Trait Hoarder

Exoskeleton Factory — Part 2

First, I needed to defend.

I raised my left arm.

Aegis deployed, merging its mana shield with holy power and earth attributes to form a rugged cubic barrier.

Thud-thud-thud!

Bullets pelted against it.

Magically enhanced firearms.

They were infused with some elemental traits, but breaking through my Aegis? Not in a hundred years.

Sparks flew harmlessly off the shield.

“Take this!”

The real threat came next—swords.

Superhumans using magic thrusters to close the distance instantly.

A longsword striking like a lightning bolt.

A magic club and a collapsible baton following suit.

‘Is that all?’

Disappointing.

In the game, this dungeon was crawling with Level 6s and 7s.

Yet these so-called superhumans, firing bullets and swinging blades at me, were barely Level 3.

Right now, I could kill them with a flick of my finger.

Fwoosh!

Flames erupted.

[Sacred Flame].

I didn’t even need to draw my dual pistols.

I didn’t have to snap my fingers, concentrate, or exert any effort.

Just a thought was enough.

The Dragon Monarch’s Crown activated, cooling my mind.

Mathematical formulas and engineering schematics flooded my vision.

The effect of [Cold Rationality] and [Dragon Mind].

Because of that, the [Sacred Flame] split into dozens of streams, sweeping through the superhumans in an instant.

“Gaaah!”

“What the hell?!”

A vast hall, like a gymnasium.

Some superhumans were smoking, some were chatting, others were dozing off.

Their reactions were quick, but not quicker than my thoughts.

Not faster than the [Sacred Flame] that I unleashed.

They burned to ashes in an instant.

Not a single one survived.

“M-Mercy…”

“Murder! It’s murder!”

“Aaaah! Aaahhh!”

“Call the poli—”

“Are you insane? Run!”

The ones in lab coats fled.

A mix of Mages and Priests.

Some weren’t even superhumans—probably magitech researchers.

They sprinted toward the elevator, toward the emergency exits.

But escaping from me was impossible.

I lazily drew my dual pistols.

Bang! Tatatatang!

The pistols roared.

The bullets were infused with [Soul Severance].

Each fleeing scientist took a hit to the back of the head and collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.

Not all of them.

A few superhumans managed to raise barriers in time to block.

“Oh?”

They were resisting?

I switched attributes in a blink.

A high-caliber pistol with [Destruction] fired first.

Then, a low-caliber pistol with [Soul Severance] followed up.

That was it.

They collapsed, foaming at the mouth, a hole blown through them.

‘Something’s off.’

It didn’t make sense.

The superhumans being dissected here were all around Level 5.

That was a high rank—one that demanded respect.

So why were they being captured and harvested by mere Level 3s?

It didn’t add up.

“Cough! Hrk…!”

A bald researcher, leaning against the central control panel, coughed up blood.

“Who… who the hell are you? Why are you attacking us? Why?”

“Why? Look around you. Do you think I’d just let this slide? I got a tip-off, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

“A tip-off? Ha… haha!”

The title [Research Director] was clearly displayed on his chest.

In the game, he fused with a corpse golem before appearing as a boss.

Here, he hadn’t done that yet.

But as expected of a research director, he was Level 5.

He even survived two bullets from me.

“Damn it. I shouldn’t have taken that contract…”

“A contract?”

“Curse you! Whoever you are, you can’t stop my life’s masterpiece! Rise, my robot!”

The research director slammed his palm onto the control panel.

He had been stalling for time—activating the half-built robot.

I let him.

I needed to see which of these exoskeletons would eventually evolve into the enhanced skeletal corpse golem.

Whoooosh!

The air swirled violently.

Mana surged into the facility.

Through the ceiling, the floor, the walls—through the thick mana cables embedded in them.

Thunk! Thud-thunk!

The energy drain was so immense that even the power supply flickered.

The magical lights illuminating the facility shut off.

