My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 91

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 91
The moment Kim Jae-beom’s grip shattered the shield completely, time seemed to freeze, and silence descended like a veil.
The sight of the shield fragments tumbling through the air in slow motion was nothing short of devastating.
A flash of shock and despair flickered across Valerot’s eyes.
She stood speechless as the artifact she had poured her heart into creating crumbled so effortlessly.
The color drained from her face as she stared blankly, unable to comprehend what she was witnessing.
The remnants of the shield cascaded to the ground in a pathetic shower.
The scattered fragments on the floor bore witness to the tragic end of what had once been her greatest source of pride.
The crystalline core that had radiated brilliant crimson light now lay dull and lifeless.
“This can’t be….”
A hollow murmur escaped Valerot’s lips.
Her voice was saturated with defeat and despair.
It had been a supreme-grade artifact, crafted with an enormous amount of magical power.
That it could shatter in an instant was something she could never have imagined.
Valerot raised a trembling hand to her forehead, and tears began to glisten at the corners of her eyes.
She had never conceived that anyone, no matter how strong, could destroy that shield.
It felt as though something within her chest was crumbling, her pride trampled mercilessly.
“My shield….”
Valerot’s voice cracked as she whispered, despair churning deeply in her gaze.
Her greatest masterpiece—born from tremendous expense, time, and devotion—had shattered in a single moment.
The sight of a magical artifact of astronomical value reduced to fragments was utterly, devastatingly tragic.
Before Kim Jae-beom’s overwhelming strength, she could feel nothing but helplessness.
Crushed beneath a force beyond imagination, watching the shield disintegrate was pure shock.
Everything felt futile and hollow.
Valerot stood frozen, staring into empty space.
Suddenly, a single tear rolled down her cheek.
A transparent droplet fell upon the ruins of the shattered artifact.
The sight seemed to embody the very sorrow that Valerot felt.
“Oh….”
Seeing the tears streaming down Valerot’s face, Kim Jae-beom couldn’t hide his alarm.
The murmuring from those around them made the situation even more awkward.
The two of them stood in the Shop’s corridor—an open space where anyone could easily see them.
He felt the weight of countless gazes upon them.
People peered at them furtively, as though witnessing some fascinating spectacle, whispering among themselves.
Some cast sympathetic glances, while others couldn’t hide their shock.
Many were startled by the complete destruction of the shield.
“That shield… it’s completely destroyed.”
“What kind of strength would it take to do something like that?”
The intrusive comments from those around them created an uncomfortable atmosphere. The curious stares of onlookers weighed heavily on Kim Jae-beom.
“The destruction is unavoidable. Perhaps you should see this as an opportunity to create something even more durable.”
Yet Kim Jae-beom refused to yield to the pressure. Instead, he offered her counsel with unwavering confidence—though it was hardly what Valerot wished to hear.
A sharp flash.
A brilliant gleam ignited across Valerot’s eyes.
The moment his words reached her ears, her sorrow transformed instantaneously into fury.
Her face, which had been etched with shock and despair, contorted into an expression of seething indignation.
Another flash.
Valerot’s head snapped up, her gaze piercing toward Kim Jae-beom.
Her eyes blazed with scorching intensity.
A look mingling grievance and wrath bore through him like a blade.
“Do you have any idea what that meant to me!”
Her voice trembled with barely restrained fury.
The elevated pitch of her words laid bare the turbulence of her emotions.
It was unmistakable—the shattered shield represented far more than mere material to her.
“How could you speak to me that way? You never once considered my feelings!”
Valerot’s lips quivered uncontrollably.
She poured out her words as though expelling the roiling anguish that churned within her.
Tears began to form anew at the corners of her eyes.
“This isn’t merely a magical artifact. It’s a masterpiece I crafted by pouring my very soul into it!”
The depth of her attachment to the creation was evident.
To Valerot, that shield was an extension of herself—the finest fruit of her laborious deliberation, now shattered in a single moment. The pain of that loss resonated through her entirely.
“That shield crumbled under nothing more than my grip strength.”
….
“Had this been an actual battle, you would be dead by my hand.”
At Kim Jae-beom’s cold observation, Valerot’s pupils wavered.
His words were sharp and merciless as a dagger, yet they carried undeniable truth.
Had the shield shattered in combat, her life would have hung by a thread.
Confronted by this harsh reality, Valerot found herself speechless.
Her lips pressed firmly shut, she could only remain silent.
Though wounded by his bluntness, she could not deny the validity of his words.
“Fine. I’ll create a more formidable shield. Since I want to test it, let’s head to the Workshop together.”
In that moment, Valerot’s competitive spirit ignited.
* * *
Valerot made her way toward the Workshop with heavy steps.
She concealed the wounds in her heart and moved forward, leaving behind the remnants of the shattered shield.
