The Silent Palace
A few minutes after slipping into the final Ancient-grade ruin, Novum emerged back to the surface.
"Master! I found the Extra Clear Tickets you were talking about!"
"Aigoo! Good job, Novum! Who's my wonderful little spirit?"
The slime snuggled happily into his embrace, squishing and rubbing its soft, gelatinous body affectionately against him.
As it turned out, there were surprisingly many ruins that offered a Ruin Extra Clear Ticket as a completion reward. To be precise, a substantial number of the ruins that humanity had abandoned as uncleared seemed to hold them.
They must have designed these Extra Clear Tickets to be absurdly difficult to obtain.
Dropping an extra clear ticket was indeed exceptionally rare, so one almost never appeared among the newly materialized ruins that opened every month. Calculating the rough ratio, the probability of finding one was roughly on par with the appearance rate of an Ancient-grade ruin.
"By the way, Master, none of the ruins below Rare grade had any tickets at all," Novum chirped.
Every single ruin bearing an extra clear ticket was at least Legendary grade or higher.
Well, if ruins of Rare grade or below handed out Extra Clear Tickets, the whole balance of the system would crumble.
For context, due to various insurmountable circumstances, humanity had left approximately one thousand Legendary ruins and around ten Ancient ruins uncleared across the globe. Conquering a Legendary ruin rewarded a single extra clear ticket, whereas Ancient-grade ruins yielded two tickets each. As for Mythic-grade ruins, even Novum hadn't dared step inside, so there was no telling what lay within—or if they offered tickets at all.
In any case, if I want to increase my remaining exploration quota, I have to target Ancient-grade ruins.
Clearing a Legendary ruin just to earn one ticket was ultimately a zero-sum game, as consuming one lifetime clear only broke even with the one gained. If nothing else, he needed to monopolize as many of the ticket-bearing ruins as possible.
I'd better hurry before another country clears them first.
Even if the world had set them aside for various political or tactical reasons, there was no guaranteeing when another nation might suddenly mount a successful raid. Before setting out in earnest to farm the extra clear tickets, however, one task remained.
I should at least give the Hunter Administration a heads-up this time.
The last time he had tackled an Ancient ruin on a whim without warning, the entire South Korean government had been thrown into sheer pandemonium. He pulled out his phone and dialed Yoo Jeongtae. The line picked up in less than five seconds.
"Commissioner. It's Jeon Jaewoo."
"Ah, Hunter Jeon Jaewoo! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Yoo Jeongtae's voice practically buzzed with eager anticipation, as if praying there was something he could assist with.
"I'm calling because there's something I felt I should inform you about in advance."
"Pardon? Inform me... about what?"
"I'm planning to clear another Ancient-grade ruin."
A brief, suffocating silence hung over the receiver before Yoo Jeongtae sputtered back in utter dismay.
"A-Another Ancient ruin? You don't mean right this second, do you?!"
"No, not right away. I need a few days to prepare first."
Myeolgeop's combat capabilities already far surpassed the combined firepower of any monstrous host an Ancient ruin could muster. On top of that, he now had allies like the Elder Lich and Novum to provide tactical combat support, making future raids significantly smoother. Even so, the previous Ancient ruin had taught Jaewoo a vital lesson: once a dungeon stepped into Ancient territory, letting one's guard down was out of the question, and thorough preparation was imperative.
Back then, Myeolgeop had held only a slight edge in pure combat prowess against the World Tree. While the golem's victory rate was certainly higher, the probability of defeat in a pure one-on-one duel had not been negligible. Backed by Novum and the Elder Lich, Myeolgeop's odds of winning shot up exponentially, yet minimizing every conceivable risk was always the wisest course of action.
"Still, I plan to challenge it soon. Within a week at the latest."
"..."
A weary sigh drifted through the speaker. By now, Yoo Jeongtae seemed almost numb to this caliber of insanity.
"...Understood. May I ask which Ancient ruin you are setting your sights on?"
"I have a few in mind, but I haven't settled on one just yet. Is there any particular ruin I should avoid?"
