The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 184

Chapter 21: Hero: C*ck Mangnani

Adam was the first human.

If you ask why he was the first… it’s because when he was born, humanity consisted only of Adam and his tribe.

He would wake up in the morning, chew on a few crispy trees, cross a few mountain ranges for exercise after his meal, and lie down on the ground to sleep when he felt drowsy.

That was Adam’s happiest memory.

Then, a new kind of human appeared on the Arnia continent.

How they came to be, no one knows.

Adam and the first humans genuinely rejoiced at the change in their repetitive, boring lives and welcomed the small, cute humans.

The more they looked at the little humans, the more amazing they seemed.

Unlike Adam, who lazed around doing nothing but eating and sleeping, these new humans were surprisingly diligent.

They slept and ate only the bare minimum and devoted the rest of their time to work.

As a result, they kept inventing new things that Adam had never seen before.

The new humans gradually increased their survival rate with the inventions they created, eventually forming groups and even creating nations.

Conflict began then.

At first, it was very trivial.

One of Adam’s tribe members accidentally lost his footing and destroyed their village.

It was something that had happened often in the past, and the new humans would laugh it off with an apology.

But now, it was different.

They demanded responsibility from us.

Responsibility, you say?

It was a foreign word to the first humans.

Until then, the first humans had regarded the new humans as cute.

They dismissed it as a small happening and moved on.

Time flowed by as fast as light.

The little humans had developed to an extent that it was embarrassing to compare them to the past.

They began to draw lines among themselves and divide themselves into superior and inferior.

They killed those they didn’t like, enslaved them, and committed massacres.

Some tribe members expressed concern about the new humans’ atrocities, but most of the tribe members, who were faithful to their primal instincts, were indifferent.

That majority included Adam.

Looking back now, I shouldn’t have done that.

“Please leave this place. This is the territory of our Aslan Empire.”

I had only gone to take a nap as usual.

But a few new humans approached and told me to leave.

Adam was dumbfounded.

This place had always been Adam’s napping spot, where he ate and lay down even before they were born.

Snore, snore.

He ignored them and fell asleep.

And after a while, Adam had to wake up because of the burning sensation on his back.

Boom! Boom!

Shrapnel poured down with explosions.

The fire emitted as they disintegrated made Adam tingle and hurt.

“Exterminate the giant race and defend the territory!! Long live the Aslan Empire!!!”

Giant race? Us?

We were the first humans.

Of course, we are the standard for humanity.

But since when did we become the ‘giant race’?

Since when did they become ‘ordinary humans’?

I returned to the tribe crying.

It was rare for them, who only ate and slept, to show such intense emotional changes as crying.

Naturally, the tribe members gathered around and asked what was wrong.

When I told them the whole story, the tribe members were furious.

“They crossed the line. We won’t tolerate it anymore. We’ll show them what’s what.”

Until then, I thought they would just cower if we swung our fists a few times and scared them a little.

How naive I was.

The new humans had already gone too far to catch up.

“Heptaprism Carrier Fleet, sortie.”

“Target is a large number of giants.”

“Activate photon cannons.”

“Launch anti-missiles.”

Boom boom boom boom!!!

Thud thud!!!

The first humans were powerless.

Their tough skin and strong muscles were easily pierced and cut by shrapnel and fire.

The war ended futilely after 90% of the tribe members died.

In fact, it was embarrassing to even call it a war.

In the Aslan Empire’s history books, this incident was recorded as a ‘suppression’.

A fate more cruel than death awaited the remaining giant race.

The humans in white clothes dissected Adam’s tribe members alive, injected drugs, and conducted experiments.

Adam was also one of the subjects.

One by one, the tribe members died, and soon Adam was the only one left.

Only then did the cruel humans stop the experiment.

The reason was that if Adam died, the giant race would become extinct, so he had to be left as teaching material for future generations.

He endured for a long time trapped in an underground cavity.

For the first hundred years, he was a spectacle for the new humans.

After two hundred years, the number of visitors gradually decreased.

After five hundred years, all footsteps stopped completely after the last visitor.

I asked the last visitor.

Why are there so few people coming?

“The outside is already hell. Nuclear war has destroyed the Arnia continent. I’m probably the only human left alive. You are now free.”

I gained freedom, but Adam did not leave. The emotional wounds inflicted by humans were too great for that.

Since those terrible humans were all extinct, there was no reason or purpose to act anymore.

So Adam spent another long time. After a thousand years, he even gave up counting the time.

Then one day.

The ceiling collapsed.

Bright light pierced his eyes.

Adam instinctively raised his palm to shield his eyes.

“Augh…”

To him, who couldn’t even speak because it had been so long, an unidentified new human said.

