LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 306
The intruder who suddenly screamed was none other than, “Hey! Kim Shimun! What the hell is going on here!”
Go Malsuk, who had also participated in the Master Rank promotion test. Had she rushed over in a hurry?
“Wh-What is this all about?”
Despite being a pure combat type, she was panting heavily and even stuttering.
To that, “What’s the matter?”
Shimun tilted his head and asked. But a guess quickly crossed his mind.
“Ah, did you also get a lot of rewards?”
He asked before she could answer. Go Malsuk nodded vigorously. Despite her fierce personality, her reaction was somewhat fitting.
“Same here. In total, I leveled up 85 times.”
Shimun replied with a smirk.
“W-What? 85 levels?”
Go Malsuk’s eyes widened in disbelief. Why was it?
“Yeah, with the two-player cooperation conditions and the dual-category win, we got first place in everything.”
Shimun couldn’t help but puff his chest a little in satisfaction.
“I didn’t expect to level up 85 times, but it’s a fitting reward… I guess?”
His words trailed off. For a simple reason, “Why is your face like that, Malsuk?”
Go Malsuk’s face had contorted into a strange expression. Then, “Ohhh…”
Shimun let out a soft sigh.
“Are you jealous because I leveled up 85 times?”
With a smile, Shimun continued, “Hey, you teamed up with me to help. Don’t take it too harshly.”
He shook his head.
“Oh! By the way, now that you’ve reached Diamond, I prepared the mythical equipment kit for you.”
Trying to soothe her, “I was planning to give it to you before the duo, but I thought it would feel more rewarding to do it afterward…”
Shimun attempted to carry on naturally. But despite offering a mythical equipment kit, a cheat-level reward, “85 levels, really…?”
Go Malsuk’s bizarrely twisted expression remained unchanged. To that, “Hah, Malsuk? This is the first time I’ve experienced such a leveling surge too. Can’t you be happy for me…”
Shimun’s face started to contort as well.
“It’s 100…”
Go Malsuk moved her stiff lips.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Shimun, confused at the sudden mention of 100, “After finishing the promotion test with you, my level went up by 100.”
Even hearing it again, it seemed unbelievable.
“…What?”
Grumble.
Suddenly, Shimun felt a pang in his stomach.
*
Laughing uproariously like a cartoonish giant carnivorous plant, “Hahahahahah!”
Go Malsuk continued to laugh.
“It seems you’re the one with a stomachache from just gaining 85 levels, huh?”
Go Malsuk teased excessively, stretching her upper lip as much as possible. Her mockery was so infuriating that it made Shimun feel like unleashing his Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Fist.
“Enough.”
Shimun muttered softly but to no avail. Having seized the upper hand for the first time in a while,
“Khoomak!”
Go Malsuk exaggeratedly stretched her tongue and voice.
“Stop acting like a child. Seriously, just stop it.”
“I’m not a child. Stop being so petty, khoomak~.”
Rotating the maximum teasing she could manage, she pushed Shimun’s patience to its limit.
Eventually, “I said enough!!”
Buzz!
Shimun’s black fist, imbued with demonic Energy, Unleashed the Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Fist.
However, “I said stop it~.”
Even while maintaining her mocking face,
Buzz!
Go Malsuk’s black fist, Unleashed her own Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Fist.
Clang!
The collision of their two black fists caused a chilling resonance.
Amazingly,
Swoosh.
The two Demolition Fists, instead of wreaking havoc as usual, disappeared as if by magic, leaving no trace.
A perfect neutralization. Shimun’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Malsuk, how did you…?”
Despite both having mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and using the same Demonic Energy,
‘Even if it was just for intimidation…’
Even for an intimidation attempt, perfect neutralization without any shockwaves or aftershocks was unheard of. Until now, this had only been possible with Nuada’s Silver Arm against Dragon Force and divine energy!
Yet, “You’re so clueless about the basics.”
Had Shimun overcomplicated things?
