133. Keraunos

Asterios, cleaved in two by my sword aura, dissolved into a swirl of light and vanished. I dismissed the clear message hovering in front of me and chugged potions to heal my body. Maybe because I'd forced my battered frame to keep moving, the pain ripping through me was no joke. It wasn't just physical—my mental fatigue was off the charts too. The backlash from pushing my focus to the limit left me in a lazy haze where I didn't want to think or do a damn thing.

But recalling the message that popped up after taking down Asterios chased that drowsiness away. I'd scored some insane rewards.

Just from the name, I could tell this reward was no joke. And there, in the spot where Asterios's corpse had faded, sat a golden axe radiating power. The cutting power that sliced through my body like butter, the destructive force that turned everything around it to rubble with every swing, and on top of that, the stamina it fed back to its wielder. The ultimate weapon was now mine.

My main weapons had always been sword and shield, but did this mean I should switch to axe as my primary?

"Nah, hold up."

No need to get ahead of myself. Let's check the specs first. Who knows? In games, boss weapons always got nerfed hard when players picked them up. And honestly, it didn't seem likely they'd just hand out something this monstrous on a low floor like this.

I approached the axe, still embedded in the ground and pulsing with immense power. Item info ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠popped up right away.

Attack power and durability both showed as question marks. I'd never seen anything like it. What the hell did that mean? Three question marks each—did that mean three-digit attack power?

I checked the unique passive effect tab right below it. The effect had an ridiculously grandiose name.

For all its pompous name, the option was a total demerit—I couldn't even figure out what it meant. No, it couldn't be used at all outside of equip restrictions? What the fuck kind of bullshit was this? I had no idea what this "divinity" it required was, and I sure as hell didn't have one. It said equivalent traits could substitute, so maybe my [Steel Heart]?

It sucked that it was my item but I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't use it. So damn frustrating.

"Let's see..."

I reached out toward the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠axe stuck in the ground. The moment my fingers gripped the handle, lightning crackled.

Crackle!

"Fuck!"

The brief contact burned my fingers to ash in an instant. But that split-second touch gave me a feel for it. Asterios hadn't been able to properly wield this axe. The power that ignored my attribute resistance and charred my fingers wasn't the issue—it was the sheer force emanating from it.

"This thing's beyond cheat-item levels."

No doubt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about it: the axe had been throttling its power to match its master's low level. If Asterios had been able to unleash its full strength, one swing would've obliterated the entire 16th floor island.

I couldn't use it right away, but Keraunos went into my inventory anyway. Why carry a weapon I couldn't even touch? Well, I was only on the 16th floor—things might change later. I could acquire the required divinity, or maybe overcome it with resistance someday. Or I could drop it from inventory onto an enemy for contact damage... Nah, that'd be tricky; drops aren't projectiles.

It sucked not having a way to use the axe I'd finally gotten, but I had plenty of other gains.

One of the Warrior's three ultimate arts: [Aura Mastery]. I couldn't really feel its power yet since the opponent was so overwhelming, but being able to attack at range was a huge win. No more relying solely on iron marbles or weapon throws. Flying enemies would be easy pickings now.

On top of that, [Weak Point Insight] leveled up as a bonus, and I picked up a new skill: [Thought Acceleration].

I'd felt [Thought Acceleration]'s effect crystal clear in that last fight, so no need to check further. It ramped up my thinking speed to the absolute max in an instant. The accelerated thoughts transcended my body's limits, making the world feel frozen in time. In that stopped world, I could leisurely observe my opponent's moves and devise counters.

I'd sometimes felt surroundings slow down when hyper-focused before—that must've been this skill taking shape. I couldn't trigger it at will yet, but it even let me build virtual simulations. Insanely useful. Honestly, this might be a bigger gain than awakening sword aura.

"Oh yeah."

While I was at it, I pulled out Kaleon and summoned the sword spirit. He entered combat stance right away, scanning the surroundings wildly.

"Goddammit, what now?! A dragon rampaging or something?!"

The sword spirit freaked out at the devastated battlefield from my clash with Asterios. I calmly raised my sword, coated it in aura, and showed him.

"Hey, check this out. Recognize it?"

"What the— that's not combat... No way, is that aura?"

"Yup, you little shit. Say that crap from last time one more time."

This cocky sword spirit bastard had dumped a ton of shit-talk on me when I was struggling to learn aura. Something about how even if I busted my ass, it'd take two solid years of practice? Back then it felt true, so I couldn't even retort—just beat him with Wand.

"Bet that shut you up, huh?"

Now I could smack him properly with an aura-wrapped weapon.

Clang!

Sword Spirit Kaleon, deceased.

After settling the boss fight results, I fired up the community for the first time in ages and posted.

It detailed Asterios's spawn conditions—the first real info-sharing post from me. Not entirely my first; I'd shared sword training methods and mana operation tips before. I'd also passed some Tower lore I'd uncovered to archaeologist-type challengers.

But my info posts always got shit on.

Other servers' challengers had a wildly different perception of me. They vaguely knew you could acquire skills through physical training or mastery—1st-gen challengers had done it that way. But now that skill acquisition and clears were streamlined, it was dismissed as a waste of time. "Primitive caveman shit."

In servers with solid economies, grinding monsters was always more profitable than training. Buy skillbooks with gold, level up via hunts. They didn't care about dulled combat sense or adaptability.

High-rankers aiming for top hunter status had a slightly different take, but even they boiled it down to "doesn't matter against level/class gaps." Same shit, different flavor.

Obviously, solo me and group players had different mindsets—I didn't really mind.

Why bother with mana skills as a warrior? Leave it to mages. Fair point. That's why I rarely shared info. Environments were too different; they'd ignore it anyway.

But this hidden had clear conditions—worth sharing.

As always, reactions veered off in their own direction.