Beyond S-Rank
Minhyuk might have been a complete outsider to the hunter business, but even he had the ranks of the Awakened down cold. Ask any tiny kindergartener and they'd all know.
The lowest was F-rank. The highest was S-rank.
S, A, B, C, D, E, F. The seven ranks of the Awakened, known to every person in the country.
He was certain of it—and yet—
Minhyuk blinked.
"SS-rank...?"
The artifact the Sea Otter had brought him bore not one S, but two. Certain he must have misread it, he rubbed his eyes again and again, but nothing changed.
An SS-rank artifact. A monstrous grade he had never once seen in his life.
Is this like double-plus Hanwoo...? One whole grade above S?
For reference, an S-rank artifact cost ten billion won at the absolute minimum. When had that been, again? Some famous S-rank hunter had made headlines by buying a twenty-billion-won S-rank artifact entirely in cash.
Not even an ordinary S-rank... If this is SS...
A hundred billion won, at the very least. No—this was the kind of artifact where you simply named your price.
Hoeeng—?
Minhyuk stared blankly at the Sea Otter. How had the little guy gotten his hands on something this precious?
"Did you rob the Dragon Palace or something? And bring it back for me?"
Hoeeng-hoeeng~
"What? It was just rolling around on the seabed, so you picked it up?"
Hard to believe, even after he'd heard it. What kind of SS-rank artifact gets abandoned at the bottom of the sea?
Did a treasure ship wreck somewhere around here?
Not that he'd ever seen so much as a single boat pass by. Well, anyway.
"Thanks, for starters. I'll put it to good use."
Minhyuk stroked the Sea Otter's head, then looked the artifact over.
◈ Effect: Sanctuary Declaration
◈ Special Effect: Healing power of allies within the Sanctuary +40%, Mental power +40%
◈ Description: A holy relic forged by melting the final feather of Archangel Auriel. Within it dwells the noble will of Auriel, who wished to protect all things.
In form, it was a bracelet—a silver bracelet wrought in an antique design.
Sanctuary Declaration? What on earth is that?
Cocking his head, he slipped the bracelet on.
Ding—!
◆ Active Skill
◈ Upon casting, generates a barrier imbued with the power of holy light within a radius of 10 meters.
◈ Blocks all physical, chemical, and magical attacks from outside the barrier.
◈ The barrier may be reinforced using the wearer's mana.
Good grief. It generated an SS-rank barrier? And the thing spanned ten meters?
"Whoa..."
Minhyuk let out a quiet breath of awe. He had no idea what "the power of holy light" actually was, but it was clearly an incredible item. What else was there to say? An SS-rank holy relic made from an archangel's final feather was bound to live up to the name.
"Pretty sweet, as payment for saving a life...?"
This was why a person ought to live by showing a little kindness to those around them. Who could have known? Save a sea otter being chased by a shark, and it comes back with an ultra-grade artifact in its mouth.
Hoeh?
The Sea Otter tilted his head, as if asking whether Minhyuk liked it. Minhyuk gathered those damp little cotton-puff paws in both hands with the utmost sincerity.
"Of course, of course. I love it. If you're ever in danger—or just bored—come visit anytime."
Hoeeeeng—?
"Obviously. And while we're at it, I'll introduce you to the kids. Elia, Kkureung, meerkats! Come here a second! I've got a friend to introduce!"
The moment he formally introduced the members of the Safe Zone, they were shy and wary at first—then promptly joined the water play and showed off their swimming.
Whirl— splash!
"Whoa! You're an incredible swimmer!"
Kku, kkureung?
Kkyururuk—!
Kkyolong-kkyolong—!
You could say they'd gained one more adorable little friend. At any rate, while a dazzling sea-otter show unfolded in the private pool—
Skritch— skritch—
—Minhyuk, back at the main base, was taking a whittling knife to a log.
Heh... just you wait.
The greatest weakness of the Little Wooden Soldiers was how little punishment they could take. Their firepower was formidable, but their stamina was frail in equal measure. It was the decisive reason Minhyuk had been forced to turn his back on the cornfield and flee the boar.
But if he had the Guardian's Sanctuary Bracelet?
That changed the entire conversation. He could patch the Little Wooden Soldiers' weakness with an SS-rank artifact.
A match made in heaven—like ramen and kimchi, or jajangmyeon and pickled radish!
Skritch— skritch—
Swearing revenge, Minhyuk carved the logs down one by one.
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Soldier Sample.
You gain 14 experience!
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Soldier Sample.
You gain 17 experience!
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Soldier Sample.
You gain 16 experience!
.
.
.
Corn? Please. Tonight's menu was whole-roasted boar.
Skritch— skritch—
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Soldier Sample.
You gain 17 experience!
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Soldier Sample.
You gain 16 experience!
.
.
.
Seventeen Wooden Soldier Samples.
Activating the trait Legion Manufacture.
340 Coins have been consumed.
Coins enough that you'd have to sell a hundred and seventy cucumbers to earn them. He poured that enormous sum in and replenished the ranks with seventeen Little Wooden Soldiers.
And on top of that—
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Rifle.
You gain 8 experience!
You have successfully crafted a Wooden Rifle.
You gain 7 experience!
.
.
.
Seventeen additional wooden rifles as well. Firepower buffs for the new troops: equipped.
And that wasn't all.
◈ Special Effect: HP recovery speed +20% for 30 minutes, physical resistance +10% for 10 minutes, stomach-lining reinforcement ++Boost
He even brought along two potatoes, because they raised physical resistance by 10 percent for ten minutes. He'd originally meant to chew them raw while swearing revenge for the troops he'd lost, but...
Fwoosh—!
