Chapter 203: How Did You Do It?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: How Did You Do It?
“...Lady Margarita. Is that the truth?”
“Well, it might not be the case right at this moment. But if he can draw out his full power... then yes, that is the reality.”
The high-ranking officials were no fools. These seasoned elders, now in the twilight of their years, were veterans who had once been guild employees, explorers, or both.
In their active years, they had surely encountered countless explorers, and as a result, their ability to measure an explorer’s martial prowess was exceptional.
Currently, the amount of mana inherent in Yoo Eon’s body was not significantly superior compared to other Cobalt-grade explorers. In fact, because he had achieved his rapid promotion by subjugating a few specific entities with high combat power, it was fair to say he actually lagged slightly behind.
However, this was a sort of margin of error caused by the unique nature of Yoo Eon’s skills. Naturally, when a person enters a combat state, the mana within their body increases slightly, or dormant skills activate.
It was common for explorers to display higher combat power than what was visible during peacetime. Of course, these high-ranking officials were not so incompetent as to fail to calculate such a margin of error, but in Yoo Eon’s case, he was in a league of his own.
Margarita approached Yoo Eon’s table and leaned in close to Aven, who remained seated.
“Aven, are you hiding your strength?”
“Ah, well.”
At Margarita’s question, Yoo Eon turned his head slightly toward the high-ranking officials. His original intention was to see if it was alright to answer, but seeing the grave expressions on the faces of the five officials, including Atreus, he decided it would be fine.
“I’m not hiding it on purpose. It’s just that my appearance during combat and my appearance during daily activities are different.”
“I see. Is it because you cannot maintain it for a long time? Or is the consumption too great?”
“Neither. I just find this body state more comfortable. The other is... cumbersome.”
There were several skills that caused significant physical changes for a short duration. Some amplified inherent mana, some increased recovery rates, some boosted physical strength, and others sharpened the senses to an extraordinary degree.
Skills with such outstanding performance usually carried proportional demerits. For instance, Rubia’s Strength Stack skill allowed her to increase her strength at any time, but at the cost of suffering from muscle pain for the following six hours.
Then there was Roland’s Restriction Overload, which strengthened skill abilities but completely exhausted the body’s mana once its short duration ended.
These were chronic issues shared by most enhancement skills.
“Marvelous. May we see that form now?”
“I suppose there’s no reason why not...”
Yoo Eon glanced briefly toward the section where the Antonio Brotherhood was seated. Mystery Antoinette and other members of the Brotherhood were present; he wondered if it was wise to show his abilities here.
Ultimately, he decided to do as he had before: wrap his body in his wings.
Fortunately, Yoo Eon was wearing clothes made of animal-based fabric prepared by Theodora. Without needing to strip, he stood up immediately to grant Margarita’s request.
Crr-crack...
Massive gargoyle wings erupted from the fissures in his back, perfectly shielding him from the Antonio Brotherhood’s line of sight.
Then, tearing through the clothes made of Obsidian Silkworm silk, Queen Arachne’s exoskeleton burst forth. In an instant, his entire body was encased in pitch-black armor.
Skree, skriiick...
The hard exoskeleton plates fitted together like a suit of armor, grinding against each other to produce a chilling sound. From within, the sound of muscle fibers being retracted and new ones growing simultaneously echoed—a bizarre, grotesque noise.
His entire frame shuddered and twisted in every direction as he bulked up. To any onlooker, it was certainly not a pleasant sight.
Even Margarita, who had expected something unusual, watched with trembling eyelids.
“Ugh, hmmm...”
To use vocal cords, one had to clear the thoracic cavity—the space inside the chest—to cram the lungs in and form a trachea. Then, vocal cords had to be generated in front of the spine and connected to the respiratory system to produce sound by inhaling and exhaling air.
Doing this left no room to bring out his Mana Cores. It wasn't a big problem if he wasn't going for full power, but he doubted an Orichalcum Grade like Margarita would be satisfied with a mere superficial recreation.
“Should I go further?”
“Mmm, is there more...?”
“I’ve only recreated the outward appearance so far.”
“Indeed, I do not feel the level of mana I was expecting.”
She was telling him to keep going. The version of Yoo Eon that Margarita’s True Eye had glimpsed was the ‘perfectly mastered’ state—a level currently difficult for Yoo Eon to reach. At that level, even an Orichalcum Grade like Margarita would naturally find him difficult to handle.
Following Margarita’s demand, he pushed the lungs from his thoracic cavity down into his abdominal cavity, moved his respiratory organs to his flanks, and began to slot the Mana Cores he had consumed into his emptied chest one by one.
“What in the...!”
“This amount of mana...”
The Knight Lord, Tenebrax, Amelia, Queen Arachne, the Megido Serpent, the Lich, and more. With the estimated combined total, Yoo Eon easily possessed the mana capacity of an Orichalcum Grade. Unfortunately, he didn't use the Volcanus Deathworm’s frost core.
