Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Thousand Slaughter Star Discovers the Egg
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The Thousand Slaughter Star discovered the egg.
[You're creepy too.]
It was Undine's words as she watched Lione tailing Enoch.
Lione ignored her and gazed at Enoch's back.
His small but proud back advanced with thudding steps.
'Our Enoch, fighting…!'
*
Enoch headed straight for the dungeon without letting his eyes wander elsewhere.
Recalling over and over what Lione had told him multiple times, he arrived before he knew it.
The entrance was right in front of him.
'They sometimes have unique properties, but more often than not, they don't…'
If the dungeon's interior laws differed from reality enough to be called a property, it could be seen as a small world in any form.
Naturally, creating such a small world wasn't a simple matter.
Dungeons with properties were that much rarer.
'Condition is perfect. No, better than usual.'
Was it thanks to the good dream last night?
Having achieved eternity with Lione, even if only in a dream, Enoch's current state had broken through his limits.
He felt like he could effortlessly create most martial arts techniques if he wanted.
'Oh, right.'
Come to think of it, it was soon.
The sparring match with the blue dragonfly, held once a month.
Lione would watch intently and offer advice tailored to Enoch.
Of course, she didn't stop there—if needed, she'd teach him new things.
It was a day when he could stick especially close to Lione, so his chest swelled for no reason.
Boom-!
A heavy noise cut through his excited mood.
Enoch snapped to attention and quickened his pace.
*
The enemies emerging from the dungeon had a clear concept.
Golems.
They could all be collectively called that, broadly speaking.
At least up until now.
Brutal Slaughter
The mud golem, as if made of mud, was engulfed in lightning.
Kwaaajik────────!!
The wide-area attack destroyed even the golem's core in one go.
Enoch didn't celebrate and pressed onward through the dungeon, leaving the golem behind.
His still-thrumming heart urged him to reach the next realm as soon as possible.
Next.
A steel golem made of iron.
Unlike the mud golem, it couldn't be smashed in one hit, so Enoch methodically dismantled it.
First, the arm.
Kwaduduk-!
As Enoch swung his hand, half the steel golem's arm tore away.
Gigeek-!
The golem swung its other arm, but it was slow.
Enoch twisted his body midair.
Tak-, he stepped on the swinging arm and spun.
Using the gripped hand as a pivot, he scattered kicks like sparks.
Kwaang-!
One of the golem's arms flew off.
It would regenerate soon, but until then, the golem had only one arm.
Sparks danced in Enoch's eyes.
Patsut-!
Electricity coiled around his hand.
He compressed the lightning, using every bit of time available.
Brutal Slaughter - One Origin
He drew a concise thrust path, and the moment his hand touched the golem's body.
Flash────────!!!
The released current lit up the surroundings.
The steel golem's body looked unscathed, but Enoch casually shook his hand as if it were obvious.
Boom-!
As Enoch expected, the steel golem collapsed.
The current that flowed through the metal body had shattered the core.
Next again.
Wood, glass, ore, shadow, and so on.
He toppled golems made of various materials.
His exhausted body heaved, craving breath.
But Enoch's eyes were clearer than ever.
Buoyed by that will, his muscles mustered strength once more, and Enoch took a step.
"This is…."
What he encountered next was different from expectations.
He'd assumed another golem, but something entirely unexpected greeted him.
"A spirit?"
White, blue, red.
Faint, shimmering lights of various colors floated through the cave interior.
But they weren't like Undine.
According to the blue dragonfly, she had a "remarkable body," in other words, a top-grade spirit.
Spirits of her level were rare even in the spirit realm where they lived.
The ones here were the lowest-grade spirits, not even possessing self-awareness yet.
More akin to natural phenomena than living beings, they drifted lazily through the air like ornate lanterns.
Enoch pondered deeply.
Sometimes acting on instinct was advantageous, but in most cases, thinking even a little before acting was better.
Having realized this while fighting golems yesterday, he surveyed his surroundings.
'Nothing's changed. Still a cave. Just the opponents switched from golems to spirits.'
To be precise, the spirits weren't exactly enemies.
They were just floating in the air without self-awareness from the start.
Enoch advanced cautiously, on guard.
At the end of the straight path with no branches lay a vast cavern.
In its center sat a glass orb that particularly caught his eye.
'Is this the dungeon's end?'
He couldn't be sure.
Most dungeons were peculiar phenomena born from excess or tangled mana.
At their center was invariably something that bore the full brunt of that aftermath.
It could be an elixir that instantly boosted one's mana, ore for crafting superior weapons, or occasionally an item with unique abilities.
Whatever it was, it could aid Enoch in ascending to a higher realm, so he didn't hesitate.
He strode to the cavern's center and placed his hand on the glass orb.
"Huh?"
He'd thought it was just an ordinary glass orb, but up close, it was a bit different.
A hazy interior visible within.
Something was curled up inside.
'An egg?'
The question was brief.
Rumble-!
The cavern shook, thunderous noise erupting.
Enoch subtly dodged the falling rock fragments.
