Chapter 141

Chapter 141: Ria, Stuck at a Wall

One question arose regarding the spear's engraving effect.

"If the Behemoth Horn Spear has Lightning Attribute imbued, would the wielder not be affected as well?"

"That is correct. You would be affected."

Maxim's answer.

As I suspected.

To use it, I would need to maximize my resistance first.

'I can reach up to 95% resistance through food and equipment.'

It was a bit cumbersome.

It seemed difficult to use in a sudden emergency.

While I was mulling that over, Maxim pulled a gauntlet from a box and held it out.

"That is why I made a gauntlet using insulating minerals and materials."

"Oh......"

I took the gauntlet from Maxim.

A system message appeared.

[Enchanted Dwarven Behemoth Gauntlet]

[Base Effect: Defense +15, Lightning Attribute immunity on equipped area]

[Dwarven Master's S-Rank Rune Anvil & Hammer Crafting Effect: Defense +32]

[Magical Engraving Effect: Giant's Strength usable]

Thanks to the insulating material, the equipped area gained a Lightning Attribute immunity option.

The Defense was also quite high.

And on top of that, a Giant's Strength buff spell.

A buff that temporarily increased Strength for five minutes.

The Magical Gauntlet was fitted with a Highest-Grade Magic Stone, as expected.

"This is incredible."

"The gauntlet was engraved by Lady Ruina."

"No wonder Ruina seemed busy lately. She was doing this behind Ria's and my back."

"Heh heh! Indeed. And there is one more piece of equipment that Lady Ruina engraved."

He then produced a pair of boots.

"Boots too......"

I picked them up.

[Enchanted Dwarven Behemoth Boots]

[Base Effect: Defense +21]

[Dwarven Master's S-Rank Rune Anvil & Hammer Crafting Effect: Nimbleness +12%]

[Magical Engraving Effect: Spirit's Footsteps usable]

A whopping 12% Nimbleness bonus.

Plus a Spirit's Footsteps spell that drastically increased movement speed.

With this, I had a full set from head to toe.

Well, minus the helmet.

'I cannot wear a helmet. Too suffocating.'

Ria and the former Knight Order officers did not wear helmets either.

They said it interfered with their vision and senses.

Same reason for me.

Maxim then said.

"Congratulations on completing the full Behemoth Magical Equipment set, my liege."

"Thank you. It is all thanks to you, Maxim, and Ashley and Ruina."

Replacing the entire set with Magical Equipment must have dramatically boosted my combat power.

"I will complete your auxiliary weapons and Lady Emeria's full equipment set in short order."

"I appreciate it."

Ria did not have a system message window, so she could not use equipment-bound "skills."

But Magical Equipment was different.

The "spells" engraved on Magical Equipment could be used by Ria as well.

That was the difference between skills and spells.

'Before Ria gets her Behemoth Magical Equipment, might I actually stand a chance against her?'

I wanted to spar with Ria wearing the new equipment.

I was curious how much of a difference it would make.

I headed for the Rift house where Ria was.

***

I challenged Ria to a spousal duel.

"Ria, let us go a round."

Ria, who had been knitting, looked at me with a bewildered expression before breaking into a smile.

"You went out to pick up your equipment and came back brimming with confidence? This is the first time you have ever initiated a spar."

That was true. It was my first time requesting one.

"Ahem! I want to test the equipment and see how well it works against you."

"All right, let us spar."

We geared up and headed outside the Barrier in the outer forest.

"Do we really need to go outside......?"

"The natural surroundings on the hilltop could get destroyed."

"You are planning to go that seriously......?"

"Of course. If we hold back, it will not be a proper test. From now on, since you have gotten stronger, we should spar outside."

"All right......"

I was starting to regret suggesting this.

But what was done was done.

I could only give it my best.

We took our positions facing each other.

The spar began.

'I am going all out from the start.'

I immediately imbued the Behemoth Horn Spear with Lightning Attribute.

Then.

-CRACKLE!

Fierce electrical arcs surged and crackled around the spear.

Ria studied the spear with fascination.

"A spear wreathed in Lightning Attribute magic? Like a magic swordsman."

