Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
I got up from the sofa on the terrace overlooking the garden with a stretch and a yawn. I picked up the Dungeon Mole that was sleeping on my chest, set it down to the side and walked down to the garden. My body felt light and I didn’t feel a single trace of Fatigue. I was back to 100%.
“It’s about time to get back to hunting.” I had taken a week-long break here in my home base in Seoul. By now, the Abu Dhabi Guild had set up an embassy in my base and I had met with many emissaries from my allied factions. They all wanted to talk about one thing; my role in the recent guild battle. I mean, I could hardly believe it myself, and I had watched the video probably ten times already.
“But I’m far from satisfied yet.” I had received much praise from all of my friends, but only I knew that it was all Shaman Ko, not me. If I had maintained my consciousness when I had consumed Shaman Ko and controlled his abilities like I did with the Dungeon Mole, I would have accepted the praise, but that wasn’t the case.
It wasn’t me who slaughtered the Reaper and the Astes army; it was Shaman Ko. Shaman Ko was the one who somehow obtained the ability to break and move through space whenever he wanted, not me.
“Oh well. That’s a problem for another day. Which dungeon should I go this time?” I thought of which of the four high-grade dungeons to go to as I looked down at my new ring.
==[The Desert King’s Resolve (Rank 9)
This ring contains the Resolve of Borza Horanbao, the Desert King.
Born from the seventh tribe, he grew up to conquer the Desert as its absolute ruler, and the sand dunes still hold the records of his bloody conquest. Despite his crude and simple appearance, Borza Horanbao, the Desert King, only cared for one treasure his entire life.
Increase all Stats by 200 points
Increase VIT by 500 points.
Increase STR by 300 points.
Increase ATT, MATT, DEF, MDEF by 15% in desert terrain.
Decrease damage from Earth-type attacks by 10%.
Increase CRIT chance by 3.9%, Increase CRIT damage by 110%.
Grants ability to summon two Sand Warriors that carry 20% of the user’s combat abilities. (Can be summoned for up to 24 hours. If the Warriors’ HP reaches 0 before their 24-hour limit, they will return to the sand until they can be summoned again. Sand Warriors receive the same buff while in desert terrain. Cooldown: 24 hours.)
DEF 700, MDEF 700]==
This was the item Baden had given me when the feast had come to an end. He told me that Amplification was my reward for finding Jayid, and this was the reward for winning the guild battle for Abu Dhabi as he shoved the ring into my hand.
Honestly, I didn’t really expect to receive one as I had gotten 100% out of Amplification. Thanks to it, my King-Emperor’s Commitment had become unbelievably powerful, so much so that it could actually become one of the Seven Treasures. But, since he was so adamant about me taking the ring, I happily accepted it.
“Nice. Now both my rings are super-rare,” I said to myself with a smile. The Infinite Space Ring wasn’t complete yet, but it was still a Rank 10, so I was one step closer to getting all of my equips to Rank 9 or higher.
“The ring’s great and all, but I would have to go somewhere that has a desert terrain…” None of the four high-grade dungeons I had full access to had desert terrain. The Pharos Dungeon was just a normal earth terrain.
“The Khufu’s Dungeon is desert terrain, but it’s only a mid-grade dungeon. And it’s not like I can go to the Abu Dhabi’s high-grade dungeon since it’s co-owned by the Sahlat Guild of Saudi Arabia.” There was no way I was going to resort to a mid-grade dungeon just to test out an equip buff, and trying to gain access to the Abu Dhabi Guild’s co-owned dungeon was just too much work.
After about five minutes, I laughed at myself for thinking too much about this. “I’ll just go to the Dark Caster Dungeon.” It didn’t matter which dungeon I went to; it wasn’t like the buff was going to make much of a difference.
——
The next day, I was standing out in front of the Dark Caster Dungeon’s entrance. I could have consumed the Dungeon Mole and used its abilities to teleport myself inside, but I used the Messenger Guild’s Teleport instead to save up some more Shaman Ko Stat points.
The reason I came here was simple; I had spent the least amount of time in this dungeon compared to the other high-grade dungeons.
“Mr. Lee! Welcome!” A Shire Guild member guarding the dungeon’s entrance waved to me when he saw me and came over.
“Hey there!”
“I already received the report that you were on your way. We have set up FOBs up to the fifth floor, this map marks their locations. Good luck with your hunt!”
“Thanks.” I accepted the map and headed inside the dungeon. “Mana Conversion – Fire. Warrior’s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf.”
==[Mana Conversion – Fire Level 5 has been activated.]==
==[Warrior’s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]==
==[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==
“Heh.” I already knew the damage Level 5 Mana Conversion could do, but I just couldn’t help but smile. This was the first time I was using it against monsters, so I was looking forward to what it could do against these Undead monsters that were weak to Fire.
“Let’s have some fun!” I charged in without even bothering to activate Judge’s Gavel.
