Chapter 238
CHAPTER 238
HARBINGER OF CHAOS (IV)
Lino took his sweet time re-charging after crafting the [Dragon Slayer]; after all, he’d begun doing so shortly after the already exhausting battle, with little to no downtime, which only further crippled his ability to exist . He crashed for full three days, sleeping away the tiredness, before begrudgingly waking up for a single meal and then crashing yet again for whole two days .
At the end of his sleeping bender, though still feeling somewhat drowsy, he felt re-awakened in a sense -- namely because he’d come close to another great barrier of cultivation, Aeonian Realm . Only mere ten levels short of crossing the barrier, currently sitting at Level 360, he was somewhat excited as Aeonian Realm signaled something quite tempting to a lot of people -- practical immortality .
While no true immortality existed -- as even the Writ had told him he had an expiration date -- there were ways to extend -- really extend -- one’s lifespan considerably, and the most desired of them was the Aeonian Realm . Bar no accidents, just getting to Level 370 means one can live for just over a billion years, a concept Lino simply had no ability to comprehend .
Despite the fact that he wasn’t nearly as enticed by the concept of longevity as some others, it didn’t mean that he was completely indifferent to it . In addition, it signaled that he was slowly catching up to the pack -- albeit extremely slowly . After all, his weapons and armors can only go so far in evening out the playing field and he can’t rest his laurels on them for all eternity . One day or another, he’ll have to step up himself and catch up .
Shortly after gorging himself in a meal and a barrel of ale, Ekkly showed up next to him out of thin air . The Titan Spirit had a somewhat dubious look in his eyes as he looked at Lino, wondering when did cultivators require sleep, food and drinks to function, but decided against asking .
"Lord Empyrean, are you prepared for the Second Trial?" he asked .
"What’s it about?" Lino asked .
"Fighting . "
" . . . of course it is . " Lino sighed, stretching . "What’s it called?"
"Duels of Fate . " Ekkly replied nimbly . "It pertains to successfully dueling those above your realm . "
"Oh?" Lino’s eyes suddenly lit up . "Are we allowed to use external items?"
"Yes, you are allowed to use weapons and armors," Ekkly chuckled . "Otherwise, I’d have already suggested you leave . "
"Why?" the lit eyes dimmed almost immediately .
"The weakest opponent you’ll face will be Level 1500 . " Ekkly replied . "After all, I did say these trials were designed for Titular Voids . "
" . . . yeah, yeah, you did mention that . Huh . Fighting someone over thousand levels above me . I remember when my greatest problem was whether I’d find something else to eat besides dirt and grass’ roots . I kind of miss those days, to be honest . "
"Furthermore--"
"Oh, it’s not over . . . "
"--as the trials were designed for Titans, you too shall face Titans . "
" . . . as in, you know, giant, walking mountains?" Lino asked .
"Yes . "
" . . . is there a way for you to scale them down to, you know, reasonable height?"
"No . "
" . . . huh . ’s that so . "
"In addition--"
"Okay, you seriously have to stop pausing midway through your explanations! You’re giving me a migraine here dude!" Lino protested in frustration .
"Forgive me, Lord Empyrean . "
"Yeah, yeah, in addition to what?"
"In addition," Ekkly spoke slowly . "Besides the Primary Duel, you will also face the hordes of enemies that accompany the Titans as servants . "
" . . . what numbers are we talking about here?" Lino, strangely, didn’t seem that upset .
"Thousands . "
"Oh . "
" . . . " Ekkly looked on and saw that the indifferent expression slowly turned into excitement, despite Lino’s best attempts to hide it . "Is everything okay?"
"O-okay? Pfft, no, I mean, of course not everything’s okay! I-I mean, I have to, you know, fight a freaking Titan and then a host of his minions, that’s just--just terrible . . . pfft . . . khm . . . "
" . . . very well . There are in total three duels," Ekkly said . "You only need to obtain victory in the first one; the second one entails you to additional reward, and obtaining victory in the third entails you to choose a single item from the remaining treasury . "
" . . . what’s the catch?" Lino asked .
"Second duel is against a Level 3000 Titan, and the third is against Level 5000 . "
" . . . of course it is . " Lino sighed .
"If you ever decide to give up, just voice it -- no matter how loud or silent -- and I’ll end the trials . However, remember that if you choose to give up during the First Duel, you’ll have no chances left for taking the Trials ever again . "
"Alright, sounds reasonable . " Lino took in a deep breath, readying himself . "Send me to my death, Ekkly!"
