Episode 231 Endless Dungeon (3)
“Level 370…….”
The level increased by an average of 10 with every floor. The level, which was 330 after clearing the first floor, had suddenly risen to 370.
Just looking at the rate of level increase was enough to make one’s jaw drop, but there was also a change in the artifact.
「Talisman of Mana Recovery」
■ Artifact Grade: Epic
■ Artifact Introduction: A talisman that helps recover mana in the form of the final mana recovery coefficient multiplied by ten.
The Talisman of Mana Recovery changed from a double recovery coefficient to a tenfold one.
The fluctuation was truly massive for a change that occurred simply by upgrading to Epic grade.
How should I put it? It tended to skyrocket to such an extreme degree that it made one wonder if it were a system error(?).
Of course, from Sanghyeon’s perspective as the one benefiting from this, it was a pleasant surprise, but it was inevitably a series of surprises.
"Talisman of Resistance"
■ Artifact Grade: Epic
■ Artifact Introduction: This talisman, which allows you to react preemptively to unexpected dangers, will be of great help to you.
■ Skill Resistance +35%
The Talisman of Resistance has also undergone changes.
Originally, it provided 7% skill resistance.
Since skill resistance is a very rare stat to begin with, 7% was considered quite a high figure.
It meant you could resist 7 out of 100 enemy attacks. In other words, it meant you could neutralize them.
However, this value has now jumped to 35%. With this, you can evade almost one out of every three skill attacks.
As the special perks given for each floor are concentrated on talismans, the Talisman of Swiftness and the Talisman of Luck have also been updated.
Additionally, the Ring of Purification has been upgraded one level, resulting in a change to the cooldown of the Swiftness Purification skill.
The cooldown has been reduced to 1 minute and 30 seconds, less than one-sixth of the previous 9 minutes and 30 seconds. At this point, Sang-hyun realized
why Zeron Decay had been able to possess an Almighty-grade artifact, and why Frederic Villain had managed to have an artifact practically plastered with Legendary grades. It was all a benefit of the Endless Dungeon. It was enough to make him feel like a fool not to take advantage of it. “The 6th floor is too easy.” Sang-hyun was happily climbing the 6th floor, which would undoubtedly have been hell for the majority of players. The concept of the Endless Dungeon’s 6th floor was simple yet intense. Powerful electric storms struck the entire staircase every two minutes. The structure offered absolutely no safe zones, meaning one was inevitably exposed to the electricity no matter where they were. With a structure like this, there was only one way to survive: holding out with defensive skills like shields. However, it was not the kind of thing that could be endured with such skills. The electric storms occurring every two minutes burned and destroyed everything in the dungeon. Being exposed to the electricity meant one could not avoid severe injury. Severe injury would be fortunate; there was also a possibility of instant death. However, the reason these stairs failed to instill any tension in Sanghyun was precisely because of this skill. 『Another World』■ Skill Level: Stage 2 (65.0%) ■ Skill Description: Isolates a designated target (including yourself) in a subspace separated from reality for 1.5 seconds. Both the internally isolated and the externally isolated individuals can recognize each other, yet they share a completely different space. Consumes 100 HP and 100 MP simultaneously, with a 1-minute cooldown. It was the Another World. If he were transported entirely into the subspace, there was no way for the electric currents swirling outside to reach Sanghyun. The characteristic of the electric storm was that while it was powerful, its duration was extremely short, lasting just over a second. Therefore, it was shorter than the maximum isolation time of 1.5 seconds. There was also a distinct warning sign right before the electric storm occurred, so he just needed to use the skill upon seeing it. With the difference of having or not having a single skill, the difficulty of the encounter changed from extreme to a piece of cake. A floor where everything falls into place simply by casting a skill once every two minutes. It felt like a reward for the time he had diligently spent collecting artifacts and acquiring skills. After all, wasn't it? It was a dungeon concept where the majority of players—no, 99.999% of them—would have called for a retirement the moment they arrived. But for Sang-hyun, it was much easier than the previous floors 1 through 5. This was thanks to having secured the necessary skills. Sang-hyun reviewed his previous strategy. “Floor 1. Physical resistance floor. Defeated by utilizing the magic damage included in skills against status ailments.” Solution for physical resistance complete. “Floor 2. Magic resistance floor. Befitting the essence of a swordsman, crushed them with physical damage. A floor without any crises.” Solution for magic resistance complete. “Floor 3. No resistance, but all monsters possessed the ability to induce freezing. However…” Since his resistance to freezing was 100%, Sang-hyun had never once been frozen.
At this moment, Sanghyeon realized what "luck" truly meant.
It was a floor that appeared just as his artifact had been upgraded to gain complete immunity to freezing.
Of course, luck is also a skill.
After all, if he hadn't gone through the trouble to obtain such an artifact in the first place, it wouldn't have been upgraded.
“Floor 4. No resistance, but it constantly gnaws away at HP. Everything goes
smoothly with Vampiric Grasp.” Unless it drained all HP at once, the gnawing attack posed no threat to Sanghyeon at all.
