Chapter 203 – S-rank

[Your level has increased!]

[You have been promoted to S-rank!]

[Two skill slots have been added.]

[Achievement unlocked!]

‘Finally S-rank, huh?’

He had achieved S-rank in just 1 year and 6 months.

He was probably the first person to achieve it in such a short time.

‘Being S-rank means I get two more skill slots.’

One of those slots was already reserved for a skill he needed to learn.

It was Blood Song, which he had obtained after killing Bathory.

‘Acquire.’

The skill book disappeared as the slot was filled.

He now had an area-of-effect debuff that consumed his blood to lower enemies’ stats by 15%.

‘I should fill the remaining slot with magic.’

Since he already had a specific skill in mind, he decided to leave it empty for now.

‘Now I just need to enhance the remaining A-grade skills.’

Min Do-jun took out the two Skill Grade Transcendence Stones he had prepared in advance.

He immediately enhanced his A-grade skills, Enchant Sword and Magnum Burst.

[Enchant Sword’s grade has been raised from A to S!]

[Skill name has been changed to ‘Elemental Sword’.]

[Elemental Sword’s damage amplification effect has increased from 20% to 30%!]

[You can now apply any desired attribute to your weapon regardless of the magic you’ve learned.]

[Magnum Burst’s grade has been raised from A to S!]

[Magnum Burst’s damage has increased from 150% of weapon attack power to 200%, and from 400% of magic power to 800%!]

[Magnum Burst’s range has been slightly expanded.]

Both skills had significantly increased damage and gained additional effects.

‘Especially being able to use all attributes with Elemental Sword is truly beyond my expectations.’

Until now, he could only apply the attribute of the magic he was currently using to his sword, which had limitations.

But not anymore.

‘Now I can apply any desired attribute to my weapon at any time, regardless of the skills I’ve learned.’

This meant that as long as he knew a monster’s attribute, he could always gain a damage advantage by using the favorable attribute.

This was particularly advantageous for Min Do-jun, who already knew the attributes of almost all monsters.

‘With this, all my skills have been enhanced to S-grade…’

Now all that remained was replacing his items with S-grade ones.

‘Let me check the achievement first.’

[Achievement – For Hunters, S-rank is Just the Beginning!]

-Condition: Achieve S-rank

-Reward: Transcendent Random Box

‘I have quite a few random boxes to use.’

He had accumulated 4 Superior Random Boxes and 1 Transcendent Random Box.

‘With the achievement reward, that makes 2 Transcendent Random Boxes.’

That meant he would get at least 2 S-grade items.

‘I couldn’t use them until now because my level was too low…’

But that was no longer the case.

‘Use.’

He opened all the random boxes.

There was a risk of getting A-grade items from the Superior Random Boxes, but contrary to his concerns, they all yielded S-grade items.

Even so, they would be useless unless they had magic power options.

[Mana Charging Gauntlet]

-Classification: Gloves

-Grade: S

-Defense: 13,000

-Effect: Magic Power+200, Magic Power+2 for each monster defeated (Applied up to +200. Lasts 24 hours)

-Durability: 30,000/30,000

-Usage Restriction: Level 3,000 or higher

-Description: A gauntlet that charges magic power as you hunt monsters. If you hunt every day without fail, you can maintain full stacks at all times.

[Swift Mana Boots]

-Classification: Shoes

-Grade: S

-Defense: 11,000

-Effect: Magic Power+250, Movement Speed+25%

-Durability: 25,000/25,000

-Usage Restriction: Level 3,000 or higher

-Description: Boots made by mages who dislike moving around. Feels like walking on a moving walkway.

[Blue Moonlight Necklace]

-Classification: Necklace

-Grade: S

-Effect: Magic Power+10%, Additional Magic Power+5% when exposed to moonlight

-Durability: 28,000/28,000

-Usage Restriction: Level 3,000 or higher

-Description: A necklace that becomes more powerful at night. Useful for those with high magic power as it provides a percentage increase.

Out of the 6 random boxes he opened, 3 yielded useful items.

‘I’d say this is a successful draw.’

The other half yielded items he didn’t need, but their options weren’t bad, so at least he hadn’t lost out.

‘Changing the necklace means losing the Trinity Set effect.’

All the effects that increased all stats, damage, defense, and resistance were gone, but he had no regrets.

‘Because there’s a new set effect.’

