Chapter 1184: Blooming (15)
“…”
He opened his eyes.
Ahead lay utter darkness, nothing visible. His entire body felt heavily crushed.
It wasn’t due to any specific intent or malice, but a suffocating sensation, as if buried under a pile of various luggage.
“Hah…”
Lennok sighed, rotating his mana as he pushed himself up.
The Jeongryun Barrier and Yeonghap Barrier wrapped around his body, minimizing the recoil from his physical enhancement.
Lennok swept away the objects pressing down on him with force, then roughly shook his shoulders.
Crash!
The door burst open before his eyes, and the objects that had been pressing on his back spilled forward.
Only then could Lennok accurately perceive the scenery of his surroundings.
A dense forest covered in green foliage. A narrow, metallic airtight chamber, obliquely buried beneath an ancient tree.
Stepping out over the luggage with a sigh, Lennok looked back at the chamber and shook his head.
“So this is how Gyro’s 5th Coffer is used. Isn’t the space a bit too cramped?”
[Oh, was this one of the gifts you received a long time ago, Master?]
Davi, who had been tumbling in his arms, asked with a bewildered expression.
[I got worried when you suddenly went into that cramped box, thinking you might have turned into a cat or something.]
“It’s a personal hideout I received as compensation from the Cartel after the events of the First Gate.”
Lennok replied, looking down at the narrow steel room buried beneath the tree.
“Since Cheonbeon recovered the fragments of The Veil from the Gate, I received this as compensation during the process of handing those fragments over to the Cartel.”
The 5th Coffer, crafted by Gyro, an artisan with the Talent for Duality, isn’t for valuables, but a safe for hiding humans.
The existence of a personal hideout that randomly generates within a 1km radius of the ring-wearing user.
As it had been a long time since he moved under the identity of Cheonbeon, Lennok was checking the compensations he received after the Gate incident one by one.
However, the moment he entered the hideout, he found himself buried under all sorts of luggage crammed inside.
[Supplies. Rations. Lots of mid-to-high-grade artifacts and armaments.]
Davi, who quickly scanned the items piled up inside the hideout, tilted her head.
[I don’t think you would have bothered to buy these supplies, Master. Did someone secretly stash them away?]
“…No. Now that you mention it, I recall a little.”
Lennok replied with a wry expression, looking at the luggage strewn outside the hideout.
“These are the supplies I received as gifts from the Gateway Search Party a long time ago. I had nowhere to store them, so I put them in the hideout and forgot about them.”
After defeating the Conjunction Spell Master at the First Gate, Lennok had temporarily inherited ownership of the Gate.
At that time, he had received all sorts of gifts and bribes from the factions and merchants residing in the Gate.
The supplies he had stored away because he had nowhere else to keep them while returning to Vulcan now finally came to mind.
“It’s been a while since I moved under this identity, so I need to organize things. At the very least, I should regain my sense for handling fire magic before I go.”
Fizzle, fizzle!!
Lennok flicked his fingers, sparking a flame, and muttered with a troubled expression.
“The sensation of drawing out the Spark isn’t quite right in my hands. I’ll need some practice.”
[With your senses, Master, wouldn’t you naturally get a feel for it after using it a few times in real combat?]
“It’s partly because I haven’t used it in a long time, but I think it’s also due to the recoil from the Domain I used when killing the Conjunction Spell Master.”
As Lennok spoke, he pushed the supplies that had spilled out of the hideout back inside, one by one.
“To kill the Spell Master who had gained immortality, I fully deployed the Heavenly Flower, Ten Thousand Mile Fragrance. This is more like an aftereffect from that.”
The Heavenly Flower, Ten Thousand Mile Fragrance, is a Domain that blooms by taking time as its constraint, reaching the ultimate pinnacle of a late bloomer, burning eternally with its target.
However, to gain semi-permanent immortality by burning time, the power required for that process is also immense.
At the First Gate, he barely met the conditions by stealing the Conjunction Spellcraft with Ouroboros and fusing two Solar Spheres.
Since he had drawn out and burned every last bit of his inner flame, it wasn’t strange that he was having difficulty rekindling the Spark.
Hiss, hiss, sizzle—
Lennok repeatedly flicked his fingers, trying to conjure fire.
[Oh, then isn’t that a big problem?]
Only then did Davi understand Lennok’s words, speaking with a worried expression.
[You’re going to attend the Legion Parade under this identity, Master, and if there’s a problem with your fire magic-]
“No. Just wait a bit.”
Whoosh!!
As he spread his hand, a deep crimson flame flared up.