“They really existed. The giant race that was only passed down in legends.”

“Who are you? An Aslan Empire citizen?”

“To be precise, I am a human who was newly born after the Aslan Empire was destroyed.”

No way.

Another bad new human has appeared.

If left unchecked, they will bring destruction again.

‘I have to eliminate the new humans.’

I was furious.

The anger boiling inside me exploded like an active volcano.

The rusty chains that bound Adam were easily broken like toys.

The new human reached out to Adam.

“I like your anger.”

“I will exterminate humanity.”

“What a coincidence. I have the same goal as you.”

“Don’t lie.”

“How should I prove this… Should I show you this first?”

The new human snapped his fingers.

Then, a familiar tree appeared in Adam’s eyes.

There was no way he couldn’t recognize it.

It was the Mother Tree that his tribe had revered when he was the first human.

“How did you…?”

“I knew you’d recognize it. I am the guardian and representative of the World Tree. Do you believe me now?”

The one chosen by the Mother Tree.

Adam had no choice but to trust him.

“My name is Merlin. What’s yours?”

“Adam, thank you for saving me.”

“If you’re thankful, call me your benefactor.”

“Okay, benefactor.”

The meeting of Adam and Merlin.

A thousand years later.

Adam was fighting the new humans again as ‘Wrath,’ the last executive of the Twilight Church.

* * *

Uwoooooooo!!!!

As soon as the battle began, a variable occurred.

The faces of the Seven Stars, who thought it would be an easy fight since they only had to catch the Twilight Church leader and Wrath, hardened.

The giant Wrath revealed his hidden true form, and its size was incomparable to any other living creature on Earth.

Every time the giant, the size of a hill, roared and moved, the ground cracked and trees were uprooted.

“Oh my god.”

Orneo’s groan.

From then on, it was Adam’s solo performance.

“Die! Humans!”

The Seven Stars had already fled from where the fist landed. Adam slammed down on the empty ground.

“He’s big and powerful, but his attacks are inaccurate, monotonous, and slow. If we dodge and accumulate damage, he’ll fall on his own.”

Hans’ strategy was reasonable, but he missed one thing.

Adam was under the protection of Yggdrasil [Norse mythology’s tree of life] and was used to fighting while recovering from injuries.

Above all, he was the first human.

His body, already powerful and strengthened by the Empire’s drug experiments, possessed semi-permanent stamina.

“Die, all of you!!!”

Boom boom boom!!!

The entire Seven Stars were struggling, unable to handle one giant.

This won’t do.

First, I used buff skills.

[Life Control]

[World Tree Sapling Summon]

[The World Tree Sapling is with you.]

[An aura of nature dwells in the area.]

[All ally stats increase by 150%]

[Recovery, lifesteal, and regeneration greatly increase]

It’s definitely different from when it was a sapling.

An additional 50% to stats and a significant increase in buff amount.

The aura spread widely and permeated all Seven Stars, including me.

With the blessing of the World Tree, the movements of the Seven Stars became noticeably lighter. Their pale complexions also returned to normal.

“Hehehe… Do you think that’s enough?”

The Twilight Church leader waved his staff.

Then, the earth and minerals rumbled and assembled themselves at will.

What was created was a golem.

Not just dozens, not hundreds, but a whopping three thousand golems.

“This is bad.”

I can’t afford to be careless.

Immediately used full doping, just like when facing Lich King Oman.

[You have consumed an acorn]

[Passive skills are enhanced]

[Stamina greatly increases]

[Mana regeneration greatly increases]

[Effect only applies to Druids]

[Time limit: one month]

[You have consumed a Fishman Transformation Pill]

[Stamina greatly increases]

[Free movement underwater is possible]

[Time limit: 1 hour]

Two acorns left.

Quite a few Fishman Transformation Pills remain.

Fortunately, the time limit has drastically increased from one day to one month since becoming a legendary Druid.

Still, I can’t be complacent.

I used the golem skill in a fully buffed state.

[Golem Summon]

Golem Legion Summon. Total number: three hundred.

A tremendous army, but it’s ten times smaller compared to the three thousand summoned by Merlin.

If they clash like this, my golems will be annihilated due to numerical inferiority.

“Coco, help me.”

I had to use my trump card earlier than expected.

Coco, who came out of the subspace, glared at the approaching thousand-golem legion.

Mana flickered like candlelight in her eyes.

“Coco, fight as much as you can.”

“I’ll do my best, kkyu! I won’t lose pathetically like last time, kkyu!”

“Yeah, I believe in you.”

Lord Lloyd and Orneo, Tom joined in.

“Our skills are inefficient against giants. We’ll help the dragon and take care of the golems.”

