Chapter 1075: Kundara (8)
Thump!!
Lennok settled into a suitable spot on a platform in a courtyard, away from the bustling path where people came and went.
Behind him, a boy recorded wins and losses according to a bracket, while two figures sat opposite each other at an Obaekro board.
Lennok gazed steadily at the dragon-headed giant sitting opposite him.
“……”
Silver scales covered his entire body, glowing faintly. His mouth was sharply split diagonally, and horns sprouted from his head.
His eyes were as intense and clear as an eagle’s, and his features were as sculpted as a painting.
Despite having a reptilian face, it was immediately apparent that his appearance was strikingly handsome.
He was a dragon-kind, radiating an intense presence not merely because he wasn’t fully humanized, but simply from his elegant visage.
“I apologize, but even if you stare a hole through me, nothing will appear.”
Maleon, the dragon-kind, chuckled, idly toying with a piece on the board.
“Well, it’s true my face is quite manly and handsome. It’s not strange for you to be envious.”
“……You certainly have a strong sense of self-love.”
Lennok gave a short laugh as he picked up a piece Maleon offered him.
A black stone. As most Long-lived Beings did, Maleon passed the first move to Lennok.
“Before we begin the match, I would like to ask about its meaning.”
Lennok asked, casually placing a stone on the board.
“What do you mean by hosting this Obaekro tournament?”
“Oh? I didn’t think the explanation was that difficult.”
Thump!!
Maleon effortlessly placed a white stone, resting his chin on his hand as he replied.
His style was so quick and decisive that he responded the moment Lennok made a move.
The dragon-kind’s eyes momentarily seemed to reflect Lennok with mirror-like clarity.
“For a Great Archmage said to possess the greatest talent in the mega-cities, I thought you would already understand what I’m trying to say.”
“……”
Silence flowed.
Maleon, tilting his gaze as if to provoke a reaction, and Lennok, who remained silent, averted their eyes.
But even amidst the subtle silence, Lennok calmly placed a black stone, unfazed.
Indeed, this dragon-kind hadn’t merely chosen Lennok as an opponent based on his Obaekro skill.
Lennok knew that this man, Maleon, had already known everything and sought him out.
Yet, he was playing a game of Obaekro with Lennok so nonchalantly.
“Adamant Thunder of Vulcan. The Archmage mad for blood. A madman who uses endless struggle as his engine for growth, they said.”
Maleon said, picking up a white stone and holding it to his eye, scrutinizing it.
“A wizard who might be closest to ascension on the entire continent right now. The rumors were so dire that even a Long-lived Being like me often hears tales.”
“……”
“The elders of the Elder Council hidden in the Eighth Tribulation might not like it, but I have a great interest in the Short-lived Beings from outside.”
Maleon said, watching the stones rapidly exchanging places on the board.
“I feel there’s something to learn from those who don’t flee the Tribulations, but instead walk into their center.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s why, ever since I heard about you, I’ve been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time.”
Maleon’s pupils gleamed as he looked at Lennok.
“It would have been great to meet Cheonbeon, but I was so curious about what kind of spellcaster Adamant Thunder, who defeated Cheonbeon, truly is.”
“……”
“How interesting.”
Thump.
Maleon, resting his chin on his hand, placed a stone with a hand as large as a pot lid.
“The way you toyed with Alohan, being here without passing the Tribulation’s Trial, and even your ‘talent donation’ to the Long-lived Beings.”
“……”
“At least, it looks very different from the notoriety of Adamant Thunder or the blood-soaked ferocity I’ve heard about outside.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“If our intentions can align in this city, don’t you think we could cooperate?”
“Excuse me?”
“Ah, it’s done.”
Crack!!
The moment Maleon said that and placed a white stone, the scenery on the Obaekro board began to warp.
The white stones, arranged in a circle on the board, drew a powerful magic circle and floated above their heads.
Whooshhh…!!!
Maleon’s art of using the pieces on the Obaekro board as components to activate a spellcraft formation.
