Chapter 80: Psychokinesis
[The Necklace of the Guardian of the Forest]
This masterpiece filled with the essence of the forest is made by an Elven craftsman.
# Wearing it bestows luck upon the wearer. (Cool-down time: 168 hours)
Lee Shin, who had acquired the necklace, put it on. He did not know how the luck would manifest, but he just hoped that this luck would not go to waste.
The end of the intense but brief battle had left the forest in ruins. What remains and rubble the display of power had left behind lay all over the place, strikingly different from what used to be a clean and peaceful forest.
“Tsk.” Lee Shin clicked his tongue softly.
Considering the stage on the 20th floor, Lee Shin thought it was necessary to make a contract with the Spirit of Water on the 19th floor. However, since Lee Shin ruined the forest as soon as he had got here, he knew that it was unlikely that any spirits would be willing to make a contract with him.
Lee Shin could make a contract with the Spirit upon entering the forest using his title, The Successor of the Seven Elements, and he had been planning to do so. Lee Shin was to defeat the boss after making the contract. However, his plan had been completely ruined.
Was this also something that the gods had thought of? Lee Shin was lost in thought, furrowing his eyebrows, as Vuela approached him.
“That was impressive. I have nothing to say about that magic you just used,” said Vuela, looking at Lee Shin.
Vuela could not easily find the words to say, because it was his first time seeing Lee Shin’s true abilities. The Dark Thunder raining down from the sky was a shocking scene, way beyond his understanding. If Vuela thought that way, how would other onlookers feel?
Countless challengers in the same place were looking at the part of the forest that had turned into ashes. They were all stunned at the sight. If they had been targeted instead of Ardeheit Seik, the boss on the 19th floor, could they have endured the fight?
Subconsciously, those challengers were turning to look at one another. All the challengers were making the same expression.
‘Ha…’
Challengers sighed and murmured to themselves. Other challengers were thinking that they would have also been destroyed like that, if they were targeted. The challengers realized how outstanding this person named Lee Shin was. Whether they already knew who Lee Shin was or not, they thought the same.
“Can you call… the Spirit?” Lee Shin asked, looking at Vuela.
At the unexpected question, Vuela looked around, his head tilted. Normally, it would not be difficult to call upon a Spirit in a place like this, but now it was kind of hard for Vuela to be certain.
“What kind of Spirit do you need?” Vuela asked Lee Shin.
“I need the Spirit of Water,” Lee Shin replied.
“Hmm… Spirit of Water…” Vuela muttered.
If even one Spirit of Water had survived the wave of the thunderbolt, it would be a miracle. With this thought in mind, Vuela activated his mana. Elves, who had an innate ability to communicate with nature, also communicated extensively with the Spirits.
The emotions of the Spirits were transmitted through vibrations that passed through Vuela’s mana.
“Wow, even though it has come to this, they are still showing interest in you,” Vuela muttered looking at Lee Shin.
There was fear and anxiety, and at the same time, curiosity and awe. There seemed to be no malicious emotions towards Lee Shin. Was it because the Elves had already harmed the forest?
Upon hearing those words from Vuela, Lee Shin breathed a sigh of relief and raised his silver wand.
“Please call the Spirit of Water for me,” Lee Shin asked Vuela.
“Okay, I got it,” Vuela replied.
As Vuela moved his mana, a strange sensation surrounded Lee Shin and started to stimulate Lee Shin’s mana. If Lee Shin had not known anything, he would have been cautious and pushed that sensation and power away, but Lee Shin calmly accepted them.
The moisture that gathered in the air created a focal point and started to get into a formation. It was about the size of a palm. The blurry, seemingly alive figure of the Spirit was facing Lee Shin and trembling very slightly.
“You don’t have to tremble,” said Lee Shin, looking at the Spirit.
Although it was a simple sentence, the trembling of the Spirit of Water noticeably decreased.
“Do you want to make a contract with me?” Lee Shin asked the Spirit of Water.
