Chapter 18 Black Route (7) (1/2)
Yeon-woo’s body was experiencing extreme changes. Mana was stimulating every corner of his body, causing his internal balance to collapse and restoring it at the same time.
*Crunch* *Crackle*
A long time passed.
[‘Flame Heart and Frost Crest’ has been completed. You have acquired a new body, Reinforced Physique(强化骨).
[Affinity towards fire element has increased by 30%.]
[Affinity towards water element has increased by 30%.]
As always, mana scattered throughout his entire body, leaving behind only traces of it.
Contrary to his initial expectations, It seemed like it would take him a little longer to get accustomed to mana. But everything else had been successfully achieved.
“Hoo.”
Yeon-woo breathed out a long breath. Then all the fatigue he had piled up seemed to vanish, making him feel alive once again.
‘Status window.’
[Player: Yeon-woo Cha]
Traits: Cold-blooded, Reinforced Physique
Strength: 81 Dexterity: 83 Health: 89 Magic Power: 21
Skills: Draconic Eyes(5.2%), Sense Strengthening(25.9%), Foresight(0.0%), Physical Resistance(10.2%), Combat Will(7.1%), Bathory’s Vampiric Sword(3.2%)
Yeon-woo was very pleased with his improved stats.
Thanks to the energy of the monsters he had drained via Bathory’s Vampiric Sword, his stats had gone through an incomparably steep increase. But there was something else that made Yeon-woo content the most. It was his new trait.
‘Reinforced Physique’.
[Trait: Reinforced Physique]
Description: Heart of flame and flesh of frost. The fire and frost element fused together granting great immunity and resistance. Fatigue does not build up easily.
* Flame Heart: A heart embracing fire energy. Increases cardiorespiratory endurance and healing power. Stamina is greatly increased.
* Frost Crest: Makes the body tougher. Increases resistance against physical impact and curses.
Reinforced Physique toughened up the body and made it tireless.
In particular, the self-healing ability gave him the advantage of reducing his chances of suffering a serious injury during critical situations. However, there was another reason why Yeon-woo needed this trait.
[Body improvement has been confirmed. The vessel is strong enough. The halted succession process will resume. 6%… 7%… 12%….]
[Current progress: 21.3%]
[Your current status will be changed from ‘Incomplete Dragon Body’ to ‘Immature Dragon Body’]
‘I made it.’
Yeon-woo clenched his fists.
There were a couple of reasons why he needed this strengthened body. One reason was to gain an upper hand in the strenuous competitions that occurred throughout The Tower, but the biggest reason was to resume the succession process of Dragon Body.
The completion of the succession process required a strong vessel. Reinforced Physique was the essential element for making such vessel.
‘But this is just the beginning. I have to keep refining my vessel.’
Even so, the framework was already in place so he only had to keep advancing steadily as he had originally planned.
As he enjoyed the feeling of his changed body, Yeon-woo recalled the system message that was left pending. It was the quest he had received when he first entered this dungeon. It was now time to claim his rewards.
[You have acquired 1,500 Karma.]
[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional Karma will be provided.]
[You have acquired 500 additional Karma.]
[Additional rewards will be provided. Please select your reward.]
[Rewards List]
* Artifacts
1. Blood-Magic Blade
2. Pearl Sabre of the Deep
3. The Brave
···
* Skills
1. Kanusha’s Unbreakable Spirit
2. Swift Strike
3. Snake Eyes
···
Yeon-woo grinned as he scanned through the ‘Rewards List’.
It was the first time he could choose his reward from a list, instead of just being given a random reward. He recognized some great items that he had previously seen in the mysterious merchant’s catalog.
It was a bit disappointing to have to choose only one out of the whole list, but Yeon-woo didn’t fuss over it for long before scrolling down to the bottom of the list. There, he found what he wanted.
98. 2000 additional Karma
He got everything he could get from Section B, ranging from Bathory’s Vampiric Sword to Reinforced Physique.
He presumed there were many more rewards to gain from this point onwards, so nothing else in the list could grab Yeon-woo’s attention.
Anyhow, what Yeon-woo lacked the most right now was Karma points. Of course, even when adding this, he would still need a lot of Karma to achieve the top score he wanted.
Yeonwoo tapped on reward number 98 right away.
[2000 additional Karma has been selected as your reward.]
[You have acquired 2,000 Karma.]
Additional messages popped up after he received his reward.
[Your ranking in the tutorial has been updated.]
[Do you want to register your name on the ranking list?]
‘I’m finally in the rankings.’
The tutorial provided real-time rankings of players within the top 300 spots.
Big announcements were made especially when there were significant changes within the rankings in order to encourage the players.
Getting a message to register his name on the ranking list also meant he had made it to the top 300. However, Yeon-woo only put significance on the fact that he was in the ranking, and he didn’t want to put his name on the list.
There was no advantage in registering. It was only going to provoke hostility from other top rankers towards Yeon-woo. So he shook his head.
‘Deny.’
[Registration denied. You will be shown as ‘unknown’ in the ranking. You can change this setting at any time.]
[Tutorial Ranking]
1. Edora (57,111 Points)
2. Phante (55,982 Points)
3. Kahn (50,473 Points)
···
281. Unknown (6,700 Points) (You)
···
‘I’m at 281st place.’
He had had a late start, but he was finally starting to catch up to the leading group to some extent.
The total Karma he had accumulated so far was 6,700 points. Anybody would hardly believe that he had gathered all that before passing Section B.
But his joy did not last long.