Chapter 54

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 54

Chapter Title: S-Rank Gate (1)

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-It seems he wants to build a friendship with you, Seongmin.

I roughly understood from Lee Seojun's words as he looked at the Skill Stone alongside me.

To Seo Do-kyung, I was a healer who could restore his abilities and even revive the dead.

'Thinking about it the other way around, it's only natural.'

As far as I could guess, there probably wasn't a better healer than me.

Seo Do-kyung must have known that too, which was why he'd gone out of his way to bring the Skill Stone.

"I'll gladly accept it."

I left those short words of thanks and first checked the Level 10 Skill Stone.

"Breath of the Red Dragon..."

"Did you have an appraisal skill too?"

"That's why he wanted a Skill Stone in return."

I gave a simple answer, and from Lee Seojun, I learned what the skill did.

-It's exactly what it sounds like: a skill that lets you use a dragon's breath. It's incredibly powerful. The downside is you need S-Rank mana to use it.

"..."

In short, it was a skill I could never use with my current E-Rank mana.

'On top of that, this Skill Stone is only F-Rank.'

If I learned Breath of the Dragon, I'd have to grind to raise its rank first, I thought, as I moved on to check the Level 9 Skill Stones.

-Seongmin, what are the Level 9 Skill Stones?

The moment I finished checking, Lee Seojun asked out of curiosity, so I told him about the three skills one by one, since we'd need to know what they did anyway.

"[Eye of the Watcher]. [Projectile Storage]. [Thorn Vine Barrier]."

As I explained the Level 9 Skill Stones, Lee Seojun immediately exclaimed in admiration.

-Whoa, Projectile Storage? You got something amazing.

Lee Seojun showed particular interest in Projectile Storage over the others.

-It's an incredibly good skill. If you use a projectile-based attack, it stores them separately, and you can unleash them when needed. Think of it like loading bullets.

"Hm."

Lee Seojun called it an amazing skill, but I still couldn't quite grasp it.

-Imagine storing about 100 projectile attacks infused with your full power and unleashing them all at once.

My full power?

In other words, it meant I could launch around 100 attacks infused with my full power all at once.

Anyway, after hearing his explanation, I realized Projectile Storage was better than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd thought.

'The Level 8 Skill Stones... aren't anything special.'

For now, there were no multi-casting skills that I needed.

Confirming they were all either attack or support types, I roughly pocketed the Skill Stones and asked Seo Do-kyung,

"What now?"

"We can head out slowly. We need to arrive after the Destroyer enters the S-Rank Gate."

"You don't want to show up to the Destroyer."

"If the Destroyer sees us, he might get suspicious, right?"

I nodded in agreement.

"So, when does the Destroyer enter the Gate?"

"The Association President went to fetch him, so probably soon."

In fact, the Destroyer's group was already heading to the Gate in a car prepared by Association President Jeon Il-seop.

And thinking it would be better for Lee Seojun to go with them once they entered the Gate, I turned to look at him.

-Yes, send me to the Destroyer's side.

Fortunately, Lee Seojun thought the same and asked to be sent over.

Plus, there wasn't much left for the healer side to do anyway, so I immediately transferred him to the Destroyer's group.

Flash―

Lee Seojun appeared beside the Destroyer and began examining the artifacts received from the Association President.

-Is this the artifact from Jeon Il-seop?

I nodded as if to say yes, and Lee Seojun spoke in a peculiar tone.

-There aren't any artifacts here that seem useful in combat.

To ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be precise, there was a bow and a chain scythe, but they weren't weapons for the Destroyer.

'And the rest are just a cloth, a stone tablet, and a rock.'

Of course, I'd already appraised all five artifacts Jeon Il-seop had given.

I'd checked how special artifacts worth over 10 billion could be, but they were a bit disappointing.

'The bow generates infinite arrows under moonlight. The chain scythe's length can be freely adjusted and has a slight ego.'

I was astonished that these were worth over 10 billion.

I wondered if Jeon Il-seop had tricked me, but there was no reason for that.

'Besides, Jeon Il-seop knows I have an appraisal skill.'

He wouldn't give me useless junk, so they really must be worth over 10 billion.

-Oh? This is the 'Cloth of Gluttony'?

I nodded to Lee Seojun, who mentioned the cloth's name.

