IBMATG 22

Chapter 22

The one with the highest Raid Points—me—was given the privilege of choosing my reward first.

And what I would take had been decided from the very beginning.

‘The Avenger’s Kitchen Knife.’

{You have obtained the Unique Dagger <Avenger’s Kitchen Knife>.}

It was the weapon the boss had used as the medium for his projected armament.

A Unique Weapon was, as the name implied, truly one of a kind in the world.

Not only was its base performance powerful enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about replacing it for a long time, but it also came with a special option:

“When you or an ally are hit, your physical and magical attack power increases.”

An option that was practically always active.

Such a powerful weapon, yet—

{Would you like to bind <Avenger’s Kitchen Knife> to your soul?}

‘No.’

I decided to just hold onto it.

Because this was something to sell.

It took 11.5 billion won to buy the diamonds needed to become the final bidder at the Diamond Auction.

Just this one weapon would easily make back that entire sum, and then some.

From the start, my goal in joining this raid was money.

‘Besides, it’s a dagger. It doesn’t even match my main weapon.’

Truthfully, I had obtained something far better than this Avenger’s Kitchen Knife, and so I didn’t even care about it anymore.

{Trait is being adjusted to suit the user.}

{Trait <Dragon Heart> has fused with <Demonic Dragon Sorcery> to attain complete power.}

{<Demonic Dragon Sorcery> has evolved into <Demonic Dragon’s Blood>.}

It was the new trait I had gained after defeating the Orc Awakener.

───

<Demonic Dragon’s Blood>

• (Always Active) The blood of a dragon flows through your veins. All stats are increased by the value of your maximum mana. (Mana circulation recalculation does not apply)

───

‘This… leaves me speechless.’

The once activation-based trait Demonic Dragon Sorcery had changed into a passive trait.

And it no longer scaled off current mana but maximum mana.

In other words, no matter how much mana I spent during combat, my stats would never drop.

This meant I could now use my Authority freely.

The Orb of Hellfire, which I had barely been able to use once per battle by relying on potions, I could now spam at will.

The same went for all the new Authorities I had acquired.

And the mana I burned could simply be replenished mid-battle with Mana Breathing whenever the chance arose.

This opened the possibility of freely using every Authority I’d gain from now on.

And then another idea hit me.

‘Wait a second. That means there’s no reason to keep other stats anymore, right?’

Currently, I had 34 Willpower and the other four stats at 10 each.

Those 10 points in each stat were merely to keep my body functional in the absence of Demonic Dragon Sorcery.

But now, that trait could never be deactivated.

It had transformed into the always-active Demonic Dragon’s Blood.

There was no longer any need to maintain those baseline stats.

So I immediately began reallocating my stats.

{Consuming Diamonds to redistribute stats.}

I still had 700,000 Diamonds left, so spending 1,000 Diamonds per stat redistribution was nothing.

───

HP: 1386 / 1386
Mana: 461 / 461

Strength: 1 (+461)
Vitality: 1 (+461)
Reflexes: 1 (+461)
Focus: 1 (+461)
Willpower: 70 (+5)(+461)

───

I funneled every single stat into Willpower.

If I hadn’t had the Demonic Dragon’s Blood trait, I would have collapsed into a helpless cripple instantly.

But the opposite was true now.

From absorbing Sigurd’s soul and stacking Talisman bonuses, I had 75 Willpower, multiplied by 6.

Add the extra mana I had steadily accumulated with the Mana Heart trait—11 in total—and I now had 461 mana.

And that value directly translated into every single stat.

Compared to the 191 mana I’d had just before, I had grown almost 2.5 times stronger.

And all of it in a form that carried no risk of regression.

At this point, I had obtained a level of power none of the other Awakeners here could dream of touching.

“Mr. Yoo Shinwoo.”

Just then, familiar faces approached me.

“I’d like to continue our earlier conversation, if you don’t mind.”

It was NL.

Contrary to my expectations, NL hadn’t caused any trouble.

On the contrary, they had actively cooperated with others during the raid boss battle.

‘So, they’ve done the math too, huh.’

Seeing that both of their legendary Awakeners were present, it was clear they had committed their full first-string force.

If they failed to kill the raid boss in this situation, they wouldn’t be eligible for final rewards either.

So they had obediently joined the boss fight—for now.

Of course, once that was over, betrayal was inevitable.

“I just don’t understand,” Volkov said, frowning deeply.

“Why refuse my proposal? Belonging to a company like ours would obviously be beneficial for you.”

“Whether it benefits me or not is for me to decide. Not you.”

“Well, do you think we’re the only group with this idea? Others may think that if you won’t join them, it’s better to eliminate you before you become a threat.”

He began lecturing me at length.

“People like you—sharp and standing out like an awl—are destined to belong somewhere eventually. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to choose us?”

To me, it all sounded like complete nonsense.

“Are you stupid? Then I’d join someplace much better. Why would someone like me join a trash corporation like yours?”

“…What did you just say?”

“You try to shackle me with a quest contract right out of the gate, and you think I’d like that? If you want me, then treat me properly.”

“We can provide plenty of compensation…”

I pointed a finger between my legs.

“Then crawl.”

“…What?”

“Crawl under my legs. If you want to recruit someone of my caliber, you’d better show that much loyalty.”

For the first time, Volkov’s poker face cracked, his cheeks flushing red. His subordinates also looked flustered.

“…Are you mocking me?”

“Why? You said you wanted me to join you. If you do that, I’ll actually go to your company.”

“You’ve crossed the line.”

“Don’t like it?”

