Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Chapter 143: The Undefeated Sargas (2)
Translation: godtl
A brief silence.
Sargas, who had been silently staring at Si-mun,
let out a short, hollow laugh.
"Hah."
His face twisted into one of extreme displeasure as he spoke.
"It seems I've been severely underestimated."
"Any fool would dodge the same attack if it came at them twice in a row. Do I look that pathetic to you?"
A warrior whose pride had been wounded.
Si-mun smirked at his attitude.
"Didn't think so. Sargas, you're weaker than I expected."
"What?"
"And you say you've been underestimated? If anything, it's me who's been looked down on."
At that, Sargas's eyes twitched, but he said nothing.
"You kept dodging by twisting your body in advance. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"
"......"
Sargas had no retort to Si-mun's words, which threw his own back at him.
Then—
"Fine. That was beneath me. I'll admit it."
Sargas nodded slowly, as if recalling something.
He looked down at his right fist, the one he had first clashed with Si-mun.
"I must've been wary without realizing it."
Perhaps his straightforward personality matched his appearance.
"Most likely... I've already acknowledged you as my equal."
Sargas openly admitted it.
At the same time—
[The five Constellations watching the situation gaze at Sargas with slightly startled eyes.]
[The mission conditions have been altered.]
A message appeared, announcing the change in the mission.
Si-mun immediately checked the updated mission details.
[Mission]
Defeat the 'Undefeated Sargas.'
Reward: 10,000 Achievement Points
Originally, the mission had only demanded survival against Sargas.
Now, the objective had shifted—
'Make Sargas suffer defeat?'
It explicitly ordered victory over Sargas.
Was it because of his unexpected acknowledgment?
Or was it due to the condition shifting from survival to victory?
'The reward doubled, too.'
The 5,000 Achievement Points had been increased to 10,000.
'Dayna's quest also gives 10,000 Achievement Points. If I clear both, that's a total of 20,000.'
He had already been considering synthesizing more seeds of the World Tree to boost his Growth Buff.
On top of that—
"I was planning to go all out against you too, Sargas. This works out perfectly."
His ability to see the future—cheatingly overpowered, even beyond sheer combat prowess.
Thanks to it, Si-mun had been ready to unleash his full strength.
And now, with even more Achievement Points on the line—
"I can go all out without holding back."
Snap.
With a refreshing smile, Si-mun flicked his fingers.
Above his hand—
Swoosh.
A translucent crown woven from Death Energy—Kynée—materialized.
Snap.
And with another flick of his fingers—
KRRRUMBLE!
A thunderclap, one that should have been impossible underground, reverberated through the Transport Path.
The highest floor of the Black Smeltery.
Known as the Research Wing, this place—excluding the quarters of Sargas, the facility's overseer—
Was the tallest structure in the Black Smeltery.
The reason was simple.
"Hehe! The boomy-boom is super big!"
The Black Smeltery, resembling a fortress.
It was due to the enormous construct befitting its towering height.
And on the second floor of the Research Wing—
Where what appeared to be a head was suspended, the air was now thick with—
"Ugh..."
"Cough!"
The sticky stench of blood and death, mingled with groans.
One odd thing, however—
"Ooh! Ooh! This one's made of Dragonium! It only moves with Dragon Power, right?!"
—was the sound of a child's cheerful voice in such a brutal place.
But that wasn't the only strange thing.
"Unnie! Isn't this super cool? If I take it, will Dad like it? Huh? Can I take it?"
Amidst the dead or the dying—
In a place where only death existed, a child talking to herself was downright eerie.
"Hey! I got this fair and square from Sisi-Unnie! Why can't I take it?!"
The child threw a tantrum, as if throwing a fit.
"Ugh..."
Beside her, a collapsed Dragonkin—
One whose green scales, which should have evoked nature, were instead drenched in blood—glared at the angry child.
"You... crazy... brat..."
Perhaps because of the blood pooling at the corners of his mouth—
The Dragonkin couldn't even form proper words.
Naturally.
Drip. Drip.
Both arms, both legs—
All four limbs had been torn off. Where would he find the strength to even spit blood?
But had the child heard his slurred curses?
"Huh? Jjartini-ya! You awake?"
The child, who had been gazing at the massive Dragonium creation, beamed brightly and hopped down beside the Dragonkin.
"My... Sar..."
The Dragonkin struggled to force out the words.
Until the very end, Sartini tried to maintain the noble pride befitting a Dragonkin, but—
"Ooh! Tzartini! Wanna play again? Playing with you is the most fun!"
