Chapter 457
Chapter 457
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 457
>Chapter Title: Inggeolbul, the 14th Era Weapon
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Kwaaaaaaaa—!
A red, intense light burst out through the crater of Spuño Volcano.
Rumble rumble rumble…
An enormous wave of power.
It was so massive that even standing still, their cheeks trembled from the shockwave rippling outward.
‘Yeah… this spectacle…’
When a forged divine weapon earned its place among the era weapons, a display followed that made everyone around turn their heads.
In the game, that spectacle was so absurd that even Kang Seol could only laugh it off.
But now, right before his eyes—not in the game—Kang Seol was overwhelmed by the impossible display.
It was an overwhelming explosion believable only if Spuño Volcano had begun erupting.
The pure surge of power left Kang Seol's group frozen stiff, unable to utter a word.
Tansia even gaped with sparkling eyes.
Kang Seol gazed at the sword Karen had painstakingly drawn forth.
Its form was a faded echo of the old Crimson Lotus Sword.
The blade, emitting a subtle scarlet glow, resembled a three-pronged sword.
The blade had grown thinner and narrower. To put it simply, it looked sharp enough to slice flesh easily but liable to snap against hard objects.
‘…Snap? No way.’
It was an era weapon, after all.
Era weapons weren't a separate grade like peerless or treasures.
They were simply a title ranking the most valuable weapons born in that era.
In other words, the sword in Karen's hand was a legend born in the current era.
‘Era weapons aren't guaranteed to surpass legendary ones from the past… but still…’
Remembering the gear that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them, Kang Seol was certain this sword was the finest item he possessed.
‘Jamad's era legacy is impressive… but Inggeolbul has surpassed it.’
Jamad might have been subtly offended if he were here.
‘Well then…’
Gulp…
What abilities did this era legend, proudly claiming its name among era weapons, possess?
Kang Seol lightly tapped First Glance to check its info.
[Divine Relic: Inggeolbul]
Grade: Divine Relic
Appropriate Level: None
Durability: 320/320
Weight: 2.0kg–8.0kg
A superheated weapon forged in Spuño Volcano. Its prototype came from the divine relic pearl, and as the sword of flames, it wrote its history across the era until it finally exhausted its life.
Both the artisan who devoted his soul to that sword and the villain who breathed his last upon it left their names behind.
When Inggeolbul, infused with cosmic energy, descended upon the lifeless sword, it shed its worn name and gained a new one.
Bow before it! The birth of the era weapon Inggeolbul!
Basic Stats: All abilities +65
Special Abilities: Blade attack power and sharpness determined by user's abilities. Front Slash activates Starfire maintenance. Starfire maintenance converts all attacks and abilities to holy and flame damage. Starfire is elemental damage but critical hits apply. Starfire maintenance deals massive additional damage to amorphous entities. Back Slash activates Flame Extinction maintenance. Flame Extinction maintenance converts all attacks and abilities to profane and flame damage. Flame Extinction is elemental damage but weapon blocking and counterattacks apply. Flame Extinction maintenance deals additional damage to faith-based entities. Flame Extinction maintenance deals massive additional damage to fanatic-based entities. Only those chosen by Inggeolbul may possess it.
[Achievement: 'The 14th Era Weapon' has been first accomplished.]
[First title 「Master of 14」 obtained.]
…
“Ha…”
Kang Seol twisted his lips with a sigh.
‘What insane… no…’
Recalling the era weapons born from Orgo's hands, Kang Seol corrected his thought.
‘Right, for an era weapon… these stats are possible.’
Tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, and even more weapons were born in an era.
Among them, only the most outstanding were numbered.
It was merely the order of birth, not a hierarchy.
The 14th era weapon of the current era: Inggeolbul.
True to an era weapon, it boasted an overwhelming amount of information unlike any other.
First to catch the eye: the absence of attack power info.
‘Even base cutting power depends on the owner?’
Meaning the sword changed based on Karen's strength.
‘Graduation…’
A typical warrior would declare graduation upon acquiring a peerless item.
No matter how high their level rose, finding gear that offset a peerless item's unique abilities and overwhelming bonus stats was like plucking stars from the sky.
