I Became an Almighty All-Master with EX-Rank Spirits - Chapter 18

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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 18
18
“Calm down, one at a time! You’ll choke.”
—Waa! Waa!
Gulp!
[Fire (EX) urgently stuffs a Superior Mana Stone into its mouth!]
[Fire (EX) says there’s no need to worry about choking!]
“Right, you’re incapable of choking, aren’t you.”
It just kept growing bigger with every bite.
[Superior Mana Stone (S): (4/25)]
I really am a lucky bastard.
To think there’d be a Sandworm nest right below ground.
And twenty-seven S-Grade Mana Stones at that!
‘That’s twenty-nine total, so I’ve got four left over. Wonder how much that’ll fill its hunger.’
While waiting for it to finish eating, I decided to check the newly unlocked research options.
Research, furniture, and even space expansion stones I hadn’t started yet.
There’s a lot on my plate.
Research seemed more important than the rest, so I checked that first.
……E-Grade Gate (0/20) Solo Clear: Spirit Shelter ‘Research’ becomes available
“Oh, that’s simpler than I thought.”
I’d been planning to craft more furniture if I had free time today.
I’ll just do the research first.
I already promoted to E-Grade Gate yesterday, so I can head straight there.
“And while I’m clearing it, it’d be nice to gather some materials.”
—An excellent choice. The E-Grade Gate has abundant materials.
“What about solo clearing, though?”
—Impossible.
“Damn it.”
I’ll have to focus solely on clearing the E-Grade Gate today.
No choice about it.
If I try to grab both, I might end up losing them both.
I need to secure at least one for certain.
The E-Grade Gate was identical to the F-Grade Gates.
Walk in and use either Hellfire or Meteor. Done.
Since Hunters rarely tackle E-Grade Gates, finding an untouched one should be easy enough.
I was about to search for E-Grade Gates using the Hunter app when—
—Waa!
[Fire (EX) gives a thumbs up, declaring these the finest Mana Stones it’s ever consumed!]
All twenty-five S-Grade Mana Stones vanished cleanly.
Its appetite and consumption speed are truly unmatched.
A system message appeared immediately.
[Superior Mana Stone (S): (25/25)]
[Condition satisfied!]
[You have acquired the skill ‘Hell Spear (EX)’!]

