The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 194

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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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A Mad Swordsman Returns – Chapter 194

[Entering the Difficult Realm, 【Record Dedication Hall】.]
[Direct intervention by lords is not permitted in this Difficult Realm.]

What greeted Han Yu-sung as he passed through the portal was a vast Cavern.
As I surveyed the Cavern, the description of the Difficult Realm suddenly came to mind.

“They said it was a hollow Difficult Realm that no one seeks, and they weren’t wrong.”
[Indeed. There’s practically nothing here….]

The expansive Cavern was devoid of anything—eerily empty.
The only thing present was a colossal ‘Altar’ in the center of the Cavern.
And though it sounds contradictory.

“It’s hollow, yet simultaneously overflowing.”
[Hm? Did you suddenly gain insight into riddles?]
“No, I’m talking about mana.”

Kakasha tilted his head and sensed the mana surrounding us.
Only then did he understand why Han Yu-sung had spoken that way.

[Indeed, this space is… saturated with mana.]
“Exactly. So much it makes my skin prickle.”

But that wasn’t all.
Thanks to the 【Dragon’s Heart】 I possessed, I could sense something more.

‘There’s something in this space.’

Amidst the saturated mana, I felt a peculiar ‘presence’ of sorts.
Not a lord.
I wasn’t even certain it was a being with will to begin with.
A strange, indescribable entity seemed to be observing us.

[I don’t sense any hostility. Could it be a spirit?]
“Who knows. Either way, there’s nothing we can do about it, so let’s leave it be.”
[Mm.]

There was no way to draw out that entity and deal with it directly.
I surveyed the vast Cavern around me.

“What do you think, Kakasha? Do you have any sense of what kind of Difficult Realm this is?”

Kakasha was a lord of considerable experience.
He must have faced countless Difficult Realms. Perhaps he knew something.
And Kakasha did not disappoint my expectations.

[Isn’t mana overflowing throughout this place? I suspect this mana transforms the Cavern according to the offerings made.]
“An answer befitting an experienced lord.”
[Hmm, even if I’m not what I once was….]

Kakasha began to reminisce about his glory days.
I decided to ignore it lightly. That wasn’t what mattered right now.
I stood before the Altar, the only thing remaining in the empty Cavern.
Shallow water pooled upon the Altar’s surface.
Not ordinary water, but water infused with dense mana.

[There’s no particular explanation provided.]
“We’ll figure it out by trying something first.”
[A crude yet straightforward solution….]

I retrieved a grimoire and tossed it into the water.
And remarkably—

Sssssssss….
[The book is dissolving!]

The grimoire submerged in the water dissolved away.
Simultaneously, faint light seeped from the Altar and the shallow water.
It seemed offerings were meant to be made in this manner.
Then, what I need to do from now on is simple.

“I’ll feed it as much as it desires.”

Han Yu-sung emptied an entire spatial pocket into the Altar.
Countless grimoires stored within the pouch dissolved into the shallow water.
Since they contained A-rank skills, I felt no regret parting with them.
The Altar, having consumed the grimoires, and the shallow water erupted with brilliant radiance.

“I should pay attention to quality as well.”

I added one more grimoire purchased from the Star Store.
It contained the S-rank spell, Lightning Storm.
A decent spell, but one I had little use for.
After all, I possessed Divine Judgment.
The moment I placed the S-rank grimoire inside.

Shhhhhhhhh!

The Altar began to emit dazzling light.
It was a luminescence so intense it carried mana that made my skin tingle.
And a message appeared before Han Yu-sung’s eyes.

[You have offered the maximum amount of ‘records’ the Altar can accept.]
[The quality of the result has exceeded the permitted threshold.]
[A Trial shall come upon you….]

I felt the mana filling the Cavern begin to move.
At the same time, the surrounding landscape started to transform.
From an empty space to one brimming with countless books.
And in the center of that space, a form materialized.

[Ho, that is….]

