Chapter 54. The First Mana Stone Weapon (1)

The status window floated before Jeonghyeon's eyes as he opened them.

'What a pain in the ass.'

Inside the Wakin sisters' tent, Jeonghyeon lay on the simple cot and clicked his tongue.

His body wouldn't move, wracked with pain like electricity surging from head to toe.

"Ugh...!"

Nus plopped onto Jeonghyeon's chest as he groaned in agony.

"You okay?"

Stretching out long to peer down at Jeonghyeon, Nus poked at his face with its body, seemingly worried.

"Feels like I'm dying. But thanks. We cleared it thanks to you."

"Hmph. Idiot. Do you even know what state your body's in?"

Jeonghyeon had shown some goodwill, but the response was unexpected.

"I checked your body's condition while I was possessing you for a bit."

"That's kinda embarrassing."

"You crazy bastard."

It was nice that someone was worried, but hearing it from Nus of all things? Having another nagger(?) in his life was getting tiring.

"I don't know where the hell you crawled out from, but the mana and techniques you're using—your body can't handle them. Weak-ass punk!"

Things were about to get even more exhausting. Nus unleashed a machine-gun barrage of nagging.

"And why the hell are your mana veins so damn thin? Even a single goblin's got better ones."

It was sharp, too. Was this nagging out of hope he'd improve, or just telling him to go die since he knew his limits? Hard to tell.

"I used like 70% of the mana I'd stockpiled! It's fine to dump it all at once, but what if you couldn't handle it and stole all my mana?! What then? What if we still couldn't take it down?!"

"That wouldn't have happened."

"You little shit again?!"

"Sorry, sorry. Didn't expect this."

Jeonghyeon apologized when he couldn't take it anymore, but it was no use.

Nus kept nagging nonstop. Of course, the core was how it—the one who'd trusted Jeonghyeon and lent its power—had nearly died.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry..."

Ignoring the nagging with one ear and mumbling responses, Jeonghyeon focused on the bottom line of the status window.

Current Stat Reduction Rate: 94.6%

He'd thought he'd returned to his prime, but he clearly needed training time.

"Don't even think some training or overworking your body will let you use that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠manticore-level power again."

"Reading my mind now?"

"Hmph. Your eyes screamed it."

Nus sighed deeply. Its squishy form slumped like melting to the floor, slipping out of the inventory and into Jeonghyeon's fingertip.

"Feel this."

"Huh? What're you—"

Burrowing through Jeonghyeon's fingertip mana vein, Nus began inflating its body.

The ultra-thin mana vein filled up tight, then started swelling like it might burst.

"Gaaah! You little—!"

Already dying from the pain, Jeonghyeon couldn't even thrash properly and just screamed.

"This is your current state."

"What the fuck?! Shit!"

Withdrawing from the fingertip, Nus slowly shifted to Jeonghyeon's other hand.

"Normally, that much force would've burst all your veins. But you're just hurting."

"So?"

"Your body's forcibly suppressing your true potential. Like the status window says, you're 'cursed.'"

"Ah."

A seal or limit. Low-level but the most effective instant curse—one that sealed the target's abilities. That's what afflicted Jeonghyeon.

With the ridiculous condition of unlocking via Demon King powers, no less.

"...Damn it."

His already aching head throbbed like it might split.

'The stat reduction rate rises with Demon King Assimilation Rate, obviously...'

Meaning the stronger Jeonghyeon got, the closer he came to the Demon King.

Was this what the Demon King from his past life meant by "The stronger you get, the weaker I become"?

It was meticulously planned, like it'd been preparing for Jeonghyeon long before they met. Too desperate for him to become the Demon King for it to be mere amusement.

"Damn it!!"

Such plans were unwelcome to Jeonghyeon, reborn solely to kill the Demon King. No, rage boiled from his depths, ready to erupt alongside his powerless body.

"Philip or whatever went off to train. The Wakin sisters are busy making gear from the items you picked up."

Nus, peeking out from Jeonghyeon's inventory, spoke up.

"They say they might even make a mana stone weapon."

"Thanks, Nus."

The one silver lining: a mana stone weapon in the works.

Jeonghyeon wasn't thrilled, just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠closing his eyes gently.

***

The price for pushing beyond limits was far steeper than expected.

He lay unable to do anything for three days and nights straight, only able to move slowly after five days.

