TRGBM 54

Episode 54

054. The Beginning of Change

Dussar could only glance between Calliss, with his grave expression, and Geumson, whom his gaze was fixed upon. It was only then that Dussar, too, noticed the change in Geumson. Though it seemed his perspective was a bit different from Kalliss’s.

“Oh! The hammer! The hammer has changed! Don’t tell me… you forged the Ancient Void Iron Ore? Truly remarkable.”

Dussar’s gaze landed on the ‘Forgotten Void Hammer’ slung over Geumson’s back. Perhaps because he was also a blacksmith, the hammer caught his eye first. However, Calliss shook his head as if that wasn’t it.

“Of course, forging the Ancient Void Iron Ore in such a short time is also astonishing, but…”

Kalliss hesitated briefly. Then, gesturing toward the small bird perched on golden hand’s shoulder with a jerk of his chin, he said:

“Look at that. Don’t you know what that is?”
“Huh? A bird? Hmm, did he catch it somewhere? It’s quite pretty… Geumson has unique taste. Such a fragile-looking bird…”

To the rugged Dussar, it didn’t seem particularly appealing. Dussar wasn’t interested in much outside of things related to blacksmithing. His interest was solely on the hammer forged from the melted Void Iron Ore. To such a Dussar, Calliss spoke quietly.

“Hah! Fragile? That is the Fantastical Elementia. The one, the Infinite Bird.”

As soon as Kalliss finished speaking, Dussar’s jaw finally dropped. Although golden hand’s had shown him the Elementia’s egg, he hadn’t thought it would actually hatch.

It had been a situation no different from a stone. So he had completely dismissed the possibility, yet that Elementia was now sitting on Geumsom’s shoulder.

“I-Is it real? Is that the Fantastical Elementia?!”

Dussar, too, sprang from his seat and beheld the bird, Tia, on Geumson’s shoulder from afar. Concentrating, he could sense a faint, yet multifaceted energy emanating from it. But Collector Kalliss’s subtle reaction put Dussar on guard.

“Surely… you’re not after it, are you? He may be an outsider, but he is Kratum’s hero. If you try to take it by force, even you…”
Dussar warned Kalliss guardedly. golden hand’s was an outsider, but he had already earned Dussar’s trust akin to a blood brother. Because Geumson was already like family, Dussar issued the warning to Collector Kalliss. Because Dussar knew the hidden, greedy side of ‘Collectors’ better than anyone.

But Kalliss chuckled softly and shook his head.

“I’m not foolish enough to lay a hand on that, Dussar.”
“Huh? You? That’s a bit… hard to believe?”
“When it was just an ‘egg,’ it might have had collectible value… but now that it has hatched, it’s a different story.”

Kalliss’s voice trembled slightly. As a Collector, and as a royal of Arcadia, he had delved into countless ancient texts and old documents. Within those records, he had glimpsed the existence of the Elementia and the secret of its birth.

The Infinite Bird, which absorbs all elements of the world to make them its own power, and grows endlessly.
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But that wasn’t the core of the record. What the records warned against with extreme caution was the person chosen by the Elementia, the Infinite Bird. The story about its master.

“The Infinite Bird chooses as its master only those destined to depart from the predetermined path and forge a new one. One who holds the potential to overturn the world’s flow. For me, of royal bloodline, to possess it? What do you think that would imply?”

At Kalliss’s words, Dussar tightly closed his mouth. Kalliss, the third prince of the Arcadia Kingdom. What if he became the master of the Elementia?

The destiny of a pioneer who departs from the ordained path. It was obvious how Kalliss would be perceived.

Rebellion.
It meant he would inevitably be branded as one who dreams of treason.

“Ahem, that’s a bit… dangerous, very dangerous.”

Dussar seemed reluctant to even utter the word ‘rebellion.’ Kalliss looked at Dussar and chuckled softly, but in his mind, he recalled another part of the records.

‘On the day the master of the Elementia appears, the world will be swept into a great whirlwind of change. He shall become the key to ending the old era and opening a new one.’

Kalliss’s eyes grew cold and heavy. He could no longer see golden hand’s as just a business partner or an interesting outsider.

‘The Elementia choosing a master means… the current era is ending and a new one is dawning? I didn’t expect an outsider to be the one to lead it…’

Kalliss’s thoughts churned complexly. This was a matter far greater and more important than his own royal succession issue. In a low but firm voice, he said to Dussar:

“Dussar, never turn that man into an enemy. No matter what happens, you must stand by his side. He may be a being beyond our imagination.”
“What do you mean? Because of that one little bird?”
“The bird isn’t the issue. The fact that it chose him as its master is what’s important. I must make some preparations now. You should prepare too. The world will soon grow noisy.”

