Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Another Chance Given (6)
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Roooar!
The moment he swallowed the bead, a massive surge of mana erupted within Martin's body.
It was a ferocious, destructive energy utterly different from the mana residing in his existing mana core.
The mana rampaged through his body, following the mana circuits.
‘...This is a bit problematic.’
The Dragon's Curse was a disease that caused infinite mana to accumulate in the body.
In other words, his body was already overflowing with mana. That was precisely why his physical condition had weakened endlessly.
And now, a new power was being added—one comparable to the energy he'd built up over eighteen years?
There was no way his imperfect body could withstand it.
“Urk!”
In the end, Martin let out a groan and dropped to his right knee.
Ever since he'd reached adulthood, his life had been filled with excruciating pain. He'd thought he'd grown accustomed to it, but that was an illusion.
The agony he felt now was on an entirely different level from anything before.
“Martin!”
Sien cried out urgently and tried to rush to his side.
But she had to stop midway. Martin had raised his right hand to halt her.
The situation was already dangerous enough.
Any additional external touch could lead to disaster.
Sien realized this too and gritted her teeth.
She bit her lip so hard that blood trickled down, but she paid it no mind.
Then, it happened.
Whoosh.
Martin shot to his feet. Without any input from his own will.
‘What the hell...’
His body was moving on its own. What was going on?
But he had no time to ponder.
Suddenly, his fist clenched, and he thrust it forward with all his might. This, too, happened without his consent.
And that wasn't the end of the surprise.
Roooar!
The energy of the Fist King within the bead suddenly shifted its flow.
Just moments ago, it had seemed poised to clash with his existing energy, but now it seeped directly into his body.
It began reinforcing his body itself—bones, muscles, nerves, and all. Naturally, this included his mana core and mana circuits as well.
-The core of Rotaer Body Technique is simple.-
Even a gravelly voice now echoed in his mind.
‘He really packed everything into this bead.’
Martin was dumbfounded.
He hadn't imagined it would even implant his own will.
On the other hand, it made sense why Kallain had grown so strong so quickly.
With preparations this thorough, it would be stranger if the inheritor didn't become powerful.
-Unleash a space-affinity innate ability to attack the opponent from the outside. Then, time it perfectly to inject aura into their body and detonate it. Attacking from both inside and out maximizes the power. That's Rotaer Body Technique.-
The explanation continued, and Martin grasped it immediately.
‘Easy.’
There were no special techniques in Rotaer Body Technique.
It was more like the technique itself was mastering the essence of martial arts with one's entire body.
In other words, it was tricky in that you had to apply it yourself.
‘Not a problem for me.’
This was the body once called the Sword Saint.
He prided himself on being unmatched in martial skill.
Sure enough, he quickly got a feel for how to wield Rotaer Body Technique.
‘I’m getting all sorts of gains here.’
In his previous life, the moment he lost his sword, he couldn't continue fighting.
But mastering Rotaer Body Technique solved that issue.
It allowed him to enhance his physical abilities through breathing techniques, mitigating the Dragon's Curse as well.
He was already grateful for that alone, but one final gift remained.
Martin examined his body.
The Fist King's energy was still reinforcing it.
This was the perfect opportunity.
A chance to reclaim some of his prime strength.
Hummm.
Martin focused his mana on the mana core in his abdomen.
Mana scattered throughout his body gathered, tracing a new circle over the existing three.
An hour passed like that.
Finally, Martin's movements ceased.
The Fist King's energy, which had seemed ready to burst him apart, had vanished.
Sien approached cautiously.
“Is it over? Any issues with your body?”
“No problems, so don’t worry.”
“And the Rotaer Body Technique?”
“I can use it properly now. Half-assed, sure.”
“We knew that from the start. How’s your body feeling?”
“A lot better. Probably on par with an average knight. Shame it’s only this much after absorbing the Fist King’s energy.”
“That’s plenty. You couldn’t even compare before.”
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad.”
“No lies, Martin.”
Sien beamed as she replied. Martin gave a wry smile and didn’t press further.
Even he had to admit his previous body was frail.
“There’s more I gained.”
“Huh? Something else?”
Sien tilted her head.
Instead of answering, Martin turned and pointed his sword straight ahead.
Humm.
Golden aura enveloped the blade like a heat haze.
“What’s different...”
Flash!
The moment light bloomed from the aura, Sien froze, mouth agape.
She’d seen it clearly. The hazy aura coalescing into a distinct shape.
Ultimately, it formed a blade of light. A new sword overlaid atop his own.
And she knew exactly what it was.
“An Aura Blade?!”
When one's martial realm reached the 3rd Circle, they awakened to aura.
At the higher 4th Circle, they could manifest aura's advanced form: the Aura Blade.
“W-What happened?”
“I made the Fist King’s enlightenment my own.”
“What kind of insane genius are you?!”
Sien shrieked.
On the Crasian Continent, a warrior's rank was determined by the sum of their Circles.
Swordsmanship plus innate ability, or magic plus innate ability.
The closer the total approached 10, the greater the warrior.
Martin, who only trained swordsmanship, was merely a 4th Circle warrior—but that was nothing to scoff at.
The Alteria Empire, and the Crasian Continent at large, boasted many renowned powerhouses. Yet few had reached the 4th Circle in a single pure domain.
