Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Black Shard
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Getting an Abyss Core didn't mean my turn-based life was over.
So today, I dragged myself back to the monster dungeon to farm shards.
Even after grueling training sessions with Adeline, I still couldn't seize the first turn against an elite kobold.
Naturally, every dungeon run left claw marks etched into my gut. Sometimes on my arm, sometimes on my chest.
But the yellow shards definitely worked.
They turned wounds that should've killed me into ones that just might not.
Of course, the pain still felt like death.
What I needed was obvious: shards that boosted speed.
Shards came in six types, divided by color.
Red for attack power.
Blue for stamina.
Yellow for defense.
Green for critical hits.
White boosted mana, which meant nothing to a swordsman like me. What I desperately needed was the black shard that raised speed.
I might be spinning in turn-based hell alone, but Apocalypse Academy was originally an action RPG.
Attack power, stamina, defense, critical hits, mana.
All the other shards had straightforward, intuitive effects. The black shard was the only one that raised something called "Flow"—a stat no one had ever heard of.
So what was this Flow stat? Simply put, it reduced the delay between actions.
It sped up how quickly you stood after dodging, or recovered your stance after blocking and getting pushed back.
A newbie might go, "So what?" But to veterans, it was a game-changer.
The higher your Flow, the more insane combos and plays opened up.
The devs probably added it as a newbie buffer. But to old-school grinders from other games, black shards were basically cheat keys.
"Stack 16 blacks and dodge cooldown drops to 0.1 seconds? Elementary school dodge spam!"
"Double black lets you block and parry at the same time."
Eventually, someone cleared the Demon God with no gear—just black shards double-stacked, dodging, parrying, and blocking in their underwear.
A balance patch meant to fix things ended up shattering it instead.
After that video flooded the forums, the devs' nerbat hammer dropped.
Black shard drop rate massively reduced.
Like, to a third of a third of a third.
And that was why my Abyss Core was currently a mess.
╔═════════╗
◈Abyss Core - Rene◈
╠═════════╣
▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16
□ □ □ ■
● ● ● ●
● ● ● ●
◎ ◎ ◎ ◎
╠═════════╣
□ = Red Shard x3
■ = Blue Shard x1
● = Yellow Shard x8
◎ = Green Shard x4
╠═════════╣
▸ Stat Bonuses
Attack Power 3
Stamina 1
Defense 8
Crit 4
╚═════════╝
Where the hell were my black shards?
Two months of grinding elite kobolds daily, and not a single one.
That meant I'd eaten at least 60 hits without first turn. Screw you, devs...
I was in and out of the infirmary and church so often that even the nuns who used to look at me with pity now clicked their tongues like, "This guy's back again?"
Kieeeek—!!
"Hand it over already!! Come on!!"
The familiar screech.
A red gem gleamed above its head as its steel claws shredded my armor once more.
The talons slipping through tore into my flesh, carving another wound.
But did you think eight yellows were for show?
"Kh...!"
One didn't feel like much, but eight started to make a difference.
Defense up by 8. The wounds were noticeably shallower, the pain more bearable than before.
The moment I spotted the blue gem, I triggered my Art.
Corner Slash.
[Weak!]
Followed by a glow.
Even back when I first fought it, the damage was overkill.
Now with three reds and four greens piled on, that single—no, double—strike crumpled the elite kobold, sending it rolling across the floor.
"Hah..."
My stamina was almost gone.
If no black this time, I'd call it quits for today.
Heal up and come back tomorrow. That was the plan—until something sparkled amid the kobold's corpse.
At least a shard dropped.
But—
[Black Shard]
"...!?"
I shot to my feet on instinct, only to clutch my bleeding gut and slump back down.
It's fine. Pain can wait.
With trembling hands, I carefully picked up the shard.
Small, black, gleaming like liquid.
Exactly like the ones I'd seen in the game so many times.
"...Fuck."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"You finally dropped one, you bastard..."
If all those previous days were for this single piece, it was worth it.
Normally, you'd swap out a blue or yellow.
But this wasn't a game—it was reality. Blue tied to my stamina, yellow to survival defense.
Both directly affected my body's condition, so no way I was dropping them.
That left red or green.
Decision made, no hesitation.
Green boosted both crit chance and damage, splitting efficiency between them.
I could force a weak spot with Corner Slash anyway. So pure attack power mattered more than crit right now.
Out with one green.
Black shard slotted into the empty spot.
Click.
A brief vibration rippled through my body, along with a strange sensation.
╔═════════╗
◈Abyss Core - Rene◈
╠═════════╣
▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16
□ □ □ ■
● ● ● ●
● ● ● ●
◎ ◎ ◎ ★
╠═════════╣
□ = Red Shard x3
■ = Blue Shard x1
● = Yellow Shard x8
◎ = Green Shard x3
★ = Black Shard x1
╠═════════╣
▸ Stat Bonuses
Attack Power 3
Stamina 1
Defense 8
Crit 3
Flow 1
╚═════════╝
I'd half-doubted if Flow would actually boost speed.
