I'm Not D...ying
I'm Not D...ying
Days passed after the Giant's attack.
During that time, the frontline itself remained stable and peaceful.
'The Giant swept up every monster in the vicinity and came rushing in all at once.'
In this isolated space—more precisely, among the monsters manifested inside—anything that might have lingered near the frontline was dead.
They'd also been slaughtered without pause from the moment the cadets were summoned.
The day they poured in like a flood under the Giant's command was the most striking. They were utterly obliterated by the unrestrained torrents of Calamity Flame and Azure Sea.
'Ariel's unique magic, which I used as well, played a major part, but...'
Ariel's unique magic: Final Snow Blossom.
This magic is specialized for the battlefield.
Within the spell formula's range and under her control, it converts mana into 'snow blossoms'.
Each individual snow blossom carries a dense concentration of her innate talent and becomes a deadly weapon that moves according to the caster's will.
I used those snow blossoms to grind the Giant's body and its darkness into paste, as if feeding them through a blender.
Then, with the remaining energy, I also shredded the monsters that had been launching a concentrated assault on the front line.
If you focus it on a single target, it's a concentrated single-target weapon. If you disperse it against many, it's a slaughtering weapon. If you want, you can even use it in different ways.
'This was the first time I've really used it properly.'
As expected, its performance left no room for criticism.
The unique magic my doppelganger deployed—an imitation—ground away the surface and attribute power of a 3rd Rank monster in one go.
No wonder the sheer volume of the spell formula was so enormous, even considering it was unique magic.
When I first tried to comprehend the formula, my brain creaked so much I don't even want to remember.
Ariel really is incredible.
"I didn't realize you could wield the Authority of Knowledge to this extent."
My idle thoughts broke off. While petting Jeonghwa, I turned my head, and Sierra, wearing a subtle expression, held out a book.
I tilted my head.
[What do you mean, you didn't realize?]
"Exactly what I said. I knew you had received the Authority of Knowledge according to the plan, but I didn't expect you to apply it at this level."
I took the offered book.
"Indeed, seeing you handle the Authority of Space and Observation... it isn't strange that you handle the Authority of Knowledge as well."
This is a book manifested through the Authority of Knowledge. Its cover has become much darker than before, and its thickness has increased significantly.
It's a primary application technique for wielding the Authority of Knowledge, and I was able to use it almost from the beginning after receiving the authority.
I nodded at the heavy weight pressing on my hand.
[It's thanks to Ariel's consideration.]
[When I received the authority, Ariel carefully adjusted it for me... so I could use it right away, to a degree that didn't burden me.]
"That person wasn't exactly the considerate type, though..."
[Please don't insult Ariel...]
"...Just how did you sweet-talk her into it?"
At my words, Sierra's expression grew even more peculiar as she shook her head.
"Anyway. The time for your return is approaching."
[...Yes.]
I held the book to my chest and gave a small nod.
A short while ago, a voice had echoed from the sky.
[The designated time draws near.]
[Return is scheduled to begin in approximately one day. Cadets currently inside the tower, please take note.]
The voice reached only the ears of the cadets. The end of the tower entry was approaching.
I discreetly used Observation to check Sierra's complexion.
I compared it to the face I'd seen a few days ago, illuminated by the campfire.
It was better than that day. And so, my own face relaxed ever so slightly.
"Please don't make that kind of face."
Sierra smiled faintly and carefully brushed my head.
The gesture was clumsy and unpracticed, but the ticklish sensation reached me without any problem.
"If things turn out the way you said they would, then isn't it all fine in the end?"
[...Even so.]
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, and just try within a limit that you can handle. Even if the results are disappointing, don't blame yourself... Mm, we still have a day left, so there I go saying unnecessary things."
Sierra smiled lightly and shrugged.
"At any rate, with one day remaining until your return, what do you intend to do during that time?"
A blatant change of subject. I rubbed my stinging nose and nodded.
[I can't just play around and laze about for a day, so I was thinking of training.]
One day inside the Tower of Growth. It was an opportunity you couldn't even buy your way into back outside, no matter how much money you offered.
