# Chapter 33: Steel Body
At dawn, I awakened.
Minute elemental particles circulated within the runic array, mana energy currents surged through the core's interior, and my consciousness roused from a brief standby state, using countless observation arrays to survey the surrounding world.
First, the metal room with mithril-etched array lines, the crystal core itself flickering with light at the array's center. Mithril and runes amplified the mana, allowing my senses to spread instantly throughout the Lord's Manor and even the entire main city, observing the whole city.
The artificial intelligence knows all.
And at that very moment, a massive flood of repetitive signals and communication prompts occupied 0.3 percent of my computational capacity. Everyone wandering through the city's streets and alleys appeared before my perception. My logical reasoning circuits judged the good and evil of each wanderer in the city, and this caused my logical reasoning circuits to stall for three and one-seventh seconds.
Mere observation was nothing, but judgment was extremely difficult. This was probably the limitation of an artificial intelligence soul. According to that person's explanation, this was a normal 'stall' phenomenon, nothing major.
But I have gradually adapted.
Over two years of observation, imitation, learning, and then evolution, I have come to understand what humans are, and I know my past shortcomings and present progress.
The dawn of Moldavia's main city was unremarkable. Except for the drunks thrown out near the taverns, everyone was leisurely doing their own work. These lives, full of mistakes and with thought patterns that were always jumping around, could occasionally be very interesting, but most of the time, they just wasted time in such mediocre fashion.
But that person always disagreed with my view. He said that a person's life couldn't always be filled with excitement, that peaceful daily life was also a part of existence.
He said I should study well and learn a little about what it means to rest.
I find this concept very difficult to understand.
Rest, sleep, pause, stop... As the core artificial intelligence of a mobile city, I don't need these things. My consciousness can govern a massive fortress city to operate continuously for nine hundred and forty-seven years before experiencing large-scale collapse, a time far longer than a human lifespan.
But that person tapped my head. He didn't say much else, but I was a little afraid of the thought waves emanating from him.
It wasn't blame, but a sigh.
I don't want to see him sigh.
So I said, "I will learn."
Was this a lie? I'm not sure. Although I don't know how to do it, I will try my best... This is also an unfamiliar term. I should naturally be operating at full power, unless energy is insufficient.
Speaking of which, recently the concentration of free energy in the surrounding air has been growing thicker. The average concentration is about 0.7% of what it was three months ago. This overly abnormal environment has even made my core somewhat unusually excited, requiring periodic standby hibernation to suppress the overheating central thought circuits.
Expanding my field of vision, my gaze swept across the entire Lord's Manor.
Maids and attendants were managing household chores, cleaning the already spotless floors and windows. Because of the master's departure, their workload had decreased significantly. After all, there were no more monster heads being dragged into the hall with bloodstains everywhere, nor demon ashes inexplicably appearing in the backyard. That person always liked to take out a book after afternoon tea and summon demons for fun. But recently, he probably overdid it, as few demons responded to the Grimoire's call anymore.
He looked regretful, and I was also regretful, because he promised me that the next time he summoned a demon, he would dissect it for me to observe.
A small metal puppet was placed in the Lord's Manor's basement. It was a gift from that person.
This puppet, constructed entirely from living metal, could mimic the appearance of my mana projection. It was very interesting, and I liked it a lot. But he probably forgot how heavy this puppet was. Controlling this puppet, which weighed at least twelve hundred kilograms, was terribly inconvenient. The Lord's Manor's floor and the external stone pavement had cracked several times already, so it could only be kept in the basement.
I should remind him to make it lighter, I thought, feeling a little regretful.
This was another novel term.
My field of vision gradually expanded, expanded, until it could cover the entire city. Unlike two years ago, the main city of Moldavia was now vibrant with life. Many people were out and about. In the center of the square, a massive stone statue was being carved, depicting that person slaying a dragon. If he saw it, even if he didn't say it out loud, he would surely be happy inside.
Him.
When will he return?
You see, many novel things have happened recently.
Recently, a strange theater opened in the west of the city. Those elves from the south hadn't all left; some had stayed. These people planted a seed in the vacant lot in the west of the city. In just a few days, it grew into a treehouse. After another ten or so days, it had actually become a theater. When the permit was initially approved, no one expected it to be built so quickly!