The child who had surpassed this monster trampled over her pride with a radiant smile.
"The others just go 'thud' and collapse when I poke them—so boring! Let's play again, okay? Huh?"
Splash.
As if slapping the surface of water.
The child approached, splashing through the puddle of blood that had formed.
With all her limbs gone—
and her entire body grievously wounded—
she couldn't so much as twitch.
"Uuugh..."
Perhaps realizing this fact,
"You're too broken..."
The child pouted, sucking on her short, pale thumb.
Then—
"Huh? Sis. Is that for real?"
Had another bout of madness struck?
The child suddenly jerked her head up, glancing around.
"Misshen? You think Daddy will like it if I break that?"
Just what kind of being was this 'Daddy'—
that even this monster was so obsessed with him?
'No doubt another monster like her...'
If someone had created such an unheard-of abomination, that would certainly be the case.
Then, into her ears—
"Eh? The soul? You're blocking the circulation?"
—came words too alarming to dismiss.
'Don't tell me... she means the Soul Power Plant?!'
If that monster was referring to the Soul Power Plant—
'No! Even if we all die, that must never—!'
It was a facility that must never fall into that monster's hands.
But unfortunately—
"Huh?"
Even the slightest tremor—
the child didn't miss Sartini's reaction.
"Heh~! Tzartini. You know something, don'tcha?"
"Don't... know..."
Sartini hurriedly tried to deny it, but that was all.
"Liar. You do know, right? C'mon, answer me."
Before she knew it, eyes identical to those of the exalted ones were bearing down on her.
Compared to the Dragon Emperors, they were undoubtedly inferior, but—
"...Yes, I know..."
Whether in her prime—
or battered and broken as she was now—
she couldn't dare resist even those lesser eyes.
Perhaps pleased with the answer,
"Heehee! Great! Tzartini's the best! I like you!"
The child's face blossomed into a full smile.
Grabbing the stump of Sartini's remaining tail,
"Let's go! Tzartini's gonna guide us, okay?"
Like a slaughtered livestock—
she dragged her out, leaving a long trail of blood.
"Oh! If it's too bothersome, just tell me where it is!"
As the child turned back, chattering away—
"Then I'll make it quick and easy for you."
Her face was filled with a cruel smile.
Crackle.
A brilliant light illuminated the transport route.
No—a single streak of lightning split the void.
"Where do you think—"
The massive Dragonkin targeted by the descending lightning dodged with minimal movement.
Then—
Zzzzt!
Another series of lightning streaks followed.
Given their nature as lightning, their speed should've been impossible for living beings to react to—
Yet the giant Dragonkin seemed to know exactly where each bolt would strike.
Swoosh.
With economical motions, it evaded every single one.
Crash! Bang!
The dodged lightning tore through sections of the transport route.
"Hmm..."
The giant Dragonkin—
Sargas glanced indifferently at the aftermath of the lightning.
'As expected of Astrapē. To so easily shatter walls forged of Dragonium...'
Astrapē.
One of the mythical weapons that had made its name in the war against the Constellations of old.
Which raised a question.
'How in the world is a human wielding Zeus's armament?'
Not only that—
From empty space—
Swooosh.
Parting it—
No.
As if it had been there all along, Si-mun brandished Astrapē.
If Sargas's memory served him right—
'That should undoubtedly be Hades's armament.'
The ashen, translucent crown atop Si-mun's head.
At a glance, resembling a half-helm—it was unmistakably Kynée, belonging to Hades, a Constellation of the same upper echelon as Zeus.
'Handling even one is hard to believe... yet he wields two?'
Zzzzt!
A violent thunderbolt grazed his ear.
Dodging it, Sargas's left eye—covered by an eyepatch—
Hum.
Future Sight once again delivered residual images, prompting him to jerk his body aside.
Crack!
Just as Future Sight had shown, lightning struck down.
Sargas narrowed his brow as he watched.
'This could go on forever.'
His gaze swept across the eerily silent battlefield—so still that one would never imagine lightning had just struck here.
'I thought that since he's human, he'd tire quickly if I just bought a little time.'
But that assumption had been utterly wrong.
This incomprehensible human had maintained this relentless assault for over thirty minutes.
Without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.
As if...
'It's as if there are no restrictions on using Mythic-grade Equipment.'
Sargas immediately shook his head.
Of course not.
'Even the Constellations who own those weapons wouldn't permit unrestricted use. There must be limitations.'
But.
