Chapter 194
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Morpheus
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Crash!
Ripping apart the living armors that were no different from the ones outside, he headed straight for the center.
'This'll be fun.'
What came to mind amid the rising excitement.
This guy could be encountered right after passing the early tutorial once the game started.
But there was no real need to come here.
Despite having no special conditions, he was infamous for his savage damage and relentless attacks.
What was the point of struggling to take him down with gear that was basically naked in the early game?
It didn't even drop equipment for Robert, so the consensus was that the rewards were stingy compared to the difficulty.
'Though that's only true for the early and mid-game.'
Thud, thud.
He stood before the boss.
Maybe it was because his head already knew the story, but...
This one had a gloomy yet profound aura, carrying a noble elegance.
He'd been praised for that signature sinking background music.
It was a shame the melody wouldn't suddenly play in his mind.
'Even cooler up close.'
The field boss at the starting point of that game—serving as a newbie shredder while filling creators' videos with content.
Just like that knight swinging a golden halberd atop his monstrous mount.
He wasn't merely a variant living armor; he felt like a distinct entity, radiating intensity.
This thing was out of spec, enough to make anyone wonder, "Why the hell is something like this here?" among all the creatures in this dungeon and forest.
He couldn't be called a fitting boss for this dungeon, whose monsters were all too straightforward.
Unlike the others wildly spinning their joints,
he sat atop a collapsed stone pillar, his posture steeped in weariness and fatigue.
His gaze lowered to the floor.
His hands gathered atop his thighs.
A massive greatsword lay sprawled on the ground.
The blade was dotted with something blackened and hardened.
His cape, weathered through endless trials, had frayed completely at the ends.
-Haaa...
A detached sigh echoed through the space.
Mana swirled within the empty armor,
beginning to fill the hollow interior with a hazy mist.
-The Maxima Knights...?
"I killed them all."
-All at peace now. Enviable...
"You'll be the same soon enough."
Clank.
The living armor raised its lowered head and gripped the hilt of the greatsword on the floor.
-Has the goddess heard my atonement and granted mercy at last... A true monster among monsters has finally arrived.
'The dialogue's different?'
He wasn't Robert, but the original line was always "A worthy challenger has come," and it never changed.
Not even if you were strong enough to end it in one blow.
Click.
Moving not with grotesque jerks but like a human, the living armor rose from its seat.
Inside the armor, mana clumped thickly like evaporating mist,
but the piercing glare jutting from the helmet was fierce enough to freeze Alice, who watched from afar.
-Captain of the Maxima Knights, Libertus Morpheus.
"Adventurer."
Though now a living armor, he'd originally been a knight.
Yet Morpheus's voice rose in pitch with excitement, hardly the restrained nobility expected of one.
-Good... Truly good! Might be presumptuous, but could you let me rest a bit? I miss those days collapsing drunk with my men after heavy drinking.
This was the guy who should charge in while testing the player.
Facing him in reality had turned him into a hearty knight.
Where had the fellow gone who swung his sword claiming he'd never lose,
only admitting defeat at the end to hand over his all?
He seemed utterly filled with thoughts of dying soon and finding peace.
'No helping it.'
He had no intention of repeatedly using his inventory in front of Alice.
A fist was plenty from the start.
He regretted not field-testing Gleipnir lately outside of practice,
but this opponent wasn't worth drawing it for.
-Sophia...
Would he meet her soon?
Muttering his lover's name, the knight assumed his stance.
-Sheeeek!!
The heavy aura wafting forth made Tero bristle his tail and wail desperately.
"I'll yield the first strike."
He preempted the original line Morpheus was supposed to say: "I yield the first attack."
At the provocation that should have ignited fury, he merely nodded dryly.
-Thanks.
Boom!
The stone floor flipped under the stomping force.
Morpheus's silhouette stretched like pulled taffy and shot forward.
...
...
Gulp.
The girl's throat bobbed as she couldn't contain her tension.
Alice's current level had limits to the danger she could instinctively sense.
On a scale of 1 to 10, anything beyond meant instant death.
The platinum adventurer was one such case, and this monster—knight or living armor, it was hard to tell—exceeded her estimates as well.
The moment the knight seized the greatsword from the floor and rose, his glare igniting,
Alice held her breath completely.
When she'd first encountered the platinum adventurer, she'd felt his leaking aura.
But exposed to this sharp killing intent laced with intent, her nerves froze solid.
'W-what about a weapon?'
She'd never heard of the platinum rank being a pure fist fighter.
Even for him, facing that without gear spelled crisis.
