Soul of Burning Steel

Charm and looks don't really go hand in hand.

Strictly speaking, charisma is not actually a person's appearance, but rather a kind of instinctive affinity. People with high charisma can easily gain the favor of outsiders or animals, and can easily make beasts become obedient, and can also more easily Get help from strangers.

The charm of ordinary people is about a dozen or so, more than 20 is considered outstanding, and more than 50 even has some kind of extraordinary function, which can be called a natural charm. Most of the beauties who can be famous in history are this level.

But if you want to be higher, you can't do it with pure beauty and charm... It must have the blood of a goblin or a succubus, and contain supernatural elements such as magic.

As for the negative charm, sometimes it does not mean that this person is disgusting, but a very majestic statement.

Although you will also have trust, but at first glance, what comes to mind is not admiration, but awe. This is the difference between a positive charm and a negative charm. Generally speaking, if the negative charm reaches 20 points, it is almost considered. Above all, it is full of majesty. Those who are less courageous will even be shocked at a glance. If it is higher, this majesty can even be converted into supernatural abilities, such as the fear aura that is common to lower-level creatures such as heart fear. .

Even so, I have to mention one thing, even if it is a horrible executioner who left a mark in history, a murderous general who slaughtered several cities, their charm is nothing more than minus fifty.

But the number hanging on Joshua's character card is enough to make all the murderers feel ashamed and willing to bow down.

Negative two hundred and nine.

This has really broken the lowest limit that can be recorded in history, and has reached a new level. Even a calm and calm person like Joshua was shocked after seeing this number, and took a breath. Furious, the soldiers couldn't understand how this was done.

But he immediately calmed down, paused for a moment, Joshua's eyes fixed, and then began to quickly search for his own achievement table and character characteristics table, there is no doubt that it must be in the world of Ilgna What unforeseen consequences of his adventures had wrought upon his charms.

[Mechanical Killer] [Puppet Destroyer] [Enemy of Constructed Creatures], a series of achievements swept away, [Giant Beast Hunter] [One Hit Hundred Kills] [God Descended Man] has nothing to do with charm, However, [Turning the Tide] and [World Savior] are achievements that add charm. After reading it roughly, Joshua frowned, because he found that his charm was not lost, but he added more than 50 points because of the achievement. .

Where did the negative two hundred and nine come from? !

Continuing to look down, the warrior finally saw two new inconspicuous states at one edge of his character.

【Natural appearance】

[It is not a face that ordinary people can have, but a divine appearance. Those who possess this characteristic must possess divinity and possess a certain majesty of a god. Charm +100. 】

【——The face of God is shrouded in light, which is invisible to ordinary people. This is not to cover up for the sake of mystery, but a kind of protection. 】

【Breath of Chaos】

[Maybe you opened some ancient seals during the adventure, or you got some vicious curses when you were fighting the enemy, and now the power of chaos is entangled in you, which will cause some unpredictable consequences. Charisma-related judgments are reversed. 】

【——Others' fear, disgust, and the eternal loneliness they bring will be like tarsal maggots, making you unable to escape. 】

"……call."

Taking a deep breath, and then letting it out, Joshua closed his eyes, clenched his fists, his arms were full of bulging veins, the soldier tried to calm himself down, he found his own charm minus two hundred Nine reasons too.

The achievements of various saviors add up to a total of more than 50 points of charm bonus, and the divine power of the father of nature has given his body a part of divinity, which has increased his charm. It stands to reason that his current charm should be normal. The number was very high, but everything was destroyed by the last breath of chaos.

Just as the divine power of the Father of Nature endowed his body with divine power, the power of the evil god of natural disasters also attached to his body because of that final battle, reversing the effect of the blessing, which instantly made the warrior down to a terrifying level The charm was even worse, breaking through the lower limit all the way, reaching the current situation.

The acquaintances are okay, not to mention Ying and Rin, Lolanda and Father Artanis are both powerful and familiar with him, so the change in charm has little effect, but if a stranger sees him, Joshua has no doubts The other party will faint from fright. In fact, his majesty alone is probably more terrifying than the might of the giant dragon. His strength is not up to gold, and he should fall into a shocking illusion just by seeing the soldier's face.

"...Forget it, it's useless to think about it."

Giving up on continuing to think about this kind of thing that became more and more annoying, Joshua temporarily ignored his question about charm. He turned his head to look at his right hand, and then focused his attention on the things he was holding tightly in it.

What is held tightly in this hand is some kind of authority bestowed by Ilgna's world will. He doesn't know what it is, but instinct tells Joshua that it probably has something to do with his ability to touch the magic power projection of No. 3.

Opening the palm, a square metal block that is as silver as steel and shining like stars reveals its own shape, and light gray radiance swirls around it, like the halo of a comet.

"Identification."

The soldier issued a short order, and a large piece of data was swiped out of the screen.

【Shards of residual steel】

【...Item appraisal... The judgment of origin knowledge failed, the judgment of strange object knowledge failed, and the judgment of world knowledge succeeded. 】

[Appraisal Report: Scraps of Remnant Steel God-bestowed Miracle]

[Origin: At the beginning of the birth of the world, the boundaries between life were not so clearly divided, the soul and matter were actually one, and the steel fragments were the product of that time. 】

[Wonderful things: At the beginning of all things, there are many primordial monsters wandering in the world. They are the incarnations of pure steel, the first life, and their bodies have the purest life condensed. 】

[World: It is said that all kinds of elemental life are the products of the Creator's experiments on life. The existence of these souls and bodies is the proof of the fusion of steel and fire. The debris of residual steel contains the life force of the beginning. Objects can endow the holder with a mysterious ability. In front of the holder, the boundary between soul and matter disappears. He can touch the spirit body freely, and at a certain price, he can also endow the material with life. This is close to creation. the authority of the world. 】

[Comprehension: The steel shards that contain the power of authority, although they have entities, are actually some kind of conceptual existence, which is invisible to others except the holder. 】

"Isn't this exactly the same as the shards of burning steel?"

