NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1021
<1021 – Eastern Region Experience Chronicle (20)>
Taehoram.
An elegant little sparrow, now a mini-chirpy Dark Tentacle Bird, flapped its wings.
The dabchick flaps its wings 50 to 80 times per second while being smaller than a 500-won coin.
The mini-chirpy was larger than a 500-won coin.
Its flapping rate was only 30 times per second, only a 0.5 dabchick level of mundane performance.
However, Taehoram did something dabchick couldn’t do.
With each flap, it sprinkled the properties of a weird monstrosity, scattering it all around.
“How foul it is, no different from a skunk.”
It looked somewhat similar to a skunk that spewed a dreadful stench.
The only difference was that it spread weirdness instead of smell, trailing behind it a dark cloud.
By separating the properties of weirdness beyond the compression of mana and expelling it, it was akin to using the enhanced technique of the First Authority of the Three Principles, “All Things Are Impermanent,” every single moment.
Gegeobdo-in surprisingly felt no fear.
After all, it knew the weirdness that it could indiscriminately ‘digest’ and ‘excrete’ was merely a nonsense action.
━━━
<Heavenly Divine Technique, Taeeil Truth>
<Manifestation, the Great Flap that Bounces Back>
━━━
The ability, Taeeil Truth, possessed the same effect as maximizing a single function, “All Things Are Impermanent.”
A technique unfolding the primal powers of the Heavenly Lord in the eclectic style of Gegeobdo-in struck down on the small flaps of Taehoram.
It was a counterattack imbued with the will to crush through the expulsion of weird energy!
The total amount of power clearly favored Gegeobdo-in.
But the outcome of the clash of forces was different.
<Penetrate>
<Digging In>
<Infiltrate>
Taehoram’s expelled weirdness possessed the properties to penetrate, dig into, and infiltrate larger forces.
Having awakened to a combat method that overwhelmed an opponent’s stronger energy, completely different from how it used to swim away using its flippers, Taehoram had found its way!
“Chirp chirp!”
You don’t scare me at all anymore.
In the cry laced with a hint of nonchalance, one could feel the legacy of the Dark Princess and the Princess of the Weird, the progeny of the Chairman of the Foundation.
As expected of something that called forth a future growth form, Taehoram’s combat power had risen.
“Chirp!”
It even charged in with brute force, closely trailing behind its attack, Taehoraman had its beak wide open.
Despite the small stature, a foreboding energy spreading forward along with weird energy manifested an enormous beak reminiscent of a giant carnivorous plant’s mouth.
Kwa-jik!
That gigantic beak actively exhibited the attributes related to devouring, biting into the body of the Gegeobdo-in, a sand skeleton, and breaking its left arm cloaked in dark shadows.
━━━
<Heavenly Divine Technique, Taeeil Truth>
<Manifestation, the Repelling Sphere>
━━━
━━━
<Heavenly Divine Technique, Taeeil Truth>
<Manifestation, the Final Picked Nail>
━━━
━━━
<Heavenly Divine Technique, Taeeil Truth>
<Manifestation, the Unescapable Sheath>
━━━
The attempts to push back and extract the infiltrating Taehoram became futile, even using the technique to seal its massive beak into a sheathe.
Finally, Gegeobdo-in was able to successfully seal the furious attacks of the small Taehoram!
However, seeing the giant sheathe rattling and vibrating, Gegeobdo-in felt fear for the first time.
“Chirp chirp chirp!(If you get out of here, I’ll tear you to shreds)”
“Chirp chirp chirp!(I’ll drink your soul)”
“Chirp chirp!(You’re finished now)”
As Taehoram’s cruel cries resonated, the village residents, quaking in fear within the building, peeked through the windows to cheer.
“The Guardian Deity fights against the evil weirdness!”
“Even in a small form, it’s so cute!”
“Please protect the Sonwon City!”
