I hurriedly raised the Holy Sword. There was no time to draw the blade, so I blocked the muscle-headās fist with the scabbard. Clang! Our aura clashed fiercely.
-Hoh?
I deliberately used the momentum of the clash to move back, widening the distance between Uburka and me. I used this gap as a way to give myself some time. Then, I grabbed the hilt of my sword and took a proper stance. This way Iād be able to properly deal with this muscle-headās charges.
-Good. Very good!
Uburka smiled happily.
-Your muscles look delicate, but they are fairly sturdy. Did you add the weight of your soul to the weight of your body?
āI only build muscles internally! You rude bastard!ā
-Ugor? Internal muscles? Whatās that?
āI appear slim on the outside, but my muscles are quite solid. Itās a magical muscle building technique that allows me to keep my shape while increasing the strength of my body limitlessly! Internal muscles is the style of masters, and the style of outwardly growing muscles like yours is nothing but garbage!ā
-I didnāt expect Kekerkker to say things like thisā¦.
Uburka made a strange expression, and his breathing slowed down for a moment.
It was natural for someoneās brain to go rigid whenever they encountered something that surpassed their ābullshit limitā.
It was that very distortion in breathing that I was aiming for. Taht! Kicking off of the ground, I shot towards Uburka.
-Hmm!
Uburkaās red eyes widened. He was much larger than the average goblin. This meant that he had more places I could hit. I swung my sheathed sword around like a club.
āIām sorry, child! Iāll try not to hit you too hard!ā
Uburka simply smiled.
-Ugor.
He looked down at me, who had reached in front of him in an instant. Then, without dodging or blocking, he watched me slap my sword to his body.
Claang-
A sound that seemed to defy common sense resounded. What I expected to hear was āpukā or āpaakā, not āclangā. My arms were also numb as if Iād just hit a steel wall.
āIs this stone durability?!ā
-My body is made up of muscles.
Uburka smirked, showing off his fangs.
-I was born with albinism. It stung to go out in the sun, and I could hardly see because my eyesight was bad. I couldnāt even put mud on my body in the scorching sun. I struggled because it was difficult for me to enjoy ordinary pleasures. And that was when I realized!
Uburka spread his arms.
-If I could cover my body with aura, there wouldnāt be a problem!
Crazy.
-From that day on, I devoted myself to my aura training. First I practiced by covering my entire body with aura, even if it was only for one second. One second, two seconds, three seconds. One minute, two minutes, three minutes⦠When I could maintain it for one hour, I became an adult. And when I could maintain it for a day, I became the Chairman. For me, Uburka, a birth defect is only a minor obstacle!
The hobgoblin took a bodybuilder pose, his biceps quivering.
āUgh.ā
If I had eaten any greasy food before, my stomach would definitely have been uncomfortable at that moment.
-I trained my muscles till they burst so that my aura could seep into them! When my muscles tore, my aura helped them regenerate. As a result, aura flowed through the reconstructed muscles more easily. By tearing, healing, tearing, and healing my muscles over and over again. By doing so, I succeeded in gaining the ultimate muscles!
Dudung! Budung!
Uburkaās left and right pectorals bounced up and down one after the other.
It was amazing. The performance in front of my eyes was bombarding my psychological defenses. To be able to inflict damage without even making a move, this guy was at an incredible level of mastery.
-Now Iām able to control everything, from my smallest muscles to my thickest, at will! Aura muscles! This is the muscle road I recommend!
Even his bullshit sounded elegant.
-I donāt know why, but no one has followed me yet. Poor things! All you need to do is use your aura with the mindset of restructuring your entire body.
āHey? Hey, wait a minuteā¦. You achieved refinement and rebirthā¦ā¦.ā
-You really might be my father!
This child, perhaps the only goblin in history to gain the title [Refined Muscle-head], shouted.
-Youāre stronger than I expected! Thatās great! Itās been a long time since I met an opponent who could take one of my blows. So, lift your sword, fight me with all your might!
āWoah. Iām not used to being the one who says this. But Uburka. Is fighting all you knowā¦.ā
-Mind and body! Muscle Instincts! Muscle Eruption!
Rumble! Uburkaās muscles began to wriggle like magma which became restless before an eruption.
He grew.
And grew.
āH, huh?ā
And grew some more.
