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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 281
"Thanks for the meal!"
At Jeong-hoon's command, the Seven Deadly Sins lunged at the Shadow King.
It latched onto him and began absorbing his stats.
[Absorbing stats.]
"Argh! Aaargh!"
The Shadow King screamed in agony.
He desperately tried to shake off the Seven Deadly Sins, but Jeong-hoon's foot pressing down on his chest kept him immobilized.
What kind of human was this?
‘Move! I said move!’
The Shadow King struggled to break free, but the more he resisted, the weaker he became.
The dark aura that had once coiled around Jeong-hoon's ankle lost its strength and began to dissipate.
‘This is impossible... My power!’
His strength was fading.
As his power drained away, his arms went limp.
"Eat as much as you want."
Jeong-hoon gazed down at him in satisfaction.
Ending the Shadow King’s life would be effortless, but he wanted to make this copy of himself suffer before its death.
"Wow, this is a feast!"
The Seven Deadly Sins marveled as it continued to absorb the Shadow King's power.
It was no wonder—this was a transcendent Demon King who surpassed even Apostle-level beings.
[Absorbing the stats of Shadow King Gwen.]
[Absorbing a transcendent being allows you to acquire one of Shadow King Gwen’s abilities.]
[The Seven Deadly Sins has acquired 'Copy.']
[The Seven Deadly Sins' grade has been upgraded by one level.]
"Oh," Jeong-hoon muttered in brief admiration.
Just like when it had absorbed Bahamut, not only did it gain the Shadow King's abilities, but its grade had also advanced by one level.
===
[Seven Deadly Sins]
- Type: Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath
- Level: ?? (Grows by absorbing stats)
- Grade: Celestial
[Detailed Stats]
- Strength: 442
- Agility: 430
- Stamina: 440
- Defense: 438
- Wisdom: 419
- Magic Power: 435
- Mental Strength: 416
===
The Seven Deadly Sins' grade advanced to Celestial, significantly boosting all of its stats to the mid-400s.
But that wasn’t all.
[The Seven Deadly Sins has reached the Celestial grade.]
[The Seven Deadly Sins awakens a new ability.]
A new ability had been unlocked. Jeong-hoon examined it carefully.
===
[Manifestation]
- Type: Active
- Grade: Celestial
- Effect: Manifests the Seven Deadly Sins' true form for 1 second.
- Note: The manifestation is proportional to the number of sins.
===
The true form of the Seven Deadly Sins?
Jeong-hoon nodded in understanding.
This creature had been sealed by splitting it into seven parts. There was no way its tiny current form could be its real body.
Still, if even 1 second of its true form could be manifested, what kind of power could it reveal?
Jeong-hoon’s curiosity was piqued.
"Seven Deadly Sins."
"What?"
The creature, busy absorbing stats, responded.
"Manifest yourself."
"Manifest?"
"Yeah. I need to see it."
"Alright, just a moment."
The Seven Deadly Sins activated its ability without hesitation.
BOOOOM!
A bolt of lightning struck the top of the Shadow Fortress, casting a colossal shadow over the area.
‘Gasp!’
Jeong-hoon’s body stiffened on instinct.
He was so overwhelmed that he forgot how to breathe, his hair standing on end.
‘Am I... trembling?’
He realized this unfamiliar emotion was fear.
Immediately after, a feeling of helplessness washed over him.
Even after growing so much stronger, he found himself utterly overwhelmed just by the mere presence of the Seven Deadly Sins’ true form.
The looming shadow briefly drew closer to him before disappearing entirely.
‘...But what exactly does this ability do?’
Jeong-hoon tilted his head in confusion.
[Absorbing stats.]
Having completed its manifestation, the Seven Deadly Sins resumed its meal.
Jeong-hoon silently observed the creature before drawing Leviathan.
It was time to finish the job and ensure the Shadow King Gwen would breathe no more.
"Shadow King, it’s time to go."
"...Damn it all…"
The Shadow King bit his lips.
