Chapter 81 — Preparing for Legends

The battlefield was finally silent.

Kael stood alone in the center of the ancient hunting ground.

The last monster had fallen several minutes ago, yet he remained motionless.

His body felt heavy.

Every muscle ached.

His mana was almost empty.

Several pieces of armor had been damaged.

His clothing was torn in multiple places.

His firearms were in poor condition.

Even the Darven katana, which had survived every battle so far, finally showed the first visible signs of wear.

A thin crack ran along the outer edge of the guard.

Kael looked at it.

His expression became serious.

“This won't do.”

He opened his System.

[Kael Darven]

Level: 50

Rank: D-Rank Adept — Peak

Strength: 53

Agility: 55

Vitality: 51

Intelligence: 48

Mana: 53

Bloodline Progress: 15%

Metal Control Mastery: III

Darven Forge: Active

Darven Armament: 3/3

Administrator Authority: Active

Beast Path Compatibility: 4%

Legendary Beast Threshold: Unlocked

Kael closed the window.

Level 50.

He had reached the threshold.

But instead of excitement—

he felt caution.

His father's words returned to him.

You may never return.

Kael slowly touched the ring containing Legendary Immortality.

A faint sensation passed through his finger.

He immediately pulled his hand away.

“No.”

He wasn't ready.

The ability had changed since the ancient inheritance awakened.

The System had finally revealed the full mechanism.

[Legendary Immortality]

Type: Single-use Ancient Survival Authority

Activation Duration: 100 Hours

Effect:

Host may experience death normally during the active period.

Pain perception remains active.

Upon death, the host reforms at the exact location of death within 5 seconds.

Reformation restores the body to combat-capable condition.

Ability cannot be reactivated after expiration.

Remaining Uses: 1

Kael stared at the final line.

One use.

One hundred hours.

He could die.

Again.

And again.

And again.

But every death would return him to the exact location where it happened.

The ability wasn't true invulnerability.

It was something stranger.

A hundred-hour window in which death itself couldn't permanently stop him.

Kael closed the System.

“I can't waste it.”

He needed information first.

Preparation first.

Strategy first.

Only then—

would he enter the pocket world.

Returning to the Camp

Kael spent nearly an entire day traveling back to his temporary base.

He didn't hunt.

He didn't train.

He didn't even practice Metal Control.

For once, he did nothing except recover.

His father had left him medical supplies, recovery potions, mana-restoring materials, nutritional compounds, and several books concerning recovery methods.

Kael followed them carefully.

He ate.

Drank.

Rested.

Meditated.

Then rested again.

His body slowly recovered.

But his mind remained active.

The three Legendary Beasts were different from everything he had fought.

He needed to understand exactly how different.

When Kael finally reached his camp, he opened the Space Ring.

Hundreds of books floated out.

Then dozens.

Then more.

Monster records.

Ancient beast records.

Magic theory.

Bloodline research.

Historical accounts.

Combat manuals.

Kael placed them into organized piles.

He looked at the mountain of information.

“This could take weeks.”

Then he remembered his System.

“That's why I have you.”

The System responded.

[Request recognized.]

[Available database materials detected.]

[Query: Legendary Beast records.]

[Searching.]

A translucent screen appeared.

[Three Legendary Beast records available.]

[Record 1 — Shadow Lion]

[Record 2 — Verdant Serpent]

[Record 3 — Bone Sovereign]

[Historical information: Partial.]

[Current combat data: Incomplete.]

[Threat assessment: Extreme.]

Kael sat down.

“Show me everything.”

The first file opened.

[Species: Legendary Beast]

[Primary Attribute: Shadow]

[Combat Role: Offensive]

[Known Abilities:]

Shadow Manipulation

Predator's Instinct

Shadow Step

Darkness Domain

Shadow Claw

Unknown Legendary Ability

Potential: Unknown

Threat: Extreme

Kael frowned.

Not enough.

He opened several ancient books.

Descriptions from hunters.

Ancient expedition records.

Old Darven research.

The information contradicted itself.

One account claimed the Shadow Lion could move instantly through darkness.

Another suggested it could only travel between prepared shadows.

A third claimed its Darkness Domain became weaker under extreme mana saturation.

Kael frowned.

“Most of these records are unreliable.”

He read further.

Then he found something.

An old Darven note.

Do not assume the Shadow Lion's darkness is ordinary shadow.

Its domain is produced by a special internal organ referred to as the Shadow Core.

