18 – 4 – Creating Together – 4

Gi-jun woke up at six o’clock in the morning sharp today as well and washed his face with water from his inventory.

He had already seen the dark brick ceiling hundreds of times, and it had become familiar.

Although he wanted to go for a run, he could not do so, so he replaced today’s morning workout with push-ups, double crunches, and squats.

Around the time he wiped his body down with a damp towel and prepared breakfast, the Demon King and Lucy woke up.

“Yaaaaawn.”

“Are you awake?”

—Did you sleep well, Contractor?

While Lucy had actually spent more time awake when she was at Rare rank, she began to show a demeanor much more like a human once the spirit arts grew to Unique rank.

Of course, sleep did not seem to be mandatory for her, but Gi-jun still let her sleep as much as she wanted.

Anyway, unless it was an anomaly like the Demon King, the tent was set to sound an alarm immediately if an intruder appeared, and that very Demon King was sleeping nearby.

“Give me something sparkling today, too.”

“I’ll do that even if you don’t ask.”

Gi-jun fully demonstrated his Light Cooking, which was already heading toward level 70.

Today’s dish was Shining Toast… no, ham and cheese toast.

Why was this simple toast, made merely by toasting bread in a buttered pan and putting ham, cheese, and pickles in it, so delicious?

It was because the sauce was delicious.

Having developed the ultimate sauce by utilizing his seasoning-making skills, which had become even more refined since his cooking skill reached Rare rank, Gi-jun spread the sweet and salty fruit-based sauce and completed the toast.

“Whew, it’s delicious today too…”

—For the rest of my life, I will enjoy a relaxing morning every day while eating the Contractor’s toast.

“What a load of nonsense about relaxing.”

Having quickly finished her meal, the Demon King let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

“We haven’t even been able to conquer a single ruin for over three years.”

“Still, the end is in sight now.”

“If we count the time we spent before entering, it’s already four years! In four years, I could have raided ten decent ruins!”

—Geez, you’re really loud.

When the Demon King shrieked, Lucy, who was munching on her toast, created a barrier of light just in time to prevent the sound from spreading.

It was fortunate that she had transformed into human size to eat more toast; otherwise, her spirit arts casting would have been delayed, and her desired relaxing morning would have been ruined by a monster raid.

“We are entering that place we found yesterday. I don’t care if it’s a trap or not anymore. I’m going to finish this quickly and leave. I’m at my limit!”

“I can tell, so speak a bit slower.”

Stopping the impromptu rap of MC Demon King, Gi-jun opened his status and skill windows to check the changes over the past three years.

[Gi-jun]

[Title — Conqueror of the Backstage Dungeon (Legendary) and 7 others]

[Degraded Light Human (Uc) Lv97]

[Strength (R) — 54]

[Dexterity (R) — 61]

[Endurance (R) — 57]

[Light Mana (R) — 73]

[Charm (R) — 99]

[Spiritual Power (U) — 36]

[Gi-jun]

[Title — Conqueror of the Backstage Dungeon (Legendary) and 7 others]

[Degraded Light Human (Uc) Lv97]

[Strength (R) — 54]

[Dexterity (R) — 61]

[Endurance (R) — 57]

[Light Mana (R) — 73]

[Charm (R) — 99]

[Spiritual Power (U) — 36]

[Skills/Spells]

[Uncommon]

[Butchery Lv99]

[Rare]

[Light Cooking Lv67, Twin Turtle Fangs Lv98, Flash Throwing Lv79, All-Out Provocation Lv99]

[Unique]

[Light Spirit Arts Lv51, Rapid Regeneration Lv54, Steelization Lv52, Sleepless and Restless Lv55]

[Legendary]

[Unfailing Body Clock Lv――]

[Skills/Spells]

[Uncommon]

[Butchery Lv99]

[Rare]

[Light Cooking Lv67, Twin Turtle Fangs Lv98, Flash Throwing Lv79, All-Out Provocation Lv99]

[Unique]

[Light Spirit Arts Lv51, Rapid Regeneration Lv54, Steelization Lv52, Sleepless and Restless Lv55]

[Legendary]

[Unfailing Body Clock Lv――]

Under the premise that there was not much of the ruins left, the conditions were quite close.

Was it possible for his level, which had risen by not even 40 over the span of three years, to rise while clearing the rest of the ruins?

Of course, it was not that he had not gained experience despite hunting a massive number of enemies, but rather because he had wasted far more time searching for monsters while roaming around these vast ruins.

