Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Collection (4)
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The emergence of the villain [Destroyer] plunged everyone into shock.
Not content with single-handedly looting the artifact shop, he had effortlessly captured an S-rank hero.
S-rank heroes were an exceedingly rare breed worldwide—fewer than a thousand in total—practically the guardians of entire nations.
"Quickly identify his personal information!"
Thus, Hero Association President Jeon Il-seop berated his staff, shouting for them to track down Destroyer's details.
"B-but he looks foreign at first glance, so without cooperation from other countries, it's going to be tough."
"Request their cooperation! The damage that bastard caused this time alone is tens of trillions—tens of trillions!"
"President. We've requested all footage of Destroyer from the United States."
"I told you to request cooperation, not get hit with a counter-request? Hand it over. In exchange, tell them to send their entire villain database."
President Jeon Il-seop barked orders rapidly, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it to ease his frustration.
'Damn it. Where the hell did a monster like that come from?'
He was a monster in every sense of the word.
He might even be more dangerous than the dragon that had appeared over a decade ago.
That dragon had been first discovered inside a gate, giving them ample time to prepare and respond.
'He really cleaned out everything, didn't he?'
Starting with artifacts, then banks, jewelry stores, and even convenience stores.
Destroyer had raided every visible target and stripped them clean.
Some people were even saying they wanted that backpack he carried more than Destroyer himself.
'On top of that, he hit Daeyang Corporation and ND Corporation.'
One monitor displayed the half-collapsed building of Daeyang Corporation.
What was even more astonishing was that, despite all this chaos, there wasn't a single casualty.
"What about Seo Do-kyung and Lim Yeo-sol?"
"Both have finished surgery and are recovering. Naturally, their prowess has likely dipped a bit."
"Hoo. No helping it. Contact the other S-ranks."
"Yes, sir."
To even have a shot at catching Destroyer, one or two S-ranks wouldn't cut it.
The president believed they'd need at least ten, so he instructed outreach to the others.
'The problem is, they won't cooperate so easily.'
Some were at the Hero Officer Academy, others affiliated with corporations.
They'd surely refuse, citing school or company obligations.
"Um, President. With all traces of Destroyer wiped clean now, isn't it too early to contact the other S-ranks?"
Besides, as one staffer pointed out, Destroyer had vanished without a trace after looting everywhere.
"It's fine. How far could that punk have run? Oh, and check the locations of all the Villain Alliance members we've identified."
"Yes, sir."
President Jeon Il-seop pressed on with the work, convinced they could track down the fleeing Destroyer somehow.
"Father!"
Seo Ji-ho, who had entered the Hero Officer Academy in second place, used his outing pass the moment he heard about his father and rushed to the hospital.
In the hospital room, he saw his father, Seo Do-kyung, lying in bed after surgery, receiving regenerative healing.
"Shouldn't you be at school? How did you get here?"
Seo Do-kyung looked surprised to see his son, Seo Ji-ho, in the room.
"That's not important right now. What happened?"
"Just got injured fighting a villain. I was lucky."
"Lucky? You're calling this lucky?"
"I fought that monster and came out alive and mostly intact. Isn't that lucky?"
Seo Do-kyung recalled the Destroyer from the artifact shop and spoke calmly.
Truth be told, Destroyer could have killed him anytime if he'd wanted to—but he hadn't.
"The only regret is that my Dragon Fang got shattered."
Dragon Fang was the name of the spear Seo Do-kyung wielded.
Forged from a dragon's tooth, it lived up to its legendary reputation—until Destroyer smashed it.
"How's your body holding up compared to Dragon Fang?"
"It's fine."
"But I heard..."
For heroes, injuries were synonymous with diminished prowess.
Even with full recovery, the aftereffects lingered, dulling their edge.
In simple terms, Seo Do-kyung might never regain his full S-rank status, just like Joo Tae-ho and Kang Ju-young after slaying the dragon over a decade ago.
"Ji-ho."
At that moment, Seo Do-kyung called out to his son as if everything was alright.
"Like I said, I'm fine. I escaped with my life intact."
"......"
"But there's one thing I have to tell you. If you ever see Destroyer, run. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to get his kicks from killing, so you'll be safe if you flee."
Seo Do-kyung had sensed something while clashing with Destroyer.
For one, Destroyer hadn't fought at full power—he'd toyed with him just enough to entertain himself.
Plus, this incident had produced zero fatalities, which spoke volumes about his tendencies.
"......Understood."
Of course, Seo Ji-ho had no way of knowing that and simply replied in assent.
