Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Izmo Kan's Final Blessing
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Huaaaang-!
A heavy voice from the statue reverberated through the space.
The moment that voice rang out, a brilliant dawn light spread from Izmo Kan's statue.
'More rewards?'
The rewards for defeating Borgol had already been given, including the additional ones.
Yet Izmo Kan must have felt they were insufficient, as it was bestowing yet another reward.
Ruins Devourer activates. Acquiring additional rewards.
'Ah, so it's Zilliac's Ruins Devourer that activated.'
30% additional rewards for clearing a secret ruin. He'd just inherited Zilliac's power and was already reaping its benefits.
【You are one with the heart of sturdy steel and cold fire.】
Craaack...
Craaack...
Suddenly, cracks began to form on the statue.
Spiderweb-like fissures spread across the entire statue in an instant, shattering it.
Shatter-!
【Do not linger. Advance and scatter the light. You shall illuminate the world.】
Whooo...
Pure white light rose like a mirage from the broken statue.
The light slithered like a snake before burrowing into Mountain Sorcerer Jamad's hand.
"Hm?"
Mountain Sorcerer Jamad furrowed his brow.
Izmo Kan's light had burrowed into the divine item Mountain Fist, bestowed by Tankrid, which Jamad was wearing.
Kang Seol would accept any reward, but for Jamad, it was different.
He was the great chieftain of the Rock Fang Tribe, devout followers of the Earth Dragon Tankrid.
It was natural for him to feel averse to a blessing from some obscure local god whose name was buried somewhere.
"Hmmm..."
But since the granted power carried no compulsion, Jamad didn't resist.
It wasn't a force that imposed duties.
'Then... time to check the rewards.'
After Insight Eye, another reward confirmation session.
Kang Seol first skipped the minor rewards and checked the major ones.
[Evil Spirit Armor (Purified)]
Grade: Abomination
Appropriate Level: 5 - 15
Defense: 112
Durability: 95/95
Weight: 10kg
An armor imbued with malevolent energy. Simply wearing it once caused mental collapse due to its vicious effects. But now purified, it causes no issues upon equip. Much of its power degraded during purification, yet it still boasts excellent performance.
Basic Stats: Strength +5, Vitality +5
Special Abilities: Comfortable fit, natural damage repair, defense increases by 20–50 based on combat duration.
'Abomination grade... That's why it gleamed so ominously.'
Its stats were average, but combined with the special abilities and absurdly high base defense, it was an incredible piece of armor.
'Thinking about it, it didn't even scratch under Jamad's attacks, so this level of performance makes sense.'
Whether kicked or punched, the slightly dark armor remained unyielding.
Equipment grades in Pandea varied wildly.
Early-game gear didn't have huge stat gaps compared to later ones, which could be confusing.
This was something even Kang Seol had struggled with at the start.
Junk, Normal, Unusual, Rare, Treasure were the main ones in the early to mid-game. Higher grades required reaching mid-game through normal adventuring.
Thus, Treasure grade was top-tier for early use.
The confusion arose around here.
Treasure wasn't just one grade.
Abomination, Treasure, Divine, Peerless.
Gear in this range showed similar performance, confusing players. Ultimately, it was 'depends on the situation'—a vague answer.
Anyway, Abominations were cursed gear, usable only by specific classes or after purification.
The armor Kang Seol just got was an Abomination. Fully purified, it would outperform Treasure grade.
'But... Jamad can't use this armor.'
Sorcerers couldn't wear heavy armor.
It was a rule of the Eternal World, Pandea.
With no choice, Kang Seol equipped it on Moonlight Knight Karuna.
Equipping Evil Spirit Armor (Purified) on Moonlight Knight Karuna.
He couldn't check the appearance, but the stat boosts were substantial. Karuna would now have even greater defense.
'Next, the helmet?'
[Helmet of Control (Destroyed)]
Grade: Abomination
Appropriate Level: None
Defense: 0
Durability: 0/0
Weight: 5kg
A helmet made from rare spirit stone. Tainted by the creator's grudge. Now completely destroyed, even restoration won't return its full power.
Basic Stats: None.
Special Abilities: None.
'What a shame.'
If it weren't broken, it would have been useful.
Kang Seol clicked his tongue and stowed the helmet in his inventory.
There had to be another use for it somewhere.
Now, only one item left to check: Jamad's Mountain Fist.
Kang Seol checked Mountain Fist in Jamad's status window.
[Divine Item: Mountain Fist]
Grade: Divine
Appropriate Level: None
Attack Power: 43
Durability: 50/50
Weight: 5.0kg x 2
Rock Fang Tribe's divine item bestowed by Tankrid. Absorbed earth's energy and bloomed one stage. Sturdy frame allows continuous blooming. Imbued with Izmo Kan's blessing.
Basic Stats: All stats +3, Core stats +5
Special Abilities: MP recovery +5 per second, sorcery range and destructive power +50%. Attribute Bloom (Stage 1: Mountain), +20% light damage on hit, enhancement abilities apply to one additional ally besides caster.
'Added holy damage, and changes to enhancement abilities.'
Text-wise, just two clean effects, but the felt impact would be greater.
