Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: White Flame
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Though I had reached the battlefield I desired, the situation was still far from good.
About a minute after the battle inside the maw began, I found myself desperately wishing for the ring sword I had given to Kaljak.
‘Haaa…’
If I had known, I would have just kept it for myself.
My main skill was still in fists, not swords, but in a situation like this where I had to conserve my internal energy, a blade was undeniably better.
Its base attack power was on a different level from a punch.
My physical conditioning was still pathetic, so I had to use internal energy with every move to deal with these damn snakes.
If I faced them with my bare body, my muscles would be torn to shreds and my bones shattered in an instant.
If Osel hadn't struck me with that poisoned dagger, and if I hadn't been able to convert the extreme yang energy within the poison into internal energy, I would have been dead long ago.
…Looking back on it, was it right to simply call that good luck?
The outlandish thought that being stabbed by that dagger might have been the starting point of some grand destiny crossed my mind.
It was, quite literally, a stray thought, so I focused my attention back on the fight.
…….
…….
My body was hot.
As I punched, kicked, and, when I had the chance, tore apart the charging snakes, a question suddenly occurred to me.
‘How many have I killed?’
I couldn’t remember.
That was dangerous.
It was proof that my cognitive abilities were starting to be affected.
Even as I threw punches imbued with fire, I felt a growing chill…….
Before I knew it, my breath was turning to mist.
‘This is not good.’
This was really not good.
The only reason I could hold on this long wasn't because I was particularly outstanding.
It was a matter of affinity; the martial art I had learned was of the extreme yang type.
Kaljak, on the other hand, had a bad affinity for this. Against such an enemy, he would have struggled to exert even half of his true power.
“Haaa…”
I exhaled a hot breath.
Simply put, fire melts ice, but melted ice becomes water, and water extinguishes flames.
This meant that, basic affinities aside, the longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantaged I would become.
If my skills had reached the level where my fire could even evaporate the water from the melted ice, a prolonged battle wouldn't matter.
But as I was now, both my physical conditioning and internal energy were pathetically weak.
The biggest variable in this situation was, of course, the children of the Jewel Beast.
The cold energy naturally emanating from their bodies encroached upon the surroundings more and more as time passed, and it was starting to affect me.
“Haaaaa-.”
I exhaled again.
How many enemies were left now?
From what I could see, the number looked about the same as when I started.
*Smack!*
While lost in useless thoughts, I took a tail to the cheek. If it had hit any harder, my teeth might have been knocked out.
“You son of a bitch…”
In return for a slap on a cheek that not even my mother had ever struck, I personally tore the tail's owner to shreds.
And as I spat out the blood from my mouth, I thought.
Maybe I’ll die today.
…….
…….
At some point, my mind became hazy, as if I were wandering through a dream.
There wasn't a single spot on my body that didn't ache, and my right arm throbbed with particular intensity. A closer look revealed a severe wound on my forearm.
I had lost a lot of blood.
But the feeling I was experiencing now was different from the dizziness of anemia.
It was a sensation of my mind and body being separated.
Even as I entertained useless thoughts like before, my hands and feet were methodically annihilating the enemy.
All the while, I was recalling the words of my unusually talkative third martial brother.
- Getting stronger the angrier you get? You sound just like the Hulk.
- It’s less about anger and more like my emotions resonating with the Flame Arts of the Greatest the more intense they get. Besides, what’s a Hulk?
- It exists. Green skin, huge body, ridiculously strong…
- An ogre?
- …Looks similar, but totally different.
My third martial brother, famous for being a chatterbox, spouted useless nonsense nine times out of ten, but occasionally he said something helpful.
That piece of advice was one such time.
- Little brother, you said you were a mercenary before coming here.
- Ah, yes.
- Did you know? In the mercenary business, everyone eventually has to put their life on the line.
He wasn't wrong.
By their very nature, even the easiest jobs a mercenary takes carry a risk of death.
Even if you don't realize it yourself, you're risking your life in almost every moment.
- Some guys romanticize the decision to ‘risk one’s life’ as something noble, but it’s not really like that. Still, it’s true that such trials are opportunities for great growth.
- Listen carefully, little brother.
- Recklessly betting your life is completely different from pushing past your limits. Because…
“…desperation and tenacity are different.”
In my past life, I never understood the true meaning behind those words.
I died on the battlefield without ever breaking my limits.
I only understood it afterward, after experiencing death.
In a new place called the Spirit Mountain.
…….
…….
My body remained hot.
My throat burned as if I had swallowed fire, and it felt like lava was flowing inside my skull.
Yet, a sharp chill ran through my entire body—a contradictory state.
It seemed I no longer had the luxury for idle thoughts.
I kept fighting.
At some point, even the will to win grew faint, and my body began to move according to a more primal instinct.
To kill just one more, until the very last drop of my internal energy was gone.
*Thud.*
I threw,
a punch.
“…Huh.”
The fist that had been decisively crushing the snakes until now landed impotently against a scale.
The snake itself seemed startled and flinched for a moment.
*Hiss.*
But it soon realized there was no pain and tilted its head in confusion.
I stared blankly at my bare fist.
Even when I squeezed my core, not a single drop of internal energy emerged.
The serpent that had been tilting its head changed its demeanor and lunged at me.
