Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Aftermath
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As soon as I arrived at the tent, I could no longer hold out. My legs gave way, and I collapsed.
"Ahhh~~. I'm dying."
The aftermath of the Descent was bigger than I'd imagined. The price of wielding a power beyond my capacity couldn't be fully covered even by Equivalent Exchange. I barely made it to the bed in the tent.
To avoid the embarrassment of collapsing midway, I'd mustered my willpower.
Unlike my exhausted body, my face was full of smiles. I was happy. So incredibly happy.
I'd nearly despaired because of that damned pile of shit called Misfortune, but I'd carved out a path and overcome it brilliantly. Now it was time to claim my rewards.
The first settlement was the reward for overcoming Misfortune. To start, the Unyielding stat had stepped up.
30 Spare Points. Combined with the 76 from the spirit medicine and the 1 left over from before, I'd racked up a whopping 107 points just recently.
I invested all 30 into Infinite, bringing both stats to 63. My body loosened up a bit and grew stronger.
Lying there satisfied, savoring the power, I soon checked the next reward. Two remained: the Imugi subjugation reward and the wave reward.
"Hmm~~ Looks like killing that monster helped me out."
I nodded at her words. Beyond slaying the Imugi, I'd swept away thousands of monsters, so my contribution shot up massively in one go.
My total contribution came to 37%. Not a huge amount, one might say, but they'd be wrong. It was enormous. In an event with thousands of hunters, achieving this solo was insane.
The most eye-catching reward was, naturally, the Special Points. Obtainable only in system-run Special Stages, they were incredibly valuable.
Not quite Grade 0 Merchant level, but the Special Merchant had some pretty good and rare items too.
They appeared randomly mid- or end-stage, so it was hard to meet them without luck stacking up.
This time, they'd announced an appearance at the end of Stage 5, but with things turning out like this, who knew.
Whatever. I opened the system messages to check the final, most anticipated reward.
And at that moment, as if it had been waiting just for this.
This message appeared before every hunter worldwide. I'd seen it once before regression.
Immediately after, reward messages poured into my view.
The first message was a mood-lifter, as expected.
The first reward was exactly what I'd wanted. The original plan was for me to take about 30%, with Seo Ye-rin and Dangun Ji-hyeok splitting the rest.
But somehow, it ended up at 100% ownership, fully annexing it into my territory.
'This means I can ban whoever I want on a whim.'
Satisfying. But not enough. I was still hungry for more.
Yes! That's it! That's what I wanted. The incredible Ascension Tower, where one trip in and out could boost a rank, now enhanced with this privilege? The results would be insane.
'Dangun Ji-hyeok climbed to SSS-rank via the Ascension Tower.'
Not in one go. He had free entry/exit privileges and climbed it over a long time before retiring, reaching SSS-.
For an SS-rank hunter to rise two full stages was an enormous reward.
'My privilege will be better than what Dangun Ji-hyeok got pre-regression.'
Obviously. 100% contribution. It'd be weird if it wasn't. I set aside my pounding heart and checked the next reward.
A sword materialized above my hand. A black-and-red blade that reminded me of the Imugi.
I tilted my head. Just a Common-grade sword? Then why such a grandiose name?
Myriad Serpents Divine Demon SwordGrade: Common Rank: EX+ LV: 1 (0%) The sword containing everything of the Imugi that trained for millennia dreaming of ascension. Whether it becomes the apocalyptic Demon Dragon plunging the world into darkness or the Divine Dragon illuminating and guiding it with light after millennia of training... no one knows.Abilities:
I figured it out. Insane. "Insane" didn't even begin to describe this sword.
"A sword like this exists?"
No, growth-type armaments really exist? I thought they were just novel rumors floating around online. Actual growth-type gear...
Until now, obsessed with Tower of Gold items, I'd stuck to one weapon. Except for total cheats like Longinus.
I'd mixed swords and fists, spears or bows as needed.
But seeing this sword, I suddenly wanted to main it. If it grew, it could mock most divine items.
No attack/defense numbers like in games, but its specs were undeniably broken. Hard to believe it was Common-grade.
And this wasn't even the end. Three more messages blinked, urging me to check.
I didn't hesitate and claimed the next reward right away. Tapping the glowing message granted it.
Again. Fitting for an ascension-aspiring Imugi trained over millennia—all rewards were growth-type. And growth-type abilities shattered common sense with their power.
Cintamani of GrowthGrade: Common Rank: EX+ LV: 1 (0%) The essence created by the Imugi to achieve ascension.Abilities:
Most abilities mirrored the sword. The odd condition to generate the Cintamani wasn't a big deal for now.
I didn't drag it out and claimed the last two rewards.
Coins, magic stone, and title. Satisfying rewards. No spirit medicine from the dragonkin Imugi was odd, but the others more than made up for it.
Couldn't consume an Ancient-grade elixir right away anyway.
'By the way, when will the Tower of Gold hit LV3?'
Ownership stuck at 29.999...% without budging, like it wasn't ready to approve yet.
"Do I need to raise stats to E- rank?"
Felt like there was a condition, but not knowing was frustrating. With a sigh, I lay back fully, letting the outside noises lull me to sleep like a lullaby.
Exactly three hours later, as the outside situation settled and Dangun Ji-hyeok visited my tent, I woke up.
"Looks like you were sleeping."
"Yeah. Exhausted, you know. After that Descent."
"Thanks to you, everyone survived. The stage is closed. Those going back did, those staying stayed. Most stayed, though. Reason..."
"The Ascension Tower, right."
No need to spell it out. Special dungeons held immense prestige among dungeons. Treasure troves, basically.
"With me holding 100% shares, they're probably stomping around unable to enter."
"Exactly. Not even properly prepared for entry, and they're already acting like it's theirs. Tsk tsk."
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. Naturally, I had zero intention of letting them in for free.
Why should I do them such a favor?
Saving their lives was enough; no need to hand over the loot too. Unlike my parents, I'd lived as a poor, miserable bottom-rung hunter with thorough egoism.
"Anyway, is that tower why only Korean hunters can join, like you said back then?"
"Yep. Sharing shares with foreigners would be a headache. They wouldn't settle for exact shares before entering."
"Makes sense. Shares aren't absolute anyway."
"Right. Shares are just influence. Equal or one-sided dominance gets messy."
In that sense, my 100% was perfect. Though some lunatics might attack me for it.
"Idiots. Kill the owner, and the possession vanishes."
This wasn't some building. It was a dungeon. No owner, it reverts to nothing—that's normal.
I got up, brushing off. After sleep, my condition was good, and the great rewards put me in high spirits.
"Oh! And one more thing. Someone's waiting for you. Stuck around because of you."
Ah! Didn't realize. Wondered how it'd play out, but looks like they came. The Special Shop owner.