I nailed it shut.

“Then shut your mouth and get lost.”

“…”

A tense silence hung for several seconds.

Clearly, they hadn’t expected me to respond this boldly.

Volkov bit his lip.

“…I was trying to treat you with respect.”

‘That’s what you call respect?’

Apparently, he didn’t even understand the meaning of his own words.

A proper scout meant presenting terms, and if they didn’t match, parting ways cleanly.

I was about to say that when—

Shing.

Before I could, he had already drawn his sword.

“Try running. Even if you escape, we’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth. Not that you’ll be leaving here in the first place.”

Shing. Shing.

The other Awakeners around us also began drawing their weapons.

“B-Brother…?”

“What’s going on?!”

Sensing the strange mood, Lee Jinyoon drew his shield and Choi Yoona her pistol.

But I stopped them.

“You two stay out of it.”

“What?”

“Yoona, use stealth and hide. Jinyoon, bunker down inside your shield. That’s all you need to do.”

“But, Brother…”

“If you do that, it’ll all be over soon.”

I spoke in Korean, but Volkov seemed to think I was giving them battle orders. He gave his men commands in Russian.

I watched him calmly.

Swish.

He raised his blade at me, first vertically, then turned it horizontal.

Clang!

That was the signal.

Fwoooosh!

The waiting history-ranked Awakeners charged all at once from the front.

Volkov too.

Shwoooosh!

And at the same time, dozens of arrows rained in diagonally from both flanks and behind me.

They had been fired by the legendary archer Awakener standing in the back.

If I stood still, I’d be hit by the frontal charge. If I dodged sideways or back, I’d be riddled with arrows.

A coordinated and precise attack.

But the countermeasure was simple.

I just had to smash through the front.

Bam-bam-bam-bam!

From my hands burst thirty conceptualized fists of energy, striking all the enemies charging toward me.

These blows weren’t mere physical strikes—they were Authority.

Thirty impacts where only two punches should exist, made real by the miracle of a Guardian Spirit.

This was the Gay Bulga Barrage.

Crack! Slam!

“Guh! Cough!”

The only one screaming in pain was Volkov, the legendary Guardian Spirit Awakener.

Because all the history-ranked ones had already been blown to pieces, unable to even scream.

“Cough! Cough! Ghhhk… huhhh…”

Volkov lay in a sticky pool of blood, coughing and gasping.

“H-How…?”

He couldn’t even speak properly with the blood bubbling up his throat.

“Just a moment ago… in the boss fight… you weren’t this strong…”

“You’re right.”

Until a little while ago, I wouldn’t have been able to take them all at once.

“But I just got stronger.”

The trait I gained after defeating the boss.

Demonic Dragon Sorcery fused with Dragon Heart, becoming Demonic Dragon’s Blood—making me like this in the blink of an eye.

“Impossible…”

Crunch!

I stomped down on his head, crushing it.

“One down.”

I immediately lifted my head to the distance.

My next target: the legendary Awakener archer who had been firing from the back.

“…Already gone, huh.”

But he wasn’t there.

Smart enough to realize instantly that he couldn’t win, he had bolted.

{Your eyes react to a Guardian Spirit that has lost its vessel.}

In the end, I had to settle for just one more legendary Guardian Spirit.

Whoooosh!

A supersonic fighter jet ripped through the clear Syrian skies.

At tens of thousands of feet altitude, its passage left behind a roaring boom.

And from there, a figure dropped.

Boom!

No parachute, no wingsuit—falling like a missile in perfect attention posture—

Tap.

He landed lightly on the dirt plain without a sound.

“I’ve arrived.”

A tall man with long hair, wearing a coat and a white mask.

Twin short swords hung at his waist.

He was the strongest Awakener of mankind—the Sword Emperor.

–Good. Glad you made it safely. You didn’t twist an ankle, did you?

A woman’s mocking voice came from his earpiece.

“Why are you in such a foul mood again?”

–Because you keep doing ridiculous things.

“What’s so ridiculous about this?”

–Did you really have to go there yourself? Anyone at the branch could’ve wiped them out.

“Still, isn’t it safer if I move personally? These people are humanity’s future, after all.”

–Oh, sure, right. Our dear Sword Emperor, full of love for mankind. Gotta protect the future with your own two hands.

“Exactly. That’s why I came here.”

–Ugh.

The woman sighed in exasperation.

“So please grant approval.”

–For what?

“Authorization to use the Aether Blade.”

–You want to use that?

“To handle this cleanly. If we leave remnants, there’ll only be complaints and more trouble later.”

–Fine, do what you want. Use it.

“Thank you.”

–But make damn sure there are no complaints left. Don’t let a single terrorist live. Got it?

“Of course.”

The Sword Emperor had come here for one reason: to eradicate the terrorists.

The reason they had remained quiet while crowds gathered at the raid site was simple—

They planned to ambush the Awakeners after the raid, when they would be laden with rewards.

The Sword Emperor had discovered this plot and moved personally to protect the novice Awakeners from their grasp.

Clack.

He raised his hand toward the sky.

And activated his Authority.

‘Weapon Projection.’

Rumble…

A strange roar echoed across Syrian airspace.

It was a daytime meteor streaking down.

From orbit, a Unique greatsword—the Aether Blade—was descending.

Whoooosh.

As it plummeted with terrifying speed, it suddenly froze in midair, as though defying physics.

‘A sword that answers the will, Fragarach.’

The Sword Emperor had projected his own armament onto the Aether Blade.

The treasure of the mythical Guardian Spirit, Manannán mac Lir, had descended to this world.