Chapter 105
Chapter 105
Translation: godtl
A sudden, youthful voice.
"That voice—!"
"Si-mun!!"
The players who recognized the owner of that voice turned around with brightened expressions.
An area thickly covered in viscous poison.
The very same toxic swamp that had melted the players in an instant.
"Tch, what the hell is this now?"
Squelch.
Si-mun emerged, trudging through with a grimace.
Of course, no one failed to notice that the flick of his finger had played some role.
Without even sparing a glance at the players who were overjoyed to see him, Si-mun muttered,
"Damn, there's so many of them."
Screeeeech!
His gaze swept over the hundreds of Vespas swarming with their raucous cries.
'Vespa poison isn't a major issue...'
Having fully assimilated 45% of the current Obsidian Tablet's completion, Si-mun had just synthesized [Vespa Tissue], granting him perfect immunity to their venom.
Though admittedly, even then, the miasma of that toxic swamp was foul enough to make anyone grimace.
'That must be the Hidden Boss's poison.'
Si-mun's eyes flew past the hundreds of Vespa swarms.
KWA-BOOM!
Explosions erupted incessantly in the air.
[Kuhahaha! How pathetic! Prince Ents, with trash like you in the position of royalty, it's no wonder your kind is declining!]
[Shut your mouth, Verpark!]
Three Ents were locked in fierce combat with Squadron Commander Verpark.
But Si-mun could see it clearly.
'The Ents are being pushed back.'
Despite the 3-to-1 advantage,
Squadron Commander Verpark held an overwhelming upper hand.
There were multiple combat-related factors at play, but the most decisive one was simple:
'He hasn't even entered Metamorphosis, and he's still this relaxed.'
Verpark, several times larger than ordinary Vespas, was intimidating enough just by sheer size.
Yet, he hadn't even transformed.
Si-mun shook his head slightly.
'They won't last long like this.'
Vespas were already among the most combat-capable species of the Insectors.
Either way,
'They showed me goodwill. I can't just turn away now.'
Besides, between the Homunculus and the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts,
Si-mun needed to take down the Hidden Boss for the Achievement Points he'd have to spend later.
Having made up his mind, Si-mun raised his hand.
'Philosopher's Stone?'
Responding immediately to the Philosopher's Stone, his finger flicked.
Then—
Whoooosh.
A long blade materialized in Si-mun's grip, its searing heat radiating outward, so intense it was nearly scalding.
"Skreeee!"
"Kreeek!"
The Vespas that had been closing in on Si-mun twisted their bodies in unison, abruptly changing direction.
True to their insect nature, they recoiled from the blistering heat.
But.
The heat was just the beginning.
Shhk.
Shifting the long, crimson-black sword into a two-handed grip, Si-mun—
Whether they understood what it meant or not,
"T-that sword—!"
"Fall back! Everyone, get away from there!"
The players who had been beaming moments earlier paled and hastily retreated.
"Burn."
A calm, youthful voice followed their fleeing backs.
"Laevateinn."
FWOOOOOOSH!!
An infernal wave of heat surged after them.
Skreeeech!
Kiiiiik!
The Vespas' signature shrill shrieks.
Along with them, charred corpses rained down in droves.
Crackle.
The path carved by Laevateinn's swing.
The residual heat left in its wake burned the dead Vespas like kindling.
A single strike.
Just one swing of the sword.
And an entire section of the Insector battlefield had transformed into a hellscape of flames.
Hah! Check that damage! LMAO, that's insane!
Is that a damage bug or something?
That sword is legendary every time I see it. Holy shit...
It's on par with the Lightning Spear, but against Insectors, the damage seems even more brutal?
The chat, momentarily frozen by Laevateinn's might, erupted into a frenzy.
And with it—
[Achievement 'Surpass 500,000 Viewers' has been accomplished.]
[You have earned 5,000 Achievement Points.]
A series of system windows floated before Si-mun's eyes.
'Huh? 500,000?'