His eyes rapidly scanned to grasp the anomaly.
"Oh…."
He'd thought it was just a wide cavern, but golems burst through the walls.
A diverse array.
Rock, iron, ore, shadow, you name it.
It felt like a gathering of every golem he'd seen so far.
Enoch was momentarily flustered but soon grinned brightly.
Lots of enemies?
That meant more opportunities to fight, which meant greater chances to advance to a higher realm.
In conclusion, it might bring the day of eternal companionship with Lione a bit closer.
"Yeah."
Enoch nodded solemnly and summoned lightning once more.
*
"W-what do we do…! Isn't this dangerous…!?"
[He'll! He'll!! Handle it just fine!]
"There are too many…!"
[Then why'd you go on about real combat and all that!?]
"B-but…!"
[Sigh, some people just won't listen.]
*
Golem fragments littered the area around Enoch.
His already fatigued body began to sag, and the lightning that usually flowed at will flickered faintly.
"Haa…. Haa…."
Enoch panted heavily, quickly scanning his surroundings.
Plenty of golems left.
Stamina at its limit. Mana at its limit too.
But his will remained firm.
A higher realm.
Eternity with Lione.
The power of will, mere delusion to ordinary folk, infused strength into Enoch's body, and he grinned savagely with bloodshot eyes.
"Uwaaaaa…!!"
Rumble-! With thunder, Enoch's body was enveloped in lightning.
But the enemies didn't wait.
Two massive golem fists came crashing down.
Boom-!
The fists slammed into the ground.
Enoch, who had leaped upward to evade, kicked off those arms and charged.
Ahead, the golem was made of ore.
He didn't know the type.
It had a faint green hue.
Pajik-!
Lightning compressed in his right hand.
Brutal Slaughter - One Origin. The thrust hand sank two handspans into the golem's chest.
Gigigik-!
The golem immediately swung its arm.
Wind came from behind too.
Probably a fist.
Kkaduk-, Enoch gritted his teeth and twisted his body.
The gust tousled his hair.
But the fist from behind was still coming.
No time to look.
Rely on sense?
With that thought, the trajectory of the fist outside his vision traced in his mind.
Whoosh-!
As Enoch reacted, the fist grazed his hair.
Heh, his lips curled up.
For some inexplicable reason, from a certain moment, he could sense everything around him.
Perfect evasion, flowing into attack.
Pajijik-!
Squeezing nonexistent mana, he wrapped his hand in lightning.
Brutal Slaughter - One Origin. Just as he was about to thrust, inspiration flashed.
'Necessarily?'
Brutal Slaughter's path was compressed into a thrust.
That was Brutal Slaughter - One Origin.
But to do so required two steps: Brutal Slaughter, then compression.
He spontaneously reworked the technique from the ground up, following his senses.
Fix the result, devise a better process.
The outcome.
Piercing Slaughter
The second form of the Thousand Slaughter Thunder Art was born.
Kwajik-!
His straight fingers pierced into the golem.
Focusing on one point to impale the foe—that was the core of the second form.
He withdrew his hand, having precisely pierced the core, and the golem crumbled.
"Hup…!"
Without rest, Enoch launched his body forward.
Whoosh-! A golem fist passed where he'd been.
Surging rage, irritation.
He suppressed the madness of the Thousand Slaughter Star threatening to erupt.
Keep the head cool.
Rampage should be the last resort.
Why?
Because Lione said so.
Hwaak-!
Faint, feeble currents swept the space.
At the same time, everything around etched into Enoch's mind.
'Ah.'
Somehow.
So that's why he'd been able to see through his surroundings clearly.
Realizing this, Enoch pressed on even more boldly.
He slipped between three golems,
Boom-!
Dodging all attacks with a slight tilt of his body.
At the same time, the golems' cores felt through the faint currents.
Instinctively grasping the minimal power needed, he thrust Piercing Slaughter.
Kwajik-!
Another golem returned to nature.
Remaining golems….
Pik-, Enoch smiled.
No need to count.
Just smash them all.
Pajijik-!
Once more, Enoch's body was engulfed in lightning.
*
"Huuk…. Huuk…."
Enoch trembled, barely standing on two legs.
No strength left in his body.
Mana drained to the dregs after being wrung to its limit, torn and ruptured muscles screaming in pain.
Standing still was a miracle in itself.
"Heh…."
But Enoch laughed.
He could feel his own growth.
If he fought yesterday's self now, he'd win a hundred out of a hundred.
Thud- Thud-
Enoch staggered forward.
The glass orb he'd seen upon entering the cavern was intact amid the chaos.
'Is it alive?'
He didn't know exactly what it was.
But since something was visible inside, maybe an egg?
Then,
Crack-
A fissure appeared on the glass orb.
Startled, Enoch mustered his last strength.
Who knew what might burst out here.
Honestly, no threat felt, but best to kill it preemptively anyway.
Without hesitation, he cocked his fist to stri—
[You crazy bastard!]
Enoch's body soared through the air.