C71
The mountain beasts were brutally torn apart and hung on tree branches like laundry. Among them were ferocious carnivorous animals.
The children who arrived late covered their mouths. Not screaming was enough to show that they had done their part as mountain hunters.
“A- Altor. What happened? Is this really the work of a cowbear?"
Martin's voice trembled, and Lumina turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly, as if she couldn't bear to see. Shirone made a decision faster than anyone else.
"Let's go down. This doesn't seem like a problem we can solve."
"No, let's go a little further. I need to know what this is."
“Altor! This is a serious matter!”
"That's why I'm saying let's go! If something like this comes into the mountain, all the prey will leave! Then we'll starve to death!"
"I know, but it's too dangerous. Let's go down to the city and report it."
"Report? Has your head gone weird since you've been hanging out with the nobles? Who do you think would care about the situation of a mountain hunter?"
"Idiot, that's what I'm saying! This is not a trivial incident that can be ignored. Look at those beasts. Can't you see how dangerous the situation we are in right now?”
Martin interrupted.
"Shi- Shirone. Altor. Look over there."
The bushes rustled and shook. Shirone and Altor simultaneously loaded their arrows and aimed in the direction of the sound.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
The shaking leaves heightened the tension. The children each took out their weapons and waited for the mysterious figure to appear. When the slaughterer of the beast finally appeared, Shirone and Altor's arrows went much higher than their original target.
"How, how could this be..."
The voice of Altor, who was defeated by no one in terms of bravery, was engulfed in fear.
"Grrrr."
A monster resembling a wolf over 2 meters tall stared at the children with a twisted posture. Its chest muscles were inflated like balloons, and its waist was slim. Its arms stretched down to its knees, and its hooked, curved nails were as long as a human's little finger. Its knees were bent backward in a double-jointed fashion, and it supported its body with cat-like long paw, looking agile.
Martin barely squeezed out his voice.
"It's, it's a monster."
Evolutionists believe that animals, including humans, were derived from a single ancestral organism. However, monsters were individuals that originated from an entirely different ancestral organism. Therefore, their animal-like features alone were not enough to fully analyze them. They were stronger and more agile than other animals and even possessed intelligence.
'A bipedal wolf-like appearance. It’s Ulk.'
Shirone recalled knowledge he had learned from books. Ulks had a low language ability, but they could express hundreds of emotions through sound, and they had social skills suitable for living in tribes.
With strong nails, quick mobility, and powerful muscles, they were a balanced type of monster. When they formed groups, they were one of the monsters that even monster hunters were reluctant to fight.
'But why did you appear here? I know there are no monsters in this area.'
There was only one immediate possibility that came to mind. The Ulks, who had lost in a tribal war, had migrated and drifted all the way here. As if to prove Shirone's thoughts, there were wounds all over the Ulk's body. The blood of countless beasts was tangled in its fur, making it impossible to guess how much blood it had shed.
The rough breathing sounds of the children awakened Altor's sense of responsibility. As a leader, he had to somehow resolve the situation.
'At any rate, it's a living creature. If I hit it in the head, it will die instantly."
Altor took a deep breath and aimed his arrow. Despite knowing that it was being targeted, the Ulk calmly leaned its hand on the tree and watched its prey. This was evidence that it had reason.
'Die! You dirty bastard!'
Altor's arrow flew like the wind. But the Ulk easily dodged it by slightly turning its head. It then made a sound as if to scoff, scratching its throat.
"Krrr, krrrrr."
The children were astonished by the Ulk's ability to dodge arrows at close range. However, the beginning of despair was yet to come.
Kwajijijik!
The Ulk broke the tree trunk with just the power of its jaws. And then, it lunged at Altor.
“Keuuaang!”
"Damn it! Run away!”
The moment Altor saw the strength that tore the log apart, he lost any desire to reload his arrow.
Everyone ran towards the summit, but Shirone stayed behind until the end and shot arrows at the Ulk.
“Keuuaang!”
Shirone's provocation angered the Ulk even more. However, thanks to this, the children had time to escape.
The nimble Ulk leaped up and struck the top of Shirone's head with its claw. At the same time, Shirone's body turned into a flash of light and soared into the air.
