The Sage's Robe (4)

The moment Hajun struck down Dryas—

Every Ascender inside the Forest of the Labyrinth was able to see the same message.

“Huh?”

“Wh-what the—?”

“No way!”

“The Fallen King of the Forest has been cleared!!”

While they stood there in stunned disbelief, a change swept across the Clear Ranking hovering above the dungeon portal of the Ruined Forest's Maze.

“F-fifty thousand points?”

“Insane!”

“Is this seriously not a bug?”

An absurd score. Kang Shinhyuk's old record of 9,000 points had been regarded as an untouchable legend in its own right—and this climber hadn't merely broken the mythical 10,000-point barrier, but soared straight past it to fifty thousand.

And that wasn't all. Look closely at the record, and the clear time appeared as well.

02'11'19.

Barely two hours. It had slashed a full eighty percent off the previously insurmountable 05'57'21—a record so far beyond everyone else it might as well have belonged to another species.

A record of completely deranged numbers.

“That's a record no one will ever break…….”

At someone's murmur, everyone around nodded as if hypnotized. On the heels of the 1st-floor Ascension Exam, another history-making record had been set.

But what drew even more attention than the score was something else entirely.

“It really was Unknown!”

“Unbelievable. Figures. Nobody but Unknown could explain this.”

“At this rate, isn't it only a matter of time before the Seven Sages become eight?”

The moment the truth spread across the world—that the main actor behind the fall of the Fallen King of the Forest was none other than Unknown—the community erupted.

While the whole world stood agog at the monument Unknown had raised, another message surfaced inside the Forest of the Labyrinth.

“Huh? What's this one now?”

“It's turning into a garden?”

Along with that message, the Ascenders in the maze witnessed an astonishing sight.

KWAAAAAAAAM!

CRACK, CRUUUUMBLE-CRACK!

All throughout the Forest Maze, the walls that had formed the labyrinth began to collapse. And where each wall fell, flowers of every color bloomed in its place, flooding the air with fragrance.

“My mana recovery speed just got faster, didn't it?”

“I feel weirdly full of energy. Is there some kind of buff lingering in the air?”

The maze had become a place steeped in accelerated mana recovery and beneficial enchantments.

“I just ran a dungeon and came back—the monsters are weaker than before too!”

Even the monsters that had once roamed the maze had grown feeble, transforming the area into an extraordinarily fertile ground for Ascenders to grow.

“This is amazing!”

“Waaah! Let's push to level 20 while we're here!!”

“KYA!! GOD-KNOWN!! GOD-MASK!! SCREAM IT WITH ME—!!”

“We give thanks to the grace of Master Unknown—!!”

As a footnote to history: the place that became the Forest Garden thanks to Hajun would eventually become a mandatory growth course for every Ascender on the 2nd floor—and it would be the reason a great carved statue of the Hahoe Mask was erected there in his honor.

In the realm where celestial beings dwelt lived the clan hailed as the most mighty and noble in all the Sky Tower. They were the ones the Ascenders called the Heavenly Dragons.

“An amusing tale drifts up from the lower floors.”

“What tale is that?”

“Someone has cleared Dryas, who had lain waste to the Forest Maze.”

“What? That was a stage no Ascender of the lower floors should have been able to overcome.”

“At first I, too, believed I had misheard.”

Hajun's clearing of the Fallen King of the Forest's stage was entirely outside the Heavenly Dragons' expectations. For the first time in a long while, they experienced a stir of genuine emotion.

“How very interesting.”

“No ordinary Ascender, then. Could he be his successor?”

“That possibility is far from small.”

“We will know only when we lay eyes on him ourselves.”

“Then we wait. If he is truly his successor, it cannot be long before he climbs to where we stand.”

At that very moment, James, Sophie, and Ivan had just descended to the 2nd floor. They had arrived before the Hahoe Mask sightings began pouring in, and so the three of them had scattered across the floor in search of him.

Ivan had been in the region where the Forest of the Labyrinth lay. Receiving James's message, he made his way toward it.

“Hm?”

The message had appeared right before his eyes the instant he arrived near the labyrinth. Ivan's gaze sharpened. He had heard only that the Hahoe Mask was attempting the Ruined Forest's Maze—and yet his instincts told him this notification was connected.

This guy's the real deal.

An issue-maker who stirred up trouble wherever he went. That was a privilege reserved solely for those blessed with brilliant talent.

It's like watching James in the earliest days of his climb.

This was exactly what James had been like back then—the romantic era, before the concept of rules even existed. Remembering the mountains of legendary exploits James had piled up over the years, Ivan let out a small chuckle.

No wonder James took an interest in him.

Ivan's footsteps toward the Forest Garden felt considerably lighter than they had moments before.

“Haha.”

Watching the messages floating before my eyes, laughter burst out of me. A sense of achievement and electric exhilaration dominated my entire body.

Even the ordinarily stern Ellaon, for this one moment, showered me with praise without reserve.

“K-ghhh… hhrraagh. W-we… we did it, Master…….”

Snikle lay sprawled against the wall, utterly spent. After fighting this battle together, I felt we'd grown somewhat closer—something like camaraderie.

“You did well, Snikle.”

He'd earned real credit in this raid. I'd have to give him some kind of reward later.

That said, I had my own shortcomings to reflect on.

I got complacent.

If Spirit Amplification had been available during that fight, the battle might have been decided in a single strike. I should have waited out the cooldown and come in at full strength. Or what if I'd simply brought more equipment? Even a common-grade staff or wand—the kind everyone else carried—would have changed the shape of the battle dramatically.

That was how badly I'd been drunk on complacency, lulled by a string of effortless victories.

