Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: The Jewel of Amplification (3)
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The Condensation Scroll, and the Release Magic Circle.
Fortunately, the two weren't separate. They could both be obtained from one place.
The problem was they couldn't just be obtained. These were all rewards for passing the 'trials.'
'Beggarly crap.'
Bang, the Archmage of Explosion.
These were the legacies he left behind. Legacies for his successors.
And thus, to pass those trials, one basically needed to be a magic class, or it would be difficult.
"There's nothing impossible in Korea!"
Rokan knew that but still stood in front of Bang the Archmage of Explosion's dungeon. He prepared to challenge the trials alongside the half-elf high master.
"Are you going to be okay?"
It was only natural for him to receive worried looks.
Half-elves were inherently talented in magic and spirits, so even without continuously choosing mage advancements, they had a shot at passing the trials to some extent. With the all-purpose support of spirits, even non-mages could pass.
But leaving it all to others and just watching wasn't Rokan's style.
The chance to challenge the trials was only once per person, so they needed to stack the odds like this.
"Let's go."
Rokan took the lead and entered Bang the Archmage of Explosion's dungeon.
Shwooo.
[You have entered Bang the Archmage of Explosion's dungeon.]
[Pass all five trials to inherit Bang the Archmage of Explosion's legacy.]
[The opportunity to challenge the trials is only once.]
[Midway surrender is possible, but re-entry is not.]
[The trials proceed in random order. Failing even one prevents entry into subsequent trials.]
They entered the dungeon simultaneously, but only Rokan existed in the room.
The maximum simultaneous entrants for this dungeon was five. If five entered at once, each would face a different trial.
If all succeeded, they would rotate, challenging each trial once. That was why the two entered together.
To maximize the odds of hitting the Condensation Trial and Release Trial.
If alone, the odds were 1 in 5, but together, it became 1 in 4.
With great luck, they could hit both at once, passing just those two and getting everything they wanted.
[The Condensation Trial begins.]
'Bingo!'
And Rokan faced the Condensation Trial right from the start. If he could overcome this, he would obtain the Condensation Scroll.
[A powerful gravity spell unfolds in the trial room.]
[To handle the power of condensation, you must first awaken to the sense of condensation.]
[The challenger's abilities determine the initial gravity.]
[Current gravity: 3G]
"Hup."
But the moment the trial began, he realized it wasn't just cause for joy. Gravity magic unfolded at the start, making his body heavy.
Three times normal gravity crushed down on him.
"Is this it?"
But he could still endure it. Though 3G gravity, with Rokan's cultivated strength, this pressure was negligible.
[In a moment, the gravity level will rise.]
But he couldn't relax. As time passed, the gravity level would steadily increase.
Rumble rumble rumble.
And then, the room's structure began to change.
The ground rose like a cliff, revealing some magic device beneath.
Puk puk.
Just walking sank the ground deeply. Approaching carefully, he saw text next to the magic device.
[Condense the power of wind to its utmost. Its explosive force will carry you upward.]
'Upward.'
Looking up revealed an endless cliff. It seemed designed to shoot him up using condensed wind's explosive power.
An impossible mission for Rokan, who hadn't learned magic.
Should he give up here? No. Instead of shouting surrender, Rokan gritted his teeth.
Thud.
He groped the risen cliff face for handholds.
"Eya!"
He began climbing the cliff barehanded.
[The gravity level has risen.]
[Current gravity: 4G]
'Kuh.'
Soon after, the gravity level rose a step.
Four times gravity bore down, stinging pain accompanying every exertion.
Fortunately, whatever the cliff was made of, it withstood his strength and the gravity without crumbling.
Rokan gathered his strength again and resumed climbing the cliff.
[Strength has increased by 1.]
"...What?"
After climbing a few more minutes, Rokan nearly slipped, startled, almost losing his grip on the cliff edge.
Just like during training in the training grounds, his stats rose. Simply by moving his body!
"This counts as training too, huh...."
He had a vague suspicion.
Didn't comics do this? Train in a specially made room with heightened gravity, and overall physical specs skyrocket.
Whether fortunate or not, Rokan gladly resumed climbing the cliff.
[Agility has increased by 1.]
[Stamina has increased by 1.]
After that, stats rose steadily.