“Kuereung?”
Having teleported into the air, Shirone looked down at the Ulk from a high place. It was difficult to cast consecutive teleports deep in the mountains.
‘I can't do it here. I have to get to the summit.’
Altor supported the exhausted children and ran and ran again. Not choosing the downhill path was the right decision. In this situation, going downhill would have caused them all to tumble down.
"Hurry! Run faster!"
The children, who had thrown away all their weapons and luggage, climbed the mountain desperately, gasping for breath. Lumina shouted.
“What about Shirone? I can't see Shirone!”
“He’s buying time! Just hurry up and come up!"
Altor urged the children on. Although he was worried about Shirone, worrying wouldn't help in this situation. First and foremost, he had to protect the children.
“Keeuaang!”
The moment the children reached the top, the Ulk's howl came from the downhill pat. Altor's brow furrowed. The fact that the monster had come this far meant that Shirone had either escaped or died.
"Damn it! There's nowhere to hide!"
The summit of the mountain was a flat clearing, with a cliff at the edge. The height of the cliff was only about 20 meters, but there was no time to climb down.
"Altor! The monster is here!"
The Ulk climbed up, scraping the ground with its claws. Its rock-like muscles, reflecting the sunlight, were clearly visible. Altor, who had distanced himself from the children, became the bait willingly.
"Over here! This way!"
But there was nowhere to espace, as the area was surrounded by cliffs. Altor turned around with a miserable feeling. The muscles he trained every day were nothing but the strength of a child in front of monsters.
"Shit! I don't know what to do!"
Just as he raised his fist to fight, thinking that he would fight even if he died, the Ulk disappeared from his sight.
"Quick, run!"
Altor looked around with a surprised expression. Although he hadn't seen it happen, somehow Shirone was now grappling with Wulk.
"How... how did you?"
Altor tried to run towards Shirone, but Shirone disappeared again in a flash of light.
"Wow. That's... that's magic, right?"
The children were amazed to see teleportation for the first time. No matter how fast the Ulk ran, Shirone would flash and instantly lose its target.
"Kraaah!"
Unable to hold back his anger, the Ulk roared. However, the monster's anger was not one-dimensional like that of a wild beast. It turned its body and charged towards the children, as if to say it didn't care who it ate.
"Uaaaaah!"
The terrified children scattered in all directions. Only Lumina, with a weak heart, stood frozen, unable to think of running away.
“Lumina! Run away!”
"Ah... Ah..."
Shirone reached out towards the Ulk and combined the power of photon output with omnipotence. However, the place where Lumina was located was outside the radius of the Spirit Zone.
'Oops! It doesn't reach.'
Shirone converted the zone to a target-type. As the zone transformed into a cross shape, his synesthesia finally caught the Ulk.
'Photon output!'
A burst of light shot out and his the Ulk's eyes. The Ulk screamed in pain, covering its eyes from the sudden brightness.
"It's done! Shirone has taken it down!"
The impact of the light beam was so great that the children thought Ulk's face had been smashed. However, knowing that photon output has no physical force, Shirone shouted as she ran to Ulk.
“Lumina! Run! There's no time!"
Lumina hurriedly threw herself forward. But her legs had already stiffened, and she fell to the ground like a log. Realizing that Shirone's magic was powerless, could only roll their feet in fear.
"What do we do? It seems to only shoot light."
“Keeuaaangg!”
Ulk, who had regained his sight, lunged at Lumina. Its sharp hook-like claws caught her hair tie. As the rubber band snapped, Lumina's hair came loose. At the same time, Shirone grabbed the Ulk's waist and cast teleportation. The flash of light soared into the sky and began to fall from a high altitude towards the cliff below.
“Sirone! no!"
“Keuuaang!”
Every time the Ulk tried to struggle, Shirone repeated the teleportation. Setting the direction of teleportation towards the ground was a dangerous attempt, even forbidden in school, but it was necessary to keep the Ulk's mind in check.
'What do I do? What should I do here?'
Even if they fell like this, the Ulk wouldn't die. In a state of photonization, there was no mass, so the falling energy at the end of the teleportation was zero. However, when he gave up magic and fell, he had no ability to withstand the Ulk's struggle.
