30. This is it
＜Succession＞
It was akin to an act of passing on one’s very soul to a successor.
Handing over everything one had accumulated over a lifetime to a single person.
And to Joo-in, it was something he absolutely needed to achieve his goal.
‘Even obtaining just one of the Abilities would be enough.’
If he could just utilize the strongest Ability, Reflection, that would be enough.
Of course, how much to pass on was up to the discretion of the Successor.
He could pass on all of his Abilities.
Or he could just pass on the basics.
Or he could just pretend to pass them on.
That was because there was a risk involved in the Succession.
＜Insufficient aptitude may result in a failed [Succession]＞
＜[Succession] failure will cause the Successor to lose a portion of their existing Abilities＞
It was a double-edged sword in the truest sense of the word.
That was why the most important thing in Succession was finding a Successor with sufficient talent.
Joo-in clearly remembered several of his comrades who had lost their powers due to failing to do so.
[Pirate King]
[Ruler of the Skies]
Those were the titles of those who had been blinded by their love for their bloodline.
The talent of their Successors had been so lacking that they had lost their powers and fallen from grace.
The nations they had built had also perished with them.
There were even cases where the Successor had died during the Succession.
In the end, far from leaving behind their titles as Named, they had lost even the power imbued in their names.
Perhaps in that sense, the Knight King had not intended to pass on everything from the very beginning.
In fact, Joo-in was certain of it.
‘Knowing that guy’s personality… He’d probably just drill me with training and pass on a few Skills.’
Would he really have passed on his core Abilities?
‘No way. He’d have been very stingy about it.’
He wouldn’t have wanted to waste his energy in a situation where he had to fight the Demons .
If he failed the Succession and lost his Traits or Skills, he’d be in trouble.
But what could he have been thinking when he saw Joo-in?
[Commencing ＜Succession＞]
A golden line appeared, connecting him to the Knight King.
Like a link being formed, it was a line visible only to Joo-in’s eyes.
‘Huh?’
Was this really happening?
The Knight King of all people was starting the Succession without any of that tedious training?
It was uncharacteristic behavior for [Knight King], or rather, for Duke Edmar, the former Duke.
Still, it was understandable.
‘The Demons took away his only close friend. Of course he’d want to test me.’
Would he really be able to stand up to those Demons ?
Would they not flee in terror at the might of the Demon Tribe?
However, it seemed that they liked the sight of him standing up to the Demon Tribe so confidently.
Depending on what he did next, he could inherit everything.
‘That would change things.’
Joo-yeon’s eyes could not help but shine.
The beginning of the inheritance meant that he could now use the Hero King’s traits.
Even with just ＜Reflection＞, it would be considerable, but if this happened, the situation would change.
‘Okay. I can feel it.’
This meant that he could create the basic conditions to ascend to the level of a hero.
He could also further develop his combat methods.
＜Potential has risen to its maximum.＞
Those were the abilities that he was passing on.
He didn’t need to worry about how to use it.
‘After all, I know more about the Hero King than anyone else.’
He had done everything from distributing ability points to acquiring traits and skills.
In some stories, he had even moved the ＜Hero King＞ himself.
So, he could move with confidence.
That was when it happened.
[How dare… think of something else in front of me!]
The Demon Tribe Siond, whose wings were frozen, charged at him.
Although he could not fly in the sky, his size had tripled with the power of the contract.
“St… stop him!”
“Everyone, protect the Duke’s guest!”
As the knights were about to step forward, the 100-man Knights Order stepped forward.
“You will not do it.”
“We will go.”
They were capable people who could become captains of the guard or generals in any country if they went there right now.
The knights each raised their ＜Chivalry＞.
However, at that moment, the Hero King’s arm suddenly blocked the knights’ path.
“……!”
The surprised captain of the Knights, Albert, stopped as if he did not understand.
“Why are you blocking us, Your Majesty?”
He meant that they should hurry and save Joo-yeon.
However, instead of answering, the Hero King pointed ahead.
“Look.”
Look? Look at what?
Before Albert could even ask,
His eyes shook as if they had been shocked.
Bang!
It was because an unbelievable sight unfolded before him.
Obviously, the protagonist should have been the one to suffer unilaterally.
[Wha…… What! Why is he completely fine!?]
The demonic beast Siond let out a horrified scream.
His charge that seemed like it would destroy everything was stopped by a single human.
With just one hand at that.
He was blocking the demonic beast’s charge with a single right hand.
That wasn’t all.
BAM!
With a deafening boom, Siond was sent flying.
