Chapter 87
Chapter 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Rewards of a Successful Raid (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kang Hyun-su's group quickly withdrew from the battlefield right after taking down the Mara Dragon Karaas.
"For now, let's head to Luzabenu."
Kang Hyun-su chose to return to Luzabenu.
Luzabenu was territory controlled by the Zhonghua Guild.
From Kang Hyun-su's perspective, it was the easiest place to avoid the world's prying eyes.
"Got it."
"Sounds good."
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor readily agreed.
"You sure you don't want to check on your hometown? If you want to swing by, we can."
The Beast Emperor's hometown, Lupi, was in the exact opposite direction from Luzabenu.
But distance wasn't a big issue.
Kang Hyun-su and Song Hana could head to Luzabenu first.
Then, once the Beast Emperor finished visiting home, they could just summon him with the Legion Summon skill.
"I'm good. It's far enough away that it probably didn't take any damage."
"Still, you never know. Wouldn't it be better to stop by? You haven't gone back home once since we met."
The Beast Emperor shook his head at Song Hana's words.
"I'm really fine. I don't particularly want to go anyway. No one I want to see there."
It seemed like there was a story behind it.
"You're gonna regret it later."
"That's not for you to worry about."
"I said you're gonna regret it!"
"If I do, I'll deal with it. Butt out."
"You're unbelievable! I was just looking out for you!"
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor bickered.
*It makes sense.*
Song Hana was in a position where she wanted to go back to her home planet Earth to see her family and friends, but she couldn't.
So she couldn't fully understand the Beast Emperor's stance.
The Beast Emperor had his own reasons, no doubt.
"Ahem. By the way, I got three SSS-Rank achievements."
The Beast Emperor changed the subject.
"Achievements?"
Kang Hyun-su asked with a puzzled expression.
After hunting the Mara Dragon Karaas, Kang Hyun-su had earned three achievements and eleven titles.
All of them awarded because he'd single-handedly defeated the Mara Dragon Karaas.
But the Beast Emperor had gotten three achievements too?
And SSS-Rank ones at that!
"I got three SSS-Rank ones too."
Song Hana chimed in that she'd gotten three SSS-Rank achievements as well.
*What the hell?*
Kang Hyun-su had been recognized as the sole slayer of the Mara Dragon Karaas, so the Beast Emperor and Song Hana shouldn't have gotten even one achievement.
So how had each of them snagged three SSS-Rank ones?
"Can you show me?"
At Kang Hyun-su's request, the Beast Emperor and Song Hana displayed their achievement messages.
[You have accomplished the impossible feat of defeating the Mara Dragon Karaas.]
[Your contribution rank is in the top 5.]
[The title 'Mara Dragon Karaas Slayer' SSS-Rank has been granted.]
[You have accomplished the unbelievable feat of defeating a Demon Realm Baron.]
[Your contribution rank is in the top 5.]
[The title 'Demon Realm Noble Hunter' SSS-Rank has been granted.]
[You have accomplished the outstanding feat of repelling the Demon King's army invasion.]
[Your contribution rank is in the top 5.]
[The title 'Shield of the Atlantis Dimension' SSS-Rank has been granted.]
*These are the same achievements I got at EX-Rank.*
But Song Hana and the Beast Emperor had received SSS-Rank ones for top-5 contributions.
Achievements did vary in rank based on contribution.
Even so.
*Is this even possible?*
Kang Hyun-su racked his brain.
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor were beings subordinate to him.
That's why he'd been credited with soloing the Mara Dragon Karaas.
*That part checks out.*
But Song Hana and the Beast Emperor weren't summons—they were players.
As individual players, they'd lent a hand in hunting the Mara Dragon Karaas.
Kang Hyun-su took first place in contributions, but they'd made the top 5.
So SSS-Rank achievements made sense.
*That checks out too.*
Both things were possible upon reflection.
"Hahaha!"
Laughter burst from Kang Hyun-su's mouth.
"What's up?"
"Something happen?"
Kang Hyun-su shook his head at their questions.
Then he showed them his own achievement messages.
"Whoa!"
"No way!"
The Beast Emperor and Song Hana's jaws dropped.
They'd thought getting three SSS-Rank achievements was impressive.
But Kang Hyun-su had received rewards on a whole other level.
"Why does yours say 'solo' though?"
"Yeah, what's that about?"
Kang Hyun-su explained his theory to answer their questions.
"So we don't have to compete over achievements anymore?"
"Yeah, we can get them on top of each other! How does that even work?"
The Beast Emperor and Song Hana made a fuss.
Truth be told, Kang Hyun-su hadn't anticipated this either.
*The Legion of One has perks like this.*
The more players under Kang Hyun-su's command...
*The easier it'll be to rack up group achievements.*
Of course, achievements weren't easy to come by.
But.
*I can do it.*
Kang Hyun-su knew all the major events ahead that were bound to yield achievements.
If he tackled them with the players under his command?
*Not only me, but Song Hana and the Beast Emperor can grow fast too.*
Summons couldn't earn achievements.
They couldn't grow either.
But living players like Song Hana and the Beast Emperor were different.
*If that Spear King of Demon Extermination Jin Gu-pyeong were still around.*
He probably would've gotten achievements too.
*Though his contributions would've been lower.*
With just three people, adding two more would've guaranteed top-5 spots for SSS-Rank achievements.
