Chapter 102

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 102: Soul Sword Summoning (1)

"Why are you here?"

[I'm also in a cooperative relationship with him.]

"Really?"

Elprian stared at me with a dissatisfied expression.

When I nodded, she soon loosened her expression and sighed.

"I'm at odds with him, but given the current situation, there's no choice."

[Right. Securing our territory comes first. Old grudges can be settled later.]

"Fine."

Even though he was the enemy of Elprian's child, Elprian made a calm decision after just one moment of frowning.

Well, Zeus did say he devoured Elprian’s child right in front of her eyes.

If we’re talking about grudges, Zeus's crew has it worse, don't they?

They got robbed of everything.

[You’re quick to judge. Good. But Elprian, were you struggling against enemies of that level? Are you out of strength?]

"Quite the opposite. Thanks to Kim Jiho's soul mediation, I had enough SP for complete regeneration. They just happened to attack at the right time."

[Complete regeneration? Then can you regain your power as a great god?]

"I can, within my domain."

[How many of them can you handle within your domain?]

Elprian bit her lips hard.

Her wooden doll-like eyes darted around.

"If they're low-ranking gods from Olympus, ten. If mid-level, three. But if they're great gods... I can’t handle even one. They’re bizarrely strong, even for great gods."

[Looks like time regression has also made the great gods stronger.]

"That's only part of it. There are still many things that don’t add up. Anyway, that's my limit."

[So a head-on confrontation is still tough.]

Suddenly, a transparent dragon, Drakia, popped out in front of Elprian.

His translucent red body was about my size.

"Drakia, you still have a long way to recover."

[After blowing up an entire planet. But I found something quite interesting in the meantime.]

He opened his mouth, revealing a black void from which several objects fell out.

Huh?

These are...

"Aren't these fragments of Chronos? And fragments of Urd as well."

[When I caused the dragons of Kalvine to go berserk, I visited the dragon’s temple. These were buried there.]

"They were also buried in the World Tree."

[These fragments might be essential for them to regress time on planets besides Earth. Since we can't face them head-on, let's focus on finding these fragments first.]

The connection between time regression and these fragments was undeniable.

They’re fragments of the gods of time, after all.

"Should we collect or destroy them?"

[Let’s just track their locations for now. When I took fragments from the dragon’s temple, Thor’s followers went ballistic. It’s better to collect them all at once.]

Elprian readily agreed with Drakia’s suggestion.

"If my strength recovers, I can find all the fragments within my domain. But you’ll be the problem."

[The soul mediator’s power is growing stronger, so I’ll recover soon enough.]

"That’s true. It’s remarkable. How did you get so strong so quickly?"

Elprian and Drakia both turned to me.

That’s when Diana stepped forward.

"Kim Jiho got stronger through skill stones."

[Skill stones?]

"How did you get those treasures...?"

"There was a way to obtain them. And thanks to the skill stones, the effects doubled."

Is Diana bringing this up to ask for skill stones?

No way I’m letting my apostle ask on my behalf.

I have to ask for something like this myself.

Just as Diana was about to continue, I grabbed her shoulder and stepped forward.

"Speaking of which, could you provide me with some skill stones?"

"Skill stones?"

[Ahem...]

Elprian looked flustered, and Drakia turned his head with an awkward cough.

They were clearly reluctant.

These guys wouldn’t even be breathing without me right now.

"I noticed that skill stones have a ‘skill upgrade cost reduction’ option. Right now, it costs 50 million SP."

"50 million... that’s an enormous sum."

"If that cost is reduced and my level goes up, I can also handle overlapping mediation. So could you support me with skill stones? I’ll reduce mediation fees and offer overlapping services."

The two gods exchanged glances.

"I’m reminded of the war that broke out over skill stones a thousand years ago."

[That war? The meteor landed in my domain. You were the one who started the war. You burned part of the World Tree and incited the lawless dragons under the pretense of punishing them.]

"Oh-ho, if you had taken both stones, I would’ve lost my position in Kevrian. I had no choice."

A thousand-year war?

Curious if it was famous, I looked at Diana.

She was visibly shocked.

"It can’t be... I thought the World Tree burned because of a dragon conspiracy..."

Her mouth remained wide open.

[In the end, there were two skill stones from that meteor.]

"Yes, we each took one."

[Did you use yours?]

"Did you?"

Silence hung between the two great gods as they stared at each other.

They looked so wary of each other.

[I don’t quite remember.]

"Neither do I."

[But you’re known for your sharp mind.]

"Not as sharp as a dragon god’s."

These gods, seriously.

Even now, they’re competing?

