novelraw Chapter 206 : Undead Revive - (2)
Chapter 206 : Undead Revive - (2)
Chapter 206: Undead Revive - (2)
He had been making eye contact with Ashuneri for quite a long time.
He didn't hastily try to touch Ashuneri, nor did he rush the one who was quietly watching him.
He simply observed.
He thought of it as a time for bonding. Since it would be a spirit he would be with, he believed they needed time to grow familiar with each other.
Was it because he had been patient?
The more time passed, the closer Ashuneri drew to Sanghyun.
She climbed onto the back of his hand, sniffed his uniquely human scent, and tickled his fine hair.
One thing was certain—Ashuneri wasn’t an elemental spirit.
Unlike Cindy, who had the lightning attribute and followed Jung Junhyuk, she didn’t possess a specific attribute.
Since Sanghyun didn’t know anything about Ashuneri’s abilities, he quietly waited to grow closer to her.
‘How fascinating.’
It was the first time he had ever observed a spirit this closely.
To begin with, there weren’t many players who could command spirits, and spirits tended to be very attached to their owners.
In Cindy’s case as well, she always stuck to Jung Junhyuk like glue, so he’d never had a chance to observe her up close.
If he could bond with this one, he figured that even going into dungeons alone wouldn’t feel lonely.
However, considering she hadn’t spoken yet, it might be that she couldn’t communicate with words.
Nothing had been confirmed yet, so Sanghyun nervously awaited his first bond with Ashuneri.
He waited like that for about an hour.
Srrr...
Ashuneri gently approached Sanghyun’s cheek and rested her own cheek on his.
Since she was only the size of a fist, her cheek felt like a small tuft of cotton had been pressed there.
It was adorable.
That tiny body had everything it needed. Even the symbols one would expect from a feminine-type spirit.
At that moment—
He heard a voice.
More precisely, it was a voice conveyed through spiritual communication rather than actual sound.
Ashuneri’s mouth, which he could see with his own eyes, was closed. She was simply smiling softly.
Master, huh. It felt odd. Sanghyun couldn’t suppress the corners of his mouth rising and asked with a chuckle,
“Can you understand me when I speak out loud?”
“Ahh...”
Was it that she didn’t want public conversations? Or did she simply prefer quiet exchanges?
Either way, it didn’t really matter, but it was a little disappointing that vocal communication would be difficult.
Then again, it did seem like using thought to relay longer sentences would be more efficient.
Ashuneri extended her hand.
There was no reason to refuse. Spirits were always a plus for players.
They weren’t something you could just find—they were rare. And once you had one, there was no reason to reject them. They were extremely player-friendly beings.
Sanghyun nodded and placed the warmth of his finger on Ashuneri’s small palm.
At that moment—
[A permanent contract with Ashuneri has been established.]
[The Spirit of Salvation, ‘Ashuneri’, will now assist the player with the following abilities.]
[Red Ashuneri – Helps rapidly recover the player’s stamina. Restores up to 100 stamina per second, with a maximum capacity of 1,000.]
[Blue Ashuneri – Helps rapidly recover the player’s mana. Restores up to 50 mana per second, with a maximum capacity of 1,000.]
[The capacity cannot be increased by others or by any external means, and requires thorough rest.]
[If a Legendary-grade Artifact is absorbed by Ashuneri regardless of type or equipment slot, the player will be granted the ability of Flight.]
“That’s incredibly useful. You have amazing abilities, don’t you?”
Sanghyun was amazed.
To put it metaphorically, Ashuneri was like an emergency supply source that could restore both stamina and mana.
You could call her a blood pack or mana supply pack. On top of that, she could even be used for scouting.
That might be a far-off story, though.
If she absorbed a Legendary-grade Artifact, it seemed she would grant the player the ability to fly.
Considering he didn’t even have enough Legendary-grade Artifacts to wear for himself, it would take quite a while, but it was something to look forward to.
Sanghyun asked through their bond.
He couldn’t be satisfied just knowing the options on the surface—he had many questions about Ashuneri.
‘How long does it take to recover stamina and mana?’
‘So, 500.’
‘Okay, got it.’
It seemed it would take about two hours to fully recharge the depleted Ashuneri supply pack(?).
‘You don’t sleep, or you can’t sleep?’
‘That part’s kind of enviable.’
Sanghyun had considered using Ashuneri for scouting, but if she didn’t need to sleep, she could also serve as a lookout.
That meant he could tackle dungeons requiring long-term raids without much burden.
Usually, when entering a dungeon, players often had to sleep in shifts to prepare for unexpected threats.
But if Ashuneri could keep watch over the surroundings, he could trust her alert and sleep deeply.
There was a huge difference between having someone to alert you to danger and not having anyone—especially for a solo player.
Sanghyun asked one more question.
‘What happens if you absorb a Legendary Artifact?’
