Chapter 152
Chapter 152
----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Ace Chapter: 152 Chapter Title: The Path of Strength ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thump-. The sound of a heartbeat echoed. I knew it. The heart beats every day, without rest for even a moment. But this heart wasn't mine.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
"Gods and giants. Beings too great for mere human power to challenge."
"This was made to fight and defeat them."
Pelius's voice echoed in my mind. 'So that's what he meant?' It felt like I had stepped into the center of a massive vortex. Thump-. What the hell was this heart? And the human who had possessed it... Then what about the lightning I'd been wielding all this time?
"No need to get so worked up."
Swoosh-. The scenery returned. As if that hellish vision from moments ago had been a lie. As the nearly perfect, peaceful, and beautiful world came back into view, the frozen tension in my body began to thaw, if only a little.
"It's an ancient tale, after all. And besides, it wasn't you who did it, right?"
I couldn't read him at all. Soo-hyuk realized with a start that he didn't even know the man's name. But from that scene just now, one name came to mind.
"Are you... Odin, by any chance?" Odin. The great king of Asgard, a godlike legend. He was the one who had sealed Bergelmir alongside Tyr in the past.
"That's right."
"I didn't expect you'd answer so casually."
"When I say it's me, do I need to make a big show of it?"
He had a point, leaving Soo-hyuk speechless. It was certainly shocking to him that this was Odin.
"Can I ask one more thing?"
"What?"
"Why did that battle happen?"
Gods and humans. Their conflict was an old tale. Pelius knew it only as legend, and Viola seemed clueless about it. What could have caused so much bloodshed? In the end, humans had lost. The heart beating in his chest now was proof.
"You're rushing ahead a bit."
"Rushing?"
"You're asking too much too soon. This involves not just Asgard, but others as well. I can't tell you."
Soo-hyuk swallowed his disappointment at the refusal. Hearing the reason for the battle might have given him another clue about the lightning.
"You said I have the same heart as that human, right?"
Throwing caution to the wind, Soo-hyuk asked.
"Then what about this?"
He raised his hand, showing off the Gauntlets of Thunder. As expected, Odin nodded.
"That's probably why, too."
"Because of these?"
"The reason Tyr sent you here."
Tyr was the one who had sent Soo-hyuk here. More precisely, the sword shard he'd given had led him.
"To prevent a repeat of that time."
"What does that mean?"
"We're testing you. Whether you can wield it. And if you can, how you'll use it."
Still hard to grasp. As Soo-hyuk wore a puzzled expression, Odin smiled faintly and continued.
"Simply put, become a being worthy of thunder."
Rumble-. The ground beneath his feet shook. Petals fell, and an ominous feeling washed over him. The source of the dread revealed itself the next instant. Crack-! The ground sank as if prepared from the start. Falling into the deep underground, Soo-hyuk stared at Odin's face.
"Do not rely on thunder. That is the way to master it."
He could have used lightning to rise like in his fight with Baldur. 'No need for that.' Soo-hyuk didn't. He felt himself plummeting rapidly. The cratered ground and deep abyss were likely his stage. In that case... 'I'll gladly take it.' This was a trial. Like Tyr's recognition, to earn Odin's.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[The Sixth Asgardian Trial Begins.] Soo-hyuk had a gut feeling. This trial wouldn't be short. Even entering Valhalla was this tough— the road ahead was long. Telling Unhyang to wait had been the right call.
Evidence?" "He's human. Beat Baldur, too." "Just Baldur?" "Yeah, just. That's why we're raising him now. If he gets consumed by lightning later, it'll be trouble." With that, Tyr looked meaningfully down into the pit where Soo-hyuk had fallen. "If he's gonna get consumed anyway, better now than later."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ How long would he keep falling? After over ten minutes, Soo-hyuk realized it wasn't just falling. 'Magic, huh.' He'd thought it was simple freefall. Actually, magic was transporting him somewhere. Or maybe not him moving, but the world around changing.
"Surely not falling forever..."
Thanks to the stream, muttering to himself had become a habit. Soon after, the falling sensation slowed. 'Landed?' Thud-. His back hit lightly, as if gravity had lessened. In that instant, the scenery shifted dramatically. Like stars in the sky, colorful lights illuminated above. Ahead stretched an endless path.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Starting the Path of Strength.] [Your strength will be tested, and tested again.] Gazing at the transformed world, Soo-hyuk truly felt Odin's power. 'The greatest mage, they say.' Hard to tell if this was reality or illusion. A godlike ability to reshape heaven and earth. Odin suited the title of god best. Step-. Path of Strength. No idea yet how it'd test him here. One odd thing: a red line drawn at the path's start.
"What happens if I cross this?"
No need to overthink. Crossing would reveal it. Instinct told him this trial needed no complex calculations. He knew the type from before. Step-. Rumble-. The moment he crossed the red line, a heavy thud rang in his ears. But it wasn't sound. The weight on his body changed. Gravity intensified, making his whole body feel sluggish, like deep underwater. 'Path of Strength, huh...' A simple trial matching its name. Where did it end? Surely, gravity would increase toward the end. Like the "Path of Lightning" on the second floor. Suddenly, Odin's words before the fall came to mind.
"We're testing you. Whether you can wield it. And if you can, how you'll use it."
"Simply put, become a being worthy of thunder."
This place had two purposes: trial and tempering. What lay at the path's end? Just walking couldn't make one worthy of thunder. Still, only one thing to do now.
"Let's go."
Suck-. Bracing his core. Step-. Soo-hyuk began walking the path.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The path was as Soo-hyuk expected. Thud-. Each step felt like shaking the earth. Gravity was so intense he had to exert full force for one step.
"Hoo, huu-."
Sweat poured like rain. All moisture drained from his body. Even standing still choked him—his limit wasn't far. The reason he made it this far: one thing. 'Lucky my stamina's high.' He wanted to use lightning. It would've made this path far easier. But he didn't.
"Do not rely on thunder. That is the way to master it."
Odin's words stuck in his throat. And another.
⚔ STATUS ⚔