Chapter 273.

Crack—

Toji tightened his arm around Fenrir . A pressure rivaling an earthquake crushed Fenrir’s back, and Toji threw Fenrir aside . Fenrir rolled backward until he struck the wall of a building .

“…I, stronger . ”

Toji smiled and murmured contently .

He set his focus back to his original goal, the annihilation of the royal family .

—Grrrr .

But a growl of a different animal stopped him .

Toji slowly turned around .

This time, a house-sized tiger was blocking his way .

“This, zoo…?”

It was then that Toji realized he was surrounded .

The tiger wasn’t the only large beast left . A strange bird and horse appeared in the sky above, and he could feel odd presences underground . Even with his dull senses, Toji knew that he wasn’t in a favorable situation .

Ssss… .

Fenrir then stood up .

Although his bones were crushed and his organs destroyed, the regenerative ability he gained from devouring a troll had quickly healed all his injuries .

“…What . ”

Toji’s confusion only increased as time went on .

Guoooo…

Suddenly, an unknown undulation of magic power erupted .

The magic power served as a medium for a summoning spell, calling a mystical beast to England .

“Turtle . ”

Toji mumbled as he saw the beast that was just summoned . The Black Turtle of the Four Cardinal Guardians reveals itself once again .

Standing on its back was the Black Turtle’s summoner, the 8-star magician, Ah Hae-In .

Ah Hae-In looked down at Toji from the turtle’s shell .

“You’re a new one, aren’t you?” Ah Hae-In spoke .

Toji looked back and forth between the turtle and the kid standing above it . As he slowly thought about the situation he was in, the beasts surrounding him quickly moved .

—Kuooo!

—Grrrowr!

A tiger and a wolf shot towards Toji and restrained his limbs . From the sky, flying birds sent blasts of magic power towards him .

“…Hehe . ”

However, Toji didn’t feel any pain . He changed his body into sand and mitigated the damage from the attack entirely .

“No pain, no pain… huh?”

But Toji soon realized that his magic power was being absorbed . His eyes widened as he looked up to find what was sucking away his magic power .

Six female ghosts floating around the Black Turtle were absorbing Toji’s magic power .

Ah Hae-In grinned .

“They’re succubi . Absorbing magic power is their specialty . ”

“…N-No stealing—!”

Toji swung his arm . His arm turned into a whip that shot towards the succubi .

The Black Turtle quickly formed a barrier . Among the Four Cardinal Guardians, the Black Turtle specialized in defense .

Clang—!

Toji’s attack couldn’t pierce the Black Turtle’s [Carapace] . In fact, Ah Hae-In had never experienced the Black Turtle’s Carapace being broken through .

Clang—! Clang—!

Even so, Toji continued to attack . To Ah Hae-In’s surprise, cracks began to appear on the Black Turtle’s Carapace .

“…Hm, you’re quite an amazing fellow . ”

But Ah Hae-In still didn’t feel threatened by it . Although she acknowledged Toji’s strength and tenacity, she knew his magic power was being drained even at this moment .

Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!

As Toji endlessly attacked the Black Turtle, he felt he was getting sleepy . His instincts told him to retreat, and to him, retreating was easy . He just had to turn his body into sand and scatter . As such, Toji tried to transmit his will to the earth .

However, a cage of magic power suddenly appeared around him, trapping him . He found that he couldn’t transmit his will outside the cage for some reason .

“…What?”

Toji was taken aback . Although he had no way of knowing, this wasn’t the act of a magic spell but a ‘change’ of reality .

Kwang—!

Toji slammed his fist against the cage, but the cage remained unhurt .

“What is, this?”

Kwang—! Kwang—!

The cage didn’t budge no matter how many times he hit it . But strangely, attacks from outside the cage could enter it . The succubi continued to drain his magic power .

Kwang—! Kwang—! Kwang—!

“That won’t do any good, idiot . ”

As Toji began to crazily pound against the cage, a sharp voice rang out .

A woman appeared in the air . Naturally, it was Jin Sahyuk .

“…?”

Toji stopped and stared at the woman .

“You won’t be able to escape . ”

Jin Sahyuk said .

The blue cage was created using her Reality Manipulation . As the inside of the cage was isolated from reality, death was the only thing that awaited Toji .

“…Really? …Huaaam . ”

However, Toji yawned calmly . Perhaps because his magic power was being absorbed, his drowsiness became worse . When a golem became sleepy, that usually meant its end .

Toji began to doze off until he finally fell asleep .

“…He’s sleeping?”

Jin Sahyuk murmured dumbfoundedly .

“Wow… You’ve gotten strong, Knight Shin Jahyuk . ”

Rachel appeared and praised Jin Sahyuk .

