Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

I was surprised by the radiance of the light, but after calming down and thinking it over, I concluded that it was only natural for such an item to appear.

After all, when I defeated the mutant goblin Cicero on the third floor, I received a unique item. This time, we took down a colossal beast as large as an apartment building. It made sense to get such a reward.

Honestly, which low-level party could take down such a monster without casualties if not for me and my party?

The reward for all that effort was exhilarating. Overcoming challenges and receiving rewards always gave me a thrill. Thinking back, even spending hard-earned money from a crappy job on gacha pulls in a game for mere data was for the dopamine rush.

But receiving tangible rewards in the labyrinth, achieving something solely through effort, was incomparable to any virtual loot box.

With this, I now had four unique items: weapons, armor, accessories, consumables, and so on. Honestly, I didn’t care what came out. The overwhelming potential and special abilities of unique items were something I had experienced firsthand.

‘No, wait. Ideally, I’d like to avoid something like Victor’s cursed talisman. Is that too much to ask?’

As long as it doesn’t have penalties, I’ll take it. No more pain, please—especially no more searing pain. I’ve had enough of that fiery torment.

With a flash of light, the objects hovering in front of us began to transform into distinct shapes. My unique item… wait, is it another pocket watch?

[Evaluating eligibility.]
[Qualification confirmed.]
[The equipment is now bound to the user.]

I touched the item to complete the binding procedure without issue.

Click.

Thankfully, unlike Yeriel’s time-threaded pocket watch, the internal ornaments of this one moved. Two amber-colored orbs, similar to Cresdowzer’s cores, rotated within, following a specific orbit. The continuous motion suggested it might have an immediate, helpful function. Unable to contain my curiosity, I observed it and opened the information window.

________________________________________

[Binary Star Kehrihbar] [Unique]
Powered by the massive energy contained within its two cores, this artifact embodies the Cresdowzer, a creature known for regenerating and remaining unyielding under any assault.
When its cores were shattered in battle, the wielder’s mana merged with the remnants, replacing the original essence of predation. The celestial rotation of the dual cores inside the pocket watch-like structure earned it the name “Binary Star.”

• Cannot be destroyed or annihilated under any circumstance.
•
• Automatically activates “Hyper Regeneration” if the heart or reproductive organs are critically damaged or destroyed.
•
• Hyper Regeneration consumes massive mana and applies a 30-day cooldown for each affected area.
•
• Upon regenerating a part, additional mana is consumed to cast “Destructive Ray,” with power calculated as double the damage sustained before regeneration.
•
________________________________________

This… wow. It’s amazing, but I have mixed feelings.

It seems to have inherited the dual-core nature of the creature, with the power distributed between its upper and lower cores.

‘Surely the destructive ray doesn’t fire directly from the regenerated part, right? Please, no.’

[Chaos chuckles at the thought of such a comical scenario.]

If my private parts were severed and regenerated, and a destructive ray were to shoot from there, it would be catastrophic. Imagine someone witnessing that—it’d be the stuff of legends for all the wrong reasons.

The next day, I’d be saddled with nicknames like “Laser Pecker” or “The Radiant Groin.” Just thinking about it made me feel nauseous.

“Urgh.” The mere thought was horrific.

Of course, it paired perfectly with the [Soul Dragon Core], which had its own limitation of needing an intact heart to function.

After tucking the pocket watch into my chest, still haunted by my unsettling imagination, I felt the piercing stares of three sets of eyes.

Their eager gazes were impossible to ignore. I let out a sheepish laugh.

“Alright, I’ll appraise them one by one, so be patient.”

When did this start? As the best appraiser among us, we had an unspoken rule of not using appraisal scrolls unnecessarily. The cost of scrolls, or paying high-level appraisers for rare items that couldn’t be appraised otherwise, wasn’t trivial.

Compared to other parties, we saved significantly on such expenses.

“Let’s start with the largest one.”

I focused on Veronica’s unique item first since it was the most prominent in size compared to the others.

________________________________________

[Overwhelming Step] [Unique]
The massive beast Cresdowzer, though a monster born from the remains of an unknown corpse buried in the Fallen Sanctuary, was twisted into a colossal creature by the hands of a warped necromancer.
Its inherent trait, “Earthquake,” was infused into its compressed flesh, resulting in footwear imbued with unstoppable power.

• Strength increases by three levels.
•
• Slightly increased damage from light-based attacks.
•
• Grants strong resistance to push effects.
•
• Can use “Earthquake” once every 30 days.
•
• Can be repaired with mana if damaged.
•
________________________________________

Veronica’s unique item was an intuitive yet powerful pair of shoes. What are these kinds of shoes called again?

Sabaton? Plate boots?

Veronica, who was secretly excited, couldn’t hide her joy at the information I told her without missing a word.

As expected, her lips twitched quietly.

“I really, really like it. After the shield, this unique equipment is amazing.”

“It’s almost like there’s no penalty. Put them on quickly!”

Click.

The unique equipment obtained from defeating Cresdowzer had a dark color, perfectly matching the armor she was wearing.

Next was the modest Lumia.

‘Is this a bracelet?’

Equipment can be worn or reinforced at a blacksmith, but it’s quite difficult to obtain option-added accessories, even if you capture and drop them from monsters.

I looked at the black bracelet in Lumia’s hand.

———

[Hungry Shadow] [Unique]

The origin of the giant monster, Cresdowzer, was a mere ghoul.

