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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 27 - Awakening
Red Summit.
The peak of Mount Khaoto, surrounded by cliffs on all sides, is as quiet as ever today. Reddish rocks and the unchanging blue ocean beyond.
Only a large raven with a sharp beak circles leisurely above.
Shhhh—
Suddenly, the raven spread its wings wide and began to dive vertically towards the ground. It had found a delicious prey.
Its shiny beak suggested it hadn't eaten in days. I decided to watch how desperately it was diving to see what kind of delicious prey it had found...
"Holy shit, it's me?"
I was spacing out and almost had my right pectoral muscle ripped off. In shock, I swung my arm as hard as I could.
With a whoosh, the raven was hit and flew into a rock.
"...Moment of silence for the fallen."
I decided to take a moment of repentance.
I'm sorry, bird.
But I couldn't imagine a life without my right nipple, so it couldn't be helped.
'Phew.'
As my startled heart calmed down, a heart-squeezing pressure began again.
At first, the pain of my whole body breaking apart continued day and night, but after about ten days, it subsided to a level I could barely endure.
Only the pain in my heart still wouldn't subside.
It was to be expected.
『Ifrit』
That name, which only appeared when using high-level magic of 7th Circle or above with all one's might, could not be handled by a mere 3rd Circle apprentice like me.
Of course, normally, resonance wouldn't even be possible.
It was just that the spirit from my past life...
Temporarily broke down that wall.
'It was reckless.'
I'm a Crazy Mage, but even I thought it was a reckless attempt, driven by anger.
Well, for now, it was a great success.
Not only did I achieve resonance, but it was also a resonance of equals.
I've never heard of a mage who achieved equal resonance with Ifrit throughout history. Even the dragons of the past wouldn't have experienced such a thing.
I was newly proud. Wasn't this the moment the Crazy Mage was finally recognized in this life?
No matter how great a mage Hector is in this era.
No, even if he had stepped into a higher realm.
It would be difficult to withstand a spell imbued with Ifrit's spirit in an unguarded state.
I clearly saw it. Hector's face went from surprise to astonishment, and finally, the composure he had built up cracked and shattered.
Nothing could be more satisfying.
But in return...
'Now I'm in this state.'
The price of accepting power beyond my capacity was devastating.
The Circle in my heart malfunctioned. The surging mana waves engulfed three Circles and completely exploded. Excruciating pain, like a hot furnace exploding in my heart, enveloped my body.
So...
Am I going to become a cripple again?
Of course not. I knew exactly how to restore a broken Circle.
A drop of High Elf tears, half a bottle of Elixir, a root of Snow Flower, and a Dragonic heart combined can restore the Circle's function to normal.
In short, it's damn difficult. How long would it take to gather all of that?
That's why I came here.
* * *
I looked down at my palms. My nails were already worn black, and every joint was torn and bleeding.
I had climbed the cliff, practically crawling, suppressing the pain in my heart, and my hands were completely wrecked.
But it didn't matter.
"Phew..."
I exhaled a long breath and closed my eyes. I recalled the nightmare-like battlefield.
I still vividly remembered that first ridge where the corpses of humans and demons were piled up like mountains.
The blood was so thick that even with my eyes closed, everything appeared crimson.
Later, I became so accustomed to such scenes of carnage that they no longer affected me, but I still couldn't forget that day.
The day the wretched expedition faced its first setback.
It was exactly one year after we entered the Land of Death.
Until then, no one thought the expedition would end up in such a state.
We even thought we could almost see the end of the expedition. The frequency of demon appearances was clearly decreasing.
In front of the expedition, where some were gradually becoming intoxicated with heroism and others were increasingly making frivolous jokes...
A sly guy who called himself a Count of the Demon Realm suddenly appeared.
Keliaak.
[TL/N: Name Not Final]
The guy, who looked similar to a human, blocked our path with his subordinates, who looked like a cross between trolls and rhinos.
He seemed childish. Naturally, the expedition scoffed and tried to kill him.
And that day...
Everything changed.
The price of underestimating Keliaak was devastating.
Massacre.
One word was enough to describe the tragedy.
The expedition members, whom I had considered an insurmountable wall, were torn apart like pieces of paper. It took the elites of the four Divine Families a whole day and night to stop him.
Despair. Screams. Pain. Madness. Death.
In that hellish chaos, where all the terrible energies of the world were concentrated, I miraculously survived.
That was the day both of my Circles were destroyed.
And at the same time, the day I awakened the mana of the Yin dimension.
* * *
Mana of the Yin dimension.
Mana with completely different properties from natural mana, devoid of abundant life force or high-quality elements.