It seemed he no longer had the strength to resist, not even to move.
Jeong-hoon aimed Leviathan at the creature’s neck and struck down with force.
“Guhk!”
The Shadow King let out a final death cry as he succumbed instantly.
As his absorbed stats were drained completely, the Shadow King disintegrated into dust and vanished.
[You have defeated the Shadow King Gwen for the first time! You have earned 200,000 Achievement Points.]
[You have received 30,000 Points.]
[Your Ultimate Energy has reached its maximum capacity. You cannot acquire additional Ultimate Energy.]
[You have gained 10,000,000,000 EXP.]
[Your level has increased.]
[All stats have increased by +1.]
[You have earned +1 Bonus Stat Point.]
[You have obtained the Shadow King’s Spear.]
The reward for defeating him was the Shadow King’s Spear.
===
[Shadow King’s Spear]
- Type: Spear
- Grade: Ultimate
- Attack Power: ???
- Critical Rate: ???%
- Remaining Durability: 100%
- Special Ability (1): X
- Special Ability (2): X
- Special Ability (3): X
===
The spear had the same unknown options as the Shadow King’s Dagger Jeong-hoon had acquired earlier. Without unlocking its capabilities using a Shadow Engraving Stone, it was unusable.
Still, that wasn’t a problem.
‘Aside from the Nameless Shadow C, there are two more enemies offering Shadow Engraving Stones as rewards.’
Defeating the Shadow King meant Jeong-hoon would eventually secure three engraving stones. Even after unlocking the two weapons, he’d still have one stone left.
“Are these their true forms?”
Where the Shadow King had vanished, eight necklaces lay scattered.
Each one represented the true form of the shadows beneath the Shadow King.
Jeong-hoon collected the necklaces and dismissed the Seven Deadly Sins.
***
At the same time...
On the 13th floor, the Nameless Shadow C was wandering anxiously.
It couldn’t sit still.
‘Can he really do it...? Please, let him succeed.’
The human who had ascended to the higher floors to defeat the Shadow King had effortlessly subdued the Shadow Marquis residing on the 13th floor. Without hesitation, he had moved on to the 14th.
Watching this, the Nameless Shadow C clung to a faint glimmer of hope.
'Perhaps this human could be the one to save me.'
Yet, no matter how much time passed, the human did not return.
‘Surely, he didn’t die… did he?’
Honestly, that seemed more likely.
The Shadow King was a being on an entirely different level. Escaping his grasp was impossible, no matter how much one struggled.
The only way to break free was if the Shadow King were defeated.
‘Please…’
The shadow murmured desperately over and over again.
And as if answering that plea, the human who had ascended to the 14th floor finally returned.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” the human said.
In his hand was a necklace.
The shadow immediately recognized it as the item imprisoning its true form.
‘Success… Did he really succeed?’
Staring at the necklace in disbelief, the shadow could only hope.
The human gave a small nod.
“Yeah. I managed to defeat the Shadow King.”
‘No way…’
Had he truly slain the Shadow King?
Was this a dream?
“Don’t want it?”
The human made a move to put the necklace back into his pocket.
‘Who said I don’t want it?! Give it here, now!’
“Then hand over the engraving stone.”
‘Do you really think I’d run off with it?’
“You disappear the moment this necklace breaks.”
‘That’s nonsense!’
When one achieves Nirvana, they must leave everything behind.
“Isn’t that so?”
‘Don’t you trust me?’
There was a touch of sorrow.
Why would the shadow lie about such a thing?
“Alright, then let’s exchange.”
‘…That works.’
The distrust bothered the shadow, but it was better to complete the deal.
The shadow handed over the engraving stone it had kept in its possession.
And in return, it received the necklace that held its true form.
‘It’s finally over.’
This tiresome life, at last, would come to an end.
The shadow easily shattered the necklace.
Finally, freedom was granted.
“Goodbye.”
The human smiled faintly, bidding farewell.
For some reason, tears welled up.
‘…Thank you, really.’
