Chapter 218

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 218

After Jeong-hoon left, Ligriner was deep in thought, furrowing his brow.

No matter what he tried, he couldn't find a way to stabilize the power of the Celestial Engraving Stone.

“Hmmm, what should I do?”

Ligriner pondered.

What would my master have done in this situation?

Surely, they would have found a new method and accomplished it brilliantly.

‘I’m not my master…’

Thinking of his master made him feel incredibly insignificant.

‘Please! This is something only you can do.’

However, he couldn’t give up, especially because of the words Jeong-hoon had left behind.

Ligriner placed his hand on the Celestial Engraving Stone and channeled his magic into it.

Woom—

As the magic was injected, the Celestial Engraving Stone began to glow and vibrate intensely.

“Wow…”

Ligriner was at a loss for words.

The stone vibrated and shone brilliantly.

Perhaps momentarily entranced by the beautiful light, he snapped back to reality only to find that two hours had passed.

“Damn it!”

It was an urgent situation, and he had wasted so much time.

Ligriner withdrew his hand from the engraving stone.

Then an astonishing change occurred.

Woom—

Even though he cut off the magic, the light from the stone remained, softly vibrating.

Ligriner’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What is this…?”

He cautiously examined the engraving stone.

Soon, his face turned to one of shock.

“It stabilized?!”

Just a moment ago, the energy had been forcefully contained, but now it flowed harmoniously throughout the entire stone.

“No, how…?”

All he had done was channel his magic into it.

* * *

[Stabilized Celestial Engraving Stone]

- An engraving stone with celestial power inscribed within.

- Can upgrade equipment up to Legendary (Fully Enhanced) grade, with the following success rates:

- Legendary: 100% (1 required)

- Unique: 0.1% (5 required)

- Epic: 0.0001% (20 required)

- Rare: 0% (cannot be upgraded)

- Normal: 0% (cannot be upgraded)

- If the upgrade fails, there is a 99% chance that the equipment will be destroyed.

- To bestow power, the equipment must be fully enhanced.

With the stabilization work completed, the Celestial Engraving Stone could now be upgraded from Legendary grade to Celestial grade with a probability of 100%, up from 50%.

The fear of equipment destruction was eliminated.

Moreover, a smile lingered on Ligriner's face.

‘That makes sense. It succeeded too easily.’

There was a high possibility that Ligriner was falling into the illusion that he was a genius.

However, it wasn’t because Ligriner was a genius.

Jeong-hoon had altered the rewards upon completing the quest, significantly increasing the success rate of the request.

In other words, it meant that Ligriner, as an enchanter, only needed to channel his magical power for success.

Of course, Jeong-hoon didn’t mention this fact.

“Thank you so much,” Jeong-hoon said, smiling.

“Oh, this is nothing!” Ligriner’s shoulders lifted with pride.

“Indeed, my judgment was not wrong.”

Since it had come to this, he decided to push his luck further.

“Hahaha! You flatter me!”

“If there’s another opportunity, I’d appreciate your help again.”

“Anytime!”

Now that their business was finished, Jeong-hoon was about to turn away when a new message appeared before him.

[Kingdom of Märchen: You have completed the hidden episode.]

‘Hidden episode?’

Jeong-hoon’s eyes widened slightly.

This was the first time he had completed a hidden episode since his regression.

‘How…?’

[When you achieve a perfect clear of the episodes included in the collection, including the side episodes, the hidden episode is completed.]

Ah, so that’s how it is.

The Kingdom of Märchen and the Alchemist's Street could be seen as one set.

And perfect clear meant he had completed all episodes flawlessly.

‘Originally, perfect clears didn’t hold any significance.’

It was simply about finishing the episodes.

Yet he never expected a hidden episode would be hidden like this.

‘That means the other collection episodes also have hidden ones, doesn’t it?’

His mind raced.

Then what would be the reward for completing the hidden episode?

