Chapter 108. Amid the Final Melody (2)

-...Do you desire power?

Like a hallucination,

Or a sweet temptation,

A dark voice coiled around his ears.

However, Aged Kimchi did not react hastily. He didn't get excited or act rashly. Instead, he calmed his mind even more.

And he focused in the direction the voice came from, gathering both his mind and mana.

Soon, there was a response.

...…Chsss...

His grip loosened.

The magical wand floated into the air.

It spun slowly.

Like a hallucination,

Or a sweet temptation,

It looked at Aged Kimchi.

Yes.

The wand was looking at Aged Kimchi.

At some point, the single eye inside its heart-shaped ornament had opened,

Its bloodshot, shadowy gaze quietly fixed.

As if carrying the grudge of a fallen evil god from some forgotten day, it stared, it observed, and it was satisfied.

-…...Very well.

The eye inside the wand's heart ornament narrowed in satisfaction.

At the same time, a very faint black current began to form around Aged Kimchi.

Like a hallucination, Or a false temptation, so faint and subtle that even careful eyes would fail to notice—so faint that no one could detect it.

"......."

Even then, Aged Kimchi remained with his eyes closed, focused solely on his mind.

With a single goal.

To reach the state shown by the Summon of Duty. To one day earn the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

He reaffirmed his resolve.

***

KWAHHH—!

His shoulder felt like it might break.

Throwing himself off the cliff.

A fall alongside a sheer precipice.

The wind roared fiercely enough to tear his eardrums.

With narrowed eyes in the midst of it, Kim Jangcheol grumbled inwardly.

'Ugh. This damned sense of responsibility!'

Seriously.

Burden upon burden.

At this rate, his shoulders might just break or collapse.

"......."

Why did he even do this?

Why, exactly, did he slap a compost smack onto the forehead of that terrifying woman going berserk, and end up in a situation where he was doing a bungee jump without a rope to escape her?

"........"

But truly, there was no helping it.

He knew that better than anyone.

Why?

'That damned Mind Gazing Skill! Mind Gazing! Damn it, seriously.'

If only he couldn't see.

But with Mind Gazing active, he could see everything—the other's mental state, their emotions.

And that was the problem.

Thanks to it, he had seen it.

Right after Artanis, the former Demon King, had sung the melody within the seal artifact—her mind and mana began to twist and shake.

That must have been the precursor to her rampage.

The problem was, it was progressing far too quickly.

'She didn't want to hurt others, so she tried to run far away—good so far. But…'

The rampage advanced far too fast.

Before she could get far, her rationality was almost completely gone.

He could clearly see it. And from there, it was easy to predict what would happen next.

'Everyone's just going to get sliced up by that woman.'

If left unchecked, it would be like a runaway dump truck with no brakes, about to mow everyone down!

He couldn't just stand by, knowing that.

So he stepped forward.

He provoked her right before she fully lost it—with a compost slap. He made sure all her fury focused on him.

Thanks to that, look at him now.

...Clink-clink-clink!

"......!"

The sound of chains from behind!

He looked back.

Five chains were rushing toward him, each aiming for his head, chest, and solar plexus.

All fatal points.

'…She's really mad, huh.'

A bitter smile escaped him.

His provocation worked too well—it was a bit of a problem now.

But this wasn't the time to just take it.

He had no intention of doing so.

".....Hup!"

While falling vertically, Kim Jangcheol twisted his body. Falling back-first, he faced Artanis directly.

He crossed his arms, guarding his head, chest, and solar plexus.

WHACK! SMASH!

The five chains slammed into his forearms.

"Ghh...!"

That hurt.

Seriously hurt.

It felt like taking a full swing from a solid baseball bat.

'Hope my arms aren't broken…?'

He checked his numb forearms.

Thankfully, they didn't seem broken.

'That's probably thanks to putting all my stat points into vitality with the Nutrition Focus option!'

Thanks to that, his body was absurdly sturdy.

Of course, with all other stats at rock bottom, he couldn't expect much beyond tanking damage.

'Then… how much time do I have left?'

Kim Jangcheol glanced sideways.

The cliffside landscape flew past in a blur.

Among it, a message floated.

[Remaining activation time of Nutrition Focus Option: 5 minutes 37 seconds]

"......."

Will that be enough time?

He didn't know.

Honestly, there wasn't much time or room to think.

CLINK-CLINK!

"...!"

Chains again.

Maybe because the earlier attack didn't go as planned—this time, two chains flew toward his legs.

To strike?

No.

To wrap around.

'...Damn!'

He mustn't get caught. If they wrapped around, he'd be pulled in.

