The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel

Chapter 37

“What is this?”

When Arthur entered the space with the underground tombs, it was as bright as day.

He looked around, searching for the reason.

It was because of an intense light leaking from ahead.

As he approached the light, he saw it was none other than Teheran Julius's golden coffin that was shining.

And that light shot upwards. Looking closely, he saw a bell at the top.

This was the reason the bell had been shining.

“It's as if it called me.”

Arthur stepped onto the platform and stood before the golden coffin.

Then, after taking a long, deep breath, he placed his palm on the center of the coffin.

At that moment, a golden light shone from his hand, and simultaneously, the eyes of the dragon-shaped sculptures placed at the corners of the coffin flashed and shot out a pure white light.

The beams of light shone on Arthur's palm, which was placed on the center of the coffin, and on the back of his hand, a fist-sized dragon appeared like a hologram.

The dragon looked at Arthur and roared as if unleashing a breath attack.

Far from being surprised, Arthur watched silently as Teheran's voice echoed in his mind.

-O successor who has inherited my legacy, listen carefully to what I am about to say. I have a secret…

After hearing all of Teheran's words, Arthur's face hardened.

He had learned an unexpected truth.

The surge of power that felt like a mana rampage was a side effect of the mana training method.

He said that as Arthur grew stronger, the mana rampages would also worsen.

Then, if it reached a point where he could no longer handle the rampage, he would become a berserker.

If that happened, another Demon King would appear in the world.

‘Dammit.’

-Do not worry. According to Kanmurasas, if you reach the 9th star, the mana rampage will stop. At your current growth rate, I believe it is fully possible.

‘The 9th star…’

The path ahead seemed impossibly long.

But to protect the House of Count Julius, he had to become stronger.

And as always, giving up was not an option.

‘I will do my best.’

-I will trust you. Now, I will give you what I promised.

Clunk.

The lid of the golden coffin vanished, revealing the inside.

Inside were bones, presumably Teheran's, and a golden helmet.

The helmet from the armor had been buried with Teheran when he died.

-This helmet is now yours.

‘Didn't you say it would give me absolute power?’

-Wear the helmet and state what you desire.

‘What I desire?’

-What you need to become stronger. Then, I will give it to you.

‘If it's what I need…’

Arthur wore a serious expression, seemingly lost in thought, before one thing came to mind.

A gun!

Van had made him the CheyTac, but he needed a perfect gun besides that.

It was something that didn't exist in this world, but since magic existed, perhaps it was possible.

-If you have decided, place the helmet on your head.

Arthur nodded and lifted the helmet out of the coffin.

It was much lighter than he expected, and it was in the shape of a dragon—the symbol of the House of Count Julius—with its mouth agape.

The sight of it left a very strong impression.

To think that Teheran had fought wearing something like this, he could imagine how much fear it must have struck in his enemies.

With the same feeling as when he first wore a combat helmet, Arthur put on the helmet.

It fit perfectly, as if it were his own.

He thought it would feel stuffy like wearing a helmet, but he felt nothing of the sort. Instead, for some reason, he felt his fighting spirit ignite.

‘Not bad.’

Just as Arthur wore a satisfied expression…

-We meet again here.

‘Huh? This voice is…’

It was Kanmurasas.

It seemed he had also made arrangements within the helmet.

-Now, state what you desire.

‘What I desire is…’

Arthur thought back on all the guns he had ever used.

From the M16 he first touched when he entered the Nonsan Training Center to the K2 rifle.

Even the Cheytac that had become an extension of himself.

Dozens of guns unfolded before him like a panorama.

‘I really miss it.’

-Understood.

‘What do you mean, you understand?’

As Arthur looked puzzled, the golden coffin melted as if it were ice.

“What the!”

Arthur shouted without realizing it.

He quickly tried to step down from the platform, but his feet wouldn't lift off the floor.

“What's with this now?”

While he was panicking, the coffin had completely melted and turned into a golden liquid.

As if it were alive, it approached Arthur's feet and climbed up his two legs.

“W-what is this!”

Arthur's eyes widened.

The golden liquid, which had risen to his chest, spread to both of his arms. And when it reached the tips of his ten fingers, a tremendous energy burst forth from his palms as if exploding.

“What on earth is happening?”

Arthur was extremely flustered by the sudden situation.

He tensed up, sensing that another fortunate turn of events was about to occur.

Because every time such an event occurred, it was accompanied by excruciating pain.

However, apart from emitting a tremendous energy, no other abnormal symptoms appeared.

Then, the energy gradually weakened, and the golden liquid disappeared as if it had been absorbed into his body.

As Arthur tilted his head in confusion, the voice of Kanmurasas was heard.

-Successor of Teheran.

‘What was that phenomenon just now?’

-I have given you what you desire, so please, I hope you will defeat the Demon King.

‘Wait a minute, I haven't received anything. What are you talking about, Kanmurasas?’

Once again, he left after only saying what he had to say.

After that, Teheran's voice was no longer heard either.

“What did he give me?”

Arthur moved his hands around, examining them, but he couldn't find anything different.

His feet, which had been stuck to the floor, now moved freely.

When he turned to step down from the platform, his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

“What is this?”

The tombs of the family heads were glowing brightly.

-Successor.

Teheran's voice was heard.

‘What did you give me?’

-How you use that power is entirely up to you.

‘Up to me?’

-Our work is done. Now, go and meet Rumakas.

‘Rumakas? Who is that?’

-He is the guardian deity of the House of Count Julius.

‘A guardian deity?’

