Chapter 87: Attack

Woowoong.

The imprinting of the third spell was easy.

Crack.

Flash.

In that moment, I could tell just by feeling that a change had occurred in the 'Blade' slung across my back.

And also what I could do with it.

'A one-shot deal... and it'll probably consume a lot of mana.'

But in the first place, the beginning of my Spirit Arts was this 'Blade'.

'It should be useful as a trump card.'

That alone was as good as my combat power increasing by a level.

On top of that.

Zzzzzzt.

With a sound only I could hear in my head.

A new root that had sprouted from the 'seed' in my heart began to connect not to my legs, but to my fingertips.

Papababak.

A tingling sensation spread throughout my body as I ran, but it was not an unpleasant stimulus, but one close to pleasure.

And soon.

The moment I felt that root fully connect to my fingertips.

Ziiiiing.

The path of mana that had taken root in all four limbs synchronized, and it felt as though all my senses had been amplified several times over.

At the same time, all the metals in my surroundings began to be felt much more clearly than before.

"Hup!?"

The sensation was so unfamiliar that my running feet stumbled for a moment.

"What is it!?"

"Ah, it's nothing!"

But the recovery was quick.

'So this is why...'

The metal detection range had more than doubled, and my control over metal seemed to have increased even more than that.

Moreover, the mana of metal flowing within my body seemed to have become much purer in an instant.

Thump.

The moment I lightly tapped my armor while running, I could tell that the mana was being perfectly transmitted not just to my body, but to the armor as well.

And that was without intentionally flowing mana into it.

'The elasticity and strength have increased significantly.'

And that wasn't even the end of it.

- What changes, you ask? A lot. A whole lot changes.

- Anyway, just experience it for yourself.

- But to give you just one hint, we Spirit Masters are not physically weak like magicians. Ah, of course, we can't be compared to Corporeal Arts users.

Creak.

Power overflowed in my lightly clenched fist.

Pak.

The steps that kicked off the ground became much lighter than before.

It wasn't as much as when I had evolved with Corporeal Arts, but it felt like my physical abilities had increased by at least 30%.

To be precise, my life force had increased by that much.

As the energy that formed the basis of my body had increased dramatically, the body's own athletic ability had also partially improved.

'They said high-ranking Spirit Masters live much longer than ordinary people, so this was the reason.'

And that was a particularly meaningful change for him, a Spirit Knight.

On top of that, the growth he had achieved was not all there was.

Click.

With a single light gesture, the connecting ring of the scabbard worn at the waist of Turen, who was running ahead, broke.

Crunch.

"Ugh!? Damn it!"

Like a 4-Star knight, Turen caught the falling scabbard with incredible speed, but he couldn't help his face flushing red.

"I must have grabbed a defective one in my hurry, damn it."

With just his metal manipulation ability, he could now easily break small metal objects.

- Evolution through Corporeal Arts, unlike magic, does not go against the principles of the world, but spirits cannot easily accept even that.

They feel it's heterogeneous.

- That's why Spirit Knights are so rare.

The higher the level of your Corporeal Arts, the more you'll feel the limits of your Spirit Arts' growth.

- If you overcome that problem, you'll become a truly legendary Spirit Knight that's only passed down in stories.

Rasmia's advice came to mind, but right now, there was no sign of Corporeal Arts and Spirit Arts colliding.

'Perhaps...'

Did the legendary Spirit Knights recorded in history also have a unique ability specialized in a specific element like me?

"Don't look at me like that. I know it's embarrassing."

"Ah, it's not that..."

"Hmph."

I felt sorry for Turen, but right now, I didn't have the luxury to explain the situation and apologize.

"I will report to His Majesty that Sir Turen cooperated so actively in the subjugation."

"...Please put in a good word for me."

"Of course."

So I had no choice but to get by with a bit of social grace.

Fortunately, around that time.

"It's over there."

The two of them arrived at the city wall where the 'on-duty duty volunteers' were on guard.

And even before meeting the individuals in person, Muno could already feel a heterogeneous aura from them.

'I can feel it. These pests.'

It seemed the sharpening of his senses was not just limited to metal detection.