Like undergoing intense training, stats climbed as fast as sweat poured from his body.
[The gravity level has risen.]
[Current gravity: 5G]
And the pace quickened with each gravity rise. Meaning even more strain on the muscles.
Rokan reached near the top when Strength had risen by 6. Adding the others, nearly 20 stats had increased.
"Huu, good!"
The summit was one reach away. But at that final moment, Rokan extended his hand downward, descending toward the ground again.
'Can't just skim the honey like that.'
Ways to raise stats outside items or title effects were exceedingly rare.
Potions existed for that, but they were temporary or had low caps, so he needed to suck this opportunity dry.
Thus, though tiring, he decided to grind.
'Worst case, Berserk or Storm Incarnation.'
If too hard to climb, use Berserk or Storm Incarnation. Multiplied strength would scale this cliff in no time.
With calculations done, Rokan focused and descended the cliff. The moment his feet touched bottom, he climbed again, repeating up and down countless times.
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Stamina has increased by 1.]
Pleasant system alerts rang dozens, maybe hundreds, more times.
Even Rokan thought of stopping several times.
He wondered if this completed 'Trace of the Storm,' but sadly, no.
[You have endured the Condensation Trial beyond the time limit.]
[An amazing feat! We admire your realization of the sense of condensation and the perseverance that endured.]
[Acquired title 'Tenacious Loach.']
['Tenacious Loach'][Rare]
You are a master of endurance who withstood countless pressures.
[Effects]
-Toughness +10
-Stamina +10
-All types of damage reduced by 1%
"What the...."
The mocking title left him baffled and absurd, but he couldn't delete it. Beyond stat boosts, 1% all-damage reduction was surprisingly tangible.
[Acquired Condensation Scroll as trial completion reward.]
[Challenge the next trial immediately? Y / N]
Anyway, Condensation Scroll secured. After a brief rest, he touched Y and entered the next trial room.
[The Precision Trial begins.]
[Topple all targets within the time limit.]
[However, targets only fall after receiving sufficient impact.]
[Time limit: 29 min 59 sec]
"Ha, haha...."
The next was the Precision Trial.
Regrettable it wasn't Release, but hearing the description, Rokan's face lit up. Wasn't this like spoon-feeding him?
The targets were tiny, requiring precise control and mana condensation for sufficient magic power on such small marks, but Rokan had a cheat key.
'Eyes that Pierce All Things.'
With his already formidable throwing accuracy, plus an item massively boosting hit rate, failure would be ridiculous.
'Bombardment.'
Thus, Rokan even loaded Bombardment power.
His strength could suffice with a simple throw, but he didn't know the required power, and he wanted to test it anyway.
Whoooosh!
Ten hand axes tore through the air almost simultaneously. They flew unerringly at targets so small only the blade tip would hit.
Boom! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!....
Result: nine targets toppled at once. One slightly missed, regrettably.
But an immense feat. Even without explosion effects activating in this magic space, this result.
With explosion damage, probably more than ten would fall.
'Throwing.'
Gaining confidence, Rokan chained Throwing, toppling targets relentlessly.
Total targets: twenty.
Chaining Throwing and Bombardment quickly completed the twenty-target task.
[Acquired Concentration Scroll as trial completion reward.]
[Challenge the next trial immediately? Y / N]
This was barely a warm-up. Rokan immediately touched Yes and moved to the next room.
[The Release Trial begins.]
[Release condensed energy at the proper timing. However, mistiming inflicts damage.]
[Current successes: 0 / 10]
"Hmm...."
Finally, the Release Trial.
But something felt off. He understood releasing power at the right timing, but mistiming caused damage?
It screamed above average difficulty.
"No choice. Gotta charge in."
The Release Trial centered on releasing mana orbs gathered in a mana sphere.
Not gathering them manually but releasing auto-formed ones, yet anyone could tell mistimed attempts dealt serious damage.
[Mana condensation begins.]
No time to ponder—the trial started. The mana orb swelled like a balloon.
If Rokan were a mage, he could touch the sphere to gauge limits, speed, mana structure, but expecting such advanced mana control was unrealistic.
So how to 'release'? Understanding and injecting force into mana structures wasn't easy.
Rokan's solution was simple.