Chapter 264
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: Ten Thousand Miles Gorge Chase Battle (2)
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He focused inward on himself.
Sure enough, he could feel the attributes swirling around his circles like planets orbiting the sun at the center of the solar system.
Among them was the newly added wind attribute, Pure Wind.
It was an endlessly clear wind attribute. A breeze that existed everywhere and could blend with anything flowed outward along Jun's mana.
[Confirming Hen Cradle location with wind.]
[Hen Cradle confirmed near 13th Company, 7th Platoon.]
[Current time: 03:49. Enemy contact. Combat initiated.]
[Location confirmed. Support en route.]
True to their experience in prolonged warfare, the intercepted communications consisted solely of terse exchanges laced with code words.
'This intel is useless.'
What mattered more were the conversations among the higher-ups.
The mana flows Jun was tapping into were surely all standard-issue receiver artifacts.
Higher-grade ones would have superior security, making it likely they'd converse openly without code.
He focused even deeper.
Spreading his mana across the area, he embedded the essence of Soul Drain into Pure Wind and expanded it widely.
Pure Wind + Soul Drain
Absorbing ambient mana flows for detailed intel extraction
The Soul Drain woven into the spreading Pure Wind siphoned off portions of the area's mana, detecting the embedded information with greater precision.
A tidal wave of data surged in.
Jun's mind, teetering on the edge of 6th circle, barely accommodated it all, filtering out the irrelevant.
The chatter gradually thinned until only a few human voices rode in on the Pure Wind.
[Black Moon. How long until full encirclement?]
[Before dawn at least. You?]
[Same here.]
He'd found it.
Voices exchanging among the enemy's leadership filtered through.
In the darkness, Jun's silver-white eyes gleamed like jewels.
'Just as I thought—the two eastern factions have joined forces. Their coordination is ridiculously tight.'
But even so, they weren't without weaknesses.
These lunatics gladly threw away their lives for war, but outside of that, they clung to survival.
'The weakest point in the encirclement is where the two factions meet.'
Not all troops would be intermingled between the two forces.
That would risk sudden infighting like a bomb.
They'd likely split east and west duties, with north and south intersections as contact points.
Surely those spots would be divided like oil and water between the rival factions.
'But would these war-crazed maniacs overlook something so obvious?'
[Enemy mage is famous for clever strategies. High chance they'll punch through north.]
[No half-measures to spare lives.]
[You're echoing my thoughts exactly.]
As expected, they'd prepared thoroughly for that angle too.
'Impressive... So where's our best breakthrough?'
Even after that exchange, head north? Or pick one of the tighter-packed east or south?
In the end, excluding the south they'd come from, it was one of the three.
Jun quietly closed his eyes in the darkness.
'War maniacs who'll charge without a thought for their lives...'
But were their lives truly worthless? Wasn't it just reckless bravado to become war heroes?
'Let's test it. Whose madness wins—yours or my survival instinct?'
Mana gathered in the area, infused with Pure Wind.
At the same time, Jun pulled two items from his dimensional bracelet.
He scowled at the pair—objects so rare even spotting them in the game was a challenge.
"These are way too precious to use. Not even sure I can replace them..."
But this was the only way to resolve the crisis most easily and safely.
"Everyone, gather here? I've got a plan."
The weather in Ten Thousand Miles Gorge began showing its fickle nature once more.
Yesterday had brought torrential rain, but today the sky was filled with hazy clouds.
Temperatures plummeted below freezing in an instant, and white snow began to fall lightly from above.
"Weather's being a total bitch."
A mercenary muttered as he stepped out of his tent.
As a low-level superhuman around level 5, he could endure it—otherwise, this erratic climate would've overwhelmed his body.
"Damn. Hope the ground doesn't freeze."
"Terrain's shitty enough already."
His comrades trickled out one by one, awakening from sleep and chiming in.
"Where's the target supposed to be?"
"No idea. Pretty far from us, they said. Gotta head further south."
"Hmph, just hope we don't run into 'em."
"Yeah. Heard several platoons got wiped already?"
"Dunno. Lost count after five."
"Might as well be those pitch-black bastards."
"Quit dreaming. Soldier lives are cheaper than flies—has been forever."