A figure oddly withered and colossal in scale.
Its skin was a dark slate-gray, studded densely with mana crystals, and tattered robes wrapped around its entire form.
Most striking were its eyes and heart.
Where eyes should have been, a vortex of mana swirled in a tempest, and embedded within its heart was an enormous mana stone.

[The Trial, Mana Devourer, has revealed itself.]
[Defeat the Mana Devourer and overcome the Trial set before you.]
[Then the Altar shall bestow its reward upon you….]

A monster bearing the name ‘Mana Devourer’.
A creature that moved with an eerie, puppet-like creaking.
True to its appearance, the power it wielded was far from ordinary.

[You have encountered a formidable foe worthy of battle.]
[The effect of Godly Descent activates the buff ‘Giant Killer’.]
[All stats +20, all damage +30%, speed +10%.]
[Twilight Annihilation stat bonus! Attack power +40%, defense -20%.]

The buff of Godly Descent—a mark of true strength—had activated.
Considering the power I possessed, this meant I faced a formidable adversary of the highest caliber.
A being worthy of the grand designation ‘Trial’.

“Intriguing. Then, let me see….”

I found myself curious to test something.
I summoned Inferno with ease. Countless hellfire erupted, and in moments, they streaked toward the Mana Devourer from all directions.
The Mana Devourer recognized the incoming flames.
Yet it made no move to counter.

Shhhhhhh!

More precisely, it had no need to.
The instant the countless hellfire reached the Mana Devourer, mana crystals bristled across its entire form, radiating with light.
They then transformed into pure mana and were absorbed into its body.
And moments later.

Boom!

“A counterattack as well?”

It had claimed the absorbed hellfire as its own and hurled it back at me.
I swatted away the approaching flames in an instant, marveling at the display.
A monster capable of absorbing magic and returning it with such force.

“So that’s why it’s called the Mana Devourer.”
[It seems magic doesn’t work on this creature at all. Skills that rely on mana likely won’t fare much better, but….]

It would absorb skills powered by mana, or at least diminish their potency.
An ordinary player couldn’t hope to contend with such a creature.
This was an opponent that demanded physical prowess and technique—not magical skills.

“Perfect. I’ve already accumulated enough mana essence anyway.”

None of that mattered to Han Yu-sung.
I could sense the essence of mana orbiting my heart like satellites.
Exactly four of them.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t managed to complete all of them.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t fill the set completely.”

Mana essence took longer to accumulate than I’d anticipated.
To be precise, I could refine the first two quickly enough. But from the third onward, the refinement process consumed far more time than expected.
I’d only just completed the fourth one this morning.

“Still, this is a perfect opponent to test its power.”
– Creak, creak, creak….

The mana devourer creaked forward, drawing closer.
Its entire body—especially its heart—blazed with an ominous light. Immediately, a tremendous surge of mana erupted outward, and a skill began to manifest.
It appeared to be preparing an attack potent enough to devastate this entire area.
The method to counter it was simple.

‘Strike before the spell completes.’

Han Yu-sung kicked off the ground.
My body, transformed into a fierce wind, rushed toward the mana devourer.
The creature recognized my approach, yet showed no concern whatsoever.
How could it not?
Any attack I unleashed would simply be absorbed—magic would dissipate, and skill damage would be reduced. Then it would finish me with its completed ability.
That was its logic.

Inferno Claw Technique, 【True Flame】.

Naturally, Han Yu-sung had no intention of playing along with that scenario.
I stamped down with tremendous force. A surge of overwhelming power rippled outward, and the earth beneath it twisted and fractured under the pressure.
And then.

Whoooooosh!

Ferocious flames erupted through the cracks in the earth.
The fire, transformed in nature by ‘demonic energy’, spread in all directions, consuming and burning the ground and the mana predator standing upon it.
The mana predator, as always, attempted to ignore the flames.

– Kuh, wh-what…?!

Until the ferocious inferno swallowed its entire body.
Just as the Inferno from moments before had been helplessly consumed.
The mana predator absorbs all things composed of mana.

