Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Soaring (1)
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"W-What...?"
Early in the morning.
Park Chunduk let out a bewildered mutter.
This was the academy—his daily workplace, where he spent more time than even at home.
The moment he stepped inside, he knew something was off.
The air inside had completely changed.
'The smell... it's gone?'
The sticky, musty stench of sweat from the students' relentless efforts had vanished without a trace.
In its place, a crisp, refreshing air like that of a deep forest welcomed Park Chunduk.
"What in the world...?"
His bewilderment lasted only a moment.
Park Chunduk's mind raced to figure out what had caused this anomaly in his own academy.
In a flash, one possibility came to mind.
'The mana training room... Yeah. If someone crammed every B-rank mana stone we have in there and left the door wide open, maybe...'
...Hold on.
Who the hell poured them in?
"Y-You crazy bastard! Which little shit did this...!"
The academy kept a decent stock of mana stones for emergencies.
They could only be taken out with the director's—his—permission.
But someone had snuck them out without asking and dumped who-knows-how-many?
'Forget everything else!'
Using mana stones to boost mana density was a method designed purely for training.
And they'd wasted them just to purify the air?
What a ridiculous squander.
Park Chunduk's steps quickened in agitation.
Which goddamn punk had pulled this without his say-so...!
"Oh? You're here, bro? Good morning."
Kim Gunja emerged from the director's office with a greeting, halting Park Chunduk's march toward the mana training room in its tracks.
'Come to think of it... at this hour, the only one who could've been here is this guy?'
He'd forgotten in his excitement.
That didn't make the act any more forgivable, though.
If anything, it made it worse.
This was the guy who treasured mana stones more than anyone—why blow them on something like this?
"Hey, what the hell did you do?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. The air's totally different, you think I wouldn't notice?"
"Oh, that. What do you think? Like it?"
"Of course it's nice and refreshing... No, that's not the point! What were you thinking, using mana stones like that...?"
At the mention of mana stones, Kim Gunja's puzzled expression shifted to a smirk.
He could guess why his brother had jumped to that conclusion.
"Come on, you think I'd do that? You know how precious they are to me."
"If not you, then who...?"
"Over there."
Kim Gunja pointed to one side of the director's office.
Park Chunduk's gaze followed naturally.
'...A portable AC?'
It was a small air conditioner, knee-high, bought as a temporary fix since the central system didn't reach the office.
"...That old thing doesn't even have an air purifier function."
Even if it did, that puny unit couldn't produce such a dramatic change.
"It's a bit of a long story, but long story short—it's an artifact now."
"...What?"
Park Chunduk's face twisted in disbelief.
It was only natural.
No artifact like that existed.
Artifacts from gates were fundamentally relics.
A modern electronic gadget had no place in that category.
And it sure wasn't something scavenged from a gate.
"Not a funny joke."
Seeing Park Chunduk's incredulous look, Kim Gunja understood.
He wouldn't have believed it himself if he hadn't customized it personally.
Kim Gunja shrugged nonchalantly.
"You're an awakener too, bro. Just check it out."
Half-doubting, Park Chunduk approached the portable AC and placed his hand on it.
A ding rang out, and an alert window popped up.
"W-What the...!"
Park Chunduk gaped at the absurd sight.
Kim Gunja just grinned.
#
The unique trait gained through reawakening—Customizing—had limitless potential beyond imagination.
'I figured it'd be possible to enhance or modify artifacts...'
But extracting an artifact's power and transferring it to another object? He hadn't dreamed of that.
For artifacts, truly any customization was possible.
"So... this was the Immovable Ring?"
Park Chunduk fiddled incredulously with what had once been the [Immovable Ring], now just a plain band.
No alert window appeared.
"Yeah. Just a normal ring now."
It was the result of using transfer, one of customizing's effects on artifacts.
Not a copy—the power was literally extracted and moved, so the ring reverting to normal was inevitable.
"Man, first time seeing someone transfer an artifact's power to another item."
"Pretty neat, huh?"
Park Chunduk stared at Kim Gunja's smiling face before sighing in exasperation.
"'Neat' doesn't even begin to cover it."
"Just a figure of speech."
"But if it's a transfer, why'd the ability change? It wasn't this before. You tweaked it?"
"Ah, well..."
Kim Gunja scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Not on purpose. Technically, it failed."
"Failed?"
"Yeah. Harder than I thought. First time and all."
He'd started with simple enhancement testing but switched to verify if transfer worked as imagined.
Extracting the power from the artifact was easy enough.
'But that was the limit.'
Transferring it to the target object caused an unexpected change.
His inexperience with the new unique trait.
'Low level and proficiency meant it didn't turn out as planned.'
Plus, there were clear limits tied to the trait's level.
Customizable artifact grade capped at Rare for now, and re-customizing a modified artifact was impossible.
One shot per artifact.
Park Chunduk nodded as if he got it.
"Makes sense... First time around, that's normal. When I first got Iron Armor, I struggled like hell to activate it properly."
