The Beginning Rift Part 2
A colossal body that appeared to be nearly 50 metres tall.
High-temperature gas continued to spew from pipes protruding here and there.
“So you’re the leader of the Western Fissure.”
-Squeak!
=Bloody hell... This is why I hate dust. It gets stuck in my joints.=
The colossal machine, ‘Brontir of the Forge’, continued its soliloquy, ignoring Baek So-young who had reached its very front.
“…Ha! After rotting away in Baekhodang for the past twenty years, you still dare to insult me?”
=What’s with this woman? How on earth has she survived?=
“Did you really think a measly explosion like that would kill me? You’re incredibly foolish...”
-Whoosh!!!
Before Baek So-young could even finish her sentence, Brontir’s massive claw arm flew at her like a bolt of lightning.
-Clang!!
=... Huh?=
However, with a single, delicate movement from Baek So-young, the direction was completely altered.
“To think you’d try to defeat me with a hunk of metal? You’re 500 years too early.”
-Bzzzzz...
A white haze rose from Baek So-young’s body. The gold energy boiling within her began to seep out little by little.
The skirmish was already over. Even an S-rank demon beast would be unable to withstand a full-power thrust.
[Western Seventh Star, San-su Unlocked.]
The world around Baek So-young slowed down. One might say her thinking had become even faster, but she had no time to spare for such thoughts.
“A thrust is a point; a trail is a line.”
-Whoosh!
Condensed energy shot forth in time with the sword’s movement. An incredibly small white sphere pierced the centre of Brontir, leaving a white line in its wake.
“The slash is a line, and the trail is a plane.”
-Swoosh!
The line created by the previous thrust cleaves the enemy’s body in two. And that trajectory remains as a white plane.
“Now, once more, I shall trace the plane’s path to cleave the cube.”
-Crunch!
The white plane moves. Its trajectory transforms entirely into a mass of white, leaving only microscopic particles in the space through which the plane has passed.
-Swish... Thud.
As if leaving no trace behind, the moment Baek So-young turns her back and sheathes her sword.
The world resumes its flow at its own pace.
-Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Cr
It was the moment when the divine power that had reduced the assailant attacking Hwan I-hyeon’s party to a handful of dust upon their first encounter was unleashed once more.
-Thud.
“Well then, my dear, what do you think? How does it feel to have witnessed this master’s secret technique?”
Baek So-young stepped in front of me, placed her hand on her waist, and spoke as if proud.
‘...So-young.’
‘Harin didn’t tell you. She said to answer after looking at your husband.’
‘No, that’s not it... just put some underwear on.’
‘Underwear? What on earth are you talking about?’
Baek So-young tilted her head in bewilderment.
“Master. Is showing your bits to everyone your hobby? Don’t you realise that if your clothes flap about, everything’s on show?”
“…?!”
Baek So-young’s face, which had been full of self-importance, flushed bright red.
“Um… ahem… what are your thoughts on my strike…?”
“Your technique is rubbish, but your pussy is lovely.”
“What? What on earth…?”
What sort of person is this?
Her swordsmanship was already at a level that transcended the limits of human capability. Yet, the fact that she blushed at the slightest teasing meant it was no exaggeration to call her a high-functioning Asperger’s sufferer who knew nothing but swords.
That said, that strike just now was quite impressive.
When I was with Yuryeon the other day, the bloke who ambushed us must have been the one who took that hit just now.
That massive mechanical contraption formed a mountain of dust, so it must have been him.
“You know what? When I first saw you, Head of the Sect, I could see all your private parts too.”
“...”
“The world really is coming to an end. Who would have thought the Head of the White Tiger Sect was such a shameless woman?”
Now even Yeo-ryeong had joined in, teasing Baek So-young.
“But why hasn’t a message like ‘Destroyed’ popped up?”
Under normal circumstances, there should have been an indication that it had been properly cleared. The fact that there wasn’t meant that the core was still alive within that pile of dust.