"Exactly, so protect yourself with mana so you do not get shocked!"

"Do not worry about me and come at full power!"

I thrust the spear at Ria.

She deflected the shaft with the flat of her blade and slipped to the side.

"Even with mana protecting my body, the jolt is making my wrist tingle."

So it did have an effect on Ria.

Then Ria launched into her usual relentless offensive.

I was scrambling to block and dodge.

But there was one thing different from our previous sparring dynamics.

'Ria is avoiding clashing blade against spear.'

She was refraining from attacks along routes where I could easily block with the spear.

The Lightning Attribute spell on the spear must have been that much of a nuisance.

Ria opened the distance again.

"The Lightning Attribute on the spear is definitely a hassle. Then I have no choice. I will have to go all out too."

A dense aura, different from anything she had shown in our previous spars, rippled along Ria's blade.

The dense aura she had only ever shown to enemies.

The mana radiating from her body intensified as well.

"......"

So this was the pressure that Ria's enemies felt.

A cold sweat broke out involuntarily.

With Ria going all out, I had no choice but to respond in kind.

I activated Spirit's Footsteps from the Magical Boots and Giant's Strength from the Magical Gauntlet.

My footwork lightened and my arms surged with power.

Ria and I clashed.

Against Ria at full power, I was pushed onto the defensive.

But once I began properly weaving in Acresia's absorption and release skills, I managed to hold my ground.

'Before the new equipment, I could barely endure against Ria even when she was not going all out. Now I can hold on this well even against her at full power.'

Good equipment made a real difference.

However, after five minutes, the Magical Gauntlet's Giant's Strength and the Magical Boots' Spirit's Footsteps both expired.

'This is as far as I go.'

Still, I should make one last stand.

As Ria closed in after a brief gap in distance, I fired the spear's second inscribed spell, Lightning Spear.

An electrical bolt shot forward, tracing the shape of the spear.

It was so fast that Ria chose to cancel it out rather than dodge.

Ria's aura release obliterated the Lightning Spear and still had enough force left to streak toward me.

The shield inscribed on the Behemoth Magical Armor deployed.

BOOM!

The shield shattered as it neutralized the aura.

The shockwave sent me tumbling backward, and I ended up flat on my back.

Ria walked over to me.

"Are you all right, husband?"

"Yeah, I am fine. No injuries."

Ria extended her hand. I took it and sat up.

Ria sat down beside me.

"It is not easy to beat you anymore, Seon-u."

"Come on, it looked like you won pretty handily without breaking a sweat."

"No. I really did go all out this time. And even so, I felt genuine danger several times during the spar."

"Really?"

"Yes. When you combine Acresia's skills into your fighting, it throws my hands and feet into disarray. At your current level, you could probably hold your own in a one-on-one against that Named Doppelganger we fought."

"That strong? I guess I really have gotten a lot stronger."

"You have gotten much stronger. At this rate, you might overtake me soon."

"That is probably unlikely. Once you break through your wall, the gap will widen again."

Ria was currently stuck at a wall.

If she broke through it, she would be able to catch up to her father, who had been called the Hero.

"Breaking through that wall is not easy."

"If anyone can do it, it is you, Ria."

"I will work hard to live up to that trust."

Just moments ago, we had been sparring fiercely. Now we were tenderly lacing our fingers together and sharing a kiss.

While we were having our intimate moment outdoors.

A monster's presence was detected approaching, utterly oblivious to the mood.

"A High-Grade Monster. A Troll."

I could see the Troll in the distance.

I gripped my spear and stood.

"I will take care of it and come back."

"Okay."

Using a Gate portal, I instantly transferred to a position near the Troll.

The distance between us was roughly a hundred meters.

It spotted me and charged, raising an enormous club over its head.

The distance closed to about eighty meters.

Trolls had rapid regeneration, so the only way to kill them was to sever the head or pierce the heart.

I immediately aimed at the creature and extended my spear, using Lightning Spear.

An electrical bolt shot forward at the speed of light.

CRACK!

The Troll's chest was pierced near the heart, and its entire body convulsed with electric shock before it collapsed.

