Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 355: Crown of Conquest (3)

“This… this can’t be…”

“No way.”

“H-Hound, the captain, was taken down by… that kid?”

The Old Guard, who had been engaged in fierce combat, couldn’t hide their shock.

It was no surprise.

For years, they had faced countless perilous missions…

And it was always Hound who had led them, guiding his team through it all.

He had lived up to his title as Nyarlathotep’s hunting dog, completing every mission flawlessly.

But now.

How?

How had a ranker who had taken down mythical heroes fallen to a mere player?

The reason was clear.

They simply didn’t want to accept it.

The arrow that killed in a single shot.

Even with the activation of his unique ability that destroyed weapons, Hound couldn’t offset Jinhyuk’s overwhelming attack—it was far beyond anything they had faced before.

It felt like witnessing one of the ancient beings moving directly.

And the way Jinhyuk had used the crown to set up all the traps sent chills down their spines.

Meanwhile.

Veteran Corporation’s morale soared thanks to Jinhyuk’s efforts.

“Finally, things are looking up.”

Chun Yoosung let out a small sigh of relief.

Selly had been relentless, keeping him on edge the entire time, but now, the tide was turning.

Teresa and Yua Sis also looked more confident as they prepared their next attacks.

With the belief that Jinhyuk would soon join them, they found renewed strength.

“Hmph, well… I guess that’s to be expected. Yes, this is how it should be for someone contracted with me.”

Alice mumbled to herself.

Though her words were somewhat jumbled, her face was filled with pride and satisfaction.

“Tweat!”

“As expected of our devilishly… no, brilliantly skilled master.”

“See? This is why spirits need to choose the right master. If we’d run away, we’d all be in serious trouble.”

“If we had, we’d probably be tied to a pole and forced to eat nothing but mint chocolate for 365 days.”

Even Goguma and the spirit beasts, buoyed by the momentum, began to push back the beasts.

“Kieeeek!”

“Graaaah!”

The beasts, now full of holes from the relentless onslaught, began to fall one by one.

With Selly distracted by Hound’s defeat and in a state of panic, the entire Old Guard’s command structure was thrown into chaos.

“This fight… we’re going to win.”

Frey spun her two spears rapidly, her blue hair swirling as she moved.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Each strike aimed precisely at a vital point.

“…Tch!”

Roifang stumbled back, his punches faltering slightly as the magic infused into them wavered.

The balance.

Was starting to crumble.

＊＊＊

Thud.

Hound’s knees hit the ground.

The excruciating pain had long surpassed his limits, dulling even his senses.

“Grr…”

All he could manage was a faint groan.

Even screaming had become impossible.

He hadn’t imagined the pain would be this unbearable.

“K-kill me… please…”

Words that should never have escaped Hound’s lips finally did.

He had long since learned how to endure torture, but the agony that now consumed him was beyond anything he had experienced before.

This was…

The curse of the crown, a punishment for those deemed unworthy.

“I’m not really the type to enjoy watching others suffer, but sorry, it’s not time yet.”

Jinhyuk shrugged casually.

He still had one last task to complete.

Ability copy.

There was still something left to do before ending this.

“But there’s a way. Just do one thing for me, and I’ll make it quick.”

“W-what… is it?”

If it would end the pain, he would do anything.

Even selling his soul seemed like a small price to pay.

“That greatsword. Hand it over.”

The beloved weapon of the fourth-ranked member of the Old Guard.

Surely, this would meet the conditions for copying the ability.

“…My sword?”

Hound hesitated for a moment.

But only for a moment.

“F-fine. I’ll hand it over. Just… please, end this.”

[The weapon ownership transfer has been completed.]

[You have acquired the greatsword ‘Mortal Executioner’s Blade’!]

Swoosh.

Jinhyuk swung the sword with one hand, testing its weight.

Despite being over 2 meters long, it felt incredibly light.

It was likely imbued with lightweight enchantments, and dozens of runes had been etched into it.

This should do…

[You have sacrificed ‘Mortal Executioner’s Blade.’]

