Chapter 287
Chapter 287
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 287
Chapter Title: Power Control
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Krash confessed his honest feelings while cradling his forehead, slowly sitting up.
"You're awake."
At that moment, Krash turned his head toward the voice he'd heard.
His senses were still all over the place, so he hadn't even noticed someone was there beside him.
There sat Byoren, a crow perched on her lap as she read a book.
She closed the book with a smooth motion and looked at Krash.
Throughout the entire magic process,
Krash recalled Byoren silently watching over him.
It must have been a pretty gruesome sight, yet she hadn't taken her eyes off him once, staying by his side the whole time.
"How's your hand?"
Krash asked bluntly.
It had looked agonizing just to watch,
so Byoren had clenched her fist so hard midway through that her nails dug into her skin.
Remembering that scene, she gave him an exasperated look when he brought it up.
"You really think you're in any position to ask me that?"
"That's the only part I remember."
Krash tapped his head lightly, and Byoren let out a deep sigh.
She then pulled out some medicine she'd set aside.
"They said to give you this once you woke up. Since the magic forcibly tampered with your aura, you need to keep taking it for stability for a while. Eat up."
Krash obediently reached out and took the medicine from Byoren.
But just as he was about to bring it to his mouth, his arm suddenly went limp.
Plop- Thud-
The dropped pills rolled across the floor.
Proof that he still hadn't adjusted to moving his reconstructed body.
As Krash moved to pick them up, Byoren beat him to it.
She scooped them up and held them right in front of his mouth.
Krash had no choice but to open wide and take the pills—
"Looks like the patient's all set."
Just then, a familiar voice reached Krash's ears.
He looked up to see Lirina approaching with a basin of water and a towel.
"Take your medicine first."
Before Krash could greet her, Lirina spoke up.
He swallowed the pills, then chased them down with water from the cup she handed him.
"Why are you here, Lirina?"
Once he'd swallowed, Krash asked, and Lirina set down the basin, soaking and wringing out the towel.
"I heard you wouldn't be able to move for at least today."
"Yeah, that seems about right..."
"I'm used to it thanks to Lord Aslan, but Lady Byoren doesn't have any experience nursing patients."
Lirina was competent enough to serve as Aslan's personal maid.
Sure, she snuck some bread now and then, but she was highly regarded for her skills as a maid.
"So I figured I'd help out. Why? Don't want me to?"
"I didn't say I didn't want you to."
"Well, sure. Lord Krash probably prefers his lovely fiancée Bianca tending to him.
Sorry. I'm just a bit cute, so I fall short."
Lirina huffed through her nose.
It was scarier that her face stayed completely expressionless even as she joked like that.
But knowing it was Lirina's usual teasing, Krash just gave a wry smile.
"What’s Aslan up to?"
"He was reading as usual, but the Demon Emperor visited recently."
From the looks of it, he'd come right after things wrapped up here.
Krash wasn't the only workaholic who never rested—Terrasius was just as bad.
"Alright, time to get those clothes off."
"Pardon?"
"You've been lying there for days without getting up, just sleeping away. You enjoy being filthy?"
"No, but... hold on. I'll undress myself. Why are you coming closer?"
"Why's a nobleman scared of a maid helping with his clothes? Lady Byoren, hold Lord Krash down, please."
Byoren had no choice but to join Lirina, closing in from both sides.
Krash tried to get up, but realized his legs barely moved.
'Damn it.'
Save me, someone!
In the end, Lirina meticulously wiped every inch of Krash's body.
Midway, she let out a silly "Oh my,"
and Byoren glanced over with curiosity,
but Krash decided to forget it all.
After spending about two days mostly in bed under Lirina's care,
Krash finally felt his body returning to normal.
'No, this is more than just returning.'
Krash sensed a completely different power surging through his entire body.
The flow of his aura itself was vastly different from before.
It coursed through him so smoothly that his old flow felt creaky by comparison.
Moreover, his senses had sharpened dramatically.
With his Sixth Sense now, he felt like he could anticipate and counter every threat coming his way.
'Accel.'
For a test, Krash channeled Accel into a punch.
The accelerated fist shot forward in an instant—
Boom! Crack! Crash!
A crack spiderwebbed across the wall he hadn't even touched, and nearby furniture shattered.
Krash had caused an accident in a blink, but his eyes were wide with shock.
A simple punch infused with Accel packing this much power.
