Chapter 200: Will Of Iron
Faced with the deadly tallic tsunami, Josh didn't cower in the least. He straightened his back and taunted once more.
"Do you think you're scaring ? As if such a puny attack was enough to make lose my cool. Say, are you sure you're an Iron Giant? You look more like a wannabe wave pool to !"
"Don't you know that iron is supposed to be immobile? Say, are you jealous of ? I can leave this bleak and boring tal world whenever I want."
"Go on, show what you got. You're nothing more than a stepping stone for Climbers!" That last one made the killing intent increase.
Josh placed his arms behind his back relaxedly. He would linger there until the giant thought its victory assured, and then he would deny it. Whether it would rember this disgrace or not was irrelevant.
In his hands, he was clutching his belt, ready to activate it any ti. At least, he would leave with his head held high. It may have been childish, but it would be his consolation in defeat.
The wait was both uneventful and exciting as the humongous wave finally arrived in front of him. He was about to be engulfed entirely, but instead of panicking, he stood his ground.
Just as he was about to teleport away, he felt sothing change. The rage and the desire to eradicate him that he had been sensing both disappeared suddenly. The danger was gone, but why?
Instead of activating the belt, he remained motionless. The sharp spikes began cascading toward him. But, they slowed down just as they were about to impale him. They eventually stopped re milliters away from his face.
Oof, so close! Josh sighed in relief as he looked at the frozen tsunami. Now that it had stopped, he could admire its cold beauty. Had the creature ran out of mana? This attack had been so crazily violent after all.
"This soul won't die nor get annihilated, it seems." Josh playfully whispered. He had survived!
That is when the entire wall of blades began glowing. What was happening now?! It looked as if magical pulsating blood vessels were showing. They had the sa purple tint as his mana!
|~???????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????~|
Josh heard a deep voice that seed sharp yet echoed endlessly:
Truly strange and wonderful. They took control of the tal plane along with all the lower worlds with any tal affinity. They all disdained when I sent my consciousness to the Fodder worlds. They even laughed and ridiculed .
Yet, soone actually managed to trigger my legacy. How peculiar. He doesn't even have an affinity toward iron at all. How did he do it? Was it a mistake? No…
Ah, I see! His will is even stronger than iron, a stubbornness that borders stupidity. The man himself IS iron, ready to be endlessly hamred until he erges as the sturdiest of ingots. That is why he is Classless, amazing!
Floor 18…but it isn't truly Floor 18. Well, not the Floor 18 of a fodder race, at least. Hehe. The other deities would never believe this!
"Who are y—?!" Josh asked, but the being kept talking over him. He didn't seem to be able to perceive him for so reason.
The difficulty has been enhanced a few tis. Will this be their salvation or doom? This race will need to temper themselves if they wish to compete. But, will they succeed or break in the process?
Their odds are close to nil. Can low-quality ore be tempered into treasured tal? I truly believe it to be possible. Any of the other Iron Sovereigns would scoff at this concept, but so what? I will remain true to myself even if it causes my fall.
I will bet on this weak man who follows the sa path as , even if it causes my demise! Should I make him my champion?
"I don't want to beco anyone's sla—" Josh exclaid to himself.
No, soone with such will wouldn't bow to anyone. I will leave him a gift instead. He can help once he reaches the peak: this shall be sufficient. If I am to be demoted or even annihilated, I may as well go out on my own terms!
"Demoted? Annihilated? Aren't you a god? What do you—"
Here, this should be sufficient, the last bet of a mad god. Ah, it seems my ti is up. I can only interact with this world for so long. Good luck, young one. Hopefully, we will et again.
****
The entire realm was plunged in silence. The iron wall in front of Josh now had a glowing purple rock symbol pulsating with every breath rhythmically.
This guy had claid to be a god but seed to have his own problems. He, too, had talked about selecting a champion, but unlike the Greenwood Lord, he hadn't tried to force him to accept.
There were other Iron Sovereigns along with stronger races and worlds out there. How many different dinsions were there with creatures as strong as the sloths? Could humans defeat such creatures?
