Chapter 186: The Holy Sword Awakens

The Bulgasari.

An imaginary animal and Yokai that appears in the legends of Korea.

True to its name, which means it can never be killed, it was a monster known as an immortal Yokai.

In particular, this Bulgasari was known to grow by eating iron, and thanks to that, it possessed a body as hard as steel and could manipulate iron at will.

There was one more thing.

According to the legends.

“Its weakness is determined to be fire!”

The Bulgasari’s weakness was fire.

Because its only weakness was fire, it was also called Hwagasal—meaning it could be killed by fire.

The Rankers who heard the news nodded, “Limit all attacks to fire! Hunters without fire attacks, instead of attacking, focus on protecting those who can!”

The only attacks that worked on the Bulgasari were fire-attribute attacks.

That was why such an order was given, but there was a problem.

Among the Rankers, there were not many who could use fire attacks.

Against other monsters, the attacks of a few Rankers would be sufficient, but it didn’t seem likely that a few fire-attribute attacks could finish off a Rank 10 Monster.

Just then.

“Kwaaaa—!”

A projectile flying through the sky, drawing a red trajectory.

“Boom!!”

“Muoooooo!”

It slammed into the side of the Bulgasari.

Simultaneously, the bursting flames took the form of a dragon and coiled around Bulgasari’s body.

From afar, Vulcanus had fired a shell made from SS-class fire material.

However, no matter how much of a weakness it was, the Bulgasari could not be defeated with this single strike.

But then, into the ears of the Rankers who were regrouping, the voice of Vulcanus reached those connected to him.

– “Supplying Parts.”

Few among the Rankers did not know what Parts were.

They were items created by Vulcanus; if inserted into the equipment he made, the wearer could use the attributes dwelling within those Parts.

Sure enough, parts glowing with scorching flames appeared before the Rankers associated with Vulcanus.

When they inserted those Parts into their equipment.

-Whoosh!

Intense heat immediately radiated from their gear.

The moment they equipped the Parts, everyone wearing them became capable of fire-attribute attacks, the Bulgasari’s weakness.

“Now that we’ve identified the elemental weakness, next is the weak point! Attack the areas suspected to be weak points, but preserve your stamina as much as possible until they are confirmed!”

“Yes!”

The Rankers began to hunt the Rank 10 Monster in earnest.

When facing the Dokkaebi King, a Rank 10 Monster had seemed like an overwhelming entity, a being beyond the heavens.

But now it is different.

With all the Rankers gathered and receiving support from Vulcanus, it didn’t feel like an impossible enemy.

However, it remained a difficult foe nonetheless.

-Slash!

“Damn it, just how hard is it?”

“Thud!”

“Argh! Blades are coming out from its whole body…!”

The Bulgasari’s skin was as hard as iron armor, and every time they approached, blades popped out as if soldiers were hidden beneath its skin.

Magic didn’t work well either, unless it was a fire-attribute spell.

Still, it wasn’t that their attacks were ineffective.

As the fire attacks continued, the Bulgasari’s body began to turn a deep red.

The more it did, the softer its skin became, and the protruding blades grew duller.

So, the Hunters pushed the Bulgasari even harder.

Just as they thought they could easily defeat the Bulgasari without even needing to find a specific weak point.

“Rumble!”

The Bulgasari’s body turned bright red and caught fire.

“Muooooooo—!”

“Roar!”

It began to vomit molten iron from its mouth.

They clearly thought it was a monster weak to fire, but now it was actually using fire itself.

This was Phase 2 of the Bulgasari.

The troubling thing was that in this state, all the Bulgasari’s wounds were healing.

Seeing it move so vigorously, it seemed its health was gradually recovering as well.

‘Could it be…?’

An ominous thought crossed the Hunters’ minds.

What if they couldn’t stop this state, and the Bulgasari fully recovered all its status and returned to the form they first encountered?

That was their fear.

And that thought was not wrong.

The Bulgasari was continuously recovering its health.

In a situation where it was difficult even to get close because of the flames.

– “Sending Parts.”

“Click!”

The Rankers swapped their Parts.

Immediately, mist began to flow from the Rankers’ bodies.

Parts containing the water attribute.

Empowered by this, the Rankers charged through the flames and began attacking the Bulgasari.

The difficulty was getting close; currently, the Bulgasari’s vaunted defense had practically vanished.

Thanks to the water-attribute Parts, the damage from the fire was reduced, allowing the Rankers to attack the Bulgasari without hesitation.

Vulcanus also supported the raid by firing water-attribute shells.

But.

‘It’s not enough.’

It was lacking.

It was missing that final edge.

The Hunter with the strongest single-hit attack power among them was undoubtedly the Sword Saint, but even her attacks were having trouble finishing it off.

While they were struggling with this, a message from Vulcanus appeared—this time only to the Sword Saint, not all the Rankers.

– “Refining is finished.”

‘Refining?’

What did that mean?

She hadn’t requested Vulcanus to make any items for her.

Furthermore, all the equipment she was currently wearing was L-rank Equipment made by Vulcanus himself.

