RIP!
The Giant Sandworm split in half.
It had died from a single attack.
Considering that it had been stronger than the other Giant Sandworms, the result was astonishing enough on its own.
Moreover, several messages were appearing before my eyes.
[The Second Seal on ‘Limitless Armor’ has been released.]
[Additional information for ‘Limitless Armor’ is now available.]
[Skill ‘One-Hit Kill (B)’ has awakened!]
A thrill surged through me.
All the more so because I had been waiting for messages like these.
- Get a hold of yourself!
Martial God Jin Cheon-woo’s rebuke snapped me back to my senses.
I hurriedly dismissed the thought of checking the Limitless Armor and my new Skill.
‘I need to collect the flower first.’
I was beginning to run out of breath.
Becoming a Hunter had allowed me to remain underwater for a long time without breathing,
but I could feel that the time had come to draw another breath.
I quickly began collecting the ‘Water Flower that Blooms in the Desert.’
RUSTLE! RUSTLE!
I carefully extracted the flower from its roots.
After swiftly placing it inside my clothes, I turned around.
‘I hope it has a Stone.’
The Giant Sandworm had died after being split in half from the roof of its mouth.
Its head remained intact where my sword had not passed through it, allowing me to examine the triangular mark on its forehead.
The mark was faint, but unmistakable.
I had finally found one.
A Giant Sandworm carrying a Stone!
‘Where is it?’
Jeong Bo-won had warned me that even finding such a Giant Sandworm would not make the task easy.
Apparently, there was no way to know where inside the Giant Sandworm’s body the Stone would be located.
I truly could not see it anywhere.
I searched from its head to its abdomen, but found nothing.
Its enormous body made the task even more difficult.
‘First…… I need to get out of the water.’
I needed to breathe.
If I remained underwater any longer, I felt as though I might suffocate.
SPLASH!
“HUFF!”
After taking a deep breath,
I dove back into the water.
‘I have to find the Stone.’
I searched through the Giant Sandworm’s corpse even more thoroughly.
Many Hunters found such work revolting and could not bring themselves to do it, but it did not bother me.
I had handled plenty of Monster corpses while working as a Dungeon Porter.
SWISH! SWISH!
The underwater environment limited my movements.
Even so, I searched for the Stone as quickly as possible.
At last—
‘I found it!’
I discovered a single dull black stone with no luster whatsoever.
It had been difficult to locate because it was attached to one of the creature’s internal organs.
Just as I found myself hoping that it truly was the Stone—
You found the Stone. Congratulations.
Martial God Jin Cheon-woo confirmed it for me.
Relieved, I swam toward the surface.
SPLASH!
As I emerged from the deep water, fresh air rushed into my nose and mouth.
“Now I can breathe.”
I was satisfied.
I had found two of the materials I needed in this body of water alone.
The Water Flower that Blooms in the Desert and the Giant Sandworm’s Stone.
Together with the Red-Wrinkled Tiger’s Fangs I had obtained earlier,
I had now found every material I needed.
I should have gone to craft the Inner Elixir, but—
‘There’s something I need to do first.’
Although I had been desperately curious, I had forced myself to put it off until now.
I needed to examine the Limitless Armor after the release of its Second Seal and check the information on my new Skill.
- This is no time to dawdle.
“I know. But I have to check this.”
- Check what?
“The Second Seal on the Limitless Armor was released. I want to see what changed.”
- What……?
“You probably won’t believe me because you’ll think the Seal was released far too quickly again, but I’m not lying. It really was released.”
- What manner of nonsense is…… Good heavens……!
Jin Cheon-woo began to shout, only to restrain himself.
His reaction was different from when the Limitless Sword’s Second Seal had been released.
It seemed that he trusted me a little more now.
Ordinarily, he would have screamed at me not to lie.
“The Seal was released later than the Limitless Sword’s, but this is still considered fast, right?”
- Even releasing the Second Seal now is an absurdly unrealistic pace.
“Hearing you say that puts me in a good mood.”
Leaving the astonished Jin Cheon-woo to his thoughts,
I opened the information for the Limitless Armor after the release of its Second Seal.
【Limitless Armor】
[Rank] SSSSS
[Description] Martial God Jin Cheon-woo’s armor. The Second Seal has been released.
[Effect] Vitality increased by 30%, Defense increased by 30%, Increased Martial Arts Proficiency Gain, Magic Resistance increased by 30%, Inner Arts Control increased by 30%, Self-Repair
“Wow……!”
It was shocking.
The release of its Second Seal alone had transformed the Limitless Armor into an even more absurdly powerful Item.
It had gained three additional effects.
‘Magic Resistance increased by 30%, Inner Arts Control increased by 30%, and Self-Repair? I’ll have to ask Master Jin Cheon-woo about Self-Repair.’
The Magic Resistance increased by 30% effect had also appeared when the Limitless Sword’s Second Seal was released.
Now the Limitless Armor had gained it as well.
I could not feel its effects immediately, but the day would surely come when it proved useful.
Then there was Inner Arts Control increased by 30%.
Would I be able to feel its effect the moment I circulated the Limitless Mind Method?
I would have to test it as soon as I left the Dungeon.
“Master Jin Cheon-woo, the Limitless Armor gained an effect called ‘Self-Repair’ when its Second Seal was released. What does it do?”
- The fact that you can speak of Self-Repair means the Second Seal truly was released. Astonishing. It is genuinely difficult to believe.
Jin Cheon-woo seemed beyond astonished and nearly dazed.
The shock was apparently so great that he had not even listened properly to my question.
“Master? Could you tell me what Self-Repair does?”
When I asked again, Jin Cheon-woo finally answered.