"Stop the staring and hand them over simultaneously. I’ll give you a 20% discount on mediation fees. Can you beat Olympus with just a skill stone upgrade?"

"No, but..."

"Then just give them to me."

Still exchanging glances, Drakia made the first move.

[Fine... If I perish this time, it’s just a lost item. Since my treasure vault is accessible now, your timing is excellent.]

"I never thought I’d give up something I earned after such a long war. Kim Jiho, you’ll reduce fees for overlapping mediation as well, right?"

Elprian was quite meticulous.

The skill stones were the priority.

"Yes, same terms for both of you. Now, hand them over."

[Fine, but may I add one more condition?]

"What is it?"

[If things go south and we regress again, help me then.]

"Me too."

That’s already the plan.

Cooperation with these two is essential.

"Agreed."

With that condition accepted, both became cooperative.

Drakia approached and opened his mouth wide.

A green gemstone, a skill stone, emerged.

Got one.

Elprian’s wooden eyes glinted, and one of her eyes flew into my hand.

As soon as it touched my hand, it transformed into a green gemstone.

I immediately used one of the two skill stones on the spot.

Activating the skill upgrade cost reduction option, the 50 million SP cost dropped to 20 million SP—a 60% reduction.

With this, I can upgrade quickly.

As I was about to use the second stone, a message window popped up.

[You can no longer use Skill Stones for the skill 'Soul Mediation.']

So, that's why the options were disappearing one by one.

I guess I can't use it anymore?

Too bad.

I should at least save one.

I'll need to use it on another skill.

I put the Skill Stone in my inventory and adjusted the commission for Soul Mediation while I was at it.

When everything was done, Elprian spoke.

"Um, has the commission been reduced?"

"Yes, I've just adjusted it."

"That's a relief. Can you protect me for the next ten days?"

"Will you be in a defenseless state until then?"

"Yes, until now, I haven’t been pursued so aggressively, but now that I’m trying to fully recover, they’re starting their full-on chase. Their scouting party has been wiped out, so they’ll soon be swarming into this area."

"Understood. I’ll help."

If it's at the level we faced earlier, I should be able to handle it.

Even if stronger enemies show up, as long as they're not gods, I can manage.

"Thank you, Kim Jiho. But you haven’t completely severed ties with Olympus yet, right?"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"That’s correct."

"Then we can’t let them see you here. I’ll disguise you. Please remove your armor."

When I took off Hephaestus’s armor, it was replaced with wooden armor.

It covered my face almost entirely, with only my eyes, nose, and mouth barely visible.

Elprian then covered Diana with the same wooden armor.

After glancing back and forth between Drakia and Drakina, she shook her head.

"You two possess too much dragon power to disguise easily."

[Alright, if it’s like earlier, the two of you should suffice. Soul Mediator, summon Drakina if you find yourself in danger. I’ll head to the neutral zone with her.]

"Understood."

Drakia absorbed the fragment of the God of Time that had fallen to the ground.

Then, he flew toward Drakina, who was standing still.

[Let’s go.]

"Understood."

The transparent dragon deity’s form was absorbed into Drakina.

Drakina nodded slightly toward me, then shot off into the distance.

That one sure has it rough.

Bang!

Suddenly, with a loud firecracker-like noise, a signal flare went off in the sky.

They exploded all around except in this area.

Elprian’s face immediately hardened.

"The flares didn’t go off in this direction, so they’ll focus their pursuit here. We must flee."

Elprian, still missing both arms, led the way.

I followed behind her, putting all my weapons into my inventory.

There was no need to make it publicly known that I was hostile toward Olympus.

I put Yeoui in, stored Artemis’s bow, and deactivated the Aegis shield skill, leaving me weaponless.

"Elprian, do you have any usable weapons?"

"I’m still in the middle of fully recovering, so I can’t create any weapons. To be honest, even the armor I gave you was made by squeezing out all my remaining strength."

Elprian looked genuinely exhausted.

I gave up on getting a weapon here...

Now that I think about it, I’m trying not to reveal myself to Olympus, which limits my fighting skills.

My main skills—Lightning God, Yeoui, and Flame Chariot—all came from Olympus.

Same with the Phoenix.

Hmm, should I rely mainly on dragon magic?

Can’t I make a weapon with dragon magic?

"Create a flame sword."

A sword made of flames formed in my hand.

But since it was made purely of fire mana, it didn’t feel as snug as Yeoui.

I might as well just use fire magic instead of swinging this around.

Sting.

Suddenly, my left cheek stung.

My vision turned red.

It’s been a while since I felt danger.

There hadn’t been many threats lately, but suddenly...?!

I jerked my head to the side just in time to avoid a large spear.

The spear pierced through a tree, boring a massive hole in it like a cannonball.

