The Boundless Necromancer - Chapter 111: Interim Closing (2)

Chapter 111: Interim Closing (2)

Strongest.

This was probably the reason why I was climbing the Tower.

To become the strongest one across all dimensions, so no one could restrict me in any sense.

I realized that I had gotten a step closer to achieving my goals.

「12 floor’s Trial ranking board」

1st. Hunter (SSS)

2nd. Great Sorcerer (SS+)

3rd. Kim SeungHoon (SS)

4th. Katherine Benet (SS-)

5th. Bloody Lightsaber (SS-)

6th. Clock Tower’s Magician (SS-)

7th. Andrei Tarkaposki (S+)

“…”

No one across all countries had gotten a better result than me in this trial.

I laughed in disbelief after seeing my name on top of the leaderboard.

To think that I would be at the top of the leaderboard that had gathered all countries around the world…

‘It seems like Earth really is weak compared to other dimensions…’

Maybe the result would’ve been different if they’d put all S-rank Hunters across the world…

But if I was the challenger with the highest points, I could easily understand the level of others.

Not only that but in the top rankings, there were some familiar names. But most of the challengers who were in the top rankings were probably at a similar level to an S-rank Hunter.

I shook my head and stopped thinking about these kinds of things.

From what I’ve heard, in worlds like Ares, Kallian, or the Murim Dimension, the Tower of Trials has existed since long ago.

‘I guess it’s inevitable for Earth’s strength to be weaker.’

What mattered in this situation wasn’t the strength of Earth or the rankings.

Now that it was officially registered as a climbing dimension, challengers from other worlds wouldn’t invade Earth.

Earth was probably weaker compared to other dimensions.

I became sure of that after completing the 11th and 12th floor trials.

‘Earth is at least weaker than Murim and Ares.’

‘
That’s why Earth was seen as a lower dimension from beings of other worlds. So there were many people who tried to get advantage of this and try to invade.

For example, a few floors ago, I was treated as a savage by a knight from Ares. And because of that, I almost died.

After that, I faced challengers like Baek SeonHak and NamGung Hyuk.

‘If I keep going up through the Tower, I guess I’ll inevitably become a target.’

That’s why I shouldn’t concentrate on Earth’s weak forces…

And instead becoming strong enough to face the challengers from other dimensions who, after seeing how weak Earth was, tried to take advantage of it.

“Inventory.”

I checked out the reward I received for clearing the 12th floor trial.

「Ancient Emperor’s Grey Crown」

「Rank: A-」

「Charisma +30%」

「A grey crown used by an Ancient Emperor that served the God of Darkness.」

「While using, your mind becomes unstable, and the durability of the item goes down every minute.」

「But in exchange, you can freely use the that’s embedded in the crown.」

「As long as the item isn’t destroyed, its durability will slowly recover.」

Spirit Magic…

It seemed like an ability that resembled more a Necromancer than the Unique Ability Necromancy I had.

I fell into thought while looking at the crown that was shining with a grey jewel.

‘If wearing it makes your mind unstable and its durability goes down, it doesn’t seem to be a great item.’

It seemed like you should only wear it while fighting.

I decided not to make a conclusion about the Grey Crown and started to check out the other things.

First, I decided to check out the B- ranked skill, ‘Last Stand.’

「Skill – Last Stand (B-)」

「Proficiency Rate – 0%」

「Normal Effect – During the battle, you can dismiss a ‘Critical hit damage that’s going to lead you to death,’ but once you use it, it will consume 88% of your HP. Also, it will be a week before you can use it again.」

「Detailed Effect – If Last Stand is activated, your senses get sharper, and all your skills will get a boost. The proficiency rate of Last Stand increases by 7% every time you use it.」

“Nice.”

There wasn’t an unclear side to its effect like the ‘Ancient Emperor’s Grey Crown (A-).’

To think I could overcome a situation that would’ve led to my death.

‘
‘I’m not sure what it means to dismiss critical hit damage… but it’s definitely a good skill.’