“Well… it’s nothing . ”

Jin Sahyuk had visited Rachel to resign as the Crevon Royal Family’s Knight Commander . It was then that Toji attacked, so she had joined the battle to alleviate her boredom .

“I was recently enlightened . ”

After experiencing the recorded past of Akatrina, Jin Sahyuk became able to use her Authority of Reality Manipulation more easily .

Ah Hae-In approached Jin Sahyuk on the Black Turtle .

“So, Shin Jahyuk, how do you plan on dealing with that monster?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I can just kill him, right?”

As Ah Hae-In and Jin Sahyuk had worked together before in Crevon, they were fairly close .

Ah Hae-In shook her head .

“No, he probably won’t die . ”

“…What do you mean?”

Jin Sahyuk tilted her head and shot a spear towards the sleeping golem .

However, her spear couldn’t damage the curled up Toji’s body in the slightest .

“The heck?”

Jin Sahyuk frowned . Ah Hae-In crossed her arms and murmured seriously .

“Black Turtle has the ability to appraise the strength of ores…”

According to the Black Turtle, the strength of Toji’s body was 9 . 9 out of 10 .

“…We can trap him, but it will be impossible to destroy him . ”

9 . 9 was a value that something which ‘existed in reality’ could never destroy .

“It seems Orden created some absurd monsters . ”

**

[India, Himalayan Mountain Range]

I arrived at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains to meet the member of the Nine Stars, Heynckes . The travel wasn’t tiring since I just came here with Spartan’s Teleportation Authority .

“…Mm . ”

I stared at Heynckes’ inn . It was hanging on a cliff and seemed as if it would fall by even the slightest wind . I looked at the sign that read ‘Himalayan Daybreak’, then mustered up the courage to open the door .

Kiiik—

A creaking noise rang out, and the man behind the counter listening to the radio looked up at me .

Long white hair that was tied down, handsome facial features, and a scar around his left eye .

Just as I described him in my novel, the adjective ‘aged-well’ perfectly suited Heynckes .

“Is it you?”

Heynckes spoke before I could even enter the inn . As it wasn’t what I expected to hear as a greeting, I had to stop and think about what he meant .

But seeing that I was confused, Heynckes frowned .

“Are you the man who murdered by precious disciple’s brother?”

“…Precious disciple?”

I was dumbfounded at first .

By disciple, he had to be talking about Chae Nayun . But not only was Heynckes unrelated to Chae Nayun in the original novel, but he also shouldn’t have spent that much time with her in this world .

“How long are you going to stand there? Come in, don’t be a wuss . ”

“…Wuss?”

If anything, Chae Nayun seemed to have influenced the way he talked .

“What, you don’t want to?”

“…No . ”

I walked into the inn . Thinking about it now, it was obvious that Heynckes would recognize me . As his title ‘Lord of Steel’ implied, Heynckes’ tools all had intelligence rivaling human beings, and they shared a ‘hive mind’ as well .

“If you know me, talking should be easier . ”

I sat down next to Heynckes and went straight to the point .

“I came to ask for your help . ”

Coincidentally, the radio was reporting on the reason I came here .

—Orden’s elite humanoid monsters have invaded several countries . A tiger monster by the name ‘Tigris’ attacked Shanghai, a ‘zombie apocalypse’ is being reported in Paris, and—

Heynckes turned off the radio and looked down at me . His tall height and tower-like stature made him more than a little intimidating .

“…Making such an absurd request on our first meeting . You’re just like my disciple in that regard . ”

Tk .

Heynckes took out a wooden cup and poured some vodka into it .

“I said the same thing to my disciple . My body isn’t in a state to fight anyone . ”

“If the Nine Stars won’t fight, then who—”

“The Nine Stars were the Nine Stars 50 years ago, kid . ”

Heynckes cut me off and handed me the vodka .

I looked back and forth between the cup and Heynckes, then chugged the vodka in one go . It felt like a small fire was lit inside me .

“Kuhum… If you’re worried about the side-effect, I can help you with it . ”

The side-effect of Heynckes’ ability was ‘Steel Transformation’ .

As the Lord of Steel, Heynckes transformed his body into steel . To be precise, he turned his internal organs, spine, and left eye into ‘steel possessing his will’ . However, at one point Heynckes’ Authority didn’t stop there and rampaged .

To him, time became a one-way road to complete steelification of his body . As time went by, more and more parts of his body turned into steel, including his brain and blood . He was destined to become a chunk of steel and die .

However, I had herbs that could only be found within the Tower of Wish . By mixing them and using the power of my Setting Intervention, I should be able to create medicine to undo this side-effect .

“I know how to heal the side-effects you’re suffering from . ”

The Nine Stars hated having the side-effects of their powers mentioned . So I was risking my life to be here .

“… . ”

Heynckes looked at me quietly . His left eye turned grey before I realized . His Steel Eye experienced the world in one-millionth of normal speed, and it was specialized for detecting truth .

