Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 18

His heart rate spiked, and his breathing became ragged.

His muscles surged as his metabolism rapidly accelerated.

As time passed, his body neared its limit.

If he maintained combat mode, his cells would eventually die, and his body would rot.

But then…

‘Wait, what is this?’

He experienced something incredible.

Just as his cells were about to collapse, a tiny amount of mana within him slowly began to circulate through his mana pathways according to his will.

As the mana flowed, the expected cellular breakdown didn’t occur; his body remained stable.

Stunned by this unbelievable situation, Kang Chan didn’t know what to do.

He had only felt mana, never guided it through his mana pathways.

He decided to push through, maintaining combat mode and continuing to circulate the mana.

But that was a mistake.

The mana’s circulation accelerated along with his metabolism, drawing in surrounding mana.

New mana rushed into his mana core like a torrent.

‘What’s happening? I can’t stop it!’

Kang Chan, unskilled in mana manipulation, lacked the ability and stamina to handle it.

The surging mana overwhelmed him, rampaging uncontrollably through his mana pathways.

Kang Chan felt as if needles were tearing through his body.

‘Kuh… Ugh… Aaaaaaagh!’

He despaired as the immense mana threatened to burst him like a balloon; his body turned purple and was on the verge of exploding.

‘Kuh… Is this how I die?’

The uncontrolled mana surged into Kang Chan’s biochip.

“Gaaaaaah!”

Kang Chan screamed from the intense headache, but his biochip responded unexpectedly.

-New software detected. Connect?

“C-connect! Aaaagh!”

As Kang Chan desperately agreed, the biochip began to control the runaway mana.

-Excessive unknown energy detected in the body.

-Attempting to release energy through the hands.

Unlike the inexperienced Kang Chan, the biochip coolly attempted to release the excess energy through Kang Chan’s hands.

As Kang Chan writhed on the ground, he instinctively raised his hand, and an incredible beam of light shot out.

‘Huh? What is this?’

The beam gradually faded, and the wild mana within Kang Chan vanished.

-All energy released.

-Combat mode deactivated.

The moment combat mode deactivated, Kang Chan felt as heavy as a wet blanket and collapsed.

“Hah… hah… What was that…?”

Exhausted, Kang Chan fell unconscious.

“Mister? Are you okay?”

Jaina, returning from the village with lunch, rushed to Kang Chan’s side.

Kang Chan slowly opened his eyes.

“……”

“What’s wrong, mister? Are you hurt?”

“Hungry…”

“Hungry?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Huh? What?”

Jaina, looking betrayed, threw the lunch at Kang Chan.

“Ugh, annoying… Now you’re doing things you never used to do.”

“……!”

Kang Chan caught the lunch and abruptly stood up.

“What’s the date today?”

“Seriously… Hey! Stop joking around.”

“I’m not joking. How long was I lying here?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? I saw you this morning, and it’s lunchtime now!”

Kang Chan couldn’t believe his ears.

“What? Not even a day?”

He had used combat mode level 5 to its limit, yet there were no repercussions.

Normally, he’d wake up after at least two days.

Moreover, his body felt lighter and fresher than before.

‘Computer, how did I wake up in just one day?’

-The reason is unknown, but you are in excellent condition. The unknown energy burned away impurities, improving blood circulation and metabolism.

‘Excellent condition? What’s going on?’

Kang Chan checked the mana in his mana core.

Instead of the faint mana he was used to, he felt an immense amount.

‘Huh? What is all this mana? Could it be?’

Hoping for the best, Kang Chan focused and guided the mana through his mana pathways.

To his surprise, the mana flowed smoothly, slowly drawing in more mana.

‘It works! It works! It’s moving!’

Kang Chan felt a jolt of electricity through his body.

Jaina frowned at Kang Chan’s ecstatic expression.

“You were hungry a minute ago, and now you’re training? Hey, aren’t you going to eat?”

Kang Chan ignored her, lost in his mana manipulation.

After training, Kang Chan returned to the Red Mars and practiced the mana cultivation technique in the training area.

Thrilled to be able to control mana, he moved it whenever he could.