Two more days after that—about a week since waking—let him move freely, but some creaks lingered.

Whatever.

"Haha! Good morning!!"

Without the gate, crowds would've flocked to the Han River on this clear day. A bright start.

"Mmm~! So bright! So happy! Starting such a great day—ain't life grand?"

Jeonghyeon shouted in an insanely cheery tone, like a male lead in a teen drama—unnaturally refreshing.

Then he sprawled on the Han River grass, muttering to himself.

Philip watching from beside the tent, and Nus in his inventory hand, shook their heads.

"That's real madness."

"Yeah."

Weird stares from around? Jeonghyeon didn't care. He was genuinely hyped.

The younger Wakin sister, knowing why, shot him an annoyed glare.

"Uh... Even if it's mana stone weapon completion day, isn't this overkill?"

"That obvious?"

"Super?"

"How could I not be pumped? It's a mana stone weapon! The fruit of shredding my mana circuits and bedridden for a week!"

What made Jeonghyeon see the world so brightly? The mana stone weapon, of course.

During his week of rehab, the Wakin sisters poured everything into crafting. And it was done.

Today, the first one emerged.

"Awesome! Hyped! Tower, here we come!"

"A week ago, you were all doom and gloom, hating on the Demon King before bed..."

Nus chuckled in disbelief; Philip scratched his head awkwardly.

"Jeonghyeon-nim's got a surprisingly simple side."

The tent flap opened behind the ecstatic Jeonghyeon.

"Oh. You're out."

Philip turned to older sister Melani Wakin; far off, Jeonghyeon—who'd been cackling alone—raced over.

"It's done?! Lemme see, lemme see!!"

But Melani's face wasn't bright.

"Why the long face, sis? Quality bad?"

"No, top-grade."

"Mana circuit engraving failed?"

"Perfect."

"Then what?"

"Well..."

Older sister Melani Wakin bowed her head, handing over the mana stone weapon.

"I'm really sorry!! I wanted to squeeze in one more good ability... Was mixing in the manticore claws the problem?!"

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

Still in flower-field-headspace, Jeonghyeon grinned innocently, taking the black-wrapped mana stone weapon.

Assuming it was a sword, he unwrapped—and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lump thudded out.

"Gauntlet?"

Younger sister Adel spotted the shape first.

"Hm? What could that mean?"

Denying reality, Jeonghyeon figured this was the main bit and opened the wrap fully.

But it was clearly a left-hand gauntlet.

"Whoa, weird grip."

Glancing down: a right-hand gauntlet.

"Two grips. Where's the weapon?"

Jeonghyeon sounded like he was escaping reality; the Wakins bowed repeatedly, apologizing nonstop.

"Sorry. Didn't expect monster weapons to equate to human ones. Should've noticed from the mana stone..."

What she meant: After successfully refining mana circuits with the monster core (some hard-to-parse tech talk), the mana stone weapon process felt oddly iffy performance-wise.

She'd tailored it for Philip per Jeonghyeon's request, melting all the manticore claws for the hardest, strongest, lightest, highest-mana-efficiency weapon...

"Hrm. Nah, can't be. After all that? No way. Grip it and it'll shoot a lightsaber or something."

In the final forging, a random-ass gauntlet popped out.

"Hey, Melani."

"Y-Yes...?"

Jeonghyeon's smile vanished, eyes unfocused as he called her name; Melani replied a bit scared.

"Uh... Aren't mana stone weapons supposed to have a set type you aim for?"

"Mana stone weapons are totally random... We figured sword since most came out that way. But you requested a mace... We lacked knowledge..."

Melani teared up like she'd cry if poked, truly sorry.

Younger Adel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hesitated, unsure how to handle it, then dragged her sister back inside.

"...What now?"

"...I'm out."

Philip and Nus were lost too; Nus ducked into the inventory.

Left: Philip and Jeonghyeon.

"Uh... Jeonghyeon-nim?"

Jeonghyeon alternated stares between the one in his hand and the dropped one—his dreamed mana stone weapon.

Gauntlet.

He'd never used one in his life; Philip's were out of reach.

Ultra-niche, fewer users than the discarded mace—top-tier 1v1, but crippled against groups.

Gauntlet.

His first handmade mana stone weapon: a gauntlet, of all things.

Gazing at the once-bright sky, Jeonghyeon murmured softly.

"Haha. Fuck."