The Divine Twilight’s Return

The Elfin Root had sharp ears, a white face, and white pupils.
It was so much more beautiful than any other Gray Elves that Chang-Sun had run into in this Dungeon that he couldn’t tell if the Elfin Root was male or female—no, its gender didn’t matter.
Parasitic Trees were hermaphrodites, so the Gray Elves were technically nonbinary.

However, there was something more brilliantly shining than the beautiful Elfin Root: the crown on its head.
Although it was made out of branches woven together, the crown seemed holy.
Looking at it made Chang-Sun feel like bowing.

That crown belonged to a dignified king and deity!

It made Chang-Sun feel uneasy.
‘Considering I can definitely feel Kali’s aura from it, that crown has to be a replica of the [Goddess Crown].’

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Although it likely wasn’t a relic, it was at least a treasure that only a bishop or a chief priest could obtain.
If so, then the Elfin Root right before Chang-Sun used to be Kali’s chief priest!

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is watching the fight with deep interest.]

Chang-Sun couldn’t fathom what was going on inside Heoju’s head.
He wasn’t even sure why Heoju was having so much fun and why he kept sending similar messages over and over again.
He.
Did he know what happened to Kali? Or was he just having fun watching Chang-Sun fight an enemy that was just as strong as him?

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ attempts to watch the new event that you have found yourself in.]

The ‘Geminus,’ who hadn’t appeared for quite some time since ‘Yeti Hill’ had been cleared, showed up again as well, making Chang-Sun feel certain about his speculation.

‘Something is definitely up,’ Chang-Sun concluded.

He had to subdue this Elfin Root first to figure out what it was.

Swish, swoosh, swish―!

Fiercely swinging the Nameless Spear, Chang-Sun cornered the Elfin Root.
It managed to block his attacks with difficulty, but it soon reached a dead end.
The other Gray Elves tried to stop him using any means available.

[The Title ‘Jigwi Incarnation’ has been applied!]

[A firestorm rages!]

Woosh―!

Behind Chang-Sun, a spark ignited and instantly burst into a huge flame, deflecting his opponents’ attacks.
Like a tsunami, the fire undulated and pushed away every Gray Elf that tried to approach, making them shriek in pain.

[Eliminated ‘Gray Elf Knight × 71.’]

[Eliminated ‘Gray Elft Knight × 25.’]

…

No single Gray Elf could slow Chang-Sun down, but the shaft was too small for a group of them to move in all at once.
Moreover, the Jigwi’s Eon Fire was raging quite fiercely.
Trees couldn’t beat fire—no, they actually fueled fires.
To top it all off…

“Jin,” Chang-Sun called.

「Haha! I’ve been waiting forever.」

Jin Prezia laughed as he slowly appeared behind Chang-Sun, holding the [Frost King’s Greatsword], which he had received from Chang-Sun earlier.
The greatsword’s gloomy ice energy mixed with the Biwi’s typical evil one, amplifying Jin’s energy.

Paah―!

Slash!

Easily moving around in the fire, Jin chopped the nearest Gray Elf as if it was mere firewood while his different-sized subordinates spread out in every direction.
His level was now incomparably higher than before since Chang-Sun and Jin had been going through the Changgwi Cave curse.
Moreover, since Jin currently had five subordinates, he could already handle a lot on his own.
As a result, Chang-Sun no longer had to pay attention to anyone aside from the Elfin Root.
Gyeo-Ul was dealing with small fries, and Jin handled the Gray Elf guards.
Both of them were now skilled enough for Chang-Sun to leave his back to them without hesitation.

[The State ’Jackal Tiger’ has been changed into the State ‘Cruel Tiger,’ manifesting the Additional Skill ‘Cruel Tiger’s Venomous Fang’!]

Chang-Sun covered his spear with condensed Jigwi’s Eon Fire and thrust it with all his power.
It let out a shriek as the Elfin Root’s entire left arm was cut off and flew in the air.

Boom!

