Chapter 61: Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara (2)
Jinhyuk pulled a piece of old wood out of his subspace inventory.
It was a relic he had obtained from the Corridor.
A fragment of 'Merlin's Staff'.
"That is...?"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's brow furrowed. Its eyes darted rapidly, tensing as if ready to spring forward at any moment.
It had sensed an ominous energy.
But it was already too late.
Blame yourself for not taking the loss of a single arm seriously.
Jinhyuk fused the two items together.
Hummmmm!
['Merlin's Staff Fragment (AAA)' and 'Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's Gemstone (AA)' are fusing!]
The relic began to react, emitting an intense light.
[Fusion successful!]
[Merlin's Staff (Incomplete)]
Acquisition Difficulty: S
Description: Merlin, the Archmage and sage of England who served King Arthur. This staff is a relic he used during his lifetime, allowing magic-type abilities to be unleashed to their absolute limit. (However, because it was not crafted with complete materials, the maximum increase in stats is limited.)
A moment later, as the light faded, a wooden staff embedded with a gemstone lay in its place.
I finally have this in my hands.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart beat rapidly in tandem.
Even though it wasn't a complete relic...
It doesn't matter.
This was more than enough.
In the first place, a complete Merlin's Staff could only be used by an Archmage who had completed their third class advancement.
Alright. Next.
Jinhyuk peered at the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's status window through 'Gluttony's Eye'.
There was one thing he absolutely had to check before fighting it.
——————————————————
Name: Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara
Gender: None
Age: 30,985 years old
Level: ??
Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Stamina: ?? Mana: ?? Karma: ??
Unique Ability: Mandala
Skills: The level of 'Gluttony's Eye' is too low to view individual skills.
——————————————————
[Copy Condition: The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara harbors an extreme hatred for Western magic. Within a 5-minute time limit, use ice magic to create a grand and beautiful sculpture that insults your opponent. (Note: You must also select an appropriate song to play while sculpting.) If successful, you can copy the opponent's unique ability.]
Huh?
Wait, hold on a second...
I'm not seeing things, am I?
Jinhyuk slowly closed and opened his eyes.
But the text of the copy condition remained unchanged.
The system is getting crazier by the day.
It was absurd enough when it told him to take a class on necromancy from Cadric.
But this was getting more and more ridiculous.
A song and a sculpture...?
And it even came with the additional requirement that they had to match appropriately.
Jinhyuk massaged the bridge of his nose.
Still, this was too much.
To think it would come up with such a creative way to insult an opponent.
He could already feel a headache coming on.
However, no matter how bizarre the condition, he couldn't give up.
Because below the 25th floor, this was the only place where he could obtain 'Mandala'.
"Phew."
Exhaling a deep sigh, Jinhyuk activated the 'Broadcasting System'.
He wasn't planning to stream.
This was just one of the few features provided for streamers.
Specifically...
[Please select a BGM.]
The broadcast background music.
When it comes to ice magic, there's really only one song that fits.
Jinhyuk selected the song and cranked the volume to the maximum.
Immediately, a familiar and beautiful melody began to play.
It was from Disney's animated masterpiece Frozen, which had taken the world by storm in the dead of winter.
And the song was its massive hit, "Let It Go."
[Let It Go~! Let It Go~! Can’t hold it back anymore.]
As the melody swelled, his face grew hot.
How should he put it?
It felt like he was drowning in nostalgia.
Hearing it after so long brought back a flood of memories.
On the other hand, the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's face contorted into a hideous scowl at the sudden, random music.
"You! What is the meaning of this?!"
A voice like a raging torrent erupted.
This was a life-or-death battle.
It was only natural for it to react this way, given that he was pulling such a ridiculous stunt in the middle of it.
"Do me a favor and don't ask why."
Because I don't know why I have to do this either.
Of course...
"Answer me, human!"
There was no way it would let him brush it off so easily.
Infuriated, the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara channeled its mana.
Rumbleeee!
A golden aura enveloped the weapons held in its hands.
A power distinct from both sword qi and divine power.
Mandala.
The strongest Buddhist ability, which manifested all creation, was activated at this very moment.
"The games end here. From now on, I will tear you to shreds with all my might."
It seemed to be thoroughly enraged.
Though the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara had slaughtered countless humans, it had never unleashed its Mandala until now.
"But are you sure you'll be okay?"
Jinhyuk shrugged.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if you lose even after unleashing your Mandala, you won't have any excuses left. Are you sure you're ready for that?"
He had never seen anyone who claimed, "This is 100% of my power!" actually win.
How did they all manage to spout such cringeworthy lines with a straight face?
If it were him, he would just stay quiet.
Ah. Then again, maybe he wasn't one to talk, considering he was fighting while blasting music.
"You... wretched human! How dare a mere insect that cannot even live a hundred years speak of defeat to me!"
Cracks began to spiderweb across the ground.
...It was starting.
Crashhhhh!
A golden wave surged forward relentlessly.
However, the energy of the Mandala, which was obliterating the ground, ground to a halt right in front of Jinhyuk.
[Glacial Shaping: Blizzard has been activated!]
