Chapter 131: Bulgaram (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: Bulgaram (7)
Yoon Chae-ha had awakened a new ability.
Eclipse.
A total solar eclipse.
It was a power I, too, was encountering for the first time.
I wanted to find out for myself exactly what kind of ability it was.
So, I held out my hand.
“Your hand.”
“Okay.”
She quietly placed her hand in mine.
I laced my fingers firmly between her slender ones.
Grip.
“Try using it.”
Actions spoke louder than words.
This was something I had to feel for myself to understand.
Yoon Chae-ha looked at me, slightly flustered, before slowly nodding.
The torrent in her eyes began to rage once more.
A mana of nothingness that could be defined as neither light nor darkness.
Mana began to flow from her fingertips.
It traveled up my hand and seeped into my bones.
‘This is…’
It was familiar.
Strangely, it was a power similar to a Fragment.
A power that annihilated Demonic Force and negated existence itself.
And yet, while it resembled that power, it was more primal, more unrefined.
An incomplete power.
For now, it was a little lacking to be called a total solar eclipse.
More like a partial one.
But if she honed it, it held great promise.
“You’ve worked hard.”
I didn’t know what she and her future self had talked about, but it was clear she had reached a new realm.
She had successfully stepped into a domain of her own.
“That’s incredible.”
I meant it.
There was no other way to put it.
As expected, a true genius was different.
Yoon Chae-ha smiled quietly.
Just then, Bulgaram, arms crossed, cut in impatiently.
“You two can have your touching reunion later. Now, it’s your turn to choose.”
I let out a short breath and stood up.
“Very well.”
Bulgaram’s Workshop.
If I wanted to choose an artifact, I could have chosen a perfect one.
But that wasn’t what I wanted.
Bulgaram had clearly said, ‘anything you want.’
And I intended to hold him to his word.
I slowly turned and extended a hand toward the workshop’s entrance.
Bulgaram and Yoon Chae-ha watched.
Just then.
Swoooosh—
Something came flying from beyond the entrance.
The sound of it slicing through the air echoed in the void.
Thwack.
Catastrophe landed snugly in my hand. The weight was familiar.
Recalling it had gotten quite a bit easier lately.
Proof that it was truly becoming mine.
“…Why that lizard?”
Bulgaram frowned.
His gaze was fixed on the tip of Catastrophe.
I quietly raised the spear, showing it to him.
“‘Anything you want.’ Isn’t that what you said?”
“…It is.”
A flicker of caution crossed Bulgaram’s face.
Without hesitation, I thrust the spear forward.
“Please, reforge this spear in your way.”
For a moment, the workshop fell silent.
No matter how I thought about it, this seemed like the best option.
Bulgaram was the god of blacksmiths.
Catastrophe was no ordinary weapon.
It was a living fang, the remains of a Civilization Termination Beast.
The fang of a beast that was, even now, swallowing its own roars.
What if this weapon, a thing bordering on myth, was reborn at the hands of Bulgaram?
The mere thought was thrilling.
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
I nodded firmly.
I was dead serious.
Bulgaram stared at me, then slowly turned his head.
His neck cracked loudly as he did.
“Tsk.”
He twisted his lips and clicked his tongue.
And then.
Snatch.
He roughly snatched Catastrophe from my hand.
The moment the spear touched his palm, the metal let out a short cry.
Bulgaram ran his palm along the spear’s shaft, muttering.
“This will take a while. It’s a feral one.”
I cheered inwardly.
That meant he was accepting the challenge.
Bulgaram was already cradling the spear, heading for the deepest part of the workshop.
“Guess my back’s gonna ache for the first time in a while.”
It seemed the craftsman’s fighting spirit had been ignited.
He would modify Catastrophe into the perfect weapon for me.
Creaaak.
The heavy door closed with a ponderous sound.
“…Huh?”
Yoon Chae-ha let out a short, confused sound beside me.
Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me, failing to grasp the situation.
“Sorry, but it looks like we’ll have to stay here a bit longer.”
It was going to take some time.
But paradoxically, this was a huge stroke of luck.
