Chapter 143
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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- Black Knight: King! You guys can't beat me!
- It's like hunting for the dragon that scarfed down rice cakes.
- So who the hell is Karuna anyway?
- Customer, the Karuna you brought in is a fake.
- Nooooo! But it's a gift!
Kang Seol sat anxiously in the corner chair of the forge, his hands clasped tightly together.
"Praying or something?"
"Praying? Nah, my hands are just stiff."
"Fair enough. It's not like you believe in any gods anyway."
Jamad knew better than to pry into the Heavenly Realm matters Kang Seol had experienced—those weren't things to be spoken of lightly.
Jamad stared silently at the Mountain Fist, which the biometal was greedily devouring.
"No need to worry. It's not going to diminish the divine relic's power or tarnish its sanctity."
"If you say so, I trust you. I'm not doubting it. I just feel like too much time has passed."
"...Time has passed?"
"Tankred's Scale was revered as sacred in our tribe. It was the light illuminating Pointed Rock, the hope guiding our people forward."
"......"
Jamad's voice grew a touch somber.
"But what's the point of clinging to the past now? Those who must press on always need new paths."
"Everything changes eventually."
"Speaking of which... I've heard rumors of metal like this, but even after seeing it a few times, I still can't believe it."
"It's an incredibly rare material. Armor Rat biometal processes without killing the host. If you handle it quickly, the biometal stays in ingot form, still convinced it's safely attached to a host."
"And then?"
"Melt the ingot and expose it to room temperature, and that's when the biometal realizes it's in mortal danger. Instinctively, it seeks a new host. In this case, that'll be the Mountain Fist."
Jamad asked with a worried glance.
"It won't harm the divine relic...?"
"Biometal's far from that. All they care about is a safe place to stay. Plus, these ones remodel their home to suit them perfectly, so the odds of any negative effects are slim to none."
"Is this the only material with effects like that?"
"Nah, Pandea's full of weird stuff. Some metallic, some not. But yeah, all as rare as biometal."
"Even I, a native of Pandea, have never heard of these things..."
We're wondering the same thing right now.
Is this what they mean by native-level skill?
This is above native tier lol.
The Mountain Fist lay on their workbench.
For some reason, it looked even larger than usual.
Rumble...
Crack!
Suddenly, cracks spiderwebbed across the Mountain Fist.
"...No!"
"What happened? What's going on?"
[Biometal fails to harmonize with 'Mountain Fist.']
[Biometal fails to adapt.]
[Biometal is destroyed.]
Sizzle...
Pffft...
Kang Seol's face twisted like a sculptor's who'd just watched his painstaking gypsum statue shatter into pieces.
You damn metal! Making us look bad!
Hey Jamad! Where's Jamad at!
Janet! Refund! This thing's busted!
lmao who cares about negative effects, looks like it can't even affect it.
"...Did I miss something in the explanation?"
"...Yeah. Biometal fails to adapt to new hosts pretty often."
"How often?"
"Roughly... half of half?"
"That's..."
"...the success rate."
"Damn it. How many ingots left?"
"Four."
"Time's tight, and now this is the real problem."
He hadn't run exact stats, but biometal ingots had a sky-high failure rate.
And that rate skyrocketed with higher-grade items.
The simplest way to describe a biometal ingot? A low-grade reinforcement stone.
Equipment reinforcement—beyond temporary fixes like enchanting or whetstone sharpening—was done via these stones.
Biometal ingots fell into the low-grade category.
That didn't mean they were trash; they just worked for +1 and +2 reinforcements.
Higher grades needed different materials that functioned uniquely.
Reinforcement was tricky: inapplicable to Peerless items, but usable on Treasures and below—including special divine relics, cursed objects, and such, each with unique effects.
Peerless gear was hard to upgrade without remelting into new equipment, so some players hammered every stone they had into Treasure-grade stuff.
Either way, it cost a fortune.
No guarantee remelted Peerless would stay Peerless, and reinforcement stones were insanely rare.
"Keep going? Or..."
"No other way to punch through Predator of Hope in time. Even if we deal with Lament somehow, that thing's a massive city gate."
And moments later, molten metal poured over the Mountain Fist.
Glug...
[Biometal shows interest in 'Mountain Fist.']
[Biometal probes 'Mountain Fist.']
"...And smashing a city gate takes a huge battering ram."
Drip... Drip...
The long-downpour finally tapered off.
"Snowman?"
Thud thud thud!
"Heard you were here..."
Creeeak...
The door slid open smoothly.
Chameli peeked her head in, scanning the interior.
Hiss...
"...Huh?"
Kang Seol held a gauntlet leaking eerie light from within the building, staring at it intently.
The Mountain Fist reflected in his pupils emanated a reddish glow.
Rock Fang Tribe's divine relic bestowed by Tankred. Sturdy frame allows continuous evolution. Blessed by Izumokan.
Base Effects: All stats +3, Core stats +5
Special Effects: MP recovery +5/sec, Sorcery range & destructive power +50%. Attribute evolution (Stage 2: Volcano), +20% light damage on hit, Reinforcement applies to one additional ally besides caster. Auto-repair damaged areas (biometal).
...Success.
The result of pouring in all five biometal ingots.
This perfectly compensated for the Mountain Fist's weak attack power.
Kang Seol slipped the Mountain Fist onto Jamad's hands.
Jamad flexed his fingers in the gauntlet pulsing with red energy.
