Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Conquering the Tower Dragon
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Boom!!
The Tower Dragon plummeted to the ground.
But Su-ho was nowhere to be seen.
Just before it fell, Su-ho had leaped off its back and barely managed to cling to the stone tower, avoiding the crash.
That was when it happened.
[You have defeated the Tower Dragon.]
[You have cleared the 49th floor.]
[You have achieved the highest record in the Tower of Challenge.]
[You are the first to successfully conquer the Tower of Challenge!]
[For this great achievement, the system gifts you 10 bonus stats.]
[The system begins evaluating your great challenge.]
The fallen Tower Dragon finally breathed its last.
At the same moment, a flood of system notifications cluttered his vision.
He had finally succeeded in killing it.
‘At last!’
Seeing the barrage of alerts, the tension drained from his body.
Yet Su-ho didn’t let his guard down until the end. He climbed down the stone tower and only then lay on the ground, catching his breath.
But his lips kept curling upward.
It was only natural.
He had successfully hunted the Tower Dragon, which no one—not in his past life or this one—had ever managed to catch.
That was when it happened.
[Your level has increased.]
[All stats have increased by 1.]
[You have acquired 1 bonus stat.]
[You have reached level 40.]
[The system wants you to become even stronger.]
[The system gifts you greater power.]
[You have acquired 5 bonus stats.]
[All Healer-class exclusive skill levels have increased by one stage.]
[You have learned Healing Spirit (B).]
His level had gone up.
It was just one monster, but as the final boss, it provided a hefty amount of experience. Thanks to that, he leveled up.
This allowed Su-ho to reach level 40, earning him another system perk.
The new job skill he obtained was ‘Healing Spirit’.
Su-ho checked the information on Healing Spirit.
[Healing Spirit]
- Grade: B
# Deploys an area that restores stamina.
# Those within the Healing Spirit gradually recover stamina, with no limit on the number of people as long as they remain inside the area.
# Requires at least one weapon to use as a totem to deploy Healing Spirit.
Healing Spirit.
It was the first area-of-effect recovery skill Su-ho had acquired.
He recalled Isabella’s immense Healing Spirit, which once covered entire battlefields.
‘I’ll have to evolve this one to its final form no matter what.’
Right after Su-ho finished checking the skill—
[The system has completed its evaluation of your challenge.]
[The system highly evaluates your great challenge and has decided to award rewards befitting its level.]
[You have learned Dragon Blood (S+).]
The evaluation was over.
But the reward was something he had never expected.
Su-ho jolted upright in shock upon seeing the system notification.
‘Dragon Blood? That Dragon Blood I know? It came from here?’
He couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes.
And for good reason—Dragon Blood was the signature skill of a monstrous player once called the ‘Dragon Demon’.
‘But that Dragon Demon guy said he got Dragon Blood from a different gate, not the Tower of Challenge.’
Dragon Mountains.
The name of the gate was so memorable that Su-ho remembered it perfectly.
That meant one of two things.
Either the Dragon Demon had lied, or Dragon Blood could also be obtained from the Tower of Challenge.
But it didn’t matter either way.
What mattered was that Dragon Blood—the core skill symbolizing the Dragon Demon’s essence—was now his.
Su-ho immediately checked Dragon Blood’s information.
[Dragon Blood]
- Grade: S+
# The great dragon’s bloodline.
# Those who possess Dragon Blood can harness a dragon’s power through effort, even if not born as one.
# Lv.1 - Dragon Blood: Intimidation (S), Dragon’s Will (S).
# Lv.2 - [???]
: Locked.
└ Unlock Conditions
① Reach level 50.
② Unknown.
# Lv.3 - [???]: Locked.
└ Unlock conditions unknown.
# Lv.4……
As expected.
It was indeed that growth-type Dragon Blood skill he knew.
Moreover, the first stage of its awakening effects was already unlocked for Su-ho.
Thanks to this, his A-rank Intimidation skill naturally upgraded to S-rank.
‘To think I’d acquire Dragon Blood like this.’
Su-ho let a bright smile bloom across his face, unable to hide his joy.
With this one Dragon Blood skill, he was certain he could become far stronger in this life than in his previous one.
At that moment, the corpse of the Tower Dragon—which had been the tower’s master—began to crumble and fade away.
It was a natural progression.
Except for special monsters like Red Gain, tower monsters vanished quickly, unlike gate monsters. That was the rule.
But then—
[Ghost Shadow Spear reacts to the Tower Dragon’s shadow.]
[Ghost Shadow Spear absorbs the Tower Dragon’s shadow.]
[Ghost Shadow Spear is strengthened.]
‘It’s starting.’
Su-ho narrowed his eyes.
The Ghost Shadow Spear had a special feature.
[Ghost Shadow Spear has fully absorbed the Tower Dragon’s shadow.]
[Sufficient mana supply has been provided.]
[The Ghost Shadow Spear’s consciousness awakens.]
[Congratulations. You have successfully awakened part of the Ghost Shadow Spear’s consciousness.]
[Item information has changed.]
[You have acquired Ghost Shadow Spear (S+).]
Only after all the notifications appeared did Su-ho flash a satisfied smile.
Though not listed in its info, the Ghost Shadow Spear had a hidden option: ‘Shadow Devouring’.
Plus-grade items like it were generally influenced by their owner but could occasionally evolve on their own, unlocking new abilities.
