"I did say, but I certainly didn't tell you to knock them down. I merely said to swallow them."
Auto Han's words were so puzzling that it was impossible to guess their meaning.
It seemed like a joke, but it was beyond comprehension.
'Well... Let's give it a try, for now.'
Elric took his first step forward.
Approaching where the Mountain King was seemed to be the key, for now.
* * *
"[Open Arms]."
Poof!
Elric unfolded the memorized magic armor.
Even though this was an imaginary world, all physical laws manifested the same phenomena and effects as in reality.
"[Levitate]."
Elric floated about a centimeter above the snowy ground, maintaining a state of levitation as he slowly moved forward.
It was easy to lose stamina if his feet kept sinking into the snow.
And he made sure to never meet anyone's gaze.
Even with mental protection magic, it seemed difficult to ward off fear, as if it were a significant curse.
'If I collide like this, I'll be defeated. Is there no other good move?'
Elric calmly assessed the difference in levels between himself and the Mountain King.
Just scanning the mana alone was enough to see how formidable the Mountain King's strength was.
In fact, it was accurate to say it was difficult to even consider challenging him.
'If only I had infinite mana, I could confine him with fire elemental magic and melt him away... But that's not possible. My current weapons won't do. Even basic body strengthening arts won't suffice.'
The environmental constraints were too significant.
'The Mark of Original Sin. Can I use this?'
Elric caressed the wolf's insignia with his hand.
Originally, he had refrained from learning black magic from Mephisto to at least maintain a semblance of morality as a Melvinger lineage, but...
It was said that even his ancestors had gradually changed their minds and utilized the power of such demons.
However, unlike Auto Han's explanation that possessing the insignia would grant access to the abilities and talents of the demon, the problem for Elric was that he had no idea how to use the insignia.
Certainly, the Mark of Original Sin contained immense power with each stroke.
It was entirely different in nature from mana stones.
Perhaps this was the foundation of the demon's concept, as Auto Han had mentioned.
But the concept showed no signs of emerging.
'There must be a trigger, for sure. What could it be?'
If he could use Mephisto's abilities, it would certainly make it easier to defeat the Mountain King.
At that moment, as he pondered this,
Tsutsutsu-
Suddenly, white snowflakes sprouted from various places on the snowy ground.
"What's this?"
Elric stopped in his tracks, sensing something peculiar.
As he quickly infused mana into his fingertips to deploy magic immediately, the snowflakes trembled and slowly took shape.
They all resemble yetis.
However, they were vastly different from the ordinary yetis he had encountered outside.
They had a dark and ominous aura, as if their shadows were turned inside out.
Sharp fangs symbolizing demons.
Glowing sinister eyes.
Solid armor made of thick plates and pointed spears.
Above all, emanating from them was a strong magical aura tinged with ferocity.
"They seem to be guardians..."
They appeared to be soldiers guarding the tomb of the Mountain King.
Warriors who had sworn allegiance to the Mountain King in life and continued to serve him even in death.
Their demonic nature was unmistakable.
Kaaah!
As if not tolerating any unauthorized intrusion, the warriors emitted sharp sounds and charged towards Elric in unison.
"[Explode]!"
Elric quickly waved his hand forward.
As a result, the fire mines beneath the feet of the charging warriors exploded one after another.
Due to the abundant infusion of mana, the flames were intense enough to reach even their heads.
Kiaak!
While a couple of them at the forefront stumbled, the others emerged from the flames without any hint of fear, even as their comrades fell and rose again to charge towards Elric.
"Damn it! [Pierce through], and [Stand firm]!"
Realizing he couldn't afford to let them get close, Elric quickly stepped back and deployed 'Magic Missile' followed by 'Ice Wall' with his right hand, while simultaneously spreading his left hand to spread the mana field, intending to ignite the sparks on their fur even more.
Both hands were activating different spells.
It was Double Spell, showcasing an ability that even skilled magicians found difficult to master.
Elric had no time to be amazed or proud of his genius.
Fw fw fw fw-
As water vapor condensed in the air, a plethora of ice arrows formed and rained down upon the heads of the warriors.
Pururuk-
The sound of ice breaking spread across the snowy landscape incessantly.
Kukuku!
The ground trembled as a tall earthen barrier rose abruptly between them and Elric.
Just as the warriors found their path blocked by the barrier, they had to endure even more ice arrows pouring towards them before they could attempt to circumvent the barrier and approach Elric.
Moreover, the flames clinging to their fur refused to extinguish and instead grew larger!
Whirr...
Kiaak, Kiaak!
Kyaaaah!
The warriors were either engulfed entirely in flames or screamed as their limbs were shattered by the ice arrows, unable to escape the onslaught.
"Inhale!"
In an instant, a dense determination crossed Elric's eyes as he rolled on the ground, swallowing the rush of air.
There was no time to worry about the cancellation of the Double Spell.
And just moments ago, a scimitar, narrowly missing him, passed by where he had been.
Kiruk!
As if disappointed by failing to deceive Elric's senses and launching a surprise attack, the owner of the scimitar chuckled lightly and rushed towards Elric once more.
'They seem to be the leader... But!'
Facing a foe seemingly of higher caliber than the warriors he had encountered so far, Elric activated the Double Spell once again.
"[Bloom], [Disperse]!"
Ice blossoms and swirling blades. Ice condensed into blossoms like flowers all over the opponent's body.
The necrotic flesh, decaying like statues, fell off in chunks, revealing sharp edges of broken ice pieces that ruthlessly carved into the wounded areas.
Chachachak!
