Chapter 347 (1/2)

Act 7

[Death Aura has risen by one.]

How many times did it appear so far? Su-hyeun abruptly thought that to himself. He had been focusing nonstop all this time and couldn’t properly count how many messages had popped up before his eyes so far.

The rate of Death Aura absorption was gradually slowing down. Only after his whole body had become soaked in sweat did he stop and take a good look around him.

“Is it finally over?”

Not much Death Aura remained in the surrounding terrain.

Most of it had been absorbed into Su-hyeun’s body, and the remaining task was for him to refine this power and make it his own.

Plop—

Fuu-woo—

Su-hyeun plopped down on the ground, utterly exhausted. He couldn’t win against his curiosity, however, and immediately checked his status out.

[Death Aura: 84]

[Fatigue: 78]

Two specific parts within his lengthy stat window caught his eye. The first was the Death Aura stat that had seen an abrupt increase. The second part was the level of his fatigue.

The figure of 78 meant that it would be difficult for him to fight properly.

“Makes sense, I did receive a massive amount of energy abruptly, after all…”

It would be even stranger if he didn’t feel tired at all.

Thankfully, though, the magical energy inside him was quickly circulating throughout his body and breathing vitality into him.

While sensing the vitality slowly filling him back up, he scanned his vicinity one more time.

“Looks like the nearby areas have been taken care of…”

Almost all Death Aura found within the radius of several dozen kilometers had vanished. There was a good reason why his Death Aura stat had risen up by several points.

“Feels like it had been only a few minutes, but…”

But he could easily tell just from looking that his hunch was incorrect. It was impossible to absorb and digest the aura found in such a huge area in only a few minutes, after all.

“Are you finished?”

Grrr, growl—

Ellid and Miru descended from the air. Su-hyeun looked up at them and asked, “How long have I been doing this?”

“Around three hours, maybe?”

“Three hours, is it…?”

That wasn’t really short but also not really a long-enough period. He was too focused and wasn’t aware of the time flow.

“In any case, thanks to you, I have gathered some useful data for my research,” said Ellid with a pleased face.

Data for his research? Su-hyeun stared with a puzzled expression, prompting Ellid to guffaw and answer. “You’ll find out soon enough!”

Of course, he didn’t bother to provide a proper answer.

* * *

Su-hyeun and Miru returned to the village with Ellid.

As Su-hyeun was deeply fatigued, the first thing he did was to rest inside the unoccupied house he asked the villagers to find for him.

His fatigue level was quite high, so he figured he would need at least two hours of rest to get back to his usual self.

He took a short nap, but after waking up, he sensed that the outside of the house had become somewhat noisy.

He yawned grandly and raised his torso off the bed. The first thing he did was to check his fatigue level.

[Fatigue: 21]

He wasn’t completely refreshed yet, but this much was more than enough for him to move. The remaining fatigue should gradually go away as he moved his body more and more.

Su-hyeun got up from the temporary bed and stepped outside the door made out of a wooden board. That’s when he noticed the gathered villagers over yonder, all of them gripping onto things like sickles, swords, and spears.

He asked, “What happened?”

“Over there. Monsters are…”

“Over there, you say?”

Only then did Su-hyeun turn his head in the direction the villagers were pointing at.

He witnessed a horde of monsters by the outer edge of the village trying to rush in while making no sounds or giving off any noticeable presence.

The wall had blocked their path and made it impossible for them to get any closer, but they still didn’t give up and were currently attacking the invisible wall with their sharp beaks, claws, and pincers.

“Does the wall even block out the sounds and presences, too?” he inwardly asked.

Su-hyeun had to acknowledge the effects of the wall Ellid had set up once more.

The wall must have been set up this way to prevent the Death Aura from pervading into the village.

“Even if that’s the case…Maybe he didn’t want the villagers to feel trapped in here, but making the wall this transparent was probably not the best decision.”

Unlike the villagers, Su-hyeun didn’t see this situation as all that serious. While scratching his head, he strode toward the wall.

“It’s no wonder why all these monsters have rushed here.”

Su-hyeun closed his eyes and began drawing something in front of him. It was a circle, and soon, complicated lines filled its inside.

While drawing the most complex magic circle he had ever attempted so far, Su-hyeun recalled what Ellid had told him earlier.

“Magic is basically unleashing of energy through your will.”

Su-hyeun didn’t feel all that concerned with getting rid of these monsters before his eyes, so he decided to experiment on a couple of things using this opportunity.

Whoosh—

He extended his fist forward and struck the center of the magic circle that appeared before his face.

“Depending on your application, you can freely modify the method of that unleashing of energy.”

[Earthquake—Tremor]

Kwaaaa-booom—!

Buzz, bzzzzzzzzz—

Crack, craaaaaack—!

Humongous vibration spread out in the direction Su-hyeun had extended his fist.

The vibration went through the wall unobstructed and began tearing apart the figures of the monsters outside. That was the result of his “punch” being added to the magical impact force.

“Well, it’s not so bad.”

Su-hyeun clenched and unfurled his fist a couple of times while observing it closely.

Although it was still hard to focus the power of the vibration, for the time being, he was certain of things getting much better with a just little more practice.

The villagers stared at the remains of the monsters collapsed on the ground, expressions of relief washing over their faces.

Ellid had already introduced Su-hyeun to the villagers, assuring them the latter was his acquaintance who so happened to be an excellent magician on top of being a swordsman. They were no longer afraid of Su-hyeun after listening to all those explanations.

“T—thank you, sir magician.”

“Thank you so much.”

The villagers walked up to Su-hyeun and expressed their gratitude.

He quickly accepted their thanks and asked them, “Do you know where Sir Ellid has gone off to?”

“He said that he was going somewhere for a short while, so…”

“Do you know where? And when did he leave?”

“He didn’t say where, but he did leave as soon as you two returned to the village.”

“Right afterward, huh?”

He had been wondering why Ellid hadn’t shown up yet despite the village falling into a bit of commotion.