The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 92

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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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Episode 92. The Red Heart
Thump.
A pull that seemed to grasp at his very soul.
Of the thirty-six artifacts on display, only three bore the presence of a metal spirit.
The closest one was a two-handed sword roughly his height—precisely to his taste.
Its blade extended straight and long as if forged without regard for efficiency, with a crude guard to match.
That simple design held undeniably fierce power.
And more than that.
[Song of Steel.]
[Ability: Consumes stamina to forge a mana blade. Estimated capable of self-recovery from damage amounting to half or less of its original volume.]
The raw utility of such potent mana appealed to him precisely because of its simplicity.
“Hah…….”
For now it might surpass a mere blade, yet he was certain his own spell would one day develop greater capability.
Besides, he suspected he too would soon wield a Mana Blade as adeptly as Anthoni did, which meant there was little reason to settle for such an artifact.
“Tch…….”
“So it was metal affinity after all. I had my hopes, but to think you awakened such a rare subcategory—truly remarkable.”
“Yes. Well…….”
He simply smiled and confirmed Trauni’s words.
From the start, he’d never expected Trauni—another Spirit User—to miss it.
What struck him most was the hollow realization that the artifact which had drawn his interest wasn’t worth his time after all.
‘Right. I’ll take a look at the remaining two, or find something from the family collection. Wait, wasn’t that the plan anyway? Yeah, no harm if I don’t find anything.’
He forced a grin and pressed forward.
The second piece, fortunately, pleased him far more.
A black necklace of crude design, its surface swarming with countless metal spirits bound tightly together.
“Oh…….”
[Necklace of Protection.]
[Ability: Three times per day, elevates the wearer’s physical defense to the level of well-tempered steel. Activates upon receiving impact sufficient to cause injury. After activation, remaining uses auto-recharge on an eight-hour cycle, though pouring metal mana into it allows immediate recharge proportional to the amount provided.]
‘I can use this.’
His eyes naturally brightened at the prospect.
Moreover, being a necklace, wearing it beneath his armor posed no problem.
It could serve as a temporary helm where needed, or disperse powerful impacts transmitted through armor plating—a genuinely useful item.
And even the use limitation seemed overcome able by someone like him.
‘The spirits dwelling here are on the docile side. That means they won’t discriminate among users…….’
Should he end up not using it himself, it could serve as a protective artifact for his mother or Lian.
“This one…….”
“Does this suit you better?”
He was about to nod when—
Whoosh.
He caught sight of Anthoni slightly behind Trauni, swinging a flaming blade with such fluid control that his words died in his throat.
“Sir Anthoni appears to have already made his selection…….”
The way he commanded the flame to engulf everything around him while keeping the energy perfectly contained so it didn’t disturb a single artifact was genuinely impressive.
‘Of course a knight chooses offense. Tch…….’
The Necklace of Protection suddenly felt shabby by comparison.
“……I think I’ll examine the remaining pieces.”
One more artifact with metal mana remained untouched.
And that last one, the farthest away, drew him with the strongest pull yet.
At the very least, he ought to see it.
“By all means.”
‘Please.’
If that piece disappointed him, he could always fall back on the Bracelet of Protection as his choice.
With that reassurance, he walked forward with a lighter heart.
But then—
Where his steps led, there stood a single red gem, displayed alone.
A crimson jewel cut into facets like a polished diamond, each facet glinting like a mirror with brilliant light.
The moment he saw it, an odd feeling struck him.
‘A heart?’
Why did the gem conjure the image of a heart?
And then—
Thump.
As though responding to the gem, his own heart began to beat.
“What is this……?”
But thinking rationally, he sensed he ought not follow that instinctive pull.
Something felt off about it.
The aura of metal was far too strong.
Among the three items, this was where the most Spirits had gathered.
‘Just a gem, they said?’
Munno, unsettled, turned his gaze and read the description beneath the jewel.
[A component—or nucleus—of some unknown object.]
‘A nucleus……?’
The very name smelled of trouble.
And besides.
[Ability: Contains powerful metallic Mana; presumed to be part of an ancient weapon or suit of armor made of metal, serving as its Power Core. A thing that did not lose a single point even under the hammer blows of Seven-Star Taniel during the founding era.]
