Chapter 318
Chapter 318
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 318
Chapter Title: Wind Spirit King, Sylphid (1)
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Essence Fragment.
No matter how strong it was, even a mere fragment overwhelmed everything I'd encountered up to now.
The Fire Essence, Water Essence, Wood Essence, Metal Essence.
I could feel them opening their eyes.
Why was that?
Was it because this was the Spirit Realm?
'Same elemental lineage?'
Or perhaps...
Because an enemy I couldn't handle had appeared?
[The Water Essence sneers at you.]
[It says you can't even deal with a mere Sylestin, so what kind of Spirit User are you? Why not just leave and die? It asks in all sincerity.]
Kwa-gagagaga...!
Sylestin's colossal storm of wind battered my entire body.
'Damn it.'
Its momentum had doubled in intensity.
That meant...
Her older sister, Jaea, had joined the fray.
'This... this really isn't looking good, is it?'
One was already overwhelming, and now two?
This was basically telling me to just die.
[The Fire Essence tells you to hold on.]
[The Wood Essence cheers you on with a gentle smile.]
[The Metal Essence watches the situation with intrigued eyes. Clap! Clap! Clap! It claps its hands. May anyone win!]
No, these bastards?
The Essences showed no intention of helping out this time.
'Trouble.'
My pupils trembled, and cold sweat drenched my back.
I might lose.
I might die.
But I had to fight.
'Yeah, this is actually for the best.'
I steeled my resolve.
If I relied on the Essences to get through this, it might be easy in the moment.
But I wouldn't truly get what I wanted.
No Pain, No Gain.
Trials are valuable precisely because they're hard, aren't they?
'Let's do this.'
I clenched my fist tight once more.
I bit my lip hard and vowed.
Fight to the end.
And survive even stronger.
[The Water Essence chuckles.]
[It says your last thought was somewhat decent.]
[By the way, the Metal Essence asks if everyone felt that.]
[The Water Essence nods. Earth... This world still bears traces of that one's presence, it says.]
Earth?
Then, the Earth Essence?
Another spirit's fragment existed in this Spirit Realm?
I perked up my ears.
Ah.
So that's why they all awakened.
[The Fire Essence tells you to snap out of it.]
[Ignore it and focus on the enemy in front of you.]
'I was planning to anyway.'
I shoved the spearhead into the mouth of Sylestin, who was approaching while swinging its hand to unleash a wind barrage.
Kwaaang!
But no significant damage.
Their movements were just like the wind itself—elusive, dodging no matter how much I stabbed or struck.
'Too vague to land a direct hit on a spirit.'
Then?
My eyes flashed.
Target the contractor or whatever.
Jaea was protecting me, so I'd let her slide.
Sua?
Yeah, you need a beating.
Fwoosh!
The spear transformed into a club this time.
The perfect weapon for clubbing someone.
Better than stabbing with a spear or slashing with a sword—nothing inflicted greater humiliation than a good whack with a club.
'Any weapon's destructive power is about the same now anyway.'
"Hraaap!"
Without hesitation, whoosh! I stepped on the shadow.
Letting out a shout, I charged straight at Sua.
- Where do you think you're going!
Sylestin generated wind pressure to push me back, but my gaze was fixed on one thing alone.
Sua.
Kugugugu...!
The Ki energy and Poison Fog dwelling in my body writhed.
'Swing.'
Kwa-gagaga!
My body moved naturally along the path I'd practiced tens of thousands of times.
Ten Thousand Arts.
Secret Technique.
Poison Flash.
A green flash erupted from the club, surging toward Sua.
But this alone wasn't enough.
The wind pressure from the two Sylestins would neutralize it with room to spare.
As always, I layered on one more Secret Technique.
Kwa-gagaga!
I charged forward, club still in hand.
Ten Thousand Arts.
Secret Technique.
Martial Advance.
A barrage of consecutive strikes unfolded from the club, raining down on Sua like a carpet bombing.
"Kyaaak!"
Sua, in a panic, squeezed her eyes shut and twisted her body.
- How dare this arrogant fool touch her!
- I'll protect her!
Shoooaaa!
The immense wind nearly threw me off balance for a moment, but I focused and deflected each gust one by one.
Kwa-gagagagang!
Resisting the wind, I pressed the assault relentlessly.
And finally.
"Die!"
Puuuuk!
It was faint, but the tip of the club grazed Sua's abdomen.
"Kuhuk!"
Sua clutched her stomach, eyes bulging wide as she felt the pain.
Does it hurt?
That little bit?
What I took from the Sylestins was thousands of times worse, you punk.
But...
The distance between Sua and me began to widen.
My body could no longer withstand the onslaught of wind and was being pushed back.
Damn.
I'd poured out nearly all my Ki energy, and that was it? Just one hit?
Regrettable.
As expected of Constellation-grade spirits?
'I should have hit her more.'
I wore a hollow expression.
It was a hopeless situation.
No matter how much stronger I'd become, was there nothing I could do against two Constellation-grade foes?
- Not bad, but that's as far as you go.
- Now... pay the price for uttering that name!
Kwa-gagagaga!
Immense force began pouring from the bodies of the two Sylestins.
"Cough!"
Pressure crushed my entire body.
The wind was so fierce I couldn't even breathe.
Air was cut off, skin compressed.
My flesh kept trying to peel away outward, and my bones creaked.
