Chapter 69

Thump. Thump.

Was this a heartbeat?

I felt a pulsation throughout my body. My veins were throbbing, and my blood channels were pounding. The ki in my blood channels compressed into needle-like points and pulsated simultaneously. This was different from usual. It was as if the ki—the magical power dissolved in my blood channels—had developed its own senses. I could feel my entire body with my entire body.

And that wasn’t all.

Whoosh!

Mana inscriptions began descending from the sky… ornate patterns like arabesque designs gathered and settled into my hand, forming a distinct shape.

If mana is the foundation of existence, then ‘this’ gathering in my hand was an entity far superior to me.

It was an elongated, curved rod of light. No… a bow of light.

Thump. Thump.

The pulsations grew stronger.

My heart, blood channels, and the bow all beat in unison, resonating together. My body felt like it was swelling to gigantic proportions.

A distant euphoria thoroughly ravaged my brain.

The ‘bow’ was alive.

It was teaching me what to do.

I followed its instructions faithfully.

The needle-like ki gathered at my fingertips and strung across the ‘bow.’ I had only one thought: ‘pierce through.’ The ki arrow, formed from five-colored magical power, was tinged with silver.

I could see Kasha’s wide eyes and the lich behind her.

I pulled the bowstring.

Whiiine!

The bow of light hummed like a swarm of bees. My entire body felt like it was breaking apart even though I had barely started drawing it. The bowstring seemed immovable. The bow’s presence was so overwhelming that rather than me pulling the bow, it felt like I was hanging from it. Could this thing even be drawn?

“No!!”

Kasha screamed.

She had sensed the menace of my <Saíl> and brought out the final spell she had been saving. I was struggling to draw the bowstring and had inadvertently given her time.

“We first met at the relic site of the ancient ones with large ears. You were sleeping, holding great glory within. With my blood, I made a contract with you… O trace of ancient glory. Behold this world that has forgotten and fallen. As your contractor desires, now drink blood and awaken! Shine forth your glory!”

“Summoning! Iron Blood Sword!”

With that single spell, she dominated the entire space.

Splat!

A droplet of blood landed on my left shoulder, then the wound tore open, and a sharp purple metal grew from it, tearing into the wound.

“Gah! Argh!”

This wasn’t happening to me alone. Everyone within a certain radius of her was being torn by the magical metal, rolling on the ground. The magical metal grew larger as it sucked blood. Not a single drop of blood touched the ground.

Crack! Crack!

Even the lich’s bones developed fine cracks, and purple metal grew like a thin frost over them. Crack! Crack! Bone powder scattered, and the lich’s movements became sluggish.

Shhh!

Meanwhile, Kasha’s body recovered as if time were flowing backward. Her severed arm didn’t regenerate, but her cheeks regained their color. In front of her, a purple sword wreathed in ominous mana appeared.

Iron Mark, Worsen Wound, Iron Binding, wound healing, and summoning a self-moving Iron Blood Sword.

It was an absurd spell that instantly manifested these five types of magic across a considerable area.

‘Urgh!’

I swallowed the scream that threatened to escape. The bow of light felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

I could vividly feel the magical metal growing and digging into my shoulder. I saw the purple sword floating in front of Kasha, menacingly directed at me.

A moment of weakness surged within me.

To be injured! I couldn’t draw the bowstring even with a healthy arm… could I draw it now?

Could my spell truly pierce through that <Iron Blood Sword>?

Doubt gnawed at my mind.

‘Damn it. Pull yourself together!’

How could a mage not believe in their own magic?

I had to trust the magic I had built up. I could draw it. I could pierce through!

My blood channels, which had reached 3-star, infused strength into my injured shoulder, substituting for muscles and joints. Strength returned to my hands.

Crack!

With a sound like something breaking, the bowstring finally drew back about 5cm. I didn’t doubt anymore.

I could see Kasha’s triumphant face, and

[Troublesome magic… But, what a feast…]

The lich’s chilling telepathy reached my ears.

I told them both to their faces:

“Disappear. Enough.”

I released the bowstring. The bow of light exploded, and the silver arrow traced a straight line.

Without a sound, a thin flash of light created a silver mist as it pierced through Kasha. It passed straight through the <Iron Blood Sword> she had put before her. The ‘protection necklace’ she wore around her neck flew up and then froze.

The silver flash continued toward the lich following behind. The lich transformed into smoke, desperately avoiding the flash, but its ribs were grazed by the mist rising around the beam.

“?!”

Kasha’s mouth opened wide.

But no voice came out.

With her mouth wide open, she felt over her own body. Fine silver particles rose like dust following her probing hands and flew into the sky.

The <Iron Blood Sword> and the ‘protection necklace’ all turned to silver powder and scattered like snowflakes.

She struggled, reaching out toward me, then vanished. Not a trace remained.

Kiaaaaaaak!

Then the lich’s scream transmitted through telepathy.

Even though it had only been grazed, the skeleton’s bones evaporated into silver.

The bones regenerated instantly but evaporated again just as quickly.

Like an eternal poison eating away at the body, the silver energy wouldn’t leave the lich.

Kiaaaaaaak!

With a great wail, the lich transformed into black smoke and fled. Silver particles trailed behind it like a tail.

<Did you see? Did you see?>

<I’ve seen this before.>

<But it’s too weak, and rather strange.>

<It must still be young. But it’s real!>

<See! I told you it was real!>

I could hear the chattering voices of magical powers. I had fought with agonizing effort, but they were just sitting there offering critiques. As always…

‘Damn them…’

Thinking that someday I’d like to put these magical powers in their place, I collapsed to the ground.

