N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
C 347
A brown-robed old wizard bowed to Derus Robert.
"It is an honor to serve the Sky Sword Saint."
"I appreciate it."
Derus nodded and turned his gaze to the semi-circular frame next to the old wizard.
'To make me ride a portal.'
He usually didn't leave his body to anyone. Because you had to entrust your body to a wizard to use a portal, he almost never used it unless it was really necessary.
He had made the journey to the Six Kings Assembly, using the excuse that he wanted to see the world with his own eyes and walk in it on his own feet, but he was furious at having to use a dimensional gateway in the end.
'You will regret being alive.'
He vowed to make sure that whoever killed Martio and Cossini, whether it was a creature from the underwater dungeon or a sudden third party, would neither live nor die.
"Sigh..."
Derus let out a short breath and looked at the old wizard.
"You may begin."
"Understood."
The old wizard nodded again and struck the ground with his staff.
With a thud, a brilliant, iridescent light rose from the semi-circular frame. As the light grew more intense, it spread in a fan shape, filling the entire frame and forming the shape of a door.
"This is the door leading to the house Robert. Please enter."
The old wizard smiled and stepped aside.
Derus nodded and walked into the dimensional gateway. He felt a sensation of floating in empty space, and a dazzling light covered his field of vision.
"Tsk."
Annoyed at having to entrust his body to someone else, he turned to look back. Regal had followed him and was standing behind.
"Are you alright?"
"No."
Derus frowned and clenched his fist.
"I'm genuinely angry after a long time."
When Number 9's breeding facility was destroyed, he was annoyed, but this was on a different level.
It was as infuriating as when Temas failed to devour the house Yonan and attacked Zieghart alone, resulting in his death.
*Because it was a long-prepared work.'
He had spent years preparing for this, gathering the treasures and creatures hidden beneath the underwater dungeon.
He had killed all the sea monsters around the dungeon, removed the massive rocks that blocked its entrance, and carefully opened it over several years to ensure it didn't collapse.
Now, all that preparation had been in vain, and he had lost the talents of Martio and Cossini.
'I won't let this slip through my fingers.'
Their deaths were irreversible. He had to make sure to take all the treasures and creatures from beneath the dungeon.
Woooong!
Suppressing his anger, he bit his lip as the light faded, revealing the semi-circular door just like when he had first entered.
"Sigh..."
Derus exhaled quietly and walked toward the door.
"Lord Derus! Welcome back!"
The house Robert's guards and magicians had lined up in front of the dimensional gateway, bowing respectfully.
Without acknowledging their greetings, Derus tossed aside his coat, leaped into the sky, and shot in the direction of the dungeon.
"Even if you're a god..."
As he kicked the sky and advanced, a blaze of anger flickered in Derus's eyes.
"It won't escape from my grasp."
* * *
Raon looked at a blue flower floating on a puddle and swallowed dryly.
"A blue flower?"
It had five ocean-blue petals that sparkled and a smooth stem that resembled the curve of the moon. Finally, it had six transparent leaves.
Fragile and delicate, yet beautiful.
"Could this be...?"
Sea Spirit Flower?
Sea Spirit Flower was a legendary elixir known as the soul of the sea, containing the concentrated power of the sea.
I never thought I would meet an elixir that only appears in legends and myths.
Yes, it is...
Wrath nodded vigorously, his eyes wide open.
It's Sea Spirit Flower. But how did it end up here?
He sounded bewildered.
"I don't know."
I didn't know either...
But despite the confusion, a smile crept across my face.
Are you crying?
"If you want me to cry, I can. I think it's possible now."
It didn't seem bad to cry in front of a rare elixir.
Ugh!
Wrath clenched his fists, trembling.
What in the world is this? Why does everything in the world conspire to give you elixirs? Is elixir like candy to you?
"You're being noisy."
Noisy? You haven't seen how I survived in the Demon Realm for centuries! If you knew, you'd shed tears of gratitude and offer your nourishment...
It had been a while since he had such a lively conversation. Pushing aside Wrath, he examined the Sea Spirit Flower closely.
"It's real."
The appearance and the pure energy emanating from Sea Spirit Flower matched the legends he had heard.
"However..."
Why did I sense the energy of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation in Sea Spirit Flower?
Although Sea Spirit Flower was said to possess the power of the sea, I felt a strangely familiar energy intertwined with it.
Taking a deep breath, he gently touched the leaves of Sea Spirit Flower.
Zing!
In an instant, the world around him flashed, and everything changed.
***
The scene unfolding before his eyes was like a picture he had seen when he first entered this dungeon.
A blond swordsman stood on one side, his back now familiar. He was Zieghart, the first Patriarch of house Zieghart, practicing the Ring of Fire.
