Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 025
Chapter Title: Soul Stone Carving #4
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‘Serpent's Blood’ kicked in the moment I bought it—my blood turned into deadly poison.
The bugs that crawled into my veins all seemed to drop dead because of it.
This was a situation I could turn to my advantage.
“Yor, from now on, you answer our questions honestly.”
Inquisitor Jeremiah’s purple eyes narrowed into thin slits.
“You really met Erdarli twice?”
“Yessir!”
I replied with cheerful gusto.
Captain Jeremiah’s face twisted into a scowl.
“Anyone who’s met Erdarli more than once is a person of interest.”
“Why’s that?”
“Most people turn into ground meat on the first encounter. Surviving multiple meetings with all your limbs intact means you’re either in league with them or a collaborator.”
Made sense when she put it that way.
So, she thought I was a collaborator?
Fuck!
Me, getting lumped in with those freebie-loving commie demons?!
I couldn’t stand it!
“Eradicate the Erdarli! Hand on my heart, I swear there’s not a shred of lie in my soul!”
“Seeing how you handled the truth worm without a hitch, it doesn’t seem like you’re lying.”
Exactly.
Right now, I was a man who could only speak the truth.
On the flip side—
Everything I said became the truth.
“…Inquisitor, I’m truly innocent! How can you suspect someone as loyal to the Empire and His Imperial Majesty as me?”
A heartfelt plea straight from the soul.
Suddenly, I really felt wronged, my chest tightening like tears were about to burst out.
“Even my 14 prior offenses were mostly false accusations! The cheating scam at the House of Dantes casino? Total bullshit misunderstanding!”
This was the truth.
Take it—ingest it!
“The truth worm will prove my innocence!”
“Hoo-.”
Captain Jeremiah’s face turned icy in an instant.
She crossed her arms and started tapping her biceps—tok tok tok.
“Every now and then, you get tricksters who stay so calm they fool even the truth worm while lying.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Annoying bastards like that Germain. Yor, you know her?”
“Nope. Who’s that?”
Admitting I knew her would lead to a world of hassle, so I denied it desperately.
Captain Jeremiah eyed me with even thinner slits.
“You wouldn’t happen to—”
“Jeremiah, that’s enough harsh interrogation for the Barrier’s garrison troops fresh from patrol.”
Just then, an old man appeared, thumping his cane—tak tak.
Bald as a cue ball, if I had to describe him.
His face was covered in scars, and he was as tall as Captain Jeremiah.
“Major General, sir. Interrogating suspects is my exclusive authority granted by His Majesty.”
“I know, I know. But if you keep intimidating him like that, the bugs in the boy’s gut might go berserk. Finding the culprit and manufacturing one are two different things.”
“Hehehe! Whoever you are, you’re spot on!”
I nodded vigorously at the bald grandpa’s words.
Captain Jeremiah clicked her tongue—tch—and pulled a pill from her pocket, offering it to me.
“Truth worm antidote. Be careful for the next half day after taking it.”
So, once I swallow this, my words won’t automatically become truth anymore.
Fucking shame.
Gulp-.
The antidote was bitter as hell.
Right then—Hammer let out a whoop.
“Major General Raiden, sir! It’s an honor to meet you!”
“Hm? And you are?”
“I’m Sergeant Hammer from the Hammer Battalion! I saw you during the Dresden Campaign!”
“Ah-. The Hammer Battalion! Surviving that hellhole and making it to the Barrier. It’s my honor to meet a brave soul like you.”
Kwachak-.
Big guys shaking hands like that—.
No wonder Hermit grumbled.
“Ugh, these giants are blocking the way. I’m heading in first.”
“Hermit! Don’t you know who Major General Raiden is?!”
Boom-!
Hammer bellowed like thunder.
I joined in, scolding Hermit right alongside him.
“Yeah! He’s one impressive grandpa!”
Even that Imperial cop wannabe Captain Jeremiah couldn’t make a peep.
He wasn’t just some power-tripping old man.
‘Look at those scars. And the muscles.’
That’s when the Major General asked me.
“Think you can tell how impressive I am?”
“Yessir! You look badass as hell!”
“Huhu, true enough. Back in my day, I threw myself into reclaiming the homeland right here on this Barrier. Ahem, cough.”
“Major General Raiden mowed down Erdarli with two greatswords like they were broomsticks! That’s why the demons nicknamed him ‘Thunder Raiden’!”
What?
Slaughtering those evil demon spawn?
Suddenly, this bald grandpa seemed insanely respectable.
“Major General, sir! I wanna be just like you!”
“Is that so? You wanna be an old bald fart like me?”
“No, not the old bald part—”
Pang-!
The Major General clapped my shoulder.
The force was even greater than Hammer’s—I thought my bone would pop out.
“But those glory days are long gone. Now I’m just an old lion with no teeth. So, Hammer. That in your hand—is that a soul stone?”
“Yes, sir! Planning to engrave it for our rookie Yor here!”
“Whew, brings back memories. Killing Erdarli and scavenging soul stones was pretty lucrative. I’m pretty confident in engraving myself. Care to let me handle it?”
Eh-.
The Major General doing the engraving?
I was gonna give it to Hammer.
But the Major General spoke with overflowing pride.
“19. The max successful engravings on a stone I’ve done.”