'Still, if this turns into a battle of attrition... I'm at a disadvantage.'
As much as he hated to admit it.
If this fight dragged on, he would be the one at a loss.
The reason was simple.
Crackle—!
"Kgh—!"
A bolt of lightning grazed his shoulder.
Thanks to Future Sight, he had avoided a direct hit, but true to Astrapē's infamous reputation—
Sizzle.
Even a mere graze was enough to char the blackened scales of his Draconic form.
And this was already the fourth such wound.
Sargas glanced at his scorched shoulder scales.
'In the end, I'll have to be the one to make the first decisive move.'
The moment he resolved himself and began channeling Dragon Power through his entire body—
Thud.
His fists, clenched tight, suddenly froze.
"This is... Sartini's...?"
Sargas stared blankly at the ceiling.
Kim Si-mun was no different.
[Hidden Achievement: 'Defeat a Hidden Boss (6/?)' has been completed.]
[You have defeated Hidden Boss 'Vice Manager Sartini'.]
[You have earned a total of 3,000 Achievement Points as a reward.]
'What the hell?'
Si-mun, who had been concealing himself with Kynée.
A message window had just appeared before his eyes.
'I killed a Hidden Boss? Me?'
How could he have defeated a Hidden Boss while fighting Sargas?
'Did Dayna take care of it?'
But if that were the case—
'Why haven't the Golems reacted at all?'
Si-mun closed his eyes briefly.
No matter how much he focused.
The Golems assigned as his guards weren't doing anything beyond walking.
'Don't tell me... Did Astrapē's barrage from earlier take it out?'
Even that was hard to believe.
But at the moment, it was the only plausible scenario.
'I don't know how the hell this happened, but I'm not complaining.'
Free Hidden Boss rewards were nothing to scoff at.
"Ha!"
Sargas, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
"Right. Of course. There's no way you'd dare come here alone. My mistake."
Then.
"Human, what's your name?"
Sargas asked with a self-deprecating smile.
"Kim Si-mun."
"Kim Si-mun, Kim Si-mun..."
Repeating the name under his breath, Sargas raised a hand the size of a cauldron lid, his covered eye hidden behind the eyepatch.
Then—
Creak.
A sound echoed, identical to when Si-mun had undergone Dragon Body Transformation.
And in that instant—
Grrrrr.
Sargas's body swelled violently, shaking the ground.
His towering frame, already five meters tall, expanded to nearly eight meters.
Only stopping just short of the high ceiling of the Transport Path.
Si-mun immediately recognized the change.
"Manifestation...?"
Manifestation.
A power granted only to high-ranking Dragonkin.
Though 'power' wasn't quite the right word.
'It's just returning to their original form.'
Like turning off unnecessary lights to conserve energy.
High-ranking Dragonkin usually concealed their overwhelming strength in their day-to-day lives.
"Good. Kim Si-mun. Remember this."
A voice deeper and more resonant than before, like boulders grinding together.
"You are the first human to ever draw out my full power!"
Whoooosh—!
A deafening sonic boom, the kind one would expect from a jet engine.
Sargas's enlarged fist carried force to match its size.
KABOOOM—!
An earth-shaking roar erupted.
As if determined to completely shut down Si-mun's ambush tactics with Kynée—
BOOM! CRASH! KABOOM!
He relentlessly hammered the Transport Path.
To which.
"Insane."
Si-mun let out a crisp expletive before darting away without pause.
'He's smashing down without a care in the world. What's he going to do if the whole Transport Path collapses?'
Yet despite his thoughts.
Si-mun's gaze never left Sargas, who was wreaking havoc.
'Come to think of it... He can see the future, but he doesn't seem to know where I am.'
It had been the same in their battle before Manifestation.
He had dodged every lightning strike from Astrapē, but that was all.
He hadn't detected Si-mun's hidden position or movements at all.
In other words.
'It seems he can only see the future when he's the one being attacked.'
Of course, even that much made it a troublesome ability.
While raining down attacks of such overwhelming destructive power,
he could simply foresee any incoming strikes and dodge them all.
Either way.
'No matter how you look at it, if this continues, I'll be at a disadvantage.'
Earlier, the plan had been to chip away at him bit by bit,
even if it meant pouring in Achievement Points.
But now that he was obliterating everything around him, the situation had changed.
KWA-GAGANG!
"How long do you plan to keep hiding like a damn rat?!"
Sargas was demolishing the transport path in real time.
If things kept going like this, the entire passage would collapse, leaving no ground to stand on.
