T/N: I have provided Sila"s Skill List in the post below this post. Please check it out if you"re interested (or just forgot about their ability and want to be reminded lol).
Chapter 56: Shapeless Qi
The heat from the numerous Soundless Lightnings caused a small part of the sea to boil instantly. The vapors were covering the scene.
Three of the players still couldn"t be at ease because there was no system sound to alert them about the Water Dragon"s defeat.
The vapors began to fade away as the sea"s temperature was cooling down. Burapha sent them the signal that he couldn"t spot the dragon. Bluebird who was flying in the sky also sent them the same one.
The system alerted. However, it wasn"t the alert that they hoped to listen.
Monster Water Dragon Leviathan lost more than 30% of its health in an instant. It has entered a berserk state. Its level has risen to Marquis Rank, Level 1000.
If slime race creature is killed by the Water Dragon, that slime"s rank will be demoted by 2 ranks and will lose all the money currently possessed.
The whirlpool began to spin again. This time, however, the flow of magic power was now several times stronger than before. It was getting harder for Sila to breathe due to the sheer pressure.
By the way, Sila didn"t care at all that he would drop two ranks if he died. One or two is the same as he would have to restart at Squire Rank anyway.
The Water Dragon reappeared at the same spot. However, its body was two times larger than before. What was even more surprising was that it grew another head. Both pairs of eyes were staring at the sky.
The sea around it turned into big waves. Hundreds of water pillars shot up toward the sky.
A part of the swarm of birds was shot. Every bird that was shot fell down into the sea. The number of birds that were dying exceeded 1,000. Based on this, just three or four more of the same attack would be enough to completely annihilate all the birds.
"Hey, don"t just stare blankly. Help me!" Bluebird shouted.
Burapha and Lala regained their senses. They threw several bombs toward the dragon. The accuracy wasn"t a problem here as the whirlpool would swallow the bombs into its center, which was the location of the Water Dragon anyway.
The sound of explosions echoed. The Water Dragon used one of its head to shot water pillar at Bluebird while using its remaining head to create a water wall to defend itself against the explosions. It also attacked Burapha and Lala if given the chance.
Burapha and Lala had to keep swimming to avoid the Water Dragon"s series of attacks. They were now having less chances to throw the bombs.
Sila looked at the battle with frustration. He didn"t possess any long-range offensive skill. His only means of attack was by throwing the five bombs he had.
"It would be better if I can use qi…" thought Sila.
Sila muttered to himself, "Wait. I have already gotten a Scroll of Qi of Little Turtle, haven"t I? Will it work in time though?"
Without further ado, Sila began to read the Scroll of Qi of Little Turtle. The scroll was opened, revealing a picture of a black turtle. Sila, who had never used this kind of item, stared doubtfully at the picture.
The black turtle flew out of the scroll and dispersed itself into numerous black texts. They flew and splashed onto Sila"s body before seeping into him.
The system sound alarm.
Player Sila has learned a skill: Qi of Little Turtle - Level 0.
Sila wasn"t surprised by the fact that he had obtained a level 0 skill. He had heard about this from his nameless teacher. The qi obtained by a scroll always starts at level 0. It is unusable at this level. Players need to cultivate it until their body is in sync with the qi. Players would be able to activate it once the level of the skill reaches 1. However, this is undoubtedly the hard part. Each player has different qi that is suitable for them. The qi that some players only need one hour to level up might take a year to level up for others.
Sila had no way to know whether Qi of Little Turtle was suitable for him or not. Needless to say, not to mention a year, just a mere minute was too long for Sila to waste.
Although his teacher had told Sila to try practicing qi from the start to experience hurdles, Sila now had to ignore it. What he needed at the present was a shortcut. Sila quickly opened his system window and pulled out the baby manta ray bento box. Then, he began eating it.
Bluebird, who had ordered the birds to scatter around and fire lightning bolts at the dragon from time to time, noticed what Sila was doing and shouted.
"What!? You are eating at a time like this? Help us!!!"
The Water Dragon heard the shout. It fired water pillar at the source of the voice.
Bluebird could barely dodge. However, hundreds of birds around him had died from water pillars. He furrowed his brows in his bird form.
"I have to use it now before I lose any more birds."
Fifty tailorbirds shined yellow, the magic power in the area surging. The electric currents were flashing throughout their bodies.
"Thunderbolt Explosion," Bluebird ordered them to use a skill.
All fifty birds flew toward the dragon. The Water Dragon seemed to know what would happen so it turned its other head from Burapha and Lala to fired water pillars at the incoming birds.
Among the fifty birds, only around ten of them managed to reach the dragon. Upon contact, their bodies exploded as bombs of electric discharge. The Water Dragon was severely injured. It let out a cry of pain. Its blue blood was dripping and there were several open wounds on its body.
Thunderbolt Explosion is a magic self-destruction skill. As it is a skill that sacrifices the user"s life, it is considered a very powerful skill despite it being a mid-tier spell. Bluebird let his birds sacrifice their life instead of his own. Although the damage was only one-thousandth of the original, with enough birds, it would still show a noticeable result.