The flame that rose above Lennok’s head doubled from two to four, then from four to eight.
With each tap of the air, the living flames doubled, ceaselessly illuminating the forest.
Oooooooh!!!!
Hundreds of flames floated around Lennok, changing speed and direction.
He meticulously controlled each rotating flame, changing its color and form, ensuring no two trajectories overlapped.
A marvel of magic, freely manipulating and controlling hundreds of different mana masses without a single error.
Whoosh!!
Lennok lightly clenched his fist, obliterating all the wandering flames, and nodded.
“Practice over. Let’s move.”
[…Give me back my worry right now.]
“I never said the practice would take long in the first place.”
Lennok shrugged.
“It’s not running wild like lightning magic, and fire magic works by warming up, so it’s quick to get the feel for it. Not a difficult task at all.”
[That’s the kind of thing fire wizards you’ve fought would get furious hearing.]
“It’s not perfectly ingrained in my hands like when I fought the Spell Master, but this much should be fine until the Legion Parade.”
Saying so, Lennok clenched his fist and raised it, concentrating his mind.
“Yes. Perhaps I might even be able to test out a newly acquired spellcraft…”
Lennok, holding his fist before his eyes as if gripping a Spark, slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Each time, intense heat spread out from Lennok, then slowly drew back in, repeating the cycle.
Wooooooosh…!!!!!
With a heavy resonating sound like an airplane engine, the entire space around Lennok vibrated.
A strange sensation, as if something immensely powerful was ‘breathing’ through Lennok as a conduit, trying to awaken.
But Lennok, after repeating the experiment a few more times, soon stopped concentrating and opened his eyes.
“…It’s still difficult to draw out. Does it require more preparation for use in actual combat?”
Like the Crimson Star System, which uses the Spark as a mana core to explosively boost output, Lennok had tirelessly researched various ways to advance his fire magic.
The new spellcraft Lennok was attempting now was one of the new possibilities he had gained through his past battles.
If successful, this spellcraft could become a new Branching Point for Lennok in a different way than the Heavenly Flower, Ten Thousand Mile Fragrance.
He was only struggling to give it a clear form because its concept was very different from the fire magic Lennok had used until now.
Though still immature, he believed it was a problem time would solve.
“Before we leave, let’s go over what needs to be done at the Legion Parade one last time, then depart.”
Walking between the giant ancient trees, Lennok pulled out a tablet from his pocket.
“First. Meet Ethan Bajour to confirm the project and the Legion’s goals.”
Lennok made a simple note on the screen’s notepad and tilted his head.
“Kaiser’s Remains, seen in the Ninth Tribulation. He might know the whereabouts of the missing head. Confirming that fact would be the priority.”
[You’re going to make him answer, right?]
“Second. I need to decide whether to accept the position of Deadrise Marshal. The reason Cheonbeon can attend the Legion Parade is because he was offered the Marshal position.”
[It was explicitly written in the power rankings, so the rumor must have already spread across the entire continent.]
“It’s not an offer without benefits. If I become Marshal, I’ll be able to directly influence the Central Front, as well as observe the internal workings of the Legion firsthand.”
Maintaining multiple identities and walking the tightrope would become more difficult, but he didn’t deny that it was worth the trouble.
[Is there a third?]
“I need to confirm the factions and individuals attending the Legion Parade and prepare for the Subjugation Operation.”
Lennok raised his gaze.
“It’s an event where envoys from all sorts of factions across the continent gather in one place. Opportunities like this, to grasp the atmosphere and political situation of the center, won’t be common.”
Lennok manipulated the tablet, bringing up a map of a portion of the Eastern Continent, and spoke.
“The location of the Legion Parade is Deadrise’s Second Corps Headquarters. Apparently, it’s the command center for the far eastern region.”
Lennok confirmed the nearby terrain and routes, nodded, and put away the tablet.
“If I move quickly, I can arrive within four days. The timing should be just right.”
[That’s assuming you have a means of transport that can traverse the map’s shortest routes, of course.]
“I’ve already prepared the means, haven’t I?”
Vroom!!
As Lennok flicked his fingers, a bike equipped with a metallic outer shell appeared before his eyes.
The shape of a massive monster bike, engine running and emitting a rough roar.
Lennok mounted the bike, gripped the throttle, and tapped the armor covering its surface, nodding.
“I tried attaching the outer shell of a mechanical warhorse that I received from the Gateway Search Party a while back, and it’s not bad.”
A mechanical bike made from the central city’s shape-memory alloy and equipped with internal armor magic.