The moment Lennok realized this and stiffly raised his gaze.
Crrrack!!!
Around the platform where Lennok and Maleon were seated, space itself began to twist and transform violently.
It was an unsettling sensation, as if the very space they occupied was being forcibly torn out and reattached elsewhere.
“I’ve systematized the Spatial Exfoliation phenomenon observed in the Black Forest of the Western Continent and deployed it as a magic circle.”
Maleon chuckled, resting his chin on his hand.
“It’s not my specialty, but it seems to have turned out well enough for me to show off in front of you.”
“……You.”
“Now, we need to discuss some rather dangerous matters, so let’s move to another location for a moment.”
Boom, rumble, rumble!!!
The moment he realized it, Lennok found himself seated in the middle of a vast hall.
A colossal hall displaying statues of Long-lived Beings shaped like dragons, Qilins, divine beasts, and phantom beasts.
It was a bizarre sight, as if one side of the platform where Lennok and Maleon had been sitting was cut out and pasted into this mysterious hall.
But in that brief instant, Lennok realized what Maleon had done and his lips tightened subtly.
‘Did he create a provisional magic circle with just the Obaekro pieces and then manipulate space as a result?’
The Obaekro game, created by Jindun, was a board game designed to aid in learning spell formations, but it wasn’t meant to literally draw magic circles on the board itself.
While one could refine their spellcraft aptitude through the arrangement and changes of the pieces, one couldn’t actually use spellcraft by merely playing the game.
However, Maleon had, in the midst of naturally continuing the match with Lennok, completed a magic circle using only the placement of his white stones.
He then forcibly activated it on the board, transporting the platform where they were seated into this unknown hall.
It was an art that approached the pinnacle of spellcraft manipulation, far more acquired than the trick the Fearsome Blood King used to move Lennok to the Blood-Veil Palace.
It was proof that this dragon-headed giant before him was a spellcaster who had reached a far higher level than Lennok had imagined.
“The Long-lived Beings of Kundara seem to enjoy constantly changing locations.”
Lennok, abandoning all pretense of respectful speech, ran a hand through his hair in exasperation and asked.
“Where is this place?”
“Inside the Eighth Tribulation.”
Maleon replied leisurely, crossing his arms.
“It’s a memorial hall honoring the founders who designed Kundara as a sanctuary.”
“……A memorial hall?”
Did such a bizarre space greet Long-lived Beings after they passed the trials of the Eighth Tribulation?
No, more importantly, there was something Lennok needed to do once he reached the Eighth Tribulation.
The Ruyi Orb he received from Alohan, filled with life force. There was supposed to be a sanctuary where that life force could be converted into lifespan—
“The process of completing the seven Self-Transformation Stages is nothing less than a trial that defines existence for a single life.”
Maleon said.
“We Long-lived Beings interpreted transcending these stages as trials, calling them ‘Tribulations’.”
“……”
“A Seeker will overcome nine Tribulations and face the world’s end, but without the Fourth, all will fail.”
The dragon-kind’s pupils, filled with profound emotion, met Lennok’s gaze.
“Instead of passing through the Tribulations and facing the end, we promised to avoid the end by staying outside the Tribulations. We called that the Outer Tribulation.”
“So, you placed the entire city on the path of nine stages, and sought to avoid destruction by staying outside of it.”
Lennok replied with a cold expression.
“‘Outer Tribulation City’ was the most direct way to refer to the answer you all chose.”
One could only advance to higher areas of Kundara by passing the Tribulations’ Trials.
But to pass a Tribulation, the challenger himself had to possess the appropriate Self-Transformation Stages.
Even Long-lived Beings, who lived for hundreds of years, had to repeatedly train and refine themselves.
The Long-lived Beings’ immersion and obsession with Obaekro were deeply intertwined with the very way this city existed.
Outer Tribulation City was, in fact, a term referring to the method they chose to avert destruction.
“Why are you explaining this to me?”
“Because I know what you desire.”
“You know what I desire?”
