Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 016
Chapter Title: Mana Absorption
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📜 SUDDEN QUEST OCCURRED 📜 Destroy the ring right in front of Choi Jin-il.
⏰ Time Limit: 1 minute
🎁 Success: Acquire EX-rank skill
⚠️ Failure: Tower Climb Grace Period reduced by 15 days
Han Jeong-woo stared blankly at the system message, forgetting that Choi Jin-il was sitting right in front of him.
A sudden quest had popped up out of nowhere.
And its contents were utterly ridiculous.
'Destroy the ring that Team Leader Choi Jin-il brought, right in front of his eyes?'
This bastard... what the hell does he want from me?
Han Jeong-woo had long suspected that someone out there was vaguely assigning him these quests.
But today, this confirmed it.
There was definitely someone beyond this system, watching him and testing him.
[Remaining Time: 42 seconds] Time kept ticking away.
There was no time for lengthy deliberation.
Han Jeong-woo hurriedly picked up the ring glowing with a blue light.
"It looks like an incredible item at first glance, doesn't it?"
Seeing Han Jeong-woo examining the ring closely, Choi Jin-il's face filled with eager anticipation.
An top-tier item whose price easily surpassed 3 billion won.
It would undoubtedly be more than helpful for the Mutant’s tower climb.
But in the next moment...
Something unbelievable unfolded right before Choi Jin-il's eyes.
Crack!
Han Jeong-woo, whom he'd thought was just slipping the ring onto his finger, casually shattered the precious artifact. Blue gem fragments soon scattered across the floor.
"Ah, no... the ring... why?! H-Han Jeong-woo-ssi...?"
Choi Jin-il gawked in stunned disbelief, his eyes darting between the shattered ring and Han Jeong-woo.
"Sorry about that. I didn't expect it to break so easily."
Han Jeong-woo apologized sincerely.
No matter that it was for a quest, smashing a gift right in front of the giver was definitely a breach of etiquette.
"...I-It’s, it’s fine. P-People all... make mistakes sometimes..."
He tried to force a smile, but the corners of his mouth trembled.
'Do I need to write up an incident report? No, will this even end with just a report? What the hell do I tell the Director?'
His mind went completely blank.
"I... I’ll head out now... N-Next time... if you need anything... don’t hesitate... to contact me..."
Choi Jin-il shot up from his seat in a panic.
He couldn't bear to look at the 3-billion-won ring fragments in his right mind.
Han Jeong-woo didn't bother stopping Choi Jin-il as he fled like a man escaping a disaster.
He felt bad, but right now, his own situation was far more urgent.
⚙ SUDDEN QUEST SUCCESS! ⚙ Acquired skill, 'Mana Absorption (EX)' as reward. "An EX-rank skill...!"
Han Jeong-woo quickly opened his status window to check the skill.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Mana Absorption (EX)
Absorbs the tower's mana. ※ Current collection: 55 (Resets upon reaching 100)
A simple description. But its meaning wasn't immediately clear.
"What's the tower's mana, and what's this current collection amount?"
Han Jeong-woo pondered deeply.
Then his eyes fell on the ring fragments on the floor.
"Could breaking items increase the collection amount?"
As if answering his question, the gem shards from the ring had lost their brilliant blue glow and dulled.
"I need to look into this more."
Fortunately, he had plenty of materials to experiment with on hand.
[Taking out Mana Crystal lump from Inventory.] A whopping amount exceeding 5kg.
He'd planned to sell it next time he visited the Awakener Shop, but figuring out this skill took priority now.
The floor was soon covered in stones emitting a brilliant purple glow.
"Do I have to smash all of these?"
As Han Jeong-woo reached for one Mana Crystal with a resigned look, a new message appeared in the air.
Absorb mana from 5.2kg Mana Crystal? "...Huh?"
Han Jeong-woo's brow furrowed.
"So it can just be absorbed directly?"
Then why the hell did it make me smash that ring earlier?
Whoever this was, they had a shitty personality.
Soon, as he extended his hand toward the Mana Crystal, the lumps scattered on the floor reacted all at once.
