Episode 237: Life or Death (4)
'I really should seriously consider Awakening. I would lose a lot of my lifespan, but still.'
Thanks to his contract with the Eye of Calamity's divine throne, Luca was able to utilize 'Awakening,' which consists of two stages. It involves
sacrificing one's lifespan to transform into a form one or two stages stronger than his current one.
These are referred to as Awakening and Great Awakening, respectively.
There is only one reason why he does not use Awakening, despite being able to transform into a being with explosive power:
while the duration is not very long, it requires the expenditure of his precious lifespan.
Therefore, to Luca, Awakening and Great Awakening were considered means to be used in desperate crises.
If he were to overuse them just because things got a little dangerous, he might die from losing his lifespan rather than fighting.
Although he would rarely need to use them.
He thought they were useful cards depending on how the battle with the Upper Ranks unfolded.
After all, Luca is a Predator, and if he kills an Upper Rank, he can devour all of his constellations.
Judging solely by the Upper Rank’s abilities just observed, it was obvious that he had contracted with a top-tier Constellation.
Furthermore, since the Storm Throne was also under contract with the Upper Rank, he could seize that contract as well.
In that case, even if he lost a little lifespan for the Awakening and Great Awakening, it would still be a profitable deal.
The reason Luca had a trump card while admiring the Upper Rank’s skills was precisely because of the Awakening.
His thinking was that if push came to shove, he could simply enter the Awakening state.
Just then.
*Swoosh.*
As the Upper Rank assumed a stance as if to activate an updraft, Luca grinned and shielded himself.
Although he had missed crucial counterattack opportunities a few times before because that skill disrupted his concentration,
he had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
He was not foolish enough to fall for the same repertoire. He was confident that he was wiser than anyone.
But then.
*Boom!*
“Cough!”
Caught in a completely unexpected shift, Luca let out a rough breath and hunched over, his body crumpling.
It was the Upper Rank’s downdraft.
A skill had exploded, producing a completely different result despite the identical preparatory motion.
Boom! Crash!
“Cough!”
It felt as if a giant boulder was crushing him from above, leaving him no way to withstand the physical impact.
Luca let out a metallic grunt and barely managed to stand up after nearly collapsing.
Psssss!
At the same time, he utilized his acceleration magic to its fullest extent, striving to move away from his original position.
Judging by the Upper Moon’s attack patterns so far, it would strike if he exposed even the slightest opening.
Unless he deployed a shield or showed a move to evade in advance, it would relentlessly target that vulnerability.
With the presence of learned fear and pressure, Luca would no longer let his guard down.
'How can anyone call that guy a swordsman player? He’s just a hybrid wielding a sword. The more I think of him as a swordsman, the more I get drawn into his pace.'
Luca thought as he wiped the cold sweat trickling down his forehead without even realizing it.
Thinking back to when I first faced Sanghyeon, it was a truly humiliating and humiliating sight.
Nevertheless, I believed it was right to face reality. That was the only way to win.
[Kill him without fail. If we let him live, he will be a constant obstacle to us. Kill him by any means necessary.]
The Eye of Calamity, who had been watching all along, seemed to have recognized Sanghyeon's difficult nature and emphasized the point once more.
Perhaps that was why
Luca’s mindset changed; he had previously fought by establishing a stable situation rather than taking risks.
Up until now, Sanghyeon had been displaying audacious attacks, acting as if there were no tomorrow.
Consequently, he often exposed his vulnerabilities, but because his momentum was so strong, Luca was unable to exploit them.
Then,
what would Sanghyeon’s reaction be if he were to attack aggressively? He might be taken aback by a surprising turn of events.
Offense is the best defense.
Having completely shifted his thinking, Luca instantly used his Teleport skill.
While similar in form to Blink, a short-distance movement, it offered much greater stability.
Pow!
Luka appeared right in front of Upper Rank. It was a space where he would be engulfed by the force just from casting a skill.
However, there was a problem. The moment
"Iljin Gale"
Luka vanished from sight, Upper Rank, sensing his intention, had already countered with a skill.
Having entered a berserk state with Over Psychedelic, Upper Rank's senses were more acute than ever.
Therefore, he recognized that Luka was attempting to approach him merely by his form becoming blurry.
That moment did not pass quickly; it felt as slow as a video.
Consequently, he had a 'relative' amount of time to make a judgment and react.
Kugagaga!
“Damn it!”
Without even a moment to attack, Luca, caught in Sanghyeon’s Gale, frantically deployed a shield.
Fortunately, he managed to prevent his body from being completely battered by the blast.
The problem was that, while wrapped in the shield, he was exposed to the Gale’s knockback and pushed far back.
It was inevitable.
The sight of being tossed far behind Sanghyeon like a piece of luggage was pure humiliation.
His already stifled stomach felt increasingly clogged.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since the battle began, Luca still hadn’t figured out Sanghyeon’s skills.
He had only recognized the skills Sanghyeon had shown, but was unaware of the existence of the ones not being displayed.
Most players don’t have many skills, so they can usually figure things out after a few exchanges.
