The Chain Effect activated from the first Golem struck by Thunderbolt.
KRA-KA-KA-KA-KRAK!
Emerald lightning spread outward like a net, sweeping across all five Golems.
SIZZLE—!
A wave of scorching heat and acrid smoke rushed toward us.
The surfaces of all five Golems had been burned completely black.
At the same time, several messages appeared before me in succession.
[The target has been afflicted with the Abnormal Status (Shock).]
[The target has been Stunned by the effects of the Abnormal Status (Shock).]
[A Critical Hit has been activated!]
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
Three of the Golems had been afflicted with Shock.
Sparks continuously erupted from their bodies.
The remaining two had avoided Shock, but they were still struggling to remain upright.
It was proof of how much damage they had sustained.
“W-What in the world is this?”
Lee Naksu stared at me in disbelief.
That reaction was only natural.
A Level 3 Ascender had reduced five Level 10 Hidden Bosses to a Groggy state with a single spell.
Furthermore, the Thunderbolt I had used possessed the Lightning Element, which was notoriously ineffective against stone.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how hard I tried, Thunderbolt should only have dealt minor damage to stone-type Golems.
Perhaps that was why Han Gain had also stopped shedding tears and was now staring at me with her mouth hanging open.
Careful. A fly might enter.
I gave a quiet laugh at their reactions and raised my hand once more.
“Thunderbolt.”
Another stream of lightning erupted.
KRA-KA-KA-KA-KRAK!!
The cavern was once again illuminated by brilliant emerald light.
[A Critical Hit has been activated!]
[‘Hidden Boss Goblin Grand Shaman Golem’ has been defeated.]
[‘Hidden Boss Goblin Great Swordmaster Golem’ has been defeated.]
Two of the Goblin Golems collapsed after only two Thunderbolts.
They were the ones struck by consecutive Critical Hits.
Well done! Their Cores must have been thoroughly reduced to ashes.
I smiled faintly at Aleon’s words and raised my hand again.
“Thunderbolt.”
KRA-KA-KA-KA-KRAK!!!
Emerald lightning erupted once more.
BOOOOOOM!!
All of the Goblin Golems finally collapsed.
‘Good heavens!’
The instant the final Goblin King Golem fell, Han Gain covered her mouth.
‘T-This isn’t a dream, is it?’
She stared at the back of the man who had defeated five Hidden Bosses with only three Thunderbolts.
Had his back always been so broad?
The slender man’s frame appeared wider than ever before.
‘What kind of magic did he use?’
Had he learned a Mythic-grade Thunderbolt?
Even if the skill was Mythic grade, the Lightning Element was ineffective against stone, so the damage should have been reduced considerably.
That meant the man must possess a Trait capable of overcoming elemental disadvantages.
‘He must possess a Trait that ignores the laws of the tower.’
The principles governing elemental compatibility and opposition were among the Great Laws of the <Sky Tower>.
Only a nine-star Trait could possibly transcend one of those Great Laws.
‘C-Could this man be Unknown?’
Unknown was the person she had desperately wanted to meet.
Han Gain became increasingly convinced that Hajun might be Unknown.
There was no concrete evidence.
Her intuition alone told her so.
“Sk-Skreeee!”
While she was wondering whether Hajun was Unknown, the Treasure Goblin was captured in his hand.
The Treasure Goblin wore such a pitiful expression that it seemed to be begging for its life.
The sight drained the strength from her body.
As the unbearable tension finally disappeared, she collapsed onto the ground without realizing it.
‘At least we survived.’
The relief of survival brought a rush of dopamine more exhilarating than anything she had ever experienced.
With unfocused eyes, she blankly watched Hajun strip the Treasure Goblin of its items.
‘Whether that man is Unknown or not, I should remain close to him.’
Her intuition whispered to her once again.
That man possessed an extremely high chance of becoming one of the greatest Ascenders in the <Sky Tower>.