A gem that withstood the attacks of a Seven-Star.
If he’d stopped reading here, no matter how strong the pull, he would have simply ignored it.
[Special Note: Should the object powered by this core have actually existed, it would have been a Transcendent Grade Artifact at minimum, or equivalent to a Divine Artifact from legend. However, as we have found neither a method to harness the power contained within nor any connected components, we evaluate it as treasure-class and leave it here.]
That additional note—absent from all other Artifacts—was what ensnared him.
Especially.
‘A piece of legendary treasure?’
He could not possibly ignore those words.
Of course, those around him thought differently.
“……This is nearly useless, but ah, perhaps not for you, Knight Munno.”
“Pardon?”
“If you practice Metal Spiritism, you could charge your Mana with this. It’s something that refills instantly even after you’ve drained it completely.”
“Pardon?”
That made no sense.
“It would likely serve you as a portable Mana charger, Knight Munno—one that’s nearly infinite. Useful enough, I suppose. But…….”
Infinite?
Trauni’s explanation only deepened his fascination with the gem.
“……Considering various factors, wouldn’t that Bracelet of Protection from earlier be the more certain choice? The Royal Palace isn’t a place you can visit and procure from very often.”
He was right—for the sake of merely selecting a Mana charger, this opportunity was far too precious to squander.
But.
‘If this were just a Mana charger, that would be true.’
Whether it was because he’d read the description, or because there was something else within that red gem.
Thump.
The pull he’d felt the moment he first saw it now gripped his soul more fiercely than ever.
So much so that he felt certain he was meant to take it.
Thump.
The closer he drew, the stronger the attraction became.
Then, a single phrase from the description struck his eyes anew.
Power Core.
[……Presumed to serve as the Power Core of ancient metal weapons or armor…….]
Armor, you say…….
His gaze fell upon his own armor.
Of course, this was merely part of his own body—not an ancient relic, much less an Artifact.
Yet it possessed strength and mystery equal to or exceeding most Artifacts.
‘It might just work…….’
Munno stared at the red gem with vacant eyes, entranced.
Then he seized it.
“Knight Munno! If you handle it carelessly, it counts as your selection……!”
Trauni’s warning fell on deaf ears.
Whoooooosh.
Crack-crack-crack.
‘Power Core, heart…….’
He forcibly reshaped the center of his chest armor—something he’d never before felt reason to alter.
‘Nngh…….’
To warp the form of armor already fixed consumed considerable Mana and mental strength.
Crunch.
He carved out a hollow at the heart of the Chest Armor, sized perfectly for the gem.
Click.
The moment he pressed the jewel into place.
Flash.
“Huh!?”
In an instant, his mind went white-hot, and he felt an enormous surge of energy pouring through his entire body.
Hummmmmmm.
‘What—!?’
An uncontrollable force began to surge through him, spilling beyond the armor to race across his entire frame.
Yet strangely, even though he felt pain, there was no sense that something had gone wrong.
Quite the opposite.
Whoooosh.
Hummmmmmm.
As the light flooding his vision dimmed away.
The Red Gem locked itself into the very center of his Chest Armor as though it had always belonged there.
“Sir Munno?”
“Hah…….”
His mind was clearer than it had ever been.
And the reason was unmistakable.
The Red Gem. Another ‘heart.’
‘This was always mine.’
More precisely, it must have been created long ago for me or others like me.
He couldn’t explain why if anyone asked, but it felt like he’d finally reclaimed something he should have possessed from the beginning.
And that alone changed everything.
The gem, this ‘second heart,’ imparted instruction like a teacher, revealing the proper way to channel power.
‘I’ve been using my strength all wrong until now.’
The way he had wielded his Metal Control before was to bend the trajectory of arrows or twist aside an enemy’s weapon—concentrating his will in an instant to move metal with focused effort.
But the ‘path’ that the Red Gem, this ‘second heart,’ had shown him was different.
Bang!
A lightness in his thrown fist, yet he felt solidity beneath it.
Thud.
Hummmmmmm.
Even as he poured Mana into his strikes, the armor transmitted not even the slightest shock back through him.
‘It wasn’t just moving the metal—I could interfere with the very element itself.’
