From the red smooth internal muscles of the White Sarpa, the saliva dripped with transparent mucous from its mouth on Johan. Johan saw the large jaws of the White Sarpa whuch tried to eat him slowly after his life left him. The White Serpent radiated the blue light from it eyes concentrating continuously on Johan's body while keeping Johan in in-between its tail. It's body completed surrounded him, gradually tightening him.
The eyes of the Serpent burst as Johan in the world of illusion broke through.
The illusionary reality shattered like pieces of glasses. Johan fell through a dark space, waking up in the main layer.
White blood with slight grey colour,wooshed out of the serpent's eyes. The serpent fell like it has lost its life. It's weakness and it's power is its eyes!
Ding!
[Congratualtions, you have proven your will]
[Your extreme resilience and willpower defeated the White Sarpa]!
[You got temporary access to the fragment of knowledge(FOK)]!
[You can now use the Molder's power using the temporary fragment of knowledge(FOK)]
Johan fell along with the white serpent, he rested by lying on the large snake.
The tired body of Johan started to heal somehow!
[The Gocher cannot access the library yet!]
...
In the Vincent library of South Ceque,
The library sat tucked between two weather-beaten buildings, its door half-shadowed as if the place preferred to stay unnoticed. Inside, the world dulled into a muted hush. Shelves of dark, time-softened wood rose to a ceiling crossed with old beams, each one etched with the faint scars of old age. The air held a cold stillness, tinged with the dry scent of paper and something older,like quiet memories that no one had bothered to clean away.
Books lined the aisles in uneven rows: some are elegant, some frayed at the edges, others sagging slightly as though tired from being read too often. A thin trail of afternoon light slipped through the tall windows, landing in pale strips across the floorboards and catching dust particles that drifted like slow, uncertain snow.
The medium sized library glass door was opened by a soft hand. A white skinned man looking like he is in twenties walked straight to the Fiction corner. He took "The Last days of a Goblin" book from the top third shelf.
A single desk sat near the back, cluttered with notes, dog-eared pages, and an ink bottle left open as if its owner had wandered off mid-thought. There was a kind of worn beauty to it all
He sat on the brightest place in the library. He didn't sit on the common table. He chose a chair with private desk. The pages started flipping. Time passed as sun slowly moved to its demise. The pocket watch was took from the young man's coat and it showed the time pointing at 6'O clock and past 30 minutes. He rose from his wooden chair and placed his pocket watch back to his coat. He marked the last page he read before closing the book. He placed the book in the same place he took from. He took all his materials and put them in a black bag. The librariarian handed over the library check out notebook.
"Here Mr.Kim, write the details in the check-out notebook"
"Ahh! yes, I almost forgot that"
"You love reading books,Mr.Kim?"
"More than anything in my life, sir"
"About your father, is Sir Heisenberg Kim doing good?"
"He is not home lately, I didn't get to speak with him these days, there must be a critical thing regarding some country issues. He will show up again. I just graduated from my college. I have now more time to spend for reading the stories I like, this library, it's way more very comfy and good. I appreciate the owner"
"Haha...it's been a long time since I heard those words, yeah the owner of this library built to last long"
Scribe,scribe
"Okay then sir, I shall take my leave"
....
[You are temporarily healed to undergo the final trial]
[Reach the tomb boss]
[You are 20 meters away from the tomb boss]
The chamber was vast and silent, its air thick with the weight of centuries.
Water dripped from the ceiling in slow, echoing drops. The faint light of Johan's lighter flickered over carvings of war and gods long forgotten,and at the far end of the tomb, seated upon a crumbling throne, was the guardian.
The figure was neither fully man nor spirit.
He was sheathed in golden armor, burnished yet darkened by age. His shoulder plates shimmered with black metal, trimmed in faint veins of gold that pulsed with a heartbeat of their own. His helmet, shaped like that of a Spartan warrior, covered the face entirely, save for the thin slit from which a red light bled. His body parts at joints revealed a bright blue starry space like skin, it looked like it is made up of the Astral space itself, an embodiment of the outer space. Moreover the most terrifying thing was, it had "four arms", it had four forearms!! All of them placed on the handle of the throne.
Intricate patterns crawled across his chestplate, glowing faintly like embers in cooled iron. A massive red ribbon, frayed and torn by battle, hung from the crest of his helm, swaying with the faint current of air that shouldn't have existed this deep underground.
Johan froze, shocked by the glorious appearance of the Astral knight standing before him... His breath caught in his throat.
"Mesich…" the astral knight whispered.
The knight's head tilted, the red glow flickering. Then, the impossible,
It spoke.