‘...Surely not.’
As they say, it’s the ‘surely nots’ that get you—an anomaly occurred amidst the rubble Baek So-young had created.
-Crash...
A corner of the pile of dust collapsed.
=Cough, cough... You... you mad bitch...!! My Brontir...!! Aaaargh!!!=
‘...What on earth?’
Inside, there was a sphere the size of a football—barely big enough for a person to fit inside.
-Pssshhh!
The sound of hydraulic mechanisms activating could be heard. A spherical lump of metal flung open one corner, and something burst out from beyond the hatch.
A compact stature, about waist-high, with thick limbs.
A bushy beard and an outfit that practically shouted, ‘I am a blacksmith!’
“Ahh... my, my masterpiece... Aaaargh!!!”
‘...A dwarf?’
The figure was the spitting image of a fantasy dwarf.
‘Oh my, how fascinating!’
‘Ms Harin? What did you say?’
‘Look at those limbs. Jin-yul had exactly the same proportions when he was a newborn!’
Ms Harin was projecting Jin-yul onto that burly fellow. As he had already lost his hostility and was weeping, her own hostility seemed to have softened considerably.
“Not a monster, but a human? What on earth...”
“This will be the decisive evidence for the alien invasion theory. There’ll be major changes to the Academy’s curriculum.”
Everyone was in a state of confusion. Even I hadn’t imagined that it wasn’t just a living, moving machine, but a human being controlling it from within.
[SS̸̢̢̡͚̻͎͚̬̠͉̍́̒͊͌̽͂̈̕͞# ̶̣̭̺͉̇̃̌͂͂̉͛́̒̕͢$̷̡͓͕͔͎̗̬̽̅̍́̓͒̿͜% ̡̟͕̖͆̋͗̃̊̎̒̂̿͢͠^̷̰͉̹̺̫̾͂̂̇͐͂(̭̗̪̮͚̝̲̹͋̓̏̌̇̈͐͟͝͡* ̧̫̤̳̘̹͕̙̽̐̐͒͑̑́͒̽͜͝*̸̛͙̤̱̦͎͎̍̑̍̓̽͂̊́̂ (̷̫̲̙̻̩͚̭̐͌́̚̚$̸̨̡̻̙͍̞͍̪̀́̅̃͘̕̚͢͡͡ͅ$̰͔͍̝̭̹̦̺̖̊̎̈̈̕̕% Encountered ̶̹̟̙͓͕̯̜͙̉̓̃͊͑̂̊͐͌͟͡^̶̢̛̭̰͚̠͚̩̅̌̔́̿̂̌̐f.]
[What an achievement! ^̡̝̘̤̮̹̺̞̏́̀̆̇͊̍̄͠ (̸̧̛̬̫̪̳͌̄͊̽̑̇̈̌̽*͇͉̱͍̥̣̍̍̍̔̅̑͐̌̋̂͟*̢̬͎̳͈̗͚̇̾̑̆͋̽ͅ (͎̱͎̫̟͖͉̲̲̎̽̌̅̃̋͐̚͘$̛̳͖̝̖̘͛̅̀̍̃$̨̡̼̝̫̳͗̽͛̎̀͝% [I’m face to face with it!]
“Bloody hell, what is this?”
Suddenly, the system message froze.
What on earth is that thing that’s caused this mess?
-Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
[(̷̫̲̙̻̩͚̭̐͌́̚̚$̸̨̡̻̙͍̞͍̪̀́̅̃͘̕̚͢͡͡ͅ$̰͔͍̝̭̹̦̺̖̊̎̈̈̕̕% Encountering ̶̹̟̙͓͕̯̜͙̉̓̃͊͑̂̊͐͌͟͡^̶̢̛̭̰͚̠͚̩̅̌̔́̿̂̌̐f.]
[Encountering.]
[It is.]
