章節 18: Chapter 177
Jin intentionally didn't use Bradamante for this moment.
'If I used my blade from the start, her battle style would have been drastically more defensive.'
In that case, fighting Valeria would have been more difficult. Her defensive stance was essentially impenetrable.
Initially, he threw away his sword to 'respect' their battle. However, after engaging in battle, he concluded that he made a wise decision.
He merely obeyed what he learned from his master: 'Do whatever it takes to trick and lower the enemy's guard.' That would truly be showing admiration to Valeria and her teachings.
The battle had reached its final moments.
"Erk!"
Valeria frantically reinforced her barrier. She wasn't absolutely clueless about Jin's hidden tricks. However, she never would have imagined it to be a melee weapon instead of magic.
Jin planned to go all out from the start. He lied about fighting her only with his magic to show his respect.
That so-called respect. She knew damn well of the vehement admiration.
Valeria gasped the moment Jin threw the dagger.
If Jin played his trump cards, his swordsmanship, and his spiritual energy earlier… When the chains of fire grasped his ankle, when Tess died to the lightning spear, when he confronted the flurry of lightning spears…
He had all those opportunities. Yet he waited all this time, until now.
Valeria didn't dare to blink. With her widened eyes, she stared at the black dagger flying towards her. It had already reached her barrier.
Crash!
Like thin ice breaking apart, the barrier shattered. As soon as the dagger-point touched it, fragments flew everywhere. It didn't even alter trajectories.
The same fate befell the staff that was swung on reflex. She was no warrior; she was a magician. She didn't have the physical capabilities to deflect the projectile.
Instead, the lightning spear charged towards Jin.
A spear and a dagger.
Regardless of which would hit its respective target first, Jin already guaranteed his victory. While the dagger aimed straight for Valeria's throat, the spear did not aim for his.
One last shot. Valeria was already taking her last breath.
And the lightning spear missed Jin completely.
Crack!
The dagger broke through her collarbone.
From the impact, Valeria flew and tumbled backwards. Blood flew in an arc through the air.
The two fell to the ground, right next to each other.
The mana in her staff quickly extinguished, the lighting spears evaporating into thin air.
They vomited blood. Neither of them could stand. Jin's legs had been pierced by the lightning spears, and Valeria struggled to even vomit the blood creeping up her throat.
"...Your excessive trust is your downfall. I'm sure that I mentioned that I would beat you with your own tactics."
"Is that why… you didn't use your sword?"
"I know you more than you think. If I didn't take lethal damage, you would have never believed me."
Valeria breathed heavily.
"Jin."
He didn't turn his head.
Even if she were a mirage, he felt an ache in his chest, just like when he killed his own brothers.
He refused to continue the conversation. He wanted to ask why it had to end this way, but he held back his tears.
Jin merely fought an enemy and won.
That was Valeria's way.
She smiled.
"You've gotten stronger. By a lot."
Her body slowly disintegrated into dust and flew away into the horizon.
The holes in Jin's thighs slowly sealed up. His ripped earlobe also recovered, and his charred ankle regained its true color. As if nothing had happened.
Jin stared into the sky.
He felt molten lava broiling within him, but he had to keep on going.
"Phew."
Jin stood up and picked up Bradamante. The final mirage awaited him.
* * *
The third mirage came that night.
He swore it was midnight, but the flaming sun lingered atop the horizon. A midnight sun.
Beneath the surprisingly bright night sky, far away, stood a man with the sun to his back. His sword was stuck into the sand. Two of his hands were on the pommel of the sword.
'Father?'
Jin first thought it was Cyron Runcandel.
No one other than him could create such pressure throughout the entire desert.
It felt like the field of sand was a dark forest. He felt as if he would die immediately if he wasn't cautious.
Jin then stopped dead in his tracks, the pressure constricting his body.
If the sun fell on top of Temar, he could split in half.
'No, that's not Father…'
He couldn't see the man's face at that distance, but he knew who the man was after some thought. A thousand years had passed since his death. Although Jin had never seen his face, he recognized him.
'Temar Runcandel.'
The Runcandel Clan's first patriarch. The man, the myth, the legend.
It had to be him.
'So this is the last test.'
An absurdly strong opponent.
