Chapter 230
'Guardian of the Southern Sea?'
Hearing the warrior's words, Zeke could understand his identity.
'Is the forgotten Sea God a Dragonkin?'
Outwardly, he couldn't feel a big difference from Hoshgar, who was a Dragonkin, but the aura he exuded was different.
It felt like the Dragon's Majesty skill was naturally emanating from his body.
Although it was a spirit body, this was the first time Zeke had encountered a true dragon.
Poseidon looked at Zeke and said,
"The spirit of an Elder Dragon, and the heart and fangs of Bahamut..."
Perhaps because they were of the same dragon lineage, he immediately noticed that Zeke possessed Bahamut's heart.
Zeke flinched at those words, but Poseidon spoke calmly.
"Are you a descendant of Terakan?"
Surprisingly, Poseidon also knew Terakan.
Zeke nodded and replied,
"Yes. A thousand years have passed since Terakan Draker ended the Liberation War in the outside world. Were you perhaps spiritualized after meeting Terakan Draker?"
At those words, Poseidon shook his head.
"When I met Terakan Draker before, my avatar was also in a spiritualized state like now. I merely possess the memories of that time because the Karma data is stored."
"How did Terakan Draker find his way here?"
He continued, looking at Zeke.
"Bahamut brought Terakan here."
Zeke was startled by those words and asked,
"Bahamut personally brought Terakan Draker here?"
"Indeed. He came seeking proper instruction in the Dragon Slayer Art, or whatever it was called."
Zeke's eyes widened at Poseidon's words.
'Could it be that he came to Poseidon for help in turning the Dragon Slayer Art into a Dragon Killing Technique?'
Even to Zeke, Poseidon's spear skills were extraordinary.
They seemed to far surpass the skills of even a Black Knight.
Poseidon spun his trident and looked at Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, why have you sought out this place?"
His warrior-like demeanor made Zeke feel a little awkward about saying that he had come to get the Sea God's treasure because a quest had appeared.
Zeke hesitated for a moment, then wore a serious expression and said to Poseidon.
"I wish to transcend my limits."
Poseidon's expression changed at those words.
He said to Zeke,
"You are better than Terakan. That fellow said he was more interested in the Sea God's treasure than in learning the Dragon Slayer Art."
Zeke felt a pang of guilt at Poseidon's words.
'Terakan. I saw it in the past recordings too, but he was quite worldly.'
In legends, he was the Dragon Slayer, the knight among knights, a symbol of valor and selflessness, but reality seemed different.
Poseidon spun his spear again and looked at Zeke.
"To transcend your limits, you say. That means you wish to break down the wall that is holding you back, wouldn't you say?"
"That's right. I can almost reach beyond the Black Knight, but not quite. I wish to surpass this wall and become the strongest on the continent."
Then Poseidon gazed intently at Zeke and said,
"Terakan said the same thing. He wanted to become the strongest being in the world."
Zeke had also seen Terakan fighting a dragon corrupted by demonic energy.
He didn't know much about his personality, but he was undoubtedly a strong knight.
At that moment, Poseidon spoke again.
"What kind of advice do you think I gave him?"
"Did you tell him to swing his sword more diligently?"
Poseidon shook his head.
"No, I recommended a book to him."
"A book?"
Zeke was taken aback by Poseidon's completely unexpected answer and asked back, dumbfounded.
Instead of answering, Poseidon waved his hand in the air, and several books appeared at his gesture.
Zeke read the titles of the books that fell before him.
[A Collection of Proverbs Helpful for Growth]
'This title looks familiar?'
Zeke pondered for a moment before realizing that it was the title of a book in Terakan Draker's private archive.
Since it was in the private archive, Zeke had read it, thinking it might be helpful, but it was just a collection of bland, uninspiring sayings that had only annoyed him.
"Terakan was so moved by reading this book that he shed tears."
"Excuse me?"
Zeke couldn't believe Poseidon's words.
Who would believe that Terakan Draker, of all people, would be moved to tears by such a childish collection of proverbs?
But Poseidon said with a serious expression,
"Do you understand the meaning of what I said?"
"......Read a book?"
Poseidon shook his head at Zeke's words.
