Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Purification Jewel (1)
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Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu. Puhook.
The Digdog, which had risen almost vertically, finally reached the summit.
Even without activating the combination skill 'Legend Rider,' Digdog's mobility was more than sufficient.
It hadn't taken long to conquer the first hurdle and enter the ruins.
"...Huh?"
But Rokan’s expression as he emerged wasn't exactly pleased. He'd aimed for the entrance to the ruins, yet he'd ended up inside them.
Where the hell was this place?
As if answering his brief moment of doubt, a system alert appeared.
[You have entered the Ancient Ruins, the Ruins of the Life-Takers.]
[First-entry bonus: Acquisition EXP increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[First-entry bonus: Drop rate increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[Title 'Pioneer' effect: First-entry bonuses enhanced by 10%.]
The first-entry bonuses were welcome, but something felt off. He immediately opened his status window to check something.
"What a pain."
His life force was dropping.
It wasn't dropping at an alarming speed, but he could tell it was because of who he was.
He was benefiting from multiple basic life force regeneration effects, so this was manageable. For an ordinary being, though, it would cause panic, making them chug potions right away.
"For now, I need to head to the deepest part..."
No choice now—he was in for the long haul. He'd have to clear the dungeon to escape this effect.
The problem was, having burst into the dungeon like this, he had no idea where he was. He couldn't even get his bearings.
If he wasn't careful, he might end up exiting instead of pushing toward the center.
For Rokan, who wasn't confident in navigation, it was a tricky situation.
With no other choice, he activated one ability.
"Summon assistant, Pathfinder."
At his current overwhelming strength, he could summon a clone for a massive combat boost, but that wasn't an option now. He unsummoned Digdog and summoned his Pale Bone Horse instead.
"Which way?"
"This way."
After getting directions from the pathfinder-type assistant, he mounted him and charged full speed through the dungeon corridors.
"Rampaging Chariot."
The charge was unstoppable.
Zombie-like monsters appeared as he entered, but Rokan bulldozed through them, bombarded them, or sliced their necks, forcing a path.
Hiiing!
"Jump!"
Puhwak!
The charge halted when a trap triggered. A massive blade came flying horizontally, slicing right through the Pale Bone Horse's body.
Rokan dodged with Jump, but the Pale Bone Horse couldn't.
[Brown Horse has been forcibly unsummoned. Cannot resummon for 1 hour.]
"This way."
But he wasn't fazed. He'd summoned the Pale Bone Horse instead of the Heavenly Bone Horse precisely because he anticipated something like this.
Rokan tucked the assistant under one arm and unleashed his power.
"Whirlwind!"
Srak, srak, srak. Clang-clang-clang! Crack!
The pursuing zombies were shredded, and the massive blade that had sliced the Pale Bone Horse was destroyed. It was entirely possible with Rokan's immense strength, but he sensed something off.
'Too weak.'
[Life-Exploited Ancient Zombie][Lv 301]
Judging by the zombies' levels, the Ancient Ruins, the Ruins of the Life-Takers, were master-level ruins above Lv 300.
Without a special method like Rokan's, even reaching them was tough, so the monsters should have been formidable. But this was way too easy.
Not a single one could properly block Whirlwind, and none even tried countering with powerful skills.
If he'd used Storm Incarnation or Berserk, maybe, but this was just a combination skill.
He couldn't shake the suspicion, but he had to press on. He needed to milk the pathfinder for all he was worth before another fork appeared.
Even now, the pathfinder's life force was dropping.
"Wheek! Legend Rider!"
Rokan immediately summoned the Heavenly Bone Horse.
He'd enhanced it into a Red Hare.
With Legend Rider's charge skill, he could smash through traps like the previous one using its charge power and defense.
The charge resumed.
"Charge! Rampaging Chariot!"
Once traps started appearing, they came frequently.
But this time, he handled them differently.
Most traps were evaded by the Red Hare itself, and when they seemed dangerous, Rokan bulldozed through with charge skills or hurled his battle axe to destroy them first.
Nothing could stop Rokan.
"Hmm?"
After pushing deep, a new terrain greeted him.
The corridor ended, and a massive pit yawned before him.
"Tch, unsummon. Kai!"
Kweet!
He could've jumped most gaps, but even the Red Hare couldn't make this one—the severed path was too far.
With no choice, he unsummoned the Red Hare and summoned Kai. Mounting the giant Kai, he peered into the pit below.
"What the hell is all that?"
The pit was shrouded in abyss-like darkness. Using Night Vision, Rokan's face soured. It was crawling with zombies like parasites.
An insane number, incomparable to those he'd faced so far.
