Polar Night Water Training

Splash!

Cold water flooded up to my ankles. The water seeping into my boots sharpened every sensation.

Despite its name, the Dragon's Courtyard was nothing more than a steep valley.

Nyx had created a platform with Polar Night. Wow. She really invoked Polar Night just to keep her own feet dry while leaving me to slog through the stream?

Nyx lifted her chin with haughty dignity.

I strode upstream without hesitation. Every step sent water spraying in every direction. Nyx blocked the splashes with Polar Night and furrowed her brow.

Even though I deliberately exaggerated my movements, Nyx controlled the power of Polar Night with exquisite precision and blocked every droplet.

Splash!

I struck the stream with Polar Night, sending water scattering everywhere. The droplets flew in random patterns with no rhyme or reason. Should I try copying what Nyx had done?

Whoosh!

I split the Polar Night into five strands and struck down the droplets.

Ah. The droplets I had failed to deflect had soaked through my clothes. My thought speed and Polar Night's control simply couldn't keep up with the erratic movement of the water.

Deflecting attacks that came without any set pattern. This... might actually be useful.

"The training. For handling the power of Polar Night."

A brilliant idea had struck me. Randomly flying water droplets. The mana within each was so faint that reading every trajectory with my Magic Eye was difficult. In that case, what if I trained by perceiving every single droplet that flew in without fixed rules and deflecting them using nothing but Polar Night?

Nyx shook her head.

Strange. It sounded like praise, yet it felt like an insult.

I opened my palm. Mana rearranged itself. Beyond the magic circle that formed there, wind began to whirl violently.

Wind rushed in from every direction and coalesced into a sphere the size of a basketball. It was the skill I had gained from the wind spirit. The moment the orb finished forming, I hurled it sideways.

The instant the wind sphere struck the stream after flying toward the valley wall—

Whoooosh—!

The compressed wind exploded outward all at once, shoving the stream ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠water aside.

"Hisss! Hiiiisss!"

"Hiss!"

Snakes leaped up in every direction, hissing furiously.

No matter how the little snakes tried to hide their presence, they couldn't fool my eyes. They had taken up positions on both sides of the valley. Because I had launched a preemptive strike with Wind Bomb, they couldn't find the right timing to ambush.

Hunting snakes that had jumped into the air was simple enough.

I seized the flames formed on the ring with Greed's Protection. The fireball didn't discharge immediately. Right after, I deployed Wind Bomb and fired them in rapid succession with almost no gap between.

The first fireball to fly exploded. The Wind Bomb that arrived a split second later released its compressed air, amplifying the blast.

Kwaaaaaang!

The explosion radius had tripled. With Greed's Protection boosting the power and Wind Bomb's synergy added on top, the spell displayed several times the force of its original version.

I frowned. The snake caught at the center of the explosion hadn't simply burned—it had been reduced to powder. Having firepower that was too strong was also a problem worth considering.

Nyx let out a short sigh and waved her hand. Polar Night, twisted dozens of times, surged above the stream and snatched up the snakes. The ones approaching from the opposite side. Perhaps because I had announced the ambush, she had already laid Polar Night across the streambed in advance.

Where did she learn that saying? When Nyx flicked her finger, the Polar Night coiled around the snakes plunged straight into their open mouths.

Pshk!

Polar Night rampaged from within. The snakes convulsed before their heads drooped lifelessly.

I devoured the snakes' corpses.

The Dragon's Courtyard. Contrary to the name, no end to the valley appeared no matter how far we followed the stream. On ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠top of that, snakes poured out without rest. It wasn't quite the endless swarm of evil spirits we had faced in the pit of imps and monsters, but the sheer volume was staggering.

Even a level 200 player would find it tough. The snakes had weak endurance but possessed tremendous attack power and speed. Showing even the slightest opening would be dangerous. Their biting strength and the venom coating their fangs were not something I could dismiss lightly.

Well, I just had to avoid getting bitten.

"Kaaah!"

No matter how powerful the snake's bite, it couldn't pierce the thorn armor reinforced with Metallization in a single strike. Purple liquid gushed from the scratches left by its fangs. It was a deadly poison even I—who had altered my blood into "acidic blood"—couldn't ignore.