-I will look forward to the day you seize the golden glory.

Sensing that he too was about to disappear, Arthur quickly said.

‘Wait! You have to explain!’

It was just as he expected.

Like Kanmurasas, he too vanished.

“Damn it!”

Arthur grimaced and looked around.

The light from the tombs was also unusual.

Anticipating that another unexpected situation could occur, he tensed up and stepped down from the platform.

As he passed the tombs lining both sides of the passage, the light flashed brightly and was sucked into the helmet as if being absorbed.

Each time the light from a tomb was absorbed, the messages left by the masters of the tombs echoed in Arthur's mind.

-For the golden glory.

-For the golden glory.

-For the golden glory.

The same messages were heard over and over.

Without realizing it, Arthur stopped in front of the very last tomb.

It was the tomb of Count Malcolm Julius.

It shone exceptionally brighter than the other tombs.

He could feel a warm heat from the light, as if it conveyed a special affection for his son.

And just as he thought…

-My son…

Arthur seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before he replied.

‘Yes.’

-I am sorry. For leaving you with such a heavy burden…

‘I can overcome it.’

-Thank you for growing up so splendidly.

‘Don't worry, and please rest in peace.’

-Yes, I will trust you. For the golden glory.

Fwoosh!

The light from the tomb was sucked into the helmet.

With that light, the light from all the tombs had been absorbed into the helmet.

The dragon crest on the helmet shone intensely, and at the same time, Arthur's eyes also shone intensely.

It was like that for a moment.

The light vanished without a trace.

Arthur's eyes had become much deeper than before, and a noble grace, as well as an extraordinary aura, flowed from him.

His entire atmosphere had completely changed.

“Hmm.”

Arthur could vaguely feel it too.

Aside from that, what was certain was that his wildly fluctuating mana had calmed down, and he could now use it whenever he wished.

However, he couldn't feel what was called the 'absolute power'.

Since it was said that using that power was up to him, he decided to find a way somehow.

Before that, there was something he needed to check.

The corners of Arthur's mouth curled up.

“I wonder how much stronger I've become.”

***

“Young Master! Where have you been?”

Skevin, who appeared at the training ground, had a face full of worry.

When he had gone back up to the castle wall with Aild, he saw that he was gone and had searched every corner of the castle with the Knight Order.

Then, he had heard through Andrew that Arthur was looking for him at the training ground and had rushed over.

Arthur, who had left the helmet on the platform, nodded calmly.

“I had something to check.”

“Are you alright?”

“I'm fine now.”

“Still, you should go see Young Master Aild…!”

Skevin's eyes widened when he met Arthur's gaze.

He felt overwhelmed by the aura emanating from his deepened gaze.

Come to think of it, his atmosphere had changed.

The noble grace he felt was reminiscent of the late Count Malcolm.

And yet, his aura was so heavy and sharp that ordinary people would instinctively bow their heads.

‘What happened in that short time…?’

Arthur noticed the wavering in Skevin's eyes and asked.

“What is it?”

“Your atmosphere seems to have changed a lot, Young Master…”

“Something like that happened.”

Arthur answered vaguely and took a step back. Then he raised his right hand and beckoned.

“What are you doing?”

At the sudden action, Skevin looked puzzled.

“Just come at me. Then your questions will be answered.”

“Suddenly a sparring match…”

“Focus!”

Arthur kicked off the ground and charged.

Skevin's eyes shot open at the sudden situation.

But what was more surprising was that he had lost track of Arthur's movements, and his fist was already right in front of his nose.

Even for a surprise attack, this was an unbelievable situation.

“Y-Young Master…”

Arthur withdrew his fist and stepped back again.

“I have something I need to confirm, so do it properly.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Skevin looked at Arthur with a serious face and then nodded.

“May I use my sword?”

“I don't mind.”

As Arthur beckoned with his hand as if to say 'come on', Skevin's expression became resolute.

“You'll need to be careful.”

As soon as Skevin finished speaking, he drew up his mana and unleashed his power.

An intense aura burst forth from him.

Arthur had become too strong to be treated with the same restraint as before.

He instinctively realized he had to give it his all.

The moment their eyes met, Skevin rushed forward and threw a punch.

The fist, imbued with a terrifying energy, flew like a flash of lightning.

Just as it was about to strike Arthur's face…

He vanished, and the fist cut through empty air.

“Th-this is!”

Just as Skevin was greatly surprised, he heard Arthur's voice from behind him.

“How about you draw your sword?”

“Very well.”

Skevin turned around and drew his sword without hesitation.

He thrust the sword toward Arthur's heart like lightning.

A deep blue aura was wrapped around the sword.

It was an attack carrying immense power, but Arthur didn't even blink as he parried the sword with his fist.

“Hah!”

Skevin was aghast.

In that moment, Arthur closed in on Skevin's chest and said in a low voice.

“I know how much stronger I've become. Rest for a bit.”

Arthur planted his fist into Skevin's stomach.

Thwack!

“Keuk!”

Skevin dropped to his knees on the spot and collapsed forward.

Arthur glanced toward the West Mountain Range, then put on his helmet and left the training ground.

A short while later.

Arthur stood before the cliff, wearing the helmet.

While facing Skevin, he had suddenly remembered the dragon crest he had discovered at the bottom of the cliff.

He wondered if the qualification to enter that space perhaps meant reaching the 4th star.

And he had a thought that the voice he heard there might have been ‘Rumakas’.

“I'll know once I check.”

Arthur leaped down without hesitation.