Burapha used this chance to throw more bombs at the Water Dragon, while Lala was also doing the same.
The Water Dragon was even more berserk than before. Its two heads focused on offense while completely disregarding defense.
Burapha and Lala were busy dodging its attacks in a very disorderly way. Thousands of birds also fell down from the sky. Currently, their number was half of what they started with.
Sila"s raft was sinking. He stuffed the last of the food in his mouth just in time. As a side note, baby mantra ray bento is very delicious. However, Sila presently had no time to appreciate such a thing. He forced himself to gulp down the food without chewing.
The system sound alerted.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Intermediate Qi - Level 100 has been promoted to skill Primary Qi - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Qi Circulation (Intermediate) - Level 100 has been promoted to skill Qi Advanced Circulation - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Recovering Qi (Intermediate) - Level 100 has been promoted to skill Immortal Qi - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Bone Restructuring Qi (Intermediate) - Level 100 has been promoted to skill Full Body Restructuring Qi - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Qi of Little Turtle - Level 0 has been promoted to skill Qi of Little Turtle (Advanced) - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Qi of Little Tiger (Intermediate) - Level 55 has been promoted to skill Qi of Little Tiger (Advanced) - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Qi of Little Bird (Intermediate) - Level 43 has been promoted to skill Qi of Little Bird (Advanced) - Level 1.
Player Sila has successfully finished cultivation. The skill Qi of Little Fish (Intermediate) - Level 44 has been promoted to skill Qi of Little Fish (Advanced) - Level 1.
Player Sila has promoted four of Qi of Little Divine Beings simultaneously. Qi of Little Tiger, Qi of Little Fish, Qi of Little Bird, and Qi of Little Turtle have fused together and become Shapeless Qi - Level 1.
System sounds rang continuously. Once it mentioning all four qi being fused together, Sila was shocked. He intended to use Qi of Little Turtle to stop Bomb Lurking Psychic without relying on Lone Wolf"s qi. He wasn"t sure that this newly gained qi could be used in subst.i.tution for Qi of Little Turtle.
"Do or die. I have no choice but to try," thought Sila.
Sila began his qi circulation. However, nothing happened. No special effect. He couldn"t feel his own qi. Instead, Bomb Lurking Psychic was acting up. Sila"s body was hurt all over. He closed his eyes and tried to order Shapeless Qi to circulate again. This time, the power of Bomb Lurking Psychic was slowly being suppressed to the point that he didn"t feel pain anymore. This meant Shapeless Qi was working. Nevertheless, Sila was curious. Even at this moment, he still couldn"t feel his own qi at all.
Anyway, just knowing that he could finally use qi was enough.
Sila tried activating all the qi techniques he had. He found that he was still able to use two of them at the same time. Nevertheless, Shapeless Qi was seemingly non-existent, even for him. That was why it wasn"t included in the two qi skills that he could use simultaneously. This meant that, including Shapeless Qi, Sila was now able to exert three different powers of qi at the same time.
The time was precious. Sila wished to end this battle as soon as possible. He quickly swallowed an Emperor Qi Pallet and then activated Tortured Soul. His eyes shined mysteriously as if he was a spirit of vengeance. He suddenly dashed toward the dragon.
Once his foot landed on the sea, that part of the sea was immediately frozen and became a big foothold. Sila stepped on it and sprung himself at the Water Dragon.
The Water Dragon could sense the other source of power coming at it from its side. Its two heads stopped paying attention to the swarm of tailorbirds and looked at its new opponent.
Sila"s frost power slowly froze the sea to become a thin sheet of ice. The Water Dragon felt that its body was becoming colder. Surprisingly, the air that it breathed in was so hot like it was breathing in the volcanic vapors.
Hundreds of water bullets were fired at Sila.
Sila swiftly dodged them all as if he was a fish playing in the water. Once he successfully evaded all of them, his speed accelerated like a bird soaring in the sky.
The Water Dragon increased its magic oppression on Sila. However, it seemed like it didn"t work on Sila anymore. The power of Qi of Little Turtle within Shapeless Qi performed its duty to defend Sila against such pressure. Now, Sila had the potential to cope with this level of magic, psychic, qi oppression, and killing intent.
Sila fired two Underwater Bombs at the Water Dragon. However, both of its heads prepared a water shield to successfully block against them.
Sila immediately fired another three bombs. This time he had imbued the power of the Cruise Breeze qi technique into them. Once the bombs approaching the water shield, they curved to the side like they were alive. They accurately collided with the Water Dragon"s body and exploded.
"Geezzzz!" The dragon cried out in pain. The size of the wounds it took were tinier than usual but the damage it had taken was too immense. This was due to Sila imbuing the Ray a.s.semble qi technique into the bombs. Compressing the size of the explosion while increasing their power.
Bluebird and Burapha were surprised at Sila"s action.