"No, none at all. Please don't concern yourself with such matters. The only reason we asked you to keep in touch was so we could offer whatever administrative or logistical support you might need."
Yet Jaewoo's response remained unwavering.
"Support won't be necessary. I'll handle the clear on my own."
"Ah... I see..." Yoo Jeongtae sounded thoroughly defeated, robbed of even the slightest excuse to involve the state.
"I'll contact you again once the raid is complete."
"I wish you the utmost success, Hunter Jeon. Should you ever require backing, please reach out to us at any time."
Three days after giving the Commissioner fair warning, Jeon Jaewoo stood before the entrance of the new Ancient-grade ruin alongside his summoned retinue.
"...Alright, let's head in."
"Hooray! Let's go quickly! I can't wait!" Novum cheered.
"All combat preparations are optimal, Creator," Myeolgeop reported in its crisp, mechanical tone.
"Heh-heh. I wonder what manner of curiosities await us inside," the Elder Lich chuckled, its skeletal jaw clattering dryly.
In truth, the only one who had actually spent those three days preparing was Jaewoo himself. Having endured a grueling regimen of physical conditioning while ingesting potent elixirs, he looked thoroughly exhausted as he connected to the Ruin System.
Silent Palace Exploration Objective
📍 Location: Silent Palace (Ancient Grade)
⚔ Clear Condition: Slay the four knights guarding the empty throne. (0/4)
Jaewoo and his party materialized inside the Ancient-grade ruin known as the Silent Palace. True to its name, the environment resembled the grand hall of a medieval fantasy royal palace. Ahead of them stood an empty throne, flanked by four armored figures brandishing weapons: a spear, a sword, a war hammer, and a battleaxe.
They definitely don't look... human.
Nor did they give off the rotting stench of undead like the Elder Lich. Instead, it seemed as though some unknown, ambient sorcery was animating empty suits of full plate armor, giving shape to spectral sentinels.
Before stepping inside, Jaewoo had researched the Silent Palace thoroughly. Countless challengers had entered over the decades and failed, leaving an abundance of detailed reports plastered across hunter forums on the internet. The victory condition was simple: defeat the four knights guarding the vacant throne in sequence.
In all honesty, as far as Ancient-grade ruins went, the combat difficulty wasn't considered insurmountable. Challengers didn't have to face all four knights simultaneously; bound by some archaic chivalric code, the sentinels stepped forward to duel one by one. Despite this, ordinary elite hunters dared not approach the ruin, leaving it uncleared to this day.
The primary culprit behind its undefeated status was its draconian entry restriction: the challenger limit was capped strictly at one person.
A single individual was required to vanquish four terrifyingly powerful knights back-to-back with zero outside assistance. Consequently, the perceived difficulty for any solo hunter was astronomically higher than in a typical Ancient-grade ruin where full strike teams could cooperate. Even hunters endowed with Transcendent-grade traits had eventually collapsed from sheer stamina depletion and were forced to withdraw.
Of course, for Jaewoo, who habitually conquered ruins all by his lonesome anyway, such a restriction was utterly meaningless. If anything, it made this dungeon far easier than other Ancient ruins.
Clank. Clank.
Presently, the knight wielding the spear stepped forward, weapon leveled toward Jaewoo.
Whoa. That looks pretty badass.
As befitting a legendary champion guarding an ancient sovereign, the knight radiated an intimidating aura. Jaewoo couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
I wish Heaven's Box would spit out a loyal knight like that for me.
Yet beneath his admiration lingered a cold dread that made his knees tremble. In the past, his senses had been too dull to even register the gap between himself and such monsters. But now, having consumed high-tier elixirs and undergone rigorous training, his heightened stats allowed him to acutely perceive the vast gulf between their power levels.
"...I really am nothing more than an ant, aren't I?" Jaewoo muttered bitterly.
Relying on Myeolgeop and the Elder Lich to conquer world-altering ruins had apparently inflated his ego, making him feel as though he were someone extraordinary. Confronted by reality, he was swiftly forced to acknowledge his humble place in the food chain.
