Chapter 851: Rise! Rise! Rise! Why Are You All Just Watching?
"The armor equipped itself! It fits perfectly! This is practically magic!" Maria exclaimed, her voice bubbling with uncontainable excitement as she patted the sleek, golden plating.
"Don't just stand there marveling at it," Margaret gently chided. "Test it out."
"Test it here?" Maria blinked, glancing around the confines of the room.
Ren chuckled, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips. "Of course not. Unless you want your lovely home reduced to rubble."
"We'll find a wasteland to properly test its limits," he added.
"A wasteland? Right now?" Zofia frowned, her protective instincts flaring. Leaving the safety of the estate so suddenly felt incredibly risky.
"There's no time like the present. Besides, I've already picked the perfect spot."
Before anyone could protest, a translucent ripple pulsed outward from beneath Ren's boots. The very fabric of space warped at a speed visible to the naked eye. The familiar walls of the Nearl residence peeled away like burnt paper, dissolving into an absolute, dizzying void before violently twisting back into reality.
In the blink of an eye, the cozy room was gone, replaced by an endless expanse of cracked, desolate yellow earth.
"What in the world...!" Mlynar's eyes widened, his usually stoic composure shattering as he glared at the sudden change in scenery.
"How did we..." Zofia's jaw dropped. The dry, dusty scent of barren soil hit their faces, carrying the harsh heat of a genuine wasteland.
Mlynar crouched down, his expression grim. He scooped up a handful of the coarse yellow dirt, letting the gritty particles sift through his fingers. The tactile sensation, the weight of the soil, the dry wind—it was entirely real.
"This isn't some illusionary Originium Arts," Mlynar muttered, his voice tight with disbelief.
"I wouldn't bother with something as crude as a simple illusion," Ren replied casually. He stepped up behind the still-dazed Maria. Acting the part of a patient instructor, he gently grasped her right hand. "Focus your mind. Picture drawing a long spear."
Still trying to process the sudden teleportation, Maria numbly followed his instructions. A flash of golden light coalesced in her grip, instantly solidifying into a magnificent, perfectly balanced spear.
"Hold it steady," Ren murmured, his hands gently adjusting her posture. He guided her shoulders, turning her to face a jagged, rocky hill jutting out of the wasteland in the far distance. "Now, throw it at that hill. Use every ounce of strength you have."
"Throw it?" Maria bit her lower lip, squinting at the target. "But that's hundreds of meters away! I can't throw a spear that far!"
"I'm well aware. It's exactly nine hundred and eighty meters away," Ren stated matter-of-factly. "Just throw it. Don't hold back."
"A-Alright..." Maria swallowed hard, obediently shifting her weight into a throwing stance.
Mlynar and Zofia watched the exchange in dead silence, their expressions grave. Neither dared to underestimate the mysterious man standing before them. His casual manipulation of space had completely shattered their understanding of reality. They needed to see exactly what this supposed gift was capable of.
Inhale... Exhale...
Maria took a deep breath, forcing her racing heart to steady. Her golden eyes sharpened, locking onto the distant peak. Mustering every bit of physical strength her Kuranta body possessed, she hurled the golden spear forward.
In her mind, it would arc gracefully for a few dozen meters before pathetically plowing into the dirt.
She was wrong.
SKREEEEEECH!
The spear tore through the air with an ear-splitting shriek, shattering the sound barrier instantly. It didn't arc. It fired in a perfectly straight line like a blinding golden laser, crossing the nearly kilometer-long distance in a fraction of a second.
It punched straight through the center of the rocky hill.
A heartbeat later.
BOOOOOOM!
An apocalyptic roar ripped across the wasteland. The entire hill detonated from the inside out, instantly vaporized into a massive, expanding cloud of pulverized rock and dust. A ferocious shockwave blasted outward, sweeping over the group and violently whipping their hair and clothes.
Maria stood frozen, her arm still outstretched, her jaw practically hitting the floor.
Mlynar and Zofia slowly turned to look at each other, their eyes wide with absolute, unadulterated horror and awe.
What in the name of the Goddess was that spear?! The destructive yield completely eclipsed a military-grade siege cannon! And it had been thrown by Maria—a girl with barely any combat experience!
Both seasoned knights simultaneously sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
Just who, or what, was Ren? Their minds raced, struggling to comprehend the sheer scale of the power casually handed over to their youngest family member.
Even Margaret, the legendary Radiant Knight, was visibly shaken. She had faced countless horrors and powerful Arts on the battlefield, but she had never witnessed a handheld weapon capable of such terrifying devastation.
"Ren..." Margaret began, her voice trembling slightly. "Is it truly alright to give something of this magnitude to Maria?"
"Ah! Y-Yes! This is way too valuable! I—I can't possibly accept this!" Snapping out of her stupor, Maria panicked, her fingers frantically fumbling to pull the ring off her hand.
Ren simply reached out, his hand gently but firmly wrapping around her wrist to stop her.
