Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Trait Enhancement (1)
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It was a mythic item, just as I thought, but its ability seemed a bit… ambiguous.
First of all, if it’s an orb, it’s likely a consumable.
Should I have listened to the explanation?
No, I didn't have time anyway. Besides, I can just ask Bio, right?
I stroked Geum-yong and Nyx once each before summoning my companions.
“Hyeon-ung, are you alright? We were worried when you suddenly disappeared.”
“Mister, are you okay?”
Both Hanna and Rina had faces full of worry.
“Nothing happened. The training method was just a bit unique…”
“Hyeon-ung, I was more worried than these two.”
It was so good to see Timi, too.
If I could, I would have hugged each of them, but I restrained myself.
To me, it had been a long time, nearly ten months, but for my companions, it would have only been three days.
Still, it was so good to see their faces.
“…I’m glad to hear nothing happened. But Hyeon-ung, you feel… different somehow.”
“Huh? What’s different? I’m the same old mister.”
“No. Wait a minute, like Milli said, your aura? No, something definitely seems to have changed…”
Had I changed that much?
“Hyeon-ung, are you not going to call Elaine anymore?”
“No, before that… Ah, it should be fine now.”
I was going to call that guy Bio before calling Elaine, but I could summon them both.
I had leveled up a lot as a reward for clearing the secret dungeon.
I summoned Elaine again first.
“Hyeon-ung…”
The moment she was summoned, she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.
“E-Elaine?”
I looked into her eyes and saw they were brimming with tears.
She’s going to cry the moment she appears?
“I waited for so long, and you didn’t call for me, so I thought because I returned on my own, I was useless and you wouldn’t call me anymore…”
Transparent tears streamed down Elaine’s snow-white cheeks.
Come to think of it, she had taken damage from Nyx’s skill and was unsummoned.
“There’s no way that’s true. Elaine, you’re my companion.”
“…Then you won’t abandon me?”
“Of course not.”
I patted her back to comfort her, and thankfully, her tears stopped quickly.
I managed to gently pull her away, but the glares from my other companions were quite sharp.
Rina’s gaze, in particular, was reminiscent of a biting midwinter wind.
“Mister, why do you favor her so much?”
“No, it’s just that she’s young and doesn’t know any better.”
“What do you mean young? At 200 years old, she’s old enough to be a grandma.”
“That’s by human standards.”
With no social experience and having only lived with her family, she was practically a child.
“A-A grandma? I’m not a grandma…”
“You’re not a grandma. Rina’s just jealous.”
Timi comforted Elaine, who was on the verge of tears again.
“Jealous? Ah, because I’m close with Hyeon-ung?”
“Something like that.”
“Who said I was jealous!”
She whipped her head away, but even that was endearing.
That’s how much I had missed my companions.
I briefly explained the story of the Sword King’s training space.
“For ten months?”
“It’s not exact, but it was around that long.”
“You must have missed me a ton, Mister.”
“I did.”
I answered without a second’s hesitation.
“I mean, you don’t have to answer so quickly…”
That Rina, her face turned as red as a beet.
“So the change in your aura was because your skills improved…”
“Well, I don’t think anything has particularly changed.”
I’d probably get a better feel for it once I fight.
“First, I’m going to call Bio.”
Bio would probably know about the Orb of Trait Enhancement.
“Bio Rein, master of the forgotten space.”
Bio appeared with a more intense violet light than usual.
He scanned me from head to toe, a slightly impressed look on his face, but I was the one who was more surprised.
“Arpeus taught you better than I expected. No, you seem to be on a higher level than Arpeus.”
I couldn’t even register the compliment.
What in the world was this guy, Bio?
The moment Bio appeared, I began to feel a sense of dissonance from all the space around me.
I never knew it before, but the enlightenment I gained from landing the final blow on Arpeus was spatial control through will.
Mine was barely a 30cm radius around me, but this guy Bio was on an absurd level.
Moreover, I had to concentrate with all my might for about five minutes at most, but Bio didn’t even seem to be paying attention.
I felt that if Bio wanted to, he could kill anyone here in an instant.
