Chapter 81: A Decisive Battle
Thump! Thud!
“Ha… Ha…” Lee Shin gasped.
As Lee Shin tried to catch his breath on the sandy beach, he bit his lip and looked at the small craters that were made around him. Lee Shin had suffered quite a bit from training in psychokinesis, a new skill he was not used to.
Reading Larzien’s Basic Psychokinesis Magic Book, Lee Shin forced his body to pick up the skill of psychokinesis, although he had no innate talent for it. Lee Shin had opened up the path in his body that dealt with his mana flow and activated the mana veins that he did not usually use in order to allow him to smoothly control the mana flow.
After acquiring the skill of psychokinesis, the contents of the magic book had disappeared as if there had never been anything inside in the first place. Only blank pages remained. And the contents inside the book were automatically engraved in Lee Shin’s head.
Before engraving the new magic, Lee Shin had already glanced through the contents of the magic book. He compared the contents engraved in his head with what he remembered was written in the book. It was an easy task for Lee Shin who had the ability to never forget.
‘Sure enough, there are things here that were not written in the magic book.’
The theory of the basic spell of psychokinesis was well written in the magic book, but the real purpose of this magic book was not for those who had talent in psychokinesis. Since the skill of psychokinesis required an innate talent, it was impossible for those without the talent to even try out for it.
This magic book was for those wizards who were passionate about magic and had great knowledge. It was an opportunity for those who wanted to learn the skill of psychokinesis. That was why Larzien had hidden a way to quickly improve one’s psychokinesis skill in the book.
However, it was a skill that could be learned only when a wizard reached an intermediate level.
‘I’m strapped for time.’
It was easy to lift lightweight objects, including a piece of stone, stone carvings and even rocks. Since Lee Shin’s intelligence stat was quite high, he could achieve these without any special training. However, this alone was far from enough.
His power of psychokinesis itself had to be strengthened. It was difficult to increase the power in a short period of time, but it was not impossible. Lee Shin was aware that time was too short, and the goal he wanted to reach was too far.
Ordinary wizards would have given up a long time ago; but Lee Shin was different.
Crack!
The rock cracked along the direction he pointed in and split up in two pieces.
- The power of psychokinesis is not simply created by the quality and quantity of one’s mana.
- The skill psychokinesis requires extreme mana control. In order to move heavy objects, one must be able to control extremely light objects properly.
Fragments of mana scattered in all directions and were broken into smaller pieces, scattering over the sandy beach. How many wizards would be able to move each grain of sand individually? Using a technique that was similar, Lee Shin held tens of thousands of sand grains.
- The field of psychokinesis requires talent, but mana control is all about training.
Larzien had mentioned that in his book, but to be honest, mana control also required a lot of talent. The difference between those who have talent and those who did not was significant, especially in terms of the speed at which they achieved the results.
However, what Larzien wanted to say was that if people train themselves crazy with hours and hours of practice, there would be at least slight improvements in mana control.
The improvements made by those who lacked talent might be made slower than those who had them—but improvements were not impossible to achieve. That was what Larzien wanted to say.
- However, for wizards who have both the talent and who are willing to put in the effort, psychokinesis is more powerful than any other magic.
The strong force from his mana gathered the sand in one place. The sand particles formed a shape like a fist and extended to a rock that sat on one side of the beach by itself.
Thump!
If the rock and sand collided, anyone would think that the sand formation would break apart, but it did not. Only a handful of grains bounced away; instead, the rock was actually smashed into pieces.
Despite achieving such amazing results, Lee Shin was frowning as he was not satisfied. He had trained very hard, without even sleeping this whole time.
“Tsk.” Lee Shin clicked his tongue.
His whole body was drenched in sweat, which dripped down his nose and chin and made the sand wet.
The next moment, Lee Shin felt the cool breeze of dawn brushing his skin.
Boo— Booo—
Lee Shin looked up as the sound of a horn rang in Lee Shin’s ears. In the midst of the turbulent waves, a ship was approaching.
“Hey mister! It’s time to go!” The captain shouted, looking at Lee Shin.
Three days had passed in a flash. ***
Challengers gathered at the port of the marine city. It was almost time for the portal to the next stage to open.
“Did you manage to find a good ship?”
“What good ship? I’m getting a ride from that medium-sized one over there.”
“Then I guess you won’t even be able to move around as you please until you get close to Treasure Island.”
“Yeah, probably…”
Two old challengers who were going to the next stage this time grumbled as they turned to one side. At the end of their gaze were other challengers who were busily moving about.
“Hey there! Check the ship properly!”
“Hey, look at this one. Something is off. This is not broken, right?”