For a moment, he blinked, wondering if he'd misread.
He quickly dismissed the system window and checked the viewer count.
[511,761 viewers currently watching]
'It's real?'
Just a while ago, the peak had been around 200,000 at most.
Now, suddenly, it had more than doubled to 500,000?
'Did the Promotion Match really draw this much attention?'
Having momentarily calmed the battlefield with Laevateinn, Si-mun glanced at the chat for the first time in a while.
-Oh my gosh! What kind of magic is this?!
-As expected of the Gold Debut Match champion... or should I say?
-Not bad, Mr. Kim. At this rate, you might even rival Yuto-kun, no? WWWW.
-How does such talent keep appearing in a small country...
-His sharp features are almost reminiscent of our Continent Guild members. Perhaps his ancestors were one of ours?
He quickly grasped the reason.
'Must be a sudden influx of foreign viewers.'
Even during his Gold Promotion Match, it had been like this.
Si-mun's streams had never been devoid of foreign viewers.
But never before had so many poured in all at once like this.
-Kyaa! So many foreigners here. Bro's going global now, huh?
-It's a Platinum Promotion Match, after all. At this point, he's practically Platinum already—no surprise here.
-LMAO, the funniest part is that even with translations, you can still kinda tell which country they're from.
-For real. Feels like the Tower of Babel just collapsed or something.
-Not gonna lie, seeing all these arrogant bastards in the chat isn't exactly pleasant.
-22. Might just turn off the translation feature.
After skimming through the chat, Si-mun gave a slight nod.
'I see. Must be because of that guild recruitment incident.'
The disproportionately large number of American, Japanese, and Chinese viewers stood out—similar to the nationalities of those who had watched his showdown with Kang Hwa-wi back then.
'Most likely people affiliated with American Dream, Continent Guild, or Masamune's faction.'
Some might be guild members themselves, while others could've heard about him secondhand and sought him out.
Either way.
'Works for me.'
He had plenty of places to spend Achievement Points right now.
More viewers meant a more thriving stream, after all.
And with that, viewer-related achievements would keep providing steady Achievement Points.
But his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by—
[You insects are truly tenacious, aren't you?!]
A deep, razor-sharp voice jolted him awake.
Had it seen its kin being swept away?
[Hand over the egg at once!]
Unlike before, when it had been leisurely toying with the Ents,
Verpark was now fiercely driving the three Ents into a corner.
Si-mun, who had been about to adjust his grip on Laevateinn and move to assist, halted mid-step.
The reason was simple.
'How the hell am I supposed to chase that thing...?'
SKREEEEEEE—!
A decibel level incomparable to the wingbeats of the previous Vespas.
Verpark was tearing through the sky at an insane speed.
'As expected of a top-tier Insector. Unbelievably fast.'
If this were on the ground, Si-mun might've had a shot at keeping up with Body Fusion.
[You think attaching mere wings allows you lowly insects to oppose me?!]
But Verpark, freely traversing the sky, was a different story.
Si-mun's brow twitched slightly.
'Throwing multiple Astrapēs could work, but at that speed, it'd dodge them all.'
Of course, a direct hit wasn't strictly necessary.
Even the residual lightning from Astrapē could deal damage.
The problem was—
'Too inefficient.'
To take down an Insector of that caliber with just residual strikes,
he'd need dozens—maybe even over a hundred—Astrapēs.
In that case—
'The most efficient way is for me to gain aerial combat capabilities too...'
His deliberation didn't last long.
'Right, I'll fly. But no wings.'
He'd heard it from a flight-specialized Awakener in his past life.
Wings, wind, telekinesis—
Any method that allowed sustained, unrestricted flight classified one as a flight-capable combatant.
But in the case of wings—
It was somewhat different from other flight abilities.
'Since it involves growing a new part of the body, they said it requires some practice.'
But he needed to enter combat immediately.
Attaching new wings—a completely foreign body part—carried too much risk.
'Well, I could probably use human transmutation to borrow flight-capable species' tissues.'