Although he just stood there, Jin felt his entire body soak with sweat. If someone could cut the entire desert in half with one swing, the only person who could do such a feat would be Temar.
Jin could feel the insane strength even from a distance. He felt like he would be immediately decapitated if he made one wrong move.
'And he really isn't a god, but a human.'
Compared to the Tona Twins and Valeria, Temar wasn't someone who existed in Jin's memories. He conjured Solderet's ability in order to give himself a physical form, returning from the dead.
And yet, he managed to suffocate Jin from afar.
Jin had to continue. Through the millions of unseen blades.
'My foot…'
It wouldn't move.
It wasn't because of the certainty of death or the fear of being attacked the moment he moved.
He couldn't move due to Temar's radiating energy. Jin's body didn't listen to him at all.
'What do you want me to do? I can't even move because of you.'
Temar said nothing. He just stood like a mountain and looked down upon Jin.
He wouldn't be able to pass the final test at all. He stood as if his feet were nailed to the ground. His body wouldn't even move forward or backward. It was driving him crazy.
Not even his vocal cords dared to vibrate. He felt as if he were a rock that sunk at the bottom of the sea.
'Wait… this is a trial.'
Jin remembered something.
Trial.
Everything he experienced in this desert was a trial. He slowly went through his experiences the past few weeks.
The first hallucination was the Tona Twins. The second was Valeria.
They all had something in common.
'If I didn't fight, I wouldn't advance. If I didn't have the gumption, there was no way to proceed.'
When swinging the sword, there was something more important than swordsmanship.
The desire to swing. The belief. The strong will to cut through anything.
Without it, there was no reason to wield the blade in the first place.
Just as Luna—with her 10-star swordsmanship—couldn't kill Taimyun, Jin couldn't finish off Dante.
That wasn't because either of them were weak, but because they were affected by emotion. They didn't have enough will to swing the blade.
If Jin hesitated when slaughtering the mirages of his own brothers, he would have never made it past the first trial.
The same applied for the second trial with Valeria.
'Temar Runcandel, I will walk towards you.'
With only that much courage, he didn't stand a chance against this final challenge.
'I will defeat you. I can defeat you. Even if you can cut the sun in half, I will defeat you. I will slice him in half.'
Repeating those words in his head like a mantra, Jin convinced his mind and body to move forward. His legs that were once rooted to the ground began to lift.
The best warriors should be able to do anything with will. Jin was one of them.
However, he needed something much more than just that.
"Shit…!"
The moment he lifted his foot, his knees forced to bend. As if a cold knife was shoved deep into his leg, a shocking pain coursed through him. Not a single drop of blood was shed, but his fear ripped him apart.
If controlling one's will was the qualification for any great warrior, then the strength of that will was what made a legendary fighter. This was what differentiated between warriors who were famous and those who were legends.
There existed those who never held a sword but were the epitome of pure tenacity, and there were those who wielded a sword but couldn't take a single life.
To pass the final trial, Jin needed the strongest will that he had ever mustered. An eternal fire that would never extinguish.
'If I didn't have that urge, then this life wouldn't be any different, Temar!'
Crack!
While gritting his teeth, he broke his own molar. Struggling to stand, Jin spat out the broken tooth, and then took another step. Temar smiled.
At that point, Jin's vision was black. Beneath the blue sky and midnight sun in the great desert, he walked alone in the darkness.
Fwooooooom…!
A dark smoke appeared beside Temar. The black dragon who had been hiding in the desert, Misha, stood next to him.
"Temar, did you just… smile? Are you okay?"
She spoke as if Temar had never smiled in his entire life. The ancient king didn't answer. Misha reached for Temar's shoulder.
"Ah…!"
Her hand passed right through Temar.
Thump.
Misha lost balance and fell to the ground. She stared into the sand and scoffed in disappointment.
'Was I mistaken? No, he definitely grinned.'
As for her, it had been a thousand years since she saw a loved one smile.
Misha turned her head to Jin.
The boy who made Temar smile was only dozens of steps in front of the mirage. She quickly shook off the wetness in her eyes.
章節 19: Chapter 178
It felt like walking to the stars.
Jin knew he was walking forward, but he didn't feel like he was getting any closer. Just as he would never reach the stars, he felt as if he would never reach Temar.
He painfully drew Bradamante, hands trembling.
He struggled to even gasp for each breath.
