Chapter 121

Sidegrade (1)

After gifting a sword to the Heavenly Demon, I made another one for myself. As I mentioned before, it was meant to be a spare.

Since Passing Dwarf enjoyed this kind of work too, both of us had fun making it.

Shhhhh!

“Pretty.”

I gave a brief assessment as I gazed at the sword sparkling like a glow-in-the-dark star. It truly was a beautiful sword.

It was also highly practical. It would be especially useful at night.

With this sword alone, I would be able to illuminate my surroundings to a certain extent.

I did have a light crystal orb, but the luminous sword would be even more efficient.

‘It produces aura easily even with very little mana.’

More than anything else, what pleased me most was its mana efficiency. Just as I had expected, even a small amount of mana caused its aura to billow like flames.

For someone like me, whose weakness was stamina, its performance was like rain after a long drought.

Of course, the Heavenly Demon’s sword was so absurdly powerful that I would only keep this one as a spare. Even so, it was still excellent.

‘It’ll help with my training too.’

Since it required so little mana, controlling it wasn’t difficult either. It was a beginner-friendly sword.

It would be rude to keep something like this to myself. I immediately prepared to upload it to the gallery... but stopped.

‘Come to think of it, wouldn’t this expose the Heavenly Demon’s identity?’

A sword that glowed in the dark.

The Heavenly Demon had one too.

The Heavenly Demon probably wouldn’t upload a verification post, but the moment I uploaded mine, her identity might be exposed.

The sword sparkled whenever even the slightest amount of mana was fed into it. There was no way people wouldn’t notice.

If the Heavenly Demon’s identity was exposed and she quit the gallery, it would be a massive loss for me.

She was also one of the people who had saved my life, which would make her departure all the more regrettable.

It would be more than a simple loss. It would be something irreplaceable.

‘That was close.’

My carelessness had nearly caused me to lose a precious connection.

If possible, it would be best to keep the sword’s existence hidden.

If that didn’t seem feasible, I could always make another sword out of pure mithril instead of the alloy—Mithricon.

‘It’s already... almost evening.’

The time spent searching for the crab and making all those tools had added up, and before I knew it, dinnertime was approaching.

I had originally planned to consume an inner core, but making the various tools had taken far too long.

Moreover, the Heavenly Demon said she would go out for the first time in a while to test the sword’s performance.

Hearing that made me wonder whether she really spent all her time holed up inside browsing the gallery, but I let it slide.

‘Whatever the case, I hope she likes it.’

If she said she didn’t, I was willing to return the sword she had given me.

The luminous sword might not be as good as the Heavenly Demon’s sword, but it was still excellent.

Thus, feeling equal parts anticipation and concern, I waited for the Heavenly Demon’s message.

When a message finally arrived from her, I let out the breath I had been holding. It was a slightly nerve-racking moment.

The sword the Heavenly Demon had given me had originally belonged to her, so she must have been highly skilled in swordsmanship.

That meant she would evaluate the sword I had given her objectively. That was why I was nervous.

[Heavenly Demon: Sir, are you there? I have just returned from testing the sword you gave me.]

I had been about to check whether anything had been recorded on the CCTV.

Since I already had the gallery open, I saw her message immediately.

[Wild Grylls: How was it? It’s pretty good, isn’t it?]

[Heavenly Demon: Do you wish for me to speak kindly, or do you wish for me to speak honestly?]

[Wild Grylls: Honestly.]

[Heavenly Demon: A sword can only be called a sword if it cuts what its owner wishes to cut. However, this sword is far too excessive. “Too much is as bad as too little” would be an apt description.]

[Wild Grylls: You’re not saying it’s bad, right?]

[Heavenly Demon: Quite the opposite. It is so excellent that it may cause damage its wielder never intended.]

I could roughly understand what she meant.

When preparing ingredients, you were supposed to cut only the ingredients on the chopping board.

But the Mithricon sword I had given her would slice through not only the ingredients, but the chopping board as well.

Its flaw arose from its performance being too good.

It was an answer befitting the Heavenly Demon. Her self-confidence certainly seemed high.

And her words didn’t sound like mere boasting. Considering the teachings she had given me, her skills must truly be exceptional.

