Chapter 122: Nature Magic

One of the Ancient Dragons snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed.

I was standing atop clouds that stretched beneath a vast blue sky.

A refreshing breeze blew past, and below the clouds, the panoramic view of a desolate land came into sight.

‘…It’s serious.’

The continent was so barren that the path I had walked was only a small fraction of the devastation. No proper living creatures existed on this land.

Even the Land of Life I had created with magic was slowly losing its vitality and returning to its original state.

“Magic can bring temporary change, but it cannot last forever. That is why magic cannot overcome nature.”

“I see.”

“Thus, Nature Magic began with the idea: what if we could create magic that handles nature itself?” the Ancient Dragon said, as if reminiscing. “It took a long time, but the Lord eventually completed Nature Magic. Then, realizing its danger, he sealed the Essence of Nature Magic. That was when some dragons began to voice their dissatisfaction.”

I felt like I knew who they were. The Seven Dragons who betrayed the Lord.

“They killed the Lord and stole his knowledge.”

“Why did he try to seal it in the first place?”

“Nature was created by God. To handle such nature at will means to become a God yourself.”

“Then the Essence of Nature Magic is…”

“It is the method to become a God. That is why the betrayers attacked the Lord with such burning greed. Now, they have reached the realm of a demi-god using that essence.”

A path to becoming a God. It sounded incredible, but since it was so unrealistic, it didn’t quite sink in.

“Does that mean I have to become a God as well?”

“If you have the potential. That is why we intend to verify that potential.”

The five Ancient Dragons moved. They spread out in all directions, centering on me.

Wuuuong!

A Magic Circle was drawn around where I stood. On the outer edge of the Magic Circle, five circles appeared where the Ancient Dragons were positioned.

“The Limit of Species for a human is clear. You must surpass it to move on to the next stage.”

“Can’t you just become Gods yourselves?”

“Before the Lord died, he left a Forbidden Rule upon the Golden Clan. Therefore, the Golden Clan cannot become Gods. That is why we are looking for candidates from other dimensions, like you.”

All five Ancient Dragons began to stir their mana. Then, attributes appeared within the five circles.

Blazing fire.

Cold water.

A refreshing wind.

A solid rock.

Striking lightning.

The five attributes resonated with one another, creating a massive aura. That energy was unsettling. It felt as if I would be sucked in the moment something touched it. I felt an unknown fear.

“Is this absolutely necessary?”

“You may give up if you wish. However, you will need this power to stop the High Apostles and Supreme Apostles who will come for you in the future.”

“If I fail, will I die or something?”

“It will not affect your life.”

I took a deep breath. Since I had decided to walk this path anyway, it was something I had to do. My goal wasn’t just to stop the High Apostles and Supreme Apostles, but to get revenge on the Dragon Gods.

“I’ll do it.”

At those words, the Ancient Dragons each offered a piece of advice.

“Feel nature, and become nature.”

“Do not lose yourself in the midst of it.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t die.”

“Just don’t get swept away.”

“Believe in yourself.”

Once they finished speaking, the Ancient Dragons completed the magic. The energy created by the resonance of the five attributes flowed into my body.

Kugung!

Paang!

Jjeojeok!

Kwaang!

Beonjjeok!

The five energies asserted their presence inside my body. Amidst the complex, wild energy, my eyes slowly began to close.

“Safe travels.”

Following the Ancient Dragons’ final words, I lost consciousness completely.

When I opened my eyes again, I had become nature itself.

It was cozy and warm.

The heat emanating from my body warmly wrapped around those shivering in the cold. I was a small campfire.

People placed raw meat upon my body. I caressed the meat, cooking it so the people could eat.

Tadak.

Tadak.

I burned the wooden branches fed into me, passing the warmth to the people.

“Hahahaha.”

“This is delicious.”

“Shall we have a drink too?”

I saw the joyful faces of the people.

They laughed, chatted, drank, and danced while holding the hands of those they loved.

The warmth provided by the fire brought happiness to the village facing the cold night. Just watching them made me feel warm.

“Heehee.”

Whether he enjoyed that warmth or not, a child kept throwing wooden logs into my body. My body gradually heated up. It started to get hotter.

Beyond warmth and coziness, I felt a searing heat.

Whirrrr!

My body began to grow uncontrollably.

The size I gained in an instant began to swallow everything in the vicinity indiscriminately.

The desire to burn everything took over my mind.

Flames spread in all directions. The meat that had been roasting over the campfire had long since burned away, and sparks flew in the wind, landing on wooden houses.

The sparks caught on the dry wooden houses and burned intensely.

Whirrrr!

One house went up in flames, incinerating everything inside.

“Kyaaaack!”

“Fire! It’s a fire!”

“Mommy!”

I burned everything in sight. I scorched the entire village and the people living within it. I burned the animals they raised.

A newborn baby lost its life to the scorching flames.

Only after their precious home was turned completely black did the flames subside.

I heard the cries of people who had lost their loved ones, who had lost their homes, and who had barely escaped with their lives.

‘What is this…?’

