The Hall of Fame Shatters

No matter how many times I looked at it, the specs were impossible to believe.

The fact that it boosted Spirit by a flat +10 was already an insane number on its own.

And it even raises Mana by 3 on top of that.

That was nearly a stat increase worth two and a half levels, handed over in a single accessory. It almost made me wonder whether any other 1-Star Legendary artifact in existence could even compete.

And that's not even the main attraction.

Spirit Amplification. A +100 boost to Spirit for ten seconds was, in effect, like gaining twenty levels' worth of stats.

With Spirit increased by 100, the magic amplification from Sage's Aura would multiply tenfold. It was no stretch at all to call this a custom-made artifact for the Sage's Aura itself.

And this is only from a partial unsealing.

Amazing. Just… amazing.

Back when I'd first obtained Guldin's Necklace, I'd scrambled to gather materials at Ellaon's advice and managed to break only a portion of the seal. Even then I hadn't dared hope for much.

Who knew it would turn out to be a jackpot stacked on top of a jackpot?

Did the Black Hand know? That the item they'd handed over to me was actually a Legendary artifact of staggering power?

My thoughts were exactly the same as Ellaon's. Who knew — once the seal was fully broken, it might even ascend from Legendary to Mythic grade.

Ha. In any case, all of this was thanks to Ellaon. The Black Hand had probably only given up the necklace because they'd failed to find the thread that could undo its seal.

Whatever the case, thanks to this necklace, I now dared to hope that I might bring down the Corrupted Ent of Despair in under a minute.

Anyone who heard that would have called me insane.

Even James, holder of the all-time record, had needed 19 minutes and 57 seconds to clear it.

But I really think it's possible.

This time, I looked down at the Sage's Tome — the second reason I was confident about a sub-minute clear.

Its promotion to 2-Star had sent every single spec soaring at once. HP, Mana, and Spirit had each risen by 2, and all the other options had climbed by at least 10%. A Mana Cost Reduction had even appeared.

What I'm most excited about right now is that Lightning Attribute Power rolled a +3.

According to Ellaon, the expected value for that stat was somewhere between 1 and 3. A situation where it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could have come out as a 1 — and instead it rolled the ceiling. Which earned me a second round of "you absurdly lucky brat" from Ellaon.

"Yeah. Honestly, I went back and forth until the very end, but with Guldin's Necklace in hand, there's no need to rush it now."

A perk skill was granted every five levels. Now that I'd reached Level 10, I was entitled to claim another one, just as I had claimed Sage's Alchemy at Level 5.

But I'd put it off. Why?

Because I still can't read the patterns on the leaves with Sage's Sight.

Last time, Ellaon's help had let me choose exactly the pattern I wanted. Now, without him, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I couldn't make out the patterns at all. Did that mean every perk skill from here on would have to be a gamble on pure luck?

Not a chance.

There was a way.

The Sage's Robe, he said, carried the power to enhance Sage's Sight itself. I'd claim the Level 10 perk skill then — and this time, a combat-type skill rather than something non-combat like Alchemy.

"Good. That's settled. Now then — shall we begin?"

The moment of the decisive battle had arrived. I declared my intent to take the Ascension Exam.

Along with the message floating up before my eyes, white light coiled around my body.

The largest community of Ascenders on the planet.

Two weeks ago, this place had been blazing with post after post about Unknown. That fire had visibly died down since then, but posts about him still trickled in from time to time.

Like right now.

The question of whether Unknown was truly Korean or Chinese — it was a debate that had raged since the very first moment he'd appeared.

But this wasn't the topic people cared about most. What everyone was truly dying to know was this:

The overwhelming majority believed James's record absolutely could not be broken. And one of the biggest reasons was the pile of Legendary-grade equipment James had been draped in from the very first floor.

Why did people struggle so badly against the Corrupted Ent of Despair? Sure, there was its barrage of status ailments and the devastating attacks from its roots and leaves — but the fundamental problem was the Magic Shield the creature wrapped around its own body, which was simply too overwhelming.

That was why clearing the Corrupted Ent of Despair took so long. You needed the attack power and endurance to grind down a 3-Star Magic Shield. The only mercy was that the creature's movement and attack speeds were so sluggish — it wasn't impossible, just time-consuming.

And so the vast majority concluded: Unknown surpassing James's record would be a steep, steep climb. Within the bounds of common sense, it was perfectly reasonable thinking.