- The Limitless Armor possesses the ability to restore itself whenever it is damaged or its Durability decreases. That is Self-Repair.
“That’s an incredible effect……!”
Honestly, I had expected something along those lines.
Repairing was not something one did to a person, so I had assumed it referred to repairing the Limitless Armor itself.
However, hearing that such a thing was actually possible still amazed me.
‘Armor that repairs itself? That’s incredible.’
Perhaps other armor with a Self-Repair effect existed somewhere if one searched hard enough.
However, one thing was certain: it could not possibly be a common effect.
I had never even heard of armor capable of repairing itself.
Next, I opened the information for my new Skill.
【One-Hit Kill】
[Rank] B
[Description] Attack Power increased by 15%
The description was simple, but its effect was anything but mild.
It increased my Attack Power by a full 15%!
‘I can test this immediately.’
I drew my sword.
As I swung the sword in my hand, I focused on my desire to activate One-Hit Kill and unleash a more powerful attack.
The moment I swung through the empty air—
HUMMM!
I felt my Inner Arts drain away.
It was not an enormous amount, but it was enough to feel slightly uncomfortable.
The effect was undeniable.
The force I felt while swinging the sword was different from usual.
SWISH!
I swung my sword again and attempted to activate One-Hit Kill.
‘It isn’t working?’
This time, the Skill did not activate.
Although the information had not explained it, I believed I knew the reason.
“It must have a Cooldown.”
Many Skills had Cooldowns.
After using such a Skill once, a certain amount of time had to pass before it could be used again.
WHOOSH!
I activated One-Hit Kill several more times to determine the length of its Cooldown.
The result was ten seconds.
One-Hit Kill could be used once every ten seconds.
Its Inner Arts Consumption was fairly high, but thanks to the Limitless Sword’s Inner Arts Consumption reduced by 30% effect, it did not feel particularly burdensome.
‘It’s a good Skill. It will be extremely useful in battle.’
I liked it very much.
There was no significant risk involved.
It simply allowed me to unleash a more powerful attack once every ten seconds.
At that moment—
- People are approaching this place.
Martial God Jin Cheon-woo gave me a warning.
A group of people was heading toward my location.
“They aren’t Monsters, are they?”
- They are people.
If they were people, they had to be Hunters.
But who could they be?
The Giant Sandworm Dungeon was known to be unpopular among Hunters because it was so difficult to fight inside.
I found it strange,
but it had nothing to do with me, so I intended to leave without paying it any attention.
I had already obtained both the ‘Water Flower that Blooms in the Desert’ and the ‘Giant Sandworm’s Stone.’
However—
“Oh……! Hello?”
I encountered someone I already knew.
***
The Hunter Association had several Combat Teams.
Among them, three teams were particularly renowned for their strength.
Combat Team 1, Combat Team 2, and Combat Team 3.
Each consisted solely of highly skilled Elite Hunters and served as one of the Hunter Association’s principal fighting forces.
Combat Team 3 arrived at a Dungeon.
“We’ll proceed as usual. We’ll enter the Dungeon, locate the water, and collect the Water Flower that Blooms in the Desert. Once we do, a Giant Sandworm carrying a Stone will come to us on its own.”
The Team Leader of Combat Team 3 gave the instructions.
The team members nodded.
After briefly catching his breath, the Team Leader continued.
“As you heard at the Gate, a Hunter has already entered this Dungeon. I don’t know what his intentions are, but he cannot be here to obtain the ‘materials.’ Avoid encountering him whenever possible and focus on our mission.”
Combat Team 3 had previously obtained both the ‘Water Flower that Blooms in the Desert’ and the ‘Giant Sandworm’s Stone.’
They were special materials largely unknown to the world, so the team collected them in secret.
At that moment, one of Combat Team 3’s members tilted his head.
“It really is strange. Why would anyone enter this unpopular Giant Sandworm Dungeon?”
“It is probably nothing. He is likely just the sort of person who deliberately visits places everyone else dislikes.”
The Team Leader answered dismissively, but unease remained visible on the team members’ faces.
“Could it really be a coincidence……? He couldn’t have come here looking for the flower and the Stone, could he?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Even most Major Guilds know nothing about those materials.”
The Team Leader of Combat Team 3 snorted.
Only then did the team members cast aside their anxiety and smile again.
However, one member, An Mi-hyeon, remained tense.
‘Surely…… it isn’t him?’
Immediately before entering the Dungeon through the Gate, she had received information from a Hunter Association employee.
A lone Hunter wearing an old sword and old armor had entered the Giant Sandworm Dungeon ahead of them.
Ordinarily, she would have dismissed the information without a second thought.
However, the words ‘old sword’ and ‘old armor’ continued circling through An Mi-hyeon’s mind.
“Yu-gwon……? No, it couldn’t be.”
She remembered Yu-gwon vividly.
He had fought remarkably well despite wearing an astonishingly old sword and equally old armor.
It had even earned him the nickname ‘Shabby Hunter.’
‘It could be Mr. Yu-gwon. But even so, he couldn’t have come to this Dungeon because he knows about the materials.’
No matter how extraordinary Yu-gwon’s talent might be,
there was no possibility that he knew about the special materials the Hunter Association itself was secretly collecting.
She firmly believed that as they advanced deeper into the Dungeon.
Then, to her astonishment, they truly encountered Yu-gwon.
An Mi-hyeon was immensely popular and known as the Goddess of the Hunter Association.
She was not the sort of person who became startled or intimidated regardless of whom she met.
However, at that moment, she could not conceal her surprise.
“Oh……! Hello?”
An Mi-hyeon greeted him with her eyes wide open.
“It has been a while, Ms. An Mi-hyeon.”
Yu-gwon calmly raised a hand in greeting.