"No, it means that different people need different things for their growth. Terakan had lived such a harsh life that no one had ever given him words of encouragement for his growth. That's why even a collection of proverbs like that could be a great help to his growth."
Zeke nodded at Poseidon's words.
'Come to think of it, he did say he was beaten half to death by the Draker Clan and then thrown into the incinerator.'
Zeke couldn't know for sure, but Terakan must have had a childhood just as miserable as his own in his past life.
At the same time, Zeke thoughtfully looked back on his own life.
'But my life has been pretty shitty too. Should I read that collection of proverbs again?'
At that moment, Poseidon, holding his spear, aimed it at Zeke, who was lost in thought.
"Blue Dragons are smaller and have weaker powers compared to other dragon breeds. That is why we have a long tradition of finding what we do best and honing it. I chose this spear as my focus."
He spun the spear and said to Zeke,
"And by repeating this training for a long time, one gains a certain ability. Do you know what it is?"
"I'm not sure."
"It is the ability to recognize what one lacks."
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Poseidon's trident vibrated.
He opened his eyes sharply and looked at Zeke.
"What Terakan lacked was 'refinement.' Zeke Draker, what do you think you lack?"
Zeke involuntarily stepped back from the aura emanating from Poseidon's body.
Poseidon rushed towards Zeke, shouting,
"It is the 'stimulation' that will awaken your survival instinct!"
Whoooosh!
Poseidon's trident fell towards Zeke with a deafening sound.
Clang!
Unlike before, the trident, now imbued with surprising force, collided with Bahamut.
"Ugh!"
Zeke was pushed back by the shockwave. Then Poseidon looked at Zeke and said,
"Judging by your appearance, it seems you were spouting some nonsense about sword and self becoming one to pioneer a new realm, something that doesn't suit your personality at all."
Zeke was dumbfounded by Poseidon's words, which had instantly seen through his current state.
He had definitely gained some enlightenment, but as days went by, he had been wondering if it wasn't quite right for him.
"H-how did you know?"
"Your strength lies in your cockroach-like tenacity to survive, yet I saw you constantly trying to wield your sword elegantly. You must have been trying to imitate the sword of an exceptional swordsman."
Zeke was impressed by Poseidon's insight.
After meeting the Sword Saint Saturn Draker, he had unconsciously been trying to imitate the Sword Saint's swordsmanship.
Every word Poseidon spoke pierced Zeke's heart.
'This is the first person who has understood my state so accurately.'
Zeke sincerely asked Poseidon,
"Lord Poseidon, what must I do to break through this wall?"
Then Poseidon nodded and said,
"You need to get hit."
"Excuse me?"
Poseidon's expression turned stern as he continued speaking.
"I told you earlier. Your strength lies in your tenacious, cockroach-like survival instinct."
"Even so, a cockroach is a bit..."
"Your vitality seems to be no less than, if not greater than, that of a cockroach."
"......"
It wasn't wrong, but Zeke felt strangely uneasy.
Poseidon stroked his trident and then twisted and removed the bladed part.
Now, only the shaft of the trident remained in his hand.
"Lord Poseidon? Why did you..."
"Today, I will reawaken that fierce survival instinct that is still dormant within you. If there's a blade, you might accidentally die. I removed the blade to lower the probability of death, so don't worry too much about it."
"W-well, doesn't that still mean I could die?"
"If you want to be precise, yes."
Cold sweat ran down Zeke's back. He recalled a similar experience from his past life.
'Get hit. If I keep getting hit, something will work out.'
'Excuse me? Master. Does that even make sense?'
'Doesn't make sense? What are you going to do about it? Shut up and just take it.'
He had been beaten to near death by his master, which had forcibly awakened him as a healer, and after being beaten even more, his middle dantian had eventually opened.
'Come to think of it, every time I broke through a wall, it felt like I was beaten until I was about to die.'
Crumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!
In that instant, an immense aura poured out from Poseidon's body, who was holding the spear shaft.
Zeke hurriedly raised Bahamut and aimed it at Poseidon.
'Ugh.'
Zeke felt like a small insect before Poseidon's overwhelming pressure, which poured down like a storm.
'I need to change the flow.'
He charged towards Poseidon first.
"Haaah!"
