◈ Episode 487. The Foundation (3)

This is not going to go over well.

‘There won’t be any left at this rate.’

Fused Intelligence, Yugweed Lupeng.

Every wriggle of the giant golem was like an earthquake.

That’s a lot of power just flailing around on its stomach.

What if it could stand up on its own two feet?

It was at this moment that I had a horrifying thought. Phoenix, the Spirit King of Flame, spread his crimson wings and unleashed a torrent of flames at those twitching fingers.

hwaleuleuleug.

Neither magic nor skill, but {nature}.

Flames of its own.

The power was incredible, even at first glance.

The Phoenix’s beak quivered with rage.

“Oried, I am deeply ashamed of your behavior.”

Was he disgracing his fellow Spirit King?

Or did he not even want to be bound together?

Phoenix seems intent on proving his innocence.

Phoenix’s flames never ceased to burn.

Only.

“That’s enough, Phoenix.”

As the system message that never lies professed, the [Command] of Phoenix, and the spirits of the flames under his command, rested with me, so at my word, Phoenix ceased his actions.

I stared at the golem’s fingers and continued.

“Emotional responses are usually backfired.”

It wasn’t a small stone, it was a living, breathing mountain of rock. And we were only dealing with one arm, five fingers of it.

chiiiig.

The fingers, reddened by the heat of the Phoenix, seemed to recognize us as the enemy. Its movements were slow, but its power was immeasurable.

kukukukung.

The shape of a striking palm.

Jurrrrrr.

The ground melts away.

Well, it’s a good thing I teleported earlier.

That’s a literal natural disaster that no amount of building magic can stop.

Phoenix suddenly realized his mistake.

“I thought you were just Oried……….”

Oried and Yugweed.

I still don’t know what the story is between them, or whether that’s a Yugweed or Oried, but what I do know is that even Phoenix, the Spirit King, can’t compete with them.

Phoenix bowed his head.

“I apologize.”

That’s not much of an apology.

Before I accept an apology.

What should I do with those burning fingers?

‘It’s only Absolute Zero.’

Anomaly, [『Absolute Zero』].

It might be possible to do more than just cool down those overheated fingers, it might even immobilize them. Of course, I’m worried, as I’ve never seen such a wide range of Anomaly manifest before.

‘I have to do something, is there anything I can do?’

I thought to myself.

Swoosh.

Suddenly, a chill swept across the battlefield.

Of course, I didn’t have the [Warmth] buff, so I didn’t have Lee Hoyeol shivering in the cold.

The effect of [Blessing of the First World Tree] is quite extensive.

[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects the status abnormality ‘Frostbite’].

……But still, this is a bit chilly, isn’t it? Anyway, I was able to look at the protagonist without frowning. I could tell from his cold-blooded appearance.

“The Ice Spirit King, Princher, sees the Blesser.”

Greetings are unnecessary given the urgency of the situation.

If I had to compare it, it was a coldness that could never be inferior to Ice Dragon Frostnax. Thanks to this, the golem’s hot fingers cooled quickly.

pajig.

The sudden change in temperature was causing damage.

Of course, it wasn’t significant damage.

As soon as something goes wrong with the golem’s body.

Sssss.

The spirits of the earth, who had suddenly appeared, were healing the golem. The spirits of fire and ice, who had been watching the situation with concern, murmured.

“Have they really betrayed us?”

“They were simply following orders from Oried, weren’t they?”

“……I pity them all.”

Among the spirits was a familiar lizard.

Fire Drake, Senior of the Spirit School, a contracted spirit of Feiyan. Fire Drake quieted the commotion as befits a high-ranking fire spirit and a contracted spirit of the Magic Tower who knew me somewhat.

“There is no need for concern. Appropriate disposition will be taken.”

……Appropriate disposition?

What kind of disposition is that, me?

Senior Feiyan, what did you say to the contract spirit?

Those trusting eyes are quite intimidating.

I’m still not sure at this moment.