Heynckes glared at me and spoke .

“Es ist wahr . ”

It was German, but I translated it using the laptop in my head .

He was asking if it was true .

“Yes, it is . ”

When I answered, Heynckes’ eyebrows twitched .

I stood nervously, but what he said afterward caught me by surprise .

“You learned German?”

“…Pardon?”

“I asked if you learned German . ”

“Ah… yes, a little . ”

At that moment, Heynckes’ left eye returned to normal color . He was noticeably less cautious than before .

He smiled gently .

“Why would you learn such a thing? It’s not the 1980s anymore . ”

“Huh? Oh, um… . ”

This world was different than the world I came from . It was easy to see since Korea was the world’s sole superpower here .

Since Korean was the world’s shared language, there weren’t many interpreters or translators . And since most academic papers and official documents were written in Korean, Koreans had no reason to learn foreign languages .

“…I learned it since I know you are German . ”

“Mm, is that so? You’ve got manners . How much have you learned?”

“I should be able to communicate normally . ”

“Oh, wirklich?”

Hyenckes laughed heartily . I didn’t remember giving him such a setting, but he was a bigger patriot than I thought .

“Well, that’s another story . ”

Heynckes put on a serious expression once again .

“Unfortunately, I have no intention of curing my side-effect . ”

“…Huh?”

I was taken aback . Heynckes’ side-effect should have been one of the worst among the Nine Stars, but he didn’t want to reverse it?

Heynckes continued, “When I was young, I was afraid of dying . That’s why I escaped to this place . But it’s different now . If someone my age is afraid of death, then he hasn’t matured enough . ”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really . But there is one thing I want from you . ”

Thankfully it seemed there was something I could do .

I quickly nodded, and Heynckes spoke with a mischievous smile .

“Settle things with my disciple . ”

Silence descended . I replied exactly three seconds afterward .

“…Hah?”

“It doesn’t matter how . Just settle things with her . ”

An innocent smile emerged on Heynckes’ face .

“…You mean, with Chae Nayun?”

“That’s right . ”

It wasn’t an offer I could accept so easily .

I didn’t know what Heynckes knew, but my relationship with Chae Nayun wasn’t something that could be fixed in a few sentences .

“…Um, that’s not something that can be solved that easily—”

“My disciple and I both know everything about you . Chae Nayun knows the truth behind Chae Jinyoon’s death, like why you killed Chae Jinyoon and what state he was in . ”

“…I know that too . ”

I’d heard about it from Yoo Yeonha .

“Then that’s an even bigger problem . Why are you hesitating? What a wuss . ”

Heynckes crossed his arms like he was looking at a fool .

“… . ”

If Chae Nayun were here, I felt like she would have said this, ‘That’s none of your business, old man . ’

But I wasn’t Chae Nayun . After thinking about what he said for a moment, I stealthily checked his potential .

[Heynckes]

[9 . 75/9 . 6]

9 . 75 ability .

9 . 6 potential .

The values didn’t make any sense .

“…Ah . ”

But I understood after a moment .

Heynckes was a special case in that his ability was higher than his potential . His [Steel Transformation] side-effect made him stronger than what his potential allowed . He was someone who grew stronger as he neared death .

“So? What’s your answer?”

“… . ”

I stared at Heynckes silently . With a 9 . 75 ability rating, he was more than capable of contending with Orden . I had no choice but to listen to his request .

“I will . ”

Heynckes immediately put on a big smile . He nodded contently, then suddenly took out a dagger .

“Then feed this dagger your blood and make a vow . ”

“…A vow?”

“This dagger contains my ‘Will of Covenant’ . If you don’t keep the vow you make, this dagger will pierce your heart . ”

“… . ”

I glanced at the dagger .

===

[Covenant Dagger] [Product of an Authority] [Steel-attribute]

—A dagger containing the will of Heynckes’ Steel Spirit .

「Covenant」

—Upon feeding this dagger blood and making a vow, the vow must be kept .

—If the vow is not fulfilled, this dagger will pierce the heart of the one who failed to keep the vow .

—The person whose heart is pierced by this dagger will die .

===

The item description put a strong emphasis on the absoluteness of the dagger’s ability . It showed a little bit of Heynckes’ true ability, as Shin Myungchul was the only one to have ever defeated him .

“I’m being generous . From what I heard from my disciple, I think of you as a man among men . ”

Heynckes handed me the dagger .

“If you make this vow, I, Heynckes, will do the same . That I will kill this Orden you speak of . ”

“… . ”

I hesitated slightly, but the answer was obvious .

It was a cheap price to make a member of the Nine Stars my ally . Plus, I had to meet with Chae Nayun eventually .

“…Fine . I’ll accept it . ”

I mustered up my courage and nodded .

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