Chapter 234: Buried Alive (14)

Rena...

My consciousness returned, but seeing the fragmented landscape around me, I wasn't sure if I had truly come to my senses. It felt bizarre.

I reached my hand forward. Yet, it moved in a completely different direction. It seemed to go right, or maybe left, or perhaps curl inward toward my own arm. Every direction felt unfamiliar.

The distorted space violently rejected all conventional sense of orientation. The concept of forward and backward contrasted with each other. Left and right were wedged like splinters between shattered seams. It was like my skeleton had shattered into pieces, each part scattered and sensing a different direction.

Rena...

Even without feeling my own weight, my mind fixated on her. Her death filled every corner of my vision.

The image of Rena getting split in half, her red intestines spilling out haphazardly, had been seared into my memory. Her lips had parted slightly, as if trying to say something. She died without even leaving behind a final word. As the memory of her getting sliced by the Ashen Knight's sword surfaced, the concept of forward began to make sense again.

I stepped forward nearly at a right angle, like stepping into empty air at a strange, unnatural tilt. I could not go backward, left, or right. I could only move forward—a direction I could never return from.

I'd believed it was a flawless plan, a perfect success. However, the Ashen Knight, who had killed Gith-Za-Rai, tore through space and slaughtered everyone. I could not comprehend that knight at all.

Where did he come from? Why had he appeared?

Regarding the Ashen Knight's identity and purpose, none of it made sense. His power, capable of effortlessly killing absurdly strong individuals, defied reason. The Ashen Knight shouldn't exist. No, he

must not

exist. Once again, his attacks had failed to affect me, and only my skill levels increased as his strikes passed through me.

Everything was in chaos. Each time I faced the Ashen Knight, I felt like this solid world was unraveling, piece by piece. For now, I just wanted to recover Rena's corpse.

I kept moving forward. Eventually, a faint green glow appeared ahead. I walked toward it, entranced. Floating midair, emitting that glow, was the corpse of the mage Naneow had slain.

Instinctively, I raised my hand.

WOOOOOM...

[You have absorbed Force Shield Lv. 1!

—Generates a powerful magical barrier that protects against physical impact, energy waves, and magic. As the skill level increases, so does the shield's coverage and durability.]

Force Shield was the same barrier that Mage Alohis had used to stop the landslide. Though its brilliance faded beneath a mountain of falling earth, it was undeniably powerful. The shield blocked both physical and magical attacks. With this, I could fight freely without worrying about armor damage.

[Force Shield Lv. 2...]

[...Lv. 3!

—The shield can now be manipulated. Control range scales with your Wisdom stat and skill level.]

[...Lv. 4!

—The shield can now be given mass. Weight scales with your Wisdom stat.]

"Shield."

A shimmering, translucent barrier formed around me. It was roughly the size of a tower shield, large enough to cover me completely. To replicate Alohis' all-around protection, I'd need even higher levels.

I looked down at Alohis. Despite his title as a fire magic master, there was little more to extract from his corpse. My Essence Absorption efficiency dropped significantly.

THUMP.

I swung the translucent shield like a weapon. Alohis' corpse was knocked far away.

So that's what it means to give it weight.

I continued forward.

VWOOM!

Even as I summoned and swung the shield, the space around me remained bizarrely warped.

I walked for a long time through this unfamiliar dimension. Eventually, I saw another green glow, this time coming from a different corpse. I had found Stieglitz, the martial artist with the cross-shaped scar. His severed head and arm lay a few steps away from his torso.

I instinctively raised my hand. Forward was the only direction here. No turning back.

Absorb.

WOOOM...

The green glow flowed into me.

[You have absorbed Adrian Martial Arts Lv. 1 (Rare)!

—This is a passive skill. While unarmed, you gain the following effects:

+35% Attack Power

+35% Critical Chance

+30% Attack Speed]

This was a rare passive martial arts skill. Even at level one, the buffs were huge. The unarmed restriction was a major drawback, but it could be worth leveling. This skill was promising. As I absorbed it, my thoughts drifted.

[You have absorbed Accumulated Blow Lv. 1!

—Cannot be activated while using weapons.

"You are already dead."

—Build up strikes against an opponent. They may think they're blocking, but a light touch in the end will cause them to collapse.]

This was another unarmed skill. It was exactly the kind of move someone with a flair for dramatic finishers would love.

[You have absorbed Battle Shout Lv. 1!

—Shout to draw surrounding energy into yourself. Slightly boosts Attack and Defense based on level.]

