Chapter 15 : Orb of Water (7)

A halo of light coiled around my hand and then disappeared as if it were being absorbed into me.

Just like a mirage.

‘But…… is this all?’

The question arose naturally.

That was understandable, because according to Newdeulbak77's previous post, the bulletin board level was supposed to go up upon obtaining an Ascension Stone Fragment, but no notification stating that the bulletin board level had risen appeared.

And the message saying I had absorbed the Ascension Stone Fragment from Aichuwong's corpse had definitely appeared.

‘Is it because of the Weapon Summon trait? Or was the required experience or something for the bulletin board level up insufficient?’

The inference that the required experience for the bulletin board level-up was insufficient was quite plausible.

After all, even though the Weapon Summon trait was a growth-type trait, it had only gained a new summonable target and had not leveled up.

“Hmm…….”

Unfortunately, since there wasn't much information known about either the Weapon Summon trait or the bulletin board level, there was nothing I could find out right now.

‘And, there is one more question.’

Now that it was confirmed that what Aichuwong possessed was an Ascension Stone Fragment, the identity of the ■■■ Fragment that users were talking about on the anonymous bulletin board was also certainly the Ascension Stone Fragment.

Then a question arises.

‘Why on earth did the other users come to this world earlier than me?’

From what I had briefly seen on the anonymous bulletin board, the time the other users came to this world was at least several months or even years earlier than me.

If this situation was caused by me using the Ascension Stone Fragment after hunting the Destruction Dragon, then it didn't make sense that I had arrived in this world much later than them.

Shouldn't I have been at least faster than them, or at least around the same time?

‘Umm…….’

Naturally, there was nothing I could figure out just by sitting and thinking.

All that came to mind for now were just vague speculations.

After all, even in Newdeulbak77's post that I saw before, it was said that the order in which users came to the World of Justice was still a mystery.

‘I’ll find out about the Ascension Stone Fragment and the bulletin board level gradually later…….’

Therefore, rather than focusing on things I couldn't know right away, I focused on the Weapon Summon trait right in front of me.

By absorbing the Ascension Stone Fragment, the Weapon Summon trait, which I had no idea how to grow until now, had evolved once.

Although it hadn't leveled up, a whole new category of ammunition that could be summoned through Weapon Summon had been created.

For me, who had been suffering from a chronic shortage of bullets until now, it was welcome news.

‘Was the condition for leveling up the Weapon Summon trait to absorb Ascension Stone Fragments?’

Growth-type traits are extremely rare, and the methods for growing each of them are also different, so information is very limited.

Furthermore, in the case of a trait like Weapon Summon, since it was a trait obtained by sacrificing everything I originally had, its potential was beyond prediction.

‘The best thing to do is, of course, to test it out myself.’

Seeing is believing, as they say.

I immediately activated the trait.

[Activating 'Weapon Summon(??)'.]

['Lv.1' ammunition will be summoned.]

[Summoning ammunition, '9×33mmR .357 Magnum standard round'.]

With a blue halo of light, 12 rounds appeared in my hand.

They were the rounds used for the Colt garrison B-09.

“Hoo…….”

Considering that I could originally only procure a mere 6 bullets at a time through Weapon Summon, this meant I had gotten twice as many bullets at once.

‘That aside… how is the reuse cooldown time applied?’

If the reuse cooldown times for summoning a weapon and summoning ammunition overlapped, then no matter how I could summon twice as many bullets, its efficiency would inevitably decrease.

I wanted to activate Weapon Summon again to check that right away, but unfortunately, since I had already activated the trait once while fighting Aichuwong, the reuse cooldown time was still active.

‘Well, I can check it slowly on the way.’

The road back was by no means short, anyway.

This was because as the Orb of Water came into my hands, all the water traps that the Orb of Water had created until now had disappeared.

‘If the power of the Orb of Water were complete, I could have moved from water to water, but… that's probably impossible right now.’

The path of water is one of the most powerful abilities among the powers of the Orb of Water.

No matter how I had driven out the demon that had dwelled in the Orb of Water, the environment of the northern region itself was like poison to the Orb of Water, so it wouldn't be able to display such power yet.

“Hmm…….”

For now, I had finished what I needed to do.

So, as I prepared to return, my eyes fell on the luggage that had increased far more than I had expected.

It was Aichuwong's equipment and belongings.

When I started my journey to find the Orb of Water, I had no idea I would gain this kind of income, so Aichuwong's equipment and belongings were a mixed blessing for me.

‘Can I really take this with me?’

There is no inventory system in World of Justice.

Although one can later obtain magic that functions similarly, such as by making a contract with a demon of space, there is officially no inventory system.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact, thanks to this, I was able to get my hands on all of Aichuwong's assets, so it's not all bad.

It's just that, for this moment, that fact felt resentful.

But to just leave Aichuwong's things here and go, I didn't know when I would be able to come back for them, and there was also the risk that they might disappear in the meantime.

Furthermore, the equipment Aichuwong used was all high-level gear.

Apart from just the armor, the spear and sword Aichuwong used were also extraordinary items, so if I could just take them, I could either use them myself or, if need be, sell them in Winter Castle.

‘Even if it's hard, I have to take it with me.’

