Immortal Slayer (3)
Adelia had volunteered to guard the door, so Sikan Bauer accompanied the guild leader.
They hurried toward the eastern wall.
Listening to the guild leader's report, Sikan frowned, a grim look settling on his face.
"The enemy won't die...?"
"Y-yes, that is correct."
The guild leader nodded, his face pale with terror.
"Even when his h-head is severed, his heart pierced, and we clearly confirm he has drawn his last breath... he just stands right back up after a moment and attacks as if nothing happened. It's not just a matter of high regeneration."
Sikan's expression hardened.
If Hakun Durdamel's description was accurate, the intruder attacking the eastern wall possessed the exact traits of an immortal.
But something was off.
The creature's characteristics did not match any entity in Sikan's memory.
A giant over three meters tall, a half-giant wielding dual axes...?
No such immortal was recorded anywhere in Midtemple's archives.
Information regarding immortals was strictly classified.
Considering this, there were only two possibilities.
The first was the guild leader's ignorance.
In other words, Hakun Durdamel might have mistaken a highly regenerative ogre or troll for something else...
But if that isn't the case...
The second possibility was the emergence of a new, unrecorded immortal.
"Damn it," Sikan Bauer cursed under his breath.
Hakun Durdamel.
He was a top-tier merchant who was well-aware of the existence of both the Heavenly Dragon Squad and Midtemple.
Could a merchant with that level of information network really fail to recognize a common monster like an ogre or a troll?
If so, then an unrecorded immortal has truly appeared.
This was nothing short of a worst-case scenario.
After all, immortals caused immense harm to the balance of the world by their mere existence.
With the current political climate already unstable, the appearance of another immortal meant that a grave crisis was brewing beneath the surface of the continent.
"Whew."
Sikan Bauer let out a sigh. In the distance, the eastern wall was finally coming into view.
Further speculation was pointless.
It was time to see the enemy's identity with his own eyes—
BOOM!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a massive explosion shattered a section of the eastern wall.
Debris from the wall scattered in all directions, and through the gaping hole, a massive man walked out.
Crazy...
A chill ran down Sikan's spine.
A giant of a man stood there, resting a pair of blood-stained dual axes on his shoulders.
...And around him lay the brutally slaughtered bodies of the city guards.
The guards of the Free City of Vertas were well-trained, capable fighters. Yet, the intruder had crushed them and breached the city with ease.
Crack, snap!
Perhaps due to the impact of smashing through the main gate with his bare body, one of the intruder's shoulders and arms hung in tattered shreds.
Yet, the wound regenerated in an instant. With a surge of dark red energy, the mangled flesh knit back together, returning to its original state.
Witnessing this, Sikan Bauer scowled. His worst-case scenario had manifested right before his eyes.
...He really is an immortal. And one with a ridiculously absurd rate of regeneration at that.
Shring!
Without a moment to lose, Sikan Bauer drew his sword.
At that moment, the giant gripped his dual axes tightly and growled in a voice dripping with murderous intent.
"Are you with that rat too...?"
A rat?
What random nonsense was he spouting?
Ignoring the giant's babbling, Sikan Bauer quickly barked orders.
"Hakun Durdamel."
"Yes, sir!"
"Seal off the surrounding area immediately, evacuate the citizens, and request reinforcements from all guard units in Vertas. And..."
Hummmmm!
The sword in his hand began to resonate. A pure white aura rose like a haze, illuminating the blade.
It was uncertain how long he could hold out against that monster.
Those who contracted with evil gods had their abilities obscured by 'Censorship', making it impossible to gauge their true strength.
However, one thing was absolutely certain...
"Bring Sir Gaon here the moment he is ready."
...Once Gaon arrived, everything would be resolved.
"Ugh..."
How much time had passed?
My hazy consciousness slowly began to return.
It seemed I had passed out after enduring that excruciating pain.
Letting out a pained groan, I slowly pushed myself up.
Huh?
I froze.
In that moment, my eyes widened in surprise.
I could feel that something was distinctly different.
Just by sitting up, I could instantly tell that my body had changed.
...It's not just a simple increase in strength or stamina.
My entire constitution had changed.
It felt as if every single cell had been transformed into a completely different entity.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I looked at the mirror in the corner of the room.
Only then did the physical transformation truly sink in.
Wow.
My once-scrawny frame had filled out with lean, toned muscle.
It wasn't overly bulky, but perfectly proportioned.
But above all, the most significant 'change' was...
The translucent number floating above my head.
Level 30.
Before consuming the Earth Dragon's Heart, my level was a measly 11. Now, it had shot up to 30 in one go.
Considering that the mercenaries escorting Hakun Durdamel's guild were all between levels 20 and 30...
It was no exaggeration to say that my physical stats were now on par with an average mercenary.
Strength: 32
Agility: 29
Stamina: 35
Mana: 1
Perception: 31
Dexterity: 12
...
Crazy.
The changes in my status window felt even more dramatic.
My stats, which had been littered with '1's just a few weeks ago, had taken a massive leap forward.
It was an absurd rate of growth. Anyone else looking at this would have turned green with envy.
...Then again, considering what I had to pull off to get here, shouldn't this level of growth be expected?
I slowly clenched and unclenched my fists.
As I mentioned before, the effects of the Earth Dragon's Heart weren't limited to just boosting a player's stats.
The best part is yet to come.
Right on cue, new notification windows began to pop up in my field of vision.
[You have inherited the traits of the Dragon Body.]
[Your physical vessel has been reinforced.]
[The growth rate of your physical stats has accelerated.]
...Dragon Body.
The Earth Dragon's Heart had fundamentally reconstructed my physical vessel.
The human body has its limits. There exists a wall that cannot be breached no matter how hard one trains.