[Battle Shout Lv. 2...]

[...Lv. 3!

—You can now omit the shout.]

Fortunately, this one worked even with weapons, a small but useful boost to my combat power.

Is that it?

The green glow disappeared from Stieglitz's corpse. At this point, I'd absorbed enough to rival even the marquis. Unless the opponent was the Ashen Knight, this martial artist would have stood his ground against anyone.

I walked onward. I had no sense of distance or direction, but I was getting used to moving forward. I picked up my speed.

Sprint.

FWIP!

My steps carried me rapidly across the broken space. In the distance was Naneow's scythe, untouched and floating in midair. The scythe had no chips or scratches. She hadn't even resisted.

My gaze fell to the ground, to Naneow's remains, savagely devoured by the Ashen Knight. Her arteries had been chewed open. Her bones had been crushed, and her blood drained. Furthermore, her corpse looked like it had been butchered into an unrecognizable hunk of meat.

"..."

I reached my hand out again. Naneow's corpse glowed green. Even with over half her corpse torn apart, light still flowed from her mangled throat. Despite having all the Lurium drained from her, the radiance she emitted surpassed anyone else's.

As if it were my duty, I absorbed every last bit of her glow.

[You have absorbed 1 point of Wisdom.]

[You have absorbed...]

My Wisdom stat kept rising, hitting its absorption cap.

[You have absorbed Magitech (Rare) Lv. 1!

—The pinnacle of engineering resembles magic, and the end of magic mirrors engineering. Their fusion, how far can it go? Magic and engineering are not opposites. They are each other's greatest allies.

—You can now use tools designed to amplify both forces in tandem.]

I remembered the term Magitech from reading

The Doll That Imitates Humans.

Back then, I had absorbed Magitech at Lv. 0, a knowledge-only version that I couldn't actually use. Now, it didn't feel like mere knowledge. I felt like it had been fully etched into my brain.

I pulled out the sniper cannon from my cloak, the one I'd taken from the hall in Grassmere. It was the weapon Isaac had told me how to compress.

I recalled what he told me.

It's a titan-class sniper. You know, the kind the Confederation members ride in. Think of it as an off-the-books iron giant.

Isaac had said it ran on Lurium. Its operation now flowed into my mind as if I'd always known it. Outwardly, it just looked like an ordinary, cold metal rod.

I pointed it forward.

CLACK, CLACK!

I pressed the circular component and yanked the center. A grip and trigger assembly popped out with a click. Of course, it still couldn't fire because I had no Lurium. With Magitech knowledge now within me, I understood that instinctively. There was no need to experiment.

The grip had a label etched into it in intentionally sloppy cursive.

Transfer of Rights seemed to be the weapon's name. I couldn't tell what sort of sensibility led to that naming, even with the Magitech skill. I continued absorbing.

WOOOOOM...

[You have absorbed Ancient Language Lv. 1]

[...]

[Lv. 3...]

[...]

[You have absorbed Rune Language Lv. 1]

[...]

[Lv. 3...]

[...]

[You have absorbed Antiquarian's Sense (Rare) Lv. 1!

—Greatly boosts your ability to detect relics and ruins.

—Allows intuitive distinction between genuine and fake artifacts with no prior knowledge.

—Grants significant experience upon discovering relics or ruins.]

Antiquarian's Sense was an intriguing skill. Gaining experience points was never a bad thing. There might be something useful among the relics or ruins I encounter.

I continued to absorb from Naneow without attaching emotion or judgment. Now that she was dead, she held no sentiment toward me. I should do the same.

[You have absorbed Scythe Mastery of the Reaper (Rare) Lv. 1!

—Scythes are notoriously inefficient and difficult to wield as weapons, but not for you. All penalties related to scythe use are nullified. Deal minor bonus damage to entities possessing souls.]

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The light pouring out from Naneow was now gone. I looked up at her scythe.

CRACKLE!

The moment I grabbed the scythe, a strong repulsive force struck back.

[This is a User-Bound Weapon.]

[Do you wish to forcibly obtain usage rights?]

I nodded.

[Your Magitech level is too low.]

[You cannot claim ownership.]

"..."

So it was no good. My newly acquired Antiquarian's Sense told me as much with absolute certainty.

I released the scythe and continued walking forward. There was no more light. Only broken and distorted space stretched ahead.

Time itself felt like it had turned its back on me. I couldn't sense it properly. I sank and floated, running toward the only direction I could comprehend as forward.