Episode 214: Nidhogg (1)
[There is only one condition.]
“condition?”
Nidhogg had presented one condition to Jaehyun right before the battle.
He was baring his fangs.
[I visited this place to strengthen the weapon containing my power, so fight me using only that. Other than that, I won’t limit the use of magic and skills.
Of course, you shouldn’t get help from Hella and Fafnir either. How is it?]
Nidhogg’s condition. This was an obvious penalty for Jaehyun.
Being unable to use the dragon slayer, Balmung, would inevitably be a huge limitation for him.
but.
“I will.”
Jaehyun readily agreed and raised his magic power.
No matter how much Nidhogg is a mythical being, even if he has a penalty. He had no reason to be afraid now.
From the beginning, he had no intention of killing himself.
‘I wonder if it’s the third trial. Forcibly testing my limits right now is risky for Nidhogg and Van Aesir.
Nidhogg wants only one thing from me in this quest. It’s just to confirm whether the name of the opponent of the prophecy is false or not.’
Nidhogg told Jaehyun a while ago.
He said he was looking forward to fighting himself.
What this meant was clear.
Nidhogg and this quest. It is trying to test reproduction.
‘It’s as if the third trial has already begun at the point of coming to Nastrond.
I’dun probably designed it from the beginning.’
Jaehyun nodded his head confidently.
Idun, who was in charge of the third trial, had a bit of a blind spot, but he was also a god.
She had prepared another preceding ordeal to test herself from the start.
Fight with Nidhogg and Hell in Nastrond. This will help Jaehyun grow in a better direction.
“Jaehyun. Stay focused.”
After thinking for a while, I heard Hella’s voice in my ears.
Jaehyun suddenly came to his senses and looked at Nidhogg’s huge body.
[then. start in earnest Lightly at first… … From step 2.]
At the same time Nidhogg exploded with his lightsaber, the nearby ground caved in, and a great godhead opened from his body.
That’s exactly 2 steps.
It was about the same as Jaehyun’s current level.
Tsutsutsutsu!
For the first time since the battle with Heimdall, Jaehyun experienced a sense of dizziness.
After all, is it the status of a mythical existence?
Even though he hadn’t revealed his full power yet, Nidhogg’s personality was on the same level as his own.
‘If it was a normal raider, he would have collapsed or lost his life here.’
The battle with the opponent with the divine power had been fought many times.
However, this was a battle on a different level from them.
Jaehyun’s body trembled at the sensation of a chill on the nape of his neck, but he calmed himself down.
―Release the Godhead.
As if fighting back, Jaehyun didn’t lose and opened his godhead.
Unlike other battles, the reason for opening the fight from the beginning was simple.
This is because in the current battle, you have to show off everything you have.
Because Nidhogg is not an opponent that can be dealt with with a reasonable mind and skill.
Tsutsutsut… !!
Jaehyun’s body began to be filled with an enormous divinity equal to Nidhogg’s.
Nidhogg raised an eyebrow.
[It seems that this battle will be quite long.]
Along with that voice, the breath of venom spewing from Nidhogg’s mouth passed Jaehyun’s shoulder.
Quaang!
The breath flew behind Jaehyun and a huge explosion sounded. Then, powerful magical energy began to swirl inside Hvergelmir.
Hela watched their battle and put on a worried expression.
“I hope Nidhogg doesn’t get too excited… … .”
Jaehyun was strong, but he was not on a level comparable to Nidhogg, who was able to use a full blow.
The power of a mythical being is at a level that is not at all inferior to that of a god. Perhaps, if Jaehyun doesn’t grow at least one more step from the current liberation stage, it will be impossible to deal with him.
“I don’t think it will take too long to get there.”
Hella said that and crossed her arms. Unknowingly, her hands were sweaty.
The battle between Nidhogg and Jaehyun.
This was going in a more interesting direction than you might think.