“Just hurry up and get on board! We’re leaving soon!”
Most of the challengers who were gathered there were Koreans.
“Ugh, why are they making such a big deal about it…” Vuela muttered.
Vuela shook his head and looked at the large ship that was docked at one side of the port. It was a ship built by Koreans—they had built it with one heart and one mind. Although it had been made for some time, they were only now attempting to set sail.
“But why are there so many ships?” Vuela muttered again.
There were three large ships that could probably hold hundreds of people. It was rare for even one of the large ships to depart at a single stage, but there were three this time. Besides, there were countless medium and small-sized ships as well.
“Yeah, I find it strange too, because they really didn’t need to do this,” replied a Korean woman who stood next to Vuela, shaking her head.
“Well, there was an alliance because some people did not like the idea that only Korean challengers had gathered together…” the woman muttered.
After the incident in Isocia, the Korean challengers who climbed to the 20th floor started to exclude all challengers from other dimensions. Koreans had formed groups among themselves and built two large ships, as well as numerous medium and small-sized ships.
Because Korea was known for its shipbuilding prowess, when they came together, they could build dozens of ships one after another. Besides, it was a well-known fact among Korean challengers that Lee Shin always cleared a stage by setting the stage at extreme difficulty.
Their approach was not necessarily a bad one. However, the challengers knew that they would suffer a lot while trying to go after something they were not trained for.
These Korean challengers knew their positions relative to Lee Shin. And in order to avoid too much suffering, these Korean challengers needed sufficient preparation.
When the stage on the 20th floor ended, the challengers from other dimensions were moved to a different place than the Korean challengers due to a new timeline. This meant that it was difficult to go after them even if they had betrayed the Korean challengers.
As a result, the Korean challengers ended up sticking together with fellow Koreans, excluding challengers from other dimensions. Of course, they accepted a few necessary personnels, but only a few.
“We have plenty of manpower right now, so there’s really no need to accept others.”
“But still, harmony is necessary. Isn’t that proof of it?”
There was an enemy alliance opposed to the Korean alliance. One large ship and several medium and small-sized ships belonged to them.
“These are all meaningless,” said a familiar voice.
At the sound of a familiar voice, Vuela quickly turned his head to look at the person. Without making his presence obvious, Lee Shin, who was wearing a mask, stood with his arms crossed, looking out at the ships in the port.
“Where have you been?” Vuela asked Lee Shin with a surprised look.
“I was busy,” Lee Shin replied, looking at Vuela.
Vuela decided not to ask Lee Shin any more questions after hearing his brief answer. Vuela had a lot to say, but Lee Shin’s attitude suggested that he would not get the answer he wanted. The woman who had been watching the interaction looked at Lee Shin with a doubtful look.
“Excuse me, are you… Mr. Lee Shin?” the woman asked.
The woman’s face was full of excitement just like a fan who bumped into a celebrity on the street. Lee Shin did not answer her question, but he wondered why people reacted in such a way as if he was someone special.
In his past life, there were many people who reacted this way. There was a time when Lee Shin felt a little proud, but not anymore. Lee Shin knew that he was just an ordinary person no different from anyone else.
In the end, Lee Shin was also defeated and returned to where he used to be, devastated by the gods. Now he was just a human struggling to avoid making such mistakes again.
“Wow…! I really wanted to meet you in person!” The woman exclaimed.
As she spoke with excitement, the people around them turned their attention to Lee Shin who was wearing a mask. It was already a well-known fact that Lee Shin and Vuela were working together. The Korean challengers, who had already guessed Lee Shin’s identity when they saw Vuela next to him, started to approach them.
“Ha…” Vuela sighed and shook his head.
Vuela did not even bother to look at Lee Shin’s reaction, as he already knew that Lee Shin did not like this kind of situation.
Swoosh—!
The sound of metal scraping echoed through the air as Vuela drew his sword. And the challengers, upon hearing the sound, froze on the spot.
“Do not bother us, if you want to go up to the next floor,” said Vuela, glaring at the challengers around them.
Vuela did not understand why he was doing such a thing. He was not a loyal knight of Lee Shin. Just as he was getting annoyed, a large blue portal appeared in the distance above the sea. It was the entrance to go up on the stage.
As soon as the challengers noticed that, they frantically started to board the ship. “Let’s go,” said Vuela as he put away his sword. Vuela moved toward the large ship.
“That’s the ship that we will be boarding,” Vuela muttered.
Even with a quick glance, Lee Shin and Vuela could tell that hundreds of challengers were already on board. The news that the Koreans were preparing a ship had already spread through the community, but it was not all good news.
“This is giving me a headache,” Lee Shin muttered.