Min Do-jun replaced the rings on both hands with the Twin Blood Rings.

This activated a new set effect.

[Set effect activated.]

[Applied items]

-Twin Blood Ring (Left Hand)

-Twin Blood Ring (Right Hand)

[Set effect]

-All Stats+100

-Main Stat+10% increase

-All Damage+10%

-Recover health equal to 20% of damage dealt

‘So this is the effect that the twin hunters were enjoying?’

Compared to the Trinity effect that increased all damage by 20%, the damage increase was lower.

‘But it increases the main stat by 10%, which more than makes up for it.’

Moreover, the loss of defense and resistance options could be compensated for by the life-stealing effect, so there was no disadvantage compared to the previous Trinity effect.

‘It’s actually a gain. Stat increases are much more beneficial to me than damage increases.’

When he added the Tarnhelm that increased all stats by 200 and finally equipped the long-awaited Excalibur:

‘This is incredible.’

His magic power increased tremendously.

Excalibur provided additional magic power equal to his level.

‘Just by changing one weapon, my magic power instantly increased by 3,000, no, 4,500.’

This was thanks to the Weapon Enhancement characteristic that increased options by 1.5 times.

‘And the weapon attack power is no joke either.’

While the Ghost Sword’s attack power was 2,100~2,400, Excalibur had a fixed attack power of 6,000.

‘Add to that the additional attack power equal to my level, so it’s 9,000. No, with the 1.5x option, it would be 10,500.’

The pure weapon attack power exceeded 10,000.

There had been no weapon with such specs even before his regression.

‘And that’s not all. Weapon Enhancement increases not only options but also weapon attack power by 1.5 times.’

Moreover, Min Do-jun had the Weapon Mastery characteristic that doubled weapon attack power.

He also had the Weapon Sharpening characteristic that increased weapon attack power by 15%.

‘Applying all of these, the weapon attack power alone exceeds 36,000.’

Others would boast about having attack power over 3,000, but 36,000 was simply unheard of.

‘This is insane.’

And it wouldn’t stop there. If he continued to level up, he could grow even stronger.

His weapon attack power and magic power would increase with his level.

‘Is this because it’s an EX-grade weapon?’

Min Do-jun examined the Excalibur he was holding.

The blade, which shimmered red or black depending on the angle, was clearly emanating an extraordinary aura.

‘It’ll definitely attract attention if I carry it around.’

As Min Do-jun was swinging Excalibur with one hand, he summoned a shield in his other hand.

It was the Runic Turtle Shield that he had been saving to use once he reached S-rank.

‘It increases magic power by 300, so there’s no reason not to use it.’

Plus, it provided additional defense equal to 300% of his magic power.

‘What’s my magic power now?’

Min Do-jun opened his status window to check his magic power.

He couldn’t help but be surprised.

-Name: Min Do-jun (Born 2000)

-Level: 3,000

-Rank: S

-Combat Power: 1,542,352

-Domestic Ranking: 17th

-World Ranking: 523rd

-Strength: 22,154 Health: 23,887

-Agility: 26,788 Magic Power: 21,516

-Unallocated Stats: 0

-Characteristics: Revenge(S), Hunter Slayer(EX), Magic Swordsman(S), Indomitable Will(B), Rapid Growth(S), Weakness Detection(S), Robust Health(D), Weapon Sharpening(D), Flame Resistance(D), Durable Equipment(C), First Strike(B), Weapon Mastery(S), Energy Recovery(S), Strong Mind(A), Avatar of the Battlefield(S), Reflection(S), Low-grade Resistance(F), Presence Detection(C), Intermediate Stealth(C), Intermediate Resistance(C), Iron Will(A), Agility Enhancement(B), Slightly Faster Growth(B), Parasite(S), Quick Step(C), Regeneration(C), Durability Enhancement(C), Killing Intent Detection(C), Archmage(S), Pet Master(S), Intuition(S), Courage(D), Cat’s Step(C), Power of Healing(S), Hunting Dog(A), Advanced Stealth(A), Dynamic Vision(S), Weapon Enhancement(S), Detoxification(B), Critical Hit(A), First Twin’s Blessing(S), Second Twin’s Blessing(S), and 50 others.

