Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (29)

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[1 qualification remains until the end of ‘Selection’.]

 

Following the Deserter, now the Usurper.

Lee Si-hyeok never dreamed he would see such messages in Stage Zero, but by this point, he was starting to get the picture.

‘This is the true purpose of the Corridor of Selection.’

Literally selecting those with specific qualifications. That was the real purpose hidden within this Gate.

The reason it was only revealed now, despite the Corridor being discovered over a decade ago, was probably because participants had used similar strategies every year.

Being obsessed with the Expo’s promotional effects had backfired. Well, without knowing that the Corridor was deeply connected to magical engineering, nothing would have changed anyway.

But there was still an unresolved question.

Then what exactly was the true identity of this Gate?

“…”

Lee Si-hyeok, who had been watching Isaac enter the next plaza, uncrossed his arms and rested his chin on his hand.

‘…Come to think of it, it was the same with the Legacy Artifacts.’

When he first went to the Special Storage following Yoon Seo-jin. Back then, the information Lee Si-hyeok had obtained from the Legacy Artifacts using his ‘Eyes that Pierce the Essence’ was twofold.

‘How’ the design was made, and ‘what’ was created.

While this was sufficient for crafting artifacts, Lee Si-hyeok had many more questions.

Who, when, where, why.

Who had created the Legacy Artifacts?

It was technology that far exceeded humanity’s level. Legacy Artifacts with such technology applied couldn’t have just naturally occurred without any cause. At least, that’s what Lee Si-hyeok thought.

From the moment that thought occurred to him, the question had been constantly circling in his mind.

For others, it would have been a question that circled around at that level and eventually evaporated someday…

But not for Lee Si-hyeok.

He pondered. He thought. He even brought the thoughts floating in his head into his dreams and delved deeper.

Of course, holding onto it that tightly wouldn’t solve the problem, but just by racking his brains, struggling alone, and wrestling with it… Lee Si-hyeok found enjoyment in that alone.

‘Old habits die hard.’

The habit from childhood of spending all day glued to books whenever something made him curious hadn’t gone anywhere—even recently, whenever he had spare time while preparing for the Expo, he would always stop by the warehouse.

Meeting Yoon Seo-jin at the warehouse a few days ago had also happened during one of those times.

‘Perhaps there might be a clue in the Corridor of Selection.’

The Corridor was a place that could be called the epitome of magical engineering without exaggeration.

If so, he had a strong suspicion that it might have some connection to the Legacy Artifacts as well.

To confirm whether that suspicion was correct, he would first need to somehow resolve the ‘true selection’ that the message had mentioned.

 

[1. 「Deserter」]

[2. 「Usurper」]

[3. ???]

 

Now only one qualification remained.

Still, based on the two qualifications acquired earlier, he could roughly predict how to obtain the remaining one.

“Fi, finally only the final boss remains!”

“They’re breaking through the greatest record in history!”

At the Commentary Team’s voices, Lee Si-hyeok’s gaze turned forward.

Isaac, who had broken through all the plazas and lakes as Lee Si-hyeok had briefed, now had only the final boss remaining.

“Should I proceed according to the original plan, Boss?”

Isaac’s voice flowed from the communicator in his ear.

He stared at the ‘Core Golem’ beyond the blue barrier, then stopped briefly while adjusting the blade of Hollow Trace.

“According to plan.”

“Got it. Toward the core, not the barrier.”

The core behind the Core Golem formed a solid barrier around it.

How quickly that barrier could be destroyed was the key to conventional strategies. Usually, the combat power score was determined by the destructive force at that moment.

However, Lee Si-hyeok’s understanding of ‘combat power’ was slightly different.

‘Combat is fundamentally an act to kill the opponent.’

In other words, rather than simply smashing the barrier like hitting a punch machine at an arcade.

Wouldn’t the most efficient and effective way to defeat the golem be the true essence of combat?

“What kind of shock will they deliver this time!”

“Here it comes, here it comes!”

Isaac held his dagger and remained silent for a moment.