"Yeah. It'll get better with practice."
Even with the constraints, it was an outstanding ability.
Proper use could craft one-of-a-kind artifacts optimized solely for him.
'Artifacts perfectly tailored just for me...'
The thought alone was thrilling.
'Gotta practice artifact customizing steadily from now on.'
Stockpiling points for Customizing Room upgrades mattered, but honing the new skill did too.
Same for Heaven-Shattering Sword and the rest.
'So much to do. And I need to hit Jeju soon...'
As Kim Gunja mulled over Jung Hye-sunni's letter, he noticed Park Chunduk's odd stare.
"What?"
"Huh? What what?"
"You look like you've got something to say."
"Ahem!"
Park Chunduk cleared his throat awkwardly before broaching the subject.
"Nothing big... Just, when are you testing other artifacts?"
He was subtly petting the Immovable Air Conditioner, clearly smitten.
"Dunno. Need practice artifacts first, and gotta remeasure my rank at Hero Guild. Not right now. Why?"
"Oh, well... Since you're doing it, our old academy stuff's fair game. Use 'em freely, y'know."
Finally catching on, Kim Gunja chuckled.
Bone-deep academy director through and through.
#
Hero Guild, befitting a major guild, had facilities to measure physical and mana levels on-site.
A commotion erupted in one of their measurement rooms.
"Hey, my eyes playing tricks? That says 7, right?"
"...That's what it looks like to me too."
"Holy shit... Insane."
"I'm losing it. What the hell...?"
Hunters buzzed at the monitor's numbers.
The staffer overseeing felt the same—stunned, mouth agape.
S-rank?
'This... possible?'
Kim Gunja.
The guy with freakish growth already.
Still, he'd chalked it up to reawakening.
Genius acknowledged by Jo Changhwi, the Dragon of Creation.
Figured it could happen.
But this? No way!
Incomprehensible.
'S-rank ain't a dog's name...'
Among 7 billion-plus worldwide, only about a thousand S-ranks—chosen elites.
Even his reawakened grandpa couldn't pull this off.
Yet the meter doused his doubts with cold reality.
'Damn...'
As he reeled, Kim Gunja calmly exited the capsule after all measurements.
All eyes followed him.
The staffer took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
"First off... congrats, Mr. Kim Gunja. Impressive. Results: Physical Level 7, Mana Level 7—confirmed S-rank."
Gasps erupted before Kim Gunja could respond.
His demeanor stayed unchanged—same humble scratch of the head, no arrogance or superiority.
Polite as ever.
Even now, with a golden future of wealth and power assured.
'This guy really...'
The staffer admired his composure.
Made sense—maybe that's why he achieved this.
The regular measurer for Kim Gunja joked with a grin.
"No one renews their license this often, Mr. Kim."
Normal folks changed every few years.
Kim Gunja? This was what, his umpteenth in three months?
"Haha, sorry to trouble you every time."
"No, it's my job—don't apologize... But seriously, how? Getting this strong so fast?"
Pure curiosity, no ulterior motive.
But the impact was huge.
The buzzing room fell pin-drop silent.
Every hunter hung on for the answer—even the staffer felt the tension.
Kim Gunja replied casually.
"Had a small epiphany and some fateful encounter."
Regained memories—epiphany. Got the Cintamani—fateful encounter.
Others wouldn't get it.
Expectant faces soured to disappointment.
Epiphany and fateful encounters? This ain't some wuxia novel.
"Koff...!"
A scoffing hunter choked, breaking the silence.
Sensing the awkwardness, the staffer jumped in.
"H-Haha... Right, got it. Anyway, as an S-rank, you'll get your first ranking. Let's see... World Rank 1072 to start."
Kim Gunja felt a fresh wave of emotion hearing that.
—You'll need to be a ranker at least.
Park Chunduk's words when he'd first awakened, vowing to smack Kang Inhyeok.
Symbolic numbers, sure—but deeply meaningful to him.
This was the real start.
"And..."
The staffer was about to explain S-rank perks when—
Bzzz—
Vibration from Kim Gunja's belongings basket.
The staffer glimpsed the screen and gasped.
A name he wouldn't dare glance at.
Kim Gunja picked up, signaling for understanding.
The staffer nodded frantically.
"Yes, Guild Master. Kim Gunja speaking."
—Come up.
That was it. Click.
Pure Baek Jincheon style.
'Guess since it's Hero Guild's measurement room, results went straight to Baek Jincheon.'
Kim Gunja bowed to the staffer.
"Sorry, I'll hear the rest later. Guild Master's calling."
"Of course! Go on."
No one here didn't know who that meant.
White Flame Baek Jincheon.
No one defied his summons.
"Alright then..."
Kim Gunja left the room.
He'd perfectly fulfilled his promise: S-rank within a year.
In less than half the time.
Now, Baek Jincheon's turn to uphold his end.
Kim Gunja's steps toward the top-floor guild master office brimmed with unprecedented confidence.