novelraw Chapter 516
Chapter 516
Su-ho was tense.
Because he remembered how painful it had been when he absorbed the Smelting Dragon’s Rune.
Especially the worst part—this burning pain.
Wasn’t burning pain said to be the worst pain a human being could feel?
So, with a mindset of preparation, he immediately used skills and took up a posture to endure it.
[Blessing is activated.]
[Endurance is activated.]
[Un-Gi-Jo-Sik (Breath-and-Energy Circulation) is activated.]
All right, preparations were enough.
If it’s coming, then come!
That was when.
[You have succeeded in fully absorbing Fairy Dragon Gomes’s energy.]
[You have mastered Fairy Hunter’s Roar (S).]
[Congratulations! You have mastered Fairy Power Half-Body (S).]
[Congratulations! You have mastered Fairy Devouring (S).]
It felt like he was warming up, and then the densely packed energies were neatly contained inside.
At the same time, three skills were mastered.
“...That’s it?”
That was it.
It was really over.
It felt empty.
He struggled that much back with the Smelting Dragon, and this time he absorbed it in a single go?
It wasn’t that he disliked it.
It just felt a little empty, that was all.
Su-ho, feeling hollow, deactivated skills like Endurance and checked Fairy Hunter’s Roar first.
‘What, this is the one I copied with Bloody Hand.’
If I knew it’d be this, I should’ve copied something else.
Soothing his regret, he checked the information for the other two skills.
[Fairy Power Half-Body]
Rank: S
# An innate talent that only fairy hunters can have.
# Not all fairy hunters are like that, but most fairy hunters spontaneously arise in regions where fairies are densely concentrated, and fairy hunters born that way are necessarily born with bodies that have high tolerance to fairy power.
# All resistance to things based on fairy power increases by 95%.
[Fairy Devouring]
Rank: S
# An innate talent that only fairy hunters can have.
# Not all fairy hunters are like that, but most fairy hunters spontaneously arise in regions where fairies are densely concentrated, and fairy hunters born that way have the talent to devour fairies, absorb their power, and grow.
# If you devour a fairy using Fairy Devouring, part of the devoured fairy’s abilities is randomly absorbed.
“Oh?”
Su-ho’s lips rounded as he read the skill info.
‘These... the options are insanely good.’
He wasn’t just saying that.
Of course, the options were limited to the fairy race, but if he had these two skills, then at least within the Fairy Kingdom, he could rule like an overlord.
‘And I even have Fairy Sense, so I can automatically detect fairies...’
Then that meant detection and defense were both solved in one shot.
And that wasn’t all.
If he used Fairy Devouring, part of the devoured fairy’s abilities would be randomly absorbed—so if he got a little ahead of himself, it meant he might even be able to secure other fairies’ special sorcery.
‘In the end, the choice is mine, huh.’
It was one of two.
Become allies with the fairies and seal this ability forever, or turn all fairies into enemies, devour them, and grow like a monster.
‘I’ll decide the details the next time we meet, after I see their attitude.’
That was why he’d tried to ask Marloe this and that, and it was a shame.
Su-ho opened his status window.
Now the only remaining homework was Hercules’s Hero’s Fate.
But before that, there was something he had to claim first.
That was the reward for the New Blood trait quest.
Su-ho touched the ▲ mark that was shining brightly beside the word New Blood.
[All quest conditions have been fulfilled.]
[You have completed the trait quest.]
[New Blood grows stronger.]
[As the price of successfully completing the trait quest, 10 bonus stats are granted.]
The moment he touched the triangle, system notifications popped up immediately.
First, New Blood had been strengthened further, and at the same time, he was granted 10 bonus stats.
But something felt off.
‘What? Don’t tell me that’s it?’
Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.
Because until now, every time he cleared a trait quest, it had given him a new bloodline.
But this time, there was no other notification.
Was this really the end?
This trait ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) quest had been the hardest one yet.
That was when.
[The system examines your achievements.]
[All minimum conditions have been met.]
[The system acknowledges you.]
[Congratulations! You have reached the highest level among existing players on Earth by an overwhelming gap.]
[You have achieved an incredible feat that no other player has been able to accomplish.]
[In recognition of your lofty achievements, the system gifts you 20 bonus stats.]
More notifications began to appear.
It was praise.
The kind he’d seen before, back when he obtained Silver Stats.
The system notifications continued.
[Upon achieving the minimum conditions, you are granted new qualifications.]
[A final trait quest is generated.]
[A special quest is generated.]
[Due to achieving the minimum conditions, some qualifications have been unlocked.]
[Permissions for access to some information have been strengthened.]
[Restricted potential for some powers has been released.]
[■■ congratulates your growth.]
[■■ congratulates your growth.]
[■■■■ congratulates your growth.]
[■■ congratulates your growth.]
Notifications poured down in a stream.
The congratulatory messages from Transcendents were congratulatory messages, sure, but even more eye-catching were two things, without question.
‘The final trait quest and the special quest?’
He didn’t know what the special quest was.
But he knew very well what the final trait quest meant.
