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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: A Serpent to Fight a Serpent
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The moment he stepped into the Gate, the scenery before him changed in an instant.
[ You have entered the Gate ‘Cloud Where the Serpent Coils’. ]
Kang-jun soon began to gaze into the distance.
“A mountain?”
Amidst a thick fog that bloomed in every direction, countless ‘giant rocks’ were scattered about.
Far in the distance, a great mountain, soaring so high it seemed to touch the sky, came into view.
That was the place.
From the vicinity of that mountain, an immense amount of divine power was being blatantly released, as if someone were calling out to him.
*Tiring-!*
Suddenly, a clear notification sound rang loudly in his ears, and a system message appeared again.
[ Owned Authority, ‘Mythical Chronicle’, activates! ]
[ The Creator God begins writing your myth! ]
Kang-jun furrowed his brow slightly and muttered.
“Mythical Chronicle…?”
At the same time, a strange sound reached his ears.
*Tap, tap-tap...*
It sounded as if something was being diligently tapped.
Soon, a ‘story’ began to echo in Kang-jun’s ears.
「Having finally slain the three goddesses who governed fate at Yggdrasil and been reborn as a ‘god’, >>> reached the place where the serpent slept.」
「The ancient giants who had long guarded the sleeping serpent began to confront him…」
「To approach the sleeping serpent, he began to strike down the ancient giants who blocked his path one by one.」
Kang-jun had already had a similar experience when he killed the ‘three sisters who governed the fate of Yggdrasil’.
A story, vague and fantastical like a myth, yet clearly about him, had buzzed in his ears just like this.
[ The ancient giants are awakening. ]
At the same time, figures that had been huddled in the thick fog began to rise one by one.
The things he had thought were giant rocks.
What had seemed like mere rocks in the dense fog appeared to be the ancient giants mentioned in the so-called ‘myth’.
“So I'm supposed to fight these giants...”
Kang-jun began to speculate about this ‘myth’ the system message had shown him.
The entire situation was unfolding exactly as the ‘myth’ described.
Just as in the myth, the giants had suddenly appeared en masse and were now striding toward him, exuding bloodlust.
Kang-jun instinctively knew he would end up acting according to the direction the myth presented.
Though he couldn't provide a concrete reason, it felt as if this ‘myth’ was something that absolutely had to come to pass.
*Thud, thud, thooom-!*
Soon, the ancient giants, boasting a stature incomparable to any ordinary building, surrounded Kang-jun in an instant.
[ Owned Title, ‘The One Feared by All Giants’, activates. ]
[ The ancient giants feel fear toward you. ]
[ The physical abilities of the intimidated ancient giants are slightly reduced. ]
The effect of the title he had obtained by killing the ‘Frost Giant Hrímþurs’ in the disaster-grade Gate near Sillim Intersection Station had activated.
“For such mountain-sized brutes, they seem to be bigger cowards than I thought.”
As Kang-jun softly chanted a magical ‘incantation’ in a low voice.
Hundreds of coffins shot up from the ground, their lids creaking open...
“Kirrrrk...”
“Kieeeek...”
“Kirrrrk...”
From within, a ghastly ‘Legion of the Dead’ emerged, making bizarre noises as they walked out.
Skeleton Warriors, heavily armed with sharp blades and black armor, stood at the vanguard...
Skeleton Mages, their faces hidden by the hoods of their black robes, supported the front lines from the rear with magic.
Emitting a sinister red light from their eyes, they fearlessly charged toward the ancient giants.
“Kraaaaaaaah!”
Although whenever the ‘ancient giants’ swung their fists or kicked, the skeletons were swatted away as helplessly as autumn leaves...
“Kirrrrk...”
“Kieeeek...”
No matter how they were shattered to pieces, they would quickly regain their original form and resume their fearless charge against the giants.
The Legion of the Dead, ever so slowly, began to chip away at the giants' stamina...
Kang-jun, watching the scene from a distance, aided them by casting a spell that would serve as a final blow to the ancient giants.
“Dark Spear.”
Dozens of spears, as if finely crafted and sharply honed from darkness itself, appeared behind Kang-jun.
With a light gesture of his hand, the spears that had been floating gently behind him began to surge toward the giants at incredible speed.
*Shwaaaaaaa-!*
The dozens of spears that flew forth instantly turned one of the giants into something resembling a ‘porcupine’.
“Kuaaaargh...”
As soon as the giant, pierced all over its body, let out a death cry and expired, Kang-jun immediately stretched out his hand...
*Swaaaaaaaah-!*
At the same time, the fallen giant rose back to its feet with grotesque, puppet-like movements.
“Guuuh uh...”
The giant, having met death once at Kang-jun's hand and then been revived by him...
*Thud, thud, thud, thud.*
Charged headlong toward the other giants who, just moments before, had been its comrades.
* * *
The ‘giant with the sewn mouth’ watched the unfolding situation from the peak of a distant mountain.
“Is all of this truly the power held by the name ■■■...”
