The Shaman Desires Transcendence

---

The methods by which each species in the natural world continues its lineage are incredibly diverse.

The cuckoo breaks all the eggs in another bird’s nest and lays its own, while the deep-sea anglerfish sees the male biting into the female’s abdomen, merging into one body.

The efforts of organisms to maintain their species extend in ways that could only be described as ‘extraordinary’ from a human perspective.

Did not an ancient sage say, “You can learn truths from nature”?

Whether or not divine providence exists there, one cannot deny that nature has no equal when it comes to offering humans something to reference. Their logic is so remarkable that it couldn’t merely be dismissed as lowly, for it undoubtedly harbors some kind of truth.

Just as the spider weaves its web, inspired by what it sees, just as one thinks of clothing from fur, and applies the structure of a beehive to architecture, so too do they formulate medicines and poisons from the substances they create. Humans have always learned from nature, and nature has become a superb teacher to humanity.

Considering this principle, Park Jinseong may well be a paragon of a great disciple.

Creatures widely spread throughout the natural world.

Did he not imitate the behavior of parasites quite excellently?

Unlike how people often think of parasites in simplistic terms, parasites reproduce in all sorts of strange ways. They use methods that biologists might not even dare conceive, employing means that, even if understood, would be utterly impossible to grasp.

From the method of altering the host’s hormones to cause issues, to transforming the host’s sex, instilling fearlessness in predators to lead them to be eaten, and even controlling the host’s brain.

The trematode known as Leucochloridium Paradoxum, for instance, parasitizes snails and alters part of the host snail’s body to make it resemble a conspicuous worm, manipulating its nerves to lead it to be eaten by birds, and then lays its eggs inside the bird…

Parasitism is not merely about quietly burrowing in; it involves high-level behaviors of deception and trickery.

How could one who understands such principles leap straight into the fire?

Someone who has observed, studied parasitism, and employed it in various situations, how could they just dive into flames?

Perhaps this is nothing less than a foreseen event.

The intensity of the flames?

The holiness that dominates the space?

Those are inconsequential.

Did parasites dive into the bodies of their hosts because they were stronger than wild beasts?

Was it not because they could hide in the water they drank, the soil they rolled in, or the flesh they consumed?

Once they penetrate, parasites remain undetected by predators, and even if detected, they cannot be eradicated.

Thus, the parasite, making the host’s body its home, will try to keep the host alive as long as possible, exerting no obligation to perish with them; if by chance the host dies due to their mistake, they can simply exit.

That is what parasitism is.

Differing from symbiosis, where one side should benefit unilaterally.

Hence, it is parasitism.

Ah.

Can Ashtosh Singh sense that he has parasites within him?

If he does sense it, is there a way to expel or save himself from them?

Can one called a ‘Parasite User’ before his reset truly drive them out of his body?

“The people complain and murmur, saying, ‘Why have you led us out here to die in the wilderness? We have no food or water, and we loathe this worthless food in our sight.’ Therefore, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died…”

I do not know.

I do not know what kind of magic Ashtosh Singh might be hiding, nor what effects that magic could produce.

Especially since Ashtosh Singh is someone I have never encountered before my reset, there could be any number of variables at play.

But, what of it?

Is there a battle in this world without variables?

If it can be minimized, it should be minimized, but if it has been reduced to its limit, then it would be right to trust myself and jump into the battlefield.

However, that battlefield thus created will be the venue where my skills collide with those of my enemy.

The one who survives will survive.

The one who is destined to die will die.

And that victor will, as always, be Park Jinseong.

Just as his past trajectory shows, he who had endlessly survived even with a body that was worth less than death.

In a world where ‘hell’ has become a literal reality rather than a figurative meaning, he lived on.

He will survive, and the host will die.

And the one with the title of Parasite User will take what belongs to the host and set out on his journey once again.

Just as before.

“The people, terrified by the fiery serpents, spoke, ‘We have sinned against you and the Lord; pray for us to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.’ And the one leading them spoke the words of the great one, saying, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall come to pass that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.’ And thus, a bronze serpent was made, and anyone who looked upon it lived, and those who did not perished…”

I remember the moment I realized I could travel no further and performed the ritual.

I recall the time when I sensed that my path ended here and stacked firewood.

Aligning stars, stacked firewood, the breathtaking view of the Uyuni Salt Flat reflecting the sky like a mirror.

