Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Peradora
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It was an abandoned warehouse, far from the town.
Inside were two coffins, draped in cloth.
The guide personally uncovered them and opened the coffins to reveal the bodies.
Upon seeing them, Wang-sik clenched his fists without realizing it.
His friend who had gone by the name Jeong-myeong was little more than a head, his body torn to shreds. His other friend, Min-yeong, had only half her face left.
At the gruesome sight, Wang-sik had to grit his teeth and suppress his rage.
“They were found abandoned in the swamp. They were already in this state when we discovered them.”
Wang-sik simply nodded in response.
“I’ll be outside for a moment.”
The guide, having been through this several times before, placed a wooden box on the floor and withdrew.
“I’m sorry I was late.”
Tears streamed from his closed eyes as he tried to compose himself.
After a short while, he placed the two mangled bodies into the box and hoisted it onto his back.
“Let’s go home now.”
He spoke, but there was no reply.
Returning home, Wang-sik left the log cabin and walked to the western side of the uninhabited island.
Past the dense trees, the view suddenly opened up, and a clearing filled with the sound of waves appeared.
A hill overlooking the sea.
It was a cemetery.
202 graves.
More than half of them were empty.
And today, two more were added.
Wang-sik dug the graves himself, buried the bodies, and then carved their names onto a gravestone on one side.
Names no one but he would remember.
That was why he couldn't give up.
“Rest in peace.”
After setting up the gravestones, Wang-sik’s eyes grew cold and subdued.
His face devoid of emotion, he headed for the gate in the basement.
The emotions that had been frozen solid churned violently as he passed through the gate.
Leaving the laboratory and arriving in the Decartes Mountains, Wang-sik unleashed his fury.
With a roar, a giant heart materialized in the sky.
The Pulse of Hatred echoed across the land of monsters.
*Kuaaa!*
A nearby monster reacted instantly, charging at Wang-sik.
From that moment, Wang-sik began a desperate battle.
Even as a giant’s fist aimed for his head and the sharp claws of a beast raked his body, Wang-sik did not stop.
Giant Munk.
Great Mantis.
Fire Bee.
Dark Worm.
Devil Tiger.
Each was a dangerous, A-rank monster. And the Decartes Mountains was a place where such monsters swarmed endlessly.
*Crash!*
Wang-sik’s shield struck the head of a Devil Tiger with black horns.
It was a powerful blow, but the Devil Tiger was only pushed back for a moment before it roared and charged with even greater ferocity.
As Wang-sik blocked the attack with his shield, a searing pain shot through his back.
The foreleg of a Giant Mantis, a praying mantis-type monster, had sliced him.
The attack tore through his sturdy armor, and bright red blood began to flow.
Still, Wang-sik did not stop.
*Crash! Crash!*
His shield relentlessly struck a single monster. If once wasn't enough, he struck twice; if twice wasn't enough, he kept counterattacking until it fell.
How much time had passed?
There were no more monsters attacking him.
“Hah. Hah.”
Panting heavily, Wang-sik was still on his feet.
“So stupid…”
There was no joy in victory.
“I have to stay calm.”
Only self-reproach remained. He had tried so hard, yet the sight of his friends’ mangled bodies had made him lose control again.
Composing himself, Wang-sik looked up at the sky.
A picturesque sunset spread across the sky as it transitioned into night.
“I’ll make you regret it. I’ll return everything you’ve done right back to you on this land.”
Wang-sik’s blazing heart finally cooled.
Until the ten days promised to Jackal were up, Wang-sik continued to hunt in the Decartes Mountains.
Unlike the first day, he used the blood of monsters to lure others, ensuring safer hunts.
When his stamina ran low, he returned to the laboratory or his island home to rest, and he was even more cautious at night when undead monsters appeared.
With one day left of the promised ten, Wang-sik was in the middle of a battle against two giants.
Dodging a club the size of a human body, he first broke the Giant Munk’s knee before circling around to aim for its head.
Having faced these monsters hundreds of times, Wang-sik had no trouble taking down the two giants.
Just as he confirmed the giants were no longer moving and took out a knife from his inventory to harvest their mana stones…
—Mark of the Guardian has evolved.
It was a message he hadn't heard in a whole year.
—Mark of the Guardian will be changed to Will of the Guardian.
An intense blue light erupted from his body.
The fatigue that had filled his body vanished completely, and he felt his muscles tighten.
The blue light transformed the tattoo etched on his body into a more complex pattern before slowly beginning to fade.
When the light disappeared, Wang-sik stood with his eyes closed, a look of comfort on his face.
—Will of the Guardian (Evolution Stage 3)
—Finger Chain 3rd Circle
—Guardian Skin 3rd Circle
—Fear Detection 3rd Circle
—Fear Search 3rd Circle
—Guardian Illusion 3rd Circle unlocked
All his skills had risen by one circle.
On Earth, items and skills were indicated by levels, but on the Azelan Continent, they were marked by circles.
This was proof that he had acquired Will of the Guardian on the Azelan Continent.