But.

“It won’t be able to absorb what’s made of demonic energy.”
– Gaaaaaaah!

Han Yu-sung emerged from within the inferno.
The mana predator’s swirling eyes perceived him.
It felt the searing pain of its body burning.
But that was all. It was remarkable that it couldn’t absorb this, yet these flames couldn’t kill it.
According to plan, the skill would be completed.

Raaaaaaah!

Han Yu-sung stepped into True Form once more. Then the flames burning in all directions converged toward his feet as if flowing backward.
With the momentum of True Flame concentrated at his feet, Han Yu-sung kicked the ground, and simultaneously shattered all the ‘demonic barriers’ circling around his heart.
Tremendous demonic energy gathered at his feet.

– Kuh, wh-what, gaaaaaaah…!

Demonic energy so potent that the mana predator felt instinctive terror.
The essence of demonic energy, refined to its absolute limit, more powerful than any other.
Han Yu-sung felt the intense power flowing through his body.
And he did not hold back that power.

Annihilation Flame Foot Technique, Annihilation Flame.

Han Yu-sung surged toward the Mana Predator at a speed that even sound itself could not follow, and Extinction Flame plunged downward, cleaving through the void.
Directly into the magic stone embedded in its heart.
For a moment, silence fell.
And shortly after.

KABOOOOOM!

With a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth.
The Mana Predator’s heart, and the magic stone itself, ‘vanished’.
It gazed down wordlessly at the gaping chasm torn through its chest.
The Mana Predator’s eyes trembled as it beheld the incomprehensible sight.
But ‘Extinction Flame’ was far from finished.

WHOOOOSH!

Crimson flames erupted from the vanished heart, spreading outward.
The inferno consumed its entire form, devouring everything in its path.
Bone and flesh, mana itself—all of it annihilated without mercy.
There was no time to scream, no moment to feel pain.

– Kah, ahhhhh….

The Mana Predator ceased to exist in a single breath.
All that remained were smoldering ashes, roiling heat, and the faint death rattle.
The flames of Extinction Flame, having consumed all, gradually dimmed, and with them, the warped space around them returned to its original state.
An empty void greeted Han Yu-sung and Kakasha.

“….”
[….]

The two stood in silence, their gazes meeting.
Kakasha stared at Han Yu-sung’s feet, his eyes trembling.

[Did you… use all five magic stones…?]
“…No, only four.”
[So this power….]

Kakasha found himself at a loss for words.
The sheer power of the attack was enough to unsettle even a lord.
Han Yu-sung was equally astonished.
I had only used four mana stones, not five, yet the devastation was of this magnitude?

[Then if I were to use all five mana stones….]
“….”
[….]

Han Yu-sung fell silent. Kakasha did the same.
Before the two of them, a message appeared without ceremony.

[Trial, 【Mana Predator】 has been overcome.]
[Your promised reward descends upon you. It has been calculated based on the type, quantity, and value of the records you offered to the Altar.]
[The highest tier of reward has been granted!]

Something rose to the surface of the water pooling at the Altar.
Needless to say, it was a grimoire.

[You have obtained a grimoire inscribed with the SS-rank spell, 【Calamity Rain】!]

Han Yu-sung’s eyes widened at the sight of the reward.
Multiple A-rank grimoires, and with a single S-rank grimoire, I had obtained an SS-rank spell.
And all from a single, straightforward battle.

[…Though I suspect it wouldn’t have been so straightforward originally.]

Kakasha added carefully.
Han Yu-sung agreed. I gazed thoughtfully at the grimoire containing 【Calamity Rain】 floating above the water, lost in contemplation.
And at the Altar still overflowing with mana.

“Kakasha, what is your assessment of the Altar’s condition?”
[It appears intact. There’s no message telling us to leave either….]
“…So it means we can obtain more grimoires here.”

A natural smile bloomed on the faces of Han Yu-sung and Kakasha.
A smile of anticipation for the rewards yet to come.

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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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