Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 354: Crown of Conquest (2)
While Jinhyuk and Hound faced off…
Wuuuuung!
…Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A crimson wave of blood swept through the battlefield.
A massive sand dune collapsed in a single blow, scattering blood droplets everywhere.
“Tch!”
Blackrock bit his tongue.
Just moments ago, the battle had been in his favor.
However, the sudden intervention of an unexpected variable had turned the situation on its head.
‘Alice von Ataraxia… the former head who was exiled by other family heads.’
She had once been an absolute force that no one dared to challenge in her prime.
‘If she had shown up back then, every member of the Old Guard, including the captain, would have been buried here.’
No matter how skilled the Old Guard were at hunting heroes within the Tower, they couldn’t hope to hunt a ranker of divine status.
But.
That was all in the past.
The figure standing before them now was only a fragment of her former self.
Kukukukuku!
Another wave of blood surged forward.
At the same time, Yua Sis’s arrows pierced through the air.
Boom!
Boom!
It was an exceptionally tricky attack.
Of course, there was no need to respond to each one individually.
As long as they stalled for time, the battle would eventually tip in their favor.
Proving that point—
“It’s ready!”
A sharp shout rang out.
[The unique holy spear ‘Slayer of Peterops’ has been activated!]
[The Breath of Crawling Darkness has been used!]
Selly, who had been fighting against Chun Yoosung, activated her unique holy spear.
As the relic bestowed by Nyarlathotep merged with her magic, shadows began to rise from the ground all at once.
“Krrr…”
“Keek!”
The shadows formed into solid shapes.
Monsters with eight legs and crimson eyes.
Each of them possessed formidable magic, but their real problem was their numbers.
Even with a rough estimate, there were over a hundred of them.
No matter how valiantly Goguma or the spirit beasts fought, they couldn’t handle this overwhelming quantity.
“This… this is way too much!”
“Yeah. We need to run.”
“Better to die by these things than get killed for disobeying our master, right?”
“Everyone, quiet! My head hurts.”
The spirit beasts hesitated and began to retreat.
“Tweat!”
Only Goguma, the ancient species, held her ground, unshaken by the ominous aura of the beasts.
However, the beasts, having been stripped of their emotions, were equally unfazed by Goguma’s presence.
The situation was at a tipping point.
The balance was broken when the monsters made their move.
With their long legs, they closed the distance in an instant, attacking everything in sight.
Kukukukuku!
The gnome summoned walls of earth to shield them.
Undine and Sylphide reinforced the barrier with water and wind magic, making it even sturdier.
“Keek!”
“Kraaaa!”
The beasts slammed into the wall, clawing their way up.
The magical blades of wind and water cut through their claws, but that wasn’t enough to stop them.
The monsters reached the top of the wall and prepared to leap down.
But just then…
“How dare filthy beasts bare their fangs before me?”
Alice’s spears rained down like a storm.
Thwack!
Thwack! Thwack!
Hundreds of spears punctured the beasts’ bodies, creating gaping holes.
“Kek!”
“Yelp!”
Even the beasts that had endured the magical attacks from Undine and Sylphide couldn’t withstand the overwhelming power of Alice’s assault.
Dozens of them fell from the wall, crashing to the ground.
As the intense battle raged on…
‘Now!’
Bang!
Jinhyuk broke into a sprint, heading straight for the Crown of Conquest.
“You fool!”
Hound immediately gave chase.
His opponent had lost his weapon and had foolishly exposed his back to him…
Victory was as good as decided.
All he had to do was wait for the perfect moment, when the idiot grabbed the crown, and strike him from behind.
Hound kept a calculated distance.
‘A barrier, huh…?’
Even as he pursued Jinhyuk, Hound remained cautious.
His eyes scanned the sand around them.
About six-star level.
It was a barrier designed to weaken.
No doubt, his allies who had arrived earlier had created it using some kind of medium.
‘What a joke. Did they really think this barrier could weaken my magic?’
It was almost laughable.
In fact, he pitied them for thinking this would be their trump card.
Tap!
Hound increased his speed.
He could already see Jinhyuk’s hand reaching for the crown.
This was his chance.
Fwoosh!
His greatsword shot forward, aimed precisely at Jinhyuk’s spine.
One blow would be enough to end him.
But then…
A strange aura began to swirl around Jinhyuk, who had been sprinting forward.
‘Is he pulling out another weapon?’
Even if that were the case, it didn’t matter.
There was a limit to how much power one person could wield.
It didn’t matter if he pulled out something stronger than the dagger he had lost; it wouldn’t change anything.
However.
A chilling sensation ran down Hound’s spine.
“W-What…?!”
Hound’s entire body shuddered.
The magic was overwhelming.
So immense that it was impossible to gauge its limits.
* * *
‘Self-Sacrifice.’
A special effect that increases attack power by 100 times when the Fang is destroyed voluntarily.
‘I never thought I’d use it for ability copying… but it’s perfect as a hidden trump card.’
Jinhyuk opened his subspace inventory.
The final item he had purchased from Rick.
‘Tree Frog Chocolate.’