But for Kang Seol, with a steady supply of peerless items, no slot could be called graduated.
The current situation—swapping heavenly gear for leather—played a big part.
Resetting a body slathered in monstrosities and peerless items to fill with new gear? Anyone hearing that would call him mad.
Kang Seol, with such relentless drive for improvement, instantly knew Inggeolbul was graduation-tier upon seeing its info.
‘Definite… It might change form midway, but Inggeolbul won't be replaced by another weapon…’
Especially since Karen wielded it.
‘But… it's a brutally honest sword.’
Attack power varying by owner's strength meant it pursued pure power without any pretense.
‘We've outgrown relying on gear effects. More importantly… Front Slash?’
Inggeolbul's second peculiarity.
Front Slash and Back Slash. As Kang Seol tilted his head, Rajin spoke to Karen.
“Karen, infuse your power into the sword.”
“Power… alright…”
Karen's expression turned serious.
Whoosh…
For an instant, it felt like the air was sucked in before an explosion.
Paaaaang—!
With a shockwave, changes rippled across Inggeolbul's blade.
Roarrrrrr…
“…Huh?”
“That form looks just like…”
“Yeah…?”
Flames enveloped the blade.
Rough flickers danced on the outside, but the flames touching the blade formed a clean straight line, as if planed smooth.
As if the flames themselves were the blade.
‘…No way?’
As Karen lifted the sword with both hands, Kang Seol realized the flames' nature.
“Your flames will be the blade itself.”
“Aha! So the flames are the blade! Is this Front Slash?”
Roarrrrr…
Starfire.
Blue, searing flames became the blade itself.
“And…”
“I get it without you saying. Back Slash is probably like this?”
Swish…
She rotated the hilt, bringing the opposite side of the blade up.
Matching it, Karen altered her energy.
As both happened together, the sword repelled the blue flames and spewed new ones.
Paaaaaaaang—!
Sizzle…
Roarrrrrr—!
Black flames.
The power of the non-divine infused into Inggeolbul.
“…Nice sword.”
Karen smirked.
Even Jin was captivated by the iridescent flames from Inggeolbul.
“Too beautiful for a small life to bear…”
“It absorbed a massive amount of Spuño's vitality.”
“This sword is Inggeolbul itself…”
Karen asked.
“Hey, is it okay for me to take this?”
Rajin replied immediately.
“No one but you could wield that sword. Remember: that sword…”
Rajin gazed at her miniature sun.
“…Was born into this world solely for you.”
Kang Seol watched Rajin and Karen's exchange.
Viewers celebrated Inggeolbul's birth while chattering freely.
“Era weapon… my crotch is soaked…”
“Why's the dehumidifier blinking? Oh… haha, I pissed myself without realizing.”
“Snoeman: Wanna trade for Bitan? This one even talks.”
“Bitan, can't fall behind. Devour it first! It'll work out somehow.”
Click…
Karen sheathed the sword into the scabbard forged alongside Inggeolbul.
“Ah…”
“Hnng…”
Jian and Sindio sighed regretfully, wanting more of the flames.
“It's the best! So cool!”
Tansia purely praised Karen's sword.
Karen smirked, approached Tansia, and ruffled her hair.
“Am I cool?”
“Yeah! Super cool!”
“Kahaha! You little…”
Karen gaining a new weapon meant the group's strength had surged.
On one hand, it felt incredibly reassuring.
“Now, it's time for the remaining tale.”
Rajin, having finished with Karen, turned to Kang Seol and began a new story.
“Do you know the situation you're in?”
War with the council.
Yet, mired in fog like mist.
“That child beside you probably knows little too.”
Jian twisted his lips.
“…Spot on.”
“Before the story, one thing first. Karen, you said you faced death once.”
“Yeah? Right. Karuna lost his memories… and I lost years.”
“You are beings chosen by the world. You can endure any trial. But there's something you must know.”
“Something to know?”
“The difference in information. Unlike you, I've lived through the years.”
In short, Karen and Karuna existed in time but not fully, so they didn't know; Rajin lived it, so she did.
‘What exactly?’
“Karen, you don't look at the skies, do you?”
“Yeah, that's a headache. Nothing gets solved.”
“The era meteor has shown its face in the skies.”
