The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

CRACK—!

Some stone fragments that the Night Crow's Shamanic Spell had created flew toward Irizard, but her ice armor effortlessly nullified them.

Although it was merely an attack to gauge her armor's durability, the fact that it caused no damage was not a good sign.

Seol frowned upon taking a glance at the fleeting message.

'Era's Might, huh…? So it won't be easy.'

Era’s Might was something closely tied to Seol. It was a power he needed if he wanted to attempt Ascension.

The problem was that the opportunity to gain this power had come too soon. Era's Might wasn't granted in just any Adventure. One usually needed to undertake an outrageous challenge or rewrite history to obtain it.

In other words, he would greatly struggle against Irizard.

Swoosh…

Thick white clouds appeared around them. Each one had such an intense cold that it made anyone frown just by touching it.

[Irizard used Power: Frozen Blood.]

[All enemies facing Irizard will gradually accumulate Chill over time, up to a maximum of 100.]

[At 50 Chill, movement speed is reduced by 20%. At 80 Chill, mana efficiency is decreased by 20%. At 100 Chill, the target is Frozen.]

[When Chill freezes a target, their Chill resets to 0. However, each reset increases base Chill by 10 and accumulation by 1. The target becomes vulnerable to Shamanic Spell: Encroachment upon unfreezing.]

[While freezing is unavoidable, Chill accumulation can be resisted through certain actions.]

Having discerned Irizard's power, Seol conveyed his intentions to Bron.

"Bron, start the rotation of the Primal Powers first."

Nod…

Upon catching Seol's intent, Bron began trying to rotate the Primal Power.

Whoosh…

Circulating one's Primal Power was the way to resist Irizard's power. It could slow the accumulation of Chill and extend the time it takes to reach the freezing threshold.

With this, they could avoid the fatal scenario where both became frozen simultaneously.

Crack…

[Irizard used Glacier Break.]

[Both your arms are considered weapons. Half of their damage is converted to Glacier damage.]

Whir…

Irizard gathered strength in her arms and smashed down the mound made of bones.

BOOM—!

The bone fragments scattered in all directions, prompting the Night Crow and Bron to hastily construct a barrier in response.

Crash—!

Paf!

The fragments failed to breach the barrier, yet Irizard still easily destroyed it.

BOOM!

"How relentless…"

Paf—!

Irizard broke through the barrier and charged forward.

The Night Crow switched to close-range combat.

Tap—!

Irizard's punch was deflected upward, followed by an attack aimed at her legs.

- Hmph.

Swish—!

Although it seemed like Irizard had staggered from the Night Crow's attack, she retaliated by kicking upward, maintaining her offensive momentum.

At that moment, Bron executed his ploy.

Clap—!

[Bron used Waterfall Shamanic Spell: Splash!]

[The terrain around your target transforms into a small lake.]

Plaf!

Irizard sank directly into the lake.

Clap—!

[Bron used Waterfall Shamanic Spell: Blue Marlin Bombing.]

[Summon 16 blue marlin arrows that target enemies submerged in water.]

[Any effects applied to the blue marlin arrows are applied to all targets.]

Paf—!

Arrows shaped like blue marlin shot at Irizard.

THUD!

A spray of water erupted as Irizard emerged from the lake.

"Damn it…"

- Is that all?

Bron's attack ultimately failed to pierce Irizard's armor, forcing them to rethink their strategy.

He exchanged glances with the Night Crow and nodded. It seemed like he intended to shift to a defensive stance.

Clap—!

The Night Crow clapped and created a sphere from shamanic power.

Whoosh…

Sulfur, Lightning, Mountain, and Shade's skull merged to form a Shadow skull.

At this point, it was hard to say whether Seol or Jamad was leading the fight. After all, unless both of them gave their all, there was no way they could resist Irizard's power.

Fwoosh…

The Sulfur skull opened its jaw while crackling.

[Everything shall burn…]

FWOOSH—!

Flames surged high.

However, a problem arose before the fire could spread.

[Power: Frozen Blood has greatly diminished the influence of Sulfur.]

'Damn it...'

The Night Crow's first option had already been nullified.

CRACK—!

[Irizard used Pillar Extraction.]

[Summon pillars of ice that can be used as weapons.]

[The pillars are retrievable.]

A massive ice pillar, as large as Irizard herself, materialized from her arm.

Paf—!

Swoosh!

Irizard threw it without hesitation.

The Night Crow swiftly dodged the pillar and glared at their opponent.

BOOM!

Crack…

The pillar started to return to Irizard.

- Tsk…

The Night Crow smirked.

"Using it sparingly makes it look cheap."

[You have applied Lightning Primal Power.]

[You used Primal Power: Lightning Strike.]

While evading the incoming ice pillar, the Night Crow even left a Lightning Seal on it.

BZZ…

BOOM—!

The power of Lightning Strike combined with the destruction of the Ice Pillar created a force that hit Irizard.

Lightning Strike was one of the Primal Powers Jamad trusted the most. If you were to describe it with a single word, it would be ‘destruction.’

However…

"How are you still standing…?"

As the mist cleared, Irizard's armor was revealed. Although it had some scratches and dents, it remained mostly intact.

Once again, Irizard said.

- Is that all?

Neither Sulfur nor Lightning proved effective. Abnormal Statuses also seemed ineffective against Irizard.

This left pure destructive power as the only viable option, but that was proving to be just as difficult.

Although he used shamanic power, he couldn’t deliver any meaningful damage.

He wouldn’t have even managed to leave those scratches if it weren’t for Sulfur and Lightning. Achieving that with unfamiliar shamanic powers like Glacier and Shadow would have been impossible.

The only option left was the strength of the mountains.

Due to being deeply rooted within him, he could exert more power with Mountain Shamanic Spells compared to other attributes.