“Sure.” The Spirit of Water nodded at the soft voice of Lee Shin.
One of the abilities of the Enchanted Silver Tree Wand was making a contract with a low-rank Spirit. Lee Shin had infused the wand with his mana and sent it to the Spirit of Water.
“I made a contract with you,” said Lee Shin.
At the same time, the Spirit of Water disappeared as it got sucked into Lee Shin’s wand.
[You have made a contract with a low-rank Spirit.]
Lee Shin immediately summoned the Spirit again. Its appearance was now more lively and full of energy compared to a second ago. Lee Shin could feel the Spirit’s thoughts and will directly in his mind.
“Your name will be Rin,” said Lee Shin, looking at the Spirit of Water.
[The name of the low-rank Spirit is engraved.]
[The power of Rin, the low-rank Spirit, has slightly increased.]
“Wow, you also know about engraving a name?” Vuela asked Lee Shin with a surprised look.
Without answering Vuela's question, Lee Shin sent Rin back into his wand. Lee Shin did not want to answer his question, as he knew that it would lead to another.
“You really need to be ready now, because the next one is the real one,” said Lee Shin, looking at Vuela.
***
* Huh? What’s going on? Mr. Lee Shin’s ranking just got updated.
└ Don’t talk nonsense.
└ It hasn’t even been an hour since Lee Shin went up, don’t talk nonsense!
└ Ugh, these idiots…
└ No wait, this is true! The stage on the 19th floor is over!
└ Yeah right, do you think we would get tricked by that? └ Hey, it’s true! This is happening for real!
└ Is it really true?
└ Yeah, it’s true.
* Mr. Lee Shin cleared the stage on the 19th floor in 21 minutes. Does this even make sense?
└ Man… that’s insane.
└ Wow, what the hell did he do? How did he even manage to clear it in under 30 minutes?
└ Did he just rush towards the boss as soon as he went in?
└ From what I saw, the boss was probably waiting for him. And Lee Shin probably made a sudden attack when the boss was confused in the beginning. Otherwise, he could not have won that fast.
└ Here comes those people talking nonsense again.
└ Do you really think that the boss was waiting because they knew Mr. Lee Shin was coming? Blah, if they thought Lee Shin was coming, they would have banged their heads against the wall.
└ But I’m still curious as to how Lee Shin managed to do that.
└ Hey, but the achievement score is quite low compared to what we’ve expected this time.
└ Yeah, that’s true. Did Lee Shin clear the stage so quickly that he could not make any achievements?
└ But if it took him 21 minutes while making 140,000 achievement score, isn’t that super efficient?
└ Yeah, that’s right. I agree with you.
└ Oh? I just met someone who cleared this stage. I’m going to go listen to what they have to say. And I’ll get back.
└ What? Tell me too!
└ Make sure you come back and tell us. Or else!
* It turns out that Lee Shin managed to kill the boss in one shot. Everyone who saw it was amazed.
└ You’re telling me to believe that Lee Shin killed the boss in one shot? Does that even make sense?
└ Even if this is Lee Shin, that’s a bit too much…
└ Why? If it’s Lee Shin, I think it’s possible.
└ Those crazy fans of Lee Shin are just making things up again.
└ Yeah right, do you think Ardeheit Seik is some kind of easy boss who lives in someone’s backyard? All kinds of Spirits are helping her out, so that does not make sense at all.
└ Ugh, these guys are just jealous to admit that Lee Shin is powerful.
└ Yeah right, you won’t even be able to say a word in front of Mr. Lee Shin.
└ True that, lol.
└ It’s so frustrating that we can’t watch the video. People say that if someone tries to turn on the camera near him, Lee Shin will destroy everything.
└ There was a rumor that Lee Shin is doing that to prevent revealing his combat power to Isocia.
└ What the hell are you saying? There were no videos from the second floor. Are you saying that they expected this kind of situation from then?
└ All the top rank challengers who came up with Lee Shin didn’t upload any videos as well though?
