Chapter 354 – Part 2 – A-rank

He had thought he’d need to go through three or four B-rank dungeons to rank up.

However, contrary to expectations, Choi Seong-min, who had monopolized traits, had become stronger than he could have imagined.

Crack-!

The Great Nutria, which had only its toughness to boast about, was shattered in one hit.

‘To get a one-shot kill without even placing an assassin’s mark?’

Currently, the assassin’s mark was placed on Kogo.

If he contacted him asking to meet with Oh Gwang-taek’s face, he would probably agree, but you never know.

He might suddenly cut off contact and disappear.

‘I was keeping from placing marks on other targets in preparation for that moment…’

He never expected to get a one-shot kill.

Of course, with his stats concentrated entirely on agility, his damage would be strong.

Moreover, he was using stealth before every attack, enjoying a 100% damage amplification effect.

‘That’s why I’ve become incredibly strong?’

Choi Seong-min continued to one-shot kill Nutrias one after another.

Hunting time was drastically reduced, and as a result, his combat power skyrocketed.

Exceeding 300,000 combat power was a foregone conclusion.

[You have been promoted to A-rank!]

[One skill slot has been added.]

‘To think I’d become A-rank after just one dungeon conquest.’

This meant he had to cancel the reservations for the B-rank dungeons he had planned to conquer.

It would be better to go through A-rank dungeons suited to his level to earn runes and increase combat power.

[400 agility has been added due to the Growing Agility trait effect.]

Upon becoming A-rank, his agility increased for free.

‘S-rank traits really are good.’

Soon, the blood-red dagger Choi Seong-min was holding underwent a transformation.

The dagger’s blade extended to about the length of a forearm.

[Assassin’s Blood Dagger (Growth Type)]

-Classification: Weapon

-Grade: A (Holder’s rank)

-Attack Power: 3,100~3,300

-Effect: Agility+220, additional attack power+1,600 for 10 seconds when ambushing, additional attack power+3,200 when ambushing after stealth

-Durability: Infinite

-Usage Restriction: A-rank or higher (Bound)

Not only the appearance had changed.

The options and attack power had doubled overall.

It was hard to believe this was an A-rank weapon.

With these specs, it was comparable to S-rank.

‘To get an additional 3,200 attack power when ambushing after stealth…’

Due to the trait that increased damage when stealthed, he always used stealth before attacking.

Since there was no stealth cooldown, it was essentially like always having additional attack power.

‘Now that I’m A-rank, I should change into new equipment.’

Knowing this would happen, he had completely ransacked Song Chi-hyeon’s armory for necessary equipment.

He didn’t want to make two trips.

Swoosh-

Armor, gloves, boots, rings.

He replaced everything with items that increased agility by 200 each.

‘The necklace is A-rank so I don’t need to change it.’

Instead, he planned to change one ring to S-rank.

[Ring of Aeolus]

-Classification: Ring

-Grade: S

-Effect: Agility+260, Attack Speed+100%

-Durability: 26,000/26,000

-Usage Restriction: S-rank or higher

-Description: A ring imbued with the power of the wind god. Allows you to strike twice where you would strike once.

‘To be able to wear S-rank equipment. Maintaining Dignity is good at times like this.’

It was an S-rank item obtained from killing Song Chi-hyeon, and the options weren’t bad.

‘This equipment is sufficient…’

Choi Seong-min took out a fist-sized stone from his inventory.

It was a skill grade enhancement stone he had brought from the armory.

‘First, let me make all my existing skills A-rank.’

The damage of Slash and Throat Slash improved from 400% to 600%.

Dagger Throw also became somewhat useful, going from 300% to 400%.

Sprint’s duration increased by 10 more seconds, and Shadow Step’s cooldown was reduced to 30 seconds.

[Stealth duration increased from 10% to 12% of agility, and cooldown reduced from 1 hour to 45 minutes!]

[Poison Crafting’s poison effectiveness increased from 0% to 20%!]

The effects of Stealth and Poison Crafting also improved.

‘Good. Preparations are complete.’

Choi Seong-min took out transcendence stones from his inventory.

