Chapter 36

Solo Clear – Chapter 36: Stage Five #5

Before the forest became dark, Kalax returned to the base .
Since he was the leader of the Orcs, he couldn’t stay out for too long .
When he asked if I would return with him, I told him that I would stay here a bit longer .

“I can’t sleep . ”

I was like a person suffering from insomnia because I couldn’t sleep .
I was tired so my eyes naturally closed, but for some reason, they open not too long after .

“Hoooooowl!!”

I heard a wolf howling deep within the forest .
Once the cold wind of the night touched my skin, I pulled up the blanket that I was using .
Moments later, a white breath came out of my mouth .

“I wasn’t trying to be stubborn . ”

Tunga offered me to stay at the hut that the sorcerers stayed at and told me to rest there .
However, because I was rejected by a lot of spirits, I was feeling distressed .
In the end, I turned down his offer and I was now here .

My pride wouldn’t let me go to the hut, so I decided to endure it through the night .

“Maybe I should exercise . ”

Since it’s passed midnight, I thought of it as a new day and stood up from the tree that I was leaning against .
If I walk into the forest, I’ll encounter beasts that are hunting to fill their stomachs .
It was easy to take them down, but I didn’t feel like using my weapon in the middle of the night .

There was only one place I could go .

At the plateau, the spirits that were playing in the afternoon were no longer there .
It seemed like they needed rest as well .

However, not all of them were asleep and there were spirits that were still roaming around .

Those spirits were unlike the young, low level spirits because they lived far longer than them .
Even within the quiet darkness, the light that was around them shined like the moonlight .

“…Oh . ”

Out of the spirits, there were those that were interested in me due to the mana that I released earlier .
However, they didn’t show the same interest .
They were disappointed by the conversation they had with me and now looked at me with blank eyes .

“I don’t have any interest in spells anymore . So, don’t look at me like that . ”

Like I had stated, I had no plans on staying after meeting with the Great Spirit .
I completely lost the desire to learn the power of the spells as well .

Asking someone for help and borrowing that power didn’t sit well with me .

I would either make the spirits surrender and make them my slaves or ask them to exploit their powers so that I can study it, but that was dangerous .
Making them my enemy meant my relationship with the Orcs would be destroyed as well .

Even if I had a good relationship after recapturing the base .
I can’t destroy the relationship that took a long time to build .

On top of that, even if it wasn’t using spells, there were probably other ways to use mana .
There was magic, which was easier than what they were using .

Boom!!

Just then, as if there was an earthquake, I felt a violent shake through my feet .
The Great Spirit, who was asleep deep within the ground, appeared .

“We meet again . ”

The Great Spirit softly touched his long beard that looked like a root and spoke softly .
I was intimidated by their overwhelming presence .

“Ha ha, there’s no reason to be afraid . Follow me . ”

In a kind tone, the Great Spirit led me somewhere .
It sounded like the Great Spirit really wanted me to follow him, so I did so without any complaints .
That’s when I felt a group of spirits staring at my back .
The spirits that were still awake looked at me enviously .

There was a high cliff at the plateau and it seemed like that’s where he was leading me .


I used my hand to push aside the vines that was blocking the path .

“Did you hear the conversation I had earlier?”

Even though he didn’t ask, I ended up bringing up the event that happened earlier .
In order to get rid of the lonely feeling that I had, I ended up saying what was on my mind first .
I also wanted to hear his thoughts since he was known as the Father of the Spirits .

“You will encounter things that will work well with you and things that won’t . There’s no need to force yourself to learn it and you’re not obligated to learn either . I’m sure there’s a different road for you . ”

Since it was an obvious advice, I didn’t have anything to say .
After that, we continued walking quietly .
There was an uneven uphill road and even though it was steep, we didn’t have trouble climbing it .

“Why did you ask to see me again?”
“It’s because there’s something I want to give you . No, to be exact, it can only be given when you’re able to obtain it . ”

The Great Spirit made a confusing statement, but I didn’t try to figure out what he was trying to say .
No, there was no need to .
Moments later, we were approaching the cliff .
The more steps we took, I was able to see what the Great Spirit was talking about when he said there was something he wanted to give me .

