Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Noble Knightly Virtue
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The First Skill formed the foundation of a player. The moment it was equipped, there was no turning back, as it determined the direction of the player's growth.
It was an incredibly important event that decided a person's fate.
But not all such events were this spectacular.
Usually, they were just a faint stream of light.
"So flashy, it's almost excessive..."
"House Kang has awakened bloodline skills two generations in a row...! Is this only the seventh time in the world?"
"Lightning tribulation erupted, but is that really a bloodline skill?"
A white pillar of light shooting toward the sky with unstoppable force, accompanied by thunderous roars like those of thousands of beasts.
'Finally free from blindness.'
The one trembling most in this moment was none other than Kang Jae-hyeok.
Staring at the clear system messages, the hardships of the past eight years flashed through his mind like a montage.
'Now it really begins.'
Calming his excited heart, he opened his status window.
Name: Kang Jae-hyeok
Job: Knight (Growth Type)
Level: 10
Mana: 680/680
Strength: 68 Stamina: 68 Agility: 59 Magic: 68 Insight: 59
Skills: [Noble Knightly Virtue], [Empty], [Empty]
What was the stat limit of the human body before awakening?
It had been the subject of endless speculation, but no one had proven it.
'It was 50.'
For the past few days, he'd felt his physical growth hit a wall.
His senses told him it was impossible to grow stronger beyond that.
'Thanks to enrolling in Lion's Castle and growing rapidly.'
That aside...
'Three main stats?'
Usually it was one, or two with a bloodline skill.
Players had always gained 6 to 7 stats per level.
But Jae-hyeok had gained 8 per level.
Gulping dryly, he called up the information on his 26th First Skill, awakened just last night.
It was a skill of such immense value that he'd decided to awaken the moment he saw it.
[Noble Knightly Virtue]
Lv.1
Type: Passive
*Knights excel in all martial arts, so [All Master] is unlocked.
* A knight's mental fortitude is rigorously tempered, granting resistance to most status ailments and great endurance against pain.
*Accumulate achievements aligned with the virtues of valor, caution, courtesy, honor, justice, and loyalty to write and develop new knightly virtues.
*Beneficial events occur every fifth knightly virtue written.
*Unopened.
[All Master]
Lv.1
Type: Passive
Attack power, accuracy, defense, and evasion are permanently increased by 10%.
It was, frankly, a ridiculous skill.
The pinnacle of the mastery skills Jae-hyeok had desperately desired.
While rumors held that normal mastery skills required equipping a specific weapon to take effect, All Master unconditionally boosted all abilities.
'And it resists most status ailments...'
Players exposed to deadly conditions like stun, paralysis, or charm had a high chance of death. Resisting most status ailments was like obtaining the world's finest armor.
Impressive as those two effects were, the true value of Noble Knightly Virtue lay elsewhere.
[Knightly Virtue of Valor and Loyalty, The Praying Mantis Halting the Chariot]
Fought a powerful foe with a weaker body to save lives.
*Skill [Two Sickles Stopping the Cart] unlocked.
*Attack power +10% when fighting opponents higher level than yourself.
*You and allies' attack power +5% when fighting together.
[Two Sickles Stopping the Cart]
Lv.1
Type: Active
Deliver a powerful attack to the target. Power increases with the target's level.
Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 3 minutes
New effects emerged and grew stronger with each knightly virtue written.
It was far superior to famous bloodline skills with high growth potential due to unlocking a [Skill Tree].
Skill trees had an end, but Noble Knightly Virtue's potential was limitless.
Of course, it came with the prerequisite that Jae-hyeok uphold his convictions.
'But the name "Praying Mantis Halting the Chariot" for a knightly virtue feels a bit...'
Didn't it mean overreaching against the strong without knowing one's place?
The slightly negative connotation bothered him.
'And...'
His job felt off too.
'Me, a knight?'
He was a noble.
He should be the one commanding knights, yet here he was as one. It felt strange.
'But awakening with a knightly virtue skill makes it inevitable.'
Modern nobles were akin to knights anyway.
Beings who protected their nation and people with overwhelming force.
That was his father, so Jae-hyeok had thrown himself at the leech king too.
'Whatever. Noble, knight—it doesn't matter.'
If the duties were the same, the title was irrelevant.
Moreover, his job had the bizarre qualifier "Growth Type."
Walk your path unwaveringly, and you'll find your place.
'Reinhardt, Third Imperial Princess, Iris's Blessing—I have no idea what those mean.'
Everything felt unfamiliar since he'd just awakened.
He had a vague guess about the Lion's Curse, but...
He'd need to scour the [Community] activated upon awakening for clues on the rest.
'First, sort out the situation.'
Rumble!!
The thunder was growing louder.
