Chapter 75
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Triple Circle (2)
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‘What the hell is this?’
Lloyd’s eyes went wide.
A new fourth option.
Circle Shift.
It was a type of bonus he’d never even thought of, let alone anticipated.
And the description of that option felt somehow oddly familiar.
‘RPM? Gears from 1 to 6?’
It was like an explanation of a car transmission.
Just like shifting gears in a car, it seemed he could adjust the rotation speed of his circles.
‘And individually? He could control all three circles separately?’
Thump, thump.
Lloyd’s heart pounded as he read the option description again.
It couldn’t be helped.
The content was truly staggering.
‘This isn’t a joke.’
Controlling the rotational force of a circle was difficult.
Maintaining a steady rotational force at the exact level he desired was even harder.
Rotating mana circles around the heart.
To put it simply, it was like spinning a large ring on your finger.
Anyone could slip a ring on their finger and spin it easily.
They could even adjust the spinning speed.
But keeping the rotation perfectly steady? That was hard. No, nearly impossible.
‘Of course. You could get close to a similar speed, but to call it perfect, it has to be consistent down to the fraction of a second.’
But the new option, Circle Shift?
It made that possible.
He could even adjust all three circles at steady, different speeds!
‘This option is insane.’
Lloyd swallowed hard.
Just moments ago, he’d been a double circle holder.
That was why he knew all too well how hard it was to rotate multiple circles at different speeds.
Rotating two circles differently.
That was harder than spinning a ring on each hand at different speeds.
And what about a triple circle—three circles?
‘It’s like adding one to your ankle while spinning one on each hand.’
Controlling three circles separately like that.
It was beyond the realm of skill.
It was practically an acrobatic feat, a circus act.
That was why Haviel, who could freely manipulate his circles right after forming them, was a monster.
‘But now I can do it too.’
Of course, it wouldn’t be as refined as Haviel’s.
He probably couldn’t achieve detailed control beyond the six gears.
‘Still, this is huge.’
Gear adjustment via Circle Shift.
Rotational force control through gear shifting.
Thanks to it, he could use Blasting without complicated practice.
‘To use Blasting, you have to collide the mana circles.’
But between circles existed a repulsive force pushing them apart.
Like magnets of the same pole, they repelled each other.
Making them touch was extremely difficult.
To counteract that repulsion?
You needed ultra-high-speed rotation of the mana circles.
And it wasn’t just about spinning them faster indiscriminately.
‘The two circles have to rotate in an exact ratio. 2 to 3, I think.’
Lloyd suddenly recalled something from not long ago.
A 2-to-3 rotation ratio.
A ratio Haviel had mentioned offhand.
He’d called it the ideal collision condition.
Something to reference when he eventually reached triple circle, he’d said.
It was then.
Grrrruk!
A roar came from behind. No, from above.
Startled, Lloyd looked up.
He gazed upward.
The night sky was blocked.
Instead, Gigatitan’s massive body loomed.
The meaning was clear.
‘It’s already caught up?’
Boom! Kuuuuwung-!
Gigatitan’s foreleg slammed into the ground.
The exact spot Ppoding had kicked off from just five seconds ago.
‘Now we’re really in trouble.’
Lloyd swallowed dryly.
There was no time left.
He grabbed one of Ppoding’s ears and shouted.
“Ppoding!”
“Ppo, Ppoding! Hekhek!”
“You! You can escape fine without me!”
“Ppoding!”
“Yeah! Just hang in there a bit longer! I’ll land one on that thing! Hold out until then! Got it!”
“Ppo, Ppodong! Heeeek, hekhek!”
Ppoding nodded, panting heavily.
Lloyd kicked Ppoding’s back.
Fwoosh.
His body launched into the air.
Ppoding’s plump back receded in an instant.
Without his weight, it seemed just a tad, a smidge faster.
And from behind, Gigatitan’s pillar-like leg closed in rapidly.
Whoosh!
“……Hup!”
Lloyd sucked in a breath.
Still falling, floating in midair.
Gigatitan’s leg hurtling toward him.