At least hundreds, maybe thousands, shambling with hollow eyes, seeking the living.
Woooong.
"Huh?"
As he grimaced slightly, something happened below. A green energy erupted simultaneously from the zombies' mouths.
Green like the power of corruption, but the vibe was different. If corruption thirsted for destruction and ruin, this craved something else.
"Kai!"
Rokan deftly maneuvered the telepathically linked Kai to dodge the barrage.
Whatever it was, getting hit wouldn't be good.
Pang, pang, pang.
The green blasts missing Rokan splashed against the ceiling.
'No physical damage.'
That let him grasp the attack's nature.
No physical force.
The ceiling might have indestructible properties, but nothing hit by the blasts was destroyed.
Two possibilities: curse-type or damage via another method.
He had a hunch, so he began his counter.
"Here, eat this!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Pew, pew.
Toward the renewed green barrage, Rokan hurled none other than the pathfinder assistant.
Its duration was nearly up anyway, so unsummoning it meant little.
"I see."
Lacking aerial evasion, the pathfinder became the focus of the concentrated fire.
Checking its status window, Rokan identified the blasts.
"Life force exploitation, huh?"
The blasts were life force exploitation.
A special ability that stole life force from the target and added it to the caster. Similar to the dungeon's effect, but it drained far more in short bursts.
If Rokan had dropped in blindly, unaware and trying to block, the guaranteed damage would've killed him before he knew it.
But now that he knew, he had no intention of falling for it.
"Kai, let's go!"
Kweet!
Kai, carrying Rokan, veered and descended into the pit. He could've ridden to the other side, but this was a golden opportunity.
"Red Meteor!"
Kuuu-ku-ku-ku-kwang!
Dodging one barrage by maneuvering Kai, Rokan plummeted like a meteor.
The zombies couldn't react to the blinding speed and were crushed flat.
"Whirlwind!"
Followed by Whirlwind!
The chain extended to max range in an instant, taut and annihilating everything in the area.
[The Soul Collector's authority binds souls.]
[Souls collected: 113 / 10,000]
Why Rokan had leaped into the pit: to harvest souls.
Given the zombies' combat power he'd experienced en route, plus this horde—how could he resist?
Nearly a hundred zombies shredded in a flash, souls sucked in wildly.
For future soul legion summons, he might care about monster types, but aiming higher for Transcendent Awakening, raw numbers mattered most now.
"Kuwaaa!"
But that didn't end all the zombies. He'd cleared his surroundings, but now they had perfect range to blast him.
A circular clearing formed around Rokan, and zombies beyond it opened their mouths, firing life exploitation rays.
"Hmph! Storm Incarnation!"
Rokan's response was simple.
Storm Incarnation!
The master skill granted immortality during its duration, so the rays merely tickled.
"Bombardment! Chains of Extermination! Whirlwind!"
The rest was straightforward. He unleashed every skill to demolish them.
Zombies crumbled like tofu under the overwhelming power, unable to withstand even with life force recovery from the rays, reduced to mush.
'What is this?'
Rokan crushed them, but felt uneasy. Too easy to shatter.
He'd smashed heads suspecting regeneration, but they burst like pudding without the dull thud of bone.
His power played a part, but it felt alien.
These things definitely had no 'skulls.' He wondered how they held shape.
'Weak-stomached folks would puke mid-fight.'
That explained the gruesome aftermath Rokan created.
A thousand zombies reduced to meat chunks—grotesque enough to wrinkle any nose.
"Life Charge."
After clearing all zombies, Rokan rapidly refilled his life force, drained to zero tanking the rays, and chugged precious potions.
Wary of respawns, he perched on Kai atop the severed path, waiting out Storm Incarnation's cooldown.
Thanks to stuffing countless skillbooks that reduced cooldowns and aftereffects upon mastering, its reuse time was just 1 hour.
That very reason made Storm Incarnation the pinnacle master skill. Fully recovered, he set off again.
'If these keep popping up, great.'
One fight, a thousand souls. Ten rounds, and Transcendent Awakening unlocked?
Expectant, he advanced, but disappointingly, no more pits appeared.
[Heart-Eating Devilfish][Lv 303]
[Bloodsucking Slime][Lv 300]
[Gigantic Plant that Sucks Life][Lv 305]
Instead, varied monsters beyond zombies emerged.
Similar levels, but draining life differently.
Tricky for most, but Rokan was a bad matchup.
He smashed them before they could latch on, using Blood Mark to absorb their life force instead.
Deeper in, passive life drain intensified, but the steady monster spawns let him reach the core with minimal loss.
"Son of a..."
Arriving at the boss room, curses flew from Rokan's mouth.