Mount Tai
Mount Tai
- The side effects of Taesan are less well-known. Because it isn't as blatantly dangerous as the other two.
As my consciousness sank, memories bobbed to the surface.
- You have to keep your emotions in check at all times. It's better than the Calamity Flame, where you're consumed by fire if you fail, or the Azure Sea, which freezes you solid.
Most of the memories centered on Taesan.
- But that doesn't mean Taesan has no side effects. It's more accurate to call them cautions? Usage tips? Things to keep in mind?
Within one droplet of memory, Lee Ji-yeon let out a groan and glanced my way.
- For Taesan, confidence is crucial. Funny hearing that from me, right? But the content itself is correct, so keep it in mind.
Confidence.
- How firmly you build your will. Standing firm without doubting yourself, steeling your will not to crumble in the face of any danger. Taesan responds in kind and manifests as great power.
The output of the unique ability itself. Output varying by individual. And output depending on one's state of mind.
Taesan, in particular, waxes and wanes in power according to one's state of mind.
Before a strong will, a steadfast mountain like Taesan rises. Before a weak will, a tiny hill that can't even block a light breeze takes its place.
- BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Consciousness sank deeper. I didn't lose awareness entirely. As my body was driven into the ground, a wave that shook the soul drew near.
I perceived my own Innate Talent.
Two colossal Innate Talents. Mana Affinity and All-Rounder. And from them, countless tiny Innate Talents budded like fruit on branching stems.
The Calamity Flame blazed with a bright, warm light.
Though it hadn't yet fully settled as a complete Innate Talent, the Azure Sea orbited with water and ice, firmly asserting itself.
At their center.
Rock and soil intertwined and surged upward. Verdure shimmered over the thrusting mountain, the foundation of life sprouting.
As the Innate Talent gradually took root, it affected my brain as if kneading it. The mountain wavered between expansion and contraction.
'I am...'
A coward by nature.
Before even considering self-belief, I'm the type who doesn't love themselves. My will is weak beyond measure.
Whatever others might say, Lee Ha-yul thought so of himself.
Just a few years ago, I'd tear up at the sight of a needle, shut myself in the house afraid of people, and soak my pillow thinking about my severed leg.
Despite all the growth and change, the fundamentals hadn't altered.
When I faced the flames of the Hellfire that could incinerate the world.
I trembled in terror at the agony those flames would bring, enough to faint inside. I wanted to run, crying my eyes out.
I didn't run.
Without an ounce of hesitation, I charged the Hellfire. Even as my body and soul burned in the Hellfire, I never backed down and threw myself at it like a madman.
There was one reason for that.
I had a reason I couldn't run. There was a cause I had to fight for.
It wasn't some obsolete shackle left by my useless parents.
Before believing in myself, I had to fight to protect things more precious than my own life.
Compared to the safety of the people precious to me, my own fear was less than meaningless. Insignificant.
That was enough.
It was sufficient motivation to set my will upright.
Since I could do anything for them, I somehow satisfied the conditions to wield Taesan.
- RUMBLE...!
The judgment was made. The wavering mountain shot up tall. The fully established Innate Talent spread outward.
.
.
.
- CRASH! CRASH! BOOOM!
The Giant slammed its fists down without rest. It wasn't just the strength of its whole body—darkness was thickly coiled around each blow as it hammered down.
It could feel it. The sensation of something small touching its fist, breaking and being pulverized, transmitted clearly.
But it didn't let its guard down. It poured out mana like mad and even brought its legs into play, stomping the ground ferociously.
The pure-white human, Lee Ha-yul, was a formidable foe it could never overlook.
Whether by luck or chance, it had barely cornered him. Even the human who had been rending the darkness apart now only exuded a chilling bloodlust, not daring to approach.
It had to finish this now. Spurred by that conviction, the Giant brought its leg down for what felt like the hundredth time.
- BOOOOM!
- ...!
It stomped down, but the ground didn't sink further. The foot hadn't even properly touched the ground in the first place.
'Mm.'
The two arms that blocked it stung. But they didn't break like before.
Crunch! The crushed body reassembled itself. Shattered bones fused back together, and muscle and flesh knit. The copiously spilled blood welled up.
The vitality surging from the earth had elevated healing into the realm of regeneration.
- Huuu...
Vitality that could have momentarily turned the whole area into a verdant forest was consumed for healing. Yet the vitality showed no sign of drying up; it seeped out with every breath.
