Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World

Skill of the Absolute (3)

Unlike Effir, who faced Artis before her eyes, Ryu Han-bin watched the battle from a third party’s perspective.

That was why he could see what Artis did.

After dodging Effir’s Magic Swordsmanship and the frostbite attack using the Blink magic spell to teleport away, he counterattacked with frost magic Frozen Blast.

He didn’t get it at first glance.

Blink and Frozen Blast were top-level magic above level 80.

‘How? Wasn’t it said that magic spells above level 75 could only be used if it has the fire attribute?’

After a while, Han-bin understood the situation.

“Oh, that’s how they fought?”

The Guideline answered his query.

[Ring of Blink

A magic item that allows the wearer to use level 80 magic, Blink.

Terms of use: Lv. 82. Range: 15 meters Number of uses: 10/25 times.]

[Cold Winter Ring

A magic item that allows wearers to use level 83 magic, Frozen Blast.

Terms of use: Lv. 85. Range: 35 meters Number of uses: 15/30 times.]

It was not the magic of Artis himself, but the power of two magic rings on his left hand.

Given that the number of uses was considerably exhausted, he seemed to have practiced using it repeatedly.

Kibie nodded her head blankly.

“I see, the world has changed…”

In the past, when there was no invasion of the Devil, there were no such things as Magic Tools.

Therefore, if Artis sealed all of the attributes with only one left, he would have become a half-Mage.

But now?

It was an era in which all kinds of Magic Tools and Artifacts were gained from the dungeons.

“Even if a Mage can only use fire magic, isn’t that a level up?”

Artis grinned as he raised his left hand.

“Then I can use Magic Tools according to my level.”

The sparring between the two continued.

out of Effir’s small body.

Artis continued to fight back by combining his magic and Magic Tools.

A series of explosive sounds rang out.

Boom!

Leon Hart, who was watching the battle, was impressed.

“He’s clever. That’s enough to cover his weaknesses.”

Of course, there were disadvantages to that method.

Only prepared Magic Tools could be used, so other than the fire attributes, the attributes could only be used limitedly.

However, he didn’t think of the fact that Artis could use magic unavailable to him using Magic Tools.

If he wanted to replace all those magics with Magic tools, he would lack Magic Tools though the wagon was full of them.

His main source of firepower was fire-based magic, and whenever the situation became unfavorable, Artis could escape the crisis with the power of Magic Tools.

“I’ve always fought using fire magic. Other attributes have played a minor role.”

It was not difficult to adapt because it was a familiar tactic for Artis.

After fighting for such a long time, Artis waved his hand.

“Let’s stop here. There’s a level difference, so I can’t do it anymore.”

Sheathing her twin blades, Effir’s eyes shone brightly.

“Amazing, Artis! I’ve never thought of doing that!”

She thought Artis had missed something really important.

But he overcame his weaknesses well.

“Since I’m weak, I’ve been struggling. I shouldn’t be a nuisance to the team.”

Ryu Han-bin also raised a question as he approached.

“But why have you been away for so long? According to Kibie, the attribute-sealing procedure only takes about a day.

Artis shrugged his shoulders.

“It took me a long time to shop. It’s not easy to get the right tools for different situations.”

Still, he could have purchased most of the artifacts at the center of the continent.

“I put all my payments in front of the Church of Darkness. It’s great to have a big sponsor.”

Suddenly, Leon Hart frowned.

“Wait, how much did you buy?”

Artis showed the inside of his clothes by lifting his robe.

“… This much?”

The party coughed momentarily.

“Cough!”

“What’s that look like?”

There were three magic necklaces and three or four magic rings on each finger.

His bracelets, anklets, and belts were all Magic Tools.

There were dozens of emblems that were usually worn alone or with one other.

Effir talked as if she was sick of it.

“Do I look like a parvenu…?”

Well, since Artis was so handsome, he was not parvenu…

“You look like a gangster rapper full of swag.”

“Swag? What’s that, Han-bin? Like Earth’s Aura or mana?”

“Yeah, not like that, but if you have a lot of it, you can make a lot of money.”

“…?”

Leon Hart felt confused. He touched his forehead.

“Ah, I’m sure the finance department will hear that. How much is that?”

Regardless Artis found a way for him to remain strong.

It was a bit expensive, however.

Kibie smiled vaguely at Leon Heart, which was filled with sorrow.

“Should we… congratulate him?”

* * *

Even while Han-bin and his party were growing their strength, the Church of Darkness was moving steadily.

First of all, the strongest religious leaders scattered throughout Latna were brought to the main mountain to face the Top Three.

It was quite dangerous.

If a large-scale military moved out of the blue, the Continental Top Three could notice it.

However, the power of the Church was influential enough to gather them secretly.

It was dangerous to move hastily without a definite cause.

Fortunately, that point was solved easily.

The Church of Darkness was already rallying strong individuals from all parts of the continent to Scotaskia to save Leon Hart, the Order’s kidnapped Head.

