Chapter 188 …
Meanwhile, at that moment, Kaiser—no, Dohyun…
[Using the teleport scroll.]
[Moving to designated location: ‘Back Gate of Pratel Castle’.]
[Upon arrival, the guardians are forcibly summoned.]
“Phew… that was intense.”
He let out a sigh of relief at the back gate of the castle, where no one was around except for the guards.
Whew… I really almost died.
Rizariza…
Ugh…!
Likewise, Jihad and Eliza groaned as soon as they arrived. Even Charlie, who usually tried to act dignified and serious, couldn’t hide his exhaustion—it must have been really tough.
[Health is below 4%.]
[All mana has been depleted.]
Well, it made sense.
Even Dohyun’s status window looked torn to shreds. For them, it wasn’t much better; they were probably at their limits too.
‘It’s been a while since I had such a surprise.’
The trouble was that the battle broke out right after he had drained Ruidra’s power. If it weren’t for the ice-type skills, he wouldn’t have been able to thin out the numbers easily at the start. As expected, the skill that’s often rated more useful in PVP than PVE came through. Among the recent ice skills, this one was the most effective.
‘More importantly… I guess there’s no smooth way to deal with the Hero Guild now.’
He had unintentionally become an eternal enemy. Even though he was progressing in the main quest and tried to avoid getting entangled with troublesome parties, he had unexpectedly become involved with a massive organization far too early.
‘The Hero Guild is among the top guilds of the top 100.’
On the other hand, Dohyun was just a single individual. Could he handle them alone? Honestly, he wasn’t sure. He could feel confident if a hundred of the enemies he just fought attacked him while they were in normal condition—but that was only in Pratel.
‘The empire’s level limit is 71–100.’
And in the late stages, even a difference of one level makes a huge difference. Higher-level enemies appear more frequently later on, so level 71 and 81 are completely different tiers.
Facing a max-level Berze, who probably also achieved “that,”? And not just one Berze, but his entire guild?
‘This is gonna be rough.’
No matter how abnormal Dohyun’s stats were, this was too much. If he had been above level 80, maybe it would be manageable, but at 71, he couldn’t see a way out. He wished he had gotten entangled a bit later…
‘Sigh… but that’s not up to me.’
Things always seemed to go wrong. But it wasn’t the first time he faced a tough opponent. Having rarely faced easy enemies, Dohyun had grown used to it.
Shaking off his swirling thoughts, he focused his gaze.
‘We’ll manage somehow. Worry about it later.’
It had already happened. Thinking now wouldn’t change anything. Instead, it was better to focus on growth. And right now, there was something perfect for that.
[You have obtained the Purifying Ember and completed the quest.]
[Go see Gilberun.]
The Purifying Ember quest, which allowed him to complete a main quest and gain rewards, was done. It was time to collect the rewards. Everyone had struggled for this moment, but Dohyun decided to postpone it briefly.
[There are unchecked items in your inventory.]
[There are unchecked notifications.]
[Do you want to check them?]
‘Better check this first.’
The essence orbs he collected from defeating Ruidra. He hadn’t yet seen the guaranteed equipment and other rewards from that battle.
‘Let’s see what dropped.’
Dohyun smiled as he opened the notifications, greeted by countless items. The first ones he noticed were the equipment pieces obtained from the enemies.
[Artisan’s Benewood Bow]
[Staff imbued with Wind Cutter]
[Artisan’s Benewood Boots]
[Bazital Sword]
‘Hoo… not bad.’
Because of the circumstances, he hadn’t been able to harvest everything, but he managed to get five pieces bit by bit. All were rare to rare+ tier. Even if they weren’t extremely valuable, their high level meant selling them could fetch hundreds.
But the biggest gain was the item dropped by the bizarre creature that had charged at him at the end.
[Ring That Splits Rocks]
[Grade: Heroic]
[Description: A ring imbued with the power to split rocks. Grants the wearer the strength of a mountain, amplifying the power of the next strike. Named because the wearer once split a rock with a single blow.]
[Level Requirement: 60]
[Equip Restriction: Melee classes]
[Physical Defense: 245]
[Magic Resistance: 217]
Strength +5
Health +1
HP +500
[Special Option: When activated, the next attack gains the power of a mountain, delivering a heavier and stronger strike. (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]
‘Heroic grade!’