The conclusion reached was simple.

Somehow, I would return with the equipment and belongings Aichuwong had used.

Although that journey would not be easy, what could I do?

That's how things are; if you gain something, you have to make some sacrifices.

“Hoo…….”

Now, it was time to return to Winter Castle.

***

The first thing I did to carry this enormous load back was to make a small cart that could be pulled with a rope.

Of course, it wasn't easy to make a precise object like a wheel on the spot with the tools I had, but I solved that problem with the Orb of Water.

I created ice wheels with the power of the Orb of Water.

Although it was an incredibly crude form with wheels attached to the backpack Aichuwong had, for me, even this greatly improved my mobility.

‘This should be enough.’

The journey back to Winter Castle officially began.

Trudge. Trudge.

No matter how close it was to Winter Castle, the Demonic Realm was still the Demonic Realm, so I did not let my guard down.

Because letting one's guard down in the Demonic Realm was no different from a suicidal act.

“Hoo…….”

Even though I had made wheels, it wasn't easy to pull them on a snowy path where my feet sank in.

It was a good thing the wheels were made with the power of the Orb of Water; if they had been ordinary wheels, they would have already gotten stuck in the mire dozens of times, halting my progress.

‘On top of that, I have the help of the Orb of Water.’

The Orb of Water is an item that originally has the power to protect and restore its wearer.

Although it was difficult for it to exert its full power now because it had been sealed in the severe cold of the Demonic Realm for too long, its original power had not disappeared.

[The 'Orb of Water' protects the wearer.]

[The effect of the 'Orb of Water' increases stamina regeneration speed.]

“Hoo…….”

Was it thanks to the effect of the Orb of Water?

I could definitely feel that my stamina consumption was less, even though I was walking through a snowfield while pulling this load.

To be precise, should I say that the recovery speed of my spent stamina was noticeably fast?

“Hook…… Hook……!”

Nevertheless, since the way back itself was a grueling forced march, it was by no means an easy task.

During the journey back, I was finally able to confirm a few things related to the Weapon Summon trait.

The most important one was, of course, related to the reuse cooldown time.

[Activating 'Weapon Summon(??)'.]

['Lv.1' weapon will be summoned.]

[Summoning weapon, 'Colt garrison B-09'.]

[Activating 'Weapon Summon(??)'.]

['Lv.1' ammunition will be summoned.]

[Summoning ammunition, '9×33mmR .357 Magnum standard round'.]

Originally, the reuse cooldown time for Weapon Summon was about 30 minutes.

However, the newly created ammunition summon had a reuse cooldown time of only about 10 minutes.

‘That's not all.’

The most important thing was that these reuse cooldown times were applied separately.

In other words, if I summoned the Colt garrison B-09 and the 9×33mmR .357 Magnum rounds in advance and carried them with me, I could use a total of 36 bullets at once.

Since this was a threefold increase from the previous 12 rounds, it was correct to say that the instantaneous firepower I could unleash had also dramatically improved.

If there was one disappointing fact, it was that the 9×33mmR .357 Magnum rounds summoned through Weapon Summon, just like the Colt garrison B-09, would disappear if re-summoned, along with the previously summoned weapon or ammunition.

In other words, it meant that I couldn't just summon ammunition indiscriminately in advance and stack it up.

‘It's a little disappointing, but it's right to see this as something to be grateful for.’

No, from a certain perspective, this might even be better.

If Weapon Summon didn't have this characteristic, I could have faced the worst-case scenario if I lost my firearm or ammunition or had them stolen by an enemy in an emergency.

‘If the existing weapon disappears when Weapon Summon is re-summoned, then at least that won't happen.’

In terms of firepower, it might be a little disappointing, but in terms of security and safety, this was better.

Should I say it's a feeling of coexistence between advantages and disadvantages?

‘Well… one way or another, it's better not to have to use Weapon Summon for now.’

No matter how I now had 36 rounds of ammunition, the Orb of Water, and Aichuwong's equipment, I had to avoid combat in the Demonic Realm.

If a battle were to occur, the gun itself would make a loud noise and could attract other demonic beasts, and it would be dangerous if a demonic beast that I couldn't pierce with my current firepower were to appear.

Therefore, I moved by choosing the safest path possible.

I did see a group of demonic beasts from a distance a few times on the way, but a direct confrontation did not occur.

This was thanks to the fact that my original plan had included moving on foot on the way back, so I had already prepared a few safe and fast routes.

Among them, the safest path would be, as expected, the path where the territories of the demonic beasts overlapped.

In the Demonic Realm, demonic beasts each have different territories, and they usually do not invade each other's territories.

Because invading a territory meant baring one's fangs at the other.

In any case, thanks to that, I was able to leave the entrance of the Demonic Realm only when darkness fell.

I was so exhausted that my legs were trembling and I felt like I would collapse at any moment, but the important thing was that I could now see the light of the torches burning in Winter Castle through the blizzard.

‘Finally…….’

At last, I had arrived at Winter Castle.

[You have overcome a grueling forced march!]

[You have acquired the trait, 'Endurance(D)'.]

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[Endurance]

Grade : D

Type : Passive

Stamina consumption is reduced by 20%.

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