Truth be told, Song Hana and the Beast Emperor hadn't done enough for SSS-Rank on their own.
They'd just stuck it out to the end without running.
But.
*With fewer people, even low contributions rank higher.*
Plus, since Kang Hyun-su was credited with the solo kill, he could snag the top contribution achievement plus multiple extras at once.
*Jackpot.*
Even adding two more would've netted SSS-Rank achievements.
More than that, and it'd drop to SS-Rank, sure.
*But achievements are guaranteed either way.*
He could expand his list of players to recruit.
*No need for them to stick with me like Song Hana or the Beast Emperor.*
Just let them grow on their own, then summon them with Legion Summon only when achievements were on the line.
If someone like Duke Kalmus the Guardian Saint of Mulan—who died fighting the Mara Dragon Karaas and became a summon—had survived?
*We could've teamed up easily.*
No need to reveal Kang Hyun-su's identity.
*Now there's the secret organization Dark Knight.*
Just invite them to join Dark Knight.
*Dark Knight foresaw the Mara Dragon Karaas invasion.*
And they'd put up a solid fight.
*The rulers of various nations won't be able to ignore Dark Knight easily.*
The more renown Dark Knight gained, the easier it'd be to fend off Demon King army invasions.
Plus, it'd make recruiting top future players a breeze.
* * *
Kang Hyun-su's group returned to Luzabenu, Zhonghua Guild territory.
*Now I can finally settle up at leisure.*
The nations were on high alert over the failed Mara Dragon raid.
But that wasn't Kang Hyun-su's problem.
*The issue is the witnesses.*
Could be someone from the metropolis Baran, or survivors from the fleeing extermination squad.
*Either way, they're too far for solid intel.*
Kang Hyun-su's biggest worry had been turning dead players and the Mara Dragon Karaas into summons.
Fortunately, no rumors about that.
Now it was time to tally the gains from hunting the Mara Dragon Karaas.
"Pull out your items one by one, in order."
At Kang Hyun-su's command, the summons dumped out their loot in a pile.
*That's a ton.*
It formed a small mountain in seconds.
*Well, yeah.*
It made sense.
Items from hunting tens of thousands of dragonkin monsters.
Plus gear from fallen players.
This much was to be expected.
Kang Hyun-su was most focused on S-Rank and above items.
Why?
The Sword of Gluttony wouldn't touch anything below S-Rank.
Sorting S-Rank and up shrank the pile.
But it was still mountain-sized.
*Should be enough this time.*
Kang Hyun-su channeled mana into the Sword of Gluttony.
Shaaaa!
It devoured S-Rank items at a ferocious pace.
The small hill gradually shrank.
And the result?
[The Sword of Gluttony has grown from SS-Rank to SSS-Rank.]
The Sword of Gluttony's rank rose.
*Feed it more?*
Kang Hyun-su hesitated.
*Nah.*
Feeding more wouldn't help anyway.
*EX-Rank's a stretch.*
It'd just waste SS-to-SSS-Rank items without rank gain.
*Gotta save weapons to arm the summons.*
That'd boost overall strength.
"Each of you gear up with the items best suited to you."
The summons took turns equipping items at Kang Hyun-su's order.
*Solid lineup.*
The fight with the Mara Dragon Karaas had thinned their numbers.
Around 1,200 left now.
*When do I hit 5,000?*
Making 5,000 summons would require insane level grinding for stats.
And that wasn't all.
*Gotta bless the new commanders too.*
He could upgrade Commander's Blessing now, but it was still B-Rank.
He'd need to cast it diligently to raise the rank.
*The Legion of One's A-Rank.*
So Commander's Blessing could hit A-Rank too.
That'd bump stat boosts from 20% to 25%.
*So much to do.*
With primary item distribution done...
Kang Hyun-su moved to secondary distribution.
Skill books this time.
*Duplicates go to Song Hana and the Beast Emperor.*
That way they could learn both Replica skills and skill books.
While sorting skill books...
Kang Hyun-su spotted a familiar one.
*Huh?*
[Skill Book: Beastification – EX-Rank]
- Active Skill
- Consumes mana to transform body into beast form.
- Beast instincts strengthen.
-All stats increase by 45%.
*Beastification skill book?*
An EX-Rank one dropped from Duke Kalmus.
*The Beastification I learned is a Replica skill.*
Naturally, he could learn the EX-Rank Beastification dropped upon Duke Kalmus's death as a duplicate.
*Learned.*
Duke Kalmus's Beastification amplified base stats by up to 45%—a cheat skill.
Learning two at once?
Kang Hyun-su's combat power would skyrocket.
*And since it's a dropped skill book, rank's EX too.*
No grinding needed to raise skill rank—a huge plus.
[Will you acquire Skill Book: Beastification – EX-Rank?]
[Yes] [No]
Kang Hyun-su selected Yes.
Fwoosh!
A bright glow enveloped him as he acquired the EX-Rank Beastification skill.
*Now to test it.*
Kang Hyun-su kept his Replica Beastification active at all times.
To raise its rank.
*Stacking both here...*
Crack, crunch!
His bones and muscles twisted and swelled.
Thick fur sprouted across his body, his mouth protruded into a long snout.
Fully transformed, Kang Hyun-su was...
*A werewolf.*
Just like Duke Kalmus, a perfect werewolf form.