A few minutes after Novum entered the final Ancient-grade Ruin, it emerged again.
“Master! I found the Additional Ruin Clear Pass you were looking for!”
“Oh, good job! You did so well, Novum.”
The Slime slipped straight into its master’s arms and rubbed its body against him.
Surprisingly, quite a few Ruins offered Additional Ruin Clear Passes as rewards.
More precisely, many of the Ruins humanity had been unable to clear and left behind seemed to offer them.
‘It looks like Additional Ruin Clear Passes were deliberately made difficult to obtain as rewards.’
Ruins that offered Additional Ruin Clear Passes were indeed extremely rare, and they almost never appeared among the new Ruins released each month.
When he roughly calculated the frequency, it seemed comparable to the appearance rate of Ancient-grade Ruins.
“But I couldn’t find any below the Rare Grade.”
Ruins that rewarded Additional Ruin Clear Passes were Legendary Grade at minimum.
‘It would probably ruin the balance if Rare-grade or lower Ruins gave Additional Ruin Clear Passes in the first place.’
For reference, humanity had currently left roughly a thousand Legendary-grade Ruins and around ten Ancient-grade Ruins uncleared for various reasons.
Legendary-grade Ruins that offered Additional Ruin Clear Passes gave one each.
Ancient-grade Ruins, on the other hand, gave two.
Novum had not entered any Mythic-grade Ruins, so it did not know what they offered.
There was no guarantee Mythic-grade Ruins even gave Additional Ruin Clear Passes in the first place.
‘Anyway, if I want to increase my remaining clears, I definitely have to target Ancient-grade Ruins.’
Clearing a Legendary-grade Ruin just to gain one Additional Ruin Clear Pass would ultimately accomplish nothing.
In any case, if there was one type of Ruin Jeon Jae-woo needed to secure as many of as possible, it was those that rewarded Additional Ruin Clear Passes.
‘I should hurry before another country takes them.’
They had been left uncleared for various reasons, but there was no telling when someone else might finally succeed.
Before he began seriously hunting for Additional Ruin Clear Passes, however—
‘I should at least notify the Hunter Administration this time.’
Last time, he had cleared an Ancient-grade Ruin on his own initiative and ended up putting all of South Korea in an awkward position.
When he called Yoo Jeong-tae, the Commissioner answered in less than five seconds.
“Commissioner. This is Jeon Jae-woo.”
[Ah! Hunter Jeon Jae-woo. What can I do for you?]
His voice sounded full of anticipation, as though he hoped Jeon Jae-woo had finally found something he needed help with.
“There is something I thought I should tell you in advance.”
[Yes? What might that be…?]
“I’m planning to clear another Ancient-grade Ruin.”
After a brief silence, Yoo Jeong-tae asked again in a deeply flustered voice.
[A-Another Ancient-grade Ruin? You are not planning to enter one immediately, are you?]
“No. Not right away. I’ll probably prepare for a few days first.”
Myeolgeop’s combat power was already superior to the combined strength of the monsters that appeared in an Ancient-grade Ruin.
Furthermore, Myeolgeop now had companions such as the Elder Lich and Novum to support it in battle, so things should be easier this time.
However, Jeon Jae-woo had learned something while clearing his previous Ancient-grade Ruin.
Once he reached the Ancient Grade rather than the Legendary Grade, he could not afford to become careless. Proper preparation was necessary.
Myeolgeop’s combat strength had only been about one level above the World Tree’s.
Naturally, Myeolgeop had possessed the higher chance of victory, but that did not mean its probability of losing in a one-on-one fight had been low enough to ignore.
With Novum and the Elder Lich supporting it, Myeolgeop’s chances of victory would rise considerably, but it still seemed better to make further preparations.
Whenever entering any battle, minimizing their own risk was the proper approach.
“Still, I’m planning to challenge one soon. Within a week at the latest?”
[…]
Yoo Jeong-tae let out a short sigh.
