Chapter 768: I Shall Use It for You

The moment Cheonsan was completely destroyed, and the being inside it revealed itself.

SPOT.

My falling body suddenly stopped.

My body floated in empty space, as though it had been freed from the influence of gravity.

No, it was not ‘as though.’

‘That must actually be the case.’

A being who governed the laws of this world.

{The dish you made.}

The one who held dominion over this world, once called the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts.

{Did not taste all that bad.}

Had excluded us from the influence of gravity.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an enormous Milky Way.

But that Milky Way moved fluidly through the vast universe.

An enormous dragon with stars contained within its translucent body.

“......That voice.”

When it opened its mouth.

The fellow disciples who heard its voice murmured with overwhelmed expressions.

“Master.......”

However.

The dragon answered their words coldly.

{Do not call me that.}

“What? But you are.......”

{It is true that it is a part of me, and that it occupies the largest portion of me......... but that name no longer refers to me. I am now Mirinae. Nothing more and nothing less.}

Unfortunately.

It had eaten far too much to return to being the master of that martial hall.

{Still......... do not be too saddened.}

However.

That did not necessarily have a bad meaning.

{Even if I have become a somewhat different being. You are still my disciples.}

“.........!”

{That fact will not change. In the first place, had that not been the case......... among that ‘dish,’ my soul as well would have ended as nothing more than a small side dish inside it.}

Only its identity had changed.

Its former identity had not disappeared.

{Thanks to your calls, I was able to remain here.}

“Master.........!”

{I thought you were nothing but disciples who caused me worry, yet I find myself benefiting from you.}

Even though it had now become Mirinae, possessing a single soul rather than existing as a mixture of countless souls.

Its personality clearly belonged to those beastkin’s master.

‘It seems the immortals fulfilled their role.’

It had only changed slightly.

There would not be much difference in its essence.

“.........I never even imagined that a day would come when I could speak with you like this again, Master.”

{That is not strange. I, too, never imagined that I could meet an ending such as this.}

The dragon looked at its disciples like that.

{I believed I would either wait for my own death within that seal, or be released before then and cause an even greater nuisance to the world...... I thought it would be one of those two.}

Its gaze soon moved toward me.

{I had long since given up on everything, believing there was no such thing as hope. But.}

ROLL.

The stars moved slightly.

{You taught me something.}

For some reason.

To me, it looked as though that dragon was smiling.

At its words.

“You have helped me many times before, so I merely treated you to a meal in return.”

I only shrugged.

***

“You have helped me many times before, so I merely treated you to a meal in return.”

{Ha ha, I suppose so.}

When I spoke with a shrug.

Mirinae laughed lightly, as though amused.

{However, it is also true that I was moved by the dish with which I was treated.}

“.........?”

{Therefore, I shall express a small token of sincerity.}

At that moment.

Something among the stars inside Mirinae began to move.

Among the stars that formed Mirinae’s body, it was one near its head.

An object broke away from that star and approached me.

‘Is that......... a bead?’

Only after it came closer did its form become visible.

A small sphere.

It was a beautiful ink-black bead.

{Those who train in martial arts aim for ascension. As part of that process, they cultivate an inner core...... what you call a mana core.}

I recalled the memories that had flowed into me through that dish.

The countless dragons of the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Immortals that looked like snakes with absurdly enormous and elongated bodies.

{When one abandons the existing body and ascends to the heavens, one uses the power of that inner core to rise into the sky. Most of that power is lost at that time, but even after becoming an immortal, it is used as a vessel for storing power.}

They had only a single leg.

And in that leg, they held a certain bead.

[Ingredient Appraisal (Enhanced)]

However.

The color of that bead was a little different from what I had seen in those memories.

Most immortals had held jade-colored beads.

And only the Dragon King with the golden scales, the Heavenly Emperor, had held a golden bead.

‘That is...... ink-black.’

That bead was a deep ink-black.

......Just like.

The black dragon that had fought while devouring its enemies in those memories.

{It has been quite a long time since the vital energy within you was lost.}

“......!”

At those words.

I briefly opened my status window.