What more equipment could there be to make?

In that moment, the item the Shadow King had received crossed her mind.

The EX-grade item, the Dokkaebi Gamtu.

Generally, even if an item was EX-grade, they often had lower performance despite looking good.

However, the Dokkaebi Gamtu the Shadow King received had a performance that surpassed L-rank…

No, far exceeded L-rank items.

If that was the case?

“Click.”

She grasped the sword that appeared before her.

She wasn’t picky about types of swords, but her most proficient weapon was a basic longsword type.

The reason she had been using the saber-type Twilight and Dawn until now was that they were the most powerful among the weapons she possessed.

But the weapon that appeared before her now was different.

It was a proper sword.

A set item consisting of a sword and a scabbard tailored to her style.

The scabbard was a holy-looking white, engraved with golden patterns that added to its nobility.

As she gripped the finely crafted hilt and drew the sword, a beautiful blade boasting unparalleled dignity and nobility met her eyes.

Checking the item information revealed.

[Excalibur]

Type: Sword

Grade: EX

Restrictions: Level 350 or higher, one recognized by Vulcanus

Description: The legendary holy sword used by King Arthur, Excalibur.

Attack Power: 10,000

Abilities:

1. Holy Radiance – Upon unsheathing, the sword is imbued with radiance, adding holy-attribute attack power and significantly increasing attack power, attack range, and attack speed. The radiance gradually decreases.

2. Long Crusade – During battle, the radiance grows stronger as sheathing and unsheathing are repeated.

3. King’s Majesty – The stronger the radiance, the more all stats significantly increase, and the stats of enemies facing the radiance decrease.

4. King’s Blade – The Attack Aura is replaced by “King’s Blade,” which possesses twice the power of a normal Attack Aura.

5. King’s Judgment – Useable only once per battle. Consumes all radiance of the sword to deal damage proportional to the brightness of the radiance.

As expected.

Just as she anticipated, it was an EX-grade item.

It seemed to be an item made from the ‘Fragment of the Machine Castle,’ an SSS-class material obtained from the Tower.

“This can’t be…”

Confirming the weapon’s attack power, the Sword Saint let out an exclamation of admiration in spite of herself.

Ten thousand attack power.

She wasn’t sure if a level 500 L-rank weapon could even produce this much attack power, but a level 350 weapon had an absurd attack power value of ten thousand.

What about the abilities?

They were perfectly suited for her combat style, which utilized sheathing and unsheathing.

“The scabbard is also EX-grade.”

The scabbard of Excalibur, ‘Avalon,’ was the same.

Not only did a mere scabbard possess high defense, but it also possessed abilities related to sheathing, the opposite of Excalibur.

It increased the user’s defense and healing power, and it also had an ability to increase ‘radiance,’ the gimmick of Excalibur.

The moment she held such a sword.

Confidence welled up within her.

-Dash!

As she infused mana into Excalibur, an Attack Aura formed.

The secret technique she had realized beyond just Attack Aura while training the sword.

That secret technique became ‘King’s Blade’ through Excalibur’s ability, shining brilliantly.

Simultaneously with drawing the sword, she swung horizontally along with the bursting Holy Radiance.

-Slash!

“Muoooooo!”

The Bulgasari’s body was deeply cut.

A wound so large formed that everything they had done until now could be described as mere ‘scratches.’

“What in the…”

The Rankers watching this were shocked.

Even for the Sword Saint, to inflict this much damage on a Rank 10 Monster.

Her attacks had already drifted far beyond their level.

Even if she was rank 1, they thought the Sword Saint’s skill would be within a similar level as theirs, but it had escaped that ‘level.’

-Slash, slash!

The more she swung her sword, the stronger the attacks became.

Partly because the radiance grew brighter due to the item effect, and partly because she quickly adapted to Excalibur.

The Bulgasari spat out molten iron to counter this, but the moment she sheathed Excalibur.

-Hummmm.

The barrier created by the ability of the scabbard, Avalon, blocked the molten iron.

As soon as the molten iron was exhausted, she drew her sword and shouted.

“King’s Judgment.”

The unique skill of Excalibur that consumed all radiance.

On top of that, she used all the skills she possessed and infused all her magical power to strengthen ‘King’s Blade.’

The flash that erupted as a result swallowed the Bulgasari.

The Rank 10 Monster that seemed as if it would never die, the one that had been proving its name as Bulgasari.

“Uuugh…”

It was swallowed by Excalibur’s radiance and vanished.

Watching that scene the Hunters shouted in victory.

“The Sword Saint defeated the Bulgasari!”

“My god!”

“It’s over!!”

[The second Monster Wave of the Tower has been repelled.]

[A large amount of experience points will be provided to the Awakened Ones who repelled the wave.]

The system message announcing the end of the Monster Wave floated before them.

Although the Monster Waves would continue to repeat until the climb was over, the Hunters could now have hope.

They could stop it.

They could conquer it.

At this rate, the Earth would never be destroyed.

They held onto that hope.