As I’d noted before, this place was a Holy Land, on a completely different level from Arcadia.
Mana circulated endlessly, and the air was condensed with both holy and fire attribute mana.
It was a space optimized for training.
I took a deep breath of the surrounding air.
‘It’s harsh.’
Raw mana dug into my lungs.
In a place like this, just breathing was a form of training.
It was unbelievable.
“Yoon Chae-ha.”
“Yeah.”
“Consider yourself dead for a while.”
“Huh?”
It was the beginning of hellish training.
*
Rumble, craaash.
CRASH!
“There it goes again.”
Another explosion echoed from the depths of the workshop.
The roaring from Bulgaram’s forge had been going on for days now.
I tilted my head back slightly and looked at the ceiling.
Well, it meant he was working hard.
I glanced to my side.
“……”
But Yoon Chae-ha didn’t answer.
“Pant… pant…”
She was bent over, gasping for breath.
Wet strands of hair clung to her cheeks, and her workout clothes were completely stuck to her skin with sweat.
This had repeated countless times. She would sweat, the surrounding heat would dry it in an instant, and she would train again.
An endless cycle.
“I think I’m… gonna die…” Yoon Chae-ha mumbled listlessly.
I asked with a slight smile, “But you’re getting the hang of it, right?”
“Ah…”
She raised a hand to cover her eyes.
She was silent for a long time after that.
I quietly approached and straightened her hair.
The ambient heat dried it quickly, so I had to tidy it up beforehand.
Yoon Chae-ha accepted my touch and lay down comfortably.
‘She really has been through a lot.’
The reason I was taking care of her so devotedly, as if she were a child, was simple.
For the past few days, we had focused entirely on her new ability.
Eclipse.
A total solar or lunar eclipse.
Literally, a darkness that swallows the sun.
It couldn't quite be called an Authority.
Her third Expanded Authority was Seeker of Hunger. Therefore, it was more accurate to consider Eclipse a branch that had diverged from Seeker of Hunger.
A branch that had naturally extended from Seeker of Hunger. That was Eclipse.
It was fitting, since a solar eclipse (ilsik, 日食) literally means ‘to eat the sun.’
Perhaps that was why.
The results of the past few days of training could be summarized in a single sentence.
Yoon Chae-ha’s flame had now become a flame of gluttony that devoured all mana.
‘If she keeps growing like this…’
That flame would grow ever stronger and eventually annihilate all Demonic Force.
I was so proud and fond of her that I gently stroked her forehead a few times.
Yoon Chae-ha’s mouth fell slightly open.
The corners of her lips relaxed.
But just as we were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere…
BANG!
Suddenly, the thick iron door to the inner workshop burst open as if it had been shattered.
Yoon Chae-ha’s eyes shot open, and I reflexively looked up.
It was Bulgaram.
In one hand, he held something massive slung over his shoulder.
A completely blackened spear. The shape was unfamiliar, but the aura was familiar.
Yet, at the same time, it was alien.
The crescent blade that should have been at its tip was gone.
I quietly stood up.
Bulgaram walked over in silence.
Without a word, he simply held up his creation and tossed it to me.
Thud.
I instinctively reached out and caught the spear.
The blade that should have been at the tip was definitely gone.
But the moment the spear touched my hand…
‘…A heart?’
Something stirred in the center of the spear.
Like a heart, like a living thing.
I could feel a pulse.
Through the golden scales engraved on the shaft, Aldebaran’s breath was transmitted to my fingertips.
The surface had become even blacker, but the elegantly carved golden engravings were quite stylish.
Bulgaram slowly opened his mouth.
“I kept the name.”
Just then, a system window appeared before my eyes.
『Black Chain of Shattered Light: Catastrophe』
“Try infusing it with mana.”
As I did, a blade made of pure mana erupted from where the spearhead should have been.
“An Aura Blade…”
I swallowed hard.
A blade that was visible but could not be touched.
It looked like a spear, but I could use it as a crescent blade if I wished.
Catastrophe had been transformed into a weapon of perfect offense and defense.
