Arknightcraft Modpack

Gripping the Netherite Sword with one hand, Steven felt the immense impact coming from the blade. The monster before him, with its horns larger than those of an ordinary person, was pressing firmly against his sword, yet it couldn’t budge him in the slightest.

“Your strength is commendable, but unfortunately, it’s still not enough.”

Silently giving the creature a rating in his mind, Steven was about to exert force and send the monster flying when he suddenly felt a chilling wind rise behind him. The next moment, a thick layer of frost formed over the body of the Fallingstar Beast in front of him.

The force pressing against his sword lessened significantly, but Steven wasn’t concerned about that. Instead, he turned around, puzzled, and looked at the white-haired girl behind him, who was raising her hand and manipulating the cold air to freeze the monster.

‘This girl is trying to steal my kill?’

A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes. Steven couldn’t understand why a bystander—someone unrelated to the fight—would step in like this.

She wouldn’t gain any experience points from slaying this creature like he would, so why suddenly interfere? Could it be for the Originium embedded in the beast?

But considering the sheer power she displayed—enough to control a monster like this—Steven felt that the situation probably wasn’t that simple.

Fortunately, the white-haired girl seemed to sense his questioning gaze. While still focusing on controlling the cold currents in an attempt to freeze the monster completely, she took a moment to respond to his doubts.

“If we let it go, everyone nearby will be in danger. Let’s take it down together.”

Just as Steven had guessed, the girl originally had no intention of getting involved. However, the monster’s sheer hostility toward all living beings was too obvious to ignore. She had never encountered a creature this dangerous before, and if it escaped, the entire snowy plains could be at risk.

Just from the power of its tail cannon earlier, she wasn’t even confident she could survive a direct hit.

She didn’t know who Steven was or how he managed to withstand the monster’s attack, but for now, the enemy of her enemy was her ally. If she helped him, there might be a chance to eliminate the creature.

So, with little hesitation, she endured the nauseating aura of active Originium energy radiating from the beast and made the reckless decision to join the battle.

“Alright, I appreciate the gesture, but have you considered that I might not actually need any help? Never mind, let’s just deal with it first.”

Steven scratched his head, unsure how to respond to this unexpected ally. However, since she meant well, he decided to set the matter aside for now.

The priority was dealing with the monster.

With the white-haired girl’s freezing abilities aiding him, the monster’s once-powerful attacks became significantly weaker. Now that Steven had made up his mind to finish it off, he no longer held back.

Tightening his grip on his sword, he exerted force, and in an instant, he sent the monster—previously pressing against him—flying.

The enormous beast spun mid-air, almost comically.

But Steven had no intention of giving it a chance to regain its footing. The moment he knocked it away, he leaped up, appearing in front of the airborne monster, and slashed down at its strangely shaped skull.

The creature, its movements already slowed by the white-haired girl’s ability, had no way to dodge. It could only watch helplessly as Steven’s sword descended toward its head.

A split second later, a crisp “DUANG!” rang out, freezing all three of them—Steven, the girl, and the monster—in stunned silence.

Steven’s sword had only left a faint white mark on the crystalline skull, and instead of slicing through, it had simply bonked the monster straight into the ground below.

Steven silently sighed as he stared at his Netherite Sword, which had bounced back after striking the monster’s head.

The flesh on this thing’s skull was seriously lacking—his sword had actually rebounded from the impact. Did he need to soften it up first with a grappling hook or something?

He knew his sword was mainly for roasting meat and wasn’t enchanted with Sharpness, but the sheer toughness of the monster’s skull still exceeded his expectations, resulting in this ridiculous outcome.

“Watch out!”

Just as Steven was puzzling over this, the white-haired girl behind him suddenly shouted a warning.

The moment her voice reached his ears, an overwhelming surge of Originium energy erupted beneath him, shooting skyward like a pillar piercing the heavens.

This time, the monster didn’t even give him a chance to block. The explosion of Originium energy was so intense that it briefly dyed the entire snowy field in hues of orange and yellow.

Even the girl beside him was affected by the powerful surge. She clutched her shoulder, trying to suppress the searing pain caused by the restless Originium energy within her own body.