Although she argued with SwordMaster practically every day... they were probably both outstanding people.

[Wild Grylls: Is it difficult to handle?]

[Heavenly Demon: It is a weapon that must never be held by those incapable of controlling themselves. But I am no such person. Something of this level is easily handled.]

[Wild Grylls: That’s a relief. So it’s not that you dislike it or anything...]

[Heavenly Demon: Not at all. On the contrary, I am grateful that you so readily gave me such a sword.]

[Wild Grylls: It was only natural for me to repay you. If the sword breaks, I’ll make you a new one.]

[Heavenly Demon: Such a thing shall never happen. All martial artists regard the breaking of their sword as a disgrace. I despise disgrace, and—]

[Wild Grylls: Understood. May I contact you after dinner, then? I plan to consume the inner core and recite the chant at that time.]

[Heavenly Demon: I shall be waiting.]

After making our arrangements, I finished what I needed to do first.

The CCTV came first.

Fortunately, after checking the footage, I confirmed that no intruders had appeared while I was away searching for the crab.

I had been worried that some of the gorillas might come seeking revenge, but my concern had been unfounded.

‘And three fish were caught too.’

After finishing dinner, enough time passed for the night to grow dark and secluded.

I sent the Heavenly Demon a message informing her that I was ready.

She must have been online at the time, because she replied immediately.

[Heavenly Demon: As I explained before, this chant is about entrusting your body to the flow of heaven. You must not absorb the inner core with your body. Instead, you must surrender your body to the inner core’s flow.]

[Wild Grylls: I’ll keep that in mind.]

[Heavenly Demon: Are you ready?]

[Wild Grylls: Just a moment.]

Thanks to the storage container I had obtained through my trade with Clever Demon, the inner cores had retained almost all of their original form.

‘There’s far more mana inside this than there was in the fish.’

The fish’s mana had at least been mixed with nutrients, but this was a mass of pure mana.

If I failed to absorb it properly, I might suffer from a fever again, just like last time.

Fortunately, my body had already grown accustomed to mana.

If I had consumed it without any preparation, my body might truly have burst apart, just as the Heavenly Demon had warned.

‘If I can fully absorb the inner core, I’ll become stronger.’

I didn’t have just one, either. I had several.

However, I planned to reserve a few as emergency food for Namu-Ppareumbo.

The first time was always the hardest. I barely managed to calm my pounding heart.

I was worried that something might go wrong, but I had no choice but to trust the Heavenly Demon’s chant.

As soon as I saw her ask whether I was ready, I looked down at my hand.

A small inner core rested upon my palm.

[Wild Grylls: I’m ready. Please teach me now.]

[Heavenly Demon: You who seek to stand in the heavens, feel the heavens in their entirety. Perceive where the heavens are heading and what the heavens indicate. You who have felt the heavens, entrust your body to them. Then...]

As the Heavenly Demon had explained, the second chant was about entrusting one’s body to the flow of heaven.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.

If I understood both myself and my opponent, I could secure victory.

The same applied even if the opponent was heaven itself. If I understood everything contained within the heavens, I could secure victory.

Gulp—

I swallowed the inner core and began practicing my internal energy cultivation technique. At first, I used the breathing method I always practiced.

But perhaps because I had consumed such a massive concentration of mana, the flow of mana—which had already been surging fiercely—gradually grew even more turbulent.

I wanted to forcibly seize that violent current, but every attempt ended in failure.

It felt like placing my hand against a rapidly spinning disc, only to have my skin painfully scraped.

‘I mustn’t force it to stop. I need to surrender myself completely to the flow.’

I silently recited the chant the Heavenly Demon had taught me.

I shouldn’t try to grab the current and stop it with my hands. I should simply hold on.

Then, while holding on, I had to let my body flow along with it and learn what the current desired.

Rather than using my body to calm the energy, I had to adapt my body to the energy crashing over me like waves.

‘Like entrusting myself to drifting clouds. Like surrendering my body to flowing water.’

Then, just as my body gradually began adapting to the energy within me—

“Snore...”

I fell asleep without even realizing it.

I had a dream.

It was a dream in which I freely swam through the vast heights of the sky.