Which meant close-quarters combat with that woman while chained.

'No way.'

He'd die.

For real.

Sensing danger, he flipped in midair.

Legs down.

Head up.

Arms raised.

CRASH, CLINK-CLANK!

He grabbed the two chains midair with one hand.

Gripped them.

Pulled them.

And then swung them hard.

FWOOOOSH—!

Still connected to Artanis by the chains, the two spun in midair like orbiting satellites.

The centrifugal force was intense. He felt the blood rush. At the peak of the swing, he let go.

CRASH! THUDDD!

Artanis slammed into a cliff wall nearby. Meanwhile, his own fall sped up as he dropped further.

'Is she down for good?'

Of course not.

Just as he felt the distance between them grow—a violent explosion erupted from the cliff she hit.

Bursting through the dust cloud, she flew toward him, even faster and fiercer!

"...!"

Shit.

'At this rate… she's gonna—!'

GRAB!

He was caught.

Two massive hands gripped his shoulders with crushing strength. Like an industrial press locking down his frame.

Or like a bug pinned for summer homework.

"Guh! Gghhhh!"

It felt like his shoulders would rip off entirely.

He tried to shake her off—but it wasn't easy.

Her strength was overwhelming.

A blind killing intent radiated from her.

"Gahhh!"

Panic set in.

He shouted, practically a scream, thrusting his head back, then forward.

CRACK!

He headbutted her right in the eye.

Did it work?

No.

Not at all.

She still stared at him emotionlessly with bloodshot eyes. Every ounce of consciousness surrendered to the rampage.

Her only drive: to kill.

...CRACK!

"...!"

His shoulder—dislocated?

An agonizing pain surged.

KWAANG!

An enormous shock slammed through his whole body.

It felt like being slammed vertically into concrete.

His mind blurred.

His limbs went limp.

Cold water rushed into his nose and mouth.

Yes—water. He was underwater.

"...Kh, cough! Gah!"

He'd finally fallen all the way to the bottom of the cliff. Right into the deepest pool of the Swamp of Decay.

"Kgh, ngh!"

He couldn't breathe.

The only saving grace—the impact with the water had knocked him loose from Artanis' grip.

'I need to… up… to the surface…!'

He kicked weakly with his heavy limbs. Struggled upward. He barely raised his head—

Just then—

CLINK!

"...!"

A chain from below wrapped around his ankle.

And that wasn't all.

CLINK! CLINK! CLICK!

Two, three, ten chains, and more—

They stretched upward, wrapping his ankles, his knees, his waist, his torso…

Chest and shoulders. Both arms and even the neck.

They wrapped around and tightened, constricting every part!

"...!"

He tried to shake them off, but it was useless. Artanis could be seen rising, pulling him deeper into the water with the chains.

Was she not even breathing? This wasn't good. Even with his increased vitality, close combat was out of the question.

'I… I have to escape.'

If only he could shake off these chains.

If only he could run away.

Then he might stand a chance.

He was more familiar with the Swamp of Decay than the back of his hand. He could use the terrain. If push came to shove, he could glitch himself into the ground or the cliffs.

If he used those methods properly,

He might not be caught.

Until she grew tired.

Until her energy was completely drained.

Until her rampage finally ended.

He believed he could somehow endure it.

That belief was why he had stepped up.

'…Yeah. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face.'

He didn't expect himself to become the subject of that famous quote(?) nor did he expect to end up choking and gasping, wrapped in chains at the bottom of a deep pit.

Goosebumps crawled up his spine as the crisis loomed.

'At this rate…'

He really would die.

He had to break free somehow. First, he had to shake off the chains.

But…

'Can I… really escape?'

Right now, the Nutrition Focus boost was keeping him alive with increased vitality. But when that ran out—?

"......"

He glanced sideways.

How much time was left?

[Remaining activation time of Nutrition Focus Option: 4 minutes 48 seconds]

So the time left to him was 4 minutes and 48 seconds. No, now it was 4 minutes and 47 seconds.

Within that time, he had to shake off the chains. He had to escape from her.

But then—

Clink!

".....!"

The chains pulled his entire body.

Toward Artanis.

Toward her, who now raised a mace made from the remaining chains.

CRACK!

".....!"

The moment he was pulled in, the mace struck.

It slammed into his chest.

It felt like getting flattened by a war hammer.

His vision went pitch black.

His mouth opened on reflex.

The last of his stored air, the breath he had been holding, burst out explosively.

But she showed no mercy.

With nothing but the intent to destroy and kill him, she raised the mace again.

"..."

He was screwed.

He was dead.