Moreover, Martin was only eighteen.
Many were called geniuses, but none had displayed such overwhelming talent in one field at such a young age.
Heh.
Martin grinned broadly at Sien’s stunned expression.
* * *
“Groooar!”
A massive bear-shaped monster, the Battle Bear, roared.
Towering over 3 meters with a weight exceeding a ton, it was intimidating in itself. But its true weapons were its claws—hard and sharp enough to shred steel.
Those deadly weapons were now aimed at Martin.
Boom!
The Battle Bear’s right forepaw slammed into the ground.
A mere strike pulverized the embedded rock. An ordinary person would shatter from that alone.
‘As long as it doesn’t hit.’
Martin effortlessly dodged with a single step to the right.
Then, he dove into the bear’s guard, left fist clenched tight.
Humm.
Mana surged from his abdominal mana core, enveloping his fist.
Martin unleashed it with full power, smashing straight into the Battle Bear’s chest.
Despite the full-force strike, the punch’s raw power was lacking. Even reinforced with mana, his physical abilities were still wanting.
It fell far short of piercing the bear’s needle-like fur hide.
But the result was entirely different.
Boom!
No sooner had the fist connected than the bear’s chest swelled. It exploded in a spray of flesh, blood, and bone shards.
Martin swiftly retreated, avoiding the mess.
Throb throb.
Pain flared in his left arm, but it was brief discomfort that quickly faded.
“Takin’ down a Battle Bear in one hit—its power really is insane.”
“You’re not fooling anyone with that fake surprise, Sien. You could smash one barehanded too.”
“Yeah, but my way’s different.”
Martin chuckled at Sien’s shrug.
The Igrid family didn’t need complex techniques like injecting mana to make foes explode.
They crushed Battle Bears with bare fists alone. As heir, Sien could do it effortlessly too.
“Anyway, only the Monster Lord left.”
“Two months since we entered the dungeon... Way faster than expected. All thanks to Rotaer Body Technique.”
Sien smiled softly at Martin.
About a month and a half had passed since he’d absorbed the Fist King’s legacy.
She’d watched his body improve visibly.
He no longer ached from a few mana operations like before, and his stamina had increased.
Of course, he was still lacking compared to others at the same level, but his movements had undeniably quickened.
“Sigh. Taking down the Monster Lord is easy, but the problem’s the innate ability.”
Sien let out a quiet sigh.
She’d pinned her hopes on Rotaer Body Technique. Maybe mastering it would awaken Martin’s innate ability.
But reality was cruel.
Martin still couldn’t use his innate ability.
Sixty days had already passed of the hundred given by the elders and branch leaders.
Even rushing back from the 10th floor to the entrance would take half a month.
That left twenty-five days for Martin to awaken his innate ability.
‘Is it possible?’
Sien wasn’t confident.
Anxiety only swelled within her.
If things stayed like this, Martin would... She didn’t even want to think about it.
Seeing her like that, Martin thumbed behind him.
A massive door loomed there.
“Let’s take down the Monster Lord first. We can worry after we’re done.”
“Yeah. But don’t get cocky, Martin. Even on a lower floor, a Monster Lord’s a Monster Lord. One slip and you’re dead.”
“Got it.”
The two stepped forward.
The closer they got to the huge door, the more intensely they felt the raw feral energy.
Halt.
Martin stopped before it.
He looked at Sien.
“Sien.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I fight it alone?”
“Any other monster, sure... But a Monster Lord? Honestly, no. You’d win if you went all out, but no need to take the risk.”
“Then help if I’m really in danger. That cool?”
“Sigh. You’re making me sigh all the time. You know that?”
“I’m always sorry about it.”
“You’d be less annoying if you couldn’t even talk. Do what you want.”
“Thanks.”
Martin smiled at her grumbling.
The conversation ended, and they passed through the door.
“Grrr.”
In that instant, a colossal presence greeted them.
Its jet-black scales evoked armor.
The Battle Bear they’d just felled was huge, but this one was over twice its size.
The flames spilling from its breath alone instilled dread.
Drake.
All Monster Lords were of the dragonkin, and this was the first gate’s trial.
Unlike true dragons, it couldn’t fly.
But it boasted monstrous physical prowess.
That beast now glared at Sien and Martin.
‘Sizing us up as prey, huh?’
Step step.
Entertaining the idle thought, Martin advanced.
His sword was already in hand.
Humm.
A brilliant golden Aura Blade overlaid the blade.
Normally, that would be it.
‘Normally.’
Mana poured not just from his abdominal mana core, but also from the one in his head—the organ said to be absent in him.
The power from both flowed through the mana circuit highways to his sword.
‘Wonder what reaction Sien’ll have this time.’
In his past life, she’d bawled her eyes out.
Scolding him for awakening his innate ability so late.
As she’d said, his awakening had come too late before. Too late to achieve what he’d wanted.
Yet he hadn’t given up, pushing with resolve to die. He’d achieved decent results—up to a point.
But in the end, everything he’d pursued had failed. If only he’d awakened a bit sooner, his fate might have changed.
‘This time’ll be different, Kallain.’
He recalled the enemy he must kill.
With that, he swung his sword down from above with full force.
Flash!
Golden radiance streaked through the air.