Big Fucking Wind
“How about that? Don't I look a little different now?”
Ariel floated smugly in midair, shrugging her shoulders with exaggerated flair. I nodded vigorously, thumbs up with both hands.
“Yes! Insanely so! It's completely nuts!”
“Hmph, I've got way cooler powers than that one, but I'll show them to you slowly. For now, let's start with the basics! The key is guidance and concentration. To control air density, you...”
And so began my private spirit arts lesson smack in the middle of the swamp. Ariel turned out to be a surprisingly excellent teacher.
“Alright, I think I've got the hang of it. Time to test this baby out properly in real combat!”
Dragon Words magic—Suh and Cheok—are essentially powerful forces of attraction and repulsion, pulling things in or shoving them away. And the spirit arts Ariel taught me let me mold, scatter, and dominate the flow of intangible air at will.
Once those abilities fused within me, I unlocked a whole new dimension of skill usage I'd never dreamed of before.
“Ariel! Check this out!!”
Thoom—!
I compressed the air beneath my feet, then unleashed Cheok's repulsion to rocket into the sky. It wasn't even remotely like a regular jump. Currents of wind wrapped around my toes, supporting me like invisible stairs as I bounded through the air. It felt like I'd mastered the legendary Air Step from wuxia tales right off the bat.
Soaring high, I overlooked the swamp and waved at Ariel. It was a bizarrely leisurely, peaceful aerial stroll amid the B-rank gate's gore-soaked landscape of shredded flesh and guts.
“I think I can hover in the air without touching the ground for about five seconds now!”
“Hmph, as the contractor of the King of Wind Spirits, that's the bare minimum! Be proud! My teaching was superb, but your adaptability ain't half bad either!”
This shit's no joke.
It wasn't just about raw attack power. For hunters, overwhelming mobility is key to survival. Miss a strike? Stab again. Dodge too slow? You're dead. Gotta live to walk out of the gate for the next one.
Even just Suh and Cheok allowed limited hovering and movement, but wielding wind through spirit arts was like strapping wings to those motions.
If I master this sensation perfectly and expand my Dragon Heart mana reserves even more, five seconds could turn into free flight across the skies.
A human who flies through the heavens. My lips curled into a grin.
I'd always envied the handful of top-rankers with flight skills or special artifacts. Looked like that dream might actually come true.
“Great King of Spirits Ariel! Ariel, you're the absolute best!! I love you!!”
I floated around in the air, belting out praise at the top of my lungs. Elf spirit arts. The fifth lesson:
'When praising spirits, go all out—over the top and intense. Nothing hates praise, spirits included.'
Ariel puffed up her chest and snorted at my blatant flattery.
“Hohohohoho! Finally, my contractor's starting to grasp the true value of wind spirits. Excellent! I'm in a great mood! Today, I'll show you exactly why I'm called the strongest among the four great spirit kings!”
“Oh? What's next??”
“Hmph! I've got tens of thousands more to show. Right! This gate dungeon still has its boss left, yeah? Let's go bag that boss, contractor!”
I tilted my head inwardly. The strongest wind spirit? I granted her insane destructive power, but pure lethality-wise, wouldn't fire or lightning edge her out?
A bit puzzled, but no reason to kill Ariel's momentum as she strutted ahead full of vim. I quietly followed her across the swamp.
“Here comes the supreme Ariel! Make way, you trash mobs!”
Her shoulders shrugged high with excitement, bobbing cutely ahead. Honestly, less majestic, more adorably pint-sized.
Deep in the swamp. At the heart of a massive, stench-filled mud lake, the gate's boss finally awaited.
True to the apex of the swamp ecosystem, it was a colossal reptile. But...
“Holy shit, what the fuck is that monstrous bulk?”
The boss was none other than a gigantic alligator turtle. The same cute pet-store critter, but house-sized. Spiked protrusions jutted like iron maces from its shell, its skin clad in pitch-black steel scales. The sheer intimidation made me doubt this was really a B-rank boss.
“Ah, a tanky boss, huh...?”
I scowled and clicked my tongue. Ariel asked,
“Tanky?”
“Yeah. Some gate bosses have balanced stats, but others dump everything into one absurdly overpowered stat. Seeing is believing, right? Wanna check it out?”
I skipped more explanation, gripped my spear tighter, condensed mana at the tip, and hurled it full-force at the boss ahead.
The spear tore through the air, slamming dead-center into the turtle's shell.
But.
Ping—!
The throw that pierced B-rank crocs like butter barely scratched the shell before bouncing harmlessly away.
“See? A B-rank dungeon boss is at least A-rank caliber minimum, but this guy's sacrificed all offense and mobility for defense that's damn near S-rank.”
Ariel perked up, removing her sunglasses and stepping forward.
“Oh ho? Is that so? Let me verify myself.”
She floated up, extending a hand toward the turtle. Hundreds of wind pellets rained down with a roar.
Boooom—!
Dust cleared to reveal the boss unscathed. Ariel's shotgun blast had only lightly scraped the shell.
“Oh ho, this one's genuinely tough.”