As she opened the Workshop door, the familiar space welcomed her.
The Workshop was filled with countless magical tools and mechanical devices.
Most striking among them was an enormous shield-shaped artifact.
That object, as large as Valerot herself, served as the focal point of her Workshop.
The surface of the specialized artifact was densely inscribed with intricate circuitry.
The circuits, spreading forth like the veins of a living organism, formed mystical patterns.
The luminous blue lines shimmered with an ethereal glow, as if tracing the very currents of magical energy itself.
At the center of the shield-shaped artifact lay an immense magical circle, intricately inscribed.
Geometric patterns interwove in breathtaking complexity, commanding an overwhelming sense of scale.
When that circle activated, it seemed as though tremendous energy would surge forth.
Scattered around the artifact lay countless components and materials.
Enchanted metals, gemstones, ancient scrolls—everything imaginable.
All the materials I needed for my work lay strewn about in disarray.
“Sigh…”
Valerot exhaled deeply and collapsed onto a stool before the workbench.
Her weary gaze fixed upon the shield-shaped artifact, her expression clouded with conflicting emotions.
A shattered pride and a broken shield could never be mended.
Yet as a mage, I bore the obligation to forge a new shield.
I had to transform this failure into a lesson and birth an even more formidable weapon.
As Valerot’s eyes lingered upon the materials arranged on the workbench, her gaze began to shift.
New resolve seeped into eyes once filled with despair and hopelessness.
A small spark kindled within my heart.
A challenge to surpass my former self.
And the thirst for vengeance against Kim Jae-beom stirred me to rise once more.
“…”
Kim Jae-beom observed all of this quietly from behind.
‘Her mental fortitude is stronger than I expected.’
To be honest, he had assumed Valerot would simply collapse there and weep. Yet contrary to his expectations, she instead threw herself into work to grow even stronger.
‘It’s a virtual reality game, but…’
Kim Jae-beom knew the truth—that Valerot before him was an NPC. Yet still, he wanted to praise her.
Because she was proving that what truly mattered was an unbreakable spirit.
―A resonant hum!
That was when it happened.
At Valerot’s gesture, the shield-shaped artifact began to emanate an otherworldly aura.
The colossal magical apparatus writhed and moved as if possessed of life itself.
The intricate circuits etched upon the artifact’s surface blazed with light, drawing power unto themselves.
Hum— hum—
With a deep, resonant vibration, the artifact shook violently from side to side.
It moved as though a massive beast were thrashing its body.
The violent tremors sent the entire Workshop into turmoil, radiating an unstable presence.
Shiiing—
As the trembling reached its crescendo, the artifact erupted with brilliant light.
A dazzling azure radiance consumed every corner of the Workshop, flowing outward like molten lava.
Within that breathtaking luminescence, only Valerot’s silhouette remained barely visible.
The materials arranged in orderly fashion began to be engulfed by the blue radiance.
From enchanted metals to gemstones, every material rose one by one into the air.
Drawn by the artifact’s overwhelming energy, the materials swirled in a vortex around it.
Within the luminescence, the materials began to be pulled toward the artifact.
Everything—from tiny metal fragments to massive magical stones—was absorbed into the artifact.
―A deep resonance echoed forth.
At that moment, a crimson radiance flowed from Kim Jae-beom’s body.
An intense scarlet aura erupted from every fiber of his being.
A power thrashing beneath his skin shook his flesh and burst outward.
As if a sun were blooming within his body, dazzling brilliance poured forth in all directions.
―A resonant surge intensified!
“… You desire this?”
The artifact, which had been emitting azure light, responded as if drawn to Kim Jae-beom’s crimson aura.
The radiance seeping from the artifact writhed like a living creature, reaching toward him.
Mystical threads of blue light intertwined with the scarlet aura, tangling together.
The two luminescences called to each other, flickering irregularly as they merged.
The radiance reached toward him persistently, as if thirsting for his power.
[You can imbue the Overload’s power into Valerot’s Shield.]
The system presented Kim Jae-beom with the option to aid her.
“…!”
Valerot’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Upon witnessing the crimson aura pouring from Kim Jae-beom’s body, her mouth fell open.
With a gaze mingling wonder and shock, she beheld the incredible phenomenon.
“What… is happening here?”
Her trembling voice betrayed her agitation.
Even she, a genius alchemist who had witnessed countless mysteries, had never encountered such a phenomenon.
With an expression twisted between confusion and impact, Valerot’s eyes darted between the artifact and Kim Jae-beom.
In that instant, something flashed through her mind like lightning.
Valerot’s eyes gleamed with exhilaration as she intuited why the artifact reached toward Kim Jae-beom and sensed the infinite potential contained within that crimson aura.
“Shall we make a deal?”
She had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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