Enhancement (2)
Hong Seolhwa.
The eleventh superhuman to reach Level 80.
After hitting that milestone, she threw herself into even more vigorous activity.
Her first order of business was climbing the Abyss Tower.
The tower administered a trial every ten floors, and the results were recorded on the Abyss Stele.
Hong Seolhwa became the eleventh person to carve her name onto the 80th-floor stele.
Her ranking was an astonishing third place.
The global superhuman rankings shook violently in response.
Overnight, she rose into the upper echelons of the Twelve Heavens.
Korea’s international standing rose with her.
In this golden age of superhumans, a nation’s prestige was measured by how many top-tier awakened it possessed.
Perhaps because of that, the frequency of irregular portals appearing in Korea dropped sharply.
While the exact correlation had yet to be proven, the prevailing theory held that faster clears of the Abyss Tower reduced the rate of irregular gate outbreaks.
Korea’s international danger rating fell two full tiers.
Tourism began to recover.
Domestic consumption rose, the economy improved, and a virtuous cycle took hold.
That was the kind of influence a single top-class superhuman could exert on an entire country.
Rumors that Madoje had “made” Hong Seolhwa spread like wildfire.
People who had never heard of Madoje suddenly learned the name.
Every incident he had been involved in began receiving renewed attention.
Taesan. Rainbow Potion. Koo Koo Guild’s Baek Sun.
Every major incident that had recently dominated headlines was being re-examined through the lens of Madoje’s involvement.
Envy toward those who had received Madoje’s favor began to boil over into something close to madness.
The fever for Madoje spread like wildfire.
It even ignited around the Mithril Ingot he had listed.
The Mithril Ingot (12kg) Madoje had listed began a rapid price climb three hours before the auction ended.
14,201,900 Coin
17,650,810 Coin
19,281,990 Coin
20,331,291 Coin
21,······
The fair market value of the ingot had originally hovered around 12,000,000 Coin.
Now the price was approaching double that.
Then the final bid came in.
Mithril Ingot (12kg) sold for a final price of 27,188,800 Coin.
A single ingot had fetched an unprecedented 27 million coins, setting a sensational new record.
While ordinary superhumans could only watch in frustration, someone noticed a new post Madoje had made.
The Madoje fever spread even to the Request Commission board.
Mithril Ingot (12kg) has been sold.
The payment, minus the 10% auction fee, has been deposited.
“Hmm?”
I rubbed my eyes at the system message that rang in my ears.
The mithril ingot had finally sold.
I wondered how much it had gone for.
Still half-asleep, I checked the amount.
“Huh?”
One, ten, hundred, thousand…
Millions… tens of millions…
“???”
24,469,920 Coin.
Over 24 million coins.
After subtracting the 10% fee, that meant it had sold for 27 million.
“Holy crap!”
I was wide awake now.
It sold for that much?
Wow.
My mind raced.
The mountain of mithril ingots piled up in the Mithril Room.
Mathematically, 100 ingots would be worth 2.4 billion coins.
Selling just 400 would net 9.6 billion.
Enough to buy EX-grade skills, equipment, or spirit herbs.
‘Whoa.’
Fireworks exploded behind my eyes.
I wanted to list every single one right now.
But I couldn’t.
If I flooded the market, the price would crash.
So, little by little.
Slowly and steadily.
‘I’ll start by listing five right away.’
Five mithril ingots registered for auction.
Good. I’ll watch how the market reacts and decide how many more to release.
‘Heh heh.’
Staring at my suddenly swollen balance, I fell into the happy dilemma of what to buy first.
I needed a new elixir for leveling anyway, so I should look for something suitable.
‘First purchase has to be adamantium.’
Repairing Archeron was non-negotiable.
You have purchased Adamantium (10kg).
Ten million coins vanished like the tide going out.
In exchange, 10 kilograms of adamantium rested in my hands.
Now I just had to hand it over to Bellerin.
‘Huh?’
I glanced at Archeron without thinking.
What was this?
A faint light was now flowing from his body.
“What the—?”
I rushed over to him.
Whooooosh!
An unknown energy rose like heat haze.
I hadn’t imagined it.
And there was something else.
‘······?’
Archeron’s appearance had changed dramatically.
The once-scratched and battered outer plating…
‘Why does it look so clean?’
It looked brand new, as if it had been repainted.
It was unbelievable.
“Ah! Did something happen to Archeron?”
