“I understand now why the Master feared the blue-eyed ones. Even the goddess couldn’t handle them… that’s a bit scary.”
According to the system’s message, the Goddess of Water, who has been active since ancient times, has numerous names, and among them, Irmana is said to be the weakest.
“Even if she’s the weakest, it’s a whole different level compared to me being weak.”
A god who oversees a particular element should never be underestimated, even if they are considered the weakest.
Although there are many known gods of fire, there is currently only one god associated with water known as ‘Ryun.’
Including ‘Irmana,’ that makes just two.
The power of such a rare deity surely won’t be weak; it seems clear that defeating the blue-eyed ones is impossible. The Master’s words don’t seem to be wrong.
“Thinking about it, they say Ryun isn’t really that powerful either. Is the water element on a downward trend? [Cyclarin] seemed reasonably usable though.”
Just when I was recalling the rather powerful Blade of Water, a significant message finally appeared.
– Your ability to sense the ‘scent’ related to the blue-eyed beings has greatly increased!
“Exactly…! That’s just the ability I need. At least I got something out of this.”
The blue-eyed folks have a unique scent, but that’s only when they use their powers.
In everyday life, if they make an effort to hide it, it’d be pretty hard to find them, but now there’s a method to identify such guys.
– Irmana’s anger is directed towards ‘Malachias.’
“…… Even if it’s something from the past, she seems to still be angry.”
Malachias, a follower of the blue-eyed ones.
It seems Irmana is targeting him.
“Malachias… this guy is the main enemy. That damn blue-eyed guy even has minions commanding an army. It’s getting crazier by the minute.”
Well, with such a tremendous being, surely filthy creatures would be crawling to him, hoping to pick up the scraps that fall.
“Malachias commands beings called Plague Soldiers… they keep spewing something from their mouths.”
Soldiers bringing about plague, how absolutely horrifying.
Perhaps that corrupting power doesn’t mesh well with the Goddess of Water and is causing her trouble.
Fibbrrrrrr──!!
Seeing the ‘Plague Soldiers’ hurriedly fleeing in the distance, the Water Spirits began to cheer in their cute little voices.
They looked so happy dancing around that it inexplicably lifted my mood too.
“But is this really the end?”
Irmana’s objectives seemed extraordinarily grand, but when it comes to this mission, it undeniably seemed like a ‘small revelation.’
Of course, if it weren’t for [Manhwa Portal], I wouldn’t have been able to suppress them so easily, but nonetheless, this mission wasn’t particularly challenging for me.
Splashing – Splashing –
“Huh?”
As I nodded my head, lost in thought, there were little beings approaching me, wriggling.
“Fibb?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Pi, Fibb?!”
Thinking they were calling me, I responded, but the sound of teeth clinking startled the Water Spirits, and they immediately scampered away.
“Wait a minute, they have feet. They were hidden under their chubby tummies.”
The tiny feet were barely visible unless I looked down.
They maintained a distance, creeping closer, then backing away, repeating this a few times.
I quietly watched them, waiting for my return home.
“…… Why aren’t they returning?”
Could there be another fight left?
Just as those thoughts crossed my mind.
– You have skillfully digested Irmana’s ‘small revelation.’
“I think so too.”
– You take your first steps toward Aquakanum (·········??).
“Uh…? Aquakanum? What is that? I hope I’m not transported somewhere else again?”
No one was around to explain it to me, but one thing was clear: Irmana’s small revelation wasn’t a mission without any rewards.
– The Goddess of Water Irmana displays a faint smile.
Just seeing the goddess smile made me feel like I was floating.
“I’ll quietly follow your revelation, so please take care of me…”
In any case, having a god who watches over me being satisfied is the best reward I could ask for.
Soon after, the Fibryn surrounding me began to fade away, and darkness enveloped me.
– The boundary of time is crumbling!
*
“Ugh-”
When I came to my senses, the waters of Irmana were still cascading down my body.
“Was there no flow of time?”
Ultimately, I couldn’t even touch Fibryn and ended up back in the courtyard.
“……”
Was what I experienced truly from the past?
What variables would change for me, having interfered with the past?
I couldn’t even guess, but I moved my body again.
Entering the house, I checked the clock; hardly 30 seconds had passed.
When I opened the door, Ran was sitting by Yeon-hee’s side, who was sprawled naked on the bed.
(Il-wol, it seems the Master is very happy. Can’t we extend the time to transform into a humanoid form?)
Ran, who was growing significantly in proportion to Yeon-hee’s happiness, was rapidly increasing in magic power.
Now, Ran’s area buff had grown to enhance agility by 20.
Giving 20 agility to allies in an area buff?
Ran was truly a treasure trove.
“With the top-tier magic circuit, my stat, and Ran’s agility buff.”
Thinking about it, our party members seem to be receiving a lot of buffs.
