Chapter 32

King of Steel b 2}

Sometimes there were children naturally born with something that couldn’t be described as a disease. It was once called God’s Blessing, and later it was called God’s Curse as it became widely known for causing a short life span. However, since the year of religious reformation marked in history as the Rebellion of the Divine, the sword nation of Bernille called them Mutants for their mutations.

Coincidentally, that was also the year that King of Steel, Kerixis Jagun Alzbehiyan Bernille, was born.

“This man will grow into the treasure of his country!”

Born as the seventh descendant of the Bernille family, he was a titan at birth. His flesh and bones grew sturdier as he grew older, and since he turned seven, he hadn’t suffered a single injury. He possessed a disadvantage in not being able to use auras, but it didn’t matter. His firm body and muscles that could crush steel were enough for him to become a weapon of war when he was seven.

“Oh, Kerixis! My son. It would’ve been better if you could use a sword!”

He grew up to be the guardian of Bernille, the sword nation. How could a prince who had never held a sword become the guardian of a nation where swords were worshiped and swordsmen respected? It was quite ironic, but it was in that chaotic world where war broke out.

“Put down all the law nation fanatics!”

“Burn the St. Trion!”

It wasn’t long before the whole continent was covered with war, and the 14-year old Kerixis threw himself into the fiercest part of it. Nothing could stop him. Neither magic nor auras worked on him.

“Monster!”

“There is a mutant in Bernille. Retreat!”

Raised as a weapon from an early age, he brutally destroyed all his enemies as if it were second nature. Nevertheless, the war went against the nation of Bernille.

“Three princes will stop in this battle..”

“I managed to recover this time, but the situation in the capital is bad!”

“Is this the end of the gleaming Bernille..?”

“What happened to your alliance with Leven? Do they still want to stay neutral?”

Many royals were sent to war, and almost all of them vanished on the battlefield. Kerixis was, by all means, excellent. It didn’t matter what the swordsmen thought of him behind his back. He was a guardian born to protect his country, so he wouldn’t stop fighting until his country was destroyed.

It was also during that time that Kerixis ascended to the throne and gained the title King of Steel. It was possible because while he was away on an expedition, the capital was invaded, and all other immediate descendants who could succeed the throne were slain.

“I, Kerixis Jagun Alzbehiyan Bernille, even at the moment of death..no, I swear I will fight for this country even after I die.”

The crown had been stolen, so Kerixis wore a newly-made iron crown to symbolize his rule and headed to the battlefield. Kerixis alone killed more enemies than any other army in the Great War. Thanks to such events, Bernille maintained its legacy until the end of the war in ten years.

“My king, my king!”

Peace came, and the whole nation praised him. Those who questioned his legitimacy and would tarnish his reputation were nowhere to be seen. Kerixis was the guardian who saved this country. That was what happened on the surface.

The actual events were a little different. Many of them died at war, but there were still some servants left who sought to bring back the old ways of the sword nation.

“The next king must be a swordsman as tradition, for he cannot make a future...”

“Let’s wait a few more years since the king has a short life span! Didn’t he let us take charge of politics for him?”

“For Bernille, the sword nation!”

Kerixis wasn’t a fool. He knew that servants praised him when they were in sight yet insulted him behind his back for being king, although he wasn’t a swordsman. But he didn’t show that he knew or cared. He was the guardian of this country since birth, and his duty wouldn’t change until the moment he died.

“Yes, that’s enough.”

Over time, Kerixis reached the golden age of his twenties. His body, which had been growing harder and harder over time, had become too severe to endure. While spending time lying in bed, he was told that one of the surviving young royals had inherited the throne.

Well, he enjoyed it while it lasted. His legacy would be recorded in history.

“I saved the country; I saved the people. A short life, but I lived more meaningfully than anyone else!” That was how Kerixis, who spent his entire life on the battlefield, found peace. But..

「The Tower chooses you.」

His duties weren’t yet over.

* * *

{Iron Man}

Rank D – According to the stats, muscle and physical strength receive additional amplification. Magic rates will be decreased just as much.

Rank E – 90% damage from Magic ignored. It is impossible to equip armor.historical

Rank F – All capabilities except Magic +2. Weapons cannot be equipped.

The Unique Skill Kerixis discovered when he crushed the prisoner with his fist in the first match, b Iron Man}. As he continued to develop, the skills were similar to his original abilities, even down to the disadvantage where his penalty was as strong as his skills. Kerixis roared.

“What task do I have left to be thrown back into a boring place like this?!”

Just by investing his AP mainly in his stats and learning a few auxiliary skills, Kerixis felt sufficient. Compared to his prime, where he fought armies alone, he’d grown incomparably weaker. If he had to compare it to age, it’d be the same as when he was ten.

However, his foes hadn’t changed at all. No one had been able to receive his punch properly until he reached the door of the fourth floor.

Until this duel began.

“..Hm!”

He wondered what was happening when his foe moved during the count. It wasn’t until later that he noticed that it was the same skill as b Iron Man}. A skill that he couldn’t help but conquer. Even his weapon was the sword that he hated, and he wielded two of them at that.