Damage to the Shadow Core destabilizes the beast's domain.

Prolonged imprisonment appears to have caused instability in the Core.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“There.”

He wrote in his notebook.

Shadow Lion

Potential weakness: Shadow Core instability

Environmental weakness: uncertain

Important: Do not rely on normal light as a counter.

Objective: Force Shadow Core instability.

The System added another line.

[Historical correlation detected.]

[Shadow Lion's sealing duration may have reduced Core stability.]

Kael smiled.

“One.”

He moved to the second file.

The record appeared.

[Species: Legendary Beast]

[Primary Attribute: Defense]

[Combat Role: Defensive / Regenerative]

[Known Abilities:]

Verdant Armor

Extreme Regeneration

Toxic Mana

Territory Growth

Life Reinforcement

Scale Evolution

Unknown Legendary Ability

Threat: Extreme

Kael immediately noticed the difference.

The Shadow Lion was offensive.

The Serpent was defensive.

That meant a straightforward battle could become extremely long.

Kael opened more records.

The first hundred pages were mostly useless.

The Serpent had been described as:

“Impossible to injure.”

“Capable of surviving almost anything.”

“Covered in indestructible scales.”

“An immortal guardian.”

Kael frowned.

Those descriptions sounded exaggerated.

Then he found a damaged Darven report.

The Verdant Serpent can regenerate damaged scales indefinitely while sufficient Verdant Mana remains available.

Its regeneration weakens when sealing energy remains embedded within its body.

Several scale clusters appear to have become permanently linked with ancient sealing structures.

These areas regenerate more slowly.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

He immediately wrote:

Verdant Serpent

Potential weakness: sealing energy embedded in scales

Potential strategy: identify compromised scale clusters

Important: avoid prolonged attrition without a method of limiting regeneration.

He looked at the record again.

“Defense first.”

He needed something capable of penetrating the scales.

Not merely brute force.

Specialized ammunition.

Armor-piercing.

Mana disruption.

Possibly vibration.

Possibly spatial penetration.

Kael added another line.

Required weapon development: anti-regeneration / armor-breaking system.

Then—

he opened the final record.

The image appeared.

The towering skeleton.

Ancient armor.

Blue flames burning in its eye sockets.

A massive magical staff.

Skeleton armies surrounding it.

Kael stared.

The System displayed the known information.

[Species: Legendary Undead Beast]

[Primary Attribute: Death / Dark Magic]

[Combat Role: Mage]

[Known Abilities:]

Soul Flame

Skeleton Summoning

Necromantic Domain

Spell Amplification

Undead Army Creation

Soul Barrier

Unknown Legendary Ability

Threat: Extreme

Kael's expression became serious.

“This one is different.”

The Shadow Lion could kill him directly.

The Verdant Serpent could outlast him.

The Bone Sovereign could overwhelm the battlefield itself.

Kael opened more books.

The descriptions were terrifying.

The Sovereign could summon skeletons.

Then stronger skeletons.

Then elite skeletons.

Then commanders.

Some records even mentioned ancient undead beasts.

Kael frowned.

“Numbers.”

The problem wasn't necessarily the Sovereign itself.

It was the army.

If he fought it without preparation—

he could be buried under hundreds or thousands of summons.

Kael searched specifically for weaknesses.

Most records contained none.

Then—

one page caught his attention.

An ancient Darven researcher had written:

The Bone Sovereign's soul flame has become unstable after prolonged imprisonment.

The creature compensates by maintaining a vast undead network.

Destroying individual undead is inefficient.

Targeting the source of the summoning process may temporarily reduce the army's reinforcement.

Kael leaned forward.

“Summoning source.”

That was the key.

He searched deeper.

The old report mentioned a structure called the Soul Furnace.

A hidden magical structure somewhere within the Bone Sovereign's domain.

It wasn't the Sovereign itself.

It was a mechanism maintaining the undead army.

Kael smiled.

“So the army has a logistical system.”

He wrote:

Bone Sovereign

Potential weakness: unstable Soul Flame

Secondary weakness: Soul Furnace

Priority: prevent continuous reinforcement

Do not waste ammunition fighting every summoned skeleton.

Kael leaned back.

Three beasts.

Three completely different battles.

That was exactly what he had expected.

The First Problem

Kael looked at his weapons.

PR-02.

AR-04.

GL-02.

The Darven katana.

Most were damaged.

HW-02 was essentially unusable.

