Chapter 279: Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Turbulent Situation

The higher the grade of equipment, the harder it is to obtain.

That was a natural fact.

However, that saying no longer applied to Kim Minwoo.

‘Because I can just compress it.’

While using Compression, he felt it.

It was simply a total cheat.

‘Raising the grade itself makes no sense.’

The saying that one’s potential is determined at birth didn’t exist for nothing.

Combining two items of the same grade creates a chance to upgrade the grade?

It was simply insane.

Just now was a case in point.

[Checking Item Information.]

[Name: Dragon-Made: Soul Harvester's Breastplate]

[Rank: Ancient (Growth Type)]

[Wear Requirement: Necromancer, Lv. 600 or higher]

[Description: A breastplate forged with Dragon crafting techniques. The grudges of tens of thousands of dead are fused with a dragon's reverse scale, allowing the wearer to be reborn as a Lord of Death.]

[Effect 1. All Stats +70]

[Effect 2. Absorbs the souls of enemies killed in battle, simultaneously recovering the wearer's Health and Mana.]

[Effect 3. Upon being hit, there is an 18% chance to trigger ‘Roar of the Dead’, inflicting Fear and Curse on surrounding enemies.]

[Effect 4. Undead Legion's Physical/Magic Resistance +15%]

“Kya…… the quality is killer, seriously killer.”

It was a whopping Ancient rank item, yet it had the Growth Type attribute attached.

If ordinary skeletons crafted Magic to Rare rank items, the ten Dragon Tooth Soldiers were on a different level.

‘Minimum Unique. If lucky, Legend.’

As long as materials were used generously, they often completed Legend rank items.

And the results produced like that……

‘I just have to compress them.’

The characteristic of Compression.

Even if it fails, the rank doesn't drop.

Unique + Unique = Enhanced Unique or Legend.

If he gathered these enhanced items and compressed them, the probability of a Legend appearing would become much higher!

The result was the Ancient (Growth Type) armor currently before his eyes.

“The Outer God was indeed a terrifyingly successful figure.”

Since he possessed such bizarre power, he must have been throwing his weight around the universe.

Since this ability was stolen, that must be why he went on a rampage crazy with rage.

He changed his armor.

[Replacing ‘Moss Guardian’s Dark Armor (Legend)’!]

[Equipping ‘Dragon-Made: Soul Harvester's Breastplate (Ancient)’!]

The armor wrapped snugly around his body.

As expected, good items feel different from the moment they are worn.

If there was one downside…….

‘It will take some time for materials to fill up in the auction house again.’

Money was money, but the biggest problem was the supply of materials. To create Unique rank items, one naturally needed materials worth that much.

Such materials were rare, and the quantity was not large.

Furthermore, since he had compressed things even beyond Legend to Ancient rank…… the listings in the major auction houses of the awakened powerhouses had practically dried up.

“Well, it’s fine though.”

Because the most core material still remained.

He took out Magenta's corpse from his inventory.

Spider Queen Magenta.

‘Hardronox’s daughter.’

If he crafted an item with the byproducts of a monster of this level, just what kind of object would pop out?

‘At least Ancient, right?’

Strengthening combat power was essential.

He spoke toward the Dragon Tooth Soldiers whose eyes were burning.

“Dismantle everything.”

Thus, Magenta's corpse began to be disassembled.

Seo Yerim, who had headed to the Heavenly City.

She had returned to Earth.

She woke up at the Sword Sea Pavilion and looked at her own body.

After receiving a Diamond rank sponsorship letter.

After jumping up to Murderous Difficulty through twists and turns, she moved to District 9 of the Heavenly City.

What she felt there was that District 9 had changed so much that the word ‘cataclysm’ was fitting.

‘Brother definitely said it was full of crumbling slums when he first went there…….’

The main roads were neatly organized, the soliciting sounds of non-human merchants rang out affectionately, and smiles were full on the residents' faces.

What filled their faces was exactly hope.

— All of this is thanks to Guild Leader Kim Minwoo! If you return, please make sure to tell him. That the residents of District 9 are waiting for the day the Guild Leader comes again.

The Money Talks Guild existing in District 9 of the Heavenly City.

It was the words spoken by the Lizardman Amteron, the district head there.

Since then, Seo Yerim's life had been a smooth highway.

As soon as she mentioned the name Money Talks Guild, all doors opened wide. Top-class accommodations, rare skill books, and even private training grounds. Whatever she wanted came into her hands.

‘Though the best thing was the training correction.’

Murderous Difficulty.

The difficulty skyrockets for all elements.

But there was a tradeoff.

Training was the same.

Every time she pushed herself to the point where she really thought she would die, a significant level of enlightenment would visit her.

Added to that, she possessed the trait Sincerity — hard work is rewarded, so…….

The Heavenly City was essentially the optimized place for her to train.

Seo Yerim, having raised her body, picked up her mobile phone.

‘I wonder how much the world has changed.’

As she scrolled down, delayed notifications poured out like a waterfall. Just looking at the news headlines, unusual words trampled on her eyes.

Shanghai, SS-rank Gate, Annihilation, Spider Queen. Chinese Revolution(?)

Seo Yerim’s brows furrowed.

“……What is all this?”

‘What on earth happened while I was briefly away at the Heavenly City?’

It seemed she needed to hear the details in person.

Her finger, scrolling through her contacts, stopped on a single name.

She was the only female member in the guild (Merhen was an undead), and the one person she could chat with relatively comfortably.

