Elric momentarily that the magical energy from his body was rapidly draining out all at once.
What followed was a brief moment of dizziness and exhaustion.
Yet his blood was racing, and his heart was pounding loudly. Especially, the back of his hand, where the ‘Seal of Ruthlessness’ was engraved, felt like it was burning.
‘Something is…’
Thump, thump!
‘There’s something there.’
He felt as though another being was living within his body besides himself.
But that didn’t necessarily make him feel bad.
On the contrary, it felt reassuring, as if he had gained an ally.
Moreover, Elric didn’t have the time to focus on such things.
The scene unfolding before his eyes was utterly shocking.
“…Did I really do this?”
Where the blinding snowstorm had just swept past, the Yeti warriors who were, until moments ago, moving to capture him, were now frozen solid.
It was as if they were intricately carved from ice. Their movements and their furious expressions were frozen on their faces, and the ground was nothing but an ice sheet.
How intense was the cold that had passed?
Everything in sight was stark white. It was so clear that Elric’s face was sharply reflected, as if in a mirror.
Then…
Whoosh.
It was as if the incoming wind was sprinkled with ice powder. And then the Yeti warriors suddenly crumbled.
At that moment,
Kieeek!
The Yeti warriors, furious over the massacre of their comrades, roared and charged at him.
They were those who narrowly avoided the range of the magical field and were less exposed to the snowstorm.
Elric, confident in his abilities, tried to deploy additional seal magic, but…
Wobble.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, the world seemed to spin around him.
And then…
Thud!
With a pain that felt like he was suffocating, Elric collapsed.
That was…
…his first death.
“…Gasp!“
Elric jolted awake, gasping for breath.
His face was soaked with cold sweat.
Haa.
Haa…
A bitter taste spread from his mouth.
[Judging by your appearance, it seems you’ve had a tough time waking up.]
Then Elric, startled by a voice from behind, quickly turned around.
“Mephi?”
[When that strange necklace was violently shaking as you fell asleep, I wondered if it was triggered without a signal. Was it difficult?]
Only then did Elric realize that he had been ejected from the dream world and had returned to reality.
He had been worried that perhaps, due to the malice of his ancestors, he might actually die in reality as well.
Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“….”
Elric looked down at his hands.
The experiences he had just undergone still felt vivid.
The biting cold and the horrific snowstorm; it was an extreme environment he truly never wanted to face again.
However, the sensation of obtaining the seal and unlocking the True Name lingered at his fingertips.
The ecstasy he felt from mastering a new magic and successfully wielding it was overwhelming.
Especially when this was a domain and system that no human had thoroughly explored before.
‘But… why did I die?’
Yet, as Elric revisited the events in the world of spirits, he slowly frowned.
After confronting the Yeti leader, he definitely felt he would die.
But after absorbing the seal, the surroundings completely changed.
That was why he confidently tried to manifest the seal magic again.
‘Ah! That’s why.’
Then Elric belatedly realized the reason.
‘I consumed too much magical energy.’
The seal magic was far more potent than any other magic Elric possessed.
‘If such a powerful spell is activated without any preparation, it’s inevitable to experience dizziness… That’s why I was caught off guard and defeated.’
At the time, the euphoria of successfully invoking the seal overshadowed his realization.
‘But I was also exhausted after defeating their leader. The reason I could still manifest such powerful magic… Was it because absorbing the seal also partially replenished my magic?’
What if he had taken the seals from the collapsed Yetis at the end?
Could he have continued fighting?
With those thoughts, he lifted his right sleeve.
Behind the Seal of Original Sin, the Seal of Ruthlessness was engraved.
——————
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Unlike the very clear and distinct Seal of Original Sin, the Seal of Ruthlessness had a more scribbled appearance, lacking a proper form.
‘If the incomplete Seal of Ruthlessness has such power, just how formidable is the Seal of Original Sin?’
Just then…
[Is that… the Seal of Ruthlessness?]
Mephisto’s voice rang in his ear.
His voice shook with a mix of surprise.
Elric quickly looked up.
[So, you have it… Ah, I see. That’s it. The setup must have been related to acquiring the seal. The Winter Sage. He sure crafted such a bizarre scheme.]
Mephisto narrowed his eyes, twisting the corners of his lips.
Seeing Mephisto realize the entire situation, Elric went straight to the point.
“The Seal of Original Sin. What’s the trigger?”
[Hmm! Did the test tell you about the True Name?]
“Yes.”
[Do you think I’ll just tell you?]
“No.”
[Even if you try to interrogate me, I’ll never speak.]
Mephisto confidently replied, arms crossed.
Elric had assumed as much.
‘After all, the seal is everything to the demons.’
Now, he vaguely understood what the seal was.
‘For Mephisto, giving me the Seal of Original Sin would be like being robbed of his last means.’
It was certain that Mephisto’s True Name was ‘Original Sin’.
Otto Han said so.
But if it wasn’t activated, there must be a reason for that.