"Mesich," the guardian's voice echoed, metallic and deep, vibrating through the stones. "The Last Sentinel. And you, mortal… the one who is the Gocher"
The throne trembled as he rose, every step shaking the floor with a low thoom… thoom… thoom. Dust rained from the ceiling. Johan's knees nearly gave way.
Mesich drew himself upright, towering and regal. His ribboned helm gleamed gold as he removed his weapons one by one, first the black-bladed daggers, their edges lined with golden runes that pulsed faintly; then the longsword which is very big that only the four hands together only could take it, it was matching the same black hue, its edge sharp enough to hum softly in the air. From his hip, he unlatched a black sheath inlaid with more patterns of gold along with a long sword; and lastly, he pulled from his back a long spear, its tip fractured yet still radiating murderous intent.
He let them fall one after another,
clang… clang… clang…
Their echoes ringing down the corridors like funeral bells. Finally, from his belt, he lifted a bony horn, etched with gold lines spiraling toward its mouthpiece. He dropped it beside the weapons.
Then he stepped forward, spreading his gauntleted hands.
"Duel me," Mesich rumbled.
"As is tradition… flesh to flesh. Soul to soul."
[you are invited to a duel by Mesich, the Astral Knight]
[The tomb boss has noticed your presence and invited to an official duel]
[Accept the duel, defeat the tomb boss to pass the second trial].
Johan's mind reeled.
"He is more terrifying than the Minotaur,no I can't even compare this to the Minotaur, it's a divine level species"
Johan had the urge to give up at this moment
He took a step back.
The knight tilted his head slightly, the red light flaring brighter.
Johan clenched his fists. His body trembled,not from fear alone, but from the weakness.
"Why do I feel slower? Weaker? he thought. This body it's not mine. The strength I had as Julian, its only the tevhniques… it's gone, my body can't keep up with this knight."
He laughed bitterly under his breath. "Of course. As every damn novel says, the transmigrator awakens power, knowledge, or blessing. And what do I get? Poverty, decay… and this thing."
His thoughts raced back to the message
The had once touched before death. He remembered its violet glow, its spiraling patterns of light, and the whisper of crackles in the black orb. He regained his senses
"What the hell…?"
Before he could think, Mesich was already upon him.
THOOM!
A single punch hit his ribs like a sledgehammer. The sound of cracking bone tore through the silence. Johan flew backward, crashing into the stone wall. His breath exploded from his lungs in a gasp of agony.
He slumped, coughing blood. "Gah,! Damn you…"
The knight advanced, each step like the toll of a bell.
Johan gritted his teeth. "Alright… you want a duel? Let's burn for it."
He thought of the sun, the heat, the endless fire, the unyielding will that no shadow could drown.
He remembered the reward that came up with.
He stood again, shaky but burning with fury. "If I'm to die, then I'll take your pride with me."
Mesich lunged again, his fists swinging in brutal arcs. WHUMP! CRASH! Johan barely dodged, the air itself hissed as the blows passed. Stone cracked where they landed.
He rolled aside, panting." Too fast. Too strong. This isn't human."
Mesich's sword hand clenched, but he didn't reach for his weapon. "You still run. But not far enough."
The knight struck again. THUD! Johan's vision blurred as he slammed into the floor, pain rippling through his body. He groaned, dragging himself upright, his whole body experienced the force of the Astral Knight.
His mind screamed. Damn it, "You can't fight him as you are, then fight him as you're not."
Johan's mind striked,
"I'll will eventually have my chance"
When the knight approached to deliver another kick, Johan moved on instinct.
He caught the armored leg,barely, his hands trembling under the pressure.
"Not this time," he hissed.
Johan remembered the message:
[You can now use the Molder's power using the temporary fragment of knowledge(FOK)]
He pictured the disintegration of molecules but not its warmth. The burning core that devoured everything it touched.
Disintegrate.
A low hum filled the air. The sigil on his chest flared, casting golden light through his soaked shirt. His skin burned, veins glowing faintly as something ancient stirred.
[You have used the skill Atomix of the Molder]
Mesich froze at mid-motion. His armor, the portion Johan gripped began to crackle, the crack multiplied as he touched it for sometime
Tiny flecks of black metal rose like dust motes.
Then,
SHHHHHHRRRRRR!
The leg armor disintegrated, turning to fine golden powder that drifted away in glowing embers.
Mesich staggered, his red eyes flaring wide. Johan stared at his own hands, shaking. The air filled in the
"What… what did I just,"
The knight stepped back, molten energy dripping from his ruined leg. The red glow in his visor pulsed faster, like a heart.
Johan smirked weakly, coughing blood. "Guess, the victory light is still shining somewhere for me."
---