Now that I noticed, the <Iron Binding> embedded in my shoulder was quite painful.

Feeling the pain as if my entire shoulder was being torn off and my breath burning like fire—magical fever—I slowly lost consciousness.

+ – + – +

I had a dream.

The sky was filled with stars. Some appeared large, as if very close, while others seemed incredibly distant.

The stars danced according to my gaze and gestures.

They gathered and dispersed, spinning around and then arranging themselves in formation.

In the dream, I was certain.

‘Ah, this is the top of the Tower of Covenant.’

Standing there, all the world’s secrets were clearly visible, and everything moved according to my gestures.

‘At last… I’ve made it here.’

The hardships of the past flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.

‘Yes. It was because of those struggles that I could reach this place.’

It began with a single orc. A battle that started with one orc led to Lanches, then to the harpy, followed by the ogre and the Guardian, and finally to Han Se-hoon, the Lightning Calamity, and then Kasha and the lich.

‘But thinking about it now, those were just child’s play.’

I thought those were hellish at the time, but even harder battles were waiting for me afterward. For example…

For example…

‘Huh? What was it?’

I was confused. I couldn’t remember.

What was it? Had I already forgotten this? Even much older memories were so vivid…

Suddenly, anxiety overwhelmed me. The stars that had been moving according to my will began to shake violently. They escaped my control and flew wildly, and eventually began charging toward me.

The approaching star grew larger and larger until it covered the entire sky.

‘Ah, no!’

I called them stars, but they were actually torn continents.

Continent colliding with continent!

And then I blinked.

‘Ah…’

I saw grayish mana and sky. It was as if someone had used a thin brush dipped in gray ink to write densely packed characters. The gray mana occasionally shimmered like cloudy marble against the blue sky.

No stars were visible. It was an unfamiliar sky I had never seen before.

“Urgh…”

As I tried to rise,

A burning pain shot through my left shoulder. My eyelids felt like someone was digging them out, and my breath was as hot as if I were breathing fire.

I managed to turn my head to look at my left shoulder.

Bandages soaked in magical power were wrapped tightly around it.

‘Is this… a healing magical device?’

Something I had only heard about but never actually seen—an expensive item.

As I wondered why such a thing was wrapped around my shoulder, I could recall the memory.

‘Ah, that’s right. I was hit by magic.’

Looking back, it was a terrible wound. Purple magical metal that grew while eating into my shoulder. Even now, thinking about that pain made my spine tingle.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

…Who was that?

Who would speak to me so familiarly?

After a moment of confusion, I could finally recall the name ‘Fel.’

I must be out of my mind from the heat and pain. To forget Fel.

Startled, I looked around. I saw people with bandages like mine, groaning in pain, and around them,

‘Robot dogs…?’

That was the only way to describe the beasts wandering around.

“Where is this…?”

Fel immediately answered my question.

“The 3rd floor of the Tower of Covenant. The Land of Iron-Eaters.”

He gestured toward the beasts prowling around. They gleamed metallically, with blue light shining from their eye areas.

“As you can see, it’s a land where iron-eating beasts roam. It’s best not to take out weapons in front of them. They’re usually docile, but they go crazy at the sight of metal.”

“…What a strange place.”

Somehow… despite seeing such unusual creatures, I didn’t feel much curiosity. Rather, I felt anxious.

Was it because my body hurt? My spirit seemed to have weakened as well.

I had barely survived again. Would I continue to survive in the future? The aching wound, unfamiliar places every time I opened my eyes. Unfamiliar people.

To fulfill my covenant of uncovering all the secrets of this world… how much more would I have to fight?

I even felt afraid.

Fel, who had been observing my expression, suddenly said:

“It hurts, doesn’t it? It must be terrible. Kasha’s iron blood magic. It’s infamous for its cruelty even in the lower floors of the Tower of Covenant. The magical metal that grows by feeding on blood leaves its contamination even when torn out by the roots. It eats away at body and mind, gradually killing a person. Still, because of your extraordinary resilience, we didn’t have to amputate your arm.”

Following Fel’s gesture, I saw that every caravan member who had been attacked had limbs amputated. None had regained consciousness, and they were weeping in their unconscious state, faces wet with tears from the pain.

Judging by the deep pits that had been dug, many had died as well.

“Especially that ultimate technique <Iron Blood Sword> she used at the end was a powerful spell that even 5th Circle mages find burdensome.”

In her youth, Kasha discovered a purple sword in an empty ancient relic site and made a contract with it. That purple sword became the original ‘Iron Blood Sword,’ the source of her unique ‘iron blood magic.’

As soon as the spell was executed, <Iron Mark>, <Worsen Wound>, and <Iron Binding> were cast over a wide area, her own wounds were healed, and the ‘Iron Blood Sword’ that flew around cutting anything was summoned.

If I hadn’t been there, she might have been able to evade the lich with that one spell.

Truly a piece of legend.

“And you defeated it.”

Clink.

Saying this, Fel placed a small pouch on the ground. He opened the mouth of the pouch slightly to show its contents—a piece of purple metal. It was about the size of a palm and shaped like a smooth scale.

“Everything else dissolved from your final spell, and only this remained. It’s a remnant of the ‘Iron Blood Sword’ that was the original source of the ‘iron blood magic.’ If you study it, you might uncover another ancient secret. You… will certainly be able to do that.”

Fel spoke as he changed the bandage around my shoulder.

“So don’t look so downcast. It was truly… remarkable. Just rest well for now, and think again after you’ve recovered.”

It’s just because I’m in pain.

Listening to Fel’s reassuring voice, I once again slipped into unconsciousness.

This time, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.