Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Grasping the Void and Vanquishing the Salamander
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I kept falling into the pits Eres created, smashing into the ground without a moment to recover, only to plummet into a new one.
In this barrier where not even a sliver of light could enter, Eres controlled everything. She had even weakened my body's durability, making the impacts dozens of times more destructive.
Thanks to that, my stamina and strength stats shot up steadily, but in this situation, it wasn't all that meaningful.
The repeated pain of the falls left my mind dazed and my senses dulled.
The ground was approaching again.
Unconsciously, I stretched my hand upward.
It was a primal urge to grab onto anything to stop the fall.
Crack!
Even though it was empty air, something caught in my hand.
Stopping my insane plummeting speed with one arm stretched my shoulder out of its socket and tore the muscles.
But thanks to that, I didn't splatter onto the ground like a burst dumpling.
I let go and landed lightly on the floor.
"What did I just grab?"
"Nothing. You simply believed you could grab the air, and your body moved accordingly. You could just move your body directly without that, but it seems your thick head needs the buffer of common sense that says you can grab the air."
"I don't quite get what you're saying... but that means I can grab the air?"
Eres made a face like she was dying of frustration.
"You won't understand even if I explain. Just do it again. I need to finish this quickly and kick you out so I can feel at ease."
A hole opened beneath me again.
I recalled Eres's words and the sensation from before.
Until now, my common sense had told me there was nothing to grab in the air, but since I'd already grabbed something once, my body and mind now recognized that it was possible.
I reached out and grabbed the air, trying to halt my body from falling out of the dimension where my flesh existed.
My hand caught on the air again, and my body jerked to a slowdown. But at this rate, my arm would dislocate every time.
Drawing from when Sanghyeon had tossed Light Scepter into the air mid-freefall from a plane and used it to brake, I kicked the air with my foot this time.
The empty air felt like a solid wall.
It allowed for mobility several times faster and more efficient than firing aura and stepping on it, or expelling it massively for propulsion.
I zigzagged through the air with kicks, fully slowing my speed until I stood still in the nothingness.
"What are you doing? Climb up."
At Eres's words, I poured strength into my legs and leaped upward.
If I could break the sound barrier jumping from the ground into the sky, now I could do it from midair.
I shot up quickly, then kicked the space of empty air I'd just passed through with my foot to leap again.
After kicking the air several more times, I escaped the pit.
"Hoo..."
Eres was already up top.
"Couldn't you teach me a bit more gently?"
I'd realized something new thanks to her, but surely there was a way that didn't involve my body getting smashed countless times?
"What nonsense from someone who can't understand words. This is the best method for you. I'm busy, so get lost now. I'll interrogate Aiter, extract the info, seal him away, and come find you later. Oh, and tell the believers to change the statue. Tch."
She must not have liked the statue.
Before I could respond, Eres swung her hand, and I was forcefully ejected from the barrier back to the underground prayer room of the Dark Temple.
"Ah! Lord Jiseok. We've been waiting. Lord Carlton is waiting upstairs."
A young priest I'd never seen before was waiting for me. Following him up, I found Carlton pacing the room anxiously.
"Lord Jiseok! You vanished so suddenly and were gone so long we searched everywhere. You reappeared in the prayer room after all."
Carlton let out a sigh of relief. But then.
"Did you just say 'long'? How long was I gone?"
"Over ten days."
"I was summoned by Lady Eres and back, but I had no idea that much time had passed."
"Ooh! You met Lady Eres again?! Tell us! Tell us the story!"
Priest Rondi shoved his face in close.
"Priest Rondi! This isn't the time. Lord Jiseok! We must hurry back! A salamander has appeared in the mountains!"
Carlton explained what had happened in the mountain range.
"I'll head out first."
I left through the temple doors, leaving Rondi looking crestfallen at missing the story.
"This is foreign soil. If you use your power...!"
"Flying into the sky means no one will see."
"You can fly? But even then, flying in the sky will be spotted."
"I'll fly high. See you later."
I kicked off the ground, sending a shockwave that kicked up dirt and knocked the Dark Temple priests backward.
My body shot into the sky like an arrow, and the ground rapidly receded.
Whenever my speed slowed a bit, I rapidly repeated kicks off the air. It was essentially flight.
Once I reached above the clouds, the ground was no longer visible. The air was thin, but it felt refreshing instead.
I changed my vertical ascent toward the Sleeping Volcano Mountains and dashed through the air.
Hoping Nayeong and Jaein were safe.
* * *
"Jaein!!!"
"No! It's too late!"
Pacheom grabbed Nayeong as she tried to jump after Jaein. Jumping now wouldn't save Jaein and would only make Nayeong another victim of the salamander.
Just before the salamander's flames reached Jaein, a red aura beam struck the salamander, pinning it continuously until it smashed into the cliff.
Then Jiseok flew in and snatched the falling Jaein.
"Had fun while I was gone?"
"Pre...sident..."
Jaein, who had braced for death and survived, had tears welling in her eyes.
"Stay over there for a bit."