-Skills: Elemental Sword(S), Aura Blade(S), Ghost Wolf Summon(S), Invisibility(S), Gust Blade(S), Magnum Burst(S), Soul Extraction(S), Blood Song(S)

‘Why are my stats like this?’

All his stats exceeded 20,000.

An unimaginable figure.

‘Ah, is it because of the Avatar of the Battlefield buff?’

Since he had been hunting for a while, he was receiving the full stack buff.

‘So without the buff, my magic power would be around 14,000. And my other stats would be at least over 10,000.’

Even without the buff, the figures were astonishing.

‘Excalibur increased my magic power by 4,500, and then there’s the 10% from the necklace effect, 10% from the set effect, and finally 30% from the Twin’s Blessing.’

With all these amplifications stacked, the result was a miraculous stat value.

‘My combat power is only 1.5 million because I haven’t hunted monsters yet…’

He couldn’t even imagine how much it would increase once he hunted monsters and the combat power was reflected.

‘Equipment window.’

[Weapon – Excalibur]

[Shield – Runic Turtle Shield]

[Helmet – Tarnhelm]

[Armor – Glossy Tiger Leather Armor]

[Gloves – Mana Charging Gauntlet]

[Shoes – Swift Mana Boots]

[Necklace – Blue Moonlight Necklace]

[Ring1 – Twin Blood Ring (Left Hand)]

[Ring2 – Twin Blood Ring (Right Hand)]

His equipment window was filled with S-grade items.

Except for one.

‘Only the Glossy Tiger Leather Armor is A-grade.’

It would be good to replace it with another S-grade armor, but the Frenzy option was too valuable to give up.

‘I can’t change armor in the middle of battle either.’

While equipment could be worn instantly, changing to different equipment took time.

This was because he had to move it from the inventory to the equipment slot.

‘In a situation where every second counts, doing that would be a death sentence.’

It was best not to change equipment during battle if possible.

‘Let me use the Legendary Armament Exchange Ticket first.’

He was finally going to use the exchange ticket he had obtained after climbing to the 100th floor of the Tower of Infinity.

[Using the Legendary Armament Exchange Ticket.]

[You can select 1 of 3 types of Legendary Armaments.]

[Which would you like to choose: Legendary Weapon, Legendary Helmet, or Legendary Armor?]

‘Legendary Armor.’

After a moment, the exchange ticket disappeared, and the Legendary Armor appeared in his inventory.

[Legendary Armor]

-Classification: Armor

-Grade: S

-Defense: 22,500

-Effect: All Stats+100, Physical Damage Reduced by 30%

-Durability: Infinite

-Usage Restriction: Level 3,000 or higher

-Description: One of the few legendary armaments in the world. When combined with a Magic Core, it exhibits its true power.

‘30% physical damage reduction isn’t bad.’

But Frenzy was so overpowered that he couldn’t give up the Tiger Armor.

‘I’ll have to keep the Legendary Armor in storage for now.’

Unless he combined it with a Magic Core, it couldn’t compete with Frenzy.

‘Equipment changes are complete… Now let’s test how much stronger I’ve become.’

Min Do-jun, wielding Excalibur, began hunting elementals.

After defeating 1,000 elementals and completing the conquest, Min Do-jun exited the dungeon.

‘I can’t test my strength with just elementals.’

He had been toying with elementals even before becoming S-rank.

The punching bag was too weak to feel the change in his power.

‘That’s probably why my combat power didn’t increase much.’

His combat power, which had been 1.5 million, had only increased to 1.7 million after the brief hunting session.

But Min Do-jun knew.

His power hadn’t been fully reflected yet.

‘How high will it go? 2 million? 3 million?’

That was his estimate, but he couldn’t know for sure.

Not until he encountered a monster worthy of his full strength.

Thud-

As he was coming down the mountain path after hiding the dungeon entrance with a rock:

‘Hmm?’

He spotted a familiar sports car.

The person in the car also noticed Min Do-jun and waved.

“Do-jun, hello!”

‘Shin Kyung-min?’

As Min Do-jun approached, Shin Kyung-min got out of the car.

“I thought you might be here, and I was right.”

“What brings you here, Kyung-min?”

“I knew you were about to become S-rank, so I was waiting. Congratulations.”

As Shin Kyung-min smiled warmly, Min Do-jun gave him a brief suspicious look.

‘What’s he up to?’

Then, as the Weakness Detection information window appeared, Min Do-jun was surprised.