[The hidden episode is registered in the collection.]

[The completion percentage of the episode increases by an additional 10%.]

‘What…?’

Completing 100 episodes.

This meant that increasing the episode’s completion percentage by 10% was equivalent to getting 10 completed for free.

But that wasn’t all.

[The effects of the synergy are significantly increased.]

[All stats increase by 4%, damage increases by 4%, all skill damage increases by 4%.]

This was insane.

While one might see 4% as a small number, considering that only synergy level 1 was currently applied, it was an extraordinary figure.

Originally, it was 2%, so it had doubled.

‘Thinking about the future…’

Jeong-hoon clenched his fist.

* * *

Los Angeles, USA.

James Marcus and Louis Verdan were emerging from a dungeon.

“Wow… It’s James Marcus…”

“Unbelievable…”

“Take a photo! Photo!”

People around them were frantically trying to take pictures of him.

Even with New World becoming a reality, he remained a top star.

In fact, his popularity had skyrocketed even more.

It was no wonder.

In this new reality, levels had become synonymous with power.

“Louis, I think we might be a bit late.”

James Marcus turned his head, wearing a slightly displeased expression.

Louis Verdan, standing behind him, shrugged his shoulders.

“The whole world has gathered here. It’s only natural to be late.”

“Haha, true enough.”

That wasn’t what James Marcus meant, though.

He hadn’t expected much gain from this dungeon.

What he was truly looking for was someone he could recruit as a companion.

However, there wasn’t a single person who caught his eye.

“There will be plenty of opportunities. So let’s not rush,” Louis Verdan comforted him.

“Just like you, Louis. You’re the best.”

James Marcus chuckled.

At that moment, he spotted an Asian man in the distance.

Their eyes met, and he felt a shiver run down his spine.

‘What is this…?’

He had never seen such a gaze in his life.

What was even more astonishing was the rainbow-colored aura emanating from him.

It reminded him of the skill he had gained through fate: “Gauge.”

This skill allowed him to assess the potential of others.

The lower the potential, the darker the color; the higher the potential, the brighter the color.

But rainbow colors were something he had never seen before.

In other words, the man’s potential was beyond imagination.

James Marcus hurriedly checked his information.

===

[Player Information]

- Nickname: The Celestial Gazer

- Level: 160

- Class: Intermediate Martial Artist (Second Advancement)

===

He was only a 160-level intermediate martial artist.

It didn’t make sense.

How could a man with such potential only be at level 160?

“James, what’s wrong?”

Louis Verdan shook his shoulder.

“Louis, I think I’ve found someone incredible.”

James slowly turned his head to meet his gaze.

“Incredible person?”

Louis tilted his head, intrigued by James’s excited look.

“Yeah. Right over there.”

James pointed ahead with his finger.

Louis’s gaze followed the tip of his finger.

But there was no one there.

“Huh? There’s no one there?”

“There’s no one?!”

James quickly turned his head to look again.

The Asian man who had just been there had completely vanished.

‘What the… Where did he go?’

Level 160.

Nickname: The Celestial Gazer.

He had definitely seen him, right?

“What the hell… Am I seeing ghosts now?”

“…No, it wasn’t a ghost.”

James Marcus’s expression darkened.

The Celestial Gazer.

He had memorized that name, and he would never forget it.

If he encountered him again, he would surely recruit him as a companion.

* * *

“Damn it.”

Returning home, Jeong-hoon recalled James Marcus.

Before his return, he was the one who had suddenly extended a hand, asking Jeong-hoon to join him as a companion when he had nothing.

“He said he saw incredible potential in me.”

Jeong-hoon chuckled softly.

He had unexpectedly crossed paths with him after exiting the dungeon.

It seemed he had entered the dungeon through coordinates posted on HoneyTube.

“If the timing is right, he would have already been looted and left with nothing.”

Given his personality, it didn’t seem likely he would act leisurely.

