Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Lightning-Treading Steps
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The average elevation of the Jewel Mountains is 3,000 meters.
It might seem a bit low compared to the continent's more renowned mountain ranges, but it's still high enough to be considered a proper mountain.
After all, even a 1,000-meter mountain isn't easy to climb.
…That is, if you climb it the conventional way.
*CRRRUNCH!*
For instance, even a 10,000-meter mountain is only a 10-kilometer distance if you go straight down.
And at my current level, covering 10 kilometers would only take a few minutes.
The fact that the Spirit Mountain's surface is sloped more extremely than other mountains is actually a plus for me right now.
Of course, the height of this strange mountain might be several times, or even dozens of times, greater than 10,000 meters...
“In any case, I can definitely make it down within ten days.”
[Theoretically, yes, but...]
My fourth martial brother's voice somehow sounded like he was sighing.
[You shouldn't treat the Spirit Mountain like an ordinary mountain.]
“Of course.”
I've never once thought of it that way.
My martial brother seemed to have more to say, but he just shook his head and mumbled.
[...It's better to experience it yourself than to be told a hundred times.]
“...?”
It wasn't long before I understood the true meaning of his words—the very next day, in fact.
*Beep-.*
[Current Progress: 50.0%.]
The moment I finally passed the halfway mark...
*WHOOOOOSH!*
Suddenly, a gale strong enough to make it hard to open my eyes began to rage from out of nowhere.
“Gyaaaah-!”
For a moment, I lost my balance and was nearly blown away.
The situation was so dire that I let out a meaningless shriek.
This wind wasn't just the air resistance from falling.
It was as if the Spirit Mountain had suddenly gone mad; the wind truly began to howl ferociously.
That alone made the descent several times more difficult.
‘It’s like a typhoon has made landfall!’
The kind of super typhoon that could blow away even well-built structures.
To keep from being blown away, I had no choice but to put more force into my steps.
Naturally, the more force I put into my feet, the more my speed had to decrease.
“...!”
At that moment, a wall suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Of course, considering I was running down a slope of over 70 degrees, it wasn't a wall but a cliff path to step on.
Probably the path I would have taken if I had followed a normal route.
But that wasn't what was important right now—
‘I’m screwed.’
In any case, because it appeared so suddenly from beyond the fog, I ended up slamming face-first into the cliff path.
*CRASH!*
My body bounced off the ground and was sent flying into the air, far from the cliff face.
‘This is really dangerous.’
Naturally, I have no ability to fly.
Even on a perilous slope, there's a world of difference between having your feet on the ground and not.
If I stray completely from the path like this, I'll have no choice but to helplessly plummet to the ground.
‘What do I do?’
If I had any internal energy, I might have been able to find another way, but the total amount in my dantian was still just a pittance.
At that moment, the FAD came into view.
For a second, I felt like I'd made eye contact with this faceless device.
[...]
“...”
[...Don't tell me—]
“Sorry.”
I immediately rotated my body in mid-air, then used the FAD as a foothold to launch myself.
*Crack.* With the sound of hard metal breaking, I barely managed to return to the original slope.
*THUMP!*
I intentionally dug both feet in deep upon landing.
Meanwhile, the FAD I had kicked away disappeared beyond the fog.
“...FAD?”
After a short while.
A precariously swaying flying object approached from beyond the fog.
*Static, zzt...*
A moment later, text appeared on the cracked screen.
[FAD's One-Line Review: You son of a bitch.]
“...I’m really sorry.”
I immediately apologized again.
* * *
I couldn't hope for another stroke of luck like that.
Even ignoring the fact that the FAD had started to keep its distance from me.
From then on, I proceeded cautiously, scanning my surroundings, even if it meant going a little slower.
It wasn't an easy task.
The gale grew stronger and stronger, and the fog thickened.
You'd think such a strong wind would blow away the fog, but I'd decided not to expect common sense from the Spirit Mountain.
Five days passed like that.
[Current Progress: 78.7%.]
Calculating the remaining time and distance, I concluded that I would just barely make it if I advanced about 5 percent each day.
Of course, that was assuming there were no more variables.
I hoped the environment wouldn't change any further, but...
As expected of the Spirit Mountain, I suppose.
This place always gives my expectations the middle finger.
*Ruuuumble...!*
Around the 98th day, in other words, with only two days left.
Rain began to pour from the sky.
This sudden downpour presented me with many problems.
My vision became even more obscured, the pelting rain was irritating, and my body temperature dropped sharply. But those were minor issues.
The biggest problem was that the slope had become slippery.
To keep my balance, I had to put far more strength into my legs than before.
*Ruuuumble...!*
Was it a relief that at least lightning wasn't striking from those thunderclouds?
*CRACK!*
‘...Shit.’
A bolt of lightning struck a short distance away.
Watching the falling rock fragments, I swallowed dryly for the first time in a while.
Still, it's fine.
I've heard the odds of being struck by lightning are astronomical.
You'd have to be unlucky enough to fall backward and break your nose—
*CRACK!*
This time, the lightning struck much closer, and in that moment, I naturally realized something.
This lightning isn't natural.
I tilted my head up slightly and looked at the sky.
The moment I felt as if my gaze had met the pitch-black thunderclouds...
*KABOOM!*
I could see a lightning bolt hurtling toward me like a spear.
Still, since I could track it with my eyes, wasn't it slower than actual lightning? ...The useless thought crossed my mind.
Even so, it was still lightning falling from the sky.
The instant the spear of lightning flashed, it was already right in front of my nose, and I felt my hair stand on end.