I'll need breaks because of my stamina's limits, but just lazing around would be a foolish waste.
'Especially since the fact that there's no death works in my favor.'
Out there, methods that would be dangerous or chip away at my lifespan can be experimented with here without hesitation.
And all of it while the Blessing of Growth is amplified to an extreme.
There's no way I could pass up an opportunity like that.
I parted from Sierra first, intending to go outside the barrier where the aftershocks were minimal—
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Kkeeng."
—I didn't make it.
Just as I was about to slip away, Yeon-hwa, who had sensed something with an almost supernatural instinct, approached and grabbed the back of my neck.
"You said you'd only talk to Sierra and come back. I don't know why you're trying to leave."
Yeon-hwa tilted her head and lifted her hand slightly, and my strengthless body dangled in the air.
It didn't hurt. The hand gripping the nape of my neck was careful and exceedingly gentle.
"Hm?"
...But the gaze that kept poking at my cheeks was blunt.
This has been the norm ever since Sierra's exposé that day.
My credibility regarding safety had already been nonexistent, but now that trust had bottomed out and was under strict quarantine...
"...I was going to train..."
"Were you planning to train the Azure Sea?"
Baek A-rin, who had followed Yeon-hwa, abruptly spoke up. She had been caressing a droplet of water floating above her hand, but she lifted a finger.
"If it's Azure Sea training, I completely welcome that. Or, is there something else I can help with? Ask me anything."
"Insane, look how transparent you are. Aren't you embarrassed?"
Yeon-hwa said with a disgusted expression. Baek A-rin tilted her head innocently.
"Embarrassed? I'm just trying to help Baek Ha-yul learn the Azure Sea."
"Baek Ha-yul, what the... Hey, in this day and age, who even thinks about changing family names?"
"Unique abilities are major affairs for a family, you know. It might be worth changing. Hmm... Would that make him Hongbaek Lee Ha-yul, then?"
[What on earth does that even mean...]
I couldn't help but retort at the sight of Baek A-rin crossing her arms and speaking with such earnest gravity.
Because it was just too absurd. Hongbaek Lee Ha-yul? What kind of name even was that...
"Hey, but Ha-yul himself says the Azure Sea is incomplete. So if we're being strict, he'd be Hong Lee Ha-yul, right?"
Just then, Yeon-hwa hugged me and teased.
Baek A-rin's lips twitched, a rare occurrence. Her blue eyes, which had briefly narrowed, curved back into crescents.
"Yeon-hwa, Yeon-hwa, in what era are people still changing family names?"
"What the hell... You crazy girl? You're the one who said it. Are you drunk or something?"
"I gave up drinking a while ago."
The two of them bickered naturally. I blinked, held firmly in their arms, and then, thinking I might doze off at this rate, gently raised my head.
"Yeon-hwa, I'll just go train a bit and come back..."
"Hmm..."
Yeon-hwa, who'd paused her squabbling, looked down at me in her arms. Suspicion leaked from her narrowed crimson eyes.
"...Even I think I'm being a bit too overbearing. But I'm just a little more anxious... I feel like if you go outside again, you'll be out there deliberately getting beaten up by monsters."
"I only did that because it was the Tower of Growth. I won't do that outside."
"I know that. If you'd been caught doing that outside, you would..."
The unfinished words trailed off.
But the cold chill that crept into her crimson eyes and the emotion contained within them were conveyed clearly enough to make me shiver involuntarily.
It seemed it would be difficult to restore the trust that had crashed into the basement. I rolled my eyes in embarrassment and wriggled slightly.
"O-ow... let me go, please..."
The sound that leaked from my throat was like the whimper of a baby animal. It wasn't on accident—I had deliberately let it out while fully in control.
That fact made me feel a little pathetic, but seeing Yeon-hwa's changed expression, it had been effective.
Her lips and eyes twitched. The red Winged Garment went slack. I didn't miss the gap that appeared for a moment.
"I have to work hard while I'm in the Tower of Growth, you know... Since it's hard to try this outside, I need to do it here..."
"...Uh, ahem. Fine."