I couldn’t say anything. As I felt my life force flickering out along with the rain falling from the sky, I became a vast ocean.

“We’re setting sail!”

“I’ll bring back a big catch!”

Ships moved swiftly over the calm waves. People enjoyed the abundance of the sea to their heart’s content. Those who harvested seafood. I gave what I had to the people generously.

But that was only for a moment. My mood soured, and I stirred up massive waves. The ship that had been sailing on calm waves just a moment ago faltered. A towering tsunami engulfed the ship. It swallowed everyone on board and then mercilessly consumed everything on the shore.

‘…Stop.’

However, things did not go according to my will.

I became the wind and drifted through the world. A gentle breeze scattered seeds, spreading the energy of life everywhere, but a violent wind tore everything apart. Trees were uprooted and tossed in the wind, destroying the forests where humans and animals lived.

Next was the earth. The land, possessed of infinite vitality, provided food for people to live on, but with a massive rumble, an earthquake occurred, collapsing an entire kingdom.

There was no justification for someone’s death. Nature simply took everything away. Those who were sleeping, those who were making love, and those who had gone to work for their families.

‘Ah…’

The warmth and the destructive side of nature shattered the values I had held as a human. It was the realm of nature that could not be understood.

My presence gradually grew faint within the countless flowing waves of nature.

‘What is nature?’

Sometimes I became a volcano.

Sometimes I became holy water that saved people.

Sometimes I became fertile soil.

Sometimes I became a harsh wind.

As countless natural phenomena repeated, I gave and destroyed things with my own hands over and over. My thoughts as a human began to be chipped away. Things that were initially sad and painful became faint as time passed.

It felt as though I was being swept away by the vastness of nature. Now, meaningless death felt like nothing. Before nature, everything was natural. I destroyed life without hesitation and sprouted new life. By completely erasing myself, I became nature.

Then, I felt something different.

From within the deep, dark abyss, someone cradled me. I felt something watching over me.

‘A warm… touch.’

An indescribable sensation washed over me, and a brilliant white light poured out.

— Yongje.

— Yongje.

I heard a strange name. It was unfamiliar, yet somehow known.

— Our Yongje pooped.

— Goodness, who does he take after?

The emotions contained in the voices were conveyed directly to me. Affection. Parents offering infinite love to the baby they had given birth to.

‘Yongje. Cheon Yongje.’

The name my parents had given me.

Jjeojeok!

The image of my parents looking at me overlapped with the something that had been watching over me.

Jjeojeojeok!

The feeling of an indescribable being looking upon nature was just like that.

Life and death. Birth and destruction.

The infinite affection contained within. I wondered if this was how God felt when He created the world and nature.

Jjeojeojeojeok!

As my consciousness shattered and the egg cracked, the senses I had forgotten returned in an instant.

“Heugh!”

I took a deep breath and faced senses I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Every sensation was so vivid. It was different from what I had felt before.

Everything felt alive, and the energy of nature was drawn very clearly. It felt as if nature and my body had become one.

“You returned sooner than expected.”

“Did you give up?”

“It doesn’t seem that way…”

I looked at the Ancient Dragons watching me. I could see things I couldn’t see before. The flow of mana in their bodies, the size of their Dragon Hearts, and even the spells spread out around me.

“Would you like to try using magic?”

“Yes.”

Taking a deep breath, I recalled the fire I had experienced.

Sometimes warm, but sometimes destructive. What I wanted was the destructive fire.

The most primal fire that blazed intensely and ruthlessly burned everything in sight.

Whirrrr!

A flame bloomed above my hand.

To the eye, it didn’t look much different from a simple Fire spell.

There was no compression of heat or color change from raising the temperature to the extreme.

Pure red and yellow flames simply danced upon my hand.

I threw the fire in my hand onto the ground. The flame fell while maintaining its shape, and the moment it touched the desolate land, it erupted into a violent blaze.

Whirrrrrrr!

A fierce fire rose on the barren land, incinerating everything on the ground. However, the consumption of mana was extreme.

All the mana in my Dragon Heart vanished.

The rapidly burning flames went out just as quickly.

“…Heugh!”

My head spun due to the sudden loss of mana.

Then, one of the Ancient Dragons approached me and reached out. Mana seeped into my Dragon Heart.

Once my life energy was replenished, the dizziness disappeared.

“…Whew.”

My blurred vision returned, and I saw the ground where I had used the magic.

The earth was scorched black. Even though the flames were gone, the scorched earth did not return to normal.

“…Hah. To think you’ve grasped Nature Magic. Does this even make sense?”

“It looks like he jumped at least two stages.”

“Did he realize the Law of Nature beyond Nature Assimilation?”

“Uhahahaha! At this rate, Ilina’s talent is incomparable.”

“What did you experience?”

At the final question, I answered with what I had felt.

“I saw something like the moment God created the world.”

“It’s a problem because your talent is much greater than we anticipated. A disaster will strike if you return to the current world in this state.”

I understood what that meant immediately. Although I had learned Nature Magic, it was difficult to handle it perfectly.

“We don’t have much time left. We will place a seal on it for now, so come find us once again.”

“I understand.”