However, he thought that Floor 4 would have been the most critical hurdle for the majority of players whose vampiric abilities were significantly lacking.
“Floor 5. A floor that prevents you from thinking clearly even once through mental restraint, hallucination induction, and auditory hallucination induction. Activate the Pure White option on the Pure Soul skill for a counter punch.”
Floor 5 was designed to constantly torment the challenger with mental elements, but again, he had no trouble.
It was because of the Pure Soul skill he had obtained from Ivan after killing him in the past.
If the Pure White option is activated, he becomes completely immune to mental attacks, with 100% resistance.
That is why Sang-hyun did not see a single hallucination on the 5th floor.
Perhaps because of this,
the monsters, who had approached loosely assuming they would naturally be caught in the mental attack, began dying one after another.
“And… the 6th floor is over.”
As he moved while responding to the electric storms by using the Another World skill every two minutes, it was already over.
Since the 6th floor was a floor completely devoid of monsters, there was no boss monster either.
Of course, the electric storms lashing down the entire dungeon were a disaster and a crisis in themselves, but not for Sang-hyun.
“Level 380.”
His level rises by another 10, as if measured with a ruler.
He felt that if there were such a thing as a ‘fortuitous encounter’ in novels, it must be referring to his current situation.
And not just once, but luck that came on every single floor. That made him feel incredibly good.
“I’m using my skills evenly and finishing up each one. Thanks to that, the skill checks are happening automatically.”
With every single use, his mastery of the skills was building up tremendously.
Consequently, throughout his journey to clear the 6th floor, Sanghyeon used every skill he could find, no matter what.
Thanks to this, most of his skills had been leveled up to level 5. It was as if every single skill had undergone a complete transformation.
At this point, he felt confident that he could take on any player who had made a pact with the Divine Throne of the Eye of Calamity.
His confidence in his skills soared.
If the total firepower he could expect from his skills before entering the Endless Dungeon was just 1,
now it felt like at least 4. With a little more power, he felt he could even aim for 5.
'Despite enjoying such privileges, Jeron Decay was killed in 2045 by a Black Knight from another dimension encountered in the Great Rift. It was truly anticlimactic.'
Recalling memories of his past life, his desire to somehow change the impending tragedy grew even more desperate.
Starting in about two to three years, 'villains' would begin to appear one by one in the player world.
Those who build walls against justice, intoxicated only by impulsive murder and violence, killing other players without guilt.
In my past life, I wondered why such players kept increasing and reaching uncontrollable levels.
Now, I understood.
Because the balance of the Dimensional Order collapsed, the number of evil-aligned constellations increased drastically, and the players who are the contractors have all come under its influence.
A cycle of evil.
Thinking that the genesis of the worst possible future is unfolding right now sends shivers down my spine.
Can you imagine?
The immense pressure felt when realizing that at this very moment, a turning point where the past, present, and future diverge lies upon my shoulders.
Sanghyeon was feeling the weight of the destiny placed upon him alone.
* * *
Around that time,
Luca Violet was receiving a message from his Divine Seat, which had been almost silent lately.
A Divine Seat that usually just watched, rarely opening its mouth. It was unexpected that he spoke first.
[It seems we must prepare.]
“What do you mean?”
Luca tilted his head at the Divine Seat's abrupt remark that preparations were necessary.
Usually, for such a statement to be made, there had to be prior explanation regarding the need for preparation and the reason.
Recently, nothing had been said that suggested preparation was required. However, upon reflection, something came to mind.
"Could it be…"
Going back a bit further, there was indeed one incident that shocked Luca.
It was the issue where the Divine Seat standing in opposition to the one he served had formed a contract with a Player
, and how this long-standing grudge naturally led the Contractor, the Player, to fight to the death against each other.
However, he had only been aware of that much and had never heard anything else from the Divine Seat since then. It might have been hidden.
[There is a Constellation that has caught on to my plan. It looks like things are going to go awry. It is becoming unmanageable.]
The voice of the Divine Throne, which had always sounded calm and emotionless, trembled with every word.
It was not a trembling of fear or terror, but one filled with anger and irritation.
Even to the listener, it was clearly palpable that he was struggling to suppress his rage.
Indeed.
The name of the Divine Throne that contracted with Luca Violet was the 'Eye of Calamity.' It is the antithesis of the Storm Throne.
“Have you been struck a weakness, enough to cause a setback in your plan?”
[I must kill that bastard as soon as possible, but it is not easy. Those Black Royal Guards keep digging themselves into the ground.]
“Hmm… Is there anything I can help with? Give your command.”
Even the arrogant Luca was completely obedient before the Divine Throne.
To Luca, the Eye of Calamity was the 'grateful' Divine Throne that had made him the powerful person he is today.
When he contracted with him, he swore. That he would live as his loyal dog for the rest of his life.
Even his fervent pursuit of devouring constellations while killing players now was not for his own sake.
It was to please the Eye of Calamity and to contribute to his grand dream.
Luca's misguided loyalty had never wavered.
