Chapter 99
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Transcendent Reinforcement
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Raigrina had become LeBlanc's disciple just three years prior.
At that time, he wasn't an alchemist yethe was simply an adventurer.
Adventurers were a profession that involved traveling freely between villages, completing requests, and living off the rewards.
The lowest rank was F-Rank.
F-Rank adventurers could only take on F-Rank requests.
Most of those were mindless grind work, and the pay was miserably low.
Still, every adventurer started at F-Rank, accumulating Fame pointsone per successful requestto take promotion exams and rise through the ranks.
The higher the rank, the better the requests and the greater the rewards.
Even reaching B-Rank meant earning a decent living, so everyone hustled to build up their Fame.
But accumulating Fame alone wasn't enough to rank up.
There were promotion exams.
Fail those, and you'd be stuck at the same rank forever.
'I got stuck at D-Rank and couldn't climb any higher.'
Raigrina had been an adventurer for eleven years, but he'd remained a perpetual D-Ranker.
His peers had all advanced to C-Rank or above, with some even hitting A-Rank.
Feeling left behind, Raigrina quit adventuring and was job-hunting in the capital of the Merhen Kingdom when he caught LeBlanc's eye.
'Ho, this kid's got real talent.'
LeBlanc had pointed at him and praised his talent.
Those words alone convinced him to become LeBlanc's disciple.
For the next three years, he'd assisted his master while studying the basics of alchemy.
'...That outsider's right.'
Three years.
In all that time, he'd never seen his master's eyes shine like that.
So his master could make that kind of face too.
"Here."
Raigrina snatched the gold pouch from the outsider.
His master would surely decipher that recipe.
After all, his master had personally developed over 70 of the alchemy recipes in the Merhen Kingdom.
"Then call me if you need anything."
Instead of leaving the mansion, the outsider headed straight to a guest room and made himself at home.
"Wh-who said you could just barge in?"
"I paid upfront, didn't I? Can't I at least rest?"
"...That's not it. That's my room."
"Come on, make way. It's not like there are other rooms available."
"Ahem."
How did he know?
Every other room besides this one was being used as storage.
"I'll stay here until it's deciphered. Might need something in the meantime."
"Need something?"
"I'm tired. Get out."
The outsider booted Raigrina from the room.
Kicked out of his own room, no less.
He tried to stand his ground out of pride, but the guy's strength was insanehe was shoved into the living room in seconds.
"...Fine. Guess I'll go help Master then."
Raigrina knocked on the door to his master's room.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
"Yes."
With LeBlanc's permission, Raigrina cautiously opened the door and entered.
His master was seated in a chair, monocle on, poring over the ancient documents spread out before him.
"Come sit beside me and read these. If my health won't let me finish deciphering them, you'll have to do it."
"...Me?"
Did he hear that right?
Raigrina doubted his own ears.
"Hmph. What have you been learning all this time? You think you can be an alchemist without handling this?"
"...I've only learned reinforcement alchemy."
"Exactly. This is a recipe related to reinforcement."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
It was badly damaged, but some characters were legible.
This was definitely a recipe for reinforcement.
A lost reinforcement technique, at that.
'...This could uncover some incredible tech.'
LeBlanc calmed his pounding heart and continued reading the document.
Jeong Hoon pulled out Anima and summoned Michael as well.
"Master, you called?"
"Hm? What's the occasion? Doesn't look like a combat situation."
Michael bowed politely, while Anima climbed onto Jeong Hoon's shoulder with a puzzled look.
"Bored, so I called you."
"...Is that really it?"
Michael eyed him suspiciously.
Every time he'd been summoned before, it had meant a mountain of tasksso he couldn't believe there was nothing to do.
"You catch on quick."
Jeong Hoon grinned.
At that devilish smile, Michael sighed in resignation, as if he'd expected it.
"I see... So what do you need this time?"
"You know Kim Bong-gu?"
"...Of course."
Michael didn't like Kim Bong-gu.
No, just seeing the guy made his blood boilhe barely restrained the urge to punch that face.
The reason was simple.
He looked exactly like Ziru, the black mage Michael despised most.
If Ziru had reincarnated, it'd be that bastard. He was that sure of it.
To such a loathsome guy, Jeong Hoon issued a truly cruel order.
"Help him clear the Ruined City."
"The Ruined City...?"
"Yeah."
He'd given Kim Bong-gu the video, but it'd still be tough right now.
'He's probably died twice by now.'
The question was whether he'd made it past the halfway point.
From a quick scan of the Welcome screen, viewers who'd watched the live stream still hadn't properly conquered the Ruined City.
Maybe he should upload the recording sooner?
Whisperzl12 - Hoon: Yo, busy?
Just then, a whisper from Ha-jin arrived.
WhisperHoon - zl12: Nah, chilling. What's up?
Whisperzl12 - Hoon: Dae-hwi hyung wants the recording. Send it or nah?
WhisperHoon - zl12: Not yet. Hold off.
First 1,000 clearers.
Even with the live stream out, it wasn't an easy dungeon that'd get rushed that fast.
Originally, Iwase had been the first to clear it, letting Japan suck up all the honeybut with history altered, Korea now had the shot at the sweet rewards.
Too few were sipping the honey yet; it wasn't time to release the video.
Whisperzl12 - Hoon: Knew you'd say that.
That Ha-jin.
Sharp when it counted.
"...Uh, what difference would it make if I went?"
"It'd make a difference. You're using a cheat key to guide the clear."
"A cheat key...?"