* * *
Meanwhile, the visual fog garden.
This was the only sunny area in Niflheim.
Idun, the god of youth, loved this small area.
What was installed overhead was nothing more than an artificial sun, though it was distinctly different from the sun swallowed by Skǫll during a solar eclipse. Even this is valuable here.
“phew… … Is it going to end somehow? Although I tossed it to Nidhogg… … After a long time of work, I am tired.”
Idun muttered, pressing down on the dark circles below.
She hadn’t been able to rest for the past two days as she prepared for the third ordeal.
This is because, unlike the trials of others, the third trial he supervised was one that could not be prepared in advance.
“After all, the most important thing in my ordeal is time.”
Idun quietly thought about what the adversary would do as he went through his ordeal.
The first and second trials in the past.
I have already heard of what happened there.
“First, he met Hel after defeating Nightshade, and then met Smir and passed the three Trials of Wisdom.”
Idun had no choice but to feel great interest in the opponent.
That would be too.
This is because after the second trial, Smir’s uncooperative attitude towards Van Aesir completely changed.
“Isn’t the guy who didn’t come out well during the meeting suddenly attends all of a sudden, doesn’t he say he believes in the opponent of the prophecy?”
Idun had also heard all the stories of the last meeting in Helheim.
She was unable to attend in person due to her fugitive status, but was able to attend the conversation from a distance through the crystal ball.
She still couldn’t forget what Smir said then.
[Adversary. he will grow up I believe he can kill Odin.
Together with our giants and my father. Hrungnir’s revenge, too.]
He used to not trust humans.
He didn’t reject races, but he thought humans were the weakest among the races of the nine worlds.
The opponent, Jaehyun, changed him.
with just a few days of hard work.
‘How could that be possible?’
second ordeal. This was a test that was said to be too difficult even among the gods.
To the extent that when Hrungnir first prepared for the second trial, Loki scolded him for saying the difficulty was too high.
However, the adversary passed this successfully.
At that point, several months had passed since he had possessed Odin’s artifact.
“But even so, I’m not sure you’ll pass my test.”
Idun muttered that, imagining the reaction of the soon-to-be-returning adversary in his ordeal.
Her own ordeal was once again different from Hrungnir’s ordeal.
No matter how strong you are, you can’t easily pass, and you can’t move on to the next test if you don’t realize something.
Idun decided that in order to further develop the adversary, it was not simply strength alone, so he prepared for the current test.
“what… … Although Nidhogg will have to send the opponent before that.”
Nidhogg has a strong fighting spirit and enjoys testing opponents.
He too will be testing the adversary in his own way.
“I hope the adversary will do well.”
Idun muttered that, and took out a golden apple from the basket and put it in his mouth.
Wasak!
The flesh of the golden apple was crushed and the acidity burst out.
It was then.
The juice from the bitten apple spurted out.
Chut!
“ah… splashed on her clothes. What else will the kids say?”
Idun’s white clothes were stained with apple juice.
Usually, she often spills something on her clothes.
The other servants assisting Idun always clicked their tongues when they saw her like that.
It was disrespectful for a servant, but Idun didn’t care about that at all. Rather, he should say that he is the one who notices himself.
After a helpless sigh, she took out another apple and held it up.
Idun let out a small sigh, wiped the apple on his clothes, and took another big bite.
“It’s the clothes I threw away anyway, so what! You can wash it!”
Idun quickly returned to his usual positive self. She didn’t care too much about her little things.
* * *
Quaang!
Jaehyun saw a purple breath passing by his head.
It had destructive power beyond imagination.
‘It’s so powerful that even just brushing against it will kill you instantly. Of course, now that the godhead has been released, it won’t be that far… … .’
Dangerous.
Jaehyun continued his thinking with a sentence that came to his mind clearly.
‘The power of the skill is so strong that it cannot be countered with absolute arithmetic. If you consume too much magic power, you will be at a disadvantage in future battles.’