"...Damn it."
How was I supposed to beat two SSS Grades?
Sudden appearance of two dragons—nothing special about them.
Yeah, they were just disasters.
Honestly, surviving this long was praiseworthy.
Bring any ranker from Earth here.
Tell them this dungeon's difficulty, and they'd faint.
'Ah.'
The Demon King was an exception?
He'd survived five years in the Demon Realm, after all.
No, even the Demon King would be shocked.
He wasn't rolling around with Upper Demon Kings (SSS Grade) every day there.
"Kuhuk!"
As I was completely neutralized, the two Sylestins approached smugly.
Sensing I was fully combat-incapacitated, the crushing wind pressure began to ease slightly.
From lethal to merely bearable.
I sensed it intuitively.
'Sylestin on Jaea's side.'
It didn't want to kill me.
It just wanted to subdue me.
If she hadn't held back, I really would have been torn to shreds and tossed into the wind waterfall, just like they said.
"Ptoo."
I spat out the boiling phlegm to the side.
Blood-red.
Blood meant my internals were already a mess.
I missed Dana, but Dana wasn't here.
Fuck.
"Yeah."
I glared up at the Sylestins, eyes fierce.
"You guys seem to have won this fight, so just one question."
I was genuinely curious.
"Why do you react so strongly to that name, Yui-sa?"
- Please!
- Please don't say that name!
- Shut up, shut it!
Whoa.
So, why?
- Just kill him! That guy's hopeless! It'll be better for us if we deal with him before the Spirit King steps in!
"No, you can't kill him!"
Jaea, who'd been watching the battle, stepped forward.
She looked at me with exasperated eyes.
"You! Please stop already! I went out of my way to spare you, so why do you keep trying to get yourself killed?"
How frustrated she was—she ground her teeth hard as she spoke.
Sigh.
You're frustrated too, huh?
Sorry, but I'm frustrated too.
For now, with all strength drained, I sprawled out flat.
Ridiculously, a beautiful clear sky stretched above the wind waterfall.
Whiiiing!
Against that blue sky backdrop, I felt a translucent, milky-white face gazing down at me upside down.
A flowing dress.
An incredibly smooth oval face.
Long green hair and eyes.
'Pretty.'
Her and me, for about two seconds?
As our eyes met, I felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Huh?
'Who is she?'
More importantly...
Since when was she here?
Snap!
I hastily straightened up from my sprawled position, and the others' expressions came into view first.
Jaea and Sua, mouths agape, filled my sight.
And...
"Huh?"
Even those mighty, terrifying Sylestins stared at her in shocked faces.
What was this?
I tilted my head, and Jaea's Sylestin spoke first.
- L-Lady Sylphid? What brings you all the way here...!
- You should be resting now...!
Their faces trembled with anxiety as they spoke.
If I had to describe how they looked at Sylphid, it was exactly that.
Like well-behaved mad dogs anxious about when they'd go berserk again?
Then, a message popped up in my view.
[You encounter the Wind Spirit King 'Sylphid.']
Wow.
[You achieve a great feat.]
[Congratulations!]
[Your Ki energy increases by 1,000.]
"...Huh?"
Just by seeing her, my raw Ki energy shot up by 1,000...?
How insanely powerful was she?
'Anyway.'
Yes.
The humanoid supreme beauty now before my eyes.
More angelic than fairy-like.
That was the Wind Spirit King, Sylphid, right?
* * *
"...You're still treating me like a child."
The Spirit King, Sylphid, gazed at the Sylestins with pitying eyes.
"Didn't I tell you? It's different from back then. Yui-sa... has forgotten everything now."
Sylphid murmured in a bitter voice.
Her presence was no joke.
"...."
No more wind blew in the wind sector.
It was so still, it didn't even allow air to move.
But the silence brought a different suffocation.
Why was the eye of a typhoon clear and calm? Exactly that feeling.
She dominated the entire sector just by existing.
I sensed it instinctively.
Dragons?
Even dragons were mere dust before this Sylphid.
If there was something above Constellation-grade, wouldn't it be like this?
'Pathetic.'
Two emotions suddenly welled up.
First, the urge to flip off whoever omnipotent being set this intermediary dungeon's difficulty like this.
Second, the powerlessness of realizing how insignificant I was before this vast universe.
'I see, this is...'
A shiver ran through me.
At my current level, Sylphid was truly the god and absolute ruler of wind.
"You asked about Yui-sa?"
A single word.
Directed at me, a faint breeze rose and squeezed my chest.
A sense of utter powerlessness, rendering all my abilities pointless, pierced my body.
[The Water Essence says to quit the dramatics.]
[Well, maybe a mere bug feels that way looking at its predator frog? It muses.]
[The Fire Essence tells it to shut up and stay quiet. This is the most crucial moment for the User.]
The Water Essence's scolding floated in my view.
It could have felt offensive.
Surprisingly...
My mind eased.
'From the Essences' perspective, even that Spirit King is just a frog?'
[The Water Essence bursts out laughing. What nonsense are you spouting?]
The ones behind me were far greater.
That was immense comfort right now.
Pretty Spirit King.
Staggering to my feet, I met her eyes.
"Yes, Spirit King."
Then I spoke clearly and straightforwardly.
"To be precise, the great Spirit User Yui-sa Stormtree. I want to know what grudge that existence holds."