From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 229. The Goddess of The Battlefield Pt. 4

“...”

The dragon that was preparing to unleash its flame breath, the human-like Ruler that was discharging an electric current, and the stone giant and dwarf that were looking for an opening all stopped in place.

“...”

“So you are…” the man said.

The Rulers could feel it, too. That the two who had just entered the battlefield were a force to be reckoned with. No, they were beyond that.

"How can a human have such power...!"

The Rulers realized that the two before them were strong enough to overwhelm them. As the four Rulers froze, the atmosphere of the battlefield froze in turn.

“I’ll take that Rikachu,” Zeus said.

“Then, what, are you a Paichu?” a mischievous voice said from the side.

“You are…!” Athena said as she looked over at him.[1]

Lee Jun-Kyeong was standing on Athena’s other side. The reason she had been startled was simple.

‘I didn’t sense him appearing.’

The guild leader? Fine. That made sense, as his speed was too fast for her to keep up with. But not Lee Jun-Kyeong. The last time she had seen him, she had been able to easily sense where he was.

However, it was different now. Even right now, as she had all of her senses maximized as she was on a battlefield, she couldn’t sense him. Even though he was standing right next to her, he was like a ghost.

When he unleashed his aura, she felt a presence larger than anything she had ever seen before.

BOOM!

‘That brat that Heimdall had saved, he…’

She had heard the name, the Underdog, quite a bit. Apparently, another great Korean Hero had been born or whatever. Even though his name was repeated everywhere, she hadn’t paid him any attention.

It wasn’t until Heimdall had come to save him that Athena had begun to become interested. The corners of his mouth curled up as the Hunter looked over at Athena.

‘Somehow he reminds me of you.’

Heimdall had come to mind.

Lee Jun-Kyeong turned his head back to the Rulers and said, “I’ll take the dragon, then.”

There was an odd heat to his voice.

“You see, I have a lot of interest in dragons.”

Although the Rulers had definitely been raising their auras to kill Athena just moments ago, they still hadn’t made their move yet. All they could do was listen to the Hunters’ playful conversation.

Even the Red Dragon, who was about to unleash its flame breath, remained still with its flames stifled in its mouth.

Gulp.

Athena swallowed and then said, “I’ll take the dwarf, then, because he’s the most annoying little shit among them.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes widened in surprise at Athena’s word choice, but soon, he relaxed and smiled.

“Great.”

That left one Ruler, the Stone Giant.

“Whoever finishes first handles that one after.”

Right as Zeus finished speaking, the ground began to shake violently.

Rumble!

“It seems…” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, lifting Muspel’s Spear. “That the Stone Giant will have an opponent soon enough.”

From a distance approached a horde of colossal giants. There were Hunters as well, seemingly carrying out duties quickly as they joined the group.

The two seemed to have agreed to let them take one of the Rulers as a party.

“You bastards!”

Unable to hold back any longer, the dwarf Ruler finally stomped off the ground. For a being of its size, it seemed to be faster than any Hunter they had ever seen before.

BOOM!

There was an explosive sound of a drum. All of a sudden, Athena had charged forward, pushing the dwarf back with her Aegis.

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked ahead. His opponent was the Red Dragon.

At that moment, the dragon spewed out its flame breath almost haphazardly, as if it couldn’t keep the flame breath contained in its lungs any longer.

Lee Jun-Kyeong took a single deep breath as the fierce mana that surged up from his dragon heart blasted out in turn alongside his exhale.[2]

“...!”

The dragon's pupils dilated. It felt it, too. That what it had, the Hunter had as well.

Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t let that moment of panic recede.

BANG!

Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had just slammed into the ground and carved a deep footprint, was no longer there. He reappeared right in front of the exploding flame breath that was finally released.

BOOOM!!!

In front of the incoming flames, Lee Jun-Kyeong held out his spear. It was a situation where he was riding the line between life and death. The heat was so intense that everyone in the vicinity could feel it scorching their skin.

All the rulers expected to see Lee Jun-Kyeong melt away. However, instead, they were greeted by Lee Jun-Kyeong’s voice.

“Looks like Muspel’s Spear can finally evolve.”

Seeing the red-colored spear devouring the flames, the other Rulers shut their mouths and began to fight.