- Even so, this will serve your growth far better than any easy win would have.

He wasn't wrong. A desperate, grinding battle like that was priceless experience money couldn't buy. I could already feel my combat sense having leapt forward by leaps and bounds.

“Alright. So, next up…….”

Time to crack open the box I'd been longing for?

I looked down at the three rewards I'd just received: the Mythic Gem Equipment Box, the Random Legendary Gem Equipment Box, and the Spirit Stone Containing Dryas's Soul.

- The first box will yield the Sage's Robe. Follow my instructions exactly.

I nodded.

- Place your hand upon the Mythic Gem Equipment Box and pour your mana into it.

Following Ellaon's directions, I channeled mana into the box—and to my astonishment, a system message appeared.

“Huh?”

- Focus your mind! Keep pouring mana—use Sage's Aura!

I did as he said, and the Mythic Gem Equipment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Box began ravenously devouring my mana.

KWAAAAAAAAM!

Ghk—.

Had I possessed a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vast mana pool, perhaps it wouldn't have mattered—but my body was hopelessly prone to draining dry, and my mana began scraping bottom almost immediately. If I hadn't recovered to full with Mana Drain off Dryas's spirit stone, I would have succumbed to mana exhaustion already.

Unbelievable!

An equipment box upgrading like this—I had never heard of such a thing, not once in my life.

KWAAAAAAAAM!!

Rainbow light blazed forth from the Equipment Box in my hands, more brilliant than ever before. Dazzled, I stared at the glow—and as if in a trance, opened the box.

FWOoooosh!

A cloak rippling with golden light. As if spellbound, I took the Sage's Robe into my hands.

This thing's broken.

An endless parade of options, one after another. A gasp of admiration escaped me of its own accord. It didn't earn Mythic grade for nothing.

The stat boosts alone were worth four whole levels. Though I was only level 11, the Sage's Robe and the Sage's Tome together pushed my stats to within arm's reach of level 20. From here on out, no matter which floor I climbed, I would hold a position of overwhelming superiority over everyone else.

At this point, am I not basically at the level of those Heavenly Dragons I've only heard about?

The Heavenly Dragons were said to wield power at least a tier above everyone at the same level. That was exactly the shape of my stats now.

And the options are vicious, too.

When my HP dropped sharply, a tremendous amount of Spirit would surge in. Spirit 50 alone multiplies spell power fivefold. And if it hits Spirit 100……. If I layered Spirit Amplification on top of that, I suspected I could one-shot almost anything in existence.

Beyond that came magic damage and cooldown reductions of 10% each—both magnificent options in their own right. And the Mana Shield was a godsend, a rain of blessing on drought-stricken ground, shoring up my woeful defenses.

If my mana were infinite, I could absorb damage infinitely. The day I came to hold an ocean's worth of mana, no attack of any kind would ever touch me.

But the true invincibility lay in the skill embedded after it. Time Protection. One second of absolute immunity. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had never even heard of such a skill existing, let alone seen one. Fully worthy of the 9-Star rating attached to it.

Admittedly, since the Sage's Robe itself was still only 2-Star, the skill was severely limited for now. But once the robe's grade rose, that too would be adjusted in kind.

Hah.

Only now did I begin to understand, in some small measure, why everyone in the world clawed so desperately after Mythic equipment.

And this wasn't even the end of it.

The option I'd longed for most of all…….

Sage's Sight enhancement +2. The one option absolutely essential for seeing through to the perk skill granted every five levels.

Now I can finally claim a perk skill.

The opportunity I'd earned upon reaching level 10—it was finally time to use it. According to Ellaon, the enhanced, second-stage Sage's Sight would let me peer clear through to the reverse side of Yggdrasil's leaves when choosing my perk skill.

I ached to claim my perk skill right then and there, but—

“These first.”

Two rewards still waited before me. I opened the Random Legendary Gem Equipment Box.

FLASH!

Golden light burst forth, and golden starlight came cascading down. I had to choose one of them.

Sage's Sight.

The moment I activated it, the faint shapes dwelling within the starlight began to resolve before my eyes. A sword, a blade, a bow, a necklace, a staff, a wand, an earring, a ring, and more.

Oh.

It was supposed to be a truly random draw—but thanks to my enhanced Sage's Sight, I could now tell exactly what each item was.

A staff? A wand?

What I wanted this time was a weapon. The last of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Sage's Staff, still remained—but I wouldn't gain even a lead on reclaiming it until I reached the 5th floor and met the Heavenly Dragons. Until then, I needed an armament worth using.

I should have gotten one ages ago, honestly.

While the silver-spoon crowd strutted around in full gear from the very start, I—a dirt-spoor kid—had been running around empty-handed, weaponless. To be fair, Sage's Aura had made a weapon unnecessary until now.

But after fighting Dryas, I've learned that equipping yourself properly is a virtue in its own right.

With that thought, I reached out. The starlight that met my hand was a staff.

Oho.

A staff woven from tree roots and trunk. Its length reached my full height, the head curled into a spiral like a young fern, and at its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠very center sat a mana stone glowing with emerald light.

Whew.

Befitting a Legendary, its stats and options were the kind that wouldn't shame you anywhere. If I had to nitpick, the option spread suited someone wielding healing or spirit magic better than me—but on raw numbers alone, it far outclassed most other Hero-grade equipment. With Life Regeneration built in as an embedded skill, my survivability got another boost as well.

Now, then.

The final reward remained: the Spirit Stone Containing Dryas's Soul.

What is this thing?

The instant I picked up the spirit stone—

KWAAAAAAAAM!!

A torrent of wild mana erupted violently from within it, and a system message appeared before my eyes.