Chapter 44. Attribute Endownt
As I waited for a mont, tea was served.
“Let's have so while we talk.”
“Yes.”
Unlike before, when I felt like I was being interrogated, a comfortable conversation ensued.
It was mainly Bation asking and Hyunwoo answering, and the core of the conversation was about ‘how to catch Anesta’.
There were two main points Hyunwoo had in mind during the conversation.
One was that his help was absolutely necessary to catch Anesta.
And the other was that the lord himself had to step forward.
Bation raised his eyebrows at Hyunwoo’s words.
“I have to step forward myself?”
“Otherwise, even if we lure Anesta out, there is no way to hunt it.”
“Hmm, so only you can do that luring?”
“That’s right. There is no one who knows Anesta's habits better than I do. To move according to the situation and lure it out of the tunnels, I must be there.”
Bation fell into thought.
Of course, he had investigated the Lafre, and he had also investigated the husks in various ways.
It was certain that the human before him knew more about Anesta than he did.
‘The hunting thod also seems to have no flaws.’
He had said he had been preparing to hunt Anesta his entire life, and it seed to be true.
After a mont, Bation gave a slight nod and opened his mouth.
“You must want sothing in return, right?”
“No. I don’t particularly….”
“There's no need for false modesty. Tell what you want.”
Hyunwoo let out a sigh of relief internally.
Fortunately, it seed he had succeeded in persuading Bation.
‘But I can’t let my guard down.’
Hyunwoo pretended to think as much as possible and carefully opened his mouth.
Before speaking, he glanced at Lucas once.
“I need the Tear of Iksolun.”
“The Tear of Iksolun? Why do you need that? You don't seem to have any mana.”
“My companion. It's an item Lucas desperately needs.”
At Hyunwoo’s answer, Lucas, who had been detached from the conversation until now, wore a surprised expression.
Bation was a magician.
Mana was a very important elent for a magician, and I thought he would have sothing like the ‘Tear of Iksolun’ for mana treatnt.
As expected, he readily nodded his head.
“That's nothing special. Is that all?”
“And… I want a black crystal orb.”
“A black crystal orb?”
“It’s nothing special, just an item that holds a black fla within a crystal orb.”
Bation narrowed his brow and tried to recall what kind of crystal orb Hyunwoo was talking about.
There was a crystal orb in his bedroom that was used as a soft light.
It was nothing more than a decoration….
Before that, there was sothing he had to ask the human.
“How did you know I had such a crystal orb?”
At Bation’s question, Hyunwoo smiled awkwardly, took out his Lotus mbership card, and placed it on the table.
“It was an item I had been looking for, and I heard from Lotus that it was here, in Gert Castle.”
“They have long tongues. Like rats.”
“I understand it’s a decorative item. Soone needs it, so if it's not too much of an imposition, could you possibly give it to ?”
Just a decorative crystal ball for the bedroom.
It was an item of no particular significance to Bation.
In fact, the ‘Tear of Iksolun’, which could heal mana, was more valuable.
For the sake of protecting his own castle, this much was nothing.
“Alright. I will deliver the items to you shortly.”
Bation nodded his head.
“I will call for you as soon as the preparations are complete, so be on standby.”
He gestured with his hand, dismissing them.
Hyunwoo left the office with Lucas.
Lucas, who ca outside, stared intently at .
“What? Do you have sothing to say?”
“Why did you ask for a mana treatnt potion? You could have gotten sothing more useful.”
“And you. What were you called for? The story about being called to comnd your rits must have been nonsense from the beginning.”
As if recalling his conversation with Bation, Lucas’s expression darkened.
“…It’s nothing.”
“That’s not the face of soone for whom it was nothing.”
“Just tell the reason you asked for the treatnt potion.”
“Let's hear the reason you were summoned first.”
After bickering for a while, Lucas sighed and said.
“He said he called simply because he was curious about .”
He didn't go into detail, but judging by his pride-wounded expression and the situation, I could roughly guess.
He was probably called because of curiosity about why a vampire, a demon, had beco a slave gladiator.
In the process, Bation must have wounded Lucas’s pride.
I could feel his piercing gaze.
He was telling with his eyes that it was my turn.
“Claudia Knox, the one who passed on swordsmanship to . She told .”
“……?”
A question mark appeared on Lucas’s face at the sudden appearance of a past connection.
Hyunwoo wore a serious expression.
“All those who have mastered Po Dienda Swordsmanship are brothers.”
“…Brothers?”
“Yes. Brothers. I already considered you a brother.”