Absolute arithmetic consumes different mana depending on how strong the opponent’s magic is.
If it was an attack of the previous level, it would be difficult to block it several times, no matter how much magic he possessed.
That was the reason Jaehyun avoided Nidhogg’s breath a moment ago without blocking it.
‘after… … .’
Jaehyun’s destructive power exceeded what he thought, and he slowly approached him without letting go of tension.
First of all, you need to properly monitor the enemy’s movements.
If the process of analyzing the enemy’s attack patterns and skills is not preceded, it can be attacked even if only one attack is allowed.
[You have quite useful quickness.]
Nidhogg laughed and said so.
Jaehyun quickly raised his mana. He holds a sword in his left hand, and uses his other hand to unleash his magical energy.
After establishing his position as a battle mage, it was a process that Jaehyun had sufficiently repeated and mastered.
[Is this your turn this time? But unfortunately, I have no intention of waiting.]
Just in time for Jaehyun’s attack, Nidhogg prepared another breath.
Hella shouted.
“be careful! Nidhogg is strong! With Hel’s protection, there’s no need to worry about getting sick… … It won’t be easy though!”
“Do not worry. Hella, I have my own thoughts.”
―Active skill 《Aqua Punishment》.
The next moment, Jaehyun’s skill was activated at the timing of his breath, Aqua Punishment.
At the time of fighting Fafnir in the past. It was the strongest water attribute skill Camilla had ever used.
‘It would be nice to use lightning magic, but now that there is the essence of the sea, it is better to use water magic for efficiency.
Compared to mythical skills, it consumes less mana, but the power is almost the same.’
In addition, water magic is effective against poison property attacks.
Poison property attacks basically have the property of contaminating something, but water property magic has the effect of purifying it.
Nidhogg’s mouth twisted up.
[The magic is quite strong for a human, but… … Do you think you can deal with me with that?]
“of course. No matter how Nidhogg. Even if you are strong, if you are of the same rank.”
As Jaehyun muttered, he saw a huge whirlpool of water floating in the air.
“I have no intention of losing.”
With those words, Jaehyun lowered his hand and countered the breath that was fired close to him.
Wow!
With a fierce noise, Nidhogg made a small sneer. It was because his Jaehyun’s attack was clearly pushed back by his own breath.
Jaehyun’s new model was not even visible because it was covered in dust from the aftermath of the attack.
Nidhogg murmured in disappointment.
[Disappointed… … I thought it would be much stronger than this… … .]
That was when he thought.
“How about disappointing later?”
At that moment, along with a sudden voice, Nidhogg’s forehead crumpled.
Jaehyun, who appeared out of nowhere, swung a dagger at him.
He opened his eyes and tried to respond to Jaehyun’s attack.
However, at level 2 of Godhead, he could not keep up with the speed of reappearance wearing various artifacts.
‘this… … ! But nothing to worry about. I can’t even hurt my body with that guy’s level!’
Nidhogg’s body wasn’t as strong as Fafnir’s, but it was very sturdy. A hard shell that can withstand both magic and physical attacks.
As long as he was wearing this, an absurd attack would be of no use to him.
‘Anyway, that sword will not be able to pierce my scales… … .’
Chow-!
It was then.
[what… … !]
The fact that the outer skin he was proud of was cut and the fountain of blood gushed out.
At about the same time, Nidhogg’s face was stained with bewilderment.
―Active skill «Intangible Sword Type 2―Phantom Sword» is activated.
The sword in your hand creates an afterimage and starts shooting accurately towards the enemy’s torso.
It was much sharper than the usual Hwansword, and showed excellent cutting power.
The reason was simple.
―The effect of the title <<Dragon Hunter>> is activated.
When dealing with dragons, it wasn’t just Balmung that was effective.
“why? Do you think it’s different from what you thought?”
Saying that, Jaehyun lowered his sword with all his might.