“Bio, you were really something else.”
Then again, stopping time itself was unbelievable.
“Have you awakened to the concept of space as well? You’re definitely on a higher level than Arpeus. You’ve worked hard.”
“What are you talking about?”
Elaine tilted her head and asked, but it was a bit difficult to explain.
“It’s just something.”
Without realizing it yourself, no amount of verbal explanation would make sense, so I just glossed over it.
“I’m complimenting Hyeon-ung on finally learning to take his first steps.”
“As expected, if even Bio is complimenting you like this, you must have gotten really strong, Hyeon-ung.”
“Is ‘taking his first steps’ a compliment?”
Rina took my side, but compared to Bio, I was honestly not even at a toddler’s level, more like a newborn.
I think I finally understood why he always emphasized skill so much.
“You said you’d give me my sword back if I passed, right?”
Ah, of course, skill is skill, but I had to get my item back.
“I brought it with me.”
Bio flicked his finger, and a sword materialized in the empty air.
“B-Bio?”
I was stunned.
Overall, not much had changed, but there was one thing.
The light emanating from the sword had changed.
It was mostly golden, but a faint violet light was mixed in, making it shimmer.
I immediately reached out and grabbed the sword, and a feeling of vitality surged through my body.
[The Darkness of Kalisina (Legendary-Infinity)
A longsword imbued with mysterious power, forged from the fang of the worst demon dragon, Kalisina, who drove the world to the brink of destruction.
Attack Power 137, All Stats +20%, Agility +200
Damage Increase 300%, Indestructible.
Special Abilities:
60% chance to inflict Bleed on target.
30% chance to inflict Paralysis on target.
20% chance to inflict Blind on target.
15% chance to activate Darkness of the Demon Dragon on target.
(Darkness of the Demon Dragon: Reduces all of the target's stats by 30% and sets their Defense and Curse Resistance to 0. Duration: 1 minute)
※Infinity weapons are growth-type and develop according to the owner's experience and skill.]
It was still Legendary, but the item information was just… I was at a loss for words.
What in the world is this…
“Bio!”
Overcome with emotion, I tried to hug him, but he dodged it nimbly.
“I’m not into men.”
“No, it’s not that I like you like that, but no, I just like you.”
At this point, I had no choice but to like him.
When he took my item for the second time, I thought he was a devil incarnate, but I was the bad guy for thinking that.
Our dear Bio had a plan all along.
It was I, in my ignorance, who misunderstood Bio's grand design.
“Huh? Then, Hyeon-ung, do you like men?”
Elaine asked with a surprised expression.
“Ahem, I-I should be going…”
This guy Bio was misunderstanding again.
“No, wait! It’s not that I like you romantically, it’s because I’m grateful. Elaine, I like women.”
“That’s a relief!”
I didn’t know what was a relief, but I felt like I was on cloud nine.
“You’re not going to take it away again, are you?”
Given his track record, I was a little anxious.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen again.”
“Then I’ll give my old sword to Geum-yong.”
I unbuckled the Stigma of the Knight from my waist and held it out to Geum-yong.
“Here, Geum-yong, it’s a present.”
“Kkyu? Kkyu-ing.”
He’d been staring intently at The Darkness of Kalisina, so he seemed a bit lukewarm about it.
“Hey, you can’t have this one. If you don’t want it, then don’t.”
“Kkyu-ing!”
As I tried to take the sword back, he quickly lunged forward and began to crunch on it.
“*Burp!*”
“Th-The dragon ate a sword!”
It seemed to be a novel sight for Elaine.
“He eats them all the time.”
“Kkyu-ing!”
“Thanks, Bio.”
“You seem to like it a lot. Could everyone else step aside for a moment?”
Bio suddenly asked my other companions to step away.
“Why? Is there something you want to say?”
“Let me see that again for a moment.”
“Huh? You said you wouldn’t take it away. I don’t have another sword now.”
“I’m not trying to take it.”
I was a bit hesitant, but Bio wasn’t the type to lie, so I trusted him and handed the sword back.
“Didn’t you learn from Arpeus? That no matter how good a sword is, it’s no better than a tree branch imbued with will.”