[You have met the required conditions for the ability copy, exceeding the threshold!]

[You have successfully copied Hound’s ability!]

[Wheel of Reversal]

Description: Blessed by ancient runes, this ability allows the destruction of targets. Depending on proficiency, it can affect anything from living beings to relics. Additionally, possessing the Wheel of Reversal increases strength stats by +20.

[The copied ability has been stored in the ‘Memory of the World.’]

As expected!

Sacrificing a weapon of much higher caliber than the Fang had worked.

Exceeding the threshold had allowed him to obtain the unique holy spear.

“You… promised.”

“Ah…”

Right. He had made a promise.

If Hound handed over the weapon, he’d end his suffering.

But even without the pleading, Jinhyuk had no intention of letting such a major figure get consumed by the crown.

He couldn’t afford to miss out on the massive experience points such a defeat would provide.

Jinhyuk nocked another arrow.

And released the string.

Thwack!

With a clean, sharp sound, Hound’s body fell backward.

The arrow had pierced directly through his forehead, ensuring he felt no further pain.

As if to confirm that—

Ding!

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has… increased.]

[…increased.]

A flood of status windows appeared.

Ten levels in total.

The battle had finally reached its climax.

‘Looks like the others are retreating too.’

Jinhyuk glanced to the side.

Blackrock, Roifang, and Selly, having lost their leader, were already making their escape.

He could pursue them if he wanted to, but they weren’t the priority right now.

‘Besides, I’ll run into them again when I need to copy their abilities.’

Nyarlathotep or Hastings would likely take action again after hearing about what had happened here.

All Jinhyuk had to do was prepare and be ready for them.

[The unique abilities ‘Blessing of the Stars’ and ‘Mandala’ have been activated!]

Bzzt…

A warm energy spread through his body.

To avoid making the same mistake as Hound, he needed to fully recover his stamina and magic.

Activating ‘Jintaecheong Hwarang’s Method,’ his magic quickly began to replenish.

A brief pause.

Jinhyuk opened his personal status window.

——————————————————

**Name:** Kang Jinhyuk

**Gender:** Male

**Level:** 154

**Strength:** 109
**Agility:** 91 → 121
**Stamina:** 67
**Magic:** 402
**Gap:** 100
**Luck:** 10
**Adaptive:** 78
**Vitality:** 106.25

**Stat points available:** 30

**Coins held:** 9,241,358

**Class:** Master of Runes

**Unique Holy Spear:** Wheel of Reversal

**Unique Abilities:** ‘Fusion,’ ‘Grave of Swords,’ ‘Blessing of the Stars,’ ‘Anubis’s Judgment,’ ‘Blood Demon Qi,’ ‘Mandala,’ ‘One Second Invincibility,’ ‘Thousand Poisons,’ ‘White Beast,’ ‘Universal Sharing,’ ‘Sanctuary of the Sun,’ ‘Black Heaven Demon Emperor Technique,’ ‘Triple Magic,’ ‘Giant’s Strike,’ ‘Breath of the Fire Dragon,’ ‘High-Speed Sword,’ ‘Tombgrave’s Right Arm,’ ‘Berserker,’ ‘Realm of the Wind,’ ‘Shadow Kill,’ ‘Primordial Flame,’ ‘Blood Burst,’ ‘Black Tear,’ ‘Tombgrave’s Leg,’ ‘Overwhelming Strength,’ ‘Core of the Legion,’ ‘Ancient Barrier,’ ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art,’ ‘Mantra Taming,’ ‘Nihilism,’ ‘Heaven-Annihilating Ten-Thousand Poisons.’

**Skills:** The list of skills is too extensive to display. Currently in condensed mode.

——————————————————

Jinhyuk clenched his fist, feeling the changes in his status window.

A new category had appeared under unique abilities: ‘Unique Holy Spear.’

Only select residents of the Tower could wield these ultimate techniques.

Even the most powerful abilities were now being recorded in the Infinite Library.

‘Now, it’s time to allocate those stat points.’

