Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Pillar (2)
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"Entering."
With steely resolve, Shin Bi-hyeong stepped inside the warehouse.
Suddenly, the maliciously wide gaps between items came into view.
His eyesight had surely improved after reaching the 3rd rank,
yet the distances between the objects still felt obnoxiously vast.
"Argh, seriously."
How could the final run be this lacking in generosity?
Shin Bi-hyeong immediately kicked off the ground and dashed through the warehouse.
Still, it was better than his first time entering.
Back then, he was only at the 2nd rank, but now he was at the 3rd.
Just one rank higher, yet his basic physical abilities had improved, and the moment he channeled his energy, his speed doubled.
Whoosh!
Adding the basic wind spell to his body boosted his speed even further.
'...What's this? It feels different from the first time I used it.'
Was it because he'd poured wind energy into capturing Yu Kyung-su?
It felt like... the power output itself had increased.
'Come to think of it, I haven't checked the spell proficiency.'
But the warehouse came first right now.
He'd check after getting out. After.
'Mostly junk. No need to waste space on that stuff.'
His enhanced dynamic vision, grown alongside his overall physical prowess, let him pick out the items he wanted even at high speeds.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club' stores 'Low-grade Spirit Stones x1,224'.] [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club'......] In less than 20 minutes, he'd swept through the entire warehouse and returned to the entrance.
But Shin Bi-hyeong's expression was grim.
'What?'
The pillar was gone.
'Why isn't it here?'
It was the pillar he'd built over countless runs.
His magnificent pillar had vanished.
Hmm... phrasing it like that sounded a bit off.
Anyway!
"My pillar!"
Shin Bi-hyeong dashed through the warehouse again, desperately searching for it.
It took another 10 minutes to return to the entrance.
This time, he focused solely on the pillar, so no distractions.
Even so, coming back empty-handed left him hollow.
"...What the hell? It can't be outside the warehouse."
Not the world of Solitary Chronicle—literally 'outside the warehouse.'
While traversing the warehouse, Shin Bi-hyeong had learned one fact.
At the end, there was a transparent wall.
His body couldn't pass through, but thrown objects slipped in and vanished.
'Is the pillar beyond that wall? Then I can't retrieve it.'
He'd tried breaking the wall, but failed.
Even unleashing his full Earthly General power did nothing to it.
'Or did I miss something?'
Instead of searching again, he slowly reviewed the space.
Transparent wall. Space body can't enter. Items from his previous visit.
'After the junk came Heavenly Earth Nourishment, with spirit stones buried inside.'
That realization hit him,
'Huh?'
One thing caught his attention.
'Where's the Heavenly Earth Nourishment?'
To confirm, he got up and dashed through the warehouse again.
Back at the entrance, it had taken just 8 minutes this time.
"...No Heavenly Earth Nourishment, but it gives me traversal time?"
He'd thought it was just his speed improving.
...But this was too fast for mere growth.
"The space is shrinking?"
Nothing else explained it.
To test, he sprinted full throttle again. Result: 6 minutes.
It had shortened again.
"Confirmed. The space is contracting."
More precisely,
"The transparent wall. It's closing in, like it's approaching."
Damn it.
Objects vanishing beyond was bad enough—no recovery—but now a time limit?
'All this is my stuff. Give and then take back? Who does th—'
...Huh?
'No recovery? Take back?'
Take back what?
'Only junk left here.'
Did they already snatch the pillar?
'If so, why does the space keep shrinking?'
He pondered deeply.
If it were him, would he sneak it away unnoticed... or mock openly?
'...Anonymity allows the latter, honestly.'
But goblins can't resist taunting... no.
'They brought me here because they want something from me.'
Why antagonize someone you need?
The former was risk-free.
Once recovered, stop the shrink—undetected.
'But it keeps shrinking, so they haven't taken it yet.'
By his memory, only junk piles and one pillar left.
They wouldn't want junk, so by elimination: the pillar.
It was still in the warehouse.
'Where?'
They're freaking out to take it, so it must be valuable.
Shin Bi-hyeong searched with fiery eyes.
'Searched everywhere, no luck. So not in normal space.'
Looked up—no ceiling perch.
Only the floor left...
"...No way?"
Just in case, he stomped the floor full force.
Boom!
Enough to shatter boulders.
Yet the floor was unscratched.
No, really?
"...Just to be sure."
No, he knew, but didn't want to believe.
"Root."
He extended roots into the ground.
Like with Heavenly Earth Nourishment, they sank a bit,
then hit a massive rock and stopped.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"Ha, hahahaha..."
So.
"This floor I thought was the floor... is the pillar I'm looking for?"
What the—
Who set the size?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "......"
Five minutes after finding the long-awaited pillar.
Shin Bi-hyeong just stared at the floor silently.
Then a sigh slipped out.
"Haa... Found it, but how the hell do I take it?"
Finding it was good.
But they had to make it portable, right?
"The club... damn it. Can it even hold this?"
He'd already swept all the valuables.
The club's capacity was full, and this floor looked several times larger.
"No way, huh?"
He checked remaining time.
9 minutes.
Long? Hell no. Way too short.
Rubbing his temples against the headache, he swallowed rising curses.
'...No. There must be a way.'
Otherwise, why leave it here?
Not like torture with false hope.
'But time's tight to figure it out.'
So, only the club left.
'Can it work?'
