Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 256
Chapter Title: Naga Hunt (3)
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# 256
“Oh my god, he really did it!”
“Hey, this guy wiped out over ten Naga villages! He turned those vicious bastards into a handful of poison!”
The moment Rokan completed the natural predator hunt quest, Sky Island was in an absolute uproar.
With their venom-spitting traits, stealth abilities, detection skills, and binding spells that could drag even airborne foes down from the sky.
They were such a hassle that even Join tribe warriors avoided them carelessly, mustering elite squads only occasionally to cull their numbers in the fields away from villages—and that was the extent of it. Yet this human had swept away over a dozen villages in just a few days.
Trophies were the only proof, but the sheer quantity made it impossible not to believe.
To gather that many, at least a dozen villages had to have been destroyed. And if he'd taken down a large one, that alone was hugely significant.
For the Join tribe, it was a result that demanded cheers.
Thanks to this, Rokan's reputation and affinity with them maxed out, adding a shop discount to his "Friend of the Join Tribe" title.
“I’ll buy all three of these.”
Some had grumbled about the lack of beauty potions while he'd been out hunting on the back side of Sky Island, but as soon as he returned, he released enough to cover that period too, melting away any complaints like snow.
He needed to stockpile more coins anyway.
Having scraped together every coin on Sky Island, Rokan bought the items he'd marked earlier.
‘Now, for the Heavens.’
Shaking off the Join tribe folk clinging to him—perhaps due to the beauty potions—he exchanged farewell greetings.
“Take care. Even with the air routes, wings aren’t familiar to humans.”
“Thank you.”
One of the three items Rokan purchased was a map charting the routes to the Heavens.
After the Sky Cannon, he'd flown straight here, but from now on, blindly charging ahead was dangerous.
Misrallzorum were risky, but there were also traps like black holes or warp holes.
Once sucked in, you never knew where you'd pop out, making it hard to even get your bearings. Worst case, your direction could reverse, luring you to think you were approaching the Heavens only to end up back on the ground.
Sure, with insane luck, you might warp near the Heavens, but better not to count on it.
“Wing Mode.”
After thoroughly memorizing the map, Rokan took to the skies.
Sky Island's "boundary" had almost no repulsion unlike the ground, so he didn't need a divine barrier.
“That way.”
Moreover, Tacomin, the Sky Island guard who'd come to see him off personally, pointed out the direction.
Rokan nodded lightly in acknowledgment and picked up speed.
Even without black holes, dangers lingered, so he moved with ample caution rather than full throttle.
He traveled another three days like that.
‘That’s it.’
Amid the string of tiny lights like embedded bulbs, Rokan navigated by treating them like constellations.
Then he spotted it: a black pit in the direction he'd have missed without detours, swirling and devouring even light.
A chilling sense of dread hit him, accompanied by faint suction from this distance.
If suction was felt from here, up close you'd have no chance to dodge or flee.
“Whew, here we go.”
Passing the black hole zone, he entered the asteroid field next.
Normally drifting stone chunks, but they pelted like a hailstorm when anyone approached—a special terrain.
Best to avoid, but impossible. The sprawling asteroids swarmed like living things.
Better to exploit known patterns a hundred times over.
‘Left right left right left right left left right left right…’
Yes. Rokan trusted the patterns.
The ones the Join tribe shared as "easy to dodge" were headache-inducing to memorize, but for survival—for reaching the Heavens—he'd burned them into his mind desperately.
The Join tribe could improvise with superior flight skills, but not him.
Calculating not just directions but drop timings down to the second, the hail-like asteroids grazed past by a hair.
“Whew, gonna die.”
But as timings sped up, maintaining focus grew tough.
Asteroids hit faster than he could recall patterns; now it was pure instinct.
“Urk!”
Boom!
Then, a man-sized asteroid fragment slammed into him. Perfect evasion couldn't last forever.
Bounced back from the first hit, dodging became near impossible.
“Gale Incarnation!”
The asteroid field's end was close. Gritting his teeth, Rokan activated it.
No fights ahead anyway—he'd tank through with his body.
“Clone Summon!”
He even summoned a clone. Other summons failed, but this worked.
Multiple passers complicated patterns further, but no time to care. Priority: reduce asteroids to endure and dodge.
“B Bombardment! Rampaging Chariot! War God’s Steps! Rapid Acceleration! Time of Madness!”
Rokan was desperate.
A tiny asteroid had chipped his HP; imagine a massive one head-on?
Instant retirement. Back to square one.