“To enter the Ninth Tribulation in a human body. Wasn’t that it?”
“……”
“To achieve that, you must have planned to win the Obaekro tournament and obtain the Elixir of Ascension.”
Without waiting for Lennok’s reply, Maleon spoke.
“It must be Nives’s proposal, right? No one but that senile poison master would know about the elixir’s existence. However…”
Saying that, Maleon slowly reached into his inner pocket.
From his hand, covered in silver scales, a small vial, carved like an amethyst, was pulled out.
Without looking at it, Maleon placed it in the center of the Obaekro board and said.
“Drinking this and passing through the Ninth Tribulation will, by no means, be a good thing for you.”
“……I don’t know what you’ve been talking about.”
Lennok said, pointing at the vial on the board with a bewildered expression.
“So, is this the Elixir of Ascension that the White Serpent spoke of?”
“I brought this item from the Elder Council’s archives.”
Maleon chuckled and nodded.
“A spellcaster like you wouldn’t believe my words unless I showed you the item directly.”
“……”
Had he brought the Elixir of Ascension directly to converse with Lennok and convey his message?
It was an absurd outcome: the reward he should have chosen from the Elder Council’s archives after winning the Obaekro tournament was now right before his eyes.
But Maleon didn’t even glance at the elixir, instead opening his palm toward Lennok.
“If you wish, you may examine it yourself. That’s why I brought it out.”
Maleon’s gaze as he looked at Lennok was utterly calm.
“This elixir is something no living creature should consume. I want to tell you that Nives’s proposal is nothing more than a trick of words.”
“……”
Lennok stared at Maleon in silence, then reached out and clutched the vial on the Obaekro board.
He stared at the surface of the vial, glowing beautifully like an amethyst, and then, carefully, he opened the lid.
A withered whisper quietly resonated from within the vial.
[I shall construct it…]
“……!”
[I want to tear living flesh…]
[Let’s butcher the bugs…]
[Why, why must I die…]
The horribly twisted will-thought of someone resonated from inside the vial.
It was a distorted mental image, smeared with all sorts of negative and horrific thoughts and words.
Just listening for a moment made his head throb.
If it affected Lennok this much, it wouldn’t be strange for an ordinary person to go mad the moment they opened the vial and listened.
Click.
Lennok frowned and closed the lid, and Maleon nodded as if he had expected it.
“As you’ve seen, what’s contained within is not an ordinary elixir or a poison.”
“……”
“It’s a contaminant, created by the long-term decay of the will-thought of a failed Ascendant and the Inner Core remaining in their corpse.”
Maleon continued.
“Consuming it would allow you to briefly reach a state similar to an Ascendant. But a corruption that fundamentally destroys your very existence would follow.”
“So the elixir’s effect is merely a side effect of a poison?”
“You may take the elixir if you wish. I’ll allow it, if it proves that I don’t covet that elixir.”
Maleon’s eyes gleamed.
“But by no means consume it. I’m telling you this fact to recommend another method.”
“……Interesting.”
Lennok stared at the vial, then chuckled coldly and tucked it into his pocket.
It was certainly a dangerous item, but he had no intention of discarding it.
If it was a poison made from the decayed remains of a failed Ascendant, it would surely have its uses somewhere, even if Lennok himself didn’t consume it.
“Alright. I’ll postpone consuming this elixir.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“But that will be decided after I hear what you want.”
Lennok, having pushed the vial into his personal sub-dimension with barely any room left, stared at Maleon with a sharp gaze.
“You persuaded me by giving me the elixir directly, so you must want something from me too, right?”
“……”
“Tell me. What is the method to enter the Ninth Tribulation without using the elixir, and without becoming an Ascendant?”
“The trials of the Ninth Tribulation are very different from passing the other eight Tribulations.”
Maleon said.
“Even if you don’t pass the trial yourself, if there’s someone who has overcome the trial beside you, you can follow them into the Ninth Tribulation.”
“Wait for someone else who has passed the Ninth Tribulation’s trial?”
