novelraw Chapter 231 : Endless Dungeon (3)
Chapter 231 : Endless Dungeon (3)
Chapter 231: Endless Dungeon (3)
“Level 370…”
Each floor increased the average level by 10. After clearing the first floor, his level had risen from 330 to 370.
Even just the level gain was enough to leave one’s jaw hanging, but there had also been changes in his Artifacts.
「Talisman of Mana Recovery」
■ Artifact Grade: Epic
■ Artifact Description: A talisman that helps recover mana by multiplying the final mana recovery coefficient by ten.
The Talisman of Mana Recovery had originally doubled the recovery coefficient, but now it increased it tenfold.
The change was so drastic that it seemed more like a system error(?) than a typical grade upgrade.
Of course, for Sanghyun, who was benefiting from this, it was delightful—but still shocking.
「Talisman of Resistance」
■ Artifact Grade: Epic
■ Artifact Description: A talisman that allows preemptive reactions to unexpected dangers will be of great help to you.
■ Skill Resistance +35%
The Talisman of Resistance had also changed.
Originally, it only gave 7% skill resistance.
Considering how rare skill resistance was to begin with, even 7% was considered a high stat.
It meant you could resist 7 out of 100 enemy attacks—essentially nullifying them.
But now that figure had jumped to 35%. That meant you could avoid roughly one out of every three skill attacks.
Each floor’s reward heavily focused on talisman-type Artifacts, and the Talismans of Swiftness and Luck had also changed.
Additionally, the Purification Ring had been upgraded by one tier, altering the cooldown for the Swift Purification skill.
From a previous cooldown of 9 minutes and 30 seconds, it was now reduced to just 1 minute and 30 seconds—less than one-sixth.
At this point, Sanghyun understood why Jerron Decay had been able to wield Almighty-grade Artifacts.
And why Frederick Villain had been nearly clad in Legendary-grade Artifacts.
It was all thanks to the benefits of the Endless Dungeon. It made you think anyone not taking advantage of it was a fool.
“Even the 6th floor is too easy.”
Sanghyun was climbing the 6th floor with ease, a floor that would have been hell for most players.
The concept of the 6th floor in the Endless Dungeon was simple but intense.
Every two minutes, a powerful electric storm swept across the entire floor.
There was no safe zone anywhere, so exposure to the current was unavoidable.
In this structure, the only way to endure was with defensive skills like shields.
But it wasn’t something that could be withstood with typical skills.
The electric storm that occurred every two minutes burned and destroyed everything in the dungeon.
The moment you were exposed to the current, you couldn’t avoid serious injury—or if unlucky, instant death.
But for Sanghyun, the reason this floor posed no threat at all was thanks to this skill:
『Another World』
■ Skill Level: Stage 2 (65.0%)
■ Skill Description: Isolates the designated target (including oneself) in a subspace separate from reality for 1.5 seconds.
Both the person inside and those outside can see each other, but they share completely different spaces.
Consumes 100 Health and 100 Mana simultaneously.
Cooldown: 1 minute.
Yes—Another World.
Once he moved into the subspace, the outside electrical storm couldn’t reach him at all.
The electric storm’s key trait was that, while powerful, its duration was extremely short—barely one second.
Since that was shorter than the maximum isolation time of 1.5 seconds, he could perfectly time it.
There were clear premonitory signs just before the storm began, so he only had to use the skill when he saw them.
The difference between having and not having this one skill turned an extreme challenge into a walk in the park.
Just using the skill once every two minutes made everything on this floor smooth sailing.
It felt like a reward for all the time he hadn’t slacked in collecting skills through Artifacts.
Think about it.
For most players—no, for 99.999% of players—this dungeon concept would’ve made them instantly scream retire.
But for Sanghyun, it was far easier than floors 1 to 5. All thanks to having secured the right skill.
Sanghyun reviewed his past progress.
“1st floor. Physical resistance floor. Cleared using status-effect skills that included magic damage.”
Physical resistance? Solved.
“2nd floor. Magic resistance floor. Beat it down with physical damage true to a swordsman’s nature. No real threats.”
Magic resistance? Solved.
“3rd floor. No resistances, but all monsters had freezing abilities. However…”
With 100% resistance to freezing, Sanghyun was never frozen even once.
At that time, Sanghyun truly understood what ‘luck-based’ meant.
Because the floor had appeared right after an Artifact was upgraded to grant complete immunity to freezing.
Of course, luck was also a form of skill.
If he hadn’t struggled to obtain such an Artifact, it never would have been upgraded in the first place.
“4th floor. No resistances, but it constantly chipped away at your Health. Solved with Vampire’s Grasp.”
