Chapter 67

I said something like, “If I retry enough times…”, but honestly, I had no intention of repeating it that many times.

The sensation of flesh separating from bone isn’t something you’d want to experience over and over.

I already had a plan for how to subdue it. And I even knew the steps to get there.

So now, all that’s left is to follow those steps without making a mistake.

The beast scowled as if deeply irritated by my return from death.

From that complex, repulsive expression, I could sense traces of intelligence.

I’d noticed it earlier, when it tried to trick me with its tail… This thing is undoubtedly as intelligent as a human.

“But precisely because of that, I can make it move according to my plan.”

I deliberately raised my arms high and assumed a completely unguarded stance. Then, as if daring it to strike, I stepped toward it.

“……?”

The intense malice is still there, but in its eyes, I see curiosity and confusion. It’s the look of “What on earth is this tiny, insignificant thing trying to do?”

Good. Just the way I want it. Keep letting me come closer.

It already knows I’m unarmed and that my attacks can’t hurt it.

So of course, it will allow me to approach. And surely, it will play with me like a cat toys with a mouse, before finally crushing me.

The desire to dominate weaker creatures is instinctual.

Clomp, clomp.

And, as expected, it didn’t stop me from coming right up to it.

Shhhhhaaaa…

I brushed the rain from my head and flicked a finger at the blue lion.

“Come on. Try me.”

The lion, amused by the provocation of something less than a hundredth its size, swung its paw down.

KWAHAHAHAHAHAK!

The sheer force whipped up a massive gust. Loose, rain-soaked pavement shattered, scraping across my cheeks.

And I stood my ground, taking the blow head-on.

KWA-AAAAANG!!

A strike capable of flattening a house or two, and yet my body, made of mere flesh and cloth, remained unbroken.

What broke was the ground beneath my feet. The kinetic energy I absorbed surged into a shockwave, ripping the earth into concentric rings.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!!!

The lion’s eyes widened. That’s right, it must be bewildered. It’s impossible, by normal logic.

But that’s your logic.

The principle is simple: I let my body absorb the impact, then redirect all the energy backward.

It’s a high-level technique, only possible with preparation—and only when my feet touch solid ground.

“Hmm… it’s been a while since I used this. Works perfectly.”

“This all you got?”

Crack…!

The lion bared its teeth, swelling its muscles as it raised its paw even higher.

KWA-AAAAANG!! ZZZZZZZZK!!

The shockwave toppled nearby buildings and shattered the ground, yet I remained standing.

Not exactly unscathed. Even after perfectly redirecting the enormous force, my bones and muscles screamed in protest.

“Focus… maintain composure.”

I muttered casually, forcing a nonchalant expression.

“Hmph, that’s it?”

The lion probably didn’t understand my words, but it didn’t matter.

By now, it had guessed my meaning, and its eyes flared with anger.

GRRRRR…!!

Fueled by pride, the blue lion rose slowly, then took a few steps back before lunging forward with all its weight, swinging its paw.

This was exactly the moment I’d been waiting for.

I reached out, hands gripping the wire-like fur of the approaching paw. I twisted, redirecting the force through my arms.

KWA-AAAAAAA!!!

Yes. Throwing a creature the size of a ten-story building with a move like a judo throw.

…Some might say it’s impossible for someone barely two meters tall to throw a building-sized beast. But when a person trips over a stone, do they roll because the stone is huge and strong?

No. The stone only redirects the energy; the force comes from the person themselves.

KWA-HAHAHAHAHAK!!

The 30-meter giant flipped backward, standing on its head before collapsing onto its back, toppling like a crumbling skyscraper.

KWA-AAAAAAAANG!!

As the blue lion was hurled onto its back, its eyes blinking in equal parts pain and bewilderment, I leapt atop its head with lightning speed.

Without hesitation, I drove the spear into its unnaturally clear, massive blue eyes.

CRACK!!

KRAAAAAAAK!

A scream of unimaginable volume echoed right before me.

But it was all show—this didn’t even scratch it. So I pushed further.

I gripped the spear I had plunged in.

“If a sword can do it, there’s no reason my bare hands can’t.”

I expanded my perception, sensing the high-dimensional axis.

Then I projected my force in that direction. The difference this time? Not slicing with a sword, but pounding with my fists.

Of course, it was harder, but far from impossible.

KWOONG! CRACK! CRACK-CRACK!!

KRAAAAAAAA-AAAAK!!

A scream of agony unlike any before.

From the feel in my hands, I could tell a spatial fracture over three meters wide had formed inside its eyes.

KRAAAAAAK! KRAAAAAA-AAAAK!

Unable to endure the excruciating pain, the beast violently shook its head—again and again.

And then…

Drip, drip, drrrrip…

Its brain, shattered by the rift, poured out through the cracks, and the beast collapsed.

KUUUUUUUNG!

“Whew. That was intense. Really.”

I washed its blood off in the rain and glanced at my right arm—the one I had just used.

Gone. Completely vanished below the elbow, without a trace.

This is exactly why I use spatial fracture and the Astraphe given by the angel.

Unlike the celestial Astraphe, ordinary weapons—or even my own arms—cannot maintain their form across a spatial fracture.