Insane items that upgraded A-rank skills to S-rank.

‘To have so many of something that’s hard to obtain even one of.’

Feeling grateful to the dead Song Chi-hyeon, he enhanced his skills.

[Slash damage increased from 600% to 1,000% of agility!]

[Dagger Throw damage increased from 400% to 600% of agility!]

[Sprint duration increased from 35 seconds to 60 seconds!]

[Throat Slash damage increased from 600% to 1,000% of agility!]

[Shadow Step cooldown reduced from 30 seconds to 10 seconds!]

[Stealth duration increased from 12% to 20% of agility, and cooldown reduced from 45 minutes to 15 minutes!]

[Poison Crafting’s poison effectiveness increased from 20% to 50%!]

All A-rank skills had become S-rank.

The skills’ effectiveness had improved to a jaw-dropping degree.

‘As expected of S-rank skills.’

Both his stats increased and his skills’ efficiency reached maximum.

He couldn’t even imagine how much his damage had increased.

‘Only the items are A-rank, but it’s fair to say I’m already S-rank.’

With this much, he expected his potential combat power to exceed at least 1 million.

Of course, this was just an expectation.

It was too early to make hasty judgments before testing his damage.

‘Now I need to learn a new skill too.’

He had already brought the skill book to learn upon becoming A-rank from the armory.

[Skill – Poison Coating]

-Grade: A

-Effect: Coats the dagger with poison. Poison efficiency increased by 20%.

-Duration: 10% of agility (seconds)

-Cooldown: None

-Usage Restriction: A-rank or higher, dagger required

-Description: Coats the dagger with crafted poison. Dealing damage with a poison-coated dagger can immediately poison the target. The poison on the dagger doesn’t disappear during the duration. Multiple types of poison can be coated simultaneously.

‘It’s a skill that makes it easier to apply poison more efficiently. It can also increase the poison’s effectiveness as a bonus.’

Choi Seong-min immediately filled the remaining skill slot with Poison Coating.

Then he used the one remaining skill grade transcendence stone on it.

[Poison Coating’s grade increased from A to S!]

[Poison Coating’s poison efficiency increased from 20% to 50%, and duration increased from 10% to 20% of agility!]

‘Perfect.’

With this, all 8 skills had become S-rank.

‘Now poison made with Poison Crafting has 50% increased effectiveness. If I coat this with Poison Coating and use it…’

Another 50% would be added, increasing effectiveness by 100%.

In other words, the poison’s effect would double from before.

‘That means neurotoxin becomes 20% stat reduction, and deadly poison becomes 100% movement speed reduction and 100% increased damage taken.’

100% movement speed reduction meant being unable to move from the spot at all.

Moreover, with 100% increased damage taken, it could be seen as doubling the attacker’s damage.

‘Anyone who just gets grazed by a poison-coated dagger is as good as dead.’

The advantage of Poison Coating wasn’t just increasing poison efficiency, but also being able to coat multiple poisons at once.

‘With just one swing of the dagger, I can apply both neurotoxin and deadly poison simultaneously.’

If he obtained additional poisons, he could layer multiple ones.

Thinking about coating five or more different poisons at once, it was an essential skill to learn.

‘Such convenience is good, but the best part is that the poison doesn’t disappear during the duration.’

Usually, poison is a one-time consumable.

After poisoning one target, that’s it.

But using Poison Coating changes it from one-time use to a buff.

You can use it dozens of times after coating poison once.

‘Though it does have a duration.’

The poison’s duration was proportional to agility.

Choi Seong-min’s current strength and agility were 9,911 and 4,623 respectively.

Using Unbalanced Power, he could raise his agility to 14,533.

‘That would give about 48 minutes of duration.’

It meant that once poison was coated, the effect wouldn’t be canceled no matter what for 48 minutes.

‘However, it only works once per target, so there’s no point in slashing multiple times.’

But if there were many enemies to face, the story would be different.

‘Whether there are ten or a hundred, as long as it’s within the duration, I can make them all taste poison.’

In any case, it was clearly a skill that must be learned alongside Poison Crafting.

* * *

Kyuuuung! Thud-!