It was absurd.
Krash grasped his new level.
'...The realm of a fully realized Master.'
He'd originally reached the upper Master realm.
But somehow,
after fully absorbing the White Dragon King's power, his aura realm had jumped two whole stages.
An astonishing growth rate.
'Next is Master Peak.'
And the moment he surpassed that,
he'd reach the Emperor realm attained only by the Heavenly Emperors.
Krash clenched both fists.
He hadn't expected such a drastic leap in stages.
[Considering your body was rebuilt from the Dragon King clan's base, isn't this only natural?]
Right on cue, Crimson Garden's voice rang out.
Did all the Dragon King clan possess bodies like this?
Indeed, it made sense that the White Dragon King had reigned as the strongest among the World Erosion beasts in the past.
And with power like this, it was no wonder they'd obsessed over immortality to rule as the supreme forever.
[I told you to shed your mortal body and accept the Dragon King clan's power. Who knew you'd hijack the process to rebuild your body from scratch?]
[You're one crazy bastard, alright.]
"Efficiency-wise, this was far superior."
Krash had heard about this from Terrasius beforehand.
Terrasius said that even if you shed your mortal body to absorb Dragon King power,
some would inevitably be lost in the process.
So they'd hijacked it instead.
Shedding the mortal body naturally aimed to maintain the body at its peak.
Using that property, they shattered the human body, mixed the fragments with the White Dragon King's power, and rebuilt it.
Once the foundation was set, the shedding process would automatically restore it to match Krash's peak form.
That's how they'd pulled off this insane feat.
[But the pain you endured was double what it should've been.]
A crow flying in from outside—Crimson Garden's—pecked at Krash's head.
[I thought you'd die before I could even pass on my immortality.]
"Worth it for this power."
Now, he wouldn't be intimidated by most World Erosion beasts.
'Though guys like the Sword Sovereign are still unavoidable.'
The Sword Sovereign wielded power on par with the Heavenly Emperors.
To face them, he needed to acquire the Creationless Divine Martial Body soon.
"That said, this is a huge problem in another way."
Krash lightly shook out his body.
His punch from moments ago had made it clear.
With his aura two stages higher, he needed time to get used to his body.
Right now, Krash was essentially at the toddling infant stage.
With a vicious body that could smash anything.
Crack!
As proof, the door handle crumbled as he cautiously tried to turn it.
Creeeak—
Krash stared blankly at the now-handle-less door swinging open.
[Looks like you'll be cooped up for a few months at least.]
He couldn't deny Crimson Garden's words.
"Lord Krash? What happened?"
Then Lirina came rushing over at the noise.
She'd just stepped out for a bit and returned.
"Wait, Lirina, don't come closer."
"That's pretty hurtful, you know."
"No, really. My body's out of control right now. I can't control my strength."
To prove it, Krash held up the door handle he'd just broken.
Crunch!
In that instant, the handle shattered completely in his grip.
"...See?"
Krash flashed a strained grin, showing off the mangled metal.
Lirina stared at it for a moment before walking right up to him.
"Lirina, it's seriously danger—"
Before he knew it, Lirina had taken his hand in hers.
She gently pried the crumpled handle from his grasp.
Krash blinked in surprise.
She'd taken it effortlessly from his hand.
Was Lirina secretly super strong?
"Even this morning, when I fed you stew, you handed the bowl back to me without issue."
Lirina looked at him like, What's with the sudden fuss?
"You're definitely struggling with power control. But at least in front of me, you've been managing just fine."
His body had unconsciously held back against Lirina.
Krash looked down at his hand in astonishment.
Maybe because he absolutely never wanted to hurt her.
"Having trouble with control? Want me to stick by your side? Being attached 24/7 is my specialty."
Lirina sidled up with her trademark mischievous smile.
Catching sight of it, Krash chuckled in exasperation.
"No, I need to take my first steps on my own."
"Very adult of you to handle it yourself."
"I had a good upbringing."
"Must've been a fine household."
Even self-deprecating jokes came naturally to Krash.
"Lunch today will be something Lord Krash likes."
"Thanks."
After days of nothing but stew,
Krash entrusted it to Lirina and started walking.
Toward the magic training grounds in Jeblam Royal Palace.
"Ebelask."
"Chirp chirp."
Along the way, Krash called the one best suited to help with training.
"I need training. Bring out your corpse."
Time to get serious with some real practice.