Even his ability to feel demonic energy had its range greatly expanded.

And not long after.

Ten of the twelve on-duty members of the East Guard became corpses reeking of rot.

"Damn it, how on earth could you bastards do this..."

Anger and bewilderment. Regret and resentment.

How could one possibly fathom the complex emotions contained in Turen's gaze as he looked at the corpses of the evil cultists.

But right now, Muno was not in a position to offer him any clumsy words of comfort.

There was only one thing he could say.

"Please testify when the Steel Knights arrive.

Then I'll be on my way..."

"Haaa..."

Leaving Turen, who could only sigh, behind, Muno immediately started running south again.

Papababak.

Thud!

"Who's on the roof...!"

"Ugh!?"

Craaack.

"I'm sorry!

The repair costs are on the Steel Knightly Order...!"

Now, he didn't even care that the roofs he was treading on were getting somewhat damaged.

Or that he could no longer feel the presence of the Steel Knights chasing him.

Even the thrilling sense of accomplishment from having achieved the 2-Class of Spirit Arts in a rush had to be temporarily forgotten now.

His attention was focused on a much more serious problem.

'There are too many magicians hiding in the capital.'

Far more than he had thought.

Just today, he had dealt with thirty-five of them.

It was shocking enough that so many evil cultists were operating in the shadows in the capital of the Iron Kingdom, where being discovered as a magician meant immediate execution, but this was probably not all of them.

'If this is the extent of their disposable pawns...'

The thought that his enemies' forces might be much larger than he had imagined made his chest feel tight.

'Did the royal family expect this?'

If not, it felt like the aftermath of today's events would be much larger than expected.

'But for now.'

Let's focus on this contest.

Chrrrrk.

Muno once again extended his chain to wrap around a chimney, intending to leap across another square.

But at that moment.

Thwack!

He saw a black-masked figure suddenly jump out from a rooftop and strike his chain, knocking it off the chimney.

'Tsk!?'

The moment his balance was slightly thrown off in mid-air.

He saw a gleaming, cold arrowhead flying towards him like lightning.

An arrow that had been shot at his head suddenly, without any warning.

However.

'Get lost!'

Woowoong.

With just Muno slightly changing the arrowhead's direction with his unique ability and tilting his head, the fatal arrow missed.

Of course, because of that, he lost his balance even more and was about to plummet to the ground.

Chrrrrk.

At that moment, he barely managed to regain his balance with the remaining chains he extended.

Thud.

"Kuk!"

And in that short interval.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

A whopping three arrows flew at him again, but Muno covered his face with both arms and subtly used his unique ability to lightly deflect them.

And only then did the civilians near the point where he had fallen begin to scream.

"Kyaaaaak!"

"A fight!"

"The knights...!"

The street turned into a chaotic mess.

'Damn it, what kind of bastards...'

In that commotion, the moment Muno was on guard in all directions.

Swoosh.

A shadow approached him from behind without a sound and swung a blade at his neck.

The movement was truly ghostly, without a sound or even a hint of presence.

'Heh.'

As long as that blade was made of metal, it couldn't deceive Muno's senses.

Thwack!

Craaack.

After dodging the attack by ducking his head and simultaneously striking back with a fierce elbow strike.

"Who are you...!"

As he charged towards the enemy who had been sent flying.

He felt a tingling killing intent aiming for the back of his head again.

'An arrow!'

He immediately threw his head back.

Paaang.

Thwack!

An arrow that passed over his head, struck the stone floor in front, and ricocheted off.

But the masked man who had been hit by his elbow and sent flying into a market stall had disappeared somewhere in that gap.

"A fight!"

"An arrow!"

"Run!!!"

Clatter.

The feeling of every nerve in his body standing on end was not because of the surrounding commotion.

'They're not Magic Knights...?'

The ones who had just attacked him were pure Corporeal Arts users with no trace of magic.

But their movements were on a completely different level from ordinary mercenaries or knights.

A technique he had only heard of.

'Assassins!'

Fortunately, he had a way to deal with them.

The moment he sharpened his senses, the perception of a 2-Class metal Spirit Master began to detect the location of metal moving with unusual speed in the vicinity.

