Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Chapter 29 Under the Surface (3)
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If I had known that reinforcing the weapon would add a voice function, I would have reconsidered the reinforcement.
But at the time I used the reinforcement stone, I had no idea about that issue.
-There are still weaklings suffering at this very moment.
Thanks to that, I had to endure a voice that nagged me incessantly.
-If you've become my master, you should protect them instead of wandering the battlefields.
It was only natural that my concentration would waver when it butted into my head like this during combat.
Conversations with Kerax were different from direct verbal exchanges.
It was similar to what I'd experienced before at the meeting with the System and the Seven Gods.
The feeling of something entering me and stirring things up.
More precisely, the sensation of another consciousness infiltrating my mind.
It was an extremely unpleasant and uncomfortable way to converse, one I wouldn't welcome even in jest.
"Hoo."
That was why my face naturally crumpled every time Kerax spoke.
"Please, just shut up."
Even plugging my ears and snapping at it in irritation was pointless.
Kerax's voice, having evolved beyond mere thoughts to possess its own ego, resonated directly in my head.
This constant chatter was giving me neurosis.
That was the situation, leading to thoughts like this.
'Did Pinelpenia give me the reinforcement stone just to screw me over?'
For someone like me who already distrusted the Seven Gods, it seemed a perfectly reasonable suspicion.
But even if that were true, I couldn't bring myself to discard Kerax's spear.
[Spear Imbued with Kerax's Ideology]
• Classification: Relic
• Acquisition Difficulty: Unique
• Rank: ★★★★★★★
• Bound User: Player Kang Hyun-woo (K)
• Description: Kerax's lingering thoughts, infused with Pinelpenia's divinity, have regained sentience. Kerax, who couldn't close his eyes until the moment of death due to guilt over failing to protect the weak, will become your staunchest ally now that he's found a master to fulfill his regrets.
• Special Effect: When your actions receive validation of legitimacy and necessity from Kerax's ideology, your Attribute Mana increases by 1000% for 60 minutes.
※ Usable only by the bound user.
Unlike in the past, the description now included clear numerical values, making it absurd to even consider discarding this weapon.
'The 10-minute amplification became 60 minutes.'
Even if it meant neurosis, I had to keep it.
After absorbing the Attribute Stone I bought yesterday, my Attribute Mana was right on the cusp of 20,000.
A tenfold boost would bring it close to 200,000 in an instant.
'Factoring in recovery speed after potion doping, that's eight times—nine if things go well.'
Being able to unleash an AoE that wipes out 5-star evolved beasts nine times—neurosis was a small price to pay.
I acknowledged the necessity of the enhanced Kerax spear.
Of course, that didn't make the voice rummaging through my head any more welcome.
So, in a fit of frustration, I slammed the spear against the barrier with a thud.
-Even if I can't feel pain, that action was exceedingly unpleasant.
That was my line.
"I'm disgusted every time you open your mouth."
-Strange logic. I merely spoke.
The way you speak is different from a normal person's.
-I am a weapon no different from your own life. Treating it this way shows a complete lack of knightly virtue.
"Of course. I'm not a knight."
So please, shut that noisy mouth of yours.
I jabbed sharply at the barrier with the spear once more.
It didn't make Kerax shut up, but I couldn't keep wasting time on the barrier either.
Just then, Yang Tae-ho and the other tanks had finished herding not far away.
The swift DPS players had already begun hunting. I couldn't fall behind in the competition.
I shook my head vigorously as if shaking off Kerax's voice and kicked off the barrier.
'Inferno Hell.'
Flames erupted from the ground where I stood, reigniting the battle.
It took exactly two days for the cult forces that crossed the western gate that day to eradicate the monsters in Bilea Castle and fully occupy it.
* * *
Starting with Act 1, Chapter 4, sub-scenarios continued one after another for a while.
We had to clear not just the Pontar Plains but also the adjacent 5-star contamination zones in sequence.
Accordingly, the battlegrounds for the scenarios gradually shifted from the south toward the central region.
Battles raged almost every day, with monsters and people dying, black and red blood soaking the earth.
One day it was a siege, another a full-scale battle, the next a surprise operation—they came in rapid succession.
The cult forces, which had been on the defensive for years, had entered a full offensive posture.
In the midst of traversing battlefields like this, the mana I'd absorbed surpassed 7 million.
Kim Yul, who had more mana reserves than Yang Tae-ho relatively speaking, was nearing his third awakening.
Objectively, the visible numbers seemed impressive.
But from my subjective perspective, it wasn't all that remarkable.
'Fourth promotion requires 10 billion mana.'
The gap was even tighter than between first-to-second or second-to-third awakening.
Honestly, it felt impossible.
'I thought I could somehow reach the gold badge threshold of 10 million.'
10 million mana wasn't an unreachable dream in reality.
Like saving up over a few years with consistent deposits—it was feasible.
The number didn't feel daunting at first glance.
But 10 billion mana felt entirely different.
'...When the hell am I supposed to accumulate 10 billion?'
This wasn't something you could scrape together bit by bit.
At my current pace, when could I achieve fourth awakening?
No, could I even achieve it by grinding like this?
It was a goal that naturally bred such doubts.
Letting out a deep sigh in frustration, I sensed someone sidling up beside me.