Looking up, the dark clouds had thickened even more. The spiderweb of golden lightning trembled as it converged.
As if it would soon form a spear and strike.
'Thunder Tribulation.'
Or divine punishment.
Jae-hyeok knew well this catastrophic phenomenon.
S-Rank players often died to it upon hitting level 151.
'That's why most S-Rank players stay at 150 forever.'
It was common practice to attempt level 151 and the tribulation only when death loomed.
Of course, plenty never even reached 150 before dying of old age.
'And it's targeting me...'
Heh.
As the thunder roared louder, Jae-hyeok's expression grew serene.
A trial arriving just as he claimed the fruits of lifelong suffering.
One might curse the harsh world, but he showed not a flicker of agitation.
'The world isn't harsh only to me.'
Click.
Jae-hyeok drew his sword belt.
The deep green scabbard released from his waist settled into both hands.
'Trials are meant to be overcome.'
Just doing what he always did.
Straightening his back defiantly for his enemies watching through the cameras, he raised the horizontally leveled scabbard above his head.
Left hand, elbow bent, supporting the scabbard; right hand gripping the hilt.
Kang Family Iaido upper defensive stance.
The rider form of the reclined new moon.
"I'll guard you, so focus."
Seol Su-ah, now beside him, whispered.
"Don't react to the sound—sense the flow of the lightning."
Advice from one who'd survived multiple thunder tribulations to become a National Treasure.
Jae-hyeok nodded, etching it deep into his heart.
Focus.
With her at his side, no bold fool would interfere.
"......"
Jae-hyeok's breathing slowed.
He relaxed his muscles, heightening all senses except hearing to their limit. Senses honed purely by himself, without aid.
Everything around him felt close enough to touch, yet infinitely distant.
He ignored it.
Unconsciousness.
With senses sharpened like a blade, Jae-hyeok immersed himself to the point of losing distinction between blade and self. Without conscious thought of what he was doing or should do, he surrendered to pure sensation.
Crackle!
The convulsion of the spiderweb-like lightning slowed for an instant.
Jae-hyeok reacted immediately to the shift.
He drew the blade halfway from the scabbard.
Flash!
Light blazed almost instantly,
Boom!!
Followed by the sound.
Only then did people see it.
The new moon-shaped sword light, inverted, clashing against the golden lightning.
"Urgh...!"
Jae-hyeok gritted his teeth, body shuddering.
The lightning clinging to the blade surpassed imagination.
Every joint rattled as if to dislocate, his dantian screamed, and his muscles felt like they were snapping fiber by fiber.
Boom!
The stage beneath him collapsed.
He'd anticipated it. Flexing his creaking knees fluidly, he maintained balance. An application of the Silla Scripture's movements.
"Raaargh!!"
He roared.
Veins bulging on his neck as he squeezed every ounce of strength.
'I have to endure.'
He believed.
In the efforts he'd built.
Thunder tribulation's power scaled to the target's capacity.
At most, three times his total stats in attack power.
Kang Family Iaido, honed recalling his father's back, could deflect that much.
He believed.
In the results his efforts had won.
His body, empowered by All Master, pain reduction, and Chariot-Stopping Mantis, was on another level from before awakening. He had to acknowledge and utilize that fact.
Clank!
Shaking left hand barely propping the scabbard—he slung it over his shoulder.
The now-secure scabbard stabilized the half-drawn blade.
'Now.'
Swoosh—!
Sensing the pressure on the blade lessen, he yanked the hilt.
From reclined new moon to low quick draw: Extreme Blade.
The martial art sharing its name with House Kang's bloodline skill slammed the thunder tribulation into the ground.
[Legendary Achievement!]
[You have unleashed the heroic feat of slicing the thunder tribulation!]
[All stats +10.]
[You have established the second knightly virtue.]
[Knightly Virtue of Valor and Honor, Slayer of Lightning]
Fought a natural disaster, proving valor and earning honor.
*Skill [Lightning Sword] unlocked.
*Halves thunder tribulation power when undergoing it.
*Lightning resistance +30%.
*Lightning affinity +30%.
[Lightning Sword]
Lv.1
Type: Passive
Low chance on attack to generate a lightning sword. The lightning sword trails your attacks like a shadow.
"Haa... Feels damn refreshing."
Gazing at the clear sky over waves of golden lightning, a radiant smile bloomed on Jae-hyeok's lips.
Dozens of cameras captured the scene as if entranced, for a long time.
Only when an association official snapped out of it and caused a commotion did the host speak.
"An unexpected joyous occasion... er, disturbance occurred, but we will now proceed with Kang Jae-hyeok's re-evaluation...!"
"......"
Really?
The audience, lost in a strange afterglow, stared at the host in bewilderment.