Since Guardian Skin and Fear Detection were passive skills, he could immediately feel their enhanced effects.
Finger Chain, on the other hand, was an active skill and needed to be checked.
—Finger Chain 3rd Circle
—1st Circle Effect: Chain durability enhancement
—2nd Circle Effect: Chain length increase
—3rd Circle Effect: Inflicts lethargy effect on target
For the first time, Finger Chain had gained a special effect.
It was a debuff that lowered an opponent's physical abilities.
“Excellent.”
He was also pleased with the new skill, Guardian Illusion.
Feeling as though he had been rewarded for all the time he had endured, Wang-sik was able to smile for the first time in a long while.
“Well then, shall we get going?”
It was time to find the Peradora he had so desperately wanted.
Jackal placed an object as large as himself on the table and slowly removed the cloth covering it.
“Peradora. A relic left behind by the greatest holy knight in history when he ascended to the Heavenly Realm.”
Wang-sik barely suppressed a gasp of awe. The item Jackal revealed was that striking.
It was a suit of golden armor that brightly illuminated the dark room.
The patterns engraved all over the armor exuded a sacred aura, and the gems glittering with unique colors in various spots were the work of the finest artisans and priests.
Moreover, it perfectly suited Wang-sik’s tastes.
‘Gold!’
He didn't even need an explanation; the aura emanating from the armor alone told him it was a Mythic-grade item that surpassed Legendary.
On the Azelan Continent, the criteria for grading items were different.
What was considered S-rank on Earth was called Legendary-grade here, and above that was another tier: Mythic-grade.
Equipment from Earth was incapable of measuring Mythic-grade items, and Wang-sik’s shield was one such piece of equipment.
Items that surpassed even Mythic-grade were said to exist—relics left behind from the war between the Heavenly and Demonic Realms.
Sacred Relics and Corrupted Relics.
Items that Wang-sik had yet to see with his own eyes.
“Now it’s your turn to show me the Tears of Necris.”
Jackal pressed him with a low, growling voice.
Failure to produce the Tears of Necris here would mean making an enemy of the entire black market.
Fortunately, that didn't happen.
Pretending to reach into his coat, Wang-sik pulled the item from his inventory.
The magnificent necklace transformed Jackal’s scowl into a look of astonishment.
That reaction raised a question in Wang-sik’s mind.
‘Why does he want an item like this so badly?’
On Earth, it was A-rank; on Azelan, it wasn't even Legendary, merely Heroic-grade.
Curious, Wang-sik checked its options again and doubted his own eyes.
—Tears of Necris
—A token of promise containing the power of the water spirit, Undine
—Underwater Breathing
The options were different from what he had seen on Earth.
An option related to Undine, the highest-ranking water spirit, had been added.
‘Why?’
Spirits were beings that transcended dimensions, so it wasn't likely to be a restriction unique to Earth.
There seemed to be some other condition, but he had no time to investigate. Jackal’s expression was turning sharp again.
‘Peradora is more important to me anyway.’
As a tanker, the option was useless to him anyway, so he dismissed his curiosity and handed over the Tears of Necris.
Jackal examined it for a long time to verify its authenticity, then nodded.
“Request complete. Confirmed.”
It was the moment he acquired another Mythic-grade item.
—Peradora
Passive
—5th Circle Holy Shield
—5th Circle Holy Skin
—4th Circle Stamina Increase
—4th Circle Strength Increase
—7th Circle Dark Resistance
Active
—Holy Light
—Unholy Strike
On his way back to the Decartes Mountains, Wang-sik checked Peradora's stats several times.
The Stamina and Strength increases were two circles higher than his previous armor, and the destructive power of the two active skills was also satisfying.
But the most impressive thing about Peradora was that Holy Shield and Holy Skin, which should have been active skills, were passive. In other words, they were always active.
This was Peradora's true value. And there was one more thing that had captured Wang-sik’s heart.
“A man’s got to have gold.”
Acquiring his second Mythic-grade item put Wang-sik in high spirits.
“I’d like to test it in a real fight.”
As Wang-sik walked toward the laboratory in the Decartes Mountains, a certain being came to mind.
“I know just the guy.”
Wang-sik changed direction and headed into the deep forest.
Though the forest was as dense as a jungle, strangely, no threatening monsters appeared.
There were dangers from poisonous insects and man-eating plants, but they posed no problem for Wang-sik.
As he crossed the jungle, he began to hear a sound following him.
The sound grew louder, becoming a heavy thudding that vibrated the ground, but it never attacked him.
The vibrations stopped when Wang-sik entered a wide clearing.
The clearing felt like a natural colosseum built in the middle of the jungle.
*Thump!*
Wang-sik took out his shield and slammed it hard on the ground. In response, something appeared from the opposite side, knocking down a massive tree as if in annoyance.
“Quite the temper.”
*Kuaaaah!*
The creature that appeared with a roar was a giant gorilla that stood five meters tall even in a crouched position.
A Giant Iron Gorilla.
