Chapter 146 : Evolving Armor

“This is the royal castle.”

“…….”

“It might seem like we can just fly right in, but the royal castle has an aerial protective barrier, so we need to send a signal and get permission before landing.”

“…….”

“Just. Like. This!”

Kyle Dragon grandly swung his Dragon Sword, drawing a golden ray of light in the sky.

A moment later, I could sense something transparent that had been enveloping the royal castle being lifted.

“Look. Isn’t it magnificent? It makes no sense that such an incident occurred when Ironheart’s defenses are this thorough…….”

He turned around, flicking the white mustache that had now become his trademark.

But all that was there was Muno, looking away sullenly with a disgruntled expression.

“……Hmph, for a man, you’re so narrow-minded. Just because I roughed you up a bit.”

At those words, Muno, who had been protesting in silence, finally exploded.

“A bit? You call that a bit!? In four days, every bone in my body was broken over a hundred times!? That’s torture, not training! You crazy old geezer……!”

After venting his anger, he belatedly noticed the old knight’s expression gradually contorting.

And the fact that his opponent was a psychopath who wouldn’t hesitate to throw someone out, regardless of the altitude.

…It came to mind a little too late.

“……I mean, one might get stressed enough to shout like that, wouldn’t they? Ha. Ha. Of course, that’s not to say it’s necessarily the case.”

I tried to hastily recover, but the crazy old geezer’s expression didn’t soften.

“……Thanks to you, my bones and muscles have become perfectly strong. I also realized the homework I need to solve. Haha, it’s all thanks to you, old man…….”

Oops.

My tongue, moving on its own again, had made a mistake.

And the Asura before me did not miss that mistake.

“Old~man? To think I went through all that trouble to make a man out of a daredevil like this. Ha, seriously…….”

The surging killing intent came right up to my nose, and a cold sweat broke out on its own.

Gulp.

“……That, it was a word of respect for my elder. Yes, Your Excellency. Of course. I’m not that ill-mannered. Really. Yes. Hehe.”

Who would spit on a smiling face?

I mobilized all my facial muscles to create a forced smile.

The Duke, too, looked at me and showed a twisted smile.

“Hmph, is that so?”

Thump.

What on earth is this crazy old geezer thinking right now?

My heart began to tremble.

“I see the welcoming crowd over there. You know the palace training ground, right?”

“O-Of course! Wow, so many people have come. Could that be His Majesty the King? Wooow! What an honor!”

My own words made my face flush.

…The struggle for survival is inherently this pathetic.

I spouted nonsensical gibberish, trying my best to change the atmosphere.

Paaaaaang.

The wyvern suddenly stopped lowering its altitude and began to soar back into the sky.

“Woooah! As expected of Castaria! Such a smooth ride even during this steep ascent……!”

It was strange, but unwavering flattery spewed from my tongue that moved on its own.

However.

When the wyvern began to circle at a height where the massive royal castle looked like a small house, my anxiety couldn’t help but grow.

And as expected.

“Commence. Drop.”

An absurd order was given.

“……Pardon?”

“Jump.”

I glanced down, and a cold sweat broke out on its own.

This was impossible.

“Ah, ha, haha! Y-You must be joking! I’ll die.”

“…….”

“Excuse me, Your Excel……lency?”

“…….”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Want me to throw you?”

At that moment, unable to overcome the anger welling up in his chest, Muno exploded again.

‘Aish. To hell with this, I won’t do it!’

No, I can’t do it!

“Hey! You really are a narrow-minded old man! Getting all pissy just because I said a few harsh words! You have to say something that makes sense……!”

The result.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

I was thrown.

“C-Crazy!!!”

In the face of a Seven-Star’s movement that allowed no reaction, all Muno could do was scream as he fell.

No, there was one more thing.

“Haap!”

Chwa-rururuk.

I tried to wrap the wyvern’s body with the chains I had reflexively drawn out.

“Hmph!”

Chae. Chaeng!

Tadang!

This old geezer deflected them all with his Dragon Sword.

His face, snorting and smirking, looked so utterly wicked.

“You crazy old man! I’m really going to die!!!”

Whoooooooosh!

I felt like I would go crazy from urgency, but all I could hear was the sound of the wind.

The wyvern, already receding into the distance, showed no sign of coming to the rescue.

In that moment, my head spun like lightning.

