Chapter 9 – Chapter 01: Elf Heavenly Demon
I held my breath for nearly 5 minutes and ran as hard as I could to break through the section where poisonous smoke was dominating the area…
… By the standards of the average person, isn’t that a lot of strain on the body? There was a process, but that was for ordinary people.
From Eugene’s point of view, whose body had reached the status of an absolute being, this was just a situation where his body was operated to a level where he could not even take a morning walk.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but click his tongue as his body responded, pleading that he would collapse and die immediately.
“… Tsk, anyway, if you don’t get through this dungeon quickly, you’ll die.”
Normally, Eugene wouldn’t have put this trashy body through this much more abuse than he thought.
It is said that Stral would not have moved even when a load was placed on him that was impossible for his body to handle.
Even this was possible because Eugene was a strong man who had reached the status of an absolute being and could perfectly control his body. If he were the culprit…
… No, even those who had immediately reached the level of initiation and superhuman were in a situation where they had to collapse on the spot and take a rest if their bodies were demanding this much.
But despite this, Eugene couldn’t stop. As I said, this dungeon was a dungeon where you had no choice but to die if you didn’t clear it after running without stopping once you entered.
Therefore, even though Eugene’s body was in tremendous pain and crying for rest, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and control his body to overcome the dungeon.
‘This never happened when it was a game… , Is this this guy called Reality Patch? …’
The RPG part within Orbital World, which was a game, was close to the type commonly called the Soul Like type. In short, the combat part is difficult to beat.
However, there were things that clearly differentiated the game from reality, and one of them was the stamina system, which refers to physical strength.
In reality, stamina, or physical strength, meant the body’s energy that, like today’s Eugene, cannot be moved if it is all used up.
However, in the game Orbital World, stamina is a factor that determines the maximum number of actions a character can take in one turn, depending on the maximum stamina, as in common Souls-type games.
And this element, as if it were natural, made it possible to recover immediately and move on to the next action if you take a moment’s rest at the right time.
… In other words, in the game, at least, the cases where stamina was depleted and the body itself could not move, like Eugene’s now, were only fleeting.
Therefore, even the dungeon that was rewarded with the Martial Order of the Old Demon Lord was a dungeon that could be cleared regardless of stamina as long as the player controlled it…
“Phew… , Phew…”
… As a result of the reality patch where the element of stamina is literally reflected in physical strength, Stral’s physical strength was already reaching the bottom, even though he had only passed the initial stage.
‘… Goes!’
Nevertheless, Eugene only took a short break when the flame pillar disappeared for about 30 seconds, and then immediately started running through the maze again.
Even though the body is already pushing its limits and is pushed to its limit, the body moves with the thought that if it continues like this, it will inevitably die.
No, Eugene, who inherited the profession of exorcism and fought with all kinds of monsters and demons since childhood, even had the experience of weaving a uniform and moving limbs with crushed bones in order to survive in even more extreme situations.
Therefore, even in the extreme pain that seemed to turn white before his eyes, Eugene was able to calmly control his body and move forward.
Even if he has been unemployed for several months, there can be no regression for someone who has reached the status of an absolute person, and his absolute ability to control his body has made it possible for him to move even a body that screams its limits, as long as he can endure pain.
And enduring pain was one of the things Eugene was best at. Yokai and demons with all kinds of strange abilities.
For Eugene, who spent his childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood dealing with those guys, enduring not only physical pain but also mental pain was familiar.
Of course, just because it was familiar didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
Rather, as it accumulated and accumulated, it eventually reached the status of an absolute being and no one could touch it, and at the moment, it was close to temporary retirement, where it gave up half of its exorcism work and secluded itself at home.
But even so, the experience didn’t go anywhere. Absolute body control ability.
The ability to respond to all kinds of variables without panicking in any situation.
… And once I have reached the highest level, my sixth sense (Essence Sense), which detects and controls essence, can be controlled to some extent even with a body like this trash.
Mobilizing all of this, Eugene became a reality patch and broke through Guyumagong’s dungeon, which had become even more vicious.
“Holy shit… ?!”
Of course, no matter how much experience Eugene had accumulated and who was able to force his trash-like body, he couldn’t help but be scared when lasers were emitted from all directions along with an illusion that his current body couldn’t see through.
+++
About an hour of forced march. The body had already surpassed its limits, and the resulting overload of the body could not help but gradually slow down Eugene’s movements, no matter how perfectly he controlled his body.
In the first place, pain transmitted from the body to the brain was a warning. A warning to stop going any further than this because if you overwork your body, it will break down in a physical sense.
And if you ignore that warning and overwork your body due to your overwhelming ability to control your body, it is inevitable that your body will gradually break down physically.
Although Eugene was used to situations that taxed his body in this way, he was able to endure it with great strength, but it was inevitable that his movements would gradually become dull.
“Phew… , Phew…”
And as a result, several traps that the original Eugene could have avoided were allowed, and as a result, Eugene’s entire body was now in tatters.