Go Malsuk, her upper lip back to normal, “Why think so critically? It’s all because of the level-ups. I leveled up 100 times, remember?”
Stated the obvious answer.
“Oh…”
By focusing on the basics, Shimun couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘Right, level-ups. How did I overlook that?’
100 level-ups.
A number so staggering it was hard to believe, even for a typical player.
“So, did you invest all your remaining stats into Demonic Energy?”
The stat adjustment threshold begins at 100. Even more so if it was the primary stat, it carried substantial weight.
Proving this, “Yes, and by the way, I didn’t even go full power with that Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Fist, and neither did you, right?”
Go Malsuk nonchalantly nodded.
Though neither had used their full power, the fact that she perfectly neutralized Shimun’s Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Fist seemed to please her greatly.
“So, be nice to this nuna from now on. Mess around like before, and it’ll be bad news for you.”
Crack.
Like a mafia boss, she cracked her fingers, grinning wickedly. After a brief silence, “Ha! Just try it.”
Shimun responded with a scoff, but that was all he could do. Having already lost in the face of a 100-level up against his 85.
“Pleaassseee~. Pretty please~.”
Unable to counter Go Malsuk’s unrelenting mockery and extreme taunting cycle, “… Get out.”
Shimun reached into thin air.
“Get out! Get out now!”
He began throwing the mythical equipment kits he had prepared for her like a machine gun.
“I’m going out~!”
Pop-pop-pop!
Catching every single kit without missing a beat,
“I’m going out right now~!”
“Ahhh! Damn you, Go Malsuk!”
He chased the infuriating monster out with one last shout.
*
“Phew…”
Finally rid of the irritating hybrid, Shimun collapsed onto the sofa.
Thump.
As the heat that had been boiling his head subsided, “Is it because she’s just hitting Diamond rank now? Her growth is really fast.”
He muttered, placing a hand on his forehead.
Why was it?
Just moments ago, his insides were boiling and his head felt like it was about to explode.
“Teaming up with Malsuk was the right choice.”
A mysterious sense of refreshment filled his whole body, lifting his spirits.
Feeling uplifted, “Heave-ho!”
Shimun stretched out languidly.
‘Then I should work hard to not let Malsuk catch up to me.’
So he wouldn’t be subjected to such mockery from the twisted Go Malsuk again. With a chuckle, Shimun opened his status window.
“Let’s see. First, let’s allocate the stats…”
He invested all 45 remaining stat points from this level-up into Alchemy Energy.
‘This brings my basic alchemy energy to 567, and the total to 573.’
How long had it been since his last boost at 500 stats?
He was already eyeing the 600 mark. Feeling satisfied, he quickly moved his gaze down.
“How much achievement points do I have left?”
He checked the remaining points.
Achievement Points – 80,120
“80,000, huh…”
After using 20,000 points for Odin’s intervention, he had roughly 80,000 points remaining.
Since the cost for alchemizing the Fragment of the World Tree’s Seed had changed, ‘Each alchemy now costs 30,000 points. I can perform two alchemizations immediately.’
Having raised the cost from 20,000 points to 30,000 points each, he was in a position to perform two alchemizations by spending 60,000 points.
Thus, ‘With each alchemy increasing experience gain by 10% and stat growth by 20%…’
The experience gain would increase by a total of 20%.
Stat growth rate by a total of 40%.
Of course, ‘Well, that’s still 10% less than the Ukrainian growth buff…’
Though slightly less potent than the Ukrainian reward buff,
“So I should alchemize more.”
Even a 10% difference was significant enough to warrant action. Therefore, grabbing even this much more was wise.
Snap.
Shimun snapped his fingers promptly.
Then.
『Your alchemy energy is insufficient for the requested alchemy.』
『To establish the necessary equivalent exchange with the Philosopher’s Stone, 60,000 achievement points are required.』
『Do you accept? (Yes / No)』
The familiar equivalent exchange window appeared in front of him.
Without hesitation, Shimun chose ‘Yes’.
Then,
Spark!
