Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Amplification Jewel (1)
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[Soul Collector's Authority][Epic]
A ring containing the Soul Collector's authority, which allows wielding miracles by squeezing the power from souls.
-Soul Collection: 4,371 / 10,000
-Can collect souls from hunted beings.
-Cannot collect souls that are 20 levels or lower than yourself.
-Can wield miracles by consuming collected souls.
-Miracle [Enhancement]: Consumes 100 souls
-Miracle [Soul Clock Rewind]: Consumes 1,000 souls
-Miracle [Soul Legion]: Consumes 5,000 souls
-Miracle [Transcendent Awakening]: Consumes 10,000 souls
“You damned human……!”
The Undead High Master's eyes flickered with murderous intent as he confirmed the item Rokan had chosen. To pick this one of all things……!
The other items were ones he cherished deeply, but this one was even more special.
The others had racial restrictions as equip requirements, but this one had none—and above all, it already held a whopping 4,371 souls collected within.
Of course, that didn’t mean all those souls would transfer straight to Rokan.
The moment the equipment was unequipped, the souls gathered in the ring would all be released, and Rokan would have to start collecting from scratch again.
But it had been on the verge of reaching 5,000 souls, enough to summon the [Soul Legion], so the rage was inevitable.
Using Soul Legion would randomly select 1,000 of the souls residing in the ring to form his own legion.
Even if only Master-level monsters emerged, he would gain forces on par with the Crimson Crusaders.
“Pick something else…….”
“…….”
That was why the bastard struggled to open his mouth, but Rokan was resolute. He answered merely by glaring at him silently.
“Damn it!”
After that wordless back-and-forth, the Undead High Master grudgingly removed the ring with trembling bony fingers and placed it onto Rokan's hand.
Kiiiiiaaaah.
With that, the sound of thousands of souls being released all at once echoed out.
The souls bound to the ring returned to where they belonged.
Somewhere, a hunting ground would now see a surge in monster respawns.
‘Heh heh heh!’
But Rokan just smirked, stroking the ring now in his grasp, unconcerned.
‘Picked up an unexpected prize.’
The items he’d wrested from the others were all Unique or Epic grade without exception, but Rokan was especially pleased with this one.
Enhancement to boost abilities, Soul Clock Rewind to reset all skill cooldowns and aftereffects, and Soul Legion to create a thousand minions—they were all fantastic skills, but the real gem was Transcendent Awakening, usable upon gathering 10,000 souls.
It granted the power of one rank higher for a set duration.
‘If it had been Master level instead of High Master, I could’ve gone toe-to-toe with the Ancient Emperor…….’
At Master level, it became High Master; at High Master, Grand Master.
It even automatically acquired skills. Common skills maxed out in enhancement, and at High Master Transcendent Awakening, it granted extra slots to instantly combine Master skills.
No skillbooks needed—just the thought of it made it possible. That was the key.
There was a one-hour limit, but that was more than enough for at least one full battle.
The downside was dumping all accumulated souls at once, but with Rokan as the user, it guaranteed victory in any fight.
‘Soul Legion’s much the same…….’
He could decide based on the situation. A thousand Masters held tremendous power, as seen right now. Enough to stage a coup if he wanted.
‘But this isn’t the end.’
Rokan’s gaze went even higher.
Satisfying himself with the Central Continent meant a thousand-Master legion could do anything, but aiming higher meant he couldn’t stop at mere Master or even High Master levels.
Knowing that, he slipped the ring fondly onto his finger and looked around.
“So, what now? The Ancient Emperor’s power suddenly spiked to Grand Master level.”
“Exactly. It was a completely different force from when he lost his reason. Maybe that’s his true power as the Ancient Emperor, but that light midway through…… Hard to explain, but after it, he became a whole different person. At least one rank above us, no question.”
“Grand Master…… So it was possible. Our Lord still has a long way to go to reach that.”
Fortunately, no one was spouting nonsense like, “Leave it to me,” or “Once my Master skill cooldown’s up, I can take him.”
The opponent wasn’t just a bit stronger High Master anymore—he was Grand Master. A being in a whole different league.
The gap was overwhelmingly larger than between Master and High Master.
“…….”
Silence lingered for a while.
In a day, Master skill cooldowns would reset. Even now, the Ancient Emperor’s wrath and retribution raged on, but they knew fighting eight-to-one would just be a dog’s death.
They needed some fundamental new countermeasure.
“That guy…… had no weaknesses.”
The Troll High Master muttered gloomily, having already used Weakness Insight with his all-seeing eyes.
A being without weaknesses. How do you face something like that?
