A day has passed since my encounter with the Star God.
Yesterday, after that, I called Paula and the others to the scene and we discussed what had happened and our future actions.
We conducted information alignment, strategy planning, preparation, and ability confirmation at super speed.
And now, twenty-four hours later, I was in a forest far away from the Great Cavern.
Before me, a calm lake reflected the starlight.
“This is the northernmost marker. I don’t know the exact location, but I think we’re probably out of the Wenoost Region.”
『So, we’re one step away from the Great Northern Demon Territory, huh?』
“If it’s Kouya-kun’s movement speed, that is.”
Paula, who had brought me here, said.
She can teleport to any marked location, no matter how far, with a slight consumption of 〖Mana〗.
Conversely, it means that she cannot teleport to remote locations that are not marked, but there is a trick to how she was able to teleport to the northern part of the continent, where she had never been before.
It’s currency.
She had been marking copper and silver coins and having merchants and traders carry them around, thus transporting her markers.
Her markers were spread mainly in the northwestern part of the continent, and the northernmost of them was near this area.
“…Be careful.”
After an atmosphere that swallowed many words, she said only that.
It must be because this is a situation where every moment counts. I also answered concisely.
『Of course, I’m counting on you too. …Well then, I’m off. Electrification, 〖Replicant Form〗.』
As soon as I finished speaking through 〖Telepathy〗, I transformed into a streamlined form and flew into the night sky.
First, upwards, and once I gained sufficient altitude, north.
I accelerated rapidly, reaching subsonic speed in no time.
“(It’s fast, as expected of Thanasis’s design.)”
The long-distance flight Artifact I’m using now was designed by Thanasis in about twenty minutes.
It was rushed, so there were some rough parts, but I fine-tuned those when I did the 〖U (Update)〗.
It’s designed to compensate for the heavy 〖Mana〗 consumption that matches the high output by rapidly absorbing the surrounding 〖Mana〗, and in that respect, it meshes well with the high-speed movement function.
Even if I suck up all the surrounding 〖Mana〗, I’ll move right away, so it doesn’t matter.
He was an old man with erratic behavior, but I was made to realize that his skills as a scholar were genuine.
“(Oh, is that the sea?)”
After flying for a while, I discovered the sea beyond the darkness with 〖Clairvoyance〗.
The coastline stretches to the northeast.
The Great Demon Territory is at the tip of the continent’s corner, so I’ll shift my course slightly east.
Thanks to 〖Terrain Awareness〗, which has evolved from 〖Sense of Direction〗, it’s convenient to know the direction accurately at times like this.
As I continued to fly while paying attention to my surroundings, I finally saw the edge of the continent.
“(Is that a frontier town? It’s bigger than I thought.)”
I don’t know the fine details, but is it a fortress city?
The town was covered by a thick outer wall, and it seemed to have a high level of defense.
Beyond the town, a long wall loomed over the coastline, as if glaring at the sea.
It is said that this town has developed to support that defense line.
However, the city walls that block the intrusion of Demon Beasts are irrelevant to me, who is flying through the sky from behind.
I easily flew over it and went out to sea. I could already see my destination.
“(That’s the Great Northern Demon Territory…!)”
The horizon is frozen.
It is a polar region where everything is sealed in ice.
Large and small ice floes are laid out on the surface of the sea like paving stones to welcome visitors, leading to the icy cliffs at the entrance.
“(It’s magnificent.)”
I muttered to myself, deeply moved by the scene revealed by 〖Clairvoyance〗.
As I got closer, the proportion of ice in my field of vision increased, but there was no sign of an end.
A vast land of ice that seems to go on forever. A place that the people of this world call the Northern Continent.
Well, in reality, it’s just a giant ice mass, just like the Earth’s North Pole.
Even though it’s a scene that I’ve seen many times in photos and videos, when I see it in person, I feel an indescribable emotion.
A feeling that I am a tiny existence, swallowed up by the grandeur of nature.
I was thinking about useless things, like how important it is to actually go and try things, when I spotted something while looking at the North Pole.
“(Oh, they’re already at it.)”
It was two 〖Feral Beasts〗.
They weren’t stargazing together, but both were fiercely fighting, each with their own 〖Zone Control〗.
“(They’re just right for a warm-up.)”
I, who had found my first opponents in the Great Northern Demon Territory, began a rapid descent towards them.
I couldn’t completely hide my presence because I was using the Artifact so flamboyantly, and the two 〖Feral Beasts〗 hurriedly distanced themselves and looked at me.
Their reactions were polar opposites.
One fled at full speed, while the other was burning with fighting spirit at the appearance of an even stronger enemy.
“(〖Replicant Form〗, 〖Blast Dash〗, 〖Super Leap〗, 〖Compact Slash〗)”
I’d like to praise their spirit, but unfortunately, I don’t have much time.
I mimicked a dragon saw, accelerated instantly, and unleashed a slash.
The 〖Feral Beast〗, which looked like a bipedal polar bear armed with ice, was slashed from its shoulder and let out a scream.
The ice on the ground also screamed from the super-fast fall of a large mass.
“(Even with 〖Parry〗, it’s like this, I’m glad it was thick.)”
While relieved that I didn’t break through to the sea, I stretched my body towards the polar bear, which was freezing its wound to stop the bleeding.
The 〖Feral Beast’s〗 enormous 〖Life〗 will not be exhausted by this wound.
“(【Thunder Harvest Scythe】)”
Therefore, I reap it.
It seems that when I fought the Chaos Spawn of the Demon Beast Cult before, my 【Unique Skill】 caused a phenomenon called 【Body Manifestation】.
As a result, my body and 【Unique Skill】 have undergone a kind of fusion, and I can now directly exert my power by touching them.
The instant death attack that I also used on the Earth Dragon was successful against the polar bear as well.
Along with the sensation of extracting life—or as the Star God calls it, 〔Soul (Arche)〕—the strength drained from the polar bear’s entire body.
But this isn’t the end.
“(〖S (Sparkle) U (Aproot)〗, 〖L (Lock-on) AIM〗!)”
I fired a single magic bullet.
They were aimed at the 〖Feral Beast〗 that had fled earlier, a bright red reindeer.
The magic bullets tracked the red reindeer, shot it down, and made it fall onto the ice.
It tried to get up immediately, but I arrived even faster.
“(〖Binding〗, 【Thunder Harvest Scythe】)”
I stretched my body like a rope and immediately restrained it.
Then, I showered it with my 【Unique Skill】.
However, the result was a failure.
It seems that instant death doesn’t work on 〖Feral Beasts〗 with this level of damage.
“(Sorry, but I’ll have you join me for training, 【Thunder Harvest Scythe】!)”
【Unique Skills】 grow. The lightning strike that I could only fire straight at first can now be bent freely through practice.
If that’s the case, then instant death should be the same.
I repeatedly unleashed lightning strikes to grasp the knack of reaping life.
After more than ten attempts, I finally succeeded in instant death.
~Unspecified Information Recording Area~
…
The 〖Soul Accumulation Value (Level)〗 of Fue Toukouya has increased to 338.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Honestly, it was unclear whether it was because I had gotten better or because the red reindeer had weakened from the repeated lightning strikes, but my 〖Level〗 had also increased, so let’s call it good.
After that, I devoured the corpses of the 〖Feral Beasts〗, stored the materials, and resumed my advance.