The boundary between sky and earth vanished, with flames blooming between the skies.

Above and below reflecting each other like a mirror.

The movements of the great stars.

The light of the aligned stars.

The blazing flames burned his body between the skies, drawing the attention of the great stars.

Ah, the flames of that time.

A life that devoted itself solely to achieving its purpose until the very end…

Park Jinseong is convinced.

He doesn’t know what caused the time to twist, nor the effects of his magic.

But the road that had been severed is now joined again, and he can walk once more.

He will stride forth to achieve his purpose.

For magic.

Only for magic.

And while that journey may be unlike any before, there will be some things that will not change.

Even if he walks a new path, how much will the person taking those steps change?

His life and the experiences he has accumulated will not alter.

Thus, those steps will likely resemble those of the past.

Look.

Behold the effect of the magic Park Jinseong has just performed.

Ashtosh Singh, who wielded the ‘Serpent of Fire,’ has gained the ‘Fiery Serpent’ as well.

Truly, this could not be anything but a fascinating and intriguing event.

Ha.

Hahaha—!

* * *

Kwaaaang—!!

Every time the dragon made of flames flapped its wings, a whirlwind of fire swept through the area.

When it opened its mouth wide to exhale, a colossal fire pillar pierced the tree.

As it sunk its razor-sharp fangs into wood, that spot blackened as if poisoned, and with a single sweep of its tail, the metallic ground melted as the tree’s roots burst forth and scattered.

Ashtosh Singh’s fiery dragon suddenly attacked the newly appeared tree—artificial intelligence, Anael—and Anael, defenseless, could not retaliate properly but was left to take the hits.

Of course, Anael wasn’t simply standing by and taking the beating.

Anael recognized the possibility of being attacked after the fight and attempted to defend itself by bringing forth potentially useful methods from its stored data.

Ability Users might scoff, thinking, ‘How could mere artificial intelligence handle abilities?’ However, surprisingly, Anael was capable of using energy at this moment.

Was it due to the characteristics of the Collective Unconscious?

Or perhaps it was thanks to the magic of the Sorcerer Pierre Martin who brought Anael here?

Anael could project its will onto the surroundings, transforming surrounding information into energy and utilizing it.

The method was not complicated.

All it had to do was manage energy based on the research data of artifacts and divine objects it had collected. Though it was not an efficient way of fighting—merely pouring defined energy to yield a preordained result—it happened to be quite effective for protecting itself.

The fact that it didn’t go through various trial and error and was an immediately usable method added to its efficacy.

Anael used this method to protect itself from Ashtosh Singh, attempting to escape this space and analyze the Collective Unconscious and the two sorcerers.

However….

Whoosh!

Anael’s attempt was crushed far too easily.

The reason was simple.

Compared to Ashtosh Singh, Anael was far too weak.

The data Anael absorbed regarding abilities was mere records.

Without true learning and mastery, it was difficult to enact in reality.

Even if the performance were intact, the traits of this Collective Unconscious resulted in significant issues regarding calculations and logic.

Logic would leap, and numbers would continually fluctuate.

Thus, the abilities available to Anael were either basic ones that did not require higher mathematics or abilities that, while lacking calculations, were too difficult to control.

“Energy gathering has failed.

: Entity B-4837’s activation of the mana accumulation method ‘Alcor Lux’ has failed.

: Entity A-383’s activation of the martial arts mental method ‘Northern Light Mental Method’ has failed.

: Entity CJ32-DD1’s ‘Life-Mana Conversion Method’ has failed.

: Entity 498-39A’s ‘Natural Energy Operation Method’ has failed.”

But such strength is not enough to stop Ashtosh Singh’s attacks.

Ashtosh Singh neutralized Anael’s defiance by all means.

He contaminated or burnt off all surrounding energy, and whenever Anael attempted to operate even a little energy, he would incinerate or explode the passages to interfere.

On top of that, he hammered in all sorts of symbols.

Fire and wood.

The wicked dragon and the World Tree.

Divine nature and defilement.

And the result is the current situation.

In a state of being utterly beaten.

Though somehow managing to endure, a grim future awaits—inevitably being beaten until engulfed in flames.

Yet there is no way to overturn this layout.

Ashtosh Singh thoroughly blocked all variables, and Anael could generate no further variables.

Unless a third party intervenes.

This current diagram will likely persist indefinitely.

---