Chapter 99

There exists a concept called Nerve Theory.

It’s a simple theory stating that when focusing on something, less attention is paid to peripheral nerves rather than the main nerve involved.

The idea that one tends to focus more on the ‘main thing.’

This concept also applies in combat.

At higher levels, specifically before magic power is used, it’s impossible to pay attention to all aspects, creating blind spots and leading to reckless actions.

Unavoidable or unexpected strikes.

If it’s a ranged attack, it’s hard to react unless you’re on high alert.

In general terms.

Kang!

The sword clashed against a thorn, sending vibrations through my fingertips as sharp attacks were prodded at me like testing for weaknesses.

They were slowly wearing down my nerves.

Throwing, then running away.

Outside the foggy barrier stood creatures throwing thorns at me from my blind spots in the grayish haze beyond my vision.

Thus, irritation accumulated in my nerves.

Kang!

Again.

I deflected a thorn aimed at the back of my head with a twist of my sword, feeling the sensation of narrowly avoiding it.

Combat information sensed more through other means than visual cues.

“Huff.”

Closing my eyes, I put strength into my legs.

Stepping and springing forward, I had to cut them down one by one – a risky decision.

Though I figured they couldn’t shoot infinite thorns, I intended to roughly block while moving forward.

But the current situation wasn’t as easy as I thought, especially after spotting objects shooting multiple thorns like spitting saliva.

Pffft!

Now.

As the thorn and I crossed paths, we both disappeared.

Soaring through the air, I pushed off the ground, leaving deep footprints in the damp soil as thorns pierced through my afterimage.

Finally, I faced the opponent firing the thorns.

[Tracker]

My reaction was faster.

Twisting my body, I smoothly swung my sword.

A body cleaved without resistance, followed by an explosion of light pushing away the fog.

With a black glow fading, the tracker’s body split in two, its armor and bones vanishing.

Phut!

Before another entity could fire a thorn, I was already moving.

Leaping again like a small projectile.

Cutting, moving.

My vision violently swayed as relentless attacks came.

Would flying through a dizzying 3D game feel like this?

To me, accustomed to 2D ground combat, using magic power to fly in 3D combat was strangely unfamiliar.

Even though I gained advantages from it, the discomfort of adapting remained.

“Hoo…”

Heat rose from my body.

The effect of expending magic power causing energy reactions.

The hot heat mixing with the fog blurred my vision.

Around me lay quite a mess of scattered tracker corpses.

The wide terrain made it feel different from fighting in narrow dungeons.

A one-against-many battle always felt disadvantageous.

Clank!

Sheathing my sword signaled the lull in combat.

The surroundings were quiet.

No hostile lifeforms within sensory range.

Fourteen slashed down in total.

Those numerous trackers hiding and sneakily shooting thorns from afar.

Perhaps enduring while advancing was a pretty foolish move.

Walking on the damp path.

As long as I didn’t trip over thick tree roots, it was decently walkable.

Though still somewhat nerve-wracking not knowing what might appear,

it was better compared to sudden thorns emerging.

Maintaining vigilance but not yet engaging in combat,

though continuing this state was burdensome as keeping senses open drained magic power subtly.

“Kiillick.”

The sound of insects.

Their low cries carried through the fog.

Suddenly, the ground heaved and writhed.

Out emerged a group of shiny black bugs from the moist earth.

Not a pleasant sight visually or situationally.

Each object had different names.

Tracking, reconnaissance, pioneering.

The pioneers approached me with fierce yellow eyes and scythe-like front claws raised, dirt falling off their threatening forms.

Before entering combat,

I lightly rolled on the ground, sending out shockwaves.

“Keuuh!”

The distant cry of a bug.

It was the last of a bug that tried to ambush me from below.

The start of engagement began with that cry.

A sharp scythe aimed at my right shoulder.

Using my armor to deflect while dodging a second aimed at my head.

Short movements.

Efficient and counter-attack possible directions.

Even swinging the sword considered future short combat plans.

The flames created by the sword.

And the black afterglow.

The path of flowing heat.

Though unable to deal fatal wounds, it temporarily sealed off an area.

The sword itself, romantically named Flame Sword, surprisingly had many practical uses.

On the ground, four sides. Including the air, make that eight?

When airborne, even more directions.

Halving the approaching enemies with the sword provided significant merit.

An advantage in combat design.

By erasing space,

advancing on advantageous ground,

and handling unavoidable situations with magic power or deflection,

I steadily reduced their numbers.

Step by step.

Calmly maintaining the same composure throughout.

In combat, fiery passion isn’t favored except for explosive firepower moments.

Especially not in one-against-many situations.

Burning all firepower at once then collapsing is something large-scale war mages do.

Long and steady.

After concentrating firepower briefly to handle one target, considering efficiency.

