Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 569: A Master at Getting on People's Nerves
Steven was already quite familiar with the voice echoing in his mind.
Back when he had been near the ruins of that so-called Ægir city, he had sensed the exact same presence. The aura, the tone—it was unmistakable.
The only difference was that last time, no matter how much he provoked it, the other party hadn't even bothered to respond.
And now?
After crossing several nations, they ran into each other again.
At this point, it almost felt like fate.
That said, being "old acquaintances" did make things easier. With both sides already having a rough understanding of each other, there was no need for Steven to go out of his way to demonstrate his strength again.
This mysterious Sea God—whether in the way it acted or the tone it used—carried itself with even more grandeur than that so-called Hypergryph.
But unfortunately for it, Steven knew very well that compared to that near-creator-level existence of this world, it was still far inferior.
If he wasn't afraid of Hypergryph, why would he act timidly in front of this being?
More importantly, the situation was already clear.
Even this Sea God had no solution for the dying Zorah Magdaros.
The Seaborn that Nergigante had wiped out earlier were likely just scouts gathering information. It wasn't that the Sea God lacked the power to kill Zorah Magdaros—after all, the creature was already on its last legs. Finishing it off wouldn't be difficult.
The real problem was something else entirely:
How to stop the catastrophic energy within it from leaking out after its death.
That was the true challenge.
And judging by how Zorah Magdaros was still leisurely roaming the ocean, it was obvious the Sea God hadn't found a solution either. Otherwise, it would've acted long ago.
"…You can do it?" The voice finally responded.
"Why not give it a try?" Steven shrugged with a smile. "Whether I can or not doesn't really matter—you can't, can you?"
He paused, his tone turning casually provocative.
"Of course, if you'd rather keep fighting, I don't mind. I've wanted to kill you for a while now. Getting the chance now would be perfect."
He didn't boast about his abilities or explain his methods.
He simply stood there, smiling faintly at the calm ocean surface as he spoke—just as he had done before in the depths.
After hearing his words, the other side fell silent.
For a moment, it was as if the connection had dropped entirely.
Just as Steven was about to complain about the "signal quality," something unexpected happened.
The Seaborn—who had been glaring at them like predators ready to devour—suddenly turned and retreated back into the endless ocean, disappearing as if they had never been there at all.
In an instant, the once chaotic sea fell silent.
All that remained was a lone wooden boat and the Nergigante circling overhead, unable to find a place to land.
"Tch. Leaving without even saying goodbye? That's just rude. Seriously, zero manners," Steven muttered, not caring in the slightest whether the other party could hear him.
Then he turned back with a bright grin, looking at Kal'tsit and Nian.
"Driving back a million sea monsters without spilling a drop of blood—that's just how amazing your boy Steven is. So? Impressed yet?"
He puffed out his chest proudly.
In return, he received nothing but two perfectly synchronized eye-rolls.
He wasn't wrong… So why was it so irritating to hear?
Nian and Kal'tsit genuinely couldn't figure out how Steven had ended up with such an infuriating personality.
But in the end, that was his business. There wasn't much they could say about it.
"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing," Nian replied in a perfunctory tone. Then she pointed toward the distant, massive figure. "So here's the real question—can you defuse that giant bomb over there? I like fireworks as much as anyone, but something that can blow up the entire world? That's definitely not my thing."
She didn't know how Steven had managed to make even god of the deep give him face, but the result spoke for itself. There was no point dwelling on the "why" anymore.
What mattered now… was dealing with Zorah Magdaros.
If that thing wasn't handled, then even if the Seaborn backed off for now, the apocalypse would still arrive sooner or later.
And among everyone present, Steven was the only one who had actually been to that dangerous volcanic island—and he'd even brought back a "souvenir" from it. If anyone had the right to speak on this, it was him.
"Hm, I've got good news and bad news," Steven said, looking at her anxious expression with obvious amusement. "Which one do you want to hear first?"