…What!?
+19 stone.
He made something that ridiculous?
“Nah, no way. You’re bullshitting.”
“Brat, it’s no lie. I did it for my old comrade Bain’s stone. That guy was born lucky with that stuff.”
“Bain as in Narakje?”
Hermit piped up curiously.
But what I really wanted to know was if he actually engraved a +19.
‘Doesn’t seem like he’s lying.’
His engraving skills must be the real deal.
I took the soul stone from Hammer’s hand and offered it to the Major General grandpa.
“Major General, sir! Please make it amazing for me! This stone is my entire fortune right now!”
“Very well. First, rub your blood on it to bind it.”
“Blood?”
“Only soul stones bound by blood can be engraved.”
“So, only I can use it then?”
“That’s right. To anyone else, it’s just a rock. That’s why they’re also called soul stones.”
Aha-.
That kind of system!
The bald old man Major General Raiden gripped his hammer and chisel.
A crowd gathered around him.
“—What’s a soul stone? A mystical gem that elevates your soul engraving every seventh engraving!”
I hadn’t realized it before, but soul stone engraving was quite the spectacle.
Smashing 20 million Ether worth of value with a hammer? Obviously entertaining.
“When engraved with these ‘Ether chisels,’ the success rate’s about fifty-fifty! First engraving tells if the stone’s got potential.”
Kkang-!
Clatter.
Chunks crumbled off the stone, bigger than my palm.
“Impurities shed. Success! It’s a promising stone.”
“Ooh! Looks just like me now!”
“Then, let’s get serious!”
Kang kang kang kang kang kang-!
The Major General grandpa hammered the chisel in a frenzy.
I thought I was gonna lose my mind.
“Aaagh!”
That crazy old geezer!
It wasn’t even his stone, and he was going ham?
But—.
[+7 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +1.]
“See? Experience tells me riding the momentum in one go boosts success rates.”
“Yesssss!”
“From here on, failure shatters the stone. What say you, boy?”
“Keep going!”
“Why?”
“It’s all about momentum. Strike while the iron’s hot.”
“You serious?”
“Please go all the way to +19 in one shot!”
“+19? Boy, do you know the odds of succeeding fifty-fifty nineteen times in a row?”
Odds?
No clue!
But to farm Ether like Narakje, I had to think and act like him!
I wanted to hoard even more Ether!
Amid the overflowing tension.
“Even if it breaks midway, not my problem!”
Whoosh-.
Finally, Major General Raiden swung the hammer with full force, striking the stone.
Kkang-!
Crack-.
A fine crack spiderwebbed across the stone, hushing the crowd.
But—clatter, only impurities fell away.
[+8 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +1.]
[+9 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +1.]
...
..
[+14 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +2.]
[+15 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +2.]
...
Kwajik-!
The soul stone let out an ominous groan under the relentless hammering.
Soon, chunks crumbled off.
[+19 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +2.]
“…Success! Nineteen straight engravings in a row! This old Raiden pulled it off again!”
“Wooooaaaah!”
I whooped and hollered in every direction from sheer joy.
Even the inquisitors hugged and cheered.
“Fuck! What the hell am I watching?!”
“That mad bastard! We told him to stop!”
Sweat poured from the bald Major General’s forehead.
“I never thought I’d see this again….”
Nineteen straight successes.
He’d poured every ounce of skill into it—looked a decade older.
Clatter-.
I took the soul stone, now all impurities carved away.
Down to the size of my thumb.
[+19 Soul Stone: Increases Soul Engraving level by +2.]
But the effect was the same as the +14.
It bumped the engraving level every seventh engraving.
‘So +14 or +19 is basically the same?’
The gamble with 50% risk felt pointless.
‘Then why did Narakje go all the way?’
Maybe I was missing something.
The Major General let out a sigh.
“Bain, that guy, stopped here.”
“Why?”
“Who knows. Maybe the booze-pickled brain sobered up. He agonized over it.”
He agonized?
Meaning he considered going further.
Maybe the answer lay there.
“—Major General.”
I spoke up, and everyone froze.
Nearly a dozen people went dead silent.
“One more time, please.”
“Yor.”
The Major General’s face was deadly serious.
“You’re saying you’ll challenge the gamble even Bain—who dared claim the throne—backed off from? We outgrew such probabilistic games long ago!”
It almost sounded like anger.
What’s the big deal about the odds?
“…It’s fifty-fifty either way, right? Success or failure, that’s it.”
“Fifty-fifty…?”
The serious bald old man’s face cracked wide open.
“Fifty-fifty… Kwahaha!”
Soon, he was laughing so hard he nearly dropped his cane.
“That’s right! No need for fancy math—the world’s just success or failure! You’re spot on.”
The Major General gripped his hammer.
“Fine. I can’t half-ass it now. If this engraving succeeds, Yor, I’ll grant you one favor.”
“Huh? Why?”
Sudden suspicion popped up.
Why offer me a sweet deal with no upside for him?
What did he gain from my success?
“You’ve given me the chance to become the craftsman of an unprecedented +20 soul stone! Hell, Bain’s stone and its fate still haunt me!”
Kinda made sense.
The bald grandpa snorted fiercely.
“This hammering will go down in Barrier history, like it or not!”
Kkaang-!