***

The bright red spear was so red it seemed to be on fire as it pierced toward the dragon, whose vibrant crimson paled in comparison. It was seemingly a stab that anyone could do, so simple that a child could do it without ever learning the spear. However, the power behind the spear held in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hand was anything but ordinary.

HISSSS!

The view of space itself being split apart unfolded as flames spewed out from the spear, looking like a falling sun. The seemingly evanescent tip of the spear seemed as if to capture the sun of the universe, a sun that melted the earth and scorched even the air.

BOOOOM!

The spear fell, slamming into the massive Red Dragon’s back, which was covered in impossibly tough scales. Moreover, the Red Dragon was a Ruler with high resistance to fire.

Still, right at the moment of impact, the dragon’s back exploded.

Pow, pow, pow, pow!

The explosion only lasted a short while, but the results were devastating.

Sssss.

The Red Dragon’s back had been directly hit with a single stab and was visibly beginning to melt.

–ROAR!!!!!

No longer able to spew any nonsense, the Red Dragon could only let out an instinctive scream of pain. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s attack wasn’t over.

He retrieved his spear and spun it tip-side down, plunging the spear into the Red Dragon’s back once more.

Squelch!

Although it wasn’t imbued with the same immense power of flames as before, it was still more than enough to drive through the Red Dragon’s already collapsed back.

Bang!

With the spear completely plunged into the Red Dragon’s back, Lee Jun-Kyeong unleashed a burst of flames through the spear body. The already melted and unsightly back now completely burst open, exploding flesh everywhere.

–ROARR!!!!!

More agonizing screams echoed across the battlefield.

In some worlds, dragons were the top predators, revered as being just below the gods. But at this moment, it was naught but a beast.

“It's not any different from a monster.”

As Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke, he swung down with his outstretched leg.

Clang!

The roaring head was then crushed down by Lee Jun-Kyeong’s foot. Following that, the dragon smashed into the ground, releasing a huge cloud of dust. Lee Jun-Kyeong took that moment to look around a little.

Ahhhhh!!!

A huge roar echoed in his ears. Thjazi and Thrymr, Liu Bei and his two brothers, Jeong In-Chang, and Won-Hwa, had all joined forces to take on the Stone Giant. He could feel how much they had grown.

Clang, clank!

Though they seem to be losing slightly, at that moment, Athena’s shield, flying like a boomerang, firmly hit the Stone Giant’s head. The Stone Giant shook from the blow.

Ooooooooh!

The two frost giants each grabbed an arm and pinned the Stone Giant down as Jeong In-Chang drew Gram. Soon, the Stone Giant’s heart would be pierced.

‘There isn’t much time left in the cataclysm.’

The Rulers that would die here would no longer come back to life. Of course, he would have to summon his Familiar to make sure that happens.

‘Hel.’

Crackle! Crackle!𝒇𝒓𝙚𝙚𝒘𝙚𝙗𝙣𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝒐𝓶

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked off into the distance and saw a space filled with fog. The area it covered seemed to be enveloped in dark clouds that emitted crackling blue electricity.

It was easy to tell whose mana it was. That brilliant blue glow was most likely the work of Zeus.

Finally, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s gaze turned over to Athena.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Unlike the others, she was struggling quite a bit.

Shing!

On the clearly exhausted girl, a light shined down, almost as if a fairy had descended upon her. At the same time, Lee Jun-Kyeong could see her stamina and wounds healing quickly.

‘That should be Athena’s Authority.’

On a battlefield that she declared, Athena could fully recover a specified number of times. If not for that power, she would have died before Lee Jun-Kyeong and the others arrived.

Most likely, the recovery she had just used had been the final use that she had been desperately trying to conserve. The dwarf seemed to be some sort of dual-wielding swordsman, but its skill was so great that it seemed lackluster to simply call it a swordsman.

To be frank, the dwarf had such a beautiful mastery that calling it a sword monarch didn’t seem out of place.

Clang!

However, Athena was no less skilled. She, too, was a Hunter who had gone through Andlangr. Most likely, that was where she had perfected her spearmanship.

