Chapter 279
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: The Shadow King
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You have entered the 3rd floor.
Just like the 2nd floor, the 3rd floor wasn't much different.
To proceed to the 4th floor, you must defeat the boss monster.
General monsters cannot be completely eliminated. Defeating the boss monster will make them all vanish.
The method to unlock the 4th floor was the same as well.
Then I should hunt down the boss first.
The Nameless Shadow B he met on the 2nd floor had said he sensed the same energy on the 3rd floor.
That meant there was a high chance the boss had it.
Even if the boss didn't have it, taking out the boss would make all the regular monsters disappear, making the search much easier.
So, he needed to find the boss first.
Jeong Hoon used the Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon to deal with the shadows.
Just like on the 2nd floor, they pressured him with all sorts of weapons, so he used the shadows as shields while conducting his search.
Where could it be?
He searched from the warehouse to the reception room, but the boss didn't appear.
That meant it was hiding somewhere else.
Jeong Hoon carefully scanned the surroundings.
Then, one spot caught his eye.
A massive box in the corner of the reception room.
That looks out of place.
Why would there be such a worn-out box in the reception room, not even the warehouse?
Jeong Hoon approached the box and opened the lid.
Its empty?
The box was completely hollow.
Jeong Hoon fiddled with the box and then shoved it aside.
Beneath it was a hole just big enough for one person to fit through.
Beyond the hole, what looked like the boss sat on a chair.
Bingo.
The corner of Jeong Hoon's mouth curled up.
The boss has been defeated.
All monsters on the 3rd floor vanish.
You have qualified to ascend to the 4th floor.
The boss was taken down in no time.
It wielded abilities no different from the Shadow Count on the 2nd floor, so it ended in an instant.
And where it vanished, the same necklace from the 2nd floor dropped.
This is it?
Jeong Hoon picked up the necklace.
Inside the necklace was the same person as the one from the 2nd floor.
But while the previous one had been a child, this one was a burly adult man.
You have completed the quest.
Return the body to Nameless Shadow A.
Jeong Hoon nodded and immediately headed back to the 1st floor.
On the 1st floor, Nameless Shadow A was wandering around.
Hey. Found it.
At Jeong Hoon's words, the shadow turned its head.
You found it?
Yeah. This is it, right?
As Jeong Hoon pulled out the necklace to hand it over, the shadow snatched it eagerly.
Yes! That's it!
Nameless Shadow A rejoiced and immediately shattered the necklace.
Farewell.
Jeong Hoon gave a brief goodbye.
The shadow suddenly hugged him tight and spoke.
Thank you! I'll never forget this favor! Here's a gift!
With those words, Nameless Shadow A vanished.
You have acquired the 'Shadow King's Dagger.'
Along with it, a pitch-black dagger was added to Jeong Hoon's inventory.
Shadow King's Dagger?
Jeong Hoon tilted his head.
It was an item he'd never seen before, either before or after his regression.
Shadow King's Dagger
-Type: Dagger
-Rank: Ultimate
-Attack Power: ???
-Critical Hit Rate: ??
-Remaining Durability: 100
-Special Ability (1): X
-Special Ability (2): X
-Special Ability (3): X
Jeong Hoon frowned as he checked the item.
What the hell is this?
It was an Ultimate-rank dagger, no less.
Before his regression, Celestial was the highest, and this jumped straight past it.
The problem was that this Ultimate-rank item had absolutely no special abilities listed.
Even when equipped, neither the attack power nor critical hit rate was displayed.
For ranks above Legendary, attack power and critical hit rate adjusted based on the wearer's level, but this one didn't.
It's basically attack power zero.
It felt like it had lost all function as a weapon.
Does it need some other condition?
It was probably originally in the 1st floor armory.
Since it wasn't there when he looted the armory, the shadow must have swiped it beforehand.
Now that it had passed on, it no longer needed the dagger and handed it over.
If it had lost its function completely, it would've shown as broken. There's definitely some other condition.
Having made his judgment, Jeong Hoon stowed the dagger in his inventory.
He had only cleared up to the 3rd floor so far.
He was sure he'd find clues about the Shadow King's Dagger on the floors above.
Jeong Hoon headed upward again.
You have entered the 13th floor.
Jeong Hoon broke through all the way to the 13th floor in a rampage.
He hadn't encountered any NPCs along the way.
When's the next quest coming?
Right on cue, an NPC came into view.
Just like on the 1st floor, there were no monsters.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Nameless Shadow C
-Level: 800
-Job: None
Oh! To think I'd see a human!
Nameless Shadow C.
If the 1st floor had been a sturdy man and the 2nd a child, the 13th floor featured what seemed to be a young woman.
A question mark blinked above the shadow's head.
This shadow wants liberation too?
The Ultimate Path (2): Nameless Shadow C
-Restriction: Enter the 13th floor of the Shadow Castle shrouded in ruin.
-Reward: ??