āSonā¦?ā
Eventually, Uburka became unbelievably huge.
This wasnāt an exaggeration, he was now the size of a small hill.
My entire body was covered by his shadow.
āHe didnāt really grow muchā¦?ā
It wasnāt Uburkaās body that grew.
Instead, it was Uburkaās aura that wrapped stretched out from his body to make the giant figure.
Like a pilot controlling a giant mech, Uburkaās body sat in the chest of the giant.
In other words, this figure, which was as large as a hill, was made purely from aura!
-Huu.
Thud, the ground rumbled.
Uburka only took a step, but the ground shook in response.
I looked at Uburka with a speechless expression.
āTh-, thereās no need to get so serious. Canāt you go back to being smaller? Daddy is getting a little scaredā¦.ā
-This, is my true form!
Giant Mode Uburka spoke in a booming voice.
-From shoulders to fingertips, there is nothing that is outside of my control! Dream being who calls himself the White Lion! My fist will pierce your chest! (TL: I donāt think thatās physiologically possibleā¦)
āHey! Hey! This is a sin against heaven!ā
-Fine. Then in the name of victory, I will gladly sin against heaven!
Uburka shouted loudly and punched forward. A fist, almost the size of a house, fell towards me, covering me in its shadow.
Shibal Aura Method⢠Giant Style.
Martial Art Technique.
Humiliating Fist.
It was a name as elegant as a tadpoleās eyes!(1)
āIsnāt the name of that martial art too long?!ā
-The value of a martial art is in its power, not its name!
He certainly was right. Uburka had gained profound destructive power in exchange for abandoning his naming sense.
Crack.
The ground cracked, but the power of the punch didnāt end there. It poured down like heavy rain.
The ground shattered. And because the hot aura smashed into the ground, a lot of the surrounded soil melted into mud and splattered onto me. In an instant, I became like a mouse that had been covered in muddy water.
āHot!!ā
With a shriek I avoided the other waves of mud from Uburka.
āYou brat whose ignorance will shake the world! I didnāt raise you guys like this!ā
-Quit your bullshit, zombie. You didnāt raise those kids.
While I did evasive maneuvers that made me look like a tap dancer, Bae Hu-ryeong muttered.
-Like he said, fight with all your might. There are many cases where parent and child fight each other. There are even certain sects and cults that have a tradition of the young eating the old.
āShit!ā
I drew my sword.
āI donāt care anymore!ā
-You didnāt care for a long time!
āI was proud of my child!ā
I raised my aura.
And the image I pictured was the fire.
The underground torture chamber in the mansion.
āA child outstretched their hand, bound by chains and covered in flames.ā
A deep resentment for being young.
āFire.ā
My heart became hot in an instant.
I embraced the feelings from the scene in that mansionās basement, a tale that would eventually be forgotten if left untold. Then I unfolded those feelings into my aura.
āMy shadow is the shade of that basement.ā
Without being buried by the emotions.
āMy fire is the touch of that child.ā
I didnāt need to be obsessed with the form.
You and I arenāt fire. Fire is the one. Fire that covers and burns the world.
Thus, the tip of my sword became the tip of someoneās finger, and my blade became their scream.
Infernal Heavens Demonic Artā¢Reformation
First form.
The Burning Young Sword.
-ā¦ā¦!
Burn.
-Ahahaha! Indeed!
My aura swayed in the shadow like the head of a snake. The opponentās hand. Even if this was only the hand of a giant that had been summoned. The image in my mind became more solid. Hotter.
Stronger.
I cut the hand off.
-Definitely!
My opponent resisted. My opponent, whose left hand had been cut off, tried to resist with his right hand. Was he trying to make space to readjust his stance?
I struck again.
He bent his back to avoid the blow. But as my foot struck the air, the shadows of flame latched onto his right arm. One thread. Two threads. Three threads. Dozens of aura threads covered the giantās fist.
-Thereās no doubt about it!
I burned it.
ā Itās Kekerkker!
The giant tried to restore his hands. Iām sure he had more aura. If that was the case, I would just have to cut off my opponentās limbs faster than he could restore them with aura.
-You have returned to our race after 600 years!
I cut the left foot before the left hand could grow.
I cut the right foot before the left foot could grow.
Then I cut the left arm again before the right foot could grow.
I completely cut up the figure of the giant.