‘How many phases does this raid exist?’

I check the flashing message.

[Hidden Quest: Proof of Earth.]

The Earth Spirit King, Oried.

Oried wants to prove the blessing of the World Tree.

Overcome the trials of the earth and prove the existence of the World Tree.

-Natural World: Enter Earth Realm. (Failed)

-Fused Intelligence: Defeat Yugweed Lupeng. (Ongoing)

●Neutralize the Fused Intelligence Fingers. (Ongoing)

The most important feature of boss monsters.

As you can see, it has phases. For the quest objective, the Fused Intelligence is currently only moving its fingers, but I don’t know which parts or patterns will be left afterward.

To put it more bluntly.

‘I was already prepared to die.’

The [Last Adventurer] effect was valid on the Arcana continent.

I was even thinking of throwing in the towel at least once.

Why, we don’t have to wait for the cooldown this time?

‘Because the same guy would have appeared in the real world.’

So at this moment.

I was thinking of the most efficient way to die. Of course, the Fusion Intelligence that had sent the message to the Arcana Continent hadn’t considered my situation.

“You’re late, Aerial.”

“Zeus, have you come to worry about your son?”

“Shut up, Naias.”

“You’re here, Dryad.”

All the Spirit Kings had gathered here, except for Oried.

I am grateful, and I admire you again, Hiel.

I glanced at Hiel and swallowed with relief.

‘Seriously, what would I have done without you?’

I might have used all sorts of tricks to stop it on my own, including the use of the [Heavenly Infant Solitude], which could have run wild.

‘If, if it runs away.’

I wasn’t sure how things would turn out.

Thanks to my alter ego, Hiel, the worst was averted.

At that point.

“Listen to the former king.”

I spoke plausibly.

“As king of the natural world, you have the power. You have the power to calm the raging earth, for that is the law of nature.”

The laws of nature.

To paraphrase Grandfell.

It’s rock, paper, scissors.

‘It’s the nature of things to bite.’

The Earth Spirits are desperate to create a fused intelligence, Yugweed.

They may be protecting the golem, but that doesn’t change the obvious.

The golem’s fingers were damaged by the sudden change in temperature.

the cold-looking of Ice Spirit King Pincher.

Pincher speaks politely.

“I will gladly accept your words, Blessed One, but that being is an unknown entity, beyond the Earth Spirit King, Oried. Even with our best efforts…….”

We had a fight earlier.

I’m sure that’s an estimate.

Pincher must have sensed the overwhelming difference in power.

Phoenix didn’t argue with Princher’s words.

But I said nonchalantly.

“Still, we have nothing to fear.”

“……!!!”

They looked surprised as if I had some kind of trick up my sleeve……. I’m afraid not. As I said, all I can do is.

“I will open the way for you.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave the Spirit Kings to suffer the consequences of my actions.

Gooooooo.

Suddenly, a magical reaction in the sky.

No, not magic, just a pattern of energy emanating from a magic stone.

Yes, it was the Iron Castle.

‘It’s faster than I thought.’

Holy War Alliance.

They had just finished fighting the great monster, but the players who had witnessed the appearance message hadn’t been idle. The Arcanians must have gotten word through the players.

‘They’ll have a better backup than me.’

My thoughts were confirmed by the Forest Spirit King, Dryad. Perhaps the spirits of the forest had delivered the news. Dryad’s face, which had remained gentle in the face of all this, changed.

” ……The elves seem to be aware of the situation.”

Under the command of their leader, the High Elf, Agentress, they roamed the continent in pursuit of the primordial evil of the World Tree, and one of them must have seen the giant fusion intelligence.

‘Perhaps they’re gathering based on that information.’

Suddenly, I wondered.

‘The spirits also called the World Tree Mother, didn’t they?’

But misleadingly.

The spirits received no attention or affection from the World Tree.

As I was considering the lineage of those spirits……

‘…… Isn’t that like my family, this one?’