Overhearing his master's self-deprecating mumble, the Elder Lich patted Jaewoo on the back with a clattering laugh.
"Worry not, Maker! Are you not a super-ant capable of commanding titans? Walk with pride, heh-heh!"
"..."
If that was supposed to be comforting, Jaewoo would have preferred the skeleton had kept its jaw shut.
Regardless of his musings, Myeolgeop stepped forward to handle the spearman. Against a combat golem wielding two Transcendent-grade traits, a solitary spear knight had no hope of victory.
BOOOOOOM!!
From the opening second to the final blow, Myeolgeop completely overwhelmed the sentinel. Without allowing a single thrust or sweep of the spear to touch its chassis, the golem shattered the knight's arms and tore its greaved legs from its torso.
Did that even last three minutes? Seeing it drop within five minutes means clearing one of these knights is easier than tackling a Legendary ruin boss.
Before long, the speared knight disintegrated into scattered shards of metal and collapsed into dust. Even so, the unwavering determination with which it had maintained its stance until its final breath was undeniably striking.
Next, the hammer-wielding knight stepped forward, signaling the resumption of combat. Watching Myeolgeop effortlessly parry the massive war hammer, Jaewoo turned to his skeletal companion.
"Elder Lich. How strong are these knights, exactly?"
"Hmm. They have not crossed the threshold into the Transcendent realm, but they sit right upon the precipice."
"Does that mean they're stronger than you?"
The Elder Lich tilted his skull, watching the duel with keen interest. "Well now... perhaps a half-step above myself. Though naturally, they pale in comparison to our little elemental friend over there."
Glancing over, Jaewoo noticed Novum quietly channeling healing energy into Myeolgeop's chassis without pause. Startled by the continuous light show, Jaewoo spoke up in concern.
"Novum? Is it alright for you to burn mana like that?"
Myeolgeop wasn't in any immediate danger or nursing critical structural damage. Healing traits were notoriously mana-intensive, and mana was a vital resource that needed to be conserved for emergencies.
Novum, however, replied with a cheerful, bubbly chirp.
"Ah, don't worry, Master! My mana never runs out!"
"Huh??" Jaewoo blinked, utterly bewildered. "What do you mean it never runs out? You don't consume mana?"
That defied the fundamental laws of the awakened world. Casting a trait inherently depleted a hunter's personal mana reserves; mana served as the battery of an awakened being, analogous to physical stamina. Beside them, the Elder Lich chuckled softly.
"Maker, have you already forgotten the nature of Novum's Natural Realm trait?"
"I haven't forgotten. But what does that have to do with mana consumption?"
"The Natural Realm trait represents complete assimilation with nature itself. In other words, Novum can directly harness the ambient mana of the planet. Unless this entire celestial sphere runs completely dry of mana, the child possesses an infinite wellspring to draw from."
"..."
Jaewoo's jaw dropped slack.
Ah... so that's what that meant?
It was a Transcendent-grade trait, through and through. Because it wasn't a direct combat ability, he had drastically underestimated Novum's true utility.
This little guy... is the ultimate quartermaster!
With Novum by their side, neither Myeolgeop nor the Elder Lich would ever suffer from combat exhaustion. Empowered by boundless backline support, Myeolgeop tore through the ranks of the spectral sentinels with unrestrained ferocity. In the blink of an eye, even the fourth and final sentinel—the knight of the sword—was shattered to pieces.
"Creator. I have executed your orders," Myeolgeop reported, bowing stiffly.
"Yeah. Outstanding work."
Though he felt somewhat ungrateful for thinking it, the whole raid felt almost anticlimactic.
Compared to the World Tree, this was a walk in the park.
The clear time had been absurdly fast. Commissioner Yoo Jeongtae was bound to have another heart attack once the news broke.
The exploration mission has been completed successfully.
From this moment forth, the Ancient Ruin 'Silent Palace' belongs to Jeon Jaewoo.
A radiant system notification window materialized before his eyes, announcing the successful subjugation of the ruin, accompanied by the very rewards Jeon Jaewoo had been waiting for.