Chapter 471: Ninety-Seventh Floor, The Wraiths (3)

[Release the wraiths. Time remaining: 10 hours 32 minutes.]

It fired three arrows, each one arcing distinctly through the air as they flew toward me. Climbers could easily shoot multiple arrows at once, and they even possessed skills that allowed them to imbue the projectiles with tracking abilities. What set one archer apart from another was how fast, powerful, and precise they could shoot those arrows.

For instance, Cole would launch arrows so quickly that they were nearly invisible, though to my eyes, they were perfectly visible.

The wraith’s attacks, however, were different. Not only was each projectile extraordinarily fast and powerful, but the power contained within them felt unnatural, charged with a strange, ominous energy. As I advanced, the arrows shifted sharply, adjusting their trajectories to follow me.

Dodging won’t work. I will have to deflect them.

Timing the block would be difficult, especially since its magical attack was also flying at me. Since the incoming spells weren’t visible yet—even if I could sense the stirring mana—I immediately extended my domain.

Noticing that one of the arrows was arriving a fraction of a second earlier than the others, I parried it with Soulbound while thinking about how I would deal with the spells.

Should I trust the armor’s resistance?

Facing this opponent for the first time, I couldn’t gauge its full strength. Dodging seemed safer. At that moment, a pulse of mana flared within my domain. Flames ignited before my eyes, bursting forth in a violent blaze.

Fire, huh. This should be fine, actually.

The Flame of Aspiration had heightened my resistance to heat, but just in case, I cloaked myself in a layer of causality. As it wrapped around me, the flames struck. The combined might of my abilities allowed me to pass through with ease.

Nice. If it uses fire in the future, I can tank the hit.

It had impacted my movement slightly, but not enough to stop my momentum. Aiding in my charge, the wind currents from Poong-Lyeong’s storm pushed me forward.

The other two arrows flew in. I avoided one at the last second and cleaved through the other with Soulbound. Lightning crackled from my blade as it grazed past my neck, then I redirected my focus ahead.

The wraith wasn’t letting up. The two arms on its back drew again before loosening another volley.

Annoying.

“You,” The wraith muttered faintly.

I ignored it and lowered my stance. At this range, I could evade instead of blocking. It thrust its spear straight toward me while bringing its sword down in a devastating diagonal slash.

Soulbound flashed as I met the spear first, knocking it aside, then twisted my wrist to deflect the sword. Thought and motion became one, instinctive and sharp. Even in that brief clash, the Star Devourer’s power activated, eroding the edges of the spear and sword on contact with mine.

I shifted instantly into offense, though I considered its advantage while doing so. Speed was crucial if I wanted to deal with multiple weapons at once. Sacrificing some power to do just that, I thrust at a gap in its defenses.

Soulbound pierced forward, horn first, and the wraith raised its shield in response.

Clang!

The sound of metal rang harshly as the impact sent vibrations up my arm. The divine and devouring energies intertwined, piercing through its shield.

If I press a bit harder, I could probably pierce its chest too.

Now wasn’t the time to stand still, however. Its latest volley descended from above while its sword and spear struck from both sides, not to mention the spell it cast beneath my feet. I deflected the nearest spear and backflipped to gain some distance.

Thud, boom!

Its arrows embedded themselves firmly into the ground, followed by the sound of a blade sweeping unabated through the air and an explosion of mana.

“You will not pass!”

While I stepped back, black smoke erupted from the wraith, repairing its eroded weapons. The two arms on its shoulders didn’t rest, either, firing arrow after arrow even as it yelled. Each arrow transformed into black smoke the moment it left the string, reaching impossible speeds before I knew it. I deflected the projectiles and dodged the spells. Ready to retaliate, I slammed my foot into the ground to launch forward.

It seemed to have realized the nature of the Star Devourer’s power, because every arrow that clashed against Soulbound detonated, disrupting my defensive rhythm.

This is getting harder than I expected.