"What's eatin' ya? Somethin' wrong?"
It was Yang Tae-ho, covered head to toe in black blood just like me.
He was carrying the exhausted Ahel over his shoulder after the forced march, his own face etched with fatigue.
Kim Yul behind him was staring at me with a weary expression too.
After nearly a month of hopping battlefields, they all looked drained.
I shook my head as I glanced back at the two.
"It's nothing."
"Then I don't gotta worry 'bout it?"
"Yeah."
Our party had cleared the sub-scenario, recapturing Syr Mal Port, and walked to nearby Calom Castle.
'From Bilea Castle in the south to Syr Mal Port in the central region.'
At the end of over 20 sub-scenarios, the cult forces had successfully connected transport routes between the south and center.
Proof came an hour ago with the clear message for Main Scenario Act 1, Chapter 4.
But we had no intention of returning to Ha Von Castle for the victory ceremony that would follow.
Our destination wasn't Ha Von—it was Bi Cheta.
"Headin' straight there?"
"Well..."
Instead of an immediate yes to Kim Yul's question, I opened the cult homepage.
The top notice was from a high priest assisting Palao's High Priest Regent.
It detailed military schedules decided at the Seven Cults conference and Main Scenario info.
According to it, Bi Cheta would declare advance in four days.
Meaning Main Scenario Act 1, Chapter 5—to recapture a new forward base and link supply routes—would start in two days.
"Let's hunt around Calom until then."
Calom Castle had just been recaptured, so contamination zones abounded nearby.
With Ahel's addition, mobility improved, and I planned to rotate as many 4-star zones as possible before Chapter 5.
"...Right now?"
But hearing Kim Yul's tense question, the words didn't come easily.
Looking at my party's lifeless faces and Ahel's limp, drooping head, I felt like I was being a jerk.
I hesitated, and Yang Tae-ho rubbed his tired face roughly before speaking.
"I'd be fine if ya said let's go."
"Me too. Wasn't complainin' or anythin'."
Kim Yul quickly chimed in, unwilling to be outdone.
But having already seen their exhaustion, I sighed in surrender.
"Rest today. We head out at dawn tomorrow."
Kim Yul rolled his eyes thoughtfully before responding.
"I wasn't complainin' for real. Just askin' if we were goin' right away. We can hunt now—my mana's recovered..."
But I turned toward the town without hearing him out.
Kim Yul and Yang Tae-ho followed a beat later.
They were eyeing each other but not protesting further, so they were probably relieved to rest.
Ahel, slumped like a doll during the trek, didn't stir.
'It was a bit much.'
Ahel had mana reserves impossible to compare to regular players.
Numerically, it had to exceed tens of millions. Attribute Mana alone.
But physically, he was no different from a civilian.
He'd never tempered his body with mana, so it was inevitable.
That's why he couldn't keep up with a schedule based on player stamina and collapsed from exhaustion.
'I want to run 4-star missions right away, but...'
My party was fatigued, and Ahel was out.
Better to rest than push hunting.
"Tch."
I swallowed my regret.
'Just work harder tomorrow.'
Having already conceded, I decided to think positively.
We found an inn to stay at for two days.
After dumping Ahel roughly on the bed, we washed off the black blood.
At the dinner table afterward, I spun the roulette.
Since the clear message came before the victory ceremony, we could claim all rewards except cult ones immediately.
'With the next main scenario add-on imminent, they streamlined it.'
Indeed, I'd heard the victory ceremony would be scaled down from Calom's.
No complaints about that. Honestly, I preferred it.
If they kept simplifying ceremonies, I'd avoid pointless clown shows.
Even if not, it was no big deal.
I had no plans to waste time at such events going forward.
Erasing the Ha Von victory ceremony from my mind, I spun the Authority Roulette.
Gripping my fist tight amid the tacky effects,
'Come on, Calos.'
A minimal safety net to exclude my siblings and the Seo family from the game if needed.
I wanted at least one before fourth-player selection.
Eyes fixed on the roulette, I chanted desperately.
"Please, Calos."
The eye-straining effects ended, bright light poured down.
[Calos's Authority One-Time Use Ticket]
Miraculously, the authority I wanted appeared.
But my expression wasn't bright at all.
'What was that just now?'
The roulette had clearly stopped in the Palao slot before Calos.
Then a faint golden shimmer danced, and it moved again.
Having witnessed the blatantly unnatural occurrence, I narrowed my eyes.
That vague unease from before resurfaced.
'The mana inflation last time was too convenient too.'
When I absorbed misfortune with Calos's authority, I promoted to gold.
I'd felt oddly uneasy since.
And now, wanting Calos's authority, it plops right out.
Was it self-consciousness to think Calos was favoring me?
'Why would the Seven Gods?'
Not all treated players as meat shields, but...
What reason would they have to cater to one player?
I agonized between suspicion and doubt.
Staring at the empty space where the roulette vanished for a long while.
Finally rising after deep thought, Kim Yul reacted sharply.
"Where you goin'?"
Not a casual question.
Stuffing food hurriedly, he seemed ready to follow if I said the word.
Probably still hung up on delaying the hunt because of him.
After gazing at Kim Yul for a moment, I replied in a flat tone.
Damn System