Solo Clear Chapter 36

Before the forest became dark, Kalax returned to the base.
Since he was the leader of the Orcs, he couldn't stay out for too long.
When he asked if I would return with him, I told him that I would stay here a bit longer.

"I can't sleep."

I was like a person suffering from insomnia because I couldn't sleep.
I was tired so my eyes naturally closed, but for some reason, they open not too long after.

"Hoooooowl!!"

I heard a wolf howling deep within the forest.
Once the cold wind of the night touched my skin, I pulled up the blanket that I was using.
Moments later, a white breath came out of my mouth.

"I wasn't trying to be stubborn."

Tunga offered me to stay at the hut that the sorcerers stayed at and told me to rest there.
However, because I was rejected by a lot of spirits, I was feeling distressed.
In the end, I turned down his offer and I was now here.

My pride wouldn't let me go to the hut, so I decided to endure it through the night.

"Maybe I should exercise."

Since it's pa.s.sed midnight, I thought of it as a new day and stood up from the tree that I was leaning against.
If I walk into the forest, I'll encounter beasts that are hunting to fill their stomachs.
It was easy to take them down, but I didn't feel like using my weapon in the middle of the night.

There was only one place I could go.

At the plateau, the spirits that were playing in the afternoon were no longer there.
It seemed like they needed rest as well.

However, not all of them were asleep and there were spirits that were still roaming around.

Those spirits were unlike the young, low level spirits because they lived far longer than them.
Even within the quiet darkness, the light that was around them s.h.i.+ned like the moonlight.

"…Oh."

Out of the spirits, there were those that were interested in me due to the mana that I released earlier.
However, they didn't show the same interest.
They were disappointed by the conversation they had with me and now looked at me with blank eyes.

"I don't have any interest in spells anymore. So, don't look at me like that."

Like I had stated, I had no plans on staying after meeting with the Great Spirit.
I completely lost the desire to learn the power of the spells as well.

Asking someone for help and borrowing that power didn't sit well with me.

I would either make the spirits surrender and make them my slaves or ask them to exploit their powers so that I can study it, but that was dangerous.
Making them my enemy meant my relations.h.i.+p with the Orcs would be destroyed as well.

Even if I had a good relations.h.i.+p after recapturing the base.
I can't destroy the relations.h.i.+p that took a long time to build.

On top of that, even if it wasn't using spells, there were probably other ways to use mana.
There was magic, which was easier than what they were using.

Boom!!

Just then, as if there was an earthquake, I felt a violent shake through my feet.
The Great Spirit, who was asleep deep within the ground, appeared.

"We meet again."

The Great Spirit softly touched his long beard that looked like a root and spoke softly.
I was intimidated by their overwhelming presence.

"Ha ha, there's no reason to be afraid. Follow me."

In a kind tone, the Great Spirit led me somewhere.
It sounded like the Great Spirit really wanted me to follow him, so I did so without any complaints.
That's when I felt a group of spirits staring at my back.
The spirits that were still awake looked at me enviously.

There was a high cliff at the plateau and it seemed like that's where he was leading me.
I used my hand to push aside the vines that was blocking the path.

"Did you hear the conversation I had earlier?"

Even though he didn't ask, I ended up bringing up the event that happened earlier.
In order to get rid of the lonely feeling that I had, I ended up saying what was on my mind first.
I also wanted to hear his thoughts since he was known as the Father of the Spirits.

"You will encounter things that will work well with you and things that won't. There's no need to force yourself to learn it and you're not obligated to learn either. I'm sure there's a different road for you."

Since it was an obvious advice, I didn't have anything to say.
After that, we continued walking quietly.
There was an uneven uphill road and even though it was steep, we didn't have trouble climbing it.

"Why did you ask to see me again?"
"It's because there's something I want to give you. No, to be exact, it can only be given when you're able to obtain it."

The Great Spirit made a confusing statement, but I didn't try to figure out what he was trying to say.
No, there was no need to.
Moments later, we were approaching the cliff.
The more steps we took, I was able to see what the Great Spirit was talking about when he said there was something he wanted to give me.