While a good, large ship was definitely a plus for the upcoming battle, keeping this many people safe was another issue that Lee Shin had to worry about.
“Let’s get on,” said Lee Shin.
The next moment, Lee Shin and Vuela got on board. At the same time, countless eyes were drawn to Lee Shin and Vuela.
“We’re departing!”
The view of the stage was vaguely visible beyond the portal. The waves were violent and heavy rain was pouring down.
“Hmm…” Lee Shin groaned quietly, as if anticipating what was to come.
As Lee Shin moved, the crowd that had gathered around him began to part to either side just like soldiers lined up in front of a general. The ship, moving at a fast speed, entered the portal and arrived on the stage.
[You have entered the 20th floor.]
[Arriving at the Unknown Island, find the treasure island that is filled with treasures from a long time ago.]
The message window for this stage had appeared, but there was no time for Lee Shin to think about it. Through the dense fog and pouring rain, hundreds of black silhouettes were seen.
Everywhere Lee Shin and Vuela looked were dark shadows.
“Pirates! The pirates are everywhere!” The captain of the ship shouted with a stiffened expression.
“What? What’s going on?”
The challengers, who were isolated on the vast sea, could not hide their confusion. The challengers started to panic, because the pirates whom the challengers thought would encounter later on were waiting to attack the challengers as soon as they emerged from the portal.
Once the portal disappeared, the fog would gradually clear, and then hundreds of pirate ships would approach the challengers.
“Be prepared for bombardment, everyone!” Lee Shin shouted.
Upon hearing Lee Shin’s words, the Korean challengers quickly regained their composure. Then, they began to inform each other of the current situation. The challengers knew that confusion could only last for a moment and that they had to act quickly.
Furthermore, the challengers who had gone through the 19th floor with Lee Shin moved more swiftly compared to other challengers.
“Spread the word to the other ship too, that the pirates are waiting for us,” said a challenger on the ship.
“Would they even listen to us?” another challenger asked.
“Then do you think it’s right to fight among ourselves? If we don’t act smart right now, we might as well stick our heads into the shark’s mouth! If they have any brains, they will act properly!” the challenger shouted.
The challengers moved hastily in the pouring rain. The challengers on other ships were the same. When they saw the silhouettes of the endless pirate ships, they could only tremble.
“The portal is disappearing!”
“Get prepared!”
“Try to intercept the flying cannonballs as much as possible in the air! The combatants who are trained in similar fields should ride the small ships and destroy them above the sea!”
While other challengers were looking at the pirate ships in the distance, Lee Shin was looking elsewhere.
There was someone there. There were scales all over his skin and his eyes were narrow. He had a thick, long tail and sharp claws that were slightly exposed at the sleeves of his robe. Lee Shin squinted his eyes at the strange character, who looked like a human-dragon combination.
That guy stood at the bow of the ship and looked at the pirate ships calmly before turning his head. His eyes met Lee Shin’s, and they stared at each other as if they were scanning each other across the sea.
Lee Shin, who activated his mana, expanded his sensory range and strengthened his dominance over that space to examine his opponent. At the same time, the opponent’s mana which extended towards Lee Shin, tried to invade Lee Shin’s space.
‘This is…’
Lee Shin thought that that was an incredibly arrogant move. Unlike Lee Shin who calmly expanded his space little by little, the opponent thrusted his mana directly into Lee Shin’s space. If the opponent continued on with such a move, he would have no right to complain even if the control of his mana was later taken away by Lee Shin.
Pizz— pizz!
However, at the same time, the mass of concentrated mana had suddenly transformed into a blitz, piercing the gaps in the space and destroying the mana flow.
“Is he also a wizard from the field of thunderbolts?” Lee Shin muttered, looking at his opponent.
Despite the opponent’s sharp attack, Lee Shin only made a brief comment. Following the dazzling movements of Lee Shin’s fingers, the manas within his sensory range began to devour the residual thunderbolt-type energy left by the opponent.
Lee Shin grabbed the energy, suppressed and then dominated them. Inserting mana into someone else’s space was not something a wizard should do recklessly. Moreover, challenging Lee Shin with an attack in the field of the thunderbolt was quite insulting to Lee Shin.
It only took a moment to deprive the opponent of the control of the remnants of the thunderbolt that disturbed Lee Shin’s mana flow.
Pizz— pizz!
The remnants of the thunderbolt gathered and rotated before they got absorbed into Lee Shin’s mana.
[Blitz Gun]
Wooosh— Baaam!?
With a deafening roar, a golden beam shot through the air. Seeing the opponent’s frowning face, Lee Shin started to smirk.