***
‘Darkan’s Afternoon’ had quite a peculiar system for a restaurant.
You paid first, and then they prepared food corresponding to the amount of money you gave.
Naturally, there was a difference between floors as well.
“We will serve you with the highest honor!”
When I handed over 1 million gold, all the employees on the first floor bowed their heads.
Right after, we were guided to a window seat on the 4th floor.
The largest dining table.
A table for twelve, yet only three of us sat there.
“Thank you very much for using Darkan’s Afternoon. Do you by chance have anything you cannot eat?”
Hudson shook his head at the question of the neatly dressed employee.
“No.”
“Then first, please enjoy our special juice made from Leviathan’s snots. It is our shop’s pride, a special beverage reserved only for upper-grade customers.”
“……?”
Leviathan’s what?
Leviathan was a monster of the dragon species.
Which meant this was juice made from a dragon’s mucus.
A moment later, the employee brought a tall cup filled with a white, viscous liquid.
… What is this thick thing.
Even someone who eats anything would hesitate at this visual.
Did they seriously expect us to drink this?
While I was hesitating, the table next to us became noisy.
“Wait. We didn’t pay for that seat, did we? Are you kidding me?”
“Lady Dersian. That seat is only for customers who spend over 500,000 gold…”
“Shut up. How dare a commoner talk back to me?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Move us to the same seats, right now.”
“T-that would violate the rules of the establishment…”
Slap!
The employee’s face twisted halfway to the side.
Holding his cheek in disbelief, the girl spat venomous words at him.
“Filthy trash. Are you out of your mind? Do you think I’m asking because I don’t have money?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Whatever. Give us that seat.”
“T-that… would be difficult…”
“Alt. If he says one more word, cut him down.”
“Yes.”
Srrng.
The swordsman beside her raised his blade.
The employee’s face went sheet-white.
It was a ridiculous scene, yet it naturally drew my eyes.
‘Dersian?’
Isabella’s family name—Dersian.
… That foolish girl is the lady of that Dersian family?
The ones who co-host the top-tier auctions with Darkan?
Is that why no one around them dares to speak?
Above all—
‘A bronze fox mask, huh.’
The swordsman beside the Dersian lady was wearing a bronze-colored fox mask.
It was the same shape as the silver fox mask worn by the 2-star transcendent I saw in the Abyssal Labyrinth.
【Lv. ♠】
However, the difference from the silver mask was the level floating above the bronze fox mask.
Neither a number nor a star, but a spade symbol.
That bizarre notation had been pulling at my attention since I entered this place.
‘He’s definitely a transcendent.’
He was certainly transcendent, but he didn’t transcend by consuming stars.
And the only method I knew for humans to transcend was by consuming stars.
Unless they abandoned being “human” altogether and used some other method.
Like a saintess, who was treated as non-human, or Maxim, who used a demon heart to achieve level 10.5.
Had the Empire discovered a transcendence method other than consuming stars?
“……”
Hudson furrowed his brow.
Valte also looked displeased.
Such behavior, especially in a restaurant, was intolerable.
Hudson was, after all, a noble of England.
He would find it hard to overlook such insolence.
If not for my presence, he would already have stepped forward.
He was holding back only because he feared it might cause trouble for me.
‘At first I thought it was an act.’
This foolish spectacle was so absurd that I suspected they were putting on a show to test us.
But our coming here and choosing the 4th floor had all been improvised.
It made no sense for them to prepare the Dersian family’s lady in advance.
Meaning—the girl from the Dersian family was genuinely insane.
‘Do as you wish.’
Seeing Hudson glance at me, I nodded.
Do whatever you want.
Whether he held back or didn’t was Hudson’s choice.
He, not I, was the one who received the invitation.
“I’ll give you three seconds. Answer properly.”
“……!”
At that moment, the Dersian lady began a countdown.
“Three.”
The employee’s face turned not white but blue at the number.
He genuinely believed she would kill him.
“Two.”
“W-wait…!”
“One. Alt, cut him.”
Just as Alt, the bronze fox mask swordsman, swung his blade—
“Would you shut your mouth already, you spoiled brat.”
Hudson shouted.
The Dersian lady’s face hardened instantly.
“…… Are you talking to me?”
“Didn’t your parents teach you to be quiet when you eat? Ah, perhaps you don’t have any.”
“What, what?”
“Manners make the person. Try becoming one.”
“Alt…! Kill that bastard!”
The Dersian lady screamed.
Hudson—was he imitating my manner of speaking?
Shooosh!
Clang!
I easily deflected the blade flying toward Hudson.
‘Not bad.’
My hand tingled.
As expected, that spade symbol indeed indicated a transcendent.
I had never fought a transcendent head-on before.
And if that bronze fox mask truly was a transcendent, he was leagues beyond a mere 10.5-level Maxim.
Not someone you could face without preparation.
Before climbing the mountain of trainees, I would have resorted to the Throne of Radiant Light or some other ability.
But now—
‘I can manage.’
Now, even a transcendent was someone I could face head-on.
Like when I faced greed, wagering value on a gamble, or when I shattered the mystery of the Desert Queen, but now—purely with my martial force.
I was confident in the growth I had achieved.
Which made me curious—just how far my accumulated strength could reach.
