Chapter 359: A New Weapon (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 359: A New Weapon (4)
Wrooooom!
Along with a beautiful light, a white, freezing chill poured out.
The strongest ice-attribute weapon sleeping in the Dunes of the Sun.
It was 'Habelian's Soul'.
This crystal, infused with the freezing cold of successive generations of Habelians, was a treasure of immense value in its own right.
'If I smelt this properly, I can get stats far superior to the Fang.'
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
Possessing an immense chill similar to the Frozen Tear, touching Habelian's Soul with bare hands would spell disaster.
No matter how many layers of Glacial Shaping he wrapped around himself, he wouldn't be able to escape that freezing cold.
However, he hadn't come here unprepared.
Jinhyuk pulled a blazing feather out of his subspace.
The 'Phoenix Feather'.
It was a special item he had obtained on the 7th floor of the tower some time ago.
Whoosh!
[Your resistance to the ice attribute increases by 500%!]
[The lifespan of the Phoenix Feather is depleting at an extremely rapid rate!]
Crackle! Crack...le...
It was a waste to have it consumed in a single use, but if he didn't draw out its maximum potential, he would only end up with a half-baked result.
In that case, he might as well...
'I'll bet everything on this one shot.'
Jinhyuk reached out with his glowing red hand.
Shiver!
"..."
Even with so many layers of flames surrounding him, he could still feel the chill.
It was truly, utterly relentless.
But...
'I can do this.'
Even freezing cold had its tiers.
The key point was a slight protrusion exactly 5 centimeters above the bottom of the crystal.
Jinhyuk grabbed the spot where the chill was weakest.
Sssssss!
As fire and ice clashed, a massive cloud of steam erupted.
How much time had passed?
Finally, the quicksand in the center parted to the left and right, and the pure white crystal was pulled free.
[You have acquired Habelian's Soul!]
Finally...!
He had obtained it.
Jinhyuk lightly swung the crystal.
Whirl...
The sharp crystal, about 50 centimeters long, spun counterclockwise.
It was light, yet perfectly balanced.
And this was even before it had undergone a proper smelting process.
'That just shows how excellent the raw material is.'
Jinhyuk examined the crystal through 'Gluttony's Eye'.
[Habelian's Soul]
Acquisition Difficulty: SS
Attack Power: 12,800
Durability: 580,000 / 580,000
An astounding SS-rank.
Its attack power exceeded 10,000, and its durability was nearly 600,000.
'This is insane. Seriously.'
He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of weapon would be born once Old Man Orun smelted this.
He could hardly contain his excitement.
Now, if he could just gather the remaining chill, the conquest of the 19th Floor would be complete.
However...
"Huh...?"
Jinhyuk suddenly raised his head.
Tingle! Tingle!
"No way..."
A heavy energy weighed down on his entire body.
Goosebumps broke out all over his skin.
"Kyao?"
Even the Habelian, which had been completely absorbed in eating shaved ice, raised its snout.
The mana currently targeting this nest was on an entirely different level.
This distinct energy.
He knew exactly what it was.
The Horn of Joshua.
One of the strongest relics in Eden's possession was targeting this place.
But did that make any sense?
Gabriel absolutely needed to secure the Necronomicon, didn't she?
'Does this mean someone else intervened? Or did they offer a more appealing deal?'
All sorts of possibilities crossed his mind, but he didn't have the luxury of calculating them right now.
The important thing was that a relic of Absolute Judgment was targeting this location.
[Absolute Judgment 'Divine Judgment' is activated!]
Wrooooom!
Habelian's nest began to be dyed in pure white.
Thirty seconds at most.
After that, the nest itself would be completely vaporized.
'Think.'
Jinhyuk wracked his brain.
No matter how cornered he was, there had to be a breakthrough.
25 seconds.
Time was ticking away.
Until he completely made the crystal his own, the conquest wouldn't be recognized, meaning he couldn't leave this place.
In other words, there was no way to dodge the attack coming from above.
'I have to make something to defend myself.'
Glacial Shaping wouldn't be enough.
Even resurrection through the 'Blessing of the Stars' couldn't bypass Eden's relic, which was the pinnacle of divine power.
20 seconds left.
'1-Second Invincibility' could help him endure, but it literally only lasted for a single second.
It wouldn't save him from a bombardment that would last for over ten seconds.
10 seconds.
He had to make a decision, one way or the other.
Right then, something flashed through Jinhyuk's mind like lightning.
The Lucky Random Box.
It was the item he had obtained along with the ticket to the Auction House of the Gods.
If he used this...
His hesitation was brief.
His hands moved faster than his thoughts.
[The 'Lucky Random Box' is being opened!]
[Different types of items will appear depending on the amount of mana injected.]
[Detailed Probabilities]
– Isilgram's Bracers [B], Drop Rate: 17.5%
– Elixir of Vitality [A], Drop Rate: 4.9%
...
The Lucky Random Box, which yielded a B-rank or higher on average, boasted some of the best odds among gacha-type items.
But what he needed right now wasn't some mediocre B-rank.
0.000000128%.
He had to pierce through a probability that practically converged to zero.
Of course, he had no intention of relying purely on blind luck.
Jinhyuk placed his hand on the box.
Probabilities and calculations were meaningless here.
Injecting the exact, precise amount of mana required was next to impossible.
4 seconds.
A white pentagram appeared in the air.
Due to the effect of Absolute Judgment, everything in the vicinity began to collapse and sink.
At that very moment...
Wrooooom!
A blue wave rippled from Jinhyuk's fingertips.
