CHAPTER 161
161 — Ready to Talk**

Early morning.

His pant cuffs were damp with the morning dew, but even that felt pleasant. Since gaining the Grace of the Earth, Jinwoo's condition was the best it had been since he was born.

'To think it's this effective.'

His steps felt as light as if he were flying. He already possessed the elven footwork learned from Mari in Belen Village, making his steps comparable to those of a pure-blooded Elf.

But this was on another level. Though he was bound by gravity with his feet on the ground, he felt a freedom as if he were soaring through the sky.

It was such a refreshing feeling that he wanted to tell Jerakson the freedom he truly sought was not in the sky, but on the ground.

"The Mother of the Earth embraces all things."

The aura of a person, of any living being, does not exist in isolation. While it is bound to the vessel of the body, it constantly interacts and communicates with the outside world to establish its own concept.

It was the same for Jinwoo now. He was communicating with the earth through the soles of his feet. His mana, which flowed out naturally, was accepted by the vast earth and returned to him as a deeper, richer energy.

In layman's terms, just by walking, fresh mana filled him up.

"Is this the secret to the Giants' physique?"

"It would be impossible to deny that it plays a large role."

It felt like that wasn't the whole story. But it didn't matter. Jinwoo wasn't a Giant, nor was he as large as one. He couldn't follow their training methods exactly.

However, the Grace of the Earth treated even him with equality. It embraced him equally, giving of itself without reservation.

Yet, Jinwoo was the only one who thought it was being given equally.

'Is he a monster...?'

Terham, who couldn't bring himself to say it to Jinwoo, followed quietly beside him. He had to struggle several times to swallow a groan as he observed Jinwoo from the corner of his eye.

'I have never seen a blessing of this magnitude.'

Neither he, his father, nor his grandfather—no one in his clan had ever been so loved by the Mother of the Earth. No, he could declare with certainty that not a single person in the history of the Giants had been.

Looking back, it was the same for him when he had embraced the Seed and wandered as a Lord. At that time, he had been powerful enough to be counted on one hand in the history of the Giants—no, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was the strongest.

He had been just as ferocious, but the all-embracing Mother of the Earth had loved even that child.

But even he, in his prime, with the Grace of the Earth and the power of the Seed, could not accept a blessing of this magnitude.

'The Mother's love is infinite. And yet, the reason the size of the grace differs from person to person is a problem of the recipient. The Mother loves all equally, but her children cannot fully accept it.'

In short, it depended on the recipient's qualities. The innate body was important, as was the trained mind. The quality of the soul, refined through reincarnation, was also deeply related. Thus, while the Grace of the Earth was bestowed upon everyone, not everyone could wield it at will.

However, even his own self from his time as a Lord—a being powerful enough to be remembered in the history of the Giants, albeit for negative reasons—was no different from a commoner compared to the current Jinwoo.

The power Jinwoo was receiving from the earth was that strong, that sublime, that it almost looked as if he was becoming one with the earth itself.

"Terham?"

"Y-Yes!"

Startled by the sudden call, Terham raised his shoulders as he answered. Lost in thought, he hadn't heard Jinwoo calling him.

"What are you thinking so hard about? Something else to tell me?"

"That is... No, I was just lost in old memories."

'I was marveling at your existence.' There was no need to say such a thing to his face.

A human and a tiny fairy. And a Lord, whose identity would make anyone scream and run in terror.

The strangely composed party continued their journey in surprising harmony. There weren't many beings who could threaten a group of this caliber, and there were no disagreements among them.

Larna showed immense interest in the food from Earth that Jinwoo pulled from his inventory and was preoccupied with eating, while Terham checked his own secret arts and occasionally examined Jinwoo's body.

He was diagnosing whether the Grace of the Earth was spreading evenly throughout his body. Of course, there were no problems.

Jinwoo brandished his sword every day with the power strengthened by the grace. He now had the spirit to cleave a mountain if he put his mind to it, but he didn't actually go around cutting them down. In fact, his sword was swung without even cutting the wind.

'I'm gradually assimilating.'

Into this environment, into nature. The earth that supported his feet, the sun that illuminated all things. The sky that covered the world was his. A world harmoniously woven together was slowly coming into his hands.

Jinwoo stopped swinging his sword and looked at his own hand. Not a single drop of sweat was on his palm, which bore the calluses earned through his training.

If there was a foreign object in this complete world, it was one thing. The Seed of Erosion. An entity of unknown origin, without a self or a soul, that only coveted.

"Hoo!"

With a small sigh, Jinwoo gripped his sword and swung it again. In that moment, he felt as if he were liberated from everything.

A familiar landscape came into view.

Trees like any other, fields like any other. And a stream like any other.

"Here?"

"Is it a place you know?"

