Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 205

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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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205
The Spirit Summoner Baldri allowed a fire spirit to dwell within her body. Unlike Jang Mi, whose form was engulfed in flames, Baldri became fire itself.
“Wow….”
Ridi approached Baldri as if entranced, reaching out her hand.
“…Isn’t it hot?”
“Metalim love heat. When it’s hot, our bodies move more fluidly and swiftly.”
Meanwhile, Yang Sang-heon had to step back from the tremendous heat.
“Ridi, I like you.”
Baldri, a flickering mass of flames, grinned widely before returning to her original gnome form.
“I can house several spirits in my body. But the fire spirit has the best compatibility with me.”
Witnessing this remarkable ability for the first time, Yang Sang-heon and Ridi applauded.
“My turn. I can transform into any animal I’ve touched directly.”
As Ridi spoke, she shifted into slime—the true form of Metalim.
Then she transformed into a massive horse, reverted to slime, and returned to human form.
“I can take many shapes, but human form is the most comfortable after my true form. And I’ve borrowed a weapon from the royal family.”
Ridi raised a sword forged from Adamant.
“That’s…Adamant, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
Yang Sang-heon swallowed hard. He’d seen weapons with trace amounts of Adamant, but an entire sword forged from solid Adamant—something so rare that even vast wealth couldn’t easily procure—was beyond his experience.
“When you transform into something like a horse, what happens to the Adamant sword?”
Instead of answering, Ridi transformed into slime, and the Adamant sword melted with her, becoming a golden membrane that enveloped her body.
As Ridi then transformed into a massive stag, the Adamant divided into multiple pieces. One attached around the antlers, forming a sharp blade, while the rest became horseshoes.
“When equipped on the hooves, I can move like this.”
The stag Ridi, adorned with Adamant horseshoes, bounded through the air effortlessly.
“An Adamant weapon….”
Regardless of the transformations, Yang Sang-heon’s eyes remained fixed on the Adamant.
“We’ll make an interesting team.”
Baldri smiled.
“That’s true. But the opposition is so strong, I can’t see how we’ll win.”
Yang Sang-heon tore his gaze from the Adamant and responded to Baldri’s words.
“Really? Who’s the strongest?”
“Marbas is brutally powerful, but Amy’s lightning is no joke either.”
“I’ll face Amy.”
Ridi stepped forward.
“But aren’t Metalim weak to electricity?”
“The titanium family has slight resistance to electricity. More importantly, there’s this royal treasure. It absorbs the enemy’s energy and counterattacks.”
“…Adamant….”
Yang Sang-heon’s eyes remained glued to the Adamant weapon once more.
“Yang Sang-heon, you’re drooling.”
At Baldri’s words, Yang Sang-heon startled and wiped his mouth hastily.
“Then, shall we give it a try?”
Baldri accepted the spirit of electricity into her body and transformed into a sphere of crackling energy. When she had been fire, she resembled a dwarf made of flame, but now she was a sphere constructed entirely of electricity.
“Electricity isn’t my specialty, but try to block this.”
The crackling electrical sphere spoke in Baldri’s voice, then shot toward Ridi like a bolt of lightning.
Ridi calmly deflected the incoming Baldri with her sword.
“Ack!”
Bounced off the blade and crashing into the wall, Baldri reverted to her gnome form.
“Are you alright?”
Ridi rushed over in alarm.
“That was stronger than I expected?! I didn’t think I’d bounce back like that!”
Baldri sprang to her feet from where she lay sprawled. Rather than angry, she appeared delighted.
“You absorbed my lightning strike, didn’t you? Where are you storing it?”
“I gather it like this and can release it again.”
As Ridi swung her sword, the electrical energy erupted from the blade and shattered the rock.
“This is going to be so much fun! Let’s try other things too!”
It was a perfectly gnomish sentiment—pursuing entertainment as life’s greatest goal.
* * *
Jae-in and Alice were creating something for the exchange tournament in the dim Ligen Research Institute.
Inside an enormous tank dozens of meters in diameter and of unknowable depth, something was bubbling and churning.
“Director, are you sure this is alright?”
Even as Alice assisted, she harbored doubts about whether this was the right course of action.
“Of course it is! There’s nothing impossible in technological advancement!”
“Well, I mean it works, but… aren’t we going to get in trouble for this?”
“…Let’s worry about that later.”
“By the way, Vice Director, speaking of which—I haven’t seen your wife around lately?”
“…She’s pregnant.”
Thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, many female hunters had become pregnant and given birth. Though the blessing had already been withdrawn, numerous female hunters found themselves unable to participate in this exchange tournament.
Among them, Vice Director Chae Ji-hae, who had been cohabiting with Jae-in, had not gotten pregnant, and consequently Jae-in had endured tremendous nagging. Afterward, the two of them embarked on their quest to conceive a second child, fueled by premium stamina potions, and finally achieved success.
“Wow! Congratulations!”
“Thanks. Let’s continue the work.”
Jae-in was delighted about the child and about Ji-hae, but now that she realized she was completely trapped, her chest felt inexplicably heavy.
* * *
[And now, the moment the entire world has been waiting for—the largest-scale battle in Earth’s history is about to unfold! With the support of so many, I, Benjamin, am honored to be your commentator once again!]
After a month of preparation, the long-anticipated exchange tournament finally began.
[The previous exchange tournament was limited to hunters of A-rank and below, but this time there are no restrictions on participation! To match this elevated level of competition, we’ve invited an expert in close combat—S-rank hunter Hong Long!]