"..."
Normally, he would never have attempted such a crazy stunt.
The Lucky Random Box was something he had kept in a corner of his subspace for trading purposes, not for personal use.
'Controlling the microscopic flow of mana down to the nano-level... even for me, the chances of failure are too high.'
And yet, unlike in the past, if there was one thing he could trust...
It was the power of his stats, backed by the title 'The First to Conquer the Tower'.
Luck and Adaptive stats.
A privilege reserved solely for those who had gazed upon the summit of the tower, turning the impossible into the possible.
His extreme concentration, the memories of countless trial-and-error attempts, and the miraculous opportunity that would make his footsteps shine—all of them converged in this single moment.
Rumble, rumble!
[The 'Horn of Joshua' is activated!]
[Absolute Judgment 'Divine Judgment' descends!]
A massive pillar of light fell from the heavens.
The horn announcing the end, carrying the will of Eden, echoed through the air.
At the same time...
[You have overcome astronomical odds to acquire the greatest relic contained within the 'Lucky Random Box'!]
A golden notification window appeared, announcing his success.
...It worked!
Jinhyuk quickly grabbed the relic as its blurry form began to solidify.
He raised the square shield toward the sky.
[Prydwen - 'Face of Evening' responds to its master's call.]
Magic circles rivaling the pentagram bloomed around the shield, wrapping around it.
It gave the illusion of giant petals unfolding.
This was one of the strongest shields, pursuing divine power to its absolute limit, just like the Horn of Joshua.
BOOOOOOM!
An unimaginable roar shook the entirety of Habelian's nest.
* * *
Sssssss!
The collision between the two relics had completely reduced the surroundings to ruins.
It was a monstrous blow, powerful enough to shake the very axis of the sand dune's interior.
"I think... at least three of my ribs are broken. Still, it's a stroke of luck that it ended... with just this."
Fortunately, he had no other major injuries.
Though he would have to suffer through some excruciating muscle pain.
"Kya, kyaooo..."
The Habelian also looked around with terrified eyes.
To the creature, the guy who had suddenly barged into its nest must have seemed like a walking natural disaster.
Even so, perhaps because it felt he had protected it from the enemy's attack, its wariness had significantly diminished.
The shaved ice and the Mentra Taming had also played a major role in boosting the Habelian's affinity.
'This isn't over yet.'
If they had gone so far as to use the Horn of Joshua, it meant the enemy was completely serious.
Furthermore, there was no way they would leave an opponent who had survived such a blow alone.
Jinhyuk quickly grabbed the crystal.
To at least stand a chance against them...
Just as he thought that.
[A high divinity from the upper floors descends!]
[The restrictions are eased by a High Manager!]
Damn it.
Was he already too late?
They weren't giving him any time to prepare.
Beyond the pentagram that had formed moments ago, an angel with white wings descended.
Thud!
A giant, muscular figure.
It was Kizakiel, the commander of the combat division.
To think he would meet this simple-minded, law-obsessed fanatic here.
There was no reason for Gabriel and Eden to stab him in the back, but seeing this guy made the previous attack make sense.
'He must have teamed up with Hastings... to get his hands on the crowns.'
The belief that only Eden should possess all the crowns.
That conviction had brought about this result.
"Are you the human named Kang Jinhyuk?"
Kizakiel's gaze locked onto Jinhyuk.
"A lot of people have been looking for me lately. Yeah, that's right. I'm Kang Jinhyuk."
"I see. I do not care for long-winded talk. Nor do I like deals or contracts, unlike a certain someone."
Shring!
A sword imbued with flames was drawn.
"Hand over the crowns quietly."
He was so straightforward it was almost anticlimactic.
It was just like him to pursue a single goal with absolute single-mindedness.
"And if I refuse?"
"I will destroy not only you, but every faction you belong to."
"Threats... well, that's amusing."
Jinhyuk chuckled.
"From the looks of it, you and Hastings are in cahoots and acting on your own. But won't Gabriel be displeased if she finds out about this? I highly recommend you think this through a bit more carefully."
"Once this task is complete, I will personally step forward and accept the punishment for insubordination. However, before I am destroyed, I will ensure you are destroyed as well."
"..."
He was willing to throw away his own life.
Guys with this kind of mindset were always the biggest headache.
It meant they wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice themselves for their so-called greater good.
But looking at it another way...
Now that he knew Kizakiel was acting alone and defying Eden's wishes, the pressure Jinhyuk felt was significantly reduced.
At least the entire giant faction wasn't aligned with Kizakiel.
'So I just need to get through this situation.'
That wasn't particularly difficult.
Jinhyuk opened his subspace.
What emerged was the 'Crown of Hegemony'.
"You are not entirely foolish. Yes, hand it over. Do that, and I shall guarantee the lives of you and your companions."
"Hmm. Well, what should I do? Should I hand it over, or should I not? I'm having a bit of trouble deciding."
Jinhyuk dangled the crown right over the spot where 'Habelian's Soul' had been.
The bottomless abyss was a passage leading to the deepest part of the Dunes of the Sun.
If it fell into that quicksand, it would disappear to another floor of the tower entirely, rather than the 19th Floor.
"You...!"
Kizakiel's eyebrows furrowed in anger.
Rumble, rumble!
The flames gathered on his sword blazed even more fiercely.
"To threaten me with something you cannot even do! Did you truly believe such a shallow trick would work on me?"
As his furious shout ended...
"Oops."
Plop!
The crown slipped and vanished into the quicksand.
"My hand slipped."
This was actually an accident.