Crackle!
Ice particles began to take shape.
A massive, three-meter-wide hexagram.
Pure white frost billowed from the grand magic circle woven of snow and ice.
Incredible.
Jinhyuk gripped the staff with both hands.
His hands trembled violently.
Even controlling the rampaging mana was no easy task.
As expected of a higher-tier skill.
His newly acquired skill, 'Glacial Shaping'.
Its very structure was entirely different from the 'Ice Sculpting' he had used earlier.
While Ice Sculpting merely condensed the moisture in the air to use as ice...
Now that he held Merlin's Staff, he could create frost itself.
"A mere Western parlor trick...!"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara gnashed its teeth.
"A parlor trick, huh..."
Jinhyuk smirked.
If that was all it thought of it, it was making a grave mistake.
* * *
A short distance away from the battlefield.
Perched atop a tree, Richao and Melena let out hollow sighs.
"I can't believe my eyes."
"Not just swordsmanship... but he's also mastered ice magic to that extent? Is a multi-class even possible?"
As the battle raged on, Richao and Melena's pupils dilated and contracted in sheer shock.
They couldn't help it.
Everything unfolding before them defied their common sense.
The overwhelming might displayed by the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara.
It possessed a power that truly befitted its status as a named monster.
Yet, Jinhyuk, who was blocking it head-on, was also far beyond the realm of ordinary humans.
By a massive margin, at that.
"It's not just at a utility level. Even within the Demonic Human Association, someone who can use ice magic of that caliber is..."
Richao trailed off.
He couldn't bring himself to admit that they didn't have a single mage who was better than a melee-class player.
Melena felt the exact same way.
Her lips trembled before she finally voiced the one thought she shouldn't have.
"If the two of us attacked him... could we even win?"
Two combat-type dark mages specializing in PvP had come here.
Even if their opponent was rated S-rank, their combined force should have been more than enough to subdue him.
Yet, Melena lacked confidence.
The confidence that they could actually defeat that monster.
"...It would be difficult."
Richao muttered softly, his expression grim.
Realistically speaking, the two of them alone could not guarantee victory.
In fact, they had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
"Let's give up, Richao. We can't do this alone. Unless an executive-level member comes..."
"No. If we do that, the standing we've built up so far will crumble in an instant."
"Then what do you suggest? Are you saying we should risk our lives when we might die?"
"No."
Richao shook his head.
He had no intention of making a reckless gamble.
But he didn't plan on abandoning the mission either.
"I will use the relic."
It was a relic he had brought from the Demonic Human Association just in case.
Since it carried a heavy restriction of a three-month cooldown after a single use, he had hoped to avoid using it if possible...
But now that things had come to this, he had no other choice.
To complete the mission, they had to utilize every means at their disposal.
* * *
Well, look at this.
So Cadric wasn't the only one who came.
Jinhyuk glanced to the side.
High up in a tree, far from the battlefield.
He could faintly sense an unfamiliar mana emanating from there.
Considering he hadn't noticed them until now, they had to be at least a cut above Cadric.
They were likely the hidden cards prepared by the Demonic Human Association to finish him off for good.
Perfect.
This is a great opportunity to learn more about the Demonic Human Association.
However...
Right at that moment...
Crash!
A sharp, numbing shock jolted through his wrist.
"Where do you think you are looking?"
A spear thrown by the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara had pierced halfway through his ice wall.
The spearhead vibrated violently.
If he hadn't quickly activated Glacial Shaping, it would have pierced right through his hand and into his body.
Right. He still had this guy to deal with.
Interrogating the Demonic Human Association bastards was important, but for now, he had to deal with the nuisance right in front of him.
[Glacial Shaping: Extreme Ice Arrow has been activated!]
Fssss!
In an instant, over twenty ice arrows materialized.
Their size was on a completely different scale compared to the ones he used to make with Ice Sculpting.
Measuring over three meters long, these massive weapons resembled whaling harpoons more than arrows.
However, inflicting a fatal wound on the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara with just this was close to impossible.
In addition to draining the opponent's mana, Mandala also possessed the power to predict the trajectory of attacks.
It wasn't praised as a perfect ability for both offense and defense for nothing.
In that case...
I'll utilize both mid-range and close-range combat.
No matter how exceptional its predictive power was, there had to be a limit to how many attacks it could read.
Jinhyuk channeled mana into the staff.
The staff then shrank to the size of a single finger joint.
At this size, it wouldn't hinder his movements.
Good.
Nodding, Jinhyuk immediately drew the dagger he had stored in his subspace inventory.
A dark energy slowly seeped out along the blade.
To counter the Mandala, he even activated 'Grave of Swords'.
"You have done nothing but fling chunks of ice from afar, but it seems you finally intend to approach me directly."
"I'd like to wrap this up before the song ends."
"Let It Go" was already building toward its climax.
He didn't have much time left.
Rumbleeee!
As their two manas clashed, blue sparks flew in all directions.
And at that very moment...
Now!
Along with the twenty ice arrows...
Boom!
Jinhyuk kicked off the ground and lunged forward.