Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Stepping on Lightning
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Lee Soo-hyuk's signature skill was Lightning.
There was no room for debate. He thought so himself.
But that didn't mean his fighting style was limited to one-sided firepower using Lightning.
On the first day after reincarnating into this body.
Soo-hyuk had been able to watch footage from long ago, a counter-match against Anuks, in a memorial hall dedicated to him.
"Isn't this from back then? The counter-match against Anuks players 25 years ago."
"Probably. He was insane during this one."
Out of countless battles, this footage had been recorded for one reason alone.
It was the day Soo-hyuk's new technique—dominating both ground and sky by stepping on lightning—had been unveiled for the first time.
Lightning was an intangible substance.
Just a mass of energy without physical weight.
Stepping on it and jumping was impossible.
But.
'From the start, I've always gripped this stuff in my hand to fight.'
If he could grab it with his hand, what reason was there he couldn't step on it with his foot?
There was only one difference.
Unlike a spear that he created once in his hand and was done, a foothold required generating new lightning with every step.
And that... couldn't be explained away with a single word like "difficult."
This was from an interview right after the counter-match against Anuks.
He meant it.
A practice and challenge born from curiosity about whether it was possible.
He had ultimately succeeded in using it in combat, but he hadn't found any efficiency.
No.
Rather, he thought there couldn't be a more inefficient method.
Substantializing lightning enough to step on it required a massive amount of mana, concentration, and the control to make it possible.
But.
'I need it now.'
Midgard's command center consisted of spires that reached the heavens.
Climbing them by jumping was impossible. And Soo-hyuk didn't have a flight skill either.
But if he rode lightning...
'Let's do it.'
Efficiency was secondary; this was definitely the fastest way.
Pajit-.
He stepped on the first bolt of lightning with his foot.
The ground repelled him, sending his body lightly upward.
For a moment, he leaped as high as if flying through the sky. But it was nowhere near enough to reach the spire's peak.
He hadn't expected to reach it in one go anyway.
The real attempt started now.
'Free Thief's Foot' steps on the sky.
'Sky Step' activates.
His body became as light as a feather. Defying gravity, his feet kicked off the empty air, and Soo-hyuk began leaping toward the spire's summit.
Soo-hyuk's foot reached the spire's midpoint. But the skill's effect wasn't that long-lasting.
If there was an item that let you fly through the sky indefinitely, it would probably be Legendary or even Divine tier, not just Unique.
The viewers anticipated Soo-hyuk's failure.
They thought his talk of flying meant a leap using an item, so it was a natural reaction.
But using Sky Step from the start was merely groundwork to conserve mana and stamina.
The real deal started here.
Chijik-.
Beneath his foot.
Yellow lightning gathered, forming a foothold.
A solid, powerful one he could stomp and leap from with all his might.
Kwang-!
A leap followed by another leap.
As Soo-hyuk rode the lightning upward, the chat exploded.
It was a scene every fan of Lee Soo-hyuk remembered.
The play he first showed in the counter-match against Anuks.
A near-miraculous technique that twisted the essence of the skill to make it his own.
That technique had crossed 20 years and been recreated once more.
The spire's summit.
In the center of a vast space covered in opaque glass windows, Viola knelt bound hand and foot.
The room was littered with unfamiliar objects in irregular patterns.
Objects that had no business being in Midgard, mixed together.
'Giant's skull and heart, glacial stone, cursed silver chalice...'
Numerous items banned from import into Asgard.
Among them, the most repulsive was the pitch-black circle surrounding the room.
'Drawn in blood.'
Judging by the color, probably demonkin blood.
She looked up at Balder. Overwhelmed with emotion, he stood still with his eyes closed.
"These aren't things you can obtain in a day or two."
"It wasn't a day or two."
Balder's voice trembled faintly.
"A hundred years to acquire the giant's corpse. Another hundred for the cursed silver chalice. Half my fortune invested for the glacial stone."
Madness emanated from him. Not mere inferiority or impulsive rage, but madness with a clear goal.
"And the blood of a god. Then you arrived."
The moment those words fell.
'His eyes...'
Balder's gaze changed.
Spot-.
Her chest was slashed at invisible speed. The long sword stroke carving her abdomen turned her mind white for an instant.
Juruk-.
Blood began leaking from the wound. She gritted her teeth, curling up to staunch it, but the gash was too large for it to work.
Eventually, blood dripped to the floor.
And at that moment.
Chiiik-.
Viola's blood that hit the ground seeped into the floor.
The blood that seeped in flowed toward the white chalice at the magic circle's center.
'The silver chalice?'