This one, the ruler of this territory, was called Big Iron.
Big Iron rose to its full height, let out another roar, and charged at Wang-sik.
Wang-sik didn't back down, running toward the gorilla.
“Today will be different.”
This was their seventh encounter.
*Crash!*
The gorilla’s iron-like skin and Wang-sik’s shield collided, creating a whirlwind that kicked up the surrounding dust.
From then on, it was a brawl.
*Crash! Crash! Crash!*
Thunderous booms echoed, but neither of them budged an inch.
The gorilla’s attacks were blocked by the shield, and Wang-sik’s attacks were blocked by the gorilla’s skin.
As if in a battle of pride, they held their ground and continued to trade blows.
“How’s this? A little different, right?”
Wang-sik could clearly feel the effect of the Mythic-grade item.
The impact he felt on his body was incomparably less than before. Furthermore, the automatically activating Holy Shield gave him more opportunities to counterattack.
Unlike in the past, when he had to move around and employ various strategies, he could now hold his ground.
It was a moment that proved Peradora’s performance. It was a Mythic-grade item for a reason.
“And I didn't just change my item, you know.”
The 3rd stage evolution of Will of the Guardian had made Wang-sik’s body even tougher.
“Alright. Let’s go at it for real.”
As if sensing Wang-sik’s change, Big Iron began to attack more aggressively.
*Crash! Crash! Crash!*
Fierce vibrations filled the clearing, and whirlwinds kicked up dozens of times.
But even after ten minutes, there was no clear winner.
Wang-sik, who had started the fight with high spirits, had to admit his judgment was wrong.
The item he had changed was his armor.
It didn't increase his attack power.
‘A damn tanker fight.’
They both unleashed fierce attacks, but their defenses held up much more easily.
Tanker versus tanker.
Big Iron was a tanker, too.
And an exceptional one at that, strong enough to rule a territory in the Decartes Mountains.
Most monsters would be turned to pulp by Big Iron’s fists, but Wang-sik’s defense surpassed that.
They both had enough defense to block each other’s attacks, but neither had the attack power to bring the other down.
Thirty minutes passed.
The only change was that their breathing had become rougher.
An hour passed.
Sweat drenched their bodies, but nothing else had changed.
“Aargh!”
*Guooooh!*
The frustration was mutual.
It was always like this.
They had to back down before reaching their limits.
Wang-sik, for a safe return, and Big Iron, to protect his position as the alpha.
Among the Giant Iron Gorilla species, the strongest becomes the leader.
Even now, fifty of his kin were watching this fight from the edge of the clearing.
If Big Iron exhausted himself, even if he managed to push Wang-sik back, he wouldn't be able to win the fight for leadership among his own kind.
It was a rule of their species that a challenge must always be accepted, so he had to stop at an appropriate point.
This was why Wang-sik sought out Big Iron to fight whenever he grew stronger. He could accurately gauge his own limits and growth.
“Shall we call it a day?”
Now, it wasn't Wang-sik being pushed back; they were evenly matched. As if understanding this, Big Iron snorted heavily and stopped his attack.
*Thump!*
Big Iron took a step back and beat his chest loudly to shake off his frustration.
The pounding had the power to awaken primal instincts, like a tanker's taunt. But it had no effect on Wang-sik.
“If you don’t get stronger, I’ll win next time.”
Big Iron turned away roughly. Then, he reached a hand up into a tree, grabbed something, and threw it.
*Whoosh!*
Wang-sik instinctively snatched the object as it cut through the air.
A giant yellow banana.
It was Big Iron’s favorite snack.
It was so large that in Wang-sik’s hand, it looked like a club.
“What’s this?”
Big Iron disappeared into the forest without answering.
“Is this your way of acknowledging me?”
A strange feeling washed over him.
The first time he met Big Iron, they had fought for their lives. But just when he thought he had reached his limit, Big Iron had given up the fight.
The next time, he had lasted a little longer, and by meeting and fighting each time he grew, he had now reached a similar level.
“Have I grown attached to a monster?”
Wang-sik found his own thought absurd and let out a chuckle before leaving the clearing.
As if on Big Iron’s orders, no monsters attacked him on his way out of the territory.
‘I need to get stronger.’
Wang-sik didn’t go to a dungeon this time either.
A short while later, a giant heart appeared in the sky over the Decartes Mountains, luring monsters.
“Phew.”
After finishing all his planned training, Wang-sik returned home and went straight to the storage room in the corner of the gate room.
Inside the storage room were six sacks. Wang-sik walked over to the one that was not yet full.
He took black stones from his inventory and transferred them, and the empty sack was soon filled.
Mana Stones.
The life force contained within the monsters of the Azelan Continent.
Others obtained them by catching monsters that invaded through gates, but Wang-sik brought them back by hunting them himself.
Moreover, they were mana stones from the Decartes Mountains, boasting the highest purity.
“I should sell some of these.”
The drawer of gold bars in the cabinet was starting to look empty. Wang-sik placed one full sack into his inventory.