Bellerin, who had approached without my noticing, wore an equally shocked expression.
“Wow! The energy core has stabilized! I think we can start repairs right away!”
Right.
Whatever had happened, repairing Archeron was the priority.
“All right. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes!”
Bellerin accepted the adamantium and stood before Archeron.
She raised her silver hammer and brought it down with force.
Clang!
With a clear ringing sound, Archeron’s repairs began.
***
“Ghh…!”
Karmarks clutched his chest and groaned.
“C-Commander!”
“Are you all right?”
His subordinates moved to support him.
“Stand back.”
But Karmarks refused to let them touch him.
It was a matter of pride.
He had not suffered external or internal injuries.
Then what?
‘Tch. My spirit took a direct hit.’
An existence capable of striking the spirit itself.
He believed he had only been caught because he had let his guard down.
If he had known the enemy could attack the spirit, he would never have been struck so defenselessly.
‘Cocoon of Healing.’
A regenerative space in the form of a cocoon.
He lay down inside it.
Crack!
The cocoon’s shell closed, enveloping his entire body except for his face.
After recovering inside for a while, he opened his eyes.
“···Velgram.”
At his low call, darkness gathered and a figure prostrated itself before him.
“Reporting.”
The figure was a pitch-black mantis.
She was Karmarks’ right hand and deputy commander of the First Legion.
“Velgram. Go find the one who killed Kresar. That being will surely return to the Lili tribe and appear in the Rainbow Forest again.”
“Understood.”
“Be wary of nothing except its spirit attack. If you avoid that, you can hunt it without issue. And if you capture it…”
Karmarks’ eyes flashed with madness.
“Bring it back alive. I want to tear it apart with my own hands.”
“Understood!”
***
Clang, clang, clang—!
The ceaseless sound of hammering suddenly stopped.
“It’s done!”
Bellerin raised both arms in triumph, her face radiant.
“Oh!”
Archeron’s once-shattered outer plating now looked as pristine as if it had just been manufactured.
『Beep— Keron. Terminating temporary deactivation.』
Whooooooosh!
Archeron’s energy core began to reactivate.
Red steam rose from his body.
Click, whirrr.
Click!
Archeron rose to his feet, his plating gleaming.
『Keron. Normal operation restored.』
At the same moment, pure white light flashed repeatedly across Archeron’s frame.
Archeron’s level has increased.
Archeron’s level has increased.
Archeron’s level has increased…
Lv 254 → Lv 270
“······!”
Sixteen levels in one go.
A massive surge.
What just happened?
While I blinked in shock, Archeron knelt on one knee before me.
『Keron. I apologize for causing you concern, Master.』
“Concern? You’re the one who went through hell. You did well. Truly.”
Archeron’s body was fully restored.
And his level had skyrocketed.
That was enough.
For now, we wouldn’t leave the lair.
It was dangerous outside.
Once the amplifier was complete, we would all go out together.
That was what I had decided—until a problem arose.
“Chuchu!”
Chuchu had brought back the Forest Essence from the Lili tribe.
The Lili had handed it over with a request.
They said the Queen of the Lili tribe remained in the eastern forest.
Could we save her?
“The Queen, huh.”
Regretfully, I was about to shake my head.
She was clearly precious to them, but I couldn’t risk exposing Archeron to danger again.
『Keron. This time it will be fine.』
Yet Archeron spoke with confidence.
『I can now activate Combat Stance Level 5. Even if we encounter that being again, the same thing won’t happen.』
Hmm.
His words gave me pause.
I was still about to refuse when—
“If anything goes wrong, I’ll use my roar again.”
Even Azkai said that, making it harder to refuse.
“If we rescue the Lili Queen, it will greatly accelerate the growth of Eldrias and Elatrium.”
Ah… even more persuasive.
I wrestled with the decision.
Right.
We would eventually need to find another dragon’s lair once the dimensional amplifier was finished.
Before that, we needed to grow stronger ourselves.
In that case…
“Be extremely careful. If anything feels off, retreat immediately. Your safety is the absolute priority. If you promise to remember that, I’ll allow it.”
At my words, Archeron’s eyes shimmered.
『Keron. I will engrave Master’s words into my core.』
And so Archeron set out from the lair once more.
He soon entered the eastern forest.
We watched the scene anxiously through the probe.
Surely that creature wouldn’t appear again…
—At that very moment.
『Keron. Multiple hostiles detected.』
Something had triggered Archeron’s detection net.