TOP 66

Chapter 66

Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade

[The trial has ended.]
[Final pass grade: S]

“…It’s over.”

The grueling trial had finally concluded.

The result?

It was perfect.

Especially considering that I had to go in blindly, without knowing any strategies.

“By the way… where is this?”

I looked around.

A surreal, gray-white space.

I had expected to return to reality as soon as the trial ended, but that wasn’t the case.

[You have entered the ‘Gap of Space-Time’.]
[You have achieved remarkable accomplishments!]
[Before returning to reality, you will remain here for a short while.]
[All injuries and fatigue will be fully restored.]

“Gap of Space-Time?”

I had never seen or heard of a place like this.

Even if I tried to analyze it, there was too little data.

The only meaningful information was the name of the space.

“…Well, at least my condition is restored.”

The state that had felt like death was now completely normal.

I didn’t know much else, but that alone was enough.

After waiting for a while without any change, I came to a conclusion.

“Is this basically a reward settlement room?”

I needed to check the rewards I had received in this trial anyway.

Perfect timing.

I had already received so many rewards that it was almost overwhelming.

“Let’s see…”

I slowly checked the system messages again.

[Trial pass grade calculation complete!]
[Final grade: S]
[Amazing achievement!]
[Trial rewards have been upgraded.]

S grade.

Upgraded rewards.

I examined each message in detail.

[Acquired ‘Divine Power: Dragon Body – Stage 1’.]
[Due to achieving S grade, your reward has been upgraded!]
[Reward upgraded to ‘Divine Power: Dragon Body – Stage 3’!]

Dragon Body.

A power that greatly enhances physical abilities.

However, it hadn’t taken effect immediately.

[You can now proceed with Body Reconstruction (Physical Transformation).]
[Do you wish to proceed?]
[Warning: It is recommended to do this in a safe location.]

It seemed this transformation needed to be performed for the effect to apply.

“Might as well do it here.”

No reason to delay.

“I’ll proceed.”

I nodded, and the latent energy within my body began surging violently.

[Starting Body Reconstruction.]
[Transforming your body into a combat-optimized form.]
[The superior genetics of the dragon race are activating!]
[Skeleton replaced with dragon bones.]
[Blood replaced with dragon blood.]
[Skin replaced with dragon skin.]

…

Countless messages appeared.

Following each one, my body was completely transformed.

Crack. Crunch.

Thump.

Swoosh—

Skeleton, skin, veins, organs, muscles…

Many parts were upgraded.

‘Not as painful as I thought.’

I had braced myself for extreme pain, but fortunately, it was manageable.

My appearance hadn’t changed drastically either.

Basically, I still looked like myself.

At most, I had grown slightly taller.

No strange transformations like alien skin or anything.

[Body Reconstruction complete.]
[Confirm changes from previous state.]

[Regeneration +1,000%]
[Physical durability +500%]
[Bone strength +700%]
[Muscle efficiency +300%]
[Aura resistance +1,800%]
[Magic affinity +1,200%]
[Lung capacity +400%]

…

The list went on endlessly.

My impression?

“Is this insane?”

It was absolutely amazing.

With Stage 3 Dragon Body applied, it was a full transformation.

At this level, I wouldn’t lose physically even against hunters a tier above me.

Honestly, this alone made the trial worthwhile.

But the rewards didn’t stop there.

[Acquired ‘Divine Power: Guardian Contract’.]
[Divine Power: Guardian Contract – Skill, Legend]

• Appoint a guardian to protect the caster.

• If the target agrees, the Guardian Contract is formed.

• The contracted guardian can never betray the master.

• The contracted guardian can receive 30% of the master’s stats.

• Can contract one guardian per level.

• Current contracted guardians (0/6)

“…Legendary!”

A legendary-tier skill.

One step above unique skills.

I understood why it was legendary after reading its description.

“This is insane.”

A perfect skill to create an ally who can never betray you.

It requires the target’s consent, but there are no restrictions on how to obtain it.

Technically, coercion or force could work.

Of course.

“Persuasion is better than threats, though.”

It’s better if the guardian voluntarily becomes an ally.

Absolute loyalty is guaranteed, but efficiency differs depending on willingness.

And it wasn’t impossible to make someone a guardian willingly.

“Because they get 30% of my stats.”

The guardian receives 30% of my stats without reducing mine.

Especially sharing my abundant magic stat is a huge advantage.

This skill has limitless applications.

Making a wavering ally completely loyal, boosting someone who will accompany me, etc.

By the way, something about the tooltip seemed odd.

“One per level, but why six?”

From what I understood, 1 level = 1 star.

I’m 5-star, so I should be level 5, and can have 5 guardians.

“Wait… the status screen!”

I opened the status screen.

[Do Yu-jin]
Total Combat Level: 6.58
Unique Trait: Excessive Magic
Physical: 38,469
Magic: 10,180 (Recovering, no limit)
Skills: One Punch, Magic Loan, Dragon Body – Stage 3, Guardian Contract, Dragon Lair
Current Status: Normal

“6.58…?”

Level over 6.

I tried creating an aura with my Eternal Frost Sword just in case.

