Chapter 213: 9:1 (8)

The distance between me and the so-called Desert God rapidly closed. The Desert God burst briefly from the sand, then buried itself again.

I veered left to avoid the tremor shaking from below. Then it surged upward behind me, its mouth wide open in a full-frontal charge.

It must've had some kind of terrain advantage in the desert, because even with my Sprint skill activated, I couldn't shake it easily. While running, I twisted my grip and swung my greatsword back with full force.

Clang!

The blade struck one of the scythe-like mandibles near its head. The creature tumbled, rolling violently as it was flung away. It reminded me of that fight against the swamp wraith before my regression.

In contrast, this thing was far stronger, faster, and larger. However, I wasn't the same either. I stabilized my footing, planting my boots firmly in the sand. The desert stretched out in all directions, with nothing to hide behind. I imbued my blade with wind and slashed forward.

[Skill: Frost Storm Lv. 1 activated.]

Wheeeeee!

Frozen wind howled. Ever since absorbing the Lurium at Leraie's sanctuary, I'd noticed that the magical activation threshold had become much easier to reach. I no longer had to strain myself to cast my spells.

The dust cloud that the Desert God stirred up froze midair and collapsed. Then it suddenly surfaced, rising straight out of the sand. The five-bladed mouth opened wide and charged at me head on. It always moved the fastest the moment it emerged from underground.

Ten meters away, the Desert God opened its maw like a flower in bloom. Its head had tripled in size, and its approach was even faster now. I couldn't dodge far enough. I rolled sharply to the right and swung laterally.

Frost.

Wind Blast.

Shraaaack!

My blade aura cleaved a long line through the Desert God, and the gash was at least ten meters long. Cold wind brushed across the wound, and a jagged white freeze formed along its blackened flesh.

It didn't falter. The creature snapped its tail like a whip. I sensed the incoming strike and plunged my chilled blade deep into it.

CRACK!

A heavy shock slammed through me.

[Health decreased by 15%.]

Nevertheless, it was worth it. As I was launched upward, I got a clear look at the entire wound running along its massive frame. Ash clung to my blade, coating it black, but it wasn't sticky. It didn't even smell. Despite the way this creature devoured humans, it wasn't truly organic.

Boom!

I swung my blade in the air. If I used the sword pressure correctly, I could redirect my trajectory mid-fall. Using the force of my launch, I aimed to land far from the creature.

[Skill: Frost Storm Lv. 1 activated.]

I raised my sword again and took aim. While keeping a distance with Sprint, I repeatedly fired off spells.

[Skill: Frost Storm Lv. 1 activated.]

Cold wind surged into the creature's gaping maw. Every time it took a hit, its massive frame recoiled ever so slightly.

Ruuuumble!

It dove again, sinking deep into the sand. The aura completely vanished from the surface.

I redirected my Detection skill downward.

There.

I felt it rising diagonally from beneath me. I struck with full force.

CLANG!

A deafening sound echoed as steel clashed with steel. Two of the five blades jutting from the creature's head collided with my greatsword. Our blade strength was nearly equal, but in terms of weight, it wasn't even close.

The blow launched me high into the air. In that instant, I glimpsed something horrifying—the mangled remains of merchants flailed midair, caught in the wake of the creature's movements. Some of them couldn't even run properly as they had been in terror.

Rena dragged a tightly bound man away, then raced back toward me.

That's—!

I was about to shout for her to stay back when a thread shot from her wrist.

Swoooosh!

It was not a cutting wire, but a clear filament meant to anchor. Soaring upward, she embedded a glowing grappling hook into the creature's side and weaved it around its torso. The transparent line danced beautifully, trailing behind her like something alive.

Whrrrl!

Once it wrapped fully around, handholds formed along the monster's flanks. Rena sprinted across the beast's body, planting her boots against its massive torso, then flung object after object into its frozen wounds.

BOOOOOM!

Each explosion was directional, focused inward toward the beast's core. When Rena reached her final foothold, she kicked off and launched herself diagonally into the air.

We crossed paths midair.

Rena shouted, "Hit it now!"

Just as the creature recoiled from the impact, I raised my blade and struck downward from above.

[Your Wisdom is sufficiently high.]

[Hidden effect of Doctrine of Yemera Lv. 1 has activated.]

[The weaknesses of cursed creations will become visible.]

[Slash Lv. 2]

—The blade's path shatters anything it touches.

[Cleave Lv. 2]

—Negates most of the enemy's defense.

[Skill: Frost Storm Lv. 2 activated.]

"ROOOOOAR!"

Just as the creature opened its maw wide to devour Rena, a storm of frigid blade aura split the Ash Worm's black belly open from head to gut.

PSSSSSSSH!

Instead of blood, a black curse erupted in all directions. The cursed sand turned pitch black as it scattered.

Rena safely landed far below.

She looked up and shouted, "Use... the handles!"

Of course.

Grabbing onto the handles she created, I kept swinging at the Ash Worm.

[Applying Attribute: Acid Lv. 5 to your weapon!]

[Skill: Frost Storm Lv. 2 activated.]

The blazing-blue sword melted into the wound with acid, then froze over again, layering damage.

I heard Rena gasp in awe. "Whoa..."

When I glanced down, I saw Rena staring up at me with wide eyes. I was the one who should be grateful. She'd created all these handholds along the Ash Worm just for me. I stepped slightly lower and slashed horizontally near its neck.

