Meski Lex bertarung melawan si dokter gigi, dan posisinya masih cukup terjepit, ia tetap memperhatikan sekelilingnya. Tidak sedetik pun ia percaya ada dokter gigi yang kebetulan menunggu di dalam hutan, di balik penghalang, untuk kedatangannya.
Jauh lebih mungkin dokter gigi itu dipanggil, atau bahkan diciptakan, khusus akibat tindakannya. Mungkin ia akhirnya dihukum karena mengambil barang dari hutan.
Berarti masih ada kemungkinan musuh serupa bermunculan dari bayangan. Ada pula fakta bahwa instingnya begitu jelas menuntun, bahwa dokter gigi itu menyimpan rahasia mengikuti Fenrir.
Belakangan, saat Lex berjumpa makin banyak makhluk kuat, instingnya makin tak efektif. Bukan karena instingnya melemah. Sebaliknya, sebagai Immortal, instingnya jauh lebih kuat dari sebelumnya. Hanya saja, kini ia sendiri makin kuat, ia makin sering menjumpai hal terkait Dao—atau mungkin bahkan di luar itu.
Instingnya yang malang, seberguna apa pun, tak banyak membantu soal itu. Tapi sekadar dokter gigi bukan masalah baginya.
Memakai kemampuan mata kirinya, yang membuatnya bisa melihat segalanya, Lex mempelajari cara si dokter gigi memanipulasi hukum. Meski banyak hukum yang ia manipulasi tak bisa Lex rasakan, ia masih bisa mengamati bagaimana hukum yang lebih umum terpengaruh akibat tindakannya.
Hal pertama yang ia sadari adalah alat-alat si dokter gigi—bor, gergaji, peledak plak—sebenarnya Lawcraft yang membeku. Ia benar-benar menciptakan benda fisik dari hukum, dan Lex yakin ia belum berada di tingkat bisa melakukan itu.
Tapi Lex pasti bisa mencoba memperbaiki cara ia memakai Lawcraft. Karena Lex belum pernah menciptakan satu pun, ia telah mengerjakan beberapa Lawcraft yang pada dasarnya hanya versi perbaikan dari teknik yang sudah ia pakai.
Lex dan si dokter gigi bertabrakan. Domain Lex yang rapuh—rapuh di hadapan dokter gigi terkutuk itu, meski biasanya cukup kokoh melawan Earth immortal—bergetar, hampir runtuh di bawah beban bor si dokter gigi. Tapi kekuatan Lex yang disalurkan lewat Naraka cukup membuat si dokter gigi tersandung.
Untuk sepersekian detik, konsentrasi si dokter gigi goyah, dan saat itulah Lex memakai Lawcraft pertamanya—versi perbaikan dari Golden Inferno.
Tak ada visual mewah, tak ada kemunculan naga. Tidak, ini cepat dan brutal. Lex membuka mulut, dan dari sana keluar api berbalut Dominasi yang melampaui konsep suhu.
Itu ekspresi prinsip Kemuliaannya. Segala sesuatu yang menyentuh api itu dilahap, diubah jadi bahan bakar agar api menyala lebih terang, lebih kuat, lebih lama. Tak peduli apa pun yang mudah terbakar, tak peduli apakah target punya titik bakar atau tidak.
Bahkan efek dan konsekuensi hukum itu sendiri mulai terbakar.
Senyum lebar si dokter gigi goyah saat jas putihnya hangus jadi abu, meski ia sendiri relatif tak terluka.
"Kau pasien yang menyulitkan," kata si dokter gigi, melotot ke Lex. "Aku bisa merasakan lubang di gigimu dari jauh. Lubangnya menembus dari gigi ke tulangmu. Biar kulihat apa yang bisa kulakukan untuk membantumu."