It had penalties like consuming 88% of your HP and a long cooldown time, but they were penalties that didn’t feel like a penalty.

The reason was that…

If I can use skills like Last Stand without any restriction, that would make me almost immortal.

Not having any penalty after stopping you from dying would be the abnormal thing.

Not only that, according to the description, after receiving the penalty, my senses would get sharper, and my skills would get a boost.

‘Taking those things into consideration, this doesn’t feel like a penalty at all.’

Last Stand was definitely going to save me from a dangerous situation.

* * *

After checking out the details of the rewards, I changed the center of my thoughts.

‘Although I’ve finished checking out rewards, there are still things I need to check.’

It was time to check the Powers I had gained by applying pressure on the Administrators.

“Exclusive Store.”

The shop window opened as I mumbled the command words for the contractor exclusive store.

「Contractor Exclusive Store.」

「SP – 10,500」

「Category: Skill」

「Category: Power」

「Category: Objects」

「Contractor: Iron-blooded Monarch and White Crane Sword Saint」

「Note: First contractor of the ‘Iron-blooded Monarch’ and Apostle of the ‘White Crane Sword Saint’.」

A crazy amount of special points appeared before my eyes, but…

I didn’t hesitate and went directly to the Power category.

「Enter the Power list you want to open.」

「1. Iron-blooded Monarch」

「2. White Crane Sword Saint」

「3. Sponsor Power」

And—

‘
「You’ve selected the ‘Sponsor Power.’」

「Category: Power (Sponsor Power)」

「List (1/2)」

「Power: Sword Aura Merchant (C+)[Acquired]」

「Power: Steel Wing (C+)[Acquired]」

「Blood Demon Hole (C+)」

As I entered the Sponsor Power category list, I saw new Powerss.

「List (2/2)」

「Power: Hero’s Protection (C+)」

「Power: Quick Mana Charge (C+)」

I didn’t stop there and entered the second list.

Then I returned to the first page and expanded the description of each Power.

It was to make them easier to read.

「Blood Demon Hole (C+)」

「Price: 3,000 SP」

「Description: It’s a Power only the successors of the Blood Demon Cult can learn. You can change mana with ki and inherit the characteristic mana of the attributes. The energy changed to Ki will react more sharply. When you begin fighting, your battle senses will get stronger.」

「Power: Hero’s Protection (C+)」

「Price: 3,000 SP」

「Description: A Power that is given only to those chosen by Gods. Those who have obtained this Power, regardless of the time in which they were born, acted as the world’s saviors. However, the subject’s contract with God has been cut. So the only effects they can get from the Power are Divinity Control and Increased Luck.」

「Quick Mana Charge (C+)」

「Price: 3,000 SP」

「Description: When your mana drops to less than 50%, you can absorb and recharge your mana from nature. However, if you over-recharge, your magic circuits or blood veins could be damaged.」

They were all good Powers.

The Blood Demon Hole seemed like a vision technique people from Murium used to change Mana to Ki.

Hero’s Protection allowed me to control the Divinity inside me.

Quick Mana Charge allowed me to recharge mana.

These three were quite good, considering they were C+ Powers.

Of course, they were expensive, taking into consideration these were C+ Powers, but they were worth it.

“Hmm.”

‘
After stroking my chin for a bit, I made a decision.

“I should just buy these.”

I couldn’t help but be tempted by these great Powers.

Although they weren’t as good as higher-ranking Powers, these were still quite good in terms of price and quality.

Among the Powers of White Crane Sword Saint, there were some A- or even A+ ones that tempted me quite a lot. But…

But seeing how fast I got special points, I thought I might not need to buy higher-ranking Powers yet.

‘I guess it will be okay if I buy it on later floors.’

Not only that, but they also gave me special points as an extra reward. So it probably doesn’t matter.

I left these useless thoughts behind and chose the more effective ones.