At this point, perhaps something of this level(?) no longer surprised him very much.
[…Understood. May I ask which Ancient-grade Ruin you are planning to clear?]
“I have a few in mind, but I haven’t decided on one yet. Are there any Ruins you would prefer that I avoid?”
[No. There are none. You do not need to concern yourself with such matters, Hunter. The reason I asked you to contact us beforehand was simply because we might be able to provide some assistance with the clear.]
However, Jeon Jae-woo’s answer was firm once again.
“I’m fine without assistance. I’ll try clearing it on my own.”
[Ah… yes…]
What a merciless man. He would not even give them the slightest excuse to involve themselves.
“Then I’ll contact you again after I finish the clear.”
[I wish you success, Hunter. If you require any support, please contact me at any time.]
Three days after notifying Yoo Jeong-tae—
Jeon Jae-woo entered a new Ancient-grade Ruin together with his subordinates.
“…All right. Let’s go.”
“Let’s hurry! I’m excited!”
[Preparations are complete.]
“I wonder what manner of creatures will appear. Hoho.”
In truth, Jeon Jae-woo was the only one who had done anything resembling preparation.
Looking exhausted after consuming Spiritual Elixirs and undergoing brutal training, Jeon Jae-woo accessed the Ruin System.
***
[‘Silent Palace’ Exploration Requirement: Defeat the four Knights guarding the empty throne. (0/4)]
Jeon Jae-woo and his companions entered the Ancient-grade Ruin, Silent Palace.
True to its name, the Ruin took the form of a palace straight out of a medieval fantasy setting.
And surrounding the empty throne ahead were four armored Knights.
Each carried a different weapon: a spear, a sword, a hammer, and an axe.
‘They don’t seem to be living people…’
Nor did they appear to be Undead like the Elder Lich.
It seemed as though some unknown power was merely maintaining their forms as Knights clad in armor and wielding weapons.
Before entering, Jeon Jae-woo had researched what kind of Ruin Silent Palace was.
Many people had already entered it, and it had remained uncleared for a long time, so detailed information about the Ruin was readily available online.
The Exploration Requirement for ‘Silent Palace’ was to fight the Knights one at a time and defeat all four in sequence.
In truth, for an Ancient-grade Ruin, its clear difficulty could not be considered exceptionally high.
The challenger did not have to fight all four Knights simultaneously. Perhaps because the Ruin followed some concept of chivalry, only one Knight attacked at a time.
Despite that, even accomplished Hunters had been unwilling to challenge it, and it had remained uncleared until now.
The greatest reason Silent Palace had never been cleared was that, unlike ordinary Ruins, the number of challengers permitted to enter was limited to one.
In other words, a single person had to defeat all four powerful Knights alone.
That made the difficulty experienced by an individual Hunter far higher than that of most other Ancient-grade Ruins.
Even Hunters possessing Transcendent-grade Traits would fight for a while before eventually becoming exhausted and giving up.
Of course, that restriction meant very little to Jeon Jae-woo, who had always cleared Ruins alone to begin with.
If anything, it made this Ruin easier than most other Ancient-grade Ruins.
-CLANK, CLANK.
The Knight holding the spear raised its weapon and approached Jeon Jae-woo.
‘Oh. That looks pretty impressive.’
As befitting a powerful Knight who had once guarded a monarch, its presence was extraordinary.
‘I wouldn’t mind getting a loyal Knight like that from Heaven’s Box someday.’
He admired it, yet at the same time, fear made his knees feel weak.
In the past, he would not even have been capable of realizing how frightening it was. But after consuming Spiritual Elixirs and training enough to improve his capabilities, he could now clearly sense the vast difference between their levels.
“…I really was weaker than an ant.”
After clearing incredible Ruins through Myeolgeop and the Elder Lich’s strength, he had started to feel as though he himself had become someone impressive.
