Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Karen's Shadow
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Plip... Plip...
In the dark space, water droplets fell one by one.
"Am I... dead?"
The ashen knight Karen scratched her head, unable to accept this situation.
She had experienced death once before. What had awaited her after dying was utter darkness—no memory of being left alone in some space like this.
"So, I'm not dead?"
The image of her brother Karuna, who had clung to her and begged her to stay, still lingered vividly.
"I still have... regrets."
That was when it happened.
Crackle... Crackle...
The dark space brightened for a moment. Then, someone else's field of vision appeared to Karen as well.
"Hah... Hah..."
Thump... Thump...
Her heart pounded fiercely.
A world seen through someone else's eyes.
Vivid and three-dimensional, as if she were right there in person. The view shook up and down, suggesting he was riding a horse.
"A memory...?"
This was clearly someone's memory.
"I have to go... She's waiting."
Thud thud thud...
A deep, resonant voice.
Karen recognized it immediately.
"Karuna! It's you, Karuna!"
A voice filled with both joy and sorrow.
Karen's expression shifted between heaven and hell as she followed the gaze.
Squelch... Squelch...
Karen's gaze dropped to his lower abdomen.
Blood.
He had mounted the saddle without even staunching the wound, and blood dripped steadily with every gallop.
"Karuna!"
Karen cried out desperately, but her voice didn't reach him.
"Hah... Ha... Karen... She said she'd wait... We promised... I said I'd come back... I..."
Plip.
The vision faded out.
Slam-!
The unmistakable sound of falling from the horse, the sensation of his body floating in the air.
Whoosh...
Splash... Splash...
"He fell... off?"
Karen panicked as if her own body had tumbled off a cliff.
Nothing changed after that.
Just the feeling of his body being swept away by the current somewhere.
Karen sensed this was her brother Karuna's memory.
"You really were coming back."
"Yeah."
"......"
Behind Karen, Karuna's figure emerged from the dark space.
His face, without the helmet, resembled hers but with sharper, more rugged lines.
"...What happened? Who did this to you...?"
"I don't know. I was ambushed on the way to the capital."
"I didn't even know..."
"Karen."
Karuna looked straight at her with unwavering eyes.
"That doesn't matter anymore."
"It doesn't? Why?"
"A new era has come."
"But..."
"Montra no longer exists in this world. Everyone you knew from Montra is dead."
"......"
"Our deaths are the same. Whatever happened, it doesn't matter now. To live in a new era..."
"A new era? Don't make me laugh! How can you say that?!"
Rumble...
The space trembled unstably with her rage.
"Jin... Jin must have died too... to those usurpers..."
"As unfortunate as it is, all life in the world dies."
Karuna calmly soothed her.
"Me, you, and Jin."
"...I don't get it. What are you trying to say?"
"Come with me, to a new world."
"For what?"
"Anything."
"Is there something you want in this new world, Karuna?"
"No, I don't know."
"Then why ask me to come along?"
"It's not to go to a new world."
Karuna approached Karen.
"I just want to be with you."
"...Karuna."
"Seeing the world beyond the empire made me realize how small it really is. The fence wasn't the whole world."
"I... I..."
"The world is vast, Karen. Full of mysterious things we can't comprehend."
Karen's heart was swaying toward Karuna's proposal. But one obstacle held her back.
"I've lost everything. You, Jin, the empire. What am I supposed to burn for now? It's all already ashes..."
Karuna gave the same answer as before.
"Anything."
"...Annoying."
"Haven't heard that in ages. Well, maybe we can find a reason to burn along the way?"
"Find a reason..."
The knight, reduced to ashes, closed her eyes at her brother's words.
"Come with me, Karen. Together, let's go to the sea."
She opened her eyes at his words. Her pupils slowly turned red, embracing purpose once more.
Rumble...
She gazed at the crumbling space and answered.
"Fine, take me with you."
The moment Karuna was engulfed in black lightning, Kang Seol had a gut feeling.
'Is a change happening to Karuna too?'
He had done this to keep Karuna, but things were escalating even more intensely.
'If something goes wrong with Karuna...'
The odds were slim, but Kang Seol worried anyway. What could he do?
'Just wait.'
Pour...
He endured the rain for quite a while.
And even longer, he silently waited for Karen and Karuna amid the downpour.
Like a pup waiting for its runaway owner ㅠㅠ
Honestly, everyone in this stream is waiting the same way lol
This is true fan behavior—sticking together at times like this!
Then sponsor some Madness.
Shh, don't talk to me about materialistic stuff like that.
"Cough... Cough..."
A harsh cough escaped naturally.
After enduring the rain this long, it was inevitable.
There was no shelter, and moving away to avoid it in this situation felt ridiculous, so he had just stood there and taken it.
Crackle...
Finally, the wait seemed to be ending. The black lightning began to split.
'Did it... succeed?'
Crackle-!
After an eternity, the black space wrapped in lightning finally revealed itself.
Shhh...
What emerged was a woman radiating seductive black energy.
A woman dressed in shadow garb, with a veil of shadow draped from her nose to her chin.
Her eyes burned red like the sun.
Twin Knight: Successfully summoned Karen's shadow.
Attempting inheritance.
Karen's shadow successfully replicates Montra Swordsmanship.
Shadow Summon rank is low.
