-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Jamad, the Unshakable Mountain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rock Fang Tribe's leader, the Mountain Sorcerer Jamad.
He was now facing the most headache-inducing incident since ascending to the chieftain's position.
He had taken the Rock Fist from the treasure vault and killed all the guards there.
The other treasures were utterly worthless compared to this Rock Fist, so he wouldn't have cared if someone took them.
*Crisis.*
A massive bell signaling danger rang in his mind.
The tribe that had shared blood until midnight was now trying to kill each other.
It couldn't be a collective spell, so if there was a cause for this chaos, it had to be the blood they had shared and drunk.
No, actually, pinpointing the cause of this incident wasn't important right now.
It wasn't something that could be uncovered in a short time anyway—the priority was something else entirely.
*It's not about who did it, but how to stop it.*
There were still ways to handle it.
If the leaders united their strength, they could stop it.
*But the enemy targeted the treasure vault and Makgata knowing that.*
No matter who the enemy was, if the remaining brothers banded together against the threat, they could repel it.
But with mutual suspicion running rampant, the brothers wouldn't unite.
*The brothers probably aren't behind this.*
His brothers were greedy.
That's why they surely wouldn't target the tribe with such a brutal method.
Yes, this approach was exactly...
*My style.*
It was that violent and straightforward.
It tore the tribe apart, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
In such a situation, the only thing reliable was raw power. Only those with overwhelming strength could remain unshaken.
*That's why the brothers suspect me.*
That's why he had taken the Rock Fist.
In the current circumstances, the most reliable thing was the greatest power.
No matter what crisis came, with the Rock Fist, he could endure it.
The brothers already suspected him anyway, so whether he actually stole the Rock Fist or not was irrelevant.
Jamad hid the Rock Fist under his massive chair in the great meeting hall.
He waited, hoping the situation wouldn't escalate to the extreme.
The wait didn't last long—footsteps soon approached.
Trolls slightly smaller in stature than Jamad entered the Rock Fang great meeting hall.
"You've come, my brothers."
Troggo, Miyam, Cron.
The remaining brothers, excluding the deceased Makgata, had come to the tribal great hall.
"Jamad, choose your words carefully. We're suspicious of you."
"Brothers. Will you hear me out?"
"..."
"Though we were forcibly made brothers by the previous sorcerers, I've never once regretted it."
"Previous generation... You mean the ones you wiped out because they got on your nerves?"
It was Jamad who had executed all the previous sorcerers and seized their sorcery powers. At the time, his brothers had neither helped nor stopped him, simply allowing it.
Jamad quietly continued his story.
He gazed at the troll challenging his authority with a direct stare.
"Cron, I understand you feel combative toward me. I'm the closest target for you, after all. You must love this opportunity. Yes, the tribe's turned into this mess overnight, and you're still so desperate for my position?"
"You understand me? Ha! Then you must understand the fate coming for you too?"
Jamad's eyes gradually turned blood-red as the conversation dragged on.
They too were only maintaining their sanity through sheer willpower, having drunk Mael's madness potion just like him—their ferocity had doubled compared to usual.
"Brothers. When I swept away the previous generation, I made a vow. I would break the Rock Fang's forced traditions and rules and lead us to the next generation. That's why I spared you brothers, isn't it?"
"What? Spared us? Your arrogance knows no bounds! Do you think we'd fall easily just because you harbor killing intent? Killed the previous generation and now you mock their sorcery too? Enough! You've always looked down on us with that arrogant gaze!"
Shing!
Sshing!
Spears, axes, and sorcery staffs.
His brothers hadn't come here to discuss with him.
They intended to completely overturn the Rock Fang power structure, using the chieftain's incompetence as an excuse.
"Then... you must pay the price for that arrogance!"
The brothers hardened their tattooed faces and bellowed at Jamad.
"Why don't you say anything about Makgata's death?"
"You're the same."
"What?"
"Since you've drawn your weapons, we're enemies. So I'll tell you why I haven't investigated Makgata's death."