‘I’ll die like this. I’ll really die. I need a way…….’

When I turned my body towards the ground, I saw the royal training ground, filled with all sorts of people.

In the middle of it, a spot that seemed to have been cleared as a wide space for the wyvern Castaria to land caught my eye.

There was only one way.

“Daaaaamn iiiit!”

Pabababak.

By flailing my arms and legs forcefully, it seemed I could roughly aim for the drop point.

Paaaaaaaaang.

Listening to the increasingly murderous sound of the wind in my ears, Muno took a deep breath.

And then.

“Some. One. Catch. Me!!!!!!!”

I hoped this scream would somehow reach the humans below.

And while I was at it, I hoped there were many Spirit Masters among them.

“Save. Me!!!!”

I let out a desperate and pathetic voice, letting my chains hang down.

If I could mitigate the impact with this as much as possible, wouldn’t I be able to survive somehow?

Clinging to that slim hope, I looked at the approaching ground.

And by a stroke of great luck.

Whoosh.

A wind blew from somewhere, supporting my body.

And when I saw a rather fluffy-looking mound of dirt shoot up from the drop point, I could manage a smile of relief.

‘Th-Thank goodness.’

However.

“Huh……?”

Perhaps the wind Spirit Master’s level wasn’t that high, as my speed didn’t decrease as much as I thought.

“Uwaaaaaah! Save me……!”

I tried to mitigate the impact as much as possible by bending the chains I had let hang down first.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

Muno had no choice but to lose consciousness amidst a powerful noise and a dizzying impact.

* * *

Wooooong.

Udududuk.

As a warm ray of light poured down, I could feel my misaligned bones setting themselves right and my torn flesh healing.

“Kngh……”

“Ah, Sir Muno. You’re awake.”

“Wh-Where is this?”

“This is the royal infirmary. A high-ranking priest is always on standby here. Thanks to that, we were able to treat you immediately.”

“Tr-Treatment?”

Listening to the story while feeling the ray of light pouring onto my wounds, the voice sounded somehow familiar.

And as expected, the face that came into my newly focused vision was one I knew.

White hair combed back and a white beard grown down to his chin.

Viscount Trauni Haln, the royal chamberlain and a Spirit Master. He was the one who had guided me to the Royal Treasury.

“Did you… save… me…?”

“Hahaha. Save you? I merely lent a hand. I saw you falling, but you were much heavier than I thought, Sir Muno. Fortunately, we were able to offset some of it with a cushion of the earth, so it ended at this level.”

“Kngh, kngh. How long was I……?”

I tried to force myself up, but another hand stopped me.

“You still need more treatment. Please rest, Sir Muno.”

A gentle voice and a warm touch.

When I turned, I saw a priestess with a benevolent expression wearing white vestments.

“Your injuries were severe. If things had gone wrong, you might not have woken up. I was told to treat you without removing your armor, which was a bit strange, but I’m glad you seem to be okay.”

The woman with a benevolent impression spoke in a warm voice.

But because of its content, the last memory resurfaced vividly, and anger began to well up again.

Grit.

“Crazy old geezer……!”

The moment the curse slipped out of my mouth, I saw the priestess’s expression instantly harden.

“Ah, ah. No. I-I wasn’t talking to you, Priestess. I-I was talking about the person who dropped me…….”

At those words, the priestess’s expression softened a bit.

“Don’t tell me, you were saying such things about Duke Kyle Dragon?”

Seeing Viscount Trauni’s surprised eyes, I had no choice but to clench my teeth and swallow my words.

“Wh-What did the old, no, His Excellency, s-say?”

My voice trembled as I forcibly suppressed my anger.

But the words the viscount relayed were just absurd.

“He said it was the last training. That you would be complete when you woke up. And with that, he left.”

An excuse. A cowardly excuse.

I had already confirmed my ‘homework’ when leaving Erundel, and above all.

– Healing by holy power returns you to a past state, so while you may recover, you cannot see the effects of training.

– What a great blessing it is to have a Corporeal Art that allows recovery through eating.

The man himself had already said those words.

‘And yet he says that so shamelessly.’

But I couldn’t openly curse the great ‘Dragon Sword Duke’ where there were ears to hear.

“Knghhhhh.”

Damn psychopath. Narrow-minded. Crazy old geezer…….

I hope you get struck by lightning on your way.

‘No, would that old man even flinch from a lightning strike?’