'Found you!'

Pak.

Muno immediately jumped into a building.

"Kyaak!"

In the same running posture, he swung his 'Blade' diagonally above the head of the screaming fruit stand owner.

Craaaack.

Then his blade cut through the shabby cloth behind the fruit stand and the body of the black-masked man behind it in one go.

"Kuh...?"

The eyes faintly visible within the black mask widened.

Splat.

Thud.

He collapsed, spewing blood.

"Ah. Uh. Ah..."

The shop owner, his face pale at the gruesome sight, shuffled backward on his butt.

But this was no time to be comforting the shop owner.

'Three more...'

The moment he was about to move towards the enemies who had already taken up positions around him.

- Sir Muno!

- What's happening!

The familiar voices of the Steel Knights were heard from a distance.

And at the same time.

He felt the metals that seemed to be lying in ambush to catch him suddenly retreat quickly.

'Look at these guys?'

His mind became momentarily complicated, but he couldn't just stand by and watch them escape.

'Where do you think you're going!'

Thump.

"Hup!"

Muno put his entire body weight into a stomp.

Gathering the energy squeezed out from all his muscles, he swung his massive two-handed sword like lightning at the empty space inside the building where no one was.

As if his mortal enemy was in that empty space.

'I didn't think I'd be using it like this for the first time.'

Simultaneously.

Craaack.

As if unknown letters of light were being engraved on the blade of his 'Blade'.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

It exploded, scattering countless fragments.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa.

The moment his third spell, 'Blade Explosion', created an unimaginable synergy effect with Wind Slicer and was about to sweep through the surroundings like a storm.

'Split!!'

The scattered blade fragments split into two directions according to his will.

And.

Kwaang!

Thud!

Kwaaang!

One side of the fragments broke through the walls of several buildings and fell upon the 'metal' that was about to disappear into the shadows of an alley a block away.

Kwaaaang!

The fragments in the opposite direction also broke through two building walls and fell upon another metal that was about to disappear into a deserted alley.

Muno could feel the entire process from a distance.

And he confirmed that the metals had stopped moving immediately after.

However.

"Hoo..."

Is it impossible to control it completely after all?

He couldn't help but frown at his trembling hands, the vanished 'Blade', and the massive amount of mana consumed.

No matter how much it was his own power, it was impossible to completely control the blade fragments containing too much energy with just his unique ability.

All he could do was divide the explosion into two directions and give it directionality.

"...There's a lot of room for improvement."

As he gave a bitter smile.

"Sir Muno!"

"What in the world is...!"

"There was an attacker. Over there..."

The moment they saw the corpse of the masked man Muno was pointing at, the Steel Knights' expressions hardened.

"There should be two more who fell about a block away.

They're also accomplices."

"About a block away?"

The Steel Knight, who tilted his head, narrowed his eyes as he checked the corpse again.

"......He doesn't seem to be a magician or a Magic Knight?"

"That's what I'm saying. But it's a fact that I was attacked.

There are already many people who saw it..."

Looking around, he could see the figures of brave people who, sensing that the fight was over, were once again peeking and looking this way.

"Hah. Anyway, there's more to report."

"To think there were people like this..."

Along with the serious expressions of the Steel Knights, Muno also couldn't help but frown and be lost in thought.

The moment he felt them trying to escape, he had poured out his strength and caught them.

"...This is strange."

"Pardon?"

They had already launched an attack in front of so many people, but they ran away when the Steel Knights arrived?

It couldn't have been simply because they were afraid of their military power.

'They were aiming for when I was completely alone.'

If I hadn't had my metal manipulation and detection abilities, I would have been taken down in an instant.

Especially the arrow that flew to my face without a sound from who knows where was still chilling to think about.

That guy had probably already escaped.

'Why...?'

Why?

Bastards without demonic energy are being careful about a clash with the royal family?

In that case.

'They're not evil cultists?'

Then...?

As his imagination stretched and a certain outline began to form.

"Whatever, Sir Muno.

Please, please refrain from destroying buildings as you go.

And why are you billing our Knightly Order..."

A voice pointing out a very realistic problem broke his train of thought.