Jamad looked at Cron with eyes colder than ever.
"We're... not real brothers. When conflict arises, we're the first to suspect each other."
"...Right. You might be correct."
"You're proving it right now. Before any unknown enemy, it's your blades coming for my life first."
"Then let's end this gruesome brotherly play. Whoever survives this can rebuild and lead the tribe."
"I agree."
Cron and the other brothers' eyes turned bright red.
They couldn't contain their boiling blood.
Jamad's calm gaze swept over them in stark contrast.
The overheated atmosphere showed no signs of cooling.
Jamad recalled that tribe members were still dying even in this moment.
Rumble.
Jamad rose from his chair.
His bulk was greater than his brothers', and that slight difference created a vast gap.
Crack!
Jamad shattered the bone chair and pulled something from beneath it.
Whoosh!
It was the brilliantly shining Rock Fist. The Rock Fist unabashedly radiated its presence.
"Rock Fist!"
"So it was your doing after all! We were right!"
Jamad donned the Rock Fist he had hidden before his brothers arrived.
Clank. Clank.
"Jamad stole it!"
"Don't expect an easy death, betrayer of the tribe!"
Jamad casually waved his hand as if they weren't worth responding to.
"Yes, that's right. It was all my doing."
The rift of conflict was deep, trust shallow.
Boom!
Including Cron, the brothers rose from their chairs and swung their hands, instantly filling the meeting hall with rock piles.
"We must kill him! Jamad's targeting us!"
"Jamad killed Makgata too!"
"He's using the Rock Fist to devour the tribe!"
The foolish three brothers began pooling their sorcery.
Rumble!
Pointed rocks and sticky mud disrupted the chamber, gathering in one place.
Jamad murmured quietly.
"Mother of the Earth, Tancred, if the Rock Fang must shed blood, we shall gladly do so. But that blood will be from the worthless ones."
Immense sorcery power gathered toward him, now wearing Rock Fists on both arms.
Whoooosh—!
Jamad declared.
"Jamad is the mountain; the mountain does not shake."
"Don't get cocky, Jamad!"
"This is the moment to decide the one true chieftain!"
"You've always deluded yourself into thinking you're above us!"
The Mountain Sorcerer Jamad, bearer of the Earth's divine relic, sneered coldly.
Crack!
Boom!
Rocks, gravel, and mud surged toward Jamad in unison.
But Jamad, empowered by the Rock Fist, overwhelmed their sorcery in turn.
Kagagak!
"Arrrgh!"
"Miyam! No!"
"How... such power..."
Miyam's body was shredded by rock fragments.
In contrast to his arrogant demeanor, he perished pathetically to Jamad's single strike.
[The Mud Sorcerer Miyam harbors resentment toward Jamad.]
[Jamad is afflicted with tuberculosis.]
[For one week, spell casting time doubles, and casting failure rate is fixed at 70%. Sorcery backlash intensifies.]
[Experience accumulated.]
[Mud Sorcerer Miyam defeated.]
[Reward enhanced.]
[Rock Fang Tribute upgraded to Rock Fang Sacrifice.]
The giant that had been crouching emerged into the world alongside the Rock Fist.
"Miyam's... dead!"
"Damn it!"
Jamad's Rock Fist shone repeatedly.
Whoosh—!
His body was soon encased in solid rock.
Each time he cast sorcery, the Rock Fist emitted eerie light.
"With the blood you shed, the unified Rock Fang will grow stronger than now!"
"Forcing the Earth's power like that! You'll face heavenly punishment..."
"He can't last long! That's no power for a single sorcerer to wield!"
Boom!
Jamad charged in a rock-covered body slam; the gravel sorcery bounced off futilely, and soon Troggo was seized.
Crunch! Crack!
Troggo was crushed in Jamad's embrace.
"Guhk... guh..."
"Trogggooo!"
[Gravel Sorcerer Troggo harbors resentment toward Jamad.]