A heroic-grade ring! Considering that accessories of higher tier are rarer than armor, this was a massive gain. It was equivalent in tier to the Gamillion Ring he already had. Actually, considering the level restriction, this might even be higher.
[Ring slots are full.]
[Select a ring to replace.]
‘Ah.’
The problem was that all his ring slots were already full. He had to remove one…
‘The Karuk Essence Ring, which provides a shield, or the Gamillion Ring, which increases burst damage…’
Both were useful, and both had synergy when used together—helpful for counterattacks and creating opportunities.
‘The Gamillion Ring’s effect overlaps a bit…’
If he assumed the Karuk ring would endure one turn at max stacks, the Gamillion Ring would deal more damage. But its timing for use was limited. In contrast, the Ring That Splits Rocks was slightly weaker but could be used freely at any time.
‘I could just remove the Karuk Ring and use these two together.’
Focusing on burst damage. Either way, it wasn’t bad, but he hesitated, feeling like something was missing.
[The ring you are replacing is of the same grade.]
[You can use the Legacy Stone (Permanent).]
[Do you want to use it?]
“Eh?”
The sudden notification made Dohyun pause, then exclaim.
‘Oh, right, I had this.’
It was a reward from completing Sargis’ graduation quest. He had forgotten about it due to all the recent chaos. Excited, he checked the message.
‘So it works only on items of the same grade.’
It made sense for balance, though he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. If it worked across grades, he could have concentrated rare lower-tier options into legendary-grade items. But that ship had sailed…
‘Then it’s a definite go.’
He had three uses, so he had to be careful, but this situation was perfect. Who knew when a legendary-grade ring would drop? Better to boost his current power than wait for the distant future, especially now that he’d turned the entire Hero Guild into an enemy.
‘Even if I use all the uses, it can be recharged.’
The special materials required for recharge would be a nightmare to obtain, but the fact that it could be recharged was what mattered.
Dohyun made his move.
[Using Ruidra’s Legacy Stone (Permanent).]
[The options of ‘Karuk’s Essence Ring’ are inherited by the ‘Ring That Splits Rocks’.]
A bright yellow light erupted, illuminating the surroundings. A small square cube appeared, covered with ancient, twisted symbols. Both rings floated into the air.
Shaa—
Then the light vanished. The message appeared.
[Congratulations. Inheritance complete.]
[‘Karuk’s Essence Ring That Splits Rocks’ has been created.]
The resulting ring combined the features of both. The red and blue of Karuk’s ring fused with the crude design of the Ring That Splits Rocks, giving it a more menacing appearance. But the best part was its options.
[Karuk’s Essence Ring That Splits Rocks]
[Grade: Heroic (Inherited)]
[Description: A ring containing the power to split rocks and the essence of the great Goblin Warlord. Grants the wearer the strength of a mountain, amplifying the next strike, and provides power to overcome danger in critical moments.]
[Level Requirement: 60]
[Equip Restriction: Melee classes]
[Physical Defense: 245]
[Magic Resistance: 217]
Strength +5
Health +1
HP +500
[Special Option: When activated, the next attack gains the power of a mountain, delivering a heavier and stronger strike. (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]
[Inherited Option: When HP drops to 5%, creates a shield absorbing 15% of max HP damage for 15 seconds. (Cooldown: 2 hours)]
‘Amazing…’
A heroic-grade ring with two options! Considering that special options determine quality, it was on par with a hero+ tier.
[Remaining uses of the Legacy Stone (Permanent): 2]
Even more amazing, he could do this two more times. All that effort to defeat that monster paid off. Excited, Dohyun checked all the rewards from Ruidra.
[Checking rewards harvested from Ruidra’s Essence Orbs.]
[Three equipment items obtained as first-time rewards.]
[Dream Dust]
Grade: Heroic
Description: Dust imbued with the energy of the Dream Witch. Might be used for something special?
[Source of Nightmare]
Grade: Heroic
Description: A fragment from the Swamp of Nightmares, containing death energy. Looks unsettling.
‘…Let’s pass on this for now.’
Despite being heroic-grade, they were essentially junk items.
‘Still, being heroic-grade, maybe they have some use.’
Possibly for alchemy. Still, even as a hidden-named raid boss drop, they were useless to Dohyun. He moved quickly to the three main equipment pieces—the real treasures—and his eyes widened.
“Wow… insane.”
The rewards had far exceeded his expectations.
