New Weapon
Wow...
Bella hadn't been able to close her mouth since earlier.
It wasn't that Seo Hwarang's victory shocked her.
She'd heard the rumors too, so she knew perfectly well that he was one of the strongest contenders for the championship.
She hadn't doubted it for a second.
No, what astonished her was the way he'd fought.
Using nothing but 1st and 2nd Circle magic, he had utterly demolished a mid-tier Sword Expert.
Everyone said the same thing.
No representative in the tournament's long history had ever put on a performance like that.
"Waaaaaah!"
"Wooooooh!"
The citizens of Brandel had turned the whole place into a festival grounds. Count Lowell was so overjoyed that drool was practically running down his chin, though he didn't seem to notice.
Noble decorum?
Who cared about that!
Nobles were people too, weren't they?
And on a day of celebration, a man was surely entitled to celebrate!
"Y-You there! Bring the book at once!"
"It's already prepared in the carriage, my lord!"
"What are you waiting for?! Hurry and present it! He has every right to Brandel's secret manual. No — that a man like him would even take an interest in Brandel's secret manual is something we should take pride in!"
If Brandel's secret manual were truly all that remarkable, the city wouldn't have been losing the tournament year after year.
The tables had turned now.
If anything, it might be better for him to take the manual, master it, and spread Brandel's name even further across the continent.
"Yes, my lord!"
The steward bolted off, returned breathless with the book, and dropped it with a heavy thud right at Seo Hwarang's feet.
"Oho."
Seo Hwarang's eyes gleamed as he took it.
Victory? Cheers?
The book in front of him made him far happier than either of those.
Brandel?
It wasn't his hometown or his city anyway. Let them cheer all they liked — what did it matter to him?
Though there is one thing that bothers me.
The skill book wouldn't go into his inventory.
He'd noticed it before — the skill books of Etherion and those of Earth were subtly, strangely different.
Perhaps the system was designed to keep skill books from leaving the Etherion continent for Earth?
Maybe it figured he'd hoard them all and read them after he left?
Either way.
"Thank you. I'll treasure this book and read it with care."
"Heh heh, do that. Read it as much as you like."
He was still trading pleasantries with Count Lowell when—
"Champion!"
A party arrived from the Waldheim side.
"Duke Waldheim requests your presence in the castle!"
Oho.
Right. The rewards weren't just Count Lowell's.
Reward: 5 copies of Brandel's Secret Manual, the Duke of Waldheim's Gift, and Gerard's Nameplate
The Duke of Waldheim's gift, and Gerard's Nameplate!
He had no idea what they were, but apparently it was time to go collect them.
Leaving the cheers of Brandel's citizens behind him, Seo Hwarang followed the Duchy's envoy.
The closer they drew to the palace, the more the roar of the crowd faded into the distance.
Once inside, a magnificent hall spread out before him — and there, seated at its center, was Grayden Waldheim.
A Sword Master.
The man looked to be in his early fifties, his eyes deep and still, an overwhelming charisma radiating off him like heat from a forge.
Seo Hwarang placed his right hand over his chest and bowed his head.
That was how etiquette worked around these parts, apparently.
"It is an honor to meet you, Duke."
"Indeed, Seo Hwarang. With your tremendous skill, you have left a deep impression on everyone who watched this tournament. From this day forward, your name will spread not only through Brandel, but through Waldheim itself... and eventually across the whole of Etherion."
Seo Hwarang's gaze drifted to the crystal orb resting on the table before the Duke.
So that's how he was watching.
But.
The Duke said less than expected. He simply studied Seo Hwarang in silence for a moment, then gave a light gesture to the steward at his side. The steward stepped forward, drew a nameplate from a small box, and presented it to the Duke.
"Come closer, Seo Hwarang."
"Yes, my lord."
"This is Gerard's Nameplate."
Seo Hwarang accepted the plate the Duke held out.
The blue nameplate bore a refined design etched with the Waldheim crest, its intricately ornamented patterns glinting in the light.
"This nameplate is no mere decoration."
Grayden added with a gentle smile,
"It is proof that I, Grayden Waldheim, have officially acknowledged you. Wherever in Etherion you may travel, this nameplate guarantees your identity — and commands recognition of your skill."
"Thank you, my lord."
Just a hunch, but.
This thing looked like it would be surprisingly useful.
In other words: academy admission.
With one of these in hand, wouldn't it be perfect for getting in as an instructor?
"Next."
At the Duke's second gesture, the steward opened the heavy door on the right side of the hall.
With a deep groan of hinges, the massive door swung wide, revealing a grand armory beyond.
"Follow me."
The Duke rose and led Seo Hwarang inside.
Oho.
Seo Hwarang's eyes lit up.
The walls of the spacious armory were lined with weapons of every description.
"Waldheim keeps weapons that have been passed down through the ages. They are mighty legacies, woven into the very history of our land. By the tradition of Waldheim, the tournament champion may claim one weapon from this hall as his own."
Ah.
So this was the Duke of Waldheim's gift.
Excellent. Truly excellent.
For someone like Seo Hwarang, who could read an item's information at a glance, getting to choose for himself was infinitely better than being handed some random trinket.
"Would it be alright if I looked around a bit?"
"Take your time."
Cool.
As grand as his title, and just as cool in temperament!
Seo Hwarang started with the vivid crimson sword nearest to hand.
Grade: Epic
Type: Weapon (Sword)
Description: This sword becomes one with its wielder in battle, testing his resolve. The more the wielder trusts in his own strength, the greater the blade's power grows. As enemy blood stains the steel, the blade's glow deepens and amplifies the wielder's strength.