This is because there is a set limit to the growth that bones, muscles, and organs can withstand.
To overcome this innate limitation, one must practice Aura cultivation methods to gradually refine their constitution over decades.
But I don't have the time to sit around practicing Aura cultivation.
Refining a weak constitution through cultivation takes ages.
When I barely have enough time to travel the continent and execute my plans, how could I afford to spend years training?
So, I used the Earth Dragon's Heart to reconstruct my body.
My skeletal structure shifted, my bones grew denser, my muscles became more elastic, and my blood vessels expanded to carry more blood...
By transcending the limits of an ordinary human, I had forged a constitution capable of limitless growth.
With my constitution changed, my growth rate will be much faster.
To put it in RPG terms, my experience gain would be boosted by 1.5 to 2 times.
Of course, that was just a metaphor. The growth system of Lost Elder operated in a far more complex manner.
Anyway.
With this, I had achieved everything I wanted.
It was the moment the plans I had meticulously built step-by-step finally bore fruit.
Creak.
After thoroughly checking all the changes brought by the Earth Dragon's Heart, I opened the locked door.
The moment the door swung open, Adelia's urgent voice rang out.
"Sir Gaon...!"
For some reason, her face was filled with anxiety.
Even Hakun Durdamel, standing beside her, looked pale as a ghost.
"What is it?"
In response to my question, Hakun Durdamel answered instead.
"V-Vertas is under attack!"
...What?
I froze.
Hearing Hakun Durdamel's words, I maintained a calm facade, but my mind was in utter chaos.
There is no scenario where Vertas gets attacked at this point in time...?
An anomaly had occurred.
Just like when I ran into Pokryong, the Fire Dragon Sword Master, in the depths of Labyrinth Village way ahead of schedule...
Once again, an unexpected event not present in the original game had triggered.
"Explain the situation in detail."
"A-an intruder has breached the eastern wall all by himself."
I listened to the explanation as I hurried down to the first floor of the inn. Adelia and Hakun Durdamel followed close on my heels.
"Dozens of guards have already lost their lives. The Inquisitor is holding the line with the Vertas guards, but the situation is grim."
I processed Hakun Durdamel's words, my mind racing.
An opponent strong enough to give even Sikan Bauer trouble?
Who on earth could it be? And why would someone that powerful attack the Free City of Vertas at this point in time?
...No, calm down. Panicking won't solve anything. It's better to ask the most direct question to gather information.
"What does the enemy look like?"
"I-I cannot be entirely certain, but to my untrained eye, he appeared to be a half-giant."
"...?"
"He's about three meters tall. A-and he wields dual axes as his primary weapons."
Huh?
Wait a minute.
A half-giant? Dual axes?
Could it be...?
[A portion of the hidden message has been revealed.]
[A distorted causality has given birth to the Undead, 'Barba'.]
...Son of a bitch.
I clicked my tongue as I stared at the notification.
Maybe it was because I had anticipated something like this since leaving the dark city of Dawnguard, but I didn't feel particularly panicked.
"Lead the way."
No further explanation was needed. I quickly headed toward the eastern wall of Vertas with Adelia.
Damn it.
Sikan Bauer grit his teeth.
The undead monster simply would not die.
No matter how many times he slashed, pierced, or crushed it, the creature kept rising.
Its wounds healed in the blink of an eye, rendering all attacks utterly meaningless.
Fortunately, we've managed to hold the line at the entrance for now, but...
...There was a limit to how long they could endure.
"Ha."
He froze.
It was at that exact moment.
The undead giant, who had been attacking blindly, suddenly halted.
For the first time, a crazed grin spread across the monster's face.
"You've finally shown yourself...! You little rat...!"
...Rat?
Sikan Bauer turned around in confusion.
A man was walking calmly through the middle of the guards' defensive line.
Witnessing this, Sikan Bauer murmured softly.
"Sir Gaon..."
Tap.
Gaon patted Sikan's shoulder lightly.
His pace as he passed Sikan Bauer was neither fast nor slow.
"Good work."
Leaving behind those brief words, he walked nonchalantly toward the giant.
As Gaon drew closer, the giant's expression twisted with growing ecstasy.
"Do you have any idea...! How hard I searched to find you...!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The giant swung his massive dual axes menacingly.
The axes tore through the air, making a terrifying sound.
It looked like a gladiator performing a theatrical display right before executing his sacrificial prey.
"Come at me, you rat! Barba has grown stronger! Let's go another round!"
Whoosh!
Having closed the distance to the giant, Gaon casually swung his sword.
It was an ordinary strike, but it was more than enough to sever a neck.
"Bwahahaha!"
The giant burst into laughter.
He didn't even bother to defend against Gaon's attack.
Instead, he stood still, leisurely watching the trajectory of the blade.
Slash!
A sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed.
The giant's head was cleanly severed, and blood sprayed like a fountain.
Yet, no one let down their guard.
Sikan Bauer and the guards stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.
They had already killed the monster dozens of times, only for it to resurrect each time as if nothing had happened.
"..."
However...
"...Huh?"
Time ticked by.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds.
Aside from the blood pouring from the giant's severed neck, absolutely nothing happened.
Finally, after a long silence, one of the guards muttered in bewilderment.
"...W-what is going on?"
Drip, drop.
A deeply familiar sensation. An odd sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Well, it made sense. I had killed the exact same target twice, and in the exact same manner.
The only difference was that this time, I didn't even need to use Soul of the Sword Master. I had simply walked right up to him and swung my sword.
Well, putting that aside...
[You have used the Authority Skill: Immortal Slayer.]
[The target's 'Immortality' has been nullified.]
Staring at the notification, a smirk played on my lips.
...Talk about an effective skill.