Even the ventilation system came to a halt.

In the darkness, a thick, unsettling laughter echoed.

“Hahaha! Tremble in fear! The pinnacle of 21st-century black magic! The purification of millennia of magitech! The Superhuman-Fused Combat Robot!”

The combat robot finally activated.

The machine standing behind the control panel slowly rose.

It was incomplete.

Only its exoskeleton and mobility systems were functional.

Well, that and the fused heart, brain, nervous system, and soul.

A magic alloy casing covered its components, concealing its grotesque nature.

But with [Bright Eyes], I saw everything.

“Destroy him! Demon King! Kill that bastard!”

The robot moved fast.

Its skeletal exoskeleton legs stretched long as it rapidly closed the distance.

In a blink, it passed the research director and reached me.

It raised its bony arm high—then slammed it down.

Boom!

I could’ve dodged.

But I blocked it instead.

I infused Aegis with defensive traits.

The impact was significant.

As I calculated the combat robot’s movement and force, I estimated its level.

‘Not Level 7.’

It wasn’t even comparable to a corpse dragon or an Avatar.

But was it a Level 6? No, it was above that.

‘A Level 6 dungeon boss, maybe.’

Back when I was Level 5, I could hunt Level 6s.

And a dungeon boss?

Nothing special.

But now that I was Level 7, a Level 6 dungeon boss was nothing more than a toy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The combat robot swung its arms relentlessly while I was thinking.

I blocked every strike.

I wasn’t a shield specialist, but I still had [Shieldsmanship].

No matter what the Priest’s soul—forcefully fused into the AI through black magic—tried, it couldn’t break my defense.

The research director’s face twisted in frustration.

“Damn it! You idiot! Use a weapon! Use the chainsaw!”

The combat robot hesitated for a brief moment.

The moment it swung its right arm, the massive chainsaw attached to it crackled with sparks.

Yeah, this was just like the one in the game.

A chainsaw on the right arm.

A massive gatling gun on the left.

Missile launchers mounted on the shoulders.

A sinister relic embedded in the chest.

Right now, the only visible weapon was the chainsaw.

And more importantly, it lacked the signature weight and ominous dark mana-infused muscle that corpse golems had.

No matter how advanced the mobility system was, it could never replace the sheer destructive force that came from pure mass.

I scanned the area to check if there were any other combat robots, but there didn’t seem to be any.

The one revving its chainsaw was the biggest and most complete among them.

“Let’s finish this.”

I gripped Mjolnir.

Sparks crackled from it.

Unfazed, the combat robot emotionlessly raised its chainsaw.

And then, it swung down.

KWAANG!

The chainsaw cleaved through the air.

I remained still, watching.

The research director’s face lit up with delight.

“Yes! That’s it! Kill him!”

Idiot.

Just as the chainsaw was about to split my head open—

I lightly threw myself forward.

And activated a trait.

[Thunderbolt]

My body sublimated.

I transformed into pure lightning.

I stretched, elongating as I passed straight through the chainsaw.

Then through the arm behind it, the shoulder joints, and even the head—housing a Mage’s brain and a Priest’s soul.

When my physical form returned,

I was standing atop the combat robot’s shoulders.

Grrrk. Giiiirk.

The combat robot whirred like a broken wind-up toy.

Its outdated sensors and weak AI had lost track of me, leaving it malfunctioning.

In that moment, I raised Aegis high.

[Shieldsmanship] [Mana Shield] [Mana Burst]

[Mana Core] [Mana Focus] [Training]

Just like I had trained on the deck of the Sky Ship.

This so-called masterpiece of the research director—this Level 6 combat robot—was nothing more than a training dummy to me.

I swung down.

Condensing an immense amount of mana, then detonating it precisely upon impact.

KWA-BOOOM!

A shockwave erupted.

Normally, an explosion would spread outward, dispersing its force.

But this one flowed downward—

Directly through the robot’s shoulders.