At Hyunwoo’s unexpected answer, Lucas wore a dazed expression.
‘I think I managed to gloss over it well.’
Leaving Lucas, who was standing still lost in thought, behind, Hyunwoo left the inner castle first.
Hyunwoo, who ca out of the inner castle, wore a refreshed expression.
The treatnt potion that would solve Lucas’s mana issue was a decent item.
But, what was really important was sothing else.
‘Abyssal Ether.’
The crystal orb Bation had promised was not a simple decoration, but an artifact containing hellfire.
‘Now I can engrave an attribute onto Cheonbyeondo.’
The final piece of the puzzle for the Anesta hunt.
Even the artifact for bestowing an attribute on Cheonbyeondo had been resolved.
Hyunwoo headed straight for the barracks.
On the way, he looked at the still-busily moving Sylvester soldiers.
Their numbers had dwindled due to accumulated damage.
The only fortunate thing was that their morale hadn't dropped yet.
‘Except for the slave gladiators, that is.’
At the very least, if they were residents of the Demon World living on its land, they were the type who would rather fight and die than be ridiculed for losing their land to sothing like the Lafre.
But, that too wouldn't last much longer.
‘It won’t end like this.’
They were holding on well for now, but that too was only for a short ti.
There was no end to the procession of Lafre that sward in every day.
The only solution was to catch Anesta.
‘It seems Lord Bation is also aware of this.’
Thanks to that, I was able to obtain what I wanted smoothly.
Returning to the barracks, Hyunwoo quietly closed his eyes and recalled the Anesta hunting thod in his mind.
As he was ditating like that for a while, a soldier ca to visit not long after.
“This is an item bestowed by the lord.”
The soldier placed a small box at Hyunwoo’s feet and turned back.
I had said it would be good if he could give it as soon as possible….
It seed he had ordered it to be prepared as soon as Hyunwoo left.
“He must be in a hurry.”
Hyunwoo, clicking his tongue briefly, opened the small box placed at his feet.
Inside the box was a crystal orb with a faint black glow and a potion bottle containing a white liquid.
Hyunwoo first placed the crystal orb in his hand and examined it.
‘Looking at it like this, it’s really deceptive, isn’t it?’
Anyone would see it as just an ordinary decorative light.
However, the crystal orb in Hyunwoo’s hand was not just a common decoration.
No.
‘To be precise, it becos a very special item when the conditions are t.’
The black fla contained within the crystal orb.
Hyunwoo stared at the black fla and recalled its identity.
⌜Abyssal Ether
A black fla slumbering in the depths of the Ragnarok volcanic region of the Demon World. Once ignited, the black fla will never be extinguished before the target's life force runs dry.⌟
According to the description, it seed like an attribute that could be considered the strongest in the Demon World, but it wasn't quite at that level.
‘Well, it’s not a fla that truly never goes out.’
The black fla of the Abyssal Ether could be subdued with mana.
Conversely, this ant that there was nothing more effective against an opponent who couldn't use mana.
Hyunwoo put the black crystal orb in his pocket and picked up the white potion.
‘Tear of Iksolun.’
The white liquid in the bottle was giving off a faint light, so it seed to be of the highest quality.
Drinking this had the effect of smoothing the circulation of mana in the body.
‘With this, it should be possible to restore about 30% of Lucas’s sealed mana…’
Hyunwoo packed the crystal orb containing the Abyssal Ether and the Tear of Iksolun and ca out of the barracks.
First, he headed to Lucas's barracks.
“Lucas.”
There was no answer.
When I peeked under the tent, he wasn't inside.
It seed he hadn't returned yet.
Surveying the neatly organized interior, I cautiously entered the barracks.
I waited for a mont, but he showed no signs of returning.
I didn't have ti to just wait.
Hyunwoo placed the Tear of Iksolun at the head of his sleeping bag and ca out of the tent.
Pause―
Then, as if an idea struck him, he turned back, took out a piece of paper, and wrote sothing.
Hyunwoo left the note he had just written next to the sleeping bag and ca out again.
‘This should be fine, right? And now, what I need to do is….’
A single, short phrase was written on the note.
―To my brother.
It was cringy, but if I was going to do it, making a proper show of it was better for the future.
Hyunwoo moved his feet toward the village inside the castle.
* * *
Near the castle walls, everyone was bustling about.
Following Lord Bation’s order, I, who belonged to the subjugation team, seed to be the only one idle here.
Hyunwoo quietly followed the path towards the village inside the castle.
Unlike the busy area near the castle walls, the atmosphere of the village was quiet.