They were just about to light a fire for a leisurely breakfast prep when—
"Fucking freezing."
"Tell me about it. Brr... Was it always this cold?"
"Beats me... Weather here's always screwed up."
Even huddled by the freshly lit fire, the chill refused to lift.
"S-somethin' feels off, doesn't it...?"
"C-cold...!"
The cold weather was understandable—this was an unpredictable field.
But they were at least late 4th level, most 5th.
A mere annoyance at worst; shivering like this was abnormal.
HQ would've issued orders for cold this bad.
Nothing of the sort.
"D-damn...! F-fire! More f-fire!"
"Been doing that since earlier!"
"Ugh...!"
A bone-deep chill—no, worse—radiated from inside their bodies, unrelenting.
Something was wrong.
This went beyond fickle weather.
Only then did they grab weapons and scan warily—
"Wh-what the hell is that...?"
Beyond their gorge position.
In the early dawn fog's milky haze, a massive silhouette shimmered.
The soldiers prayed the sight before them was a nightmare.
The thing moving in the mist was gigantic enough to pass for a mountain.
"M-monster..."
Time rewound to when they were aboard the Lanes Mage Tower's airship.
"The origin of my spirit magic traces back to the day my little sister departed for the spirit realm."
During the half-month of lessons from Lanes, Jun listened intently to her words.
"I was deep into theorizing spatial magic at the time. For a simple reason."
She aimed to capture the coordinates the moment her sister's soul crossed over.
If she had the coordinates, perhaps she could follow and retrieve the soul adrift without its body.
"In short, it worked. I ultimately gathered the spirit realm's coordinates."
But not a perfect success—otherwise, her sister wouldn't have died.
"However, upon arrival, my sister's soul splintered into multiple paths, and I lost the moment."
"......"
Cruel to say, but thanks to that—
Lanes had sensed the soul fragmenting and spreading across the spirit realm, successfully mapping every coordinate in the process.
"My magic is the fusion of spatial and spirit magic, like so."
Her mana stirred, birthing a tiny world atop the table.
Flames danced, water formed rivers, earth gently enveloped the surface.
A miniature ecosystem formed in seconds, and Jun realized it wasn't mere illusion.
"The spirit realm..."
"Exactly. Transported here directly. Just a fragment of its essence, mind you."
"Incredible..."
Blending spatial magic—difficult on its own—with spirit magic showcased her genius.
"Of course, my magic isn't perfect. I can't share the spirit realm coordinates I know."
Numbers alone wouldn't convey it.
Separate dimensions, inexpressible in this world's tongue. She knew only because she'd briefly synced with her blood kin's soul.
Thus, the coordinates were etched in her soul—impossible to teach others.
"A realm you'll reach someday. In your own way, of course."
"......"
"I know it'll be a tough path. Not solvable quickly. So, a gift."
"A gift? I won't refuse."
"Hehe. Take it."
Lanes handed over a small stone.
Plain for a gift, but—
"...No way."
"A spirit stone. Harvested directly from the spirit realm, anchored to this world."
"With this, no more mana shortages like last time."
"Precisely. Use in emergencies or for your research."
"......I'll treasure it. Thank you."
"See that you do."
"Urgh..."
Jun dropped to one knee after completing the spell.
Even using Lanes's spirit stone, his mana circuits burned red-hot throughout his body.
[Spirit Magic]
[Eternal Tundra]
⟨ Summoned from the Spirit Realm ⟩
The mental image he'd used for every ice spell, now summoned here via the spirit realm.
Pararararak—!!
The enchantment book's pages scattered in all directions.
Casting a spell this massive alone was normally impossible.
Coordinating formulas, imagery, and patterns required multiple mages, like in the north.
But the spirit stone bypassed most steps, yielding beyond expectations.
"Haa..."
At last, the completed eternal glacier terrain.
Snow meant for the sky billowed upward from the ground instead.
The flakes gathered, slowly forming a woman's silhouette.
—The same human who briefly summoned an ifrit to this world.
The second upper spirit he'd encountered.
The spirit of permafrost, transformed into an ice statue, gazed down at Jun with jewel-like, crystalline eyes.