It tore through its mobility system, shattered its frame, and ripped apart the organs encased within its metallic shell.

[Shockwave] trait.

All that training in Olympus and the Great Rift had paid off.

“Hup!”

I kicked off with full force.

The combat robot slowly collapsed.

Its stiff knees buckled, its broken mobility systems detached, and its chest split open—spilling out a thick, blood-like fluid.

Midair, I twisted my body.

[Shieldsmanship] [Shield Bash] [Shield Block]

[Shield Wall] [Magic Reflection] [Shockwave]

I equipped each shield trait, one by one.

And then, I combined them.

Thump!

My heart pulsed heavily.

That was all it took.

Maybe it was because I was Level 7, but the combination felt even faster than before.

I had already fused multiple weapon-related traits, from swords to firearms.

[Shield Expert]

The fusion took barely a second.

By the time I had finished my midair flip, the trait was fully formed.

I equipped it instantly.

[Shield Expert] [Close-Combat Mastery] [One-Man Army]

[Giant’s Strength] [Mana Core] [Grand Assault]

I kicked the air.

Grand Assault for a leap, Phoenix Boots for another jump, and finally, an aerial charge.

FWOOSH!

The air split apart.

The back of the combat robot’s head loomed large.

It was completely paralyzed, stunned by my earlier shockwave.

I smashed my shield into it.

Channeling all my momentum, all my force.

Using my newly fused [Shield Expert] for a brutal bash, amplifying it with [Close-Combat Mastery]’s strike, [One-Man Army]’s destruction, and every ounce of raw power I had.

KWA-BOOOOM!

A deafening explosion.

The supposedly indestructible magic alloy shattered like glass.

A fountain of fluid and brain matter erupted from within.

The combat robot was completely annihilated.

No mana signals.

No electrical responses.

Perfect silence—absolute death.

The entire fight lasted less than thirty seconds.

“T-this can’t be… Impossible! How… how is this happening?!”

The research director coughed up blood.

His eyes were bulging, veins throbbing.

His gaze darted over me, scanning every inch.

From my faceless, spectral helm to the Black Tiger Sword at my waist, to Mjolnir, and finally, Aegis on my left arm.

And then—

His expression twisted in utter shock.

“You… YOU!”

He pointed a trembling finger at me.

“That sword… the Black Tiger Sword! You… you’re the Black Tiger Swordmaster! You’re the Sword Star!”

Took him long enough.

He hadn’t recognized me earlier because I was wearing the Dragon Monarch’s Crown instead of the Golden Tortoise Helm, my face obscured by the black-gold magic radiance.

I returned Mjolnir to my waist and drew my pistol.

I planned to knock him out with [Soul Severance] rounds.

A worm like him wasn’t even worth killing.

I’d hand him over to Choi Sunsoo—he’d know how to deal with him.

“Hehehe… Hahahaha!”

The research director suddenly burst into manic laughter, tilting his head back.

“So it was YOU! Of course! Who else but the great Sword Star would hound our cult like this?!”

Our cult?

That was new.

In the game, this detail had been vague.

The research director’s boss description simply said he had become obsessed with his work and sacrificed himself to complete the corpse golem.

So that wasn’t the full truth.

A missing piece—now falling into place.

Splurt!

The research director gouged out his own eye and flung it.

No blood splattered.

Instead, his enchanted prosthetic eye evaporated, revealing a hidden magic circle embedded in his eye socket.

Black magic ignited.

“Kraaagh!”

“Hkkk…!”

The unconscious guards twitched violently and rose.

Blood poured from their eyes, noses, and mouths.

Their hearts overloaded, mana surging wildly.

And then—

Their bodies rapidly decayed, rotting and slumping.

A common sight in Arcane Seoul.

The black magic spell—[Zombie].

“Kill him!”

“Krrrrk—!”

The superhuman zombies charged at me.

Their latent potential had been forcibly triggered, raising their level by one.

