I Became an Almighty All-Master with EX-Rank Spirits - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 1
Prologue
Red sand stretched in every direction—a desert without end.
The sun blazed down with such savage intensity it seemed ready to incinerate everything in its path.
Yet in that desolate place, something burned far hotter still than the sun itself.
A dark crimson flame engulfed the sky and swallowed the heavens.
It consumed all things simply by existing, as though the desert’s own heat were nothing.
That tremendous force descended slowly, then struck the sand below.
[Fire (EX)’s possessed skill, “Hellfire (EX)” activates.]
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Bang!!
Whoosh!
Countless monsters scattered across the desert were obliterated in a single blow.
It was all thanks to this one bounding about like a puppy.
-Kyarr-r! What a splendid place this is! Warm, and with such a pleasant sun-heat!
[Fire (EX) is in an excellent mood!]
[Fire (EX) is delighting in the scorching warmth!]
He’d already forgotten what he’d said before entering this place.
He was pretty sure he’d told Fire to stay still.
A spirit king of flame, shaped like a man but made entirely of fire—Fire dashed about on four legs without restraint.
If you’re going to take human form, at least walk on two legs.
He’d been like this since he was young.
And they hadn’t even started yet—already the chaos was unbearable.
Honestly, he’d get better obedience commanding a dog.
But what could he do.
Spirit king or not, Fire was still Fire.
He’d cleared the field thoroughly enough—there shouldn’t be any real danger.
Still, Fire wasn’t his only concern.
A cool sensation pressed against his neck.
-It’s far too hot, contractor. Move quickly, I beg you.
[Water (EX) says it’s terribly hot!]
[Water (EX) wishes to escape this place at once!]
[Water (EX) abhors this heat!]
True to her nature as water’s opposite.
She clung to his neck with no intention of letting go.
And besides—
“You’re wearing a hat to shield from the sunlight, aren’t you? Just endure it a little longer.”
-Contractor, can’t we simply go home? I don’t know what might appear here, and I’m so very frightened.
Drip, drip, drip.
[Water (EX) says this place frightens her!]
[Water (EX) says she prefers your home to this place!]
Water began to pour from his neck.
She was crying.
No two creatures could be more opposite if they tried.
Should he call this emotional sensitivity, then.
It had been like this at first, but by now he’d simply accepted it.
“Look—you promised. So stop crying. No more tears, now.”
-K-rrgh! What is that…?! King! That’s my favorite Grade-A Potion!
Water expertly opened the sealed Grade-A Potion and poured it straight into her mouth.
The expensive Grade-A Potion that had been full vanished in an instant.
-And me! Give me something delicious too! I worked hard, so I should get some as well!
[Fire (EX) glares at you intensely!]
[Fire (EX) declares he will torment you if you don’t give him something right now!]
When had this one shown up.
But he was always quick about this.
Before Fire could cause a full commotion, he hurriedly pulled out a Grade-A Mana Stone.
“Here you go.”
-Yahoo!
Crunch! Crunch!
That expensive Mana Stone vanished in the blink of an eye.
A potion and a Mana Stone both.
I raised seven younger siblings, so this is just what I do.
‘If I were anyone else, I’d have given up long ago and bent under the weight.’
I chose to look on the bright side.
I earned enough to feed us all.
Because of that—
“Huh? Water? Water? Where did this one wander off to now?”
I felt nothing around my neck, so I reached up to check, but my hand grasped only air.
There was only one reason Water would ever disappear from where it clung to me.
The distance: roughly ten meters ahead.
Water had stuffed an empty plastic bottle into its mouth.
Blech! Tastes awful.
[Water (EX-grade) mistook the plastic bottle for a Grade-A Potion!]
And then it began to cry.
I rushed over to comfort it, but this time Fire was nowhere to be seen.
After searching for a while, I finally spotted it playing in the sand far off in the distance.
I smiled and nodded to myself.
“Just another ordinary day.”
Thinking about the spirits yet to come, I felt a thrill of anticipation.
Chapter 1
Seven younger siblings hanging on my coattails.