But once equipped, it felt solid—no worries there.
"Still, gotta test it."
After some field first aid and catching my breath, a squirming shadow emerged from the darkness again.
Black miasma seeped into it, shaping it into a familiar form.
Elite kobold.
Grrrrr...
I stared it down.
Razor teeth.
Claws stretched like longswords.
The foul dog stench that wrinkled my nose.
And eyes glaring at me like prey, as if it were the most natural thing.
Same as always, striding forward.
Kieeeek—!!
The moment it screeched and lunged—
"Haha..."
A blue gem appeared above my head.
⁎⁎⁎
"Definitely smoother movements. Swapped shards?"
"You can tell?"
"Of course. What do you take me for?"
Wow. What perception.
The next day, Adeline blocked my chained Arts in sparring and said as much.
She wasn't even wearing her Abyss Core.
Monster of a woman.
Even with the black shard, I couldn't take first turn against her.
How many blacks would it take?
Maybe a higher-grade shard.
Surely not even double 5-star or special shards would fail?
"Right. How's Break training going?"
"Turn-based life makes it hard to get a feel."
"Come on... How's a genius like you not nailing that one thing?"
No, really—it's the turn-based curse.
Apocalypse Academy had no ultimate moves.
Just final Arts and secret techniques that came close.
But it did have something similar.
Break.
A technique activated by chaining Arts, dealing massive damage.
Beyond raw power, it shattered defenses or halted foes—handy extras.
After seeing me improvise Arts, Adeline's eyes lit up and shoved Break drills on me.
"Kids these days all use it. Can't have a genius like you slacking—embarrassing!"
But I couldn't Break.
Why? I could only use Arts twice.
Turn-based meant it reliably passed to the enemy after two.
Break needed at least three Arts? How?
So Adeline was pouring water into a leaky jar, torturing me in the process.
No matter how I protested the turn-based thing, she ignored it. I just gave up and trained.
Arts I could manage somehow, but Break was systemically impossible. What did she expect?
"Guess Break's a no-go..."
"What?"
"...I'll try a twelve-syllable poem on it."
"Oh."
She actually bought that deflection play.
While I pondered how to eat the least pain, Adeline glanced toward the barracks entrance.
"Everyone's ready, looks like. Come back, and I'll hear that poem?"
Shit.
A few soldiers and dozens of civilians already gathered at the entrance.
A familiar nun up front.
"Have you finished preparing, Sir Halibal?"
"Yes. We can head out anytime."
These civilians were the families of soldiers killed by kobolds on the last dungeon scout.
They'd waited for me because of that damn funeral rite I hadn't even meant to start.
Yesterday's meeting, I offhandedly mentioned dropping an elite kobold unscathed. The nun suddenly went full throttle.
"Then...! I'd like to soothe the souls of those who passed in the dungeon with you, Sir Halibal."
With teary eyes like that, no refusing.
"The Dirgeblade steps up at last."
"We know how many wounds you've endured for your fallen comrades, Halibal."
"We'll assign escorts. Perform the rite properly."
So... how did you do this rite?
Beats me.
⁎⁎⁎
Right after felling the elite kobold, family members knelt before the corpse one by one.
"I told you... not to go. Why didn't you listen, you idiot..."
"If you leave like this... what does Mama hold onto now...? Huh?"
"The doll you gave her... Rumi still loves it. Sleeps with it every night..."
Sobs echoed uncontrollably through the dungeon as the nun chanted her prayer.
"Peaceful rest unto you. May the path your breath once crossed bloom with light, not shadow. May the grief of those left behind not bind your soul. Here and now, we release you. May we meet again in your next life amid wildflowers, not the battlefield."
Luckily, I had nothing to do. Just flick the blood from my sword and bow my head in silence.
That's when something sparkled amid the kobold's corpse.
[Black Shard]
"Two blacks in two days."
Talk about fortune's wheel turning.
Remembering the grind brought tears to my eyes.
"Ah... Even you shed tears for us, Sir Knight?"
"Dirgeblade Halibal Belder. I'll never forget your name, even in death."
"Thank you... for this precious chance..."
Misunderstanding snowballing here.
While no one watched, I snatched the shard and slotted it into my core.
After finishing the rite, we reached the dungeon exit with soldiers and civilians.
"Huh?! What?! What's going on?!"
"What is it?"
"Th-the door won't open...?"
Faces paled instantly.
I wasn't calm either.
Monster dungeons were tutorial ones—free entry and exit.
They allowed civilians assuming I could one-shot everything at the start.
Exit blocked?
In my knowledge, two possibilities.
Internet cut out mid-game, crashing it.
"Or combat's started."
That's when something slithered at vision's edge.
I turned. In the darkness, a single red gem flickered ominously.