Jinwoo bent his knees and looked into the stream. The water was so clear he could see the bottom. There was nothing he could recognize just by looking at the flowing water, but he felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

He lifted his head and looked around again. It was a place from his memory.

"We're close."

"Have we arrived at the tower?"

Terham's eyes lit up at Jinwoo's words. Jinwoo took out a map from his inventory. It wasn't a place with any special markings, so he hadn't marked it on the map, but a stream was drawn there. And Jinwoo remembered exactly which point of the stream this was.

"The tower should be visible if we walk a little further. The fog should start rolling in soon."

Just as he said, as the party ventured a little deeper, a fog began to form. A white fog instantly covered the surroundings, and the party lost sight of even a few feet ahead.

But no one here relied solely on sight to discern objects. Larna, of course, and Terham also accurately identified their surroundings through their own senses, and Jinwoo, too, saw through everything with just the presence of the earth and the wind.

The tower they arrived at was, as he had seen before, almost a complete ruin.

"That's... a spiderweb. It seems a rather troublesome fellow has made its nest here."

The half-collapsed tower was completely covered in spiderwebs that were both red and a vivid blue. So densely packed that the tower's shape was barely visible.

This wasn't the work of a monster that was merely strong. The distinct aura of a divine spirit could be felt.

"What will you do? I don't think we'll lose, but rushing into the enemy's stronghold might not be the best choice."

Terham's opinion was to avoid unnecessary losses. Considering the party's strength, they wouldn't lose even if they charged in recklessly. Larna alone would be enough to handle one or two divine spirits.

But because the difference in power was so clear, there was even less need for that. The stronger side just had to be methodical. A standard strategy based on overwhelming power is the strongest method of all, more so than any trick.

"You're saying we should clear it out from the outside as we go in?"

"Yes. It might take some time, but it will be that much more certain."

"Got it."

"Then... huh?"

Jinwoo raised a hand to stop Terham, who was about to step forward. He then drew his sword and took a stance.

As if to cleave the tower, the webs enveloping it, and the very space of the world in which it existed.

Garta was a Spider Sage who had made his nest in the ruined tower. A rather ambitious figure who had ascended to the rank of a divine spirit with a body that was half-spider, half-human.

His principle of action was simple: he just ate the prey that got caught. And today, another thread of his web, leading to him, quivered gently.

"New prey."

He stood up, licking his lips. The sound of his cackling laughter echoed eerily in the darkness. Though not a breath of wind blew, the candlelight flickered, and the shadow of the spider's nest on the wall grew even larger than the real thing.

"Come, come. Into my nest. Anyone who enters here will..."

He began preparing for his feast, chanting an incantation in a low voice. The secret art that had brought him to this position in the Spirit Realm. It had been forbidden in his original world by the cowardly and insignificant humans, but it had revealed itself to the world through a genius named Garta.

Those struck by this would have not only their bodies but also their minds melt away, and in time, the damage would even reach their souls...

KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KOOM!

"Huh?"

In the middle of his incantation, his vision suddenly cleared. The space, which had no light other than the flickering candle, was blown wide open.

The blue spiderweb that had perfectly protected his abode in his original world. The proud fortress wall that had never once been breached, despite the countless times humans had brought catapults and battering rams against it.

It was swept away with the collapsing tower, cut down so helplessly.

'What in the world...!'

The word "surprised" alone could not represent his emotions. He had never met a being capable of cutting his webs, not in his original world, nor here in the Spirit Realm.

Of course, he had heard many rumors, but he had avoided such beings. He had no desire to die, either.

"Who are you!"

That was why he couldn't recognize Jinwoo even when he saw him. A human? Surely not. How could an ordinary human ascend to this Spirit Realm?

Even if one was lucky enough to set foot here, they would just be poisoned by the excessive mana and die helplessly. The end for a human who entered the Spirit Realm without qualification was always the same.

But the opponent before him was standing on two feet. Moreover, he had shattered the fortress built of blue spiderwebs, cut down the ruined tower, and allowed sunlight to shine in this place.

That alone was enough to make Garta break out in a cold sweat, but he was even more shocked when he saw the being next to him.

He had never seen her before, but his instincts recognized her.

'The Insect Lord, Larna!'

The rumored being that he, a spider, could never defy, and thus had always avoided meeting.

She had appeared of her own accord.

"What is your name?"

"W-What?"

He felt no will to fight back. He just prayed to survive and looked for a chance to escape this place.

Seeing Garta rolling his eyes, not focusing on the answer, Jinwoo lightly swung his sword.

KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KOOM!

The spiderwebs behind Garta were severed, and the tower wall crumbled. The collapsed debris rained down on his head, but he couldn't move a muscle.

"I... I am Garta..."

Looking at the opponent who was now ready to talk, Jinwoo finally nodded.