Chapter 31 Part2 (1/2)

<chapter 31.=”” giants'=”” domain=”” -=”” 2=””>

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo and Jin boldly entered the snow-covered mountain. The snow-covered mountain's cold air was G.o.d-awful and had a huge effect on the surrounding gra.s.sy plains, so it obviously looked different from the rest of the area.

”The mountain's surroundings suddenly getting so much colder shouldn't be a natural phenomenon, this must be an issue of excessive mana concentration again...?”

”Hmm, could be...”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo tread along the seemingly infinite precipice; the cliff seemed to go on and on... With a single glance he was able to see the mountain range and felt the flow of mana being drawn and sucked in somewhere. Would there be giants, or something even more ferocious awaiting him there...

”I'm sure that the core that's causing these changes in s.p.a.ce is in here somewhere.”

”That b.a.s.t.a.r.d's expanding s.p.a.ce thing is here too, isn't it?”

”Yeah, but if we want to escape that mana flow, then we'll probably have to just leave.”

The moment they stepped onto the mountain path, a frigid wind blew on them. It was incredibly cold. Fortunately, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo and Jin possessed Ice Resistance, so it didn't trouble them that much. But Rem was a different story.

[Sensing intermediate level 3 cold air. Consuming mana to resist.]

”Oh, I see. You were here too. Mm... Could you come over here?”

[I understand, Master.]

He brought Rem atop his wrist, stared at it, and activated a skill. It was none other than the a.s.similation skill.

'I was thinking of trying to take a.s.similation in another direction anyway.'

The a.s.similation skill was originally the Horseback Riding skill, and as the communion ability (which was part of the Horseback Riding skill) developed to its very limit, it affected the skill itself and allowed it to evolve into an ability that transcended the original.

It wasn't a simple agreeing of both heart and mind, but rather, a sharing of mana or skills. Its range was quite wide, and he had obviously only been using it on Jin until now.

But as Intermediate a.s.similation leveled up, he began to think that restricting his a.s.similation use to just Jin was unnecessary. In other words, the issue wasn't who the target was, but how close he was to that target!

'And I was somewhat successful last time.'

Just a short while ago, it happened when they had come across Prince in the training facility.

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought Rem wouldn't be able to escape Prince's notice, but he had used his a.s.similation and Disguise skills on it to hide it. That instinctive activation of using those two skills was quite effective, completely hiding Rem's existence.

Still, that was nothing more than a temporary measure to erase Rem's presence, so the application was poor in several areas. But after that, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo came to the realization that there was some latent potential in the a.s.similation skill and decided that he'd train it some more sometime.

'If I hadn't awakened the Darkness element, then I wouldn't have been able to even try it...'

Darkness mana connected one individual with another and made all ent.i.ties the same under its umbrella. If he could use darkness mana and the a.s.similation skill together, then it shouldn't be impossible for him to communicate and connect with his subordinates. He might even be able to use it on several of his subordinates at the same time!

'That's just wishful thinking at this point though.'

If for no other reason than to achieve that dream someday, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had no choice but to train on Rem. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo sensed the unbreakable link of darkness mana between him and Rem, focused on it, and gradually activated his a.s.similation skill.

His connection with Jin was inevitably weakened by this interaction, but fortunately, the link wasn't severed.

[Mm...]

Rem emitted a sound resembling a program being loaded. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo concentrated even further and tried to share his level 7 Intermediate Ice Resistance with it.

If his a.s.similation succeeded, then it shouldn't be difficult to share his Ice Resistance.

If everything went according to plan, it would work! And for a split second, while he was concentrating, he felt the link between him and Rem become even firmer.

[I sense unknown energy flowing into me from you, Master. a.n.a.lyzing... It is level 7 Intermediate Ice Resistance.]

”Oh!”

[10%... 20%... a.s.similation rate currently at 67%...]

He'd succeeded on the first try! At this point, he was scared of his own talent. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was so excited that he focused even harder on his a.s.similation skill.

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo hadn't noticed this, but black mana was flickering across his body. The Darkness element was reinforcing the a.s.similation skill!

[100% a.s.similation successful. I have become able to resist the cold air without consuming mana.]

”Nice! As I thought, as long as they have a strong connection with me, I can use a.s.similation on other people!”

”...Tch.”

For some reason, Jin seemed to be a bit displeased, but unfortunately, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was preoccupied with the revelation of a.s.similation's new, latent potential, so he wasn't really concerned about it. While he was at it, he decided to figure out how far he could take the a.s.similation, so he was in his own little world testing out the possibilities.

How much time had he spent a.n.a.lyzing his a.s.similation skill? Around the time that Rem was able to fly safely, regardless of how cold the winds became, his skill leveled up.

[The Intermediate a.s.similation skill has become Lv9, and Agility and Magic have increased by 5. The range of a.s.similation widens gradually, and you can now maintain your skills with less concentration.]

Suddenly, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo instinctively made a fist. If his a.s.similation skill evolved to the high rank level, then he might be able to maintain a connection with several people at the same time. If he were to add his Command skill in there as well, then he would be able to strengthen his subordinates to the limit!

”Rem, could you go scouting for me too?”

[Yes, Master. I believe I can now sense other ent.i.ties' energy, even if they are not golems.]

Maybe it was just his imagination, but it felt like he spoke more positively to Rem. 'I'm probably just misunderstanding,' he thought, yet he felt great.

[Please maintain the connection.]

”Alright. Then, I'll leave it to you.”

Rem fluttered its wings and flew. The deeper into the mountain range they went, the colder the winds became. Now, it felt like they were continuously being attacked by an intermediate level 4 ice magic, but because Lee s.h.i.+n Woo completely shared his Ice Resistance with Rem, Rem didn't have any problems. Instead...