Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Chapter 89: Squama One (3)
Translation: godtl
Someone once said:
Before the sun scorches with its flames,
Its mere heat melts everything that approaches.
And indeed, this place was no exception.
"Ahhhh!!"
"H-hot! It's too hot!!"
"What are the Support Classes doing? Erect a barrier now!"
"Magic Classes, help too! At this rate, we'll all burn to death!"
The weapon Laevateinn, belonging to the Constellation Surtr.
Even if it was a degraded version due to transmutation—
Whoooosh!
Sssssss.
The flames, at 30% completion, were incinerating everything around them.
"Ugh......"
Si-mun, who had swung Laevateinn, let out a small groan.
'This feels completely different from Astrapē.'
His gaze turned toward the blazing sword.
'It's much harder to control than Astrapē.'
How should he put it?
It felt like trying to wield a rampaging chainsaw with just one hand.
Whoosh.
Laevateinn, ignited and burning fiercely, was incredibly difficult to control.
In fact—
'Somehow, it feels like the stronger I get, the harder it'll be to control...'
Normally, as Transmutation Power increases, the stability of transmuted items should improve as well.
The same goes for control.
Even Astrapē, infamous for being difficult to wield due to its lightning qi foundation,
had become easier and more familiar to handle thanks to its 30% completion rate.
So, he'd thought, 'Ah, this will only get easier to use as I grow stronger.'
But Laevateinn was different.
'I might be safe, but... the stronger it gets, the harder it'll be to distinguish friend from foe.'
Though fire attributes are notoriously tricky to handle, second only to lightning,
unlike Astrapē,
Laevateinn felt solely focused on burning everything to ashes.
The only silver lining was—
'It's endlessly favorable toward me, I guess?'
No matter how powerful it becomes, it would remain as gentle and warm as spring's embrace to its wielder.
—Hehe, as expected of you, Oppa. You instantly grasped the difference between the weapons.
A cheerful voice rang out.
Si-mun glanced down at the center of his chest.
'Philosopher's Stone.'
—You're absolutely right, Oppa. Mythic-grade weapons are, after all, the weapons of Constellations. They can't help but reflect their owner's nature.
The stone spoke in its usual calm tone, not its usual excitable one.
—Astrapē, no matter how notorious its wielder was, is ultimately the weapon of the ruler who leads Olympus. Naturally, it would mirror its master—restrained and precise.
Then—
—But Laevateinn is different.
The stone's voice dropped lower.
—Constellation Surtr. That bastard's personality aside, Surtr was originally meant for Asga—... Ugh! Seriously!
Just as it was getting serious, the Philosopher's Stone reverted to its usual self.
Si-mun realized why it had returned to its original demeanor.
—These damn Arena bastards! Censoring at the drop of a hat!
Censorship.
The Philosopher's Stone was furious at being cut off mid-sentence.
—Anyone who needs to know already knows, so what's the big secret?! Ugh, whatever. I must be insane expecting common sense from those idiots.
The stone swayed slightly from side to side.
Si-mun, well aware that this was its way of shaking its head, gently stroked his chest.
Did it have an effect?
—Ahhh~ The touch of a legend... No, not that!
The stone suppressed its anger and continued.
—Anyway, you're absolutely right, Oppa. The higher Laevateinn's completion rate gets, the more of a damn nightmare it'll become. You'll have to be extremely careful not to burn your allies.
'Because it was originally made for that purpose?'
—Oh? I didn't say that far, did I?
'I have some intuition too.'
—Heheh! That's our Oppa for you! This is why handsome faces are worth their salt. Ugh! My frustration from those idiots blocking me just vanished.
Amused by the Philosopher's Stone's high spirits, Si-mun chuckled before his gaze shifted.
'Even though the words were cut off, if I infer from where the Stone was interrupted...'
It turned toward the message from the Constellation Odin that had appeared earlier.
'It must be related to Asgard.'
Given that Odin had directly responded, it was only natural.
However—
'The rest was completely cut off, making it impossible to deduce anything.'
The Philosopher's Stone's words had been cut off right after "Asga,"
leaving no way to guess what followed.
Still, it wasn't that uncomfortable.