“Of course, you’d have to manage to hold your own within the Ninth Tribulation once you’re in.”
Lennok frowned, and Maleon shrugged.
“But for a Great Archmage of your caliber, sustaining your ego inside the Ninth Tribulation wouldn’t be entirely impossible, would it—”
“You keep changing the subject. That’s not what I’m asking.”
Lennok interrupted Maleon, speaking irritably.
“Following someone who passes the Ninth Tribulation’s trial would only be possible if there’s actually someone to challenge the trial in the first place.”
“……”
“For your proposal to work, someone in Outer Tribulation City needs to be attempting to reach Level 9.”
“……”
“Besides, who in Outer Tribulation City, which is currently preparing for a major event, would even—”
Lennok’s words, spoken up to that point, abruptly cut off.
The method of passing the Tribulation by following a Transcendent who challenges the Ninth Tribulation’s trials.
The major event being prepared throughout Kundara.
The presence of Maleon, regarded as the most talented Great Archmage in Outer Tribulation City.
Lennok had finally realized that all these stories were linked by a single causality.
No, perhaps he had known it the moment he heard Maleon’s story.
But the reason Lennok had vaguely intuited it yet denied it was because the method Maleon was proposing was in itself—
Seeing Lennok’s silence, Maleon leisurely crossed his arms.
“It seems you’re finally ready to hear the real story.”
“Surely, you.”
Lennok, barely managing to speak, asked.
“Are you… planning to become Kundara’s new Ascendant?”
“How could I discuss such an important matter by hypothesizing about someone who isn’t here?”
Maleon chuckled and straightened his shoulders.
“Let me not beat around the bush. I intend to become a new Ascendant in this city through a promotion ritual.”
“……”
“And you possess exceptional aptitude for assisting high-ranking Long-lived Beings in passing the Tribulations.”
Maleon extended a hand toward the silent Lennok and asked.
“Help me become an Ascendant. In return, I will help you pass the Ninth Tribulation alongside me.”
“……That’s an unrealistic plan.”
Lennok replied, struggling to control his expression.
Maleon’s plan to become Kundara’s new Ascendant and pass through the Ninth Tribulation.
The idea that he would attempt to reach Level 9 in this city himself was shocking, but Lennok didn’t take his words at face value.
“Words alone accomplish nothing. A mere declaration of becoming an Ascendant won’t make it so.”
“……”
“What makes you so confident you can reach Level 9? Do you have something you’re relying on?”
“When we designed the nine Tribulations’ Trials in Kundara, we received assistance from an Ascendant.”
Maleon answered calmly.
“Because he, skilled in Barrier Spellcraft and magic circles, helped with the design, we were able to establish a foundation in the Universe of Mist.”
“……”
An Ascendant skilled in Barrier Spellcraft and magic circles helped design Kundara’s Tribulations.
The moment Lennok unconsciously twitched his lips upon hearing that, Maleon spoke.
“The Ascendant Jindun. Jaegis Eternor left a promotion magic circle—the very one Jindun used when designing the Tribulations—at the end of the Eighth Tribulation’s sanctuary.”
“……”
“Jindun himself used that magic circle when he designed the Tribulations, but for a long time, no one in Kundara has been able to wield it.”
Maleon met Lennok’s gaze with a serious expression.
“But after long interpretation, I realized that I could forcibly re-enact the promotion ritual to reach Level 9 through that magic circle.”
“……”
“I trust you understand why I’m telling this to an outstanding Obaekro master like yourself.”
Maleon continued.
“For some reason, the magic circle, which had been dormant, suddenly began to activate. If not now, it will be difficult to match the timing—”
Maleon looked at Lennok with a bewildered expression and tilted his head.
“Why are you making that face?”
“……Nothing.”
Lennok gave a bitter smile and raised his gaze to hide his expression.
Because the moment he heard Maleon’s words, he had already realized the reason why.
[Hehehe.]
The Cybernetic Spirit’s laughter, stirring from within his pocket, somehow seemed to reflect Lennok’s inner feelings.