A brilliant purple light burst forth, converging into beams that were sucked straight into Han Jeong-woo's body.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana absorption amount has increased. The Mana Crystals, stripped of their light, lost all luster in an instant and turned into ordinary stones.
"They became normal rocks after having all their mana sucked out."
That was the only conclusion he could draw for now.
Han Jeong-woo checked the skill window again.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ※ Current absorption: 55 (Resets upon reaching 100)
The system had announced an increase, but the number hadn't changed.
"This much doesn't even register, huh?"
Han Jeong-woo clicked his tongue and pulled out the next item.
[Taking out Ruler's Silver Trident from Inventory.] The long, sleek silver trident he'd favored until getting the dagger.
It wasn't anything he was particularly attached to, but sacrificing it to the skill still felt like a waste.
He didn't know the exact price, but it was surely worth far more than his studio apartment deposit.
Absorb mana from Ruler's Silver Trident? Han Jeong-woo nodded, and the trident in his hand emitted a dazzling light.
That light was instantly sucked into his body, and the now-dull trident dissolved into smoke and vanished from his palm.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana absorption amount has greatly increased. ⚔ STATUS ⚔ ※ Current absorption: 70 (Resets upon reaching 100)
"Oh!"
The number had jumped by a whopping 15.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Boosting the mana absorption wasn't limited to just sucking mana from items.
As Han Jeong-woo climbed the tower, he realized anew that the very space he stood in—the tower itself—was a massive lump of mana.
[Entering Korea Tower 23rd floor.] [Mission: Defeat 10 Magma Hounds.] A vast lava field teeming with magma stretched out before him.
In the distance, a pack of beasts cloaked in heat, Magma Hounds, spotted him and bared their fangs.
Han Jeong-woo lightly tossed the hefty Adamantium Dagger in his hand.
Empowered by Gravitational Pull, the dagger hurtled toward them at supersonic speed with a deafening whoosh!
Soon, it pierced straight through the temple of a Magma Hound mid-leap over the lava.
"Hmm...?"
Han Jeong-woo eyed the spot where the Magma Hound fell intently.
Normally, a monster's corpse would remain after death.
But this time was different.
Its body emitted a bright light just like when absorbing item mana, dispersing into the air. And that light unerringly flowed into Han Jeong-woo's body.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana absorption amount has increased. "Monsters count as mana sources too?"
His new EX-rank skill that absorbed the tower's mana.
The amount from one monster was negligible, just like the Mana Crystal lump.
But being able to increase absorption through hunting itself was definitely encouraging for Han Jeong-woo.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Cleared 23rd floor!] [Achieved SSS-rank clear on 23rd floor.] [Acquired 400g Mana Crystal as reward.] He then blasted through to the 24th floor in one go before entering the 25th.
[Entering Korea Tower 25th floor.] [Mission: Defeat the Magma Golem.] A vast open lava field stretched in all directions.
It resembled a massive arena.
When Han Jeong-woo looked straight ahead, the 25th floor's boss, the Magma Golem, stared piercingly back at him.
"It looks different from the last one. A special variant?"
It was completely different from the one from the gate. That one's body had been rounded like hardened lava, but this one was sharp and jagged, like obsidian crystals protruding from it.
And despite its size, its movements were surprisingly quick.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The elite Magma Golem charged with massive strides, shaking the ground.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Gravity 30x on target] Thud!
The beast's ferocious momentum visibly slowed under the 30x gravity crush.
Still, as a boss monster, it had some pride—it avoided being crushed flat.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Using skill: Gravitational Pull] [Gravitational Pull 30x on target] [Damage / bonuses / cooldown]
The dagger, now boosted by 30x Gravitational Pull, shot like a cannonball, piercing the golem's chest precisely.
Han Jeong-woo muttered indifferently as he retrieved the dagger.
"Even special variants aren't anything special."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Cleared 25th floor!] [Achieved SSS-rank clear on 25th floor.] [Acquired 500g Mana Crystal as reward.] [Acquired Obsidian Gauntlet as reward.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana absorption amount has greatly increased. The mana absorption surged greatly as the Magma Golem collapsed.
