Damned Transmigration - Chapter 96

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ Damned Transmigration ◈

Chapter 96: Gebra 2

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Thud.

Yuri’s body was suddenly flung backward. He had no idea what had happened. He tried to cry out in alarm, but no sound came from his throat.

"...?"

He tried to slow himself down and land, but it didn't work. His body wouldn't move.

‘My body?’

Yuri opened his eyes wide and looked ahead. He thought he had been flung backward, but what he saw was strange. He felt weightless, and everything before him was growing distant.

Yet Yuri’s body was standing right there.

‘I'm flying backward. Why am I over there?’

His scattered thoughts quickly reached an answer. It wasn't his body flying away, but his soul.

‘What is this?’

That wasn't the only strange thing.

It was as if time had stopped.

Only his soul had left his body, while Yuri’s body remained standing exactly where it was. He was frozen in the middle of fastening Gebra around his right wrist. Haryeong was frozen in the same pose Yuri had last seen her in, tending to her hidden weapons. Estor, who had been wrapping the robe he had been given around himself, was frozen as well.

‘An out-of-body experience?’

Before he could make any more sense of the bizarre phenomenon, another loud thump rang out. His soul, which had been forcibly flung away, shook violently. Rumble! A powerful attraction seized Lee Su-hyeok’s soul.

His soul was sucked into his body. He couldn't move as though nothing had happened, look around, or open his mouth to speak. Lee Su-hyeok’s soul was dragged deep into Yuri’s body.

How far down was it going?

The shaking view became complete darkness the instant he was pulled into his body. He couldn't see anything. After the darkness continued for some time...

A great light appeared.

No, it wasn't light. It was flame.

A fiercely blazing fire burned within Yuri.

Yuri stared blankly at it. He had seen this flame before. It was the fire he felt whenever he operated the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, the fire he became aware of whenever he focused on meditation and looked deep within himself.

But he had never seen it so clearly.

It truly looked as though a massive mountain of flames stood before him.

When had it been?

When Yuri first learned the Art of the Untainted Heart in Rutlan, he had thought of it as a shallow spring, while the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil had seemed like an enormous fire.

The thought he had then was now laid out before his eyes in a much more direct form.

He hadn't cultivated the Art of the Untainted Heart since leaving Logos. He no longer needed to be wary of Elena and Haryeong, and with the divine art that was the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, there was no need to keep training the Art of the Untainted Heart, which was only a first-rate martial art.

Was that why?

Everything around the fiercely burning flames had dried up. All that remained of the Art of the Untainted Heart, which had once been a tiny spring, was a shriveled pond. Even that lay beneath the flames.

‘It keeps getting bigger.’

The flames of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, which he had noticed and visualized a few times before, were far larger than Yuri had imagined.

Even now, they continued to grow.

It was truly a mountain of flames.

Overwhelmed by the fire, Yuri stared up at it blankly. It was the flame of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, a fire that could topple over and burn everything if it tilted even slightly.

Yet Yuri couldn't believe it was his.

‘What is this...?’

He had no idea what was happening.

As an item in the game, Gebra drastically increased the essential stats of close-range warrior builds. Of those, it raised Strength the most. Equipping Gebra alone greatly increased physical damage.

It didn't simply increase stats.

When Gebra was equipped, it dealt additional magic damage proportional to physical attack power. With that extra damage included, a well-built setup could expect more than double the damage from Gebra alone.

Its other option was a growth bonus to skill levels. In the game, skill levels capped at level 10, and even reaching that wasn't easy. Time attack records were decided by how quickly a player acquired the skills they wanted, then how efficiently they drew synergy from those skills and leveled them up.

Stats, added magic damage, and a growth bonus to skill levels.

Allen had only said Yuri would understand once he wore it. He hadn't explained what abilities Gebra, a Divine Relic, actually possessed.

‘I still don't understand...’

Startled by a sudden burst of heat, Yuri looked at his right arm. In this place, which could be called a kind of mental realm, his spiritual body existed separately from his physical body. Yet the right arm before his eyes looked less like Lee Su-hyeok’s and more like Yuri’s.

