Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Impossible Achievement Rewards
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Heaven-Destroying Peng Bird Fist.
The moment that technique, more than worthy of being called the death knell for the attacking party players gathered at the Demon King Castle, came crashing down...
Their defeat was sealed.
Of course, those who had managed to veer slightly off the attack's path or had particularly solid defenses barely clung to life—
"Kill each other from now on."
"Kuh! Damn it, the alliance ends here!"
"You crazy bastard!"
"This is the only way to minimize the penalties!"
"Kill! Kiiillll!!!"
Reduced to rags, they chose to attack their injured comrades right beside them—in fact, now former comrades—rather than the unscathed Shin-hyeok.
Honestly speaking, they had no chance of winning against him anyway.
So instead of futilely charging at Shin-hyeok and being the first to perish, it made more sense to devour the easier prey nearby and stand atop their corpses.
Of course, it still left them in the gutter, but humans were creatures that formed hierarchies and discriminated even at rock bottom.
"Haha, I... I won—"
"Yeah, good job. Now die."
"......Gah!"
Without even letting the last surviving player revel in their joy, Shin-hyeok fired a magic spear that pierced straight through their chest. Right before his eyes, message windows popped up in a cascade.
"......Whoa. Accomplishing a 0% completion rate achievement. The rewards should be something to look forward to."
The rewards weren't even fully settled yet, but some things you could tell without seeing them.
Shin-hyeok was certain that at the moment the delayed settlement finished, an overwhelming reward unlike any he'd seen before would come his way.
"You okay?"
"Kuh, do I look okay?"
"Just asking politely. Here, take this."
"......Another one of these, huh. Not that I can complain, but the taste is awful."
"I know. But the effect is good, right?"
"Can't deny that. I'll just drink it."
Gulp!
Tarkan, who had single-handedly defended the Demon King Castle in Shin-hyeok's absence, grimaced as he downed Baek Hyo-rin's special recovery potion. But only for a moment.
"I was able to uphold a warrior's honor. A warrior's honor is originally upheld and perfected in battle against the strong. Death by a mob of the weak is as ignoble as dying on a sickbed."
"I'm no warrior, so I wouldn't know. Still, glad you're fine. It's a pain to resummon familiars if they die."
"Expensive help, aren't I?"
Familiars were a tremendous power that let you summon powerful players as subordinates anytime, but death came with hefty penalties in return.
Not only permanent stat reductions, but resummoning required special items that nullified death, which weren't cheap even in the Achievement Shop—and Shin-hyeok needed to conserve them as much as possible.
As he bantered idly with Tarkan,
"Oh, settlement's done."
"I'm looking forward to it. An achievement with 0% completion rate. Everyone knows how insane the rewards must be."
The settlement was complete.
It had taken about ten minutes, but Shin-hyeok could've waited hours, days if needed.
"This feels kinda meh."
"......Calling a Legendary Weapon Selection Ticket and three Legendary Material Selection Tickets 'meh.' Your threshold for excitement is completely broken."
"Tarkan. Once you get rewards like mine, even this will feel meh."
"I've never felt that way in the past, nor will I in the future."
"True. I'm one of a kind."
"......Don't you hear 'bad luck' a lot?"
Shin-hyeok ignored the AI-like piercing question and pocketed the rewards.
They were better than the Integrated Silver League ones, sure, but after the massive rewards he'd gotten since then, he wasn't particularly thrilled.
Still, he couldn't help the rising anticipation.
And the system's next messages didn't betray him.
"......Insane."
"......Is this really the reward list for one person?"
"We have to pick two out of five, but... this is no joke."
"Heh, unbelievable."
Five choices.
It was maddening how dazzling the list was, knowing he could only pick two.
"Never heard of a Trait Creation Ticket in my life. You know anything?"
"Me neither. Traits come from constellations or you're born with them—that's all I know."
"Same here. This one's a must-pick."
"Then the rest is the issue."
Trait Creation Ticket: Grants the authority to create a trait.