“Hmm, it really has zero intent to attack.”
As I said, the boss hunkered motionless in the swamp's center. It peeked out just enough to eye us, then retracted fully at the mere sight of my raised spear, pure defense mode. No attack patterns whatsoever.
“So it just squats here breathing forever?”
“Yep. Tank bosses endure until time-out triggers gate break—that's their goal.”
“Hmph, playing that defensively must be a real pain for you humans.”
“Exactly. To close the gate, we've gotta pierce that shell and cut its throat...”
No fancy tricks. Time to unload my strongest combo: Seven Dragon Eight Trigram Spear Forms 1 and 2 linked, maxed with Ariel's wind acceleration and spin.
“I'll give it a full-power shot first.”
“Do it. Let's see how well you've learned.”
Vrrrrm—!
The spear hummed violently with mana. I dropped low and kicked off.
Wind acceleration was sharper, faster. A subtle spinning wind blade coated the tip, penetration leagues beyond before.
This'll pierce!!
Thraaaash—!!
A massive recoil jolted through my arms.
“Gahhh!! My arms!! My fucking arms!!”
I tumbled backward through the air, spear in grip. My arms went numb. Silver lining: results.
My all-out thrust cracked the shell's center, flaking off a chunk.
“Yes! Weak point made! Now hammer that gap like mad...!!”
I gritted my teeth and charged again. Twice, thrice, four times... six or seven reps of the same combo.
“Hah, huff... F-fuck. This thing's insanely tough... Ow, my limbs...”
I collapsed into the mud, using the spear shaft as a crutch, gasping raggedly.
Mixing forms with Dragon Words and spirit arts drained mana and stamina like crazy, even with the Dragon Heart. But my grind was widening the crack. A few more barrages, and it'd be done.
As I staggered up, spear ready again—
“Stop. You gonna pussyfoot around and make it home today? You'll burn out.”
Ariel's low voice drifted from above.
“What else can I do? This is all I've got.”
“Didn't I say I'd show you why the King of Wind reigns supreme among the four elements?”
“Hah, huff... Oh, finally stepping in yourself?”
What next? Typhoon? Hurricane? Tornado?
I looked up, heart pounding. But Ariel's explanation missed the mark entirely.
“I'm on good terms with fire and lightning spirits by nature. Elemental affinities exist among us—we amplify each other naturally.”
Wind feeds fire—that's basic. But lightning? Wind and lightning make storms?
“I told you I watched that video of you gleefully slicing through those hell demons yesterday, right?”
“Ah, yeah. You kept watching for the music.”
“In the late-game footage, there was this insanely intriguing weapon. Visually like the power I use for pranks back in the spirit realm.”
Ariel's lips curled slyly.
“What was it called? BFG? Such a direct, brilliant name. 'Big Fucking Gun.' Pure heavy metal spirit in that naming sense. Right up my alley.”
I gawked at her. Holed up like a shut-in watching game streams, memorizing the profane weapon name perfectly.
“No, that's a plasma energy weapon!”
“Heh heh, you call it plasma? I call it the 'Breath of Divine Wrath.'”
“Breath of... Divine Wrath...?”
Ariel slowly extended both hands into the air. The atmosphere warped grotesquely between her tiny palms, something forming.
“In this contracted form, this size is my limit, but only the King of Wind Spirits can do this.”
Vrooooom—
Air pressure compressed to extremes between her palms. A blinding lime-green lightning orb tangled with crimson flames coalesced.
Tzzzzzzzzz—!!
The air screamed as sparks erupted wildly around the sphere.
“Wh-what!? Firing a plasma cannon with spirit arts!?”
I couldn't hide my shock. Even with my liberal arts science knowledge, I knew plasma was superheated ionized gas. Somehow, she'd whipped it up with spirit king powers.
The multicolored plasma orb swelled, engulfing her hands.
“Watch closely, contractor. See the King of Wind Spirits' versatility.”
With that arrogant line, a massive, gaudy plasma beam—like the game's ultimate weapon—locked onto the boss from her hands.
And.
“The technique's name is Big Fucking Wind!!”
Thus, the rock spirit-packed 'BFW' blasted from Ariel's hands.
ZZZZRRRAAAAAASH—!!
Blinding flash bleached my eyes and the gate white. A colossal shockwave and scorching heat slammed my face.
Then, the turtle's massive death screech.
“GRAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
One shot. The tanky turtle whose shell resisted my desperate stabs to mere cracks now sported a clean hole punched straight through its steel-plated body.
Szzzzzzzz—
Acidic smoke rose from the plasma-melted wind hole.
I stared dumbly at the overwhelming sight.
“In-insane!?”
Insane—this was fucking insane!
Ariel grinned.
“How's that? Pretty impressive, right?”
Impressive!? I desperately turned to her, pleading,
“It's unbelievable! This is no joke!! Air blasts? Fuck air blasts!! I don't need 'em!!! Teach me this! Plasma beam! Teach me now!!”
“Hohoho, that begging face suits you as my contractor.”
Fuck, forget everything else—the King of Wind Spirits had style for days. She was the strongest.