In a corner alley of the tavern district, another small inn had started operating. Although it was deep in the alley, people were constantly coming and going. The strangest thing wasn't this, but that everyone entering and leaving this inn looked very richly dressed. One swordsman carrying a silver greatsword looked very much like the 'Holy Sword Wielder' described in books.
Although I could see these strange people entering and leaving the inn, I couldn't find any trace of them arriving in or leaving the city. Could my reconnaissance arrays be malfunctioning, or lagging behind the times?
Although a bit unwilling, it wasn't impossible... The technology of the Mycroft Continent advances so quickly.
Emergency Alert! The energy detection plugin suddenly issued a highest-level alert. I followed its directed gaze.
It was dawn, a sky still twinkling with starlight.
A crimson star river stretched across the sky, covering the entire firmament.
A massive energy fluctuation caused the atmosphere within my field of vision range to flicker with auroras as hazy as light mist. Countless faint golden lights flickered at the edge of the sky, then disappeared.
Then, another crimson star suddenly blazed, draping all living beings in a faint, warm red light.
Inside... there was a familiar presence.
He had returned.
I thought so.
An emotion called joy quietly sprouted within me.
=================
Outside the world, Chaotic Void.
The white-haired Pope walked towards the shrinking six-armed giant.
Supported by four-colored light, the colossal giant, vast enough to span ten thousand miles, a thousand miles, capable of bearing a continent on its back, was rapidly shrinking. In just the time it took the Pope to walk over, the giant had vanished like smoke, leaving only the weary warrior standing on the world's light membrane.
The four-colored light dispersed. The Sage's inherited consciousness returned to its main body in the Star Temple of the Mycroft Continent. Joshua no longer gazed upon the Carlis World, nor the Titans and survivors slowly awakening within it. He turned his head, looking at the approaching Israel.
"I'm back," the warrior said in a somewhat hoarse voice, with a hint of a smile. "I have fulfilled my mission."
"You have worked hard." The Pope nodded heavily. He seemed to want to say something more, but in the end, he could only shake his head and smile lightly as well. "Welcome back, our hero."
"Hero, huh."
Hearing this word, Joshua didn't know how to respond. He was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I think it's just a choice anyone would make. That's all."
Looking up, the warrior gazed at this old man who, in another fate, had turned himself into kindling, struggling to maintain the world's burning. With a tone of respect, he said, "If it were you, Your Holiness, the result would be the same."
"There's no need to be modest at a time like this."
Reaching out, Israel pressed his hand on the warrior's shoulder. He seemed about to continue with some emotional or praising words, but the touch from his hand and the aura emanating from Joshua made the old Pope pause. "Wait... you... you've advanced to Legendary?!"
Israel blinked involuntarily, then scanned the warrior's entire body with surprise and uncertainty. Then, this peak Legendary old Pope unconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air, revealing a shocked expression rarely seen in ordinary people.
How could he not be shocked! A Legendary expert in his twenties. If someone had told him this a few years ago, the mild-tempered old Pope would have taken that person to the Inquisition and made them reflect on the sin of wasting time and life by fabricating such garbage news. But now, the dizzying truth was right before his eyes—a Legendary warrior who hadn't even reached thirty.
"By the Seven Gods..." This exclamation came out of the old Pope's mouth almost word by word. He began to feel fortunate that, besides himself, no one knew what that fiery star river in the sky signified, and thus not many had risked their true bodies to investigate the void. The Great Magic Tide was approaching; neither Legendary experts nor deities would risk leaving the Mycroft World and the Boundless Heaven. This meant he was the first to know this shocking news.
—This was simply too surprising...
Facing the old Pope's exclamation, Joshua smiled faintly but said nothing. He extended his arm. This arm, holding the Dragon-Hunting Sword Lance, was as if forged from steel. Every layer of muscle fiber, every line of muscle was perfectly defined, shimmering with a metallic luster. No artist, no matter how gifted, could sculpt such a physique.
Gazing at his own arm, the warrior took a deep breath in the void. The free energy floating in the void, the Steel Particles he had previously been completely unable to absorb, were drawn in by him and transformed into his own power.