「You’ve bought the Power: ‘Blood Demon Hole (C+).’」

「You’ve spent 3,000 SP.」

「You’ve bought the Power: ‘Hero’s Protection (C+).’」

「You’ve spent 3,000 SP.」

「You’ve bought the Power: ‘Quick Mana Charge (C+).’」

「You’ve spent 3,000 SP.」

These three were sponsored Powers.

After buying the Powers, I felt my body changing. But I didn’t stop there and did a ceremony with the remaining rewards.

I wanted the effect of the Blood Demon Hole and the Hero’s Protection, but…

I decided to leave those behind and checked out the last remaining reward.

The reason was…

「You’ve absorbed the soul of the challenger ‘Han Sungyeun’ and increased your stats permanently.」

「You’ve absorbed one of the skills the challenger ‘Han Sungyeun’ had as a reward.」

There was a more interesting reward left than the three Powers I had just bought.

Not only that, but…

「Challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul matches the challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul.」

「You’ve satisfied the conditions for the Power ‘Divinity,’ so it has activated.」

「Trying to absorb Divinity.」

I received a message that had something written that I wasn’t expecting.

——

Sponsored ContentChapter 112: Interim Closing (3)

「You’ve absorbed challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul, and your stats have increased.」

「Your Strength has increased by 10.」

「Your Agility has increased by 10.」

「Your Stamina has increased by 10.」

「Your Mana has increased by 10.」

「Your Tenacity has increased by 10.」

My stats had increased by double digits, which was something I hadn’t experienced for a while.

「You’ve absorbed one of the skills challenger ‘Han Sungyeun’ had.」

「You’ve absorbed the skill ‘Lightning Sword Ki (B).’」

「You already have the skill ‘Lightning Sword Ki (B),’ so both proficiencies are being fused.」

「The proficiency of the skill ‘Lightning Sword Ki (B)’ has reached 100%.」

「The rank of the skill ‘Lightning Sword Ki (B)’ has increased.」

I was shocked that the rank of Lightning Sword Ki had increased, but…

I left those small improvements aside and focused on the messages that were underneath.

「Challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul matches the challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul.」

「You’ve satisfied the conditions for the Power ‘Divinity,’ so it has activated.」

「Trying to absorb Divinity.」

The Divinity Power, which had never been activated before, was activated.

I never expected for something like this to happen.

「The Divinity extraction has been successful.」

「The rank of ‘Divinity (C+)’ has become ‘Divinity (B-).’」

「Through ‘Divinity (B-),’ you can transform Divinity and myth accumulation.」

“…”

It was full of words I couldn’t understand, but…

I could feel the change in the Divinity inside me.

‘Don’t tell me, can I use Divinity…?’

In reality, I was planning to ask either the Iron-blooded Monarch or the White Crane Sword Saint about how I could use this Divinity that was inside my heart.

But there was no need to do that anymore.

“Status Window.”

As I mentioned the simple command, I could see the status window, which had undergone changes.

「Han Sungyeun」

「Radiance – Ruler」

「Strength – 100」 「Stamina – 97」

「Agility – 98」 「Mana – 93」

「Tenacity – 96」

「Unique Ability – Necromancy (B)」

「Unique Power – Skill Combination」

‘
「Power – Calm (C-), Sword Silhouette Border (A-), Steel Wing (C+), Iron-blooded Sword (A-), Divinity (B-), Blood Demon Hole (C+), Hero’s Protection (C+), Quick Mana Charge (C+)」

「Skill – Detailed List」

My strength stat had reached triple digits, but what got my attention was the increase in the number of Powers.

Divinity (B-), Blood Demon Hole (C+), Hero’s Protection (C+), Quick Mana Charge (C+).

While looking at the newly added four Powers, I fell into thought while frowning.

‘Among these, the only one that could give a change to Divinity is Hero’s Protection…’

It was the first time a Power had grown after using Necromancy’s soul absorption, so I was surprised.