As everyone groaned, Rokan spoke up.
“There might be a way. I’ve got a hunch about what powered him up, at least.”
“Power?”
“Yes. It’s called the Power of Corruption. Some of you may have heard of it—it’s what the investigation team’s been focusing on lately.”
“Power of Corruption…… Yeah, rings a bell.”
“I heard it strengthens monsters, drives them berserk. Past a certain level, they can even store and control it within themselves.”
“The investigation team…… I think our Black Dragon Legion has a similar research group.”
Thanks to the recent events, Rokan’s credibility had soared.
Everyone focused on his words, sharing what they knew.
It wasn’t hugely helpful info, but it drew attention and built consensus.
“Exactly. And maybe…… we can dispel or scatter that power.”
“Really? How?”
“Can’t say for sure yet. Let’s head to the investigation team first. They might’ve found answers from the data they’ve gathered.”
“Hmph, so you don’t know anything concrete right now.”
The Undead High Master tried to snipe again, but it sounded like a childish tantrum, and no one backed him.
“I have some info, but it’s not confirmed, so let’s gather intel first. Have the Black Dragon Legion do the same. If we can scatter the Power of Corruption and revert the Ancient Emperor to his prior state, we’ve got a real shot at winning.”
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
“What’re you waiting for? Move out! If things go south, any capital could get smashed!”
With that, things progressed smoothly.
High Masters from each faction dispersed to investigate, and Rokan joined the Half-Elf, Gnome, and Dwarf High Masters in storming the investigation team’s building.
“Gasp!”
“Who’s that?”
“High Masters? Why’re they here……?”
They didn’t exactly charge in panting, but the High Masters’ grim arrivals stirred up chaos inside.
Famous figures from each race gathered in one spot and barged straight to the back—something big was clearly afoot.
“Get your boss out here!”
It was the hot-tempered Dwarf High Master.
No matter that this was a multinational investigation body with privileges—even they couldn’t tell influential figures from each race to quiet down or leave when they were shouting.
Word quickly reached the back, and even Rokan, who’d never seen him in his present life, met the overall head of the investigation team.
“What brings you here…….”
Seeing the man adopt a low posture, Rokan thought anew how everyone was the same deep down.
But with the Dwarf High Master glancing his way, he couldn’t just spectate.
“We’re here to hear your research results on the Power of Corruption.”
“The Power of Corruption…… Hm, and you are…….”
The head was Master level, like Rokan. Spotting him seemed to ease his expression a bit, but soon it turned troubled.
“Er, that’s not something we can disclose easily…….”
Every operation had procedures and authority levels.
Even High Masters couldn’t just demand everything outright, he repeated awkwardly.
“Contact your superiors.”
But that was no issue.
The four gathered here already held full authority representing their races. One call, and they were obligated to share the data.
Soon after, the Gnome head returned bowing with a smirk.
“This way, please.”
Security was tight. As top-secret material, they passed through multiple magic circles and dispelled security spells before entering the “research room.”
“We want a way to eliminate or disperse the Power of Corruption.”
“Y-Yes, of course. One moment…….”
Sensing a long-winded history lesson incoming if they waited, the Dwarf High Master nailed it shut.
The head issued orders to researchers, then brought over a Half-Elf one.
“This is our chief researcher, Half-Elf Irenel.”
“Skip intros. The method.”
“Well, there is a method…… It’s from recent findings.”
“What is it?”
“We judge the Power of Corruption is fundamentally born from extracting destruction, chaos, fear, rage, and such. Thus, monsters granted this power go berserk or turn savage in temperament.”
“Just the conclusion.”
“……So, use a method to control or offset it.”
Irenel shot a slight glare at the interrupting Dwarf, clearly offended, but gave her answer.
It wasn’t satisfying, though.
As he opened his mouth again, she finally gave the desired response.
“Bards playing Peaceful Performance for extended periods, powerful Charm spells, or purification power to cleanse the Power of Corruption itself.”
Three methods total.
But the first two were mere stopgaps.
Peaceful Performance required long exposure and only disarmed them temporarily until the music stopped—any attack undid it.
The second, Charm spells, would need hundreds of Masters casting in unison for Grand Master-level Ancient Emperor potency, with insanely long cast times.
It could create an opening if it landed, sure.
But landing it was a nightmare.
‘It’s not an item made at this timing originally, but…….’
That left the last one as feasible.
Purifying the Power of Corruption.
Crafting the Purification Jewel from Rokan’s memories.
“The best option is crafting an item to purify the Power of Corruption, but there’s one problem with that.”