35

Chapter 35: The Mana River

Subin followed the natural tunnel deeper beneath the Stone Guardian Ruins.

The sound of the mana river remained behind him, but its influence did not disappear. Dense mana continued to flow through the walls, gathering around him with increasing intensity. Every breath felt heavier than the last, and even his sword seemed to respond to the environment.

He walked for nearly twenty minutes before the tunnel finally opened.

A vast underground valley appeared before him.

Subin stopped at the entrance.

The valley was unlike any part of the dungeon he had seen before. Massive blue crystals rose from the ground like trees, their surfaces covered with naturally formed patterns. Streams of concentrated mana flowed between them, eventually joining a gigantic river that crossed the center of the valley.

At the far end stood a mountain.

It wasn't made of ordinary stone.

The entire mountain appeared to be composed of compressed mana and crystal.

Subin looked at the system.

[Natural Mana Reservoir detected.]

[Environmental Mana Density: 79.8%]

[Mana Saturation: Extremely High]

[Recommended exposure limit for current body: 47 minutes.]

Subin frowned.

"Only forty-seven minutes?"

The system wasn't saying he would definitely be harmed afterward. It was simply calculating the point at which continuous exposure could begin causing problems.

That was enough.

He wouldn't stay here unnecessarily.

Subin stepped into the valley.

The moment his foot touched the ground, the pressure increased.

His muscles tightened instinctively.

He circulated mana through his body, but his control was still crude compared with what he wanted.

His Mana attribute was only 24.

Compared with the massive amount of mana surrounding him, that was almost insignificant.

Instead of trying to absorb it, Subin focused on his breathing.

The Natural Flow principle he had discovered earlier immediately became useful.

He allowed the surrounding mana to pass through his presence rather than resisting it.

His body relaxed.

The pressure became manageable.

[Natural Flow principle activated.]

[Mana resistance reduced by 11%.]

Subin smiled.

"Useful."

He continued walking.

The valley seemed empty at first.

There were no ordinary monsters wandering around.

But Subin soon noticed several enormous footprints in the crystal dust.

Each footprint was almost twice the size of his body.

He crouched and examined one.

The mark was fresh.

Something large lived here.

Subin stood.

His hand moved to Abyssal Emperor's Edge.

A low vibration traveled through the ground.

Then another.

The crystals ahead began shaking.

Subin immediately moved away from the narrow path and into an open area.

A massive creature emerged from between the crystal formations.

It resembled a six-legged wolf, but its body was covered in dark crystalline armor. Two long horns curved backward from its head, and blue mana constantly leaked from the gaps between its plates.

The system identified it.

[Crystal Horn Beast]

[Level: 36]

[Rank: B]

[Type: Mana Beast]

[Traits: Crystal Armor, Mana Reinforcement, Horn Charge]

The creature stared at Subin.

Neither moved.

Subin didn't underestimate it.

Level 36.

The difference between their levels was only four, but the rank indicated that the creature possessed combat ability beyond its level.

The beast suddenly lowered its head.

Subin's eyes sharpened.

The creature disappeared.

Boom!

It crossed the distance almost instantly.

Subin moved sideways.

The horn passed beside his chest.

He felt the pressure of the attack even though it had missed.

The creature skidded across the ground, turned, and charged again.

Subin didn't retreat.

He waited.

At the last moment, he used Fang Step.

His body shifted at an angle.

The beast passed him.

Subin's sword followed.

Silver Flow.

Clang!

The blade struck the creature's crystalline armor and bounced away.

A shallow mark appeared.

Subin glanced at the sword.

"Harder than the Stone Knight."

The beast turned.

Its tail swept toward him.

Subin ducked beneath it and immediately stepped inside the creature's range.

Flowing Edge.

His sword slid across the joint between two crystal plates.

This time, blood appeared.

The creature roared.

Subin's eyes narrowed.

The armor was strongest over the creature's main body, but its joints were flexible.

That was obvious.

What interested him was the mana flow.

The crystal armor wasn't merely physical protection.

Mana circulated through it continuously.

Whenever the creature prepared to charge, the mana concentrated in its legs and horns.

Whenever it defended, the energy shifted toward the damaged area.

It was adapting.

Subin smiled.

"Good."

The beast charged again.

This time Subin didn't avoid it completely.

He stepped into its path and used Battlefield Control.

His position changed by only a few centimeters.

The beast's horn missed his shoulder and passed along his side.

Subin's sword struck the front leg.

Stonebreaker Edge.

Crack!

One of the crystal plates shattered.

The creature stumbled.

Subin immediately attacked the same location.

One strike.

Two.

Three.

The beast tried to retreat.

Subin followed.

Natural Flow.

His movement became smoother.

He didn't chase the creature directly.

Instead, he moved along the path it was already taking.

Every attempt to escape brought it closer to his sword.

The creature became increasingly aggressive.

Its horns glowed.

A powerful wave of mana spread outward.

Subin's body was pushed backward.

He planted his feet.

The creature charged.

This time, its speed was even greater.