Rather than mana, it might be more appropriate to call it an energy concentrated with all the negative emotions of the world, such as despair, screams, pain, madness, and death.
But the reason I call it "mana" is...
I could actually accept this energy in the form of mana and manifest new magic through it.
The moment both Circles in my heart were destroyed.
Just as a troll demon, split vertically, let out a strange cry and viciously opened its mouth towards me...
I felt an immense energy rising endlessly from among the mountains of corpses.
The first emotion I felt as I sensed that energy was 'death'. It was an ominous feeling, indescribably destructive and seemingly concentrated with madness itself.
I was certain it hadn't just appeared at that moment. It was a familiar energy that had always existed around me in the form of emotions.
It was just that, like a flame igniting and exploding, I became able to feel that emotion in the form of mana at that moment.
I instinctively accepted the irresistible energy, and at the same time, the Circle I thought was damaged started rotating backwards on its own.
And then, the moment the troll demon's mouth and my hand touched...
Crack—
Black smoke billowed from the entirety of its head.
The creature's body, which had regenerated even after being hit directly by 6th Circle personal magic, couldn't regenerate at all.
After that day...
I realized for the first time that I had a talent for magic. Until then, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't have known.
Because it was a type of magic that didn't exist in the world.
It was a killing magic solely for destruction and annihilation.
* * *
Not long ago.
The day I first climbed Red Summit, I felt the mana of the Yin dimension.
The traces of heroes who fought and shed blood against the Dragon of Chaos on the peak of Mount Khaoto hundreds of years ago.
Those horrific and desperate traces remained to this day, triggering a catalyst.
Back then, I tried to forcefully suppress the resonance, but now it was different.
Thump-thump—
The mana of the Yin dimension began to flow into the destroyed Circle in my heart.
The amount was so meager that if I failed to achieve resonance, a rampage could occur, but with my Circle already destroyed, I had nothing more to lose.
I would just feel extreme pain.
"There's no other way anyway."
Squeeze—
Amidst the pain tightening my heart, I closed my eyes and continued to accept the mana of the Yin dimension.
Recalling the one internal explosion I had achieved in my past life, I tried my best to rotate the foreign energy entering my body in the opposite direction.
Squeeze—
"Ugh!"
The wick burned, as if detonating a fuse at some point, the patience to create a single spark through endless repetition.
.
.
.
How much time had passed?
Just when I felt like my brain, not the fuse, was about to explode...
*
『Ability <Great Sage's Wall> is activated』
『The soul of the Great Sage, who has pursued truth for ages, is like a wall that cannot be easily broken』
『The Sage's steadfast soul protects your spirit』
*
A lousy auditory hallucination rang out, the pain subsided...
And my hazy mind instantly cleared, vitality returning to my body.
"...It's a success."
I could feel the three broken Circles slowly recovering their functions. The gamble I had taken, just in case, had paid off.
『Some characteristics of Ruin Samael will be changed』
『Due to the resonance, you will manifest the Upper Element Darkness』
『Unique trait Assimilation will bloom』
『Your body will be specialized to assimilate with dark elemental attributes』
.
.
.
『〈Mind's Eye〉will be embodied』
I immediately rotated all three Circles in reverse.
A familiar sensation I hadn't felt in a long time.
A part of the power I had in my past life surged, clamoring to be released.
"..."
I lifted a small red rock in front of me.
Sizzle—
The red color of the rock's surface was gradually consumed by darkness. The shape of the rock remained the same, but I could subtly feel its weight decreasing.
Evidence that it was being destroyed from within.
Sizzle—
After a fleeting moment, the rock in my hand scattered into black smoke, returning to nothingness. As if it had never existed in the first place.
I slowly clenched and unclenched my fist, satisfied with the familiar sensation in my fingertips.
'Dark Lightning.'
The magic I loved to use when crushing demon heads in my past life.
Although its power was incomparably weaker than before, considering I was only at 3rd Circle, it was far beyond common sense.
Even in the past, expedition members who saw Dark Lightning for the first time often mistook it for high-level martial arts rather than magic.
"This time, in the normal direction."
I began to sense and accept natural mana again.
As the Circles rotated in the normal direction, the abundant atmospheric mana surged into the three Circles. I felt like more mana was flowing in, but I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination.
"A blade that slices through the wind, Wind Cutter."
Wind pressure swirled sharply in the form of a blade, extending in a fan shape towards the front. The sound of wind tearing through space followed fiercely.
Wheeeeeeee—!
It wasn't my imagination.
The mana rotating in the three Circles was completely saturated. Should I call this a blessing in disguise?
A smile crept onto my face.
A distinct fourth Circle was forming next to my heart.
...This is working.
"This is awesome!"
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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