Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Translation: godtl
"Keguru!"
"Kegul!"
The incessant screams of the Drags continued without pause.
In contrast to his constantly moving arms, the producer of these screams—Si-mun—remained calm.
'They're tougher to kill than I expected.'
His composed eyes scanned the battlefield ahead.
'As expected of upper-level Dragonkin Drags, I suppose.'
Upper-level Dragonkin Drags.
Despite their somewhat ridiculous faces—a cross between a frog and a reptile—they were Dragonkin that appeared from the upper ranks of Platinum.
Among the upper-level Dragonkin, they were particularly famous for their durability and tenacity.
However.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Wave Form: Annihilation Cannon.
The techniques of the peerless martial art, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, were a different story entirely.
"Ke......"
The Drag couldn't even let out a proper groan.
Half of its upper body had been obliterated where the Annihilation Cannon had grazed it.
Then—
Piiing.
Another Annihilation Cannon tore through the air.
This time, it wasn't just one—three Drags were skewered in a row like kebabs.
"Hmm. I need to hit at least three at once to make this cost-effective."
Si-mun clicked his tongue as he observed the three Drags, each missing chunks of their bodies.
'Even with Transmutation Power exceeding 100, the Annihilation Cannon is still a bit taxing.'
After investing all 10 of his remaining stat points, his pure Transmutation Power reached 110.
Adding the +4 from Pick of Kings, his total Transmutation Power was now 114.
Even though Bound Stats were only half of his Transmutation Power, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's Annihilation Cannon still felt burdensome.
'Well, most of the Wave Form techniques consume a ridiculous amount of Demonic Energy anyway.'
Even Go Mal-suk in his past life had been the same.
Originally, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was a martial art that required a formidable foundation of internal energy.
Among its techniques, the Wave Form techniques were those executed purely with internal energy, without any physical medium like a fist.
Because of this, they devoured Demonic Energy like crazy, something Mal-suk had often grumbled about.
'Still, as long as I don't spam it mindlessly, I can manage. Worst case, I can always switch to Astrapē.'
The thought of wielding the Heavenly Demon Divine Art with Lightning Qi instead of Demonic Energy—something that would have made Go Mal-suk from his past life scream in horror—didn't faze Si-mun in the slightest.
"They're starting to crumble over there too."
As he pierced through more Drags with another Annihilation Cannon, he glanced toward the frontlines where the explosions had begun to die down.
Gr-gr-gruk!
"Keguru! Just die already, you damned Golem!"
A particularly large and ornate Drag—likely their leader—had already smashed a massive Golem to pieces.
Si-mun shifted his gaze to the main force still locked in combat.
"Block them! Block them, damn it!"
"Shit! Hurry up with the detox! My body won't move!"
"Focus on hindering spells instead of attack magic! It's not about lacking damage right now!"
Amidst the sounds of battle with the Drags—
Beast-type monsters swarmed in from the surrounding wetlands.
True to the name "Poisoned Supply Route," these monsters emitted toxic miasma with every action—from their attacks to their deaths.
At a glance, it seemed like the main force was being pushed back, but—
"Graaaah! Get lost!"
Crash!
The colossal lizardman.
Thanks to the overwhelming performance of Choi Jin-su—who resembled a Dragonkin himself—the main force was holding its own.
'As expected of the Beast King. At this rate, I don't even need to worry about the main force.'
Satisfied, Si-mun nodded slightly.
"Human! I'll tear your limbs—Kgh!"
Bam!
He drove a Tyrant Emperor Break into the face of a Drag that had leaped at him from the side, then immediately flicked his fingers.
'Phew. A bit rusty since it's been a while.'
Contrary to his inner thoughts, the corners of his lips curled up in anticipation.
Soon—
Dr-dr-dr-dr.
Not just around Si-mun.
"Ke, Kegul?"
"Gurgle. What the hell is this now?"
The ground swelled up across the supply route where the Drags were hopping about.
Though smaller than the earlier Golem—
These Golems stood well over 2 meters tall.
And their numbers reached a staggering twenty.
Si-mun gazed proudly at the newly transmuted Golems.
'In my past life, even with all sorts of items, ten was the absolute maximum I could manage...'
Now, without Mana Disability and with 114 Transmutation Power, was this the result?
He had effortlessly transmuted twenty small Golems on the spot.
