Chapter 68. Cataclysm (1)
Reinforcements were basically imitations.
Something that helped a human imitate something stronger than them.
There were reinforcements created from imitating beastmen and there were reinforcement which imitated an intense flame like the Scarlet Jade Orb.
Some were created after imitating a tiger and some were created to imitate lightning.
Of course there were exceptions but most were like that.
Because of this the special skills were basically <a strong point of the thing you want to imitate> and due to this the main point of the special skills were set.
Becoming the exact thing that you want to become.
And Hansoo’s speciality was related to this.
If he learns a skill then he receives the intentions and experiences of the creator or the user of that skill and assimilates it.
He can understand the skill better than anyone, increase the mastery of the skill quickly and become closer than anyone else to the one who has mastered it before.
And the result in which such specialty and special skill combined to create.
<racial metamorphosis>
Booom!
“Kuwaaaaak!”
A clansman flew into the distance after getting his whole body crushed by Hansoo’s kick.
“Damned bastard! Die!”
Another clansman charged towards Hansoo after covering themselves with skills from head to toe.
‘Damned monster!’
They had all been killed by that guy.
‘Damnit. When did this get tangled up like this!’
They had thought that they could just watch the newcomers die and take back the relics but for something like this to happen.
Keeerik.
Hansoo’s reinforcement had been cut apart but they could not get through the scales.
Tough scales that showed higher defenses than armors.
But the clansmen did not give up.
Since they weren’t alone.
Kwaaaaaa!
A clansman who had charged him from behind shoved a greatsword into the location where he had cut apart with his dagger.
Crack.
A crack had appeared on the translucent scales.
And at the same time a rough noise was heard as the greatsword got shoved in towards Hansoo’s chest.
Kudududuk.
But only that far.
The greatsword could not smash apart the ribs by the chest.
A clansman who saw this was shocked.
‘No way!’
No matter how high a person’s resistance is there is still a limit to the durability of human’s bones.
But that bone was so hard that the blade of the greatsword could not even leave a scratch on them.
Kudududuk!
Of course there was no need worry further.
The moment the formless sword in Hansoo’s hand flew across the air the bodies of the two closest people to Hansoo had been cut in half.
“Kuuuhh….”
The two people made groans as they fell, Hansoo looked at these guys and then looked at his body which was full of injuries.
The injuries were healing at an extremely fast speed.
He looked like a human from the outside but the insides were totally different.
A completely different muscle structure, heart and bones comprised of his body.
Unlike humans who would die from getting hit by a sword, the dragon race had barely no weaknesses and had high health so they survived in much harsher conditions than humans.
And because of this they were stronger by at least a few times even if they had the same amount of runes.
Actually there aren’t any races who are weaker than the humans in battle.
And especially for those races who had skills made after them because humans wanted to imitate them.
‘But it’s still a bit burdensome.’
He knew the moment he learnt it.
That he couldn’t use it all day and all night due to the low amount of masteries.
The difference between the Demon Dragon’s and a human’s body was still too great.
‘Time will solve everything I guess.’
Charururuk.
Hansoo, who had glanced at the extremely thin and transparent layer of scales on him, gathered up the runes on the ground and then collected the most useful artifacts out of the ones dropped on the ground.
He would gain the attention of everyone if he were to walk around with these things hanging off his body but he could just hide them with a cape.
‘This isn’t the time to worry about other people’s eyes.’
He could just throw them away if they become nuisances.
For the moment he needed to focus on increasing his battle power.
Since the biggest hurdle has yet to come.
Hansoo threw away the <forgotten sword> he had been using until now and then touched the <galadriang’s relic> on his waist.
‘My runes are now at… around 35%’
If you think about how people take usually 3 years to raise the runes’ level to the next rank, then he had raised all at once to the amount he should have gotten after a year of hunting.
It would be much easier for him to get around from now on.
Kwaruruk.
Hansoo glanced at the spectres charging at him but then looked up towards the core up in the sky.
Hansoo started to quickly run before the spectres arrived on him.
Towards the tallest and closest location to the core which was stacked high with trash and debris.
He needed to charge through while Galadriang was dead and was struggling to get back.
After climbing up the mountain the Core was in his view.
The identity of the Core which was shining like the sun was revealed.
A humongous eye.
The eye, which looked quite small on the way, was bigger than the 2000 man ship.
The eye, which was giving off light in all directions, blinked as it stared at Hansoo.
‘I have to finish everything within 30 minutes.’
This was not something he could turn on and off at any moment.
Otherwise he would’ve used it already.
He had to smash the Core and crush the Heart before his transformation ended.
Hansoo, who had jumped towards the sun-like core, started to raise the tension of his body.
Since the Elvenheims hadn’t been killed and turned into spectres because of no reason.
Though there was still a quite a bit of distance there was no problem.
‘Footholds will come down.’
Hansoo then stretched the formless blade of his sword and slashed at the sky.
At that moment a change occurred.
From the dark curtain that the eye was attached to, tentacles started to pour out viciously.
Kadudududk.
Tens of thousands of tentacles.
Kudududuk.
The attack Hansoo made had cut off hundreds of tentacles but it couldn’t reach the core as it dispersed.
This was the defensive system that protected the insides of the Calamity Fish.
There was nothing that protected the outer parts of the Calamity Fish.
Since it had no predators.
But as the inside is huge, the protection system for the inside was very well built.