It was because her atmosphere itself was cozy, making words flow easily. As soon as she pressed the call button, the call connected before the ringtone rang even twice.

“Unnie, it’s me. Are you busy by any chance?”

—Oh my, Yerim? It’s been a while since I heard your voice! No, I’m fine. Why?

The familiar voice tickled her eardrums. The corners of Seo Yerim’s mouth curled up slightly.

“I just got back. From the Heavenly City.”

—Really? No wonder I lost contact with you. You’ve worked hard.

Seo Yerim looked out the window.

Beyond the courtyard of the Sword Sea Pavilion, a peaceful sky stretched out. However, the news headlines that had appeared on her phone kept hovering in her mind.

“Do you want to meet for a bit? There’s a lot to catch up on, and I want to hear how the world has been turning.”

—Sure, I actually had something to say too. Do you want to come to the café? Or you can come directly to the guild.

“The café. I want to eat something sweet after such a long time. There weren't many sweet things in the Heavenly City.”

—Alright. Then I’ll see you in an hour at the usual spot.

As soon as she entered the café, the meeting place, Seo Yerim’s eyes turned toward the window.

Seo Yerim’s footsteps unconsciously slowed down.

It was because her senses, honed as an archer, had captured a minute sense of incongruity.

Her eyes, capable of reading even the breath of a target kilometers away, detected something different about Han Siah.

Her posture was different.

The Han Siah of the past was always shrinking back somewhere.

Her gaze was directed at the floor, her shoulders were curled inward, and she exuded an atmosphere as if crushed by the weight of the world.

There was no wavering felt in her profile as she gazed out the window. Like a stone sunk deep underwater, something silent and solid was holding her center.

Han Siah turned her head.

A soft smile spread across her lips upon discovering Seo Yerim.

“Yerim, it’s been a while.”

Seo Yerim sat opposite her and stared intently at Han Siah. Her fingers unconsciously tapped on her thigh.

The habit of fiddling with arrowheads emerged even with empty hands.

“By the way, you’ve changed quite a lot……?”

It was a straightforward tone.

Beating around the bush did not suit Seo Yerim’s nature.

Han Siah tilted her head slightly.

“Does it look like that? In what way?”

“The air? The atmosphere? Something like that seems completely changed.”

“Yerim, it’s not that I’ve changed. It’s just that I was foolish and only now realized what I should have been all along.”

Han Siah’s eyes turned toward the window for a moment.

Sunlight rested softly upon her pale skin.

“I had been wandering. My faith was always lacking. Then, I went to a gate with the others.”

“Yes. It’s called the Dragon's Old Castle; you’ll find it if you search for it. Anyway, I met a certain Dragonkin there…… At first, I thought he was simply mad. But it was different.”

Turning her gaze out the window, her eyes stared into the distance. As if recalling the scene from that time again.

“Even amidst the pain of his entire body being torn apart, his bones crushing, and his mind shattering…… that being did not stop praying. Endlessly, without rest, as if it were breathing. Watching that, I realized. What true faith really is.”

The corners of her mouth trembled minutely.

“Perhaps that is another name for madness. Something that cannot be explained by reason, like a flame rising from the depths of the soul.”

Han Siah raised her head.

Her eyes, revealed under the sunlight, were tranquil.

However, the light rippling within those depths was far too scorching to call mere piety.

“Watching that…… I felt envy. And jealousy welled up. I believe too. But was my attitude truly sincere and sufficient? I came to reflect on myself. After contemplating like that…… my faith became utterly firm. Sincerely.”

“……Faith? Unnie, do you perhaps believe in a god sincerely?”

“Ah, well…… a Priest does have a structure where they get stronger the more they believe. I heard that the deeper a Priest's faith, the more extraordinary their skill power becomes, right?”

“Yes. That is the structure.”

Because such an event occurred, her atmosphere had changed so drastically.

‘Was the god Unnie believes in…… the one she said she met while obtaining the holy relic?’

Han Siah was the one who obtained the Holy Relic Iverg in the place she entered using that.

Until now, she hadn't asked in detail about that god.

Suddenly, curiosity arose.

Just what kind of existence is a god worthy of believing in that desperately?

“So what do you believe in? The God of Light? Or something like the Goddess of Life? Or maybe, the Moon God?”

At Seo Yerim’s question, the corners of Han Siah’s mouth trembled minutely.

“……Something similar.”

It was a gentle voice.

But the conviction contained within was as hard as steel.

“The one who reached out a hand in the darkness, the one who pulled me up from the end of despair. I believe in Him.”

Seo Yerim mulled over those words.

‘Is that, like, the form of faith Unnie holds in her heart?’

The inner god that priests often talk about.

An abstract object of belief.

That was how Seo Yerim understood it.

“That’s a good thing. I don't know what it is, but if it gives you strength, Unnie, then that’s enough.”

“Does it look that way?”

“Yes. You look good. Much more than before. Even if it’s an emotion of reliance, there’s nothing bad about it.”

At those words, Han Siah gazed blankly at Seo Yerim while cupping her coffee mug.

Suddenly, it came to mind.

The image of herself encouraging this child to approach Kim Minwoo when they went to hunt the Abyss Monarch.

Although a corner of her heart had stung, back then, it was definitely pure support.

However, is the emotion squirming now the same as back then?

Having contemplated, she set down her cup.

“……Just, because I feel that many things have changed.”

It seems, by all means, it is not.