"Even before I was born, that thing was here as if they owned this place."

The thing that the Great Spirit referred to was a lonely lance.

"It's also called the Living Thunder and when I first saw it, it was nothing more than an ordinary stick. As that wooden stick absorbed the power of the spirits little by little, it transformed into that."
"No one tried pulling it out?"
"There were other humans like you that tried, but as soon as they touched it, they all turned to ash."
"I'll turn out the same way. Probably."

The electricity that the lance was releasing was a power that even I couldn't handle.
Like the Great Spirit mentioned, the lance looked as if it just fell from the sky and was pierced into the ground and maintained its current form.

"Like us, that lance also has a will of its own. One cannot wield with just strength alone."
"Are there any requirements?"
"I'm not sure."

They didn't know and yet, they're telling me to pull it out?
Even if it was a strong weapon, I couldn't get myself to touch it.

"When I first saw you, you and that lance gave off a similar feeling. If it's you, I'm sure it's possible."

I understood his intentions and a frown appeared on my face.

"I was able to come this far because I chose to be by myself. I'm not lonely like that lance over there."
"I know."

They smiled as if they knew everything, which made me feel even more displeased.

"I had good grades and was good at answering those that tried to talk to me. Whenever there was an event, like a track meet, I did my best so that my team could win. Whenever we had group projects, I tried my best to work with the annoying members. I also took good care of the information that I needed."

I was getting worked up and even I didn't know what I was talking about.
All the things that I talked about happened in reality, so it was filled with things that the Great Spirit had no knowledge of.
However, the Great Spirit calmly touched his long beard and looked at me as if they understood.

"Of course there are times when I get lonely. When I'm dropped off in an uninhibited island, floating on the sea or standing in front of the cemetery, I think of those things. But in the end, I thought I made the right decision by surviving by myself. If there was someone that followed me around and bothered me, would my head still be intact?"

After saying all of this with one breath, that's when I was able to breathe.

"Then you'll be able to prove it by pulling out that lance."
"…Got it."

I lost all sense of reason and accepted his offer without questioning it.
I even hoped that I would end up dying after touching that lightning-shaped skewer.

"…You are pretty amazing."

When I approached the lance, my body was started shaking.
Even though I lacked emotion, I couldn't help but feel that the lance's power was charming.

In the current stage, the best weapon was the one that Master Kalax was wielding and it was a custom made item that was created by a master.
The blacksmith had so many orders, that their customers had to wait at least two months.
20 stages were currently created and that custom-made weapon was a Rank Four, which was considered the best.
The price of a Rank Four item was extremely expensive and most of the holders were ranked high.

Through a famous video site, I admired that weapon.
It felt like the weapon's energy pierced through the computer screen and enveloped my entire body.

That was the power of a Rank Four weapon.

But it seemed like this lance had some sort of potential that was stronger than the Rank Four weapon.

Zaaaap!!

Electricity was released from the tip of the lance and touched my finger.
But, it didn't hurt.

Since I didn't like wasting time, I grabbed the handle.

Zaaaap!!

The powerful electricity felt like a real lightning bolt and it hit the cliff really hard.
The lance sucked out the mana within me as if it was food.

The pain that I had felt, my nerves were getting burned and saliva and snot were running down my face.

"D…d.a.m.n it!!"

I cursed and I tried to release the lance that was stuck to me, but it was no use.

"…Shut up!! Just let me pull you out!!!"

Zaaaap!!

It was so painful that I forgot why I was holding onto the lance.
I ended up pulling it out and when the information window popped up, it showed that it was mine.

Rival's Lightning Bolt (??)(??)(??) - Owner Kang Jin Woo

Since there wasn't any information displayed on the screen, I knew that the Managers didn't create it.
I pushed aside the thought that something was wrong and looked at the Great Spirit that approached me.

"…Do you understand the meaning of pulling out the lance?"

I didn't have the energy to answer.
Darkness filled my eyes and I lost consciousness.

Staff :
Jen (TL)
Kuhaku (PR)