Promotion (4)

Crack-crack-crunch!

Spiderweb fractures spread across the wall where the skull mask had been slammed into it.

Then the skull mask simply slid down the wall in a long, stuttering scrape.

“…Grrk.”

A sound like blood boiling rose from the mouth of the mask, now sprawled across the floor.

One look was enough to tell he was on his last breath.

And at that very moment—

Rat-a-ta-ta-tat!!

A crowd of figures came pouring through the shattered doorway.

Every last one of them was a formidable presence.

They radiated an aura every bit as intense as the Tiamut thugs who had raided the auction house only moments ago.

The ascenders, myself included, could tell at a glance that they were Black Hand ascenders.

So they show up now that everything's already over.

My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience, honored teachers.

Seeing them arrive this late gave me a fresh, visceral sense of just how great a contribution I'd made here today.

What if I hadn't been here?

The skull mask would have already looted this place to the bones and slipped away without a care in the world.

Then again, I can't exactly settle for just the lightning tree branch, can I?

I'd have to walk away with at least one of the auction items as well.

While the Black Hand ascenders who'd come as reinforcements stood there bewildered by a battlefield that was already settled—

- First things first. Grab that ring!

Ellaon pointed at a ring on the skull mask's finger.

My eyes gleamed as I looked at the ring he'd indicated.

After all, it was the very ring that had manifested the skill Shadow Binding against me moments ago.

This is at least Legendary grade.

No question about it—I was taking this one.

Since I was the one who took down the skull mask, ownership of everything he carried belonged to me.

I immediately pulled the ring from the skull mask's finger.

Oh.

Better than I expected, honestly?

For dark-attribute users down in the lower floors, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better ring than this one.

Actually, even without a dark-attribute skill it's plenty good on its own.

Shadow Binding.

A binding skill with a success rate approaching one hundred percent against anything up to 2-Star.

Which meant—

On floors one and two, it was effectively the most powerful binding skill in existence.

It'll be incredibly useful all the way through the 2nd floor, and even if I sell it later, it'll fetch a handsome price.

I'd come here hunting a lightning tree branch and walked away with a treasure I never saw coming.

“That ring of yours looks rather nice, doesn't it?”

As I gazed at the Shadow King's Ring with obvious satisfaction, the fox mask beside me muttered something that sounded a touch envious.

“Yeah. It's a pretty decent ring.”

With that, I slipped the Shadow King's Ring onto a bare finger.

Just like that, I now owned four rings in total—including the Sage's Tome, the Dispel Ring, and Grang's Ring.

Every single one of them Legendary grade, or bearing options that might as well be.

At this rate I'll end up wearing a ring on all ten fingers.

And why would that be a problem?

No, obviously it's great.

When they're Legendary rings, who's counting fingers?

Technically, I could even wear them on all my toes.

“Ascender, sir! Thank you so much for your help!”

The rabbit mask hurried over and offered his thanks.

Now then—shall we settle up, shall we?

“As promised, we'll compensate you with the lightning tree branch—”

“Hold on. Don't you think the lightning tree branch alone falls a bit short?”

I had fully intended to squeeze out every extra scrap of compensation I could, even if it meant arguing my case—

“Ah! My apologies. I'm just completely beside myself. You've done something truly remarkable, sir, and a lightning tree branch alone simply won't do. Shall we offer additional monetary compensation as well?”

Huh?

The rabbit mask offered extra compensation so readily it almost hurt.

What's gotten into him? Well—either way, it was a welcome development.

“Hmm. Rather than that, would it be all right if I took one more of the auction items?”

At my words, the rabbit mask seemed to deliberate for a moment, then quickly nodded.

So I went straight to examining the items that had been slated for the auction block.

A sword, a cross, old tomes, elixirs, ores, materials, rings, and so on.

Every one of them a piece that would fetch at least several hundred gold.

So which one would I have to pick for word to spread that I'd chosen well?

- Ho. That one there looks to be no ordinary trinket.

What Ellaon pointed to was a necklace that looked somewhat worn and aged.

“If you're having trouble deciding, I'd recommend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taking that one. Wouldn't be a bad choice at all.”

At the same moment, the fox mask—who had been browsing the auction items beside me—pointed to the very same necklace.

What the? What's with that necklace that everyone keeps recommending it?

“As far as I know, that necklace was slated to appear at the very end of this auction. The items the Black Hand saves for last are usually either extraordinarily rare, or sealed and unactivated. That necklace is the latter, and to my eye, it looks like it would make a fine piece indeed.”

That was news to me.

Thanks to the ever-helpful fox mask's lengthy explanation, I learned that the necklace was a sealed item.

“I'll take that one, then.”

“You've chosen Guldin's Necklace, I see. It's expected to be quite a fine piece—provided the seal can ever be broken. An excellent choice, sir.”

And so I walked away with both the Lightning Tree Branch and Guldin's Necklace.

“Please visit us here at the Black Hand any time. We will treat you with the very best of hospitality.”

On top of everything else, I even received a Royal Membership certificate for the Black Hand.

A door had just opened for me to acquire high-grade alchemy ingredients far more easily in the future.

“Let's meet again sometime, if fate allows.”

And then there was the fox mask.

With that commanding, forceful voice, I'd assumed it was a man at first—only to learn she was a woman.

Still, mistaking a woman for a man? Come on.

That's how much of a iron-willed matriarch she was, apparently.

Now I was curious what her face looked like. Usually people that rough around the edges turn out to have rugged, masculine features, don't they?

