Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 139

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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139
I plummeted into the pit Eres had created, crashing against the bottom before being thrust into a newly formed chasm—a cycle that repeated without mercy or respite.
Within this barrier where not a single ray of light penetrated, Eres commanded everything. She had even diminished the durability of my body itself, causing each impact to devastate me with tenfold force.
My Stamina and Strength stats climbed steadily as a result, yet in my current predicament, such gains meant little.
The agony of repeated falls clouded my mind and dulled my senses.
The ground drew near once more.
I instinctively stretched my hands upward.
It was a primal impulse—to grasp anything that might arrest this endless descent.
Crack!
Despite the empty void above, something solid met my palm.
My arm, straining to halt my mad plunge with a single limb, stretched and dislocated; muscles tore under the strain.
Yet it spared me from splattering against the ground like a burst dumpling.
I released my grip and descended gently to the floor.
“What exactly did I just grab?”
“Nothing. You merely believed you could grasp empty space, and your body moved accordingly. You could manipulate your form directly without such nonsense, but your sluggish mind apparently requires the buffer of conventional logic—the notion that one can seize the void.”
“I don’t quite understand, but… you’re saying I can grasp empty space?”
Eres’s expression betrayed her exasperation.
“Explanation is wasted on you. Simply try again. The sooner you master this, the sooner I can expel you and find peace.”
Another hole opened beneath me.
I recalled Eres’s words and the sensation from moments before.
Until now, common sense dictated that empty space held nothing to grasp, but having seized it once, both body and mind now recognized that something could be caught.
I reached out to grasp the void, intending to halt my falling form within the dimension where my flesh existed.
My hand caught empty space again, and my body lurched as it decelerated. Yet this approach would dislocate my arm each time.
Recalling how Yang Sang-heon had kicked off Light Sorcery projectiles mid-air during his airplane descent, I applied the same principle—this time with my feet against the void.
The empty space felt as solid as a wall.
This maneuver proved several times faster and more efficient than channeling Aura through projectiles or releasing it explosively for propulsion.
I zigzagged through the air, kicking repeatedly until my velocity ceased entirely, and I stood motionless in the nothingness.
“What are you doing? Ascend.”
At Eres’s command, I tensed my legs and leaped upward.
On solid ground, I could break the sound barrier and launch skyward; now I could do the same suspended in air.
As I shot upward rapidly, I kicked off the space I had just traversed and propelled myself again.
After several kicks against the void, I escaped the pit.
“Phew…”
Eres was already waiting above.
“Couldn’t you have taught me more gently?”
Though I had gained insight from the ordeal, surely there existed a method that didn’t involve my body being shattered repeatedly.
“Words are lost on one as dull as you. This was the only way. I’m occupied now—leave. Interrogate Aither for information and seal him away; I’ll find you afterward. And tell your followers to replace the statue. Tsk.”
She seemed displeased with the idol.
Before I could respond, Eres swept her hand, and I was expelled from the barrier in a rush, returning to the Underground Prayer Chamber of the Dark Temple.
“Ah! Ji-seok. We’ve been waiting for you. Carlton is expecting you upstairs.”
A young priest I had never seen before was waiting for me. As I followed him upward, I found Carlton pacing anxiously back and forth in the chamber.
“Ji-seok! You vanished so suddenly and were gone for so long that we searched everywhere. So you reappeared in the prayer chamber after all.”
Carlton released a sigh of relief. But then—
“You said it’s been a long time? How long was I gone?”
“Over ten days, sir.”
“I was summoned by Eres and came back, but I had no idea so much time had passed.”
“Oh! You met with Eres again?! Tell me! Please tell me what happened!”
Priest Rondi thrust his face forward eagerly.

“Priest Rondi! This is not the time! Ji-seok! We must hurry back! A Salamander has appeared in the Mountain Range!”
Carlton explained what had happened in the Mountain Range.
“I’ll go first.”
I stepped out through the Dark Temple’s doors, and Rondi’s face fell as he missed hearing the story.
“This is a foreign land. If you use your power…!”
“If I go through the sky, no one will know.”
“You can fly? But still, if anyone sees you flying through the sky, you’ll be discovered.”
“I’ll fly high enough. See you later.”
I kicked off the ground, and a shockwave sent dirt and dust flying as the Dark Temple priests tumbled backward.
My body shot skyward like an arrow, and the earth receded in an instant.
Whenever my speed began to diminish, I rapidly kicked off the empty air again. It was essentially no different from flying.
Rising above the clouds, the ground disappeared from view. The air was thin, but strangely invigorating.
I changed direction from ascending vertically toward the Sleeping Fire Mountain Range and ran through the void.
Hoping that Bae Na-young and Jae-in were safe.
* * *
“Jae-in!!!”
“No! It’s too late!”
Parchem grabbed Bae Na-young as she tried to leap after Jae-in. If she jumped now, she would only fail to save Jae-in and become another victim of the Salamander.
Just before the Salamander’s flames reached Jae-in, a crimson beam of aura struck the Salamander, driving it relentlessly into the cliff face.
And Ji-seok flew down and caught the falling Jae-in.
“Seems you had quite the adventure while I was away.”
“Ch…Chairman…”
Tears glistened in Jae-in’s eyes—she who had resigned herself to death but lived.
“Wait over there for a moment.”
Ji-seok threw Jae-in toward the hole where Bae Na-young and Parchem were peering out.
“Kyaaahhh!!!”
Seeing Jae-in flying toward them screaming, Parchem thrust out the handle of his hammer.
“Grab it!”
Jae-in grasped the handle’s end, and Bae Na-young and Parchem pulled her inside.
* * *
“So this is what an incarnation of fire looks like, huh?”
Had my Existence Elevation skill not raised my rank, that aura beam wouldn’t have even scratched Salamander. For three people to hold their ground against such a monster without dying—that was remarkable.
Salamander ignored me hovering in midair and crawled up the cliff toward the hole where Jae-in had entered.
I fired another aura beam and struck it, but the creature fell along with the crumbling cliff face.
Irritated by the two consecutive attacks, it clung to the cliff and unleashed a torrent of flames at me.
I crossed my arms to block the inferno.
When the flames proved ineffective, Salamander kicked off the cliff and dove at me, snapping its jaws at my throat.
I sidestepped the creature’s gaping maw and wrapped my arm around its neck.
The temperature of Salamander’s body itself bore no comparison to the flames it had just unleashed. Even through my armor, I felt as though my entire body was burning like molten lava.
It thrashed and raked its claws across me, and where those claws passed, my armor didn’t tear from their sharpness—it melted and crumbled from the heat.
I drew a sword from the back of my hand and drove it into Salamander’s neck.
My attack caused Salamander pain, likely due to my increased rank, but since it was essentially a mass of intangible flame, piercing its neck didn’t kill it.
One strike seemed insufficient, so I stabbed its neck, head, and torso repeatedly, but still couldn’t inflict any meaningful damage.
“Is my rank still not enough?”
I simply held it tighter to prevent its escape. Attacks might not work well, but I could certainly restrain it.
I stopped treading on empty air and plunged into the river below.
BOOOOOM!!