Jiseok tossed Jaein into the hole where Nayeong and Pacheom were peeking out.
"Kyaack!!!"
Seeing Jaein flying toward them screaming, Pacheom thrust out his hammer's handle.
"Grab it!"
Jaein caught the end of the handle, and Nayeong and Pacheom pulled her inside.
* * *
"So this is the Incarnation of Fire?"
If my Existence Ascension skill hadn't elevated my tier, even that aura beam wouldn't have fazed the salamander. For three people to hold out against a monster like this without dying was impressive.
The salamander ignored me standing in the air and crawled up the cliff toward the hole Jaein had entered.
I fired another aura beam, making it fall along with crumbling cliff sections.
Irritated by the two hits, it clung to the cliff and unleashed a torrent of flames at me.
I crossed my arms to block the flames.
When the flames proved ineffective, it kicked off the cliff, lunging to bite my neck.
I sidestepped the salamander as it flew at me with jaws wide and choked its neck with my arm.
The heat from its earlier flames was incomparable to the salamander's body itself. Even with my armor, my whole body felt like it had been dipped in lava.
It thrashed wildly, clawing at me with its talons, and the armor where they scraped didn't tear from sharpness but melted from the heat.
I drew my sword from the back of my hand and stabbed its neck.
Perhaps due to my elevated tier, the salamander writhed in pain from my attack, but as a mass of intangible fire, stabbing its neck didn't kill it.
One stab wasn't enough, so I pierced its neck, head, and torso, but it still didn't inflict meaningful damage.
"Is my tier still insufficient?"
I tightened my grip to prevent it from escaping. Attacks might not work well, but I could hold it.
Then I stopped stepping on the air and plunged into the river.
Kwaaaaang!!
The intense heat met the river water, instantly turning it to steam in an explosion. The shock shattered cliff rocks, which tumbled down to nearly fill the river.
Explosions that seemed like they could evaporate the entire river kept occurring, but cold river water continually poured over me and the salamander.
Even as my body melted from the heat and got battered by explosions, I didn't release my hold on its neck.
This brute-force style of fighting was where I had the most confidence.
After holding on for dozens of seconds, the salamander's heat cooled, stopping the explosions. But water touching its still-hot body bubbled vigorously.
The salamander's size gradually shrank.
When its body was small enough to fit in my two hands, the water no longer boiled but merely warmed.
Once it had shrunk to lizard size, its body faded, leaving behind a fist-sized orb.
I grabbed the orb in one hand and surfaced.
* * *
I rescued the three through the hole and climbed back up to the mine.
"Master!! We were so worried!"
Marcello hugged his master with a teary face.
"We're glad you're all safe! Sorry we fled and left you!"
The search team that had climbed up first knelt.
Everyone in Workshop Street cheered at the three returning alive.
But Pacheom was listless despite the warm welcome.
"To think you, not me, were the one loved by fire..."
Pacheom sulked, while Jaein gave an embarrassed smile.
"Jaein, you nearly died over that, and you're smiling?"
"Thinking back to being chased still makes my legs shake. But as a craftsman, being acknowledged by the Incarnation of Fire makes me happy."
"You all held out well against that monster."
"If Nayeong hadn't blocked the flames with shields and slowed it with mana needles, we'd all be dead."
Looking at Nayeong more closely, I could sense her tier had risen, albeit faintly.
"Huh, Nayeong, your tier went up?"
"Really? Like you, oppa?"
"Why?"
"No idea?"
Nayeong looked down at her hands, puzzled.
"There's a legend that one who receives the awe of many can attain divinity."
Pacheom spoke up.
"So anyone can just get divinity like that?"
"It's just my guess. It's only a legend. Besides, the Goddess was already a master wielding magic rivaling the gods, so not just anyone."
"The Goddess saved thousands in the Eastern Continent alone, not to mention their families and those who've heard the tales—that multiplies it several times over."
Marcello added.
"Nayeong, you saved that many? Impressive."
Nayeong smiled awkwardly, blushing.
Truth be told, she had attacked the empire's POW camp to rescue me back then. Saving the prisoners was a bonus.
"With the Goddess coming to Tellus this time, even more people believe in the Violet Goddess Church. Rescuing people from the mine this time has greatly increased the faithful."
"She really became a goddess, huh?"
Jaein said with a blank look.
"Ah, Master! Can we recover the dragon heart Jerax stole?"
"It collapsed all the tunnels while escaping, so it'll take a while to search."
Pacheom looked troubled at Jaein's question.
"This is bad.... Should I go back to Earth? Even the boss can't do anything about this."
"Right. If we smash everything, the dragon heart might break, and collapsing the ground could endanger the whole district. We have to dig slowly."
"Having someone of President's caliber shoveling is such a waste."
"Sorry.... I'd love to put more people on it, but we have too much to produce right now."
The workshops had been swamped making war equipment even before we arrived.
"If I can help make that stuff faster, you could assign more people to digging the tunnels, right?"
"Sure, but how?"
"Master, have you heard of the Industrial Revolution?"
Pacheom tilted his head at Jaein's words.