Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Rider Summon
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The first skill in Rider Summon, Frost Wolf, allowed him to call forth a massive ice wolf with fur as white as snow.
'This skill's pretty impressive too.'
Shin Yu-hyun smiled.
The Frost Wolf alone boasted tremendous combat prowess.
But what if he mounted a Skeleton Soldier on it?
A Saber rider for cavalry, a Lancer for spear cavalry, an Archer for mounted archers. It would vastly expand his tactical options.
And apparently, at 5-star, he could summon a new rider.
'Becoming 4-star really opens up a lot of possibilities.'
Examining the Immortal King's skills, Shin Yu-hyun was left in awe.
The gap between 3-star and 4-star was like night and day.
Beyond the summoning skills mentioned earlier, there were unique traits like Necromancy and general spells such as Curse, Poison, Disintegrate, Decay, and more.
At 5-star, even more skills would unlock.
Shin Yu-hyun finished assigning classes to his Skeleton Soldiers.
The moment he did...
'Whoa?'
Shin Yu-hyun's eyes widened at the message floating before him.
Completing the class assignment had triggered a change in the Skeleton enhancement list.
'Bone Reinforcement evolved into Steel Skeleton Reinforcement?'
An unexpected development.
But he quickly realized it meant the skeletons' core frames—their bones—had evolved.
'Does that mean mastering it to Lv10 will trigger another evolution?'
He could sense it intuitively.
His Skeleton Soldiers had grown stronger.
And the path to even greater strength lay open ahead.
'Perfect.'
Shin Yu-hyun grinned in satisfaction.
'Alright, I've checked everything I can for now.'
While Shuv prepared the spatial gate to the Tower of Trials, Shin Yu-hyun had reviewed all the spoils and skills from yesterday's battle with the magic beasts.
Now, only the Tower of Trials remained.
"Master, it's ready."
Shuv called out to him right on cue.
Shin Yu-hyun looked at Shuv and replied,
"I'm all set too."
With preparations complete, Shin Yu-hyun gazed at Shuv.
A massive blue magic circle, etched with intricate patterns, sprawled across the ground centered on Shuv.
The Phnacoic Bible floated open before Shuv, and at the circle's heart, a rift crackled with blue sparks—a dimensional fissure.
It had to be the gateway to the Tower of Trials.
"Just step into the rift now."
Shin Yu-hyun nodded at Shuv's words.
"See you later."
He waved to Shuv, Dia, and Ka-mang-i before stepping toward the dimensional rift.
A floating sensation washed over him as his feet touched solid ground. Shin Yu-hyun looked around and blinked in mild surprise.
"This is the inside of the Tower of Trials?"
The interior defied his expectations.
He'd imagined a building, but instead, he stood in a vast open plain.
Whoosh.
Tall grasses swayed like waves in the wind across the expansive plain before him.
"This'd make a fine training ground."
Such a spacious area was perfect for drills.
Bring the Black Tortoise Sword Division here and grind them for a few months—they'd shape up nicely.
"Wait, hold up. What did you just say?"
Shin Yu-hyun stared in shock.
A massive difficulty hike?
And this hike was way too extreme.
"From 100 to 5000? Isn't that a bit much?"
He was dumbfounded.
No wonder Shuv had warned him the tower wasn't to be taken lightly.
'Good thing I listened and boosted Dominance first.'
Shin Yu-hyun gave a wry smile.
The difficulty was based on Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Chakra.
His Chakra stat must've jacked it up.
Had he ignored Shuv and pumped the others instead, it might've been closer to 10,000 monsters.
Grrr.
Moments later, an enormous horde of monsters emerged from the tall grasses before him.
They lurked amid the field's long blades.
'So many varieties.'
The monsters varied in type and rank.
But they shared one trait.
Grrr!
Red eyes gleamed through the grasses stretching to the horizon, vanishing and reappearing, filled with malice toward Shin Yu-hyun.
'Different from magic beasts, huh?'
He dropped into a stance, eyeing them.
Their heads bore names and ranks, but no "magic beast" label.
Definite differences.
Magic beasts usually had "Corrupted" prefixed—like Corrupted Triton Soldiers, Corrupted Mantises, Corrupted Soldier Ants.