She did not want to lose the opportunity to establish a good relationship with him.
‘Does he belong to a clan? If he doesn’t…….’
How wonderful would it be if she could bring him into her own clan?
The Seolhwa Clan could actively support Hajun and help him become a great Ascender as quickly as possible.
Han Gain’s eyes shone like stars as she gazed at him.
“Hand over the rest. Don’t you have anything else?”
“Sk-Skreeee!”
The Treasure Goblin wept and sniffled while trapped in my grasp.
I threatened it while taking its Artifacts and gold coins.
‘Now I understand why they call it a Treasure Goblin.’
I glanced to the side.
A golden wave had piled up as high as my waist.
That enormous mound consisted entirely of gold coins used as currency within the <Sky Tower>.
With that many coins, I might even be able to purchase a house inside the <Sky Tower>.
Property was also one of the most popular assets within the tower.
Real estate inside the <Sky Tower> was even more expensive than property in the outside world, so I had never dared dream of owning a home there.
‘My dream of owning a house has been revived.’
GRIN.
The corners of my mouth twitched with irrepressible joy.
* Do not forget that the Dispel Ring is far more valuable than the gold coins.
I nodded at Aleon’s words.
The first thing I had taken after capturing the Treasure Goblin was the <Dispel Ring>.
‘I’m definitely keeping this.’
Surely they would not ask me to surrender it.
Han Gain might have provided an expensive Highest-Grade Mana Potion, but I had made the decisive contribution in defeating the Hidden Bosses.
If she insisted that she could not yield the ring, conflict would be unavoidable.
‘She appears extraordinarily wealthy, so she probably won’t behave that way.’
Still, human greed had no limits.
I needed to prepare for every possibility.
Even if I had to surrender all the gold coins in the worst-case scenario, I would keep the ring.
If the worst did not happen, I intended to take at least half of the gold coins as well.
I discreetly turned my head to examine Han Gain’s reaction.
“Ah……”
I found her staring blankly at me.
“Hmm.”
The moment our eyes met, she flinched and quickly looked away.
What was that reaction?
Whatever.
First, I should finish settling the situation.
“Do you have anything else to hand over?”
“Skree, skree.”
At my words, the Treasure Goblin held out the Subspace Sack it had been carrying and shook its head repeatedly.
It was saying that it truly had nothing left.
‘It would be nice if I could take this too.’
I looked regretfully at the Subspace Sack.
Unfortunately, it was an Artifact exclusive to Treasure Goblins and could not be obtained by Ascenders.
“If you have nothing else, then you may go.”
“Sk-Skrrrk!”
The Treasure Goblin’s face turned pale at my words.
Its expression seemed to ask why I was doing this after it had surrendered everything.
But what else could I do?
A monster that encountered an Ascender had only one possible fate.
The greatest mercy I could offer was to end its life without pain.
KRA-KRAK—!
Emerald lightning flashed and burned the Treasure Goblin completely black.
THUD!
The Treasure Goblin collapsed backward, and a mass of rainbow-colored light poured out.
HUMMMMM!
A rainbow-colored cube floated above the Treasure Goblin’s corpse.
“Ah!”
“A-A Jewel Cube!”
Han Gain and Lee Naksu, who had been staring at me blankly, cried out simultaneously.
A Jewel Cube.
It was an item dropped after killing certain monsters, such as Treasure Goblins and Mimics.
There was a reason the two of them were so shocked by the Jewel Cube.
‘All kinds of rare items can appear from a Jewel Cube at random.’
Legendary equipment, Artifacts, and even Skill Cards could all emerge from one.
SHIMMER.
When I grasped the Jewel Cube, the rainbow-colored radiance flowing from it subsided.
A message appeared before me.
[You have acquired ‘Jewel Cube (Legendary) (1-Star ★).’]
Magnificent.
The word ‘Legendary’ shone in brilliant golden light.
It was the first Legendary-grade item I had ever obtained.