Then, he wondered, ‘With this much mana, could I create an aura sword like Keremion?’ He quickly finished his mana cultivation and stood up.

He began to focus.

‘Send mana to the sword, send mana to the sword.’

He concentrated on sending the mana in his mana core through his mana pathways to the portable high-frequency blade in his hand. The mana slowly moved, flowing into the blade.

After a while, Kang Chan opened his eyes to a bright blue light.

‘Aura sword!’

His high-frequency blade was filled with mana, emitting an aura.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, captivated by the sword’s radiant blue light.

He tested its power on a nearby tree.

The thick tree fell easily.

‘Incredible sharpness.’

Next, he struck a rock with the aura sword.

Clang!

It didn’t break as easily as the tree, but it left a deep gash.

Seeing the red-hot rock, Kang Chan realized the aura sword’s power.

‘This is much sharper than the high-frequency blade. Can I use them together?’

Kang Chan activated the high-frequency blade with the aura sword. The blade glowed red, blending with the aura’s blue light to create a beautiful purple hue.

“Beautiful.”

Kang Chan struck the rock again with the purple high-frequency aura sword.

This time, the rock split silently, as if cut through butter.

“Well, this is useful.”

He was very satisfied with the performance.

Pleased, Kang Chan swung the high-frequency aura sword at the rock several more times, turning it into cubes.

Kang Chan didn’t know that aura swords become stronger with sharper edges.

His high-frequency blade was sharper than any famous sword, making his high-frequency aura sword twice as sharp as others’.

Satisfied, Kang Chan retrieved the aura and resumed his mana cultivation.

He couldn’t be satisfied yet.

* * *

It had been a month since Kang Chan learned to create an aura sword, but he hadn’t told Master yet.

Elradion took 40 years to create an aura sword.

He had reached the same level in just a year and a half, so he felt awkward about telling him.

“……”

Kang Chan was gathering mana under the waterfall as usual.

Then, a tremor began to resonate around him.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

‘What is it? What’s causing this vibration?’

The steady tremors grew stronger.

Feeling uneasy, Kang Chan quickly stood up.

The tension of the forest’s flora and fauna was conveyed through the mana of nature within him.

‘Something is coming. Something very large.’

Kang Chan put on his suit vest and hid behind cover, observing the changes.

His movements were more agile than in his Red Mars days.

Suddenly, a flock of birds flew up in terror.

Kang Chan couldn’t believe his eyes.

The trees moved, creating a path through the forest, revealing dozens of giant steel figures.

The giants were as large as Zaid and heavy, their steps shaking the earth.

“What… what are those? Mechs? [Giant, human-piloted robots]”

Kang Chan was shocked to see such massive mechs on this primitive planet.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The procession of giant steel figures was spectacular.

“Oh my god…”

Kang Chan was speechless.

As Kang Chan watched, the long line of giants continued, heading towards the Elven village.

Worried about their safety, Kang Chan followed the steel giants.

“The cursed dolls are coming, Artheon.”

Artheon nodded silently, his expression grim.

“It is unfortunate that those cursed dolls, created only for destruction, are entering our Elven forest.”

“They are necessary for the future of our race.”

“Indeed. Modern warfare requires these killing machines. I hear that even a large infantry force is useless against one of them.”

“I believe that is true.”

As they watched the giants with disapproval, the Gigantes [Giant robots] continued to march, lining up in a large clearing prepared in the village.

When the formation was complete, the shoulder armor of the lead giant detached, revealing a short figure inside.

“Lord, 50 Gigantes, present and accounted for!”

It was Lord Gafeld von Krackcion of the Dwarves.

“It is an honor to have the Lord personally lead the Gigantes.”

“Hahaha! How could I miss the first military cooperation between our Dwarves and the Elves! Hahaha!”

“It was a tight schedule, yet you created such magnificent Gigantes. Truly worthy of the Dwarves.”

“Hahaha! This is nothing! With the craftsmanship of our Dwarves and the magic of the Elves combined, nothing is impossible. Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed.”

“Are you stating the obvious?”

“That’s right! That’s right! Ahahahaha!”

Krackcion laughed, bending over at the words of the surrounding Dwarves.