Blood burst from the forehead of the creature that not even the knights’ steel swords could scratch.
[Kuaaah!]
Siond rolled on the ground, letting out a painful scream.
His expression was one of complete bewilderment.
Siond was the one who had charged at the protagonist, after all.
‘But then why am I the one who’s hurt?’
Before this giant, demonic beast, a human was nothing more than a piece of paper.
If he had been hit by the charge, he should have been smashed to pieces.
But the protagonist was completely fine, while the one who had charged, Siond, was the one in pain.
It was like he had headbutted a giant piece of steel.
Of course, the protagonist was the only one who knew the reason.
“This…… is it more effective than I thought?”
It was different from the he normally used.
Currently, the protagonist was in a state of .
at the moment of succession, you can use the succeeded ability at its maximum potential＞
The first succession of the Sword King was potential.
It was his stamina, the highest potential he possessed.
For a short while, the protagonist’s stamina also rose to its maximum.
＜Your stamina potential has risen to its maximum＞
＜You have temporarily acquired ＞
＜[金刚]: The body will never break or be destroyed. ＜Negates cutting/destruction＞, ＜Magic/ability resistance＞, ＜Reduces physical damage＞, ＜Damage accumulation＞＞
His body grew.
And the that temporarily enveloped him was added on top of that.
It was a level of toughness that allowed him to subdue the charging demonic beast with just one hand.
In the first place, was an ability that was affected by the body’s ‘stamina’ and inherent ‘defense’.
In other words, the more those two abilities grew, the stronger became.
‘The Demon King couldn’t grow, but it’s different for me as a human.’
In that situation, what would happen if was applied to , the superior ability of defense?
There was no need to ask.
Siond’s pained screams were proof enough.
‘Even at a glance, the damage is more than three times my usual .’
I know well, having faced many of the Demon Tribe’s magic swordsmen.
I could roughly predict how much damage I had dealt, as if I had memorized the stamina they possessed.
However, the succession was not yet over.
The second succession was agility, which was next highest to stamina.
＜Agility potential has risen to its maximum.＞
＜Temporarily acquiring [Swiftness].＞
＜[Swiftness]: Move as swift as the wind, reaching speeds where your figure disappears at its peak. ＜High-speed movement＞, ＜Increased evasion＞, ＜Instantaneous damage reduction＞＞
My muscles were already flexible and firm.
But as soon as I obtained ＜Swiftness＞, they coiled up like a dragon’s tail and flared up as if they would leap out at once.
‘Not only stamina, but he’s also passing on his agility potential?’
It seemed the inspiration had made up its mind.
From Noble mtl dot com
I could feel new abilities being realized in real time due to the succession.
He truly intended to ＜succeed＞ me with everything he had.
Well, it might have been natural.
‘All kings desire a successor who will inherit everything they have.’
The [Knight King] desired, in addition to that, a successor who would defeat the Demon King.
An ordinary successor could never quench his thirst.
However, Joo-eun could.
‘My favorability is already at its highest thanks to the Witch’s Diary.’
She even had the unique ability ＜Reflection＞ that no one else possessed.
And as a player, there was no limit to her growth.
Joo-eun was the perfect existence to succeed the [Knight King].
It was no wonder her body flared up, given that she possessed the title of a king, something few had on the continent.
At that moment, the demon Siond staggered to his feet.
[H-how in the world did my attack… .]
But he soon came to his senses.
Then he bared his murderous teeth.
[I don’t care what tricks you used. For the future of the Demon Tribe… I will definitely kill you here.]
The wound on his forehead had already disappeared.
His recovery power was truly formidable. The guy, now fully recovered, charged at me again.
But it was futile.
‘Just because I’m a knight who uses a shield doesn’t mean I only defend.’
Even now, the ＜Succession＞ was proceeding in real time.
I didn’t know about the swordsmanship that had cut the sky just a moment ago.
However, as a knight, Joo-eun knew the [Knight King]’s abilities better than anyone else.
Along with defensive skills like ＜Iron Wall＞, there was just one more.
She also knew about the strongest skill that made him known as the [Knight King].
If things had gone as planned, I would have acquired that skill through ＜Succession＞ by now.
However, there was a problem.
[Error occurred!]
[You cannot inherit everything with power that is too strong]
[Cooldown occurred – 3 months]
[Currently inherited ability list: ＜Physical Strength＞, ＜Defense＞, ＜Agility＞, ＜Stamina＞]
[Additional inheritance list: ＜Morale＞, ＜Politics＞, ＜Intelligence＞, ＜Spirit＞, ＜Occupation Skill＞, ＜Unique Skill＞……]
It was a sudden error message.
