Chapter 290

It had been a little over three weeks since the start of summer break. For other students, the days had flown by, yet for Jae-Hyeok, these weeks had felt like years.

Discovering Reinhardt and training with the farmers; confronting Ji Cheon-Myeong and clearing the Kang family's name; Killing General Cha and rescuing Kang Hyeon-Ah; crushing Qilin and the Sword Master and avenging his father...

Recalling the last few weeks, satisfaction and loss warred within Jae-Hyeok’s heart. He’d been prepared to trade a lifetime to restore his family's honor. Never had he expected to achieve it in three weeks.

Wilhelm’s headless body slumped to its knees, and Jae-Hyeok turned to the Thunder Emperor.

All around, the citizens of Seoul watched.

For eight years, the people passing by the Kang Estate had pointed and whispered at protestors swarming the street. Now, however, their shouts were clear.

“Thank you, Your Excellency!”

“I’m alive thanks to you!”

“Thunder God!”

“Kang family forever!”

Men and women of all ages cheered for Jae-Hyeok. Some even bowed their heads as if before a king.

The world has changed more in three weeks than I could have ever dreamed.

Jae-Hyeok placed a hand to his chest. A fresh warmth welled there, a kind that persisted even as he withdrew the Firebird’s Essence.

“Stop...Not me...

cough!

No...”

The Thunder Emperor could sense at a glance the vitality locked within the burning essence—and that was precisely why he struggled.

“The Yaksha... save your father...with it.”

How could Jae-Hyeok trade the Yaksha’s chance at a second life for an outsider like himself?

No, even if he can accept it, I won’t!

The Thunder Emperor squeezed the exposed shaft of the bone lance until it cracked, then snapped.

He dropped like a stone.

Blood pulsed from the open hole in his chest. He tried to rise—but pavement and moon spun wildly in his vision.

“Relax.”

Jae-Hyeok pinned the Thunder Emperor’s left arm under his knee, slapped aside the other, and shoved the Firebird’s Essence into his chest.

“N...no—”

[Player Kang Jae-Hyeok has transferred the Firebird’s Essence to you.]

[Absorbing...]

[Processing...]

[A great vitality now dwells within you!]

A bone-deep warmth spread through the Thunder Emperor’s body. His punctured flesh, broken bones, and shattered dantian healed at a rate so fast that it was as if time were rewinding.

[Dantian recovery complete.]

[All wounds healed.]

[Your health has increased by 10%.]

[Your mana has increased by 20%.]

“You...”

The Thunder Emperor stared dumbly into the night sky before coming to his senses. He shoved a finger in Jae-Hyeok’s face.

“Are you dumb!? For all we know, you could have restored your father with that treasure!”

“Calm down. The Firebird’s Essence isn’t a disposable item. You can charge it and pay it back later.”

“You!... you... What? It’s rechargeable?”

The Thunder Emperor summoned the System. His eyes flicked through various menus before halting on the description of the Firebird’s Essence.

Firebird’s Essence...

It was a remnant of a divine beast that could convert mana into a profound vital energy, clearly tied to the mysterious powers of gods.

With enough vital energy, even a complete resurrection was possible.

“It’s... It’s actually rechargeable.”

The tension left the Thunder Emperor’s shoulders.

Good. With this, I can repay the debt.

The Thunder Emperor vowed to one day pass on the Essence to Jae-Hyeok’s father.

Jae-Hyeok smiled.

“Don’t think too much. Grace is meant to be repaid. As the acting head of the Kang family and as a National Treasure of Korea, I owe you a great debt for defending my father and protecting the Korean people.”

In fact—whether it was in the fields of Reinhardt, in the midst of Jae-Hyeok’s candidate exam, or during Jae-Hyeok’s last visit to the Shinra family, the Thunder Emperor had always looked out for him, and Jae-Hyeok had considered him his benefactor. So even if the Thunder Emperor’s injuries had been unrelated to Korea or the Kang family, Jae-Hyeok would still have traded the Firebird’s Essence for his sake.

“Yes... grace must be repaid.”

The Thunder Emperor’s eyes were wet with tears as he nodded.

His health and mana had risen greatly.

The Firebird’s Essence was the immediate key to reviving the Yaksha and one of the sources of Jae-Hyeok’s power. Nevertheless, Jae-Hyeok had graciously yielded it to him.

How strong a determination did that take?

The boy was a true aristocrat, one who valued debts and honor more than greed for power.

The Yaksha is blessed to have such a son.

The Thunder Emperor composed himself and grabbed Jae-Hyeok’s outstretched hand to stand.

Next to Jae-Hyeok, who was just over a hundred-eighty centimeters tall, the bulky Thunder Emperor—standing at over two meters tall—seemed to belong to a different race. That was all the more so because Jae-Hyeok’s porcelain complexion and smooth hair contrasted sharply with the Thunder Emperor's tawny skin and wild mane.

But as they locked eyes, their expressions softened as if one and the same, and from that alone, the citizens could tell—

These were eternal friends.

Click click!

Cameras flashed among the crowd.

Seoul was a densely populated city. The Thunder Emperor’s earlier mana-infused declaration had drawn over countless curious citizens, and many of whom were professional news reporters and media influencers.

Within the hour, countless articles and news reports would flood the internet:

National Treasure Kang Jae-Hyeok kills Austria’s Necromancer!

Contender for World’s Strongest slain by the youngest National Treasure!

Thunder Emperor and Thunder God—a friendship that transcends nationality and age.

Can we look forward to improved Korea–US diplomacy?

The headlines would shock the world.

Contenders for the World’s Strongest title numbered in the dozens globally—but to be counted among their ranks was by no means easy. Even the late Qilin, who was said to have been China’s strongest player, hadn’t ranked among them.

Of course, Qilin was impressive in its own right—after all, despite getting on in age and being long retired from active duty, Qilin had demonstrated shocking power in his final battle with Jae-Hyeok—but even then, he was far from the level of a World’s-Strongest contender.

Meanwhile, Austria’s Wilhelm, the one-man army, had been a renowned contender for World’s Strongest, an active player still in his prime, raised and trained in the fires of Europe, a place where endless wars raged and only the most talented and ruthless of players were fit to see the sun rise.

He might’ve been ambushed when fighting the Thunder Emperor, but Jae-Hyeok cutting off his head carried a symbolic weight in the eyes of the crowd. Furthermore...

Theodore returned to Jae-Hyeok’s side after killing the remaining throne elephants, and the remnants of Wilhelm’s undead army knelt down.

Uh... I guess these guys like me?

Theodore scratched its bony jaw.

Following the death of their master, the undead legion bonded of their own accord to the strongest undead nearby. In fact, the behavior was a fail-safe baked into all the Baus family’s undead. It served as a temporary stopgap, preventing the collapse of a legion should a Necromancer fall in the fog of war.

As for the wild undead dwelling in gates? They had always been lower-level and of rougher make. How could they compare to a Necromancer's masterworks?

For a wild undead to usurp command of a legion...

The Baus family never considered it.

Theodore was an anomaly. Once a genius human swordsman and now an elite death knight—Theodore possessed both skills and intellect and had an eternity to grow. The more time passed, the more it learned, the more it grew, and the stronger it became.

Even a Nercomancer’s greatest creations weren’t so perfect.

Of course, if Theodore were crushed to smithereens and forced to respawn at Lion’s Castle, its level would be reset to zero. But what were the odds of that?

Ever since swearing itself to Jae-Hyeok, experience flowed in nonstop. At this rate, it would definitely become invincible sooner rather than later.

“I, Lich Vera, await the orders of the new legion commander.”