"Very powerful!" Zack's tone was firm, though there was a faint tremor at the end of his sentence. He pulled out the half of the Berserker Staff hidden beneath his clothes—the handle glowing crimson like a flame that had been forced to stay still. His fingers gripped it tightly, as if it might explode at any moment. His face tensed slightly, and a lingering fear lingered in his eyes.
"With this... I can take on a fully armed special forces team on my own." Zack swallowed, then added softly, almost in a murmur, "But..."
Lance narrowed his eyes, his smile growing even thinner. His voice was calm, yet sharp, like a thin blade cutting silently. "The side effects are terrible too, aren't they?"
A dark shadow crossed Zack's face. He nodded slowly, saying nothing.
In "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", Randolph once comforted Ward: whoever wields the Berserker Staff will gain incredible power—raw power that flows like a flood. But the price is no small thing.
The negative reaction?
A deep, dark, cruel pain, radiating from deep within. A rage that burns in your chest until your heart feels like it's going to explode. Your body might be able to handle it, but not your soul. It's like a slow, gnawing emotional poison—it won't kill you, but it will make you wish you were dead. Though it will subside... in a few decades.
No one in their right mind would like that sensation. It wasn't physical pain—it was far more primal, wilder, and more honest. It was as if all the emotional wounds of their past were forced to rise up and scream out at once.
Zack didn't like it. Not at all. But Zack stared at the weapon like a starving man stares at poisoned food—needed. Needed so that Zack could fight, so that Zack could protect.
Zack needed that kind of power.
"So," Lance said, reaching out, taking the weapon back from Zack's grasp. "I'll give you another weapon."
With a slow but deliberate motion, Lance pulled something from his storage pouch—a fiery red flash appeared for a moment before its shape became clear.
"This is the Balrog." Lance's voice sounded a little deeper, as if he were uttering the name of an ancient god. "A pair of fire-elemental gloves and boots, imbued with the power of the King of the Fire Hell."
A reddish-orange light flickered from their surfaces—metallic and alive, as if flames were trapped within the metal. The temperature around them seemed to rise several degrees.
"Similar to Gilgamesh, Maxie's Shock Steel, but without the ability to transform at will." Lance placed the Balrog in front of Zack, then leaned back slightly. "Well, while its power bonus isn't as good as the Berserker Staff, it's enough for you."
Zack stared at him in silence. For a moment, there was no sound except the soft crackle of the flames from the gloves—or perhaps it was just his imagination. Zack took the Balrog in both hands, slowly, reverently, as if he was receiving a long-awaited inheritance. "Thank You."
...
...
...
Early morning.
Lance opened his eyes slowly and saw the milky white curtains hanging silently before him, as if floating in the still-awakened morning air.
Warm sunlight gently filtered through the thin curtains, bathing the bed in a faint yellowish glow. The air felt humid, as if still holding the last breaths of a wet night. A cool morning breeze crept through the cracks in the window, carrying the faint scent of wet earth, the night rain, and the lingering morning mist that hung like a silent spirit in the air.
It had rained last night.
Tony and Redrick had spent three full days utilizing the Golden Apples of Idunn as the primary ingredient in their genetic damage-delaying serum. While the serum hadn't been able to completely cure Maxie's group's genetic disease, its effects were quite remarkable—slowing the symptoms significantly, giving Tony and Redrick more time to perfect their formula without the suffocating pressure of time.
Maxie was so excited that, the previous night, their time with Lance had turned into a wild sex session—the bed nearly split open from Maxie's storm-like surges of passion.
Then, with her trademark calm demeanor and level gaze, the "heartless" woman got up from the bed, calmly dressed, and left without a word. As the first rays of dawn touched the eastern sky, Maxie joined the equally cold Zack, and the two set off back toward the military base with light but determined steps, as if the night had just passed by.
Lance watched their retreating backs from the window, then let out a long yawn and slumped back onto the bed for a short nap.
Now, Lance was refreshed and his mind was clear. It was time to get to work!
In the past few days, Lance had hunted and vanquished a relentless array of powerful enemies: seven devious black mages, dozens of magma giants with muscles as hard as coal, dozens of flying magma dragons that breathed fire from the sky, and more than a dozen ferocious, fiery-furred magma hounds. In addition to acquiring a new pocket dimension, Lance also accumulated over 30,000 points from all those battles.
Adding in his previous gains from killing Hyakki Yagyō and Tamamonomae, Lance's total accumulated points now reached 53,000.
However, as usual, a tingle of unease gnawed at the back of Lance's mind. Lance was suffering from a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder. Seeing the additional 3,000 points beyond the whole multiple made Lance feel itchy, like a small pebble in his shoe.
"Just three pulls!" Lance muttered to himself, as if to calm his obsession.
Lance took a deep breath, set a strict limit for himself, and opened the system with the exuberance of a child opening a birthday present.
"Pull! Pull!!"
First pull.
[Name: Magic Trace · Reinforcement
Origin: Fate
Introduction: Master the natural structure and composition of an object, then inject magical power to enhance its fundamental properties for a short time. This reinforcement works by optimally enhancing the object's functions and characteristics, such as enhancing the sharpness of a sword, increasing the durability of a shield, enhancing the cuteness of a Servant, or enriching the nutritional value of food.
Note: Injecting magic into living beings is far more complex due to their complex biological structures. Therefore, strengthening one's own body is already difficult—but "enhancing" another person's abilities is the riskiest, with a very high failure rate and potentially serious side effects.]
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[Announcement: A New Novel Has Been Added!
The Puppet Maker in the World of Naruto
A man who is a scientist, researcher, and expert mechanic in robotics dies in a massive explosion that occurs in his laboratory while developing an advanced robot project. However, instead of experiencing death as he thought, the man awakens in another world—a strange place with vast stretches of desert.
There, the man is surrounded by people who can jump high, calling themselves ninjas. The confusion he initially felt grows as he realizes that this world is not unfamiliar to him. This is the world of Naruto! However, there is one thing that surprises him.
"Isn't this Sunagakure? Why am I not in Konoha? This poorest village... Oh my God, this is serious!"
Now, in the midst of a new life filled with danger and uncertainty, the scientist must find a way to survive in Sunagakure, a harsh place full of limitations. With his robotic knowledge, can the man change his fate in this ninja world, or will he fall along with the village?]
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