[Skill: Cleave Lv. 2 activated.]

Bright red blood sprayed forth, probably because the creature had been digesting the merchants' remains in that area.

"Guess I was worried for nothing..."

Rena's voice reached my ears clearly thanks to the fully boosted Detection skill. Still, I appreciated the concern.

One of the merchants, now withered like a desiccated husk, tumbled out of the Ash Worm's wound. Using the handles Rena had embedded, I struck the creature again and again.

SCHLIK!

Every time I shifted positions, half-digested corpses of merchants tumbled from the monster's wounds. I felt like it was time to finish this. For the final blow, I used the Ash Worm as a scabbard and gripped the hilt of my blade. Then I drew it out and finally sliced through it with a roar of force.

Iaijutsu.

[Skill proficiency has increased.]

[Servant System: Your master is observing your achievements.]

[Proficiency increases by an additional 30%.]

The servant system? So not just Rena, but Rubia must be nearby too. Did Isaac bring her along?

A strange sense of urgency pushed at my chest.

Iaijutsu.

SKRAK!

The blade aura ripped through the Ash Worm once more, freezing over everything it touched. Its movements visibly slowed.

Iaijutsu.

I launched upward from below, slashing through its frozen belly once again. Ten kilograms of unwieldy iron, flew up as if it were weightless, and yet it landed with the same power as a downward strike. With a Strength over 90, the weapon's weight and gravity no longer matter.

KWA-BOOM!

The frozen segment shattered violently. Its massive twenty-meter body shuddered and collapsed.

THUD!

It slammed into the sand with a final, heavy crash. Then the system window popped up.

[You have defeated the Desert God.]

[Rank: B++]

[Final Blow: Iaijutsu]

[Proficiency increased by an additional 50%.]

Maybe the foe was powerful, or maybe my synchronization rate had dropped low enough, but now the system even recognized the finishing move.

[Skill Level Up.]

[Iaijutsu Lv. 5 → Lv. 6]

[Skill grade adjusted to Rare. Attribute added to Iaijutsu.]

[Attribute: Greatsword (most frequently used)]

[Strength is over 85.]

[Perk Unlocked: Unrivaled Blade]

I checked the details.

[Unrivaled Blade

—The default AoE for Iaijutsu expands from 1-2 enemies to 3-10 enemies.

—Iaijutsu no longer loses damage when hitting multiple targets.

—When targeting mid-size or larger enemies, skill damage increases by 15%.]

Not bad. No, it's essential, really.

The more I progressed, the more often I'd be facing groups or colossal enemies. This perk fit me perfectly.

The translucent blue system window shimmered once again.

[Calculating Hero Points...]

It'd been a while since I'd seen that term. A series of metrics scrolled by, indicating the rank, difficulty, etc. However, the only thing that really mattered was the total.

[You've earned 1936 points!]

[Calculating store access privilege.]

[Accumulated points exceed Apprentice threshold...]

DING!

[Shop access tier raised to Normal. You are no longer under Apprentice protection.]

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

[Points will now be represented as percentages for convenience.]

[Current purchasing power: 1.9% (Normal)]

Convenient wasn't the word I'd use. Still, it looked like 1,000 points roughly equaled 1%. Below that was a long white bar. At the far right end, I saw a percentage: 1.94%. It was easy to figure out. When the bar filled up, the next tier would be unlocked.

I thought that was it, but another message popped up. Yet another choice to make. The system windows had been popping nonstop—almost as if I'd died and rebooted.

[Please choose when to spend your accumulated purchasing power.]

[Delaying your purchase may grant stronger rewards.]

[2.5%]

[5%]

[10%]

[20%]

[100%]

Five options. The last one jumped straight from 20 to 100%. Just how many monsters would I need to kill to hit 100%? I weighed the options.

2.5% was a quick payout, but the message kept suggesting that patience meant power. So I focused, trying to glean more information. The moment I locked my gaze on each option, images streamed into my mind, almost like the system was whispering them directly to my brain.

At 2.5%, I could see elixirs and trinkets: a golden potion like the one that the marquis drank, or a fetish necklace that wards off spirits, or a bracelet that drew gold to its owner. Some granted resistance to heat, cold, or lightning. The theme was clear: self-use buffs.

Items for me.

The 5% one was more interesting. I saw blurry visions of spears and swords I hadn't seen before, a dagger that did triple damage to uninjured enemies, a longsword with ice magic, a longbow with fire enchantments, and a brown spear that would leave permanent wounds. These were weapons meant to hurt others—offensive gear.

I looked further down to 10%.

DING!

A warning flashed in the air.

[Your Assimiliation rate is too high.]

There were no images this time. 20% was the same. I just saw a swirling haze of cloudy instinct. I strained to visualize it.

Focus. Meditation.

I could barely see visions of battle, facing massive armies and storming fortified castles. Even if the images were vague, the scale felt enormous.

But 100%? I feel nothing.

Then suddenly, the final option, 100%, began to flicker.

CRRZZZK.

Crkkk...

As if the choice was about to disappear. I felt a sudden urge to select it.

Why not?

I didn't have any real understanding of the full context. Only I could see these translucent system windows, and I couldn't ask Isaac or anyone else for advice.

CRRZZK...

It kept fading, so I gave in. I selected 100%.

[You have selected 100%.]

[Shop access locked until purchasing power reaches maximum.]

[Selection confirmed.]

[Available reward permanently fixed: Anti-World.]