He reflexively drew the Five Elements Sword and, with his other hand, cast the Object Control Spell to pull the rabbit-weasel towards him.
However, the enemy's surprise attack was a step faster than the speed at which the Object Control Spell could reach.
It looked like a lizard.
At a glance, he could also see gills and webbed feet. Its tail was definitely that of an aquatic creature with fins.
As he reflexively made a judgment about its appearance, the rabbit-weasel, belying its usual nimble self, was already being chewed in the creature's maw and swallowed down its throat.
The Five Elements Sword's Dharma script restrictions flashed, and a streak of golden energy was shot out.
However, the aquatic lizard monster responded by swinging its tail as if it had been waiting, and when the hazy energy coiled around its tail and the Five Elements Sword's offensive Dharma spell collided, a sharp noise erupted.
From the tail, the source of the noise, he could glimpse the creature's blood scattering.
However, considering the power of the golden energy that had split the wolf beasts apart without resistance, it was a very meager result.
KIAAACK…!
The creature, as if startled by the fact that it was injured, moved faster than when it had burst out and fled into the lake.
It was truly a speed that no ordinary creature could produce.
Naturally, Han Yu-jin continuously manipulated the Five Elements Sword to shoot out golden energy to kill it, but only one more shot hit, leaving a slight wound, while the other two narrowly missed, only gouging the ground due to the creature's nimble movements.
Honestly, Han Yu-jin's panic was also a small factor in those misses. Everything had happened in such a flash that he had remained dazed.
After about a second had passed like that.
He, who had been standing still after jumping up from the rock he had been sitting on, suddenly became aware of the situation again.
'The rabbit-weasel… that thing was hunted.'
Having lived with him until now and eaten its fill of all kinds of spirit-infused food, its ordinary yellowish-brown fur had even started to turn a faint golden color, and the creature itself had come to contain a considerable amount of Spiritual Energy.
It must have looked very delicious to other predators.
He didn't feel any sort of boiling emotion at all.
Even though it was a creature he had been so fond of and had lived with, he just thought, 'So it just died suddenly like this.'
And then, without realizing it, he was diving into the lake.
He drew out the Five Elements Sword's built-in defensive Dharma spell to protect his body with a golden bell-shaped barrier, and although he didn't know any Dharma spells that would allow him to move freely underwater, he trusted in the single fact that he had briefly learned to swim in elementary school.
Was it a sense of duty that, since he had brought it here, he had to avenge it even if he couldn't protect it?
Or was it anger at the monster that had dared to harm his pet in front of its owner's eyes?
Or was it because of the absurd thought that he might be able to cut open the monster's belly and take out the creature, which might not be completely dead, and heal it?
It was an action for which even Han Yu-jin himself did not know the exact reason.
But on the other hand, there was an instinctive certainty that he had to act this way right now, a compulsive urge that he did not want to resist at all.
If he didn't move now, he would regret it for a long time to come.
If things like this piled up one by one, it might become that infamous Heart Demon.
A thing that, once it sprouted, was bound to become a source of trouble for a long time to come in walking the Path of Immortality.
'No matter how much stronger I am, it's dangerous in the water.'
He had made that judgment even before moving his body. But it was a completely useless judgment now that he had already dived into the water.
In the water, which felt darker than he had expected, he focused on the Spirit Eye Spell and surveyed all his surroundings.
Unlike when he was on land, he had to look under his feet as well, so even though only one direction of his guard zone had been added, it felt like he had become very vulnerable.
The Wind Cloud Spell did not exert its full power in the water. Still, it was better than just swimming with his bare body, so Han Yu-jin moved forward in the direction his intuition pointed.
Farther and farther from the shore, deeper and deeper into the lake.
How long had he been swimming like that?
Just as he felt that he had used up more than half of his breath, even with a cultivator's extraordinary body, a dark shadow flashed past under his feet.
The moment he hurriedly turned his head to follow its trail.
An attack, which he didn't know from where it had been launched, struck his barrier.