‘Now all that’s left is the boss.’
The left arm is red from mild burns, and the sleeve is burned all the way to the shoulder, leaving no trace of it.
Blood was starting to flow from his forehead, blocking his vision, so he was suppressing the bleeding with a makeshift bandage made from his clothes, and blood was flowing from the inside of his mouth and continuing down his throat.
I knew it, but it was a dungeon of incredibly difficult difficulty. A trap that attacks without stopping.
A place that requires extreme physical strength, where you have to constantly overcome traps and pass through complex mazes without stopping.
It was a good thing that I had memorized the route to break through the maze. Otherwise, even Eugene would have collapsed first.
Well, along the way, my body, which had been told off several times, faced a crisis and was covered in wounds, but fortunately, there were no wounds that could be considered fatal.
This was possible because at the moment of crisis, Eugene pushed his spirit to the limit and somehow minimized the damage.
In addition, we can get a glimpse of Eugene’s experiential side in that he somehow manages to even out his breathing even though he is covered in injuries and his body is demanding its limits.
In actual combat, the first person whose breathing becomes disturbed dies. This is not simply a mental story, but in terms of the essence sphere, a natural science that deals with essence, breathing is the most basic element in any natural science.
When absorbing essence to handle it, everyone takes the essence into their body through breathing.
As one’s level rises, one can absorb essence not only through breathing but also through the pores of the skin, but in the end, the most basic action by which humans absorb essence is none other than breathing.
Martial arts, magic, power, and other essence spheres ultimately absorb essence through breathing, process it, and manipulate it, so in practice, if breathing is disturbed, it means that the basics are disturbed.
In the case of martial arts, Naegongsimbeop, which uses internal power, is shaken; in the case of magic, Mana Gymnastic, which uses mana, is shaken; in the case of power, Aura Tempal, which uses aura, is shaken.
And this ultimately means that the operational ability of each form of essence processing essential for battle is shaken, and of course, the results of all kinds of abilities based on them are shaken.
Therefore, those who have experienced countless battles are very careful not to falter in their breathing under any circumstances.
And the same goes for Eugene. Even if his limbs were cut off and death was imminent, he was the one person whose breathing would never waver.
“Whoa…”
Because of that, it wasn’t long before he was able to get his breathing in order. And through such well-ordered breathing, Eugene absorbs a large amount of essence as if he is used to it and begins to spread it throughout his body.
‘A body pushed to its limit naturally enhances the absorption rate of essence to strengthen and recover the body.’
Martial arts before developing into martial arts were based on this principle, absorbing essence without awakening the essence sense, strengthening the body and eventually awakening the auror.
And through the awakened auror, awakening the essence sense that detects essence is a primitive martial art called paranormal science.
Of course, compared to other supernatural sciences that awaken the essence sense and absorb and process the essence through it, it was only a very primitive means, but that did not mean it was completely useless.
Since Stral’s body was extremely slow in absorbing essence and re-establishing itself within the body despite being possessed by Eugene, as he had no talent at all, an increase in the essence absorption rate would have been a blessing.
“… Okay, I think this is somehow possible.”
Eugene, well aware of that fact, took advantage of this physical situation where he was immediately pushed to his limit, no, beyond his limit, and would faint the moment he relaxed his nerves even a little.
The overloaded body instinctively accepted the essence in the air more ravenously in order to survive.
Thanks to this, Eugene’s essence sense reached the level of an absolute being, and Stral’s body, which was extremely slow in absorbing essence and strengthening the fundamental specifications of the body with his sixth sense, accepted the essence more quickly and strengthened through destruction and recovery. Because it was continuing.
Rather than simply strengthening the entire body, including muscles, with the essence itself, it strengthens the underlying body itself by increasing the speed of recovery of fundamental muscles and the density of muscle tissue.
This is the most basic physical growth method experienced by anyone who has the ability to manipulate essence.
Through this, the body is strengthened to accept the supernatural ability, and the person with the supernatural ability is able to overcome the limitations of an ordinary person and have the physical ability to reach the realm of a superhuman.
It’s not for nothing that even wizards have physical abilities that are beyond the human category when compared to ordinary people.
Essence is the power that strengthens existence by itself. And the bodies of those with this ability, filled with that power, are bound to naturally overcome their physical limitations and become stronger over time.
… Of course, even in this case, the body’s essence absorption rate varies depending on talent, so there was a difference in whether it was slow or fast.
And Eugene’s body, or to be more precise, Stral’s, was a body without talent, with its speed hitting the floor.
However, even if a body without such talent is pushed into such an extreme situation, it has no choice but to instinctively temporarily increase the essence absorption rate in order to survive and to recover the body.
Just as a martial artist practices martial arts and overworks his or her body, the body naturally absorbs a large amount of essence from the air in order to survive.
And during this process, as the essence remaining inside the body accumulates, people who were not even aware of the existence of the essence and had not even awakened their sixth sense, suddenly gain superhuman physical abilities.