An error I had never seen during such a long game time.
Because of that, I couldn’t use the skill I had been waiting for.
‘What’s more? You’re telling me to wait 3 months to receive the next inheritance?’
I already knew that this wasn’t a game, but reality.
However, 3 months was such a long time.
All Joo-ahn had inherited was ＜Physical Strength＞, ＜Defense＞, and ＜Agility＞.
It would take years to inherit everything from the Sword King.
‘Honestly, the game would be buggy if I ＜inherited＞ ＜Reflection＞ and became the Sword King.’
But even so, this sudden hotfix was too much.
An average player would have lost their mind at this point. Joo-ahn was barely able to regain his composure.
‘I have ＜Reflection＞.’
Of course, the bastard who seemed to have regained his sanity wouldn’t give me an opening to use Reflection.
However, there was something I could only use now, at the moment I was inheriting.
＜Your potential for Stamina has temporarily increased to its maximum due to the effects of inheritance.＞
Joo-ahn smiled.
‘This is it.’
Stamina was an important stat that affected Physical Strength anyway.
If I had this, I could try using ‘that.’
But there was one small problem.
‘I need a weapon to use ‘that’…….’
The weapon had to be equipped.
It was a skill that couldn’t be used with bare hands.
But then it happened. Siond’s voice rang out to Joo-ahn, who was looking around.
[You…… You don’t have a weapon.]
I didn’t know how he had blocked it just now.
However, he knew very well how to defeat an opponent with excellent defensive abilities like Joo-ahn.
Siond’s body slowly rose into the air.
Flap, flap!
The ice on his wings had melted away.
A storm and hail began to gather around him.
Kuwakwakwang!
Lightning struck above Siond’s head.
In an instant, a blue light of electricity burst from his body.
＜Thunderclap＞
It was the strongest technique possessed by Siond of the North Wind.
Joo-yeon’s brows furrowed.
‘Of all things, it had to be a wide-area attack.’
It was a technique he knew well.
A technique that infuses a hailstorm with lightning attributes and blows away the surroundings.
The bastard clearly intended to target not only Joo-yeon but also the people nearby.
If he tried to create an opening to save the others, the bastard would aim for his windpipe.
Joo-yeon couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
‘＜Reflect＞ won’t do much damage.’
It would be the same even if he temporarily activated the inherited skill to increase the reflect damage.
No matter how unique the skill, it couldn’t reflect all the damage from a technique that scattered a small attack over a wide area.
However, the Knight King showed no signs of moving.
‘I guess I have to take him down before he uses that technique.’
He needed a good sword to use the method he had just come up with.
The swords of the soldiers lying around him would break before he could activate his skill.
Just then.
“Lord Joo-yeon!”
Hacken.
The slave he had rescued from the labor camp, who was now Joo-yeon’s subordinate, came running with an urgent expression.
He had told him to rest in his room, but it seemed he had been startled by the commotion.
But what mattered was what the guy was holding.
He was holding the sword of the labor camp warden, Nalpalm Hanson.
Joo-yeon’s eyes gleamed.
“Throw it!”
“Pardon?”
“I said throw the sword!”
“……!?”
Hacken immediately understood and tried to throw the sword.
But the distance was too great.
With his strength, there was no way he could throw it all the way to Joo-yeon.
Just then, a man next to Hacken reached out his hand.
It was the knight Olson, who had been escorting Joo-yeon.
“Give it here.”
Boom!
With a tremendous sound, the sword flew towards Joo-yeon.
Olson had thrown the sword with all his might.
The sword’s speed was incredibly fast.
If he used ＜Reflect＞, Olson might get hurt.
At that moment, the Knight King’s potential within Joo-yeon’s body roared.
Woosh!
It was a resonance as if it was saying that he was different now.
Joohyun agreed.
‘Yeah. I’m not a sick slave anymore.’
There was a lot he could do if he had the potential of the Knight King.
‘It won’t be perfect… … But it should be enough to fool them.’
Joohyun recalled the time when he used to control the Knight King in the past. To be exact, it was when he played as the Knight King.
“This is it!”
As Joohyun raised his hand towards the sword, it came into his hand very smoothly. It moved as if it had been there from the beginning.
Thud!
That wasn’t all.
As Joohyun pulled out the sword, a tremendous light began to rise.
Kukungkung!
This was the strongest attack skill possessed by the strongest shield knight.
＜Earth Cutter＞
Joohyun swung his sword towards Siond, who was floating in the sky.