Housewarming (5)
The killing intent from named NPCs acts like a status ailment, a force no ordinary user can withstand.
One user on the Ares community forums had this to say.
The pressure exuded by Legends is something even the toughest can't easily endure.
Yet moments ago, three true Legends had unleashed real killing intent.
Ben, Barad, and Aria.
It stemmed from Bon's words.
'Gotta break one of your lord's legs before we get started, right?'
Saintess Aria.
Her time with Hyun-soo had been short.
'Break the leg of the man who saved my life?'
But he was undeniably her savior.
'Hoho, you mean our Hyun-soo's leg?'
To Ben, he was like a grandson, sometimes a friend.
'My successor's leg...?'
To Barad, he was a dear friend and the future leader of the nation, a true treasure.
Their boiling killing intent surged.
Even one person's would be unbearable for an ordinary human.
"Guhhh..."
"Kuhk."
"Uh, uhhh..."
The thousand elite troops couldn't withstand it.
Breath caught in their throats, legs gave out, and they all collapsed.
And the most bewildered was Bon.
'What the hell...?'
The aura radiating from the three made it impossible to think straight.
Bon's level was in the upper 470s.
He too was a powerhouse beyond common sense.
But the killing intent that felled the elites now focused squarely on him.
Barad addressed the elite troops.
"Will you fight?"
Bon witnessed something shocking.
He'd thought the two pitiful-looking(?) figures sandwiched among them were shrinking back in terror, pale-faced.
But now.
They shook their heads vigorously!
All thousand elites, pale as ghosts just like them moments ago, shook their heads with every ounce of strength.
Bon felt an unbearable humiliation.
"What are you doing? Have you forgotten who you are!? If you won't fight, I'll cut you down myself!"
His shame came from seeing his battle-hardened elite troops lose morale and cower in fear.
Hearing his shout, they overcame their terror and charged at the massive, rugged man.
Bon himself was trembling like an aspen.
But Bon was once a commander who ruled the battlefield.
He overcame that force, gripping his spear tight.
A massive energy swirled from his spear tip. The manifestation of Aura Spear.
Kadududuk-!
"What sorcery are you working!?"
But he'd picked the wrong opponent.
Bon was a longtime spear user.
Yet his strength lay in his maximized aura, not spear technique.
The one he aimed at.
A genius called Spear Heaven, said to never appear again.
"That's not how you wield a spear, lad."
The gaunt old man lightly struck the spear tip with his own.
The Aura Spear lost power instantly and vanished.
"...!"
Bon was originally a step below Ben in skill.
And now Ben was buffed by Saintess Aria.
Putting him several notches above.
He recalled the word "examiner."
'Can't kill him.'
So instead of a thrust, he struck Bon's head with the spear shaft.
"Kuhk!"
Bon's vision spun.
Then the gaunt old man began striking every inch of his body with the shaft.
Puk, pukpukpukpuk, pukpukpukpukpuk-!
"For the record."
The old man said.
"You attacked first. And you threatened to break our lord's leg."
"...!?"
Yes, it all started with Bon's words and actions.
That day, Bon got beaten like a dog.
***
The reason Saint Haron awoke differed from Bon's.
Bon had awakened due to the abnormally high number of Life Seeds acquired, to verify his worth through force.
For Haron, it was to check the successor who inherited his overwhelming power, triggered by those abnormal seeds.
'If a tyrant's heir took my Overwhelm, that'd be trouble.'
The tyrant once opposed the saintly king Haron, always eyeing the grand territory of Atlas.
'No time.'
Unlike Bon, Saint Haron couldn't stay long.
The Life Seeds applied to everyone but him.
In truth, Haron had slain a dragon and met his end on a different day from Atlas's people.
Spotting the new lord atop the lord's castle, Haron marveled.
'My lingering energy flows through him...?'
The saint had visited the Ares Church 800 years ago.
'Bestow this blessing upon the saint's successor.'
It had passed to the saintess of that time and down through generations.
Haron felt relieved.
'Then he earned my stats by walking my successor's path, thanks to his own excellence?'
And moreover.
"Fear not. This is the Atlas you've guarded for so long. I will surely awaken your Atlas."
Words the lord spoke to the territory's residents who'd protected it for 800 years.
Their fear was natural.
The ones they'd awaited clashed with Atlas's current master.
Observing the residents, Haron smiled faintly.
He seemed a fine lord.
'Curious about the examination results.'
Regrettably, Haron wouldn't witness them.
His body flickered in and out of focus.
Finishing his thoughts, Haron turned.
But he froze in shock.
"Mang mang!"
A small, cute dog blocked his path, with a tiny bone dragon riding atop it.