Cresdowzer’s trait, ‘Devour’, reacted to the user’s inner darkness, taking on an amorphous form.

The user’s darkness, blood, and desire for monsters should be handled with care.

——When equipped, it permanently transforms the user’s shadow into a formless being called ‘Hungry Shadow’.

Hungry Shadow moves freely to protect the owner and attacks enemies at the owner’s will.

Sometimes, it demands darkness, blood, or monster corpses as food to satisfy its hunger.

——The user’s agility and magic power increase by two levels.

——Affects the user’s growth.

———

Wow. This is amazing.

As soon as I checked the information, I congratulated Lumia, who was carefully holding the bracelet.

“If you feed it darkness, it will purify much faster than using Opscuritas. Congratulations.”

Honestly, Opscuritas was an item that only served its original purpose and gave penalties until purification was complete, so I felt a bit sorry for it.

This item had immense potential and looked really good, so I felt happy for Lumia.

‘My item is also good, but why do I feel a bit envious?’

Honestly, I felt a bit envious after seeing their unique equipment.

“Huff.”

Lumia, who was tense after hearing the options, put on the bracelet on her wrist.

Slick.

“Huh? What’s happening?”

The bracelet seamlessly merged with her skin, and suddenly, her feet started to bubble.

‘Is something wrong?’

As I approached with a torch, a low growl came from the bubbling shadow.

Growl.

“No. Stop it!”

“Lumia?”

Lumia, with a grim expression, shouted at the shadow.

“Who do you think you are, attacking someone without permission? Stop it right now!”

Thud! Thud!

The shadow was helplessly trampled by her violent kicks.

“If you try to attack someone without permission again, you won’t even get darkness, let alone food! Do you understand me?”

Grrr.

“This isn’t a dangerous situation. You’re trying to kill someone just because he brought a torch closer? And it’s Ahren?”

What?

With just a short growl, it seemed like communication was possible. Was it because she was the owner?

Lumia, with a stern expression, turned her back and said, “You’re quite feisty for a shadow. You need some education. Ahren, I’ll go over there and have a private conversation.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about me and go do your thing.”

She seemed to have changed suddenly.

Well, it’s good that she’s adapting quickly to her unique equipment. I hope this prevents any future accidents.

“Ahren! Look at mine quickly, please?”

———

[Stigma of Light] [Unique]

A holy knight summoned from another timeline to defeat the giant monster, Cresdowzer.

The holy power of the holy knight, who was summoned from another timeline to defeat the giant monster, Cresdowzer, remained in the fragments of Cresdowzer’s soul like a stigma.

When consumed, the unique holy power permeates the user’s body, and a blessing is engraved along with the enhancement of all abilities.

——When consumed, the user’s light-attributed traits are transformed into higher-level traits.

——When consumed, all abilities except luck increase by two levels.

——When consumed, strong resistance to darkness is acquired.

———

Externally, it took on the yellow color of the holy power of Paladin Yeriel, who had left.

This is the so-called consumable unique item. Out of the three, this one is the simplest.

The options were naturally only for Yeriel.

Since she had been possessed by the pocket watch and watched the battle from the start, it made sense that the item was influenced by her.

“Do I have to eat this?”

Yeriell, with an ambiguous expression after hearing the options, swallowed the yellow bead in one gulp.

The change happened immediately.

Paaaaaat!!!

The white light that came out of her body pierced my eyes, and soon, her body was stained yellow and absorbed back into her body.

[Yeriel’s trait ‘Light Touch’ evolves into ‘Light Blessing’.]

[Error… The trait is not directly bestowed by the God of Light, so the level is lowered.]

———

[Yeriel]

[Strength: D+] [Agility: C-] [Endurance: D+] [Stamina: C] [Magic Power: C] [Luck: C]

[Acquired Traits] (Collapse)

Mastery of Holy Law
Innate Luck
Piety
Overcoming Weakness
Light Blessing
Holy Cross Divine Art
Holy Forge

———

[Light Blessing (B)] [P]

A blessing that only a handful of the countless followers of the God of Light can receive.

Since it was not obtained through the proper path, the level is lowered, and the attention of the God of Light is drawn.

——Separate from the magic power converted into holy power, pure holy power constantly rises and accumulates in the body.

——The color of holy power is added.

——The ability to use holy power increases.

——Magic power regeneration increases.

———

Indeed, with a two-level increase and a B-grade Light Blessing trait.

The attention of the God of Light… I’m not sure about that, but for now, it’s fine.

Anyway, compared to the previous dungeon entry, where her strength was E+ and the rest were average D-grade, she has achieved tremendous growth.

‘That’s not all.’

Additionally, due to the remaining traces of Paladin Yeriel’s possession, all abilities except endurance and luck increased by one level.

‘Is this possible? Does A-grade Saint Forge remain after using the pocket watch once?’

Paladin Yeriel’s Saint Forge, which was not a degraded version, remained in the status window as an A-grade trait.

“Wow, wow, wow!!! Don’t you feel the power surging through your body?”

Yeriel, who cheered cutely, shook her twin-tailed hair and jumped around.

This is crazy.

I didn’t expect such a big reward for our hard work.

——Should we go to the 8th floor and then to the 9th floor?

One of the mid-level adventurer’s promotion conditions.

9th floor. The Gate of Proof.

With the tremendous growth of the party members, my mind was gradually leaning towards going to the 9th floor instead of returning after reaching the 7th floor, which was the goal of this exploration.