The figure was covered in wounds in an instant. Blood splattered upward, freezing into hail as it poured onto the ground.
With rough steps, the figure strode over the icy ground, showing no regard for the pain inflicted by the wounds, just like the others.
Shweak-
He was a born swordsman, displaying swordsmanship and movements that rivaled even most human knights.
Under normal circumstances, even with Elric's magic armor, it would have been impossible to match his novice skills against such a foe.
"[Bleed], and [Bloom] again!"
The ice blossoms continued to restrict his movements and expand the scope of the wounds.
"[Explode], and [Explode] again!"
The wounds only widened, showing no sign of healing.
Thanks to this, Elric swiftly read his opponent's movements with his senses and dodged, rolling away each time. The scimitar narrowly missed him every time it passed by where he had been.
Keyeaak!
As Elric continued to dodge like a rat, the figure, evidently growing increasingly frustrated, let out a roar.
But even for Elric, this was becoming perilous.
'This is getting really dangerous.'
The dissolution rate of the mana stone had already exceeded 4%.
The mana load was overheating.
It meant they were nearing the threshold of what his body could withstand.
'But he's just as vulnerable. His movements are getting sluggish. Just a little more. Let's push a little harder.'
Gritting his teeth, Elric tightened his grip on the mana stone.
When the dissolution rate reached 5%,
Pajik, pajijik!
Mana sparks, which only appeared when the mana load exceeded its limit, sprang uncontrollably from his skin.
Kwaaang!
Elric drove the Double Spell continuously with a forceful kick to the ground.
The spells became denser and clearer. At some point, a dense mass of energy gathered into a 'point' on his abdomen.
"[Pierce]!"
He thrust a much larger and thicker magic missile into the point than the ones he had previously created.
Pweeok-
Kikik, kikirik!
As if the world had frozen, the figure's movements came to an abrupt halt for a moment.
The frost spread rapidly along the wounds covering his body, causing his joints to stiffen all at once.
And then...
'Now!'
Kwaang!
Like hammering a nail with a mallet, Elric fiercely struck the end of the magic missile with his fist.
Crash!
Like shattering ice, the figure crumbled into dozens of pieces and collapsed downward.
Heck, heck, heck!
Elric breathed heavily, his breaths rough.
It had truly been a fight on the edge of life and death at every moment.
Because he hadn't been able to completely dodge the scimitar each time, he was left with various large and small wounds all over his body.
It wasn't until now that he realized how deeply his side had been cut.
All the pain he hadn't felt until now flooded over him at once.
Although his mana armor was working in real-time to heal his wounds and restore his stamina, his body was already overloaded due to the dissolution rate exceeding 5%, making even moving difficult.
"Dammit...! I might really die at this rate."
But there was no time to relax.
Kyak, kyeyek!
Kirruk!
Suddenly, more Snow Yeti warriors had gathered around him, closing in on him from all sides.
Just a rough estimate suggested there were at least dozens of them.
Elric, sweating coldly, had to forcibly squeeze his mana stone, shouting that the mana load couldn't remain like this. There was a risk of mana reflux, but there was no other choice.
"Damn Auto Han! What's the point of setting such an absurd difficulty level and expecting us to handle it?"
Elric ground his teeth while contemplating what would happen if he died here.
If he was lucky, he would just be bounced back to the real world from the imaginary one. But if not, it could lead to a mental breakdown.
Usually, it would be the former.
Although he doubted his ancestors would set such a ridiculous challenge for their descendants, he couldn't shake off the possibility of the latter.
'My ancestors, they're completely unpredictable lunatics!'
Risking physical collapse, Elric pushed his dissolution rate up to 6%.
It was to take out the enemies in front of him all at once.
Pajijijik!
Just as the mana spark surged even more violently...
Paaa-
From the shattered remains of the Snow Lion chieftain's body, a faint ink-like glow suddenly flashed brilliantly.
The chieftain's corpse disintegrated completely. The fragments and dust gradually melded into the ink-like glow, increasing its brilliance, then swiftly turned into smoke and rushed towards Elric.
Elric was momentarily startled and stepped back, but the smoke was faster. It adhered to the back of his right hand and quickly permeated through his pores.
Tsst, tsst, tsst-
A new imprint was etched behind Mephisto's Sin Seal.
Although not as distinct as the Sin Seal, it vaguely resembled the shape of a mountain.
And with that,
The same ink light shot towards Elric from the fallen Yetis warriors.
As each one added up, small strokes were added and the line became clearer.
At the same time, the mana sparks, which seemed to explode at any moment, gradually subsided.
As the seal was absorbed, the durability of the mana road became more solid. Therefore, the dissolution rate could only increase!
At that moment,
Although no one told him, Elric could 'know' how to use the seal he had just absorbed.
The seal contains the talents of the demon. Talents are rooted in thoughts, thoughts are rooted in emotions, and emotions are rooted in something primitive.
It cannot be defined as it usually does, but when it comes together and forms an ego, it becomes a clear nature.
It can be called a unique nature or a position.
However, demons have a different name for it.
Jinmyeong .
It's their 'true name.'
And.
The true name that Yetis possess is 'Cruelty'.
It was the real name that their ancestors understood but failed to handle properly, only realizing it when they reached the Selsan King and then buried it again in the passage of time.
This is it.
The trigger of the seal Elric was looking for.
"[Be cold and harsh]."
The moment Elric invoked their true name in the form of a command.
Whoosh!
Centered around Elric, a fierce blizzard swept through, engulfing all the Yeti warriors surrounding him.