Ultimately, wings would increase his hitbox, making combat somewhat inconvenient.
Having organized his thoughts, Si-mun summoned the Philosopher's Stone.
'Philosopher's Stone?'
Buzz buzz~ I've been waiting, you know~
As if it had been anticipating his call.
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required transmutation threshold.]
[The Philosopher's Stone demands 300 Achievement Points to establish Equivalent Exchange for the deficit.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
The familiar system window floated before his eyes.
'300 points. As expected, since it's not from a top-tier Constellation, the price is cheap.'
Si-mun smirked at the price matching the Staff of Asclepius and immediately selected 'Yes.'
Vwoom.
Transmutation Power, converted through Equivalent Exchange, gathered at Si-mun's fingertips.
And with a flick—
Snap.
A pair of golden sandals materialized before his feet.
As if alive—
Swoosh.
They writhed, expanding to wrap around Si-mun's feet before settling into their true form.
Then—
Flutter.
The golden wings adorning the sandals twitched, and Si-mun's body floated effortlessly into the air.
An unfamiliar sensation for a human accustomed to terrestrial life.
'As expected of the Talaria. The fit is incredible.'
Perhaps because they were a Constellation's artifact?
Even midair, he felt the stability of standing on solid ground.
Simultaneously—
[Constellation Hermes's eyes sparkle as if he'd been waiting for this.]
The original owner of the winged sandals, Talaria, had come to observe Si-mun.
-Wh-what the?!
-No fucking way!
-Wait, he can fly now too?
-Oh no! I have acrophobia!
-Mr. Kim, this is making me dizzy...
The chat window erupted from the awe of Laevateinn to fresh astonishment.
Naturally.
Whoooosh!
The roaring wind filled the air.
Simultaneously, the spinning camera angles offered dizziness surpassing even the most disorienting blockbuster films.
-Now he's flying too lol. Seriously, this is ridiculous.
-Did Mr. Kim have flight-related traits all along?
-It's more like there's a secret behind that finger snap.
-Just a finger snap? That's way too lazy of a theory.
Most viewers voiced skepticism, but—
-Newbies are losing their minds lol. Kids, if you're curious, try it yourselves.
-Foreigners are all baffled too lol! Well, even us Kimchi folks are like this, so what can you expect?
-Just accept everything Si-mun does as normal~
-Facts. At this point, nothing would surprise me.
-This stream's always been like this~.
The long-time viewers' enlightened dismissal quickly buried the questions.
Regardless.
Whoosh!
As if sprinting across land—
Si-mun soared through the air, slicing through wind, and adjusted his grip on Laevateinn.
[Now die, Prin...]
He unleashed a sword strike at Verpark, who was poised to drive a venomous stinger into Prince Ents's neck.
Whooosh!
[Kreeeeeee!!]
A crimson crescent of flames erupted alongside a piercing shriek.
As if the massive frame and scream were proportional—
Verpark unleashed a deafening screech that made the surroundings tremble.
'Quite the lungs. Still, a top-tier species is a top-tier species. Reacting to that...'
Si-mun watched regretfully as Verpark writhed within Laevateinn's flames.
[Hot! It burns!!]
Originally, the slash was meant to bisect the creature's torso.
But by instinctively twisting, Verpark sacrificed its left arm to avoid a fatal blow.
Though "completely avoided" would be an overstatement.
Crackle.
Laevateinn's flames clung to the severed left arm.
And now, they crawled up the lengthy limb toward the main body.
'No matter. I'll just land another hit.'
Just as Si-mun was about to swing his sword once more—
[Damn it all!!]
Crunch.
Verpark, cursing violently, severed his own left arm with his razor-sharp mandibles.
Then—
Crack.
Verpark's massive body twisted unnaturally.
Before Si-mun could even react—
[How dare... How dare a mere land-dwelling insect force me to reveal my true form...]
Whoooosh!
An overwhelming pressure crashed down upon Si-mun.