At first, they thought they had wasted money for nothing, but it was a blessing in disguise.

Latna was not a world where communication had developed.

Therefore, it had not yet been reported to them that Leon Hart had already been found.

Without knowing anything, they rushed to rescue the Templar Lord to gain honor and glory.

Thanks to that, they were able to concentrate all their forces on the main mountain naturally.

They secretly sent messengers to the five other Churches serving the Goddesses of Latna.

Kybriel of Darkness descended on Latna in the body of an incarnation.

-Faithful followers, her will had come to the world, so learn the truth about Latna’s affairs and fulfill the saints’ duty!

Althea of light, Sorondi of the earth, Rhamniana of water, Preleu of wind, and Yessen of fire.

The five Goddesses selected senior priests and sent envoys to Scotaskia.

It was to verify the authenticity of the message.

For the other Churches, it was not an easy story to believe.

Especially in the Yessen Church case, it was even more so because they had a case of almost being tricked by the ‘Aliens’ fake incarnation.’

Fortunately, the Church of Darkness had three pieces of evidence to show them.

The first one was the Sacred Heart of the Darkness.

The object itself could not be presented as evidence because Ryu Han-bin had taken it, but they could show Leon Hart’s testimony that he had watched the scene himself.

His remarks as a person blessed by the Goddesses had considerable credibility.

The second was the presence of the Wyvern, who gained intelligence through the grace of the incarnation.

The Wyvern, a member of a primitive Dragon race, was almost as wise and knowledgeable as Dragons.

That could never happen unless it were a miracle done by a Goddess.

Kybriel was the creator of all Dragons, which meant it was a sure sign that Kibie was the incarnation of Darkness.

The third evidence was that Earth Dragon, Saltus, was placed under the auspices of Hollien the Transcendental.

As followers of the Dragons’ creator, various methods of dealing with Dragons were handed down to the Church of Darkness.

Among them, there was a technique that even a Dragon over 500 years old could be tied up with.

Dozens of powerful high-level individuals used their strength to seal the power of Saltus.

Even if he returned to his main body, the seal was still strong enough to overpower it.

Saltus had no choice but to give up his resistance and cooperated with the Church instead.

He also promised to testify that the Top Three had performed the ascension.

That should be enough to prove the descent of the incarnation.

Feeling that it was time, Castalo II contacted Han-bin’s group.

* * *

They were in an inn in Serhithran, a forbidden city in the Ice-Flame Forest, that day.

Leon Hart waved the letter from the Church.

“They’re telling us to come back to Scotaskia.”

To win the cooperation of the five Churches, the Church of Darkness must persuade the envoys.

But if Kibie, the incarnation, Leon Hart, and Effir were away, the Church wouldn’t be able to do that successfully.

“So is this the end of the actual mission? Or are we coming back from the main mountain?”

Leon Hart politely replied to Kibie’s question.

“We don’t have to. We’ve done everything we can do here.”

Ryu Han-bin’s skills had also risen significantly due to his combat with various high-level monsters.

His control over Aura had become much more proficient, especially when operating his Valtara’s Fighting Spirit.

At the moment, he could control nearly 80% of the skill.

Kibie also clearly made her combat capabilities imprinted on the body of the incarnation.

Originally, it was the body of a Valtara female warrior, so her potential was extraordinary.

She had currently become a level late-90s Aura user.

At that point, however, their growth had once again stopped.

“From now on, we probably won’t be able to level up artificially.”

Will I become stronger if I continue to train steadily?

That was not usually the case.

It was common to become stronger in a short period, remain in that state for a while, and become stronger in a short period again when an opportunity came.

If they gathered experience points steadily, the level of Aliens became rather abnormal.

“That was the limit to being strong, as others say. It’s time to find your way out of it.”

Leon Hart looked around and continued.

“Has the speed of your level increase slowed down?”

Artis and Effir nodded.

“I think so.”

“Yes, I think…”

The growth of the two Dragons with energy absorption had also decreased significantly.

Effir became a level 94 Magic Swordsman, and Artis had become a level 91 Mage.

However, Artis used an expedient.

At that point, the necessary amount of energy they needed had increased too much.

Even if dozens of equivalent-level monsters were killed, it still wouldn’t be enough to gain a single level.

Their efficiency was no longer viable.

Besides, there were other problems.

“After level 100, it will become harder to drive energy towards Artis and Effir.”

The difficulty of killing an opponent in a single blow and overpowering them without killing them was completely different.

No matter how strong Ryu Han-bin and Leon Heart were, it was not enough to voluntarily stack dozens of powerful monsters above level 100.

The limit in hunting was reached around level mid-80s.

It would be a waste of time to stay in the Ice-Flame Forest any longer.

“Yeah, I don’t know what Hollien or Garhan are doing…”

Kibie stood up.

“Let’s go back to Scotaskia.”