Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Distorted Gate
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Jae-in closed her eyes in front of the anvil and focused on the mana flowing through her body.
‘Feel the flow.’
Jereks was trash in every way anyone could see, but Jae-in acknowledged his skill purely as a craftsman.
Just as he had done, Jae-in circulated her mana. From her chest to the hammer, to the Dragon Heart, to the anvil, and through the ground back to herself.
It wasn’t just about receiving the love of fire; she also needed the blessing of the earth. But as an Elemental Smith who could wield all elements, Jae-in made it possible.
The mana completed its cycle, and finally, a ring formed.
“It worked!”
Jae-in cheered and lifted the hammer again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Even as she struck with all her might, the impact didn’t shatter the heart but slowly reshaped it bit by bit.
“Hmm... That Jae-in kid really has incredible talent. This’ll be done in no time.”
“Oh, really?”
Nayoung, who had been starting to feel bored after watching the hammering for over ten minutes, brightened at Pachem’s words.
“At this rate, it won’t even take ten hours.”
“......I’ll be outside.”
As Nayoung left, the shield she had set up vanished too.
Pachem couldn’t last another minute and quietly slipped out of the workshop.
Jae-in fell into a trance, not even noticing her own body burning up.
Even a dwarf blessed by fire couldn’t withstand flames this intense for ten minutes. That was why only Jisok remained, infusing Jae-in with life force.
* * *
“It’s done!”
Just as Pachem had said, ten hours later, Jae-in and Jisok emerged.
Thanks to Jisok’s support, her body hadn’t been harmed by the flames, but she couldn’t do anything about the rising body temperature. Jae-in’s entire body was soaked in sweat.
Jisok, on the other hand, came out perfectly dry.
Jae-in emerged with a proud expression, holding a blue sphere the size of a fist in her hand.
Inside the sphere, several smaller spheres were layered extremely thinly. Each had round holes drilled sporadically, forming narrow passages that connected straight to the center when aligned perfectly.
Neither Earth’s cutting-edge technology nor Telus’s master craftsmen could achieve such a complex shape and high level of completion with such fragile materials.
“Good work.”
Nayoung, who had been waiting outside, handed them water.
“Well done. Now your name will live forever in the history of the artisans.”
The short Pachem patted Jae-in on the waist.
“Jae-in, can you make the core now?”
Jisok asked.
“Yes. With the Dragon Heart acting as a cooling device, we can create a much more stable core. Once we’re back on Earth and finish the final touches, it’ll be complete. Let’s hurry back to Korea.”
“Oh, leaving already?”
Marcelo sounded disappointed.
“Already? We’ve stayed way longer than planned. But I’ll come back. There’s still so much to learn.”
“You have to come back.”
Marcelo, reluctant to see the now-familiar Jae-in and Nayoung go, grasped Jae-in’s hand tightly as he spoke.
* * *
I packed up with Jae-in and Nayoung and headed straight for the teleportation magic circle.
“Come back again! Goddess!”
“We’ll be waiting!”
“Darkness and light are one—fear not!”
“Long live the Violet Goddess Church!”
“I still can’t wrap my head around humans worshiping her as a goddess, but with followers like these, it’s no wonder Nayoung might gain divinity.”
Jae-in nodded as she watched the Violet Goddess Church devotees enthusiastically seeing Nayoung off.
“Next time we visit, they’ll probably have a statue of you.”
“That’s a bit...”
Nayoung made a troubled face as she imagined a statue of herself.
“We’re ready.”
The mage activated the teleportation magic circle, and a small gate opened just like when we arrived.
The moment I, standing at the front, reached my hand into the gate.
My sharp senses rang alarm bells, screaming that entering would be dangerous, and I froze.
At that instant, the gate turned into a black hole, sucking in everything around it.
In a split second that felt like dozens of seconds, I saw Jae-in and Nayoung being pulled in behind me in slow motion. If this continued, they’d get dragged in with me.
My arm, already inside, had no sensation and wouldn’t budge. There was no time for other actions.
I unleashed a wide burst of aura to push the two away and got sucked into the gate alone.
Normally, passing through a gate feels like nothing and happens in an instant. But now, the space enveloping me warped and stretched, tearing and crushing my body.
Without my beastkin physique and regeneration, I would’ve turned into a bloody pulp for sure.
In the darkness, light appeared. It was the outside.
Ejected through a gate in the ground, I crashed onto the floor like trash.
The long-forgotten pain left me dazed for a moment.
Looking at the ground, I saw a pool of blood forming.
“I’m... alive!”
“Kill it!”
Spearmen soldiers splashed through the wide blood pool as they charged.
“What? Where is this?”
Looking around, I saw the sea. There were over ten warships, each big enough for hundreds, and countless tents and soldiers.
Judging by the uniforms and flags, they were Imperial forces.
I brushed past the soldiers charging at me.
Since they were regular soldiers, they couldn’t even see me move.
“It... vanished! Find it! If we lose it, we’re dead!”