Shin-hyeok decided that one was non-negotiable and eyed the others carefully.
"S-Grade Skill, huh... That's good, but..."
"What are you agonizing over? You handle multiple skills already. A new S-Grade would expand what you can do. Worried you can't handle it?"
"Not that. The opposite. I have ways to massively upgrade my current skills' grades. Even accelerate their growth. So this is just getting ahead of my eventual potential."
"Hm, fair enough. An extra S-Grade wouldn't change much for you now anyway. You'd conquer Platinum—and even Diamond—without it."
"Exactly. Pass on this one."
The second reward, S-Grade Skill Selection Ticket.
Great reward, but ambiguous for Shin-hyeok.
Winning this Integrated Gold League meant he'd promote to Platinum.
That would unlock Trait: Late Bloomer, massively boosting his traits.
With Trait: Versatile on top, elevating his grown B- and A-Grade traits to S-Grade wouldn't be too hard.
Well, it would be hard.
Even Shin-hyeok had taken ages to acquire so-called Challenger-grade S-Grade skills.
But he boldly excluded it.
"Legendary Grade Physique... I know a few."
"Our side has records too."
"Effects?"
"Why tell you? You know. Legendary Physiques live up to the name. They let you reach the pinnacle in one aspect. Holders were near-top or absolute top at any stage—early, mid, or late game."
"Same thoughts exactly."
Next up: Legendary Grade Physique Gacha Ticket.
Neither Shin-hyeok nor Tarkan knew them inside out, but one thing was clear.
Legendary Physique holders reached the apex in their talent's domain.
Hence their immense power.
But there was a catch.
"The 'gacha' part bugs me."
"Yeah... You're already a complete warrior and martial artist. You know your path better than anyone and have laid all the groundwork. A random Legendary Physique might derail that."
"Right. Especially since many come with heavy penalties proportional to their power. Factoring that in, gacha's risky."
"Agreed. Suited for those without a foundation or still building one. Unnecessary for someone entering completion."
"Good, skip it."
Not selection, but gacha—random.
Unlike his other physiques, this one might not synergize or support his existing ones.
Even a great weapon is worthless if it doesn't fit your hand.
And bodies were far harder to swap than weapons.
"Legendary Grade Elixir Selection Ticket. This one's solid."
"Indeed."
"Especially the 'selection' part. No risk of something counterproductive."
"Planning to take it?"
"Not bad... but unnecessary."
"Why? These aren't easy to get—"
"My girl could craft Legendary Elixirs if given time."
"......What?"
"It'd take ages, tons of materials, and even then, inferior to reward ones... But a Legendary is a Legendary. Master it once, and she could produce them regularly—quantity could match quality."
"......What kind of monsters infest your dimension?"
"Eh, ours is lower-mid. Bottom-tier eventually."
Thanks to Hyo-rin, who could craft Legendaries, the ticket lost much appeal.
Future event he'd already seen pre-regression, so Shin-hyeok passed without hesitation.
Separate from Tarkan's disbelief, it was absurd their dimension started at Iron Placement and barely hit Bronze over time, becoming bottom-tier.
Anyway, passing on the Legendary Elixir left one option.
"Mythic Grade Material Gacha Ticket. This it is."
"Mm, Mythic... Worth it."
"Treasures of lower dimensions, invaluable even in higher ones. Especially as material—not a finished product—so gacha's fine."
"Settled then. Legendary Grade Trait Creation Ticket and Mythic Grade Material Gacha Ticket."
"Yeah. These two."
Mythic Grade Material Gacha Ticket.
The only one with 'Mythic' stamped on it—Shin-hyeok's choice was obvious.
The moment he selected:
"Achievement Points too. Must've been fixed, not on the list."
"A million. Most players never see that much at once."
"Impossible achievement, so yeah. Feels stingy even. But freebies—gotta take 'em."
Another reward: 1,000,000 Achievement Points, and placement in Platinum 5.
Which meant something simple.
The moment Shin-hyeok's overwhelming potential unlocked.