I could only borrow about three books at a time, but thanks to Minja’s efforts, I managed to read all the important texts.
The representative techniques of the Extreme Blunt Faction are mainly three.
Explosion’s Circle, Earth’s Hand, Unyielding Rock.
Excluding Unyielding Rock, the first two techniques were already learned through the fourth job change, and there were other techniques as well.
Since Explosion’s Circle was basically a “basic technique,” the most representative one in Extreme Blunt would be “Earth’s Hand.”
“…This is Earth’s Hand. It’s a technique that uses the power inherent in the body to lift the ground in the shape of a hand.”
Hoom hoom!
Minja, spinning a small hammer as if it were a pen, stepped out of the huge training ground, facing Gapwoo as she explained.
Normally, she would have to receive instruction from an upper-ranked disciple, but it seems they have a lot of vacancies during this confusing period.
After all, it doesn’t matter who you learn from starting from the intermediate level.
Surrounding Minja were five hand-shaped rocks moving as if to guard her.
[Oh]
[It’s a hand, a hand]
[Isn’t this what Lily used?]
[Isn’t it closer to magic than a hammer? LOL]
[Lily used it way more]
“You both are strong, but your understanding of the techniques is still lacking. Since it’s your first time, don’t think too hard about it—”
BAM BAM BAM!!
As I infused my aura into the strike, thirty hands sprang up from all directions.
The hands were much larger and contained vastly stronger power than Minja’s.
The hands grasped at the air, and Minja looked at me in disbelief.
“…Insane.”
“It’s not as hard as I thought. Especially since the aura amplifies the technique.”
The ‘weapons’ of Teshiniria and the power of the earth I absorbed are creating an incredible synergy with Earth’s Hand.
“I think I could summon more.”
“Uh, how many?”
“Um… about a hundred at this size?”
With the power contained in my body now, that’s just about the limit.
To summon more or larger ones, I’d need to absorb more power.
[LOL]
[Hundred? Seriously? LOL]
[Are you a mage or what?]
[Blunt technique, right?]
[Great Lily]
[What are you, a Tathagata?]
[But when you think about it, it’s not that big of a deal]
[ROFL]
[For real, LOL]
[Compared to Lily who crushes mountains and parts seas…]
“…I’m glad at least one of you is normal.”
“Ugh!”
Boom!
Boom!
Gapwoo has been hammering the ground with a red hammer made from his own shell.
The ground trembles, but the “hands,” which are the core of Earth’s Hand, do not rise.
Even though Gapwoo read books, he had no talent for blunt techniques.
BANG!!
“Oof.”
Meanwhile, the poor ground is getting dug up.
“Ah! I-I’m so sorry!!”
“C-Come on, I’m so sorry!!”
“…This isn’t quite normal, is it?”
The spot where Gapwoo struck was long since reduced to rubble.
To anyone looking, it would be believable if they said a meteor fell on this training ground.
Minja shook her head with a despondent expression.
“We can just use another training ground… They get restored over time, so let’s head to a different place for now.”
“Can’t it be restored right away?”
“Yeah. It might be possible for someone like an Urgent Disciple, but not for me. Plus, stuff that’s destroyed like this doesn’t get fixed easily.”
If it were just damaged, even a low-tier could fill that spot, but we’re dealing with Gapwoo.
The guy with Karabus on his back has the might of an Intermediate Angel, on par with the Demon Race.
He’s still inexperienced, but the rank itself is almost at the very bottom, so restoration isn’t going to happen easily.
“…One of them can’t do anything at all, but has insane destructive power, and the other one isn’t even at a level I can teach?”
What am I supposed to do about this?!
“You can teach something else.”
“…Wouldn’t it be the same?”
“Hey, you never know.”
After all, Gapwoo was once called a Celestial. Surely he could learn at least one or two techniques?
■
After that, Minja gave up on Gapwoo after he demolished all sixteen training grounds and three mountains.
■
[Lilha~]
[La la la la la]
[Here we go again today]
[Oh]
[Another study broadcast?]
[Hiiiii]
[Lily really is consistent, haha]
“Lilha~ Everyone, come on in.”
It was the fifth day at Extreme Defense.
As usual, I greeted the viewers entering the prepared quarters while reading a book.
In those five days, I had spent about 7-8 hours a day living in Extreme Defense.
What I felt during my stay here was that there weren’t many places to go.
There really wasn’t much to see until the upper high zones, and to get deeper in, you had to be of a high rank.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible to enter since it wasn’t systematically blocked, but the problem was that there were ‘hostile’ magic arrays everywhere.
“If you step wrong, the entire Extreme Defense could erupt into chaos.”
It was possible to exhaust all the power of the Earth or use Holiness to suppress it, but it wasn’t urgent, so I decided to put it off for now.
I needed to understand blunt techniques more than I was curious about this place.
“Are we studying today too?”
Thud!
“Not really today. The books Minja’s been bringing are starting to dwindle.”
I had read every book related to the ‘Earth’ here.
I had memorized everything about the number of Earths and Unyielding Rock, along with various earth-related techniques, and I could roughly grasp their origins.