But it wasn't just pressure.
[I'll tear you apart until not a shred of flesh remains!]
Verpark had already transformed into a four-meter-tall humanoid figure.
Having completed his Metamorphosis in an instant, Verpark fixed Si-mun with a murderous glare.
[First...]
Vooooom!
With a deafening roar, Verpark vanished from sight.
And then—
[Guh—!]
A pained groan erupted from behind Si-mun.
It wasn't hard to guess who had made that sound.
[Prince Ents, I shall banish you first from these sacred skies.]
Verpark's arm pierced straight through Prince Ents.
At that—
[Your Highness!!]
[Verpark! How dare you—!]
The two Ents guards roared in fury, but that was all.
[Disappear, you vermin.]
Whoosh.
[Ghk—!]
[Kuh—!]
Bathed in the dark-blue venom spewed from Verpark's mouth, they plummeted helplessly.
[Now... Now that I've banished those earth-crawlers from the sacred skies...]
Without even sparing a glance at the falling Ents—
[Insect, it's your turn.]
Verpark slowly turned his gaze back to Si-mun.
[I'll carve into your very bones just how precious a single one of my limbs is.]
The four wings spread behind him vanished in an instant.
Or rather, they were fluttering at such an insane speed that they became invisible.
Simultaneously—
Vooooom!
With an ear-splitting boom, Verpark lunged forward.
Having already witnessed his speed once before, Si-mun—
Crack.
—activated Dragon Body Transformation and twisted his body sharply, barely evading Verpark's trajectory.
[Keh-hah! Not bad. At least you've got some skill! That's more like it!]
Verpark let out a derisive laugh before charging again, his voice dripping with malice.
'He's fast!'
Even with Dragon Body Transformation active—
—there was no opening to swing Laevateinn.
It was impossible.
Vooooom!
Merely dodging Verpark's near-supersonic charge was already pushing Si-mun to his limit.
Without Dragon Body Transformation, his body would've been riddled with holes long ago.
Swish!
Narrowly avoiding Verpark's claws as they grazed his bangs, Si-mun bit his lip.
'I saved Dragon Body Transformation for his Metamorphosis, but I still can't keep up with his speed...'
And worst of all, his opponent hadn't even used his venom yet.
He never expected to be outmatched in speed even with Dragon Body Transformation.
Truly, this was the overwhelming might of a Hidden Boss—one said to slaughter any Player foolish enough to face him.
'This won't do.'
Swish!
Verpark's razor-sharp claws dug toward his shoulder.
Barely dodging, Si-mun urgently channeled his Transmutation Power.
'First, I'll dump Achievement Points into Talaria to match his speed.'
With Laevateinn in hand, his attack power wasn't lacking.
And if he activated Odin's Eye on top of that, the tide would quickly turn in his favor.
'Philosopher's Stone!'
—Got it! I'll prepare it right away!
Just as Si-mun was about to reinforce Talaria with Achievement Points—
[Constellation Zeus twitches his chin toward Hermes' hat.]
A series of messages appeared.
Then—
[Constellation Hermes pretends not to notice, tilting his head slightly.]
[Constellation Zeus' eyes darken. 'You dare defy your father in front of so many eyes?']
For some inexplicable reason, Zeus and Hermes were locked in a silent standoff.
Fortunately—
[Constellation Hermes clicks his tongue, adjusts his hat, and turns his gaze toward you.]
The situation resolved itself in an instant.
[Constellation Hermes sponsors a fragment of his hat, 'Petasos.']
[You can now transmute 'Petasos' once without Equivalent Exchange.]
Messages cascaded before his eyes.
Snap.
Without a second thought, Si-mun flicked his fingers—
Flutter.
—and a pair of golden wings, similar to the winged sandals Talaria, settled onto his head.
Then, the golden wings on his head and ankles resonated, emitting a brilliant light.
Voo... ooo... oom...
Before he knew it, Verpark—who had been mere inches away—slowed to a crawl, as if trapped in slow motion.