“Thank you.”

Karina, Johann, Hans, and Gazel faced Wrath.

Orneo, Tom, and Lord Lloyd faced the enemy golem legion with Coco.

As everyone scattered, what remained was a one-on-one with Merlin.

“To use a dragon as a familiar, you’re really admirable, even though you’re my junior.”

“She’s not a familiar. She’s like my child.”

“Even after glimpsing my life through the Golden Branch, you’re still bound by affection. You should have realized how futile and insignificant such trivial emotions are.”

We’ve come too far to reason.

Our values are too different.

In the end, the stronger side enforces justice.

“How do you plan to win? All your skills are inferior versions of mine.”

“You never know until you try.”

“Sometimes you can know without trying.”

[Wind Control]

[Haste]

[Instant Step]

I wrapped wind around my ankles and ran.

Merlin welcomed me with meteorites falling from the sky.

Boom boom boom!!!

The power to go to the afterlife the moment you get hit.

[Crystal Storm]

I responded with a similar skill, but I had a storm and he had meteorites.

I eliminated about 30%, but I had to dodge 70% of the meteorites with my own abilities.

[Enhanced Bind]

The tree roots that sprouted from the ground were eaten by the tree roots summoned by Merlin,

[Crystal Wall]

The crystal wall couldn’t even be properly utilized and turned to dust by the falling meteorites.

It was as Merlin said.

All my skills were one level below his.

Is this how it feels to play a joystick against a keyboard?

Since we were both Druids, there was no chance of winning unless skill distribution or control was overwhelmingly superior.

The problem was that Merlin had lived longer than me and was much more skilled as a Druid.

As the first Druid, he showed an admirable level of application.

‘He’s doing this here?’

‘That’s a new method.’

‘Such a combination was possible.’

Several tree roots twisted together and turned into long, thick spears that were fired, or falling meteorites mixed with wind skills to precisely strike the target, or a golem jumped up and detonated its core to self-destruct.

Merlin’s fighting style was truly a new world.

I was learning and realizing in real-time while fighting.

It would have been great if this moment was a sparring session.

Unfortunately, it was a real battle and a place of proof, not practice.

“Die like this.”

Rocks, trees, sand, and mud swirled and gathered in the sky to form a giant hand.

Its size was so large that the giant Wrath looked small.

Boom boom boom boom!!!

The momentum of an entire mountain range collapsing.

I didn’t back down and used a skill.

[Giant]

I summoned a large hand.

Merlin’s hand falling from above and my hand rising from below.

When the two palms met, a circular shockwave that was difficult to explain with a simple clap spread widely.

Thud!!!!

Crack!!!

The surrounding area was equally swept away by the aftermath of the fierce tug-of-war between the force pressing down from above and the force resisting from below.

The tense battle of nerves, which had been tight for a while, was eventually won by Merlin.

Because if his hand was an adult’s hand, my hand was an elementary school student’s hand.

In the end, shadows fell over my head.

It was the fall of a mountain range.

Kaaaaaaaang!!!!!!

The impact was enough to cause an earthquake throughout the continent. This had already gone far beyond the battles of the human world. It was the true nature of the living disaster, Druid Merlin.

“It’s over.”

Merlin was optimistic about his victory.

That’s because, as long as it was made of a human body, it was impossible to survive there.

Especially for a Druid with a weak body.

The World Tree that the opponent summoned was a bit of a nuisance, but it was okay. The attack just now was an overwhelming attack that exceeded the recovery power.

Dust rising thickly at the landing point.

Merlin, who was calmly waiting for the opponent’s death, was caught by one question.

‘Why is the World Tree still there?’

If the enemy had died, the summoned World Tree should have disappeared as well. Why is the World Tree proudly spreading its aura?

“…Could it be.”

[Celestial Demon Swordsmanship]

[Crescent Moon Slash]

The hazy dust that obscured the view was split in half, and emerald light flashed.

Merlin, who sensed the ominousness, reflexively turned his body.

At the same time, intense pain felt on the right.

“Kugh!!”

The severed right arm fell to the ground with a thud.

If I had been a little late, my neck would have been blown away.

“Too bad.”

I broke through the dust.

On the sword of the Celestial Demon Sword I was holding, an aura blade was burning fiercely.

That’s right.

As Merlin said, if we were the same Druid, there was zero chance of me winning against him.

But there’s something he overlooked.

I am a Druid and a Sword Master.

An adventurer who has stepped on the vast universe that he has never experienced in his life.

The first Druid?

The Twilight Church leader?

The guardian of Yggdrasil?

‘So what?’

I can win enough.

I put strength into the hand holding the sword.

“Let’s go for round 2, you c*ck.”