And so, along with that small curiosity, I'd forged a small new connection with the fox mask as well.

I returned home from the unexpectedly enormous ordeal I'd just endured, finished my shower, and flopped spread-eagle onto the bed.

Ah, nothing beats a bed.

I rolled around on it for a good long while.

Even though it was the cheapest of cheap beds, it felt so cozy my neck seemed to melt into it.

Mmm. Someday I want to roll around on a much fancier bed than this.

After rolling around to my heart's content, I eventually hauled myself up.

Today, I finish the promotion of the Sage's Tome.

That was the only way I could challenge the 2nd floor Ascension Exam tomorrow, after all.

Tomorrow makes it exactly two weeks, doesn't it?

All right.

Let's leave behind a legendary record of legends—the fastest time, the highest score there has ever been.

The moment I pictured my name nailed to the top of the Hall of Fame, the last lingering dregs of fatigue flew clean out of me.

And in their place, a deep, bubbling excitement began to fill me up.

“Ellaon! We're starting the Sage's Tome promotion prep right now.”

Full of drive and burning energy, I entered the Sky Tower.

And headed straight for the workshop.

From here on out was the make-or-break, the true crucible of the craft.

I poured every ounce of my focus into the mana attunement.

Mithril shards, Etherium powder, Windleaf, Sunbloom, and more.

For each and every ingredient, I meticulously inscribed the Alchemy mana engravings.

Not a hair's breadth of error could be tolerated.

Sunbloom—success.

Good.

Now for the final piece: the lightning tree branch.

Crackle-fizz.

Looking down at the branch with its faint current of lightning mana, I drew a deep breath.

Lightning-attribute mana was the single most difficult attribute to handle.

I layered focus upon focus, deeper than ever before.

And at last, I felt as though I had become one with the branch's mana entirely.

A state of no-mind, no-self.

A rare convergence most ordinary people never experience even once in their entire lives had come to find me.

Hour after hour, I plunged into immersion upon immersion—

Ah!

And all at once, an ecstatic cry burst from my lips.

Ahh, yes.

Faced with the flood of Matter Transmutation concepts surging into my mind like a tidal wave, and the cool, refreshing sensation welling up inside my body from the mana increase, I tasted a joy beyond description.

- Remarkable! Truly, in the matter of mana control alone, you are gifted with a talent such as has never been seen before and never shall be again.

Even Ellaon, so stingy with his praise as a rule, sent lavish compliments my way.

My shoulders rose all on their own.

The self-esteem that had sunken low after Yeon-hee dumped me was brimming to the top once again.

“All right. Straight to the Sage's Tome promotion—no stopping here.”

What was there to hesitate about?

Fwoooosh!

The Sage's Tome transformed from its ring form back into its original shape as a book, for the first time in a while.

Even here, of course, there was a chance the promotion could fail.

But somehow, I was filled with a confident certainty that I would succeed—no doubt about it.

Hummmmm!!

My mana, the Sage's Tome, and the Promotion Stone began to resonate with one another.

And then—

KWAAAAAAAHHH!!

A storm of mana erupted outward from the Sage's radiant light.

And in that instant, I knew it with absolute certainty.

This was a success.

The next day.

The moment dawn broke, I headed for the gate of the Ascension Path that led to the 2nd floor.

“Argh! Failed again.”

“Me too. Why on earth is that stupid tree so strong?”

“It's living up to its name, all right—Despair incarnate. Bastard. If I fail one more time, I'm just settling down on the 1st floor for good.”

Bitter wails echoed endlessly from the gateway to the 2nd floor.

That was how thoroughly the Corrupted Ent of Despair—the master of the Ascension Exam, the so-called Gatekeeper of the 2nd floor—loomed over the 1st floor ascenders like an impassable wall of despair.

No wonder it takes so long for people to climb from the 1st floor to the 2nd.

Ascenders who had awakened a 1-Star trait could spend literal years stuck on the 1st floor—or abandon the climb forever.

And even those with traits above 1-Star didn't pass on their first try easily.

Because no matter how high a rank your trait was, if your innate talent couldn't draw out its full power, failure was all too common.

- Which is to say, you are doing exceedingly well for yourself, are you not?

Oh, absolutely.

After all, the Sage trait is a full 10-Star, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠isn't it?

I'd say I was drawing out the potential of a 10-Star trait quite admirably indeed.

Reaching Level 10 in just two weeks makes that plain enough.

Hoo.

Before the gate of the Ascension Exam stood a massive holographic window floating above a stone stele.

At the very top, emblazoned without a shred of shame, was one man's name.

James Smith.

Beneath it, the records of the Seven Ascenders stretched in a long, unbroken line.

And come tomorrow, those people were in for a very rude shock.

Because every single rank they'd carved into the 1st floor Ascension Exam would slide down one notch.

- You are confident, I trust?

Of course I am.

I answered Ellaon's question with a grin.

It wasn't baseless confidence, either.

The Sage's Tome. And Guldin's Necklace.

With the Sage's Tome, I fully expected its specs to jump once it hit 2-Star, so no surprises there.

The real shock—the one that had genuinely stunned me—was Guldin's Necklace, the item I'd chosen with almost no expectations at all.

Who knew it was a treasure like this?

Just wearing it around my neck left my mind startlingly clear and sharp.

Unable to hide the laugh that spilled out of me all on its own, I pulled up the detailed information for Guldin's Necklace.