Chapter 3. Throne of Madness: Lunance Abervich (4)
Chapter 3. Throne of Madness: Lunance Abervich (4)
Upon entering again, what I saw were a confused General Salin and Roland.
"Huh? Sura! Come to think of it, what's that on your waist? And you've got something more on your neck, too?"
"Huh? This is... what..."
Sura mindlessly touched his waist and neck, realizing there was something else there.
"This is... Lunance-nim's? I've never seen this necklace before."
Around his neck, besides the one he received at the cathedral, there was another, and at his waist was the sword he had used when fighting Lunance.
"Check it, Sura!"
At Roland's words, Sura reflexively checked the two items.
[Lunance's Crescent Shadow]
An item from the divine realm, but Lunance took arbitrary measures
to make it appear in the mortal realm.
The seal can be broken if Lunance's power is granted.
Attack Power 50 Weight 23 Price ????
Enchant - None.
[Necklace for Lunance's 'Beloved Champion']
A necklace made by Lunance for her first champion.
The string is Lunance's hair, and the necklace is the crystallization of Lunance's power.
Defense 30 Weight 13 Price ????
- Can converse with Lunance.
- [This option is hidden.]
"Uh.... Is it good?"
"Can I see it too, Sura?"
At those words, Sura showed the sword and necklace to Roland without any suspicion.
He didn't think his companion Roland would do anything shady.
"Whoa! This is seriously good, Sura! Even the 'Demon Heart' series wouldn't be able to unleash this kind of sharpness unless it was upgraded!
And the necklace... My god. Sura, what on earth did you do for Lunance-nim to show this much affection?"
"Uh... I just fought her and won?"
"That might be why she's showing affection. Even if it doesn't look like it, Lunance really likes the strong."
"Is that so? I see...."
Meanwhile, the Tusu were chatting among themselves.
In the meantime, the necklace brightened, and someone's voice was heard.
[Champion. Do not get close to that fellow named Roland. He is annoying.]
"Yes? Lunance-nim?"
"Huh? What did she say, Sura? Lunance... no. Did Lunance-nim talk to you?"
"Uh... well. She said not to get close to you."
"Ayy. What's between us. I'm your follower!"
Roland said that while putting his arm around Sura's shoulder. Sura chuckled and relayed the message to Lunance.
"She said that, Lunance-nim?"
[That thing.... Champion. Actually, that thing.... Hmm... No. I will leave it as a future pleasure.]
"Yes? What is it?"
[No. Champion. I am going to sleep, so call me if you need me. I need to take a nap.]
"Yes. Sleep well."
With that, the light from the necklace vanished.
Salin, who had been quietly listening to the two's conversation, opened her mouth.
"Hmm. A champion. And Lunance-nim's champion at that, who hasn't had one until now... Impressive."
"That's what I'm saying, General Salin. Sura seems to be incredibly amazing."
"I agree."
Salin nodded.
"Well. It seems the priest is outside writing a letter. We have no more business here. Let's go back, and I will teach you Chivalry."
"Understood."
Sura paused for a moment and turned on the system to level up.
"Two-handed weapon proficiency is... 63? Huh?"
The default proficiency level given is 20.
After cutting down soldiers on the battlefield, fighting Goran, and checking it briefly after fighting Salin, the proficiency was 32.
But due to the duel with Lunance, the level had risen by a whopping 31.
"Plus, my light armor level went up too."
The default level for light armor was 15, but when he checked it for the first time just now, it was a staggering 43.
Sura chuckled after reading the chat for a moment.
"I didn't know it would go up this much either. I'll just dump all my level-ups."
The leveling system of Ancient Booklet is unique.
There is leveling up by catching monsters, but it is also possible to level up based on the weapon level value that increases by raising weapon proficiency.
Therefore, it wasn't just about mindlessly catching monsters to level up.
Sura's level increased by a whopping 11.
Sura checked the three stats he could increase.
Vitality, Stamina, Mana.
Vitality was what we commonly know as HP, and Stamina was the concept of physical strength consumed whenever performing an attack or a specific action.
Lastly, Mana was what is consumed when using skills. In other words, the concept of MP.
The base Vitality, Stamina, and Mana values were 100, and he could increase the chosen stat by 10 per level-up, so Sura made Vitality 130, Stamina 140, and Mana 130.
The reason he increased Mana was that the Elderbook Specters had informed him that Mana is used for Chivalry.
"Well. I'll stop increasing Vitality at some point since I just need to not get hit."
After that, Sura checked the skill window. The constellation was glowing, forming the shape of a two-handed weapon.
Just as he was wondering how to raise it, advice from the Elderbook Specters, the veterans, followed.
"Is that so? I guess that's true. But reading this, there's really nothing that feels like fantasy, is there?"
At the Tusu's provocative chat, a gleam appeared in Sura's eyes.