But I couldn’t even be bothered to react.

Even with a level boost, they were only Level 4 at best.

If they wanted a chance at stopping me, they’d need to throw an army of Level 7s my way.

Clang!

I drew the Black Tiger Sword.

There were plenty of ways to deal with these zombies.

I could unleash [Sacred Flame] again, or wipe them out in a single sweep with the Invincible Gun.

But this time, I decided to use a different method.

[Sacred Flame] [Mana Core] [One-Man Army]

[Holy Power] [Divine Radiance] [Brilliance]

I unleashed [Sacred Flame].

Infused it into my sword, along with Holy Power.

Divine Radiance and Brilliance spread across the blade, wrapping the Black Tiger Sword in sacred golden flames.

Anyone looking at me now would think I was a Paladin—

A warrior blessed by the heavens.

I advanced.

No need for [Grand Assault].

No need for the Phoenix Boots, which I wore comfortably on my feet.

I simply swung my sword.

Not with force.

Not with intent to cut.

Just like sweeping dust with a broom.

It was a completely blunt, unimpressive attack.

And yet, the superhuman zombies melted away like snow under sunlight the moment they touched [Sacred Flame].

The flame that inflicted extra damage against all evil beings.

And with Holy Power and Divine Radiance added on top—

If any of them had survived, they wouldn’t have been mere Level 4 zombies.

They’d have been Level 7 boss monsters.

Fwoosh!

In mere moments, the Black Tiger Sword had wiped out dozens of superhuman zombies.

A pure white glow extended from its edge like a blade of light.

I let out a short laugh.

‘This is the [Holy Sword] trait.’

A trait exclusive to Paladins, yet it had awakened within me thanks to Holy Power and [Sacred Flame].

‘What a shame.’

If the sword weren’t already bonded to me, I could have fused it into a Holy Sword Knight trait.

Had there been no exclusivity between the Holy Sword Knight, the Radiant Knight, and the Sacred Crown Knight, I could have combined them all.

“Hehehe… Hahaha!”

Laughter rang out, dry and unhinged.

I maintained the [Holy Sword] as I slowly turned.

The research director was clutching his own heart, cackling madly.

A true fanatic of his cult.

When our eyes met, he twisted his lips into a smirk.

“Sword Star, Sword Star, Sword Star! The great enemy of our cult! The harbinger of its destruction! Hahaha! You have shattered my masterpiece—then I shall shatter your kingdom in return!”

Crunch.

He crushed his own heart.

Blood bubbled out, forming an intricate, three-dimensional sigil.

A skull shedding bloody tears.

And the blood, dripping like a baptismal rite.

I had seen this before.

In Arcane Seoul, during Episode 2: The Zombie Crisis.

“Hahahahaha!”

The research director let out a deep, drawn-out laugh.

“Death and ruin shall bring your kingdom to its knees!”

Squelch!

The research director’s body collapsed into a pool of blood.

It spread, seeping into the floor—

And revealed a hidden magic circle.

Not just beneath the research facility, but likely covering the entire factory and surrounding buildings.

Hissss…

A green mist sprayed from the ceiling.

The mist and the magic circle merged, coalescing into a tangible spell.

The same one that had turned the superhuman guards into zombies.

[Zombie].

This was exactly how it had looked in the game.

The night of the Zombie Crisis.

Hospitals, schools, factories, shopping malls, theaters—

Everywhere, those same mists and magic circles had shimmered, turning people into zombies.

Perhaps…

If I handled this wrong, I could trigger the Zombie Crisis myself.

It would be my own hands that ignited Episode 2.

“Hmph.”

I let out a scoff.

A self-sacrificial zombie spell?

A magic circle prepared in advance?

A dormitory and factory filled with potential victims?

None of it mattered.

Because the natural enemy of zombies—

Was resting peacefully in my golf bag.

The Golden Ruler’s Staff.

–TL Notes–

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