And ultimately, the invisibility granted by Kynée would become meaningless.
Therefore.
'Before the transport path is destroyed, I need to land an attack he can't evade, even if he sees it coming.'
But how?
This bastard had dodged Astrapē's lightning strikes with ease.
Moreover, his Manifestation didn't seem to be just about increasing his size.
KWA-GWAGANG! BOOM!
Wasn't he already smashing everything around him at speeds far beyond his pre-Manifestation state?
Most likely, his future-sight ability had also been drastically enhanced.
In fact—
"Come out, Kim Si-mun! Don't disappoint me!"
His left eye, now exposed as the eyepatch had fallen away, gleamed with a grayish light,
radiating an intense surge of Dragon Power.
WHOOSH—
Si-mun, having dodged Sargas' fist, floated midair.
He looked down at Astrapē, which was flickering away due to Rebound.
'What if I create an opening with the Death Eye and land a direct hit with Astrapē?'
Hadn't he already conserved the Death Eye's command for this very moment?
But—
'No, the Death Eye alone won't be enough.'
Si-mun shook his head.
The stronger the dragonkin, the higher their resistance to the Death Eye.
In his current Manifested state, even a single second of control would be cutting it close.
'I need something more certain. Something like... yes! Odin's Gungnir!'
Gungnir.
A weapon favored by Fabian, the Twin Spears, a high-ranker from his past life.
A spear belonging to the Constellation Odin, renowned for never missing its mark.
With that, no matter how much he saw the future, he wouldn't be able to dodge.
After all, it was a Mythic-grade weapon.
There was just one problem.
'Gungnir doesn't have the same offensive power as Astrapē.'
Its attack power.
The Mythic-grade weapons he usually associated with—Astrapē and Laevateinn—boasted the highest offensive capabilities among divine arms.
While Gungnir was certainly formidable as a Mythic-grade weapon,
it couldn't compare to the sheer destructive force of Astrapē or Laevateinn.
In that case—
'What I need is a weapon with Gungnir's ability and Astrapē's firepower.'
He couldn't help but laugh at his own thought.
Owning even a single Mythic-grade weapon was enough to easily contend for a ranker's position.
Where in the world would a weapon exist that combined only the best traits of Mythic-grade arms?
But as his thoughts reached that point—
'Wait.'
A single possibility flashed through Si-mun's mind.
'Why the hell not?'
He had already broken the rule that limited each player to a single Backing Constellation,
having formed connections with no fewer than five Constellations.
And that wasn't all.
'Haven't I been using multiple Mythic-grade weapons whenever I needed them?'
Even high-rankers of his past life could only wield the weapons granted by their Backing Constellations.
Yet, hadn't he already used the weapons of different Constellations multiple times?
And the foundation that made such a miracle possible was none other than alchemy.
'If I can already create imitations that perfectly replicate the abilities of the originals, what's stopping me from crafting one with only the traits I need?'
The moment he grasped that logic—
OOM.
At the very center of Si-mun's chest,
the Philosopher's Stone emitted a faint resonance.
This wasn't the Stone speaking to him.
Rather—
'Ah...'
It was the epiphany of an alchemist.
A harmonic resonance that arose from awakening to a certain truth.
Just like when he had acquired the method to create a Homunculus.
UUUUNG—
Amidst the irregular hum, something indescribable etched itself into his mind—or perhaps his soul.
Surrendering to this inexplicable flow,
TAP.
Si-mun flicked his fingers without even realizing it.
And then—
KRUUUM—
Lightning struck from his right hand.
SHLING—
A golden spear surged forth from his left.
And as the great current guided him,
he brought the two weapons together.
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to achieve the required synthesis.]
[The Philosopher's Stone demands 5,000 Achievement Points to compensate for the lack of Equivalent Exchange.]
[Will you accept? (Yes / No)]
A familiar message window appeared before his eyes.
Si-mun, of course, selected 'Yes.'
And so—
FZZZT—CRACKLE!!
The two Mythic-grade weapons sparked violently as they clashed,
beginning to merge into one.
Was it because of the aftermath?
Before he knew it, the invisibility granted by the Kynée had been stripped away.
"There you are!!"
Sargas immediately swung a fist the size of a house toward him.
Yet Kim Si-mun merely observed the destructive fist with serene composure.
"Ars Magna......"
By uttering these words—this great truth that coursed through his entire being—
Ars Magna Fusion.
The Promised Sure-Hit Lightning Spear.
A new myth had been realized.