Compared to them, humans really deserved the appellation of a Fodder race. Well, that was the current situation, but this didn't an Josh would give up on pursuing power. Anyway, now was the ti to decide.
It seed like there were no strings attached to this gift, but what favor would the being want later? He had no way to know how taxing it would be. One thing comforted him: this god desired to stick it up to the other gods. Josh could relate to this.
He resolved himself and approached the glowing pattern. What was he supposed to do? He placed his hand upon it. As soon as he made contact, the world flipped upside down! He found himself in a world of tal.
The floor was liquid iron that was thick enough for him to walk on it. It softly rippled with every step. Even the air was gray and seed to be filled with gaseous tal! He had trouble breathing and could feel himself dying.
That is when an old man appeared. He had gray hair, gray eyes, gray teeth, and a gray tallic outfit. He had a human shape, but he felt 'different'. He smiled softly at him before uttering:
"This is but a projection of a tallic world. Don't talk and listen. This gift of mine will co in two parts. First, try and feel the Will of Iron. Let it consu you. Beco one with it. You won't die here but fight to remain conscious as long as possible."
Josh didn't detect any malice in these words. He would believe this man for now. From what he knew, these gods needed the mortals for so reason. How was he supposed to beco one with the iron?
He focused on sensing the place but without any success. No, he just felt himself becoming weaker by the second. He could perceive a small hint of so power, but he'd never be able to master it like that!
He needed that feeling to beco more intense. That's when he looked at the liquid iron under his feet. This was madness for sure! But, he would go all-in. He dived into the tallic liquid.
He could feel the scalding heat. He could feel the pressure so intense that it was grinding his bones to dust. He could feel death. But, sohow, he was still awake. This place was truly a special realm!
But even then, he felt like the Will was eluding him. It was so close yet so far! That is when he resolved himself. He opened his mouth wide open and began drinking the molten iron.
He felt his stomach and his lungs beco filled with it all. He was choking, and he felt his entire body perish. He had since then stopped being human. He was nothing but pain and a consciousness that was hanging by a thread.
"So fucking what if I'm dying! I'll devour it all! All of it! I'll devour the tal, I'll devour the Will, and I'll even fucking devour this world!" He sohow cried out as it filled his mouth!
It was so tempting to just go to sleep. The pain would stop along with the pressure and the heat. He had the feeling of being burned and crushed alive. But he kept hanging on. He had to!
He kept drifting and sinking deeper and deeper. At this point, he was in a trance and had even forgotten his initial task. He wasn't sensing anything and was just resisting the world. He wouldn't disappear so quickly!
"I am still alive. I am still alive." He kept repeating to himself without end.
WHOOSH!!
That's when a tumultuous current began dragging him all over the place! He barely registered it as he kept mumbling to himself, molten tal entering his mouth every ti.
Suddenly the current intensified once more, and that is when it appeared. Amidst the gray liquid, he could see a gargantuan scaly body. There was a humongous dragon of tal swimming!
He could see its tallic scales that seed impenetrable. The monster was so long that just its casual movents were causing the sea to billow. It then turned toward him, and he could see its gaping maw.
That is when it charged at him. He never had the chance to evade and was gobbled up instantly. That is when the entire world turned dark. Josh finally ca back to his senses. Sohow, he had the feeling he had entered a restricted area sohow.
As he waited in complete darkness, he heard a voice sighing.
"I will now show you a skill. How much of it you understand will be up to you. Hopefully, you comprehended the Will of Iron enough to master it."
Comprehend? Josh had comprehended jack shit! Still, Was this an opportunity to be taught by a god directly?! How extravagant was that?! He steeled his resolve…
Creator's Thought
Note to self 1: Personalize the taunts better. The Iron Giant obviously didn't know about wave-pools and didn't mind its gray world one bit. Note to self 2: It's great to show perseverance but one should rember one's goal or it ends up like that. Comprehended? Comprehended what?!
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