[Penalty]

[Vital Energy Loss]

A penalty that had attached itself to me as a result of pushing my body harshly in order to survive the early days of the apocalypse.

Even Luca’s medical skills had been unable to resolve it.

Now, as though it had become a lifelong companion, the phrase sat naturally in my status window as though its presence there were only proper.

{The only way to resolve it was to find and consume an exceptional elixir...... but by that point, your vessel had already grown too large, so it must have been difficult to obtain an elixir of sufficient quality.}

“......Yes, that was the case.”

{Because your vessel continued to grow while that problem remained unresolved, the means of filling the vessel of vital energy, which has now grown even larger, must have become even more remote.}

Because I knew that as well.

I had half given up on resolving that penalty.

Despite my high level, I was in a state where I could not draw out all of my potential.

It was obvious that the reason was that penalty.

But that did not mean there was any suitable solution.

{Originally, the power contained within this wish-fulfilling jewel...... this inner core, is mostly consumed when a qualified individual ascends.}

However.

That was no longer the case.

{You are truly fortunate. As it happens, in my homeland...... there was one who refused ascension.}

“......!”

Only then.

I finally realized with certainty.

The original owner of that ink-black wish-fulfilling jewel.

[Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the One Who Refused Ascension]

Who the original owner of that inner core had been.......

{Originally, it was power prepared to break through the wall of the heavens, become an immortal, and become a being capable of shaking the laws themselves. But because its owner refused ascension, the power within it was used only to create a new body. Quite a lot of power was used for that as well...... but roughly half of the power it originally contained should remain.}

“Mirinae......!”

{Even if one searched the entire universe, there would be few elixirs of this caliber.}

The enormous dragon smiled and spoke.

{As repayment for a dish made by the greatest chef, this should not be too bad.}

***

Originally, it had been an inner core.......

In other words, an organ inside the body.

Perhaps because it was the wish-fulfilling jewel of a being who had not fully ascended.

The bead that approached me was slightly soft, and retained a warmth like human skin.

“......Thank you.”

{It is nothing. As for how to use it, you, as a chef, likely understand better than I do. Make good use of it.}

“Yes. I will cook it deliciously and eat it.”

{That is a strangely unsettling thing to say.}

I carefully accepted the bead.

After placing the wish-fulfilling jewel inside my clothes, I looked up at Mirinae once again and asked.

“Then...... are you completely free now?”

It had not been my intention.

But in the process of cooking Mirinae’s soul, the chains of the seal that had held Mirinae in place had ultimately been completely broken.

Mirinae now appeared to be no longer bound by the System’s seal.

However.

{For now, that is so.}

“For now?”

Mirinae’s answer was somewhat ambiguous.

{This space where you now stand...... this void, was once the world called the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts. Nothing remains only because I swallowed every last component of it.}

“I thought that might be the case.”

{The problem is that the beings of the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts were not the only things I devoured.}

The stars within its body began to revolve.

An immense number of stars.

Each one was a transcendent being that would not have seemed out of place governing the laws of an entire world, now transformed into starlight and dissolved within Mirinae.

{Their size is far too great. Because I digested them all...... even this Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts is now somewhat cramped for housing my body.}

“.......”

{At least, because it is an empty world with nothing left inside it, I can squeeze my body into it and wait for a time.}

Mirinae had grown far too large after devouring countless stars.

And.

I had once heard from Mirinae itself what happened to beings that grew larger than a world.

{Before long...... I will have no choice but to go ‘outside.’}

The beings outside.

Those who had lost the worlds to which they belonged for one reason or another.

Among them were beings so enormous that they were larger than a single world.

Mirinae had referred to them as beings who had been driven outside because they were too enormous to belong to a world.

Mirinae, too, was ultimately in a position where it had no choice but to follow the same path as them.

“Then can’t you simply do that?”

{What matters is where this world is currently located.}

“......?”

I could only tilt my head.

Where this world was located.

I wondered whether a world even had a location.

{Why are you pretending not to understand? Have you already forgotten where you entered this world from?}

“......Ah.”

Only after hearing those words.

Did I realize one fact.

