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Chapter 7
[You have entered Floor 7 of the Tower of Trials.]
This time too, a group of orcs spotted me from the distance.
I tightened my grip on the sword I took from the orcs.
“Grrrr…”
The Gold Dragon looked at me and let out a low growl.
Its aura began intensifying once again.
But this aura felt different from before.
[The power of the Holy Gold Dragon flows into the Orc Sword.]
[Heavenly Light: E-Rank]
[Light-element attack power is added to the weapon for 10 minutes.]
“Heavenly Light?”
“So this sword just gained an option?”
And not just any option.
A light attribute.
I quickly checked the item information.
[Orc Sword]
[Equipment Rank: Lowest Grade]
[Equipment Attribute: None]
[Additional Option]
[Light attribute temporarily added.]
[Deals critical hits with a 100% chance against dark-type enemies.]
What the hell.
One hundred percent critical chance?
This was not just a simple increase in attack power or durability.
These kinds of options only appeared on high-grade equipment.
No.
Judging by the activation rate alone, this was a top-tier option.
According to the description, every attack would trigger a critical hit without fail.
“As expected of a dragon’s buff.”
Equipment of this level could normally only be crafted.
And since the required materials were extremely difficult to obtain, only top-tier hunters usually possessed high-grade items.
Yet now, even a shabby sword stolen from an orc had gained an absurd option like this.
The only downside was the ten-minute duration.
But after thinking about it again, even that was not a problem.
If the duration ended?
I could simply apply the buff again.
It did not consume any special resource.
An Orc Sword infused with light.
Light was basically the natural enemy of orcs.
Add the guaranteed critical hits.
And finally, my permanently enhanced physical abilities.
“I’m busy, so all of you attack at once.”
***
[You have successfully cleared Floor 7 of the Tower of Trials.]
[You have achieved the fastest clear time.]
I cleared the seventh floor.
Once again with the message declaring a fastest clear.
“Unbelievable.”
I felt dazed.
Even without the Red Dragon, I still broke the record.
And I did it using nothing but raw physical strength.
No combat skills at all.
“The Hunter Community is going to explode again.”
I kept defeating orcs mindlessly, and before I realized it, I had already reached the tenth floor.
The location of the third ancient artifact hidden inside the Tower of Trials.
“It should’ve been around here…”
Normally, when people imagined ancient artifacts, they thought they would be hidden deep inside the tower.
And most of the time, that was true.
But the tenth floor was different.
There was a saying about how it’s darkest beneath the lamp.
Near the entrance of the tenth floor stood a small stone tower.
And inside it was the third artifact.
Before my return, I only discovered it by accident after knocking over the stone pile.
But now that I had all my memories, there was no need for trial and error.
I bent down and searched between the stacked stones.
Something sparkling caught my eye through the gaps.
A small ring glowing with blue light.
I pulled it out.
[Bronze Ring]
[Can be fixed as either a weapon-type or armor-type artifact according to the wearer’s will.]
[Additional Option]
[?????]
Strictly speaking, rings were closer to accessories than weapons or armor.
But this artifact had a special ability.
It could inherit either weapon-type or armor-type properties.
“The Bronze Shield is already enough for defense.”
What I needed now was a new medium to summon the Red Dragon.
“So obviously, weapon-type.”
[The Bronze Ring has been fixed as a weapon-type artifact.]
Finally, I regained a weapon-type artifact.
Now I could summon the Red Dragon again.
My eyes moved to the bottom of the system window.
The Bronze Ring had an additional option attached to it.
[Additional Option]
[?????]
Right now, it was still hidden behind question marks.
“But I already know what it is.”
An insane ability that was hard to believe came from an artifact found on only the tenth floor.
This option would unlock after clearing the 30th floor of the tower.
“Go back for now.”
I dismissed the Gold Dragon and summoned the Red Dragon again.
[Summon Rank: E-Rank]
[Summoning an attack-type dragon using the Bronze Ring as a medium.]
[Summon Limit: 1/1]
“Grrrr…”
The dragon greeted me.
It had only been a day since I last saw it, but somehow it felt much longer.
I gently stroked its face.
This was the dragon that saved me from the female villain inside the F-Rank gate.
The F-Rank gate incident.
The dragon recognized me as its master.
Thinking back on it now, it really felt like the dragon shattered the artifact and forced itself out in order to protect me.
And it appeared in its fully grown S-Rank form.
“A summon appearing without my command?”
To properly test this theory, I would need an enormous number of artifacts.
Since consuming artifacts seemed to be a necessary condition.
But how exactly was I supposed to gather that many?
I had been collecting artifact fragments whenever possible while working as a porter, but there were limits to that.
Gates did not appear every single day.
And more importantly, gates only gave artifact fragments, not complete artifacts.
“I wonder if there’s a better method…”
Then suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
An incredible idea.
“So there was a way after all.”
But before that…
“Can you wipe out everything from the tenth floor onward?”
“Grrrr…”
As if it had been waiting for those words, the dragon immediately unleashed its breath attack.
***
The next morning.
At the Gaya Guild office.
I was meeting Guild Master Lee Sunjin.
“Thank you for what happened last time. Things could’ve become very troublesome otherwise.”