The words that had been written began to fade one by one,
[Danger.]
[Danger. Eliminate.]
The text appeared artificially.
[It is a malignant entity threatening this world, and the very fact that it is allowed to exist poses a grave danger to our world.]
The message, which had previously been favourable towards that unknown entity,
[Eliminate.]
Now, as if facing an arch-enemy, it was brimming with hostility.
‘...’
My hand moved to my sword of its own accord. I did not know why, but the sole thought that I must kill it immediately drove my entire body.
[Skill, ‘Remains of the Ancient King: Danjeon (S)’ resonates with ‘Remains of the Ancient King: Heart (S).’]
[“Remains of the Old King: Heart (S)” activated. The rank of the Hwangguk Sword Technique skill has temporarily increased.]
Why was that?
Both Ms Harin and Baek So-young had frozen in their tracks.
“Cough, cough… Ingredients, ingredients…”
It felt as though I alone was still moving, closing in to cut the creature’s throat.
“Queen… what on earth did you see…”
[Hwangguk Sword Technique, Form 1: Jeolcheon (Cutting Through the Heavens).]
“You… wielding the power of the Master… do you desire the Jewel…?”
-Swoosh!
It seemed as though he was about to say something, but my body did not stop.
All that remained was the creature, split in two and spurting blood, at the tip of my sword.
When I came to my senses, I found myself outside the fissure.
‘Gah, gahhhhh...’
I couldn’t understand what had happened.
It was as if I’d seen something I shouldn’t have—a system deliberately concealing something.
The three of them seemed frozen in time.
And then, guided by the system, I’d struck a blow that severed my opponent’s throat without a shred of my own will.
-Crackle!!!
One thing was certain: the bead hanging from that creature’s neck was the core of this place.
[S-Rank Gate, ‘Ingot of the Beginning’ cleared!]
The system displayed a normal message as if nothing had happened.
“Guhhh!!”
My stomach was churning. My chest felt tight, and my whole body went numb as I regained control of my limbs.
“Mr Lee Hyun! Are you alright?!”
“Master!”
As I clutched my chest and collapsed, Harin and Yeoryeong were already rushing over. It seemed they’d started moving again the moment I’d been flung out of the Gate.
I didn’t want to be a burden, but with the feeling that all my energy had been sucked out of me, I simply couldn’t help it.
“Gwaaargh… Ugh… Harin…”
“Yes, I’m here! What on earth is going on…!”
“I need… to replenish my energy… quickly…”
My head ached terribly.
All I wanted to do was close my eyes and collapse to rest.
-Thud.
“Oh, what do we do…! Lee Hyun, pull yourself together!!”
Harim pressed her chest against the corner of my mouth as I lay collapsed.
That was the last thing I saw.
“M-milk… we must feed him quickly…!”
The three women were just as baffled by the current situation.
The moment they saw something burst out of the mysterious sphere, the scene shifted, and Hwan I-hyun began coughing up blood as if he were dying.
Mu Harin was the one in the greatest panic. She could no longer sense his usual abundant vital energy, and the only thing that could replenish it immediately was her own breast milk.
“I-hyeon…? Come round…! You mustn’t slip into a coma…”
“Mu-harin! Snap out of it!”
“Cheon-ho, you stay put! You asked me to do this!”
Despite Geum-yeo-ryeong’s protests, Mu-harin pressed her nipple to his mouth.
‘Stop it! How on earth do you expect to get a liquid down the throat of someone who’s already fainted!’
-Thud!!!
Baek So-young, having forcibly pulled Muharin away, snapped at him.
‘Let go! I’m telling you, I can’t sense any energy coming from Lee Hyun right now!’
‘...If that’s the case, there is a way.’
“What?”
“Well… there’s a way to restore the Five Elements quickly without you having to breastfeed him.”
Restoring his energy.
Among the methods Baek So-young knew, there was one that could be used in a situation like this.