-Description: You are currently an intruder. However, Nameless Shadow C welcomes you. Please fulfill its wish.
It was the same quest as the one from the 1st floor.
This shadow wanted liberation too.
Jeong Hoon accepted the quest and said,
You're probably asking me to find your real body too, right?
Did one of them below get liberated?
Its voice brimmed with anticipation.
Jeong Hoon nodded, rewarding that anticipation.
Yeah.
Really?! That's great! I can finally leave this damn place!
The shadow jumped for joy in place.
So, do you know where your real body is?
Ah... More importantly, was it tough getting up here?
He'd asked where the body was, so why bring up if it was tough?
Jeong Hoon shook his head and said,
Not really.
It was true.
They came in numbers and had those defeat conditions, but...
No one had truly pushed Jeong Hoon to his limits yet.
...Then maybe you can do it.
Do what?
The Shadow King. Take down the master of this place.
Is that guy holding your real body?
The shadow nodded in affirmation.
Yes.
What if he's not?
I'm sure. He's the one who locked us all in here.
Meaning there are others besides you?
Yeah. I'm guarding the entrance to the 13th floor, and the rest are watching the floors above.
I see.
Jeong Hoon recalled the item in his inventory.
The Shadow King's Dagger.
Maybe defeating the boss would reveal something about this dagger.
Please. Take down that bastard and free us. Of course, I'm not asking you to do it for nothing.
With that, the shadow pulled out an item.
It was a small, gleaming black gem.
What's this?
Shadow Imprint Stone. A material needed to unlock the performance of shadow weapons.
So that's how it workeddrawing out performance with a Shadow Imprint Stone.
Now he understood why the weapon hadn't responded when equipped.
Pay in advance possible?
Advance...?
It was asking for the reward item first.
Yeah. As you can see, to free you all, I have to step up no matter what. Right?
So?
But what if I already have a weapon that can use the imprint stone?
Jeong Hoon pulled out the Shadow King's Dagger from his inventory.
The Ultimate-rank dagger that couldn't be used without liberation.
...Where did you get that?
Got it from liberating the shadow below.
No way... So that's what was down there.
The shadow clearly knew about the dagger.
If I can use the Shadow King's Dagger, taking down the boss will be a lot easier.
...You're not planning to just take it and run, are you?
Doubt filled its voice.
Jeong Hoon chuckled.
As if. To get out of here myself, I have to take him down anyway. No way I'd grab and dash.
Ha, but what if you fail? I'd just lose the imprint stone.
Won't fail. And who else but me could free you? Has any human made it here so far?
He was certain no one had.
The early vision block alone made reaching this point absurd.
That's true, but...
Then hand it over. Let me liberate this weapon.
Jeong Hoon held out his hand.
But the shadow quickly hid the imprint stone back in its bosom.
No way! This is my only item!
As an NPC, the reward was meant to be given upon quest success.
Naturally, you could only get that reward by completing the quest.
Figures it won't work.
Jeong Hoon chuckled and withdrew his hand.
Just kidding.
...That was way too serious to be a joke.
Quiet before I change my mind.
Okay.
Where's the boss waiting on the 13th floor?
O-over there, through that door.
Got it.
The Shadow King lurked precisely on the 22nd floor.
Along the way, he met 8 NPCs, each giving him the same quest.
Take down the Shadow King and restore their freedom.
If successful, they'd hand over their items.
Having accepted all the quests, Jeong Hoon gazed at the Shadow King before him.
At the top of the castle.
In its center stood the Shadow King.
Unlike the other shadows, its form was almost indistinguishable from a human's, and it looked at Jeong Hoon with a surprised expression.
Impressive. How can you see me clearly?
He wasn't conversing telepathicallyhe was opening his mouth and speaking plainly.
Ah, you mean the vision block?
Exactly. This castle has a debuff magic that blocks outsiders' vision.
Purified it, and it vanished easily.
Nonsense. That debuff is set to be absolutely unbreakable. What trick did you pull?
Holy Orb of Glory.
Normally, it couldn't be purified with Holy Orb of Glory, but with the 'One Who Transcended Humanity' title reaching level 10, he could cleanse the debuff the Shadow King had set.
That wasn't all.
Thanks to the title hitting level 10, he could even gauge the guy's level.
Lv. 1,315 Shadow King
The Shadow King boasted a whopping level of 1,315.
Manageable.
Jeong Hoon immediately activated all his buff skills, surging his stats beyond the Shadow King's in an instant.
The Shadow King grinned, covered its face, and transformed into an exact copy of Jeong Hoon.
The Shadow King 'copies' all of your abilities.
Jeong Hoon let out a small sigh of admiration.
As expected of the Shadow Kingit displayed an extraordinary ability.
But it couldn't copy everything.
What it copied were merely Jeong Hoon's skills.
It couldn't replicate the source of his power: mana and holy power.
The Shadow King frowned as it checked the skills.
What... You have holy power too?
Jeong Hoon replied with a grin.