READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 18
The warrior had an appearance that could be described as the archetype of a well-trained fighter. His arms were adorned with well-defined muscles and tendons, and he wielded a wooden sword that exuded the fragrance of yuzu. However, there was something odd about his looks, suggesting he differed slightly from a typical Korean.
“Kr-huh. Did you cross over by boat? Are you mixed with blood?”
The man held the wooden sword firmly with both hands in response to Jinseong’s question, his eyes glaring at Jinseong. A bluish light was slowly coalescing around the wooden sword.
“Oh! It’s not Qi but Mana, eh?”
This was not the natural force belonging to the colorless realm of Qi but rather the ferocious energy known as Mana. Unlike Qi, which has limited training efficiency, Mana possesses the advantage of absorbing power from others to grow stronger. It was also the primary energy source in magic that combined with Taboo elements.
Jinseong’s eyes sparkled with interest as the warrior utilized his magic-related power. The man’s brief flinch led him to bite his lips until they bled.
“You filthy sorcerer!”
His manner of speaking was vastly different from that of a Korean, blending a Japanese accent into his awkward Korean, filled with expressions seldom used in Korea.
“Kr-huh. A sorcerer, you say?”
The warrior shouted, veins rising on his neck.
“What on earth caused you to do something like this!”
His face, filled with a mix of sorrow and rage, reflected the deep sense of injustice he felt. Yet, Jinseong rebutted him instead.
“Is that really important?”
The reasons for assaults, whether attacking or being attacked, seemed trivial.
Assaults could occur without reason, and one could also carry them out despite having none. Just like bugs drawn to a campfire’s light, being a nuisance was irritating but not significant.
“More than that, I’m more interested in your Mana. Do you utilize Mana in your swordsmanship? Is there a magical element involved in your martial arts?”
Is there an enhancement of Mana through Taboo?
What is the efficiency of energy absorption through Mana?
Is there a distinction between Mana manifested through martial arts and magic? If the difference is negligible, can they coexist using Mana as the energy source?
Jinseong continued to bombard the warrior, who was barely holding himself up.
*Crack.*
As he asked his questions, he gradually began to straighten his back.
His bent legs straightened into a line. The pale skin, as white as plaster, began to show signs of life.
Cracks formed in the gleaming armor like a net.
The hunched back, protruding like a lump, gradually retracted.
And finally, when he transformed from a hunchback into an ordinary person, Jinseong posed his last question.
“Do you hold any value as a hostage or as a bargaining chip?”
The warrior’s face twisted at that question, spatting two words through gritted teeth.
“Die, Chae!”
Zziing!
The Mana contained within the wooden sword vibrated, resonating with the warrior’s emotions, expressing intent to kill. The warrior lunged forward with heavy strides towards Jinseong.
“Kiiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!”
He raised his wooden sword high, as if announcing his intention to strike, approaching with astonishing speed like a full sprint contrasting with a monstrous roar.
Jinseong prepared to use teleportation as he watched the warrior charging towards him to cut him in half.
“Hmm.”
He employed teleportation.
* * *
The warrior is strong.
A martial artist who has reached a high level could slice through tanks with an ordinary sword and could shatter powerful barriers conjured by wizards as easily as glass. Not to mention, the rigorously trained reaction time and muscles allowed them to move in split seconds, releasing explosive strength in shorts bursts. Additionally, a well-trained body could withstand lengthy battles without any issue, truly justifying the title of “battle specialist.”
Yes.
The warrior is strong.
However, only in close combat.
“There’s no more foolish act than colliding your weakness against the opponent’s strength.”
Warriors excel in close combat while shamans thrive at range.
“Like attracts like. The Cat’s Eye Stone resembles a cat’s eye; thus, they will be alike.”
Thus, Jinseong wisely aimed to strike the opponent’s weakness with his strength.
There’s nothing more entertaining than a fight where I hit and the opponent can’t retaliate.
