The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 80

Who initially developed the power armor was unknown to anyone. However, it was the mages who excavated and restored the ancient power armor that had been buried.

Perhaps for that reason, the restoration of the power armor began with the mage’s version rather than the knight’s. And now, the mage’s power armor appeared before Raul’s eyes.

Whirring and buzzing!

Raul was overwhelmed, tirelessly fending off the incessant barrage of magic attacks. His greatsword scattered a golden radiance, forming a sword barrier in front of him, while about ten psychic-energy charged daggers intercepted the magic from outside the barrier.

‘I was wondering if we’d really come across it, and here it is.’

Truth be told, mage’s power armor was a rare find. Only mages of the 5th circle or above could wear it, and there weren’t many of them to begin with.

Furthermore, compared to the knight’s version, the mage’s power armor required a much higher amount of mana to operate and was significantly more expensive to produce.

Because of these various issues, while the knight’s power armor was mass-produced and took the main stage on the battlefield, the mage’s power armor became a unique item that rarely appeared unless in major battles.

‘The problem is that despite being expensive, its performance is exceptional.’

The mage’s power armor was designed from the outset to amplify firepower. Hence, it was equipped with functions such as ‘multi-casting’, ‘firepower amplification’, and ‘casting speed reduction’. Raul was experiencing the effects firsthand.

‘It’s like a machine gun on its own.’

A gesture from the bronze masked individual wearing the mage’s power armor conjured black, magic-imbued dark arrows, five at a time, into the air.

Whizz, Bang!

No sooner were the dark arrows fired than about ten mana bullets appeared and followed suit, with fire arrows, water balls, and various other spells continuously pouring out at his gesture.

Boom, Crash!

Although they were basic spells of 3rd circle or lower, making them not too difficult to block, Raul could no longer close the distance with his enemies.

“Hahaha! How do you like that, young brat? You pranced around so arrogantly, and now look at you. Others might have revered you as a savior or a messenger of the gods, but don’t be mistaken. You’re no different from the other hypocritical nobles.”

As Raul could not advance further, Viscount Plank sneered and mocked him.

Raul didn’t particularly care what he was rambling on about.

‘Well, I’m aware I’m neither a saint nor a messenger of the gods.’

Perhaps the man’s words held some truth. Most of Raul’s actions had been calculated thus far. But surely, someone from the empire who trifled with human lives was not in a position to criticize.

Though he stopped in his tracks, Raul did not feel like he was in a critical situation. He still had several tricks up his sleeve.

‘What should I do?’

There were three users of mage’s power armor among the enemy ranks, and roughly five more wearing regular armor. This situation not only restrained Raul but also Jake. However, Philip was still advancing towards the enemy lines.

‘Sir Philip indeed. Worthy of being the strongest member of the First Knight Order.’

Even as he was constantly bombarded with magical attacks, Philip exuded an air of ease.

Unlike Raul or Jake, who deployed magical barriers, Philip simply flicked his wrist lightly, moving his sword just so, and yet, the spells were deflected and sliced apart.

The enemies, sensing that Philip’s momentum was out of the ordinary, had all five knight-armored users swarm towards him.

‘At this rate, Philip will surely wreak havoc in the enemy lines if we just drag out the time.’

Unless a master-class adversary appeared, stopping Philip would not be easy. Furthermore, the enemy leader, identifiable by a bronze mask, seemed fixated on Raul, paying no heed to anyone else.

However, Raul had no intention of just passively enduring attacks and dragging out time. In a situation as chaotic as today’s, it was impossible to know whose side time was on.

‘It’ll be troublesome if the enemy reinforcements arrive first.’

By now, under Raul’s orders, Bernard, who had been left at the mansion, would be leading the reserve forces and knights to surround Viscount Plank’s estate.

With messages sent to the temple and the guard, additional support could be expected over time.

Yet, if some of the enemies who had headed towards the royal palace returned sooner than anticipated, the situation could become complicated.

‘It seems the enemy leadership is stronger than I thought.’

The man in the bronze mask, laughing maniacally as he bombarded Raul with spells, was undoubtedly a formidable foe not to be underestimated.

[Name]: Jerry de Plank (Age 39)

[Level]: 88

[Occupation]: 6th Circle Dark Mage. Treasurer of the Ruben Kingdom

[Affiliation]: Ruben Kingdom, Plank Household / Cranen Empire, Imperial Hound, officer of the Ruben Kingdom branch.

[Title]: No. 8. The Gentleman of the Social Circle.

[Stats]: Potential (A-Grade)

[Strength 39]

[Agility 27]

[Stamina 34]

[Intelligence 79]

[Mind 77]

[Magical Power 78]

[Sensibility 73]

*Unique Traits

Mad Mage (A-), Zealot (B) High-circle mages were a rare sight, even in his past life NPCs of mage profession were uncommon.

Given his high level and traits, he would be a formidable opponent if he were to activate his runes. However, Raul was unfazed.

‘Sorry, but mages don’t particularly scare me.’

In one-on-one or small-scale fights, as opposed to large battles, mages weren’t seen as very powerful. Casting spells required a base casting time (the duration to chant the spell) which increased with higher-circle magic.

Hence, even high-circle mages often resorted to using lower-circle spells, which couldn’t significantly harm knights or psychokinetics.