‘Has my soul... assimilated with my body?’

There had been a mirror in the Evil God’s nightmare.

When Yuri had first seen his face, it had felt so unfamiliar that it didn't seem like his own. But when he saw it again at the end of the nightmare, it no longer felt quite as much like someone else's face.

That wasn't simply a matter of feeling. Lee Su-hyeok himself had yearned for Yuri and accepted him.

In this world, he was Lee Su-hyeok and Yuri. He couldn't deny that.

Either way, his answer was ‘me.’

‘The bracelet...?’

Gebra was on the right arm of his spiritual body.

The bracelet was giving off blistering heat. The golden bracelet had turned red-hot and become a ring of fire.

Twitch.

The ring of fire broke apart on its own. Instead of falling, though, it surged upward.

Rumble!

The violent blast of heat felt as though it would reduce his soul to ash, but Yuri desperately held onto the thread of his consciousness. Strangely, that alone allowed him to withstand it.

Aaaaaah...

The flame that surged upward twisted as if it were alive. The fire wrapped in the blast of heat became a massive snake.

Yuri watched the flaming snake with vacant eyes.

The wandering snake of fire flowed into the flames of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil. As though oil had been poured over them, the flames burned brighter and brighter, scattering sparks in every direction.

An irresistible force pushed his soul away.

From far away, Yuri looked down at the flames. The space where the enormous fire flickered resembled a furnace. Within that furnace, something like a snake stared at Yuri from the roaring blaze.

Zap.

The moment their gazes met, Yuri understood Allen’s words.

That snake was the manifestation of the power dwelling within Gebra, combined with Yuri’s Intent as Gebra’s owner.

The snake had now coiled itself within the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil.

That alone gave Yuri control over the furnace that held the flames.

“Yuri?”

He had returned.

Yuri couldn't remain standing. He staggered, then collapsed where he stood.

How much time had passed?

He tried to open his mouth, but couldn't. An overwhelming weakness pressed down on his entire body, as though he had pushed himself to his limit and exhausted every last bit of inner power.

“Yuri? What is it? What's wrong all of a sudden?”

Estor, who had been burying his nose in the robe and sniffing it, hurried over. A sharp, smoky smell filled the air.

Haryeong flinched in surprise and rushed toward Yuri as well.

“Y-Yuri?!”

She couldn't keep her expression blank. Haryeong opened her eyes wide and cried out Yuri’s name, her mouth hanging open.

Whoosh!

Red flames suddenly erupted and swallowed Yuri’s entire body.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

Estor hurriedly swung his hand. A powerful gust slammed into Yuri, but the flames didn't go out in the wind.

It wasn't hot.

As he sat within the flames, Yuri had that thought. The weakness still weighed down his entire body, but his mind was strangely clear. He looked blankly down at his body burning in the flames.

“W-Water!”

Estor shouted, but Haryeong already had water in hand.

There was a large vase in the room. Haryeong immediately dumped its water over Yuri. The flowers turned to ash and the water evaporated, but the flames didn't go out.

“I'm... fine.”

That was what Yuri said for the moment.

He had no idea what exactly was fine, but Haryeong and Estor stood there awkwardly, watching him. Within flames that showed no sign of dying out, Yuri slowly moved his reluctant body.

Understanding continued to come to him.

Yuri knew exactly what he had to do now.

This was, metaphorically speaking, taming.

He had become the owner of Gebra, a Divine Relic.

The flaming snake had coiled itself within Yuri’s furnace, but that had been a spiritual experience, one of the soul rather than physical reality. Based on that experience, he had to engrave Gebra’s power into his physical body, his corporeal soul.

By binding soul and corporeal soul together, Gebra would be fully tamed and become Yuri’s.

“Fuuuh...”

Yuri crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Perhaps optimization was a more accurate word than taming.

He focused his mind and operated the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil.

‘I am the fire that carries out heavenly punishment, the asura that annihilates evil, and the apostle that corrects Heaven’s principles. My hands uphold holy flame, my feet trample demons.’

Each time he recited the formula, the flames grew even more violent. Yuri didn't panic and drew up his inner power. He felt drained dry, but his inner power remained intact in his dantian.

