Chapter 41 Part1 (1/2)
<chapter 41.=”” the=”” second=”” advent=”” of=”” the=”” sun=”” G.o.d=”” -=”” 1=””>
The level 8 Elite Desert Ghost looked half scorpion and half spider, and was a huge 20 meters tall. It was so striking that he would believe it if someone told him that this was the boss!
[You are facing a higher leveled foe! The Rebellion skill activates, and all stats are increased by 16%. Due to the existence of a partner, who you can share everything with, all stats are increased by an additional 11%, and all these effects are shared with your partner!]
”They've all left, right?”
”Yeah, they're gone.”
”Good. Then, shall we begin?”
”...Why are you putting your hand on my back?”
The sand, which formed the desert, was devoured by the hot wind and disappeared. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo couldn't defy gravity and began to fall, but even then, he remained calm. Jin remained calm as well, thinking 's.h.i.+n Woo will do something about it', but... Lee s.h.i.+n Woo placed his hand on Jin's back, causing Jin to flinch.
”I guess I have no choice.”
”Hey, what are you doing all of a sudden... Heugyak!”
It was only for a brief moment, but Jin was fl.u.s.tered and confused. However, he was soon able to get a hold of himself, as images and messages flowed into his head through the a.s.similation skill. Calmly thinking about it, he was the strange one, as he was thinking about something so preposterous while they were falling down. No, the images flowing through his head were just as preposterous.
”I told you, I won't sprout wings!”
”The image is good enough. The design's perfect. I'm going.”
”I've already tried it before. I told you, I can't do it!”
To be honest, Jin had once thought that he could sprout wings. Why? In the past, when Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had used Bone Reinforcement on him with winged monsters' bones, Jin was lucky enough to learn the 'Fly' skill.
Of course, he was really fl.u.s.tered back then, and tried his best to hide the truth from Lee s.h.i.+n Woo. He then tried practicing it by himself later, but... He failed.
”No, you can do it. Focus on sharing our consciousness. I was going to attempt this after I'd become more accustomed to the Disguise skill but...”
”There's no way it'd work with just your Disguise skill... Huh?”
Jin couldn't create wings, even if he used his 'Steel Heart' ability. The Fly skill would only allow an individual to fly if they had the means to do so; it wasn't a skill that created weighty, steel wings that would enable him to fly.
If that's the case, then why did he even receive the Fly skill? If an individual isn't capable of using a skill, then they wouldn't learn it, but why... Jin questioned and completely gave up on their dream (it was really more Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's dream) of flying. He was a little disappointed that he wasn't able to make Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's dream come true, but that was a secret.
[Guooooooh!]
”Hey, that guy's locked onto us. Hurry up.”
”Mmmm...!”
However, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's images were much clearer than his own attempts. He would focus Steel Heart on his body and create a new, exterior armor...
”Like the design?”
”Yeah. Disguise!”
”S-Steel Heart!”
When the level 9 Disguise skill was used on himself, it was absolute. However, when it was used on other people, it was quite strict, especially for things that didn't originally exist... one could say that creating wings out of thin air was pretty much impossible.
Of course, Jin possessed the Steel Heart skill, which coated his body in a steel-like substance using mana. Because of that, it wasn't difficult for him to attach wings to his body. But this would result in the same outcome as when he had tried it by himself. This time though, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had designed the wings, all of the details... And the power system as well.
And through the simultaneous activation of Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's Disguise and Jin's Steel Heart skills, the image became a reality!
”Jeez, this... is really embarra.s.sing!”
With the slightest of movements, Jin could easily control the tough, huge steel wings, while also having firm abdominal armor to support them.
These wings should allow him to 'slide down a slope', but it obviously didn't end there. The wings, the abdominal armor, and the leg armor were perforated with dozens of fine holes, and pipes were routed throughout the armor, acting as its power supply.
”Jin, all you need to do is let it out!”
”Keuk... Magic Breath!”
Through the combination of the Disguise and Steel Heart skills, Jin looked outwardly like a steel Pegasus. While they plummeted to the ground, Jin was somehow able to use his Magic Breath.
Due to their near perfect a.s.similation, Jin was able to store Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's High Rank Wind with his Magic Breath!
”I did it!”
At the end of his desperate training, Jin had become capable of discharging Magic Breath from anywhere on his body. The Magic Breath flowed out of his toes first, and then traveled along the pipes and spurted wind out of all the holes connected to them. They began to float. He wasn't sure if they could truly fly yet, but they could at least float!
But the wind was too chaotic, so they were immediately overturned within the air.
”Ugyak!”
”Control it! Keep your balance... That guy's opening its mouth!”
[Kii, Kihiiii... Kyaaaaaaah!]
Although the Desert Ghost had sucked up all the sand, it wouldn't allow any bugs to buzz around in the air.
It marked its target and opened its mouth. The rotating sand, heat, and wind mixed together and changed into something unknown, like lava. Since it wasn't all elemental power and had some substance to it, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo knew couldn't handle it with just his Absorption skill!
'We have to dodge...!'
His body became tense at the thought of avoiding it, but Jin recklessly discharged the wind element through his Magic Breath (in other words, Wind Breath). But releasing wind like this wouldn't do any good. They wouldn't be able to maneuver properly; at best, they would be able to hover.
Jin was a sprinter in the past, so he had excellent motor skills. Even so, it would be impossible for him to control something he'd never had in the past. But then...
”...Ah!”
His Flying skill activated.
[The Low Rank Fly skill has become Lv10 and evolves to the intermediate level! Agility has increased by 75. You now have an unclear understanding of the fundamentals of flying. You can fly with any means at your disposal. The higher your agility, the quicker and more safely you can fly.]
When he had first acquired the Fly skill, it was low rank level 8. Of course, the level was meaningless, as he couldn't even fly back then, but it had went up by two levels all of a sudden and reached the intermediate level.
At that moment, Jin instinctively understood how to move the wings Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had designed for him. The wings fluttered, and the finely controlled wind was sprayed out.
[Gugyaaaaah!]
”Nice work, Jin!”