Ten whole levels.

As expected from such a major boss, the experience gained was on another level entirely.

After all, he had just defeated one of the heroes belonging to a massive myth.

‘Even if the Crown of Conquest had taken some of the credit, this is far beyond what I expected.’

The only issue now…

Was where to distribute the stat points.

Losing the Fang had created a gap in his arsenal.

To obtain the weapon within the Sand Dunes of the Sun, he’d have to take some risks.

But Jinhyuk didn’t hesitate for long.

[Your agility has increased from 91 to 121!]

All 30 points went into agility.

Shff…

The feeling of his feet sinking into the sand had completely changed.

His body felt as light as a feather.

The investment had definitely paid off.

He’d get to see just how much in action soon enough.

Jinhyuk checked his body.

‘Good.’

His magic and stamina were almost fully recovered.

Finally.

After all the battles, from Shub-Niggurath and the Heavenly Demon to now…

It was time to claim his reward.

Slowly.

His hand reached for the black crown resting atop the sand.

[The owner of the Crown of Conquest has been determined!]

[The owner is Player Kang Jinhyuk!]

[The upper forces are beginning to take notice of you.]

[Crown of Conquest]

**Acquisition Difficulty:** Unmeasurable

**Durability:** Indestructible

**All Stats:** +30

**Critical Hit Rate:** +30%

**When fighting divine entities, skill levels are increased by +3 stages.**

**You can use the unique abilities of previous owners at their peak for 3 minutes.**

The stats of the crown are influenced by its previous owners.

Meaning, this crown had superior specifications to any other crown he had ever encountered.

It was a jackpot.

“Kyaaa!”

Jinhyuk couldn’t hold back his shout of triumph.

＊＊＊

43rd floor of the Tower of Trials.

Endless mountains stretched toward the sky, with clouds swirling around their peaks, transcending the beauty of this world.

Mount Olympus.

The base of a major force that had recently been aggressively expanding its influence.

And.

Tap… Tap…

Several men and women gathered around the brazier at the center of the temple.

They were none other than the chief deities of Olympus.

“The owner of the Crown of Conquest has been decided.”

An elderly man with a long black beard spoke.

The mention of the crown’s new owner caused the others to stir.

“A player who has only been in the Tower for two years obtained a crown?”

“No, this is the first time something like this has happened since we entered the Tower.”

“The fastest anyone’s ever obtained a crown was one of the angels from Eden 7,000 years ago. Even then, it took them over 10 years.”

It was the shortest time in history.

Considering how difficult it was to even locate the crown’s whereabouts, it was an unbelievable result.

To the chief deities, the players currently climbing the Tower were nothing more than rookies taking their first steps.

“…It doesn’t matter. Even if some insignificant human has obtained the crown, he won’t be able to hold onto it for long.”

A large man seated at the head of the table finally spoke.

Zeus.

The highest-ranking god of Olympus, and the leader of the chief deities.

At Zeus’s words, the murmurs died down.

“Hermes.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Send a messenger to Kang Jinhyuk. Do it discreetly. Make sure no one notices.”

“Should I only monitor him?”

“Yes. Now that the other factions have caught the scent, they’ll try to steal the crown. We’ll let them tear each other apart first, and then we’ll step in at the end.”

There was no need to be the first to wade into the fray where predators lurked.

It was far more efficient to let others exhaust themselves before delivering the final blow.

Just then.

Boom!

With a loud crash, a new figure entered the temple.

A warrior clad in golden armor.

The god of war, Ares.

“Everything is ready. Just give the order.”

Ares, who had leaped up the mountain in a single bound, bowed his head.

“Are the soldiers and the ‘weapon’ prepared?”

“Yes. Everything is perfect. Please come see for yourself.”

“Hm.”

Zeus slowly stood and looked down from Mount Olympus.

On the ground below, an enormous army had gathered.

Thousands of elite soldiers clad in armor stood at attention, awaiting the command of the gods.

“Good. We’ll wipe out the Norse faction and take control of their floors.”

War was about to begin.