He braced for impact.
Bam-!
He collided with Gigatitan’s leg like smashing into a pillar.
The moment they hit, he flung his arms wide.
He hugged the leg.
A small protrusion on the leg’s shell surface caught.
Thanks to it, he dangled from the leg without falling.
His stomach churned instead.
‘Urk.’
The impact had nailed him right in the solar plexus.
It hurt so bad he could barely breathe.
But Lloyd gritted his teeth.
‘What kind of action movie hero bullshit is my life!’
Lamenting his fate, he reached out.
Grabbed a higher protrusion.
Like rock climbing, he scrambled upward fervently.
Fortunately, thanks to the triple circle, his stamina overflowed.
Dozens of meters up to the monster’s torso.
Even with the pillar-like leg moving nonstop.
Under those conditions, he scuttled up like a cockroach climbing a sink.
‘Faster! Hurry!’
Time was short.
Gigatitan was nearly upon Ppoding.
‘If I’m late, Ppoding and Haviel are done for.’
Lloyd finally crested onto Gigatitan’s carapace.
He ran toward its head.
While running, he practiced Blasting with Lightning Step.
‘Not many chances. Have to nail it first try.’
Even basketball dribbling, soccer, idol dances, swimming, or learning to walk—all needed practice.
Let alone Blasting, an advanced Asrahan Heart Method technique.
‘2-to-3 rotation ratio, right?’
He recalled Haviel’s advice.
He activated the new Circle Shift option.
[Asrahan Heart Method skill option ④: Circle Shift activated.]
‘Practice run, so gears 1, 2, 3.’
He set the gears.
The three circles responded instantly.
[Alpha Circle gear set to 1. Fixed at RPM 1,000.]
[Beta Circle gear set to 2. Fixed at RPM 2,000.]
[Gamma Circle gear set to 3. Fixed at RPM 3,000.]
Kieeeeng-!
The three circles spun at their respective forces.
Among them, the Beta Circle second and Gamma Circle third showed odd reactions.
Without him pushing them, they naturally drew closer.
‘Oh.’
Lloyd flinched and moved the first, Alpha Circle.
He swiftly wrapped his heart with the RPM 1,000 Alpha Circle.
The collision happened right after.
Thwack!
Beta and Gamma Circles smashed together around his heart.
“……!”
An explosive pressure unlike anything he’d felt.
Destructive force surged from within.
It hammered the heart wrapped in the Alpha Circle.
“Keuk!”
Was this what a heart attack felt like?
Mid-sprint, Lloyd clutched his chest and stumbled.
He hurriedly moved both arms.
Grabbed the shovel on his back.
Slammed it into the ground.
At the same time, he vented the destructive pressure from the circle collision through the shovel.
Kwaaaang-!
Blasting erupted through the flat shovel blade.
It struck Gigatitan’s carapace.
It launched Lloyd’s body five meters upward.
“Gah!”
He nearly tumbled off Gigatitan’s back.
He barely regained balance and landed back on the carapace.
Then he gripped the shovel handle tight.
‘Got it. Success.’
The test Blasting had worked in one go.
No, not just success.
‘I didn’t even force the circles to collide. Just set the rotation to the golden ratio, and the two circles crashed on their own.’
That meant one thing.
Now he could use Blasting anytime he wanted, instantly.
‘Let’s go!’
Buoyed by confidence, Lloyd sprang up.
He dashed along Gigatitan’s carapace.
Approaching the 11th and 12th abdominal plates, likely weak points.
From there, he’d need some fancy moves.
“Hup! Hup!”
From Gigatitan’s back, he crawled along its side.
Stuck to the abdominal plate.
‘What is this, guerrilla training!’
The vast, flat abdominal plate.
He grabbed the thorn-like protrusions dotting it.
Dangling from one thorn, he reached for the next. Moved like that.
Above: abdominal plate and thorns.
Below: the ground, dozens of meters down.
‘Don’t look down.’
He’d get vertigo.
Eyes fixed upward, he moved diligently.
Like a summer mosquito stealthily clinging to suck blood.