“…Era meteor?”
Everyone heard "era meteor" for the first time.
Rajin turned to Kang Seol.
“Eras change. An era is the flow piercing time periods. If the flow changes, so does the era. Not saying eras are worthless. Each era holds different meaning and shines differently for each person. An era worthless to one might be invaluable to another, worth more than all else combined. For me, Montrra's… the sun's era was that.”
“……”
Jian asked Rajin.
“The Keshi residents called this friend 'meteor human.' Know anything?”
“…Is that so. Not wrong. The wisdom I passed to Keshi twisted into legend. When the era meteor's fall neared, and I sought you out, they figured you were meteor-related humans.”
“Aha… But what's an era meteor?”
“Few know of era meteors, especially now. The tale starts far in the past.”
Rajin began from ancient history.
“On the day Montrra fell, a meteor hung in the skies. Immense… terrifying power… sensed only by me among the guardian stars.”
“Such a thing existed?”
“First time hearing this.”
Karen's eyes widened at the new info; Karuna too.
“I, unable to avert doom, fled north with followers aiding my exile to plan for the future. Back then, the north was wildmen territory. I thought Montrra's destroyers wouldn't reach there. Vowing to revive Montrra someday, I began the long journey.”
The story progressed swiftly.
“En route, I witnessed the sky meteor crash.”
“…It crashed?”
“That's what meteors do. As it plummeted to the earth, its massive power engulfed all Pandea. The land crust flipped with huge explosions, countless lives vanished, and the sun shone ceaselessly for a time.”
Rajin continued.
“I thought the world ended. But… no. Days later, it returned to normal. Just a different tomorrow began. One without Montrra.”
“Well… a vast empire vanishing overnight…”
“We changed course to the crash site. There, we obtained flames presumed to be meteor fragments.”
Flames.
Yes, flames.
“…Flames?”
“No way…”
Whoosh—!
Flick—!
All eyes fixed on one spot.
Karen's Inggeolbul.
“Yes. Era meteor fragments… pitiful scraps not even true fragments. Yet the first Inggeolbul was dozens of times fiercer than now. It waned birthing the jin.”
A mere scrap, unworthy of fragment status, birthed jins worshipped as demigods.
“My God…”
Like glimpsing the universe's birth secret.
‘Rajin being strong as a guardian star… but she used Inggeolbul's power.’
“I stayed long in Spuño, tracking the next meteor. With its power, surely Montrra could rise again.”
“…Rajin.”
“Futile. The meteor power I witnessed… no life could bear it. Like a star's power.”
Why Rajin settled for Inggeolbul over the era meteor.
“But why call it era meteor?”
“Meteor falls coincide eerily with Pandea rulers' downfall.”
“…Ah!”
“Eras wane, meteors fall. Perhaps the cosmos's rule. I've seen it multiple times. With my silence, no ruler hostile to the pure Inggeolbul bearer opposed me. But… memorable rulers remain from eras past.”
To dominate an era.
How violent a phrase.
“The meteor's light grows stronger. It falls soon.”
“That means…”
“The era changes soon. No one knows what comes next.”
“Rajin, can't you tell?”
“…I can guess events tied to the era's fall. But I can't tell you directly. I'm not free either. Twisting the era invites stellar curse. Likely oblivion.”
“Ugh…”
Could he do nothing?
“…But hints are fine.”
Whooooom…
Rajin's light seeped into Kang Seol's forehead.
“Grraaah…”
[The Traveler's Compass resonates with the era's fall.]
[The compass shakes.]
Points on the map in Kang Seol's mind lit up.
“Traces might linger at one of those.”
Rajin pointed their next destination.
“This is my final grace. Engrave my words in your heart from now.”
Rajin warned Kang Seol firmly at last.
“One comes, it shakes; two come, it crumbles; three come, no turning back.”
“What does that…”
“The era's fall is nigh! Yes…”
Rajin always named eras after their rulers. This time too.
“The human era ends.”
The ten legends who knocked on ascension's gate to become gods. An era teeming with superhumans and powerhouses, including Kang Seol's words.
Kang Seol breathed in the human era.
“Human era… I see.”
Now, the next era's master lurked in shadows, awaiting its turn.