I was trying to wonder about what had triggered the extraction of Divinity. But…

I realized that there was no conclusion I could currently reach.

It was understandable.

‘It’s the first time this has happened, so there’s no way I’d be able to find out something.’

According to the description, Hero’s Protection just helped you control the Divinity.

There were no traces of Hero’s Protection being active while the Divinity was being extracted.

So it probably wasn’t something that had happened because I had obtained more Powers.

“If I keep thinking about it, I’ll just probably end up reaching useless conclusions.”

I wasn’t sure what condition I had fulfilled so that I was able to extract the Divinity inside a soul.

But that was something I could always figure out later on.

And—

‘I’m going to leave the Divinity aside and check the Powers I’ve bought in more detail.’

Instead, I began checking out the Powers I had just learned.

***

***

The Powers I had to check were Blood Demon Hole (C+), and Hero’s Protection (C+).

The effect of Quick Mana Charge (C+) was obvious just by reading the description, so it was pointless to revisit it.

After reaching that conclusion, I started to look at Blood Demon Hole (C+) in more detail.

「Activating Power ‘Blood Demon Hole.’」

BZZT…!!

As I replaced Mana with Ki, just by leaking out mana, red thunder poured out.

Not only that, but the level of body fortification couldn’t be compared to before.

“Woah…”

That wasn’t all.

The mana always heard its owner’s orders.

That meant that the level of transmitting the will through Sword Ki or Sword Flames had reached a new high.

‘
Sword Ki was a basic command that allowed me to cut anything. Sword Flame was a more complex command of that.

That’s what I realized after learning Sword Ki and Sword Flames.

But as mana turned into ki, the speed of transmission of the commands improved.

‘There was a reason why the challengers from Murim were stronger.’

The only negative thing was the effect that happened while activating Blood Demon Hole.

BZZT—!

“Ugh…”

My sight became red, and from my body, red steam started to come out.

I felt that I couldn’t control the blood that was boiling.

Of course, it wasn’t that I couldn’t control it, but I couldn’t help but get a bit angry.

I couldn’t do anything about an excited voice leaking out.

It wasn’t that my mind was starting to feel unstable, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy…

“This could be called a downside.”

While restricting the blood from boiling, I deactivated the Blood Demon Hole.

As expected of an expensive power; although it was just a C+ rank Power, it had a strong effect.

Besides its side effects, there wasn’t any problem.

Although it might look unstable at first glance, it wasn’t bad enough to call it a side effect.

「Activating the Power ‘Hero’s Protection.’」

The effect of Hero’s Protection wasn’t that impressive.

I just gained the ability to control the Divinity inside my heart, which allowed me to move it.

The other effect, luck increase, was hard to test. So I decided to stop researching it.

Instead, I began thinking about how to control the Divinity and use its strength.

And…

“What’s this…?”

I couldn’t help but frown after making the Divinity move through my body.

Paf—!

A bright light started to come out of the body.

I had made the Divinity go around my body for body-fortifying purposes, but something unexpected happened.

I could restrict it according to my will, but there was nothing special to it.

The only effect was that my body started to shine…

I couldn’t do anything like healing or fortifying, just like the priests I saw on the 11th floor could do.

I stopped trying to investigate it and fell into thought.

‘Seeing that I could control it, but it doesn’t have any effect, it seems like there’s a special way to use it.’

If I couldn’t use Divinity, it was because I didn’t know how to use it.

Judging from the system messages, that seemed to be the case.

After all, the system had never lied to me up to that moment.

If the Tower said I could do it, I could probably do it.

But—

‘
‘I guess I have no other choice…’

Since I couldn’t reach any conclusion, no matter how much I thought about it, I decided to stop thinking about it.

But it wasn’t like I had given up on Divinity.

“…”

Divinity wasn’t my area of expertise, but I had ways to learn about it.

‘I could probably learn it from either the Iron-blooded Monarch or the White Crane Sword Saint.’