The world called such weapons growth-type weapons.
Su-ho checked the upgraded Ghost Shadow Spear’s information.
[Ghost Shadow Spear]
- Grade: S+
# Ghost Shadow Spear with its 2nd-stage consciousness awakened.
# Recognizes the first to awaken its consciousness as its master and allows use of ‘Phantom Shadow (S)’ extractable from the owner’s shadow at any time.
# A broken Ghost Shadow Spear can be repaired and resummoned anytime via ‘Shadow Regeneration (S)’ as long as shadow and mana are available.
# Can use ‘Shadow Bind (S)’ to bite a target’s shadow and restrict their movement.
# While shadow fangs are embedded in a target’s shadow, the target suffers ‘Shadow Bleed (S)’ damage every second.
Two new ones.
Not only had its existing A-grade options upgraded to S-grade, but two additional S-grade skills were added, bringing the total to four.
Su-ho quietly curled his lips upward.
‘As expected of a growth-type weapon. It’s on a whole different level from ordinary ones.’
The only slight downside was that it was a spear, not a sword.
Of course, he already had a candidate in mind for a sword.
Soon, the Tower Dragon’s corpse fully crumbled away.
But something remained in its place.
Approaching closer, Su-ho saw it was a tooth the size of a fist. His eyes widened in surprise.
‘No way?’
A tooth.
And a sharp one at that.
Hoping against hope, Su-ho quickly checked its information.
[Dragon Fang]
- Grade: S
# The great dragon’s fang.
# Those pierced by the Dragon Fang are afflicted with the ‘Unrecoverable (S)’ curse.
Seeing the item info, goosebumps rose all over Su-ho’s body.
He had checked it thinking ‘no way,’ and his worst fears were confirmed.
‘To get a dragon fang here…!’
Dragon byproducts were S-grade materials in their own right.
But harvesting them was incredibly difficult, and only byproducts from ‘pureblood’ dragons—not mere ‘dragonkin’ monsters—held such value. Acquiring one was nearly impossible, let alone just seeing one.
Even Su-ho, the world’s greatest swordsman in his past life, had only encountered two dragons.
Su-ho’s eyes sparkled.
‘Perfect for making that.’
An unexpected top-tier material had come his way.
Naturally, it had to be used for the ultimate item.
Its purpose was already decided.
‘That guy’s gonna love it.’
Of course, no one else would touch it.
Finally, everything was sorted.
The double windfall made even his body aches vanish.
Su-ho stepped toward the exit portal shimmering before him.
***
[The Tower Dragon has been defeated.]
[The 49th floor has been conquered.]
[The Tower of Challenge has been conquered.]
[Conqueror: Player An Su-ho.]
[The Tower of Challenge has been conquered. All players are forcibly ejected.]
The Tower of Challenge had been conquered.
This triggered yet another massive explosion in a world already buzzing about Su-ho.
- Holy shit, I thought there was no way, but he actually did it?
- The Tower of Challenge can be conquered?!
- Isn’t he the guy who just passed the hunter exam today?
- An Su-ho is a god. An Su-ho is a god. An Su-ho is a god. An Su-ho is a god. An Su-ho is a god. An Su-ho is a god. An Su-ho is a god……
- Mom! I wanna be An Su-ho when I grow up! Mom! I wanna be An Su-ho when I grow up! Mom! I wanna be An Su-ho when I grow up! Mom! I wanna be An Su-ho when I grow up! Mom! I wanna be An Su-ho when I grow up!……
Offline and online alike erupted in chaos.
And it didn’t stop there.
At the Tower of Challenge entrance, reporters, YouTubers, and civilians swarmed to catch a glimpse of Su-ho. The moment the conquest was announced, articles flooded out.
As Su-ho emerged from the exit portal, flashes exploded from beyond the safety line.
Click! Click! Click!
“An Su-ho! Over here!”
“An Su-ho! Just one word!”
“An Su-ho!”
“An Su-ho!!”
Su-ho, having exited the tower, stood inside the safety line set up for gate clears.
This was a trophy platform accessible only to conquerors.
Su-ho looked up at the sky.
It was beautifully clear.
The sun hadn’t set yet.
With a refreshed expression, he scanned his surroundings and soon locked eyes with Jo Jin-hwi, who stared at him in a daze.
Spotting him, Su-ho smirked and made a call.
The recipient was, naturally, Jo Jin-hwi.
Seeing the caller, Jo Jin-hwi awkwardly answered while still maintaining eye contact.
- H-Hello…?
“How about it? Believe me now?”
- ……
He had nothing to say.
Crazy bastard.
To think he’d actually solo-conquer the Tower of Challenge.
Perhaps because of that—
Jo Jin-hwi, feeling much lighter, swept back his disheveled hair and chuckled.
- I already know you’re a total madman.
“If you’re having second thoughts, say it now. I’ll switch to another reporter.”
- Big shots play in big waters. Of course I’m in.
“Good. You brought your car, right?”
- Yes, I did.
“The yellow Ferrari? Symbol of the golden reporter. Head to the parking lot soon. Start it up and wait.”
Jo Jin-hwi let out a snort of laughter.
His expression screamed, *How’d you even know that?*
But he soon obeyed, heading to ready the car. Su-ho scanned the area once more.
Then, in the distance, black vans pushed through the crowd.
People poured out of the halted vans, and Su-ho instantly knew who they were.
National Hunter Association staff.
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