"Lord Empyrean--"
"It’s a saying . . . it’s . . . it’s a goddamn saying . . . "
"Oh . Very well then . I shall send you to your death, Lord Empyrean . "
" . . . "
Ekkly slowly vanished, leaving Lino alone in the empty chamber . Just as he began suspecting something went wrong, space next to him vibrated and shook, forcing him to look sideways . There stood a spinning vortex -- the size of a small mountain -- causing Lino to bitterly smile . Though he was excited to test out the [Dragon Slayer] against a small army of enemies, there was also the Titan he’d have to face .
Not only did he know next to nothing about Titans’ physique, he also had absolutely no idea on how the Titans fought . It was also then that he realized that he’d have to do what he opted out of doing ever since the Trials began: begrudgingly ask the Writ for the advice .
" . . . so?" Lino mumbled faintly, still refraining from entering into the vortex .
"Just remember that time and speed are relative," the Writ replied . "But that the blunt force of impact is pretty squared out across the board . I’d suggest you avoid getting hit at all cost, even with the armor on . Roughly ninety-eight percent of Titans practiced Body Cultivation, which is also where the vast majority of Cultivation Methods for Body Cultivation come from . You’ll finally face someone who has all your strengths, but none of your weaknesses . Good luck . "
" . . . my weaknesses? Pshh, I don’t have any weaknesses . "
"Your Level, Realm, lack of Martial Arts--"
"Dude! You can read my freaking mind!" Lino grumbled . "You know I didn’t mean it!"
" . . . "
"Alright, so don’t get hit . Great advice . Great . . . advice . . . "
Taking another deep breath, he slowly walked through the vortex, enduring the spatial drag for a few seconds before being spat out on the other end . He found himself standing within a gigantic hall, so large that Lino was completely gobsmacked and at a loss for words when it came to describing it .
It was simply . . . big . So big, as the matter of the fact, that he was unable to clearly see the ceiling . So big that even the rug’s thickness beneath his feet . . . was three times as big as he was . The hall was so big, actually, that Lino contemplated for a second whether he’d become an ant . . . or some even smaller insect .
It took his mind quite a few moments to focus upfront, where a massive, over two hundred meters tall humanoid-shaped piece of rock sat . Unlike Ekkly, who was just stone, the Titan before Lino also wore a set of armor dyed entirely silver . By his side was a ginormous spear, which Lino at first though was yet another pillar supporting the massive hall -- but it wasn’t .
The Titan’s eyes slowly opened, and just like with Lino, it took him awhile to move his eyes from front to down, only to spot a small dot in the distance glaring at him . Confused at first, he leaned a bit closer in and snickered .
" . . . adorable . " a coarse voice shook Lino’s eardrums for a moment . "Will you . . . become my pet? I promise to feed you every day . "
" . . . " Lino’s eyebrows twitched, yet he was also half a wit away from bursting into laughter . "Funny . I was gonna ask you the same thing . We don’t have anything this big anymore in my time; you’d make all the ladies I meet swoon and go over the moon for me . "
"Oh? You can talk? Now I want you as a pet even more . "
"Well, you’ll first have to whoop my ass!" Lino exclaimed as he whipped out the [Dragon Slayer] from his void world . "And I promise you, this little pet has some pretty sharp claws!"
"I . . . I can’t fight you," the Titan sighed . "You are too adorable . "
" . . . dude, do you want me to start insulting you? Because I kind of like you, actually . It’d do no good for either one of us if you suddenly decided you don’t want me as a pet, but as a carcass you can decorate your room with . "
"Hehe, words can’t hurt me, little human . "
"Really?" Lino suddenly grinned evilly . "Then, I suppose, you won’t mind if I point out that your eyes look like two suns . . . "
"Aww . . . "
"Who hate each other so much they constantly have to look away from one another . "
" . . . "
"And, I suppose," Lino continued . "You won’t mind if I point out that you’re by far the smallest Titan I’ve ever heard of . Or, because words can’t hurt you, I suppose you won’t mind me saying that the size of that spear is definitely overcompensating for something . I can’t say what, but, you know, definitely something . "
" . . . . "
"And, you definitely won’t mind me saying -- because, you know, words can’t hurt you -- that you have by far the weirdestly-shaped head I’ve ever seen in my life! What’s that?! Is it a pear? Is it a tear? Is it a peni--"
"I am Agguv Ook," the Titan interrupted Lino, suddenly getting off his chair, the previous amicable demeanour completely vanishing . "Third of his Name, Titular Spear of the North . I have lived for many moons, little human, but have never met anyone who disrespected me so . You shall pay!"
" . . . oh . So I guess words can hurt . "
" . . . "
"Well, whatever," Lino shrugged, taking a battle stance . "Swords hurt even more . "
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