From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 49: Heracles Pt. 10

There was one thing that Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t expected. It was a side effect of the combination of the Dragon's Bloodstone and the red ore. When he had applied the liquid formed from the melted red ore to Muspel’s Spear, he had heard a message that said that the Dragon's Bloodstone had swallowed the red ore.

Back then, he wasn’t sure what it had meant.

[The blood stored in the Dragon's Bloodstone has begun the reversal process.]

[Rejuvenation Rate -0.3%]

"Mr. Lee!” Jeong In-Chang shouted when Lee Jun-Kyeong’s demeanor suddenly changed.

“What’s going on?!”

“What?”

Inebu and Numek, who were facing Heracles in the front, echoed in return. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong eventually fell to one knee due to the burning dizziness.

“Ugh.”

This unexpected scenario naturally led to a change in the conflict.

Clang!

– Roar!!

He had been trusted with suppressing Catalyon, who was on its last legs. However, Catalyon was able to stand up again when Lee Jun-Kyeong abruptly stopped moving. Following that, the Hunters who had been facing Heracles had to back up and retreat quickly.

The only participants that were left were Jeong In-Chang with his greatsword and Hyeon-Mu orbiting in the sky.

“Mr. Lee…”

Although the Hunters from the Nile and George wanted to regroup quickly, the shock wave generated from the collision between the dying Catalyon’s last blow and Heracles impeded them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gasp…

“Mr. Lee, are you okay?” Jeong In-Chang asked out of concern. He had shielded Lee Jun-Kyeong from the initial shockwave and continued to block the occasional attack. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t in a state where he could respond.

Gasp.

He heaved again. He wanted to let go of Muspel’s Spear, but a thorn had sprouted from the weapon and had pierced into his hand.

Squelch.

He was basically stuck to the spear. His head kept spinning, and his vision blurred from the vertigo.

[The blood of the Dragon's Bloodstone is being reversed.]

[Rejuvenation Rate -1%]

Alongside the notifications he kept hearing, Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel the changes within his body.

Throb.

An immense amount of mana was bubbling up from inside of him. He knelt, unable to lift his head from the weight of the mana. It exerted an unimaginable force over him as it transformed within him. Because of his body’s limits, he couldn’t control the rampaging mana within him.

‘The Mana Stream…’

That was why the Demon King had developed the mana stream in the first place. Lee Jun-Kyeong tried to funnel the mana into his elementary mana stream. Still, it was only able to control the basics, so it soon lost the capacity to contain any additional mana.

"What’s wrong with the Underdog?!"

"That looks like the same change as Heracles!"

"How…"

The Hunters from before had finally been able to regroup, rejoining the fight between Catalyon and Heracles. They had done so because Lee Jun-Kyeong had said that he knew how to deal with Heracles.

"Flooding River!"

Numek and Inebu rushed ahead and began to create a protective barrier. However, it was apparent that it would soon be broken.

George shouted, “Underdog! Five minutes passed by a long time ago!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong raised his bloodshot eyes and looked over at Heracles. The duration of Madness should have been five minutes as it had been created without a proper refining process. By this point, Heracles should have lost all his strength and collapsed.

However, the giant still stood, and it seemed as though he was enduring the Madness and increasing his strength.

"How…?" Lee Jun-Kyeong said, looking at him.

"…!"

And he began to see something that he had been unable to see up until now. Blobs were moving along specific paths, enveloping over Catalyon and Heracles. A dark red mass had enveloped Catalyon, while Heracles was covered in a red mass with flashes of blue.

‘Is that a mana stream…?’

In addition, Heracles was also emitting the masses from his body. He would absorb them through battle and emit them while releasing his power. Lee Jun-Kyeong could tell what was happening. It wasn’t exactly the correct method, but Heracles was using a kind of mana stream.

“Keughk…”

“Are you okay?”

"Underdog!"

Lee Jun-Kyeong barely stood up after hearing the others call for him.

Thump.

He could feel a huge heartbeat.

Twitch.

The veins from the hand holding Muspel’s Spear, all the way through his shoulder and on his neck and even his face, began to throb, and they were swollen in a disgusting manner. His body shook in time to the beat of the rushing blood.

[The blood of the Dragon's Bloodstone is being reversed.]

[Rejuvenation Rate…]

Alongside the notification, Lee jun-Kyeong twisted his right foot, making it go deep through the soil into the ground. He focused directly on this foot.

‘Force all of the mana into it.’

By forcing all of the mana into his foot, he was able to stimulate it and rocket forward.

“M…Mr. Lee!”

“Damn it! What the hell is going on?!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong shot forward like an arrow. At the same time, Jeong In-Chang and George stumbled for a moment from the shockwave he had created as he stomped on the ground.

“Huh!!!!?”

Numek was flustered as she watched Lee Jun-Kyeong break through the water barrier she had created, while Inebu watched all of what had transpired with interest.

“...”

***

.

‘I’m dizzy.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t able to keep his mind stable. His vision was spinning as if he was drunk, and it was as if someone had taken control of his body. However, the mana felt extremely clear to him.

Throb.

A blue wave came out of him and spread as if it were filling the space. It was the same mana that Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t contain with his foundation and the surplus mana that existed inside of the gate. The two gathered together, forming around and giving shape to the previously invisible mana.

Clang!

Lee Jun-Kyeong turned his head at the sound. After barely being able to react, he suddenly saw the front paw of Catalyon in front of him.

– Roar!!!