[The Constellations Odin and Zeus observe you with deepened interest.]
[The Constellations Black Goat and Heavenly Demon cast intrigued glances at the Golems you've created.]
Whether this had stirred the Constellations or not—
The Constellations, silent since the Arena began, were now showing active interest.
But.
'The real challenge starts now.'
Si-mun paid no heed to the Constellations' attention and focused his mind.
The reason was simple.
'From my immediate surroundings... to the entire supply line.'
Unlike the single massive golem he had transmuted earlier.
All twenty of the newly transmuted golems.
Snap.
"Link."
Because he had to control them all by himself.
Throb!
"Ugh!"
As he flicked his fingers to establish the connection with the golems, a sharp headache lanced through his skull.
But it lasted only a moment.
Creak.
The twenty transmuted golems soon began moving exactly as Si-mun desired.
'Is it because Transmutation Power is an alchemy-exclusive stat? It even affects golem control.'
Initially, Si-mun had anticipated controlling around ten golems.
But before flicking his fingers, his Transmutation Power stat of 114 instinctively informed him—
He could control twice that number.
What was even more astonishing was—
'Bind their feet as much as possible.'
Creak!
All twenty golems began attacking Drag's forces, each moving differently.
This was what was commonly referred to as double-casting.
Like drawing a circle with one hand while simultaneously drawing a square with the other.
But while the general concept was similar,
the core principle was entirely different.
[Constellations Zeus and Odin gasp in awe at your control.]
[Constellations Black Goat and Heavenly Demon's eyes gleam with fascination.]
Controlling twenty golems simultaneously was a feat so difficult it even shocked the Constellations.
In his past life, even with the aid of numerous items,
it made no sense for a Level 1 with Mana Disability to control ten golems.
But now, Si-mun no longer had the Mana Disability that had held him back, nor the pitiful stats of a Level 1.
Instead, his unique stat, Transmutation Power, nearing 114, supported him from behind.
"Ha... this feels insane!"
Si-mun, who had been riding a bicycle with a broken wheel,
Creak!
"Ke, kegul!"
"Ghk!"
now felt like he was soaring through the skies in a jet.
Naturally.
-OMG! What the hell is this?!
-LMAO. Even at a glance, there are like twenty of them, and he's controlling all of them?
-And each one moving independently. Holy shit, I can't help but laugh.
-Is he using some kind of program or something? How is this possible with a human brain?
-You think there's a program that works in the Galaxy Arena? That makes even less sense lol.
-But still... even I can't wrap my head around controlling twenty at once...
Even the viewers watching this spectacle couldn't hold back their exclamations.
Moreover.
-This is impossible! Controlling twenty golems simultaneously?
-I agree with you. This shouldn't be possible.
-He must have some means of control. Perhaps an artifact, for example.
-That's the most plausible explanation. Mr. Kim must have an SSS-rank artifact related to summons.
-Oh! If such an item exists, please sell it to me. I'll pay any amount.
Even the foreign viewers, who had slowly trickled in after the Gold Debut Match,
debated in the chat about this unbelievable feat of control.
However.
"Grrr! You damn lumps of rock!"
Crash!
The golems' dominance didn't last long.
"How dare mere golems—!"
"Grrk! Shatter!"
The golems pressuring Drag's forces began breaking apart at a rapid pace.
Against Drakan, the lowest-tier Dragonkin,
or even Dvali, a mid-tier Dragonkin, they might have stood a chance.
But against Drag, an upper-level Dragonkin, golems transmuted on the spot were simply outmatched.
But.
Snap.
With the sound of fingers flicking,
Creak.
the shattered golems quickly regenerated.
Si-mun had repaired the broken golems in an instant.
At this, the unusually large and well-armed Drag roared:
"Ke, kegul! Find the core! Find the core!"
Then—
"No! We need to take out the summoner first! That's faster!"
As another Drag shouted, the Dragonkin fell into chaos.
Si-mun's gaze settled on the one who had given the last order.
'That one's at least a bit smarter.'
Golems transmuted on the spot, without any preparation,
were weaker than crafted golems made with specific materials or cores.
'No matter how many times you break these golems, it's pointless.'
Conversely, because they lacked a core component,
they could regenerate endlessly as long as the alchemist's mana—or in this case, Transmutation Power—supported them.
Si-mun glanced at the massive golem at the front, now reduced to nothing.
