#197
The White Giant (4)
A mysterious monster that crawled up from the Abyss.
Perhaps due to its unusual origin, the skull of this White Giant couldn’t be easily shattered even by Harley’s sharp teeth.
Before the might of “Devour,” even the scales of the Bone Dragon were nothing more than glass candy, yet it seemed utterly powerless against this massive head.
Of course, the strength itself was indeed stronger than dragon scales, but it didn’t feel like just an issue of that.
‘It feels like it’s being protected by some special other power. Perhaps a blessing or a skill… no, it seems more closely related to a higher authority or rule?’
If only the proficiency of “Devour” had been higher, maybe there could have been a way to deal with it, but at least that wasn’t an option at the moment.
So, the plan was to cut the neck first instead of targeting the stronger parts.
That method worked wonders.
Just after severing the neck.
Hiss— spit, this tastes terribly awful.
With a monstrous size reaching four meters and a terrifying appearance that was closer to a demon than a dragon.
Seeing such a creature reveal its sharp teeth and lick its lips instilled an indescribable intimidation in those watching.
Not to mention, with its massive head sprawled out as background, could it get any worse?
‘…Seeing it up close, it’s even more hideous…’
Hahaha! You think so too, don’t you, Miss? Oh dear, it’s not just its size, but its looks are so unique. Truly, a monster is a monster!
Heinrich, busying himself with his continuous slicing, had Harley, the one who had diligently bitten and severed the giant’s neck, wiping the white blood off his face with one hand and turning around.
“Huh? Ah, yes! Right. A monster… yes.”
Meanwhile, Isea, who had been staring at him, awkwardly met his gaze and quickly averted her eyes with a shy smile.
She seemed to have a lot to say but held it back, considering her companions.
‘…But do we really have to eat that? It doesn’t look very healthy at all.’
However, Gios, watching from the side, seemed to have a different opinion, casually voicing her question that she had swallowed down.
Normally, Harley eating monsters and magic stones didn’t seem like a big deal, but the whole situation from the giant’s appearance onward was undeniably unsettling.
Harley nodded casually in response to his curiosity.
“Well, to be honest, this one is a bit off for eating. Not very nutritious!”
His “Mutation” had the trait of collecting the genes of other beings to evolve, and “Devour,” which had played a big role in the fight against the Bone Dragon, could consume some of the essence of a creature.
But…
‘Is this thing really a living being?’
From the White Giant, he found no genes or essence, not even common caloric value could be obtained from its flesh.
It was like an illusion with no corporeal existence.
With Harley’s digestion, he could easily convert even a rock into energy, yet this was an occurrence that completely defied expectations.
Hahaha! It seems my personality just can’t stand leaving things in my mouth, so I did it without thinking! Well, as long as nothing bad happens!
After speaking, he naturally pulled out meat from the Spatial Dimension and chewed on it while glancing back.
Wiggle—
The enormous white head, despite being decapitated, still twitched and moved.
Perhaps it was still trying to regenerate, as white biological tissues kept sprouting from its cut surface.
Meanwhile, Heinrich was keenly analyzing it while slicing away at the regeneration attempts.
…Hmm, it seems we need to destroy the core inside its head. Certainly, its appearance resembles life, but its principles are closer to a golem.
Finally, as he probed around the giant’s head with the Holy Sword, he concluded with a serious expression.
Is that so? Hmm— well, since it can’t resist anymore, I suppose we can just keep striking one spot?
If that’s the case, my spear can also be beneficial. At least, it should be able to restrain it from regenerating immediately.
In the end, the fact that they had to destroy its head remained unchanged, but now that it could no longer resist, it wouldn’t be such a difficult task.
If they focused their attacks on one point, no matter how hard the skull was, it wouldn’t last long, or Harley could even pierce from the neck into its brain.
However.
…Um, could you please wait a moment? I would appreciate just a bit of time.
Huh? What do you mean…?
This time, I want to try something for sure. Since it looks like Harley can handle preventing the giant’s regeneration, I ask that you treat the villagers back at the refuge.
…Hmm, okay. If the Saint says so.
Understood, Saint! Then I leave this place to you both.
After obtaining permission from his companions, Heinrich stood in front of the giant’s head, gripping the Holy Sword tightly with both hands, taking a deep breath.
Hoo—.
The source of Heinrich’s power, the Holy Power, had a much stronger effect on beings like undead or black mages who dealt with sinister energies.
Most of his blessings were the same.
His body, filled with sacred power, couldn’t be touched by darkness, and the light sword in his hand could slice through evil black magic like paper.
He was born to eradicate magic, an absolute nemesis to those of the darkness…
‘…but this giant was different.’
Though it certainly crawled from the Abyss, it surprisingly reacted little to the Holy Power.
As if it were just a common human.
‘A typical monster should take some extra damage; what exactly is this thing?’
It was clear it was not an ordinary life form, and it seemed like a being intentionally designed to lack weaknesses to oppose heroes and their orders!
Thus, Heinrich, who could somewhat stand against the Undead King, couldn’t demonstrate much prowess against this giant.
Though he was a peak knight in this world, as a mere martial artist, he hadn’t yet reached the appropriate level.
Of course, his self-enhancement effects remained intact, so he wasn’t lacking too much, yet it was true he displayed a performance unworthy of the title “hero.”
…I can’t just stand by knowing this.
An artificial situation had arisen, and this time they managed to get through unscathed, but that didn’t mean it would happen again.
Finding a solution for this was merely a natural course of action.
…Or to put it more frankly.
‘I can’t just sit here; it’d hurt my pride!’
In front of his companions, he pretended to be unbothered.