Only one week after becoming an Ascender, I had encountered both Mythic- and Legendary-grade items—things most people would never see even once in their lifetimes.
The only minor flaw was that it was merely one-star because it had appeared on the first floor.
Still, this was more than enough.
I calmed my pounding heart and turned toward Han Gain and Lee Naksu.
“What should we do with this?”
To be honest, I wanted to keep this as well.
However, since I had already decided to claim the Dispel Ring, it would be difficult to insist on taking the Jewel Cube too.
“Ah!”
Han Gain finally returned to her senses at my words.
She sprang to her feet and approached me with Lee Naksu.
“So this is a Jewel Cube.”
“I-I’ve never seen one before.”
Apparently, neither of them had ever seen a Jewel Cube in person.
Even the daughter of a chaebol family found it difficult to encounter one.
That alone proved how rare and valuable Jewel Cubes were.
‘All right, then—’
It was time to divide the loot.
I had already decided that I would definitely claim the Dispel Ring and half of the gold coins.
[Dispel Ring]
Grade: Heroic (1-Star ★)
Contains Dispel (5-Star ★★★★★)
Nullifies magic skills of five-star grade or below.
Can be used twice per day (0/2)
The Dispel Ring was Heroic grade.
However, inside dungeons on the fifth floor or below, it possessed power comparable to a Legendary-grade item.
It could nullify magic skills!
If I encountered a boss monster that used a magical ability too dangerous for me to handle, the Dispel Ring could easily save my life.
You must claim the Dispel Ring.
Even Aleon advised me to secure this Heroic-grade ring that rivaled a Legendary item.
That was why I intended to insist firmly that it belonged to me.
I also wanted to take at least half of the gold coins.
As for the Jewel Cube… Yes. It would be difficult to act greedy enough to claim that as well.
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke to the two of them.
“I intend to take the Dispel Ring and half of the gold coins.”
“……?”
They looked at me in confusion.
‘What? Why are they reacting like that?’
They should either agree or object.
Were they dissatisfied?
Perhaps they had also recognized the value of the Dispel Ring.
If so, they might resent my decision to take it.
Just as I was about to speak again, Han Gain answered first.
“Of course you should take everything. Once we leave this place, I’ll compensate you separately for saving our lives.”
Lee Naksu nodded beside her as though it were only natural.
Wait a moment.
Their reaction was completely different from what I had expected.
‘Surely…….’
Did she mean that I could take every item dropped by the Treasure Goblin?
“Yes. Of course.”
Han Gain’s answer made me so happy that I nearly grabbed both of her hands.
What an enlightened woman!
To be honest, if I had not been here, they would undoubtedly have been wiped out inside the Hidden Dungeon.
It would not have been morally unreasonable for me to claim all the loot.
‘Is this the generosity of a major clan? Her scale is completely different.’
For some reason, I could almost see a halo shining behind Han Gain.
I gave her a thumbs-up in my heart and glanced back down at the Jewel Cube.
Jewel Cube (Legendary) (1-Star ★).
Ah.
It was beautiful no matter how many times I looked at it.
What would come out of it?
Was there some way to use Sage’s Sight while opening it?
If so, perhaps I could obtain another item of Legendary grade or higher.
While I stared at the Jewel Cube and indulged in all kinds of pleasant fantasies, Han Gain suddenly lowered the mask covering the lower half of her face.
‘Huh?’
When I saw Han Gain’s uncovered face for the first time, I was stunned.
First, I was shocked by how extraordinarily beautiful she was.
Second, her face seemed extremely familiar.
‘D-Don’t tell me!’
I remembered.
She was the daughter of one of the Five Great Clans who had recently risen to prominence as a super rookie!
As I merely blinked in surprise at her unexpected identity, Han Gain covered her mouth with one hand and smiled.
Then she suddenly asked me a question.
“Do you have time after we finish clearing the dungeon?”