The impact of Chang-Sun’s attack also blew away the wall that the Elfin Root was standing against, creating a large hole leading outside the mine shaft.
When the Elfin Root attempted to escape through it, Chang-Sun chased after it, flapping the Jigwi’s wings.

Clang, clang, clang!

Boom, boom, boom―!

When the Elfin Root held out its right hand, branches sprouted from its wrist and turned into a sturdy wooden sword.
Using the wooden sword very proficiently, it successfully parried the Nameless Spear.
It was as agile and fierce as Chang-Sun—no, it was actually better than him in some areas.

There was a reason why the divine name of its Guardian, Kali, was ‘Goddess of Massacre and Destruction’ even though she had a benevolent side that others didn’t know about.
Back in the day, Kali had put an end to many Celestials and civilizations.
She also became known as a deity of destruction for hastening an .

Such a deity’s high priest could never be weak.
Chang-Sun only maintained the upper hand in this fight because the attribute of his ability put the Elfin Root at a disadvantage.

Boom!

When Chang-Sun’s Nameless Spear and the Elfin Root’s wooden sword clashed, their wielders were pushed back quite a distance.
A cloud of dust swirled up and soon revealed that half of the forest had been destroyed.
Up until a moment ago, the forest was so beautiful that it made the visitors’ jaws drop.
However, one clash between Chang-Sun and the Elfin Root was enough to reduce it all to ruins.
Chang-Sun didn’t have time to care about that, however.
He kicked off the ground and bombarded his opponent with spear attacks.

Creak!

When their fight had just begun, the Elfin Root was greatly baffled.
However, it had now curled up one end of its mouth as if it was having fun.
Branches sprouted from its left shoulder and recreated its left arm.
They then tightly coiled around the half-burnt wooden sword, creating a big and long wooden spear.
It looked sturdier, darker, and a lot different from the wooden sword that the Elfin Root had been using.
Its new left arm also appeared to be more elaborate.

Boom!

The Elfin Root’s wooden spear drew a diagonal line in the air and violently clashed with the Nameless Spear, causing flames to spark in the air.
Unlike the Elfin Root’s wooden sword earlier, which easily broke during combat, its wooden spear only became slightly charred from the collision.
New branches sprouted again and covered the scorch mark, hardening it further.
The Elfin Root’s smile deepened as it looked at Chang-Sun with its pupilless eyes, almost as if it was asking Chang-Sun how its attacks were.

‘Is it going to be reinforced every time it takes damage? That’s annoying!’ Chang-Sun frowned as he continuously thrust his spear.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh―

[You are demonstrating outstanding spearmanship!]

[You have accumulated a deep understanding of spear.
The Skill ‘Lesser Spear Proficiency’ has been created.
]

[Skill level has increased.]

[Skill level has increased.]

…

[The Skill ‘Lesser Spear Proficiency’ has reached its maximum level.
A higher-level skill has been created.]

[The Skill ’Intermediate Spear Proficiency’ has been created!]

…

[The Skill ’Advanced Spear Proficiency’ has been created!]

…

[The Skill ‘Lesser Staff Proficiency’ has been created! ]

[Skill level has increased.]

…

[All weapon skills categorized under ‘Polearms’, including ‘Expert Spear Proficiency,’ ‘Expert Staff Proficiency,’ ‘Expert Short Spear Defense Proficiency,’ and ‘Expert Lance Proficiency,’ have been combined.]

[Congratulations! The Skill ‘Polearm Mastery’ has been created!]

After [Sword Mastery], every spear-related proficiency had been merged to create [Polearm Mastery].
Since the first weapon that Chang-Sun used in Arcadia was a spear, he was more skilled with a spear than a sword.
He could only use the Nameless Spear as two short spears or one long spear before.
Having been upgraded, he could now use more varied and brilliant spearmanship.

Chang-Sun turned the lower handle of the spear and retracted the bottom spearhead.
He in turn increased the length of the upper spearhead, revealing its hidden part.
The one-headed spear now looked like a fauchard[1], which was similar to a guandao from the East.
It was more fitting for slashes than thrusts.