I addressed Ran, who was staring at me.
“It’s not that I can extend the transformation time at will. What about Yeon-hee?”
(She just fell asleep. Don’t wake her up!)
“No, sorry, but I’m going to have to wake her up.”
I brushed aside Ran’s pleas and woke Yeon-hee, requesting to release the summoning, but she couldn’t even muster the strength to twitch a finger before collapsing.
“Did I overdo it a bit…?”
I realized I had to control my power more carefully next time and returned to the Dark Space.
As the summoning portal disappeared, I was engulfed in pitch-black darkness.
Whrrrrr─
“Yeah, I can manipulate flames again.”
As the hot energy filled my body, I finally felt like me again.
As usual, I shot towards Rainy.
(Hello!)
“Hello.”
(Il-wol, look over there!)
What Rainy pointed at was something glowing softly.
The fragment of the corrupted life potion, brightened further by Rainy’s purification ability, was in sight.
“Hmm… this might be possible in half a month?”
It took a long time, but how cleanly it’s restored is the most crucial aspect of [Purification].
Some purifiers with diminished abilities can’t even strip away half of the corrupting energy.
“Impressive. Your abilities are improving steadily. Well done.”
(Haha! I’m an amazing tree!)
While watching Rainy dance joyfully, my Master finally showed up.
“It’s been a while. Master.”
[So, you’ve come.]
Saluting to the orb without a trace of awkwardness now has become second nature.
The moment the Master noticed me, he started swirling around.
[Hmm…? Disciple, have you risen in rank again? Haha, you really are a strange one.]
Though my appearance hadn’t changed much, the Master focused on the internal changes.
[There’s a feeling of fierce flames emanating from you. Clearly, I can sense the presence of the one who lends you power.]
I flinched slightly.
“…… Did you know?”
[Disciple, I might know you better than you know yourself. Don’t forget that in the realm of secret arts, I observed you for decades, and it is a small fragment that came from me.]
The Master’s fragment, giving me advice inside the realm of secret arts.
It gets absorbed back into him once the secret arts are finished, but even the faint information conveyed is said to reveal much.
So that’s how it is… Even knowing about the great being, you are indifferent.
[Such caution is necessary. I used to be the same. I recommend you maintain that attitude moving forward.]
“I’m sorry for keeping it hidden, Master.”
[It’s fine. You’re doing well.]
“By the way, how do you feel about it? What do you sense, Master?”
[What do you mean?]
“I mean the being connected to me.”
I was curious about how the Master would evaluate the ‘Great Being’ who was my backing.
[Hmm… There have been five beings in my lifetime whose presence gave me chills, and the one connected to you is one of them.]
“Oh wow… I knew it!”
[No, in fact, the beings I encountered before you feel like nothing more than trivial dust. You are truly connected to an awesome being. The world is indeed vast…]
The Master trembled at the overwhelming presence of the great being emanating from me.
[By the way, it’s quite amusing that a Skeleton Soldier is a leads to such a connection. How did you become related to such an existence?]
“Haha- I didn’t do anything great to deserve that. Honestly, I don’t even know.”
Since I was caught anyway, I decided to share the backstory I’d been holding onto.
From meeting the great being thanks to Yeon-hee, to one of my skills summoning fragments of that being to thrash the enemies.
[······ Is that really true? The Seven-headed Dragon?]
“I told you!”
[Indeed, what I felt wasn’t incorrect. But to think you possess power that can even distort the memory of the Seven-headed Dragon… that is…]
The Master spun in circles for a while, muttering to himself.
Considering he kept murmuring the name ‘blue-eyed one’, it seems he thinks I might just be able to beat him.
It felt like he had something he wanted to say, but he kept swallowing his words and decided to focus on the present.
[For now, I understand. Disciple, I have something in mind, but I’ll think it over more and tell you later.]
I didn’t pry into what he meant by ‘telling me later.’
It felt as if he had realized some immense secret, but I suddenly recalled the feeling from when I was shadowing him long ago.
“I feel like if I ask, you won’t be able to answer properly.”
I didn’t want to see the Master again when he kept losing focus during my questions.
[Today, I’ve come with some enhancements for the secret arts. This time, I wasn’t able to increase training efficiency, but there’ll be no mental shock from pain after it’s over!]
“Understood!”
Training resumed in the realm of secret arts after a few days.
Once again, I would have to swing a sword for decades.
This time it began with slowly swinging a sword encased in sensory energy.
Wooosh- Whoosh─
Combining everything I trained in this space, I must have spent over a hundred years in Earth time.
Investing that much time, nothing felt difficult or new, neither was there excitement.
I merely concentrated on swinging my sword silently.
Considering the prolonged years I endured before being summoned by Yeon-hee, this was child’s play, so there was no sense of distance at all.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