I had experienced this dream before.

It happened when I had been suffering from that terrible fever and recited the chant taught to me by the Heavenly Demon. I had fallen asleep as though I had lost consciousness back then too.

If there was one difference, it was my reaction.

Rather than feeling amazed, I felt somewhat uneasy.

‘Don’t tell me I’ll have this dream every time I learn a new chant?’

The timing was far too coincidental for me not to think so.

I would only be certain if the same thing happened again next time.

For now, it would be best to make good use of this rare opportunity.

‘Let’s see. If that over there is the ocean...’

I surveyed the Forest of Four Seasons.

Being up in the sky made reconnaissance incredibly easy.

Was I certain this was the Forest of Four Seasons?

The shelter was clearly visible directly beneath my feet, so it didn’t take long to recognize the place.

Judging by the pitch-black night, the time here also seemed roughly the same as when I had fallen asleep.

‘I can move freely too...’

However, unlike last time, I sensed something strange.

Even though I remained still, it felt as though something was moving me.

The chant the Heavenly Demon had taught me suddenly came to mind, so I closed my eyes and concentrated.

For a moment, I wondered whether I was supposed to breathe even in this place.

But that thought soon faded.

‘...Something is moving.’

Although I remained completely still, I could sense an extremely subtle movement.

It wasn’t the clouds, the wind, or the animals below.

It was the sky itself—the very sky in which I was floating so confidently.

I could feel its movements, however faintly.

‘But...’

The problem was that those movements were chaotically intertwined.

Rather than moving in the direction of the planet’s rotation, they moved however they pleased.

I wondered whether such a thing was truly possible, but this was the Forest of Four Seasons.

This was a place where even space itself became distorted, so I had no choice but to accept it.

‘Still... each region seems to flow in a relatively consistent direction.’

The area beyond the river and the area around the shelter moved in completely different ways when compared to each other.

But when I examined them separately, I could tell that each flowed in a consistent direction.

Still, what use was there in knowing that?

I had a long way to go.

Flash!

Hardly any time had passed, yet the sun was already beginning to rise.

It felt as though time was passing at an abnormally rapid pace, leaving me thoroughly bewildered.

At the same time, my body gradually began being pulled downward.

It was a kind of alarm telling my soul to awaken now that my physical body was waking up.

I struggled briefly against the sensation of someone dragging my body away.

“...Huh?”

Then I saw it clearly.

A solitary ‘tree’ standing tall in the distance.

Even amid the vast forest, it possessed an unmistakable presence that couldn’t possibly be concealed.

I wanted to perceive that presence more clearly, but unfortunately, I was out of time.

My body plummeted toward the shelter.

“Ah.”

The moment I opened my eyes, I couldn’t help but let out a bewildered sound.

I felt as though I had just seen something, but I couldn’t remember it clearly.

I thought it had been a tree.

I couldn’t tell whether it had merely been a dream or something real, leaving me confused.

‘...Why did it feel like time was passing so quickly?’

There was much to consider.

I exhaled and looked around.

Perhaps because it was still early, Namu-Ppareumbo and Wonmo were both sleeping soundly.

I quietly crept outside so that I wouldn’t wake them.

I also remembered to bring the Heavenly Demon’s sword, since there was something I needed to test.

‘Let’s see what changed.’

I had absorbed all the energy from the inner core.

And I had done so perfectly.

Moreover, the contents of my dream had been anything but ordinary, so there must have been some significant changes.

Feeling slightly nervous, I slowly infused mana into the Heavenly Demon’s sword.

Fwoosh!!!

An aura of flame far larger than before billowed across the sword.

Previously, it had been just large enough to envelop the entire blade, but now it was almost twice that size.

Consuming the inner core and practicing the chant had clearly produced an effect.

The problem was...

‘Didn’t he say that merely making it bigger was pointless?’

SwordMaster had harshly criticized that exact issue before.

He had said that enlarging one’s aura was the very height of inefficiency.

Yet I had infused the sword with the same amount of mana as before.

Its efficiency had undoubtedly increased, but only in a strange and seemingly useless direction.

‘...This really is a sidegrade, isn’t it?’

Should I simply be satisfied that my attack range had increased?