Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Bern (3)
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The fire-attuned circle whirred as it spun.
"This damn circle already makes it hard to use any attribute besides fire."
Right now, he needed something other than fire.
He whispered to the rampaging mana.
"If you want to run wild on your own will, then obey my command."
That will seeped in.
The mana softened a little. But it was like a lion's paw hiding its claws.
It could unsheathe them sharp at any moment, slashing an enemy's throat.
Or it could be Jun himself.
"Whatever."
He imprinted his imagery.
His thoughts were eternal snow, hard as steel.
The absolute zero earth frozen for eons beyond human measure.
The circle creaked in protest.
As if refusing what he wanted.
"So what?"
He ignored it.
Any other mage would have thought he was suicidal.
Those who reached a stable circle like Jun always specialized their main magic in one attribute.
It was the most efficient way.
Handle what you do best, leave the rest to others. That's how humanity progressed, right?
But Jun rejected that path.
His circle had been forcibly attuned to fire.
Because of Sergei's [Mental Image Boundary].
It wasn't the picture he wanted.
Nature's mana could become anything.
A mage was one who commanded that mana from nature.
Not bound to just one thing.
That was his will. And the resolve of the Demon God Body's master.
The Demon God Body responded to his will with a cheer, baring its own claws.
Then the fire circle slowly cooled. It had yielded to his will.
The orange glow like embers remained.
But within it, pure white snowflakes seemed to drift down.
An adventure he'd never attempted before.
But he didn't care.
There would be aftereffects, but he'd gained something far more valuable.
Jun's eyes gleamed.
[Interpreting Oracle...]
[Interpretation complete.]
[Oracle, 'Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim' influence reduced by 25%.]
Maya moved first.
Bern instinctively gripped his battle hammer against the exploding killing intent.
His eyes twitched.
For the first time ever, he'd missed Maya's movement, even briefly.
So he raised his massive shield.
Planning to shove it forward the moment she attacked.
But if Bern had any rationality left, he wouldn't have chosen that.
Semitransparent Maya's motion showed no fear of the shield.
Whoosh―
Maya's semitransparent body passed straight through Bern's shield.
Like a ghost phasing through.
Bern's eyes widened.
I'm dead.
He felt it instinctively and immediately released the shield handle he'd been pushing forward.
As he swung his recovered fist at Maya, who had solidified...
Crack―!
A sound came from the opposite side that shouldn't have.
Forgetting Maya right in front of him, Bern's gaze snapped backward.
He saw a sword wrapped in blood-red mana.
And like a crescent moon just before eclipse, it traced a red arc.
Aimed at the head of the battle hammer, right below.
Clang!
The immense recoil bent Aiden's knees as he let it flow away.
All to induce this guard crush state.
[Bash]
In an instant, Aiden's body blurred like a shadow.
Before he knew it, Aiden was at Bern's nose, swinging his sword.
Desperate Bern dropped the battle hammer to block.
But crack―!
First, Maya used Bern's arm as a springboard, spinning to back-kick his head.
It struck the helmeted head.
The shock transmitted fully, ruining his stance.
His chest opened wide.
At that moment, extreme mana dwelled in Aiden's sword for a split second.
Immense impact slammed the armor.
Cough―?! The shock pierced the crushed armor into Bern's chest.
He wanted to regain posture somehow, but his head rang.
Maya's kick had pierced the helmet, shaking his brain directly.
The heavy holy knight's body crumbled.
[Ice Break]
Bluish ice encased the collapsing holy knight's body.
"Hoo..."
Jun exhaled frosty breath like hoarfrost from his mouth, sighing belatedly.
The moment Jun's spell activated, Aiden and Maya had leaped back, both dropping to their knees almost simultaneously.
"It... it worked..."
"M-My strength's gone..."
Unable to use holy power, they'd still subdued a level 7 user, a holy knight.
Seeing the scene, Eleanor...
"Holy shit..."
Spitting a curse, she pondered how to heal Bern, trapped in ice with a crushed chest and neck twisted unnaturally.
Two steps back for one step forward.
That was the strategy Jun and his party chose.
They'd succeeded in neutralizing Bern, but the aftermath took a full half day.
Only one day remained.
If they couldn't resolve this by then, saving the Grail-corrupted clergy would be for naught.
Meaning the seals on the five named ones would fully fail.
A level 8 monster manifesting on the surface became all but certain.
"This is fucking exhausting..."
Jun slumped down, drained, staring at Bern who hadn't regained consciousness yet.
Aiden and Maya were in similar states.