'Well, I'll find out when the time comes.'
Given the reactions from Odin and the Black Goat.
I'd know when the time came, eventually.
With a light shrug, Si-mun turned his gaze to where Laevateinn had struck directly.
"Kekurururuk!"
A diagonal slash across the body, wreathed in dark sword energy.
"Kyaaaaak!!"
Drahel, his eyes rolling back as the flames devoured his flesh in real time, foaming at the mouth.
His pitiful state made the title of Draconic—an awakened Dragonkin—seem utterly meaningless.
Crack.
From Drahel came the sound of something breaking.
Just as Si-mun had anticipated.
The necklace that had been blocking Astrapē's Lightning Qi was shattering.
'Tsk, what a waste. If it could block Astrapē's Lightning Qi, it must've been at least SS-grade.'
Of course, there was no guarantee Drahel would drop that necklace.
Clicking his tongue reflexively, Si-mun recalled Laevateinn.
Fzzzt.
Then, he raised Astrapē, the white staff clutched in his left hand.
"Sorry. I'm not usually the type to draw things out like this."
Even if he was an enemy.
Taking in Drahel's gruesome state, Si-mun aimed Astrapē with a slightly pitying expression.
"Can't help it if it's worth 2,000 Achievement Points. You understand, right?"
As if he could!
In no state to speak, Drahel could only—
"Keh, kuhul!"
—writhe as the flames consumed his body.
"Then, farewell."
Si-mun ended Drahel's suffering.
Zzzzzap!
A bolt of lightning, flashing like a beacon, shot from Astrapē.
The moment it swallowed Drahel's burning body whole—
[You have single-handedly defeated Drahel, a Draconic of Drag.]
[You have earned 2,000 Achievement Points as a reward.]
[As the first Earthling to defeat a member of Squama One, you have earned an additional 5,000 Achievement Points.]
Messages cascaded across his vision.
Then—
[Constellation Zeus lets out a hollow laugh."To think he could control Laevateinn to that extent..."]
[Constellation Heavenly Demon chuckles meaningfully."Hoho, Zeus. You'd best impress the Alchemist too."]
[Constellation Odin and the Black Goat smile in satisfaction at your actions.]
[The Constellations have sponsored you with an additional 5,000 Achievement Points.]
The Constellations' support followed.
Drahel vanished without a trace.
-......Insane.
-Is this for real? Bros?
-He one-shot that tanky Drag?
-Nah, two-shot. Well, two shots that felt like one.
-That was one of the named Drag mobs, and he just punched through it lol.
-Even if Drags are weak to fire, this is a bit...
The chat, momentarily stunned by Laevateinn's overwhelming power, quickly regained momentum.
Especially with—
-I've never seen a Drag like that before?
-The fact that a Gold-rank took it down is even harder to believe.
-There must've been some nerf to the Drag itself. It's still a Gold Arena, even if it was an upward match.
-Facts. Plus, fire attacks are Drag's kryptonite, so there's some elemental advantage at play?
-No matter how you spin it, that doesn't make sense. Y'all never fought a Drag before?
-Nerfs don't matter—if he took down Dayna, he's just legit strong.
-FR. Dayna goes toe-to-toe with Diamonds lol.
A flood of messages poured in, likely from Platinum-rank and above players.
Considering this was a Gold-rank broadcast, the level of discussion was unusually high.
Of course—
-???. What are they even saying......
-All the high-rankers are here, huh.
-Bros, let us in on it too.
-High-rankers? Lmao, more like phone high-rankers. I could say that crap too.
-Facts. What's so special about a Drag? I could take one down.
-"What's so special about a Drag?" XD. These clowns would get one-shot by a flick of its tongue.
-LMAOOOO. The phone Plats are showing themselves, hard.
-Instant busted, right? Black Goat-nim, please clean up these phone Plats~.
The viewers who couldn't keep up with the high-rankers' chat still played their part.
Either way—
-Casuals getting wrecked lol. You think a Drag is your buddy or something?!
-But seriously, there are way more high-rankers in this room than usual. The chat quality's different.
Even if it's a Gold broadcast, this is the guy who took first place in his Debut Match. They're bound to be interested since they'll be facing him soon.