Now reality suddenly struck him, and he regained an objective understanding of his own position.
Hearing Jeon Jae-woo mutter, the Elder Lich patted him on the back.
“Do not worry. Maker, you are not an ordinary ant. Are you not a super ant who commands giants? Take pride in yourself.”
“……”
If that was supposed to comfort him, it probably would have been better left unsaid.
In any case, Myeolgeop, their combat specialist, stepped forward to face the Spear Knight.
Naturally, Spear Knight or otherwise, it had no chance of matching Myeolgeop, which possessed two Transcendent-grade Traits.
-BOOOOOOM!!
Throughout the battle, the Spear Knight was completely overwhelmed by Myeolgeop.
Myeolgeop avoided every thrust and swing of the spear, shattering the Knight’s arms and tearing apart its legs.
Still, had it lasted a little longer than three minutes?
‘It couldn’t even last five minutes. Defeating one of these Knights is easier than clearing a Legendary-grade Ruin.’
Before long, the Spear Knight collapsed, its entire body shattered into pieces.
Even so, the sight of the Knight maintaining its stance and charging until the very end was rather impressive.
Next, the Knight wielding the hammer stepped forward, and the battle resumed.
As Jeon Jae-woo watched Myeolgeop fight the Knights, he asked.
“Elder Lich. About how strong are those Knights?”
“Hmm. They have not quite reached the level of a Transcendent-grade Trait, but you may consider them to be immediately below it.”
“Then are they stronger than you?”
The Elder Lich watched the Knights with interest before answering.
“Hard to say. Perhaps they are about one level above me? Of course, they still fall short of that Spirit over there with a Transcendent-grade Trait.”
Looking again, Jeon Jae-woo noticed that Novum had been continuously using its healing abilities on Myeolgeop from the side.
Startled, Jeon Jae-woo turned toward Novum.
“Novum? Are you sure you can afford to spend Mana like that?”
Myeolgeop was not in any particular danger or even injured yet.
They should conserve Mana in case something unexpected happened.
Healing abilities were especially well known for consuming enormous amounts of Mana.
Novum, however, answered brightly as though there were no problem at all.
“Ah, it’s fine, Master. My Mana doesn’t run out.”
“??”
Jeon Jae-woo looked utterly bewildered by the difficult-to-understand answer.
‘Your Mana doesn’t run out? You don’t consume Mana?’
How did that make any sense?
It was common knowledge that using a Trait consumed the Hunter’s Mana.
Mana was essentially a Hunter’s battery, much like physical stamina for an ordinary human.
The Elder Lich chuckled from beside him.
“Maker. Have you forgotten the Natural World Trait that Novum possesses?”
“I haven’t forgotten it. What does that have to do with Mana consumption?”
“The Natural World Trait means becoming one with nature. In other words, Novum can use the Mana of nature itself. As long as the Mana of the planet does not run dry, it can effectively use Mana without limit.”
“……”
Jeon Jae-woo’s mouth fell open.
‘Ah… so that’s how it works?’
As expected of a Transcendent-grade Trait.
Because it was not a direct combat ability, he had apparently continued underestimating Novum.
‘This little thing is the ultimate supply officer.’
As long as Novum remained with them, Myeolgeop and the Elder Lich would never again become exhausted from fighting.
With Novum supporting it from behind, Myeolgeop fought the Knights at full strength.
Eventually, it swiftly finished off the final remaining Sword Knight as well.
[Creator. I have completed your command.]
“Yeah. Good work.”
It was not a good thought to have, but Jeon Jae-woo almost felt underwhelmed.
‘Compared to the World Tree, this felt far too easy.’
The clear had been so fast that Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae would probably be shocked all over again.
[The Exploration Mission has been completed.]
[The ‘Silent Palace’ Ruin is now the property of Jeon Jae-woo.]
At last, the notification announcing the successful clear appeared.
And along with it came the reward Jeon Jae-woo had been waiting for.