Chapter 339

The bright light of the Diamond rank Gems encased the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor had taken out more than Diamond rank Gems. There were several Devices too, and a Sapphire rank Gem, which was the 2nd highest Jewel rank Gem.

However, the Diamond rank Gems were the focus of their attention. They didn’t pay any attention to the other Gem and Devices.

“This is the first time I’ve seen it.”

“Me too. Mother never had one.”

Emily and Tim looked like kids in a fantasy novel, who had just seen a fairy. Their eyes were filled with curiosity as they stared at the Diamond rank Gems.

Of course, Sungyoon and Grace behaved similarly.

Only Russell and Bruce didn’t show as much interest.

Both of them had a Diamond rank Gem.

“We plan on distributing all the Devices and Gems that we acquired recently. However, we believe that the highest rank Gems and Devices should go to you all. We believe you will be fighting the hardest from the frontlines.”

“Should we thank you for trusting us so much? Or should we cry from the back that we’re being pushed towards the frontline?”

Everyone laughed at Bruce’s lame joke.

“I don’t need it.”

The first one to speak was Aruwen.

“I won’t be the ones fighting the truly dangerous beings. In my personal opinion, the Gems should be given to the four that possess the special Gems.”

“He has a point. I’m fine too.”

Aruwen and Plu-El represented the descendants of Planote. They were the first ones to give up on their rights to the Diamond rank Gems.

“I’m fine too. I already have one. Also, it is as Mr. Aruwen said. The Knight’s party will be thrown into the battlefield where the fight is the fiercest. I think it is a good idea to hand the Gems over to them.”

“Shit! Whatever. This is really such a wasted opportunity for me, but I agree.”

Russell and Bruce gave their approval.

The eyes of Tim, Emily, and Grace started to move slowly.

Their eyes took in the three bright Diamond rank Gems.

In the past, Tim and Emily wanted to enter the Great Labyrinth, so they could fulfill their mother’s dream. They never would have guessed they would be able to own a Diamond rank Gem.

It was the same for Grace. She had seen Russell’s Diamond rank Gem, but she never expected she would get the opportunity to possess a Gem that was on the same rank as what Russell possessed.

Diamond rank Gems couldn’t be acquired using money, political power, or rank.

It would be a lie if the three of them said they didn’t covet the Diamond rank Gems.

However, the three of them look at each other. They wanted to check if they were thinking the same thing.

“As expected, Mr. Sungyoon should...”

“I want you to divide it up amongst the three of you.”

Tim had been about to speak as the representative, but Sungyoon spoke faster than him.

“What? Mr. Sungyoon should take...”

“No. It is better for you all to have it.”

As he spoke those words, he lifted his arm to show it to the group.

Sungyoon wore a bracelet type Device on his arm.

It was a uniquely designed Device that spiraled up his arm.

However, if one looked closely at it, it wasn’t the Sungyoon’s original Device. The slots were higher in rank.

The Device, which he was wearing right now, had 30 universal slots for Sapphire rank Gems.

It was the Device that he picked up in the fight to recapture Armstrong city.

Everything else that he had picked up in the battle had been unusable except this Device.

That is why the Mayor had given it to Sungyoon, and he hadn’t put up much of a fight in equipping it.

“Wow~!”

Bruce was baffled by what he saw. Russell let out a laugh in disbelief. The eyes of Plu-El and Aruwen turned round.

The Mayor and his party members already knew about it, yet they became surprised every time they saw it.

Most of the Gems slotted into the Device were Sapphire rank Gems. Few weren’t, but they were all high Jewel rank Gems.

“What the hell is that?”

Russell asked the question.

“They evolved in the previous battle. It might be because I killed a lot of monsters. Or maybe I gathered enough EXP beforehand. The last battle caused all my Gems to evolve.”

“I can see why that’s the case. You killed a lot of monsters. Above all else, you fought against Glaia.”