He opened the inventory.

The material collection from the hunting arc was enormous.

Blackwater materials.

Ashen materials.

Void Crystal.

Adamantite.

Mithril.

Territory Lord Cores.

Ancient monster materials.

Crimson Core fragments.

Ancient Core fragments.

Kael spread the rarest materials onto the floor.

The Void Crystal immediately attracted his attention.

Its surface shifted under the light.

It possessed spatial stability.

High mana conductivity.

Extreme hardness.

He picked it up.

“This has to become part of the new weapon.”

He opened his father's engineering book.

The earlier design waited inside.

Variable Darven Armament

Primary material: Void Crystal

Secondary material: Adamantite

Mana conductor: Mithril

Core function: Adaptive configuration

Status: Incomplete

Kael studied the design.

It wasn't enough.

The weapon needed to fight three completely different opponents.

Shadow.

Regeneration.

Necromancy.

One fixed weapon wouldn't work well against all three.

Kael needed something that could change ammunition and configuration quickly.

He began writing modifications.

Configuration I — Penetration

High physical force.

Armor-breaking.

Minimal mana loss.

Then:

Configuration II — Mana Disruption

Designed to interrupt internal energy structures.

Then:

Configuration III — Spatial

Void Crystal compatibility.

Designed to strike targets using spatial or shadow movement.

Then:

Configuration IV — Anti-Swarm

Wide-area suppression.

Designed for Bone Sovereign summons.

Kael stopped.

He needed one more.

Configuration V — Emergency close combat.

He looked at the Darven katana.

No.

The new weapon shouldn't replace the katana.

They needed different roles.

The katana was his most reliable close-range weapon.

The new armament would become the flexible ranged system.

But another problem remained.

Darven Armament only supported three bonded weapons.

Kael already had:

Darven katana.

PR-02.

AR-03V.

The new weapon couldn't simply become the fourth bond.

He needed to modify the system itself.

Kael opened his System.

[Darven Armament.]

[Current Bond Capacity: 3.]

He frowned.

Then remembered his Level 50 threshold.

His bloodline.

His father's research.

His new Legacy Key.

Kael placed the Legacy Key Fragment into the System interface.

The screen flickered.

[Legacy Key compatibility detected.]

[Bloodline threshold satisfied.]

[Hidden Darven Armament function detected.]

[Requirement: Bloodline Progress 20% — incomplete.]

[Function remains sealed.]

Kael stared.

“So I can't increase the bond capacity yet.”

But perhaps—

he didn't need to.

The weapon could exist independently.

He could carry it physically.

It didn't need to be permanently bonded.

Kael smiled.

“Fine.”

He began designing it anyway.

The Weapon Forge

Kael spent the next three days inside his workshop.

The first day was spent melting and refining materials.

Void Crystal resisted ordinary heat.

He used mana instead.

Mithril formed the internal conductor.

Adamantite became the structural core.

Ashen metal was added to the stabilization frame.

Crimson Core fragments were used as energy regulators.

Every material had a purpose.

Nothing was wasted.

Kael repeatedly tested the structure.

First failure—

the frame cracked.

Second—

mana circulation became unstable.

Third—

the weapon absorbed too much energy.

Fourth—

the Void Crystal resonance caused a temporary spatial distortion.

Kael stopped.

He studied the failure.

Then modified the design.

Again.

Again.

Again.

On the fifth attempt—

the frame held.

Kael smiled.

A long, elegant weapon emerged from the forge.

It resembled a hybrid between a precision rifle and a compact magical cannon.

The barrel was dark metallic.

Thin violet lines ran along its body.

A fragment of Void Crystal was embedded near the center.

Several rotating sections allowed the internal mechanism to reconfigure.

Kael lifted it.

The weapon hummed.

The System scanned it.

[Weapon created.]

Name: DARVEN V-01

Type: Variable Mana Rifle

Grade: 6 — Epic

Material: Adamantite / Mithril / Void Crystal / Ashen Alloy

Properties:

Adaptive Configuration

Mana Conduction

Spatial Stability

Bloodline Synchronization

Variable Ammunition

Enhanced Mana Disruption

Configuration Switching

Current Stability: 82%

Kael's eyes widened.

“Epic.”

The weapon was already stronger than PR-02 and AR-04.

But there was a problem.

The stability was only eighty-two percent.

Kael immediately understood.

During prolonged combat, the weapon could fail.

Against a Legendary Beast—

that could be fatal.