I cursed him internally, then recalled reality and could only let out a series of sighs.

Around that time, the white light began to diminish.

“Alright, this should be enough for a rough recovery. The rest, you will have to move yourself, Sir Muno.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Ududuk.

Pain shot through my whole body as I forced myself to get up.

“Ugh……”

“Be careful, Sir Muno. After you test whether you can move properly, let us go see His Highness together.”

“……Yes.”

I answered Viscount Trauni’s words quietly and checked my body.

‘Huh?’

Udududuk.

As I turned my upper body left and right, amidst the sharp pain, I felt something clicking perfectly into place.

It felt like a slightly misaligned cogwheel was being fitted with just a slight adjustment.

It seemed as if my own nerves had finally extended into the armor, which already felt like a part of my body, becoming completely integrated.

I even felt a strange sense of pleasure.

“Ha. Fuck……”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’ve been living a rough life lately, so swearing has become a habit. I apologize.”

“Ah, not at all. It can happen at an age full of vigor. Hoho.”

With Viscount Trauni’s laughter behind me, Muno recalled the old man’s mischievous smile.

‘Don’t tell me he predicted all of this?’

The parts of my body that had been overloaded after three days of harsh training, the fatigue that had subtly accumulated during the super-recovery process, were all blown away by the holy power’s treatment.

And only then did my armor and my original body become perfectly attuned.

Woooong.

‘Still, to do that to a person……. Hah. Anyway, that crazy old man.’

While grinding my teeth internally again, I couldn’t help but recall the conversation from a few days ago.

– Demon Devourer. You must realize for yourself what it means to train to the limit according to that trait. If you’re unlucky, you might have to train your jaw strength.

– What?!

– Aren’t you a Demon ‘Devourer’?

– No, but still…….

– Your stomach already seems strong. Should I stretch your jawbones a bit? And your facial muscles? Hehehe.

Brrrrrr.

Along with those words that still gave me goosebumps just thinking about them.

– More, more, more! Just one more……. That’s it!

Ududuk.

– Ugh!? My bone, my bone is……!

– That’s enough!

– ……??!

A repetition of being pushed to the limit, no, beyond the limit, my whole body breaking and tearing, then recovering by eating again.

It trained my body at a truly outrageous speed, making my laments seem pointless, but I couldn’t break through the wall with just three days of training.

If it were that easy, my father, Ryan Drasen, who had mastered the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony with a similar effect, wouldn’t have remained a 4-Star for over 10 years.

But thanks to that, there was something I learned for sure.

To be precise, it was something the Dragon Sword geezer figured out.

– Strange. Hey, why is your armor getting harder too?

– Hah, fuck. The armor is connected to your body? I’ve seen all sorts of monstrous bastards in my life. Hmm… come to think of it, that does make sense.

– What makes sense? It’d be weird if the body of a guy with such a bizarre trait was similar to a normal Corporeal Arts user, wouldn’t it? Of course, the efficiency is quite good, which is unlucky. Yes. There has to be this level of mystery for that ability to make sense.

– If that armor and chains are the symbols of your trait, then being able to do something with them will be proof that you have trained to your limit. All the strange guys with weird traits I’ve seen so far were like that.

I realized it for sure after finishing the tuning just now.

‘Armor that changes according to my will.’

After completing the fourth evolution and repeatedly training my body, the armor could now change more easily according to my will.

‘To be honest, now that I even have a helmet, I thought there would be no more evolutions related to its form.’

The armor itself was teaching me the answer, that it could take any form.

As if telling me not to define its limits.

Kwadeudeudeuk.

Muno looked at the armor that bent and twisted according to his will, taking on various shapes.

A feat that was definitely impossible until now.

‘This is all I can do for now, but.’

After finishing the tuning, I could feel the armor reacting more and more quickly to my will.

It felt as though the nerves of my body were being more firmly engraved to the very extremities of the armor.

Demon Devourer, and the changing armor.

If so, the end of that evolution is…….

The moment the image I had in my head completely settled.

Viscount Trauni’s eyes shone as he looked at the changing armor.

“Hoh. Indeed, it is an astonishing artifact. Does this mean you’ve fully recovered?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Then let us go see His Highness.”

I now seemed to have a clear idea of the hint for the next stage, for growth.

So now.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

It was time to go receive the reward for all my hardship.

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