Still, if he was going to eat them anyway, they might as well taste good.
"Hnngh... I wanna eat already..."
Sniff— sniff-sniff—
And if he was grilling, he might as well make some for the kids too. Anyway.
"Men! We march!"
Chk—!
Preparations complete in every particular, Minhyuk led twenty-five Little Wooden Soldiers and Kkureung into the jungle. By the time they reached the place where he had first found the cherry tomatoes—
Crunch— crunch—
Consuming the potato increases physical resistance by 10% for 10 minutes.
Duration: 10 minutes
Roasted potato eaten. Physical-resistance buff: equipped.
Step— step—
At last, the cornfield. Minhyuk fiddled with the Guardian's Sanctuary Bracelet and shouted.
"Come out!"
Maybe it was because he finally had something to fall back on. Confidence poured off him. That insolent boar hadn't been content with destroying his precious Little Wooden Soldiers—it had the gall to hog the cornfield all by itself, and he was burning to teach it a lesson.
Rustle— rustle—
A massive presence. Cornstalks split apart to the left and right.
Before long the giant boar revealed itself. Minhyuk immediately triggered the skill of the Guardian's Sanctuary Bracelet.
Sanctuary Declaration has been activated!
The noble light of Archangel Auriel condenses into the Sanctuary Bracelet.
Measuring the wearer's mana...
Message windows sprouted overhead in a frantic cluster, and then—
Mana measurement complete!
The authority of Archangel Auriel forms the Sanctuary's barrier!
Barrier Level: Stage 1
Status: 100%
A moment later, a hemispherical barrier enclosed Minhyuk's entire legion.
Allies' recovery and mental power rise sharply!
Targets: Wearer, Baby Meerkat, Little Wooden Soldiers
His body felt noticeably lighter. Did he feel a bit more energized, too?
"All units, prepare to fire!"
Chk—!
As the Little Wooden Soldiers leveled their muzzles, the giant boar scraped the earth with its hind hooves and glared their way. They'd already had a round yesterday. No point in waiting any longer.
"Fire!"
Pap— papapapapum—!
Flame burst from the Little Wooden Soldiers' muzzles, and in the same instant the giant boar charged, shaking the ground.
Thuk— thud—!
Bullets punched through steel plate. Its body flinched as the damage landed, but the giant boar did not break its charge, and a moment later it collided with the barrier.
KUUUUUUNG—!
With a tremendous sonic boom, the giant boar was flung backward and tumbled roughly across the ground. The surrounding trees reeled hard in the shockwave, yet inside the barrier it was perfectly still, as if nothing at all had happened.
"Ooh...!"
As expected. So this was the power of the Guardian's Sanctuary Bracelet—
The barrier's durability decreases.
Status: 74%
...Huh?
No, hold on. SS-rank barrier or not, one body slam and 26 percent of its durability was gone? Just how strong was that thing?
Huff— huff—
Worse, the giant boar was already back on its feet, snorting as it stared them down. As if to say, you're dead now.
Hmm... This was a development he hadn't planned for.
SQUEEEEAL—!
Roaring, the giant boar charged again. But had the damage piled up?
It's slower than before.
The sense of speed had fallen off from the start. On top of that, he must have landed a clean hit on the left hind leg—it was limping, oddly, on that side. He was sure of it. Acting tough on the outside. It actually hurt, didn't it?
"All units, fire!"
Pap— papapapapum—!
Another collision.
KUUUUUUNG—!
The barrier's durability decreases.
Status: 61%
Just as he'd thought. The drop in durability had been cut in half. And the giant boar, sent sprawling, couldn't get back up as quickly as before. Its belly—left unplated by the steel armor—lay fully exposed.
"Now! Fire! Aim for the belly!"
At Minhyuk's command, the Little Wooden Soldiers pulled their triggers as one.
Pap— papapapapum—!
A concentrated barrage from twenty-five S-rank damage dealers, aim accuracy and lethality each raised by 10 percent.
Kieeeeeek—
Struck dead-on in a vital spot, the giant boar let out what could only be called a hog-at-slaughter squeal—
—and vanished into a handful of light.
The insolent beast that had monopolized the cornfield was dead. The first time they'd met, he hadn't even managed a serious wound; he'd been busy flat-out running. And now he'd taken it down without so much as a scratch?
Ah... so this is the taste of pay-to-win.
Face bright with thrill, Minhyuk fiddled with the Guardian's Sanctuary Bracelet, then let his gaze drift.
"Whole-roasted boar... is off the menu."
The space where the giant boar had stood was empty. For a moment he'd thought he might finally tear into some meat. But meat? Like hell. Unlike when he'd dealt with the Blink Lizard, not even an item had dropped.
"Tsk. Nothing for it."
At least he'd gotten the corn. He'd have to be satisfied with that.
Ding—
That was when it happened.
Rising overhead...
No.
It was practically a downpour. A storm of notifications.
"U-uh? Just how high is this going?"
The message windows, which had been rattling upward as if caught in a glitch—rat-a-tat-tat—finally stopped on the notice for the level-20 special perk. Minhyuk blinked, mouth slack.
"Oh..."
Even without whole-roasted boar, this was plenty, wasn't it?
Around the same time.
Ding—!
Players of every race stared blankly at the tower-wide notice floating over their heads.
"...Uh, uhhh...?"
Even the elven imperial court, which had been waiting on Elia and Elia alone, day and night, with desperate longing.
"D-Demon King..."
Even the demon race's elite unit, midway through their assault on the 131st floor.
"Hey... th-that..."
Even the staff of the Hexagon, in the middle of investigating the whereabouts of an S-rank artifact transport ship.
It was a tower-wide notice that left every one of them staring, souls half-gone.