Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Holy Fire

Undead are strong against cold.

Already dead beings so there's no such thing as body temperature, and immune to frostbite or hypothermia.

But humans were different.

Even if that's an awakener, there's no exception.

“Ugh, I'm really going to freeze to death.”

A hunter wrapped in a thick padding with mana flickering shivered his chin.

He glanced at me with strange eyes and moved away.

As expected.

My appearance wearing only a training jersey inevitably looks strange.

After the hunter moved away, I changed the appearance of Nizen's Robe.

The same appearance as the padding the hunter just wore.

Even the mana pattern wrapping the outside was the same.

Of course, only the appearance is the same, not replicating the performance.

Feeling the cold perfectly blocked, I freshly felt how useful this robe is.

Moving steps a bit more, the snow became quite fierce.

Crunch, sound rang under my feet.

Soon my feet sank deeply, but it couldn't penetrate the snow boots bought for 350 points from the equipment merchant.

“Krek, krek···.”

Not long after, one red dot approached.

I could have burned it long ago but didn't.

The request is urgent, but regarding skills, I must directly confirm with the naked eye.

Otherwise, appropriate response in a crisis situation would be impossible.

“Krek···kreongkeongkeong!!!”

Not long after, the monster revealed its appearance.

Above the pure white snowfield.

One wild dog of a messy appearance perfectly contrasting with the clean background.

A half-split head.

Two sharp fangs.

A waist bizarrely long.

And.

Even wide soles easy to kick the snow in one go.

“Kiaaaaaaaak!!!”

Looking at the wild dog narrowing the distance at tremendous speed, I raised my palm.

The floated Fireball.

Inside that, pure white energy faintly lingers.

That evaluated as more important than firepower at least when dealing with undead.

It was Holy Fire.

Whoosh!

I stared at the dark eyes of the fellow that kicked the snow and leaped.

The eyeballs already disappeared, eye sockets full of only musty darkness.

The Fireball stuck between that glabella.

Puk!

An attack that preserved the impact feeling, not penetration.

The front part of the torso burst, and the remaining rear part rolls on the snowfield.

There was no peculiar point.

The wild dog whose torso burst.

Only simple magical destructive power, it doesn't particularly seem like Holy Fire exerted power.

“...Hmm.”

Is it that the firepower was too strong so I didn't see the effect of Holy Fire.

The moment I thought that.

The wild dog's hind legs stood up stepping on the snowfield.

Yes.

It really stood up.

A rotten lump of meat without head or eyes.

Just how did it stand up when it can't even see.

Leaving the curiosity behind, I stared at the guy.

Inside the dangling rotten lump of meat.

Black smoke gloomily spewing.

The source of the power that moves undead, called the death core.

That still hasn't lost power.

‘It means it's not easy to neutralize the core with simple physical, magical strikes alone.’

I quietly moved my finger.

A fellow that can't react because there are no eyes.

I floated Fireballs around but as expected no reaction at all.

I lightly moved my feet.

The hind legs of the fellow that flinched in an instant.

It must have detected the floor vibration.

The guy kicked the snow surface and instantly narrowed the distance.

It was a chilling appearance but not particularly threatening.

Rather a good opportunity to confirm the operating method of Holy Fire.

I infused the energy of Holy Fire into a Fireball with minimized power, and stuck it into the guy's core.

Puuk!

A Fireball that pierced the core while creating a small hole.

In an instant, pure white light starts spreading over the rotten body.

Tssssss.

Silver holy light expanding the area like a crack engraved on glass.

At the same time, the rotten body starts slowly melting.

Pitch-black liquid steadily seeping between the messy hide.

The wild dog staggered while steadily flowing something that looks like filth onto the pure white snowfield.

Like that for a while.

The guy collapsed to the floor leaving only hide and claws.

I approached closely.

The completely erased death core.

Not only flesh and muscle, but even bones melted without a trace.

“...Hmm.”

The conclusion was clear.

Simple physical strikes are not wise.

Accurately piercing the core that is the power source is the best.

Once the strike is accurate, the enemy melts.

Like what I saw just now.

But it took longer than thought.

Even the wild dog that had only part of the body left, it took about 2 seconds to completely melt.

According to what I saw in the community and archive.

The stronger the undead monster, the longer the suppression time.

At this rate, suppressing undead monsters alone was excessive.

···At this rate.

But a change started immediately.

[You have defeated an enemy with the Holy Fire (LV1) skill]

[[Transcendence (EX) ability manifests]

[Experience points gained increase by 1,000,000 times]

[The skill level of Holy Fire (LV1) increases]

[The skill level of Holy Fire (LV2) increases]

[The skill level of Holy Fire (LV3) increases]

···

..

.

[Holy Fire (LV20) skill has reached the maximum level]

As expected, the Holy Fire skill that reached the maximum level in one go.

I summoned a Fireball in the empty air and checked the color.

Instead of the existing faint silver, brightly flickering holy light.

As if sunlight was flickering.

“...No joke.”

I walked toward the nearest red dot.

