Solo Max-Level Newbie

Chapter 304: The Passage to Luoyang (2)

Thump! Thump! Thump!

I had waited far too long for this moment.

It felt like decades had passed in anticipation for this weapon’s completion.

‘Finally… I can check it out.’

Luckily, Ma Hae-ryang wasn’t present.

Judging by the signs, it would be a while before she returned.

So…

Jinhyuk took out the greatsword he had received from Orun.

Woosh!

An interspatial gate opened revealing…

The dazzling blade.

[Multiple items have been used as materials for enhancement!]

[The relic that slew the magic dragon awakens!]

[Dragon Slayer Sword, ‘Valmond’ – Purple Grade]

Attack Power: 321,700

Weight: 105kg

Durability: 550,000/550,000

Effects: One of the strongest offensive weapons among the relics below the 49th floor. It can sever dragon scales with a single blow and holding it increases all stats by 10%. (Magic power consumption increases.)

[Special Active ‘Mythical Reproduction’: You can possess the power of the legendary hero Siegfried. The extent of the power reproduced depends on the caster’s capability and growth, and all magic power is exhausted upon use.]

Several changes had been made to Valmond post-repair.

Firstly, with complete durability restoration, the weight increased from 37kg to 105kg.

Squeeze…

A heavy sensation could be felt coursing through his hands.

Even with a Strength stat of 109, the weight of 105kg was challenging to manage.

‘No, it might feel heavier due to the pressure of handling a supreme relic.’

One thing was certain.

It was a pleasantly satisfying heft.

Moreover, the special skill attached to the weapon was the ability to reproduce the epic of a living hero.

A ridiculously powerful effect.

I knew better than anyone that it shouldn’t be possible…

But I couldn’t resist the urge.

My fingers were itching to try it.

“Wow… this is really cool. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Even Elis, with her eyes wide, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Right. She’s likely never seen a weapon of this caliber.

An unimaginable amount of materials were used to craft this.

I had amplified the ‘Catalyst of Decay’, which I bought from the coin exchange before heading to get Valmond, using ‘Intermediate Purification Stones’ and ‘Whispers of Steel’.

That was the groundwork for the enhancement.

Then Orun put his skill to work, using ‘Armor Breaker’ and ‘Grey Heart’ as sacrifices.

Orun must have been overworked during this whole process, not getting proper rest even in his sleep.

“How is it? Does it look good to you?”

“Yeah.”

Elis nodded earnestly.

“Give it to me.”

“…What?”

“It’s a pretty sword, and it would fit perfectly in my collection.”

When you hear something so preposterous, you’re at a loss for words—that’s exactly the situation.

Even Retriever would have done a somersault upon hearing it, right?

Hmm.

“This should be enough for you.”

Luckily, I didn’t throw away the remains of the Armor Breaker that Orun had sent.

A gnarled piece of wire resembling a twig fit perfectly into Elis’ hand.

“…Huh?”

As Elis blankly stared at the twig,

Jinhyuk activated his personal status window.

Ding!

Name: Kang Jinhyuk

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Level: 122

Strength: 109 Agility: 58 Stamina: 67 Magic Power: 273 Rift: 100 Luck: 10 Adaptable: 78 Pure Energy: 82.55

Available Stat Points: 21

Coins: 10,562,377

Job: Master of Runes

Unique Abilities: ‘Fusion’, ‘Sword Grave’, ‘Star’s Blessing’, ‘Judgment of Anubis’, ‘Blood Magic Qi’, ‘Mandala’, ‘1 Second Invulnerability’, ‘Thousand Poisons’, ‘White Beast’, ‘Sharing All Fortunes’, ‘Sun Sanctuary’, ‘Diabolic Heavenly Sovereign’, ‘Triple Magic’, ‘Giant’s Blow’, ‘Dragon’s Breath’, ‘Speed Sword’, ‘Tombgrave’s Right Arm’, ‘Berserker’, ‘Wind Domain’, ‘Shadow Assassination’, ‘Blood Blast’, ‘Black Tears’, ‘Tombgrave’s Leg’, ‘Monster Strength’, ‘Core of the Legion’, ‘Ancient Barrier’

Skills: Too many to display, summary mode enabled.

Having dealt with Abigail, my level increased by 7.

For a clan leader, it’s a tremendous amount of experience.

I’ve risen seven levels in one go despite being in triple digits.

“I’ll invest it all into magic power.”

Given Valmond’s magic consumption, I need to pay more attention to magic power stats.

[Magic Power will increase from 273 to 294!]

[There are new items stored in the interspatial inventory. Would you like to check them?]

Among the items that I acquired right before losing my memory, there wasn’t a single easy one.

The most eye-catching was certainly the weapon Abigail used.

The Levistia family’s supreme magical artifact.

‘The Scythe of the Phantom Tree.’

A relic with overwhelming power both in close combat attacks and using hemorrhaging magic.

I couldn’t imagine the synergy it would create when used in conjunction with Elis’ abilities thanks to ‘Sharing All Fortunes’.