'Well, that should be enough Golem transmutation for now.'
Though he had successfully transmuted the Golems,
Si-mun hadn't held particularly high expectations from the start.
'Originally, I transmuted them just to delay the spread of their poison to the main force as much as possible.'
Considering he had transmuted these Golems without any prior preparation, the gains were more than sufficient.
Moreover.
'At this point, I might as well try crafting a proper Golem.'
He could roughly estimate how to utilize Golems moving forward.
Snap.
As Si-mun flicked his fingers, the twenty Golems battling Drag crumbled into pieces like falling rain.
Then.
Snap.
Another flick of his fingers.
KRRRUMBLE!
A sudden thunderclap roared, and a bolt of lightning struck down before Si-mun.
Astrapē.
The chat exploded once again, as viewers who had already witnessed its power multiple times reacted in frenzy.
Though they didn't know the truth of Astrapē's existence,
the viewers' speculations were surprisingly close to the mark.
Of course they were.
Not only had the size of Astrapē in Si-mun's grasp increased,
but the Lightning Qi it emitted was also drastically different from before.
Si-mun focused briefly on Astrapē and opened its information window.
[Astrapē]
Grade - Imitation (30%)
The spear of Zeus, ruler of Olympus.
Though capable of controlling lightning, for some reason, it cannot fully exert its original power.
Originally, Astrapē had only been at 10% completion.
But now, matching its increased size and Lightning Qi, its completion had risen to 30%.
'As expected, Astrapē changes drastically once Transmutation Power crosses 100.'
Of course, its steady growth until now must have played a role.
But generally, once a main stat surpasses 100 and reaches 101, the difference in growth becomes palpably noticeable.
Astrapē's completion had leaped forward accordingly.
'Had I known this would happen, I should've raised my Transmutation Power right after the last Arena ended.'
At the time, his Transmutation Power had been exactly 100.
'Then dealing with Gong Geol-ryun would've been much easier too.'
The assassination squad of the Continent Guild.
Si-mun hadn't been able to fully appreciate this level of growth when facing Gong Geol-ryun's group.
'Well, can't be helped. It's not like gaining 25 main stat points in one go is common.'
Besides, it was already in the past.
Clicking his tongue, Si-mun tightened his grip around Astrapē—now with an entirely different feel—and hurled it forward with all his might.
Then, in a low murmur, he uttered:
"Scream."
With his command,
ZZZZZZZRRRRT!!
An overwhelming surge of lightning erupted from Astrapē as it streaked through the center of the poisoned supply route.
Astrapē, now several times stronger than before.
"KYAAAAAAH!"
"GRRRRGH—!"
Even the Drag—the most durable among the upper-level Dragonkin—were mowed down in droves.
But it wasn't just them.
Hssssss—
The supply route, once filled with multicolored poisonous mushrooms and toxic plants,
along with the poison-born monsters charging toward the main force and the miasma birthed from battle—
all of it turned to blackened ash in an instant.
"......"
"......"
Those who survived the calamitous storm of lightning fell into stunned silence.
Then.
THUD.
A dark afterimage flew through the air and crashed before Si-mun.
The moment he recognized what it was, his eyes widened.
"Dayna!"
The Dark Elf Dayna—
a woman who could make even Diamond-rank players look like jokes—
now lay battered and bloodied on the ground.
But before Si-mun could even step toward her,
SHWIP!
"Ugh."
Something long and sharp embedded itself into the ground at his feet.
Had he not reacted in time and dodged,
it would have gouged a hole through his body instead of the floor.
Snap.
Si-mun transmuted a stone palm and swiftly moved Dayna to safety,
then turned his gaze toward the source of the enraged voice.
"GRRRR! You! It's you!"
"The master of those damned Golems!"
The unusually large and ornate Drag he had seen earlier.
Its massive, blade-like eyes glared at Si-mun with murderous intent—as if it already knew him.
At the same time.
"How dare you disrupt...!"
[Due to special circumstances, all broadcasted dialogue will be muted.]
"The grand event of His Excellency, the Dragon Emperor Apophis!"
A familiar message window popped up before Si-mun.
But Si-mun had no capacity left to pay attention to that message window.
Because right before his eyes—
"I, Drahel, shall personally present your severed head to His Majesty!"
A thick, whip-like tongue was already lashing toward him.