Could he be trying to recruit companions?

If so, everything made sense.

‘Was it called Gauge?’

It was a skill he had obtained through fate, allowing him to see the potential of others.

The reason Jeong-hoon had been able to join as a companion when he had nothing was entirely thanks to that skill.

[Master, are you alright?]

‘Your expression looks really fierce.’

Awakened from his thoughts thanks to Mukho and Anima, Jeong-hoon chuckled.

“I was just reminiscing for a moment.”

Pushing aside his dirty past, it was now time to use the Celestial Engraving Stone.

Jeong-hoon took out the Celestial Engraving Stone.

Using the engraving stone was simple.

‘All you need are enhancement skills.’

Upgrading and enhancing could be considered the same in the sense that both improve an item’s performance.

[The enhancement level of the Head Ornament imbued with the Spirit of the Divine Beast has reached Max.]

[Proceeding to Equipment Upgrade.]

[Materials are required for the upgrade.]

This is exactly how it goes.

Jeong-hoon chose the Celestial Engraving Stone.

[You have selected upgrade materials.]

[Would you like to attempt the upgrade?]

[Once attempted, it cannot be reverted to its original state. Please think carefully before deciding.]

A phrase that made him reconsider since the success rate wasn’t 100%.

However, with a 100% success rate, there was no reason to hesitate.

‘I’ll attempt it.’

[Initiating the upgrade.]

At that moment, light burst forth from the head ornament.

It was a brightness so intense it could blind him.

As the light gradually subsided, the head ornament shone brilliantly, unlike before.

[The upgrade was successful.]

[You have achieved an incredible feat! You have completed ‘First Holder of Celestial Equipment’! You have been awarded 500,000 achievement points.]

[Due to your remarkable achievement, the level of the Achievement Shop has risen to ‘7’.]

Upgrading to Celestial grade had also increased the Achievement Shop level to 7.

‘Done.’

Jeong-hoon smirked.

Achieving the Celestial grade for the first time significantly boosted the Achievement Shop level.

The previous shop level was 5.

From level 7 onward, additional materials for enhancing and upgrading Legendary or higher-grade equipment would be available.

And that wasn't all.

===

[Head Ornament Infused with the Spirit of the Divine Beast]

- Type: Head Ornament

- Grade: Celestial

- Special Ability (1): Increases Attack and Defense by 40%

- Special Ability (2): Has a certain probability to awaken the Spirit of the Divine Beast, dealing area damage to surrounding enemies.

- Special Ability (3): Increases bow firing speed by 20%, with a 20% chance to ignore enemy defense.

- Special Ability (4): When wearing the head ornament, has a 70% chance to ignore environmental damage.

- Special Ability (5): When wearing the head ornament, automatically generates a shield that provides 15% protection based on all stats. (While the shield is active, all damage taken is reduced by 10%, and the time until shield regeneration is ‘10 minutes’.)

*The shield can stack.

===

As the grade of the head ornament increased, two additional special abilities were gained.

This must have been the original performance of the head ornament.

‘This is truly incredible…’ seaʀᴄh thё Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Just with this one head ornament, his defense had significantly increased.

He could reduce environmental damage by 70% and also had the ability to create a shield.

It could even stack.

‘Not only can I deploy it twice, but I also have an invincibility skill.’

Currently, it was a Legendary-grade skill that was seldom activated.

Block.

With this level of defense, it wouldn’t be impossible to take down the dungeon bosses that had caused massive damage across the entire Earth before his return.

‘Those bosses had multiple instant-death patterns, which led to the death of everyone who attempted the hunt.’

As a result, they failed the hunt, and Earth received penalties, transforming into an environment where humanity could hardly survive.

Consequently, those who could not properly grow perished under these harsh conditions.

This is why repeating that history should be avoided at all costs.

‘Now, shall I complete the fourth advancement before Baal appears?’

It was now time to proceed with the long-awaited fourth class change.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]