Finally, he reached the weak point.
‘There.’
The joint between the 11th and 12th abdominal plates.
A hole there, about 50 cm in diameter.
Slanted toward Gigatitan’s head.
‘The spot where Haviel thrust his Blasting.’
Lloyd gripped his shovel.
One more stab here.
He regulated his breath. Aimed the shovel head at the exact angle Haviel had used.
‘One shot.’
End it.
Resolve firm, he spun his mana circles.
Set rotation speeds with Circle Shift.
‘3, 4, 6 gears.’
Kieeeeng-!
Circles reacted the instant Shift activated.
RPM 3,000; 4,000; 6,000.
Far fiercer than before.
Lloyd wrapped his heart with the 3,000 RPM Alpha Circle.
‘Now for the collision.’
4,000 RPM Beta and 6,000 RPM Gamma Circles.
The moment the ultra-high-speed circles collided, he’d unleash that power.
He opened the mana pathway to his right arm.
Prepared to channel the explosive force through the shovel.
Kiiiiing!
Beta and Gamma Circles resonated. Drew smoothly closer. About to collide. He waited, shovel aimed.
But then.
Grrrraaawr!
Gigatitan roared fiercely.
It suddenly halted its charge.
Let Ppoding, nearly caught, slip away.
Instead, it stabbed the ground with its club-like forelegs.
Stabbed—then yanked back sharply.
Rocks shattered on the forelegs.
Fragments caught in the yank’s momentum, shot upward. Dozens of lethal shards.
They pummeled the 11th and 12th abdominal plate area like a bombardment.
Kwa-ku-ku-ku-kwa!
Lloyd, prepping Blasting, went wide-eyed.
Had it noticed him approaching the weak point?
Seemed so.
Why else smash rocks and hurl them here so suddenly… .
Thwack-!
“……!”
A massive impact struck his temple.
Lloyd’s head whipped violently.
His upper body flung wide.
Blood sprayed as his head arced sideways.
‘Did I… get hit?’
Dazed mind.
Time felt strangely slow.
In it, Lloyd’s eyes shifted.
Captured a rock chunk falling limply nearby.
Slightly bigger than a fist.
Blood smeared on one side.
From smashing his head.
‘Can’t fail… here.’
Blasting.
He wanted success.
He’d boasted to Haviel.
But his grip loosened.
Left hand lost hold of the abdominal plate protrusion.
His whole body dropped downward.
The fall began.
‘Can’t…’
Lloyd’s eyes turned upward.
Time still crawling slow.
Gigatitan’s abdominal plate receding slowly.
Amid it, the unfinished hole at the weak point starkly clear.
‘Just once.’
Thrust it in.
No need for twice.
Just once.
One time.
Thrust.
Spin mana circles.
Use Circle Shift right.
Follow Haviel’s ratio.
‘2 to… 3.’
He murmured unconsciously.
Concussion clouding his mind.
In it, one memory replayed relentlessly.
2 to 3.
Mana circle rotation ratio of 2 to 3.
Maintain it exactly for collision.
‘2 to 3…….’
Just before consciousness faded.
His sheer will triggered Circle Shift.
No fine control left.
Just 2 to 3.
Muttering it, he instinctively set the gears.
Alpha Circle to gear 2.
Beta and Gamma to gear 3.
They spun furiously.
Kiiiiiiing-!
Around the Alpha Circle, the others rotated.
All three resonated at 2-to-3 ratio.
Resonating, they closed rapidly.
No circle guarded the heart.
All three collided.
That instant, as consciousness slipped, Lloyd thrust the steel shovel per the ingrained memory.
Kwaang-!
A roar, and ferocious explosive force shot out.
Bored into Gigatitan’s weak point.
Ripped through protected muscle and organs inside the plate.
Kept going. Pierced. Broke through. Shredded every tissue ahead. Even punctured the carapace beyond.
Like a tsunami, the force pierced Gigatitan’s torso from belly to back in one strike.
Thukwahak-!
Lloyd’s grit and will birthed this miracle strike.
The historic first triple Blasting detonated.