Thanks to the affinity behaviors of the Dark Tentacle Bird, which only devoured the weirdness without touching people, the residents had even formed a faith towards it.
To send prayers to the giant and intimidating Dark Tentacle Bird was one thing, but the popularity of the elegant, tiny yet commanding Taehoram soared even higher.
The fans cheering at the Gift Academy couldn’t even reach this level of enthusiasm!
Gegeobdo-in frowned.
Well, it wasn’t really expecting much, but it couldn’t help but glance back at the wizards who had contributed to its birth.
What do you have?
The wizards, upon seeing Gegeobdo-in’s fiery gaze, regained their senses.
“Gegeobdo-in will grant you immortality!”
“Fear and tremble, you lowly creatures.”
“The end of the evil Sonwon City is near!”
Instead of cheer, their words only fueled its weakening spirit!
If this were an election, Taehoram would win; Gegeobdo-in would face defeat, as the firepower of support was disproportionately stacked against it.
Inevitably, being a soul realm monster and a divine entity, Gegeobdo-in’s power weakened alongside the feelings that lowly creatures held towards it.
Though it can’t receive praises, as long as it can buy fear, Gegeobdo-in can grow stronger.
Yet, the earnest struggle of the mini-chirpy Taehoram, fighting fiercely with that tiny body, won its sympathy.
“There are wizards trying to destroy our city!”
“?!”
“Ugh, those trash! Get out of our Sonwon City immediately!”
“Trash from the weird realm!”
“Scum like you don’t deserve to live alongside the weird!”
Weirdness is but a part of the faction, much like the expendable warriors until the spirit sky gates open.
The wizards, with a fundamentally different mindset from the residents of Sonwon City, who treated weirdness like pets, could only blink in incredulity at the downpour of accusations.
“Look at these insect-like creatures, believing one mutated weirdness can save them. Foolish beings. Do they even realize that the weirdness has its limbs all tied up?”
“Crap! Are you going to kill us?! Our Guardian Deity will not forgive you!”
“Pfft. What can a mere birdbrain do? A semi-divine being, born from the remnants of the old gods, powered by five energies of sinister jewels, and the spells from wizards has descended upon this land.”
The wizard clutched a handful of talismans containing wicked curses.
“Enough with the small talk. Just die.”
The flying talismans scattered, attaching themselves to the residents’ houses.
As the talismans permeated into the mansion, sealing it for the weirdness to feast upon, newly arrived weird beings from outside rushed in with drooling mouths.
“No!”
“Save me!”
“O Guardian Deity…”
The residents steeled themselves and tightly shut their eyes, ready for the horror they anticipated.
However, the excruciating pain they expected did not come.
For Oknodie was still there.
<Thief>
<Curse Resistance>
Oknodie stole the talisman and took the curse’s effects instead.
Its high curse resistance, capable of resisting even divine punishment, blocked most of the talisman’s effects, and due to the unfamiliar curse structure, some curses were ineffective.
The weirdness, drooling in approach, sensed the pure dark mana emanating from Oknodie, lowered its head, and sprawled itself while showing its belly.
The cruel butcher weird even respectfully offered its hefty axe, presenting it as a sacrifice.
The cunning swindler weird also provided its amassed assets, a goblin sack, as a tribute.
“Sonwon City is my place! I really hate when others take my things. It messes with my function experience points and collection rate!”
Oknodie expanded its territory towards the wizards.
━━━
<Territory Level 4 - Universal Territory>
<Manifestation - Curse Territory>
━━━
If curses are so great, you should experience them.
Oknodie recalled the most painful experiences it had during its numerous playthroughs.
And imbued that pain into spells, engraving it onto a paper airplane to rain down like carpet bombing.
“Stop it, no! That tremendous evil object must not touch!”
“Spirit Summon!!”
Spirit.
The yin-yang master summons spirits.
Their tricks were stolen, and wizards crafted paper talismans containing weirdness to use as portable subordinates, clashing with the paper airplanes.