‘Punks that I hate..’

All his life, he’d been modest, but even until the moment he died, Kerixis hated swordsmen. It was a matter of course. On most days, they’d been yelling ‘sword, sword, sword” behind his back while they insulted and discriminated against him. How could he not feel any malice? On this occasion, Kerixis decided to teach this cowardly swordsman a lesson, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought. Surprisingly, Yoon-seok wasn’t just a swordsman who relied only on surprise.

Whoosh!

His fist, which has the power to destroy Geo-san Mountain, met his sword. Kerixis didn’t doubt that his fist would break that sword. But soon, the sword folded over his fist like the wind and dropped it down to the side with very little force.

“Ha!”

Softness overcomes hardness. One of the myths invented, where softness was able to subdue a strong force. There was a similar technique in Seheranbad, although the phrases used were different.

“A handful of water rusts steel? What a load of crap!”

He was a little surprised by Yoon-seok’s level, but that was all. Kerixis laughed as if it had worked out for him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t met a similar style of swordsmanship before. These guys didn’t know what to do if they suffered from even a little miscalculation.

“Hahaha! Try and stop this!”

His fist flew in again with a shout. Yoon-seok, who tried bending down to avoid the blow, was flustered. This was because it wasn’t just the same lunge that had been repeated countless times so far. The fist that was practically sprinting toward his face suddenly turned.

The target had changed to his abdomen. Yoon-seok turned his back swiftly. He wouldn’t have been in such a hurry if it had been his head or shoulder, but his abdomen with his core of all things.

‘If I get punched with that fist, it’s over!’

It was indeed a dizzying moment, but fortunately, the change itself was a trick bait from the start. The real thing was behind it.

Bang!

The fist aiming for his abdomen pushed aside on the way. Then, he threw a fist at Yoon-seok, whose posture was distorted because he avoided a blow. Yoon-seok could use {Backstep} to help him back out of any position in a second, but..

He was a step behind.

Boom!

He wasn’t even given time to groan. Yoon-seok had completely disappeared from the neck up. His mashed head fragments were scattered to an unrecognizable extent. Kerixis grinned at the expected result.

“As expected, swordsmen are all weak.”

Steel was firmer than anything else, but it was also flexible. Even if it grew rusty, broken, and lost form, it was the nature of steel to change into any form as long as fire and a hammer was present.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize this simple principle; you are a terrible swordsman until the very end..huh?”

Kerixis, who had been laughing briefly, raised his brows. Aside from the words of ‘Victory’ he’d been waiting for..

Screeeeech!

Fragments from the scattered head raised in unison and gathered to where Yoon-seok’s head was located, beginning to find their original form. Kerixis clicked his tongue with his brows furrowed.

“Not just a swordsman, but a Magic Swordsman? I don’t like this jerk one bit.”

Not only did he use two swords, but also strange magic. Should he say that it was like receiving a full gift set with only the things he hated? He didn’t know that magic could regenerate the most vital part of the body, but Kerixis didn’t care.

“I’ll smash you again and again!”

He wouldn’t make it out in one piece.

* * *

Pang! Pang! Pang! Pang! Whoo! Crack!

The air exploded as his fist cut through space, and a sword grazed the skin. It was a thrilling exchange at a glance, but the actual situation of the duel was flowing on one side.

‘What kind of monster is this?’

Cold sweat flowed down Yoon-seok’s back. He knew ever since he threw a curveball, but this guy was smart. Should he say this guy knew how to fight like he was born for the sole purpose of doing so? Even though he tried not to be obvious, he noticed that he was defending his abdomen with extraordinary care by looking at how persistent he was targeting that area.

Sadly, the opponent was not simple and ignorant as he seemed.

‘If it weren’t for Invisibility, I wouldn’t be able to hold on until now.’

He had used it as a test because all the other skills hadn’t. Surprisingly, this skill worked on Kerixis. After realizing this fact, Yoon-seok was dumbfounded.

“Does he not have any magical powers?’

Only when the magic differed by more than three grades would Complete Invisibility take effect. Therefore, Yoon-seok believed that he would never find a use for that skill in the arena.

“Are you there?!”

However, Kerixis was like an animal. When Yoon-seok disappeared, he immediately caught up with the small changes on the ground and rushed to him. At the same time, he threw punches at Yoon-seok as if he could see him. Not just that, he also instinctively predicted how the opponent would avoid his blows and planned his next attack.

However, his predictions weren’t perfect, so Yoon-seok was able to avoid various crises so far.

‘There’s got to be a way.’

Yoon-seok hadn’t grown frustrated even though the opponent had thrown thousands of attacks so far, and yet he couldn’t even make a scratch. There was no one invincible here. It was the same when he was faced against the Devil, who seemed to be immortal. In the end, he had a weakness called the core that enabled Yoon-seok to win.

Yoon-seok, who had been conducting experimentation with such a will, finally found the answer.

‘Huh..?’