He couldn't accept that.

He spent another day reinforcing the internal mechanism.

The stability increased.

[Current Stability: 91%]

Kael nodded.

Good enough for field testing.

But he wasn't finished.

Testing the First Configuration

Kael walked to an empty valley.

He placed a massive steel target several hundred meters away.

He activated Configuration I.

The rifle transformed.

The barrel narrowed.

The Void Crystal dimmed.

The System displayed:

[Configuration I — Penetration.]

[Mana Consumption: Low.]

[Armor Penetration: Extreme.]

Kael fired.

BOOM!

The projectile crossed the valley.

The steel target cracked.

Kael's eyes widened.

The shot had penetrated the target completely.

He switched to Configuration II.

[Configuration II — Mana Disruption.]

The rifle's barrel changed.

The violet crystal brightened.

Kael fired at a mana barrier.

BANG!

The barrier collapsed.

Kael smiled.

Configuration III.

[Configuration III — Spatial.]

The target moved behind a thin spatial distortion.

Kael fired.

The projectile curved slightly.

It crossed the distortion.

The target was struck.

Kael's expression became serious.

“This could work against the Shadow Lion.”

Configuration IV.

The weapon widened.

The System displayed:

[Configuration IV — Suppression.]

[Area effect active.]

Kael fired.

A compressed mana burst spread across the valley.

Excellent against groups.

Bone Sovereign.

Configuration V.

The weapon shifted into a shorter form.

More compact.

More balanced.

Designed for close combat support.

Kael held it beside his katana.

“Good.”

The weapon had become exactly what he needed.

But Kael wasn't satisfied yet.

Because one thing remained.

The Legendary Beasts wouldn't simply allow him to use their weaknesses.

They would adapt.

Just like every enemy he had fought.

Kael closed the weapon's configuration.

“That means I need a second plan.”

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

He sat down and began writing.

The Three Battle Plans

Shadow Lion

Phase One: Avoid direct confrontation inside Darkness Domain.

Phase Two: Use Spatial Configuration to track and damage shadow-transit points.

Phase Three: Force instability in Shadow Core.

Phase Four: Prevent repeated retreat through darkness.

Emergency: Legendary Immortality if trapped inside a fatal sequence.

Verdant Serpent

Phase One: Identify sealing-damaged scale clusters.

Phase Two: Prevent regeneration through Mana Disruption.

Phase Three: Use Penetration Configuration.

Phase Four: Attack the compromised areas repeatedly.

Emergency: Do not allow prolonged regeneration cycle.

Bone Sovereign

Phase One: Avoid fighting the entire army.

Phase Two: Locate Soul Furnace.

Phase Three: Disable reinforcement.

Phase Four: Fight the Sovereign directly.

Emergency: Legendary Immortality if overwhelmed.

Kael looked at the plans.

Then added another line beneath all three.

Do not activate Legendary Immortality until death is unavoidable or the victory window is clear.

He stared at that sentence.

The ring had one use.

One hundred hours.

He had to choose when those hours began.

If he activated it too early—

he could waste the entire ability before reaching the true battle.

If he waited too long—

one mistake could end the fight permanently.

Kael closed the notebook.

The preparation wasn't finished.

Not even close.

He still needed better armor.

More ammunition.

More medical supplies.

A way to fight within darkness.

A way to resist poison and regeneration.

A way to deal with undead magic.

And—

he needed to learn the pocket world's terrain.

Kael looked toward the distant horizon.

Five preparation chapters had been promised by fate.

The first had begun.

Three Legendary Beasts waited beyond the sealed portal.

Kael looked down at Darven V-01.

Then at his katana.

Then at the ring.

“I'm not going in there to survive by luck.”

His eyes hardened.

“I'm going in there prepared.”

The next step was obvious.

He needed to enter the pocket world—

but not to fight.

Not yet.

He needed to scout.

And before that—

he needed to discover exactly what his father had hidden about the prison itself.

Kael opened the old black crystal recording.

A new section appeared.

One he had never been able to access before.

[Level 50 requirement satisfied.]

[Restricted Darven recording unlocked.]

[Subject: The Pocket World's True Purpose.]

Kael's expression changed.

His father's image appeared.

And this time—

his father wasn't smiling.

He looked frightened.

“Kael…”

The recording paused.

Then continued.

“Before you enter that world, there is something I never told you.”

The screen went dark.

“The Legendary Beasts are not the only things imprisoned inside.”