└ So? Who cares? What does that have to do with anything?
└ If they upload it, they will get so many points. Of course they are not uploading it because they don’t want to reveal their strategies.
└ Yeah, that’s right. I’ve heard that too, and I think this is reasonable.
└ Stop guessing man.
└ Bro, this is official.
The community was so active after seeing that insanely short clear time accomplished by Lee Shin.
In the bustling marine city of the 20th floor, Vuela exclaimed in amazement at the unusually large number of challengers.
“Wow… look at the number of people. Is the 20th floor different from other floors?” Vuela asked, looking at Lee Shin.
“That just means that this stage is particularly difficult,” Lee Shin replied.
There were three days left until the next stage opened. Vuela and Lee Shin needed to thoroughly prepare for what was to come next, and they had enough spare time after clearing the previous stage faster than expected.
“If you have anything to take care of beforehand, do it right now. And let’s meet back here in three days,” said Lee Shin.
“Got it. I have a lot to do too,” Vuela replied, looking at Lee Shin.
Lee Shin, who had gained a reputation among not only the challengers but also the tower residents, moved while wearing different clothes and covering his face with a mask.
Unlike other administrators, the administrator of the 20th floor could be found anywhere, as long as there was water. After moving to a quiet place where no one was around, Lee Shin stood before a puddle on the ground.
“Administrator,” Lee Shin called out, looking at the puddle.
As Lee Shin spoke, small ripples appeared in the puddle of water.
Swoosh!
A humanoid administrator made of water appeared from the puddle.
“Tsk.” The humanoid administrator clicked his tongue.
The administrator openly expressed his dissatisfaction as soon as he stood in front of Lee Shin. He was upset because Lee Shin had called him out from a small puddle.
Lee Shin was aware of the reason why the administrator was upset, but Lee Shin did not react to it. That was because Lee Shin knew that the administrator would not let his emotions get in the way of his duties.
“You arrogant brat. What do you need me for?” the administrator asked Lee Shin with an annoyed look.
“I need information on the next floor,” said Lee Shin. “Be more specific,” said the administrator.
“Has anything changed from the previous stage?” Lee Shin asked the administrator.
Lee Shin asked that question, because he knew that if the gods had made their move, something would have changed.
“That would be 50,000 points,” said the administrator.
[You have paid 50,000 points.]
Lee Shin paid without hesitation, because 50,000 points was not a big deal to him.
“The movement of the pirates had changed. They had noticed the existence of the navy,” said the administrator.
The stage on the 20th floor started in the sea. It was a journey to the treasure island, which was said to be an island with treasures that were from a long time ago.
There had been a legend that there was too much treasure piled up on the island that dozens of ships would not be enough to carry them, even if the ships were all fully loaded.
Challengers moved around to find that treasure by boat. Since there were pirates also seeking the treasure on the island, a confrontation with them was inevitable. Besides, the pirates also competed with each other to get there first; but fundamentally, it was a competition among themselves, and they did not welcome new competitors.
‘The pirates would be gathered at the starting point.’
Lee Shin could assume that there was a high probability that this stage would flow similarly to the situation on the 19th floor. If the ships were destroyed in the sea, most of their combat power would be nullified. Therefore, it was obvious that this stage would be an even harder fight.
However, the attacks on the ships alone were not all. Could there be any attacks that the gods prepared among those pirates?
Lee Shin thought that it would be best to stop purchasing information at this point. He knew that to get information that was even more useful, he would have to pay an enormous amount of points.
Lee Shin knew that it was foolish to want to know every single piece of information before trying to climb the tower. If one did not develop the ability to adapt along the way, they would ultimately be eliminated.
Lee Shin had planned to stop asking and send the administrator away—if only he had not noticed that the administrator's expression changed slightly.
‘What was that?’
Lee Shin thought it was difficult to read his expression since his face was made of water. Besides, it was impossible to know what the administrator meant by that expression. However, Lee Shin’s sensitivity towards death was bothering him. What was Lee Shin missing?
