Chapter 62: Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara (3)
His vision shifted rapidly.
The faster he ran and the more thrown spears he deflected, the more his breath grew ragged.
Even so, the only reason he could hold his ground without collapsing was thanks to 'Shallow Breathing', a skill he had copied beforehand.
Preparing for a prolonged battle had truly paid off here.
Right then.
"...!"
Jinhyuk swung his dagger in a wide arc.
Clang!
He deflected yet another spear flying straight at him. The spear spun wildly through the air.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Whoosh!
A barrage of spears followed, completely blotting out the sky. Every single one of them was coated in the deadly energy of Mandala.
The sky turned black, as if a storm carrying dark clouds was rolling in.
Haha, what a joke...
They really don't give me a moment to get bored.
Despite the desperate situation, Jinhyuk lifted his head.
At first glance, it looked like an irregular area-of-effect attack.
However, there was a single rule governing those attacks.
The rule that they must target the opponent's vital points.
In that split second, Jinhyuk mapped out the trajectories of the incoming spears.
There was no need to be afraid.
He had done this countless times before.
Remember the rhythm from back then.
Jinhyuk relaxed his entire body.
Lightly, yet smoothly.
Recall the experience from back then.
Whoosh!
The dark energy coating his dagger flared up even more fiercely.
The sound of tearing wind filled his ears.
The spears drew close enough to graze his hair.
Deflect them all.
Right then.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Dazzling sparks erupted.
The deafening roar of metal grinding against metal continuously battered his eardrums.
Cl-cl-cl-clang!
Standing firmly in place, Jinhyuk slashed his dagger like a madman. From left to right, right to down, and back up again.
Crash!
Boom!
As if he had memorized exactly where every attack would land, Jinhyuk didn't miss a single spear.
It was a godlike acrobatic feat, hard to believe even when watching it firsthand.
It was at that moment that the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara roared.
"Damn it... How about this?!"
One spear targeted the ground right in front of Jinhyuk, rather than his torso.
A technique that utilized the uneven ground to create an irregular trajectory.
A ricochet.
Because it was subtly mixed into the rain of spears, it was difficult to notice, and even harder to react to.
Yet, as if he had anticipated even this.
Grab!
Jinhyuk caught the shaft of the ricocheting spear with his bare hand.
"Y-you blocked this too?!"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara stammered.
It was only natural for him to be flustered, seeing his trump card thwarted.
Furthermore, the hands that had been holding countless weapons were now mostly empty.
"Well, it looks like you've shown me everything you've got. If you don't have anything more creative and interesting, I'll wrap this up now."
Jinhyuk walked forward.
His steps were light and brisk.
[And one thought crystalizes like an icy blast.]
And right on cue, the climax of the song echoed from the broadcasting system.
As if signaling that it was time to settle this fight once and for all.
Did that nonchalant tone get on his nerves?
A voice dripping with rage erupted from deep within the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara.
"The only one who decides when this battle ends... is me!"
[Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara draws the 'Swastika Spear'!]
"Die!"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara thrust forward a golden spear, channeling Mandala to its absolute limit.
Despite its heavy appearance, the spear shot forward as fast as a bullet.
Boom!
The spear pierced through Jinhyuk's body.
Or rather, he thought it did.
"A... mirage?"
The smug smirk on the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's face instantly contorted into sheer shock.
An optical illusion caused by the diffuse reflection of ice. Combined with Jinhyuk baiting him into letting his guard down right in front of him, he had been completely fooled.
This is bad. Just as that thought crossed his mind.
A chilling voice echoed from right beneath the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's chin.
"My turn to land a hit."
He was sick and tired of constantly defending.
Not to mention how annoying and frustrating it had been.
So.
Take this hit. No more, no less—just one solid blow.
Jinhyuk tossed Merlin's staff, which had shrunk in size, into the air.
At the same time, he plunged his dagger into the ground.
[Glacial Shaping: 'Sword of the Sky' has been activated!]
Streams of ice descending from the sky...
[Glacial Shaping: 'Sword of the Earth' has been activated!]
...and streams of ice surging up from the earth met in the middle.
Rumbleeeee!
The sheer, overwhelming cold unleashed a thick cloud of steam that completely obscured their vision.
"Aaargh!"
Trapped inside, the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's body froze in an instant.
A cold so severe that even a named monster couldn't lift a single finger bound his entire body.
"Urgh... Do you think... this is enough to trap me?"
"No."
"This is just to buy some time."
"I still have one more thing to do."
Crackle.
Jinhyuk began to fashion something out of ice right in front of the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara.
Make this part thick and long.
And carve this part smooth and curved.
Gradually, the ice began to take shape.
After a few seconds passed.
[Ice Sculpting has been completed.]
As the blizzard cleared, the finished product was finally revealed.
Magnificent.
Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.
A massive middle finger made of ice stood tall and proud.
It was big and beautiful. Majestic, even.
It was an absolutely flawless sculpture. Ah, of course—flawless for mocking his opponent, that is.
"Y-you... you wretched human! I will lock you in Avici Hell and make you suffer for an eternity! I will make you reincarnate as a bug thousands, tens of thousands of times! Aaaaargh!"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara thrashed violently inside the ice.
He was practically bursting with rage, and being trapped only made it harder to bear.
This should be more than enough.
[Conditions have been met.]
