Chapter 254

***

**

Seong Jihan reminisced about his last deal with the Brahma.

After receiving the EX-grade skill of summoning the throne, he passed on the Crimson Thunder.

He joyfully accepted it, but upon realizing the essence of the Crimson Thunder contained void powers he erupted in anger, questioning what he was supposed to do with such a thing.

[The Brahma rages at you, accusing you of breaching the contract and demands action.]

Even as he vehemently criticized Seong Jihan for a while,

He ultimately did not withdraw his support from The Thunder God due to his own regret.

"Hold on. I've got a message from The Thunder God, I'll go talk and come back."

"To The Thunder God?"

"Seems like they need some help."

"Yes. Go ahead~"

Seong Jihan waved to Sophia, who had visited as a guest, and entered his room.

During that brief moment,

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' expresses fear as the wandering Martial God aggressively invades.]

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' pesters you for not responding and pressures you.]

Switching to a stern stance for not receiving a response,

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' promises a greater reward for cooperation, apologizing for being too harsh in the past.]

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' pleads for at least a response.]

By the time Seong Jihan opened his room door, Brahma had switched to a pleading mode.

'Brahma. Seems like he's really in a hurry.'

Seong Jihan, looking at the system messages lowering his stance in real-time, slowly began to speak.

"Using Crimson Thunder... wasn't that all I told you last time? To utilize the void."

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' complains that even though he sacrificed immortality and utilized the void powers, the power obtained is not enough.]

[He implores you to not withhold any secret techniques if you have them.]

"What secret technique. Shouldn't a god like you be able to control lightning better than humans?"

Silence fell upon the Brahma, seemingly displeased by Seong Jihan's words.

However, within a few minutes, another system message popped up.

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' seeks to send an avatar.]

[Do you accept?]

"Yes."

Zzzzt...!

Suddenly, in front of Seong Jihan, sparks flew and a small lion enveloped in red currents emerged.

[Master of the Crimson Thunder. Please impart the secret technique! The Martial God and their minions are currently destroying the barrier outside the Brahma's throne!]

"No, really, there's no such secret. What I told you last time is all there is."

[Impossible! I even sacrificed my lifespan to try using the Crimson Thunder, but failed!]

"How much void did you mix?"

[1, 2 percent...]

"Mix more. Sacrifice more of your lifespan."

[If I mix more, I'll die!]

The lion roared in anger at this.

Seong Jihan's eyes sparkled upon hearing this.

The essence of the void was indeed lethal to gods.

'So that's why he was so upset last time.'

Regardless, that was their problem.

Seong Jihan shrugged.

"The only way I know to enhance the Crimson Thunder is to mix it with the void. Any other secret technique? I'd like to know too."

[Ugh... Really?]

"Yes. I want to become stronger and hinder the Martial God."

[You too? Against the Wandering Martial God?]

"Yes. Our relationship isn't exactly friendly."

The Red Lion's eyes gleamed upon hearing Seong Jihan's words.

[If you're not on good terms with the Martial God... then, might you be willing to help me?]

"If it's about going to fight, count me out. I'm not yet ready to take on him."

[I don't expect that. But still...]

Zzzzt...

The size of the Red Lion diminished,

And blue currents began to surround its body.

[Could you share a part of your sensation and help me operate the Crimson Thunder?]

"Share sensations?"

[Yes. It won't harm you. You just need to keep generating the Crimson Thunder.]

"So, I'm supposed to act as a generator?"

[A generator... Even with your growth, how could you possibly power up the entirety of a god? Think of it more as flipping a switch.]

The Red Lion nudged its head towards a switch in Seong Jihan's room.

[Like this. You just need to press the switch to turn on the crimson thunder.]

"Ah, I can do that much. But..."

[But what?]

"In a few days, there's a Space League match."

[Is that really what's important now!]

"Yeah. I can't do it for long."

[It's not the end of the world if you miss one match!]

"Humanity will be in trouble without me."

[Ugh...]

Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

The Red Lion discharged electric currents here and there, biting its teeth in frustration.

It was furious at Seong Jihan's talk of the Space League match, considering its own dire situation against the Martial God.

But the more desperate party was on this side.

[...Fine. Go play your match. Anyway, if you operate the Crimson Thunder to strengthen the barrier, it will last longer.]

"Okay but..."

[...What now?]

"What about my reward?"

[Reward?]

"Yeah. Didn't you say you'd give something?"

[That was if you had shared a secret technique...!]

"Wait. So you were planning not to give anything? You're entrusting a task to someone without giving anything in return? By the way, I prefer payment upfront now."

Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzzt...!

Faced with Seong Jihan's words, the Brahma's body turned white, discharging electric currents in all directions.

While its appearance was cute as a small lion, perhaps because it was originally a clone of the Thunder God, it showed quite a powerful force.