Everyone held their breath watching him, and just as Pyo Jae-hwan’s face in the VIP Viewing Section turned pale.

Isaac’s hand moved.

Whoooosh!

The dagger cut through the air. Right to left. Top to bottom. It was drawn diagonally, leaving a clean trajectory in the void.

However, the result was somewhat strange.

The dagger had cut nothing. The distance from the barrier was still quite far, and there wasn’t even a trace of mana at the blade’s tip.

Literally, he had just cut through empty air.

Questions erupted from the spectator seats at the completely unexpected result.

“Huh?”

“Did he make a mistake?”

But that was only momentary.

Crack.

The sound of something cracking was heard.

It was a small sound. So small you wouldn’t hear it unless you listened carefully.

Crack.

…Right. Small, faint.

It definitely shouldn’t have been audible. That would have been normal.

Yet it was clearly heard through the speakers by everyone in the Grand Stadium.

The sound of mana that had reached beyond the barrier causing cracks in the golem’s core.

Crackle!

The moment the spreading cracks finally completely shattered the core, the golem’s massive body collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

Flash!

 

[‘Core Golem’ has been defeated.]

[An unprecedented record has been born!]

[Corridor of Selection – Final Defense System shutdown.]

[Beginning combat record analysis…]

[Score calculation complete!]

[8x multiplier applied.]

[Total acquired score: 519,600 points]

 

Instantly, deafening cheers could be heard from outside the observation room.

Lee Si-hyeok smiled with satisfaction and shifted his gaze. However, no message about acquiring the remaining qualification appeared.

Just as expected.

The Corridor of Selection still had one procedure remaining.

“Proceed immediately.”

In the location revealed after defeating the golem, there was a ‘Stability Verification Device.’

When an artifact was inserted into this verification device, it would assess the durability damage sustained during the Corridor conquest and calculate the stability score all at once.

But having come this far, even this didn’t seem like a simple stability test.

‘I’m sure this is where I’ll acquire the final qualification.’

And that prediction wasn’t wrong.

Not long after Isaac began the verification, a message visible only to Lee Si-hyeok appeared before his eyes.

 

[Measured Durability Stability: 99.967%]

[This record far exceeds normal values!]

[Qualification acquisition threshold (98%) has been exceeded!]

[You have acquired the qualification of 「Integrator」.]

 

But the message didn’t end there and suddenly began showing abnormal reactions.

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes narrowed.

 

[Specific artifact reaction detected.]

[Beginning reanalysis of target artifact…]

[Reanalysis complete!]

[Artifact Name: 〈Pale Trace〉]

[Error occurred! Mana mismatch. Correcting.]

[〈Pale Trace〉 → 〈Hollow Trace〉]

[This artifact is a modified version of the original artifact 〈Pale Trace〉 discovered at the ‘Obsidian Mining Site’, with performance pushed to the extreme through independent improvements.]

[Accordingly, the entrance gate to the ‘Obsidian Mining Site’ will be reopened.]

[Existing reward item ‘Fragment of Seal’ evolves into ‘Deep Zone Access Key’.]

 

“Obsidian Mining Site?”

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes widened. He remembered seeing similar text in the description of Pale Trace, the original item, just before he had crafted Hollow Trace.

He immediately accessed the information with 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』.

 

[It is said to have been discovered in the deepest part of the Mining Site Buried in Darkness. However, there are rumors that an even deeper zone exists below that… who knows. It’s just a rumor.]

 

‘Mining Site Buried in Darkness’ must be the Obsidian Mining Site.

A deeper zone. If this was referring to the ‘Deep Zone’…

‘…Was the Corridor of Selection a gate connected to that Deep Zone?’

Lee Si-hyeok’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

If that was really the case, it made sense why Hollow Trace had reacted.

Because its original, Pale Trace, was an artifact discovered at the Obsidian Mining Site.

‘What the hell is this…’

But there was no time to continue pondering.

 

[You have acquired all three qualifications.]

[A ‘Deep Zone Access Key’ is awarded as a reward.]

[Existing role terminated. The Corridor of Selection will be closed.]