And in its place appeared a single gauntlet.
A dark red gauntlet seemingly made by ripping off the fallen golem's arm section.
Absorb mana from Obsidian Gauntlet? It might fetch a good price, but he wasn't desperate for cash right now, and he couldn't use gauntlets himself anyway.
Han Jeong-woo absorbed the Obsidian Gauntlet's mana without hesitation.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana absorption amount has greatly increased. Mana absorption has reached 100. Acquired 1 Gate Creation Ticket as random reward. Mana absorption amount reset to 0. "Huh...?"
Han Jeong-woo's eyes widened.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Park Jin-ho couldn't shake the nagging guilt over failing to buy Han Jeong-woo a gift.
After agonizing over it repeatedly, he ended up returning to the Awakener Shop.
Presenting his Awakener ID as usual and entering the first floor, he immediately scanned around for someone.
"That clerk... Ah, there he is!"
He couldn't go up to the second floor alone.
But decent weapons for his respected Big Brother—no, Korea's strongest Awakener-to-be, the Mutant—were on the second floor, not the first.
So Park Jin-ho had to get up there somehow.
"Um, excuse me?"
He cautiously called over the clerk who'd spouted nonsense about some event before.
If his hunch was right, the event was bullshit—a ploy to lure Big Brother to the second floor behind his back.
"You remember me, right?"
"Oh? You're back? What can I do for you?"
Seeing the clerk recognize him, Park Jin-ho grinned, lifting the corner of his mouth.
"Well, actually..."
Moments later, Park Jin-ho quietly ascended to the second floor under the clerk's courteous guidance.
'Big Brother! Sorry for name-dropping you. It's all to buy you a gift...!'
Once on the second floor, Park Jin-ho ignored the flashy weapon displays.
Big Brother already had a 1.2-billion-won weapon anyway.
What he figured Big Brother needed now wasn't weapons, but armor or auxiliary items.
His footsteps halted in front of a display case.
'Hmm... this might be good.'
The item catching his eye was a sub-space storage item.
Extremely rare drops from the tower, coveted by all Awakener for storing vast amounts of goods in sub-space.
The case held rings, necklaces, bracelets, small bags—various forms of sub-space items.
'A ring would be discreet and perfect...'
As Park Jin-ho peered intently into the glass with a serious expression, someone approached him.
"Hey? Isn't that Park Jin-ho?"
A somewhat familiar voice.
No, more like an unforgettable one.
"Man, long time no see. But how'd a guy like you end up here?"
A tone feigning friendliness, but laced with blatant contempt for Park Jin-ho.
"Yes, long time no see. Guild Master."
He was Lee Soo-chan, Guild Master of the 'Friendship Guild' that Park Jin-ho had been part of two years ago.
Having endured endless humiliation before being kicked out for stalled growth, there was no way he'd have fond feelings left.
"You doing okay? I heard rumors—you've been stuck, unable to break past the 30th floor for two whole years."
"We're not exactly on chatting terms, are we?"
Despite Park Jin-ho's curt reply, Lee Soo-chan chuckled as if amused.
"You've bulked up, Park Jin-ho. Anyway, Jin-ho, you shouldn't come here anymore."
Suddenly, Lee Soo-chan put on a disappointed face.
"...?"
"Seeing trash like you—a B-rank nobody—up in the VIP second floor... Feels like the place has really gone downhill. Guess I'll shop at another branch next time."
Lee Soo-chan clicked his tongue and patted Park Jin-ho's shoulder as he passed.
"Kuhahat!"
But then, Park Jin-ho's laughter echoed through the second-floor space.
That laugh froze Lee Soo-chan, who had just turned to leave.
"...You're laughing?"
Lee Soo-chan's face twisted viciously.
The expression that punk should have was always the same: holding back humiliation, the look of a resentful loser.
Daring to laugh while he was talking?
"Why're you cracking up?"
"Just... it's hilarious."
"...What?"
Lee Soo-chan's eyes narrowed.
"I just suddenly found it so funny—how I let a guy like you bully me back then..."
Lee Soo-chan was confused whether the Park Jin-ho before him was even the same guy he knew.