"Stop causing a fuss in my room."

Swoosh.!

Seong Jihan drew a circle with his finger,

And the Brahma's electric currents was trapped within, unable to escape beyond a certain distance.

[...If you share your senses with me, your seal of thunder stat will increase.]

"Seal of thunder? That's not particularly useful. Don't you have any more EX-grade items?"

[None! You think those just pop up easily?]

"Hmm... then the benefits are too low."

Seong Jihan, crossing his arms and looking down, saw Brahma lower its voice in frustration.

[...Fine. If I survive, I'll give you a better reward. And about the upfront payment... Your stat, was it Seal of Thunder? I'll add 50 to it.]

"50..."

[Yes. Plus, sharing senses with me will rapidly increase this ability.]

Seal of Thunder.

While it was a rare stat that could be useful for other players,

For Seong Jihan, pushed aside by Martial Soul and the Void, it had become a stat he no longer paid much attention to. However, getting a straight 50 point boost in it was a different matter.

'This feels somewhat like being a god of lightning.'

Seong Jihan uncrossed his arms, smiling contentedly.

"Alright. I'll specially help out to stop the Martial God."

[...Thank you, thank you. Then, catch me now.]

As the previously white lion turned blue again,

Seong Jihan nodded and reached out his hand.

Then, a system message appeared.

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' and the supporter Seong Jihan begin sharing sensations.]

[The Thunder God 'Brahma' provides a 50 stat boost to the 'Seal of Thunder' in return.]

[You are summoned to the Brahma's control space. Do you accept?]

"Is this a summon? But how do I get back from there?"

[Hmm... You're very thorough. I'll add an option.]

At Seong Jihan's query, the momentarily paused lion replied,

[Shout "logout" to get out from Brahma's control space.]

[Do you accept the summon?]

Now that he had secured the option to return anytime, Seong Jihan nodded.

"I accept."

Flash!

With that, Seong Jihan's form vanished, engulfed in a white light.

Zzzzt...!

'So this is Brahma's control space.'

Summoned, Seong Jihan looked around.

The space was surrounded by painfully bright white currents.

Among these currents, only a tiny fraction showed a reddish hue.

Swoosh!

And from within these currents, a lion head popped out.

[As expected, the electric charges can't invade you.]

"I do have some spatial control abilities."

[But to strengthen the Crimson Thunder, you'll have to open up that space a bit.]

Zzzzt...!

Two thin strands of red currents rose in front of the lion's face.

Not fully red, these Crimson Thunders had a clearly lighter touch of void.

[Strengthen this.]

"Just these two?"

[Haha. Try it and see.]

Seong Jihan opened a path for the two currents approaching the void space.

Then,

Zzzzt...

The two light strands of Crimson Thunder were caught in his hand.

'So, I just need to add my Crimson Thunder to these.'

As Seong Jihan experimentally infused his own Crimson Thunder,

Zap! Zap!

The light-colored Crimson Thunder momentarily deepened in hue before flashing intensely and vanishing into the distance.

[Indeed, yours is of higher purity...]

"Where did it go?"

[The Crimson Thunder you've strengthened is first used to reinforce the barrier. Clearly, areas mixed with Crimson Thunder have superior defense.]

"Hmm... Can I see that spectacle?"

[Currently, there's no time for that. Once the defense becomes more solid, I'll show it to you.]

Swoosh!

With that, the lion disappeared.

'Making a big deal out of displaying it.'

Seong Jihan had wanted to see what divine powers the Martial God used during the invasion,

But Brahma didn't easily grant his request,

Adopting an attitude of showing him depending on whether he chose to assist or not.

'Well, since I've received the stat points, might as well get to work.'

[The rare stat 'Seal of thunder' has increased by 50.]

Although it was an ability he hadn't planned on investing in,

The fact that a rare stat increased by 50 made it feel more manageable to use electric powers.

Zzzzt...!

Seong Jihan, absorbing the white currents and growing his stats,

Certainly found it easier to wield the power of lightning compared to just holding onto the Crimson Thunder strands.

'Free stat boost isn't bad at all.'

While Brahma was flustered dealing with the Crimson Thunder, Seong Jihan decided to focus on stat growth.

Compared to converting the Crimson Thunder, the growth in Seal of thunder was significantly faster.

And when Seal of Thunder had grown by about 70,

'The growth has slowed down.'

The rapid increase came to a halt.

Seong Jihan, noting this, decided to move on to the next step.

"Hey, Brahma. Aren't you done yet? Ah, I'm running out of energy... I might have to rest and come back."

Using a more energetic tone than ever, Seong Jihan called out to the Brahma.

In response to him echoing throughout the Brahma's control space,

A system message suddenly popped up.

[What are you doing here?]

It was a message from Pythia, a disciple of the Martial God.

***

***