-There is no lack of dignity in your victory! No, thatās wrong! I didnāt try hard enough to win!
I cut it.
-Amazing! Ugor! Amazing! I canāt believe youāre not [strengthening] yourself, but using the [reinforcement] of others!
I buried the giant in that blazing basement.
-Aura, the fire of the soul, I didnāt know it could be used this way!
Like burning paper, the giant was consumed by the flames.
It grew smaller and smaller.
The giantās aura was also red, so it resembled a scene where a large fire devoured a smaller fire.
āDo they have to be different?ā
As I watched the giant get swallowed by fire, I had a sudden thought.
āUburka inflated his arms and legs. He extended them. He used his aura as a tool to expand. On the other hand, I use it to attract the screams of others.ā
The reddish aura burned red.
āIs there a reason why both things canāt be done at the same time?ā
Fireworks went off in my head.
āI was so focused on converting teacherās Infernal Heavens Demonic Art to my Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. But do I really need to attract screams? Can I carry all of the karma by myself and draw all of that resentment on my own? Should I?ā
The fundamentals of aura usage appeared in my head.
āNo.ā
A solution appeared in my mind.
āAnyone could be fire.ā
I opened my mouth.
āUburka. Think about this.ā
-Ugor?
Should I tell him about the underground mansion?
No.
āThink about the dark underground of Rimepolis.ā
I would give him something closer.
āThere, living in one of the many pits dug into the ground, are thirteen goblins. There are also young goblins among them. Children who, from the moment they were born, have never seen the sun, never been hit and soaked by the rain, and never been able to cover themselves in mud to their heartsā content.ā
-ā¦ā¦.
āThink about those children.ā
I pushed the history of the goblins onto their strongest warrior.
āThey are only given a few fish in the mornings and evenings. That is all they were allowed to eat. The mothers sometimes roast the rare mushroom that they can find, but that is the only change of their diet. Are you thinking about it?ā
-ā¦Iām thinking.
āWhenever they cook, the narrow pit gets filled with smoke. The mothers are crying and the children are coughing. But that doesnāt mean they can come out. In the distance, the snails monitor them, their tentacles waving in the air. Can you imagine the smoke in the cramped pit, and the soft coughs of the mothers and their children?ā
-I can.
āA young goblin stretches for a fish on the fire that isnāt fully cooked yet.ā
I hit the giantās fist with my sword.
āThe mother hits the hand of the child. She grabs his wrist. She already hit him, and yet, the child keeps reaching for the uncooked fish whenever she looks away. Because he is hungry. Whenever his mother blocks him, he bursts into tears.ā
-Mm.
āIn the end, the mother has no choice but to give the fish to the child as soon as itās cooked. The child eats it quickly. Then he looks at the other grilled fish. He wants more.ā
I hit the giantās fist away, forcing an opening. Then I swung my sword in this opening, reducing the size of the giant a bit more.
āThink about the childās gaze, the motherās gaze, the childās outstretched hand, the motherās hand that blocks and holds the childās. Draw the path of the smoke in that underground pit.ā
-ā¦ā¦.
āIf itās you, Iām sure you can draw it.ā
-Ugor.
āShow me.ā
The giant swung his fist.
āCopy me.ā
I dodged and deflected it. The direction of the fist changed again.
āCry.ā
The giantās stance twisted.
āYou are a race who knew how to sing to the fire in sorrow. Those flames were nothing more than a simple fire, but you were able to read emotions by looking at the angles in which the wind blew it, the speed that it rose at, and the dispersion when it sank. Aura is no different.ā
-ā¦ā¦.
āOne character holds the sky. One rhythm sings sorrow. Why canāt aura capture the sky? Why canāt you use it to draw sadness? Embed that image in your mind,ā
The giantās stance collapsed.
I hit him in the shin and helped him regain his balance.
He straightened.
The giantās fist flew through the air in what should have been a straight punch.
āGo ahead.ā
Suddenly, fire burst from the giantās fist.
The fire split into five tongues.
These five tongues then separated again, becoming twenty-five.
-ā¦ā¦.
Uburka looked down at his fist with a blank expression.
Some of the flames were strong, some were gentle.
None of them resembled Uburkaās mannerisms.
āMm.ā
Although it was still at a rudimentary level.
This was definitely a punch that resembled the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.