He had detached a part of its form and attached it to his own bike, finding it less inconvenient than expected.
A dignified and heavy form, as if the entire bike were encased in thick armor.
This way, even if he rode the bike under the identity of Cheonbeon, he could claim it was an item received from the Gateway Search Party.
[Although, to maintain this bulky appearance, the engine output had to be boosted by nearly 1.7 times.]
“I’ll put it back after this is over, so stop grumbling and let’s go.”
[Hmph.]
As Davi settled into the bike’s engine system, the power turned on, and the autonomous driving algorithm activated.
The moment Lennok pulled the throttle, it accelerated explosively, tearing through the forest at high speed.
Vrooooom!!
The surrounding scenery distorted into blurry green lines, pressing heavily on his shoulders.
Lowering the center of gravity to prevent the body from lifting due to excessive acceleration, and minimizing air resistance.
Lennok quickly left the forest area and entered a steep mountain path.
Already far from the mega-city Vulcan, near the mountain range in the central part of the Eastern Continent.
Rumble…!!!
A fierce wind swirled in the sky.
A pitch-black storm was raging in the distance, accompanied by faint thunder.
[Master. That’s…]
“A Magnetic Storm.”
A localized Magnetic Storm that periodically swept across the Eastern Continent.
It was the reason why aircraft couldn’t fly over Vulcan until Lennok developed the anti-gravity engine,
and it was still a troublesome natural disaster that regularly interfered with communication between Vulcan and other cities.
A phenomenon that was also the main subject of various conspiracy theories, such as being a byproduct of a failed project, or a communication jamming device created and scattered by the City Council.
Lennok himself had seen the phenomenon with his own eyes a few times while traveling in and out of Vulcan, but now it felt a little different.
“…”
[Master?]
“Gileon said he flew through a Magnetic Storm with his Iron-Plated Wings and became sick, weakening him.”
Lennok muttered, slightly slowing down the bike.
“Then, is the ability he gained also related to the Magnetic Storm?”
[…Well.]
Davi answered slowly after a brief pause.
[I just looked it up after hearing what you said, Master, and it’s not unheard of for people to acquire powerful special abilities after a specific natural disaster or accident.]
“…”
[However, in most cases, it only results in a weak awakening or the awakening of a new sense, and since it’s an aptitude that didn’t exist before, it’s said to be difficult to control throughout one’s life.]
“I see…”
[These cases aren’t even treated as innate abilities, so records aren’t passed down, and there don’t seem to be any common rules that apply across similar cases.]
As Lennok stared at the Magnetic Storm, Davi spoke as if something had just occurred to her.
[It seems they usually have some connection to the disaster that caused the awakening, but if you want, Master, should we try ramming this bike into the Magnetic Storm?]
“Why does it suddenly come to that conclusion?”
[Well, we don’t have any measuring equipment to gauge the Magnetic Storm’s abilities right now.]
“Forget it. I have no intention of trashing a means of transport that needs to be perfectly fine until the Legion Parade, right from the start.”
[Hehehe, then you’d have no choice but to ride the Night Crow I painstakingly modified, Master.]
“You’ve finally revealed your utterly sinister true colors.”
[Awwww, hehehe.]
As Lennok let go of the bike’s throttle and gently pulled Davi’s cheek, the Magnetic Storm rapidly receded into the distance.
Was it a disaster caused by metallic substances, including iron sand, colliding, or a rampage occurring as the area’s magnetic field broke down?
Either way, Gileon Myloze’s last words were impressive enough for Lennok to ponder and consider their cause.
A meeting that had convinced him that despite suffering from illness and weakening, Gileon was by no means a mere ghost of the past.
Would he know that it was precisely for this reason that Lennok had become convinced he needed to attend the Legion Parade?
The talents of the century, personally chosen and kept under the command of Kaiser Bajour.
Who, decades after they excelled in Vulcan’s civil war, still made their names known across the entire Central Front.
Lennok was heading to the Legion Parade precisely to meet the command staff of such a Legion.
Kwaaaang!!!
Just as he was speeding up the mountain path and gaining altitude, a thunderous roar erupted from the opposite mountain range.
A sound intense enough to momentarily pierce Lennok’s eardrums, which were constantly protected by Common Magic.
Lennok immediately turned his gaze, but nothing was visible on the opposite mountain range from where the sound had come.
Davi, who had been rubbing her stinging cheek with her front paws in his arms, subtly turned her gaze.
[We didn’t just hear things, did we?]
“No.”