As I tended to my severed arm with a ritualic seal, something strange happened right before my eyes.

Swaaaa…

The blue lion’s fallen body shimmered into a handful of light and was sucked into me.

“What…!?”

Startled for a moment by the sudden event, I quickly realized what had happened.

“…My physical abilities went up? Because of that burst of light?”

Testing my limbs, I confirmed it.

“Roughly 1.1 times stronger. Not bad… but why? For what reason?”

After defeating the lion, I stepped outside. The two of them, still in cheerleader outfits, ran toward me, cheering.

Meanwhile, they waved their weapons enthusiastically, which was surprisingly cute.

Fake-Bel quickly pressed her hand to my chest, and all my wounds healed. Even the severed arm.

I enjoyed their fuss for a moment, then finally asked:

“I understand why you threw me in front of that monster. But why is such an absurd creature rolling around inside my mindscape? Can you explain that in more detail?”

“…….”

“…….”

They exchanged glances, then nodded.

Fake-Bel lifted me and fake-Shia and, at incredible speed, flew off to another location.

“Hey! I asked for an explanation, and you’re—”

Before I could finish, we arrived at a nearby high school.

“Why… here?”

Instead of answering, they kicked down the school gate and carried me to the school field.

And what I saw there… the field was filled with enormous eyeballs, each about a meter in diameter.

“What is this?”

Ignoring me, they dropped their weapons, clenched their fists, and leapt among the eyeballs, pounding everything in sight.

BANG! KWA-KWA-KWANG!

POW! WHAM! CRACK!

KRKO-GOGOGOGOGO!!

The eyeballs shrieked like roosters and fired eye beams at them.

FLASH! FLASH-FLASH!

But the two ignored the feeble attacks, taking hits with their bodies while destroying, burning, and crushing the eyeballs relentlessly.

“Wow… they fight well.”

And before even three minutes had passed, the battle was over. The shattered eyeballs shimmered into tiny lights and were sucked into me.

Compared to when I had felled the lion earlier, the glow was far humbler, but the phenomenon itself was the same.

I asked the two, who had returned with triumphant expressions:

“Were you wandering around like this while I was gone?”

Nod, nod.

Nod, nod.

Of course. So that’s what it was.

No wonder my physical abilities had been skyrocketing recently. Compared to when I first entered this world, it was almost a 1.5x difference.

I hadn’t really done anything, yet it kept rising nonstop. I was pleased, but also a little uneasy… and now I realized why.

“Why didn’t you tell me this until now?”

The two smiled and raised their hands high like they were cheering.

“Ah, surprise… well, thanks.”

Sodin, who had briefly fled because of Lake Gouphus , returned shortly after with eyes full of curiosity.

She kicked the cup of medicine aside, then quietly watched Go Geom-shin, lying unconscious or asleep by the lakeside.

“…Defenseless, huh.”

For a moment, she muttered an incantation of her elemental magic, thinking she could probably deal a hit to the annoying human (she’d burry his nose, that was the plan), but she smirked and altered the magical structure.

She cast a barrier spell that would intercept any intruding intelligence within a set range, except for the designated individual, with a psychic strike.

“Phew. I’ll let you off once, really.”

After setting up the magic three times to protect the defenseless man, she squatted quietly and began admiring his face.

“…He’s definitely handsome in a masculine way. Damn. Why is he exactly my type… huff…!”

Startled by her own words, Sodin quickly glanced around. Finding no one, she let out a slow sigh of relief.

“Phew…”

For the record, Sodin’s feelings about this man had shifted multiple times in a short span.

At first a junior, then a rival, and eventually surpassing her, when he arrived with Falun’s introduction, he was just an annoying guy.

But after witnessing all kinds of his behavior and grumbling at him, she realized she had grown fond of him.

“He’s a difficult man. Has nothing, yet treats me like I’m below him, that arrogance subtly seeping out…”

The strange thing was that she had accepted this attitude without resistance—actually, gladly.

It was unusual. Though now a dark-circled, obsessed mage stuck in the Magic Tower, she had originally been the daughter of the World Tree guardian in the Arsus Kingdom.

Her position was higher than a princess, never lower, and her self-esteem unmatched.

“I guess, subconsciously, I concluded he was someone entitled to arrogance. And he really was.”

“Called a Hero… What did he do before coming here? Young king? Great general? Maybe even a hero in that world too.”

Those who achieve great feats often have mental constructs far larger than ordinary mages, sometimes surpassing even renowned archmages.

One great person she knew had a mental construct large enough to encompass an entire village.

“This man’s probably similar.”

That must be why she absorbed the horrific psychic remnants—to examine his enormous mental construct in detail.

Overcome by unrecognized emotion, she lightly traced his lips with her index finger. The soft texture made her face heat up unintentionally.

“…Geom-shin. What kind of incredible adventure are you having in there right now?”

Meanwhile, around the same time…

“AAAH! Spare me! Baldy! Muscles!!”

“Hehe~”

“Ahhh~”

I was screaming as I was chased by bald, muscular men in wrestling stances.

“Don’t come near!! You sweaty, bald muscle monsters!!”