‘I knew the drop rate was atrociously low, practically 0%… monopolizing skills truly are a game-changer.’

The effect of getting the best drops allowed me to obtain relics I could only dream of before.

But just as I was about to check the scythe,

“…!”

I sensed that Ma Hae-ryang was rapidly returning.

‘I’ll have to check out the rest of the items later.’

I closed the status window.

It wasn’t long before Ma Hae-ryang returned, having finished her business.

“I took care of a few dangers for us. I handled them rather well.”

Her face beamed pleasantly, which was utterly disgusting.

Because I knew too well what she was capable of.

Her sleeve concealed something squirming subtly.

A creature feared even among martial artists.

The ‘Loneliness’.

‘It’s as I thought; she wanted to acquire the Loneliness that inhabits this passage.’

Yin and Yang.

The pair of parasitic entities possess a rather unique mechanism. If the victim consumes Yang, the Yang immediately finds a place in the victim’s brain.

‘In the event of a betrayal or disobedience, it releases unbearable neurological toxins promptly.’

It’s not something the will of man can endure.

This power has forced even lifelong martial artists to betray their sects and clans.

Moreover,

Loneliness caught in this place, steeped in negative energy, would be even more potent.

Ma Hae-ryang had purposely guided us here to feed us the Loneliness.

＊＊＊

‘Hehehe. This greenhorn, skilled as he may be, is merely my prey once he’s entered this place. Just thinking of him shaking in terror gets me thrilled.’

Ma Hae-ryang smirked inwardly.

This passage was built for the royal family to escape in the event of an enemy invasion into the palace.

During urgent circumstances, the traps wouldn’t activate, enabling safe passage for the royalty, but like now during peacetime, numerous deadly traps would become active.

It was to prevent those with malicious intentions from entering.

Of course, Ma Hae-ryang knew the location of each trap inside out.

‘No matter how clever they are, if I time it when they’re focusing on evading a trap, they will have to succumb to the Loneliness.’

The so-called double trap.

Using this method, he had subjugated over ten masters to the forces of the Thousand Demon Cult.

‘Foolishly acting as if he’s walking on air – but there won’t be a next time.’

He was determined to finish the job next time.

Ma Hae-ryang hobbled on, limping forward.

As we ventured deeper, we reached the site of the second trap.

Nine total.

Corridors sprawling like an anthill greeted everyone.

Camouflaged talismans, colored to match the dirt, were also carefully hidden from sight.

“There are a lot of passages. Do you know which way to go?”

“It doesn’t matter. Beyond there, I smell sweet blood that’s hard to resist.”

“Hey.”

“…Oh my, no. I mean, these dark corridors are so scary. Will you protect me?”

Elis clung to Jinhyuk’s arm, making a fuss.

Her over-the-top shrieking was ridiculous.

I’ll never have her act again.

“I know the location. However, due to my injured leg, I can’t lead the way. If you follow the third corridor straight on, you should be able to reach Luoyang soon.”

“Let’s do that then.”

Jinhyuk took the lead.

Straight towards the corridor with the Cliff-Edge Formation.

And closely behind him followed Elis.

He fell for it.

Now was the perfect chance to create an opening.

No matter how agile he was, he couldn’t protect both his ceremonial partner and himself at the same time.

Ma Hae-ryang clenched his teeth, preparing to pull out the Loneliness once more.

When his quarry lost balance and clung to the edge of the cliff, that would be the prime moment to administer Loneliness.

However…

Step.

Once more, Jinhyuk stopped right before the formation was about to activate.

Just a bit more.

Merely a cun (about 3 cm) away was all that was needed.

Yet he stopped right there, as if he was playing a joke.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Just a moment. My legs are a bit sore from walking so much.”

“…We need to hurry if we are to arrive before sunrise.”

“I understand, but my legs don’t seem to get the message. What? One more step and they might go on strike?”

There was no choice.

While he was spouting nonsense, I had to push him from behind.

Ma Hae-ryang slowly approached Jinhyuk’s back, who was talking to his legs.

And he reached out with no hesitation.

But just before his palms touched his back,

Jinhyuk vanished.

“Oh, my back. Maybe I’ll just sit down for a bit and then go… wait, why are you here?”

“AAAAAAAAH!”

Boom!

Ma Hae-ryang, who had fallen off the cliff, squirmed with his entire body.

He was lucky to be alive.

Only thanks to his profound inner strength. If it were any ordinary person, their body would have turned to dust.

But the excruciating pain throughout his body was inescapable.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Deep groans escaped Ma Hae-ryang’s mouth.

Had his luck been that bad?

Something had gone disastrously wrong.

“Are you alright? You seem to be in quite some pain… You didn’t get hurt too badly, did you?”

“Do I look alright to you, you rotten… Huh?”

That thought flashed through Ma Hae-ryang’s mind.

The concerned face of Jinhyuk looking down from above.

Somehow, it seemed like he was faintly smiling.

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