Withered trees, pale mist.
Morien opened his eyes again, glanced down at the lake water reaching his ankles, and stretched his body.
The fluorescent patterns on his body had improved noticeably, going from something horrifying at first to faint tattoos that were almost decorative now.
At that moment, Morien's ears twitched slightly. His enhanced hearing quickly picked up movement some distance away.
His gaze pierced through the mist, and Morien soon saw what was making the noise.
They were the things that had kept trying to ambush him over the past few days.
They looked as though they might once have been human, at least, since they wore clothes.
Their bodies were hunched, their clothes tattered, and they crawled on the ground. A small arm extended from each side of their ribs.
Including their legs, they had six limbs in total.
They crawled like spiders through the forest rising from the lake not far from Morien, wandering aimlessly.
Morien's lips suddenly curled upward as he watched them.
Back then, I had no power, and you chased me around like a dog.
Now that I have power, how are you going to face me?
He raised a hand, moved the mask hanging at the side of his face over his face, and blue Cursed Energy ignited in his palm.
That Cursed Energy instantly enveloped the mask, then his head, then his entire body.
Soon, Morien's entire body was ablaze with blue Cursed Energy flames.
He released the mask, swept his hand upward to slick back his hair, and looked at the bizarre creatures ahead of him. Beneath the mask, his lips curved upward wildly.
"Your Uncle Morien is about to properly digest this Melee Scholar Potion."
The fluorescent patterns on his body cracked open one after another.
Monsterification.
As Morien actively dispelled the ability that lowered his presence and activated Monsterification, the strange crawling creatures around him all turned their gazes toward him.
Morien smiled and started walking toward them.
They crawled toward Morien across the ground like spiders.
Both sides gradually accelerated. Soon, Morien broke into a jog, while the strange creatures opposite him snarled and pounced at him.
Bang!
A sound like a bullet leaving the barrel rang out.
One head burst apart.
One of the creatures—no, half a creature, its entire upper body blown apart—fell to the ground.
After blowing apart one, Morien grabbed another that had leaped at him with a backhanded motion. His five fingers clamped around its face, and he lifted the creature that was accustomed to crawling until it was level with him.
The bizarre creature was still struggling, but Morien's other hand, stained with blood, had already drawn back.
Smack!
He made a forceful clapping motion.
With one palm gripping the bizarre creature's head, he clapped his hands together.
His two palms slammed solidly together, sending fragments flying everywhere in front of him.
Some of the filthy debris scattered toward Morien, but the Cursed Energy coating his body repelled all of it.
Just then, several orbs that were half orange and half grayish-brown slammed toward him from behind.
Morien's Spirituality intuition immediately stirred.
He bent down with the motion, plunged his palm into the muddy ground beneath his feet, then spun around and heaved upward.
Crash!
He forcibly raised a three- to four-meter-high "wave" made of mud, then slammed it back down, burying those orbs beneath it.
Not far behind him, the ambushers were two bizarre creatures similar to the ones from before.
They too crawled on the ground with four arms and two legs, but they were wrapped in hooded robes. One of them held a bell glowing with a ghostly blue light.
Jingle, jingle!
As the bell shook, its ringing sounded, and even more half-orange, half-grayish-brown orbs drifted out of it and flew toward Morien.
The orbs were not particularly fast, and Morien easily dodged them with a few sidesteps.
As he dodged, he steadily approached the bizarre creatures that had ambushed him.
Sensing death drawing near, the two bizarre creatures raised their bells high, intending to shake them faster.
But...
Nothing happened.
Not a single sound came out.
The bizarre creatures raised their heads in confusion, only to find that they could no longer see their hands.
At some point, Morien had appeared behind them. He casually tossed the two torn-off arms to the ground, then took the bell and gave it an experimental shake.
Jingle, jingle.
The bell rang crisply, but no similar orbs emerged.
"Tch." Morien clicked his tongue, crushed the bell in his hand, then turned and kicked apart the heads of the monsters trying to counterattack, one kick each.
Huff...
All of a sudden, the surrounding fog thickened. White mist spread in from every direction, encircling Morien.
Clop, clop, clop.
Morien vaguely heard the sound of hooves striking the water's surface.
But the white fog around him seemed capable of absorbing not only sight, but sound as well, making it difficult for Morien to discern his surroundings.
"What the hell is that noise?" After brushing the remaining bell fragments from his palm, Morien bent down, picked up a stone from beneath the water, and tossed it lightly in his hand.
The fog around him grew thicker and thicker, while Morien stood still in place.
One orb after another flew from the white mist toward Morien.
Morien still did not move, allowing the orbs to strike the Cursed Energy around his body.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The orbs exploded one after another, and a bone-deep chill spread throughout Morien's entire body.
Even though the Cursed Energy blocked most of the damage, he still felt his joints stiffen with cold. This seemed to be an attack aimed at the spirit body.
Yet Morien remained unmoving.
His lips curled high.
Then he suddenly spun around and hurled the stone in his hand into the fog.
Bang!
The stone spun through the air, and the airflow it generated directly scattered the surrounding mist.
Bang!
A galloping horse was struck in the side by the stone. The spinning rock bored in through its left side and flew out its right.
A hole half a meter in diameter was immediately drilled through the horse's abdomen, piercing straight through its body so that one could see from its left side to its right.
The horse died on the spot and toppled forward, flinging the "knight" on its back away. The rider rolled twice across the ground before smashing into the stone wall of a towering cliff not far away.
It was another strange creature like the ones from before.
Morien silently walked over, lifted the monster from the ground, and pinned it against the stone wall.
He looked back at the monster corpses scattered across the ground, then turned his gaze back to the last monster pinned against the wall. The veins on his body and face gradually bulged out.
"Aah!!!"
Having been trapped for days in that dim, oppressive, terrifying environment, Morien let out a cry that was entirely release, entirely venting his fury.
He raised one hand high, clenched it into a fist, and smashed it forward with all his strength!
Black Flash!
Boom!
A tremendous explosion rang out as black lightning spread in every direction.
Bang!
This was the sound of the entire stone wall shattering and exploding apart.
Fine cracks instantly spread across the wall from that punch, and shattered rocks blasted outward, leaving behind a crater dozens of meters wide.
The monster broke into countless scattered pieces. Even the best forensic examiner in the world would not have been able to put it back together.
Gugu gaga, descriptions of fists hitting flesh like this were honestly pretty satisfying.
Today's first chapter was a bonus update. There would be another chapter around noon or in the afternoon. I'm going to sleep first. Good night.