*Kyaaaaaaak-!*
I could see the snake’s repulsive gullet, feel the same chilling air, and see its fangs glinting pure white.
A moment of absolute crisis.
…….
…….
In other words,
a moment to surpass my limits.
***
- You are an interesting one.
A time in the past.
My master spoke as he looked at me.
- I have seen countless individuals hailed as geniuses. Above you are four martial brothers, all of whom possess talents rarely found in this world. They, too, underwent the same training as you here.
- For one month, they had to survive on this Spirit Mountain by any means necessary.
His voice, even and steady, continued.
I listened quietly, like a sinner being reprimanded.
- All of them faced crises, both large and small. A crisis did not always lead to injury, but every one of them felt death at least once or twice here.
At the time, the words ‘once or twice’ struck me deep in the gut.
My master gazed at my face and said.
- How many times have you been on the verge of death on this Spirit Mountain?
I didn't know.
There were too many to count.
Back then, I was too busy just trying to survive.
- 27 times. In one month, 27 times. It’s safe to say you were on the brink of death almost once a day.
- …What are you trying to say?
I retorted, a surge of emotion welling up inside me.
My martial brothers, who had faced only one or two crises.
And me, who had nearly died more times than I could count.
I felt miserable at the incomparable difference.
Disappointing.
I thought I was about to hear the one word I never wanted to hear from my master, a word I had heard countless times back in the Bednicker family.
- Well done.
When I raised my head in surprise, I saw the old man with a benevolent expression.
- You have faced numerous crises. You were hurt often, and you suffered greatly. No human can ever be truly indifferent to death. You contended with the greatest fear for a month and overcame it. You have been forged in the truest sense of the word.
Looking back.
I think that was the only time my master ever praised me so unequivocally.
- It seems it would be best for you to accept the Flame Arts.
- Why is that?
It was a curious suggestion.
If one could personify flames, they would be an incredibly hot and passionate individual.
No matter how I thought about it, that was far from who I was.
But regardless of that,
I already knew back then.
- Because the fire attribute of the Arts of the Greatest of All Time is a martial art that can only be mastered by the most tenacious.
That when it came to martial arts, my master’s words were almost always true.
***
Was the Jewel Beast a venomous snake?
And did its children inherit their mother's venomous fangs?
I would never know the answer to that question.
Because just before the fangs touched my forearm, the swarm of snakes vanished from my sight.
Like leaves touched by a flame.
“──.”
My head was numb, and my vision was as bright as day.
Just moments ago, I was shivering from the cold, but now, I felt warm.
……!
……!
The young snakes shrieked and charged, but I could barely hear them.
All five of my senses seemed to have been dulled significantly, but despite that, the movements of the snake swarm felt so clear it was as if I could grasp them in my hands.
‘…I’ve entered it.’
A laugh escaped my lips.
My hearing must have been completely shot, as I couldn't even hear my own laughter, but thanks to that, I laughed freely without caring what anyone thought.
Perhaps even snakes wanted to avoid a madman, as they paused for a moment, but then one whipped its tail at me like a lash.
It felt so slow I could have yawned.
I caught the incoming snake's tail and ripped it apart.
It was certainly easier than punching it, though it had the disadvantage of being messy in various ways.
*Step.*
And then I moved forward.
Come to think of it, this was the first time.
The first time in this battle that I had approached them.
My biggest concern while fighting the snake swarm was getting surrounded.
That's why I had maintained a passive, defensive stance, but there was no need for that anymore.
I could now accurately perceive the exact number of snakes.
‘What’s left is.’
Roughly fifteen of them.
Perhaps thinking I was a fool who had walked into my own doom, the snakes, after a brief hesitation, attacked again.
It seemed it would take a great deal more time before these things could inherit the name Jewel Beast from their mother.
Their attacks were utterly simple; this swarm lacked any cunning.
In that case, with my physical abilities now drastically enhanced, it no longer mattered whether there were ten or a hundred of them.
*Fwoosh.*
The crimson flames had at some point changed color, now emitting a pure white light—a White Flame.
It seemed as though I was surrounded by this White Flame, but upon closer inspection, I was the one within it.
‘…The reason only the most tenacious can master the Flame Arts of the Greatest is.’
Because this art possessed the characteristic of growing stronger the longer a battle continued.
As time passed, the body would heat up, yet the user would feel a chill.
A creaking body, a mind that seemed to have gone astray, and pain akin to torture.
These factors made one want to die at every moment, but the more one endured without giving up, the hotter it became.
-In other words, you gradually grow stronger.
Like a fire that burns brightest just before it goes out, expanding its form without limit.
Physical performance also advances to a point beyond its limits.
When it finally enters an overheated state, a white flame emerges from the entire body…….
My master called this state White Flame.
Only real combat can bring about true growth.
An achievement I never would have gained without facing the brink of death.
And for that, I was grateful for today’s battle, this life-or-death struggle.
*Crunch.*
I crushed the last snake’s windpipe.
I stood there, catching my breath.
Basking in the feeling of being reborn in the flames.
The cold was gone now.
…….
…….
It was in that moment that something unexpected happened.
[Magnificent!]
[That dance of fists you performed, staking your very life—I acknowledge it as a worthy offering to awaken me, the Martial God, from my long slumber.]
[Mortal, you are worthy of becoming my first disciple.]
…What the hell is this now?