After changing the spear’s form, he grabbed onto the middle part of the spear’s handle and swung his weapon diagonally and vigorously.
The destructive attack he delivered created an earsplitting sound as if Chang-Sun was ripping the space itself.
A long and deep Lichtenberg scar was embedded into the Elfin Root, spanning from its right shoulder to the lower part of its waist.
Half of its upper body was also blown away.

Swish, swish, swish!

New branches sprouted and instantly rebuilt the Elfin Root’s destroyed body part.
It swung its wooden spear, which was now much sturdier than before, horizontally right after, striking Chang-Sun’s side.

Boom!

Embedding the Nameless Spear into the ground, Chang-Sun managed to block the Elfin Root’s attack with difficulty.
He gritted his teeth as he felt the impact of its attack from his spear.
“…Hup!”

The Elfin Root’s eyes widened a bit, seemingly surprised that Chang-Sun blocked its attack.

“You’re really skilled at pissing someone off, just like her,” Chang-Sun said irritatedly, remembering Kali.

During sparring matches, Kali would nonchalantly drive Chang-Sun into a corner only for her eyes to widen in shock whenever he managed to hold out.
In contrast to Chang-Sun, who focused on learning techniques he could use in actual combat, Kali had a deep knowledge of traditional martial arts, so she had always been better than Chang-Sun.
He could prove stronger in combat if he resorted to other techniques, but Kali was an incomparably better martial artist.

His current situation was no different.
The Elfin Root had the upper hand in techniques and was also quickly catching up to Chang-Sun in areas he thought he was better.
Every time its body got destroyed, it quickly recovered and became sturdier.
Its flexibility and reflexes were also enhanced, allowing it to move faster and nimbler.

Simply put, it was improving in real-time to close the gap between their physical abilities.

If their battle dragged on, the Elfin Root would eventually become a better fighter than Chang-Sun.
Things could’ve been different if his goal was to kill it, but he wanted to subdue it instead.
That made it very tricky for Chang-Sun to deal with the Elfin Root.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ gasps, saying she cannot tell where such a hunter came from.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ tilts his head in confusion upon smelling the another Guardian’s aura, uncertain as to why such a being is in this Dungeon.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ silently watches the battlefield.]

‘If I can’t subdue it immediately…’ Chang-Sun gritted his teeth, and his eyes shone coldly.
‘I’ll overpower it with one massive attack to prevent it from immediately counterattacking.’

Applying the title of [Jigwi Incarnation] was currently his best method to draw up as much power as possible, but he had another method that could draw up even stronger power albeit temporarily.

“Listen to me carefully, Twilight,” Kali said.

Chang-Sun learned a technique from Kali before.

“You should use this only when you’re in real danger,” Kali warned.

With that breathing method, he could exponentially increase his power.
To be more accurate, it would unleash and detonate his dormant power, so using it would completely exhaust him right after.
If he failed to control the explosion, his mana could deviate irreparably, making him sustain ill effects and disabling him from leading a normal life.
However, subduing the Elfin Root was so important to him that he was willing to take the risks.
Besides, there was one silver lining.

‘Even if Heoju and the ‘Geminus’ are watching me, they won’t be able to tell what technique this is because this was Kali’s last resort during battles,’ Chang-Sun assumed.

Kali had added that everyone who had seen her using this technique was all dead now.

‘The mana deviation will happen in seconds after I use it, so I’ll subdue it within that time.’ Chang-Sun’s eyes sharpened.
‘It’s ridiculous.
I’m subduing Kali’s priest using the technique I learned from her.’ 

Chang-Sun inhaled deeply.

Hup!

At the same time…

Boom!

… something burst inside his body.

[A Hidden Piece has been found.]

[The State ‘Himavat Breath’ has been activated, unleashing your dormant power!]

1.
A type of polearm weapon used in medieval Europe.
☜