"Oh. That's interesting. Then, the skill window... I'll just distribute it appropriately."
Saying that, Sura distributed the stats to Attack Power increase and Speed increase as much as his current proficiency allowed.
"Let's learn Chivalry and see!"
Sura unpaused, and following the party, he immediately left the cathedral.
In the meantime, he returned the holy relic he had received, telling the returning priest that he was leaving.
[Lesson 2. Realize your oath, Knight.]
The second lesson title appeared, and Sura nodded.
Salin's words continued.
"Since you have sworn to the god, you can now manifest Chivalry regarding your own conviction. Think earnestly about your conviction, and imagine imbuing it into your sword."
At those words, Sura gripped the sword Lunance had given him and thought earnestly.
About his conviction to become the strongest.
And the thought of imbuing that conviction into the sword.
'How come this feels similar to martial arts?'
Thinking that and imagining it, Chivalry was easily imbued into the sword.
Sura, who briefly held Chivalry in his sword, swung it lightly.
'Huh.'
Sura felt something quite familiar.
'This... is the same as Qi.'
With power like this.... He might be able to unleash his martial arts more properly.
'This gives me more reasons to play Ancient Booklet...?'
While Sura was fascinated by Chivalry, General Salin's words continued.
"...I didn't think you'd do it this quickly."
"Whoa! Sura! Amazing!"
At Salin and Roland's praise, Sura's face turned slightly red.
"Then let's go to the third lesson."
[Lesson 3. Act on your conviction, Knight!]
With the third lesson, Sura, General Salin, and Roland headed to a scarecrow on one side of the training ground.
"Swing it. This scarecrow has been treated with magic, so it will be fine even if you use Chivalry."
At those words, Sura looked at the scarecrow in front of him. Soon, he swung his sword.
The form announcing the beginning of the Sura Sword Technique followed.
Pang! Pang! Pang!
The scarecrow was hit several times, but as Salin's words were not empty, the scarecrow was fine.
"Hmm. You move well. You can use Chivalry like that.
Once you reach a certain level, you just have to go to the sanctuary again and receive higher power through an oath."
"I see. So does that mean I have to pray every time I need to raise my level?"
At those words, Salin shook her head.
"To be precise, it's a post-report. After reaching a level, you tell the god that your level has risen."
"Understood."
"If you report to the god that you have reached a certain level, they will give you special power. Use that well when the time comes."
Hearing that, Sura turned on his ability window for a moment.
He had acquired Chivalry, the lock on that slot was unlocked, and he confirmed that his level was Beginner.
The screen displaying Chivalry was drawn like a constellation, and it branched out in several directions, as if the power received differed depending on the growth path.
Sura, who had paused for a moment, asked the Tusu.
"There are skill points here. Can I choose them now?"
"Oh. Then could I learn a thing or two?"
"...Hmm."
Sura pondered for a moment.
"...Is something like this possible?"
Sura started telling the Tusu the concept he had in mind.
After finishing the story, Sura unpaused and talked to Salin.
"Then it's time to learn your sword technique. I'm looking forward to this."
"I'll teach you properly, starting from the basics. Shall we learn about 9 of them first?"
Strictly speaking, he should be doing things like the nine bows and courtesies, but Sura didn't particularly force it, thinking it was just a game anyway.
He didn't really value such things to begin with.
Sura, who had turned off the in-game microphone for a moment, scratched his head.
"Uh... it might be hard to refer to."
"It's not that I can't explain it. It's just that this is a bit difficult."
"Like this?"
"No. Twist it a bit more from there. Yes. That's it."
"Sura! Is it like this?"
"No, Roland. The angle a bit more. That's it."
Roland, who was dragged into it because Salin and Sura said they would learn swordsmanship, was doing it by accident.
The two were in the training ground, holding swords, learning the Sura Sword Technique, which is the first stage of Sura's sword technique.
"There are 10 Sura Sword Techniques in the first stage, but let's learn 9 of them first.... And above that, there is the second stage, the Sura Pacheon Sword Technique, and there is a third stage...."
"Second stage and third stage? Are they strong?"
"Lunance-nim was defeated by the second stage, so they must be strong, right?"
"...My god. To that extent."
Salin nodded and was convinced.
Meanwhile, the Tusu who were watching Sura's swordsmanship lecture were each expressing their impressions.
Sura, who had paused for a moment, responded to those Tusu.
"Of course. Even though it's the first stage, this is the foundation of my swordsmanship. The Murim Alliance Leader, the leader of the Sadoryeon, and the Cheon-ma wouldn't have been defeated if I didn't have this."
At those words, the Tusu reacted.
"Ah, damn. The Murim Alliance Leader. The Murim Alliance Leader betrayed me. That lackey of the Sama Alliance and the Magyo."
