Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: All Master Regressed to Bronze
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"As expected, it's magic."
Shin-hyeok's choice was magic.
Typically, players had several paths to choose from, but they could be broadly categorized into just a few.
Among them, the two frontrunners were swordsmanship and magic.
Naturally, before his regression.
Shin-hyeok, known as the All Master or Infinite Emperor, had wielded magic as well.
No, he had surpassed mere proficiency.
He wielded magic potent enough to hold its own even in Challenger Tier.
Even the Demon Emperor Robert Jason—one of the current Two Emperors—had been like a child before Shin-hyeok at the peak of his power. That said it all.
In any case, having acquired the magic skill, Shin-hyeok lightly cast spells to regain his feel for it.
"Fire Ball."
Whoosh!
B-rank magic was called ball-type magic.
It compressed various elemental powers into a 'ball' form, boasting tremendous destructive power and explosive force.
Especially crucial was that Shin-hyeok possessed special energies like demonic qi and holy power.
Sizzle!
A jet-black Fire Ball.
This was the change brought by demonic qi.
It might seem like just a color shift, but with the intensely destructive demonic qi infused, its power effectively doubled.
BOOM!
One could tell just from the explosive force of the casually tossed Fire Ball.
Confirming it matched his expectations, Shin-hyek nodded briefly.
"Hmm, but now I have holy power too. I wonder what happens if I mix them."
Unlike his previous life, Shin-hyeok now possessed holy power as well.
Holy power, which he couldn't have due to its opposition to demonic qi.
The moment he infused it into a Fire Ball and hurled it.
Fwoosh!
"...Hoo, interesting. Just being in these flames heals you. Priests and clerics might not even be necessary."
The area was engulfed in pure white flames.
And those pristine white flames didn't burn—they healed.
Delighted by this intriguing discovery, Shin-hyeok was satisfied with the new approach.
"Time to wrap up the rewards."
There were still plenty of reward chests left to open.
Unique-grade material selection.
Unique-grade equipment selection.
Legendary-grade material selection.
Legendary-grade equipment selection.
And finally, trait selection.
To gobble them all up, he needed to get moving.
For the Unique-grade material selection, Shin-hyeok chose Demonic Steel.
The very same Demonic Steel he'd used once before to craft a demonic spear.
"Repairing the demonic spear won't work with mana crystals alone. Plus, Demonic Steel is hard to come by."
This was to repair the demonic spear now in Se-jin's hands.
Being infused with demonic qi, Demonic Steel was managed at the national level, making it tough to obtain externally.
One would have to scour black markets or the underworld, which was a hassle—and even if available, villains from the Villain Alliance, Pandemonium, or demon worshippers would snatch it up.
In any event, after tossing the hefty Demonic Steel into his inventory.
"Hmm, something useful in Unique-grade... Ah, this one."
Rifling through the Unique-grade equipment selection, Shin-hyeok soon found a bracelet.
"This should cover a good chunk of my mana shortage."
Mana Recharge Bracelet.
As the name implied, it was a bracelet for storing mana—essentially a power bank.
With capacity for mana equivalent to 5,000 stats, it would prove incredibly useful.
With this, mana shortages would be a rarity.
Moreover, its Unique Skill, Mana Release, which expelled all stored mana in a massive explosion, made for a solid trump card.
It might feel a bit limited around Challenger Tier, but that was unavoidable.
To remain a surefire card even there, it needed to be at least Legendary grade.
More importantly—
"Ha, even I'm a bit excited about this."
Shin-hyeok now held cards that would grant him Legendary-grade items, rendering the capacity issue moot.
Even the great Shin-hyeok felt a thrill at the immense value of these two.
He decided to pick the material first.
"Make the demonic spear top-tier, or upgrade the holy sword to Legendary...?"
Shin-hyeok's options were two: demonic spear or holy sword.
A single Legendary material was enough to craft a Legendary-grade weapon.
But stacking two or three could yield even better options—that was the dilemma.
"If I slam in two Legendary materials and plenty of Unique-grade ones, I could even hit Legendary+."
Legendary+ grade.
He knew well from Unique+ how vast the gap of a single plus could be.
Especially at higher tiers, where the value doubled or more.
Of course, other factors mattered too.
