Chapter 154 - Region 0 (4)

Instead of the remaining stat points I was rewarded with in Stage 1, I saw something new this time.

Moreover, the word 'trait' was certainly unusual.

So, I hovered over the sparkling "1 Trait Shard" in the message.

[Trait Shard. (Legend)

-It is a part of finely broken trait pieces.

-You can combine 3, 5, 7 shards, and the more shards you combine, the higher probability you have of obtaining a high-grade trait.

-Youcan keep the trait you obtain or you can exchange it with others.]

I never thought I could obtain a trait this way. Moreover, I didn't expect that I could even exchange it with others.

"By the way, seven shards…"

According to the message, I could start combining them when I had three shards, but the message said that I could get a higher-grade trait if I combined more shards.

So, I thought it would be better for me to obtain seven shards and combine them because a superior trait was much more attractive than a poor trait.

Anyway, I was full of determination to challenge the next stage by all means.

When Stage 3 opened, I smiled in satisfaction because golems, which were commonly known to be very slow monsters, appeared.

Thud! Thud!

"Ice Ball! Ice Bolt!"

They collapsed when hit directly on their upper body.

I had no choice but to keep smiling because I could kill them with one strike.

I easily cleared Stage 1 and Stage 2, but Stage 3 was much easier.

Golems kept collapsing without even getting close to me.

In the meantime, messages kept ringing.

[You have acquired 37 points.]

:

[You have acquired 10500 Golden Rings.]

After about 6 hours, I started killing more golems by herding about ten of them to a corner and wiping them out.

I was clearing Stage 3 much faster than Stage 2.

I concluded that the level of difficulty did not seem to increase even as the stages advanced.

"Hmm... I think I should continue tomorrow."

It's already 1 am. I think I could somewhat size up this challenge after experiencing three stages.

And I realized that the first moment of each stage was the most dangerous because I was thrown into a herd of monsters at the beginning of each stage.

Therefore, the moment when the most monsters gathered was when the stage started.

If I could deal with that initial moment, the next bits were easier because all I had to do was control my movements, then draw the monsters toward me a bit before killing them all.

Anyway, sater I was done hunting, I went to sleep.

The next day I woke up at the same time as usual, had cereal for breakfast, then accessed 'Revival Legend' to kill the remaining golems I left behind yesterday.

A message rang right away.

[Congratulations! You have successfully cleared Stage 3.

-As a reward for clearing Stage 3, you have received 150,000 points.

-As a reward for clearing Stage 3, you have leveled up by 10.

--You have received additional points to your score at the end of the test because you had 0 deaths while clearing Stage 3.

-Stage 4 will open in 10 minutes.]

This time it was level-ups, not EXP, and exactly 10 levels at that.

I felt it was not fair because if I came here at level 1000, not level 500, this increase of 10 levels would be far more valuable. And even more regrettable was that the status window did not open.

In other words, I could not invest in Intellect the 100 remaining stat points I obtained yesterday and the 100 remaining stat points that I got for the 10 levels I got after clearing Stage 3.

Of course, I was not sure how effective that investment would be, but I still needed to.

Anyway, it took a little more time, but I cleared Stage 4, Stage 5 and Stage 6 without any difficulty.

On such occasions I received rewards like a 50,000 point increase for clearing the stage, or 200 remaining stat points I received for clearing Stage 4, and 5000 coins for clearing Stage 5. For clearing Stage 6, I received one trait shard.

So right now, I have two trait shards.

It was a little disappointing that there was no level-up reward, but I was satisfied because the remaining stat points, coins, and trait shards were attractive enough.

Of course, I could not be happy about the current situation because it took two days for me to clear Stage 6. I had to control my movements carefully to lure the monsters, and it took quite a lot of time for me to sweep away them with Ice Balls and Ice Bolts.

After that, Stage 7 opened immediately.

And at this stage, I felt for the first time that I might definitely die.

As a matter of fact, I have never died while playing 'Revival Legend'.

And it was the same when I played the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Closed Betas called 'Forgotten Legend' prior to 'Revival Legend'.

Especially during the closed betas, I was more careful because I played with the strong determination to devote myself to it for two weeks so I would not think of it anymore during the rest of the vacation.

As a result, the 24-hour access ban penalty that I would get if I died would be a huge setback to my plan.

Of course, during 'Revival Legend', I could not die even if I wanted to because I had achieved various achievements including the maximum level in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Closed Betas.

Nevertheless, the number of kills and deaths was newly added to the status window in "Revival Legend'. My father even told me not to die, so I was even more careful about it. That being said, even without my father's reminder, I did not want the number 0 inthe status window to change to the number 1.

It was at this moment that the barrier 7% reality actualization stood in my way.

The fact that I could only use Ice Ball and Ice Bolt without using my other various skills including Ice Field fueled my sense of crisis.

As a matter of fact, the monsters that appeared in Stage 7 were ranged monsters.

In other words, I had to attack more often than before because I could not lure the monsters like before because they did not need to get close to me to attack.

Besides, they were small-type monsters called Rascal Fairies. So, these little monsters could gather even in a narrow space.

Fluttering, fluttering, fluttering.

Every time they flapped their wings, a wind which was not strong but hard to ignore blew my way. And not just one wind, but dozens or over a hundred of them.

Puck! Puck! Puck!

Of course, if I could use my skills fully, I could easily kill them.

But I was clearly on the defensive now. Besides, they were numerically superior.

When I retreated upon facing the huge number of the little monsters, they immediately noticed it, and three more Rascal Fairies joined the fray.

That meant there were three more attacks I had to deal with.

Of course, I didn't just do nothing.

I immediately launched an attack with Ice Ball and Ice Bolt.

Unlike the monsters with a huge build in Stage 6, fortunately I could kill the Rascal Fairies with a couple of attacks.

But I felt like I would collapse faster.

'Damn it! Why does the war start like this?'

If I had fought them in a corner, I would not have gotten in trouble like this because I would lure them to my place step by step before killing them instead of charging at them stupidly like now.

Moreover, the monsters did not respawn.

However, the fact that I was in the middle of the monsters messed up my plan.

I had another complaint. I had the feeling that the monsters seemed to be able to track me more easily perhaps because they were ranged types. So, much more monsters than I thought began to attack me intensively, and when I moved even one step, three to five monsters attacked me instantly.

So, I endlessly spammed Ice Ball and Ice Bolt, but I was still struggling to block them.

"Damn it!"

While spamming Ice Balls and Ice Bolts, I kept cursing.

At my house in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.

"Juyoung is coming a little late?" asked my father.

"Yeah," said Suyoung.

She continued, "Juyoung has something to tell you this evening."

"Something to tell me?"

"Yeah. I asked him what it was, but he said he was uncomfortable talking about it over the phone. He wanted to see you in person."

"Okay. Got it."

As if he guessed why I couldn't talk over the phone, he just nodded.

While my family was waiting for me, I was absorbed into hunting.

Stage 7 in Region 0.

"Damn it!"

Although it was painful, I accepted it.

In other words, I felt bitter, but I accepted it.

The number of deaths, which remained 0 even when the chances of my ID Lumen changing to Asirante was almost none, would soon change to 1.

No matter how desperately I tried, I could not help it.