Chapter 170: Armor of Night

They had done everything they could.

Now, all that remained was for Raiden to rest long enough to regain consciousness.

Despite knowing he was out of danger, Chai and Alicia remained beside him, refusing to leave until he woke up.

Once again, it reminded Ethan just how strong the bond between the members of the Third Team had become.

They would probably do the same for him...

If he ever ended up in Raiden’s position.

Ethan had complicated feelings about bonds like these.

He acknowledged them, but he wasn’t accustomed to relationships of this kind.

Perhaps that was why he quickly forced himself to focus on the mission again.

Approaching Aldebaran’s corpse alongside Luna and Schierke, the three turned their attention toward claiming the rewards.

"Six of us survived out of eight, and we’ll have to decide which of us can continue fighting."

Ethan’s eyes shifted toward the boss soul.

"But first... we need to become as strong as possible."

Luna nodded, while Schierke remained absentminded, seemingly indifferent to the world around her.

"Leveling up will restore our health and mana, which means we’ll be able to fight again."

This was one of the advantages that made players genuine monsters compared to ordinary humans.

With the press of a button, they could restore their energy simply by leveling up.

Though it did nothing to heal physical wounds or internal injuries.

Everyone received the same number of souls from Aldebaran, a Saint-rank boss.

The amount was...

Forty thousand souls.

But beyond those souls, Ethan’s eyes remained fixed on the Boss Soul itself.

It would be awarded to the player who had contributed the most during the battle.

There were only two real candidates.

Ethan and Luna.

Luna had inflicted tremendous damage with her Absolute Zero spell.

But in the end...

The Boss Soul chose Ethan.

It recognized him as the one who had inflicted the greatest amount of damage, thanks to the relentless barrage of Overcharges he had unleashed against Aldebaran.

Aldebaran’s soul manifested as a dark black flame floating silently in the air.

It looked almost identical to the black fire he had wielded throughout the battle.

"So... you were the one who dealt the most damage."

Luna looked toward Ethan with interest.

"What are you going to choose? Turn it into a weapon, or use it for a few extra levels?"

She was genuinely curious about his decision.

Normally, Hunters shattered a Boss Soul, granting them twice the normal amount of souls.

In this case, Ethan would receive eighty thousand instead of forty.

But Ethan possessed the Legendary Weapons Master Blessing, which allowed him to transform Boss Souls into weapons.

And Aldebaran’s soul was far from ordinary.

Ethan hesitated for a moment before glancing at his status.

...

Name: Ethan Heart

Class: Classless

Level: 41

Current Souls: 52,000

Souls Required for Next Level: 25,000

...

Vigor: 15

Increases Health.

MP: 15

Increases Mana.

Endurance: 10

Increases Stamina.

Strength: 26

Increases damage dealt by heavy weapons.

Dexterity: 10

Increases damage dealt by speed-based weapons.

Intelligence: 10

Increases magic power.

Faith: 10

Increases the power of holy Incantations.

Arcane: 25

Increases Luck and Bleed.

...

Legion Arm: Level 3

Souls Required to Reach Level 4: 100,000

The moment he looked over his stats, Ethan quickly realized that even if he shattered the Boss Soul and gained another forty thousand souls, he would barely be able to level up four more times.

His advancement cost was simply too high because of the drawback of the Class Change at Will Blessing, which doubled the cost every time.

’Even if I pour everything I have into leveling up, forty-five is the highest I can reach.’

In other words, he would still remain within the Elite Rank.

"I don’t need to think about this for long... The better choice is obvious."

Ethan extended his human hand toward Aldebaran’s soul and unleashed the power of the Legendary Weapons Master Blessing.

Blue runes enveloped his hand as radiant light began devouring the Boss Soul at a rapid pace before everyone’s eyes.

This was Luna’s first time witnessing the process of turning a soul into a weapon, and her interest immediately grew as she waited eagerly to see the result.

After all, no one knew what kind of weapon a Boss Soul would become.

The answer came soon enough.

Only a few seconds passed before Ethan felt something cold envelop him, spreading across every inch of his body.

Before he could even process what was happening, his Hunter clothes disappeared beneath a terrifying layer of black armor.

Even his face vanished beneath a dark helmet crowned with long black plumes, while a lengthy black cloak billowed behind his back. His mechanical Legion Arm alone remained exposed, untouched by the armor.

The armor fit him perfectly, as though it had been forged specifically for his body.

It wasn’t excessively large or cumbersome. Every piece conformed precisely to his frame.

Ethan felt a strange power flowing through his body as he wore it, and when he finally looked down at himself, he realized that he now bore a striking resemblance to the Golden Dawn Knight.

And an even greater resemblance to Aldebaran.

"Amazing... For a moment, I almost thought the Knight Commander had come back to life."

Luna sounded genuinely impressed by the intricate details of Ethan’s new armor.

Even Schierke stared at him with visible interest.

"I thought I’d get something similar to that flaming sword of his... but armor isn’t bad either."

Running a hand over his new armor, Ethan opened his player interface once more to see exactly what his newest weapon was capable of.

An armor like this was bound to possess an Ash of War.

...

Requirement: 25 Strength

Ash of War: Warrior’s Echo

...

The armor’s ability was called Warrior’s Echo.

A purely defensive Ash of War.

And Ethan recognized its function immediately.

"An ability that distributes damage instead of letting it concentrate in a single area..."

Simple, but effective.

Rather than allowing one powerful strike to shatter a specific section of the armor, Warrior’s Echo distributed the impact across the entire set, drastically reducing the damage inflicted on any single point.

It was essentially an inferior version of Aldebaran’s ability to share the damage he received with his knights.

Satisfied with his newest weapon, Ethan removed the armor and returned it to the storage space of Legendary Weapons Master.

"Now... we need to decide who stays here and who keeps fighting."

They had won the first battle.

But the raid was far from over.

Not until the Golden Dawn Knight fell...Along with the creature controlling him.