"But no matter how good Legendary+ is, it's not better than wearing two separate Legendaries."
Two Legendaries trumped one Legendary+.
One or two.
After much deliberation, Shin-hyeok made his call.
"Demonic spear it is."
The demonic spear.
That was Shin-hyeok's choice.
There were several reasons for picking the demonic spear.
First, once a weapon was crafted, upgrading its grade was extremely difficult.
In other words, better to craft it right the first time.
Second, he lacked proper techniques for holy power.
If there were unique skills like the Heavenly Demon Divine Art that relied solely on holy power, maybe—but without them, no real reason to prioritize the holy sword.
And third—
"Legendary materials? I can hunt down more soon enough."
No matter how rare, they were still just materials.
With his current abilities, Shin-hyeok was confident he could acquire another Legendary material before long.
"Wasting the holy sword on just blessed intent would be a shame. Might as well make it Legendary+ too."
He already had another Legendary material set aside for the holy sword.
With his decision made, Shin-hyeok swiftly scanned the Legendary materials.
Skimming demonic-aligned or complementary ones, he soon settled on one.
"Rune it is."
Rune.
More precisely, Skill Rune—a material that permanently embedded a skill into equipment upon crafting.
Rune effects varied by grade, with some Unique+, Legendary+ exclusives adding to their rarity.
And the one Shin-hyeok chose was—
The Rune of Killing Blow.
Its effect was simple.
Perfect destruction befitting the name Killing Blow—that was the power of the Rune of Killing Blow.
"Pairing it with Heavenly Demon Divine Art techniques like Soul Sever or Wind Demon... I can't even imagine the power."
Mighty even alone, but combined with Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Even Shin-hyeok couldn't predict the extent.
With the Legendary material decided, Shin-hyeok moved straight to Legendary equipment.
"Accessory... accessory..."
Naturally, his choice was an accessory again.
From Legendary grade onward, the bonus effects on accessories were absurd— an obvious pick.
A ring that doubled Strength stats instantly.
A necklace called Lake of Mana that skyrocketed mana recovery for a duration.
A Sage's Bracelet with reduced casting time, boosted spell power, and solid mana recovery.
From Legendary up, every piece dramatically amplified Shin-hyeok's combat power.
"Hmm, everything's hyper-specialized... I'd prefer something versatile across skills and situations, even if slightly less potent."
Yet for Shin-hyeok, each felt lacking in some way.
His strength lay in deploying diverse skills situationally.
Specialized accessories had their uses, but regrets lingered.
Then, one item caught his eye.
"Plus Ultra Ring. Not bad at all."
Plus Ultra Ring.
A piece he'd never seen before, but its effects rivaled the best he'd encountered.
On the surface, the Plus Ultra Ring had trash-tier options.
All Stats +1 was worse than common-grade gear.
And the no-unequip clause made it the worst equipment imaginable.
"Legendary? This?"—one might think.
But its Unique Skill overshadowed everything.
"Haha, this is insane."
Transcendence.
A mad skill that propelled one skill to the next level.
Limited to A-rank or below—no pushing S-rank further—but still incredibly satisfying.
S-rank skills held up even in Challenger Tier.
With that, Shin-hyeok selected the Plus Ultra Ring without a backward glance.
As if someone might steal it, he equipped it immediately, then eyed the final ticket in his hand.
"Whew, here we go."
Riiip!
The main course.
Tearing the Trait Selection Ticket without hesitation, a lineup of traits appeared before Shin-hyeok.
"Traits only up to Unique-grade, huh. Well, even this is plenty."
Disappointing that it topped at Unique, but still impressive enough.
Shin-hyeok scrolled rapidly through the offered traits.
"Traits fit for Two Emperors, Five Kings, or promising stars everywhere."
Regret over no Legendaries faded quickly.
The sheer quality lineup brought a satisfied smile.
From then on, Shin-hyeok racked his brains, sifting traits furiously.
Drawing on pre-regression knowledge, his pick was—
"This'll do nicely."
He selected the trait called Observing Eye.
It allowed visually perceiving energy flows normally invisible, and even viewing a player's full status window.
Of course, the noted penalty required caution, but its effects rendered it negligible.
With all rewards settled, Shin-hyeok logged out with a light heart.
Separate from his eased mind, the world outside was exploding in chaos.
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