Lee Ha-yul closed his lips at the novel sensation.
'Taesan.'
Not an imitation achieved through Homogenization, but a firmly rooted Innate Talent. There was no need or time to chew it over in detail.
The moment I felt the weight settle within me, I realized I could do things I hadn't been able to before.
Could I use it right away? It wasn't even a question. I'd already learned it long ago. Even without separate learning, I had data from Observation.
Lee Ha-yul let out a quiet laugh and drew a breath. Ten fingers dug into the Giant's sole.
'Taesan, Expansion Ability.'
Strength to Uproot Mountains
- GRRRRRRK...!
The taut contest of strength snapped. The bent knees and arms straightened. Those two arms, which looked like toothpicks compared to the Giant, pushed its leg back.
The Giant's body tilted askew. Its crimson pupils flared with light.
Gurgle! Over a dozen pupils merged into a single, massive eyeball. Mana poured from the glaring crimson eye.
- SWOOSH!
The ray split. A mana cannonade rained left and right, scraping across the ground and exploding. Darkness pelted down like buckshot, soaking into the earth.
"Did your plan go as you intended?"
Sierra, who had appeared before me at some point and given her sword one swing, asked. Lee Ha-yul clenched a fist and answered brightly.
- Yes! It worked out well!
"That it worked out is a true relief."
Contrary to her words, her demeanor was sharp and cold. Before I could even ask about it, Sierra stepped forward.
"In that case, I think it would be best to wreck that son of a bitch now."
Sierra's sword trembled faintly. Resonating with her killing intent, the blood-colored blade exuded a terrifying sharpness.
- ...Yes, let's subjugate that thing...
"Understood."
BOOM! The ground burst as Sierra launched forward. She gripped her sword tighter and clenched her teeth.
'That bastard, I'll slice him to death.'
All sorts of curses that were hard to actually utter out loud swirled inside her.
She put on a feigned-innocence act and played polite in front of Lee Ha-yul, but Sierra, having gone through all sorts of things as a mercenary, actually had a foul mouth.
It was a situation that left no choice but to curse.
A Giant wreathed in darkness like shadows, glaring with a crimson eye.
This wasn't her own memory, but it was a monster that had swept through the frontlines and killed her comrades.
And just moments ago, it was the goddamn monster that had been pummeling Lee Ha-yul like a dog.
Murderous intent spread. Mana flashed in the Giant's single eye. A mana cannon swept across.
She didn't slice through it like before. The mana cannon traced the trajectory the Giant intended. But Sierra wasn't caught up in it.
The Giant blinked its single eye, and Sierra was right in front of its face.
- SLASH!
The massive eye was cut. Darkness gushed out. The moment the Giant let out a roar and raised both arms, Sierra's sword accelerated.
The sword struck dozens of afterimages, brutally carving up the single eye.
- GRAAAAAH...!
The Giant twisted its body and its hand snapped up to grab hold of Sierra.
It couldn't catch her. Before it knew it, Sierra had appeared behind its palm and swung her sword. The fluid blade traced along the finger joints.
'The wrist.'
Severed fingers flew through the air. She twisted the sword driven deep into the wrist. Shrrrack! A slash ejected from the blade, ripping through the wrist.
Sierra sprinted along the Giant's arm with the sword still embedded, and just as she reached the crook of its elbow, she leaped high.
BOOOM! Mana cannons poured down the Giant's arm. She lifted her gaze slightly and saw the single eye, already almost fully regenerated, spewing forth vicious animosity.
'As expected, blocking its regeneration is difficult.'
Power has its ranks. The current Sierra was a sufficiently strong superhuman, but not enough to fundamentally block the abilities of a 3rd-Rank monster.
She could easily tear away the darkness with her spatial ability, but dealing damage beyond that was hard.
She lowered her gaze. The severed fingers and torn-up wrist, the arm she had slashed while sprinting—they were fusing back together.
'The physical strength and regeneration unique to a giant-type. The recovery of an attribute ability.'
On top of that, its doppelganger, which seemed included in its attribute ability, was strong enough to rival its main body.
If it hadn't deployed the doppelganger separately and had fought together with its main body... this battle would have been far more difficult than it already was.
A 3rd-Rank Alpha. Sierra, in her current state, cannot subjugate it alone.
That much was obvious.
A 3rd-Rank monster is the kind of entity that requires every scrap of available intel gathered beforehand, and then a subjugation team of multiple top-grade heroes backed by dedicated support squads.