The tentacles that swim through the veins of the Calamity Fish will come out from the corners of the body if they deem an invader to be harmful to stop them.
Like a white-blood cell in humans.
If he had gone to the heart using a different direction then he would’ve still had to deal with these things.
That might be more dangerous for him who had a limit to the time of his transformation.
‘Well. This place isn’t really safe either.’
Here, the core, one of the main part of the body, there was dozens and hundreds of times more tentacles than in other parts of the body.
And the heart has even more.
‘I need to finish it quickly.’
The amount of tentacles that were surroundings his body were much more in numbers than the ones he could see with his eyes.
Though he had about 30 minutes left for his transformation Hansoo calculated that he had about 15 minutes instead.
He had to smash the core and crush the heart within this time period.
If not then he will just get shredded apart by the Tentacles that roam around the veins.
No, he wouldn’t really be shredded apart.
He will just become like the spectres below.
He will become a calamity greater than Galadriang and then be reborn as a sturdy shield that will protect the Calamity Fish.
Chwarururuk!
Hansoo spread the Hardening Liquid onto his whole body and then applied them onto his blade.
He then proceeded to swing in all directions.
Chwarururuk.
His body, which had turned like a Demonic Dragon’s, endlessly supplied Galadriang’s Relic with mana.
His Magic Force spread into hundreds of strands due to the Relic, took a bit of the hardening liquids and then attacked the tentacles.
Kadududuk.
The tentacles screamed and squirmed as they were scratched from the formless blades.
Then they turned like stones as they fell to the ground.
The Hardening Liquid, which was made from the combined efforts of the Alchemists, was like a fatal poison to them.
Though it had been created with the Kukulja extract as the basis but the effect could not even be compared to it.
Hansoo madly slashed his sword as he proceeded forward by stepping onto the tentacles.
Kududuk.
The scales on his whole body got shredded off and his limbs repeated the process of getting broken and healing back.
There were a few occasions where he almost fell down when the tentacles that acted as footholds disappeared but there were simply too many tentacles coming at him.
Hansoo stepped atop the petrified tentacles as he continued to proceed towards the Core.
Chururuk.
After slashing continuously, the giant eye had come close enough to him to the point where it was within his range.
‘I’ve arrived!’
The eye glared at at Hansoo as if it wanted to shred him apart but there was nothing it could do.
Since its only job was to create and maintain this space.
Kwaduduk.
A tentacle which flew in from afar broke through his ribs and then crushed his heart.
Hansoo could see the Eye smile.
But Hansoo also laughed towards the eye.
‘Laugh as much as you want.’
Chukunk!
Hansoo, who had cut apart the tentacle which had penetrated through his heart, stepped on top of it as he jumped over.
Then he used all the strength in his body and stabbed the eyeball.
…………..
“You brats! What are you doing! Grab onto the tree!”
Camille Rowe frowned as she looked at the people running around on the ground.
On the waist of the newcomers an extremely tough looking rope was tied onto them.
One of the newcomers who were tying on the rope that were tied onto the trees spoke out in dissatisfaction.
“Damnit! Shouldn’t we be finding a ship during this time to run away! Or combine our strengths to get through the Gertas! You told us that you would save us but what is this?”
Everyone nodded at these words.
The giant fish had got close enough to the point where they could see it themselves.
What kind of crazy act was this when such a thing was coming to eat them up.
Camille spoke as she thought of Hansoo.
‘He said to just smack them if they didn’t listen right.’
This was something she excelled at even if Hansoo hadn’t told her about it.
Especially towards the newcomers who didn’t realize their situation.
Kwaduk.
“Kuaak!”
“You bastard. I said to leave if you were going to leave right? Why do you keep asking me to clear the road for you?”
“Kuhuwuu…”
The guy who had made strange groaning noises just started to roll on the floor while grabbing ahold of his stomach.
The people glanced at that Camille and then quietly fastened themselves onto the Tree.
The newcomers, who had linked their body onto the thousands of thick woods in the jungle and to each other, looked towards the distant sea with a worried expression.
Actually Camille was worried also.
Since they would all die like this if that guy failed.
At that time something happened.
Guuuuuuunggg!
A scream which was filled with pain resonated throughout the atmosphere.
The people trembled in fear but Camille smiled in joy.
‘I don’t know what he did but he gave a hit!’
But soon Camille realized why Hansoo had told her to hold onto the tree.
The Calamity Fish, which had a expression of pain, started to throw up things.
Endlessly.
Camille knew what those things were.
Since she had seen them before.
‘Those are… the debris within the stomach?’
The huge amount of debris that poured out from its mouth dropped onto the sea as t created a huge tsunami.
Camille shouted widely.
“Hold on!!!”
And then the huge tsunami that was created in the distant sea swept onto the Root they were standing on.
………..
Kyaaaaak!
Black Blood was pouring out of the giant Core.
As the Core got damaged the huge space that was being sustained by the core started to tremble.
At the same time the space shrunk down as the debris within it endlessly started to stab the insides of the Calamity Fish.
Kwaaaaaaaa.
‘But this won’t kill it.’
Though it was struggling in pain it will start to heal again once it pukes out everything.
The Core required the most amount of energy so it was located nearby the Heart and received blood from the biggest artery in its body.
‘Let’s end this.’
If he were to go through this then he will reach the Heart.
Hansoo clenched his teeth as he jumped into the large artery which the blood was pouring out from.