Effect: Transfers the abilities attached to an item.
However, the quality of the transfer depends on the nature of the weapon.
Crunch.
As he bit into the chocolate, a hot energy surged through his veins and spread throughout his body.
Ordinarily, even consuming Tree Frog Chocolate wouldn’t guarantee a high success rate for the ability transfer.
It would take a master blacksmith like Orun working day and night for about a week to make it work properly.
Transferring foreign abilities to a different item was never an easy task.
But.
There was one way to achieve a ‘perfect transfer’ without Orun’s help.
When the items shared the same origin.
In other words.
Since the weapon was crafted from the Fang of Penthagris, the mythical beast, the transfer would perfectly retain its full power.
Wuuung!
A long bow materialized in Jinhyuk’s hand.
The ‘Fang,’ another symbol of Penthagris.
With an arrow made from the ‘Blessing of the Stars’ and the effect of the Tree Frog Chocolate transferred, the power was amplified even further.
“I didn’t weaken your magic with that barrier to hold you back.”
In fact, the barrier was designed to reduce the overwhelming destructive power of Self-Sacrifice.
This way, Jinhyuk could unleash his full strength without worrying about harming Teresa or Chun Yoosung.
“Take this.”
The string of the bow trembled as Jinhyuk pulled it back.
A single point of white light condensed at the tip.
The blinding white flame devoured even the surrounding air.
It was a shot that gathered all of Jinhyuk’s magic at point-blank range.
There was no way to dodge it.
Shwooooosh!
A streak of light carved a long trail through the air.
The deafening boom that followed echoed like thunder.
Immediately after—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A shockwave of unimaginable force erupted.
“Kaaaaaah!”
A long, agonized scream tore from Hound’s mouth.
* * *
Ssssss…!
A thick cloud of smoke rose from the trail left by the arrow.
The sand burned away, leaving a crater so deep its bottom couldn’t be seen.
The sheer power of the strike was evident, as the thunderous echo still reverberated painfully in Jinhyuk’s ears.
“Huff. Huff. Huff…”
Jinhyuk gasped for breath.
It was a blow with 100 times the normal power.
The effects of Self-Sacrifice from the Fang had hit him all at once.
It felt as if his entire body was being torn apart.
Even with the ‘Blessing of the Stars’ and the barrier protecting his body, his cells were screaming in agony.
Naturally.
The opponent who had taken the full brunt of the attack couldn’t possibly survive.
…At least, that’s what he had been certain of.
Damn it.
“How… is your unique holy spear… still functioning after taking that hit? How are you even still alive?”
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.
“Gr…rrr…”
Hound slowly crawled out from the crater.
One of his arms was missing, and his entire body was in tatters.
Though he was on the verge of death, he was still alive.
It was truly infuriating how durable he was.
The blast had been powerful enough to kill even the most resilient mythical creatures instantly.
“I’ll… tear you apart…”
Hound staggered forward, his body swaying.
“Don’t push yourself. Keep going, and you’ll actually die. In your current state, even a kindergarten kid could beat you up.”
No, seriously.
Even Undine might be able to knock him out with a splash of water.
“Don’t… mock me. You… don’t look like… you can even lift a finger after that… attack. Do you really think… this is over?”
Even now, Hound’s wounds were healing at an alarming rate.
In about 10 minutes, he would be back to full strength.
But if it took him that long…
Fury distorting his features, Hound bent down to pick something up from the sand.
The Crown of Conquest.
In the chaos of the attack, the crown had been blown out of Jinhyuk’s reach and had fallen near Hound.
“As long as I have this… killing you… won’t be a problem. I’ll give the crown to him… after you’re dead.”
The crown was the ultimate relic, even recognized by the beings of the 50th floor.
Whoever wore it would reach the level of an absolute ruler.
“Your… mistake… was letting me… get my hands on it.”
Hound sneered as he placed the crown on his head.
But at that moment.
Kikikikikik!
A jarring, discordant noise pierced his ears.
“Kraaa… Aaaaaaaaagh!”
A horrifying scream ripped from Hound’s throat.
The relic, which should have granted him immense power, was instead burning him alive.
“Kraaaaa… Aghhhh!”
Hound screamed again and again, trying desperately to tear the crown off his head, but it wouldn’t budge, as if it had fused to his skull.
“Wh… What is… this…?”
Why, you ask?
“The Crown of Conquest turns into a poison when worn by someone unworthy of being its master.”
Jinhyuk casually shrugged.
“If you were in perfect condition, maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. But with you on the verge of death, the crown won’t recognize you as its master.”
Of course, the highest-tier artifacts had their own restrictions.
“Did you… plan this? Did you… injure me on purpose and leave the crown for me… just for this?”
“I took a few steps to make sure you’d lose your cool. You were only assigned to retrieve the crown, so I figured you didn’t know all its properties.”
The odds that Nyarlathotep had told Hound everything about the crown were close to zero.
There was no way Nyarlathotep would reveal information about something that could hurt him to his own subordinates.
And Hound had followed his orders without question.
“That’s why you lost this fight.”
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