The cursed silver chalice.
An ancient item used to unseal something.
As Viola's blood soaked in, all preparations were finally complete.
Goook-.
Saaah-.
The spire shook, and the temperature plummeted in an instant. Through the spire's windows, thick storm clouds were visible blanketing the sky.
"It's begun now."
Balder's madness thickened.
"The boundary dividing the gods' worlds crumbles today."
Drip, drip-.
More blood leaked out. Viola gritted her teeth, realizing she had become the final key to awakening Bergelmir.
'The blood...'
Kkuuk-.
She desperately curled tighter. To stop the bleeding.
And that effort wasn't in vain.
"Stop him-!"
"Intruder-!"
Far below the spire.
Faint shouts echoed from afar.
"...He really came."
Balder muttered in surprise.
"Soo-hyuk-ssi..."
A faint smile tugged at Viola's lips as she pressed her wound.
When she had all but given up hope, he had come. Her message had gotten through.
As if displeased by the situation, a tiny crack appeared in Balder's expression.
"How did he get back?"
"He passed the trial, didn't he?"
"No way."
Balder shook his head.
"No human can pass that trial."
"A normal human, maybe."
Viola continued with a victorious smile.
"But he received the acknowledgment of thunder."
Kwarung-!
Right on cue, thunder rumbled from below.
Balder's pupils shook. For the first time, he showed agitation.
"Thunder... Thor's?"
Thor.
That name held special meaning in Asgard.
The bloodline of the supreme god Odin, the only legitimate heir granted the power of thunder by his acknowledgment.
He had wandered off somewhere and hadn't returned, but he was destined to inherit this vast world one day.
For a mere human to wield the same power as such a Thor...
Balder shook off the sudden unease.
"Even if so, it's already too late."
Chiiik-.
As Viola's blood flowed, the chalice's color gradually darkened.
Balder's face calmed as he gazed at it.
"The seal is already starting to break. By the time he reaches here—"
Kwarung-!
Balder's body spun toward the window.
The sound was closer. Much closer.
And something was flying in.
"Didn't I tell you?"
Kwang-!
The window shattered.
"He'd come."
Thud-.
An uninvited guest set foot on the spire's summit.
Thud-.
The moment his foot touched down, the tension released.
"Hoo-."
Fortunately, it succeeded.
If he'd misstepped even slightly or been slow to form the lightning, he'd have plummeted straight down.
But his instincts were still sharp.
The chat exploded when the player reached the spire's top. The play, recreated after over 25 years, couldn't help but generate hot reactions.
But he couldn't get excited over showing off a flashy play.
A few donations came in, but the situation right in front of him took priority.
"That's the guy."
Sweat dripping, he scanned the surroundings. The first thing that caught his eye was a man with green eyes.
"Balder."
Bergelmir's seal was in the process of breaking, but that guy probably wasn't the boss.
He was the giant meant to shatter Rasderih. They wouldn't make you defeat something like that, so Balder here was effectively the final hurdle.
"What possessed you to come all this way?"
Balder narrowed his eyes at Soo-hyuk.
A sword gripped in his hand, drawn at some point.
But there was no time to humor that.
Flash-.
In an instant, yellow light blinded Balder's vision.
Something moved fast. Sensing it, Balder's sword traced a trajectory.
Cclang-!
Kururung-.
Lightning filled the room.
Soo-hyuk's body, sword locked with Balder's, was gradually pushed back before flying away.
Clang-!
Kakakak-.
Soo-hyuk jammed his sword into the floor to halt his flying body. The moment he raised his head, Balder's sword came crashing down on his head.
Whoosh-.
Ssk-.
Balder's sword cleaved the floor where Soo-hyuk had stood. Boosting his output to hurriedly widen the distance, Soo-hyuk eyed the spot where Balder's sword was embedded.
"Whew, that startled me."
The floor sliced like cake showed just how sharp and powerful his sword was.
'Midgard's commander, huh.'
He was definitely different. With that level of skill, even several Viola-level experts wouldn't faze him.
His face laced with killing intent, he glared at Soo-hyuk.
"Not planning to answer, I see."
"No time."
3 percent.
Slow, but the seal was steadily breaking. Before long, the air had frozen solid enough for breath to mist.
"A bit tiring, but—"
Chiji, chijijik-.
The color of the lightning flowing from Soo-hyuk's body changed.
Blackening lightning. A foreboding feeling hastened Balder's movements.
"Where!"
Kwaat-.
The distance closed in an instant. A single stroke that could cleave the spire's summit flew toward Soo-hyuk's neck.
At that moment.
The battle entered a new phase.