The first exchange had been simple enough, but ten more had already occurred within mere seconds. Arrows, spells, spears, and swords all collided with Soulbound in chaotic succession. This thing wielded the combined knowledge of millions of climbers and didn’t allow me to focus on overpowering one discipline due to the constant pressure and chaos it caused.

Honestly, several weaker enemies would have been easier.

Four or five wraiths that had mastered a class would have had more openings than the Trial Wraith. No matter how well they coordinated, a group could never match a single being that acted with one mind. Moreover, this wraith wasn’t an ordinary hybrid, and its strange power made it difficult to trade blows freely.

Thud, thud, thud!

I rolled aside again as arrows struck the ground and exploded, only to be met with another spell—a slicing gust of wind. Rather than dodge, I entrusted my defense to Poong-Lyeong and my cloak. Against wind and fire, I was nearly immune.

Enduring the impact as I charged, I noticed an opening and abruptly dashed forward and to the left. Soulbound gleamed with a flash of blue-gold light as I unleashed a slash imbued with my will.

No good?

I had aimed to cleave it from shoulder to waist, but its shield absorbed the strike, likely due to that same eerie energy. The Heart Sword corroded the shield, but it immediately reformed from the black smoke.

Engaging at close range seemed unwise. I wanted to create distance between us so that I could find a breakthrough. I had yet to gauge its overall level, but the wraith wasn’t giving me time to think.

Not an idiot, then.

Whatever it was, this creature—born from the combined souls of countless climbers—was a formidable opponent. Its judgment in battle was sharp, almost human.

While I blocked and dodged the flurry of attacks, I took an opportunity to slash upward with Soulbound as if to cleave the Trial Wraith from the waist. A purely defensive stance would only worsen the situation.

Between exchanges, I searched for a counterstrategy.

Should I just keep striking it nonstop with the Heart Sword?

I could handle the overwhelming barrage for now, but my attacks barely made a lasting impact. Every bit of damage I inflicted was restored almost instantly. Perhaps my answer lay in striking continuously and outpacing its recovery.

Disrupting my thoughts, the Trial Wraith’s spear hooked around my axe and pushed it aside. Twisting my wrist, I disengaged Soulbound just as its sword came sweeping horizontally toward my neck and blocked the blow. Weakened by continuous interaction with the Star Devourer’s power, the blade shattered on contact. I tried to close the gap, but its arrows and spells forced me back again.

Ugh, so annoying.

The battle was too intense for drawn-out thought. Still, it wasn’t as if I had no options. If it could attack from multiple directions, then I would have to do the same. I gathered the mana surging through my chest. Lightning, wind, and the Flame of Aspiration erupted simultaneously. It used six powers, but I had four, which was close enough.

That should even the odds a little.

This wouldn’t deal a decisive blow, but it would buy me time to find one.

Alright, stay calm.

Ironically, the more I tried to grant these souls peace, the less focused my mind became. It felt better to think through everything as I normally would—I had to let my thoughts move freely even in battle.

The first thing that came to mind was the power of erasure.

The battle between the Trial Wraith and me came down to the unnatural forces we wielded. One strange power clashing against another. Among all the abilities I possessed, the Star Devourer’s ability to annihilate stood as the most potent.

Should I endure a few hits just so I can strike directly at it?

Relying solely on my armor, cloak, and causality for defense, I could sacrifice flesh to take the bone.

I wasn’t confident, however.

Even the weapons it wielded could regenerate, so it stood to reason that its core could do the same. After all, it was nothing more than the collective resentment of countless fallen souls. An example of why this idea wouldn’t work was the strikes I had unleashed earlier. I had aimed for its torso with the Heart Sword, but it simply blocked with the black smoke and restored itself using the souls that composed it.

Can the Heart Sword truly cut through all of them?

As that question consumed me, a flash of inspiration burst from seemingly nowhere.

Every power I manifest contains the essence of the Star Devourer.