He utilized magic to connect the Cat’s Eye Stone to the vision of a headless cat rolling around.
“Where are you, cowardly sorcerer? Can’t you show yourself?”
As he cast his spell, he heard the warrior’s loud call in the distance while with a very low viewpoint, he saw the scenery of the hallway from earlier.
A headless corpse lay on the floor, the warrior standing there, swaying and bleeding from the mouth, holding his wooden sword and glowing, doubtlessly convinced that Jinseong had hidden himself somewhere, he remained on high alert, bellowing loudly.
On the opposite side of the warrior stood a muscular man, wearing a vacant expression as if his soul had been taken, and upon seeing him, Jinseong began his invocation.
“The roots and stems are connected from the start, and even if seeds are sown, that lineage remains a single thread. No matter how separated, the karma tightly binds us.”
As the invocation surged, the magic began to transcend space.
The ashes of the hair that had previously embedded in the man’s abdomen reshaped into a single thread, merging with the Toxoplasma gondii inside the man, wriggling like a snake or a long worm, swimming across the surface of his skin.
The sight was reminiscent of a snake formed of shadows wriggling from the skin, chilling anyone who witnessed it, yet sadly, the only onlooker was Jinseong.
The man was entranced by the illusions created by the Toxoplasma gondii, and the warrior was too focused on the man across the hallway to notice Jinseong.
In that strange indifference, the shadow snake crawled up to the man’s face.
Jinseong looked on, asking,
“O fool, foolish one. Have you come to realize and believe in the truth?”
Even without sound reaching him, a single question was conveyed through the worm embedded in the man’s body.
The shadow snake forced the man’s mouth to move against his will, forming four words.
“I believe.”
With those words, the spell placed on the man erupted.
* * *
Sweat.
Tiny white beads formed on the man’s sweat droplets.
What seemed like the salt formed from drying sweat appeared all over his body, increasing in size until, with sounds undetectable by the human ear, they split and burst, revealing countless insects.
Winged creatures.
They resembled mayflies at first glance, but they were much smaller and produced a piercing sound with every flutter of their wings, all of them flying up to the ceiling of the hallway in unison, creating a black fog.
“From sweat, insects shall be born.”
As he activated the long-prepared dormant spell, Jinseong’s life force began to drain away. The creation of the insects depleted his vitality. However, since the magic only created insects, it merely resulted in Jinseong’s skin becoming rough and his hair wild.
Creating mere insects.
Yet, at times, those insects could be extremely effective.
For example, if left alone, if the enemy would die, there would be no more efficient method than letting swarms of insects ease the passing of time.
Moreover, it could force the opponent into a hellish dilemma.
By merely serving as a delay, he could enchant the swarm to give them lethal power.
“If I had preemptively obtained a parasite like malaria, that would have been icing on the cake.”
Unfortunately, he couldn’t bestow lethality just yet. To apply the spells granting lethality he desired, he would need materials that could only be found in distant lands.
Thus, Jinseong resolved to subdue the warrior by other means.
“Be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth.”
As Jinseong recited his incantation, the white powder erupted from the headless cat’s remains, flooding the hallway, naturally drifting into the warrior’s respiratory tract and beginning to coat his lungs in white.
The warrior panicked as the hallway turned white, attempting to escape outside, but the insect swarm disrupted him, darting into his eyes, nose, and mouth, blinding him and concealing the walls and doors of the hallway.
Eventually, the warrior fell to his knees.
“You’re not a strong warrior at all. Tsk, tsk, a true warrior could withstand all kinds of illness and magic without a hitch for three days and nights.”
Jinseong silently observed that scene through the cat’s eye, as the warrior struggled to breathe properly due to the white mold coating his lungs.
Gasping for air.
His muscles twitching, his eyes rolling back.
Right until the moment he collapsed on the floor and lost consciousness.
He kept watching.
He kept watching.