“Yeah, I know that, but… wouldn’t it be even better to imbue a good sword with will?”
“Even if your sword is better, if your opponent’s will is stronger, it can still break.”
I understood, but…
“My sword is indestructible.”
The Darkness of Kalisina had the indestructible option since it was a fang.
“Indestructible?”
The way he smirked as he repeated my words was unsettling…
*Snap—*
“Hey, you crazy… No, Bio, what are you doing right now?”
It didn’t even look like Bio used much force, but the blade of The Darkness of Kalisina snapped and broke in two.
“You said you wouldn’t take it. I mean, you didn’t take it, but if you just break it like that…”
“What’s broken can be fixed.”
Bio flicked his finger, and the sword reattached itself.
“Phew, why do you have to scare people like that?”
“Is that what’s important right now? Didn’t you say something about it being indestructible?”
Was he trying to show off his strength?
“Alright, you’re amazing. Are you happy now? Give it back.”
Worried he might break it again, I tried to snatch it, but surprisingly, Bio returned the sword willingly.
“Don’t put too much faith in item information. Before a stronger will, they can all end up like that in an instant.”
So it wasn’t a show of strength.
He must have done it on purpose to remind me of what I learned from Arpeus, worried that I was getting too excited and pleased with the sword.
I think I also understood why he had been so wary of good items all this time.
“I know what you’re trying to say. Thanks for making me realize it again.”
“Don’t mention it. Now that you’ve started walking the path, I trust you’ll do well on your own. Well then, I’ll be…”
“Ah, wait a minute!”
I took out the Orb of the Dragon God Kalonife that I received from Arpeus from my inventory.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Oh, Arpeus gave you that as a reward? He must have overdone it.”
For a mythic item, it seemed a bit underwhelming, but judging from Bio’s reaction, it didn’t seem to be a bad thing.
“Is it good?”
“Did you hear about how Arpeus’s sister was nearly killed?”
“Yeah.”
“I heard the Dragon God gave it to him as compensation after finding out later.”
“Really? The thing is, Arpeus was going to explain it, but we ran out of time, so I didn’t get to hear. It says it can enhance a trait, but do you have any more information?”
Bio tilted his head for a moment.
“By trait, do you mean the special abilities that summoners possess?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“I see it applies that way for summoners. Originally, the Orb of the Dragon God Kalonife is known to enhance any ability its owner desires.”
It seemed to be exactly as the description said.
“How do I use it?”
“Hold it and think of the ability you want.”
“Really? Then the enhancement part, does it change or transform an existing ability into something completely different?”
This was my biggest concern.
“I don’t think so. I heard it develops it for the better.”
“Thanks.”
The part I was worried about was completely resolved.
“Well then, I’ll be… Ah! Did Arpeus happen to give you a secret manual this time?”
“Yeah. He did.”
“If you don’t have anything specific in mind, I recommend the Path of the Sword King. It will be of great help to you.”
“Oh? Ah… I’ll keep that in mind.”
After Bio left, I was about to call my companions back, but first, I opened my status window to check my traits.
[Path of the Sword King (EX)
The owner of this trait will walk the path of the Sword King.
Correction value for all sword-related techniques +200%.
Can learn the Heart Arts of the Sword King. (You do not possess the manual.)
Can use all of the Sword King’s training facilities. (Restricted by level of mastery, 3-day cooldown)
All stats +50 when using a sword as a weapon.]
Oh, it gave a nice stat boost, and the technique correction value, whatever that was, seemed good.
I thought it was just for using the training space, but this was pretty good. I closed the status window.
I was curious about what would happen if I enhanced it, and honestly, listening to Bio’s advice had never led me astray, but…
This time, I planned not to follow his advice.
The Path of the Sword King was an incomparably better trait than the currently useless Leader’s Dignity, but I had an even better trait.
Following the method Bio had told me, I placed my hand on the Orb of the Dragon God Kalonife and pictured the trait I wanted to enhance in my mind.
[You have used the Orb of the Dragon God Kalonife.
The trait you have selected, Failed Game Master, will be enhanced.]