[Jamad is afflicted with vertigo.]
[For one week, spatial awareness is distorted: defense, resistance, stamina, and base accuracy reduced by 70%.]
[Experience accumulated.]
[Gravel Sorcerer Troggo defeated.]
[Reward enhanced.]
[Rock Fang Sacrifice upgraded to Rock Fang Relic.]
"Jamad! You dare..."
"I'm sorry I didn't sweep you away sooner. Perhaps I felt a shred of pity for you, forcibly made my brothers."
"Don't look down on ussss!"
Cron, eyes bloodshot, charged at Jamad with his body similarly wrapped in rock.
Boom!
"Keuk... kuh..."
"Huff... huff..."
Jamad finally felled the last brother after a long, drawn-out fight.
Splash!
His arm piercing Cron's chest was proof.
"Jamad... cough... you'll pay for betraying your brothers..."
"Cron, you're not fit to be king. You're dim-witted and easily swayed."
"You will... surely..."
"Go."
[Rock Sorcerer Cron harbors resentment toward Jamad.]
[Jamad is afflicted with heart disease.]
[For one week, current stamina continuously decreases, and stamina does not regenerate.]
[Experience accumulated.]
[Rock Sorcerer Cron defeated.]
[Reward enhanced.]
[Rock Fang Relic upgraded to Rock Fang Treasure.]
Thud.
Jamad dropped to one knee.
"Haa... haa... cough... Annoying pests..."
Crackle—
Screeech!
The Rock Fist screamed.
He had forcibly drawn immense power to defeat his brothers, but his body was now in tatters.
As his brothers said, the Rock Fist's power wasn't for a mere sorcerer to wield.
*But... it's fine. I'm now the tribe's sole focal point. I just need to rebuild from here. First, to overcome this situation, unite the tribe members...*
Step.
Step.
A presence stirred.
Jamad instinctively knew the one outside the door had come for his life.
Creak.
"...Who are you!"
Jamad squeezed out his strength and hurled rock fragments. But a moonlit sword deflected them.
Clang!
The one who deflected the fragments was Kang Seol's summon, Karuna.
With Karuna at the forefront, Kang Seol stepped forward and greeted Jamad.
"Fighting among brothers? Tsk tsk. You should get along."
- Satan: Professor, we haven't learned that yet.
- Don't fight, just kiss and make up!
- This is... human? Eww... disgusting!
- I don't know if he's the strongest human, but he's definitely the most evil... I like this guy?
- Crazy, for real; thought it was pointless messing around, but he'd set the whole board? How did five brothers suddenly become an only child! What happened to that big family?!
- Caught one, but why'd all five brothers get wiped? Can't believe it even seeing it;
Swish...
Kang Seol stood before Jamad in the darkest hour of dawn.
The great hall's outer walls were pocked with holes from the brothers' fight, moonlight seeping through.
Whoosh!
[Karuna is affected by moonlight.]
[Moonlight Ascension charges faster.]
"...It's you. The mastermind. As expected, my dim-witted brothers couldn't have orchestrated this."
There was no reason for the opponent to speak kindly, so Kang Seol didn't continue the conversation.
The place and situation weren't suited for talk anyway. The opponent seemed to think the same.
Layered with resentment curses and overexerted from sorcery, Jamad struggled to rise.
Whoooosh!
Confirming this, Kang Seol smiled tensely and nodded to Karuna.
Moonlight-infused Karuna stepped forward, hand on his sword hilt.
Jamad's eyes, facing him, were now entirely red. Intense rage poured from that gaze.
Jamad asked Kang Seol.
"Demon, do you covet the mountain?"
Grind!
Jamad roared in a breaking voice and charged ferociously at Karuna.
"Try taking it!"
Yet, just as Jamad nearly reached Karuna, the knight's aura shifted dramatically.
Crackle!
[Karuna enters Moonlight Ascension (Moonlight Ascension) Stage 2: Half Moon.]