With a raised eyebrow, Joshua was not surprised by the effect of the broken steel fragments. He had already guessed a little from the fact that he could touch the magic power projection of No. 3 - what the warrior touched before was not magic power, but It is the soul of an artificial intelligence girl.

Since he returned from the world of Calliss last time, he put the burning steel fragments in the secret vault, and has not taken them out for research. When he has time next time, Joshua plans to take these two things out for comparison and research For a moment, but now, he no longer has the energy to analyze these mysterious gadgets that contain infinite mysteries.

Casually putting the scraps of broken steel into the pocket of his pajamas, Joshua sat back on the bed, and then closed his eyes. Although in the eyes of others, he had been asleep for three days, in fact, Joshua had just fallen into an illusion. , From beginning to end, he never had a good rest.

But now, in his own territory, in his own home, and in his own bed, the soldier can finally have a good night's sleep.

...

next morning.

Joshua, Rin and the others left the lord's mansion, preparing to visit Bishop Artanis and Paladin Loranda.

When the two soldiers were sleeping, they had been trying their best to wake him up. Although it was useless, they had to go to thank him just for this kind of heart.

Moreover, Joshua still has some things that he wants to ask the old priest and paladin, and this matter is difficult to tell, so he must tell it face to face.

Spring mornings are always a little humid, and there is a lot of dew on the turned off pyroxene lamps, and the soldiers walked along the somewhat wet bluestone avenue with Ying and Lin. Since it was early in the morning, pedestrians on the street were not Many, although the combination of the three is conspicuous, it still didn't attract much attention.

Most people are still preparing today's breakfast in the house, only a few adventurers are preparing the equipment in the compound, ready to go, go hunting monsters in the Great Ajax Mountains, or explore unknown areas, although these people see They met Joshua and his group, but most of them just took a cursory glance and didn't pay attention to them seriously. In addition, the soldiers wore wide boat-shaped hats, and the shadows covered their entire faces, so the charm of minus 209 did not cause anything. panic.

Not long after, everyone came to the cathedral in the square. There are no people in the square of the main city today, only a few patrolling city guards can be seen walking back and forth. They also glanced at the adventurer, but only roughly After glancing at the trio, they didn't continue to pay attention, but some with good memories saw the identities of Ying and Rin clearly, guessed the identity of the man who was hiding his face, and their patrolling pace suddenly became stronger.

Not paying attention to the behavior of the patrolling city guards around, Joshua raised his head and looked at St. Lauren's Cathedral. The soldier frowned slightly, because just now, he felt the black circle holy emblem on the top of the church flickering, but that The light flashed away, as if it was an illusion.

"...Go and knock on the door."

Turning his head to signal Rin to go forward and knock on the door, Joshua didn't think what he saw was an illusion, but he just kept this strange situation in his heart, and the soldier instructed: "Just say I'm coming."

"Yes Master."

The black-haired boy walked quickly to the door of the church.

Behind the door, Paladin Tunan heard a knock on the door.

"Strange, how could someone come today, so early?"

He stood up from the guard room and walked towards the gate. Tunan was puzzled. Today's Saint Laurent does not hold prayers or church activities. Why did someone knock on the door so early? You know, it's spring now, and most of the believers are busy with their own affairs. No one has time to come to the church without urgent matters or requests from the church.

"coming."

No matter how strange the knight felt, he still had to fulfill his responsibilities. He walked quickly to the gate and opened it.

Then.

He saw fear incarnate.

The morning sun was supposed to be bright, but that light was instantly taken away by a figure in a black coat, and Tunan's field of vision became dark in an instant, leaving only the one who seemed to be standing in the shadow Humanoid.

The head of this figure is wearing a trapezoidal boat hat with a strange color, so that the entire face is covered in shadows, and in the shadows, two blood-red light spots can be seen flickering, between light and dark, with Infinite oppression.

The figure seemed to make some movement, but the paladin was completely unable to react at this time, all his energy was attracted by the black coat of the other party - although the black seemed to be the color of ordinary leather, but with the If you keep watching, it becomes as deep as the deep sea, and you can't see the bottom at all, and the more you watch, the more creepy the darkness becomes, as if you are in an endless void and alone.

Forcing himself to pull his eyes out of this darkness, Tunan found in despair that he could not get rid of this vortex of fear at all. He knelt down involuntarily, and the paladin's forehead was covered with dense drops of sweat. He seemed to see something The skeleton of some gigantic creature swam through the darkness, bringing a low hum.

The darkness swayed for a while, and then disappeared, replaced by a figure that was completely invisible. Tunan relied on his remaining rationality to see that the other party seemed to reach out to him, trying to pull him up, but the paladin Just retreating in fear, not daring to touch.

In his eyes, the wreckage of the sword and the twisted souls of countless monsters constituted this humanoid body, and the wreckage of an indescribable monster emerged from that hand. They howled, making sharp noises, and the thick blood smell instantly It overwhelmed the paladin's sense of smell and made his eyes go dark.

Within seconds, Tunan passed out.

And that figure took two steps forward. He seemed to want to help the knight up, but it was of no use. The paladin had already fallen down completely, and even if he helped him up, it was like a mass of dead flesh.

"Is it useless even to cover your face?"

The human figure seemed to be shaking his head helplessly. Afterwards, Joshua took off the hat that concealed his appearance. He looked at the knight who seemed to be completely stunned by himself, sighed, and then said loudly into the depths of the church. , The thick voice echoed in the corridor.

"Anyone? Come out and get someone."

"Someone passed out."