‘■■■’, who had only recently gained divinity and divine authority to become a god, had single-handedly defeated dozens of ancient giants.
*Thooom! Thooom! Thooom!*
And now, having made them his own limbs, he was marching toward this very place at a terrifying speed.
*Thooom! Thooom! Thooom!*
The ‘giant with the sewn mouth’ then smiled as if amused and muttered softly in a low, gentle voice.
“If a name that can make a mere human so powerful were to fall into my hands...”
The giant with the sewn mouth was clearly a god of Asgard, but for some reason, he was being monitored by the other gods of his constellation.
His true name was Loki.
Despite being one of the gods belonging to the Asgard constellation, he sincerely wished for the destruction of all of Asgard...
And he was firmly convinced that to achieve this long-held desire, he had to obtain the name ‘■■■’ that Kang-jun possessed.
“If that coward Odin and his followers weren't so suspicious of me, I would have stepped in myself and torn him to shreds...”
But because Odin and many other gods of Asgard were watching him, he couldn't engage in a life-or-death battle with ‘■■■’ himself.
“My son.”
Loki then gently caressed the peak of the great mountain he stood upon and added.
“You will take that bastard's name in my stead and bring it to me.”
The entire great mountain then twitched ever so slightly...
“My son.”
At Loki's repeated words, the mountain began to move.
“Jörmungandr.”
It wasn't a great mountain.
It was...
A giant serpent.
No matter how great the name ‘■■■’ was, he had only just become a god.
If Jörmungandr, whom few even among the gods of the Asgard constellation could defeat, were to step forward...
He was certain that the glorious name ‘■■■’ would fall into his hands.
* * *
Kang-jun, having defeated all dozens of giants and made them his minions, was advancing relentlessly toward his destination, the ‘mountain’.
Just then.
The giant ‘mountain’, visible beyond the thick fog in the distance, suddenly began to stir as if it were alive.
“What is that?”
At that moment, several system messages began to appear before Kang-jun's eyes once more.
[ The great serpent ‘Jörmungandr’ has awakened. ]
Kang-jun furrowed his brow slightly and muttered.
“A serpent?”
Was the thing he saw through the fog not a mountain, but a serpent?
Just as this realization dawned on Kang-jun.
[ Owned Authority, ‘Mythical Chronicle’, activates! ]
[ The Creator God begins writing your myth! ]
His owned authority, ‘Mythical Chronicle’, activated once again...
Soon, a ‘story’ began to echo in Kang-jun’s ears.
「Seeking to kill ‘>>>’, the giant with the sewn mouth stroked the scales of his son Jörmungandr, who had been cast out by the other gods, and said.」
「You will kill him and take his name for me.」
「At that, Jörmungandr, who had been coiled in a deep slumber, awoke and, to obey his father’s command, blocked the path of ■.」
The myth once again presented him with a path forward.
This time, it was telling him to fight that mountain-sized serpent...
Then, a few more system messages appeared.
[ Successfully defeating the great serpent ‘Jörmungandr’ will allow you to secure a large amount of narrative. ]
[ Your heroic tale will spread far and wide, and your divinity and divine authority will be further solidified. ]
First it goads me into fighting, and now it’s offering a reward?
Just then, the giant serpent surged forward with a speed that was unbelievable for its mountain-like size...
“When fighting opponents that massive, it's always a bit daunting to figure out how to take them down...”
Kang-jun began to slowly recall his past battles with colossal enemies like that serpent.
He had experience fighting and winning against a giant ‘serpent’ like that in the past.
That one had boasted a size that might have been several times larger than this serpent.
“I wonder if it's doing well...”
The one he had defeated back then had vanished without a trace into the chaos of the Abyss...
But before disappearing, it had sworn and sworn again its eternal loyalty to him.
At that moment, a sudden thought flashed through Kang-jun's mind.
“Divine power...”
For some reason, it felt as if he could convey his voice to the one who had sworn loyalty to him if he spoke with his ‘divine power’.
“Serpent that swallows dimensions.”
Soon, Kang-jun's voice echoed throughout the Abyss.
Suddenly, a crack began to form in the sky above the Gate.
*Crack-crack-crack-crack-!*
The serpent that swallows dimensions, who had sworn loyalty in exchange for its life.
It had crossed the Abyss and finally arrived here.
Just as Kang-jun, sensing this, raised his head.
“Sssssss...”
A giant serpent emerged from the crack, flicking its long tongue as it emitted a yellowish light from its eyes.
The true name of the ‘serpent that swallows dimensions’, which possessed a maw large enough to swallow even the mountain-like Jörmungandr in a single bite, was...
Ouroboros.
With eyes tangled in a web of complex emotions, it simply stared down at Kang-jun.
[ Ouroboros, answering your call, descends here. ]
[ The giant with the sewn mouth cannot hide its bewilderment. ]
[ Ouroboros asks who your enemy is. ]
And so, several system messages appeared in succession before Kang-jun's eyes once more.
