Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Goblin Hater (3)
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Each member of the Gallery has their own world.
My original master teacher's world—the Color Emperor master's—was a dreamlike, mystical little universe.
AlphaGo, who seemed purely mechanical, possessed a world shining with stars more beautiful than any other's.
And the Pill Immortal's was a paradise brimming with all sorts of bizarre herbs.
Now, I was witnessing Sister Goblin Hater's world.
Sister Goblin Hater's world could be summed up in one word—
"Fuck!! Spare me!! Big bro!!!"
It was hell.
Not just any hell, either.
A goddamn scorching fire hell!!
"Who the hell's your big bro?"
Before I knew it, Sister Goblin Hater was way up high.
To be precise, my position had sunk lower.
Lava was erupting, causing the surrounding crust to collapse and rise repeatedly, resulting in full-on tectonic shifts.
I stood alone on a lonely island amid a river of flowing lava.
"I'm gonna die here, aren't I?!"
"You won't die. If you hadn't learned the Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture, maybe, but it inherently resists all attributes."
No, does having some resistance make this okay?
Even fire ability users with scorching fruit powers drop dead if you punch a hole through their gut.
"Quit freaking out and sit down. Your training starts right there."
Terror surged through me,
but I sat in place as instructed.
Bubbling sounds of boiling lava played right beside me like ASMR as Sister Goblin Hater's lecture began.
"First off, the martial art you'll learn is the Earth Vein Resonance Art. As the name suggests, it lets you sense the flow of the earth, detect ore veins, spirit veins, and magma flows, and raise them up to the surface like this. Once mastered, you can explode them with a single hammer strike like me. Keep in mind, though—this isn't a combat art. It's for blacksmithing."
"...This isn't for combat?"
Just fiddling with the ground a bit and lava pops out.
If you triggered this under a monster flower, could anything survive, monster flower or not?
"I get what you're hoping for, but don't get ahead of yourself. You think you'll reach my level? Train here for a year, and the best you can do is nudge a deep dragon vein a little higher. Plus, you can't just raise any random vein. You have to locate it precisely and strike the right spot to cause this."
"Ah. That's how it works?"
"Of course. Even as a Martial God's seat holder, do you think I could casually raise a planet's dragon veins? This place is uninhabited, so it was easy to find."
Well, shit.
But it wasn't incomprehensible.
If a casual swing could freely erupt lava, her planet would've evolved from a peaceful world to a red one long ago.
"No need to be too disappointed, though. To achieve what you want, you don't need phenomena this extreme. Just reading the earth and awakening dragon veins is enough."
"So what advantage does that give me?"
"Good question. First, with a dragon vein, you don't need extra tools or gear for high heat—it provides ample firepower on its own. Second, metals tempered in dragon veins become far tougher than those simply superheated. And third, there are metals that can only be forged using dragon veins."
"I get the first one. But why the second and third?"
I already knew plenty about lava heat.
Mantle-born lava exceeds 1,000 degrees, cooling below that by the time it reaches the crust.
Think around 1,000 degrees—no extra tools needed.
But honestly, it wasn't that hot.
Human civilization's blast furnaces hit 1,500 degrees.
Lava was more symbolic than scorching in itself.
After all, it was just molten rock.
Judging by your reaction, you already know lava isn't that hot. Right—natural lava isn't particularly scorching. But magma from dragon veins is special, surpassing other lavas and substances in temperature. You know attacks infused with qi outperform regular weapons in destructive power, yeah?
"I've heard that."
"Same principle with dragon veins. They condense the planet's energy. Just as ether is the world's origin, when ether takes on planetary energy and condenses, it becomes a dragon vein. That's why metals tempered in it gain massive enhancements. And because it's so pure, even the toughest materials from that planet open up to its energy. Hence, metals that can only be forged in dragon veins."
I see.
To build the ultimate forge, the furnace itself had to be forged from a dragon vein.
"That's why I erupted one now. To handle dragon veins, you gotta get familiar first, right?"
"You're not telling me to dive in, are you?"
"You'll do that plenty later. But not starting out that harsh. For now, circulate the Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture and focus on the dragon vein's flow. I've awakened it, so it'll feel clearer than before."
Thankfully, Sister Goblin Hater was far more reasonable—a dwarf, even—than I'd feared.
I closed my eyes and focused as directed.
Circulating the Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture, I spread my inner energy, imagining expanding its scope toward the dragon vein beneath my feet.
Then—
Hummm.
'Huh?'
Something vast and majestic flowed into my senses.
Once I felt it, I wondered why I'd never noticed this enormous current before.
That's when Sister Goblin Hater landed behind me and spoke.
"Feel the dragon vein's flow clearly with the Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture? That's how cheat-level compatible it is with all attributes. It syncs with any element instantly—that's its strength. That's why we Martial Gods recommended it first."
I wanted to agree, but oddly, no words came out.
Realizing why, my consciousness had merged with that massive lower flow.
Once synced, escaping it wasn't easy.
I could force it with effort, but it'd take time.
Fortunately, Sister Goblin Hater had anticipated this.
"No need to reply. You've succeeded in the basics of the Earth Vein Resonance Art—resonating with the earth veins. Now, I'll transmit the incantation."
Tap tap thump—
Something like a cool breeze tapped my back.
It stimulated specific acupoints among my already opened ones, guiding my inner energy to flow on its own without my input.
The resonance with the dragon vein sharpened.
It even expanded.
In this vast earth, my presence shrank, my viewpoint rose a level, letting me take in broader vistas from higher up.
"How's that? Mother Earth's embrace."
Still, no words escaped.
But my head nodded on its own.
'Amazing. This is.'
It wasn't due to some special talent of mine.
The Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture's overwhelming compatibility was part of it, sure,
but more crucially, it was the planet's—Mother Earth's—warmth.
"Easier than expected, right? Because we're all children of the planet. Mother Planet endlessly blesses her children. If we listen to her will, she pours out her grace without reserve."
Suddenly, a quote from a science book I'd read came to mind.
It said we were all descendants of stars.
Based on how our bodies and Earth's materials formed from stellar nucleosynthesis and supernovae long ago—it aligned perfectly with Sister Goblin Hater's words and the vast connection.
"Now, focus in that state."
Sister Goblin Hater placed something before me as I concentrated.
A lump of crimson-black metal, a material I'd never seen before.
"Next is the Steel Communion Method. Read the metal's grain and understand its language. A true blacksmith communes with the metals they work. It won't be easy, of course. Even same-species communication is tough—what more with speechless metal? That's why we borrow Mother Earth's aid. Tough alone, but possible with her help. Extend the Earth Vein Resonance Art's scope to that bloodsteel ore."
I did as told.
And truly, the metal lump's hum reached me.
Hummm—
Small but intense.
Insignificant compared to Mother Earth, but overwhelmingly potent relative to 'me.'
Looked extraordinary at a glance.
Sister Goblin Hater said,
"Focus harder. At your current level, you can hear its words."
If I could now, I would.
Whose words would I take lightly?
I strained to attune to the metal's voice.
What came through was...
—Ahhn~ So hot~
"...?"
What the?
—Ahhng...! Don't stare like thaaat...!!!
'Is this thing broken?'
What the fuck is this?