Both had squeezed their limits in the fight with Bern—and pushed beyond.
Aiden had, if only for a fleeting moment, infused aura into his sword.
At mere level 3, using aura was an unbelievable feat.
'He's level 3 in name only. Pure skill-wise, he might handle early level 4 fields now.'
Entry-level, and it'd be rough, but Aiden's growth was definitely a boon for Jun.
Only a year since he first picked up a sword for real combat.
Yet he'd awakened mana and wielded aura.
Other swordsmen would feel inferior enough to off themselves, no exaggeration.
'What if he'd started young?'
That talent was rare even among imperial kin.
He'd face endless jealousy from siblings.
'Better he picked it up now.'
His gaze shifted to Maya.
She lay half-sprawled on the ground like a soulless shell, staring blankly into space.
'Using her ancestral power is a good sign.'
In the game, she only used it after building sufficient affinity.
'From now on, tame that power well. Guide her to converse better with her ancestors too.'
The ancestral ability passed down in the Jo-kyung tribe grew with use, expanding its scope.
Though the penalties were hefty.
'I can manage that from the side.'
His eyes moved to Bern.
He'd just used [Marionette Line] to purge the evil qi dwelling inside Bern.
Unlike the quick work on the paladins, treating Bern took a full half day.
As an advanced holy knight, the infused evil qi was that potent and stubborn.
He'd burned through four Spirit Extinguishing Candles in the process.
Without Aiden and Maya's near-fatal strikes, even Jun wouldn't have guaranteed success.
"Eleanor. How's the treatment?"
"Give the wound, give the cure?"
Eleanor grumbled in mock complaint. Bern's condition had been that dire.
"No choice. The opponent was who he was."
"I know. Just kidding."
She knew full well the miracle Jun and his party had pulled off.
"Thanks. For saving Uncle. Anyway, he's good now. Pumped him full of holy power."
An advanced holy knight, level 7 user's body.
With holy power and a mid-tier recovery potion from Jun, the caved-in chest had restored to shape in half a day.
The head injury from Maya's kick had improved greatly too.
"He'll wake soon."
Eleanor gently infused holy power into Bern's head.
Moments later, Bern's eyes slowly opened.
"Why do my chest and head ache so much?"
His first words upon sitting up.
Bern bowed deeply to Jun, Aiden, Maya, and Eleanor in thanks.
"I owe you. Saving Eleanor wasn't enough—you saved me too."
A level 7 holy knight.
Not fully recovered, but this powerhouse was back at full strength.
Less than a day left now.
Bern immediately asked Jun.
"Mage. Do you have a plan?"
He sought input from Jun, leagues below him in level.
Someone of his caliber might command the group outright, but he didn't.
"We need to retake the Grail as fast as possible. And rescue that bishop too."
The church forces were in that state because of the evil qi spilling from the Grail.
Rescue the evil-qi-addled bishop, have him purify the Grail—that should solve it.
But unexpectedly, Bern shook his head.
"The bishop was behind this."
A shocking truth.
One of the church's five bishops had apostatized?
Stunned, Eleanor stared at Bern in disbelief.
"What do you mean?"
Bishop Elias was a figure Eleanor knew well.
Same age as the current pope, ambitious but loyal to the church for ages.
Why apostatize now?
"No idea about that part. But..."
Bern had seen it.
When evil qi began leaking from the Grail.
As base camp descended into chaos from the evil qi.
Bern had entered the command tent to evacuate the out-of-sorts Eleanor and tried to save the bishop too, who hadn't lost consciousness yet.
But the bishop seemed deranged, shouting at thin air.
-This isn't what I wanted! Didn't you promise to make me pope!!
As if yelling at someone absent.
That moment, Bern realized the bishop was at the crisis's heart.
"By then, I wasn't sane either. Barely got Eleanor out."
"Bishop... bishop..."
Jun frowned.
'Come to think of it.'
Memories from when he was Lee Jung-jun surfaced.
Busy company days.
When <Blackout> announced crowdfunding, and he'd decided to main mage again.
Back then, as Lee Jung-jun, he'd eyed Eleanor's tier-1 staff, [End of Lament].
Its 'Conversion' ability could solve a mage's biggest issue—mana shortage—with a few tweaks. Cheat weapon.
But acquiring [End of Lament] was tricky.
Required several subquests and a hidden one.
Bishop Elias's name had come up there.
'That quest was definitely...'
Killing the boss of the world-scale raid 'Calamity of Lament'.
Jun's gaze turned to Eleanor.
She had been that 'Calamity of Lament'.