No signs of people could be felt from the buildings lined up along the street.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Generally speaking, residents of the Demon World, whether children or the elderly, were basically capable of combat.
This was an ergency situation where the survival of the entire Sylvester region was at stake.
It was not strange for everyone, n and won, young and old, to be conscripted in such a situation.
Anyway, thanks to that, my original plan to move secretly was overturned.
Hyunwoo went to the stream with flowing water that he had seen before.
Hyunwoo, who strode up to the small stream, squatted down in front of the trickling water.
Then he turned his head left and right and looked around.
After confirming that no one was there, he took out the crystal orb.
The black fla flickered.
It looked as if it were struggling to get out.
He held the crystal orb in his hand and put it into the stream.
Then he applied strong pressure.
Crack―
Hyunwoo quickly pulled his hand away and watched quietly.
It was an ordinary decorative light that felt no aura or mana, but the mont the conditions were t, its value changed.
The black fla that had been burning inside the broken crystal orb flowed out onto the water.
Fwoosh―!
The blue stream was instantly engulfed in black flas.
A persistent ember that would not be extinguished.
The Abyssal Ether had revealed its true form.
A normal fire wouldn't be able to burn on water, but the black fla burned relentlessly even on the water.
Fwoosh―!
Hyunwoo, worried soone might see, quickly put Cheonbyeondo into the burning stream.
Sizzle―
When the blade of Cheonbyeondo entered the water, a sound like at cooking was heard.
Fwoosh―
The giant, soaring embers slowly died down, and Cheonbyeondo began to be dyed black.
⌜Cheonbyeondo―1st Awakening
1st Awakening Ability: Attribute Endownt
Attribute Slot 1: Abyssal Ether⌟
‘Done.’
An attribute was placed in the one available slot.
Hyunwoo picked up the blackened Cheonbyeondo and smiled in satisfaction.
This fla would be able to deal a great blow to Anesta.
Hyunwoo held the Cheonbyeondo, now engraved with the Abyssal Ether attribute, and took a deep breath.
‘This is going to hurt like hell, isn't it…?’
Cheonbyeondo seed like a legendary broken item that could possess various attributes, but its drawback was also clear.
When an attribute is infused, it eats away at the user's vitality.
Here, ‘vitality’ didn't an getting tired when used.
To put it simply in ga terms, it ant that HP (Health Points) decreased.
In other words, it was obvious that physical pain would accompany the infusion of an attribute.
‘I do have Pain Tolerance, but… will it work?’
After hesitating, Hyunwoo decided to test it out.
The thod of bestowing an attribute on Cheonbyeondo was similar to the thod of changing the blade.
To concentrate, recalling a clear image in my mind.
When Hyunwoo stared at Cheonbyeondo for a mont, a black fla erupted from the sword.
Fwoosh―!
At the sa ti,
“Kuaaaargh―!”
Hyunwoo felt a pain seeping through his entire body.
A terrible sensation of pain, as if a bug was gnawing at the inside of his body.
Hyunwoo, his face contorted, gritted his teeth and swung Cheonbyeondo.
Swoosh―! Shwick―!
He endured it a few more tis and swung the sword, but he couldn't hold on any longer.
Hyunwoo eventually dropped Cheonbyeondo to the ground and gasped for breath.
Hoo―
‘…This is no joke, really.’
I could use it because I had Pain Tolerance, but it was a level of pain where one wouldn't even think of swinging the sword under normal circumstances.
In any case, although it was a short ti, I had confird that I could use Cheonbyeondo wreathed in black flas.
‘After this is over, I'll have to find a way to increase my vitality more. As it is….’
Hyunwoo shook his head from side to side, recalling the pain from a mont ago. He sheathed Cheonbyeondo and moved away from the stream.
When I arrived at the barracks near the castle walls, a light was on in Lucas’s barracks.
‘Looks like he’s back.’
Hyunwoo abandoned the thought of returning to his own barracks imdiately and headed for Lucas's barracks.
Hyunwoo opened the barracks door right away.
The roughly fastened tent flapped in Hyunwoo’s hand.
Inside, Lucas was ditating with his eyes closed.
A swirling vortex of mana flowed nobly around him, enveloping him.
It seed he was drinking the ‘Tear of Iksolun’ and healing his body.
At that sight, Hyunwoo grinned―.
‘Now I’ve secured a decent magician too.’
Hyunwoo nodded his head, looking at the blood-red mana spreading faintly around him.
A mont later.
Lucas opened his eyes.
His gaze was shining brilliantly.
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