At the time, the Murim Alliance Leader was a lackey of the evil faction and the Magyo.
However, his skills were real, so Sura had suffered tremendously.
Sura, who had unpaused, spent time watching the two's swordsmanship again.
For a few days, they practiced swordsmanship diligently.
As skill proficiency accumulated, Sura's level also rose smoothly.
While spending time like that, Salin made a suggestion to Sura.
"Sura. Would you like to try a mission I have for you?"
"What is it?"
"It's because an incident where people are going crazy has occurred in this vicinity. Since you have been recognized by Lunance-nim, I think you can solve it sufficiently.
Above all, since you have received Lunance-nim's protection, you will have some resistance to mental attacks."
"Sigh. Going crazy. I feel like Lunance-nim is involved."
"That wouldn't be it. As you know, Lunance-nim usually falls into sleep, so she's not someone who would cause such troublesome things."
"That is true."
"It would be good if you could solve it. Until then, I will practice the swordsmanship you taught me."
"Understood."
With that, the quest title appeared before his eyes.
[Main Quest Chapter 1. The Village of Madness]
Sura, who had turned off the in-game microphone for a moment, muttered.
"The Village of Madness.... That's a scary title."
Meanwhile, the chat of the Tusu who saw the title went up quickly.
"Spoiler prevention function? Hey! Su-han! They're asking to turn on the function!"
[Su-han : OK]
Then, the spoiler prevention function was turned on, and all content that seemed related to the quest was covered. Chat from Tusu containing content excluding spoilers or containing early background explanation went up.
"Oh. Understood. Let's give it a try."
Then Sura took out the map.
"Hmm. We'll get there soon. I'll go to the place marked here."
Meanwhile, Roland, who heard that, approached Sura. Sura turned on the in-game microphone again.
"Hey! Sura! Take me with you! I'll do my part properly!"
"Sure. Roland. If it's dangerous, you should use the swordsmanship I taught you."
"I won't be a burden!"
Thus, the Sura and Roland party was formed.
"Oh. Roland. What is that sword?"
Sura and Roland leaving on a journey. On the way, while Roland was checking his sword, his sword caught his eye.
"This? I named it Durandal! It's quite expensive!"
At those words, the Tusu chatted as if they knew something.
The Tusu passed it off as an Easter egg, but Sura thought it was strange.
'Hmm? For that, the... sword is too good.'
Thanks to his years in Murim, Sura, who had a keen eye for choosing good swords, thought that sword looked good.
Roland, who was a soldier, had such a good sword? Something was strange.
Just as he was about to turn off the in-game microphone and ask the Tusu because of the strangeness, someone approached them.
"Hahaha! Hey! Everyone, put down everything expensive and get lost!"
"Wow. It's a bandit."
Sura looked at the people as if it were fascinating.
There were 11 bandits, 4 archers and 7 warriors.
"Roland. Are you confident?"
"Hmm? Of course! Sura! Let's go!"
While the Tusu were worried, Sura's sword was drawn.
In an instant, one of the bandit's heads flew off.
'This Chivalry.... It's really similar to Qi.'
Sura comparing the sensation of Chivalry with Qi in the meantime. With a similar power like this, it seemed there would be no problem even if he unleashed more swordsmanship.
Meanwhile, the bandit who saw his companion's head fly off hesitated, and Sura immediately deployed the next form.
Sura used Chivalry to split the bandit's head, helmet and all.
"Damn! It's Chivalry! Run!"
"No! How can Chivalry appear in a place like this!"
The bandits began to run away in a hurry after seeing the black-ish red light gathered on Sura's sword.
"No. If they do this, it becomes hard to kill them all."
Sura tried imbuing Chivalry into his body just in case. Unexpectedly, he succeeded at once. Since it had come to this, Sura decided to use the footwork he used in Murim.
'Heavenly Evasion Footwork.'
The footwork that the Sword Immortal Lü Dongbin used in the past is unleashed in this world.
Sura arrived behind the fleeing bandit in an instant.
Sura, who stabbed the sword into his back without needing to use a form, answered the chat.
"Yes? I just concentrated Chivalry on my feet, and it worked."
"Ah, yes. Sure. Whatever."
Sura, who found a technique the Elderbook Specters didn't know, didn't show it, and decided to finish off the bandits before the lecture.
This time, he aimed at the archer who was nearby.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
The archer shooting arrows while screaming.
Sura didn't move and just watched the arrow, then deflected it accurately.
"This is easier than I thought. That archer is scared, so there's no power in the arrow."
Chwaak!
Blood splattered, and the archer fell with his neck cut.
And Sura picked up the bow the archer was holding and shot arrows at the remaining bandits.
Piyuuuuuuuuung!
Ugh!
Huck!
"It was basic knowledge when I was in Murim."
Today, too, the Tusu shook their heads at the persistent concept.