"Hehe, thank you."
After pushing both cutesy behavior and practical justification at her, Yeon-hwa pretended to relent and turned her head away with a cough.
"Wow, look how transparent you are. Aren't you embarrassed, Yeon-hwa?"
"Shut up."
Yeon-hwa shot a glare at Baek A-rin, who had poked fun at her. Soon, Yeon-hwa's gaze came back down to me.
"So what kind of training is it that makes you say that? Can I watch from the side?"
"Uh... I don't think that's possible..."
"Huh? Why?"
Yeon-hwa tilted her head. Baek A-rin, who had been looking on with curiosity, did the same.
I averted my eyes with an awkward expression.
"Well, the area of effect might be a bit too wide. I was planning to go all the way to the edge of the embodied space to try it..."
"...What on earth are you experimenting with... Hey, don't go."
Yeon-hwa's eyes instantly chilled again.
.
.
.
After all that, I arrived at the very edge of the embodied space.
'It's similar to dungeon walls.'
I lightly placed my hand on the wall that divided the world.
A hazy gray. Something like mist had solidified into a wall, delineating the world.
The inside of the wall was this embodied world. The outside of the wall... was simply empty.
Darkness. An empty void where inky blackness wavered.
'If I do it here, it shouldn't reach the front line no matter what.'
I shook out my arms and gauged the distance.
Three Ends.
A technique said to be insane, weaving mutual promotion and repulsion among Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Taesan to amplify output.
Its power is thus guaranteed. It's a technique that truly lives up to its fearsome reputation.
'But can I add more to it?'
I'd confirmed that Heavenly Thunder and Gale were also entangled in mutual promotion and repulsion. If I added these two to Three Ends, it might draw out even more output.
'In the tent... I failed, though.'
That wasn't a proper experiment.
Given the location, I couldn't do it right. Outside the Tower of Growth, I haven't attempted it for fear of dying.
'I'll do it properly, and if it looks promising, I'll push it further. Whatever.'
Here, there's nothing to worry about, so it's right to give it a try.
Breathing out slowly, I brought my hands together.
I wasn't planning to do anything big. I intended to peel off the energies bit by bit and combine them on a microscopic scale.
'Calamity Flame.'
Bright and warm fire energy gathered.
'Taesan.'
Heavy earth energy gathered. The vitality energy that accompanied it mixed and flowed into the earth energy.
'Homogenization, Azure Sea.'
Water energy and cold energy, slightly insufficient to reach the Innate Talent, gathered.
'Homogenization, Heavenly Thunder.'
Sparks of lightning energy crackled and coalesced.
It clashed with Calamity Flame. CRACKLE! The docile Calamity Flame erupted upon contact with Heavenly Thunder as if a trigger had been pressed.
My hands were forced wide open. The energies fluctuated unstably, flesh annihilated, and the energies swelled and scattered erratically.
I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands shut again, scraping together my dominance to stabilize the energies.
'Homogenization, Gale.'
Wind energy settled in. Though its Innate Talent was deceptively soft, its core was filled with a wild, storm-like ferocity.
- Woooong...!
My body gradually sank lower. The aftermath of the energy gathered in my hands touched the ground, and it was erased like a pencil mark, lowering the terrain as if annihilated.
'It's harder than I thought... but also doable?'
That thought crossed my mind, white-hot in my head, as I struggled to control the roiling mass of energy in my hands.
The same thing happened a few days ago when I launched Three Ends.
It was much smoother and more comfortable than when I cast it against the Twin-headed Poison Dragon. I felt like I could now launch an abbreviated version of Three Ends with relative ease.
This thing with Heavenly Thunder and Gale mixed in... Should I call it Five Ends?
I'd imagined my body would explode the moment I tried, but it was coalescing better than expected.
In my two hands, a riot of colors mixed together.
Fire energy, water energy and cold energy, earth energy and vitality energy, lightning energy, wind energy.
Independent and distinct attributes. Yet they were linked organically.
They flowed as if chasing each other's tails, colliding and scattering within their trajectories, then merging to produce byproducts.
