Apostle of the Void

Chapter 52: Wintering (3)

When Arzen finished his meal, the girl guided him to the top of the vineyard.

Normally, the vines would have been in the way, but it was winter, and they had all withered.

Despite looking between eight and ten years old, the girl showed no sign of exhaustion as she climbed all the way to the top, indicating she was quite strong.

"Here it is."

The girl pointed to a sloped path.

Unlike the slope on this side, the opposite slope was densely forested.

As autumn passed and winter settled in, the trees had become bare and pale.

Even so, the dense spacing of the trees made it deserving to be called a forest.

There were only a few giant trees, and most were of a size where one could wrap their arms around them.

"In winter, we need firewood, but especially now, before the Feast of Booths in December, we need a lot of wood for the booths."

"Are you saying I can cut down all the trees from here to the bottom?"

"It would be nice if you did, as we\'re planning to expand the vineyard within three years. But don\'t worry; we\'re not expecting much from someone of your Steel grade."

Arzen wasn\'t angry.

‘Provocations like that only sting when you\'re really insignificant!’

For someone like Arzen, whose future as a Gold grade was virtually guaranteed, there was no reason to react to such a taunt.

"What did you just say, you brat?!"

Of course, that\'s what he thought, but in reality, it wasn’t that simple. He had vowed not to tolerate anyone disrespecting him.

"Just a joke. Well then, I’ll leave it to you."

"I heard lodging is included."

"The hut is quite spacious. You can sleep there with us. Well then."

As the girl hurried off into the distance, Arzen glared at her retreating figure before turning his gaze toward the forest.

‘I like it.’

The size of the tree trunks was just right. If they were too massive, it would be a hassle to deal with them afterward.

Arzen opened the Void Codex and recited the words of the first miracle.

"Kaz tu Arcturas."

Buuuuuuuum……!

The familiar hum of the Void insects began. They had become such a routine part of his life that they no longer felt strange.

‘Now that the total number of summoned insects has reached 80, the summoning speed is noticeably faster!’

He wished he could summon them all at once, though.

Arzen smiled.

He had a feeling that such power was another miracle hidden somewhere within the Void Codex.

"Ughhhhhh…!"

Though he felt the backlash twisting his internal organs, he maintained his power.

‘This feeling, yes, this is it.’

The sensation of forcibly connecting the Void dimension to this space... It was his training regimen for summoning the Void insects.

Buuuuuuum……!

He had already planned his training routine on the river path here.

The first task was to increase the number of Void insects.

His goal was to add one more every day, except on holidays.

‘Since I plan to stay until spring, the ideal number would be between 60 and 80 insects….’

In other words, he would double the current fleet.

"Alright, another success…!"

After about an hour of struggling, another Void insect emerged.

A worker bee diligently cleaned the steam-like or moisture-like Void substance covering the new Void insect\'s entire body. It seemed to be a customary ritual when a Void insect multiplied.

It felt oddly satisfying, like a queen performing a knighthood ceremony.

"Alright, let’s start with the new technique! Re Taripo!"

Ten Void insects fused, producing a new fragment of power. The very form and presence of this creation seemed so alien to the principles of life that any living creature would feel an instinctive aversion to it.

This was evidenced by the abrupt silence of the birds that had been flying over the forest moments before.

"Go! Today\'s goal is five trees, no more, no less!"

The fused creature, Pvoaki, floated toward its target with a slow flap of wings that resembled the rise of a bloated entity.

As Arzen had noted during his underground escape, Pvoaki was quite slow.

In fact, it was the slowest of all his fused creatures. It seemed that its speed had been heavily sacrificed for power.

‘If War Hornet represents a well-balanced fusion, this one feels like the scales are tipped entirely toward strength.’

However, the chosen power was flawless.

The moment Pvoaki touched the tree trunk, there was a silent explosion, transforming into a gaping maw of consumption.

It devoured everything, as if pulling it into a soundless, traceless void.

Crack... SNAP!

The tree’s trunk snapped in an instant, causing it to slide and fall sideways. If the surrounding trees hadn’t supported it, it would have tumbled far down the slope.

Arzen was once again pleased with the power of Pvoaki.

“Ha, ha, haha! This is amazing! Absolutely perfect! It completely compensates for the Void insects\' weakness to inorganic materials!”

If La Tsi Qua was a widespread storm, Re Taripo compressed that power and unleashed it with precision.

But something had changed with this advanced fusion creature.

‘*Pvoaki* is not controlled by the worker bee, but by me!’

Just like with Evakta.

‘In chaotic battles, it’s useful when the worker bee can assist with small tasks...’

Perhaps Pvoaki had ceased to be a Void insect entirely.

It might be that even within the Void’s entities, there was a hierarchy, and these beings refused to take orders from worker bees.

The thought of these creatures, now grown larger, disregarding the worker bees sparked a momentary surge of anger.

But Arzen was convinced that there was no such petty hierarchy among the Void’s servants.

‘Regardless, it\'s perfect. Throughout this winter, I’ll be able to grow several times stronger just from this logging work. Safely, too.’

Safety—that was the most important thing.

After experiencing the threat of being buried alive in the tunnels, Arzen had resolved not to set foot in life-threatening situations for a while.

‘Gaining power to survive the Helci assassination team is one thing, but if I die while gaining strength, that defeats the purpose.’