But they had no idea.

They didn't know what trait Hajun possessed. They didn't know what preparations he had made for the Ascension Exam. And they certainly didn't know what equipment he was carrying.

FLASH!

The world spun, and a devastated wasteland spread out before me. A sky the color of ash. Barren earth devoid of all life. And at the far edge of that dead plain stood a single, skeletal tree towering more than three meters tall.

The characters glowed clearly above its head. That creature was the gatekeeper of the Ascension Exam — the being that had driven countless climbers to despair.

"Grooooaaarrrr——!"

The instant it roared, a roar laced with mana shook the very earth and washed over me in a wave.

Its roar carried a status ailment — Slow — but with the Sage's Tome in my possession, it didn't touch me.

GRUUMBLE!!

When the roar failed, the creature immediately ripped one of its roots out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the ground, slow and ponderous. A tree that could actually move. Watching it like this, I had to admit it was pretty awe-inspiring.

I wasn't within its attack radius yet, but the moment I stepped inside, I'd feel the monstrous power firsthand that until now I'd only heard about in rumors.

Which is exactly why I'll finish this before then.

Recalling the combo I'd devised, I raised my hand and aimed it straight at the creature. Binding first.

Shadow Binding.

A black shimmer flickered across the Shadow King's Ring.

SHAAAAAA!

Countless black hands surged up from the creature's own shadow, coiling around its body again and again. Given its sheer bulk, I couldn't help wondering whether those spindly-looking hands could really hold it — but

"Groooaaar!!"

— the creature was bound fast by the shadow hands, unable to so much as twitch.

As expected. Legendary-grade artifact!

That said, its resistance was nothing to scoff at either; the shadow hands trembled unsteadily. It wouldn't hold for long. Not that it mattered.

Because I intended to settle this within ten seconds.

Normally, I might have needed to unload attack after attack to wear that barrier down. But I had a means of erasing it in a single stroke.

The Dispel Ring, looted from the Treasure Goblin!

Dispel Ring!

FLASH!

A burst of blinding white light erupted from the ring and wiped away the shield enshrouding the creature's body.

God, what performance. Is this thing really just a Hero-grade ring?

It had probably earned the Hero classification on the strength of Dispel alone — tack on one or two more options and it would've been judged Legendary without question. After all, I'd never once heard of a 1-Star Dispel Ring on the market with a 5-Star or higher Dispel embedded in it.

Anyway.

"Groooaaarrgh!"

The moment its shield vanished, the creature let out a panicked bellow.

Oh? So you can sense it too, huh? What's about to happen next.

With a smirk, I immediately activated Spirit Amplification (7-Star ★★★★★★★), embedded in Guldin's Necklace.

Aaaaah.

A cool, crystalline clarity flooded through my mind. As my Spirit surged, the Corrupted Ent of Despair — which had seemed so imposing just moments ago — suddenly looked small beyond measure. Purely by the numbers, it was the equivalent of gaining twenty levels, so of course it was only natural.

So this is the kind of perspective you get when your Spirit passes 100.

I wished this moment could stretch on forever. But the time I'd been given was a mere ten seconds. Within that window, I had to bring the creature down.

Three casts should do it, right?

Ten seconds was enough to weave Thunderbolt three times in succession. Praying it would fall within that span, I shaped the spell —

KRA-KA-KA-KRAK, KRAKAKAKAKAKAKA-KRAK!!

Thunderbolt took form.

A mass of sparks several times thicker than usual crackled to life in my hand. With Sage's Aura's current amplification at 24.9x, and the Sage's Tome's Lightning Attribute Power stacking another +3 on top, I genuinely couldn't gauge how many dozens of times stronger this was than my old Thunderbolt.

It was a 1-Star spell — but arithmetically speaking, wasn't it now on par with magic several full tiers above it?

Could it be…

A one-shot kill?

Feeling an odd flutter of anticipation, I fired the Thunderbolt instantly.

KRRRRRUMBLE——!

With the apocalyptic crack of world-ending thunder, the entire landscape washed over in brilliant emerald light.

Moments later.

The Hall of Fame rankings for the 1st Floor Ascension Exam had abruptly overturned at a moment no one had anticipated. In the face of a record beyond anyone's imagination, the world was thrown into utter chaos.