Gleipnir's Trial
"Ah, so warm."
I stroked the leather coat(?) I'd received from Hati.
It was a completely different sensation from being outside earlier. My body was warm, and my mind felt free.
"I definitely came out of the castle and went right."
There had been a mountain that way, no doubt about it. Thankfully, unlike what I'd seen earlier, the actual distance looked short.
Was it just because my mind had been hazy that everything seemed farther?
Relieved that I wouldn't have to walk far, I set my footwork in motion.
Basic Footwork.
Speed.
I moved quickly, using the footwork to head toward the mountain, and after about ten minutes of running, I arrived at its base.
"It really is close."
The moment I reached the foot of the mountain, I could tell exactly where the guardian was.
Halfway up the mountain. Hati had put it vaguely, but my eyes could see it.
The mana in the air is trembling.
The ambient mana was quivering around a single point on the mid-slope, and divine power was leaking out from there.
"I'd better hurry."
Keeping my footwork going, I entered the cave halfway up the mountain. Fortunately, torches hung along the walls, so the interior wasn't dark.
"The so-called guardian... I don't think it'll be all that strong?"
Judging purely by the magic it gave off, it was at the level of an ordinary awakened human. The only variable here was the divine power it possessed.
It might know ways of using divine power other than the ones I know.
If so, that power could be a serious variable indeed.
I should learn how to use Blood Energy properly while I'm at it.
My Dao Power had vanished when I changed my boots, but the Blood Energy remained. It was a shame I'd never gotten to use my Dao Power properly before discarding it, but I resolved to at least figure out the proper use of Blood Energy.
I've already used my special ability, Blood Flow Acceleration, too — once, anyway.
After using it that once, I'd completely forgotten about Blood Energy. I walked a short distance inside, and a massive cavern opened up before me. At its center glowed a magic circle radiating golden light.
Is that Gleipnir's binding?
The faint trace of divine power suggested it was.
And beside the circle was a bird.
"A swan?"
The swan was indeed one of the animals that symbolized Aphrodite, but it hardly possessed abilities suited to combat.
Did they just station a swan here because they assumed no intruder would ever come?
Honestly, finding out that the trembling mana from outside was merely because a divine symbol was sitting in here deflated my spirits somewhat — but it worked for me. I'd been planning to test my Blood Energy stat anyway, so an opponent that wasn't too strong suited me fine.
"Squawk!"
"Quiet down, bird!"
I drew on the power of Blood Energy to raise my physical capabilities, closed the distance in an instant, and swung my fist.
Thwack!
With a rather satisfying sound, the bird went flying and slammed into the wall.
"Oh."
The effect exceeded what I'd expected, and an admiring gasp escaped me before I could help it.
What I'd just done was an application of my special ability, Blood Flow Acceleration. That ability worked by rapidly speeding the flow of my blood to awaken my cells and boost my physical abilities — the drawback being that the sudden acceleration came with agonizing pain.
At this speed, there's no pain, my physical abilities rise, and it's great.
What I'd done just now was raise my blood's speed more gradually than Blood Flow Acceleration, boosting my physical abilities that way. Thanks to that, I could raise them without any pain at all.
The increase is about... 1.2 times, I'd say?
It felt stronger than that, but objectively speaking, this was probably the limit. 1.2 times might seem low, but my base stats were high enough that even a 1.2-fold boost wasn't a number to dismiss.
"Squaaawk!"
Just then, the swan that had flown into the wall picked itself up and shrieked at me. The fact that it was only now getting up made it clear it had been knocked out cold.
"Well, I suppose a divine symbol wouldn't fold that easily."
Happy that my sandbag had gotten back up, I lightly nicked my hand with a dagger, let a little blood flow out, and poured a potion over the wound to heal it.
"Hoo..."
It was my first time, so I was nervous, but I calmly activated the ability.
Blood Energy Manipulation.
Matter Shaping.
Blood Energy Manipulation — the ability I'd gained when my Blood Energy stat hit 10. Blood Flow Acceleration was merely an offshoot of it.
Slowly... slowly...
I manipulated the blood I'd just spilled and began shaping it into an object. There wasn't enough blood, of course, so I couldn't make what I actually wanted.
"So this is my limit for now, huh?"
What I managed to produce was a bead about the size of my fingernail. I'd hoped for something like a small dagger, but there simply wasn't enough blood to shape it.
"Still... it's better than not being able to do it at all."
The moment I muttered those words, the swan lunged at me, wings spread wide as it charged — an almost comical sight.