Galrota's Tongue special ability activates.
High Wisdom assists the ability.
As payment for sealing Burning, Flames' Grasp, and Advanced Martial Arts, the ability is fully inherited.
Karen's shadow successfully replicates Flower of Fire.
Shadow Summon rank is low.
Galrota's Tongue special ability activates.
High Wisdom assists the ability.
As payment for sealing Last Reversal, Burn Resistance, and Pride, the ability is fully inherited.
Karen's shadow successfully replicates Crimson Lotus Slash.
Shadow Summon rank is low.
Galrota's Tongue special ability activates.
High Wisdom assists the ability.
As payment for sealing Knightly Virtue, Shatter, and One-Man Army, the ability is fully inherited.
Karen's shadow fails to replicate Mental Manipulation Resistance.
Shadow Summon rank is low.
Galrota's Tongue special ability activates.
High Wisdom assists the ability.
Mental Manipulation Resistance is distorted into Mirage and inherited.
The summon exhibits only 50% of original power.
An enormous barrage of inheritance messages.
Kang Seol spotted a new one before he could finish reading.
Twin Knight's Linked Souls activates.
Both summons' ranks are upgraded to Legend.
Twin Knight's Balance activates.
The two summons' stats are pooled and distributed as needed.
Twin Knight: Karuna's inheritance will complete in 42 days, 16 hours, 38 minutes, 26 seconds.
'What does this mean?'
Kang Seol was momentarily stunned by the incomprehensible messages.
The inheritance was one thing, but the last ones were completely unforeseen.
'Linked Souls?'
Karen's special ability.
It had probably been Karuna's special ability before the issue arose.
In the simplest terms, this ability boosted both knights' ranks from Hero to Legend. Astonishing on its own, but the other two messages carried massive implications.
'Pool the stats and divide them?'
As long as their balance held, neither would lag far behind or surge ahead excessively.
And the final message was the clincher.
"Inheritance for Karuna too..."
[There must be a reason for this!]
Snowman! I permit our marriage! Snowman! I permit our marriage!
Snowman! You can borrow my shoulder! Snowman! You can borrow my shoulder!
Absolutely insane lololol one jelly caused this butterfly effect
Viewers who criticized his weird antics while cooking jelly, come out!
Not me
Not me either
Were there really no toxic viewers like that?
Are we actually braindead normies?
Did Schrödinger actually raise a dog instead of a cat?
[Thank you for your purchase. We'll also replace your current vehicle with a new one.]
This house is ruthless.
Crossed the line...
?? Not engine oil, the whole car? Crazy?
Karen's beauty is overflowing... Truly legendary!
The aura is insane fr, legends are different!
Mysterious Karuna sealed for 42 days lolol
??? : Hey, this is a time capsule. We open it when we're older?
Karuna : G-get me out, you lunatics...
Well, you gotta accept some penalty for getting Karen lolol
Kang Seol checked all the messages and sighed.
Even after crunching the numbers, it was undoubtedly a massive gain.
'But why does it still feel off...'
Kang Seol looked at Karen's status window floating before him.
Overwhelming stats.
Even at 50% of her original power, her key stats—Strength and Stamina—exceeded 100.
'That means her full power exceeds 200.'
Kang Seol was grateful that Karuna and Jamad hadn't died to her.
Her base stats were monstrous, and the boosts from Kang Seol's abilities and items made them even more impressive.
'No equipment equipped, and stats like this? How strong will she be fully geared?'
As if to prove her Legend-rank summon status, the numbers screamed it.
Behave yourself!
Get cocky and it's coup time!
Don't think these red eyes are for show?
Of course, while the stats were stellar, the inherited abilities were mostly disappointing.
'Most abilities sealed... Well, with that level gap, it's unavoidable?'
No matter how many abilities, if unusable, they were pointless.
Kang Seol was thankful Galrota's Tongue had enabled full inheritance of some.
'Still, the key ones mostly transferred, especially the special abilities.'
Two special abilities and a few main combat ones—this was solid value.
The reward for those grueling jelly-making days was worthwhile.
Wait, didn't he skip that or something?
What now?
Once the shaman becomes a new recruit, he should bow to the summoner first, right?
True that?
Kang Seol knew this too.
So he approached Karen.
"Karen."
"I haven't acknowledged you yet."
"...What?"
"So, I need time to think about why I should serve you."
A completely unexpected situation.
Unlike his previous summons, Karen was defiant.
'Because she's Legend-rank?'
He wanted to believe that.
"Heh... Interesting."
Jamad laughed from the shadow space at Kang Seol's fluster. Karen glanced there and said,
"Well, let's get along. Troll, and young king."
"I'm not a king..."
"Just a figure of speech. Don't take it seriously."
"...Sigh."
Kang Seol rubbed his forehead.
Legend-rank summon! Shock: Revealed as tomboy.
Snowman requests return, denied.
Wearer of the crown, bear its weight...
Fucking heavy shit... lololol
My neck's gonna snap...
Anyway, just as Kang Seol thought he'd escaped a perilous situation,
"Hm? What's this?"
In the moment he'd looked away, he spotted Karen bending down to open something.
Upon closer inspection, it was the reward chest from the chain of adventures.
"Don't touch that! You can't just—"
Click—
Top reward: Chest of the Dead confirmed.