Had it not been for that human, I would still be trapped here, desperately waiting for someone to come.
To the shadow, that human was its savior.
The one who gave freedom to a life of suffering, a precious person.
‘No matter what you do, I wish you always have good fortune.’
With those words, the shadow vanished completely.
***
[Quest completed.]
[You have obtained the Shadow Engraving Stone.]
With this, all the shadows had been returned to their necklaces.
Jeong-hoon checked his rewards.
First, the three Shadow Engraving Stones.
[Shadow Engraving Stone]
- Type: Consumable
- Grade: Ultimate
- A mysterious stone imbued with the power of the shadow.
- Used to unlock Shadow Equipment.
Finally, he could use Ultimate grade equipment.
“I'm a little nervous.”
His heart raced.
It was the first time since both before and after the regression that he had handled equipment of the ultimate grade.
‘Ugh, I really don’t like this.’
‘Same here.’
Of course, Mukho and Anima had a strong dislike for Shadow Equipment.
It made sense; they had yet to reach the ultimate grade themselves.
If Jeong-hoon were to be swayed by the ultimate grade gear, their own positions would become even more insignificant.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make you both ultimate too.”
‘Is that possible?’
‘We haven’t even reached the Celestial grade yet…’
Mukho and Anima were still at the Legendary grade.
“I told you. This time, you’ll both reach Celestial.”
Thanks to the rewards from the shadows, they would now be able to reach Celestial.
The reason was the Shadow Celestial Engraving Stones they had received.
[Shadow Celestial Engraving Stone]
- An engraving stone imbued with the power of the heavens.
- When used, the Shadow option is added.
- Can upgrade Legendary (Fully Enhanced) and lower-grade equipment, with the following success rates.
He had received two Celestial Engraving Stones from the shadows.
By acquiring these engraving stones, Mukho and Anima could now be upgraded to Celestial.
Although, it would require reprocessing and stabilization first.
‘To do that, I’ll need to find Rigriner.’
Rigriner was the NPC who had stabilized the Celestial Engraving Stones before.
With his help, these two engraving stones would also be stabilized.
For now, though, he would focus on using the Shadow Engraving Stones.
The method to use the engraving stones was simple.
[Would you like to use the Shadow Engraving Stone on the 'Shadow King's Dagger'?]
With just the Shadow Equipment and Engraving Stone, it was possible to use them with a simple click.
[Using the Shadow Engraving Stone.]
[The Shadow King's Dagger regains its original power.]
Success.
===
[Shadow King's Dagger]
- Type: Dagger
- Grade: Ultimate
- Attack Power: ??? (adjusted to 2x based on the wielder's level)
- Critical Hit Rate: 30%
- Remaining Durability: 100%
- Special Ability (1): Absorbs attacks from a designated target to activate one of the five abilities of the dagger.
- Special Ability (2): 'Passive: Bleed' triggers with a 10% chance. (Bleed damage 50%)
- Special Ability (3): 'Passive: Healing Seal' triggers with a 10% chance. (Healing Seal debuff lasts for 1-30 seconds, applied randomly.)
- Shadow Option (1): Can be set
- Shadow Option (2): Can be set
===
So, this is the Ultimate-grade weapon.
It was slightly different from typical Legendary to Celestial-grade items.
Though not excessively flashy, it was clearly a weapon specialized for combat.
‘Bleed and Healing Seal... that's too good, right?’
It was, quite literally, an overpowered ability.
Even against higher-level opponents, the effects wouldn't decrease or the chances wouldn't drop.
With abilities like this, the dagger would be a huge asset in one-on-one combat.
‘The Shadow Options have to be set separately.’
Jeong-hoon examined the Shadow Options.
[Shadow Option Appraisal Gem is required.]
The Shadow Option Appraisal Gem.
Jeong-hoon's eyes gleamed as he retrieved the gems from his inventory.
These gems were the reward he had received for freeing the shadows trapped on the 20th floor.
A total of 50 Shadow Option Appraisal Gems.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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