312. Showdown with the Hero
312. Showdown with the Hero
***
Fwoosh!
Aizen's jeweled sword soared high into the sky, blazing with intense blue light amid the raging blizzard.
Aizen's blue eyes gleamed as they tracked the sword climbing into the void, and his right hand, raised to follow the blade, slashed sharply through the air.
—Ice Flowers Fill the Sky.
As the jeweled sword hanging in the air carved through the void along the path of his hand, as if possessed of its own will, blue light burst forth in a violent spray and began to cover the entire sky.
A dreadful blue chill spread outward, as if freezing the whole sky in an instant, spawning countless ice flowers in the atmosphere.
Shaaaaaaaah!
The raging blizzard, too, transformed into handfuls of ice flowers the moment it touched the blue light, and soon the storm that had been howling through the air froze in place as if by magic, blooming into ice flowers.
In the surreal sight of the whole world freezing over and blossoming with ice flowers.
The silver-haired woman felt the duel slowly drawing to a close.
'This is his true full power, his ultimate technique.'
The way the greater part of his strength spread wide across the earth, sending out massive aftershocks as if expanding a domain, and the sight of the old knight radiating a presence stronger than ever—she could feel all of his power.
Ding!
[Under the influence of Ice Flowers Fill the Sky, your movement is slowed by 50%.]
Even at the sight of the brutal penalty notification in the corner of her vision, Serin smiled faintly and let out a soft breath.
Then, with a glint in her eyes, she gripped her Crescent-Moon Weight to its absolute limit.
Kreeeeek! Swish!
The cord connected to the Crescent-Moon Weight stretched to its breaking point with a hair-raising sound, and an immense light erupted from Serin's body at its center.
Fwoooosh!
As if the power surging through her entire body in this frozen world was being compressed to its extreme, it gathered into her form and burst into brilliant radiance. Without hesitation, she unleashed the strongest technique of 'Moon Princess.'
—Moonstar Fall.
The instant the technique activated, a colossal moonlight exploded upward from the ground beneath Serin's feet.
Pashashashashashashashak!
As she was enveloped in moonlight and launched skyward, the countless ice flowers in the air burst apart, scattering ice shards—but none could harm her.
"..."
Aizen's eyes narrowed faintly as he stared directly at the massive cluster of moonlight surging upward through the frozen world.
Within the extreme cold that could freeze even the atmosphere, his opponent was radiantly asserting her presence amid a blaze of light more brilliant than anything else.
"Truly, a flower more radiant than anything in this world."
Among the countless ice flowers that had frozen all creation, a flower more beautiful than any other seemed to bloom—and only now did her movement seem to register on his retinas.
As he recognized the transformation within Serin's movement, smashing through everything and soaring upward even under the influence of Ice Flowers Fill the Sky, he felt something beyond admiration—something approaching awe.
Within the moonlight that seemed to simply kick off the ground and soar into the sky.
The image of the Crescent-Moon Weight wrapped in moonlight, shattering every one of the countless ice flowers in the air as it climbed, was still vivid.
Hundreds—no, thousands. The movement of that instant, bursting all those flowers at once as she soared, could never have been produced by something like system assistance.
'As I thought... she is a being worthy of carrying on that person's will.'
She possessed the potential to break the long-maintained balance between the powers—no, it would not be an exaggeration to call her a being who already held that level of strength.
Crackcrackcrackcrackcrack!
Even now, the ice flowers in the air continued to burst outward from the point where the moonlight exploded.
A woman radiating a great moonlight, as if to warmly illuminate the frozen world.
She was surging toward him like judgment descending upon all existence beneath the sky, a colossal moon in full bloom.
It was a rush of a moon vast enough to cover the entire world.
In the sight of a moon that no being could possibly block.
"...Move."
Aizen stared straight at it and slowly spoke in a deep, weighty voice.
Unity of Body and Sword.
A realm dreamed of by knights who wield the sword, reached by only a very few among even the most renowned knights.
Following Aizen's restrained movements through the air, the jeweled sword pouring deep blue light into the void likewise unleashed its fury in accordance with his will.
Fwoooosh!
The blue light burst outward, transmitting its energy to the ice flowers still countless in the air.
If the first act had been to create countless flowers and freeze the world itself, then the finale of Ice Flowers Fill the Sky was to detonate every one of those ice flowers.
The ice flowers that existed in the air beyond counting began to burst one by one the moment the blue light touched them, as if melting under warm sunlight, scattering sharp shards through the atmosphere.
KABOOM!
Every flower in the path of the woman surging forward like a colossal moon detonated at once, creating a chain of ice explosions.
Swish!
Within the great moonlight, an ice shard grazed Serin's cheek, and even the blood froze. Soon, countless ice flowers pierced through that moonlight and delivered their chill to her body.
"..."
But even so, Serin's crimson eyes, descending toward Aizen on the ground below, held not a trace of hesitation.
And at the end of it all.
The colossal moonlight finally overcame the shards of every ice flower in the world and reached the ground.
————!!!
As if a massive meteor had crashed down, the snow of the frozen field was blasted skyward by an enormous shockwave, announcing the scale of the destruction.
At the center of the moonlight that had burst outward in a violent spray, the woman with silver hair fluttering magnificently was caught slightly off guard.