Surprisingly, it had been pierced by Muspel’s Spear. He had unknowingly blocked Catalyon’s attack and counterattacked at the same time.

Following that, he felt a colossal amount of mana once more. Without even realizing it, Lee Jun-Kyeong reacted, shifting positions by moving his feet.

Whoosh!

It had only been a subtle shift, but a huge blob of mana blasted across the battlefield, barely missing his chest. Heracles had shot the Roar of the Savage Beast at him. Then, Lee Jun-Kyeong unconsciously pulled out Muspel’s Spear and ran toward Heracles. The shift of the environment in his peripheral vision was so instantaneous that he felt like he was going to get motion sickness.

After rushing through the space, Lee Jun-Kyeong stabbed Heracles’ right arm without any hesitation.

Crack.

An eerie sound came from Lee Jun-Kyeong’s bizarrely twisted right arm because he had moved against his own will.

Pop.

Mana immediately moved without his influence and began to restore the broken limb.

Swish! Swish! Stab!

His recovered right arm moved without pause. His arm continued to break from the force of the blows, but instantly recovered through mana. Muspel’s Spear pierced forward repeatedly, moving between Heracles and Lee Jun-Kyeong as if it was a meteor.

For a second, Lee Jun-Kyeong thought the sight was beautiful.

‘Mountain Echo.’

Heracles tried to use another skill. This skill would cause the surroundings to reverberate and create an earthquake if the user’s feet were touching the ground. Lee Jun-Kyeong thought about dodging, and his body immediately moved as if someone else was controlling him.

Crack!

While he unconsciously moved, he could also hear the ground falling apart. Then, he stabbed into something.

It was the heart of Catalyon.

– Grahhhh!!

Catalyon, about to die, let out a long roar, and soon…

[You have defeated Catalyon.]

[You have acquired the Essence of the Forest.]

[You have completed ‘The Enemy of the Savage Beast’ achievement.]

[You have completed ‘The One Who Defeated the Lion of the Mountain’ achievement.]

[Your stats have increased slightly.]

[Your level has risen.]

[The voice of the Sponsor has not been conveyed.]

Catalyon had died after a long and protracted fight. It might have been due to the recovery that happened as he rose in level, but Lee Jun-Kyeong was finally able to steady his shaken mind and take a deep breath for a moment

“Cough!”

Although he had only been in that state for a brief moment, it had felt like an eternity. It was a terrifying feeling, as though he had been deprived of the ability to control his body and had become an observer without any sovereignty.

"Mr. Lee…!" Jeong In-Chang yelled, running over from afar.

- Master, your condition is severe. Please leave this very instant…

Hyeon-Mu said, flying over quickly.

However, it was the beginning of an even bigger nightmare.

[The Dragon's Bloodstone has swallowed the blood of Catalyon.]

[Catalyon's blood has begun the reversal process.]

This signaled the beginning of yet another nightmare.

[You are being eroded by the demonic mana.]

[Your body is collapsing.]

[Please drive out the demonic mana.]

[The voice of the Sponsor has not been conveyed.]

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Lee Jun-Kyeong began to scream as if he had never screamed before. Alongside the terrible cry, flames began to erupt from him.

“W… What is that?!”

“Dodge it!”

Black, blue, red as blood…

It was a flame that no one knew how to call, and it was about to devour the entire Catalyon Mountain…

“Everyone, come to this side!”

***

Blaze!

It was a vast and beautiful flame. It wasn’t hot enough to be called a regular fire, but it was too beautiful to say it wasn’t dangerous. The flame acted as if it was possessed by something and looked incredibly threatening.

"What the hell is this!"

The flame grew, sucking in the mana around it.

“Looks like we’re going to die…”

“Is that flame absorbing the mana right now?”

Jeong In-Chang, George, and the Hunters from the Nile were engulfed in the middle, as if they were being mixed into one. They soon began to feel lethargic from the constantly disappearing mana.

"Oh, My God,” George gasped as if he couldn't believe it, dropping his gladius in disbelief. The sight in front of him had instilled the same feeling in the others.

“What a monster.”

“Is that for real?”

“...”

The fight had ended. Catalyon had been killed by the Underdog, and only Heracles, who had been completely engulfed in madness, was left to fight the suddenly changed Underdog.

Furthermore, that fight was reaching its end.

BOOM!

Unfortunately, the entire mountain was being destroyed in the process. An unbelievable result had occurred at the end of the fight, and it was as unbelievable as the aurora-like flames that engulfed the entire mountain.

“The Underdog… won…?”

A victor had been decided. An unbelievable scene was taking place within the boss zone. Heracles was on his knees, his head bowed, most likely due to the red spear that had been pierced deep into him.

Still, somehow, Heracles summoned the strength to move and tried to attack once more.

“Keughk…”

Even the wildly roaring Heracles seemed to have had all of his mana robbed from him by the beautiful flame. Finally, the Underdog ripped the red spear from Heracles’ belly.

Squelch.

"No!"

George suddenly began to run towards the boss zone, running fiercely at full speed even though it was difficult to even move due to the loss of mana.

"No! You bastard!"

The Underdog was about to plunge his spear into Heracles' head. Heracles tried to resist, but his countenance was dark, and his body as withered as an old woman's.

Swish!

The moment the red spear swung down towards Heracles’ head…

Crash!

"…!"

"This is…!"

…a true lightning bolt fell from the sky. The bolt glowed blue, devouring the flames and robbing everyone of their sight.

Boom!

A metallic crash rang out.