The same wild dog monster as just now.

The guy's cognitive distance is about 300m, a level about 100m short of orcs.

The wild dog that discovered me only after approaching for a long time.

It roughly howled and kicked the ground.

“Kreongkeong!”

This time shall I focus on penetration.

I summoned 3 Fireballs in the empty air.

I plan to grant Holy Fire here, and simultaneously pierce the guy's body.

It would be good if I accurately grasp the position of the death core, but that's an impossible matter.

Even the highest level awakeners said it's impossible.

That was greed.

Staring at the roughly charging wild dog, I gauged the position where the core would be.

Then launched the three Fireballs that floated in the empty air-

“...What?”

-No, I couldn't launch.

I narrowed my eyes and quietly stared at the guy.

Bizarrely long fangs.

Liquid steadily flowing under the open mouth.

Hollow and dark eye sockets.

Beyond that, it's seen and felt.

Black energy spreading throughout the whole body like a crack.

And its source.

Death core.

Fsss.

I dispersed two Fireballs.

Immediately infused will into the third Fireball.

"Kiaaaaaaak!!"

There's no flustering even in a situation where the monster is charging.

Already maximum level Fireball and Red Flame skills.

But not satisfied with that, I drove myself to the limit mental strength allows for the past few days.

Is it thanks to that.

Even if not the highest level shape transformation that changes itself into a living life form and even utilizes that characteristic.

At least I reached the limit I can reach.

Red Arrow.

A crimson arrow that flew in like lightning pierced the guy's mouth and penetrated the death core.

A silver flash that flashed in a fleeting moment.

Instead of neutralizing the death core, it burst it as is.

Kwaaaaaang!!

Thuduk, thud!

Enormous explosive power spewed from the death core.

Instead of melting, the completely smashed body fell in a shower from the sky.

Instead of avoiding the dirty lump of filth, I quietly pulled up the padding hat.

Damage prevention, appearance replication, even automatic purification function.

The traveler's robe was all-purpose.

#

The types of undead appearing in the snowfield are quite diverse.

Wild dogs or foxes wandering the snowfield aimlessly.

Wolves that do group hunting.

Bears or tigers that are powerful even as single entities.

And even primates.

“...”

The position of the death core was arbitrary according to the type of monster.

That's why most awakeners of the snowfield do party hunting.

When failing a proper strike, a colleague to protect oneself is needed.

But I was different.

Yet I didn't need colleagues.

The power to protect myself overflowed and remained.

I quietly stared at the charging wolf.

“Kreeee!”

What I felt through several hunts.

The ability of maximum level Holy Fire wasn't simple purification.

It can be seen with eyes, felt with sensation.

The energy source that moves the guy, the death core.

Without a single error.

Puuk!

The Red Arrow that flew in like lightning pierces the death core.

Then dazzling silver holy light burst out.

Purification ability that instantly burned the black energy of the death core.

Then the holy light tried to spread throughout the wolf's whole body, but it's impossible.

The wolf's body couldn't withstand the intense purification ability and burst as is.

Pueok!

Along with a thick flesh sound, the wolf's body burst like a balloon.

While messy fur and rotten innards embroidered the empty air, wolves that surrounded the surroundings at some point narrow the distance.

Five undead wolves.

The guys growled but couldn't rashly rush and circled the surroundings.

The hollow eye sockets weren't staring at me.

Five crimson fire arrows that floated in the empty air.

The five Red Arrows that burst the colleague's body just now were changing direction according to their movements.

“You guys had fear too.”

Wolves that charged as if those words became a signal.

But it's useless.

The Detection skill that became familiar like breathing grasped the guys' movements.

Maximum level Fireball that finished shape transformation accurately pierced the guys' death cores.

Bodies bursting like fireworks as if promised.

The five wolves instantly turned into lumps of meat and dyed the snowfield black.

Thuduk, thud.

“Done.”

Six wolves with intelligence.

With perfectly catching them, preparation was completely finished.

I drew a map in my head.

Grasped the current position through the width of the barrier spread north and the angle of sunlight.

Based on the materials Yu Ji-seong handed over, gauged the place where Choi Geon-u went missing.

While dealing with monsters that appeared occasionally and walking for a while.

The place the workshop affiliated awakeners unanimously talked about appeared.

“This is the Anvil of Death···.”

A wide rocky plateau that doesn't match the pure white snowfield.

Like Nehemis's Life Water, an unknown space where approach of monsters is not allowed.

Above that, dozens of workers were busily moving and instructing and making something.

Those who look like combat series hunters were also quite visible.

All skilled and proficient awakeners.

It looks loose because approach of monsters is restricted.

Even so, the moment I appeared, there wasn't a single person who missed me.

I turned my head.

In the middle of the rocky plateau.

Above a platform made of dark stones piled about 2m high.

Three people sitting on chairs are concentrating on the items placed on the table.

I took steps toward them.

But soon someone blocked my front.

"What's the matter?"

A large man wearing armor was looking down at me.

© Dome Hwangcha #1yy6t