Unless something drained all his health at once, attacks that chipped away were no threat to Sanghyun.
But for most players with weak vampiric abilities, the 4th floor must have been the biggest hurdle.
“5th floor. Mental suppression, hallucinations, auditory illusions. Prevented clear thinking. Used Pure Soul skill and activated White option for a counterpunch.”
The 5th floor focused on mental torment, but Sanghyun had no problem.
It was thanks to the Pure Soul skill he had gained after killing Ivan.
Activating the White option granted 100% mental resistance—complete immunity.
That’s why Sanghyun didn’t see a single hallucination on the 5th floor.
Maybe because of that…
Monsters approached him carelessly, assuming he’d be affected by mental attacks—only to be slaughtered one by one.
“And… the 6th floor is done.”
By using the Another World skill every two minutes, he dodged electric storms and advanced—and it was already over.
There wasn’t a single monster on the 6th floor, so there was no boss either.
Sure, the electric storm that swept across the dungeon was a disaster and threat, but not to Sanghyun.
“Level 380.”
As if measured with a ruler, his level increased by another 10.
If there was such a thing as a ‘fortuitous encounter’ in a novel, he felt like he was living it now.
And not just once, but every single floor brought fortune. It felt amazing.
“I’m also using all my skills evenly, gradually finishing their leveling. Thanks to that, I’m automatically checking each skill too.”
Each time he used a skill, the mastery increased dramatically.
That’s why Sanghyun had used every skill he could during his journey up to the 6th floor.
Thanks to that, most of his skills had reached level 5. It was as if all his skills had undergone a full transformation.
At this point, no matter who the player contracted with the Eye of Calamity Constellation was—he felt ready to face them.
His confidence in his skills was sky-high.
Before entering the Endless Dungeon, the overall firepower of his skills might’ve been a 1.
Now, no matter how conservative the estimate, it felt like a 4. If he pushed a bit more, maybe even a 5.
‘Despite having all these advantages, Jerron Decay still died in 2045 to that Black Knight from another dimension at the Great Rift. So futile.’
As he recalled memories of his past life, his desire to somehow change the coming tragedy became even more urgent.
In about two to three years, ‘villains’ would start appearing one by one in the player world.
Those who abandoned justice, indulging in impulsive murder and violence—killing other players without remorse.
He used to wonder why such players became more frequent and uncontrollable in his past life.
Now he understood.
Because the dimensional balance had collapsed, Constellations with evil tendencies had surged in number.
And all their contractors were inevitably affected.
The cycle of evil.
He believed this was the birth of the worst future—a terrifying beginning.
Can you imagine it?
The overwhelming pressure one feels upon realizing that the inflection point between past, present, and future rests on your shoulders.
Sanghyun was feeling the full weight of a destiny entrusted solely to him.
Meanwhile—
Luca Viole was receiving a message from his Constellation, who had been almost completely silent lately.
A Constellation who usually only watched and rarely spoke.
The fact that he was the one to initiate the conversation was surprising.
[It seems we must prepare.]
“What do you mean by that?”
Caught off guard by the sudden message to prepare, Luca tilted his head.
Usually, such statements were preceded by explanations and reasons.
There hadn’t been any mention lately of anything needing preparation.
But then—something came to mind.
“No way…”
If he thought back further, there had been something that had truly shocked Luca.
That the Constellation opposing his own had made a contract with a player.
And due to their long-standing grudge, it naturally led to the players under them fighting to the death.
But that was all he knew. He hadn’t heard anything else since then. Maybe something had been hidden.
[A Constellation has noticed my plan. Things are starting to go awry. I can’t get it under control.]
The voice of his Constellation—usually calm and emotionless—now trembled with every word.
Not from fear or terror, but filled with rage and irritation.
He was clearly holding back his fury, and it was palpable even to Luca.
Indeed—
The Constellation contracted with Luca Viole was none other than the Eye of Calamity.
The counterpart to the Constellation of Storms.
“Have they found a flaw big enough to disrupt your plans?”
[I need that guy dead—now. But the Black Guard idiots keep fumbling.]
“Hmm… is there anything I can do? Just give the order.”
Even the arrogant Luca was in complete submission before his Constellation.
To him, the Eye of Calamity was the ‘gracious’ one who had made him this powerful.
When he first made the contract, he swore an oath: to live as the Constellation’s loyal dog forever.
Even now, when he was killing players and devouring Constellations’ powers—it wasn’t for his own sake.
It was all to please the Eye of Calamity and aid in his grand dream.
Luca’s warped devotion had never once wavered.