How did this humanâs power increase so suddenly? Had he been hiding his strength all this time? The Garuda, surrounded by dark flame greatswords, looked around and couldnât hide its panic.
[Kikuoooooh!]
[Next.]
Though it expelled its flames in every which direction and managed to melt the greatswords, more greatswords would take their place and attack it. Each and every greatsword was tinged in dark flame, so the Garuda could not oppose them without its shining flame!
At first, the Garuda thought it may be a hallucination, but there was not a single person in the world that could fool it, the master of the shining flames. Just in case, it allowed one of the greatswords through, but was met with agonizing pain.
Lee Shin Wooâs Dark Flame was much more powerful than the Dark Flame Ghostsâ, so the Garuda immediately released its shining flame and erased the greatsword. However, it had taken considerable damage in the process.
[Guaaaahk! Kugiaaaaah!]
[Hoo.]
There was only one thing it could think of. Either he had way more magic than it did, or he was supplying himself limitless mana through some unknown means!
But what about the Garuda? It had just awoken after hundreds of years of imprisonment, so its body was in terrible shape. Its body had been contaminated, its mana hadnât recovered properly, and it couldnât use any of its other authorities, aside from its Shining Flame. A few more attacks like this, and it wouldnât have enough mana to even produce its shining flames!
[KureureukâŠ!]
Then, what should it do? It obviously had to run away. If it ran away at full speed, a human wouldnât be able to follow (the Garuda still hadnât figured out just how fast Jin was). First, it would run away, somehow replenish its mana, figure out the humanâs abilities, and then form some countermeasures to them.
Yeah. That would be the rational decision. But because the Garudaâs mind and body had been corrupted by the undead curse, it made the exact opposite call. It unleashed even greater flames, burning away the greatswords, and then charged at the Titan!
[Kuhaaaaaaaahk!]
[Nice looking flames you got there!]
It was level 9! Although it was standing on the precipice of life and death, there was no way it couldnât kill a level 8 human! On the contrary, if it were to kill him and then absorb his mysterious mana source, it would soon be restored from this corrupted state!
Its mind was filled with violence, void of any reason; the Garuda looked like any other undead in the Underground Empire. The Garuda had barely kept itself together before, but had completely snapped after fighting Lee Shin Woo.
âGood.â
On the other hand, Lee Shin Woo couldnât stop himself from inwardly smiling. After heâd analyzed both his and his enemyâs environment, he had activated Wild Card, which was definitely working.
Once heâd activated the skill, heâd anticipated the Garudaâs response, its panicked state, and even its current action⊠No, by using Wild Card, everything was going according to his âscriptâ.
âThis skill, Wild Card⊠Turns a limited space into my stage. It sets up the situation, causing my enemy and the circumstances to go in a certain direction; a direction in which I win. Iâm the only main character hereâŠ!â
Honestly, his innate skills (e.g. Disguise, Instigate, Acting, etc.) werenât suitable for battle. Regardless, Lee Shin Woo had used those skills resourcefully (or forcefully) to overcome danger. However, they werenât meant to be used to attack the enemy.
But when Wild Card fuses all of his skills together and amplifies them, the Jokerâs innate skills become the most powerful skills in the world. The clearing, filled to the brim with greatswords, was a good example of this. Those were mostly created with his Disguise and Acting skills⊠To be frank, they were all falsities that only he and the Garuda could see.
âIf I can make them think itâs real, then it supplants whatâs actually ârealâ. Moreover, itâs gotten hit by one of my greatswords already, so itâs already afraid.â
Normally, it would be impossible to use his Disguise, Acting, and Instigate skills on such a large scale. But it was made possible by his Wild Card skill, which made the entire area his own, amplified all of his skills, mixed and matched them, and activated them!
âYou canât act without the proper stage. Wild Card sets up the perfect stage for me, and when I, the actor, sets foot on that stage, the play begins!â
Of course, not all of the greatswords within the clearing were fakes. A few of the swords had been created by his Bone Armory skill, so some real weapons were mixed in with the fakes. And when the Garuda had tested to see if it were hallucinating or not, Lee Shin Woo had used a real greatsword. Once it pierced its body, true dark flame erupted from the blade and caused a grievous wound!
[Kugyaaaaaahk!]
[You really think youâll be able to burn all of these with those measly flames? You need more!]
As a result, the stage was set. The Garuda thought all of the greatswords were real threats, so it was burning each and every one of them with its flames. While Lee Shin Woo had barely used any mana, the Garuda was releasing its shining flames over a wide area, so its mana was draining fast. Thus, the once close battle had completely turned in his favor.
It might be different if the Garuda could reabsorb its mana, but it wasnât a âcompleteâ level 9! Moreover, Lee Shin Woo was dominating the mana in the entire area (as Wild Card had increased his reach), so he was gradually strangling it!
[KuguoooooohâŠ!]
It hadnât even been 3 minutes since heâd used the Wild Card skill (he had 140 seconds left before the Titan deactivated), yet the flames that enclosed its body had become pale and diminished significantly. Plus, its form looked clearer than before as well.
Its half-rotten eyes looked into Lee Shin Wooâs eyes. Its hostility, anger, and regret were reflected within those eyes, as it couldnât defeat him.
[Hoo. Hoo. Now youâre starting to look at me.]
[Kikuoooooh!]
Originally, its golden body mustâve been beautiful. However, the many years spent trapped here caused its skin to split, and the undead curse caused his body to rot, blackening its body here and there. That was the biggest cause of its rapidly dwindling intellect.