Its flow was anything but ordinary.

The inner power in his dantian became a raging torrent and raced through his vital channels. Then it turned into fire and surged into his middle dantian.

The furnace expanded. No, it became connected as one.

That wasn't the end of it.

After filling his middle dantian, the flames surged upward. The heat that seemed to roast his heart whole traveled up his spine toward his head.

The upper dantian.

Yuri kept his eyes closed and continued focusing on the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil.

‘I am the fire that carries out heavenly punishment, the asura that annihilates evil, and the apostle that corrects Heaven’s principles. My hands uphold holy flame, my feet trample demons.’

What came next?

What was next?

Carry out heavenly punishment, become an asura that annihilates evil, become an apostle who corrects Heaven’s principles, uphold holy flame with his hands, trample demons beneath his feet.

What came after that?

What heavenly punishment was he meant to carry out? What were Heaven’s principles?

He was supposed to correct something he didn't even know?

Thud. Thud. Thud...

He felt the force of the flames knocking on the door of his upper dantian weaken.

‘Does Heaven mean the Goddess of Order to me?’

No.

Yuri didn't worship the Goddess of Order.

The formula of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, which he had recited without question until now, grated on him. He couldn't immerse himself in it, focus on it, or add his Intent to it as he pleased.

The formula of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil was incomplete.

There was a limit to the realm he could reach with the formula as it was now. To fully open his upper dantian and enter the realm of Intent, he needed to complete it.

He had to hear the next formula from Lorelia, or...

‘Do it myself.’

Unlike before, Yuri questioned the formula and craved what came next because his Intent had now become completely one with the current Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil.

He thought of Gebra’s snake, added to the flames within him. In the end, his Intent had been added to that snake as well.

It meant everything had become one.

Fwoosh...

Unable to open his upper dantian after all, the flames descended. The fire covering his body also died down.

Yuri let out a long breath. It wasn't just his imagination. His breath itself was hot like a blast of wind, his insides burned, and his nose caught the acrid smell of something scorched.

“Fuuuh...”

Yuri steadied his breathing and opened his eyes.

Estor and Haryeong stood on the other side of the murky smoke. Estor held a large basin filled with water, though Yuri had no idea when he had gotten it. Haryeong covered her eyes with both hands.

Yuri understood why Estor was holding the basin, but not why Haryeong was covering her eyes.

She wasn't even doing it properly. Her fingers were slightly spread apart.

“Why are you...?”

Yuri stopped mid-sentence and looked down at himself in shock.

He had no clothes.

He was completely naked. The damn flames from Gebra had burned every piece of clothing to ash.

Yuri hurriedly lowered his hands to cover his crotch.

“I didn't see anything,” Haryeong said.

“Even if I did see something, what could I do? Who would expect someone to suddenly catch fire, burn fiercely, and have all their clothes turn to ash?”

“It's a relief your hair didn't burn.”

Estor spoke with a serious expression as he put down the basin and removed his robe.

Yuri hurriedly wrapped the robe Estor handed him around himself, feeling a small regret.

‘What if I had been wearing that pair of underwear?’

It was a crazy thought.

Yuri shook his head and rose to his feet.

That alone felt deeply strange. He paused with a flinch, then slowly lifted one foot.

‘Something...’

Moving felt easier.

His body was lighter?

No, faster.

It wasn't as though he had been slow or heavy before, but this was clearly different from earlier.

Yuri stood still for a moment, then clenched his fist and lightly threw it forward.

Bang!

His fist shot out and returned with the sound of bursting air.

‘And I didn't even use inner power?’

Had his stats increased according to Gebra’s options?

After throwing a few more punches, Yuri abruptly turned his head and looked at Estor.

“Hey, let's spar.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“Yeah. I'll get dressed first, so go ask Alnair if we can use the knights’ training grounds.”

It was a sudden request, but Estor grinned.

He wasn't the kind of man who turned down a spar.

“We'll have to change rooms again.”

Haryeong lowered the hands covering her eyes as she spoke.

Yuri froze and looked up at the ceiling.