However, since Sanghyeon kept pouring out skills like a general store, it was impossible to gauge his full power.
It intervened in both the unconscious and conscious, causing Luca to hesitate and become cautious. It
was the same just now.
He had been convinced that he could deliver a significant blow if he suddenly engaged Sanghyeon.
But hadn't the "Sudden Gale" skill come out immediately? It was a knockback-type skill Luca hadn't anticipated.
"This sucks."
It was the roughest word, but precisely because of that, it was the most appropriate expression of emotion. That was Luca's state of mind at the moment.
Should he use his Awakening skill without further hesitation? Should he sacrifice his precious lifespan to deal with this guy?
His mind became a mess.
* * *
Meanwhile,
the "Goddess of Fortune," having returned to the Dimensional Order, was able to meet the God of Storms immediately.
The God of Storms had been waiting for her for quite some time.
Rather, he hadn't seen her because she had been away from the Dimensional Order for "possession."
According to him,
he initially had no idea what kind of problem had arisen within the Dimensional Order.
This was understandable, as the late-blooming, model student Constellation was located on the outskirts of the Dimensional Order, so there was no way to convey news to this side.
This was because the Goddess of Fortune, possessing a human body, had no contact with any other Constellations except for the Model Student.
Therefore, the God of Storms failing to perceive the grave situation within the Dimensional Realm was not mere bystander duty. It was
a situation where not knowing was entirely natural.
That is why the Goddess of Fortune sought out the God of Storms to explain the situation and ask for help.
However, a divine throne is a divine throne.
Upon seeing Upper Rank suddenly and unexpectedly fighting with Luca, he felt that something was amiss.
To find the reason, he sought out her, the Constellation closest to Upper Rank, but her whereabouts were unknown. He
said that from that moment on, he instinctively sensed that the situation was rapidly escalating from an unknown source.
That is why he waited for her return, and now, immediately upon her return, they were able to speak.
Considering the vast scale of the Dimensional Realm, the God of Storms had effectively saved a significant amount of time.
She explained the whole story.
There was nothing complicated to explain.
The situation the Model Student Constellation was facing,
and the current landscape. The
mastermind manipulating the entire situation from behind the scenes, as well as facts unknown to the Constellations.
As he laid them out in order, the brilliant God of Storms accurately grasped the true nature of the situation.
He said,
“Let’s approach this with the utmost caution for now.”
“Yes, Lord of the Divine Seat. I agree. If we approach this emotionally, it will lead to catastrophe for everyone.”
“In the Dimensional Order, there are just as many evil-aligned constellations as there are good-aligned ones. If we target the Eye of Calamity without reason, the evil-aligned constellations might rebel. It is the perfect situation for them to misunderstand that we are trying to drain their power.”
“That is correct.”
“If bloodshed occurs, the problem will naturally not be resolved. The balance of good and evil will collapse, and a large number of constellations and divine seats could perish.”
“Then, what is the alternative…”
“The minion who made a pact with the Eye of Calamity. How about we have that bastard use his mouth to expose the secrets of the master he serves?”
“Are you perhaps planning to show that situation to the entire Dimensional Order? This will consume an enormous amount of divine power. Then! I will lend my strength as well!”
The Goddess of Fortune stepped forward to help.
In other words, to use a human world analogy, the Storm God's words meant he intended to 'broadcast' to the entire Dimensional Sphere.
However, this was not a free task, and a tremendous amount of Holy Power was required for this massive undertaking.
Depending on the circumstances, the Storm God could lose a significant amount of Holy Power and be forced to step down from his throne.
This is because the distinction between a Divine Throne and a Constellation ultimately depends on the amount of Holy Power possessed.
“A Divine Throne has its own duties and responsibilities. I will use all the power, so you must quickly convey my intentions to the Contractor.”
“But…”
“Time keeps flowing even as we waste words like this. I don’t want to repeat myself.”
“Understood, Lord Divine Seat.”
“Hurry.”
“Yes.”
The Goddess of Fortune immediately prepared to send a message to Sanghyeon.
Being the clever Sanghyeon, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to figure out the meaning of those words and what to do.
She trusted Sanghyeon.
* * *
“Phew. Phew. Phew.”
Sanghyeon gasped for breath.
As Luca began launching an aggressive offensive, the battle was slowly shifting in Luca’s favor.
Perhaps the difference in experience and level is indeed undeniable.
No matter how hard Sanghyeon tried, he felt he was falling behind little by little due to the gap between his level and experience.
Eventually, during the battle, Sanghyeon lost his left arm to Luca’s oxidizing attack.
It wasn’t a close call; his left arm was cleanly annihilated by the sudden oxidizing attack.
Even though he had anticipated an oxidizing attack, it was a blow he took while his concentration was distracted.
"Regeneration"
However, Sanghyeon possessed a regeneration skill capable of perfectly restoring each body part once.
So, he immediately utilized the skill to restore his left arm.
He expected the new left arm to be different from the original, but aside from the fact that it was made of bare flesh, it was identical to the original.
"I've lived long enough to see you revive a lost body now. You damn bastard."
Luca's high praise was an added bonus.