Lennok replied, looking down at the opposite mountain range with a stern expression.
“At the very least, it’s something far more unusual than that.”
Kugwagwagwa!!!!!
At that moment, the mountain range on the opposite side, which Lennok had been watching, crumbled right before his eyes.
Soil flowed down as if it had lost its support, and the mountain collapsed like a sandcastle, losing its form.
A bizarre phenomenon, a giant mountain collapsing and being crushed right before his eyes.
“Kekekehat!! Stop right there!!”
From below the crumbling mountain, something was laughing maniacally and running like mad.
A gigantic reptilian figure, its entire body covered in black scales.
A short, toad-like neck and muscular limbs. Thick chains bound its wrists and ankles.
A gigantic beast, scattering crimson eye-light, smashed through the mountain, chasing the Magnetic Storm.
Kwagwagwagwang!!!!
Disregarding Lennok on his bike, it chased the Magnetic Storm with terrifying momentum, smashing through the mountain range as it ran.
Unrealistic monstrous strength that brought down mountains with its bare body. Intelligence so exceptional it could speak common language with a beast’s oral structure.
Even the mana emanating from its body was not just immense, but primitively raw, almost base.
Lennok, who had instantly deduced a conclusion from a series of clues, muttered.
“Long-lived Being… From Kundara?”
“What?”
The Long-lived Being, who had been sprinting past Lennok at tremendous speed, whipped its head around the moment it heard those words.
It twisted its body abruptly, stopping, and simultaneously leaped. The gigantic beast’s form vanished from the spot.
Kwaaaang!!!!
The Long-lived Being, its muscular thighs bulging, dropped before Lennok’s eyes at an invisible speed.
Landing on the mountain slope, the Long-lived Being was easily over 4 meters tall. Compared to a human, it was like a towering mountain.
The Long-lived Being, head bowed, crimson eyes staring at Lennok, drooling, asked.
“You, do you know where I came from?”
“…”
“There aren’t many Short-lived Beings on the Eastern Continent who know my origin. Hmm, hmmm~?”
“For a Long-lived Being from Kundara, you don’t seem entirely sane.”
Lennok looked up at the Long-lived Being, which was twisting its head in a bizarre direction, with an expressionless face.
“Why are you rampaging alone in a place like this?”
“Rampaging, you say? Wrong.”
The Long-lived Being snorted, baring its teeth, and said.
“I was diligently working, and then that Magnetic Storm seemed suitable for scratching my scales, so I was just running after it.”
“A Long-lived Being like you was working?”
“Oh, you seem to know quite a bit about Kundara’s Long-lived Beings.”
The Long-lived Being reached a hand into its thick belly folds and pulled out a crumpled booklet.
“Perfect timing. If you can recognize a Long-lived Being like me, I can ask you a question.”
The beast held a booklet the size of its finger, turning the pages very carefully.
But Lennok, seeing the title of the booklet the Long-lived Being was holding, was rendered speechless.
[A Guide for Kundara-born Long-lived Beings on Successful Continental Advancement.txt]
“…”
“I’m looking for a human, you see. All you Short-lived Beings look so similar, it’s hard to tell you apart.”
The Long-lived Being, smacking its lips, opened the booklet and muttered as it turned a page with a thick hand.
“It’s a Short-lived Being that should have arrived on the Eastern Continent by now, but I just can’t recognize them, so I was hoping you could help me.”
“Who are you looking for?”
“Cheonbeon Evan Martinez.”
“…What?”
“He looks like this, do you recognize him?”
The Long-lived Being opened the last page of the booklet and thrust it right in front of Lennok’s nose.
A portrait occupying the entire last page of the booklet.
The drawing, surprisingly, greatly resembled the face of Evan, Lennok’s disguise.
“He’s a scoundrel who audaciously defied Adamant Thunder, our benefactor from Kundara, a truly bad fellow.”
The Long-lived Being snorted roughly.
“It seems this guy is building a reputation on the continent, unnecessarily undermining Adamant Thunder’s reputation and fame.”
“…”
“Honestly. Human faces are just so lacking in individuality, so plain. It’s really hard to tell them apart.”
The Long-lived Being grumbled, rotating the portrait this way and that, as Lennok remained silent.
The Long-lived Being extended the portrait and held it next to Lennok’s face, saying, “See?”
“Look. Short-lived Beings don’t have horns or scales, so even looking at a portrait, they all look so similar…”
“…”
“…”
The Long-lived Being squinted its eyes, looking back and forth between the portrait and Lennok, and tilted its head.
“…Huh?”