'...This is.'
I didn't intend this. What I wanted was a surge in output through repulsive force. Was this a variable born from mixing in other Innate Talents?
The moment I thought that.
The mass of energy in my hands abruptly expanded.
.
.
.
'What the.'
I blinked.
I couldn't see. That was normal. Nothing new.
But nothing was registering in my head.
Observation was off. My senses had shut down.
Strange.
My body wouldn't move properly. I was falling. Why? There was nothing supporting my body. Where did the ground go? The wall?
'Did it punch a hole...?'
I had a vague idea of the answer.
Just before my memory cut out, the mass of energy in my hands had expanded and swallowed my surroundings.
It wasn't a wide area.
At most, a small explosion, enough to swallow a single building, erupted.
In the spot where that explosion went off, a hole was torn into space. And I fell into it...
'Where... am I?'
Some sensation returned.
My body is falling.
'The Tower of Growth.'
I could be certain this was the Tower of Growth from the blessing lingering on my body.
But I couldn't tell exactly where I was falling to.
'Observation...'
When I activated it, my head screamed in protest.
Countless spaces were perceived, like shards of broken glass.
Some were wide plains, others endless mountain ranges.
A desert where red sand shimmered with heat. A forest where umbrella-shaped trees replaced clouds. A snowfield where thorn-like ice jutted up like mountains...
Different spaces.
There was a commonality.
'Monsters?'
They were full of monsters. As if representing nature itself, monsters rampaged, fought, and devoured each other.
Some places were different. There were monsters, but no fighting.
Countless monsters, like goods in a warehouse, were grouped by some rule and lost in deep sleep...
'What in the world is all that...'
CRASH! Even those countless glass shards shattered and dissolved into the darkness. Color drained from the world.
All that remained in every direction was the pitch-black, hazy darkness.
'Oh.'
Not only the darkness, the blackness, remained. Rather, it was only after the world shattered like panes of glass that another color revealed itself.
Violet. Hair and eyes.
In the middle of the darkness, where one couldn't tell sky from ground. A gaze fixed on me from a chair resembling a Jade Throne, eyes spread wide as they stared.
Someone I didn't recognize.
But not a complete stranger.
The one who remained in portraits, Siyoram's Headmaster...
[Little Sister?]
- WHOOSH!
Before I could fully process the question, the fall stopped. As if I'd reached the bottom, I was swallowed by the darkness.
.
.
.
- SPLASH!
My body plunged into something cold.
Liquid rushed into my mouth and nose.
Water. It felt like I'd fallen into water.
I reflexively flailed my arms.
The current I made was small. That was because the two arms needed to create the current had been blown off.
- Blurp.
Fortunately, my sturdy body didn't die from this much, and the water was shallow. I planted my numb but slightly better legs on the bottom and stood up.
- PWAH!
My head broke the surface. Fresh air filled my nose.
- Swoosh.
A cool wind approached. A wind that was aimed at my neck. The moment I tried to respond, the wind stopped suddenly.
"...Ha-yul?"
[?]
Gagging and spitting water, I tilted my head. Water and blood dripped from my ears.
A voice calling my name. I knew who it was. But it was a voice that shouldn't be heard here...
I gently activated Observation. A headache clawed and pierced my brain, but information filtered in from a narrow area.
'...A forest...'
The place I had fallen into was a clear lake surrounded by a verdant forest.
I wasn't alone in the lake. A presence approached, and the wind that had been at my nape dissipated.
"Ha-yul, why are you here... why..."
Wet, pale-green hair clung to her skin.
Lee Ha-sol, who had been covering her chest with one hand and stretching out the other to unleash a storm-like wind, wore a dumbfounded expression.
"...Your, your injuries..."
The dumbfounded look froze cold. Her gaze swept over my body.
...There were quite a few missing parts.
The clear lake water spread with a crimson hue.
* * *
[The Tower Master of Growth is horrified!]
[Falls silent.]
...
[The Tower Master of Growth takes action.]
[Falls silent.]
...
[The Tower Master of Growth... T, this is in─]
[Falls silent.]
* * *