"There's no need for that," he said, his tone incredibly nonchalant. "It really isn't anything valuable."
He waved his free hand dismissively. "It's just a little trinket I threw together on a whim. I can mass-produce them if I wanted to."
To prove his point, a soft light flickered in his palm, and an identical ring materialized out of thin air.
He stepped over to Margaret, gently taking her left hand, and smoothly slid the band onto her ring finger.
"Margaret, this one is for you. Now both you and your sister have one."
"Oh... thank you, Ren." Margaret's usually stoic facade cracked, the tips of her equine ears flushing a deep, vibrant red.
She stared down at the metallic band resting perfectly on her ring finger. In Kazimierz, such a gesture carried the heavy weight of a formal courtship—a vow of eternal devotion. Although their relationship had ignited through raw, physical intimacy, there was absolutely no denying that Ren was the only man she would ever acknowledge as her partner.
A deep warmth bloomed in her chest. She wasn't happy because she had just received a weapon of mass destruction. She was happy because he had given it to her, taking the time to personally slip it onto that specific finger.
Seeing her older sister accept the gift so readily, Maria finally let out a long breath of relief. While she genuinely felt the item was far too precious for someone like her, she couldn't deny the thrilling rush of power it provided. The armor was beautiful, and the spear was incredible. Knowing Margaret had one too made the guilt of accepting it fade away.
Nearby, Mlynar silently exhaled a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
Having witnessed the apocalyptic might of that single spear throw, his sharp, pragmatic mind had instantly calculated the strategic value of the ring. It wasn't just a weapon; it was a strategic deterrent capable of giving entire nations pause. When Maria had started panicking and trying to return it, he had nearly suffered a heart attack from sheer anxiety.
Thank the heavens she kept it. And now, Margaret had one as well.
Tsk, tsk, tsk...
With two walking siege cannons in their ranks, the Nearl family could practically walk sideways through Kazimierz without anyone daring to bat an eye! His mind raced, already mapping out the glorious, unstoppable resurgence of their noble house.
Ah... the air today is exceptionally fresh.
Mlynar was practically bubbling with internal euphoria. Suddenly, even the dry, choking dust of the wasteland smelled like the sweet scent of absolute victory.
Standing off to the side, Zofia couldn't help but feel a sharp twinge of envy. As a former competitive knight, what warrior wouldn't covet a set of traditional, aesthetically flawless armor that possessed such overwhelming, world-shattering power? She was certainly no exception.
Ren, ever attuned to the subtle shifts in a woman's mood, instantly picked up on her longing gaze.
With a smooth, practiced grace, he closed the distance between them, stepping right into Zofia's personal space.
"Madam Zofia," he murmured, his voice dropping to a velvety, magnetic timber. "I firmly believe that a lady as beautiful and charming as yourself deserves a special gift of her own."
While she stared at him in wide-eyed shock, another ring materialized in his hand—this one bearing a uniquely complex pattern tailored just for her. Without asking for permission, he took her left hand and slid the band onto her ring finger as well.
Then, bowing slightly like a perfect gentleman, he pressed a brief, feather-light kiss to the back of her hand.
Ren looked up through his lashes, a charming smile gracing his features. "I wonder, do you practice such etiquette here in Kazimierz?"
Zofia's face instantly flushed a brilliant shade of crimson. "N-No... we don't. But I've heard the nobles over in Victoria practice similar customs. Are you... perhaps from Victoria, sir?"
"Haha, no. I'm not from Victoria." Ren chuckled softly. "In fact, my hometown doesn't have this kind of etiquette either."
He delivered this completely contradictory statement with an entirely straight face.
Zofia blinked, her mind short-circuiting. His hometown doesn't have this etiquette? Then why did he just kiss my hand?!
Reading her confusion, Ren's smile widened into a roguish grin. "It's simply that Lady Zofia's captivating demeanor made me instinctively want to treat her this way."
The implication hit her like a physical blow.
Zofia finally understood. He was shamelessly flirting with her! A wave of intense shyness washed over her, and the blush on her cheeks deepened until her entire face felt like it was on fire.
"Uhh..." Maria stood a few paces away, utterly bewildered by the scene unfolding before her.
Wait a minute... is my future brother-in-law openly hitting on our aunt?!
She whipped her head around to look at Margaret, expecting her older sister to intervene, or at least look annoyed. Instead, Margaret was simply watching the exchange with a perfectly calm, almost amused expression.
Sister! Why are you just standing there watching this happen?! Say something!
Desperate for some sense of normalcy, Maria turned to her uncle.
Instead of his usual stern, disapproving scowl, Mlynar was staring off into space with a bizarre, almost euphoric smile plastered across his face. He was completely lost in his own delusions of grandeur, his mind echoing with a single, ecstatic thought: Hahaha! The Nearl family will rise to the very top!
A sudden, uncomfortable chill ran down Maria's spine.
Uncle Mlynar! What in the world are you smiling at?! Why are you all acting so crazy?!
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