 

The Corridor of Selection, which had continued for nearly 20 years.

That gate began to collapse with tremendous vibrations.

 

* * *

 

“Wow, I’m literally speechless.”

“Whoa…”

The spectators who had watched the entire gate disappearance through the live broadcast clicked their tongues in amazement.

They had been in a state of shock for quite some time now.

Starting with the strategy method, the insanely rising scores, the ridiculous performance of the dagger…

Even just this would be enough to turn a country upside down—no, what’s just a country? It was enough to turn the entire world upside down, but now a gate that had been perfectly fine for nearly 20 years had completely disappeared.

“Still, it’s fortunate they escaped safely.”

“Right. They could have disappeared along with it.”

Gates are usually most dangerous at the moment of disappearance. Since collapse begins immediately after defeating the boss, getting swept away while looting is a common occurrence.

The Corridor of Selection in particular collapsed even faster. Perhaps because it was an abnormal gate from the beginning, the interior crumbled at tremendous speed.

But the Tester’s response there was perfection itself.

Dodging falling pillars, escaping from mana whirlpools. His reflexes were so good that everyone watched as if viewing a movie.

What about the operator who must be in the observation room?

Since the Tester’s vision alone would be insufficient, there must have been tremendous briefings going back and forth in the observation room. How good must their instantaneous judgment be to calculate all those twisted mana flows and movement paths?

So people’s interest naturally led to curiosity about the identities of the two.

“I think it’s one of the 11 people selected by the Association.”

“Come on, just that? I don’t think that level would be nearly enough. Didn’t you see how incredible that artifact was?”

A spectator spoke as if dumbfounded.

“Then who do you think it is?”

“You know that EX-rank they announced recently? Couldn’t it be that person?”

“Pfft.”

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter could be heard from the surroundings. On top of that, even complete strangers were chuckling, creating an atmosphere that said not to talk nonsense.

“I wondered what you were going to say. Why would an EX-rank come here?”

“Is that so…?”

The spectator looked dejected for a moment, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

It was common knowledge that higher-grade awakeners tend to be more pretentious. Even S-ranks don’t bother with events like this expo, so there’s no way someone at EX-rank would have appeared.

Black Vein’s appearance this time was such an exceptional case, and considering that even a figure of that caliber was a first in history, the possibility converged to zero.

“Then who is it?”

“Uh… good question?”

But when they started eliminating candidates one by one, they ended up back at square one. The more they tried to figure it out, the more they felt like they were falling into a labyrinth.

Just as people’s curiosity reached its peak, the live broadcast that had been temporarily suspended due to the corridor’s collapse resumed.

According to the caster’s explanation, for some unknown reason, the Corridor of Selection had indeed completely disappeared.

So they had no choice but to finish the remaining booths with simple presentations.

However, people were half-listening as they anticipated the presentation that was about to begin.

It was finally time for the presentation that Pale Artist had postponed.

“…”

“…”

Silence fell over that vast Grand Stadium. Tens of thousands of spectators simultaneously closed their mouths and stared at the platform located in the center.

Two men slowly climbed up onto it.

“Huh?”

But it was an unfamiliar appearance.

Originally, Pale Artist was definitely shorter with a more sturdy impression, but the man who came up now was taller and had much more distinct features.

Moreover, the Tester standing beside him also looked completely different from what they had seen so far.

But that face, I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere…

—One, two, three.

“Th-that’s Isaac Reynolds, isn’t it?!”

3 seconds.

Breaking the silence, an exclamation burst forth.

“Wa, waaaah!”

“Insaaaane!”

In an instant, the spectator seats filled with excitement.

It was an incomparably hotter reaction than when Black Vein had appeared a few hours ago.

There was no comparison to begin with. Whether looking at his position in the Reynolds Family or simple military power, Isaac overwhelmed in every aspect and then some.

People’s excitement now spread to the remaining man as well.

“W-wait a minute. Now that I look at that person…!”

“…?!”

A shock several times greater than before swept through the Grand Stadium.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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