“It will last as long as your mana allows,” Bulgaram said calmly.
“If you can manage that… there will be nothing your spear cannot cut.”
I bit my lip.
This was insane.
It wasn’t just the Aura Blade.
Even with the golden engraved scales, I could feel the spear and my body becoming one.
It seemed he had even artificially installed the profound principle of Divine Spear-Body Unity.
He had created something beyond my wildest imagination.
I never thought it would be this incredible…
Bulgaram clicked his tongue one last time and added, “Of all the things I’ve made, this one has the worst personality.”
I nodded silently and gripped Catastrophe once more.
The spear synced with my hand, and Aldebaran’s consciousness whispered to me.
『It’s been a while. My… you’ve changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you.』
Aldebaran chuckled.
It had been a long time since I’d heard his voice.
I nodded and squeezed my hand slightly.
Catastrophe responded with a pulse, matching its rhythm to my arm.
This was no mere weapon.
It was alive. And it wanted me.
At that moment, the mana that had filled the workshop began to recede.
Thud.
Bulgaram slowly set down his blacksmith’s hammer.
He wiped away his sweat and looked up.
“So.”
His voice was hoarse.
But his will was embedded in it.
“Where will your spear point next?”
I didn’t hesitate.
My next target was already decided.
However.
I looked up, meeting his gaze directly.
And then, I slowly shook my head.
“Not yet.”
It was too soon to act.
I needed to raise the strength of my other companions as well.
There was no longer any need to do things alone.
First on the list was Cheon Yeo-wool.
“I can’t do it by myself, after all.”
The corners of Bulgaram’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.
“Right. That’s good enough.”
He turned his back.
Then, the workshop doors began to close.
The thick heat and the scent of metal.
And the final strike of a hammer, ringing out like thunder.
CLANG!
That was the end.
Bulgaram’s Workshop once again sank into silence.
*
As usual, Sion was lazing about in Jung Hae-in’s bedding, which was saturated with his scent.
Today, she was at the Vanquisher’s quarters, so there was no one to be wary of.
She was twirling the edge of the pillow with her fingertips, staring into space with half-closed eyes, when it happened.
A system notification appeared before her.
[Bulgaram’s (不伽藍) Workshop finally welcomes its new masters.]
[The Ember of Succession. Praise be to those who hold the Token of Alliance.]
“Ah!”
It had only been a day since Jung Hae-in entered the workshop.
It hadn’t been long at all, but it seemed the trial was already over.
And judging by the message, it was a complete success.
Sion scrambled to her feet.
She quickly reached for the remote and turned on the TV.
“There he is.”
On the screen, Jung Hae-in was being broadcast live, walking through the Hero Association lobby.
He strode forward, step by step, through a sea of cheers and camera flashes.
“Heehee…?”
But there was someone by his side.
She could see Yoon Chae-ha, quietly following a step behind him.
She walked with him, maintaining a perfect distance, as if to avoid even stepping on his shadow.
Almost like… a wife supporting her husband.
“…Wait a minute.”
At that moment, Sion’s brow twitched.
A hot surge of anger and defeat pounded at her heart.
But soon, she sensed something was off.
“What is this…?”
Something was different.
This wasn’t the simple jealousy she felt just because she was ‘with him.’
This wasn’t just Yoon Chae-ha.
Something… something was different…
Sion touched the TV screen with her fingertips.
Only then did she realize.
“…The Magic Tower Master.”
Sion whispered the words.
It was Yoon Chae-ha.
Her memories and consciousness were undoubtedly Yoon Chae-ha’s.
But beyond Yoon Chae-ha’s own awareness, the consciousness of her past self as the Magic Tower Master now resided within her.
It was hard to see it as having malicious intent.
It felt more like she was quietly leaving a trace, making her presence known.
As if… she wanted someone to notice.
Sion thought there was a high probability that she was one of those ‘someones.’
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
Just then, her watch began vibrating like crazy.
Sion checked her wrist.
It was the group chat.
“……”
It seemed Sion wasn’t the only one who had noticed the change.