'What in the world...?'
The moment he faced the dignified little guy dribbling snot from its black nose, his fading body stabilized.
'I'm not vanishing...?'
His awakening in the Atlas territory he'd built stemmed from a fragment of his soul lingering here.
For Haron, who should have become one with the dead again soon, this was unbelievable.
And moreover.
"Maaang!"
"...?"
As the creature wagged its tail at him, Haron realized.
'Deliberately...?'
Yes, this wasn't some mystical power triggered by facing the dog.
The dog was intentionally preventing his dissipation.
Then.
Haron felt an immense force he couldn't resist.
'Why is my hand...?'
His hand automatically reached for the pinkish belly.
The instant he stroked it, his mind cleared.
"Haaa..."
His body, no longer dissipating, wasn't fully stable.
But touch stopped the fading completely.
The dog bit its leash and placed it in his hand.
"Walk you? That's the price?"
An absurdly light price.
And Haron pieced together some facts.
This dog's master was the new lord.
Any harm to the lord would resume his dissipation.
And moreover.
'It halted my vanishing. Maybe it knows how I could awaken fully.'
Awaken again.
Just speculation, but possible.
He sensed the holy aura and pure heart from the creature.
"...To protect your master?"
"Mang, mang!"
"Kyuu kyuu!"
Yes, a deal between him and this being.
One reason Haron was shocked by the new lord of Atlas was the pathetically small forces.
'You protect the lord, and I seek a way to awaken.'
A fine deal.
And he sensed another truth.
"Grrr..."
"Try taking this territory, and you'll vanish me on the spot? Don't worry. I lack the strength now, and no such intent."
In truth, the current saint was greatly weakened, with other pressing duties.
Suddenly, Haron whipped his head around.
He was startled.
He didn't know where examiner Bon was or what he was doing.
But he could predict how many Life Seeds the current lord sought.
Through which of his powers would inherit.
Gazing at the forest, Haron grew serious.
'Bon, what the hell's happening for Ultimate to react.'
Ultimate.
Saint Haron's strongest passive.
But not yet confirmed.
Turning toward where the lord had been, the saint startled again.
'Where'd the lord go?'
He'd vanished.
***
Bon couldn't comprehend.
The old man beating him like a mutt.
Bon thought he'd be beaten to death.
Midway, the old man muttered something inexplicable.
'That should even it out.'
'Agreed, spear-boy.'
Then they vanished.
'What?'
Bon was dumbfounded.
He looked at his wretched state and the elites.
Exactly half the elites had turned to ash.
If Bon were a user, he'd have gotten this alert.
HP drops below 50%.
Exactly half. That much damage.
Bon had to admit it.
'Who were they? The new lord's subordinates?'
Beyond his knowledge.
One thing clear: whether retainers or not, threatening to break his leg had enraged them that much—proof of the new lord's power.
Bon's essence as examiner included gauging the lord's power and reporting results.
He led the remaining elites toward Atlas.
One elite asked.
"Is the lord as strong as them?"
Bon shook his head.
"Doubt it. Assuming they're his subordinates."
Bon had clear reason for that thought.
"Not all lords are strong. Having subordinates that powerful means his strength lies in developing them. A strong lord too would defy logic."
Yes, logic. Power follows balance.
No one grasps everything.
'No, it must be so.'
Bon rationalized. No being should hold all.
Then. Bon's eyes widened.
"...!?"
Kugugugu-
He felt an unknown telekinetic force pinning him and all elites.
'All of us...?'
A voice reached the panicked group.
"Gather."
The instant Bon blinked.
Over 500 of them were clustered before one man.
The brown-coated man towered over Bon.
Even his inner armor and boots gleamed black.
Bon had never seen artifacts so densely equipped.
The black-haired man looked noble, handsome even.
He spoke.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Hyun-soo, the new lord of Atlas."
Bon felt his predictions shattered.
The suddenly appearing new lord.
Right foot planted, dragging back the sword labeled Twin Dragon Swords with force.
His blade writhed with superhuman power.
Meanwhile.
Two Legends watched.
They knew the examiner's arrival was a housewarming mishap.
The problem: it brought Hyun-soo a trial beyond his capacity.
'Our mistake.'
'Nearly harmed Hyun-soo.'
Of course, their housewarming gifts stemmed from affection for him.
They understood the essence of the examination.
Beat the examiners a hundred, a thousand times—it meant nothing if Hyun-soo himself wasn't recognized as supreme.
So they'd adjusted to what Hyun-soo could handle.
Yes, now they were within his grasp.
In other words.
"Now it's Hyun-soo's time."