“Now that I think about it, you were the one to apply the killing blow on Glaia, right?”

As they spoke those words, Bruce and Russell looked down at Sungyoon’s bracelet.

“Ah. F.u.c.k. I’m out of the running from being the strongest Connector now.”

Bruce scratched his head.

Diamond rank Gems were rare. There had only been seven of them in existence on Earth. Almost half of them had been lost in the fall of Gagarin·Yang city. They went missing with the Connectors that had been killed there.

Russell and Bruce possessed only one Diamond rank Gem each.

Basically, Sapphire rank Gems were part of their main arsenal. However, they didn’t have as many as Sungyoon. Sungyoon possessed one after the other.

“He was never the strongest. Let him spout his nonsense.”

“Nonsense? I’m stronger than you, bitch!”

Russell’s eyebrows twitched a little bit.

“When this war is done, let’s fight a one on one battle.”

“Do you think I’ll be scared?”

The two bared their teeth as they growled at each other.

“Please! Let’s calm down for now. You can fight to your heart’s content when the war is over.”

The Mayor stepped forward to de-escalate the situation. The two of them looked away from each other.

It was like a fight that one would see on a playground amongst children. However, this was a usual occurrence between the two.

Russell once again spoke towards Sungyoon.

“First, let me congratulate you. In terms of Gems, you are on the same rank as us. You might be stronger than us.”

“He still doesn’t have a Diamond rank Gem.”

The last bit of Bruce’s pride made him speak those words. However, Russell ruthlessly stomped Bruce’s remaining pride.

“The Knight has the Royal Gem.”

Bruce grumbled in a low voice, but he backed off.

“It is all thanks to the evolution Gem.”

“I know a couple of Connectors, who possess Gems that evolve other Gems. However, I’ve never seen anyone evolve so many Gems to a ridiculous degree.”

It was a combination of luck and fighting strong foes that allowed him to increase the rank of his evolution Gem.

“Which one is your evolution Gem?”

“It is this one.”

Sungyoon pointed towards a Gem.

“What? Isn’t it a Ruby rank Gem? Doesn’t evolution Gems evolve Gems until its own rank?”

Ruby was the 4th highest rank amongst the Jewel rank Gems. It was one of the top-ranked Gems, but it wasn’t capable of evolving other Gems to Sapphire rank. Sapphire was the second-highest rank amongst the Jewel rank Gems.

“I received help from this guy.”

Sungyoon pointed towards one of the Sapphire rank Gems.

“This Gem is capable of raising the ability of one Gem that is equipped on the same Device. It can raise it two ranks above the rank of the slot.”

“I see. You raised the ability of the evolution rank by two slots, which is the Sapphire rank.”

“That is correct. In the beginning, it was an Emerald rank Gem, but the ability of the evolution rank Gem made it into Sapphire rank.”

Bruce finally realized why Sungyoon had said he didn’t need the Diamond rank Gems.

Of course, Sungyoon was powerful just from possessing all those Sapphire rank Gems. Moreover, he had the Royal Gem, which allowed him to tap the source of magical energy when fighting an officer of the monsters.

However, it didn’t end there.

“You plan on raising all your Gems to Diamond rank Gems?”

“If I have the opportunity, I am willing to try.”

Bruce once again looked at Sungyoon’s Gems.

If all those Gems became Diamond rank...

“You’ll be a beast.”

It would be the birth of a Connector so powerful that Bruce couldn’t even fathom the amount of power Sungyoon would possess.

Tim, Grace, and Emily looked at him.

“It seems the Knight is correct. It’ll be for the best to give the Diamond rank Gems to you. The Knight is capable of evolving his Gems to Diamond rank.”

The three of them continued to look at Sungyoon.

“Are you really sure about this?”

Tim asked as the representative of the group. Sungyoon let out a light laugh as he nodded.

“I really don’t mind. Also, it isn’t as if I’m giving it up for nothing. I already told the Mayor what I needed.”