Even Viscount Plank, in front of him, was spamming nothing above third-circle spells, let alone sixth-circle ones. Furthermore, wearing advanced power armor that could somewhat block sixth-circle magic, there was no reason to be afraid.

More than the fact his opponent was a sixth-circle mage, Raul was concerned about his identity.

‘Viscount Plank. The Treasurer of the Kingdom…’

He was a bigger deal than expected. The title of a count was not to be taken lightly, and being a financial minister meant he was among the top ten important officials in the kingdom’s treasury department.

To hold such a significant role at the young age of thirty suggested he had a strong backing.

‘The empire’s roots seem to be deeper than I thought.’

Even if there were few like this man who originated from the empire, it was clear there were many collaborating with the empire.

‘To catch him, I have to get close first…’

Several plausible methods sprang to Raul’s mind. The most certain way would be to activate the Regnator right away, charging in while ignoring any magic, but it was best to keep the Regnator as a trump card.

‘You only live once.’

Other methods included making active use of psychokinesis, which had recently reached intermediate level 5, or using [Blink] from his skill manual to teleport.

As he pondered, a system message appeared before his eyes.

-‘Librarian “Rabel” has requested to use a [D-rank Mana Stone] from your inventory. Do you approve?’

‘Eh? Rabel…?’

Raul tilted his head and approved the request. A D-rank Mana Stone was expensive, costing around 100 gold each, but he had secured hundreds while dealing with gates, so it wasn’t particularly precious to him.

The moment a mana stone vanished from the inventory, the skill manual unfolded itself in mid-air, creating a small vortex.

Whoosh. Fwoosh!

As the vortex subsided and a light dust scattered, a small silhouette appeared.

“Long time no see, Raul.”

Rabel, the forest fairy who had been asleep in the skill manual for adaptation, had finally awoken from her slumber.

“You’re awake, Rabel! Are you feeling alright?”

Raul smiled and greeted her warmly. Rabel now looked vibrant and full of life, unlike the ghostly appearance she had before.

“Thank you! It’s all thanks to you. There’s a lot to talk about, but we should deal with the situation at hand first.”

“Right. Just wait a moment. We’ll talk after the battle ends.”

Glad to see Rabel, Raul thought to quickly finish the fight and considered activating Regnator. However, Rabel shook her head, stopping him.

“Why not leave the magic to the mages?”

Then, another system message popped up before Raul.

-‘Librarian Rabel has completed her awakening and has been registered as player Raul’s official supporter.’

-‘Librarian Rabel requests formal access to the ‘Connect System.’

-‘Upon approval, librarian Rabel will inherit all of player Raul’s rights and be able to freely use the Connect System.’

-Do you approve?

‘A supporter system?’

In a previous life, it was a pay-to-use system that had gained popularity among some players.

Instead of a rigid system window, it featured a cute AI character who would convey messages and organize information from various categories, serving as a kind of personal assistant service.

Due to the exorbitant fees and the low level of AI functionality, however, it quickly became obsolete.

But from Raul’s perspective, since it didn’t cost him anything and he could cancel the supporter function at any time, there was no reason for him to refuse.

“I approve.”

– Access to the Connect System for Librarian Rabel has been approved.

– The [Supporter Service] that was locked has been activated. From now on, Librarian Rabel will replace the basic system functions as the supporter for player Raul.

“Thanks, Raul. Then, I’ll start by binding the skill book and power armor.”

A strand of mana flowed from the power armor Raul was wearing and touched the pages of the skill book.

Instantly, the skill book shone brightly, and its pages rustled open.

“The binding is complete. Now the skill book can also receive support from the power armor’s output.”

“I’m curious, why does the skill book need mana? After all, I’m the one choosing and using the skills from the book,” asked Raul.

Rabel smiled slightly.

“I’ll show you the reason now.”

Rabel gently landed on the opened skill book, looking up at the magic pouring down, and softly spoke.

“Elemental Shield, become stronger.”

Zzing. Bang! Kwaang!!

A magic shield of pale green light formed above Raul’s head, blocking the magic attacks.

Although the shield’s light dimmed with the dozens of magical attacks, it regained its original color as Rabel hummed a chant like a song.

‘Good heavens! What’s happening?’

The Elemental Shield was a 3rd circle level defensive magic. Its rating was considered C because it provided enhanced defense against specific elements, despite being 3rd circle magic.

But no C-Grade defensive magic could block dozens of spells of the same caliber.

‘At the very least, that’s beyond 5th circle defensive magic….’

Raul looked at Rabel with astonishment, but it wasn’t over yet.

“Summon Wind Arrows. Multiply~.”

At Rabel’s voice, a single translucent wind arrow appeared and suddenly multiplied into dozens.

“Fly~!”

At Rabel’s small gesture, dozens of wind arrows shot upwards.

Kwagwagwang! Puff!!

The wind arrows flew like intercept missiles toward the enemies’ magic and exploded brilliantly.

“Ah~. That’s refreshing.”

Rabel smiled radiantly, as if relieved of stress. Raul, having been momentarily lost in the spectacle, snapped out of it.

‘This isn’t the time for that.’

Satisfying his curiosity could wait. Trusting Rabel’s support, Raul stepped on a psychokinetic platform and soared towards the enemy lines.

(To be continued)