Crack-crack-crack.
Simply by tuning the armor with his Metal Control, it now possessed at least 1.5 times greater strength and elasticity than before.
His armor had already been sturdy, but now he sensed instinctively that ordinary impacts would scarce leave a mark.
Beyond that.
Hummmmmmm.
Gray metallic Mana rising like heat shimmer above his armor and fists.
By merely moving it, he could enhance the armor’s durability in revolutionary ways.
‘Even this is possible.’
Bang!
At the tip of the ‘blade’ he swung through empty air, he could conjure a Mana Blade some ten centimeters long.
Things he’d never dreamed possible were unfolding with impossible ease.
Simply by feeling and wielding metal as surely as his own body.
“Sir Munno?”
“Hm?”
He heard a startled voice from beside him, but Munno remained focused only on his newfound ability.
‘This works.’
The essence of Metal Control that the ‘second heart’ had imprinted into his mind was, in a sense, remarkably simple.
‘To move, tune, and strengthen metal within the reach of my power.’
And perhaps—no, almost certainly—this was the ultimate pursuit of Metal Spiritism.
To put it more precisely now.
‘Spiritism is the power to handle elements like my ability, supplemented by Mana to achieve it? Does that even make sense?’
Confused though he was, it rang true.
The enlightenment and intuition carved into his very soul through the gem spoke plainly to this.
He could already feel with certainty that the spell’s efficiency within the ‘blade’ had improved dramatically.
‘I want to test this immediately.’
But the moment didn’t permit experimentation.
“……I shall proceed with this, Trauni.”
Just as uncontainable laughter began to seep from the corners of Munno’s mouth.
Trauni’s hollow chuckle reached his ears at last.
An expression as though something had just become clear.
“Surely the original body of that relic was Munno’s Artifact—how remarkable. So that’s what they meant when they spoke of the treasure having a true owner.”
A guess that was perhaps a million light-years from the truth.
Yet Munno made no move to correct him.
‘So the rumor that my ability is an Artifact has just become half true?’
A quiet laugh threatened to escape.
Anthoni, who had chosen the red sword that matched his own armor, drew near to where they stood.
His expression too shone with the light of one who had obtained exactly what he desired.
And more than that—
“You’re already using a Mana Blade just from getting one Artifact? Quite the monster, aren’t you, junior? That strike just now—it looked like your inherent power rather than an Artifact ability.”
Having discerned the very essence of it from a single swing of the blade, he fixed Munno with a piercing, intensely curious gaze.
“This Artifact supports my Spirit Magic. Thanks to it, I’ve developed an intuition for handling Mana, and that’s how I can use it now. I expected it might become possible eventually… but fortune favored me today.”
Munno added an objective explanation alongside his present satisfaction, offering a show of modesty.
Yet Anthoni’s eyes only gleamed brighter.
“Ah. So you could have used a Mana Blade through growth alone? I’ve heard that the Gluttony Hardening Technique doesn’t consume Mana.”
“Well… that is…”
“Don’t tell me you’ve evolved that peculiar Hardening Technique. A Tertiary Characteristic?”
The topic of Characteristics—one Munno had heard discussed even from Count Enoc Trian—now came from Anthoni’s lips as well.
‘A Tertiary Characteristic…’
He could understand Grandfather Enoc knowing of it, but how did this man know of the Gluttony Hardening Technique too?
“Yes, well… it happened somewhat by chance.”
“Hmm. A Tertiary Characteristic would make reaching Seven-Star difficult…”
Even the same words.
“You’re mentioning Seven-Star to Munno, who hasn’t even reached seventeen winters, Anthoni?”
“Talent like that, when you see it, you mention it. Of course…”
Yet what followed shifted in tone.
“Since my junior here has already proven that exceptional talent before my very eyes, the future remains unknowable. But then—I’ll hold fast to my expectations, junior. Or rather, Munno.”
What exactly are you expecting?
Questions crowded into his mind, but Anthoni, as he had throughout, gave Munno no opening to speak before turning immediately to Trauni.
“I believe all is settled now, Chamberlain. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Well… both of you seem satisfied, and that’s what matters.”
Trauni steadied his racing heart and declared the time of treasure selection at an end.

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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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