Lex mau mendengus, tapi tiba-tiba menemukan rasa kebas lembut di gigi gerahamnya. Kebas itu cepat menjalar ke rahang, lalu menyebar di tengkorak dan turun ke leher. Persis seperti kata si dokter gigi, lubang telah terbentuk, dan itu memengaruhi tulangnya.
Meski mengamati si dokter gigi dengan saksama, ia tak tahu bagaimana hal itu bisa terjadi, tapi tak penting. Lex mulai menyembuhkan diri dengan darahnya, dan fokus pada si dokter gigi.
Ia tak sulit percaya si dokter gigi menghindari apinya. Tapi ia merasakan, begitu ia memakai api, si dokter gigi menjadi sedikit lebih kuat—persis cukup untuk lolos tanpa terluka.
Tampaknya ia tak bisa memenangkan pertarungan ini dengan cara normal. Seseorang atau sesuatu memastikan hal itu.
Tak masalah. Ia masih punya Lawcraft lain untuk diuji, dan itu memberinya waktu mencari cara lain.
Lex melangkah mundur, seolah mundur, yang justru membuat si dokter gigi menerjang maju dan menyerang dengan bornya. Kali ini, Lex tak menyiapkan Domain, juga tak mengangkat Naraka untuk bertahan.
Sebaliknya, ia hanya mengangkat tangan kosong dan menunjukkan telapak tangannya pada si dokter gigi.
Saat Lex baru memulai perjalanan kultivasinya, ia mempelajari teknik pertahanan bernama Bicara ke Tangan yang pada dasarnya memanggil penghalang tak terlihat di depan tangannya. Itu tak terlalu kuat, tapi cukup berguna baginya saat itu.
Terinspirasi dari itu, juga kebutuhan untuk kembali fokus pada pertahanan agar tak tertinggal, Lex menciptakan versi baru dan perbaikan dari Bicara ke Tangan. Berbeda dari yang asli, penghalang tak dipanggil tepat di depan telapak tangannya, juga ia tak perlu menahannya untuk memakainya.
Mengangkat tangan hanyalah cara mengaktifkan tekniknya, dan teknik itu akan memanggil penghalang dengan bentuk dan ukuran apa pun di mana saja dalam jangkauan Lex.
Lebih dari itu, ia memakai inspirasi dari armor Black Knights. Karena armornya sendiri mengandung hukum, menembus pertahanannya jauh lebih sulit karena seperti melanggar hukum itu sendiri.
Tentu saja, ini tak sepenuhnya sempurna, karena Lex sendiri pernah melanggar satu-dua hukum, tapi itu jelas bonus bagus.
Bor si dokter gigi bertabrakan dengan dinding tak terlihat, memantul, tepat sebelum mencapai Lex. Lex baru saja menahan kekuatan penuh serangan si dokter gigi dengan satu Lawcraft pertahanan, dan itu membuatnya tersenyum.
Ia sempat khawatir pertahanannya tertinggal. Bagus mengetahui ternyata tidak.
Tapi terlalu dini untuk bersorak. Saat si dokter gigi mundur, Lex bisa merasakan ia menguat lagi.
Even as Lex fought against the dentist, his disadvantage still pretty significant, he continued to pay attention to his surroundings as well. He did not believe, even for a second, that there was just a dentist randomly waiting inside the jungle, past the barrier, for him to arrive.
It was much more likely that the dentist was summoned, or maybe even created, specifically as a result of his actions. Maybe he was finally being punished for taking things from the jungle.
That meant there was still a possibility of more such enemies popping up out of the shadows. There was also the fact that his instincts were so clearly guiding him that the dentist hid the secret to following Fenrir.
As of late, as Lex encountered more and more powerful beings, his instincts became less effective. This wasn't because his instincts had weakened. On the contrary, as an Immortal, they were far stronger than they had ever been. It was just that, now that he himself was stronger, he was more frequently encountering things related to the Dao - or perhaps even beyond.
His poor instincts, no matter how useful, could do little to help with that. But a mere dentist was no problem for him.
