Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: ACT.8 ???(EX) (4)
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The rank of a monster is determined by its strength.
The standard ranks range from E to S.
But even within these ranks, some receive special treatment.
‘Named’ class.
It’s a term used to identify an individual that is exceptionally strong among its kind.
An individual half a rank, or even a full rank, stronger than its original classification.
Those with a truly mutant-level difference in rank are sometimes called ‘Boss’ class, but that term doesn't apply to this one.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
The Prince of Waves.
A Named-class monster, it even has a fitting name: ‘Shapiros’.
Having just emerged from the river, the water dripping from its body was unusually murky.
That was only natural, as Shapiros was characterized by its corruption.
The corruption had eaten away at its mind, lowering its intelligence but enhancing its physical abilities.
In layman’s terms, it was something akin to a berserker.
“Shaaak!”
As if sensing a threat from me, it let out a wary cry and swung its arm.
The water droplets clinging to its body transformed into well-honed arrows and rained down.
I gave a wry smile and moved my sword slightly.
[‘Sa-in-geom’ reacts to the profane power.]
[The special effect of ‘Sa-in-geom’ activates.]
Swaaah!
The arrows made of murky water dissipated powerlessly.
As Sa-in-geom was the natural counter to all things profane, none of Shapiros’s attacks, which used corrupted power, could work on me.
The creature’s eyes were fixed on Sa-in-geom rather than on me.
So it was wary of Sa-in-geom after all.
Using darkness, I attacked the other Fishmen in the same way Shapiros had.
Faced with the power of annihilation inherent in darkness, the mere D-rank Fishmen had no way to block my attack.
Pshuk!
Pierced in multiple places by finger-thick projectiles, the Fishmen collapsed, spewing blood.
Even if they boasted overwhelming regenerative abilities when in contact with water, regeneration was still just regeneration.
It couldn’t restore a life that was already lost.
The same applied even to Shapiros.
It had been caught in the range, but the attack was more focused on the surrounding Fishmen, so Shapiros only suffered a single piercing wound in its thigh.
It would have been a fatal wound for a human, but the creature’s thigh was healing rapidly.
Was that all?
From the river right behind, more Fishmen kept crawling onto the land.
No matter how many I killed, their numbers were replenished just as quickly.
A deep sense of annoyance washed over me.
The Fishmen weren’t a threat, but one always had to be careful of stray attacks.
To stop more Fishmen from coming out…….
Kwang!
…it would be faster to just ignore them and take this guy down.
They’ll run away once their leader is dead.
I frowned, looking at the spear, about a meter long, embedded in the ground.
“Shaaaaa!!”
Was it because its prized spear throw had missed?
Shapiros raised its voice, transforming its scales into sharp blades as it charged.
Chwaak!
If it comes to me like that, it just makes things easier.
Deeply slashed across the chest, Shapiros staggered and then pitched forward with the momentum of its charge.
I flicked the blood from my sword and turned my gaze to the other Fishmen.
With their leader dead, their fear seemed to amplify, and the sight of them scrambling back into the water was quite comical.
“There it is.”
Shapiros’s corpse vanished in an instant.
In its place was a beautiful, well-crafted round orb.
This was the main reason for hunting Shapiros.
‘Silver Sea Crystal.’
By itself, it wasn’t worth much, but if used in the right place, its value would skyrocket.
And that was my goal.
[You have completed the achievement, ‘The Passing Storm’.]
[You have been awarded 3,500 coins as a reward.]
Another achievement cleared.
A satisfied smile formed on my face at the acquisition of a not-insignificant amount of coins.
Is this the third hidden achievement now?
I recall having around ten in total, including normal achievements.
It’s important to clear as many achievements as possible before someone else does.
[Conditions have been met.]
[The first awakening of the Unique Ability, ‘???(EX),’ will now begin.]
…What?
I snapped to my senses and focused on the message before me.
The awakening of a Unique Ability.
‘First’ implies it will happen multiple times in the future. The problem is the condition.
‘Some time has passed since I killed Shapiros.’
Killing Shapiros itself is probably not the condition.
More importantly, if I had somehow skipped killing Shapiros, the awakening might never have happened.
They wouldn’t give such an ambiguous condition as a clear reward.
Considering the timing, the condition is probably...
‘The achievement.’
Kwaaaaaa!
The moment I reached that conclusion, a heavy downpour, like a waterfall, slammed into my entire body.
I had already killed Shapiros, the cause of the rain.
The rain should have stopped, not grown stronger.
Splish.
My ears, enhanced with mana raised to its peak, picked up a strange footstep.
A chilling sensation ran through my body.
Mana incomparable to Shapiros’s.
That can’t be. There shouldn’t be any monster stronger than Shapiros in this area.
Splish.
Slowly. Yet deliberately.
The footsteps were getting closer.
I pushed my senses to their limit and stared into the rain.
[Skill, ‘Extreme Eye,’ is activated.]
A figure, a little over two meters tall, slowly revealed itself.
When its full form finally came into view, my eyes widened in shock.
‘The King of Waves!?’
Among the monsters of each race, there exist those with the title of ‘King’.
They are far stronger than ordinary individuals and possess special abilities.
Not a Named-class monster like Shapiros, but a Boss-class, the stage above it.