Marry me?
Not a proposal, don't slap weird subtitles on it lol.
I like it.
???
"Feels good. Surging power. With this..."
"Yeah, rematch should be doable. ...Hm?"
Only after finishing did Kang Seol turn to Chameli. She spoke up as he looked her way.
"The Philia sisters, who left first, sent word."
"Good news?"
"Could be... or not."
"Spit it out."
"Black Knight hasn't gone far. If we hurry now, we can catch up quick."
"Leading with the good news makes the bad sound worse..."
She replied with a heavy expression.
"He's heading... toward Illia."
"...Damn it."
"It's not too late yet! He's moving slow, so if we rush, we can intercept before he reaches Illia!"
"...Did you inform Viscount Brispin of Illia?"
"A few pilgrims who went with the sisters headed to Illia first. Word should be there. But..."
"The viscount's likely to ignore the warning."
"Yes."
Whoosh!
Kang Seol shadow-returned Jamad and exited the forge. He turned back to Chameli with surprise.
"These horses..."
"Nearby rancher had a big stable. Pilgrims braved the storm, paid premium to buy 'em. Oh, do you know how to ri—"
Swish!
Kang Seol mounted effortlessly, expertly grabbing the reins.
"—de..."
"Snapping up all these prime horses... the diocese's influence shows."
"Still... couldn't take down the Black Knight."
Kang Seol gazed down the mountain as he spoke.
"This time will be different."
Leisure.
A concept from an era he'd long forgotten even existed.
The Black Knight had never looked back on his path. No reason to, no time for it.
He'd simply smashed and absorbed fragments in silence.
Even against stronger ones, he'd thrown everything into toppling them.
Lament and Predator of Hope were spoils from such battles.
【Kill! More lives! Want! More blood! It's here! Close!】
"Stop... please, just stop."
【We promised! Hungry!】
The Black Knight had suffered Lament's torment to the point of wanting to block his ears. It had shattered his mind.
No, not just Lament.
His endless battles had already frayed his sanity long before.
Now, he finally reflected.
On the path he'd walked.
A blood-soaked demon's road, driven by vengeance and hate.
- You're... not the Karuna I knew. Karuna was kind and warm. You're... you're a monster.
Right now, worse than Lament's insidious whispers was Karen's single sentence—a woman he thought could never be alive.
Those words stabbed like a dagger into his heart.
He wasn't looking back because he'd suddenly found leisure.
Regret.
Like a white sheet splashed with paints, stained beyond salvage.
A canvas smeared pitch-black.
That was the Black Knight.
"All this time... what for...? I'm not fake... I'm not..."
【You're fake! Fake! Uhahaha!】
"Shut up!"
【You're broken! Give blood! Blood! Hehehe.】
Such a deranged sword offered no comfort. Fine—at least shut its yap.
Shing...
Illia's grand silhouette, cloaked in night's blanket, came into view. He planned to reap blood here.
Normally, he'd avoid such risky moves.
But now? Didn't matter.
"Soon, I'll feed you blood till you burst. So..."
Phewww!
A whistling arrow from somewhere.
Sching!
Lament drew itself, batting away the incoming arrow from behind.
Tremble...
The sword's quivering suggested no ordinary arrow.
【I blocked it! I blocked it!】
Someone approached through the night veil.
"You... again."
The moonlight revealed Kang Seol.
"In a hurry somewhere?"
"No need to go far. Kill you, reclaim Karen."
"And then?"
"......"
"Drag me into your endless fight?"
"...I'll shut that mouth."
"Tough luck this time."
Whoosh...
[Black Knight's Moonlight Ascension Stage 1: Crescent Moon]
Phewwwwt!
[Black Knight's Lament uses Meteor Bolt.]
[Lament pierces a fixed path.]
[Lament deals 170% weapon attack damage to all enemies in path.]
[Enemies hit by Lament suffer Impure Wound effect.]
【I'll kill! I'll kill 'em!】
Kang Seol stared down the incoming Lament head-on.
Whoosh...
Then he twisted his waist, swinging a fist from low to high.
Claaaang!
【Aaaargh!】
Lament screamed deafeningly as it ricocheted away.
Seizing the opening, Kang Seol closed in on the Black Knight instantly.
Swish! Swish!
Even without Lament in hand, the Black Knight's power was no joke.
Crack!
The Black Knight's fist nailed Kang Seol's face dead-on.
Kang Seol whipped his opposite fist out wide mid-turn, aiming for the Black Knight's gut.
"Useless..."
BOOM!
"Guh..."
The Black Knight's form lifted slightly from the impact.
[Insight activates.]
[Predator of Hope devours the impact.]
[Predator of Hope is slightly filled.]
[Predator of Hope partially digests the impact.]
"Talking..."
Tenacity theory is real!
Nah, capital wins again!
Dunno! He's just stronger now!
Buffed up and suddenly pulling ember-tier DPS lol.
Janet! Lemme lean on Snowman's shoulder! Janet! Lemme lean on Snowman's shoulder!
This is the flavor of capitalism!
After trading blows and skidding back, Kang Seol rose again.
Whoosh!
Black energy flowed from his hand, summoning the twin knights. They leveled serious gazes—and swords—at the Black Knight.
Clank.
Unlike before, an overwhelming fighting spirit emanated from the twin knights.
Kang Seol bared his teeth in a grin.
"Told you it'd be tough this time."