Using the ability of his left eye, the one that allowed him to see through everything, Lex studied how the dentist manipulated laws. Even though there were many laws he manipulated that Lex couldn't sense, he could still observe how the more common laws were influenced as a result of his actions.
The first thing he realized was that the dentists tools - the drill, the saw, the plaque blaster - were actually a solidified Lawcraft. He had literally created a physical object out of laws, and Lex was certain that he wasn't quite at the level where he could do that yet.
But Lex could definitely try improving the way he used Lawcraft. Since Lex had never created any before, he had been working on a couple Lawcrafts which were basically just improved versions of techniques he already used.
Lex and the dentist clashed. Lex's fragile Domain - fragile in front of the accursed dentist, though it was usually quite sturdy against Earth immortals - quivered, almost buckling under the weight of the dentist trying to use his drill. But the might of Lex's strength, channeled through Naraka, was enough to cause the dentist to stumble.
For a fraction of a second, the dentist's concentration wavered, and that's when Lex employed his first Lawcraft - an upgraded version of Golden Inferno.
There were no fancy visuals, no appearance of a dragon. No, it was quick and brutal. Lex opened his mouth, and from it emerged his Domination imbued flames that transcended the concept of temperature.
It was an expression of his Supremacy tenet. Anything and everything that touched the flames was consumed by it, turned into fuel to allow the flames to burn brighter, stronger, and longer. It did not matter what was combustible, nor did it matter if the target even had a burning point at all.
Even the effects and consequences of laws themselves began to burn.
The dentist's wide smile wavered as his white coat was burnt to cinders, though he himself escaped relatively unharmed.
"You're being a difficult patient," the dentist said, glaring at Lex. "I can sense your cavities from all the way over here. They've traveled through your teeth into your bones. Let me see what I can do to help."
Lex was going to scoff, but suddenly discovered that he felt a soft numbness in his molars. The numbness travelled quickly into his jaw, and then began spreading around his skull and down his neck. Just as the dentist had said, a cavity had formed, and it was affecting his bones.
Despite observing the dentist closely, he had no idea how it had been able to achieve such a thing, not that it mattered. Lex began to heal himself using his blood, and focused on the dentist.
He did not find it difficult to believe that the dentist had avoided his flames. But he had sensed that, as soon as he used the flames, the dentist had grown just a little stronger - exactly enough to escape the flames unharmed.
It seemed that he would not be able to win this fight in a normal way. Someone or something was making sure of that.
No matter. He had more Lawcrafts to test, and that would give him time to figure something else out.
Lex took a step back, as if retreating, which only caused the dentist to lunge forward and attack with his drill. This time, Lex had neither his Domain ready, nor had he raised Naraka in defense.
Instead, he simply held up his empty hand and showed the dentist his palm.
When Lex had merely begun his cultivation journey, he had learned a defensive technique called Talk to the Hand which basically summoned an invisible barrier in front of his hand. It was not too strong, but it had served Lex well at the time.
Inspired by that, as well as his need to refocus on his defense once again lest he fall behind in it, Lex created a new and improved version of Talk to the Hand. Unlike the original, a barrier was not summoned right in front of his palm, nor did he need to keep it up to use it.
Raising his hand was just the way to activate the technique, and it would summon a barrier of any shape and size anywhere within Lex's reach.
Moreover, he used the inspiration he gained when he saw the Black Knights armor. Since the armor itself contained laws, penetrating its defenses was that much harder because it was like breaking a law itself.
Of course, this was not foolproof, as Lex himself had broken a law or two, but it was definitely a nice bonus.
The dentists drills clashed against an invisible wall, bouncing back, right before it reached Lex. Lex had just tanked the full strength of the dentist's attack with a single defensive Lawcraft, and that caused him to smile.
He had been worried that he had been falling behind in his defense. It was good to know that wasn't the case.
But it was too soon to celebrate. As the dentist retreated, Lex could sense him becoming stronger again.
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