Chapter 166
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Aftermath (3)
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Now that there was nothing left to do, he decided to stay in the barbarian tribe for a few days, balancing rest with training.
He'd never planned on putting in this kind of effort before, but using the shamanic tattoos and divine powers turned out to be more fun than expected. He just couldn't help himself.
How could anyone hold back from rampaging around like a true superhuman?
After testing it out several times, he found that the shamanic tattoos were essentially a buff that massively reinforced the body.
"UHAHAHAHA!!"
Boom! Crunch!
His already powerful body grew even stronger, and he couldn't control it—he went wild like a horse with the reins cut loose.
Smashing house-sized boulders with his fists and crushing old tree trunks barehanded was endlessly amusing.
The world felt like soft tofu, sending shivers of euphoria and omnipotence through him, as if he'd become a god.
Now he could understand why Beric had been so confident.
"Is this a claw?"
"It's fascinating. It's not mana or aura... It feels like space itself has taken shape and been overlaid."
But the divine powers took it even further.
They were so absurd that they prompted philosophical questions about whether a single human should wield such power—it was terrifying.
"What... is this?"
The Beast God Kubel's divine power manifested the symbols and concepts of beasts into reality.
To bring the symbolism, concepts, instinctive fears, reverence, and other emotions tied to the word "beast" into the real world... it was far more immense than he could have imagined.
"The Aura Blade just scattered!?"
"It seems like a conceptual attack rather than physical force. Similar to a mind sword."
"Whoa..."
Beasts were incomparably faster and stronger than humans.
Beasts possessed eerily tenacious vitality.
Beasts had strange instincts and senses.
Beasts saw the unseen and heard the unheard.
Sometimes, gods dwelt in beasts.
On the flip side, beasts were incarnations of demons.
Beasts embodied terror itself and sniffed out the scent of death.
And so on, and so forth.
By pondering the meanings passed down through legends and wielding them consciously, the power's potential and versatility were truly boundless.
Of course, this was the level required to be called a god.
"It's frightening."
After a brief spar with him, Wendy wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and offered her short, simple impression.
As she straightened her back in her leather light armor, her ample bust and slender waist stood out, while her blue hair and eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
It was a posture perfectly suited to her title of Knight of Dawn.
He stared blankly at her, engaging all his senses.
Ever since his complete transformation, he'd developed a habit—or game—of instinctively spotting and memorizing new details in things he'd previously overlooked.
It was surprisingly enjoyable, and he kept doing it without realizing.
Like a newborn beast perceiving and adapting to the world one piece at a time, he was probably going through the same process.
"Lord Han-gil?"
"Hm? Oh... yeah. Terrifying power. You feel it too?"
"Yes. It's overwhelmingly strong, threatening, and full of variables—hard to predict. Honestly, it's burdensome."
She gave a wry smile and sheathed her sword.
"I thought becoming a Sword Master would make me unbeatable, but the world is vast and deep. I never dreamed such otherworldly power existed."
"...Same here. Who could've guessed?"
Powers like Kubel's didn't appear in the game or even the setting documents—they were utterly alien.
That made them all the more unsettling.
If he could gain this power, other villains could too.
"Whew..."
"Tired?"
"Yeah. Pretty worn out. The power's great to use, but it drains stamina and mental strength like crazy."
"A force that strong naturally comes with a price. Without that cost, it'd be too unfair."
"Good point."
He chuckled and plopped down, and she quietly sat beside him.
"Mm..."
A cool floral scent mixed with fresh sweat tickled his nose, so he twitched it and stared at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Just. You smell nice."
"...If you want, I can do like I did with the others."
With that, she tilted her head, exposing her long, pale neck.
He'd occasionally given in to the alluring scents from women and buried his nose in their bodies—she must have noticed.
"Didn't expect that from you."
"Is that so? I don't think it's unusual."
She smiled faintly and pressed closer, peering into his face.
"...Why?"
