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Chapter 174 174. -Harmonia Smelting Technique proficiency has increased. -Soul Forging proficiency has increased. -You have achieved the achievement [Artisan’s First Step]! -A new god watches you! -The king of the dead marvels at the sight of you! -The god of bone and death sheds tears at your bone carving skill! -The ruler of soul and abyss is astounded by your audacity! -You have received a blessing. -You have received a permanent blessing. -Hidden grades are unlocked. [Phantom Blade] -Attack Power: 36,500 -Grade: USSR -Durability: 400,000 / 400,000 <> * Special Skill [Dancer of the Abyss: Wield the Phantom Blade with reckless abandon. Attacks cannot be interrupted until your health is exhausted. All attacks function as Fatal Blows!] * Special Option [Bone Carving: Junction x4: Gain additional durability, gain additional attack power, gain additional persistent damage, gain additional attack speed.] * Special Option [Maximization Smelting: Attack power has been maximized. Attack power increases by 10,000.] * Special Option [Ultimate Attack Power: Attack power increases by 850.] * Special Option [Dancer of the Abyss Bone: Attacks are imbued with darkness attribute.] * Special Option [Spell Enchantment – Arkshak Lv3: Attack power increases by 650.] * Special Option [Life Drain: Absorb 15% of damage dealt as your own life force!] * Special Option [Shadow Slash: Increases attack power by 11%.] * Special Option [Ambush: The power of the Necro Meister dwells within. The first attack is guaranteed to be a Fatal Blow.] * Special Option [Soul Forging: Draw forth the power of the soul. Attack speed increases by 25%.] What Jin-woo had crafted was a sword made of bone. A crimson aura rising in wisps. A black aura dripping away. And. USSR Grade. A grade above the UR+ Grade he had reached before. A certain piece of equipment that had definitively crossed that line he had struggled to reach. ‘Artisan’s First Step—that’s amusing.’ As Jin-woo reached USSR Grade, he had achieved a new achievement, and it was quite enjoyable. Artisan’s First Step. ‘So you’re only called an artisan once you reach USSR?’ If that was the case, he liked it. ‘Let’s keep walking.’ Boros bared his teeth as he watched Jin-woo’s completed equipment. “Screeeee—!” Too late. Consumed by humiliation and wrath, Boros attempted to thrash Jin-woo with his fangs anyway. But his body wouldn’t move. “Scree!?” Someone had seized his tail. Turning around, he found First there. First, who should have been unconscious, held his tail with crushing force. “I. Said. You. Couldn’t. Go.” Jin-woo handed the Phantom Blade to First. -You have given the Phantom Blade to your familiar, First. Screeeesh—. The Phantom Blade appeared in First’s grasp. At the same moment, Bone retreated sharply, bearing Jin-woo away. Boros stared at First. Screeeeeeeesh—! A sinister aura blazed forth from the blade in First’s grip. Bright crimson. And jet black. An aura overwhelming to witness alone. Despite First’s drastically diminished health pool, grasping the Phantom Blade lent him considerable presence. “…Wow.” “In this situation… A new grade.” The two master craftsmen marveled. No, it was beyond mere marvel. Reverence. There was no one else who could do this. Creating such equipment in peace would be difficult enough, yet to forge this in the throes of extremity— “You can create something like this… even in such circumstances.” “Everything will change. Everything!” Screeeee—! Boros followed his instinct. He had to devour that sinister aura. Crack—! This time, Boros concentrated all his flames upon his claws. The flames adorning his tail extinguished entirely. Whoosh—. Whoooosh—. Whoooooooooooosh—! Boros no longer concerned himself with conserving health. Solely to topple First. No. To shatter that vile blade in First’s grip, he unleashed his full power. Screeeeeee—! First’s health was critically low. Thus, he wielded the Phantom Blade only as much as his reserves allowed. Boom—! Boros shrieked at the blast of sound. “Screech—!” Boros suddenly panicked and fell back. The very claws that had crumbled Jin-woo’s equipment like clay until now—they were ineffective. Moreover, through those same claws came damage in turn. Boros retreated sharply, pressing his feet hard against the ground. The pain was immense. A pain too severe to bear. “Screee.” What in the Underworld had just transpired? In that brief moment, he forged equipment. And that equipment… could inflict this much suffering upon him?! Screeeesh—. The Phantom Blade in First’s grip blazed with terrible force. Jin-woo smirked. This was not a rushed creation. Everything Jin-woo had come to understand was poured into it. Only the crafting duration was short. The crafting process itself could be said to be lengthy and deep. ‘A shame, though.’ What was a shame was not the equipment’s grade. ‘I could have gone further.’ At the moment of completion. Jin-woo had clearly advanced one step forward. And in that process, he realized he could advance not merely one step but two or three. But circumstances forced him to halt. And yet. “Still.” Jin-woo smirked. “I’ve definitely taken the next step.” Definitively, completely. “Excellent.” The Phantom Blade blazed with its bright crimson aura. A characteristic of the USSR Grade material Jin-woo had used—the Dancer of the Abyss Bone. What he had reached was not merely a new grade. ‘New options were attached as well.’ Most of all, the attack power was overwhelming. It exceeded the attack power of the war hammer, now shattered, by a full fifteen thousand. So it made sense that Boros was in such pain. Moreover, through Maximization Smelting, there were additional attack options. ‘The displayed attack power is 36,500.’ But the actual attack power was considerably higher still. “Hah.” Ice Elves laughed broadly. Her Maximization Smelting technique was blooming fully in Jin-woo’s hands. Bone King smiled with even greater depth. His Bone Carving Technique, too, had reached a new pinnacle through Jin-woo. The techniques of two supreme Underworld craftsmen, passed down to Jin-woo, had evolved across time itself. Boros roared. Then unleashed attacks upon First with frenzied abandon. Every refinement of power Boros had ever shown was contained in this assault. Boom—! Boom—! First was already at his limit. Thus he could not actively suppress Boros, but paradoxically, that became fatal for his foe. Merely from defending, the Phantom Blade’s power began to drive Boros back. “Screech—. Screech—!” Boros was dealing blows, yet receiving damage in return. First was slowly recovering. Enduring with steadfast pressure, defending with all his might. Screeeesh—. Gripping the Phantom Blade firmly, he unleashed a single, powerful swing. Booooom—! Boros’s form lifted skyward, then was driven violently backward. Drip—. Blood seeped from Boros’s maw. “A solid hit.” First too slowly straightened his back. One Phantom Blade had transformed everything. First gestured. Come. Come. Fight properly this time—that taunt ignited Boros’s fury. -Tyrant, Boros’s power runs rampant! Grievously wounded, Boros drove his four legs hard into the earth. Then, as though drawing the Underworld’s very essence, he bristled his fur in sharp spikes. Screech—. Screeeech—. Screeeeeeeeech—! A pale, frigid aura spread outward, and snow began to fall. And that snow came to rest upon Boros’s tail. “The tail…!” “It’s growing!” “Did he have nine from the start?!” Ice Elves and Bone King suddenly felt chilled to the spine. The aura emanating from Boros had grown far more formidable. “Another tail grown.” Jin-woo observed Boros. Nine tails. The Underworld’s Tyrant, Boros, revealed his true form. “Hmph.” The final phase. Jin-woo clenched his fist. “Actually, that’s better.” One more material had presented itself. That was decidedly positive. Jin-woo raised his hand slowly. “I’ve seen how strong you are. Those savage fangs and claws, and hide that deflects most physical and magical attacks alike.” Plus that pale energy source pulsing within your chest. “I’m glad I met you here.” The Underworld’s Tyrant-tier monster, Boros. He was grateful to have encountered such a powerful being here. “Because of you, I now see clearly how I must advance.” Whoosh—. Jin-woo, who had partially lost focus, now recast Sacred Declaration. “Sacred.” Screeeesh—! “Declaration.” First’s eyes burned with fierce intensity. The undead do not tire. The undead do not suffer pain. The undead. “Do. Not. Fall.” -Your familiar First uses a skill! Dancer of the Abyss Boros, now trailing nine tails and become a single ray of frozen light, delivered his final strike upon First. Crack—. Crack—crackcrackcrack—! First, already at his breaking point, could not withstand this overwhelming blow from Boros. Yet Boros too understood this was his last strike. He could not muster power of this magnitude again. And so he was certain. This final blow would topple that powerful human’s familiar entirely, and perhaps even the mighty human himself. Crack—! In the instant of collision, First’s balance shattered. The Phantom Blade was an overwhelming weapon, but its wielder’s health was critically depleted, and it showed. Yet First found his footing once more. “I. Do. Not. Stop.” Screee—! First wielded the Phantom Blade again. “A. Command. Was. Given.” He had received a command. Brief and absolute. It required only that he fulfill it. Only that he succeed. “I will win.” Only one familiar remained on his feet. With Pur and Moltus and Bone unable to move. Only First stood. -Your familiar First has reached his limit. -Your familiar First has endured so as not to disappoint you! “You are my finest familiar, First.” Booooooom—! The Phantom Blade in First’s grip cleaved straight through Boros’s strike. “Screee—.” A clean gash appeared across Boros’s body. The line deepened, stained red with blood, and Boros collapsed forward. -The Underworld’s Tyrant, Boros, enters eternal slumber! -Your level has increased! -Your level has increased! -You have achieved an achievement! -You have achieved the achievement [Tyrant Slayer]! -You have been recorded in the Hall of Fame! The Underworld’s Tyrant, Boros. “We. Won.” First braced himself with the Phantom Blade as a staff. Then he looked at Jin-woo. “The. Command. Has. Been. Completed.” Then he became motionless. -Your familiar First has lost consciousness. Jin-woo approached First. “You did well.” It was only possible because it was First. Jin-woo unsummoned First first. Now it was time to rest. Screeeesh—! Then something rose from Boros’s corpse. “This is…” A soul, drifting upward. “This is impossible.”
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