Chapter 115

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 115

Chapter Title: 1 Year

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When I realized that the final remaining clue lay with the Naked Truth, my mind cleared instead.

It meant I could neatly set aside the stele and immerse myself fully in magical integration.

After all, to obtain the Oracle Stele from the Naked Truth, I at least needed to achieve magical integration myself.

So I abandoned the search for the stele and wandered across the entire continent.

Leaving the volcanic zone behind, endless plains stretched out. Deep canyons. Vast oceans.

I devoted myself to becoming familiar with the elements.

And so, a year passed.

That year was strangely peaceful.

Of course, from a macroscopic perspective.

There were no rumors of the forces of evil, who seemed poised to unleash something at any moment.

But delving into the details, a great many changes had occurred over that year.

The most striking was Rozelin. She had ultimately reached the realm of the Transcendent.

With the Hero's arrangements in hand and the tutelage of the Tower of Intellect, she completed her awakening faster than anyone.

It was true that she had achieved awakening at an overwhelming speed, but the chat room members weren't particularly surprised.

After all, I—Anonymous 4, now known as the Secret Scales—had walked that path ahead of her.

The Tower of Intellect brought up my example so often that I almost felt sorry for Rozelin.

It seemed to have been quite a shock to him as well.

I, too, had made many strides in that time.

When I first felt familiarity with the fire element, I'd thought it might take years, but perhaps the beginning was the hardest part.

The process of traveling everywhere and building familiarity went surprisingly smoothly.

Cold. Fire. Water. Wind. Earth. Wood.

Now, I was familiar with all six elements.

The most common and fundamental ones—I had felt them all.

The wood element had taken particularly long.

I had little experience handling it and even less exposure.

So I sought advice from the Root of Understanding.

The result?

Currently, I was practicing the breathing technique the Root of Understanding had taught me.

Silver Resonance, a unique breathing method known only to elves.

I had once heard the incredibly pure sound of the Silver Resonance, but no matter how hard I concentrated, it never came close to me.

But now was different.

With each repetition of the breathing, I could feel that sound drawing nearer.

And I could sense what it meant for the sound to approach.

The process of my mind and body recognizing each other and interlocking as one.

Each time mana spread through my body with my breath, my mind grew sharper, and my body more sensitive.

And when I felt the Silver Resonance right before me...

At some point, a gentle vibration welled up from within my chest. All other noise faded, and only the vibration originating from inside me pulsed with a thudding rhythm.

It was a sensation as if touching every flow in the world.

'The beginning of integration?'

My mind recognized the mana, and the mana guided my body. My body, in turn, followed the mind.

No—the three elements began to lose their distinctions.

What was recognizing? What was guiding?

What was moving?

At that moment, I realized.

There was no need to distinguish.

The mind was mana, and mana was the body.

Ultimately, it was me.

Not a being separate from the world, but one breathing as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠part of it.

Me.

I recognize, I guide, I move.

The me that breathes, the me that circulates mana, the me that perceives the world.

The sensation of all those "me"s fusing into a single point.

As that sensation rushed toward its peak, brilliant mana extended from every vessel in my heart to the tips of my hair.

Lightning-like streaks of light flashed through my brain.

The hairs on my body stood on end, goosebumps rising. It felt as if sealed senses were unlocking one by one, piercing through dozens of layers of dimensions and expanding outward.

The gently rippling vibration suddenly felt like an earthquake shaking the entire continent.

It was a sensation of ecstasy and terror crashing in together.

I couldn't resist it; I could only surrender to the flow and feel it.

And when I couldn't even gauge how much time had passed...

A clear, bell-like tone rang out purely.

Before I knew it, I was exhaling deeply, and silence surrounded me.

The rumbling, thundering vibrations had long vanished.

Silence.

The perfect proof of harmony.

The moment of magical integration, where mind, mana, and body melted into one.

The process of building familiarity was an endless chain of long boredom.

Nothing suited it but the word "training." Day after day felt the same, and sometimes there seemed to be no progress at all.

So I thought a great ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deal about other things, and the one that occupied the most space was undoubtedly the forces of evil.

Were they still looking for me?

After failing to seize the north, they had gone quiet for a while. But they weren't the type to simply swallow defeat and retreat.

There must have been a clear reason for targeting me so openly this time.

Preparation for some scheme. A sign that the prelude was approaching.

If they hadn't truly gone quiet due to the northern failure, they would have had countless chances to capture me in the meantime.

The fact that they hadn't moved meant they were definitely holding back.

And now that they had emerged, it meant they were stepping forward again.

Something was about to happen—I had felt it instinctively since the banquet hall ambush.

That's why I used the means at my disposal to neuter the conflict between humans and elves.

I had implanted the idea that neither was the other's enemy right now.

If I was going to confront the forces of evil head-on, it was better to have one more weapon in hand.

Still, I was no longer in a position to be endlessly chased like before.

Now I had achieved magical integration.

Magical integration was a stage possible only upon reaching Dragon Rank.

At Dragon Rank, one could openly flaunt their Transcendent status, making it hard for anyone to recklessly ambush them.

Of course, I hadn't fully attained Dragon Rank.

Above all, this continent was vast, and its depths hid countless monstrous Transcendents who hadn't yet revealed themselves.

I couldn't forget that. It was a warning against arrogance and complacency.

I knew that fact all too well. Every time I saw the members using the manaphones I'd made, I felt it anew.

But one thing was certain.

I now had the foundation to act in earnest.

It was time to tackle the postponed matters one by one.

First, I asked the Root of Understanding about the Essence of Evil.

Because the connection to Philip Deran's clone, who had implanted the Essence of Evil, had been severed at Evanveil.

And the one managing that place now was none other than the Root of Understanding.

The chat room members knew I had been devoted to training for magical integration.

It would have been stranger if they didn't know, since I'd asked the Root of Understanding about the wood element.

...Madman?

Had it evolved from weirdo?

The Naked Truth had also become one of the frequent visitors to this chat room, following the Tower of Intellect.

My "frequent" meant they were practically residents.

The Naked Truth seemed ready to actually pay a price.

Another curiosity-driven being had appeared.

They seemed polar opposites to the Tower of Intellect, yet shared the most similarities.

The Root of Understanding had answered my initial question, confirming they possessed the Essence of Evil.

And then asked how I knew.