"No reason. Just... realizing again how handsome you are."
"Uh, well..."
He still wasn't used to such blunt compliments on his looks.
"Half this face is from your past life, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then your past self was handsome too."
"Never heard that before..."
"It's a strange, wondrous feeling. Like I'm really facing you."
"That... makes me happy."
Her words—that it felt like facing "Kang Han-gil" rather than "Starnassila Alzen"—made him smile unwittingly.
"...Actually, Lady Cecilia's been a bit annoying lately."
"Her? What's up?"
He tilted his head at the sudden confession, showing interest, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
"No, nothing much. Just... a small misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding? What kind?"
"She told me to act boldly and win you over."
"Uh..."
As he floundered, she laughed amusedly and hugged his arm.
"In Lady Cecilia's eyes, it seems like I'm in love with you. What do you think?"
"How should I know..."
He smiled awkwardly, and she made a teasing, seductive expression.
He'd never known Wendy could make faces like that until today.
"Truth is, I don't really understand love."
"...Yeah, you seem like it."
"Hehe, right? But I keep staring at you or talking about you, and she couldn't hold back—she gave me all sorts of advice. It's a bit... cute and annoying. I'm grateful she cares, though."
"......"
"What do you think, Lord Han-gil?"
"Well, from what you say, even I'd misunderstand if I were Cecilia."
"Really? Hmm... Actually, before coming here, I got one piece of advice from her."
"Advice? ...Ah, was that why she was acting all busy?"
He'd wondered why Cecilia had scurried off, leaving him alone with Wendy.
"So, what advice?"
"If you're unsure about your feelings, act with some direction first. If you realize something from it, the feelings are real. If there's no spark, they're not."
"...Sounds pretty solid."
"Right? So I decided to follow it."
She tugged his arm closer, her face drawing near.
"Uh, hey, Wendy? This feels kinda sudden..."
"Don't like it?"
Her blue eyes sparkled, her sculptedly beautiful face glowing, her pale skin emanating a floral scent.
"No, honestly, a beauty like you coming close is amazing."
"You're so honest about your desires. I like that. Though having so many women around is... well."
"Jealous?"
"No. The church doctrine says to avoid such lustful mindsets."
"...You zealot."
"Yes, I'm a zealot. But that's why I can't think of any man but you—the one He chose."
Their noses touched as she closed the distance.
A sweet, pleasant scent filled his nostrils.
Her wildly pounding heartbeat rang in his ears.
"Mmph!? Chuup...!?"
Unable to hold back, he pressed his lips to hers first, firmly gripping the back of her head.
After savoring the soft touch by rubbing their lips together, he slipped his tongue in. She flinched in surprise but soon yielded softly, pressing her body against his.
"Haup, mmph, churp...!"
As the kiss deepened and prolonged, a clear taste spread on his tongue, the floral scent intensified, and her heartbeat grew louder.
Only after a long while did their trance-like kiss end, and they pulled back to face each other.
"Hoo, hoo..."
"Haa, haa..."
As they caught their breath lightly, he pulled her waist close and asked.
"So, how's following Cecilia's advice feel?"
"Well... my heart's pounding like crazy. Can't control it."
"And?"
"Feels floaty, like I'm rising. My whole body's hot. And... my lower belly's tingling and itchy."
"...Sounds more like lust than love."
"Does it? Maybe."
She smiled faintly and nestled into his arms.
"It's unfamiliar to me too, so not bad."
"...Figures."
The church really was a crazy bunch.
How do you raise someone to find lust unfamiliar?
"...Can we do this more often from now on?"
"Sure, I'd welcome it, but not sure about the other women."
"......"
She pouted and glared briefly, then sighed.
"Guess I'll have to talk to the others."
"Huh? Talk?"
"It's only polite."
"...Do what you want."
Unsure if that was really polite, he just nodded.
After holding on tenaciously for several days, Beric finally met his end.