There was no need to use martial arts. I sliced the snake clinging to my armor with Polar Night.

The same essence as the ones that appeared in the Tower. Just as I expected.

An all-stat increase was a useful option. The problem was the one-year duration. However, since I had already remodeled my body once with the Primal Seed essence, there was a way to drastically shorten that time.

Damn it. Attacking with cold facts like that was dirty.

"Hiss!"

I caught the snake that had coiled like a spring and leaped at me, then twisted its neck. Because I had used too much force, its head turned in a grotesque direction.

Nyx saw it and let out a soft chuckle. Ugh, she got me after so long.

The farther we climbed upstream, the more snakes appeared. These were monsters normally only found above the 30th floor of the Tower. They were weak for that floor range, but their high grade still granted massive experience.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!

A waterfall roared, spitting out a fierce torrent. I raised my hand.

The waterfall poured down endlessly. Below it, a powerful magical wave writhed.

I had no desire to fight underwater either.

Rearranged mana coalesced into ice spears the thickness of logs. I bound them with Greed's Protection just like I had during the altar raid and cast the spell repeatedly. Since I lacked a skill like Double Spell, this kind of workaround was necessary. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My mana stat was higher than most magic-class players, so the casting speed itself was fast.

When ten ice spears had formed in the air, I finished by using Wind Bomb and hurled it toward the base of the waterfall.

Boom!

The waterfall surged into the sky. The bound ice spears shot down into the dented surface below. According to the magical wave I had read with my Thousand Eyes, the bundle of spears would reach the monster beneath.

A moment later.

"Krararara!!"

A roar shook the waterfall like thunder.

In Greek and Roman mythology, it would be on the level of Pegasus. That was only speaking of the rank of its soul—the two weren't actually related.

A moment later, a massive snake covered in black scales burst above the waterfall.

Turbidity clouded its eyes. Its scales, instead of gleaming, were stained as if patchy moss grew across them. Just as the name implied, it was an Imugi that had failed to ascend and fallen from grace.

"Krararara!!"

Nevertheless, its presence was the strongest I had encountered since my regression.

The amount of mana reflected in my Thousand Eyes was overwhelming. The Imugi's mana surged with explosive force like the waterfall itself. Simply looking at it stimulated my optic nerves and brought on fatigue.

I had to admit it. Fighting a monster like that underwater would be suicidal. If the provocation hadn't worked, clearing this gate would have been extremely difficult.

The Blessing of the Night permeated my entire body. My heightened physical abilities made my blood boil with power.

"Krarara!"

The orb clutched in the Imugi's mouth emitted light.

Dark clouds gathered instantly. A thick bolt of lightning struck down from above.

I leaped diagonally using Agile Hind Legs. I lifted my body into the air right before the lightning fell.

I activated the three defensive skills in succession. At the same time, I used Greed's Protection to dominate a portion of the water and hardened its properties.

The lightning struck the stream. Water was the perfect medium for conducting electricity. The lightning energy spread instantly and flowed into the stream running below the waterfall.

Crackle!

The smell of burning rose with black smoke from various spots across the valley. The attack had spread too widely to cause much damage, but I wrapped myself tightly just to be safe.

The criterion for Mana Absorb was the difference in mana between us. More precisely, whether I could handle the mana loaded into that spell... My stats weren't high enough to block sorcery the Imugi had cast with full intent.

I kicked off the water I had hardened with Greed's Protection and leaped into the sky. The Imugi hovered roughly five meters above the surface. Using Agile Hind Legs, I closed the distance in an instant.

"Krararara!"

The Imugi's tail moved with dazzling cunning, as if it had a head at its tip, aiming for my openings. However, it could not escape my Magic Eye. I quickly read the waves and movements of its mana and confirmed its target.

Drrrr!

Claws strengthened to my maximum capacity. On top of that, I unleashed Mountain Tiger's Raging Wave using the domineering inner energy drawn from the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method.

Slice!

Hard scales were severed, and dark-red blood scattered.

"Krararara?!"

Little snake. It's only the beginning—don't start crying already.