The protective barrier, which had been fine even amidst the ferocious onslaught of the monkey monsters, was slightly dented and shook from that one blow.
—!!
Despite being underwater, the impact sound was so huge that it hurt his ears.
He had thought it was no ordinary creature since it had blocked the Five Elements Sword's attack, but its offensive power was truly surprising.
Han Yu-jin tried to stay as calm as possible by using the Mind Calming Spell and continuously surveyed his surroundings.
Just getting the lizard monster in his sight was not easy. The creature was fast on land, but in the water, it was several times faster, as if the surrounding water was helping it move according to its will.
It must be a phenomenon created by using Spiritual Energy. So, this was his first battle with a monster that knew how to handle Spiritual Energy in earnest.
'Now!'
He shot a streak of golden energy towards the creature he had finally caught in his sight.
The attack, which flew through the barrier, unfortunately, just grazed the top of the creature's back, and it wasn't that Han Yu-jin had aimed poorly, but that the creature had actively moved to dodge it.
And then, the moment he thought the creature had passed by his protective barrier, the usual impact was applied, a loud roar erupted, and the protective barrier was dented.
Frustratingly, a similar event was repeated two more times.
The body of the Five Elements Sword vibrated unstably.
It looked as if the protective barrier would be destroyed and the durability of the Dharma artifact would be damaged if it was attacked two or three more times.
'This won't do.'
Having made his judgment, he tried to explode the protective barrier when the creature approached.
With the attack that had wiped out the monkey monsters in one go, he would surely be able to kill it in return.
But at that moment, what came to mind was the absurd thought that the rabbit-weasel that had gone into the creature's stomach might not be dead yet, and that if he damaged the lizard monster too much, the creature inside its stomach might really die.
'It's probably already dead.'
A few seconds were delayed in reaching that common-sense conclusion.
In the meantime, the lizard monster swam at high speed and launched its most powerful attack yet. Its tail, coiled with a hazy energy, accompanied a strong current and struck the heavily dented part of the protective barrier.
—!!!
The sound that erupted was so huge that his head was ringing.
The protective barrier, which he had thought could withstand two or three more hits, was weakened to the point of barely not collapsing, and the creature, quickly noticing the sign of its destruction, immediately turned its body and charged again.
This time, Han Yu-jin did not hesitate and exploded the protective barrier.
The fragments of the golden bell, which scattered a step ahead of the creature's attack, turned into a storm of sharp blades and swept through the surroundings, including the front.
KIIUUUUNG…!!
With the sharp and mournful-sounding scream of the monster, a large amount of blood spread out in the water.
Han Yu-jin, whose remaining breath was becoming very desperate, clad his body in the Jade Skin Spell and hurriedly advanced to drag the lizard monster out of the water.
At that very moment.
Something flew through the curtain of blood, which had the effect of obscuring the view of the Spirit Eye Spell because it contained Spiritual Energy.
No, the moment he perceived that it had flown in, he had already been struck in the torso and was sent flying.
It hurts.
Only that thought came to mind.
Precious air escaped from his mouth, which he didn't know when had opened, creating a frantic stream of bubbles, and he couldn't even tell if he had been sent flying down or up.
He had barely survived thanks to the Jade Skin Spell he had cast, but it was by no means a good situation.
And it didn't seem like it would become a good situation in the future.
He tried to control the Five Elements Sword out of a sense of crisis that he felt instinctively, but he failed. Realizing that he had already completely lost it, he stretched out both hands towards something that was rapidly approaching in his blurry vision.
The only offensive Dharma spell he knew was the Fire Bullet Spell. He could well imagine what would happen if he cast it underwater, but he had no choice anyway.
'You son of a bitch, how dare you.'
Certain of his death, he thought of a short curse in his mind and cast the Fire Bullet Spell with the feeling of squeezing out all his Spiritual Energy and exploding it.
A flash of light that brightened the dark lake flickered.
Immediately after, countless bubbles seemed to rise, and then it turned into an indescribable explosion, completely blowing away all his senses, including his vision.