Yeah. It's only a matter of time before Kim Si-mun goes Platinum.
- Just look at his upward matchmaking. Galaxy Arena already seems to be treating him as Platinum-level.
There was no disagreement on two things:
First, that the viewers' level was higher than typical Gold broadcasts.
And second, that Si-mun was clearly a Platinum-tier player.
Then—
"So? What do you think, Andrew?"
A middle-aged Black man who had been watching everything unfold in real time lifted his gaze from the screen and asked.
To which—
"Hmm. He's definitely different, no doubt about it."
The man called Andrew pushed himself up from the couch where he'd been lounging.
"Sword Saint Kim Si-hyeok also took first place in his Gold Debut Match, right?"
"Yeah. Same with that Asian over there."
The word Asian carried a strangely pointed inflection.
"That damn 'Asian.' Come on, Colin. It's not the 90s anymore."
Andrew let out a deep sigh as he spoke.
"Please, have some awareness of your position. If the Vice Guild Master of American Dream makes comments like that, the media will have a field day."
"What's the problem? It's just what they're called."
"It's not the word, it's your tone—! Ugh, Colin. What if I actually reported you for racism?"
"Oh? Our super 'woke' rookie threatening me now? What can I do but obediently comply?"
"Tch."
Andrew scoffed.
But Colin, the middle-aged Black man, merely smirked, unfazed.
"Let's drop it. Anyway."
Andrew shook his head slightly and turned his gaze to the massive screen on the wall.
"He's definitely not your average Gold. He might even be stronger than Sword Saint Kim Si-hyeok was."
"Andrew, Sword Saint Kim Si-hyeok is a Ranker now. He's not some Gold-tier nobody."
"I'm talking about Kim Si-hyeok during his Gold days, Colin."
"Ah. I see."
Colin nodded.
"Then those rumors about the Growth Buff must be true."
"You mean the Guild Growth Buff that Night Hunter leaked?"
"Yeah. And considering Night Hunter's connection to the Sword Saint..."
"You think the Sword Saint is part of that guild too?"
"How else do you think another monster like him could've popped up in Asia?"
"Colin, for God's sake, that way of looking at Asia—"
Andrew couldn't even finish his sentence.
Damn fossil. Arguing with him is just a waste of breath.
Swallowing his frustration, Andrew forced himself to speak calmly.
"Either way, just looking at this Kim Si-mun guy confirms it. That growth guild... I should join it."
"Derek already called, actually. Said to send you there."
"The Guild Master did? That's surprising."
Andrew's eyes widened.
Colin's smirk deepened.
"Isn't that just the Guild Master looking out for you? Sadly, there was only one slot, so Ron got cut. Well, us Black folks are used to that, aren't we?"
"Colin, that's just because my Arena record is—"
"Ah, don't worry. I'm used to it. But while you're gone, Ron's gonna get your share of the support funds too. You can handle that, right?"
It was the same relaxed, sly smile typical of middle-aged men.
But if it felt sharp—was that just his imagination?
No way.
Andrew was irritated, but instead of snapping—
"Of course. I feel bad for Ron, honestly. That I'm the one getting this opportunity."
—he gave the answer Colin wanted to hear.
At the end of the day, Colin was the Vice Guild Master of American Dream.
"Haha! See, this is why I like the youth—so progressive. Just that attitude alone is enough. Change happens little by little, doesn't it? Especially for us old fossils."
Just as Andrew expected, the edge in Colin's smile softened instantly.
"Anyway, that's the plan. You'll just join the guild and come right back, so don't worry about being stuck in Asia. Oh!"
Colin turned off the screen and added—
"While you're there, try to figure out what's behind that Guild Buff."
"Is that even possible? They're probably hiding it like crazy."
"No need to force it, but with your trait... I figured you might have a shot."
As Colin said—
With my trait... maybe.
There was a decent chance he could uncover the secret behind that unbelievable Guild Growth Buff.
Andrew nodded.
"I'll do my best."
"Good. Once we get that buff, we'll shake off the shame of being tied with those Asian nations as the 'Big Two' and become the greatest guild in the world."
"...Right."
Andrew forced out the reply and left the room.