Brush Up on the Old to Learn the New (5)
'I wonder if he's heading to the right place.'
Saint Haron thought of Kabel.
The little Bokdeongi who had kept his already deceased self from fading away.
Haron judged that Bokdeongi might possess the power to fully awaken him as well.
That was why he planned to stay in Atlas Territory and take Bokdeongi for walks.
However, this had to be done in secret.
The reason was that Atlas had a new lord, and the saint Haron's appearance would only cause confusion among them.
Indeed.
Because he cherished Atlas so much, Haron knew he must remain hidden.
Moreover, there was something he absolutely had to do now that he had come back to life, which meant he would eventually have to leave this place.
That was why Haron, worried about how to conceal his identity, had been walking Bokdeongi.
At that moment, Kabel appeared.
The two immediately recognized each other as powerhouses.
'An NPC for the first time. A saint, huh...'
Kabel also saw through Haron's true nature and noticed his desire to remain hidden.
'I'll help you. In return, protect this little guy when I leave.'
Kabel altered Haron's appearance to that of an ordinary territory resident.
"It's walk time—where'd Bokdeongi go?"
In the midst of that, he sensed the power he had left behind emanating from the castle and whipped his head around.
'Grant Me Your Blessing is activating?'
Grant Me Your Blessing.
In the saint's view, this power had a dual nature—exceptional yet limited.
The reason was that the blessing's strength scaled exactly with the power of the one it was applied to.
"An ordinary person can't even forge a connection with legends, let alone physical contact. That's impossible in itself."
Those who had reached legend rank were like that.
No one wanted just anyone touching their body casually.
And if someone tried?
They'd die before a hand could even reach them.
Thus, Grant Me Your Blessing held an ironic power.
'Even for a lord, it might be something they could never achieve in a lifetime.'
After all, a mere lord forging bonds with legends was impossible.
But this territory's lord, Hyun-soo, was different.
"He might be the one who can draw out its maximum potential."
Saint Haron had observed Ben, Barad, and the saintess from afar.
For someone to build bonds with the era's top powerhouses—it was astonishing.
The only regret was that they had already bestowed their blessings on Lord Hyun-soo once, so new candidates were needed.
Then Haron was taken aback.
"...!?"
Something was visible only to Haron's eyes.
Grant Me Your Blessing manifested his power in a quest-like format.
A vast light was spreading from within the castle, piercing through the entire structure and bursting forth.
Haron's eyes shook violently.
Such radiance was the most brilliant light he had never seen while using this power.
'No way...'
Haron knew of only one being in this territory capable of unleashing such force.
'He applied it to Bokdeongi?'
Bokdeongi seemed utterly unremarkable and pathetic upon close inspection.
But Haron knew the true power that little guy possessed.
'Does this mean he'll gain a blessing degree beyond my expectations?'
Filling over 100% would awaken the final power he had left behind.
But it wouldn't stop there.
"Please, stop taking more already. It's not time yet."
Exceeding 100% could trigger something else entirely.
The three immense powers Lord Hyun-soo had gained were the saint's forces.
If that light far surpassed 100%, it would unlock the complete Grant Me Your Blessing.
The true Grant Me Your Blessing was the saint's advanced class: the Holy Ruler's power.
Soon, Haron, who had worn an absurd expression, smiled.
"The reason for applying Grant Me Your Blessing was to forge new bonds with those of boundless power."
Bokdeongi wasn't a new bond.
"What new bonds will you forge?"
Haron knew.
That this new connection was the path to the true Grant Me Your Blessing.
Bokdeongi's Blessing has been bestowed.
You have acquired 49% Blessing Degree.
You have acquired +1 to all owned Masteries.
HP natural recovery increased by 20%.
MP natural recovery increased by 20%.
300 Bonus Stats have been granted.
300 Bonus Stats have been evenly distributed to your most needed areas.
200 applied to Overwhelm Stat.
25 each to Strength and Agility, 50 to Will.
Physical Attack Power +3%, Physical Defense +3%, Magic Attack Power +3%, Magic Defense +3%.
Hyun-soo's eyes shook.
Boost all owned masteries?
'How many masteries do I even have?'
Bow Mastery, Sword Mastery, Shield Mastery, Armor Mastery, and more.
Over five.
In other words, Hyun-soo gained +1 to five or more masteries at once.
"...???"
Hyun-soo was speechless for a long while.
Every boost was top-tier, beyond comprehension.
Even among character gains, things were divided into ordinary and exceptional.
Natural recovery was one such example.
Users preferred natural recovery increases over raw HP or MP from Vitality or Intellect stats.
Higher natural recovery meant faster passive healing even at rest.
It covered recovery that potions couldn't touch.
Plus 300 stats—not ordinary ones, but 200 to Overwhelm and 50 to Will.
Hyun-soo believed that raising special stats like Overwhelm or Will by 1 was equivalent to raising normal stats by 3.
'That's how hard they are to increase.'
And boosts to Physical Attack Power, Physical Defense, etc.—those were the most overpowered.
'Sword or bow attack power boosts vanish if you swap artifacts.'