‘Why is that thing here?’
I was confused, but it didn’t take long to understand.
The downpour, heavier than in the original story.
The reason it didn’t stop even after I killed Shapiros.
It was all a phenomenon caused by the presence of the ‘King of Waves’.
The creature was approaching, slowly but surely.
Its path suggested it had sensed Shapiros’s death and was moving to take revenge.
Its movement speed was slow, and it was quite far away, so it would take some time to reach me.
What should I do?
The King of Waves was on a different level from Shapiros.
Strength ranging from B+ to A-rank.
All I could say was that the difficulty had suddenly skyrocketed.
‘Should I run, or should I fight?’
To proceed safely, retreating was the right choice.
However, a creature that shouldn’t be here was here.
If its presence here led to a different development I wasn’t aware of, there would be nothing more troublesome.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
I have to kill it.
Somehow.
“…Huh?”
Then, I suddenly noticed something strange about the creature’s condition as seen through Extreme Eye.
It wasn’t normal.
On the contrary, it was in a desperate state, as if it had just barely escaped the jaws of death.
‘Is it injured?’
It was incomprehensible in many ways.
It wasn’t supposed to be here at this time, and there shouldn’t be any monster nearby capable of inflicting such an injury.
For a moment, the thought that perhaps a player had done it crossed my mind.
But I quickly shook my head.
Impossible.
There was no way a second-generation player like me could take down an A-rank monster.
Even with a full loadout of S-rank Unique Abilities, traits, and skills, the stat limitations would make it impossible to win.
It’s impossible unless you’ve removed the stat cap like I have.
Moreover, that was a clear reward, and I was the only one who had cleared the game.
The probability of someone else obtaining it was practically zero.
At some point, a smile even formed on my lips.
Isn’t this actually a great opportunity?
An injured and exhausted opponent.
A troublesome foe that I’d have to go out of my way to hunt has come to me on its own, and in the worst possible condition.
On top of that, there’s me, who has partially awakened my Unique Ability.
My chances of winning were high enough.
For some reason, its wounds weren’t healing despite the downpour, but for me, that was just something to gladly take advantage of.
‘I’ll figure out my Unique Ability before the King of Waves arrives.’
[???(EX)]
1. Solo Quest
2. Watcher Beyond the Screen
3. Playable Character
4. (Locked)
5. (Locked)
The name of the Unique Ability was still a series of question marks.
However, the question marks for its effects had been removed.
[Solo Quest]
This is a clear reward.
You can proceed with existing main quests and acquire their rewards.
In the case of sub-quests, others may be able to undertake them.
‘So it was all because of my Unique Ability’s effect.’
Why was I the only one who could undertake quests?
At first, I thought it was a perk from ‘One Who Started from the End,’ but I was wrong.
It all made sense now.
The reason it had been active all along, even though its name and effects hadn’t been revealed.
That was the quest system.
‘And the second effect.’
‘Watcher Beyond the Screen’ provided immunity to all mental-type effects.
Additionally, it had an effect that helped me maintain my composure even in unexpected situations.
‘I was surprisingly calm when the world suddenly changed, even to myself.’
With a bitter smile, I turned my attention to the third and final effect.
Playable Character.
Circumstantially, it was clear this effect had been locked until now and had just been released for some reason.
There was a bewildering aspect to it, too.
‘Playable character’ is a gaming term that means ‘a character the player can directly control’.
But I’m not playing a game right now. This is reality.
And yet, it’s called ‘Playable Character’.
[Playable Character]
By connecting to another character, you inherit a portion of their power.
The amount inherited is proportional to the caster’s mana.
‘I inherit the target’s power?’
I was speechless for a moment, then the corners of my mouth curled up on their own.
It might only be a portion, but that’s more than enough.
The power to use another’s abilities.
Considering its potential alone, it was so broken that I could understand why it was EX-rank.
I’m familiar with every Unique Ability, but I’ve never seen one with an effect like this.
This Unique Ability was newly added when the ‘main story’ began.
Befitting the term ‘clear reward’.
As a test, I tried using the effect.
[Unique Effect, ‘Playable Character,’ is activated.]
[1. Lee Seon-yul]
[2. Kim Ji-hyeon]
[3. Han Hyeok-jun]
[4. Jeon Do-jin]
Four options appeared before my eyes like a selection menu.
These are the characters whose powers I can currently inherit.
The conditions for a character to be available aren’t explained.
I’ll have to figure that out step by step.
The problem lay elsewhere.
‘What happens after I inherit the power?’
It’s obvious, but in a game, you can’t be logged into multiple characters at once.
The player can only control one character.
What if inheriting the target’s power means I can’t use my own original powers?
That wouldn’t be entirely a good thing.
Chwaak!
While I stood there contemplating, Fishmen once again burst out of the river.
They were the ones that ran away earlier.
Having lost their leader only to find a stronger one, they’ve quickly regained their confidence.
I stared at the options still floating in the corner of my vision.
Either way, I have to use it once to find out for myself.
How much can I inherit?
What happens after I inherit?
And whether I really can’t use my own powers after inheriting.
There was no need to think about who to inherit from.
In this situation.
[4. Jeon Do-jin]
Jeon Do-jin, the one with the power of lightning.