A single strike to the heart had killed the Troll instantly.

As expected, the Behemoth Magical Spear, a collaboration between a dwarf and a dragon, packed extraordinary power.

'It is a far superior spell compared to the old spear's Spatial Thrust skill.'

That night.

Ria and I ventured into an uncleared Third Floor dungeon for proper equipment adaptation training.

We hunted in that dungeon for a total of four days.

During the day, I ran the restaurant and looked after the kids. Only after putting them to bed at night did we go dungeon hunting.

The dungeon emitted a chill as intense as the Cheorwon B Ice Dungeon. Ria resisted the cold with mana.

I stacked cold resistance to 100% through accessories, a cloak, and food, making it easy to endure.

After four days, we reached the boss room and defeated Ktillanax, a Highest-Grade cold-attribute monster in the form of a giant ice lizard.

We also killed one Highest-Grade subordinate guarding the boss and twenty-five High-Grade monsters.

As befitting a cold-attribute dungeon, all the monsters were vulnerable to Lightning Attribute.

With the dungeon cleared.

The achievement reward raised all stats by 2, and I obtained a title that increased cold attribute resistance.

***

The filming day for "Leave It to the Fridge" had arrived.

"Daddy is heading out."

When I said goodbye to my daughters at the front door, they responded.

"Okay! Papa, be safe!"

Rin bowed deeply.

"Dada!"

Yeona, cradled in Ria's arms, squirmed and called for me.

Receiving my two daughters' send-off filled me with energy.

Ria then approached me.

"Have a good time, Seon-u. Do well at the filming."

She kissed me on the cheek.

"I will. See you later."

I kissed Ria's cheek in return.

I got in the car and headed to the studio address that the assigned PD of "Leave It to the Fridge" had sent.

After parking, someone approached.

"Chef An, welcome. I am PD Kim Chang-wook, the one who has been in contact with you."

"Hello, PD Kim. Nice to meet you in person."

"The pleasure is truly mine. Thank you again sincerely for agreeing to appear."

"I should be the one thanking you. With all the incredible chefs on the show, you went out of your way to cast someone with hardly any career like me."

"Hardly any career......? Please. You worked at two three-star restaurants and one two-star restaurant, and now you are the owner-chef of the world's most famous restaurant. Your career is more impressive than anyone's."

Honestly, the Rift restaurant was famous not so much for its flavor as for its Stat dishes.

It was also famous because a dragon and Fenrir dined there, and because it had crushed the WPA alliance to the point of dissolution.

'The U.S. ultimately decided to classify the Gerald incident.'

The U.S. Rift Management Bureau had reportedly pressured the Korean Rift Management Bureau, demanding to know the truth about Gerald's death.

In the end, the Korean bureau informed them that Gerald had been a Hunter Awakened by Elena Misha's Forced Awakening skill, that the Mapo Rift crisis was caused by Elena Misha who had become a Vampire and turned into an undead monster, and that Gerald had been her puppet. When Elena Misha was killed, her puppet Gerald also died of cardiac arrest.

After conducting its own investigation and confirming that Gerald had frequently met with Elena Misha in his early days as an Awakened, the U.S. had decided there was nothing to gain from making it public and classified the truth of Gerald's death.

'In any case, the matter was resolved without any fallout reaching our guild.'

Moving on.

I followed PD Kim into the "Leave It to the Fridge" studio.

First, I received makeup and hair styling in the waiting room.

After styling, while waiting, a staff member brought a list of ingredients available from today's guests' refrigerators.

It also included the food themes the guests wanted and their reasons.

'So this is how they provide the ingredient list.'

Then I should spend the waiting time thinking about what to cook for each theme.

There was still an hour until filming began.

'Comforting Korean home cooking, glamorous dining food, warm noodle dishes, duck dishes.'

All manageable themes.

The cooking ingredients were well-stocked too.

'It does not matter which theme I get.'

I mentally rehearsed the dishes through visualization training.

Through visualization alone, I could estimate what the finished dish would look like and how it would taste.

When the time came, I headed to the filming set.