Even watching her out of the corner of his eye, Lee Jun-Kyeong could find much to learn about the spear. Athena’s spear slipped between the dwarf’s twin swords and stabbed him in the shoulder. It seemed her side would be finished soon enough as well.

–ROAR!!!!!

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong himself hadn’t finished just yet, either. The Red Dragon, who had definitely been crushed into the ground, roared and pushed itself to its feet.

The ground shook as its massive body moved. Lee Jun-Kyeong stood in the sky, standing in a position that blocked the very sun as he looked down upon the battlefield.

Zzt. Zzt. Zzt.

Runes and scripts floated around him. Merlin’s magic was more often utilized by him, a spearman, than Arthur’s swordsmanship.

–ROAR!!!!

Upon the back of the roaring Red Dragon, the runes and scripts fell.

ZZT!

The magic circle that Lee Jun-Kyeong had created held domain over gravity. It was terrifyingly potent and was strong enough to hold even the weight of this Red Dragon.

CRUSH!

It was able to crush everything in its domain.

“As expected…”

Even with all that, however, the Red Dragon continued to breathe. The Ruler had been able to do nothing beyond the first flame breath that it had let out. However, its tenacious life force still seemed to stay strong.

–Roar…

With an exhausted gasp, the beast lifted its head. As if it still retained some sanity, it didn’t make any moves to use another breath at this moment.

Zzt.

Instead, it began to erase the runes that were weighing him down, breaking open the magic circle. Dragons had another title.

“The Lord of Magic.”

As the story goes, dragons were supposedly the ones to create magic. Thus, only magic was able to defeat one in turn.

–Roar…

The runes floated around its body. Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t forgotten about it.

‘This bastard…’

It was immortal. The Dragon’s Bloodstone that had become his other heart, the dragon heart—the bastard in front of him was one of the true owners of that item that had given him the Authority of Immortality.

That was why before his very eyes, the wounds he had inflicted on the dragon were healing. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to defeat it with just the blows he had given it.

CRACKK!!!

Just then, a huge clap of thunder rumbled in the distance as Lee Jun-Kyeong felt the aura of one of the Rulers, the one with the human-like form, dissipate.

Zeus had finished.

“I’m late.”

Now, it was his turn to finish.

Flicker.

In Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hand, Muspel’s Spear began to spew flames. The burst of fire coiled up Lee Jun-Kyeong's arm like a snake. Now that Muspel’s Spear had evolved to the next level, its flames began to resonate with the mana near Lee Jun-Kyeong’s heart.

His eyes glowed with flames.

He could see it.

‘Mana…’

He could see it.

‘Flames…’

He could see it all.

Following the clearly visible distortions in the air, Lee Jun-Kyeong stretched out a hand.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The sound of space collapsing on itself resounded as Lee Jun-Kyeong’s arm transformed as it moved forward. His arm, consumed by the flames of Muspel, had suddenly transformed into the right arm of the flame giant.

–That… that’s!!

[You have manifested a portion of Surtr's body.]

He had practiced countless times in Andlangr, forming a vessel that could fully contain his power. His power had been limited by his human body, forcing him to create this new form of his.

Thump! Thump!

His heart pounded, constantly injecting mana into his arms. Even though his heart contained a seemingly endless ocean of power, he was beginning to feel the cost of this form’s consumption.

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked down to the ground. This technique was what had devoured Orochi and defeated Set, who had become Apophis personified. That said, by this point, he had taken it to the next level.

BOOOOM!

Two arms of the flame giant Surtr materialized and crushed into the Red Dragon, who was looking up at him from the ground.

Flicker!

The magic circle cast by the Dragon burst into the flames and disappeared. The master of such a ridiculous flame grabbed the Red Dragon by the nape of its neck with a single hand.

“Die.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wanted the heart.

‘I’ll take it.’

His other arm plunged right into the Red Dragon’s chest.

1. For the past few chapters, they’ve been written in Athena’s first person. However, from here on, it’s reverted back to the third-person from the view of Lee Jun-Kyeong. ☜

2. This is a little confusingly written, but Lee Jun-Kyeong is NOT spewing fire right now. The dragon just realizes that Lee Jun-Kyeong also has a dragon heart, and Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mana is so great right now that it is like steam as he exhales. ☜