Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Dragon Knight's Armaments
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"Oh! Found it!!"
As he shouted, Woojin whipped his head around.
"The Dragon Knight's armaments, right?"
Juter rushed excitedly toward the black armor and sword hanging on one wall.
Woojin, who had actually been the one searching for the armaments, let out a low sigh at the sight.
'Where the hell is this Black Synthesis or whatever?'
"Come on over!! Hurry!!"
Juter drew the sword from its sheath.
With a sharp shing—, the blue blade that emerged radiated an awe-inspiring edge visible even to the naked eye.
"Whoa! Suddenly, I'm really tempted by this thing."
"......What the hell are you doing?"
"This here? It's made from Azure Phosphorus. You're seriously lucky, you know? For something like this to still be around."
"Azure Phosphorus? What's that?"
"What else? It's ridiculously rare."
"......"
Juter chuckled to himself at his own words, as if it were hilarious.
'Talking to this lunatic is exhausting.'
Woojin pressed his temples and extended a hand toward Juter.
"If you're done gawking, hand it over."
He didn't know what Azure Phosphorus was, but a weapon in the guy's hands was unsettling enough.
"Ah, sure, sure. Of course."
But in that moment, Juter nodded and thrust the sword into the floor.
Boom—!!
"Guard this."
At his command, the dragonkin warriors who had been following blocked the sword.
"......What the hell was that?"
Woojin furrowed his brow at the unexpected outburst.
"Sorry. Truth is, this is my first time seeing the Dragon Knight's armaments too. But I had no idea it was made from Azure Phosphorus."
Juter grinned.
"This thing's seriously dangerous, you see? So, just hold onto it for a bit."
"What kind of bullshit is this? Didn't we agree not to mess with each other's loot?"
"You really have no clue what Azure Phosphorus is, do you? Well, you're just a kid, so I guess that's expected."
"Crazy bastard... We're about the same age."
Juter had been alive even during the game's time.
Woojin knew the guy had lived well over a century, but he growled anyway, pretending otherwise.
"Kekeke— Same age? Cute."
Juter poked Woojin's side, chuckling as if he quite enjoyed the reaction.
"Alright, then let's be friends. Listen up, buddy. Armaments made from Azure Phosphorus..."
Slide—
Juter brought his index finger toward the blade.
Thud—
Surprisingly, before his finger even touched the edge, it severed cleanly and fell to the floor.
"It cuts without even touching."
Crunch—
The guy popped the fallen finger into his mouth and chomped it down.
Squelch...... squelch......
Then, like a lizard's tail regrowing, fresh flesh began sprouting from the stump.
"You're more surprising than the sword."
Woojin could only gape at the real-time regeneration.
"Hehe, I was hoping for that reaction."
Juter wiggled his newly regrown finger in front of Woojin.
"How do you get Azure Phosphorus?"
"Hm...... Lots of theories, but the most plausible is rift stone shells."
"Rift stone shells......?"
"When a dungeon forms, massive rifts tear open. Once the dungeon's complete, the rift stone shells stitch those cracks back together."
Woojin nodded.
"A dungeon's another space entirely. Creating a new space inside this one means......"
Juter held his palms apart, then pressed them together.
"It's like two different worlds fused."
He fixed Woojin with a meaningful look.
"That creates a hyperspace in between—a double-edged sword that sucks everything in or spits it all out."
"That's Azure Phosphorus."
"Exactly. In short, that blade is wrapped in an invisible hyperspace."
Juter reached for the sword again.
Shwoooosh......!!
This time, unlike when it simply severed, his index finger was yanked away as if sucked into something.
"See that? Cool, huh?"
Juter slurped the detached finger like candy, yelling excitedly like a child.
"Getting sliced I get, but...... what about the one that got sucked in?"
"Oh? This?"
Juter wiggled the severed finger nonchalantly.
Hummmm———
He rummaged in the pouch at his waist.
"Here it is."
The pouch wasn't ordinary—it seemed like a hyperspace pocket. A severed arm far too large for it popped out.
Slice—
He cut just the finger from the long arm, spat on it roughly, and stuck it onto his stump.
Squelch...... squelch......
The finger from the corpse fused with his own.
"What do you think? Isn't this even cooler?"
He asked Woojin proudly.
'......Monster freak.'
Woojin barely held back the words.
"Impressive."
"Kekeke—."
Juter bounced up excitedly.
"Anyway, that's why it's too dangerous. Just wait a little, yeah? You can do that much, right, friend?"