I hurriedly turned my gaze and looked around.

The now-collapsed Cheonsan Martial Hall.

Near the place where its fragments remained.

[Gate]

There was still.

A black, rippling doorway.

......A doorway leading to our world.

{The horribly destroyed Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts wandered through the empty universe. While drifting as an orphan of the universe, when a hole opened in your world...... it was drawn in by that pull and flowed into this place.}

“......Uh, wait.”

Upon hearing that.

I could not help being horrified by the thought that immediately occurred to me.

This Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts...... no.

The [Gate], Cheonsan Martial Hall, had entered the interior of our world.

To be precise, in the Republic of Korea, Gangwon Province.

Its entrance was located on a cliff beneath the mountain where Myoyangsa stood.

But.

If Mirinae attempted to go ‘outside’ from here.

“......Don’t tell me you have to pass through our world?”

It might have to first go outside through that Gate...... into our world.

And only after that could it go outside in the true sense, into the empty universe.

‘At that size?’

It would have been one thing if Mirinae were a small being.

The Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts had clearly been even larger than our world.

And even though that world had been emptied, Mirinae was saying it had grown too large and needed to go outside.

If a being like that went outside through that Gate.

The area around Myoyangsa, where the Gate was located.......

No, the entire Asian continent would be horribly destroyed.

{Do not be too afraid. It is not absolutely necessary for me to pass through your world.}

“Ah.”

{If I wished, I could go ‘outside’ immediately. It would not be difficult to go directly outside without passing through your world.}

I had been trembling in fear at the thought.

Fortunately, it seemed that was not absolutely necessary.

I let out a sigh of relief.

{However, I will not do so.}

“What?”

Looking at me.

Mirinae smiled mischievously and spoke.

{Seeing how much you dislike the idea makes me feel that, no matter what happens, I should pass through your world on my way outside.}

“What kind of......!”

At that playful voice, I could not help being horrified.

‘Did too much of the will of those [stars] mix into it? Did I truly create an evil dragon......?’

It was a being that not only easily surpassed Earth in size, but even contained stars as large as the sun within itself.

Even if it merely moved.

There was no doubt that the aftermath of a being of that size passing through would be no laughing matter.

{It was a joke.}

“......That kind of joke is bad for my heart, so please refrain.”

{However. What I said about passing through your world was not a joke.}

“......?”

{The reason is simple.}

As I looked at it in confusion.

The enormous dragon’s face approached me and spoke.

{It is because of you.}

“......Did I do something wrong?”

{No. There were two reasons you came here, were there not?}

That was true.

There had been two reasons I came here.

One reason I had realized only after arriving here, and one reason I had been thinking about even before coming.

{One was to help me.}

That was the reason I had only realized after arriving here.

{And one...... was to receive my help.}

That was.

The reason I had been thinking about even before coming here.

{Indeed, your world is too narrow to contain me. The moment I emerge through that hole and remain there even briefly, that narrow world will be unable to withstand me and will burst apart.}

“That is why I am asking you not to do that.”

{Indeed....... Remaining there briefly is impossible. However.}

The dragon raised its head.

And spoke while gazing as though looking toward the ‘outside.’

{If it is only for the briefest instant, I may be able to remain in your world.}

“......?”

{It was already quite a sturdy world to begin with, and you...... the existence of the awakened has increased the size of the world. For a very, very brief ‘instant,’ it may be able to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} withstand my existence.}

Аn instant.

Expressed numerically, 0.000000000000000001, 10-18

In everyday usage, it meant ‘a very brief amount of time.’

And in the Buddhist meaning in which the word had first been used.......

‘The smallest unit of time.’

Literally.

It meant an extremely short period of time, so brief that it was impossible even to perceive.

{I could go outside immediately if I wished, but I will not.}

Fragments of an ancient god were scattered across the land and created the [System].

And the awakened belonging to that [System] took the power of monsters and fed the [System].

Now, even those who were no longer residents of this land had been included within that System and had grown in body and soul.

Our world had become capable of enduring Mirinae, if only for that brief instant.

Therefore.

{I shall use that briefest instant for you.}