The intense heat and river water collided, instantly transforming into steam and detonating. The shockwave shattered the cliff’s rocks, which tumbled down as if to dam the river itself.
Explosions erupted in succession, violent enough to seem like they’d blow away all the water, yet the cold river continued to pour down upon Salamander and me.
My body melted from the heat and was pummeled by the explosions, yet I never loosened my grip on Salamander’s neck.
This kind of crude, brute-force combat was what I excelled at most.
After holding it for several dozen seconds, Salamander’s heat cooled and the explosions ceased. But the water touching its still-scorching body continued to boil vigorously.
Salamander’s body began to shrink steadily.
Once it was small enough to fit in both my hands, the water no longer boiled—it merely grew warm.
As Salamander, now the size of a lizard, faded away, it left behind only a sphere the size of a fist before vanishing entirely.
I grasped the sphere in one hand and surfaced.
* * *
I rescued the three through the hole and climbed back up to the surface of the mine.
“Master!! We were so worried!”
Marcelo embraced me with tears streaming down his face.
“Thank goodness you’re safe! We’re so sorry for running away!”
The Search Party members who had ascended first knelt down.
Everyone in the Forge District cheered at the return of the three alive.
But Parchem seemed deflated despite the warm welcome.
“So it wasn’t me but you who was chosen by the love of fire….”
Parchem was frustrated, and Jae-in laughed shyly.
“Jae-in, you nearly died because of that—how can you laugh?”
“When I think back to being chased, my legs still tremble. But as a craftsman, being recognized by the incarnation of fire itself—that makes me happy.”
“You all held your ground well against such a monster.”
“If Bae Na-young hadn’t blocked the flames with her shield and slowed Salamander with mana needles, we’d all be dead.”
Looking at Bae Na-young more carefully, I sensed a subtle but unmistakable elevation in her tier.
“Wait, Na-young, your tier has risen?”
“Really? Like yours?”
“Why?”
“I have no idea.”
Bae Na-young looked down at her own hands in bewilderment.

“There’s a legend that those who receive the reverence of many people attain divine status.”
Parchem spoke.
“Can just anyone attain divine status like that?”
“I’m only speculating. It’s merely legend. Besides, the Goddess was already a master who wielded magic rivaling that of the gods themselves, so it’s not something anyone can achieve.”
“The Goddess alone saved thousands of people on the Eastern Continent, and if you count their families and those who heard their stories, the number would be many times greater.”
Marcelo added.
“Miss Bae Na-young, you saved that many people? That’s remarkable.”
Bae Na-young laughed awkwardly and blushed with embarrassment.
In truth, I had attacked the Imperial Prison Camp to rescue myself. The other imprisoned people were freed as a side benefit.
“Since the Goddess came to Telus this time, the number of believers in the Purple Goddess Church has grown significantly. Rescuing people from the mine this time greatly increased their faith.”

“You’ve truly become a goddess, haven’t you?”
Jae-in spoke with a dazed expression.
“Ah, Master! Can we find the Dragon Heart that Jerex stole?”
“He collapsed the entire mine tunnel while fleeing, so it will take quite some time to search for it.”
Parchem’s face grew troubled at Jae-in’s question.
“This is a problem… Do I need to return to Earth and come back? Even the Chairman can’t solve this.”
“Right. If we smash everything carelessly, the Dragon Heart will break too, and if the ground collapses, this district will be in danger. We have no choice but to excavate slowly.”
“Having someone of the Chairman’s caliber do manual labor is such a waste.”
“I’m sorry… I’d like to deploy more people, but there’s too much that needs to be made right now.”
The Workshop had been busy even before we arrived, as the war required the production of vast quantities of equipment.
“…If we could speed up the production of those items, we could assign more people to excavate the mine tunnel, couldn’t we?”
“That would certainly be true, but how?”
“Master, have you ever heard of an industrial revolution?”
At Jae-in’s words, Parchem tilted his head in confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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