick-Flash Inner Core, Azure Wind Wanderer, Glass Sword—— forcibly suppressing the repulsion between skills and bundling them together, generating an amplification of power, even if only for an instant.
And then⋯⋯ fire!
"——Three-Origin Fusion, 『Intercept-Grasp-Thrust (攔拿扎)』."
"Synthesis, 『Glass Clear-Wind Flash (琉璃淸風閃)』!!"
Simultaneously. My formless wind spear and Sergios's three wind serpents collided.
Keeeeeeeng——!!
I didn't know what grade his skills were, but I had the same number of skills—three. So I wouldn't be pushed back that badly⋯⋯.
KABOOM, KABOOM!
This wasn't a stalemate⋯⋯. I was being pushed back!
[Impact Conversion: 95%⋯⋯ 115%⋯⋯ 134%]
The Glass Clear-Wind Flash, which had seemed to be holding its own, was half-shattered by Sergios's Intercept-Grasp-Thrust and was faltering. The load on my shield was spiking steeply by the second. A direct hit was coming!
I immediately poured lightning into 『Claw』 and activated it.
"Fire!"
Clank, CRASH—!!
At the same time, I swung the blade burning with brilliant blue magic light and split the Intercept-Grasp-Thrust in half, scattering it. Riding the recoil to put more distance between us was a bonus.
Clank-clank—
I switched back from greatsword mode to shield. That Sergios bastard was lounging with his spear tip hanging low. I took deep breaths, steadying myself, and asked. Because I didn't understand.
"⋯⋯I mixed three too, didn't I? Is it a skill grade difference?"
"It's because your martial arts lack unity."
"Unity?"
"My three martial arts are one martial art, so they merge naturally, like pouring fire into fire. The reason that bizarre technique of yours is inferior in power is because you're trying to combine water and fire⋯⋯ I don't even understand how they combined in the first place. Is it sorcery?"
Sergios actually seemed to find my Synthesis fascinating. Normally, unless the skills were of the same lineage, the release itself shouldn't have been possible.
Well, sure.
Sergios's three skills were all the same wind. Each had different properties, but they mixed naturally without any collision.
But I had no way to apply his case to myself right now. Even if I counted Quick-Flash as attribute-less, Azure Wind Wanderer and Glass Sword were wind and light. They were different, with no intersection point to harmonize.
Whoooosh——
While I was racking my brain, a heavy, low wind began blowing across the entire area. It had the presence of a lion flattening itself low and waiting for an opening.
One more wind mixed into the existing three streams. Just that made the swirling force swell terrifyingly, like a chemical reaction.
The harmonization of four martial arts—Four-Origin Fusion.
Sergios, practically wrapped in a storm, grinned and warned me.
"To complete the rite, I must give my all⋯⋯ Noah Won, can you take it? If you don't think you can, I'll give you the chance to surrender now."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
If you're asking whether I can take it—yes.
If I threw in every skill I had, pushed all my strength to the limit, and even used 『Overgrowth』, which I'd picked up in the fight against Joero, I had a feeling I could manage somehow.
But that would wound my pride. Because "surviving by getting hit" and "blocking" were as different as heaven and earth.
"Save it, you bastard. Bring it."
"⋯⋯Don't regret this."
"You're the one who should know—if the rite goes off course after all this, you'll be hearing insults from me for half a year."
Whoooosh——
The wind, now given clear color and form by the dense magic power, soon obscured even Sergios's figure. Since he wasn't the type to hold back, it would be fired soon. His ultimate technique.
If I took this head-on, I'd be laid up recovering⋯⋯.
But I'm not the type to stretch out without checking where I'll land. I had one idea.
"Haaaaah—"
If mismatched skill temperaments reduced the power⋯⋯.
└ Lightning Wick (F)
Progress: 100%
Couldn't I just put a buffer in between?