In that short moment when absolute darkness descended, he thought he had heard the scream of a different lizard monster, not the one he had been originally fighting.
[You have died.]
A moment later, the usual mysterious silver characters appeared in the darkness.
[Please select your reward.]
In the dark void of the Waiting Area, Han Yu-jin stood blankly, looking at the rewards spread out before him.
There were a lot of items.
This was because, at the time of his death, he had a considerable amount of the wolf beast bones that he hadn't had a chance to boil down in his storage pouch.
There were also items he had stored in his shelter, which was his definite territory.
Above all, as he had been certain of by a gut feeling before visiting the primeval forest world, he was able to select his cultivation results as a reward, and its form was like a small person sculpted from light.
The streaks of light moving intricately with a brighter intensity inside were clearly tracing the trajectory of the Origin Reversion Art.
He thought he could also glimpse the form of his soul, which had been partially sublimated into a Dharma Soul.
And unfortunately, there was not even a shadow of the small, cute, but completely useless rabbit-weasel.
'We didn't even spend that much time together, so what the hell is a mere beast to me.'
Han Yu-jin unknowingly closed his eyes and just stood still for a long time.
'I didn't even give it a name on purpose.'
He hadn't been sure whether he would be able to select it as a reward or not, so he had thought of giving it a lot of presents when he left after cultivating to his satisfaction. He hadn't thought deeply beyond that.
His mind was a complete mess. It had been a long time since he had felt this confused, even though he knew how he should act.
But soon.
He was able to slowly find his composure.
In any case, he had tried his best to avenge it, and although he didn't know if he had killed it for sure, he had at least dealt a heavy blow.
There was no way there were no other predators in that lake, so the creature was already as good as dead.
Just like the small rabbit-weasel that it had dared to hunt and eat, it too would be reduced to another's meal.
"Hoo…"
It was when he was about to select his cultivation results so far with a final deep sigh.
Suddenly, an idea that was absurd but for some reason felt possible came to mind.
His awakened ability materialized the door according to his wishes.
The door to the primeval forest world that he had cultivated in this time was also materialized according to such a clear wish.
Then, what if.
He could materialize the door to the primeval forest world again, at the very first point in time that he had visited.
"…"
After thinking in silence for a long time, he shook his head at some point.
Then, he stood in front of the small figure of light that represented his cultivation results.
The Karma required for the selection was about half of his remaining amount, which was a lot if you thought it was a lot, and a little if you thought it was a little, but at least to Han Yu-jin, it seemed very cheap.
It was the result of his cultivation, having completed a twenty-seven percent Dharma Soul sublimation.
He felt that it was very cheap that selecting something like this consumed less Karma than when he had restored and selected the Dharma artifacts before.
'Is it because it's a result I achieved through my own efforts?'
Those Dharma artifacts might have been expensive because he had just picked them up without much effort.
Or, they might have been that expensive because they were items of great value to him at the time.
The value of the same item can vary greatly depending on the situation and who it is given to.
The selection of rewards here seemed to consume Karma in a way that reflected that principle.
Anyway,
Thanks to that, Han Yu-jin, who had selected his cultivation results without any burden, was soon able to wake up safely in his bed in reality.
He quietly blinked his eyes and examined his body's condition. The cultivation realm he had felt in the primeval forest had certainly been transferred safely.
'I don't know whether to say it was transferred or it appeared.'
As he was pointlessly pondering over a trivial expression, he quickly formulated a plan for the future.
He wanted to test right away whether he could return to that point in time in the prime-forest, but there was a place it would be better to visit first.
It was the ruins of the defunct Five Elements Sect on the Yeongryeon Continent after the End of Dharma.
'I need a Dharma spell that can secure mobility in the water.'
Or he would need a Dharma artifact for that purpose.
While he was at it, he thought he would be very happy if he also had the knowledge of Beast Taming that could tame and raise beasts.
Although he still didn't know if he would be able to meet the creature again as he felt he could.
He lay still for a long time and finished organizing his thoughts.
And then, this time, without taking any rest in reality, he immediately closed his eyes.
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