As he had always said, Arzen disliked pushing himself into deadly situations just to achieve victory.

He preferred battles that he was certain to win.

‘The solution to winning without looking pathetic is simple!’

Become overwhelmingly strong.

And the Void certainly had the potential to grant him such overwhelming power.

“Second Pvoaki, charge!”

The second Pvoaki flapped its bat-like wings and charged at the tree.

Once again, the explosion’s range was consumed by an unseen force, leaving no trace behind.

When Arzen first summoned the Void insects, they left nothing behind except for the clean skin of the creatures they attacked.

‘Uncle Ulman was so impressed when he saw how cleanly the flesh and skin were separated for the first time,’ he recalled.

Ulman had even joked that Arzen could make a fortune as a dismantler if he ever went down that path.

‘The power of the Void is truly strange…’

Indeed, its strength lay in its mysteriousness.

There likely weren’t many humans capable of withstanding this power.

Arzen’s confidence grew, and his mood lifted.

“*Pvoaki* 3rd unit, charge!”

“*Pvoaki* 4th unit, strike!”

“*Pvoaki* 5th unit, attack!”

Just from the first day of testing, he learned a great deal.

One thing was the manifestation time of Pvoaki. It wasn’t particularly long.

Of course, it lasted much longer than Evakta or Barolus, but maintaining it for extended periods rapidly drained his energy, causing dizziness to surge.

‘*War Hornets* were three times the size of Worker Bees, but its movements were much clumsier, and it ran out of energy quickly…’

Perhaps the amount of energy consumed by Void summons was proportional to their mass.

‘And even if the manifestation time runs out and they disappear, the energy doesn’t come back.’

It was a powerful force, but he realized he would need to be mindful of timing and use it wisely.

“*Evakta!*”

The next training involved testing Evakta\'s manifestation time and improving its mobility.

After handling the power of the Void for about half a year, Arzen realized that this power was just like his body.

Just as muscles and stamina grow through training and overexertion, the power of his summoned creatures worked the same way.

“Bring that tree over.”

Evakta’s movements were guided by Arzen’s fingertips.

He extended both hands, and… as the vines coiled around the target, he clapped his hands together.

Immediately, the Void plant monster ensnared the tree in an instant.

Arzen then spun his clasped hands above his head and forcefully swung them down behind him.

Evakta mirrored his movements exactly.

The first tree it had felled was now securely placed at the top of a hill.

“Phew… nice!”

When Evakta’s clapping ability was used with a twist, it not only enhanced its binding strength but also released the Void’s unique acidic substance.

Of course, he didn’t need that feature right now, so he didn’t use it.

This is why he set a goal of felling five trees per day.

‘The ultimate goal is for Evakta to be able to perform this task five times a day throughout the winter!’

Pushing beyond that would lead to exhaustion and cause his body to collapse.

After using Evakta a third time, Arzen took a brief break.

His control slipped, causing the tree to roll back down the other side of the forested slope.

Rather than being frustrated by his clumsiness, he found joy in knowing that he still had room to grow.

‘Hmm… four trees might be the limit for the first day.’

As expected, by the time he had piled four trees neatly at the top of the hill, dusk was settling in.

Arzen himself was completely drained.

‘Ah, wait…!’

At that point, Arzen realized he needed to revise his plan a little.

He had to transport the trees to the village, and if he used all his energy on felling them, it wouldn’t be feasible.

From tomorrow on, he decided to allocate his energy—if he defined his total daily capacity as 100, then 50 would be for felling trees and 50 for transporting them.

"Are you done?"

A voice came from somewhere. A girl dressed in herbalist’s attire stood nearby. Both her hands and feet were caked in dirt.

"Yeah, can you see? Four of them! Doesn’t this Arzen seem pretty impressive now?"

"Yes, very impressive."

"Heh, I like your honesty."

"I was joking, but seeing you giggling like that is quite amusing."

"You little… sigh, never mind. What’s for dinner today?"

"Twilight grass porridge. It’s made from the roots of twilight grass, which promotes digestion and enhances memory function."

The Blue Witches were known for their exceptional knowledge of practical matters. This girl, being an apprentice witch, would soon be the same.

She looked like she was only around ten years old, but she already showed great promise.

"Heh, you’re quite devoted to the witch, aren’t you? Well, porridge sounds good after a hard day\'s work."

As they continued their light-hearted chatter, they arrived at the cabin before they knew it.

"Hey, Peggy! I’m going to wash up first, so make sure the porridge is delicious. And for the record, I don’t eat anything that doesn’t taste good."

At that, the girl flinched slightly.

She then lowered her gaze with a strangely cold yet somewhat sorrowful expression and responded quietly.

"My name is not Peggy."

"Don’t be ridiculous! The witch called you that earlier."

"That is the name of my older sister."

"Heh! Now’s the time to say you’re joking, right?"

"This is the truth."

"Really? Ah, makes sense. The witch is too old, and you’re too young. So, where is she?"

To flatter someone properly, you first have to understand who holds the real power. It was likely not the deaf old witch or this cheeky little girl but rather her older sister who held sway over the village.

However, the girl\'s next words were quite shocking.

They were the first hint of the sinister force that had quietly taken root in this seemingly peaceful village.

"She passed away five years ago. Just like the three sisters before her."