Alchemy sparks shot from his fingertips.
Shimmer.
A clear, refreshing sound reverberated.
When Shimun grasped the two alchemized seed fragments,
『You have acquired Fragment of the World Tree’s Seed.』
『The title ‘Companion of the World Tree’ has grown.』
『With the growth of the title ‘Companion of the World Tree’, the guild buff will be enhanced.』
A familiar message window popped up.
『Shimdrasil grows further.』
『The power connecting dimensions becomes stronger.』
『Minor dimension guidance is now possible at will.』
Unfamiliar messages appeared before him.
Naturally,
‘Dimension guidance?’
Shimun tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.
“First, let’s check the title.”
He checked the title ‘Companion of the World Tree.’
『Companion of the World Tree』 – Growth Type
A title given to the companion of Shimdrasil.
Increases experience gain for guild members by 70%.
Increases stat growth rate for guild members by 150%.
Nullifies one death penalty per 7 days, except for specific judgments.
Minor dimension guidance is possible.
An information window scrolled up in front of him.
As expected,
‘Experience gain increased from 50% to 70%, and stat growth rate from 110% to 150%.’
The growth buff saw experience gain and stat growth rate increase by 20% and 40%, respectively.
And below that, a newly added option.
“What’s this? An entirely new option?”
Shimun focused on the term ‘dimension guidance’ again.
‘So it’s not just an additional effect…’
Unlike Shimdrasil’s Spring or blue leaves,
The term ‘dimension guidance’ suggested something more significant. Being an added ability to the title indicated its substantial power.
However, ‘I have no idea what this ability does.’
Shimun frowned at the ambiguous term. It was no wonder. Even in his previous life, he didn’t fully understand Shimdrasil. However, there was an obvious solution to this.
‘I should ask Ernen.’
Ernen, managing Shimdrasil Sindrasil in his stead, was a high elf and former companion of Shimdrasil, likely knowledgeable about the ability.
Knock, knock.
As Shimun stood to head toward Sindrasil, he heard a knock at the lab door.
“Shimun-nim, are you there?”
Judging by the deep voice, it was likely Night Hunter Park Jinwook.
Click.
‘Olivia is here too?’
Shimun also recognized the sound of high heels, indicating Olivia had come as well.
“Yes, come in.”
He paused his plans to head to Sindrasil and allowed entry.
As expected, “Ah! Congratulations on your promotion!”
“I watched the broadcast. A Constellation’s involvement… it was beyond imagination.”
Park Jinwook and Olivia, the rugged man and the slender woman entered the lab together.
“Ah, thanks. But…”
Under normal circumstances, he would have expressed his gratitude and greeted them happily.
“Is something wrong?”
Shimun looked at them with a puzzled expression.
It was no wonder.
Aside from major issues, these were the individuals managing most of the operations of the Sindrasil Guild.
For Park Jinwook and Olivia to come looking for the guildmaster, Shimun, there must be a significant reason.
Sure enough, “Ah, it seems you haven’t checked the news yet.”
Park Jinwook clapped his hands and sighed lightly.
“There has been a major outbreak in Europe.”
Olivia adjusted her angular glasses as she spoke.
At that, “A major outbreak?”
Shimun’s eyes widened.
Of course, ‘A major outbreak at this time? That never happened before.’
According to his past life’s experiences, there had been no major outbreaks within roughly a year after the start of the formal Arena.
However, “Yes, currently, there are four confirmed Platinum-ranked outbreaks. And a Diamond-ranked outbreak has also been detected.”
Olivia continued, causing Shimun to gape.
“And…”
Beep-beep.
Just as she was about to continue her report, the ringtone from Olivia’s pocket interrupted.
After checking it, Olivia said, “It seems we should discuss this in detail on the way.”
She showed Shimun the phone screen. The caller ID displayed ‘Choi Changwook’, the Secretary-General of the Korean Association.
TL’s Corner:
Shimun likes teasing other people, bu he doesn’t like getting teased.