Every time a breath of hot air traveled through his throat, it felt as if he were swallowing a bundle of knives.
'Cut. I will cut him.'
In his blank mind, it was those words that echoed.
Not letting his will bend in any situation, he swung his sword ten thousand times; the first swing the same as the last.
To someone who was almost deemed to be a strong warrior, what else would be better? Despite the torture, Jin was feeling more and more accomplished after each step.
'Even if I can't see it, I'm advancing.'
He didn't feel like he was getting closer, yet he knew it was so.
No one knew how long he walked.
Slowly, his pitch-black vision slowly regained its colors.
In his hazy vision, Temar's silhouette was ever so close. Beside him was a woman whose presence Jin could detect.
'Who is that?'
He didn't even dare to ask about her presence.
More specifically, he couldn't.
Filled with the thought to defeat Temar, Jin had no room for any other thought to take place. The person next to Temar was not at all important. Paying her any mind could waver his focus and will.
Temar smiled again.
Clenching her fists, Misha intently watched as Jin struggled to walk through flat sand. She couldn't see his smile.
'He's a child full of surprises… I would have never thought he would make it this far, Master Solderet.'
The goal of the third trial matched Jin's expectation.
To have the will to defeat anyone, no matter who he met. To not lose a glimmer of hope even when met with someone like Temar Runcandel.
However, walking all the way to Temar's feet was never part of the trial.
This place was not built only for Jin Runcandel, but also for all Runcandel magic swordsmen who wielded spiritual energy.
Because of the humiliating oath between the Runcandel Clan and Zipfel Clan, a new successor appeared a thousand years after Temar's death.
Any Runcandel magic swordsman had to go through this place.
If the contract weren't signed, at least ten others would have sought this land. However, amongst them, how many would make progress like Jin did? With a body that hadn't reached twenty years of age, no less.
'Besides Cyron Runcandel, no one would compare. No, not even he would make it this far…'
Not even a hundred steps remained between Temar and Jin.
An incomprehensible amount of mental strength would have been depleted just for this task. However, it seemed like Jin's steps were getting quicker.
If the pressure created by Temar was fire, then time was a hammer. That fire and time constantly beat Jin; the closer he got to Temar, Jin was getting sharper.
He was becoming a blade.
And ultimately, the sword reached Temar.
Bradamante no longer shook. The midnight sun soaked the blade sky blue.
One more step and a swing, and Temar would be finished.
'No!'
Jin's eyes widened.
As soon as he was ready, Temar disappeared. He came all this way to swing his sword, yet the mirage just disappeared.
Those who pursued an oasis just to find a mirage would never face as much disappointment as Jin had.
"Temar!"
He screamed into the empty desert. In his splitting voice was a genuine shout.
"Temar! Where did you flee, Temar?!"
Jin swung his sword in the air as he screamed his ancestor's name.
Yet Temar didn't return.
The man who once stood in the distance, emitting immense pressure, no longer existed.
"Damn it!"
The thousands of strings that kept Jin together—the will that kept his body intact—snapped all at once.
Disappointment filled that void. A sense of loss swallowed him whole.
Jin then swung his sword five times.
'The woman! That woman next to Temar might know something!'
Recalling Misha's presence, Jin glanced around. However, she had already fled to her hiding spot beyond the Great Desert's barrier. From Jin's perspective, she was just a mirage on a sandy hill.
"Ha…!"
Thud!
Jin fell on his knees. He couldn't comprehend it. To kill Temar, he slaughtered his brothers and slayed the master he loved. It would have been the same even if it weren't the Tona Twins and Valeria. Murakan, Gilly, Luna, Yona, Kashimir, Enya, Alisa. No matter who it was, he would face the same—or even greater—internal conflict.
Swallowing his emotions, he finally arrived at the finish line.
'And it was an empty conclusion.'
Along with a void in his heart, rage emerged.
However, he couldn't even throw a tantrum at the sandy winds around him. He couldn't wait for Temar to reappear either. Even if he waited, he probably wouldn't return. Compared to any other moment, his gut had a stronger premonition than ever.
Jin calmed himself down and looked around.
To achieve internal tranquility, he needed a lot of time.