Perhaps because the flames had risen so high, scorch marks covered the ceiling. The floor was no different.

“That's the third time.”

They had only stayed at the Mabeld estate for four days, yet they were about to change rooms for the third time.

* * *

The spar ended in Yuri’s overwhelming victory.

It wasn't a fight to the death, so both of them held back to some degree. Even considering that, the match was completely one-sided.

Even without adding inner power, Yuri’s body was fast and strong enough. Once he added inner power on top of that, he could easily deal with even Estor’s swift sword.

The biggest change was to Sealing Thunder at the Gate of Death.

The web of lightning qi within a one-and-a-half-meter radius hadn't expanded, but it had become dense enough to leave no openings. Unlike before, he could react immediately to anything it sensed.

“Thank you for everything.”

That evening, Alnair wanted them to dine together, so they sat at the same table.

Amid a feast of dishes Yuri didn't know the names of and ongoing conversation, Yuri spoke first.

“I was wondering when you'd say it.”

Alnair replied as he lazily swirled his wineglass.

“As of today, you no longer have a reason to remain in this city, right? Come to think of it, I hadn't even shared a meal with you. I figured you'd say something around now, so I arranged this.”

The merchant’s eyes curved into a grin. He looked toward Yuri and asked, “Heavenly Thunder and I have given you what we owe, but I hear Iron Fortress and the Sect of Earth have yet to give you what they owe. What will you do?”

“There's nothing I need right away, so I don't intend to go out of my way to ask them for anything.”

“You'll let them remain in your debt? Excellent. As it happens, I was there when Iron Fortress and the Sect of Earth promised to repay you. Alnair Mabeld himself will serve as your guarantor. Yuri, even decades from now, Iron Fortress and the Sect of Earth will have to repay you.”

“Will you still be alive by then?”

“Of course I will. Who could possibly kill me?”

Alnair scoffed and took a sip of wine.

“I heard your destination from Estor. Jeokwon in the east? The port in Gwangseo would be the closest place to land. The problem is that there aren't any airships ready to depart at the moment.”

“Then what do we do?”

“You can use an airship owned by the Mabeld Family. It'll be more comfortable and faster than taking a merchant vessel or passenger ship. Elleia.”

At the sudden call of her name, Elleia Yudel looked up from chewing meat with all her focus.

“Mmh?”

Alnair frowned at her reply, given with meat still in her mouth.

“Don't behave so crudely.”

“You called someone while they were eating. So why did you call me?”

“See our guests off.”

“See them off?”

Elleia blinked.

“They'll be the only passengers since they'll use a Mabeld airship, but who knows what could happen in the sky? If something happens, it would be difficult to handle.”

“Are you worried the cultists might attack?”

“I doubt they'd go that far, but it's better to prepare for danger. A round trip to the port in Gwangseo will take no more than fifteen days, so go with them.”

“Okay.”

Elleia nodded, then spoke again.

“Is it okay if I don't come back?”

“If you want to.”

“Hmm, no, I'll come back. I don't plan to return to the east yet.”

With that answer, Elleia returned to focusing on her meat.

‘Fifteen days.’

When Yuri first heard it from Estor, the trip there alone could take as long as fifteen days. According to Alnair, the round trip would take fifteen days.

The Mabeld Family's airship must have been much better than an ordinary one.

“By the way, Yuri, is there a woman you have your eye on?”

At the sudden question, the fork and knife in Yuri’s hands crumpled.

“If not, what about my daughter?”

The attendants waiting behind them acted as though they were used to this and placed new utensils before Yuri. Yuri cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Weren't you discussing that with Estor?”

“Why are you selling me out?”

Yuri ignored the incredulous look Estor gave him.

“If possible, I'd like to become related to the Orsia Family by marriage as well. But Estor said he didn't want to.”

“I'm sorry, but not yet...”

“Why? Is there a woman you have your eye on?”

Tap.

Something kicked Yuri’s shin beneath the table.

It was Haryeong.

Without even looking at him, she sliced into a thick piece of meat, then kicked his shin again.

[What is it?]

[Say that there is.]