Subin's Sword Intent rose.

The world seemed to slow.

Not because time had changed.

Because his perception had become sharper.

He could see the creature's muscles contract.

He could see the mana gathering inside its legs.

He could see the angle of its horns.

And he could see the exact moment its body committed to the attack.

Subin moved.

One step.

A turn.

A single slash.

One Absolute Edge.

The sword passed beneath the creature's jaw.

A thin line appeared.

The beast continued forward for several meters before stopping.

Its body collapsed.

[Crystal Horn Beast defeated.]

[Experience acquired.]

[Level increased.]

[Level 36 defeated.]

[Level 32 → Level 33]

Subin lowered his sword.

The creature's body slowly dissolved.

Several objects remained.

[Crystal Horn Core — Epic]

[Purity: 86%]

[Mana Content: 10,482]

[Crystal Horn ×2 — Rare+]

[Crystal Armor Fragment ×5 — Rare]

Subin collected the materials.

Then he noticed something unusual.

The creature's final attack had caused several crystals behind it to crack.

One of the broken crystals revealed a narrow opening.

Subin approached.

The passage beyond it was completely natural.

There were no signs that the dungeon had constructed it.

He entered carefully.

After several meters, the passage expanded into a small chamber.

In the center was a pool.

Unlike the mana river outside, the pool was almost perfectly still.

Subin looked at it.

The system appeared.

[Condensed Mana Pool detected.]

[Purity: 91%]

[Mana Content: 24,700]

Subin's eyes widened.

"Twenty-four thousand?"

That was an enormous amount of mana.

But the system displayed another warning.

[Direct absorption not recommended.]

Subin nodded.

He hadn't intended to absorb it blindly.

Instead, he sat beside the pool.

The stillness of the condensed mana attracted his attention.

The mana river represented Flow.

This pool represented something completely different.

Stability.

Compression.

Concentration.

Subin slowly drew Simple Edge.

He placed the tip of the sword above the surface.

The pool remained still.

He lowered the blade until its tip touched the mana.

A ripple spread outward.

Then another.

Subin watched the ripples.

His Sword Comprehension activated.

He understood something.

Flow wasn't simply movement.

For movement to exist, there had to be a point of stability.

A sword could only move precisely because the swordsman's body maintained balance.

A technique could only flow because its foundation remained stable.

The thought connected with the first of the seven principles.

Foundation.

Subin's expression became thoughtful.

"Foundation creates stability. Flow creates movement."

His Sword God Foundation reacted.

[Sword God Foundation: 31% → 33%]

Then another notification appeared.

[Personal Sword Path: 21% → 22%]

Subin remained beside the pool.

He didn't try to force further advancement.

He simply continued studying.

For the next twenty minutes, he practiced drawing Simple Edge and returning it to its sheath.

No attack.

No target.

Just movement.

Draw.

Cut.

Return.

Again.

And again.

The movement became increasingly smooth.

Eventually, he realized that his hand was no longer moving separately from his body.

His entire posture participated in the draw.

His feet.

His waist.

His shoulder.

His wrist.

His breathing.

Everything became one movement.

[Sword God Foundation resonance increased.]

[One Absolute Edge proficiency increased.]

Subin stopped.

A new technique did not appear.

Instead, the system displayed something more interesting.

[Technique integration potential detected.]

[Existing principles can be combined.]

Subin looked at the message for several seconds.

The seven Imperial principles had been separate concepts.

But his Personal Sword Path was beginning to connect them.

Foundation gave stability.

Flow gave movement.

Control gave positioning.

Intent gave purpose.

Edge gave cutting power.

Continuity removed gaps.

Adaptation allowed change.

Natural Flow added another layer.

Subin wasn't sure what the final result would be.

And he didn't need to know yet.

He preferred discovering it himself.

He stood.

The time limit for safe exposure was approaching.

He decided to leave the chamber.

Before departing, however, he carefully extracted a small amount of condensed mana from the pool and sealed it inside an empty mana container he had acquired from the Association.

The system displayed the result.

[Condensed Mana acquired.]

[Quantity: 500 mana units]

Subin stored it.

The remaining pool was left untouched.

Resources like this were too valuable to waste.

He walked back through the crystal passage and returned to the valley.

The enormous mana mountain at the far end remained in front of him.

According to the dungeon-core information, that mountain was the center of the natural reservoir.

Subin looked at it.

Something about the structure attracted his attention.

Not because of danger.

Because of its shape.

From this distance, the mountain resembled an enormous sword buried point-first into the earth.

Subin's eyes narrowed.

He wasn't certain whether the resemblance was intentional or simply natural.

He didn't need to decide yet.

He tightened his grip on Abyssal Emperor's Edge.

Then he started walking toward it.

His level had reached 33.

His swordsmanship had reached another stage.

And somewhere inside that enormous crystal mountain was the densest concentration of mana in the entire dungeon.

Subin intended to see what was there.

Not because he expected some ultimate secret.

Simply because it was the next step on his path.

The path of the sword.

And he had no intention of stopping.