This was perfect.
A Dersian family member, and a transcendent marked with a spade.
A perfect chance to satisfy all my curiosity!
“… You must have a death wish.”
I slowly stood up, gripping Skull Crusher.
Discipline (1)
“… You must have a death wish.”
I rose slowly with Skull Crusher in hand.
The bronze fox mask swordsman was suddenly in front of me, thrusting his sword.
Shuaaa—!
A strike aimed straight at my throat.
Kwaaaang—!!
In an instant, I lifted my foot and kicked.
The bronze fox mask swordsman crashed through a wall.
It was a difference of a single sheet of paper.
If I hadn’t expected it, my neck would have been severed.
A person experiencing a transcendent’s speed for the first time wouldn’t even know how they died.
But I had expected it.
No one in this world had more experience fighting transcendents than I did.
From the moment I entered the restaurant, I’d been observing the bronze fox mask’s movements.
“……!”
Ignoring the stunned gazes around me, I kicked off the ground, leaping past the collapsed wall.
Soaring through the air, I gripped Skull Crusher with both hands, and threads of sword energy coiled around the blade.
《‘Sword Aura’ manifests, increasing damage by 50%.》
《‘Skull Crusher’ increases Sword Aura’s damage by 30%.》
A total of 80% increased damage!
Skull Crusher increased the damage of sword energy according to my Swordsmanship proficiency, giving me nearly double the destructive power.
Feeling my muscles swell, I drove Skull Crusher down onto the bronze fox mask swordsman.
KWA-A-A-AANG!
The ground caved in, dust billowing.
The sensation at my fingertips told me all I needed.
Through the dust, I saw the bronze fox mask swordsman’s body crushed into pulp.
His mask shattered, revealing a wrinkled, monstrous face.
Swoosh—
A presence behind me.
I caught the incoming sword with my bare hand.
Flesh tore, but I ignored it.
Pulling the sword, I made the opponent stumble.
I seized the opening, slammed my forehead into his face—
Crunch!
The bronze fox mask shattered, revealing a face identical to the one I had just pulped.
The same man.
Another one.
‘Not just one.’
Bronze fox masks began surrounding me.
Eleven of them.
【♠】
All of them transcendents marked with spades.
But after seeing two faces, I was certain.
‘Clones. A transcendent’s authority.’
Transcendents possessed special authorities.
This bronze fox mask’s authority was likely Clone Technique.
But these weren’t mere clones.
All of them were true bodies.
I had to destroy all twelve true bodies to kill him.
I’d killed one.
Eleven remained.
What an annoyance.
Then again, it would’ve been boring if he died in one hit.
They didn’t even react to the Sword Aura.
Even when a clone was crushed, their faces remained emotionless.
Like dolls.
‘I’ll smash them all.’
I wondered if he could stay calm after watching all his clones destroyed.
I was genuinely curious.
***
“Alt! Kill him! What are you doing!?”
The Dersian lady screamed from the building above.
Alt, her escort, was a warrior who had never known defeat.
A monster with twelve lives, a berserker who felt no fear of death!
No one had ever taken all twelve lives from him.
But his opponent was a monster too.
He ignored damage just like Alt, charging like a maddened bull.
“What… what am I looking at?”
“That’s not sword energy… that’s sword aura, isn’t it?”
“Sword aura? He can wield sword aura?”
The people gathered here were all rulers of at least one city.
Even the knights following them were speechless at the sight.
Sword aura!
Sword energy merely enhanced power.
Sword aura was different—it shaped the energy into a defined form, the supreme realm.
Its destructive power was on another level.
Then the Dersian lady heard the murmurs of others.
“What is that massive sword?”
“Skull Crusher. A weapon for the giant race. Only the greatest warriors of the giants can wield it.”
“Then is that man a giant?”
“It seems so…”
“He’s a bit small for a giant.”
“Some giants can shrink their bodies. A top warrior would certainly have such an ability.”
A top warrior of the giants.
What nonsense.
‘Why is a giant here?’
The giant race was a mythical species.
Monsters who overwhelmed humans, with only a handful still existing in the world.
They were the strongest beings on earth, self-proclaimed guardians of the Goddess.
Their strength rivaled dragons, and many were said to exceed even certain dragon species.
A top warrior of such a race would have immeasurable martial power.
It might be a misconception, but the knights were certain.
That sword aura was proof enough.
A symbol all knights longed for.
“A giant who wields sword aura…”
“And someone uses him as an escort?”
“Wasn’t the Hydragon carriage outside also his?”
“… Who is he?”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Hudson.
Who in the world was he, to have a top giant warrior as his escort?
His demeanor was even more ridiculous.
Slurp—
Relaxed, calmly sitting, sipping the special drink, paying no attention at all.
‘Does he think victory is guaranteed?’
‘Such confidence.’
‘Against the Dersian family’s berserker…’
But contrary to their assumptions, Hudson was suffering.
He was sweating coldly, barely holding back dry heaves.
‘Who would pay money to drink something like this?’
The viscous Leviathan snots…
It tasted exactly as disgusting as it looked.
Hudson had tasted countless dishes from England, but this was beyond unpleasant.
But he could not lose composure.
The appearance he showed here represented the dignity of his lord, Randolph.
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