[Hello. I’m Hong Long.]
Hong Long appeared stiff and rigid.
[There’s no need to be so nervous. It’s only tens of billions of people watching, after all. Hahahaha.]
Sweat was pouring down Hong Long’s back from the tension.
[Hong Long, why didn’t you enter the tournament yourself?]
[There were simply too many people I couldn’t possibly match with my abilities.]
[Who exactly are you referring to?]
[Well, even Amy alone is one of them, and Demon King Marbas… you probably know well enough. The archer Nella from Telus and the mage Sono Rim are also difficult opponents for me as a close-combat fighter.]
[Ah, a whole list of powerful names! Ladies and gentlemen, though only four teams participated in this friendly exchange tournament, among them we have the greatest hunter of the United States and a Demon King who came all the way from the Demon Realm.]
[An opportunity to witness such a grand competition is likely something that happens only once in a lifetime.]
[Hunter Hong Long is absolutely right. Well, you’ve all waited a long time. Now, shortly we will begin the first match!]
Since the match was expected to be a quick battle, it was not broadcast in real-time but rather recorded and broadcast in slow motion, with Benjamin and Hong Long providing commentary.
If they had broadcast it in real-time, the match might have ended before they could even say a few words. The results of the match were not revealed anywhere until the broadcast ended, and the players were not allowed to leave the field.
[The first match features Team A with Hunter Amy and Demon King Marbas, and opposing them is Hunter Yang Sang-heon, the right arm of Hunter Lee Ji-seok and the direct disciple of Hunter Jung Min-gi, along with Metallanet player Ridi and Ark player Baldri, forming one team.]
[Thank you for the explanation, Hunter Hong Long. Now the players are entering. Do you see? The weapon that player Ridi is holding is said to be pure Adamant. It’s a metal so rare that even searching across all dimensions yields little, yet she’s made an entire weapon from it! I can practically hear the drooling sounds of countless hunters.]
[I’m also quite looking forward to seeing how player Ridi will use that weapon.]
“Sang-heon, Ridi, let’s go according to plan.”
Baldri extended her fist, and the three of them lightly bumped their fists together.
[Player Ridi! Using Metalim’s transformation ability, she’s changed into a deer. The golden horns are striking, their color revealing the Adamant beneath.]
[Ah, player Baldri has used spirit possession to transform into fire and mounted herself on top of player Ridi! With other hunters, they wouldn’t even be able to get close, but with Metalim being resistant to fire, this cooperation is possible!]
[Player Ridi and player Baldri are heading toward player Amy. Since this is a 2 versus 3 battle, it seems they’re spreading their forces—but could it be that Hunter Yang Sang-heon is planning to face Marbas alone?]
Benjamin, who had been providing skilled commentary on the situation, asked Hong Long.
[Hunter Yang Sang-heon’s strength is not at the level of fighting a Demon King. However, there is also the matter of compatibility.]
[Ah! Is it because Hunter Yang Sang-heon uses the light attribute?]
[Exactly. It’s an opposing attribute to a Demon King who uses demonic energy. That said, the difference in power is clear. It’s like trying to navigate a dark night with a single candle.]
[That’s a terrifying comparison just to think about. But! Fortunately, this is not actual combat. With damage counters in place, this is purely a friendly exchange tournament.]
[That’s right. Moreover, player Marbas’s damage counter doesn’t account for all of his actual health. His counter is set far lower than his actual strength, so it will be much easier than real combat.]
[The moment I speak! Both teams collide!]
Baldri, mounted on Ridi, unleashed flames toward Amy.
“Oh my, this looks fun.”
Amy accelerated and dodged with ease while observing them. Then she released lightning in counterattack.
Ridi, carrying the fire-form Baldri, moved faster than when running alone. However, she couldn’t evade all of Amy’s attacks coming at light-speed.
A streak of lightning flew toward Ridi.
Amy wore a victorious smile, but the lightning was absorbed into the horns as if being drawn in.
Amy’s smile vanished and her eyes widened.
“She absorbed my power? I thought it would be an easy win since she’s Metalim, but I didn’t expect her to absorb it like that.”
“Hmph, we’re going to win. Ridi, let’s go!”
Ridi stepped through the air and circled around Amy, while Baldri and Amy attacked each other.
Though it appeared evenly matched, Amy, simultaneously facing two S-rank hunters, was no longer an ordinary S-rank hunter.
Baldri, not to be outdone, scattered flames in all directions.
Amy reinforced her body with lightning and moved swiftly between the flames. Though the flames touched her body, glancing blows meant nothing to a superhuman like her.
“Baldri, I apologize. Now… it’s one hit.”
Overcharged lightning accumulated in the Adamant horns was spreading throughout Ridi’s body. While titanium doesn’t conduct electricity well among metals, that was only relative to other metals—she was still taking considerable damage.
“Got it. Should we try landing one blow first?”
The fire elemental Baldri leaped up and transformed into an electrical sphere, hovering above Ridi’s horns.
“Huh?”
Amy’s movements froze at Baldri’s sudden transformation.
The electricity gathered at Ridi’s horns shot into Baldri’s body, and what had been the size of a watermelon swelled to tower over a human.
Though Amy wielded electricity, the electrical attacks used by Hunters weren’t purely electricity alone. Most of the current could be discharged, but the caster’s mana could not be shed so easily.
“That… that’s cheating!”
Amy, now receiving the full force of the attacks she had so freely unleashed, turned pale and fled in panic.

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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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