"…Does it even matter?" Kal'tsit frowned, clearly unimpressed. She had been ready to hear his findings, not this cliché setup.
"Of course it matters," Steven grinned. "Messing with people's emotions is one of life's greatest joys, don't you think?"
"Exactly!" The Emperor, who had finally recovered from Kal'tsit's earlier chokehold, chimed in enthusiastically. "Couldn't agree more."
As a Beast Lord, he was practically immortal. Even if Zorah Magdaros exploded, it wouldn't really affect him. And judging by Steven's attitude, he clearly already had a solution in mind.
So naturally, the Emperor didn't mind joining him in teasing Kal'tsit a bit.
"See?" Steven said, glancing down at him. The two shared a knowing look—then high-fived without missing a beat.
Honestly, people like this—who knew how to enjoy life—were much more fun to be around. If everyone were as serious as Kal'tsit, the world might as well just end already.
"…Fine," Nian said after a brief pause, quickly catching on. "Then I'll hear the bad news first. Better to save the comforting part for later—at least that way there's still some hope."
"Good choice," Steven nodded.
"The bad news is…" he said calmly, as if stating something trivial, "I checked out Zorah Magdaros earlier. Based on the energy built up inside it, when it dies, the resulting explosion will probably wipe out the surface of the entire world."
He paused slightly, then added:
"If you want to survive, you'd better be several thousand meters underground."
The energy inside Zorah Magdaros wasn't just its own, it was also mixed with highly concentrated Originium energy.
And when those two forces combined… the result wasn't as simple as one plus one equals two.
Truly powerful beings like the Feranmuts might still manage to survive if they played it smart. Of course, all of that was based purely on the assumption that this Zorah Magdaros would simply explode where it stood.
There was something Steven hadn't told anyone.
Zorah Magdaros didn't just die anywhere.
Creatures like it had a ritual to their death. They would wander endlessly until they found the legendary "center of the earth's veins"—only then would they finally collapse and die.
That was exactly why this one, despite being on its last sliver of life, was still roaming the seas.
And if it actually found that place?
The scale of the explosion would increase even further.
To put it bluntly—blowing up the entire planet wouldn't be out of the question.
Steven kept that part to himself. After all, if he said it out loud, it wouldn't just be "bad news" anymore—it would be bad news and even worse news.
"About what I expected," Kal'tsit said after hearing his conclusion. The three of them all nodded in agreement, their gazes drifting toward the massive, island-like creature still moving in the distance.
"The thing definitely has the capacity for that."
The sheer size… the overwhelming energy radiating from it… Anyone could tell Steven wasn't exaggerating.
"So what's the good news?" Nian pressed, crossing her arms. "Please tell me it's something that'll actually make people feel better."
At this point, all they could do was hope Steven had some kind of solution.
"The good news?" Steven's tone instantly became excited.
"Oh, it's great news."
He pointed up at the Nergigante circling in the sky, his face lighting up like a collector who'd just gotten their hands on a long-coveted figure.
"I caught myself a super cool, ridiculously awesome mount on that island. From now on, I don't have to rely on my own two legs to get around. So I've decided—I'm treating everyone to dinner tonight. Pretty amazing news, right?"
"…Can you be serious for once?" Kal'tsit pressed a hand to her forehead.
At that moment, she finally understood exactly what the Emperor had meant by "messing with people's mentality."
Steven was doing this on purpose.
"Come on, don't be so humorless," Steven waved it off casually. "Just a joke."
Then his expression shifted slightly, though the relaxed smile remained.
"There is good news."
"For example—this thing won't die for about another month."
"In other words, we've got a month to figure out how to save the world."
He paused, then added with a grin:
"Or, to put it in a way you'll like better…"
"You've got one month to gather up your gods, Feranmuts, Beast Lords—whatever powerful friends you've got—and come up with a payment worthy of hiring me to solve this problem."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 617: A Bold Guess[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628