Kalliss took out a crystal orb the size of his palm from his pocket. As he channeled magic into it, complex patterns surfaced along with a faint light. He whispered briefly in an ancient tongue no one could understand.

[The ‘Eastern Star’ has risen. Activate the ‘Shadow Hawks.’ Target is the outsider ‘golden hand’s.’ Observe, but under no circumstances intervene.]

After finishing the communication, Kalliss sank deep into thought.

‘The beginning of change… So the end of this tedious era has finally come.’

The end of a tedious era. In that end, Kalliss pondered how he should act. Recalling the collection he had amassed until now. Perhaps those collections would become the most useful weapons in the era of change.

“Oh dear, I’m a bit late.”

golden hand’s pushed through the crowd and found an empty seat. Fortunately, the auction for the ‘Moonlight Venom Snake Sword’ was scheduled last. There was still plenty of time. He sat down and summoned a hologram window displaying the auction item list.

Flame Lizard’s Heart: 350,000 Gold [SOLD][COMPLETE]
Ancient Mage’s Diary: 560,000 Gold [SOLD][COMPLETE]
Shadow Assassins’ Dagger: 880,000 Gold [SOLD][COMPLETE]
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Currently Auctioning: Mahvali’s Ironclad Shield
Current Bid: 1,750,000 Gold [ONGOING]
[Next Auction: Wind Spirit’s Wing]
[Next Auction: Golem’s Shattered Power Circuit Fragment]
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‘As expected of the Kratum Auction Hall. Quite decent items are pouring out.’

Geumsom clicked his tongue. Useful-looking items were being traded at high prices. Moreover, he spotted a few items he recognized.

‘There are a couple of materials that would be good to buy now… Too bad.’

Looking at the list, golden hand’s could only sigh. The money he had was about 500,000 gold. Just the money he received from completing Dussar’s quest.

He had thought that much money would be enough to win at least one item. But the prices were higher than expected, quickly dampening his spirits.

At the end of the list. Most high-value items had passed, and miscellaneous materials or low-grade items filled the tail end. Items that could be traded but didn’t make it as main attractions. Among such items, golden hand’s gaze abruptly stopped.

[Iron Rod from a Forgotten Ancient Ruin]
Description: An iron rod discovered in an old ancient ruin. Made of steel, but weathered over the ages with rust in places.
Starting Price: 50,000 Gold

‘This is… Could it be?!’

golden hand’s pupils shook as he looked at the item. Instantly, a memory flashed through his mind. The memory of that hellish day he had forgotten—no, wanted to forget—resurrected.

The collapsing defensive line.
The land covered in blood and despair under an ashen sky.
At its center was a man.
One he had once called a comrade.
The ally-killer, the Mad Fist, Seo Ju-won.

He was always obsessed with pure combat. In his eyes, everything in the world seemed like a tool to test his martial prowess and advance his training. Even his comrades.

『War is about efficiency. There’s no time to wallow in sentimentality.』

The power Seo Ju-won wielded.
The skill, Infinite Chain Strike.
It was precisely what he obtained from the dungeon ‘Forgotten City of Giants,’ unlocked by that very iron rod.

‘Infinite Chain Strike’ was an ability that exponentially amplified the destructive power of the next attack the more one struck an opponent’s weak points consecutively.
However, this overwhelming power had a fatal limitation: the moment the ‘Combo’ was broken even once, all accumulated amplification effects would vanish into nothingness.

The easy method Seo Ju-won chose to overcome this fundamental limitation?
Ally-killing.

Whenever combat entered a lull, or distance from the next target threatened to break his combo chain, he chose the easy way out. He used his skill without hesitation on the nearest ‘helpless target.’

It didn’t matter if it was a comrade groaning from injury or an enemy bound and immobile. To Seo Ju-won, they were merely essential ‘links’ and ‘fuel’ to preserve his amplified destructive power and carry it over to the next battlefield.

Seo Ju-won, who poured all the murderous intent and destructive power accumulated that way into a single blow against a colossal monster, single-handedly reversing the desperate tide of battle.

‘The item that gave that bastard the Infinite Chain Strike… Then!’

Geumson quickly scanned his surroundings.
Seo Ju-won.
golden hand began searching for him.
And golden hand eyes found him.