That was according to Soulbound’s description, at least. I could summon wind through the storm imbued within Soulbound, and I could create fire through the Flame of Aspiration. If that were the case, then perhaps I wasn’t limited to using the Star Devourer’s power by proxy. Perhaps I could draw out its very essence, the pure power of annihilation itself. I hadn’t even considered that possibility before. It had crossed my mind to explore the Star Devourer’s power, but the ninety-seventh floor had come too quickly for me to act on that idea.

It wasn’t something easily tested anyway.

Regardless, the wraiths can’t be infinite.

If I could control the essence of the Star Devourer, then I could increase the rate at which I released the souls exponentially. Even if the Star Devourer consumed everything it touched, it never radiated that power outward. However, unlike the meteor or my equipment, I was alive and capable of complicated thought.

Let me try it.

I focused my consciousness on Soulbound and tried to sense the Star Devourer’s energy within.

Hmm.

Even though Soulbound and I had attained the state of weapon and man as one, it didn’t come easily.

Should I ask the souls within Soulbound?

I reached out, but none gave me the answer I sought. Most were still exhilarated by the ongoing battle. Naturally, they were only spirits bound to the weapon, not beings that possessed the Star Devourer’s strength themselves.

Boom!

The battlefield flashed with blinding light. Blue-gold lightning, crimson fire, and brilliant white flares from the colliding mana. Through the chaos, arrows screamed through the air and weapons clashed in an endless exchange. I kept swinging Soulbound, trying to grasp even the faintest trace of the Star Devourer’s power.

***

More than ten minutes passed, maybe twenty. Even then, I couldn’t find a way to truly draw out the Star Devourer’s essence. It was frustrating because if I could, I was certain I could truly free the wraiths.

I considered using the cloak’s spatial leap function—it had crossed my mind earlier as well. However, mastering newly obtained items so soon after acquiring them was never simple. The relentless pace of battle left little room to think, and so I relied on the techniques I had used up to the ninetieth floor.

In the end, I gave up on drawing out the Star Devourer’s essence.

If it hasn’t worked by now, it is likely impossible.

After all, annihilation was far too immense a force to control. For now, I would have to focus on what I could do. I fixed my gaze on the air before the wraith and mentally mapped out my next move.

The Cloak of Dominion shimmered faintly. In the span of an instant, I appeared before the wraith. It didn’t even have time to react. This was why I always stressed concealing one’s full power, as it could always serve as a hidden ace.

It is rather unfortunate that I can’t control the Star Devourer’s essence yet, though.

Soulbound, imbued with causality, traced a diagonal arc through the air. Blue-gold light sliced cleanly through the wraith’s undulating form. A heartbeat later, weapons lunged at me from all directions, and black smoke gushed from the wound.

Without the slightest hesitation, I leapt back to assess its condition. Soon enough, the dark smoke reformed into a body once more.

Persistent.

Still, perhaps this was the right approach.

The trial had granted me twenty-four hours, and the wraith had appeared with about eleven remaining. It had to have a limit. Gradually wearing it down until it completely vanished seemed like the true method of release.

Ugh.

This fight was mentally exhausting. I was doing this for their sake, but they showed no gratitude, only hostility.

“You,” the manifested wraith declared again.

Something about it felt different. Its aura had shifted subtly. I frowned and studied it closely. Its blackened lips trembled as it struggled to form words.

“Cannot... pass...”

It never finished the sentence.

Could it be because I had struck its core? The Star Devourer’s power had suffused into the majority of my blows throughout our clashes. Perhaps this one had finally taken effect. If so, persistent attacks were truly the ticket to success.

Then, our eyes met—something had changed. Its gaze was more aware, faint but unmistakable, as if our minds had briefly connected. At that moment, I understood why. It was the unusual effect laid out in the Cloak of Dominion’s description.

- Bound to Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok. Influences surrounding beings into aligning with the user.

Maybe... it wasn’t simply because I had cut the wraiths down.