Chapter 42 Part1 (1/2)

<chapter 42.=”” sun=”” G.o.d's=”” hero=”” -=”” 1=””>

The protagonist awakens in the midst of danger and bravely defeats the final boss; he's embraced by the princess and then goes home with everyone... That stuff only happened inside comics, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo realized.

Even though he'd gained a new ability, there was no guarantee that he could take down the final boss with it. For example, against the Sun G.o.d Garuda in front of him!

[Kureureureureuraaaa!]

[Huahp!]

Whenever the black and golden flames clashed, it would let off a deafening roar, as if the sky itself was collapsing. The dungeon had already reached its limit. The explosions caused by the golden flames, which distorted and erased cause and effect, had an indirect effect on the dungeon, causing it to collapse.

[Guyaaaaaahk!]

[Keuk...!]

Whereas Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was in the heart of these raging flames. Whenever he clashed with the Garuda, he would grit his teeth at the resulting shock.

It had been imprisoned for hundreds of years, and had been contaminated by the undead curse. And because of its fight with the Dark Flame Ghosts, its magic had declined; it was in the worst possible situation. Despite that, it wasn't being pushed back very far in a head-to-head confrontation with Lee s.h.i.+n Woo.

[Time remaining: 317 seconds]

Three minutes had already pa.s.sed. If he couldn't beat it by then, then he'd be completely screwed. If it was this tough fighting it while in the t.i.tan, then how would he fare without it? He wouldn't get out of this losing just one or two lives.

'As expected of a level 9 Garuda. It's strong. Really strong.'

Now that he thought about it, he felt the exact same way when he'd first met the Archmage. One didn't level up purely through an acc.u.mulation of stats; one needed to achieve enough feats as well.

He'd completely changed his way of thinking to reach level 8, but the Garuda had also grown both physically and mentally to reach level 9, so much so that it was difficult for him to comprehend the difficulty. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought he'd be able to defeat such a high level ent.i.ty by just matching its stats, but he was wrong.

[Gilululululululu!]

[Huahp...!]

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo gritted his teeth, as if to dispel all his hesitation, and thrust his sword. His sword, enveloped in flames, was threatening enough to instill a sense of fear in any strong foe, but the Garuda merely expelled flames from its body and took his greatsword head-on.

It was always like this. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was used to fighting against stronger foes, and swung his sword so that the Garuda couldn't dodge. However, the Garuda took his strike head-on, as if never intending to avoid his attack.

Even if he attacked again, the Garuda wouldn't be hurt. The s.h.i.+ning flames would be diminished for a mere second; they would return to full strength in but a moment.

'I can't even inflict a little damage to it like this.'

During their 3 minute long clash, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had come to a realization. That it didn't move its body to fight; it only controlled its s.h.i.+ning flames to fight.

The s.h.i.+ning flames, which enveloped its body, was both a peerless s.h.i.+eld and weapon. It would naturally change the shape of its flame to match Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's attacks, and it could effortlessly change from offense to defense. Thus, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo realized that it was far greater at handling its innate element than he was.

'Most of its stats are probably in magic. It's completely optimized for fighting with its element alone. But there's one saving grace: that maintaining its s.h.i.+ning flame drains its health and magic simultaneously...'

As Zenon had said before, the Garuda had transcended its physical body, and was halfway to becoming a spirit. Therefore, its fighting style resembled that of a spirit using an element, rather than a living being with a physical body. And whether its power came from natural law, magic, a natural element, or an innate element, its s.h.i.+ning flames was an almighty ability that erased everything and anything!

He could understand why the Magic Emperor had imprisoned it within a barrier rather than fighting it. Rather, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought, 'You're lucky the barrier lasted so long.' It was a conceptual barrier that could not be erased by the s.h.i.+ning flames, so if he were to fight against the Magic Emperor, then he'd need to prepare some countermeasures. If he could survive, that is.

[Kureureureureureureuk!]

[Heup!]

The Garuda seized the opportunity, unleas.h.i.+ng dozens of s.h.i.+ning flame spears, but with one swing of his greatsword, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was able to repel them without much difficulty.

Although his sword swing looked simple, it was actually quite complex; he loaded his dark flame into the magic wavelength and moved inscrutably, repelling the s.h.i.+ning flame. It was a shocking sight, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, who had managed to do such a feat, just gritted his teeth in fury.

'We're still at a stalemate, even after all this...!'

Now that he could use level 5 High Rank Dark Flame, he remained unscathed, but he had a time constraint. He had 280 seconds left before his time was up; he had to kill the Garuda within that time.

'There's a way I can beat it. Though it p.i.s.ses me off that it's similar to what the Emperor came up with.'

If he could, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo would've wanted to defeat it head-on with his dark flames. Since there was no better opponent than a foe of equal strength to test out and develop his innate element.

But that was a miscalculation. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't get conceited when obtaining great power, but he had been conceited ever since he thought he could beat the level 9 divine bird head-on. He was a level down and had just obtained an innate element. He had just realized this fact.

[...Fine. I'll throw away my useless pride, and return to who I used to be: someone who does anything to win.]

[Can we really call this guy the Sun G.o.d's hero...!?]

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo hadn't been wasting time. He had been observing the Garuda's s.h.i.+ning flame ever since it had fought against the Dark Flame Ghosts. And as a result, he concluded that... The way to win was extremely simple, unrefined, and somewhat p.i.s.sed him off!

[So what is that simple and unrefined method? I'd appreciate it if you let me in on it, since I'm in the sword you keep smas.h.i.+ng into it!]

[Fine. Let me explain.]

The s.h.i.+ning Flame was both a fusion element and an innate element. Thus, the price for using it was high. The more the Garuda (which was specialized in magic) expelled such flames, the more it exhausted its magic. In other words, all he needed to do was make it use up all of its magic. He could easily kill it if he just waited until it wasted all its magic!

That's probably what the Emperor was hoping for when he created this barrier. Although, it had recovered its energy through the undead curse...