Should she toss him the dagger at her waist? As she pondered,
boom!
Stone shattered from the floor in a roar, scattering into the air.
The knight had closed in and was swinging down his greatsword.
The speed was so blinding
that even from afar, she couldn't properly track his approach.
"Huh?!"
And then the breathtaking scene that followed.
He caught the flat of the falling greatsword between his prayer hands.
The first blade catch Alice had ever seen in real combat.
This was a clear duel of life and death—no need to take such risks.
She'd never witnessed anyone use a technique in practice where failure meant being cleaved in two.
The greatsword tilted fully as he swung it with his clasped hands, and Platinum's kick launched the helmet upward.
Clang-!!
As the helmet spun rapidly into the air, the mana from the armor rebounded and reattached.
-Grraaa!!!
Just the enemy's thunderous roar forced Alice to stagger back a step.
The monster rampaged, spewing a chaotic torrent of living armors into the air.
But he snatched the boss's greatsword, swept the living armors away in one slash, and hurled the blade into the wall.
The ensuing close-quarters brawl was overwhelming.
The boss, deprived of his sword, punched back with skill,
but he was helplessly pummeled by the adventurer's fists.
The knight-like monster desperately cycled through destruction and reformation,
but Platinum's body techniques were brutally practical and destructive.
Mythic, perhaps.
Or primal.
Alice felt her blood strangely boiling as she
tried to burn every scene into her eyes without so much as blinking.
Crackle-!
Platinum lowered his stance and clenched his fist.
Crimson-black lightning sparked from his hand.
'...Aura?'
It wasn't the blue aura she knew.
The instant she saw it, excitement surged through her body, raising goosebumps.
Alice knew instinctively.
This would end it.
There was no way it wouldn't.
Zing-!
Crimson-black aura rampaged along the thrust fist, slashing across the monster's entire body.
Crimson-black lines etched into its form; armor shards shattered like glass and scattered, the center gaping open.
The living armor's repairs halted—it had kept reforming despite crumpling and cracking.
Its movements jerked like a broken magic tool, convulsing.
He could feel the mana filling it—like a wearer's insides—scatter without a trace.
As the boss's body began crumbling to ash,
the knight suddenly ceased spasming and handed him something glowing transparently from within its breastplate.
A brief exchange passed between them.
Like longtime comrades, the adventurer smiled, and the living armor clapped his shoulder.
Then, as if his task were done,
-...Hahaha!!!
he laughed heartily, utterly relieved, before turning to ash right there and scattering away.
"..."
After ending that absurdly fierce battle, he approached her side.
Not a drop of sweat on him.
He returned as if nothing had happened, lowering himself slightly at the knees.
"Time to head back?"
-Sheee...
Perhaps from lingering in the battlefield's heart, the drained Tero leaped over Alice's head onto his and flopped limply.
For Alice, it was a relief that Tero had returned, ending the nuisance.
"...Good work, sir!"
She'd known he was remarkable, but seeing it firsthand drove it home again, and her words came out awkward for the first time.
Maybe she'd been too casually presumptuous until now.
"Why's your speech weird again?"
He chuckled and walked ahead down the corridor.
Even on the way back, he played with Tero atop his head.
Hard to believe this was the warrior from that fight moments ago.
"My head must taste good."
"...?"
She'd been lost replaying the battle she'd witnessed when Tero had somehow moved to Platinum's head.
He nibbled at Platinum's hair, letting out cute, moist sounds.
-Squeak.
"Tero!!!"
Shocked at the rude behavior, she called out, but he ignored her completely.
She could feel Tero simply enjoying playtime with Platinum.
"It's fine. He's cute."
"Still... haa."
At her sigh, Tero finally noticed and slunk back to her head sheepishly.
"..."
Exiting the cleared dungeon was quick.
Climbing the stairs, they could confirm sunlight still filtering into the forest.
Alice realized anew just how absurdly short the dungeon clear had taken.
"You have a rendezvous with your party, right?"
"Yes! Today, I truly have no face... Allow me to apologize once more—"
He cut off her renewed apologies with visible annoyance.
"Enough. It wasn't boring thanks to you. If you're that sorry, bring Tero around next time too."
His expression made it clear he was quite taken with Tero.
Honestly, she was thrilled that her spirit had earned Platinum's approval, even if only for his looks and antics rather than raw power.
"...Of course! Anytime!"
Perhaps due to her awkward speech, he flicked his forehead with a finger and gave a light laugh.
"Good work. Don't die."
"..."
With those words, he vanished into the forest.