[Successfully copied the unique ability 'Mandala (S)'!]
[Mandala]
Acquisition Difficulty: S
Description: A unique ability usable by players who have mastered Buddhist teachings. Much like Sword Qi or Divine Power, it allows the user to coat their weapons with a special energy. Additionally, through the cultivation of heart methods, it grants the ability to predict the direction of incoming enemy attacks.]
[The copied skill has been stored in 'Memory of the World'.]
After fulfilling all sorts of bizarre conditions, he had finally obtained it.
His new unique ability, Mandala!
Now then... shall I give it a spin for the first time in a while?
Jinhyuk carefully channeled his mana.
Hummmmm!
A warm, cozy energy.
It felt as if the very breath of living life was gathered in the palm of his hand.
"Urgh... a mere... a mere block of ice like this...!"
Even then, the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara writhed frantically, trying to break free from the ice.
Golden sparks crackled from his Mandala, but it was far from enough to shatter the ice.
Tsk, tsk.
What a pitiful sight.
Why does my heart ache so much whenever I see fools who possess a legendary sword but don't even know how to use it properly?
"Don't waste your energy. You can't escape anyway."
"Nonsense! There is nowhere my power cannot escape from!"
"No, it's impossible. Mandala is indeed an excellent unique ability, but you're using it completely wrong."
"What?!"
"If you opened the 'gate' through meditation, you should know how to maintain your composure. You're still consumed by rage, which is why you can't even control the flow of your mana properly."
That was why he couldn't even unleash a fraction of his true power.
"How dare you run your mouth! What could a bastard like you possibly know about this power?!"
What did he know?
He knew far more than someone who had wasted tens of thousands of years doing nothing.
He understood the true essence of this power.
And its true worth. All of it.
So, he would show him.
Exactly how the power of Mandala was meant to be used.
[Unique Ability 'Mandala' has been activated!]
Crackle!
An indescribable mist began to form.
Before long, a bolt of lightning tinged with gold manifested in Jinhyuk's right hand.
"T-that's impossible. How can you use that power?!"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's eyes shook violently.
It was an ability he couldn't possibly fail to recognize.
The very power he had just used was being replicated right before his eyes.
And with far greater mastery and perfection.
"This... makes no sense."
How on earth could a mere human learn Mandala?
It was something even high priests who had meditated for decades couldn't achieve.
Yet, no matter how much he denied reality, he couldn't deny the brilliantly blazing energy of Mandala.
This was undeniably real.
"Now, get lost."
Jinhyuk drew back his hand holding the lightning.
His forearm muscles swelled rapidly.
"W-wait! Hold on, wait a minu—!"
The Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara cried out in a panic.
And in that instant.
Whoosh!
The lightning released from Jinhyuk's hand pierced straight through the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara's body.
* * *
Sizzle!
Water dripped from the melting ice.
Naturally, the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara inside was also charred black, his breath completely cut short.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have acquired 'Key of the Statue'.]
Status windows popped up one after another.
Thanks to defeating a named monster, his level had shot up by two.
"I guess that wraps things up."
Panting heavily, Jinhyuk frowned.
The intense pain racking his entire body was hard to bear.
I pushed myself too hard.
After hunting Cadric and the undead, and then immediately facing the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara, his remaining mana was running dangerously low.
He needed rest.
Of course, he had to take care of business first.
Jinhyuk opened his personal status window.
——————————————————
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Level: 21
Strength: 16 | Agility: 16 | Stamina: 16 | Mana: 41 | Gap: 100 | Luck: 10 | Adaptive Stat: 10
Stat Points Available: 6
Coins Owned: Undergoing additional calculation.
Class: None
Unique Abilities: Fusion, Grave of Swords, Blessing of the Stars, Judgment of Anubis, Blood Demon Qi, Mandala
Skills: Lv5 'Fire Element', Lv4 'Gluttony's Eye', Lv3 'Communion', Lv3 'Brand of the Flame Soul', Lv3 'Monopolize', Lv3 'Shallow Breathing', Lv1 'Ice Sculpting', Lv2 'Daylight', Lv1 "Giant's Grasp", Lv1 'Soul-Chasing Sword'
——————————————————
The newly acquired abilities and stat points caught his eye.
I should dump these stat points into Mana.
Considering how battles could drag on like this, he needed to heavily invest in Mana once again.
[Mana increases from 41 → 47]
As his Mana rose, his bulging veins quickly subsided.
Ah, I can finally breathe.
Unleashing Mandala to its absolute limit to throw that lightning bolt at the end really took a toll on me.
However, the rewards were more than worth the struggle.
Thanks to completing Merlin's Staff, he had mastered Glacial Shaping, the advanced version of Ice Sculpting.
And he had even managed to copy Mandala from the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara.
On top of that, he had leveled up. Wasn't this the most perfect raid imaginable?
A truly ideal conclusion.
Now, all he had to do was find a decent place to sleep and wash away his accumulated fatigue.
Yes.
That would be the normal way to think.
That once day turned to night, it would be time to rest.
Which means those bastards will probably make their move before the night deepens.
Jinhyuk's gaze drifted toward the forest.
Toward the assassins of the Demonic Human Association who were watching him even at this very moment.
They probably think this is the perfect opportunity for an ambush, but we'll see about that...
A future entirely different from what they envisioned was waiting for them.