The blue blade of the jeweled sword, halted perilously just before the tip of her nose.
And the blue gleam of the old knight who had thrust that sword toward her—even though the outcome was already decided, his eyes held her firmly in their gaze.
Even at the moment she had marked victory with the explosion of Moonstar Fall, the old knight had shown one final move, and Serin couldn't help but be startled.
If she had been even a little slower, even if Moonstar Fall had succeeded, she would have met her death.
Staring at the jeweled sword that had pierced her left arm and stopped just barely before her face, Serin could only feel it.
'Is this the level of a being called a hero in Another World?'
A presence that did not fall short even when compared to the strongest figures she had faced in the latter half of Black Ark.
Fwooosh.
Soon, Aizen's form was dyed in light, and his blue eyes, which had held such biting cold, now held warmth.
"Satisfying."
At those words, spoken as if accepting his defeat, Serin smiled faintly as well.
Ding!
[You have won your duel against the hero 'Aizen of Chevalanche'!]
As her experience gauge filled completely, her body was suffused with a bright light different from the moonlight before.
Ding!
[Level 66 reached!]
*
————
You are the 616th person to reach level 66!
All stats increase by 2%!
As a being who has undergone unbelievable experiences, you gain +1 favorability with all NPCs.
Imperial royalty and kingdom royalty will no longer look down on you.
————
*
At the first level-up message and the notification of level-up benefits, Serin couldn't help but break into a bright smile.
"...Level 66."
Dingdingdingding!
Immediately after, an even more brilliant golden light filled her vision.
*
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Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal
Grade: Treasure.
- Description: The essence of ice crystals that never melt gathered to its extreme, forming a single crystal at the end. If processed through a special procedure and consumed directly, you permanently gain resistance to cold-based effects and acquire 'Ice Elemental Power.'
Cannot be sold to general stores. Can only be sold at Alchemy Workshops and the Magic Tower. If you pay a commission of 1 billion at a major-city Alchemy Workshop, the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal can be processed.
- If sold to an Alchemy Workshop: 1.5 billion Silver Coins and a permanent 5% workshop discount.
- If sold to the Magic Tower: 2 billion Silver Coins and an opportunity to meet the Master of the Magic Tower.
- Cannot sell to shops.
- Cannot list on Auction House.
————
*
"...Wow."
The moment she saw it, nothing but pure admiration escaped her.
She had recognized the power of a being called a hero. She had known the individual was special, and she had expected the reward to be special too.
But even so, she had never imagined it would give her an item classified as Treasure.
Moreover, the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal was one of the treasures she had never even laid eyes on in Black Ark, which made the surprise even greater.
Ding.
[You may now view the 'Additional Information.']
As the notification window sparkled along with the additional alert, she almost checked it reflexively before pulling herself together.
She hadn't been aware of it while focused on the duel, but she was very much live right now.
"Sorry for making you wait so long, right?"
[Whoa lolololololololol]
[Treasure items drop from hero rewards??]
[What the hell is this insane reward]
[An epic duel followed by an even more insane reward...]
[No but... why don't heroes ever come find me?]
[Holy shit this reward is actually unreal lolololololololol]
[A shop price of 2 billion? That's fucking insane lolololololololol]
[The farming-for-cash kids grinding party hunts coin by coin... and someone makes 2 billion in one go]
[What's the additional info?]
[Watching Rin... suddenly feeling existential. I was happy making 5 million a day in the dwarf cave yesterday]
[Hurry up and check the additional info!]
When she opened the chat window she had turned off, laughter escaped her before she knew it at the rapidly scrolling chat.
"Right? 2 billion Silver Coins."
She nodded along at one comment, unable to help being a little shocked herself.
Even though people always said I was lucky, the money I'd made from selling items so far hadn't even reached 600 million Silver Coins.
Over the past few days, the junk items from grinding levels like crazy had sold for 27 million Silver Coins.
If she liquidated all the other byproducts too, she'd have assets of around 600 million Silver Coins.
I'd obtained a Mythic item like Durandal, but I hadn't sold it—I was using it myself.
But today, it was as good as obtaining an item worth 2 billion Silver Coins in one go.
'But it's an item I can't sell.'
The cold resistance from processing and consuming it was one thing, but acquiring 'Ice Elemental Power' was a special trait that no amount of money could buy.
Because it meant she could add an additional element to her attacks.
"...It's pretty."
She carefully reached out toward the crystal floating in the air like a single gemstone.
After placing the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, shaped like a brilliantly white shard of ice, into her inventory, Serin's gaze soon turned to the additional information.
"Hah."
She steadied her breathing, but her curiosity was overflowing.
The hero named Aizen had clearly said he hadn't encountered me by chance—he had come looking for me directly.
He had also said something strange about having heard rumors about her.
The thought that she could finally verify the truth behind the rumors about her circulating who-knew-where left her unexpectedly excited.
If a hero had known enough to seek her out, it couldn't be anything trivial.
The joy of leveling up was one thing, but she was so curious about those rumors that she spoke up first.
"First, let me check the additional information, and then we'll do the chicken event."
She then opened the notification window and selected the additional information.
*
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Would you like to view the Additional Information?
[Y/N]
————
*
Serin placed her hand over Y.