In game terms, it was almost endgame content for character growth.
‘Even in my previous life, it was only after I cleared the final trait quest that I could reach the realm of the Formless Sword.’
The highest rank for all items and skills was S+.
But if you broke through the final trait quest, the qualification to obtain SS rank would be unlocked.
Of course, it only unlocked the qualification—there were still a few more steps left to reach the Formless Sword—but he didn’t think that would be too hard.
Because they were things he’d done once before.
That was why many thoughts came to him.
‘And of all things, it’s New Blood, not the swordsman trait...’
This just made the difficulty harder than expected.
What a shame.
But he had no intention of avoiding it.
Because Su-ho remembered clearly.
On the day he first obtained the SS-rank skill Formless Sword, the system had definitely said he had reached the realm of a Transcendent.
‘Then it’s one of two things. Either I become a Transcendent like those names that appear in system notifications, or their title isn’t actually “Transcendent.”’
The latter was more likely.
To begin with, “Transcendent” was a name people had arbitrarily attached for convenience.
Su-ho refreshed his status window again and checked it.
[An Su-ho]
Lv: 303
Class: Bloody Cardinal
Rank: Middle Player
Traits▲: ＜New Blood★＞＜Hercules▲＞＜King of a Ruined Nation＞＜Grid’s Partner＞＜Sun-Moon Body＞
Might (P): 78
True Demon (S): 108
Sense (P): 19
Command (N): 122
Bonus Stats: 31
The mark beside New Blood had changed from a triangle to a star.
It was the mark that meant the final trait quest.
‘Seeing the star makes it feel real—that it’s the final trait quest.’
Before checking the final trait quest and the special quest, Su-ho first invested the bonus stats he’d been granted into Might to raise its grade.
[Might has reached 100.]
[Might grows further.]
[Congratulations! Might’s level has increased and it is now Silver rank!]
At last, Might also became Silver rank.
But that was all.
He’d half expected some extra scraps to drop, but there was no particular reaction.
Su-ho hid his disappointment and refreshed his status window again.
[An Su-ho]
Lv: 303
Class: Bloody Cardinal
Rank: Middle Player
Traits▲: ＜New Blood★＞＜Hercules▲＞＜King of a Ruined Nation＞＜Grid’s Partner＞＜Sun-Moon Body＞
Might (S): 1
True Demon (S): 108
Sense (P): 19
Command (N): 122
Bonus Stats: 9
‘Seriously, nothing.’
Aside from the stat color changing to Silver, that was.
After investing all remaining bonus stats into Sense, Su-ho activated the final trait quest that appeared under New Blood.
[New Blood]
Type: Quest
# The final trait quest of the unique trait New Blood.
# Unlock Dragon Blood’s sixth authority.
# Unlock Vampire Blood’s fifth authority.
# Unlock the Giant bloodline’s fourth authority.
# Unlock Fairy Blood’s third authority.
Su-ho’s eyes narrowed as he read the contents of the final trait quest.
It was the final trait quest, but there was nothing particularly different.
He’d even thought, could it be the same pattern again this time too—and sure enough, it came out exactly as expected, to the point it was almost embarrassing.
‘Of course, it’s not like this configuration is truly obvious...’
Because the unlock conditions were so unpredictable.
Su-ho shook his head and checked the special quest.
[Special Quest]
Type: Quest
# A special quest manifested for Player An Su-ho.
# This is a linked quest, and if you fail during execution, it automatically ends.
# Quest rewards are paid out by accumulating results, and if you fail partway through, no rewards are given.
# The first special quest is a solo clear of a Big Gate one time.
# If you touch the text, a Big Gate will occur.
With dry eyes, Su-ho read down through the contents of the special quest.
But when he reached the last line, Su-ho’s eyes widened sharply.
“A Big Gate occurs?”
He hadn’t misread it.
It was real.
If he touched the text, a Big Gate would occur immediately?
No, can it even occur like that?
But the quest window was real, and the conditions were firm.
“Haha, crazy.”
Crazy.
Was there any word more fitting for this situation?
What on earth did the system want from him to be handing him a mission like this?
And even the contents were unfair.
Not only did he have to solo-clear a Big Gate, it was also an accumulated-results system—so if he failed even once during the quest, everything he’d built up would vanish like a mirage.
Judging by how high the difficulty was, this felt like some kind of test disguised as a quest.
‘Is it trying to open the road to becoming a High Player?’
If so, that would be amazing.
Thanks to that, something he had to do suddenly appeared.
No, something he absolutely had to focus on appeared.
‘But I still have the Hero’s Fate quest left...’
Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.
Hercules’s Hero’s Fate quest.
It had suddenly unlocked, so he did have to do it, but seeing that the special quest had been generated, it didn’t really tempt him.
So for now, he decided to put it off and see how things went.
‘There are priorities, after all.’
After closing the system notifications, Su-ho left the Subspace House with a big grin.
Because after checking the situation outside, if the timing was right, he planned to head out immediately and clear the Big Gate.
FWAAAASH!
The exit leading outside opened.