Administrators were Pseudo-divine beings. So they had Divinity inside them.

I currently have a contract with two strong Administrators.

To become a master, you have to learn from a master.

Maybe I should learn how to use Divinity from the Iron-blooded Monarch or the White Crane Sword Saint.

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ says she will teach you how to use Divinity!」

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ says she can teach it to you better than the Iron-blooded Monarch.」

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ has invited you to the Administrators territory!」

After seeing that I couldn’t use the Divinity properly, the White Crane Sword Saint sent me a message.

I thought for a bit about what I should do, but I ended up refusing.

“I don’t want to.”

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ seems shocked by your refusal.」

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ asks why are you refusing. She says if you come, she will teach you how to use it.」

There were two reasons why I had decided to refuse help regarding learning using Divinity.

The first one was that I thought that over-relying on Administrators could end up creating a bad habit.

The second one was that I didn’t know how much time it would take to learn to use Divinity.

I’d already tried once to use it, so I thought I kind of knew what Divinity was.

‘It isn’t something I can learn at once.’

Of course, there’s a chance I’m wrong…

「Activating skill ‘Sixth Sense.’」

I activated a skill that sharpened my senses.

“Wouldn’t learning to use Divinity take a lot of time?”

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ says she can help you learn it fast.」

“It isn’t that I need to learn it right now, so I’m going to learn it later on when I have time.”

「The Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ says while shrugging, if that’s what the contractor wishes, that’s okay.」

After reading the White Crane Sword Saint’s messages, I realized that my intuition was right.

Right now, I could do the techniques that required Divinity.

I could replace the mana restriction or healing capabilities with skills or powers.

After facing the Replica on the 12th floor, my capabilities had improved.

‘I don’t have time to waste on things I don’t need that much.’

Because…

‘I can’t stop until I become strong enough to kill NamGung Hyuk.’

Sword Dragon of the Blue Sky, NamGung Hyuk, still hadn’t appeared.

‘
When we parted ways in Tokyo, he said let’s meet again in the future.

To me, that sounded like he was planning to visit me soon. So I couldn’t ignore it.

So…

“I should move on to the next floor.”

For now, I planned on leaving the waiting room and moving on to the next Trial.

* * *

Srrr…

“…”

I grabbed the red long-sword on my waist and concentrated.

Blood Demon Sword.

It was to check the capabilities of this sword that had been able to block NamGung Hyuk’s Sword Flame.

Its true capabilities will unlock when the user that has reached the Sword Flame plane can optimize the blood to a maximum.

Its blood effects were similar to Sword Flame.

It could resist a Sword Flame that had the shredding and cutting capabilities of the Sword Ki.

Of course, I hadn’t been able to show the true capabilities of the Blood Demon Sword because I hadn’t optimized the other things properly.

‘But I can’t stand still and ignore its capabilities.’

This time, I wanted to check out the real capabilities of the Blood Demon Sword.

To activate its unique effect, ‘Blood Ki,’ I had to infuse a bit of mana.

That meant that to use its capabilities fully, I had to use quite a lot of mana.

‘Then it’s easy.’

I slowly flowed mana into the Blood Demon Sword.

Red energy started to pour into it, and it began shining with intense light.

I didn’t stop there and began pouring more mana into it.

And—

「It’s been checked that the effect ‘Blood Ki’ has been fortified by a user that has reached the Sword Flame plane.」

Letters started appearing in the Blood Demon Sword and began to shine.

「You’ve fulfilled the condition. The real capability of the Blood Demon Sword has been unlocked.」

It was as if everything, until now, had just been a bare minimum of what it could do.

「The name of the item has changed to True Blood Demon Sword.」

「The rank of the True Blood Demon Sword has become A-.」

「The ‘Blood Ki’ effect of the True Blood Demon Sword has been improved.」

「The effect ‘Blood Eat’ of the True Blood Demon Sword has been generated.」

「An exclusive slot for Blood Eat has been created.」

It was quite a good change.

——