The pain from the chains tightening around his entire body, around his neck. Now she raised the mace, aiming for his crown.

In despair, he looked up at her figure.

And for a moment, he had an absurd thought—that the rippling surface of the water behind her looked beautiful.

He needed a way to survive.

A way to resist.

And suddenly, it came to him.

"....."

Right.

The surface.

Below.

Underwater.

He wasn't the only one who couldn't breathe.

Water was fair to all.

She wouldn't be an exception either.

The moment he remembered that—

He stopped moving toward the surface. He turned his body downward. Lower. Even lower. He pulled himself down.

....Fwoosh!

The mace aimed at his crown missed, only disturbing his hair.

He didn't care.

He tried to swim downward.

It wasn't as hard as he expected.

Thanks to the chains wrapped around his entire body, their weight pulled him further downward.

Gurgle…!

He gained speed in the dive.

Darkness closed in around him.

The pressure rose sharply.

His ears felt like they were being crushed.

He endured.

He went deeper.

Ever deeper.

Until he reached the very bottom.

At that moment, he opened his inventory.

'...Strip everything!'

He didn't care how it looked.

Pride wouldn't save his life.

He threw everything off and buried himself in the muck at the lakebed.

The glitch activated.

The solid rock bed beneath the sludge—

His body was sucked into it!

CLANK!

Even then, the chains were still wrapped around him. So they were pulled into the rock with him.

That's why he felt it.

Clink! Clatter!

Artanis' wild tugs traveled through the chains, vibrating with fury.

She must've been shocked.

She must've been confused.

The prey she thought she had caught had suddenly vanished into the rock using some bizarre method.

Like an anchor of a massive ship—

He had chained her underwater.

CLUNK! CLANK!

She pulled the chains with wild strength.

But a glitch wasn't something that could be broken by force. It was an exploit of the system's loophole.

So then—

KRAAAANG—!

".....Guh!"

Suddenly, an enormous sound and shock slammed through the rock bed and into his entire body.

He had been relieved.

He had let his guard down, even slightly.

As if mocking that—

Brutally, fiercely, once again—

KWAAAANG—!

"...!"

This time, not even a scream came out.

At the same time, he was forced to realize the truth.

Artanis,

Trapped underwater because of his glitch—

Was now striking the very rock bed where he'd buried himself, with her mace. With overwhelming force.

THOOM—!

"....Gghk!"

It felt like his whole body was coming apart.

Even though the blow was delivered through stone—

His ears rang. His joints dislocated. His organs felt like they were bursting.

It might've just been a sensation. Or maybe, it really was happening bit by bit.

BANG! KWAANG! THOK!

Finally, the rock bed began to break. Like excavating a fossil buried inside a boulder—she was smashing the rock apart to drag him out!

"G-aaah!"

He couldn't glitch any deeper. This was as far as the current depth allowed.

So all he could do was endure.

Relying on the increased vitality from Nutrition Focus—

KWAAANG—!

"....!"

Was this the limit?

His consciousness began to fade.

Only the ruthless image of Artanis—endlessly pounding the stone to pieces etched itself onto his retinas in a silhouette of infinite destruction.

Yes.

This was truly the limit.

He had tried his best… but he couldn't endure it any longer—

'...Like hell it is! Hold on, Kim Jangcheol, you bastard! Hold on!'

His life held the fate of farming.

The fate of all depended on his survival.

Everyone who trusted him so much.

Everyone who relied on him so deeply.

Somehow, it had become his responsibility.

And now he was going to give up?

Die here?

'.......Never!'

He opened his eyes wide.

He clenched his teeth.

At that moment—

The very moment he realized his limits. The moment he shivered in helplessness before that wall.

And the moment he opened his eyes again, reigniting his will—

A small crack was etched into the wall of his limits.

....Ding-dong.

[The Mana Seed's trait activates.]

[The Mana Seed is a seed of potential.]

[How its owner responds when confronted with their limits—their attitude—greatly influences the growth direction of the Mana Seed.]

[You, the owner of the Mana Seed, have shown the possibility of breaking through your limits by enduring stubbornly in a dire situation.]

[This experience has a significant impact on the growth of the Mana Seed.]

[A new trait of the Mana Seed has bloomed.]

[Trait Unlocked: "Take It All"]

KWAAANG—!

Alongside the message, the mace once again came crashing down.

The rock bed finally shattered.

A direct blow broke through the rubble.

CRACK!

The mace slammed into his chest.

In that moment of receiving a fatal blow—

Kim Jangcheol smiled, involuntarily.

And he thought:

Man, the impact's got just the right flavor. Slurp-slurp.