Crack…

Irizard's armor splintered at the corner.

'Did it work…?'

Crack…

However, the damaged area was soon covered with new armor.

"Ha…"

- Child of the Waterfall. Death couldn't claim you, so why are you willingly walking toward it once more?

Irizard directed her cold, emotionless words at Bron.

Bron, who was circulating his Primal Power to avoid being frozen simultaneously with the Night Crow, scoffed.

"Because this is the path toward life itself."

- Foolish. You are all so fragile, incapable of doing anything without the shadow of the Old Gods.

Crack…

Bron was about to retort, but Jamad raised his hand to stop him.

"Words are meaningless. In the end, the truth of the one who survives will be the only one that remains."

- It's pointless.

Grin…

Jamad smiled.

"Then, let's put what I said to test. Bron, now!"

"Got it!"

Crack!

Splash—!

Walls of earth and waves surged, obstructing Irizard’s vision.

Irizard instinctively realized what they were plotting.

Crack…

She deduced that Chill must have frozen the Night Crow. They were using this wall to cover her vision and attempt physical contact between the two Shamans.

BOOM—!

Irizard demolished the earth wall with a single punch, revealing a completely frozen Jamad.

"No!"

- How pathetic…

Irizard sneered at Bron's desperate charge toward Jamad.

To think such pitiful beings would dare oppose the power of an Old God.

- It's over.

BOOM—!

Irizard struck the ice.

Crack…

The outcome of the battle seemed decided as the frozen body of what seemed like the Night Crow shattered.

Bron, alone, didn't stand a chance against the Old God.

"You bastard!"

[Bron used Waterfall Shamanic Spell: Water Prison.]

[Restrain your target in a prison of water. The smaller the target, the stronger the binding force.]

Bron's Shamanic Spell was directly aimed at Irizard's hand.

- Hmm…?

There was something strange about Bron’s attack. Though it seemed like an attack fueled by rage, its execution was unnervingly precise.

Rather than targeting her neck, the attack was focused on binding her arms, raising suspicion.

Irizard realized their ploy at that moment.

- Not bad…

With her arms temporarily sealed, Irizard turned her head to see the Night Crow emerge from the edge of the earthen wall.

The shattered figure from before had just been created using Glacier Primal Power. The real Night Crow had been hiding behind the earth wall, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Take this!"

The Night Crow gathered the shamanic power spheres and shot them all at Irizard.

BOOM—!

[Sulfur Shamanic Power Sphere has been destroyed.]

[The shock continues.]

[Overload has been triggered. The destructive power of the shamanic power increases by 15%.]

[Lightning Shamanic Power Sphere has been destroyed.]

[The shock continues.]

[Overload has been triggered. The destructive power of the shamanic power increases by 15%.]

[Mountain Shamanic Power Sphere has been destroyed.]

…

Whoosh!

Immense energy surged. The Night Crow froze before it could even witness the result.

Crack…

[Chill has reached 100.]

[You become Frozen!]

[You cannot escape until contact is made with another ally.]

…

Thud.

Crack…

The ice encasing him shattered as Bron tapped the Night Crow's shoulder.

[You are unfrozen! Chill accumulation has increased by 1.]

[Base chill level has increased by 10.]

[You have been affected by Shamanic Spell: Encroachment.]

…

'This…?'

Seol shuddered upon feeling a peculiar sensation going through his body. His reaction stemmed from something else, not the unfreezing.

'Something…'

Clank…

The icy chains from Encroachment coiled around his wrists.

The Night Crow looked forward.

Irizard, who had her armor shattered and looked rough, was looking at him.

- Is this your final struggle?

Crack…

The Night Crow, who had placed his hand on Bron's frozen shoulder and unfroze, replied to her.

"You're too much of a hassle…"

Seol and Jamad frowned at the sight of Irizard, who was unharmed despite the massive shamanic power spheres they had unleashed.

The overwhelming power of the Old God reminded them that there weren’t any shortcuts.

'Jamad, the first plan failed.'

Jamad smirked at what Seol said and replied.

"Then, what's the second plan?"

'We'll have to figure it out.'

Paanng—!

Irizard leaped toward the Night Crow.

"Ugh! I'm going to block her!"

Bron leaped in front of the Night Crow to intercept Irizard's attack.

The chains that once had wrapped around Bron had shrunk and now were only encircling part of one arm.

He overcame Encroachment by circulating his Shamanic Power.

In contrast, the chains around the Night Crow's arm were far larger, many times thicker, and were still holding him captive. He had yet to achieve circulation.

Although they were in a dire situation, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Just as Bron pointed out, he could sense his Primal Powers more clearly as Encroachment’s chains began targeting it.

- It's hard to understand the sensation of making your Primal Power move. But when an opponent persistently targets it, my essence unconsciously responds with strength.

Bron's words were true.

'Rotation… I'm starting to get it.'

"Yes, rotation."

He just needed to rotate it.

Creak…

Creak…

Seol and Jamad noticed an anomaly while practicing Primal Power circulation in the fortress.

It was different from Bron's case.

Their Primal Powers were vast, intricate, and heavy, making them incredibly hard to rotate.

"Seol!"

It wasn't Jamad’s Primal Powers but theirs. It wasn't only Jamad who could make the Primal Powers circulate; Seol could do it alongside him.

'The two as one, one yet two… Rotation… it's all about rotation.'

A massive wheel began to turn. They needed to visualize it and become one with the Primal Powers.

Creak…

PAANNGG—!

The wheel suddenly surged forward with an explosive force.

[You have achieved Multiple Primal Power: Circulation Pinnacle.]

[Prepare yourself. A great step is imminent.]

[Meteor Shower! While maintaining the Meteor Shower state, continuous enlightenment will come.]

…