Light attribute was the toughest resistance to build in the Eternal World.
It would be effective against high-resistance attribute monsters later in adventures.
'Attribute damage options like this aren't easy to get at 20%.'
Common ones were 1-5%, but Izmo Kan's blessing gave a whopping 20%.
This would handle physical-resistant monsters too.
And the awaited enhancement: extra target application.
'This is...'
For Jamad now, it'd only apply to Rock Armor.
Even that made it invaluable. Enhancements had cooldowns, so one use yielding two effects was huge profit.
'And as Jamad gains more enhancements, the effect grows.'
One of Kang Seol's Eternal World strategies: invest heavily early.
The world allowed claiming bizarre-option gear, special summons, root adventures, and advisors early. Suffer now, ease later.
In that sense, this adventure's gains would help immensely—like building on solid ground.
'Finally, titles.'
[Title: Wraith Slayer]
Related Feat: Soothe the Wrath (Adventure: Hall of Temperance)
Special Ability: 10% increased damage to spirit-type enemies.
'Usable.'
[Title: Izmo Kan's Great Warrior]
Related Feat: Hall Guardian (Adventure: Hall of Temperance)
Special Ability: All stats +5%.
Kang Seol nodded automatically at Jamad's title.
'All these rewards are top-notch.'
Worth trusting his instincts and waiting for Borgol.
Rewards that stripped the adventure to marrow and bone.
'I dunno lol' sponsored 300 Madness!
- Probably earned several times more than a typical 5-man party.
- The jeweler made 1 mil profit.
- That jeweler never takes a loss. Impressive!
- Just watch... Barely any team or solo gets rewards this good...
- Southern king Snowman! Rolls like a dog but sweeps rewards in the end ㅠㅠ
Kang Seol stretched once before placing his hand on the adventure end interface.
* * *
Ziiing-
Kang Seol immediately realized he'd been sent to the outskirts of Free City Kongori.
'Quiet this time.'
From Adventure 3, everyone experienced different ones, so durations varied wildly.
Thus, return times would differ too.
Right now, Kang Seol was alone.
Next is the score ranking up to current Adventure 4.
Beep-
Information is private.
Your score: 599,300 points.
Top Adventurer Rankings
1. Private (599,300)
2. Private (300,010)
3. FireAnt (210,000)
4. YahooSekai (189,290)
5. PinkGyudon (150,400)
Minor ranking changes.
Second place vanished, likely dead this adventure.
Ranks shifted, but Kang Seol's score still dominated.
- How does the score gap get this wide?
- Combat power gap is even bigger? That's just adventure clear score;
- Fair, with Jamad and Karuna... One-man army shocked
- Jamad could pass between my legs and it wouldn't feel humiliating.
- Jamad's scary, but Snowman looks weak.
- Doesn't look weak. Looks 'weak'
- Summoners all look like that lol
'Real ones' sponsored 300 Madness!
- Exactly. Snowman only thinks about summons!
- Gear goes to summons lol
- ???: Wear it, Jamad! Diaper time!
- Has material greed, but doesn't use on self. Kinda like a family man in the city?
- Boo hoo ㅠㅠ Breadwinner suffers.
[Beginning rest.]
[Base camp rest begins.]
[Rest 2. Free City Kongori]
Rest 2. 'Free City Kongori'
Free City Kongori, southern Pandea in the Eternal World.
A city abundant in goods and high in citizen happiness.
Adventurers must rest, train sufficiently here or other rest areas, and prepare for the next adventure.
Goal: Rest and resupply.
Failure: Fatigue.
Remaining time: 「About 30 days」
Kang Seol returned at dead of night.
No one else finished around the same time; passing the city gate was smooth.
Quiet. So quiet.
'How many fewer people this time?'
His adventure was short, so hard to judge precisely.
But with all four Devourers dead, many must have perished again.
Of course, no pity. Kang Seol never forgot he could die anytime.
He walked calmly to his lodging.
But en route, he felt watched.
He gave no sign, not alerting the tail.
'Who? Devourers?'
Already heard about their members' deaths?
If not Devourers?
He'd done nothing conspicuous.
'Then...'
In a sharp alley turn, Kang Seol suddenly dashed.
Thud!
His pursuer dashed into the alley too.
That instant.
Swish-!
Shing-
"Uh... Uhh..."
Summoned Karuna already held his sword to the mysterious stalker's collar.
On Kang Seol's signal, he'd slit the throat. Transients killing each other was overlooked here.
"Why are you tailing me?"
"......"
"Not answering doesn't mean I can't find out."
Truthfully, if they clammed up without violence, options were limited.
But Kang Seol was ready for rough methods if needed.
This world punished the naive. Staying soft made survival tenfold harder.
"...I know."
"Know? Know what?"
The stalker removed their hood.
A boyish face, about high school age.
"You're... the Private one."
"Private?"
"Only you passed the gate during the ranking shift. I waited the whole time."
He hadn't been careful.
Or rather, no desperate need to hide it.
'Waited specifically for me?'
Sensing no malice, Kang Seol asked.
"Why? Were you waiting for me?"
The boy, resolute, opened his tightly shut mouth.