Sensing something was amiss, Lee Shin turned and looked around. A group of challengers could be seen from far away. There was a new look on Lee Shin’s face.
“Is that so,” Lee Shin muttered, stroking his chin with his finger. Then, he looked back at the administrator.
The feeling of unease that Lee Shin felt just a moment ago had washed away. Since Lee Shin knew the cause, he could now act accordingly.
“Is there a place around here where I can focus on training without being disturbed?” Lee Shin asked the administrator.
“I can let you know that without any cost,” replied the administrator with a smile.
***
Woong—
It took a long time for the ship to arrive at the place where the administrator had mentioned. Lee Shin finally arrived at a small island in the middle of the sea. After docking the ship and giving the captain his points, Lee Shin was able to get off.
Even among the crew members on the 20th floor, there were only a few people who knew of this place. The captain who had brought Lee Shin here had also said that he did not know this place existed.
‘This should be just fine.’
There was indeed no one around. Feeling satisfied, Lee Shin nodded and opened the points shop there.
[1,820,540 points]
This was the amount of points that Lee Shin currently possessed. It was amazing how Lee Shin still had this many points left after spending so much. Even Park Joo-Hyuk or Baek Hyun, who had maintained their position at the top of the rankings, would not be able to accumulate one million points even if they were to reach the 20th floor.
That showed that the gap between first and second place was huge. Lee Shin, who had been saving his points and using them only when he really needed to, felt that it was the time to spend the points that he had been accumulating for so long.
Until now, Lee Shin could not use spells that surpassed the fifth level, because Gene’s body had been sealed. It might have been okay until now, but now the situation could really become difficult. Lee Shin knew that it was time to find a new way.
[Larzien’s Basic Psychokinesis Magic Book]
This is a basic magic book containing the theory established by him, who deeply studied only in the field of Psychokinesis.
This magic book cost one million points. Even if the field of psychokinesis was a special field of magic, there was no reason why a basic magic book should be so expensive.
‘Only if one doesn’t know how to use it.’
Special fields of magic like the field of psychokinesis could not be used without talent. No matter how talented Lee Shin was in the field of magic, he could not change his innate physical traits and ability. However, this magic book was different.
Not all wizards could handle all types of magic, nor did they have to handle them all just because they could. Even delving deeply into just one field of magic could be difficult, therefore, exploring multiple fields of magic was considered foolish.
That was why Lee Shin did not pay much attention to the field of psychokinesis. However, now, things were different. As Lee Shin placed his hand on the magic book, his mana broke down into small pieces and were absorbed into the book.
There was an engraving that protected the magic book, but Lee Shin could easily break through as if it was nothing. Then, dozens of complex magic formulas were revealed, clearly inscribed as if telling Lee Shin to try to break them if he could.
As Lee Shin deeply infused his mana, he had an intuition that the structure of the magic formula and the engraving intertwined in the book were being drawn in his head. Lee Shin could see from which direction the mana flow had rotated and the way in which the magic formulas complemented each other. He could also tell how psychokinesis worked and what purpose it served.
Those things slowly got engraved into Lee Shin’s mind one by one. This was not a mere prank of Larzien. It seemed to say that if one could pass through these stages, they would be given the opportunity to possess the skill called psychokinesis.
With the conviction that if he had not possessed his current vast amount of mana, he would have quickly depleted his mana and suffered internal injuries, Lee Shin broke into sweat. Understanding and observing the flow of mana was only the first step. Solving them was another problem altogether.
The fine movements of rapidly moving mana crossed over the magic formula of the magic book, rotated in reverse and resonated.
Drip. Drip.
Lee Shin’s sweat streamed down from the bridge of his nose.
“Ha…” Lee Shin sighed.
Lee Shin took a deep breath and let out a satisfied smile.
[You have used Larzien’s Basic Psychokinesis Magic Book.]
[You have acquired the 『Skill - Psychokinesis』.]
“...Yes, I did it!” Lee Shin muttered.