Vuuuuuush—

Heatwave-like aura.

Threads of aura forming a solid framework.

And…

“…It works.”

The aura blade, refined into a sword shape, was in my hands.

A symbol of a 6-star hunter, executed effortlessly.

Without realizing it, I had reached the level of a 6-star hunter.

At first, I was stunned, but then I guessed the reason.

“Thanks to Dragon Body?”

One effect of Dragon Body:

[Magic affinity +1,200%]

Probably why I could wield the aura blade so easily.

Plus, my physical stats had skyrocketed.

“My physical stat is almost 40,000?”

Last I checked, it was around 20,000.

It doubled instantly.

Clearly from applying Stage 3 Dragon Body.

And…

“Dragon Lair.”

The last skill on my list.

Another dragon-related divine power reward from the trial.

[Calculating additional S-rank rewards.]
[Acquired ‘Divine Power: Dragon Lair’!]
[Divine Power: Dragon Lair – Skill, Legend]

• Your own home! A peaceful sanctuary!

• Enterable through Dragon Lair.

• A type of pocket dimension with incredible size and versatility.

• Use Mana Stones to level up the Dragon Lair.

• Upgrading increases its features.

• Lv.1: Automatic Healing Potion Production (Current)

• Lv.2: Automatic Ether Production (Locked)

• Lv.3: Dwarf Workshop Open (Locked)

• Lv.4…

Checking Dragon Lair’s options, I was dumbfounded.

“Housing, massive pocket dimension, auto-production…?”

Insane.

I entered it.

[Entering Dragon Lair!]
[Welcome, Master.]

“…Wow. Incredible.”

It was massive.

“This big?”

A truly enormous pocket dimension.

Pocket dimensions themselves aren’t unusual.

Modern humans can create them.

But usually small.

Big enough for a car at most.

Bigger than that? You’d have to move in reality.

Which was why Hansu-kyeol had to transport the mutant Drake corpse by train.

But…

“…This could rival a major logistics center.”

With Dragon Lair, large-scale logistics are easy.

Of course, showing off this power requires caution.

Also…

“A special training ground? I can use it here too?”

Unlike normal training grounds, the body is fully transported here.

Meaning I could bypass the 7 hours and 12 minutes of vulnerability in the special training ground.

And…

“One healing potion per day?”

It automatically produces one healing potion per day.

And there were already hundreds of pre-produced potions!

Potion flexing is now completely possible.

“This is insane.”

I was losing my mind with excitement.

And this isn’t even all of Dragon Lair’s functions.

More can be unlocked by feeding it Mana Stones.

“This is absurdly generous.”

Honestly, this divine power’s acquisition difficulty was extremely high.

Unlike the previous two, which could be solved by just getting a guardian, this required completing a complex trial.

Yet the reward was this extravagant.

“Phew. Calm down and exit for now.”

[Exiting Dragon Lair.]

Back in the Gap of Space-Time.

Two more things to check.

First…

“What is this?”

[?? ??? ?? – ???, ???]

• ?????

Something Meteus had given me near the end of the trial.

A token to show if my real self couldn’t recognize me.

The Tenauges system couldn’t interpret it.

“Hmm.”

Not sure, but…

“I know its purpose anyway.”

I’d show it to Tower Master Meteus.

Then I’d know what this item does.

And also, about the hidden truths of the world I glimpsed through the fragment.

‘Cataclysm, prophet, Gaia, dragon…’

Many thoughts crossed my mind, but I shook them off.

“Let’s just finish checking.”

Finally, the last one.

A bracelet I got—well, extorted… from the Dwarf King.

[Dwarf-Made Draupnir – Bracelet, Unique]

• Imitates a god’s bracelet.

• Absorbs and stores mana.

• Stored mana can be injected into the body as desired.

• Current storage (454,601/1,000,000)

Unique grade.

A tier below the legendary rewards, but its effect was highly satisfying.

“A mana battery!”

A superior version of the mana battery I had used countless times in the trial.

Smaller, more versatile, and could inject mana selectively.

This would make One Punch much more versatile.

“Alright. All rewards checked…”

When would I return to reality?

At that moment:

[All available time has been consumed.]
[Exiting the Gap of Space-Time.]

The gray-white space trembled, and then my vision inverted.

I had returned to reality.

Deep underground in the Burning Earth dungeon.

The place I reached to obtain the dragon powers.

And…

Kwahng! Kaga-gagang!

Whoooosh—

“Ugh! Hngh! I—I’m gonna die…!”

【Yu-jin, when will you— huh!?】

Yuseol-ah and Prill were fighting desperately.

In the maze-like corridor, filled with hundreds of 5-star monsters.

【It’s Yu-jin!】

“Ah!”

“What are these things?”

【Don’t you see? They’re monsters!】

That wasn’t the question, but whatever.

“Let’s deal with them first.”

Good thing I wasn’t late.

Gray-white surreal space.

Gap of Space-Time.

A quiet will whispered softly:

[One who has broken free from predetermined fate.]
[Pioneer of destiny.]
[…]
[May you transcend fate and ultimately reach causality.]