But increases to overall Physical Attack Power, Physical Defense, or Magic Attack Power were different.
They enhanced the character itself, unrestricted by equipped artifacts.
In that moment, Hyun-soo realized.
'I'm at least 5% stronger than before.'
For powerhouses at Hyun-soo's level, a 5% gain was monumental.
Hyun-soo hugged Bokdeongi tighter.
"I named you well, didn't I!?"
"Maaang...?"
Bokdeongi, thrilled that Hyun-soo was happy, stuck out its pink tongue and panted with a big grin.
'Just who the hell are you?'
Hyun-soo had tried to uncover Bokdeongi's true identity.
But there was no clear way to do so.
There was a "Summoned Beast Confirmation Scroll" that revealed a summon's ultimate growth potential, but it was expensive.
When he tried it on Bokdeongi, this message had appeared.
This is a being you dare not peer into.
Upon hearing that, Hyun-soo decided to stop probing Bokdeongi's nature.
"Up you go."
"Mang mang!"
As he set Bokdeongi down, it spun in joyful circles.
"Mang! Mang!"
Aware it had done something great, Bokdeongi dashed somewhere and plopped down in front of it.
"Mang!"
It was the spot with Bokdeongi's favorite dog treat.
"... "
Hyun-soo silently watched Bokdeongi.
Even after awakening absurd power within him.
And even though it had been protecting Hyun-soo all along—unknown to him.
All this tiny, precious pup wanted was a single dog treat.
***
Hyun-soo visited Ballus Territory.
"Hold my hand."
"???"
"Quick. It's urgent."
"???"
Sage Arte.
He was flustered by Hyun-soo, who had suddenly shown up demanding to hold hands.
Asking to hold hands out of nowhere?
Arte couldn't help but overthink.
In his hundreds of years of life, this was a first.
And Hyun-soo was the first person he'd ever considered a friend in those centuries, so he slowly nodded.
"You knew my true face is bald. Now I know yours. Quite the unique taste—explains why you never dated. This is a one-time thing. Don't ever ask to hold hands again."
He offered his hand with an embarrassed expression.
"What nonsense is that?"
Hyun-soo was dumbfounded.
Having realized Grant Me Your Blessing yielded greater power than expected, he'd rushed to apply it to Arte without delay.
Arte was baffled after hearing the full story.
"Why not just say 'let's shake hands'? Why 'hold my hand'? The phrasing is weird!"
"It works, though?"
Arte was at a loss.
And so Hyun-soo discovered that a simple "let's shake hands" could forge the needed bond.
Hyun-soo had his airheaded moments.
"Let's shake hands."
The two clasped hands.
Arte's Blessing has been bestowed.
You have acquired 27% Blessing Degree.
MP total capacity increased by 30%.
MP natural recovery increased by 10%.
All Stats +1%.
Skill cooldowns reduced by 10%.
Critical hit chance +5%.
Magic Attack Power and Magic Defense +2%.
Sage Arte unleashed an immense blessing as well.
'What's this regret...?'
But Bokdeongi's was on another level.
"I have a question, Arte."
One reason Hyun-soo had rushed to find Arte was something crucial.
"The Grant Me Your Blessing I mentioned gives more power to the stronger the target, or those with higher potential."
Arte was a sage.
At least, the one who knew the most within Hyun-soo's knowledge.
"So my question: Are there beings beyond legend in this world?"
With server integration complete.
New content pursuing even higher heights could emerge, along with such figures.
"Of course they exist. I don't know what to call them, but beings above legends."
A smile spread across Hyun-soo's face.
It meant there were even greater targets for Grant Me Your Blessing.
"Meeting them won't be easy, will it?"
Arte hit the nail on the head.
"And forming friendly bonds with such beings? That's no simple task."
Hyun-soo nodded slowly.
Arte's brutal facts brought him back to reality.
And Hyun-soo knew.
'Blessing Degree is already at 76%.'
Just one more legend would push it over 100%, with two chances left.
In truth, he was now confident he could nearly fill it to 100%.
But ways to grow this easily were rare, so he yearned to meet beings stronger and greater than legends.
'Just who could they be...'
But Arte's words grounded him, so he set aside the regret.
Then a question arose.
"Does this work on users too?"
At that moment.
You have entered the Asgan Continent.
A being beyond legend crossed continents.
In his hand was the melted sword, Babylon.
"For real? Master Craftsman Hyun-soo can repair even irreparable artifacts?"
A strange excitement lit his face.
"If Kabel said it, it can't be false."
His destination: Atlas.
Meanwhile.
Purum Corp CEO's office.
Lee Se-jin's chest burned hot.
What was a being beyond legend?
Someone who had surpassed the legend class?
'No. Right now, the only user with a beyond-legend class is Hyun-soo.'
He was the Blacksmith of God.
"Bahala could have become the first legend a year ago."
But he hadn't.
Bahala's dream wasn't mere legend status—and achieving legend would disqualify him from it.
"A Sword God aspirant and the Blacksmith of God."
The story Kabel was weaving promised an astonishing encounter.
'Curious again.'
Whether Bahala would shake hands with Hyun-soo.