He summoned the club.
Ripples in the air.
Pressed it to the floor, but
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club' capacity far exceeded.] [My Heart Storage fails.] Failure, as expected.
'Dump everything else and take just the pillar?'
Emptied the club, tried again—same result.
Current grade couldn't swallow it.
'Upgrading now is impossible...'
Then, a scene flashed in his mind.
-Awesome!
Eoduk-i's underlings shaking their hips vibrantly, manifesting clubs.
Theirs had 'forms.'
'Can I use that?'
The Goblin King's club was a bloodline, inherited via bloodstone.
'If it has form, I can use reinforcement stones.'
Decision made, he sucked everything back into the club and decomposed it.
And,
'The Goblin King's bloodstone fragment. Decompose that too.'
Bloody smoke rose amid the ripples.
Mixed with the clear scent of spirit stones channeling leyline energy.
Ding!
Notifications flooded his vision.
He dismissed them, stored the debris in the club.
Then,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Reinforce Bloodline, 'Goblin Club'?] "Yes!"
Elated, he confirmed immediately.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Reinforcement in progress.] But the follow-up chilled him.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Success Rate: 96%] [Ta-da!] [Reinforcement successful!] Oh right. Reinforcement had RNG.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club' current grade adjusted to 'D'.] E to D. Capacity expanded in his mind.
Still insufficient.
"Keep reinforcing!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club' current grade...] [Grade...] [Success!] How many times?
Glancing at the time: 10 seconds left.
His Goblin Club,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Reinforcement successful!] [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club' current grade adjusted to 'S'!] Equivalent to 7th rank—high-tier—radiating brilliantly.
"Store!"
He slammed the club down, activating My Heart Storage.
Fwoosh!
The calm ripples turned to storm, fierce suction toward the floor.
2 seconds left!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Bloodline, 'Goblin Club' stores 'Divine Artifact, Incomplete ■■■■■'!] Done!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Elder..."
Eoduk-i paced anxiously before the door Shin Bi-hyeong had entered.
'When will you come out...'
He still didn't know what the door was or why the elder entered.
But calling it the 'final' chance meant it was precious to him.
So Eoduk-i fretted, hoping he'd get what he wanted.
Do-eok-i frowned at the door differently.
"...This space feels ominous."
"Yes, I think so too."
"Even maxing out void spells couldn't create this. What's the boss's true nature...?"
As Do-eok-i pondered,
the door began fading.
"Eek! Elder hasn't come out yet!"
"I know! But why suddenly..."
As the two yokai panicked,
a shadow appeared beyond the blurring door.
"E-Elder!"
Soon, a clear figure emerged.
Shin Bi-hyeong's brow was deeply furrowed.
"A-Are you alright!?"
"Boss!"
As Eoduk-i bounced around him and Do-eok-i approached,
Shin Bi-hyeong raised a hand to stop them.
"Don't... come near right now."
"...Pardon? What do you..."
"Urgh! Can't... 'control' it yet."
Saying so, he strained every muscle and took a step.
Boom!
No stomp, yet earthquake-like rumble.
Without dorm wards absorbing shock, it might've collapsed.
"Eek! Earthquake!"
"...No. From boss's step."
"No energy flow seen. So... just walking caused that!?"
"Yeah. Even I can't believe it."
Do-eok-i sweated gravely, eyeing furrowed Shin Bi-hyeong.
Stooped back, trembling legs near collapse.
Hands on knees, gasping breaths.
'Like bearing immense weight.'
Do-eok-i's guess was spot on.
'Ugh... feels like dying.'
Shin Bi-hyeong gritted his teeth, tensing.
Mysterious pillar.
Since storing it, a boulder crushed him.
'Tensing increases weight, channeling energy does too.'
Like testing his 'limit,' adding just enough to reach it.
What the hell was this?
'...Called a divine artifact.'
He'd heard the term.
From auction items by Heop-te's organizers.
'No wonder they wanted it back.'
He'd blocked them.
Secured the divine artifact.
Warehouse fully exploited.
But.
'Urgh...!'
Where to use something this heavy?
'Can't even live normally.'
There must be a way.
Had to be.
Find it!
Sweating with determination, he recalled pillar clues.
One thing surfaced.
'...Incomplete. That modifier was there.'
The shadow that passed the legacy warned:
True name could shatter his brain at current level.
Yet 'incomplete' was clear.
Not true name—current state.
'Missing pieces maybe?'
He had the spear that made it.
Ordered Eoduk-i to fetch it, stored immediately.
Result:
Ptooey—.
Spewed out like rejection.
"......"
Ptooey?
Did it just ptooey?
'What kind of...'
Ah... blood pressure.
Neck twinging, he forgot to tense.
Kaboom!
Body slammed down.
"Eek! E-Elder! You okay!?"
"...No. Not okay."
Grind...!
Fierce teeth-grinding.
"Eek...!!"
The yokai stepped back instinctively.
Overwhelming presence surged from him.
"Fine. Let's see who wins—you or me."
Didn't know why it tormented him,
but one would break: its momentum or his.
Focusing presence inward,
"...Huh?"
Weight vanished suddenly.
"...What."
Why?
Why gone now?
'Already broke? No way.'
Released presence curiously—weight returned.
'Ah, don't tell me...?'
Presence makes it behave?
'What kind of crap is this?'
First divine artifact, and this is it.