Description: A spear from Hell pierces forth and annihilates the target.
❰Fire (EX) Lv. 10❱
❰Possessed Skills: Hellfire (EX), Meteor (EX), Hell Spear (EX)❱
❰Hunger: (10,530/1,000,000)❱
……New skill unlocks at Lv. 15
……Lee Chan-yeong gains new skill upon reaching 1,000,000 Hunger
……Spirit Shelter ‘Research’ becomes available
“Perfect! Hell Spear?”
Even after reading the description, I’m still not entirely clear on it.
Hellfire and Meteor were so familiar I grasped them immediately.
But this one…
“A spear from Hell? Is it a single-target attack?”
—You’ve understood correctly. The Hell Spear flies forth and annihilates any target without exception.
“I’ve been lacking raw firepower anyway.”
Hellfire and Meteor are powerful enough in sheer output.
The scope doesn’t matter much when we’re talking about pure power.
But occasionally, when dealing with higher-rank monsters, I’d need to use the skill multiple times before they’d go down.
The Sandworm was a prime example.
Having just one single skill like this is decent enough.
No need to adjust anything on the fly.
I should test it out on an E-rank Gate.
The moment I turned to leave, I felt an intense gaze from beside me.
—Squeak!
[Fire(EX) is asking for all of the remaining Superior Mana Stones too!]
Even though the Hunger gauge hadn’t been filled, Fire had already consumed twenty-five S-rank Mana Stones.
It really does have no bottom to it.
Since I needed to check how much the Hunger gauge could fill, I handed over the remaining four.
In an instant, one of them vanished.
❰Hunger : (210,530/1,000,000)❱
“Insane!”
Two hundred thousand filled up just like that.
Four times what an A-rank gives.
So S-rank stones really do carry that premium price.
That left me with three Superior Mana Stones remaining.
Eight hundred thousand means I can level up today.
—Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
[Fire(EX) is asking you to find a lot more high-rank Mana Stones!]
[Fire(EX) says how wonderful it would be to eat something delicious and raise the Hunger gauge by so much!]
“I’m not unaware. The problem is they’re hard to come by.”
Each one costs a hundred million.
You can only get them by completing the Tower of Trials overwhelmingly.
Those twenty-seven stones from the Sandworm burrow were just pure luck.
“Ration them. Who knows when we’ll find more.”
—Squeak?! Squeak!
[Fire(EX) hastily sets down the Superior Mana Stone(S) they were about to put in their mouth.]
[Fire(EX) declares they will save the delicious stones as much as possible!]
“You don’t have to go that far. The Tower of Trials does drop them little by little.”
—Squeak!
[Fire(EX) says they’ll save it until the next Superior Mana Stone appears!]
I tucked it away carefully in the Spirit Shelter like some precious treasure.
Since Mana Stones don’t have an expiration date, I let Fire do as they pleased.
More importantly, what happens if I put an S-rank Mana Stone into the Buff Purifier?
An F-rank stone had given a 1.05x multiplier.
Would it be more than double?
Once I get more breathing room, I’ll have to try that too.
“Suit yourself. Let’s go. I need to clear some Gates.”
My condition was peak.
I threw on some clothes and headed out of the house.
* * *
The entrance to Back Mountain.
An E-rank Gate glowed with blue light, waiting to be entered.
Just one rank higher, and it appeared to be twice the size.
“It’s smaller than a D-rank Gate, though. So the Gate’s size grows along with its rank.”
—The reason the size increased is because the quality of the mana rose, and the quantity increased as well.
“Ah. Thanks.”
I’d gained some genuinely useful knowledge thanks to the Clone.
That’s enough trivia for now—I headed toward the Gate.
Since it had just appeared, there were no Hunter Association staff around.
All there was to see were the marker indicating the Gate and some barricades.
Security was terribly lax.
There should’ve been at least one Association staff member keeping watch.
Probably needed to use the bathroom urgently.
I wasn’t complaining.
I could clear this without any tedious procedures.
After confirming once more that no one was around, I stepped through.
An open field stretched before me without a single obstacle.
[Defeat one Black Hop Goblin Captain.]
[Black Hop Goblin Captain: 0/1]
But something felt off about the objective.
“Huh? Just one?”
I’d explored several Gates, but this was the first time I’d seen such a target.
The Gate cleared after killing just a single monster—that was new.
-This is a Boss Raid Gate, sir.
“A Boss Raid?”
-Yes. Instead of ordinary monsters, only a single boss monster appears. Even if the Gate itself is E-rank, the boss monster is always D-rank or higher.
“Ah, I see what you’re saying.”
-I would recommend assembling a ten-person party of comparable level.
In other words, if a normal Gate spawns a thousand monsters, all that power gets crammed into one.
This would be the perfect chance to test out Fire’s new skill.
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
The Black Hop Goblin Captain appeared right on cue.
Living up to its boss title, it was five times the size of an ordinary Hop Goblin.
Its entire body, which should have been green, was blackened as if charred.
It easily surpassed E-rank.
With bare hands alone, it could shred me to pieces—it carried that kind of overwhelming strength.
Knowing this, the monster’s face twisted into a grin when it spotted me.
Being a monster, it seemed to understand nothing of what was to come.
Unfortunately for it, the advantage wasn’t on its side.
“Let’s try the new skill.”
-Chirp!
[Fire (EX) is absolutely delighted at the thought of finally using his most beloved skill!]
It emerged from the Spirit Shelter and perched atop my head.
Stretching both arms skyward, it held that pose in triumph.
The air warped, and a blood-red spear began to materialize where nothing had existed before.
A colossal hellish lance, forged in an instant, roared to life as it spun—then shot forth at the speed of light.
[Fire (EX)’s skill, ‘Hell Spear (EX)’, activates!]
Pppppboom!
Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle-bang!!
It didn’t even have time to cry out.
In the blink of an eye, the Black Hop Goblin Captain vanished without a trace.
[You have defeated one Black Hop Goblin Captain!]
[Black Hop Goblin Captain: 1/1]
[You obtain one Black Hop Goblin Captain’s Tough Hide!]
[You acquire 47 Intermediate Mana Stones (C)!]
[The Gate will vanish in eight hours!]
[If you do not exit before it disappears, you will vanish along with it!]
The rewards were substantial and swift.
C-rank Mana Stones were decent compensation.
But something else caught my eye.
The fact that the Black Hop Goblin Captain died instantly wasn’t surprising at all.
What really mattered was the path the Hell Spear had carved.
Everything was destroyed in a perfectly straight line.
The ground, the grass, even space itself.
The space shimmered as if pixelated before snapping back into place.
-That occurs when an attack’s power exceeds the limit within a single spatial region.
“Whew—just how strong is that thing?”
-Chirp! Chirp!
[Fire (EX) responds that this much is nothing!]
[Fire (EX) pats his chest proudly and pleads for an Energy Bar as compensation for his hard work!]
He meant the Energy Bars I’d been eating whenever hunger struck during my Gate runs.
It was the solution I’d come up with since finding regular meals impractical while exploring.
I’d brought some today as well, but it looked like this one was going to devour the lot.
“You did one job and suddenly you’re tired? I thought you hated processed foods anyway?”
-Chirp! Chirp!
[Fire (EX) strongly denies your words!]
Fire says that Hell Spear requires intense concentration to attack effectively, which is exhausting!
“Understood. Here.”
I should just ask for Mana Stones instead.
Squeeze every last drop out of this pest!
Of course, I came prepared for this.
Thirty Energy Bars alone.
I’ve got other things too.
Though it hardly feels like enough.
—Eep!
Fire says she wants more!
“…….”
I’ll have to stop by a convenience store on the way.
At least I’ve definitely cleared the quota.
[Grade E Gate: (1/20)]
Nineteen Grade E Gates remaining.
Before anyone could arrive, I hurried toward the next Grade E Gate.
* * *
“Nearly had an accident in my pants there. Phew.”
The Hunter Association employee wiped the cold sweat from his brow and exhaled with relief.
An urgent bowel emergency on the Back Mountain, where there wasn’t a restroom in sight.
You couldn’t imagine how hard he’d clenched his sphincter, how desperately he’d fought to stay lucid.
The moment his concentration wavered even slightly, it would have been catastrophic.
But in the end, mankind prevailed.
‘Thank goodness there was a construction site nearby. I couldn’t believe they had a portable toilet set up! I’m grateful! Thank you, construction workers! I’ll be grateful even in death!’
If they hadn’t been working there?
“I don’t even want to imagine it!”
He decided not to dwell on disasters that never happened.
Everything had turned out fine anyway—why torture himself?
He refocused on monitoring the Gate.
He’d been away from the post for five minutes.
His team members had taken the equipment with them, so there was nothing else there.
Even with barricades and warning signs, you could never know what accident might occur.
As he arrived back at the Gate and looked it over, he could only blink in confusion.
“……It’s been cleared?”
Faced with this completely unexpected situation, his eyes just kept fluttering open and shut.

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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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