Burapha had known that Sila was skilled, but he couldn"t imagine that Sila could corner the dragon to this degree.
As for Bluebird, he wasn"t surprised at Sila"s offensive ability. He had witnessed many players more skilled than this before. What was shocking for him was Sila"s growing ability. Sila wasn"t like a new player at all. Sila"s ability was like a veteran player that had played this game for years.
When Bluebird was being serious, he was more cautious than even Burapha whom had less experience. Witnessing the change of the battle flow, Bluebird immediately ordered all the remaining birds to activate Thunderbolt Explosion. Thousands of birds were shining in the yellow light, covering the sky.
"Sila, move away," Bluebird shouted.
"No need. Do it now," Sila replied.
Even being in the same party, there are many skills that still deal damage to the same side. Thunderbolt Explosion is one such skill that affects all creatures around the target. Bluebird didn"t know whether Sila was aware of this fact.
"This skill affects everyone, you know?!" Bluebird shouted.
"Don"t worry. I have my way out!" Sila shouted back while continuing to attack the Water Dragon.
Bluebird didn"t know what to do. He could only trust in Sila"s word. He sent a signal to Burapha and Lala to move far away. Then, he ordered all the birds to charge at the Water Dragon.
The Water Dragon immediately tried to dive into the sea. It was a better choice to dodge this attack now and resurface later.
Sila couldn"t allow it to escape. There is a saying that, upon hitting a snake, one should strike it until it dies. This dragon was a two-headed snake so he needed to completely shut its way out.
Sila activated G.o.d"s Cathedral. Its power radius was 100 meters. Then, he also activated Universe Momentum to pull the dragon toward him. With the support of Shapeless Qi, the pulling power was as fierce as a tiger, forcing the dragon to remain on the sea surface.
The Water Dragon panicked. It had always been the one pulling opponents toward it. Never in its wildest dream did it imagine that it would be countered by the exact same move.
Although it was true that Sila could only use three qi skills at the same time, slime-race skills weren"t included in this. The method for him to escape from Bluebird"s skill was...o...b..ting Cosmos.
The sentence of Master Viola was popping in his head.
We are magic.
Sila changed his element into lightning. He wouldn"t dare use his power sparingly. He consumed all of his magic power in one go, and held the lightning element within his body.
The explosion occurred. The ma.s.s Thunderbolt Explosions of Bluebird might be powerful, but the power of Sila"s skill was even mightier. A big flash absorbed everything within. Everyone couldn"t see what was happening. Everyone except for Sila.
Silence reigned the place for a short while. Sila was seeing things in slow motion. The blinding light wasn"t hurting Sila"s eyes at all. The intense heat caused by bolts of lightning felt like a warm sunlight for Sila. Everything seemed too peaceful. Sila was feeling surprisingly calm at this moment. Now, Sila was lightning and the lightning was Sila. There was nothing that could differentiate the two of them. This must be the meaning behind the words "We are magic" of Viola.
Once the light dispersed, time seemed to flow normally again. Others might be unable to adjust their eyes to the previous blinding light, but Sila had witnessed everything. He was fully aware that the Water Dragon was still alive.
Sila released the power of G.o.d"s Cathedral and instead activated Ray a.s.semble. He fused both his qi and remaining electric currents into his right hand. He also imbued the power of Worlds Crossing Bridge within. He wasn"t waiting for the Water Dragon to set itself up. He struck his palm at its body.
Upon his hand hitting the dragon"s body, no effect was immediately apparent. All the destructive power move into dragon"s heart due to the power of Worlds Crossing Bridge and then exploded.
The dragon"s body shook once. The system alerted at the same time that the dragon turned into a light and disappeared.
Player Sila has defeated the Water Dragon Leviathan, Marquis Rank, Level 1000. Player has received 100,000,000 experience points, 8,000 gold coins, (A) Water Dragon Card 1 EA, (A) Water Dragon"s Scale 1 EA, (A) Water Dragon"s Fang 1 EA, (A) G.o.dly Oceanic Armor 1 EA, (A) Oceanic Trishula 1 EA, and (S) Ocean Heart Aquamarine 1 EA.
Level of Player Sila has risen to 450.
Player Sila has achieved a special condition of the quest: Decolonize Slime Kingdom. Seal of Water has been destroyed. There are 6 Seals remain.
Level of Greed Card has reached the maximum limit. Player has learned a skill: (S) Greed.
Player Burapha has defeated the Water Dragon Leviathan, Marquis Rank, Level 1000. Player has received 1,000,000,000 experience points, and 5,000 gold coins.
Player Burapha has acc.u.mulated a lot of experience points and successfully defeated a monster that is two ranks higher. Player"s rank has been promoted to Knight Rank, Level 1.
Player Bluebird has defeated the Water Dragon Leviathan, Marquis Rank, Level 1000. Player has received 2,000,000,000 experience points, 5,000 gold coins, and (A) Water Dragon"s Scale 1 EA.