Throughout all of post-Cataclysm history, superhumans capable of solo-subjugating a 3rd-Rank have been vanishingly rare.
But Sierra, right now, was not alone.
- Crrrnch!
The ground surged up at the Giant's feet. Dozens of rock tendrils rose like the legs of an octopus, coiling tightly around the Giant.
'This is easy.'
Taesan's earth manipulation. Obvious in hindsight, but it was overwhelmingly faster and smoother than before the manifestation. It felt like kneading soft clay.
That wasn't all. The Giant thrashed its limbs, pouring out mana and darkness to corrode the rock tendrils.
They didn't break easily. Stone that would have shattered like dry straw before now held firm, forcefully pushing back the encroaching darkness.
Lee Ha-yul, impressed, clenched his fist.
Taesan Expansion Ability
Blossoming from a Withered Tree
Roots sprouted from within the vitality-saturated rock tendrils. As if time itself had been compressed, thick roots grew and wrapped further around the Giant's body.
- Kruoooo...!?
The thrashing Giant's eyes flew wide. The darkness it had been spewing faltered, then began seeping into the roots.
The shadow's "gateway" wouldn't open. The restraints were sealing off its escape, blocking its retreat entirely.
- Ku, uoooo!
Crash! Darkness erupted from the Giant's entire body.
The shadows writhing across the Giant's frame boosted its physical capabilities. Crrk! The roots and tendrils began to tear under the violent struggle.
Its intent was obvious: break free of the restraints first.
I had no intention of letting it just sit there, of course.
Boom! Lee Ha-yul kicked off the ground. A stronger, faster leap. Thanks to a body that was being filled with vitality and consuming it in real time.
He was right in front of it in an instant. Mana gathered in pupils grotesquely huge compared to Lee Ha-yul's own.
The blasted mana cannon. Lee Ha-yul's lips twitched as he drew his fist back.
Taesan Expansion Ability
Golden Mountain Iron Wall
No need to draw from the earth. Mana converted directly into stone, sheathing him in armor.
'Oh?'
Lee Ha-yul blinked. The stone armor. What he'd imitated before had been a crude shell.
Now it was... somewhat stylish. He hadn't paid it any mind, but fine, elaborate ornamentation had been tastefully worked into it.
'Is this the All-Rounder trait's influence too? Whatever.'
The mana cannon poured forth.
This time it was different. Not red, but a pitch-black darkness. An attack drenched in its own attribute.
Could Golden Mountain Iron Wall block it? Probably. But I didn't feel like experimenting.
Vitality flooded the drawn-back fist. A quantity of life force several times—no, orders of magnitude greater than before—sat gripped in his hand.
He drove the drawn fist forward.
Taesan Expansion Ability
Mountain-Breaking
Not a Pseudo Mountain-Breaking. This was the true Mountain-Breaking, powered by Innate Talent.
- KWA—AAAANG—!
The Giant's head snapped back, half-destroyed. Fragments of shattered skull, gore, and darkness splattered down in a heavy shower.
'Oh.'
The Giant was toppling backward. The output really was on another level. Lee Ha-yul, mouth slightly agape, reset his fist.
'I could chain strikes from here... no.'
Mountain-Breaking was an efficient technique in terms of fuel. He could keep at it, slam blow after blow... but a different thought surfaced.
Was it feasible? He wasn't certain. But a confidence grounded in reason guided both his head and his heart.
Crk! The stone wrapped around his hands fell away. He brought his pale hands together as if in prayer. Calmly, he drew his mana.
Calamity Flame.
Taesan.
'Homogenization, Azure Sea.'
Fire energy, earth energy, water energy, and cold energy gathered together in the grip of his hands.
- Wooooong—!
A fierce repulsion erupted within his grasp. Even as he maintained control, the skin of his palms was torn away in an instant.
'Focus.'
He sharpened his concentration. Exhaling heavily, Lee Ha-yul slowly spread his hands. Between them, three intertwining, repelling colors revealed themselves.
'As I thought, Azure Sea's starting to fall behind.'
That was because it hadn't yet fully settled as a complete Innate Talent. He compensated by injecting Azure Sea more densely, balancing the mix.
'Adding Heavenly Thunder and Gale here would... no. This time, just the Three Ends.'
He could attempt it, but he was certain he wouldn't be able to control it. And "control," in this context, meant whether he survived or not.