[Conquest successful!]

[Dungeon break time has been reset to 120 hours!]

Choi Seong-min, who had dealt with the remaining monsters, exited the dungeon.

Of course, he didn’t forget to transform into Song Chi-hyeon before coming out.

“Oh? You came out early? As expected of the Great Hero!”

Choi Seong-min asked the flattering dungeon manager.

“Did anything happen while I was inside? Like other hunters coming by?”

“Nothing happened at all. I marked it as being conquered so no one else could drop by.”

“You didn’t record my entry?”

“Of course not! Whose order was it?”

Choi Seong-min nodded with satisfaction.

Reading his thoughts, it was all true.

“I’ll remember your efforts.”

“Oh, it’s an honor, Great Hero!”

“I’m leaving now.”

“Take care! Drive safely!”

Choi Seong-min, who got in the car, made a phone call.

To reserve dungeons to conquer in advance before departure.

“This is Song Chi-hyeon. No one’s gone in yet, right? I’ll arrive there in 10 minutes, so have it ready for immediate entry.”

After reserving several dungeons like this, he pressed the accelerator.

There was no need to go to the B-rank dungeons he had reserved before.

Where Choi Seong-min was heading was an A-rank dungeon called the Swamp of Chaos.

Like the Forest of Spirits, it was among the highest difficulty dungeons in A-rank.

‘Physical damage doesn’t work on spirits, so I can’t conquer it even if I wanted to.’

However, the bizarre tree spirits that appeared there were susceptible to physical damage.

‘But it takes too long to catch them.’

Indeed, they were monsters that appeared only when the four great spirits were artificially combined.

‘Before, I had Auga so I could easily herd spirits to create large numbers of tree spirits, but…’

Now without any summons, he had no choice but to run around on his own feet.

‘Rather than go through such trouble, it’s better to go to other dungeons where physical damage works.’

Fortunately, the Swamp of Chaos was a dungeon where physical damage worked and magic damage was actually halved.

Therefore, most A-rank warriors who were confident tended to conquer this place.

‘The Swamp of Chaos is about right for my level.’

Soon arriving at the dungeon entrance, Choi Seong-min received the manager’s greeting and, as before, ordered that no entry record be kept.

‘Shall I go in?’

Choi Seong-min’s feet headed toward the portal without hesitation.

* * *

The Swamp of Chaos spawned insect-type monsters.

Blade water striders and black-winged dragonflies were representative.

As monsters that dominated water surfaces and the sky respectively, they weren’t easy opponents for A-rank hunters.

But after facing them a few times, Choi Seong-min realized.

‘These aren’t my match.’

They were too weak, far too weak.

Any of them died in one skill hit.

Even using the weakest Dagger Throw yielded the same result.

‘I’ve become too strong.’

It felt like he had become at least 5 times stronger.

Thinking about the reason, it seemed to be due to the influence of traits and skills.

‘I obtained too many traits that boost stats from catching Song Chi-hyeon’s subordinates.’

Especially thanks to the additional physical damage option after stealth, all damage had doubled.

Moreover, all skill grades had become S-rank with transcendence stones…

Considering that skills play a large role in combat, rapid growth was inevitable.

As evidence, his combat power was rising exponentially.

‘My combat power, which was 300,000, has already exceeded 350,000.’

It was rising steadily even without completely clearing one dungeon.

He couldn’t even gauge how strong he had become.

‘At this rate, I might be able to assassinate Great Heroes earlier than expected.’

Though the rapid growth was somewhat bewildering, it wasn’t a bad situation for Choi Seong-min.

‘Is there anything bad about becoming stronger?’

Like this, experiencing his own strength day by day while repeating commuting and solo hunting for a week.

‘Hm?’

A boss the size of a house appeared before Choi Seong-min’s eyes.

The ruler of the Swamp of Chaos, the Giant Black Slug.

‘That one should be able to take my damage.’

Choi Seong-min gripped his dagger properly and charged.

Hoping the black slug’s toughness would be harder than expected.

But.

[You have defeated the Giant Black Slug!]

It took less than 10 seconds to defeat the boss.