“Even before I was born, that thing was here as if they owned this place . ”

The thing that the Great Spirit referred to was a lonely lance .

“It’s also called the Living Thunder and when I first saw it, it was nothing more than an ordinary stick . As that wooden stick absorbed the power of the spirits little by little, it transformed into that . ”
“No one tried pulling it out?”
“There were other humans like you that tried, but as soon as they touched it, they all turned to ash . ”
“I’ll turn out the same way . Probably . ”

The electricity that the lance was releasing was a power that even I couldn’t handle .
Like the Great Spirit mentioned, the lance looked as if it just fell from the sky and was pierced into the ground and maintained its current form .

“Like us, that lance also has a will of its own . One cannot wield with just strength alone . ”
“Are there any requirements?”
“I’m not sure . ”

They didn’t know and yet, they’re telling me to pull it out?
Even if it was a strong weapon, I couldn’t get myself to touch it .

“When I first saw you, you and that lance gave off a similar feeling . If it’s you, I’m sure it’s possible . ”

I understood his intentions and a frown appeared on my face .

“I was able to come this far because I chose to be by myself . I’m not lonely like that lance over there . ”
“I know . ”

They smiled as if they knew everything, which made me feel even more displeased .

“I had good grades and was good at answering those that tried to talk to me . Whenever there was an event, like a track meet, I did my best so that my team could win . Whenever we had group projects, I tried my best to work with the annoying members . I also took good care of the information that I needed . ”

I was getting worked up and even I didn’t know what I was talking about .
All the things that I talked about happened in reality, so it was filled with things that the Great Spirit had no knowledge of .
However, the Great Spirit calmly touched his long beard and looked at me as if they understood .

“Of course there are times when I get lonely . When I’m dropped off in an uninhibited island, floating on the sea or standing in front of the cemetery, I think of those things . But in the end, I thought I made the right decision by surviving by myself . If there was someone that followed me around and bothered me, would my head still be intact?”

After saying all of this with one breath, that’s when I was able to breathe .

“Then you’ll be able to prove it by pulling out that lance . ”
“…Got it . ”

I lost all sense of reason and accepted his offer without questioning it .
I even hoped that I would end up dying after touching that lightning-shaped skewer .

“…You are pretty amazing . ”

When I approached the lance, my body was started shaking .
Even though I lacked emotion, I couldn’t help but feel that the lance’s power was charming .

In the current stage, the best weapon was the one that Master Kalax was wielding and it was a custom made item that was created by a master .
The blacksmith had so many orders, that their customers had to wait at least two months .
20 stages were currently created and that custom-made weapon was a Rank Four, which was considered the best .
The price of a Rank Four item was extremely expensive and most of the holders were ranked high .

Through a famous video site, I admired that weapon .
It felt like the weapon’s energy pierced through the computer screen and enveloped my entire body .

That was the power of a Rank Four weapon .

But it seemed like this lance had some sort of potential that was stronger than the Rank Four weapon .

Zaaaap!!

Electricity was released from the tip of the lance and touched my finger .
But, it didn’t hurt .

“… . . ”

Since I didn’t like wasting time, I grabbed the handle .

Zaaaap!!

The powerful electricity felt like a real lightning bolt and it hit the cliff really hard .
The lance sucked out the mana within me as if it was food .

The pain that I had felt, my nerves were getting burned and saliva and snot were running down my face .

“D…damn it!!”

I cursed and I tried to release the lance that was stuck to me, but it was no use .

“…Shut up!! Just let me pull you out!!!”

Zaaaap!!

It was so painful that I forgot why I was holding onto the lance .
I ended up pulling it out and when the information window popped up, it showed that it was mine .

Rival’s Lightning Bolt (??)(??)(??) – Owner Kang Jin Woo

-?????

Since there wasn’t any information displayed on the screen, I knew that the Managers didn’t create it .
I pushed aside the thought that something was wrong and looked at the Great Spirit that approached me .

“…Do you understand the meaning of pulling out the lance?”

I didn’t have the energy to answer .
Darkness filled my eyes and I lost consciousness .