'Hilarious. I came all the way here, preparing myself for the gates of death. Now that he's gone, I just remember that I no longer have any water or food…'
By the time he met Valeria, the second mirage, his supplies bottomed out. The short regeneration after his fight was all he had left.
However, just because Temar was gone didn't mean he was going to stop. Though, he no longer had the will to advance any more.
It would have been better if he never met Temar.
—When the third mirage ends, release your spiritual energy. Then, the Illustrious Legend Tribe will appear.
He decided to cast Spiritual Energy Release, just as Murakan instructed. Either way, all of the trials had finished, and he thought it was the time to meet the Illustrious Legend Tribe.
Whooooosh…
Jin emitted black spiritual energy. He didn't notice it, but his spiritual energy had become much stronger and darker. His accomplishments after the third trial.
Sitting in the sand for a while, Jin continued to emit the dark smoke.
Yet the Illustrious Legend Tribe was nowhere to be seen.
'The three mirages ended, though…?'
Had Murakan been mistaken? Or did the land of inheritance for the Shadow Blade not exist in the first place?
The anxiety hit him. He released as much spiritual energy as he could, but no one approached.
The night arrived.
The sun continued to burn in the sky, oozing a disgusting heat wave. Jin blankly stared into the empty desert.
"HAHAHA!"
He howled in laughter. If he didn't let out something at the top of his lungs, he would have never been able to alleviate the suffocation in his chest.
"These dogs.Yeah, I'll fucking do it. Uh-huh. Let's see who comes out on top."
He didn't even know who he was talking to at this point.
Jin decided to walk. Even if he didn't reach the land of inheritance for the Shadow Blade, he couldn't let his life end in this godforsaken desert.
The moment his right foot left the sand, he heard a voice.
"You pass."
Jin stopped in his tracks and looked around.
A beastman he had never seen before stood a distance away. He looked almost exactly like a human, save for his two hands covered in black fur, the fist-sized gemstone stuck in his chest, and the tail.
A Illustrious Legend Tribesman.
Jin blinked and rubbed his eyes. Maybe his eyes were too dry. Standing two meters tall, the beastman blocked the sun. Expressionless.
Jin didn't even want to know where the beast appeared from. He was used to the desert being full of surprises.
"If you had only sat, complained, and given up or just asked the gods to save you, it would have been over for you."
"What?"
"After the third mirage disappeared, you thought the test was over. Well, in Solderet's standards, it is."
"Yeah, so you're telling me… that the test was over a while ago. When the third mirage disappeared."
The beastman shrugged and nodded.
"Basically. However, that's not enough for our standards. If you're not a warrior who doesn't lose your spirit until the end, you don't deserve to be taught what we teach. For that reason, you pass."
Shiiiing!
A fire sparked within Jin's eyes as he drew Bradamante. He immediately charged.
Clang!
The beastman effortlessly flicked the blade away and smiled.
"Why are you angered, Solderet's thousand-year contractor? Do you want to fight?"
Jin didn't continue his onslaught. He sheathed Bradamante. Compared to a moment ago, where he was filled with rage and bloodthirst, he looked rather calm.
"No. Simply put, you guys have been toying with me this entire time. I needed to get some rage out of myself."
"Yeah? You stopped not because you don't stand a chance against me?"
Jin burst into laughter.
"Do I look scared to you? I will fight you if you want me to."
The beastman found Jin very interesting. He stared down at the child without a word.
Then, he smiled.
"I like you a lot. You differ from all of the other humans that I've met. Usually, humans pissed their pants when meeting us."
"You only chose weaklings to fight."
"Hahaha! Who knows. You could take that however you want. Back then, we were undefeatable."
The beastman saw Jin speechless, so he lightly patted Jin's shoulders.
"I'm Tantel. What is your name, child of Solderet?"
"Jin Runcandel."
"Alright, Jin Runcandel. I'll give you one piece of advice. I'm on the tolerant side, so I can take your disrespectful attitude as cute outbursts. But be careful when you meet the Brethren of the Battle Temple."
"Battle Temple?"
"Just as the name goes, brothers who are worshipped in the Halls of Battle Gods. Crazy strong. Anyway, your current demeanor would earn them a valid reason for an extra meal. They don't like you as much as they do Solderet."
Tantel swung his sword in the air towards the sky. A massive dimensional portal opened, and the forgotten civilization of the Illustrious Legends emerged.
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