More precisely, I was the eldest son of a large family.
There was no shortage of work to be done.
My parents were too busy keeping food on the table, so I had to look after my siblings from start to finish.
Changing the youngest’s diapers, preparing formula.
After confirming they’d burped properly, I gather the fourth child’s school materials.
Breaking up a fight between the third and second while pulling socks onto the fifth’s feet.
I was practically a second father.
Every day was the same endless repetition.
With no time to study, how could I possibly rest?
Living in such chaos day after day, a single dream took root in me.
‘Independence! Independence! Independence! Independence!’
I longed for independence more desperately than any freedom fighter under foreign occupation.
Please, just let me live alone.
I was the eldest, yes, but surely this was asking too much.
A studio apartment?
A gosiwon?
I didn’t care either way.
Just to live by myself—that would be enough.
Did my parents know how much I was struggling?
They set down a condition.
Pass the entrance exam to In Seoul University!
And if I got in, they’d not only let me leave, but support my living expenses and rent a studio apartment!
What a windfall!
From that moment on, I stopped coasting and threw myself into my studies with real intensity.
I’d been studying sporadically all along, so my grades were decent enough to begin with.
Once I had a clear goal, my studies accelerated.
I had to go to the Library just to escape my siblings’ noise.
Exactly six months later.
My effort finally bore fruit.
I didn’t just get into a university in Seoul.
I’d worked hard, so the results exceeded even my own expectations.
Admission to a prestigious university, plus a full scholarship!
There was no reason to refuse.
I moved to Seoul immediately and began my independent life.
Time flowed quickly.
Since my living stipend often fell short, I worked part-time steadily.
In the meantime, I served in the military, returned to finish my degree, and before I knew it, I was twenty-six years old and job hunting.
Today was no different—I was sifting through job postings when it happened.
[Congratulations!]
[You have undergone a successful Awakening!]
I doubted my own eyes.
Me? An Awakened One?
Wondering if I’d misread it, I rubbed my eyes again, but the system message remained unchanged.
‘I’ve awakened.’
Life throws everything at you if you stick around long enough.
Five years ago, the Tower of Trials and Gates suddenly appeared in the world.
Monsters and Gates cropping up everywhere.
The Tower of Trials itself, threatening to destroy the world if humanity didn’t climb its floors.
At first, mankind thought it was truly the end.
But the chaos proved mercifully brief.
With the blessing of Awakening came rewards for clearing the Tower of Trials and Gates—diverse bounties that flowed in steadily.
Those rewards proved invaluable to humanity.
Monster byproducts and Mana Stones.
Items could be crafted from them, and they granted boundless energy.
As the great crisis faded, the Tower of Trials and Gates became indispensable to our survival.
In such a world, Awakening was a blessing.
Even the lowest-ranked Awakened Ones earned at least a million won a month.
I’d been struggling through the chaos myself.
My family had fallen on hard times too.
No one was hurt, but our only asset—our house—was destroyed, leaving us adrift like orphans.
Money was something we desperately needed.
“Thank you, God! You haven’t abandoned me!”
Even if I didn’t believe, it felt right to say it.
This was exactly when you invoked the divine.
I tossed the job postings aside.
Now that I’d awakened, why would I bother with employment?
Someone had mentioned there was a specific term you had to say when you awakened.
“What was it again? Status… what was it?”
—Status Window, sir.
“Oh. Right. Status… huh?”
I was alone in the house.
Which meant this soft voice had no business being here.
I didn’t dwell on the thought for long.
—Don’t be alarmed, human. I am Clone, the system-integrated AI.
“Oh right, there’s one of those. You startled me.”
A dedicated system AI.
Rather than searching endlessly for answers, it could tell you most anything—which made it incredibly useful.
I felt the reality of my Awakening settle in all over again.
But the real thing, the thing that mattered most, was this.
“Status Window!”

❰Trait: Spirit’s Friend (EX-grade)❱
❰Skills Acquired: None❱
❰Spirits Possessed: None❱
The Status Window materialized before my eyes.