The giant tree fell with a thundering crash.

"There they are!"

With that shout, enemies began appearing.

There were ten of them.

They carried large shields on their backs and wielded twin spears.

They were definitely stronger than the warriors we defeated earlier.

"Zeus has ordered us to tear the runaway goddess limb from limb and defile her."

"Defile her again and again. We will attain divinity."

"Divinity!"

They shouted "divinity" with bloodshot eyes and raised their spears.

Damn it...

I wish I could use Aegis’s shield.

But it’s too obviously an Athena skill.

I’ll try blocking with dragon magic for now.

"Burn."

I commanded the flames to incinerate all ten of them, and fire began to rise.

"Gasp!"

But the warriors swung their spears once, and the rising flames vanished.

They’re pretty strong.

"I’ll join you."

The four great souls appeared and charged at the enemies.

Unlike the small souls I usually saw, they were now larger than humans.

The souls of fire, water, wind, and earth grew bigger as they got closer to the enemies.

"Take out the souls first!"

The warriors, about to throw their spears, hesitated and redirected them toward the souls.

The spears hit the souls, causing them to shrink slightly before returning like boomerangs to their owners.

But the souls pressed on and reached the enemies.

Diana also fired arrows from the rear to support the souls.

I used magic through dragon words, but it wasn’t very effective.

The magic was destroyed with every swing of the enemies’ spears.

I guess 6th-circle magic isn’t enough.

I never felt it was lacking when dealing with weaker enemies in A-rank dungeons...

But now that the enemies are stronger, it’s a headache.

I can’t use Lightning God or Yeoui...

Ah, right.

"Dragon’s Power!"

I hadn’t used this skill since clearing the quest.

When I activated it, my arms were engulfed in bright red flames.

The pure blaze carried an immense presence that made the warriors flinch.

This power far surpasses Lightning God in terms of sheer strength.

Alright.

Even in close combat, with this power...

"Cancel it now!"

Suddenly, Elprian urgently shouted at me.

I looked at her in confusion, and she was mouthing,

"Armor! Armor!"

I glanced down at my fists and saw that the dragon flames were slowly consuming the wooden armor.

The armor, which had been burning and regenerating in a cycle, was starting to give way due to the overwhelming flames.

Even in this short time, it was already burning.

If we fought, the armor would be gone in no time.

There’s no hiding my identity now.

If magic doesn’t work and I can’t use the dragon’s power...

I’ll have to fight head-on!

Using the dragon heart, I consumed mana to enhance my physical abilities.

Then I rushed straight at the enemy engaged with the souls.

"You!"

"So, you’ve come to die!"

Spears thrust toward me all at once.

With my enhanced physical abilities, I could easily dodge them.

I dodged and deflected each one as I closed the distance to the enemy.

Whoosh!

“Gah... urgh!”

One warrior’s head was crushed with a single punch.

They were strong enemies, but not demi-god level.

In my current enhanced state, they were manageable.

"This power... surpasses A-rank."

“Ugh. Take him down first!”

Spears thrust at me from all sides.

They positioned themselves perfectly, giving me no angle to dodge.

I deflected the spears with my arms, but the ones I had knocked aside earlier no longer yielded so easily.

Why have they suddenly gotten stronger?

Still, it’s fine for now.

Their attacks can’t harm me yet.

Blocking the spear attacks with my body, I received cover from Diana.

Diana’s arrows and my fists gradually took down the warriors, one by one.

There were about four left.

“There he is!”

“Join up with the pursuit squad quickly!”

Reinforcements arrived behind the remaining four enemies.

More than 20 dual-spear warriors appeared.

This is bad... dragging this out won’t end well.

Using the dragon heart to enhance my physical abilities consumed mana, and I couldn’t keep it up indefinitely.

“Form a formation!”

“Take him down first.”

The warriors took out the shields strapped to their backs and began forming a defensive wall.

Though there were only 24 of them, their formation looked solid.

Even Diana’s soul arrows bounced off it.

If I drag this out, reinforcements will arrive from all directions.

I can’t let that happen.

I need to take them out quickly this time.

As I reached into my inventory to pull out Yeoui, my danger sense flared across my entire body.

I quickly pulled back, avoiding a rain of spears falling from above.

The ferocity of the attack told me that taking it head-on would have been devastating.

Fine, I’ll have to go all out.

I grabbed Yeoui.

No, I thought it was Yeoui.

What I held was a black iron rod.

It was an item I had received from the future Kim Jiho, one whose purpose I hadn’t yet identified.

Damn it, why is this coming out now?

As I tried to put it away, a message window popped up.

[Would you like to activate the Soul Sword?]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]