A knight shouted, scanning the area, but even he couldn’t catch me.
From afar, I saw several gates open above the blood pool where I’d fallen.
Bloody water and debris trickled out of one.
The Empire had clearly tampered with the gates.
Fortunately, they seemed to notice from the Western Continent, as no more lumps of flesh poured out of the magic circle.
“What’s with all the commotion?!”
A noble-looking man emerged from a tent and bellowed.
“Ah... It’s nothing.”
The knight who had been searching for me lied in his report.
“Don’t make a fuss and prepare for the next phase!”
The noble issued the order and returned to his tent.
To grasp the situation, I followed the noble into the tent.
“What now?”
The officer didn’t lift his eyes from the documents on the desk.
“What does the Empire want?”
“What?”
Startled by my words, he looked up.
“Who the hell are you! Guards—... Gah...”
Before he could shout, I grabbed his throat and lifted him.
“Gurk... Gurk...”
The noble clawed at my hand choking him, but his nails bent against my solid armor.
“Scream, and you’ll be dead before the sound leaves your mouth.”
I released my grip, and the noble, whose face had turned purple, flopped to the floor.
“Cough! Cough!”
He glared at me while coughing like he was hacking up a lung. He hadn’t reacted at all until I twisted his neck just moments ago, so he knew I wasn’t bluffing.
“Why launch a sudden attack like this? The Empire doesn’t have the luxury for it, does it?”
They had to block gates too, yet they were invading the Western Continent full-force? It reminded me of the Middle East conflict—house on fire, yet robbing the neighbor’s place.
“What reason do we need to kill those Western Continent scum...!”
I glared at the spasming bastard and applied the same overwhelming pressure Eres had once used on me. It was a technique I’d unconsciously used when teaching hunters at the Academy or fighting Amy, but I’d honed it enough to now press people down skillfully.
The noble flattened against the floor, crushed.
“Your attitude sucks. Should I crush you like you did those Western Continent folks?”
The pressure wasn’t just crushing; it acted like Dragon Fear, instilling terror in the target.
“Th-the Emperor’s orders!”
I eased off.
“Why so sudden?”
“How should I know? I’m just a commander of an operation unit.”
“Hmm... Where are we?”
“Berwickness Port.”
“Southwest Empire?”
I remembered seeing it on a map.
“...Yes.”
“Is that magic newly developed?”
“......Yes.”
The noble hesitated but answered after meeting my eyes.
“If it breaks, can you make another?”
His eyes darted around.
“Guess destroying the ones outside will do it.”
He didn’t answer, but his expression said enough. Everything he’d said so far was true.
I chopped his neck to knock him out and headed outside.
Around the dozens of gates in the sky, hexagonal pillars formed a pentagram. I dashed to the nearest one.
The pillar, five meters tall and a meter thick, was densely engraved with geometric patterns.
I could see magic stones piled like mountains around it and the power of dozens of mages flowing into the engravings.
An Imperial mage standing by the pillar locked eyes with me as I charged. Passing the mage whose mouth slowly gaped in shock, I smashed the pillar.
By the time I destroyed the second and third, the Imperial forces reacted.
“Enemy attack!!!”
“It’s a knight! Call our knights!”
The Imperial soldiers swarmed like dogs.
A knight in my path to the next pillar swung his sword, but I didn’t need to dodge.
His sword clanged against my arm, chipping and bending, and the knight’s arm snapped.
Dodging the blocking soldiers nimbly, I shattered the fourth pillar.
The Imperials, frantic to catch me, fired magic and arrows indiscriminately, heedless of friendly fire.
As I ran to the fifth pillar, a young knight with green aura on his greatsword charged at me.
As a master wielding aura, he wasn’t slow, but not fast either.
I lightly deflected the green-aura-coated blade with my forearm and smashed my fist into his jaw.
His jaw shattered, teeth flying as he crashed into the blood pool.
No one left to stop me, I destroyed the final pillar.
The dozens of gates in the sky warped, shrinking until they vanished.
This should keep them from interfering with the Western Continent’s gates for a while.
Now Nayoung and Jae-in would be worried sick, so I had to hurry back.
In that brief pause, hundreds of soldiers surrounded me.
Killing them all would be no big deal, but what crime did these grunts commit?
I kicked off the ground and soared toward the sea.
As I began gaining altitude, the calm sea churned, a waterspout rising like a living thing to engulf me.
I sidestepped the cascading seawater midair, but the soldiers behind me were swept away by the high-pressure torrent.
Standing in midair, I looked toward the sea and saw a female mage atop a pillar of seawater. Her lush, well-groomed blue curls and ornate dress made her look less like she was on a battlefield and more like a noble heading to a ball.
“What do you take your comrades’ lives for?”
“Comrades? Those pathetic things?”
The blue-haired mage grimaced as if she’d heard the most repulsive thing in the world.
I’d been about to flee, but seeing how ruthless she was even to her own, I changed my mind.
I unleashed an aura beam at the arrogant blue-haired mage standing atop her water pillar.