As the dust settled, the monster’s figure became visible again, its head shaking violently while its tail continued to fire energy blasts.

Even though Steven’s strike had failed to cut through, the sheer force behind it still had an impact. A spiderweb-like network of cracks had spread across the monster’s crystalized skull, and its mineralized body now seemed somewhat unstable.

No wonder it had unleashed such an all-out blast of Originium energy. If Steven had landed a few more hits like that, even a creature as tough as this wouldn’t have been able to avoid falling apart.

Both the monster and the white-haired girl assumed that Steven, standing at the epicenter of the explosion, had likely been obliterated.

But then, in an instant, a blade light that seemed capable of cutting the world itself apart slashed through the sky.

The massive energy pillar split cleanly in two.

And the dazzling slash didn’t stop there—it sliced right through the monster’s tail, cutting cleanly through the very limb that had been unleashing those powerful energy blasts.

When the blinding light faded, Steven stood there completely unharmed. He casually flicked his wrist, revealing a new weapon—a samurai longsword of deep purple and black, having silently replaced his previous one.

As he slowly turned around, the monster’s crystallized tail, now severed, fell cleanly from its base. The cut was so smooth it gleamed like a mirror.

For a moment, the monster itself didn’t even realize what had happened.

It wasn’t until its severed tail crashed heavily to the ground that it finally registered its injury.

Letting out an ear-piercing roar of rage, it ignored its wounds and charged at Steven once again.

But this time, Steven wasn’t going to give it another chance.

Perhaps his Netherite Sword was prone to bouncing off tough surfaces, but against [Yamato], a blade so sharp it was said to cut even space itself, the monster’s so-called hardened body was still far from sufficient.

Steven didn’t meet the charge head-on this time.

Instead, gripping the hilt of his sword, he vanished—moving so quickly it seemed as if he had teleported. One moment, he was in front of the monster. The next, he was suddenly at its side.

A pristine white arc of light traced through the air.

And in that instant, the monster’s front limbs separated from its body, sliding cleanly to the ground.

Without its balance, the massive creature collapsed forward, crashing heavily into the earth.

But before it could react, Steven was already above its head.

Casually swinging his long blade twice, Steven effortlessly sliced off the monster’s massive, bull-like horns. Shaking his head, he seemed utterly disappointed with its performance.

Then, as if the entire world had slowed down, countless white, thread-like slashes filled the space around the monster. Steven now stood behind it.

As he slowly sheathed [Yamato], the fragmented, mirror-like world surrounding him began to shatter.

Along with it, the once-imposing monster, seemingly indestructible, crumbled into neatly severed pieces—falling apart like a heap of Originium minerals.

“It’s over.”

The moment [Yamato] fully returned to its sheath, the space returned to normal, leaving behind only the perfectly cut remains of the monster, scattered across the battlefield like precious ore.

Since there had been an audience, Steven had insisted on perfectly replicating the ‘I’m the storm that is approaching’ move.

Sure, that white-haired girl was a complete stranger, but pulling off a stylish finish with someone watching was worlds apart from showing off alone, wasn’t it?

Unfortunately, his cool demeanor barely lasted three seconds before he snapped back to his usual carefree self.

Turning around, he dove straight into the monster’s remains like a bargain-hunting auntie at a marketplace, rummaging through the carcass for loot.

This was a boss monster, after all—if its health bar had been reduced to zero, it had to drop something good, right?

Just like the Wither drops a Nether Star and the Ender Dragon leaves behind a Dragon Egg—any creature with a boss health bar in Minecraft rarely disappoints when it comes to loot.

And sure enough, Steven got exactly what he was looking for.

[Pure Originium Core] : Slowly converts surrounding minerals into Originiums.

A simple description, but it instantly made Steven feel like all his effort had been worth it.

Since killing the creature hadn’t awarded him any WAP (World Acknowledgement Point), it likely wasn’t a monster that had appeared in the game’s main storyline.

However, with this item in hand, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of Originiums in the future.

As for the conversion speed?

Steven wasn’t concerned at all—if it was too slow, he’d just kill more of these monsters and farm multiple cores to speed up the process.

After all, there had to be plenty of Originium mines in this world, right?