But Poseidon's spear shaft had already brushed aside Zeke's sword and directly pierced his solar plexus.
Thwack!
Zeke, struck in the solar plexus, flew towards the wall.
"Gah!"
Zeke spat out blood from his mouth after being hit by the spear shaft.
His internal organs had been completely concussed with just a single blow.
'Insane...'
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Poseidon was approaching Zeke again, swinging his spear shaft.
Having recovered, Zeke quickly rose to his feet.
His eyes, now moving with agility, shone with vitality.
His survival instinct, more tenacious than a cockroach's, was awakening.
***
'Just how many times have I died?'
Zeke spat out a lump of blood that had welled up and swallowed a potion from his inventory.
None of his attacks had worked on Poseidon.
Sword, authority, skills, dragon abilities – nothing had been effective.
On the other hand, Poseidon hadn't used any magic or authority, only swinging his spear shaft.
Even so, the attacks emanating from Poseidon's spear were on a different level.
Just one hit would shatter his entire body, leaving him barely alive.
If the blade had been attached, Zeke would have died hundreds of times over by now.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Poseidon approached Zeke, swinging his spear shaft.
Zeke, whose internal organs had ruptured and bones all over his body had been crushed, rose again and gripped his sword.
Seeing this, Poseidon gripped his spear shaft and took a stance.
"Honestly, I didn't expect you to endure this much."
"Is that all you have to say after turning a person into a rag like this?"
Poseidon nodded at those words.
"Indeed. That is why I have decided to put a little more sincerity into it this time."
Crumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!
An even stronger aura than before concentrated on Poseidon's spear shaft.
In Zeke's eyes, Poseidon's spear shaft looked like a massive lump of iron, large enough to cover the entire world.
Nevertheless, Zeke gripped Bahamut and steadied his breathing.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
His stance was completely different from before.
It wasn't the ready stance of sword arts like the Dragon Slayer Art or the Infinite Chain Binding, but a crouched stance with his legs spread apart and his sword held low.
It was a stance Zeke used to take before fighting when he lived as a wildling in his past life.
Back then, the entire world was his enemy.
Therefore, he was always keenly aware of his surroundings and had honed his survival instinct.
After regressing, Zeke was able to fully recall the senses of that time for the first time in a very long while.
As he took his stance, Poseidon's spear shaft flew towards Zeke.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The spear shaft was filled with the will to crush Zeke's entire body.
Zeke gritted his teeth and instead charged towards the spear shaft.
"Haaah!"
A single, long-awaited moment after surviving hundreds of deaths.
Just before the spear shaft reached his head, Zeke grabbed his scabbard and used the Spirit Form skill.
Whoosh!
As Zeke's body became a spirit form, he entered the gap between the mortal realm and the spirit realm.
From within the dimensional rift, Zeke activated the Draconian skill 'Dragon's Breath'.
A symbol appeared on Zeke's chest, and mana began to condense there.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Thirty seconds had already passed just in compressing the mana.
As time flowed, Zeke felt a strong temptation to stay in this place forever.
'I have to get out!'
With a firm will, Zeke returned to the mortal realm from the dimensional rift.
Whoosh!
Having slipped into Poseidon's blind spot, Zeke immediately unleashed the 'Dragon's Breath' he had gathered.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The high-compression mana beam poured towards Poseidon.
Zeke didn't stop there and raised his sword.
He had exhausted all his mana with Dragon's Breath and was already at his limit, but he didn't stop.
'Just a little more!'
At that moment, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Skill Limit Break is activating.]
Poseidon wrapped his spear shaft around the Dragon's Breath that Zeke had fired and deflected it to the side.
Zeke seized that momentary opening.
'A single chance!'
He raised his sword and stepped forward.
At the same time, Zeke's vision completely changed.
'What is this...?'
Heat haze rippled from Zeke's sword.
A power completely different from mana or aura.
Zeke grasped that haze and pulled it according to his will.
The hazes gathered and swirled around Zeke's sword.
His body moved on its own.
Only through this completely different perspective could the flow of the sword finally be seen in its entirety.
The sword Zeke was holding moved by itself.
Whoooosh!
A new sword form, one that had never existed before, unfolded from Zeke's hand.