Why, let’s leave aside No. 1 and No. 2, with whom we have a good relationship, and think about it.

In the Lee family.

I was the youngest in the world tree genealogy.

And I feel relatively marginalized.

The third is right in the middle.

‘Lee Yerim is just like this, like seeds of interest.’

I think Oried is Wensu, who hit me in the back of the head…….

My desire to clear up the mess quickly soared.

It was then.

“This.”

A sigh erupted from the Spirit King and the spirits.

They must have realized that the golem was about to be attacked.

The earth spirits formed a shield, blocking the golem’s path.

“Oried, you are truly cruel.”

The Wind Spirit King, Aerial, shuddered. The earth spirits had been brought forth as meat shields at Oried’s command. The terrified expressions of the earth spirits proved it.

“What can we do……?”

All the spirits, including the Spirit Kings, paused.

It suddenly made sense that they hadn’t lost their innocence yet.

Even in this situation, they wouldn’t be able to sink their teeth into each other.

The spirits.

‘That’s why I tolerated it quietly in the natural world.’

……I’m sorry I compared you to Wensu.

Of course, it is.

I did not intend to waste the purity that the spirits had worked so hard to preserve.

Moreover, did I not tell you?

This was the World Tree’s plan, too.

‘We’ll see how well it works out.’

I opened my mouth.

“Blood is thicker than water.”

“……?”

“Earth spirits, you need not obey the orders of a false king.”

To earth spirits, the orders of their lord, Oried, would be absolute, However, after thinking about Frostnax and hearing news about elves, I became convinced.

‘If the spirits are the third child of the World Tree.’

[Hierarchy of Blessings].

Its effects would be valid for the spirits.

My prediction was correct.

My vision flashed.

[The ‘Hierarchy of Blessings’ occurs to the earth spirits].

The terrified earth spirits begin to scatter.

They scurry away from the golem.

Instead, they join the allies.

The Spirit Kings spit out their disbelief.

“You mean to tell me that you’ve surpassed even the King’s name?”

“……That!”

“With such power, why would you waste your efforts……!”

They simply didn’t realize it.

To think that I cared about their dignity as Spirit Kings.

Their astonishment was followed by admiration for me.

……Well, whatever.

‘This is who I am.’

This is who I am now, built up with all sorts of illusions.

I’m not going to deny it now.

My best bet here is to prove it plausibly.

To prove the underestimation and realize the overestimation.

Isn’t that what Lee Hoyeol and Grandfell are doing together? I took a step in that sense. The goal is the first quest objective, the five fingers.

In my head.

I think of fifty thousand ways and means.

I choose the best of them.

A combination of pure magic and attributes.

It is the nature of attribute magic that is amplified through it.

Nature is no exception.

I manifested pure magic.

More than anything, my magic is not just magic.

It’s a different kind of magic.

I said to the Spirit Kings.

“For this moment, you may use my power to rampage.”

“……!!!”

At my words, the Spirit Kings immediately prepared to strike.

Then, the various elements of nature exploded, channeling my magic.

I stare at the flashing message.

●Neutralize the Fused Intelligence Fingers. (Success)

Of course.

I, Lee Hoyeol, am not the one who’s doing this.

A timid bill was also included.

[You have earned contribution to the kill.]

I thought, staring at the crumbling fingers.

As plausible as possible.

I made it past first phase.

‘By the way…….’

The reality is, how am I supposed to kill a monster like this?

‘Well, at least we have the Magic Tower so there’s nothing to worry about…….’

Then a thought occurred to me.

I’ll have someone else act as acting chief.

I headed to the continent of Arcana.

‘Oh, shit, Bensch William……!!!’

.

.

.

Park Hwigang narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

“What?”

A message from the Appearance appeared in his mind.

[The freed Flame Emperor ‘Bensch William’ appears].

“Bensch is a senior mage……, However, the freed Flame Emperor……? What is this great modifier?!”

At the same time, I felt intimidated.

It was none other than.

From the stairs of the Magic Tower.