On the opposite side stood a creature with white eyes and black eye sockets.
Similar to the being he had seen in the ancient cave, but it had a horn on its forehead.
The two of them glared at each other and moved. Their swords and knives extended simultaneously. Fiery flames erupted from the ancestral sword, and a dark, tainted light radiated from the creature's knife.
The clash of their terrifying powers turned hundreds of sea monsters into dust, and the underwater mountain split in half.
The massive hole in the underwater mountain was created by the collision of the clusters of aura that fell from the sky. This was the battle that created this very dungeon.
The energy emanating from the creature's knife froze the world. It unleashed the pressure of the heavens through the knife, crushing everything beneath it.
In the face of this overwhelming force, Zieghart first patriarch didn't back down. With a subtle smile, he traced the turbulent horizon with his Horizontal Blaze Sword.
Red and black clashed like they were devouring each other, evaporating the endless sea water.
The two monsters fought fiercely, whipping the sea into a tempest, striking each other with their swords and knives until the sun set and rose again.
The land was crushed and a huge cavity was created when the energy gathered by the Ancestor and the monster collided.
This was the place where Martio and Cossini had died and I had obtained the Haenaemukyeol. (This is the pain of MTL, every skill name is always changing) (Haenaemukyeol (해내무결) is a Korean word that does not have a direct translation in English. It can be roughly translated as "the perfection of the sea" or "the sea's flawlessness". It is a sword technique that is said to be able to control the power of the sea.)
The monster's energy increased once more. The black energy that was gathered enough to shake the entire sea surged forward like the breath of a demon that had descended from hell.
It was a sword strike that seemed to contain evil that could not be blocked by any swordsmanship.
A blue spark flew out of the Ancestor's sword stroke. The tiny flame spread out in a spiral, forming a long line.
The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation: Haenaemukyeol. The blue sea of flames collided with the giant darkness.
The surging blue flames spread out, but the monster held on to his giant black knife and held out.
As he screamed in agony, the black energy rose even thicker and began to cut through the blue flames.
The Ancestor did not lose his smile even at the sight. He turned the blade of his sword, muttering something to the monster.
At that moment, the blue flames turned gold. The auspicious light rose endlessly and engulfed the entire space.
The monster exploded his black energy in a desperate attempt, but the golden flames that the Ancestor raised not only erased the black energy, but also the monster in an instant.
The Ancestor lowered his sword and looked at the monster that had turned to ashes.
Closing his eyes and about to speak, someone appeared behind him. She was dressed in a black robe, so her face was not visible, but judging by her figure, she seemed like a female magician.
When she spoke, Ancestor stomped his foot. The floor crumpled, and the space where Sea Spirit Flower and ghost jellyfish met appeared.
The seawater on the floor remained, but instead of sea spirit flowers, there were jewel-like emeralds floating there. They looked like sea Spirit flowers seeds.
The seeds had sprouted thin shoots, as if they had expended their energy.
Ancestor knelt down and looked at the seeds. Instead of taking the sea spirit flower seeds, he placed a small spark into them and stood up.
The magician exclaimed in surprise, but Ancestor smiled, mumbled something, and then turned his head.
His gaze turned towards me. The moment our clear red eyes met, the entire field of view turned golden once again.
* * *
"Ugh..."
Raon touched the ground with trembling hands.
'These are the true skills of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'
He said to himself. It was on a different level than what he had sensed before. His heart was pounding so fast with excitement that it felt like it might burst.
'It feels like my swordsmanship has reached a higher level.'
It could be just his imagination, but it seemed like his swordsmanship had indeed improved.
[Observed the perfect <Haenaemukyeol>.]
[The level of all swordsmanship increases.]
[<Ring of Fire>'s level increases.]
[All stats increase by 5 points.]
As he was tilting his head, messages appeared.
"Huh?"
It wasn't just his imagination, was it?
It seemed that his increased strength was not a delusion. It felt like his swordsmanship had genuinely reached a higher level.
"What is this again...?"
Wrath seemed bewildered, his mouth wide open.
Why are you giving rewards all of a sudden! A little while ago, your body was empty, this zombie-like guy!
He couldn't understand the situation and shook his head wildly.
"Well..."
Raon cleared his throat briefly.
'I can't explain it.'
He couldn't say that he had just met his ancestor and came back from there, as it would sound crazy.
Even if you give rewards, you should give them sensibly! Why are you suddenly giving rewards?
Wrath couldn't comprehend the situation and pounded the ground, venting his frustration.
"First of all, let's get out of here …"
You took my elixir and my stats! I can't live like this!
Wrath blocked the way to the sea spirit flower and puffed up his body. He resembled a giant cotton candy received from a kind uncle who wanted to go home from work.
