Reincarnator

Chapter 311. Nursery (4)

Hansoo mumbled as he looked towards the giant storm above the War Fortress in the distance.

‘… Hold on.’

As he looking at the crystals in front of him, Hansoo thought about those who were fighting in his place.

It wasn’t enough to create a transcendent from scratch.

It wasn’t enough to break past the wall.

But it was enough to bring up somebody who had reached their limits.

Hansoo then turned around to look at the four behind him.

Lauren Bell, Taesang and Misun.

The first people he’d met after being born.

And Akran, who was staring at him from the distance.

‘Hmm.’

Hansoo swept past them and then started to create something in his hand.

-Ssssk-

Something dark, and blood-red in color appeared.

Everyone looked confused.

They didn’t really feel anything.

‘… What about it.’

But there was one who reacted differently.

-Flinch-

Hansoo saw Taeasng flinching at the sight of his hand. He pointed at him.

“You’ll do.”

“… What do you mean?”

Hansoo replied, as he crushed a crystal in his hands.

“As a transcendent being.”

“Huh?”

Akran was shocked.

Transcendent?

‘… Was it that easy to become one?’

No, let’s say becoming one was easy.

But why did it have to be Taesang?

Taesang was talented, yes.

Though being in the top 10 might be a stretch, he was definitely in the top 20.

It was why he’d been picked as a scout, one of the more dangerous jobs.

But if it were up to his choice?

Taesang would not fit the criteria.

Akran couldn’t hold back and asked.

“Why does it have to be Taesang? Could you tell us the requirements?”

Though he was a bit sad that it wasn’t him, that wasn’t the main reason why he asked.

What if there was a special trait one needed to become a transcendent?

And what if he could acquire the method of creating one?

‘Then… Then I could pick them out personally and raise them.’

People who had the potential to become transcendents through the most efficient and quickest manner.

Kuooo!

But Hansoo never replied to Akran’s question.

Since Hansoo was completely focused on grinding the crystals apart.

He should be grinding them even finer, but there was no time to do so.

He needed to do this as quick as possible.

-Rumble-

With Hansoo at the center, a storm was brewing inside the storage area.

And the countless violet crystals started to melt, merging into a single strand of smoke which then merged into the storm.

The overflowing energy turned to lightning, striking nearby surfaces.

-Crack!-

“What the…”

“Woah!”

Everyone retreated from this scene.

-Boom!-

A bright light exploded out from Hansoo’s hands and something came into sight.

Something similar to an amethyst; a tiny gem the size of a fingernail.

Everybody stared at this beautiful gem.

Hansoo spoke to Taesang.

“Digest this and then go to the War Fortress once you’re done.”

It actually took time for a person to fully absorb and get used to their new strength.

And there wasn’t enough time at hand to wait until Taesang was finished.

Since the other party was growing stronger at an even faster rate.

“You mean, you want me to come help?”

If the opponent was too strong and he needed a helper, then making a transcendent made sense.

Since two was better than one.

‘But then… I’ll also…’

Hansoo scoffed at Taesang who seemed to be in high spirits.

“Of course not.”

Taesang might be able to become a complete transcendent, but the amount of crystals here weren’t enough for him to fully cross the wall.

He might barely be of use if he crossed the wall entirely—he’d be useless if he stopped at the halfway point.

There was another reason why he’d made this gem and given it to Taesang.

“Let’s just say… You’re insurance.”

“… Pardon?”

-Poof-

Before Taesang could even react, Hansoo smashed the violet gem into Taesang’s heart.

But despite flying in so fast it could have shredded through Taesang’s ribs and heart, the gem was merely absorbed into the flesh.

Then-

-Thump-

“Huh…? What?”

‘… What the hell?’

Taesang exclaimed out loud as he felt the energy flowing out from his heart.

Like paint spreading through water, the violet light soon covered Taesang’s entire body.

Covering everything from his intestines, his muscles, his bones, and his skin.

As if his entire body was being infested.

Then-

‘… What is this?’

Taesang was shocked at the strange sight happening to his own body.

The change was too abnormal for him to gladly accept.

The numbers that had strengthened his body.

The runes that he’d fought for with his life to become stronger were being erased.