As the sole rival to the Undead King and the chosen savior of the continent, maintaining face was critical.
Whew— BOOM!
As the Holy Power surged, the light sword struck the giant’s head, leaving a long wound that sprayed white blood.
Yet it wasn’t as deep as he’d hoped.
While the sword reached the skull, it still lacked the strength to shatter it.
Even when Heinrich swiftly readied the sword again, the wound on the head began to heal at a speed several times faster than other parts.
To take a hit from the Holy Sword and still be like this— this creature’s durability was terrifyingly high, despite having no special offensive abilities.
Well, fine. I never thought it’d be that easy from the start.
Fortunately, he had already received a solution to this issue.
Chehai and Gios’s secret, the Refraction Spear… the ultimate awakening of aura manipulation that strikes wherever in space. As a technique that can interfere with dimensions, its usefulness and power are of a different level.
If it were a skill only usable in the transcendent realm, it would hold no meaning for him.
It was purely an individual’s unique ability, capable of breaking one’s limits.
But this isn’t like that at all.
It was a bit complex and difficult, yet undoubtedly just a simple technique.
One that was informally systematized to the point it could be taught to others.
To twist the phases between the weapon and the target point, maintaining the continuity of space… this was something you’d expect to see with spatial magic. Although it was analyzed from a skill I already had, it still shows just how impressive the guy is.
Over the past few days, while Hesperon had been teaching Chehai theory, Heinrich hadn’t just been looking after the kids idly.
Having already gotten permission to learn the secret skills, he was consistently exchanging technical conversations with Gios.
Initially, he only wanted to soak up some knowledge for future use…
Phew— BOOM!
Upon reflection, he realized that he didn’t necessarily need to match the aura’s condition.
After all, this technique was also an adaptation of how Chehai had reshaped his unique skill to suit an aura.
I just need to adapt it to suit Heinrich.
Despite everything, Heinrich was also an Awakened one from Earth.
Naturally, his growth wasn’t solely dependent on talent.
Awakened growth adjustments, avatar growth acceleration, “Great Blessing: Knight of Light” hero growth enhancements, “Rozia’s Holy Combat Technique,” and “Path of Martial Arts” assistance.
Even theoretically, he could benefit from Hans’s “Evil Wisdom” and “Path of Magics.”
Though he hadn’t noticed a need until now, he indeed possessed the capacity to accomplish anything with a determined mindset.
Phew— BOOM!
There was no need to rush.
The giant was already fully subdued, and Harley was thoroughly blocking its regeneration.
When you think about it, it’s currently the best punching bag.
Growth adjustments help accumulate karmic points faster and in larger amounts during training.
It was like counting lifting a weight once as lifting it twice.
Separate from stat enhancements through karma shops, growth naturally comes with commensurate karma.
And naturally, taking a life-or-death gamble with a dragon would yield greater growth than slicing a goblin in the streets.
That said, utilizing artificial situations was still a no-go.
The world’s laws weren’t so easily sidestepped.
Yet this situation didn’t fall into that category.
They simply confronted a giant that had appeared out of nowhere, struggling to suppress such a mighty adversary.
And now, with the goal of absolutely finishing off this foe.
He swiped his sword again.
To split this head open— to extract that core.
*
How much time has passed?
As the sun set completely and darkness enveloped everything.
Isea, who had brought back the townspeople they had evacuated to safety, was using various magic for warmth and fire.
When Gios made several trips to check on the situation here.
Whizz— CRACK!
Not the dull thud from before, but a sharp ripping sound rang out as the giant’s skull, previously deeply sliced many times, split cleanly in two.
《The subject has gained enlightenment through repeated training. Skill “Space Slash” acquired.》
Simultaneously, a phrase appeared before his eyes.
In a state of complete focus on striking downward with all his might, Heinrich’s eyes sparkled.
‘…What a shame.’
Before the satisfaction settled in, a deep feeling of regret surfaced—
‘If only I’d gone a little further, it felt like I could reach it.’
This training had enabled him to learn the spatial-interfering sword technique “Space Slash,” yet failing to reach the transcendent wall as a martial artist was disappointing.
‘It can’t be helped. I was slightly short with just this. For now, I’ll just be satisfied with having found the clue.’
Letting out a light sigh, Heinrich lightly used “Space Slash” to cut the skull that was trying to regenerate again.
Now, it was time to execute the initial goal.
Oh-ho! Well, well, just as I thought!
From the sharply split skull came a very familiar energy.
While Harley, who had been vigorously interrupting the giant’s regeneration and devouring the meat, stabbed his transformed hand deep inside.
Eventually, he pulled out from within…
‘Oh, what’s this?’
A fist-sized orb, wrapped like spider silk in the tissues connected to the giant’s head, glowing a deep crimson.
The highest purity “Madness” crystal he had ever seen.
‘It feels similar to when I saw Heratos’s Dragon Heart? It must be because it’s from the Abyss, the purity of madness seems to be higher.’
Harley smiled in satisfaction.
Since its origin was the Abyss, it might not be suitable as an avatar’s medium, but it was like a nectar for him.
Oh-ho! Hand it over now! That’s mine! Hahaha!
Blinded by greed, Harley sliced through the white tissues clinging to the crystal, tearing them apart as he stepped back.
At the same time, the twitching giant’s massive white head drooped, yet it was no longer of concern to him.
‘Is there any reason to hesitate?’
That White Giant had been worthless, providing nothing, but he surely couldn’t expect this shimmering crystal to be any different.
He swiftly stuffed it into his mouth.
《The subject has reached the conditions to unlock a new potential. Unique skill “Giantization” acquired.》
Thus, he drifted another step further away from humanity.