“It’s definitely the Dragon Race.”
A complete reciprocal match between the blunt techniques created by the Dragon Race and myself.
Teshiniria was clearly a race that developed those blunt techniques.
It was clear that a race had developed the technique.
‘So, are the seven beings shown in the cutscene from the Dragon race?’
“…Hmm.”
That’s probably not it.
When the war escalated in the past, most dragons were either killed or used as test subjects, and very few survived.
By the later years, I hadn’t heard any real news from the Lower Realm, but most of them probably didn’t survive, except for Sugarado, who was left in the Cradle.
‘Beings related to dragons, or someone learned their techniques and fell here. Those techniques have evolved even further over thousands of years.’
In any case, there were only books related to ‘Earth’ in Extreme Defense, so I asked Minja to bring in books of other attributes.
Like the ‘Roar of Acceleration’ I acquired on the fourth try, or techniques from other sects like ‘Cloud of Storm’.
Minja freaked out, asking why I was after someone else’s sect’s techniques, but when I ‘requested,’ she started bringing books one by one.
I’d rather go and borrow them myself, but I can’t enter due to system constraints.
“The next test is in 25 days. They say it’s exactly one month later. But waiting a month feels kinda… off, doesn’t it?”
It’s not like it’s a World Boss raid; I can’t afford to spend a whole month on just episode 1.
[Right?]
[LOL]
[Shouldn’t Lily get an upgrade right away?]
[Let’s raid the main base, go!]
[A month is quite long.]
[Hahaha]
[Let’s charge in with Lily’s self-destruct!]
[Should I just go crazy and storm the Inner Hall?]
Crackle!
Using the Roar of Acceleration.
Lightning-like sharpness settled upon my body, and before I knew it, I was out of Extreme Defense.
When used with Holy power, it was white lightning, but using it with aura turned it into brown lightning.
“So, I’ve thought it over a bit, and one of the books Minja brings every day has this content.”
An old book with a light yellow paper cover.
The title of the book was ‘Old Stories,’ and the author wasn’t listed.
It wasn’t a short read, but to summarize the content, it went like this.
‘In the past, when the ancient beings fell asleep, the world stopped changing and regained stability.’
‘Their descendants inherited infinite blessings, talents, and powers, and were liberated from the curse of mortality that all living beings must face.’
‘We must express our gratitude to the ancient beings who helped us escape the shackles of death.’
“…So, it says.”
[Huh…?]
[?]
[???]
[Living beings?]
[Isn’t that from the cutscene?]
[Did Minja really give you that?]
“I’m not sure. Minja also doesn’t know why that book is in her collection.”
Since the first day, Minja had always sent the borrowed books to my new place, and they were kept in a small ‘box’ in front of my dwelling.
It was a trap set just for Minja, and only she could operate it.
However, the book, whose intentions were unclear, was transmitted to me through Minja.
There were no signs of anyone else tampering with it, so it was likely that, just like last time, someone deceived Minja and stirred up some trouble.
“So I’m just going to check things out. What exactly is the intention here?”
Why lead me to destroy the ‘Non-Swordsmanship Law’ on the very first day of my Extreme Defense initiation, and why would they send this book using Minja’s help?
I moved quickly and arrived at the immense lake.
Since coming to Teshiniria, I had felt an unusual flow of ‘Life’ in this place.
The green leaves and trees, combined with the sunlight illuminating the area, seemed to make the lake even more mysterious.
[Oh]
[Isn’t it a lake?]
[Isn’t it a spring instead?]
[It’s super clear]
[Is the culprit really here?]
[Coming to break it?]
[It looks like a really important place]
Splash.
I released the Roar of Acceleration and set my feet firmly on the ground.
“……”
Again, I felt it; it was definitely familiar.
The life force flowing through this lake.
Just by walking near the lake, I could feel my energy recovering, and the plants and animals were experiencing rapid growth.
As I looked into the crystal-clear water surface, I saw my own face—Lily Elbrite.
‘Could it be that this place…?’
“Anima? Maybe this place is similar to Sre─”
“Are you here to save someone?”
“…?”
I turned my head.
Right behind me stood an old man, his entire body covered in green grass and flowers.
He was a person, yet he did not seem quite human in form.
“From the energy I’m sensing, it looks like you’re from the Extreme Defense. I didn’t receive any communication from the Extreme Defense though?”
“Who are you?”
“I am the manager of the Spring of Life. I am temporarily taking the place of the Master who left long ago.”
Sre.
As the man reached out, an old tree staff was placed in his hands.
The staff was rich with the energy of life, and with his movements, the lake and the Spring of Life stirred.
‘There’s a Magic Array spread throughout the entire Spring of Life.’
“Seeing you break through the spring’s barrier Magic Array makes me think you hold a decent rank. It’s quite audacious not to notify anyone about your arrival; I’ll make sure to bill you for this later.”
“?”
“Who are you here to save?”
“I’m not here to save anyone, though?”
“Then?”
The man asked, sensing the energy of ‘Life’ and the resurrecting power of the ‘Spring of Life.’
And the very familiar energy of the life dragon, Anima.
“Could it be that you’re a sage?”
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