"......Fine."
Woojin glanced at the Dragon Knight's sword embedded in the floor.
He had no choice to begin with.
Pulling it out against those guarding dragonkin warriors wouldn't be easy.
"Great! I knew you'd understand!"
Juter slapped Woojin's back and yelled.
"Now that we've got yours, let's find mine!!"
The two delved deeper into the vault.
'......No dragonkin.'
Did he trust Woojin? Or underestimate him?
Juter had ordered all the dragonkin warriors who'd entered with them to guard the sword.
Just him and Juter now.
Step— step—
Only footsteps echoed, but an inexplicable tension hung in the air.
"Got a question."
Woojin broke the silence.
"What?"
"Once we find this Black Synthesis thing, what're you gonna do?"
"Why? You into alchemy?"
"Not specifically...... Just curious about everything in this world, but no one to ask."
"No one to ask? Weird. Don't you have an elf companion? Elves live longer than humans."
"She's a companion, yeah. That's why I can't ask her."
"Can't ask a companion? You're a strange one."
Juter tilted his head.
'Can't risk spilling otherworlder secrets to her. Better ask someone expendable.'
Woojin smiled innocently.
"Found it!!"
In that instant, Juter shouted and dashed to the back wall of the vault.
Hummmm......
An elaborately engraved array on the inner wall.
Juter caressed the formation ecstatically, even kissing it.
"This is it...... This is what I've been searching for!!!"
His eyes sparkled as he yelled.
"......You found it, so I'm heading out."
"No, no! You can't leave."
"Why?"
"You asked earlier. What I'd do if I found the synthesis array."
Juter grinned.
"What does an alchemist do with a synthesis formation? Experiment, obviously."
"......What?"
Thud—
Juter bit his thumb.
Blood welled from the torn skin, and he pressed it firmly onto the wall array.
"An experiment needs subjects, friend."
In that moment, the magic circle blazed with intense light.
A roar like a monster's wail emanated from within the array.
The circular formation divided into seven sections like a roulette wheel, lighting up one by one.
If this were a game, messages like these might have appeared.
An endless list of effects.
More potent than any curse, yet Juter scowled, dissatisfied.
"Nah. No good."
Crunch—
He pulled the arm from his pouch—the same one he'd severed the finger from earlier—and shoved it into the array.
A grotesque sound came from within.
Rumble rumble rumble......
He kept pulling things from the pouch and stuffing them in like feeding an animal.
Severed arms, monster flesh, charred skulls, foul-smelling plants......
As he crammed in all sorts of unfamiliar items, the array's red glow shifted hues astonishingly.
To a sinister black.
Clearly,
No game explanation needed this time; it was obvious.
A grotesque scream erupted from the array, and a black silhouette began rising.
"......Setsuna!!!!"
Woojin shouted.
Shwoooosh———!!!
She burst from his arms, flying at full speed toward the array.
"Kekeke—."
But Juter, as if anticipating it, made no move to stop her.
"Oh, forgot to mention one thing. The experiment subject? That's not you. You're just here to watch."
"What?"
"You're just human. What good are you for this?"
Shit.
He'd targeted Setsuna from the start.
Shwoooosh———!!
In that instant, an arrow struck Juter's forehead dead-on.
"......Guh?"
His body staggered back,
Bang—!!
Boom boom boom———!!!
Fireballs rained down on him simultaneously.
"Ow ow ow......"
Juter sprang up, arrow still in his head.
His skin was badly scorched black, but he looked unbothered as he eyed Luen and Irurin.
"What're you doing."
Squelch—
He yanked the arrow from his head without a hint of pain.
No, pain wasn't even the issue.
He'd survived an arrow to the skull.
That inexplicable unease from their first meeting.
This was the reason.
He was no longer human.
An undying monster.
"Graaaah———!!"
Woojin swung at him.
"Ngh—."
Juter reached into his pouch.
Whatever he pulled out had to be blocked.
Fwoosh—!!
Woojin activated Dash.
In the guy's hand was a blue liquid resembling [Malfran Juice].
"Krrgh—!!!"
He reached out, but fell just short.
Half a step away.
Juter's lip curled mockingly.
"Guess you all just gotta die."
Gulp—
As the liquid slid down his throat,
Pffft—!!!!
A sword burst through his Adam's apple.
"......Huh?"
Blue liquid dripped down the blade.
"You die, you shitty monster."
Goon yanked the thrust sword sideways, finally unleashing his pent-up words.
Thud—
Juter's head hit the floor.