Both hands tingled as if electrocuted. One slip and both arms would burst, and his body, flooded with backflowing energy, would burst right along with them.
He gave his hands a slight push downward.
The tri-colored, rippling sphere settled onto the chest of the Giant, which had collapsed to the ground with a boom.
- .........!
What followed was a familiar sight.
The three colors stained themselves black, then expanded hundreds, thousands of times, devouring the space around them.
There was no direct roar of destruction.
Instead, the sphere turned white, and a violent wind kicked up as it ravenously swallowed the surrounding air.
'Heh.'
Soon even the white sphere vanished, revealing a perfectly empty space.
A crater with a glass-smooth surface was carved into the earth. The Giant's body was gone—completely.
'Heheh...'
Lee Ha-yul's lips twitched as he slowly descended to the ground.
Sierra, who had been deftly sweeping away the attacks and darkness aimed at Lee Ha-yul, shed her Golden Mountain Iron Wall and landed lightly from the sky, looking down at him.
- How was that? Did you see? I pulled it off properly this time too!
Lee Ha-yul sent the sound transmission with a face full of unmistakable pride.
- I told you it'd work, didn't I? I said it would. I said it was definitely possible. Do you know how much I practiced!
He was visibly more energetic than before—to a blatant degree. He even planted both hands on his hips and puffed out his chest with a little "Ehem."
He was so energetic it practically radiated confidence. It was an impression clearly different from his usual self, but Sierra sensed no danger in it.
If there were any harmful element, it would be the Calamity Flame that tended to blaze up like a seizure, and even that was calm right now. So Lee Ha-yul simply enjoyed this moment of pride.
"...Good heavens."
The sight was unbearably adorable. Enough to make even Sierra, utterly indifferent to such things, twitch at the corner of her mouth.
"Even if you declare that while your arms are in such a state, it only makes my heart ache as if it's being torn apart..."
- Erk.
Lee Ha-yul, chest still puffed, blinked. He lifted his arms slightly. Both were drenched in blood and twisted just a little out of true.
The faint backlash from manifesting the Three Ends.
Worse, the energies of Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Taesan were evenly mixed in, so even with vitality blazing through them, the regeneration was slow...
- ...This much is within the expected ra—
"I am glad you achieved something. When I had to simply stand there, watching from afar while you, Lee Ha-yul, were pummeled by that wretched Giant, merely spectating, it felt as if my heart were being shredded to ribbons. So this is comparatively better."
The words that followed.
Her tone was composed, but a cold sharpness flickered through it. Indeed, the corners of Sierra's eyes were raised rather high.
Lee Ha-yul, belatedly registering Sierra's mood, flinched and hunched his shoulders inward.
At the same time, the strange confidence that had filled his head and heart crumbled away. Shrinking into himself, Lee Ha-yul dropped his head low.
- I'm sorryyyy...
The bubbly energy radiating from Lee Ha-yul scattered in an instant. Like a sunflower wilting, the atmosphere around him dimmed into gloom.
"Ah... no... That's not what I—"
Flustered by the overly dramatic shift, Sierra faltered.
In this fight, Lee Ha-yul had recklessly pushed his body far too hard. That held true even considering they were in the Tower of Growth.
She'd meant to gently raise that point, but... faced with such an intense reaction, guilt stabbed at her heart for no good reason.
"Th-That is, please don't take it so harshly. I was being presumptuous to offer advice, but that was..."
Sierra was not a good talker.
She had never had to soothe someone affectionately before. Floundering, Sierra instinctively pulled Lee Ha-yul into her arms.
- Squish.
Lee Ha-yul's head was buried against her chest. Sierra blinked at the sensation. Looking down, she saw the ample swell of her bust.
'Ah.'
The magic tool that had been compressing her chest had come undone. Had the mana run out? Or perhaps it had been damaged during the battle. Magic tools in this era do tend to lose functionality...
Mulling over the cause, Sierra abruptly checked on Lee Ha-yul. The gloomy aura had brightened just a little.
"...Ahem. I apologize for snapping at you so sharply. Still, even if it is a simulation, seeing you treat your own body like a test subject, I simply..."
Averting her eyes, Sierra patted Lee Ha-yul's head with an awkward touch.
* * *
[Unique Ability 「Taesan」 has manifested.]
...
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Sierra Skariar
●●●●●○○○○○(51▷57/100)
「Tower Master of Space」 「Swordsman」 「Voluptuous」 「Sensible Person」 「Strict Person」