'I need mass... mass...!'
At that moment, a shiver ran down Shirone's body. It was an overwhelming premonition he had never experienced befor. Numerous fragments of thoughts brushed past their mind. The beginning of the world. Gauge symmetry. A vortex hovering above the bed. Mass is not power. The force of existence that opens the universe's activities. A crack breaking the symmetry.
The sense of loss Shirone had felt when their infinite realm was reconstructed into a human mind was the cause of this premonition.
The discord of omniscience and omnipotence.
The lost fragment's name was Gravity.
When the omniscience was established, the omnipotence that had been known through nightmares until now was precisely aligned. As the activation condition for magic was met, Shirone transformed the Ulk into a photonized state and threw him downward.
“Keuaaaang…!”
Before the screams could end, the Ulk's body collided with the ground and bounced up with a loud sound.
Shirone, who had landed with a rainbow drop, glared at the Ulk.
It was an instant death. The reason the Ulk received such a shock that his bones broke in a photonized state was because the light was heavy.
"Haah. Haah."
Matter isn't born with mass. There is another element that transfers mass to matter and then vanishes.
An unknown particle that humans cannot observe.
That was the very omniescence Shirone had realized in the infinite realm and the reason why gauge symmetry seemed broken.
"I've figured it out. Finally."
Shirone clenched his fists tightly. His body trembled and his heart soared to the point of tears.
Kkyaaak!
At that moment, children's screams were heard from above the cliff. Shirone regained composure and looked up.
"No way...?"
Come to think of it, Ulk was a social monster. Even if it had lost a tribal war, the chances of it wandering alone were low.
"No!"
Shirone cast teleportation and flew up to the cliff. As soon as he arrived at the top, his body stiffened, just like Altor's group. Dozens of Ulks surrounded them. The whole tribe was moving at once.
'I underestimated their sociability.'
The children's whining could be heard.
"Wha- What do we do? We're all going to die."
"I haven't even gotten married yet. I don't want to die like this."
Shirone didn't want to die either. And now, they had at least the minimum weapons to fight the Ulk.
"Don't worry, guys. I'll try my best."
"How? Just run away. You can escape with magic."
"It's okay. I'm not breaking the rules anymore."
Shirone walked towards the group of Ulks.
“Shirone! It's dangerous!"
Altor called out, but Shirone ignored him. He just glared at the Ulks, recalling his earlier realization.
The silver-haired Ulk, who seemed to be the chieftain, nodded in disapproval, and his right-hand Ulk jumped out.
“Keuaaang!”
Shirone concentrated photons in his palm.
'It's not enough. More... more...'
The light gathered in his hand gradually turned pale and eventually emitted an intense white light that was blinding. Meanwhile, the Ulks was quickly closing the distance with Shirone.
While measuring the distance to the enemy, Shirone focused on changing the nature of the photons gathered in his hand. As the screams of the children escalated, the Ulk, who had finally arrived, swung its claws.
Shirone's body was suddenly moved back 1 meter. He widened his distance with short-range teleportation and cast magic with his eyes wide open.
'Now!'
When he threw the compressed photons, a pale flash of light landed on the Ulk's abdomen. The photon, compressed in the form of a sphere, pushed the Ulk away and stretched out again as a golden line.
“Kraaaahhh!”
The Ulk screamed and flew away. Then it collided with another Ulk and rolled down the mountain.
The children's eyes widened at the unbelievable reality.
“Tha- That is nonsense. Did you see that? That huge monster just flew dozens of meters away."
“How could that be? Is that magic?"
The chieftain Ulk, who had seen Shirone's magic, snorted. Surprisingly, human language leaked out, indicating high intelligence.
"Ma...gic...user..."
Numerous eyes of Ulk stared at Shirone. But Shirone was only glaring at the chief.
He thought he could win.
The mass contained in the photon is minuscule, but the impact of the weight of the speed that extends at the speed of sub-light was at a level that broke expectations.
Moreover, this was truly the magic of Unloker that only Shiroene could use in the world...
It was the Photon Cannon (Light Quantum Cannon).
(End of volume 3)
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