He said that much in front of his father, but his true feelings were different.
'Destroyer. Someday, I'll cut you down with my own hands.'
Seo Ji-ho's gaze fell on his father receiving treatment in bed, but his mind was fixed on Destroyer.
"Nice haul."
I muttered contentedly while reviewing the gains from my Destroyer escapades.
I was especially pleased to see around 500 skill stones from the artifact shop and corporations.
-But it's a bit disappointing. If you'd appraised them first, you could've known exactly what skills they held.
Appraisal?
"It's fine. I already have an appraisal skill."
-Ah, really? So you can tell what skills they are?
"Pretty good odds."
I decided to test it out right away, pulling a skill stone and activating my appraisal ability, [Observe].
【D-Rank (LV3) Skill Stone】
【Using this will grant you the D-rank skill 'Air Step'.】
"D-rank Air Step, huh."
-Air Step isn't bad. Physical-type heroes could make good use of it.
"More importantly, what's with the level 3 part?"
-Oh, that's the skill's rarity level within its rank. Even among D-ranks, levels vary by technique type, from 1 to 10.
"So level 10 is the best?"
-Yep.
In short, higher levels meant rarer skills, regardless of rank.
-For reference, skill stone levels are key. You can upgrade ranks with materials, but levels are fixed.
"Do levels make that big a difference?"
-Yes. Even same rank, level 1 and 10 are worlds apart.
So, prioritize high-level skills over rank.
But that was for others. With 500 skill stones, it didn't apply to me.
"Guess I can just learn them all anyway."
Lee Seojun shook his head, denying it.
-You can only learn 10 skill stones. It expands a bit climbing the tower later, up to 15 total, but that's it.
"Only 10?"
-Unfortunately, yeah. If you could learn unlimited, no one would bother mastering magic the hard way. They'd just spam skill stones.
"......"
His oddly convincing logic made me nod as I turned back to the skill stones.
"No need to loot 500 then."
-Not really. You can use extras as materials.
"Materials?"
-Skills have proficiency too. Feed other stones as materials to raise it. Or give to kids like Cheon Seo-yun.
I nodded at that and began inspecting the skill stones one by one.
"Guess I should prioritize ones that help Absolute Clone for now."
-Smart. You'll salvage a few that way.
Lee Seojun specified "a few," not ten.
And he was right—out of 500, only a handful suited me perfectly when tailoring to Absolute Clone.
"Focusing on clone synergy, slim pickings."
-Narrow criteria. Broader like physical or magic, and you'd have way more.
I nodded regretfully and checked my selected stones.
【C-Rank (LV6) Brain Enhancement】
【Using this will grant you the C-rank skill 'Brain Enhancement'.】
【C-Rank (LV6) Calculation Assist】
【Using this will grant you the C-rank skill 'Calculation Assist'.】
【C-Rank (LV7) Thought Acceleration】
【Using this will grant you the C-rank skill 'Thought Acceleration'.】
【B-Rank (LV7) Dual Thought】
【Using this will grant you the B-rank skill 'Dual Thought'.】
Only four out of 500. I let out a small sigh.
"No Multi-Calculation like you mentioned before."
-It's rare. Level 8, even. You can just buy that one with points anyway.
Fair point.
I nodded and gripped the four skill stones.
"How do I absorb these?"
-Hold tight in your hand and imagine absorbing the crystal inside.
As instructed, I clenched a skill stone, visualizing the tiny light inside as a crystal—and drew it into myself.
"Simple enough."
The absorbed stone crumbled to powder, like sand slipping from my fingers.
I absorbed the remaining three the same way, then opened my status window to check.
Name: Lee Seongmin
【Innate Ability】
└ ① Absolute Clone (EX+) (Proficiency: 0.104%)
【Acquired Ability】
└ --
【Stats】
【Acquired Skills】
└ ① Brain Enhancement (C) (Proficiency: 0.001%)
└ ② Calculation Assist (C) (Proficiency: 0.001%)
└ ③ Thought Acceleration (C) (Proficiency: 0.001%)
└ ④ Dual Thought (B) (Proficiency: 0.001%)
'Huh?'
Suddenly, as I checked the status window, my mind felt noticeably clearer, and controlling Absolute Clone became dramatically easier.
-How is it? Feel helpful?
I answered honestly.
"Moving two at once like now? Should be no problem."
Not perfect, of course.
If anything, fighting solo was still far superior.
But in this state, handling two simultaneously in combat seemed feasible.