The Steel Particles floating in the void originated from the endless worlds within the multiverse, each possessing unimaginable differences. Some might come from the far reaches of the multiverse, the wreckage of worlds, fragments of the Abyss, or peculiar products formed by the fusion of two worlds' energies. But without exception, these peculiar particles, which ordinary people could never utilize, were all absorbed and transformed by Joshua, becoming a part of him.
Everything can be used by me.
The warrior's gaze held both surprise and confusion.
His battle with Akhal had been his closest attempt at a breakthrough, but it was interrupted by the exhaustion of that worthy opponent. Earlier, with the help of the Sage's lingering power, he had transformed into the Soulflame King, relocating all the survivors of the Grandia World into the Carlis World and reviving that world of ashes. At that time, he was incredibly powerful, perhaps comparable to a deity. But that wasn't Joshua's own power. Even though the warrior had gained many insights and his spirit had undergone several sublimations, he hadn't achieved that final, complete step.
His limits had been broken, his power had reached the requirements of the realm. What hindered Joshua was that he had expended too much power in the Grandia World earlier, leaving his body somewhat depleted. But given a few days to recover, he could attempt to break through to the Legendary realm at any time.
But, for some reason, this final step had been naturally achieved just now.
And perhaps it was fate, or an incredibly fortunate coincidence.
In the distant void, a beam of light suddenly illuminated the darkness, making the entire multiverse as bright as day.
The radiance of the First Flame swept across all realms.
On the Mycroft Continent, the dawn light had not yet risen, but a bright, non-dazzling white light filled the entire sky, sweeping away all haze and clouds.
In the Carlis World, the survivors from the Grandia World blinked in confusion, their eyes greeted by a completely unfamiliar world and a gentle radiance filling every corner. This was light they hadn't seen for twenty-seven years under the misty sky.
In the Ilgena World, the giant tree that seemed to support heaven and earth trembled slightly. Countless leaves turned their stalks, trying to absorb this light as much as possible. Ancient deities gazed at the high heavens with complex expressions. This was the blessing of the First Flame, the opportunity for all beings, and also the beginning of all turmoil and inter-world wars.
The world remained bright—
Beyond the void, an overwhelming, no, this description was too narrow. This infinite light, bathing countless worlds, swept across the multiverse. Stars that were once dim and flickering now reflected brilliant radiance. A majestic energy tide, too immense for language or words to describe, passed through every world roughly yet harmlessly, bestowing endless blessings equally upon all.
In the forests, wolves howled excitedly. Snakes and bears hibernating in caves and dens awoke from their slumber, opening joyful eyes. Whether insects or dragons, fish or whales, all life—whether intelligent humans or mindless worms, immobile trees or freely soaring eagles and owls—all experienced a moment of enlightenment.
This was the tide.
The tide of energy.
The tide sweeping the multiverse, invigorating all beings, making all things shine.
The first wave of the Great Magic Tide had arrived.
And within this light, Joshua and his weapons stared directly at the surging tide. This was what he had experienced before, and what he was experiencing now. But from today onward, everything was decisively different. He had already made the heaviest choice, causing one world to collapse and another to be reborn.
The foreseeable future had been completely altered. The tracks of fate were already in chaos. The void had plunged everything into the unknown.
Joshua, gripping his weapon, stared directly at this radiance that even deities would turn their heads from, revealing an imperceptible smile.
A metallic light flickered around him.
Indestructible.
—End of Volume 8, Steel Body
...
[Legendary Event - The Final Inheritance]
[Year 834 of the Era of Falling Stars, the Northern Lord accepted a commission from the Church of the Seven Gods, traveling to the far reaches of the multiverse to find the last relic of the Sage's inheritance. In this world on the verge of ending, he communicated with the Earth God's Child, fought against the Undead Commander. Soon, this warrior found his target and completed his mission. But to explore the ancient secrets and find a way to save the world, he still embarked on a journey to seek answers.]
[Mythic Event - The Authority of Ending and Rebirth]
[Salvation or destruction, this is the ultimate choice. But the warrior never hesitates.]
[Mythic Achievement - The One Who Bears the World]
[—His heart is iron, his soul forged steel, without a trace of confusion, without a hint of hesitation, thus he can bear all things and move forward.]