It had been imprisoned by the Magic Emperorâs barrier, and was corrupted by the Undead Emperorâs curse, so the Garuda was just an unfortunate victim of the strife between the two. It was quite pitiful, but directing that anger at Lee Shin Woo would do nothing but inconvenience him.
[If you even have a shred of reason left, then we shouldnât have to fightâŠ]
[You wouldâve looked a little cool if you werenât raising your greatsword.]
It seemed as though Zenon had also figured out Lee Shin Wooâs personality by fighting with him, as he retorted like Jin would. But what he didnât know was that if the Garuda really did have any reason left in it, then Lee Shin Woo wouldâve sent it to the surface to wreak havoc onto the Emperorâs forces.
Lee Shin Woo thought about wanting to see the Emperorâs face at least once, and simultaneously thrust with his greatsword forward. His strike was reinforced by Wild Card, allowing it to surpass all limitations. He was able to cut through the weakened shining flame shield like a hot knife through butter and severed one of its wings.
[Critical Hit!]
[Dark Flame steals your enemyâs Strength and Magic. While you have the Dark Flame active, Strength is increased by 150 and Magic by 350.]
[You have acquired the fusion element, Beginner Shining Flame Lv1. Magic has increased by 20.]
He had completely severed one of its wings. The severed wing fell from the sky, the dark flames engulfing and vaporizing it on the way down. Then, he felt the Garudaâs strength wane while the Titanâs magic increased! At long last, his Dark Flame had absorbed the Shining Flame and destroyed it, resulting in him acquiring the Shining Flame!
[Kuguooooooooooh!]
The Garuda, losing one of its wings, let out an agonizing cry that threatened to blow up the dungeon. No, it actually happened.
A high level monster and a Titan had clashed, so the dungeon had begin to collapse on the inside. But its cry was the straw that broke the camelâs back. The ceiling and the walls began to break!
âThe dungeonâs collapsing!â
âNo, more importantly, look over there! That giant bird and that giantâŠ!â
âA greatsword! The size is different, but thatâs the greatsword that Sir Kay wieldsâŠ!â
âDoes that mean that that giant is Kay!?â
âA-Are the other members of the 12 generals almost here!? No, even if one or two of the 12 generals do come, we still wouldnât be able to beat thatâŠâ
Moonlight fell upon the clashing Garuda and Titan, and the surrounding humans just watched in shock! They now had an audience.
Everyone watched the several meter tall firebird, and the dark flame giant fighting against it. It was like a reenactment of myth, and no one could do anything as they all just remained rooted in place in awe of what was happening in front of them.
âThis is dangerous.â
Lee Shin Woo had prepared his Wild Card in case it tried to escape, but felt a little nervous that it might go to waste. However, that didnât end up happening.
On the contrary, its contamination spread even further with the loss of its wing, so a somber darkness came out of its body, simultaneously strengthening its magic and taking away all its intellect. As a result, the darkness and the shining flames mixed together, and the Garuda charged Lee Shin Woo once more!
[Kyahaaaaaaahk!]
[Darkness? Ha, thatâs good news for me.]
If it had stuck to its shining flames, then it wouldâve lasted longer. But to think it would use darkness against him, when it couldnât even properly control it yet!
In the process of reaching level 8, Lee Shin Woo had completely mastered the Darkness element. Yet, the Garuda was trying to harm him, not with a fusion element, but with the darkness element that naturally clad its body once it became an undead? Thatâs funny. He snorted and took it head-on.
[Die!] [1]
[Kugooooooooh!]
He raised his greatsword up high and swung downwards like lightning. As if copying the Garuda, Lee Shin Wooâs blade was clad in both dark and golden flames (half and half), but the power contained within was incomparably greater than the Garudaâs flames.
âThe power thatâs enveloping the golemâs swordâŠâ
âItâs mixing light and darkness together. It looks to be the stronger of the twoâŠ!â
The humans looked up at Lee Shin Wooâs sword and yelled in shock. However, Lee Shin Woo merely used Dark Shadow to mix Dark Flame and Shining Flame together. Now that the Garudaâs shining flames had weakened was the perfect time for him to use Dark Shadow!
[Guaaaaaaaaaaah!]
[Huahp!]
When Lee Shin Wooâs greatsword and its beak clashed, the Garudaâs darkness energy flowed backwards and exploded. The explosion was both gruesome and beautiful, and the ground cried out once more.
The Garudaâs beak was broken into pieces, and its shining flames had dispersed. Lines of flames appeared from its head to its tail. Although it was corrupted, it was still a divine bird. It wouldnât forgive the greatsword for daring to touch its body and used its last remaining energy to burn it in an instant. However, it couldnât undo Lee Shin Wooâs strike, so it was cut in half.
But it wasnât over just yet.
[Young spirit.]
[H-Huh!?]
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Zenon was simply dwelling with Lee Shin Wooâs greatsword. He had been relaxing within it and watched the battle between the Garuda and Lee Shin Woo as if he were watching a movie. But then, he suddenly heard someone initiate a conversation with him.
[I am the Child of the Sun, the Father of the Flame. Garuda. I have a request for you, as one who has lived the same life as myselfâŠ]
To think, it was the Garuda, who Lee Shin Woo had just cut in half and killed!
Thatâs right. Once the boss battle was over, the âconversation with a soulâ event had started. Without Lee Shin Woo at thatâŠ!
[1] T/N: This actually says âBe cut in half and dieâ.