It might be omitted for brevity, but "Corrupted" was standard.
Another hallmark: tentacles on their backs and shoulders.
Used for attacks or draining life and mana from victims.
These monsters lacked both "Corrupted" and tentacles, and weren't labeled magic beasts.
'Not creations of the Chaos Entity, then.'
Per Shuv, magic beasts were the Chaos Entity's monsters.
These seemed something else.
'Doesn't mean I can back down.'
Activating Body Strengthening Technique, Shin Yu-hyun gripped the Flame Demon Sword Levatein at his waist.
Whoosh.
Black flames leaked from its sheath.
Right then.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship.
Zero Form, Revised.
Sword Draw: Ignorance Slash.
Swoosh!
Levatein whipped out at bullet speed, slashing forward.
Black flames and aura surged ahead.
Slash! Swoooosh!
Tall plain grasses over a meter high sheared off in a radial pattern for dozens of meters.
Along with the monsters hiding within.
[2-star Monster Black Dog defeated.]
[3-star Monster Orc Warrior...]
[Monsters Remaining: 57/5000]
Dozens of monsters wiped out in one go.
"So this is Black Flame Flash."
The unique skill fired a sharply compressed blast of black flame forward.
Shin Yu-hyun had triggered it alongside his sword draw from Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship.
Its power was staggering.
Grrr!
But over a hundred monsters still lurked in the grasses.
Roar!
Levatein blazing with black flames at the fore, Shin Yu-hyun charged the monsters.
How much time had passed?
The 1st floor of the Tower of Trials offered no sense of time's flow.
The sun hung motionless in the sky.
But it felt like at least two days had gone by.
'Really glad I took Shuv's advice.'
The tower was no joke, just as Shuv said—5,000 monsters to clear the 1st floor alone.
The kicker: no turning back midway.
'This is hardcore...'
Shin Yu-hyun shook his head.
Early on, low-rank monsters let him sweep them in batches.
But as time wore on, higher ranks appeared.
Now, 3-star and 4-star dominated.
He couldn't face hundreds head-on solo.
So he ambushed small packs.
'Summon skills would make this easier.'
But undead summons were banned here.
This floor tested if he could inherit the Immortal King's power and legacy.
Thankfully, all other skills worked.
He used the Immortal King's spells sparingly against the monsters.
About 200 left now.
Awooooo!
Werewolf howls echoed from all sides.
About ten closed in, tightening the encirclement.
Shin Yu-hyun had shifted the battlefield from the grassy plain to a forest.
Avoiding large hordes while fighting.
It made dealing with them far easier.
Facing hundreds in an open field was brutal.
Rawr!
The werewolves leaped from the trees.
"What are you, monkeys?"
Shin Yu-hyun smirked cynically.
Rawr!
Two lead werewolves lunged at him.
Roar!
Black flames and dark aura flared as he swung at them.
Slash! Swoosh!
In a blink, their arms flew through the air.
Splatter!
Yelp! Yipe!
Blood sprayed; the pair screamed and leaped back.
'Not letting you off.'
Shin Yu-hyun lowered his stance and kicked off the ground.
Boom!
The earth cratered as he shot forward.
Heaven-Splitting Divine Steps, second stride: Lightning Flash.
Momentum carrying him, he swung Levatein at the werewolves.
Swoooosh!
He streaked past them in an instant.
Slice! Splatter!
Two bisected werewolves crumpled, spraying blood.
[4-star Monster Werewolf defeated.]
'No Soul Points again.'
Shin Yu-hyun sighed regretfully.
The tower didn't award Soul Points for kills.
Seemed you needed magic beasts for those.
What a shame, after nearly 5,000 from 1- to 4-star.
Groooowl!
The rest piled on.
Two leaping from trees.
Two charging head-on.
Roar!
Shin Yu-hyun surged black flames on Levatein, swinging at the airborne pair.
Flames erupted meters high, engulfing them and blinding the view.
Yelp!
Stuck fast and burning, they plummeted helplessly, rolling on the ground.
Meanwhile, the frontal pair closed in.
'A feint?'
But it was a distraction.
Two near-silent black wolves struck from behind.