As soon as he spoke those words, the Mayor handed something over to Sungyoon.

“This isn’t as valuable as a Diamond rank Gem, but the probability of finding this item is also incredibly low. However, it seemed we were able to find one like it because we killed so many monsters.”

It was a bracelet type Device. In some ways, it was similar to the Device that spiraled up his arm. It looked like an arm guard.

Unlike the single spiral form of his previous Device, this one had three strands that spiraled upwards.

Sungyoon had a satisfied smile on his lips as he lifted the Device.

The Device had a total of 35 slots.

The number of slots was great, but Sungyoon loved the rank of the slots above all else.

“All 35 slots are universal Diamond rank slots. Even if you evolve all your Gems, you’ll be able to use all of them with this Device.”

It was a Device full of Diamond rank slots. This Device was more precious to Sungyoon than the Diamond rank Gems.

‘I’ve made all my preparation with this.’

Sungyoon started to transfer his Gems into the new Device.

Then he put it on.

Was it just a feeling? It felt much more comfortable than his previous Device.

“Then we should choose our Gems.”

Grace took a step forward. There were nervousness and excitement all over her face.

The Diamond rank Gem came in three shapes of a cross, a triangle, and a square. The cross meant it was a shield. The triangle denoted attack magic, and the square was support magic.

“It lines up exactly with our specialization.”

It was as Grace had said. Tim was in charge of defense. Grace was in charge of dealing big damage with her attack spells. Emily supported all of them with her support magic. Each Gem was suitable for each member of Sungyoon’s party.

They really didn’t even have to decide anything. Grace took the triangle Gem, which was for attack magic.

“Ah. What if...”

Tim had hesitatingly moved towards the Diamond rank Gem. However, he spoke up right before he picked up the cross-shaped Gem.

“What if we are not capable of activating it? What if we destroy it in the process?”

Puhk!

When Tim spoke what could be unlucky words, Emily kicked his shin.

***

Thankfully, Tim’s ominous words never came true. The three of them easily activated their Diamond Gems.

As soon as he activated his Gem, Tim let out a sigh of relief.

“Congratulations. The three of you were successful in activating it.”

The Mayor congratulated them.

It seems the three of them really like their new Gems. They kept looking down at their Diamond rank Gem.

Aside from the Diamond rank Gem, they had received Sapphire rank Gems and Devices capable of slotting their new Gems. This was why they were on cloud nine.

“Their names are no longer known to us, but these are the items left behind by warriors, who had fought the Grenoid. Please don’t let their deaths be in vain. Please use their items to the best of your abilities.”

Plu-El spoke.

Sungyoon looked down at his Device and Gems once again.

‘These are the equipment used by the warrior of Planote. They were eaten by the Grenoid.’

In the past, the Grenoid had tried to slaughter humanity, and in the process, it had eaten massive numbers of warriors.

This was why their Devices and Gems were eaten alongside the warriors, and these items became part of the monsters born from the Grenoid’s body. According to Plu-El, this was why the monsters dropped Devices and Gems.

This was why Plu-El and the descendants of Planote felt deep respect when they used this equipment.

Sungyoon even saw Aruwen pay respect towards those that came before him.

“Please do not worry about it. We won’t embarrass them in how we used it.”

Grace gave a firm answer. Tim and Emily nodded their heads.

Plu-El let out a bright laugh as she accepted their intentions.

‘It is our turn to go on the offensive now.’

Sungyoon had that thought as he looked down at his Device.

Until now, humanity had moved defensively.

They had attacked Armstrong city, but it had merely been to regain what had been lost. The city had been crucial in the defense of humanity.

On the other hand, they now had to carry out an all-out offensive attack this time around.

‘We have no idea what those bastards prepared for us.’

However, they couldn’t stand back and wait for the extinction of humanity.

Their plan of attack would be carried out in a week.