‘Huh...? So not only do I get the Flight ability, but you can transform into a human too? You grow here?’
‘“Theoretically” means you haven’t actually experienced it yourself, right? There’s not just one Ashuneri in the world, is there?’
In that case...
It seemed Sanghyun was the first person to acquire a spirit from the Ashtaroth Dungeon.
If someone else were to obtain a spirit in the future, it meant that a different one would be waiting for them.
It was likely that even Frederick, who had reportedly cleared the dungeon twice before, hadn’t managed to obtain a spirit.
‘The world’s first, huh.’
He didn’t want to attach an overly grand title to it, but strictly speaking, he was indeed the first in the world.
The player who owned Ashuneri would be the first and last—him alone.
In his previous life, a “world’s first” title had been unattainable for Sanghyun. Not once had he ever experienced it.
But in this life, thanks to the rampaging progress that had begun with his regression, such an opportunity had come.
‘Ashuneri. Let’s talk a lot and get closer. I think I’ll be relying on your abilities quite a bit.’
‘Just don’t bother me while I’m sleeping. Then we’re good.’
Perhaps because of Ashuneri’s calm personality, their conversation didn’t pop or bounce with energy.
But that was actually better.
If they had too much high-energy banter, they might not be able to concentrate when it really mattered.
Just then—
Drrrrk!
His smartphone buzzed with vibration.
It was Han Hyunjeong.
“Yes, this is Shin Sanghyun.”
“Oh? Really?”
It seemed she had secured a seller for the Berserk Charm he had previously requested.
He’d thought it would take a long time, but Han Hyunjeong was indeed Han Hyunjeong. She was internationally capable, too.
Despite its outrageous price, there was one reason Sanghyun was eager for the Berserk Charm.
If he could incorporate the Berserker’s unique destructive aggression, the increase in damage would be massive.
The drawback of the Berserker was its excessive stamina consumption or the need to fight in a weakened state.
To put it simply, the closer they got to death, the stronger Berserkers became. It was their innate and defining trait.
Sanghyun believed that, in the long term, it made more sense to enhance his offense than to focus on stability.
Rather than building on defense, his style leaned toward inflicting status effects and forcing in damage.
So the direction of increasing damage suited his style more. Stability would be a counterproductive concept here.
“Please proceed. My balance is sufficient.”
Sanghyun had estimated the price of the Berserk Charm to be 625 billion won. After all, it was a Legendary-grade Artifact.
If he didn’t have to worry about money at all, he’d have given it to Ashuneri to absorb without hesitation—but he wasn’t quite there yet.
In any case, with just the Berserk Charm—this talisman-type Artifact—he wouldn’t need to make any big expenditures for a while.
“Understood.”
“Then, see you soon.”
The call ended.
Somehow, Sanghyun sensed that Han Hyunjeong was more rushed than usual.
There was this intense urgency to her tone. It was unlike her usual calm demeanor, and it made Sanghyun tilt his head in curiosity.
Was there something else going on?
After taking sufficient rest, Sanghyun rented a nearby training hall and began additional recovery training.
Although it hadn’t been a prolonged battle, the aftermath of the fierce fight with Ashtaroth still lingered.
The term “recovery training” might sound strange, but in fact, it was the most essential kind of training for a player.
Because simply lying in bed and sleeping thoughtlessly didn’t alleviate fatigue and pressure.
In his previous life, he’d only grasped the concept late, but in this life, after regressing, he’d made sure to get it right from the start.
During training—
Sanghyun restructured his thoughts on the two perks that were still on hold.
First was one of the effects mounted on the Nameless Sword—Enlightenment.
This ability raised the skill level of sword-based skills to the maximum level of 20.
Since it boosted the value of a skill so dramatically, it ironically made it even harder to choose when to use it.
He kept telling himself, “I’ll use it when I need it, when I need it,” and ended up hoarding it like aged kimchi.
“Let’s start with skill enhancement, then.”
So he decided to use the skill enhancement option, since his thoughts on that had become clearer.
It was the enhancement he had received at level 300. The ones from level 100 and 200 had been incredibly useful before.
Sanghyun repeatedly added and removed various skills from the enhancement window.
Even without actually enhancing, just placing them in the window allowed him to preview expected changes.
As he carefully examined the list of skills, one stood out for its potential synergy.
『Grip of Blood Drain』
■ Skill Level: Stage 2 (13.3%)
■ With all titles and auxiliary effects applied, recover 2% of max stamina with each monster kill.
Additionally, if 100 seconds pass in a non-combat state without using mana, recover 1 stamina per second.
It was a passive skill.
Grip of Blood Drain was originally a transfusion-type skill that had already been enhanced once.
When enhanced a second time, it would become Grip of Restraint, with solid additional options.
It was an upgrade that could significantly fill the gaps Sanghyun had felt while clearing the Ashtaroth Dungeon.