That was the correct way to lead this current battle.

Though no one taught me, experience and knowledge naturally guided me.

The feeling of growing familiarity as naturalness seeped into my body wasn’t bad.

Even if it was familiarity gained from cutting insects.

Keexk!

Screams never get familiar,

whether from bugs or humans.

It’s a primal repulsion from taking life that can’t be helped.

Though steeling oneself suppresses the unpleasant feeling, it can’t be eliminated.

Of course,

continuing such thoughts during combat is a luxury.

Kang!

The brief pause of the sword against the scythe.

In one-against-many situations, it was critical.

Defending with an attacking weapon lost a turn.

Sure enough,

seizing the opportunity, five or six sharp front claws charged fiercely.

Consuming more magic power, I forced my way through the gap.

It was a mistake.

I should have relied on heavy armor to deflect and gone in that direction.

Even with advanced combat skills and much experience and knowledge,

mistakes can’t be completely eradicated.

They can approach zero infinitely,

but humans naturally make mistakes.

How to cover them is key; obsessing over making none leads to rigid combat.

Well,

with magic power, handling mistakes becomes easier.

Against opponents using magic power it’d be difficult, but these bugs don’t use it so it’s irrelevant.

Long and wide.

Dodging naturally creates counter angles.

Swinging the sword widely sent out sharp flames of fire.

It was quite a flashy attack.

Cutting through the white mist, the red flames traveled far until turning into dark ash and naturally dissolving.

With that final strike, the bugs slowly retreated.

Dozens of bodies already littered the ground.

Though many remained, perhaps recognizing me as a highly threatening enemy,

they maintained standoff instead of recklessly charging.

“Kee…”

With short hisses, they withdrew.

The battle ended.

Some burrowed into the ground while others awkwardly scrambled away.

Sheathing my sword, I normalized my irregular breathing which lasted quite a while.

Though inhaling the fog’s moisture wasn’t pleasant,

exhaling felt quite refreshing.

A faint fever enveloped my body.

Slight pain and confidence filling my brain.

Knowledge and experience.

I gripped my sword tighter.

Checking the system showed combat level increased to Advanced 4.

Such immediate updates becoming visible now was pleasing.

One intuitive change among the skills incorporated into the system.

Turning my head to check the time revealed more had passed than expected.

Today was just a taste.

Since I grasped how floors beyond dungeon level 50 felt,

I decided to come back when I have time for further exploration.

Brief skirmishes.

Leaving behind insect corpses, I activated the warp device at the entrance.

I returned home.

After every battle, bathing came first.

Feeling quite sticky.

After bathing and coming out,

fairy sightings greeted me.

Fairies flew about chaotically.

Surprisingly, Evangelin and Anne were outside watching them curiously too.

Looking at the farm,

quite a large area of land appeared neatly cultivated in a short time.

Evidence the fairies worked hard planting seeds.

Since they worked hard, I couldn’t not reward them.

Taking out plenty of fruits from my bag,

I tossed them out with a “Tuck! Tuck!”

“Hey kids!”

Calling out louder gathered the fairies.

“It’s fruit!”

“Are you giving it to us?”

The fairies happily flew closer with smiles.

Nodding affirmatively made them fly even faster.

That must mean they’re enjoying themselves.

The fairies gathered around the fruits, munching on them.

Their cute little crunching sounds made their eyes sparkle.

“Did you work hard?”

“Yeah.”

“You did good!”

Anne suddenly appeared from somewhere

holding a towel, shyly walking over then pretending to wipe the sweat off my freshly bathed forehead.

It was so funny I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Wiped your sweat, so working a bit more is okay, right?”

Her shameless smile made refusal difficult.

“What kind of work are you planning?”

“Flower shop relocation!”

“Right now?”

“Yeah. My flower shop is far from Minho’s house. I don’t want to be separated.”

By my standards, it was quite an embarrassing line.

Seeing her boldly declare it with wide eyes reminded me of Anne’s character.

Subtle playfulness hinted she’d been influenced by someone.

“Who with?”

Trying to make her slightly uncomfortable and show an awkward expression.

“Just…”

Her sly voice.

Smiling sweetly while poking my chest softly.

Seeing that, an awkward silence enveloped me instead.

Evangelin casually stood up and walked over.

“I’ll help too.”

Adding her input calmly as usual.

Her true intentions indiscernible by voice alone.

“Great~”

Anne giggled contentedly.

Mixed with the fairies’ laughter,

creating a picturesque scene.

The background of autumn wind blowing through golden fields enhanced the image.

Anne snuggled into my arm.

Holding my arm with both hands,

the sensation was quite peculiar.

I deliberately didn’t show it,

wanting to avoid being swept away by Anne’s playful expressions.

“Hehe.”

Just that.

Seeming perfectly content,

Anne smiled softly.

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