Bombardment to deflect asteroids maximally, chargers to close gaps, mobility skills for emergency dodges.
Reaching the asteroid field's end. There, final-boss-like, asteroids lined up motionless, waiting.
“Crazy…”
Rooooar.
They charged fast. One hit would hurl him back to mid-field.
Small mercy: size differences meant staggered timings, but still no easy dodge.
“Evasion Maneuver!”
Flinging himself at max speed, Rokan felt vertigo.
Can’t dodge this. Impossible.
The instant he realized, he triggered the title-embedded skill.
Evasion Maneuver.
The special skill granted as Friend of the Join Tribe activated, moving his body on autopilot.
[Evasion Maneuver activates.]
[For 10 seconds, 100% evasion from projectiles.]
“...!”
Success.
10 seconds to weave past the lined-up asteroids and escape the field.
Fixing eyes and will on the end, his body auto-dodged them. Reached the goal.
“Whoa, it worked.”
Flight bordering on the divine. And it broadened his horizons.
Couldn’t repeat it consciously, but his flight skills felt poised to improve.
“Damn.”
Joy was fleeting. Post-asteroids, red eyes fixed on him.
Misrallzorum.
Not just one. Noise from the field had drawn wandering packs here.
‘Still, almost there.’
Past the asteroids, Heavens were close.
Minus the Misrallzorum swarm, nothing else blocked him.
Full sprint.
Rokan boosted with charging and mobility skills as cooldowns allowed, hurtling toward the Heavens.
‘Please, please…’
Mercy: they didn't attack on sight.
Circling, probing or toying with rare prey, seeking openings.
Rokan eyed them through All-Piercing Gaze, anxiously timing his move.
‘Now!’
At a key point, he used an item subtly prepped from inventory.
Last Sky Island buy besides map and patterns: "Sky Fireworks."
Swoosh. Boom! Pop! Pop! Pop! Baaang!
Near-silently launched, they exploded far off, spewing light devouring cosmic dark with thunderous roar.
Screeeeech!
Misrallzorum couldn't adapt.
The roar aside, intense light tormented their degenerated eyes, writhing in agony.
Dodging or instinctively lunging toward the blasts.
Chance. To shake them.
Normal fireworks boomed on launch; Sky Fireworks boomed at target, so firing backward repelled and lured them.
But only three uses.
Rokan checked positions and sprinted for Heavens.
‘The Heavens!’
Soon, they appeared.
And a strange déjà vu hit.
‘Seen this before?’
That classic feeling. Rokan had definitely seen the Heavens.
‘Tutorial!’
Too small then to notice, but yes—the view before Tutorial, out in space.
A colossal tree. Ground at base; Heavens amid or atop it.
The Lord's world really on one tree.
Odd feeling, but no time for sentiment.
“Sky Fireworks, use.”
Recovering Misrallzorum charged in fury.
Their speed outpaced his.
Rokan fired ahead, eyes shut, rocketing through the blast path.
Shrieeek!
‘Insane.’
No look back, but distance closing—he sensed it.
With title-boosted sixth sense, it was certain.
Final Sky Fireworks fired, all charges and mobilities dumped, he attempted escape.
Result soon followed.
[You have reached the Heavens.]
[Do not relax. Your soul is not yet registered here.]
[Death unregistered means revival on the ground.]
Heaven arrival!
Desperate escape succeeded.
“Ha… haha…”
Land even King of Genesis, Odin, never trod.
Overwhelmed, Rokan slowly scanned the Heaven's ground.
Foggy haze. Even superhuman eyes saw little. Designed not to reveal all at once.
“Only one thing visible.”
But one stood clear.
A village.
The first village visitable in the Heavens caught his eye.
“No choice but to head there.”
Soul registration unknown, but cautious move met a barrier.
[This is a safe zone. Leaving opens you to attacks.]
“Huh?”
Beyond, swarms of creatures flew.
[Wild Wyvern][Lv 387]
“Crazy…”
Dozens at least. Punch through to village? Suicide.
“No helping it.”
Biting his lip, Rokan ditched flight.
Using giant Kai-Kai to blitz past was option, but reckless.
Village anti-air might fire.
Forced to ground first, confirming empty surroundings, he waited out Gale Incarnation debuff and cooldowns, then left safe zone.
“Huh…?”
Moments later, a black shadow loomed overhead, startling him.
[Giant Ketopi][Lv 399]
-I guarantee you'll die to crawling bugs right after arriving in the Heavens!
He finally grasped the Join tribe curse from Sky Island arrival.