Troublesome was an understatement.
If things had gone slightly wrong, both the Bureau employee and I could have died.
Ignoring a gate raid just because it was far away.
These people were hopeless.
“But are you really an E-Rank hunter?”
Lee Sunjin looked at me suspiciously.
More specifically, he was curious about my summoning skill.
The battle traces left behind during that incident…
There was no way those could have been caused by an E-Rank hunter.
I really was an E-Rank hunter.
But once I summoned dragons, the situation changed completely.
Actually, I came here intending to discuss this anyway, but Lee Sunjin brought it up first.
“I am an E-Rank hunter. But the dragons I summon are stronger than most A-Rank hunters.”
Honestly, that answer was mostly a guess.
Even I did not know the exact comparison.
It was not like I could casually arrange one-on-one duels with A-Rank hunters.
“You’re saying your summons are stronger than A-Rank hunters?”
“Well, they are dragons.”
“That may be true, but…”
As expected, he looked unconvinced.
I already anticipated that reaction.
“But my dragons don’t stop there.”
“What do you mean?”
“They grow stronger.”
Dragon growth.
That was the key point I planned to negotiate with Gaya.
“I’d like your guild to gather artifact fragments for me.”
My dragons grew stronger through artifact fragments.
But knowing that and personally gathering enough fragments were completely different matters.
There were obvious physical limitations.
After all, I only had one body.
But if the entire guild helped gather artifacts, things changed.
My growth speed would become incomparable to before.
And if I grew that quickly, I would not even need to test my earlier theory.
There would be no need to consume artifacts just to summon S-Rank dragons.
Because eventually, my summoning skill itself would naturally reach S-Rank.
“Artifacts? What exactly would you use those useless things for?”
Lee Sunjin tilted his head in confusion.
Worldwide, artifacts were considered completely worthless.
Some artifacts had been discovered inside towers and gates, but none of them had any visible effects.
Once people realized that, artifacts became nothing more than antiques.
Only I knew they were actually used to strengthen my dragons.
Ancient artifacts that held no value to anyone else.
That was precisely why I could ask for them like this.
“The secret behind my dragons’ growth lies in them.”
“You’re saying your summons grow stronger using artifacts?”
“That’s right.”
His expression subtly changed after hearing my answer.
Just the idea of summons growing stronger through artifacts sounded unbelievable to him.
“Summons that grow…”
He stared blankly into the air, clearly deep in thought.
Only after a long silence did he finally speak again.
“Then what exactly would you offer us in return?”
As expected.
I already prepared an answer for that.
My summons grew stronger.
And these were not ordinary summons.
They were dragons.
And if a hunter controlling dragons belonged to Gaya, that alone would become a massive issue.
Especially for a small guild like this one.
What I could offer them was simple.
“Have you ever seen an S-Rank summon before?”
“What? S-Rank?”
He looked shocked.
At this point in time, no hunter possessed S-Rank summons.
The currently active S-Rank hunters were all combat-type awakeners.
“W-Wait a second. Are you saying your dragons can grow to S-Rank?”
Of course.
Though before my return, it took me three years.
That was only because I discovered the method too late.
“I’ll make Gaya into a guild that possesses an S-Rank dragon.”
“What?!”
He stared at me in complete shock.
“This is a deal where Gaya loses absolutely nothing. Artifacts are worthless antiques anyway. The only effort involved is gathering them.”
“B-Before that, there’s something I’m curious about. You said your current dragon is already stronger than an A-Rank hunter, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then what rank is your dragon right now?”
“An E-Rank dragon.”
“Then… if the dragon grows to S-Rank, what exactly would that even compare to?”
What would it compare to?
Clearing the 100th floor of the Tower of Trials.
At that point, comparing it to ordinary hunters became meaningless.
But there was no point saying that now.
He would never believe me anyway.
After all, Korea’s current tower record was still only in the 80th floors.
“I’m not sure either. I haven’t reached S-Rank yet. But if Gaya helps me, we’ll find out soon enough.”
After thinking for a long time, Lee Sunjin finally nodded.
“Alright. You did save us during that incident. Consider this my way of repaying that debt. Though honestly, I’m also curious whether this S-Rank dragon thing is real.”
It seemed he still did not fully believe me.
For now, this felt more like repayment for solving the F-Rank gate incident.
But soon enough, he would understand.
Everything I said was true.
And there was one thing he completely overlooked.
It was not just the dragons that grew stronger.
My own rank rose together with theirs.
Meaning the moment the dragons reached S-Rank, I would become an S-Rank hunter too.
Currently, only the top guilds possessed S-Rank hunters.
The absolute strongest guilds in Korea.
But what if a little-known guild like Gaya suddenly produced an S-Rank hunter?
That alone was more than enough compensation for receiving artifacts.
“There’s one last thing I’d like to ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“It’s nothing major. I’d just prefer it if the fact that you’re supplying me with artifacts stayed secret.”
I revealed my growth method because I needed help.
But honestly, it would be troublesome if rumors spread.
Artifacts might suddenly gain value.
“That’s not difficult. Alright.”
The perfect deal was made.
Dragon enhancement.
And my own growth.
Things might progress far faster than I originally expected.