==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For 3 seconds, your opponent’s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF are lowered by 80%.]==
As soon as my spear struck the first monster, a red bolt of lightning came straight down on it. It had been awhile since Powerful Shock had last activated.
“My first attack activated Powerful Shock? This must be my lucky day!” I said with a grin. I was off to a good start. “Judge’s Gavel!” I charged in right away at a horde of monsters.
My goal was to get to level 724. Those 34 additional levels were all I needed to get my base STR up to 20,000. It normally would have taken longer, but the bonus 1550 Stat points I got from the Best Treasure! quest was a huge help.
—
Meanwhile, in Chiapas, Mexico…
Pedro had done it. His arm was almost completely severed from his body from the wound Cantana had left him, but that actually gave Pedro the extra arm length to be able to touch the Don Gate with just his fingertips. Pedro actually had to thank Cantana for wounding him so badly. If Cantana hadn’t, Pedro’s body would have been completely burned before Pedro could touch the Gate.
Pedro laughed. He swore that he was going to pay Cantana back for everything. Pedro didn’t know where to start, but he was going to find a way.
Soon, Pedro’s ruined body was healed completely and disappeared inside the Don Gate. After a few minutes, Pedro’s body was thrown back out. Pedro smoothly got back up on his feet.
“So this… is what it’s like to be a deva?” Pedro looked down at his hands and balled them into a fist. He was one step closer to getting his revenge. But Pedro soon slumped. He really did not know where to start. Up until the point he had touched the Don Gate, Pedro had thought he could have his revenge as soon as possible. But now that he was a deva, he realized quickly that Cantana Alejandro was truly powerful.
Cantana was the ruler of this part of Chiapas, and had an army of around three thousand devas at his beck and call. He was also the heir of the Nueva Chivas Rio Guild, the guild that controlled all of Mexico. The distance between Pedro and Cantana was abysmal. Pedro had lived the past eight years as a mortal, but he knew that much.
“Damn it! Okay, I’ll have to head for Panama for now.” Pedro had lived all his life in Mexico, but he heard many things about the NCR Guild, especially that it could not control Central America. The NCR Guild could never cross over the border into Panama as that small country was part of Luana’s territory, Luana being the ruler of South America.
“I’ll be back, Cantana, no matter how long it takes! I’ll come back and you will die by my hands!” Pedro turned to give one last glance at Cantana’s home before leaving, his eyes full of hatred and vengeance. He turned away and quickly headed south.
Pedro ran and ran with only revenge in his mind, but Pedro didn’t know then that sometimes revenge didn’t need to be served cold. Whether that was a good or bad thing was up to Pedro, however.
——
Two and a half months had passed since I started hunting in the Dark Caster Dungeon. When I killed the last undead monster in front of me, I received a message.
==[You have gained a level.]==
I finally reached level 724. “Open Stats Menu!”
==[Name: Lee Jiwon
Level: 724 Death Count: 0
Title: Earth’s First Deva
HP: 9,590,700/9,590,700 MP: 452,800/452,800
Strength: 24,074 + 3,732 Agility: 14,901 Vitality: 15,601
Willpower: 4,468 Intelligence: 4228
Unassigned Stat Points: 680 + 228
Fatigue: 19
Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 points
Physical Attack: 90,803 Physical Defense: 35,497
Magical Attack: 14,154 Magical Defense: 23,034]==
It took me an average of two days to gain one level, and for once, I was actually satisfied with that pace. It was a pace that was normally impossible, especially for levels past 700, but it was possible thanks to Amplification doubling the extra EXP gain on the King-Emperor’s Commitment. It had gone from 15% up to 30%.
It did feel a little empty after seeing my Stats get increased tenfold after I consumed Shaman Ko. Still, my own Stats were nothing to scoff at. Before the Reaper activated his failsafe skill, I was actually beating him even though my Unrivaled skill was deactivated the entire time. I truly was second to none.
“Oh well. That’s not important now. This is!” I put in all of my unassigned Stat points into STR once again. Once I was done, the message I was waiting for popped up.
==[Your base STR has surpassed 20,000 points.
Your total STR points: 27,806
Your base STR points: 20,000
STR points increased by items: 4,074
STR points increased by skills: 3,732 (Shaman Ko’s Stat points),1 (Kiran’s Stat points) ]==
==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 20,000 points in STR before anyone else.
STR will be increased by 2,000 points.
This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==
{Translator’s Note: I’m not exactly sure if the math here is correct. In CH 103, where Lee Jiwon first gets this reward, the author had included the Shaman Ko Stat points but he didn’t in this chapter. He even turned the Commitment’s buff into a skill for some reason.}
“Nice!” I actually wasn’t sure if I was going to get the reward like I had when my STR passed 10,000 points. I also wasn’t sure how long it was going to take, but thankfully, it happened and happened quite soon.
Satisfied, I closed my Stats Menu. “Ah! Time to go home and rest!” I had done enough these past couple of months. I happily headed for the dungeon exit.