Just as I’d heard it would be.
My Trait and acquired skills displayed themselves, and below that lay the skill that matched my Trait—not yet granted, but waiting.
It wouldn’t come automatically.
I had to earn it through using my Trait.
First, I needed to see what kind of Trait I actually had.
—Simply click on it, sir.
“Ah, got it.”
I pulled up the detailed information right away.

Description: Upon completing the given conditions, a Spirit matching that grade shall manifest! The Spirit that arrives will be of great aid to you, but being in its infancy, it will lack much! Please nurture it through varied experiences!
The Trait itself was simple enough.
A common Spirit Trait.
I’d heard of it before.
Summon a Spirit, raise it, grow stronger together.
The Spirit wasn’t the only one growing—the master did too.
What caught his eye, though, was the rank.
“EX-grade? I’ve never seen that before. Do you know what it is?”
-The highest known rank is SSS-grade, but there is only one person in recorded history who has obtained a rank outside the standard classification. Congratulations. You have achieved an out-of-specification rank.
“Really? I knew something was off about this, but…”
A smile blossomed across his face unbidden.
Not an ordinary Awakening, but an out-of-specification rank that no one else had ever possessed, not even once!
It was as though his entire life had suddenly bloomed into color.
“Is there anything else coming?”
-It will appear shortly. Please wait.
“Seriously.”
The system message appeared right on cue.
[Confirming the Awakened One’s national location.]
[Affiliation has been assigned to the Republic of Korea.]
[Awakening the Spirit requires a large amount of food.]
[Please provide food!]
[Sleeping Spirit (???): 0 portions/100 portions]
-Upon meeting the condition, a Spirit will be summoned at random. Fire, Water, Wind, Grass, and so forth. The higher your Trait rating, the greater the likelihood of obtaining a rare Spirit, so please take note.
He was genuinely excited.
Among Traits, the Spirit category was treated as highly valuable—on par with national-level assets.
Their baseline abilities were simply formidable.
What would he get?
“But the condition is strange. It needs food? Do Spirits actually eat?”
-There are occasional Spirits with such requirements. Conditions vary widely, so please keep that in mind.
He rummaged through the dresser.
Fortunately, he’d accumulated quite a stockpile of food.
His philosophy was simple: even if he had no money, he wouldn’t starve.
“Microwave rice, pasta. Hmm.”
He hesitated between a can of spam and a can of tuna.
Despite working multiple part-time jobs, money was always tight.
The common assumption that students living alone subsisted on spam and canned tuna was a mistake in his case.
These were luxuries he ate perhaps once a week, if that.
He ate pasta far more often.
Canned goods were expensive enough on his budget.
The deliberation didn’t last long.
‘I’ve Awakened now. What’s a little inconvenience?’
He pulled everything out and gathered it in one place.
Another system message appeared as he waited.
[Non-edible items detected!]
Could he just feed it all as-is?
No, that was a bad idea.
Ugh, if the Spirit can’t process these, I should prepare them properly.
He’d Awakened now—a little extra work was nothing.
He carefully separated out each non-edible item one by one and set them aside.
Exactly one hundred portions. That should be it.
[Sleeping Spirit (???): 100 portions/100 portions]
[Condition met!]
Bingo.
A black hole materialized and swallowed everything at once.
And where the black hole had been—
A brilliant white light erupted, and something scarlet burst forth.
[The Spirit (???) consumes the food.]
[The Spirit (???) feeds and is born.]
[The Fire Spirit King (EX) is born!]
❰Fire Spirit King Lv. 1❱
❰Possessed Skill: Hellfire (EX)❱
❰Hunger: (100/1,000)❱
……New skill unlocked at Lv. 5
……Lee Chan-young unlocks new skill at Hunger 1,000
❰Hellfire (EX)❱
Description: Infernal fire descends upon the area.
A figure no larger than a palm.
The creature, formed entirely of brilliant red flames, bounced in place and raised its small arms.
—Wah!
[The Fire Spirit King (EX-grade) greets its contractor warmly at last!]

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