Effects: Attack Power greatly increased, Strength +20, Stamina +15
Skill — Strike of Resolve: When the wielder commits to a powerful resolve, the next successful attack deals 50% additional damage. (Duration: 10 sec, Cooldown: 60 sec)
Skill — Oath of Blood: Restores 10% HP and increases Attack Power by 5% with each enemy slain (Duration: 10 sec, Stacks up to 3)
Whoa.
He sucked in a quiet breath.
An Epic on the very first pick?
As mentioned before, item grades came in six tiers.
Normal, Rare, Unique, Epic, Legendary, Mythic.
And.
From Epic upward, they were said to be practically nonexistent even on Earth.
A handful of domestic rankers and the top international rankers might carry one — at least, that was the speculation.
And here one was, on his first try.
Isn't this insane?
From that moment on, Seo Hwarang began rifling through the armory in a frenzy.
No way!
At first he'd assumed he'd just gotten lucky with the Epic. He'd been wrong.
Spear of Lightning (Epic), Bow of Time (Epic), Burning Whip (Epic)...
Epic was simply the baseline here.
Alright, then.
Since his main skills were magic, he focused on the staffs, working his way down the line. There were plenty of well-kept, high-performing Epic staffs among them.
And then.
Huh?
In the deepest corner of the room, he spotted a pitch-black staff that seemed to pull at his body, its dark allure tugging him toward it. He walked over and rested his fingertips lightly against it.
Grade:Legendary
Type: Weapon (Staff)
Description: This staff possesses the power to magnify magic to its utmost. The darkness pouring from its tip spreads as though to swallow everything around it, amplifying a mage's spell power to the absolute limit.
Effects: Damage of offensive spells greatly increased, damage dealt to enemies +20%, Intelligence +50
Skill — Ruin's Devour: Increases the damage of all elemental magic by 50%, and additionally reduces the enemy's magic resistance by 20% for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 60 sec)
Skill — Ruin's Authority: Every enemy slain in combat increases all magic damage by 15% for 10 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. (Duration: 10 sec, Stacks up to 3)
Wow. Unbelievable.
A Legendary. A genuine Legendary!
And the specs were monstrous.
A staff built for a burst-damage mage...
This was made for me, isn't it?
It boosted Intelligence by a full 50 points, and on top of that it was loaded with damage-increasing bonuses. Two skills, and both of them pure damage amplifiers.
One of them was even a passive — widely regarded as top-tier among skill types.
I could sell this, sure.
But honestly, it was good enough to simply use for the foreseeable future.
"I'll take this one."
"...You've got quite the eye."
The Duke cleared his throat low in his chest.
The finest weapons were usually placed unobtrusively in the corners — but never hidden. That was Waldheim's pride, and the Duke's resolve to uphold the ancient tradition that the champion of Gerard's Tournament should walk away with a worthy blade.
"In a way, it suits you perfectly. You chose well. It will serve as a great strength on the journey ahead of you."
The Duke of Waldheim did not try to bind tournament champions to his service.
On the contrary, he encouraged them to roam the breadth of the vast Etherion continent.
True strength was never gained by being tethered to a single place. If anything, such confinement could smother the very opportunities needed to gain experience.
And those destined to become bonds of loyalty would always return, no matter how far they were sent.
When that day came, the ties between lord and vassal would be all the stronger for it.
"Seo Hwarang."
"Yes, Duke."
"The experience and growth you will gather across this continent will, in the end, benefit me and Waldheim as well. When we meet again someday, I will expect to see you grown even stronger."
From beginning to end, the Duke was impossibly cool.
The moment Seo Hwarang returned with a staff in hand, Yoo Seon-ah perked up with immediate interest.
Obviously one of the rewards he'd just received. How was anyone supposed to hold in that kind of curiosity!
"Me too! Let me see it too!"
"..."
Seo Hwarang was curious how she'd react. So he handed it over without ceremony.
And sure enough.
Ker-CHUNK!
It was the first time he'd learned Yoo Seon-ah's mouth could open that wide.
"H-holy crap!"
How startled did you have to be to curse before anything else came out?
"A L-Legendary? It's actually a Legendary? Wow, what the hell...!"
An Epic alone would have floored her.
But a Legendary?
There probably wasn't a single Legendary item on Earth either. Someone somewhere might be quietly wielding one, but nothing official had ever surfaced.
"To buy a staff like this... you'd basically have to sell an entire country. And look at these stats. Isn't this just tailor-made for you?"
She was right.
Seo Hwarang had infinite mana anyway.
If the staff had come with mana regeneration or a mana stat attached, that would've actually annoyed him...
Nothing of the sort here.
This was a staff built for one thing and one thing only: raw damage.
"Wow, this goes past envy straight into full-body chills."
He was a little excited, he had to admit.
Just how much stronger would his skills get with this in hand?
"Anyway, I poked around a little to see if I could actually stay under the Duke like you talked about."
"Mm-hm."
"Yeah, no chance. He coolly handed over the rewards and showed me the door."
"...Is that so?"
Yoo Seon-ah smacked her lips, looking faintly disappointed.
"So we're hitting the road in the carriage again, huh?"
"That's the plan. While we travel I'll get some training in, craft the robe, and now I need to start grinding up my cooking skill proficiency too."
"Whew!"
Yoo Seon-ah let out a short sigh.
Somehow, it always felt like this: Seo Hwarang kept getting stronger and stronger, while her own pace crawled along.
"Fine. Let's go. Now!"
She thrust her fist into the air.
"And you — hurry up and fill that 2nd Circle proficiency bar to 80! I need you to teach me too! When are you gonna hand over those four skill books I left with you?!"
She was itching to push straight through the 3rd Circle and the 4th, one after the other.