The weather was mild enough that he didn't need an air conditioner.
“It’s roughly this much.”
A ‘Mana Core’ was, quite literally, the heart of a monster. And the heart was the fundamental organ for all mana operations.
Others painstakingly carved up monsters to store the labyrinth’s mana in their own hearts, but such actions usually allowed them to absorb only about one percent of the monster’s original mana.
Mana possessed unique characteristics, and injecting another creature’s mana directly into one’s own body caused massive problems. The moment conflicting manas met, they would fail to mix and instead engage in a war of attrition, destroying the vessel—the body—in the process.
In the process of purifying another creature’s mana and adapting it to one’s own body, most of the mana was lost to the air, with only a tiny fraction being absorbed.
Yet Yoo Eon had simply devoured them and absorbed one hundred percent. Furthermore, the mana of various different creatures was contained within a single body simultaneously.
“How... how is this possible...?”
Even Margarita, who had asked to see it, found Yoo Eon’s state utterly bizarre. It was a state where it wouldn't be strange if the internal manas clashed and boiled over, causing his body to explode right then and there.
“Well, now. That is quite the peculiar skill...”
Only then did Atreus and the other high officials decide that Yoo Eon’s words carried weight. The discussion, which had been stalled for a while, finally moved forward.
“Then... it means you did indeed kill twelve Cobalt-grade explorers.”
“Yes. If I hadn't, I would have been the one to die.”
Yoo Eon sat back down after restoring his body to its original state. Margarita did not leave the floor but leaned against the side wall, listening to the proceedings.
“And I know who commissioned this assassination.”
“Is that true?”
At Yoo Eon’s sudden statement, the observation teams in the hall began to buzz. To be honest, it was a situation no one welcomed.
The members of the Antonio Brotherhood were naturally on edge; they had ordered the assassination using a form of brainwashing magic. If this was revealed, it would cause a massive scandal.
The management chief of the Northeast Branch anticipated that if this matter grew larger, it would trigger an avalanche of consequences. It was a matter significant enough to mobilize twelve Cobalt-grade explorers; there weren't many organizations within Calax capable of such a feat.
The Mayerbridge Union couldn't avoid being linked to the Small and Medium Clan Alliance. Although they were a clan active in the Northeast that hadn't officially joined the alliance, they had used their status as a large clan to interfere in internal affairs quite often.
Even if their past interferences and sanctions had nothing to do with this incident, the Mayerbridge Union was likely to be scapegoated for failing to manage their territory. People would ask why they hadn't kept things under control.
“Explorer Aven, we acknowledge your martial prowess... but please be aware that your words here could cause a massive ripple effect. Speak with caution.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Yoo Eon turned his head to look toward the Antonio Brotherhood. Mystery Antoinette, sitting in the front row, looked perfectly serene and peaceful. She gazed back at Yoo Eon with a faint smile, as if asking what the problem was.
“It was Eve Kenias of the Small and Medium Clan Alliance.”
“Eve Kenias?”
Atreus checked the papers in his hand for a moment and found the name.
“This person is...”
“The explorer who was scheduled to duel me at the Northeast Grand Martial Arena to resolve the grievances raised by the Small and Medium Clan Alliance regarding my promotion to Cobalt Grade.”
“Yes, that information seems correct. However, I find Eve Kenias’s motive for murder to be a bit weak.”
“Public sentiment toward me was already hostile. The Small and Medium Clan Alliance was working hard to block my promotion, and Eve Kenias was the explorer who suffered the most damage in the process.”
“Hmm...”
Yoo Eon did not tell the truth. He remembered Arthur Dexter’s advice, and he also knew that proving his claim would be difficult.
Above all, official hostility with a massive organization like the Antonio Brotherhood was unwise. The ultimate goal of the Brotherhood’s assassination request had been related to the consumed artifacts, not him personally.
Yoo Eon briefly showed the back of his hand while seated. While his palm was facing Mystery Antoinette, he manifested an eye of the Evil Eye on his palm and blinked it twice.
The hostility he perceived from the Antonio Brotherhood members had faded. Mystery Antoinette, as always, appeared as a transparent gray, as if she possessed no emotions at all.
“So, it was one of the twelve explorers you killed. How would you like this matter settled?”
“Is there something I can receive?”
“Nothing can be decided right now. This is too large an issue, and there are parts that still don't make sense.”
“Then forget it. The Small and Medium Clan Alliance has lost twelve of its core Cobalt-grade members; they won't be in a position to offer compensation or reparations anyway.”
The five high officials shared a quiet discussion before moving on to the next topic.
“Next... this concerns an incident during the Calax Birth Festival Labyrinth Conquest Competition.”
“Yes.”
“On the 40th floor, you bypassed the Guardian-type boss entity, the Master Guardian Knight, without a fight.”
“That is correct.”
“We require an explanation for this. How did you do it?”
Yoo Eon thought for a moment before giving a short answer.
“I showed him courtesy.”