"Yeah. Bong-gu's got a token, so go study it together and clear it."
The Ruined City wasn't far from here.
As long as Jeong Hoon's mana held out, Michael wouldn't be reverse-summoned.
"Uh... Do I really need to go help? If he can't clear it, wouldn't it be better to just ditch him?"
"He's still useful. Want his job? Fair warning: it'll suck."
"I'm off!"
Michael hurried to the Ruined City.
"...So, can I ask why you called me?"
Now it was Anima's turn.
"Yeah. Anima, if we make the reinforcement stone this time, you're first up for enhancing."
"Me first?"
"Yeah."
Reinforcing Legendary gear.
Jeong Hoon's plan was to craft a safe Legendary reinforcement stone via this recipe, then enhance Anima.
Great! I'll pass!
Mukho immediately declared he'd yield, as if waiting for it.
"...It won't get destroyed, right?"
Anima broke out in cold sweat.
He couldn't go outside, but since serving Jeong Hoon as master, he could see and hear everything outside even without Jeong Hoon holding a weapon.
That included every word between Jeong Hoon and Mukho.
"Nah, don't worry about that."
Jeong Hoon's lips curved into a wide grin.
That risky reinforcement method was about to vanish.
...What? No destruction risk?
"Yeah. But Mukho, you're not getting enhanced yet."
Why!
Because of Siegfried's document.
-Do not attempt enhancements until Mukho's power is fully restored.
It won't cause issues if you do... but his stats won't skyrocket. That's by design.
Exactly.
Sorry, Mukho, but no enhancements until he's fully restored.
Another 24 hours.
Kim Bong-gu endured a headache from studying like never before.
'Mom! This punk's actually studying!'
'Oh my! Really?'
'Is that true?! Spill it! What trouble did you cause now!'
He got caught by his sister midway, suffering maximum embarrassment.
Kim Bong-gu logged in via his capsule.
After all that review, he'd push past the midpoint this time for sure.
'If I die again... I'll admit failure then.'
Deep down, he didn't think he could clear it.
"Damn, you're late."
But at the Ruined City's entrance stood a familiar face.
"Michael...?"
It was Jeong Hoon's summon, Michael.
"Why should I waste my precious time waiting for trash like you?"
"...Why were you waiting for me?"
"Obviously to drag you through this clear."
"Huh...?"
News to him.
"He said he won't let you off if you fail."
Liar.
Jeong Hoon hadn't said that.
This was Michael scaring him just because he hated the guy.
It worked like a charm, though.
Kim Bong-gu's face drained of color.
"What?!"
"So try hard. I'm not helping with the clear."
"...Can't you help me clear it?"
The Ruined City allowed up to five players.
Kim Bong-gu was solo-challenging this brutal dungeon.
Of course, the difficulty was so high he'd failed twice without reaching the midpoint.
"What exactly do you want help with?"
Michael picked his nose boredly.
"Check this out."
Kim Bong-gu pulled out the token and pressed the button.
It projected a hologram video of Jeong Hoon using the cheat key to clear the Ruined City.
"Hm? This seems easy. Just reveal the cheat key spots one by one, right?"
Michael's reaction was lukewarm, as expected.
"Yeah... That's true, but..."
"Come on, follow me."
"You're coming with?"
Kim Bong-gu brightened.
Michael's face hardened.
"You nuts? I'm training you so you can clear it yourself."
"Huh...?"
'If I'd come a bit sooner, it wouldn't have taken so long to decipher...'
Words from Iwase Haruto.
Iwase meets LeBlanc about half a year from now.
The problem: LeBlanc's condition worsens with delirium setting in.
It's so bad the deciphering stalls, wasting tons of time.
But not now.
LeBlanc's state hadn't deteriorated that far yet.
'Two weeks. That should do it.'
No looping delirium means two weeks would more than suffice.
But LeBlanc's skills exceeded even that.
"Deciphering's mostly done. Come in."
The door opened after just five days.
"...Already?"
"I'd studied traces of ancient script long ago, so it was possible. Otherwise, no chance."
LeBlanc said humbly.
"I see."
Jeong Hoon followed him into the room.
Before them lay the ancient recipe and a copy of the deciphered version.
Transcendent Reinforcement: Legendary
-Type: Skill
-Rank: Legendary
-Attempt the first reinforcement as instructed by the recipe to acquire 'Transcendent Reinforcement: Legendary'.
This was it.
The skill that turned Iwase Haruto into the ultimate reinforcement master.
'The only one who can safely reinforce Legendary gear.'
Insane just hearing it.
After getting this, Iwase amassed wealth, founded a guild, and skyrocketed to fame.
He revolutionized gear metas and, when New World synced with Earth, became a top-priority recruitan invaluable asset.
'Iwase, this is mine now.'
He'd fed plenty of huge Ls to betrayers since returning, but this would be the biggest.
Snatching one skill would utterly derail Iwase's future.
"This is a recipe for acquiring a skill. Luckily, I have all the materials... except one."
LeBlanc explained with a bitter look.
"What's missing?"
"A Legendary reinforcement stone. That's what we need."
Even LeBlanc had seen a Legendary reinforcement stone only once in his life.
And that was a leftover fragment, not even whole.
To get one that rank, you'd need to hunt boss monsters level 300, and such players were rare.
'Of all things, that's what's needed...'
So disappointing.
He had little time left.
He'd finally deciphered his bucket-list ancient recipe.
But lacking one material meant no testing it.
How could he not regret that?
"Perfect. I happen to have a Legendary reinforcement stone."
"...What?!"
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