“There might be another hidden command, or there might be more conditions required. Or perhaps my abilities haven’t reached that level yet.”
Otto Han did say the Seal of Original Sin was considered outstanding, even among the demons.
Perhaps if he carelessly wielded the Seal of Original Sin with his current body, he would just break down completely.
[What exactly was this test? Tell this King. I’m bored, so I’ll answer most of the questions you ask.]
At first glance, it seemed as if he was being considerate out of a simple whim.
Elric noticed a subtle warmth flickering in Mephisto’s eyes.
‘As expected. There’s something between the test and Mephi.’
However, Elric pretended not to know anything and asked,
“Do you know the Snow Mountain King?”
[Why are you suddenly asking that?]
“It was his tomb.”
[What?]
Elric recounted what he had seen and experienced in the test.
Of course, he deliberately left out parts he thought were essential.
[Ha! Otto Han Melvinger. That crazy guy really did it!]
Mephisto looked astonished.
[You’ll defeat him? Nonsense! There are ridiculous rumors that he controlled the north with the memories of the Yetis. How could you possibly capture someone who once ruled a region? The Snow Mountain King is one of the beings I acknowledge!]
“That’s why I’m asking. Do you know of any good methods?”
[None.]
“You said to ask anything?”
[I said I would answer most of the questions, not all. Especially revealing secrets, potentially our race’s weaknesses, about what the seal is to me, their former leader. You are trampling on my pride…!]
“Three-day exemption from the cuteness hell.”
Mephisto’s face contorted horribly.
[You think you can break my pride with that…?!]
“Five-day exemption.”
[How dare you…?!]
“Tell me or not.”
[… Even though you’re being disrespectful, I’ll overlook it this once because of my magnanimity.]
Ahem.
Mephisto cleared his throat and spoke.
[With the seal you have now, it’s far from enough. You won’t even be able to approach the Snow Mountain King, let alone break the test.]
“What do you mean?”
[Improve your accomplishments.]
“What do you mean by accomplishments?”
[Do you think all the seals are the same?]
“…!”
[Our race is strictly hierarchical. Strong respect. Only the strong can take everything and dominate. Naturally, the base seals are the same.]
“….”
[The seal is divided into grades based on rarity, and within those grades, the power varies based on the accomplishments.]
Elric’s eyes widened.
[The seal you possess now is certainly of the ‘rare’ grade. But it’s probably just 1-star. In contrast, the seal that the Snow Mountain King built in his lifetime was 10-stars and was on the verge of ‘evolving’… Even though I haven’t seen it myself, it’s sure to be at least 4-star.]
Elric had nothing to say.
However, from that single statement from Mephisto, Elric felt enlightened.
[You said you were going to capture such a thing? Then there are two methods.]
Mephisto held up two fingers.
[Either increase your achievement level. Or find another way to ‘evolve’ or ‘synthesize’ to upgrade the rank.]
Achievement.
Rarity.
Just as human magic had an established system over its long history, demon seal magic was the same.
With this information, Elric was able to plan how he should position himself and which strategy to adopt to conquer the test.
Then, he became curious.
If the Seal of Ruthlessness was of that caliber, what about Mephisto’s…?
“Then, what about the Seal of Original Sin?”
[Heh! Do you think you can gauge the King’s seal with such a rank system?]
“…!”
Whaaaa!
Elric gripped the magical item again and connected to the world of imagination.
“Have you come?”
It seemed Otto Han was waiting for him.
“Yes.”
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“It’s just that the difficulty was too rough.”
“But the rewards will be just as great.”
Internally, Elric clicked his tongue.
He seemed so gentlemanly when they first met. Was his real nature this cunning?
It seemed he enjoyed watching him get tossed around.
‘Anyway, this guy… I really don’t like him.’
Elric grumbled and started to prepare his magical armor again.
Since Mephisto gave him a hint, he had to make use of it somehow.
‘First, absorption.’
The first thing Elric attempted as he re-engaged in battle was to absorb the seals from the Yetis he had previously defeated.
Fortunately, not much time had passed in this world, and the bodies were not preserved from the cold.
The absorption was done without much difficulty.
Tsss.
The dark light that burst from the fallen ones flowed directly into Elric.
The Seal of Ruthlessness became clearer. At the same time, he felt subtle changes in his body.
‘When these pile up one by one… what would happen next?’
It was like accumulating sand to make a mountain.
How much it would change his body in the future was even beyond his own imagination.
Kiieeek!
Kieeek!
At that moment, the Yeti warriors, enraged by Elric’s reappearance, attacked with even greater fury.
Then Elric clenched his fist. The scene unfolding through his inner eye was now filled with more determination than before.
Thump!
Thump!
His heart raced violently.
The Magic Stone, which was almost 6% unlocked, was radiating more powerful energy than ever before.
He was fully immersed in the sensations provided by the Seal of Ruthlessness.
Thinking of the cold.
Visualizing the snowstorm.
Imagining the falling hail.
“【Blow!】“
Swooosh!
The second battle began.