Well, it was more like the runes were being altered.

The eight different runes, such as strength or agility, were breaking apart.

The strength runes broke down and mixed with the agility runes, the vitality runes also broke down and merged with the mana runes.

Like this, the eight different runes began to merge into a single point.

Then-

‘AH… AHHHH!’

A tremendous amount of pain.

As if his soul was being ripped apart from his body.

Well, that was really the case.

His consciousness was becoming blurry.

As if his soul was being forcibly sucked up to a higher place.

A strange but comfortable feeling.

And as Taesang slowly closed his eyes.

He heard the voice of the man who had caused all of this.

“Remember. After the end… Come.”

And with these words.

Taesang lost consciousness.

***

-Boom!-

Hansoo blew apart the Kang-Kions as he ran towards the War Fortress in the distance.

-Crunch!-

-Crack!-

Before this, he’d been careful not to hurt other people, but since he had nobody to look out for anymore, he was free to create an even stronger shockwave beneath his feet.

And then reflected in his eyes.

The distant War Fortress quickly becoming larger.

And the violet storm above the War Fortress slowly being sucked into it.

Into the maze below.

Hansoo heard the thunderous noise as he lifted up his Forked Lightning.

Then-

-Rumble!-

A tremendous amount of energy rose from his heart and started to surround his body.

One.

Two.

Three.

The dragons continued to crawl out until the number reached five.

The dragons now displayed an even deeper color, and looked larger than before he’d gone into the egg.

And as these dragons converged onto the tip of Forked Lightning.

-Booooooom!-

From where Hansoo had been standing, all the way to the underground area beneath the War Fortress.

A giant tunnel, several kilometers in length, had been created.

-Crackle!-

The ground cracked apart as the walls of the maze fell down.

The tunnels of the maze, that even Arthus Krancheska could barely melt even after a long period of time, were all punctured through in an instant.

The dark sphere that had created the giant hole continued to penetrate the ground, burrowing towards the Dark King who was devouring the crystals extracted from the Kang-Kions he massacred.

Then-

-Boom!-

The violet storm dispersed in an instant.

It wasn’t just because of Hansoo.

-Swooosh!-

Something dashed out from beneath the maze at an extreme speed.

Even faster than Hansoo.

“Hahahaha! You have come! Welcome!”

Laughing out loud, the thing that had rocketed into the sky started to slowly float down.

His existence alone was awe-inspiring.

His laughter alone shook the heavens and made the earth tremble.

The Dark King landed on top of the statue and smiled.

“It’s good that I waited below, otherwise this statue that I had so painstakingly created would’ve been destroyed, right?”

“A statue… I see.”

Though they were several kilometers apart, they spoke as if they were standing right next to each other.

Hansoo looked at the giant statue; the man had created it by shaving apart the mountain next to the fortress.

Though the face was left blank, his armor, ring and spear were incredibly detailed.

Hansoo then remembered what Taesang had said.

— Apparently that crazy Dark King guy crazily respects that person called Hansoo.

The Dark King laughed as he looked at Hansoo.

“Man, why couldn’t you have come a bit earlier? I…I might’ve left some for you. How could I not give even that much as a gift to the person I respected the most?”

Respected.

Hansoo smirked at the past tense.

“I see that you’re standing on top of the person you respect.”

“Oh my, what a mistake.”

The Dark King smiled apologetically, but then smashed apart the statue with his foot.

-Boooom!-

And from the shockwave, the giant statue became a humongous rock avalanche, which fell in a flood towards the War Fortress that was barely maintaining its shape.

“Uwaaaak!”

“Nooo!”

The surviving refugees who were still fighting against the Kang-Kions screamed, and the Dark King laughed when he heard them.

‘Good. Good.’

The Dark King made a satisfied smile as he looked at the scene below him.

And as Hansoo looked at him, he also looked back at Hansoo.

It was stronger and larger than the shockwave that Hansoo guy had created.

The time he’d spent here dealing with small fries hadn’t been a waste.

Hard work will never betray oneself, they say.

And this was the result of that hard work.

‘Yes… Strength is the best.’

The Dark King thought back to the time when he once respected Hansoo, then smiled.