If it so much as grazed me, my entire body would be electrocuted, and I would be instantly swallowed by the fog.
*Thrust!* With my stiff legs, I kicked off the cliff face, forcing a change in my path.
*CRACKLE!*
I had narrowly escaped the lightning's range, but a chill still ran down my spine.
Besides, was it just my imagination?
It felt like the lightning was starting to fall faster and faster.
*CR-CR-CRACK!*
Shit, of course it wasn't my imagination.
I desperately dodged the continuous barrage of lightning.
Even so, I couldn't focus all my attention on dodging, as I was still hurtling downward.
I had to account for the sudden appearance of a cliff path like last time...
...and at the same time, I had to keep my lower body tensed to avoid losing my balance on the slippery cliff.
Trying to calculate all of this at once felt like I needed two brains, but as if possessed by a god, I managed to do it somehow.
My overloaded mind went blank, but my body flawlessly executed every inputted process.
It was somehow different from a typical enlightenment.
It simply felt as if I had come to understand the true meaning of the term 'state of selflessness' not with my mind, but with my body.
*Flash...!*
The lightning no longer fell one by one.
I understood that the word 'myriad lightning' wasn't just a metaphor, but a sight that could actually unfold in reality.
*BOOM!*
And then I planted my feet on a relatively quiet stretch of the cliff path.
It was the first time.
The first time I'd stopped running while I still had energy to spare.
“...”
I had a premonition that the path ahead was truly dangerous.
I felt a pressure so immense it made all the dangers I'd faced so far seem like child's play.
[It seems your danger-sensing abilities are still intact.]
I heard my martial brother's voice over the sound of the rain.
Because of the downpour, I couldn't see the FAD clearly.
[The area ahead is the Myriad Lightning Zone. It's not a place for someone at your level.]
“...”
[Let's stop here, Ruan. I'll repeat what I said before. The ability to turn back the past is certainly alluring. But it can't be heavier than the weight of your life.]
I asked something I had been wondering about for a while.
“So if I die here, I’ll lose my life in reality, too.”
[Yes.]
It was obvious, now that I thought about it.
But.
“...”
[Ruan?]
I stood there, silently taking in the sight of the myriad lightning.
[Are you going to give up?]
I heard my martial brother's voice, but I didn't answer.
I didn't have the luxury to reply.
I stared endlessly at the striking lightning.
The shape of the lightning spreading across the gray sky looked just like the cracks that spread just before the world shatters.
Could that actually be what was happening?
Some colossal being beyond the sky... repeatedly striking it with a hammer the size of a great mountain.
The thunder would be the roar of the impact, and the lightning would be the cracks.
It might have been a useless delusion, but right now, I needed to personify it.
Just as my martial brother had compared the trees to martial artists, I had to define the lightning as an opponent I needed to defeat.
And being someone who lacked imagination, I found it hard to immerse myself in treating nature as an enemy.
That was why I had no choice but to imagine a virtual enemy who controlled the lightning.
And to defeat a powerful foe, analysis is always necessary.
“—”
At some point, I couldn't hear anything anymore.
Had the continuous thunder ruptured my eardrums?
It wasn't bad.
In fact, with the distracting noise gone, I could concentrate better.
By the time I'd even forgotten the passage of time.
“...”
I suddenly had a premonition that lightning was about to strike where I stood and dodged to the side.
A silent flash filled my vision.
Even with my eyes closed, the afterimage of the light remained vivid.
‘How did I just dodge that?’
I asked myself, but I couldn't answer.
It didn't feel like a fluke, though; for some reason, I had been able to predict where the lightning would strike.
I thought I finally understood why enlightenment was something that couldn't be explained with words.
“Haaaah...”
I let out a long breath.
At some point, this seemed to have become my preparatory motion.
Soon, a faint heat rose from my dantian and spread flawlessly throughout my entire body.
In the perfect silence, where I couldn't even hear ringing in my ears, I took a step forward as if possessed.
I had thrown myself into the Myriad Lightning Zone.
*Flash!*
I understood that the safest place, temporarily, was the very spot where lightning had just struck.
I mobilized all my analysis, adding my sixth sense to my five senses. When even that wasn't enough, I added conjecture to predict the lightning's strike points.
It was as if something had changed in my eyes, too; the places where I needed to step seemed to shine brighter, as if set apart.
I connected those points into a line and then walked.
It was a strange feeling.
Even though it was a movement I was performing for the first time in my life, it felt as natural as if I had practiced it repeatedly.
As if I were performing a familiar martial art—
“—Ah.”
Goosebumps rose on my forearms.
I hadn't realized it myself, but I belatedly understood that the steps I was taking were a form of footwork.
I realized that all my prior contemplation and research had been for the sake of pursuing the most efficient movement in this moment.
And if a martial artist were to go through this series of events, the entire process could be called the creation of a new martial art.
What did this mean?
It meant that I, without even realizing it, had created a new martial art.
“Ha, haha...”
In the soundless space, only the sound of my laughter could be heard clearly.
I couldn't help but laugh.
This footwork was entirely my own martial art.
Uninfluenced by the Bednickers, the forgotten god, or even my Master.
A martial art born solely from the phenomena and events I had experienced.
I usually enjoyed giving names to new techniques.
Perhaps thanks to that habit,
I was able to think of a fitting name for this coincidentally created footwork.
“...Lightning-Treading Steps.”
Steps that tread upon lightning.
It might be a bit overly dramatic, but I couldn't think of a better name for now.
*Tap...*
And then, I finally landed safely on the ground.
The raging storm had stopped at some point.