"Might as well test its power."
With that thought, I flicked the blood-forged bead toward the swan.
Pop!
The bead I'd fired struck the swan, and its head burst apart.
"Whoa there..."
It seemed like I'd let out some strange noise at the unthinkable power, but surely not. I wracked my brain over how such force had come out of nowhere.
Wasn't it just a bead made of condensed blood?
The amount of blood had been ambiguous, so I'd gathered it all together to form the bead. This kind of power was strange.
What on earth went wrong...?
Frankly, I'd expected a divine symbol to withstand at least that much. But I never imagined my failed little experiment would blow its head clean off.
"Ha... where am I supposed to test this next..."
I'd figured a divine symbol would be a sufficient target, but I'd sent it to its death in one shot.
"Ha..."
A sigh escaped my lips on its own. Even as I clawed at the problem, trying to find the reason for the bead's power, I came up empty.
It's just strong. Yeah, if I think of it that way, there's no problem at all.
Having forcibly convinced myself, I approached the magic circle. It was still operating, radiating brilliant light.
"So this is the Gleipnir binding Hati?"
I had no idea why Gleipnir was in this form, but it seemed like something I shouldn't just touch carelessly.
Drip.
Just then, a single drop of blood on my hand fell onto the magic circle.
And the instant it did, the golden magic circle began to spew crimson light.
Gleipnir is testing its master's power.
"What?"
Before I could even process the system message, a chain burst out of nowhere and seized my arms and legs, spreading them apart.
"Wh-what is this!"
All I'd done was look at the magic circle, and suddenly chains came flying out and grabbed me. Just then, another chain erupted from the crimson-glowing circle.
Wh-what the—!
The chain rising from the circle moved as though it possessed a will of its own, probing every inch of my body. Then its foremost tip bobbed as if nodding to itself, and hurled itself at my heart.
"Gahk!"
The chain slammed into my chest. I was wearing Transcendent-grade armor, but even that couldn't stop a chain of mythic grade. What was more, the chain began to be drawn inside, toward my heart.
"Ughhhhhh!"
I clamped down on the scream that tried to tear its way out and endured the pain. It hurt less than when mana had bloomed my special ability, at least.
Gleipnir is verifying its master's conditions.
Does the master possess divine power?
— Possessed
What is it even saying!
I was in agonizing pain, and the system was off doing its bizarre little checks.
Has the master subdued or hunted a divine beast of the wolf species?
— Achievements "One Who Cut Down the Moon" and "Divine Beast Hunter" possessed
It checked my achievements this time and marked them as passed. I wanted to scream at it to get out of my body right now, but all my focus was bent on suppressing the pain, and I couldn't open my mouth.
Does the master possess a power superior to magic?
— Higher abilities "Mana" and "Blood Energy" possessed
Now it was inspecting my stats. Having gone through the entire gauntlet, I realized that the message at the start had been no joke.
When you think about it, the system messages have never joked around or lied.
The only exception would be when Hati had tampered with them directly. Which meant this time, too, I could trust it.
I immediately set the two powers dwelling within my body in motion.
Blood Energy Manipulation.
Blood Flow Acceleration.
First, I stirred my Blood Energy to raise my body's physical capabilities. Perhaps because pain was already being inflicted on me, I felt no additional discomfort.
Next, mana.
The power above Blood Energy — a power that existed for me and me alone.
I drove my mana racing through my veins, and as if answering my blood's call, it sped faster and faster.
Gleipnir is astonished.
Having confirmed the message, I spun my mana even faster. At the same time, I began hunting for the Gleipnir that had entered my body, using my sixth sense.
It was definitely around my heart.
Even as I raised the mana's speed, I kept gazing inward — and in the end, I managed to observe a strange, alien power lodged beside my heart.
Found it!
The moment I located Gleipnir, I directed my mana straight to that spot. Following the mana's flow, my Blood Energy, too, briefly left my veins and rushed toward where Gleipnir lay.
Gleipnir is astonished once more.
Gleipnir resists mana and Blood Energy.
Come on, get out already!
I shouted inwardly and poured more force into my mana and Blood Energy. While that collision raged on inside me for a while longer, another system message appeared.
"What?"
The words Transcendence Tale drew a murmur from me before I knew it. And I could feel the pain that had seemed so horrific mere moments ago ebbing away.
With the messages, light began to pour out of my body. Perhaps because I'd been through this once before, I didn't panic. After a short wait, the light died down and a new system message appeared.
I had claimed my second Transcendence Tale.