From appraising it with Observation, the Cloth of Gluttony was a somewhat unique artifact.

Recalling the Cloth of Gluttony's description briefly, I glanced at Jeon Il-seop in the passenger seat and his attendant in the driver's seat from the back.

Then, ensuring they couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hear my voice, I casually asked Lee Seojun about the cloth.

"Do you know what kind of artifact it is?"

-Is it okay to tell you?

"They can't hear us up front right now."

Lee Seojun turned to look at the two in the front seats and nodded.

-It's fascinating. Anyway, the Cloth of Gluttony ends up being used to dispose of food waste later on.

"...Food waste?"

-After first appraising the cloth, we called in famous chefs and tried putting in all sorts of dishes.

Lee Seojun continued explaining about the Cloth of Gluttony.

-But only useless items came out. What was it again? Oh, right. Worn leather shoes.

"An artifact?"

-Just regular leather shoes. Worst cost-performance ever. So it got relegated to food waste disposal.

Hearing that, I glared at Jeon Il-seop in the passenger seat.

The thought that he knew this and still gave it to me irritated me just a bit.

-But after stuffing it with food waste for about two years, it produced something pretty impressive.

"What item?"

-A Mana Awakening Stone. If a hero eats it, their mana increases by 100 once. It's like an elixir.

-We filled it with quantity over quality. And for regular people, it awakens their mana, which caused a huge uproar.

Awakening?

I focused more on the word 'awakening' than anything else.

That meant if I got a Mana Awakening Stone, I could make others acquire Skill Stones too.

'That changes everything.'

With that thought, I carefully stowed away the Cloth of Gluttony.

Food was something I could supply endlessly, so it wasn't an issue at all.

"We're here."

In the meantime, Jeon Il-seop in the passenger seat announced our arrival.

Looking around briefly, it was a desolate place with no sign of human presence.

'It looks like countryside at a glance...'

No signs of life meant they'd evacuated all the residents.

'And after raiding the Gate, they'll use special mana bombs.'

This countryside scenery we were seeing now would probably be blown clean away.

Regardless of the scenery, straight ahead loomed a space crackling like the gates of hell.

'That's the Gate.'

It was a black, elongated oval about 5-6 meters high.

Not just any space, its edges crackled with lightning-like sparks.

-Definitely an S-Rank Gate. Normally, we'd raid it without issue.

Obviously, but my and Lee Seojun's actions now were completely different.

At this point, Lee Seojun would have been diligently training at the Hero Officer Academy.

'Though technically, it's only been a few weeks, so it's natural.'

As I thought that and got out of the car, Jeon Il-seop handed me a bag he'd prepared separately.

"This bag contains rations. Raiding an S-Rank Gate will take days, so use them well."

"No need."

I could summon Collection Cuisine even in the Destroyer's body, so I didn't need food.

"I'll clear it and be back within a day."

"...In one day? No matter how great you are, considering the Gate's interior size, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it's impossible."

"Whether it is or not, you'll see."

I said that much and headed for the S-Rank Gate.

They'd probably hurry to gather people and prepare the moment I entered.

'Not my concern.'

As I stepped into the Gate, I felt a slight resistance pushing my body back.

Ignoring it and forcing my way in, a starkly different scene from the countryside greeted me.

"The air feels unpleasant too."

Now inside the Gate, I could freely talk with Lee Seojun.

Lee Seojun looked around the Gate's interior just like me and gave a brief impression.

-The terrain is a plain. It's the worst spot for camping.

"Why?"

-Usually, you dig into the ground or use terrain features for camp. But not here.

Lee Seojun pointed at the ground as he answered it was impossible.

-This ground is probably saturated with all sorts of harmful toxins like poison. You end up camping on the surface, which exposes you to monsters.

"Just bring stealth abilities or artifacts."

-Only if you get those Skill Stones or artifacts. Most are attack or defense types, so they're hard to come by.

"Innate Abilities?"

-Not sure? I've never heard of anyone with an Innate Ability that hides camps. But maybe someone out there has one.

I nodded vaguely at that and lightly stretched.

-By the way, Seongmin. Are you really planning to clear it in one day?

Then Lee Seojun, like Jeon Il-seop, questioned if I could clear it in a day.

Realizing I'd never properly shown him my power, I replied nonchalantly.

"Won't even take a day."