It wasn't your elixir to begin with.
Even if he said that, it didn't seem like it would get through to him. Raon found the only word that might work.
"If you move quickly, you can go outside and eat something delicious. I said I'd buy you whatever you want..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Wrath lowered his hand, and then he perched on Raon's shoulder.
What are you doing? Aren't you going to pick the flowers?
"Ugh..."
Exhausting. Truly exhausting.
Raon sighed and approached the sea spirit flower. As he looked at the flower, the image of Zieghart's ancestor that he had seen earlier came to mind.
'The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation…'
Now he understood why he could sense the aura of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation within the flower. It was because ancestor had put all his strength into making it bloom.
Raon smiled.
He was finally one step closer to his goal.
"He's an extraordinary person."
He could even grow the seeds of the sea spirit flower and leave them untouched, knowing they could become potent elixirs. He was far from ordinary.
Raon carefully placed the sea spirit flower leaves into a pocket dimension and, just to be safe, stashed the ghost jellyfish's remains in another space.
"Now, it's time to bring this place down."
To turn this dungeon into a complete crime, he had to make it collapse.
Woooaah!
Raon raised the Heavenly Drive with determination, following the exquisite swordsmanship of the first Patriarch (ancestor) that had melted the giant monster. He swung the Heave Heavenly Drive.
Shiiiiing!
The blade emitted a vibrant crimson flame, creating a magnificent sea of fire.
Unlike azure or golden, the most striking aspect was the vivid crimson that enveloped the entire space.
Kwaaaaang!
The evolved Flame Serpent pierced through the walls and ceiling, causing a massive rift throughout the entire dungeon.
The ground and ceiling began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
"It's done."
Having shattered the very framework maintaining the dungeon, it wouldn't be long before it crumbled completely.
Raon stashed the Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem in his pocket dimension and donned a set of azure attire.
Before entering the puddle of water, he recalled the ancestor who had transferred his energy to the sea spirit flower.
'Thank you.'
He expressed his gratitude to him, who had provided him with the swordsmanship and the sea spirit flower, and bowed his head.
Who are you thanking right now?
"If you knew, you'd think I'm crazy."
Raon chuckled and waved his hand. If Wrath had witnessed that scene, he would probably remember it vividly and curse, bringing a smile to Raon's face.
Raon looked up at the crumbling ceiling. The only escape route was the puddle where the sea spirit flower had bloomed.
Pwaaaaah!
The water here wasn't stagnant like in a rotten pool. It carried a refreshing sea scent.
"I don't have much time."
The ancestor would not have thought that he would break the dungeon and leave, so he had to get out of here as quickly as possible before it all collapsed.
He resonated with the Ring of Fire just as he would in combat, suppressing all presence and aura.
Wooaaah!
Using Glacier, he harmonized his energy with that of the sea.
The sea might seem still, but it was always the source of life in motion. Calmly opening his senses, he felt the flow of the currents.
"I should go left."
The left side was closer than the right. Using the underwater breathing technique, he swam following the currents caressing his skin.
Inside the dark passage, a faint light filtered through. As the light continued, a bright sunlight filled his vision.
"It's outside!"
Raon pushed his waist. Increasing his speed, he completely left the dark passage.
He was outside. His sight was filled with the vast expanse of the sea.
"It's quite far."
The passage had been quite long, so he was far from the underwater dungeon where the dungeon was located.
Moreover, it wasn't on land; it was toward the sea, so it would take a while to get to the surface.
Kugugugugugugug!
At the sound of a majestic noise, when he looked back, the enormous underwater dungeon in the distance began to collapse and sink into the deep sea.
Raon's eyes darkened as he watched the scene.
'The sea is silent.'
Now, his reason for coming here and who Martio and Cossini had died for were entirely buried. A sense of relief washed over him; everything was over.
"This is assassination."
Assassination? Aaaassassination?
Wrath tilted his head in a bewildered manner.
Do you not understand the word 'assassination'? Showing your face and beating everyone up isn't assassination!
"Assassination is when there are no witnesses," Raon replied with a smirk. (Agreed)
You're talking nonsense.
Wrath retorted, shaking his head.
Raon chuckled and extended his hand.
'Then let's go.'
Stop.
Just as Raon was about to move as quickly as possible before Derus arrived, Wrath's shout rang out.
For some reason, Raon felt like he knew why and immediately held his breath.
"Could it be..."
He's here.
After a few breathless moments, a bone-chilling presence loomed from the upper left, causing his skin to crawl.
His heart tightened, and he involuntarily stopped swimming, his limbs frozen.
Raon couldn't even look up, and he clenched his teeth tightly.
"It's him!"
Derus Robert. That madman was hovering in the sky above.