The result was horrific.
The spirits couldn’t endure the excruciating pain soaring from the clashing paper airplanes, melting away or burning.
Even the mere aftershock passing near caused the spirits wandering close to fall like rain.
“Ah, overwhelming spirits…”
“Aren’t the great wizards merely Amhyeol…?”
“It must be a great wizard from the Western World. There’s no doubt it’s an incredible grand wizard…!”
Oknodie felt that the performance of the paper airplanes it had frequently tossed from the very beginning was rapidly improving.
This was because the experience of defeating a similar medium, the spirits, contributed to the growth of the paper airplane itself.
“Damn it, I shouldn’t have wasted that spirit jewel!”
“No way. We who raised Gegeobdo-in cannot let the netherworld descend into the human realm and miss out on the opportunity to rule over the fates of the dead and gorge ourselves in luxurious feasts and revelry!”
The wizards, shedding numerous spirits and transforming into spirits themselves, took flight.
Though Oknodie hastily threw a Dark Ball to gather and incinerate the spirits in one spot, it was not enough to catch all of them.
Just then, among the escaping spirits, one wizard felt elated.
Grab!
Gegeobdo-in’s enormous hand seized the spirit.
“Ooh, Gegeobdo-in! Please save us…”
Creeeak.
Gegeobdo-in crushed the spirit.
The wizard disguised as a spirit returned to their human form as their limbs were being shattered.
“Gyaah!”
“Stop whining. You’re lacking in strength. Embrace the fact that you are incompetent and be glad to become one with me.”
Gegeobdo-in devoured the last wizard.
Taehoram, who had unwittingly inherited Oknodie’s combat experience, blooming into its future growth form, pushed Gegeobdo-in receiving extensive wizard knowledge after consuming the wizard.
“Now I get it. This is how the fighting style of the weak goes.”
Gegeobdo-in’s hand pierced through finely, snagging Taehoram’s body.
Taehoram, bewildered, flailed, but the giant hand ruthlessly crushed its wings and body.
“Chirp!”
“Resistance ends here. You too shall become one with me.”
“Ugh!”
Oknodie gasped at Gegeobdo-in’s action of attempting to devour Taehoram.
If he were to devour the already difficult-to-manage wizard, Sonwon City’s administrative services would have to shut down, posting a “Thanks for using us until now” notice.
“Wait! That bird is a harmful creature!”
“…!!”
Gegeobdo-in showed curiosity at Oknodie’s statement.
“The essence of darkness is our true nature. Deformity does not harm us, but benefits us.”
“Taehoram is a filthy bird that swallows weirdness indiscriminately!”
“Do not worry. My digestion capacity is unparalleled.”
“It’s a lousy bird that gets a stomachache from eating Holy Bombs!”
“Even better. The holy power can lift me to a higher divine class.”
Oknodie gritted its teeth, making a significant resolution.
“Actually, I’ve implanted a Sacred Magic and an exile spell into Taehoram. Eating it might result in it becoming spaghetti’s offering!”
The shocking declaration to prevent Gegeobdo-in from growing even stronger was radical enough to shock even Gegeobdo-in.
To exile and even provide an offering to an outsider god, the risks presented were immense!
If Gegeobdo-in’s digestion prowess was indeed superior, it might evade trouble and gain strength, but what if it fails?
Concurrently facing a fatal risk of dying while taking in its meal was no small matter.
“Why did you tell me that? If you had kept it secret, I might have been caught off guard.”
“Thinking it through, we don’t have to fight each other, do we?”
“Huh?”
“The wizards tried to ruin the city with your power, but you just need to get stronger, right?”
“That’s true.”
“So, please form a contract with me and become the guardian deity of Sonwon City instead of that ungrateful sparrow!”
What a provocative proposition that would make the resentment of the restless spirits of dead wizards ask if this was even human reasoning!