“Still, I learned a good lesson. Never again will I explore ruins without a thief and a magician.”

“How fortunate for you.”

Looking into Gi-jun’s status and skill windows, the Demon King stubbornly ignored his Charm stat as always and examined his other skills that had reached their limits.

“Butchery and provocation… coincidentally, they are all things that have nothing to do with me. Oh, your weapon skill is also slowly approaching its limit level. Wouldn’t it be perfect if you hit 99 before entering the boss room and then let it grow during the boss battle?”

“To anyone else listening, it would sound like it’s completely natural for skills to grow while fighting a boss monster.”

“Of course it is. Who do you think raised you?”

The Demon King, playing producer, said with a confident face as she slapped his back.

“If you’re done eating, let’s head over there. In my opinion, you can definitely level up there.”

‘There’ referred to the room blanketed in dark energy that Gi-jun had discovered while wandering around looking like a half-dead corpse during his continuous exploration of the ruins.

What was even more terrifying was that there was a treasure chest inside, but since it looked like an obvious trap no matter how one looked at it, he had decided to sleep first and think about it the next day.

“Even if I open my eyes wide and look at it again, it’s definitely a trap.”

—With such dense energy spread out, how on earth could they think a person would fall for that trap…?

“What fools. This is a challenger course. In the first place, this ruin is a bonus ruin where only crazy people who gleefully charge in the more dangerous a trap is would enter.”

“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”

Agreeing with the Demon King’s words, Gi-jun intensified the light surrounding his body to resist the darkness and walked inside.

Reaching the treasure chest, he saw the Demon King stepping far back, nodded—and kicked the treasure chest.

—Kieeeek!

First of all, the treasure chest was indeed a mimic.

As the creature shrieked, the magic circles drawn all over the room emitted a dismal light, spewing out Lesser Demons armed with swords, spears, bows, axes, hammers, shields, and all kinds of other weapons!

“No way, is it for real that all of these monsters are Lesser Demons?!”

“Hero, don’t get distracted! They are fighting among themselves!”

Perhaps only Gi-jun thought they belonged to the same side; the Lesser Demons, who had been summoned in large numbers all at once, were unable to tell friend from foe and bared their teeth at their own kind.

“My precious experience points! You—you guys who are like discarded cigarette butts on the street—! Look at me—!”

If he ended up unable to raise his racial rank just because he lacked the experience points of a single Lesser Demon, what could be more regretful than that?

Gi-jun used All-Out Provocation, which he had diligently mastered to its limit, to draw their attention, but because the room was quite large, only those around him, including the mimic, turned their heads toward him.

—Thud, thud!

“Look at me—!”

First, he smashed the mimic to death with his shield that was fully charged with light, deflected the weapons coming at him from all directions with the shield in one hand, and shouted in an even louder voice as he ruthlessly crushed their faces.

All-Out Provocation, All-Out Provocation, All-Out Provocation!

—Contractor, it’s not working this way! The battle outside is getting fiercer!

“Damn, if that’s the case…!”

Gi-jun and Lucy’s eyes met.

The two of them were thinking the same thing.

“Here I go, Lucy!”

—Ready when you are!

Light mana flowed through Gi-jun’s entire body, and Lucy’s spiritual power reinforced it once again.

It was the unification of mana and spiritual power, which he had become quite accustomed to by now.

Because of that, Gi-jun cast his provocation once again!

“You seeds of evil—! The light will judge you!”

His entire body was glowing stark white.

Even if he just glowed, it would have been annoying enough, but he kept flickering on and off like a fluorescent bulb right before a power outage, irritating the viewers’ temper even more.

It was a provocation that reached the realm of sorcery, awakening the source of anger—something beyond mere provocation!

“Gyaaaaaaargh!”

“Turn off that damn light!”

“I’ll kill you!!”

Moreover, because that light was infused with Lucy’s spiritual power, it significantly weakened the dark-attribute monsters and even inflicted damage on them.

Every single Lesser Demon stopped fighting among themselves and began charging, targeting only Gi-jun!

—It worked, Contractor!

“Yeah, now I just have to survive against these hundreds of Lesser Demons…!”

Gi-jun, who had stopped glowing, screamed as he swung his shields as if his arms would shatter, but the rage of the Lesser Demons did not fade until their lives were snuffed out.

After a spectacular battle that lasted for a whopping two hours, Gi-jun finally drove his sharply ground shield into the neck of the last remaining Lesser Demon, ending its life.

It was indeed a desperate battle in which the levels of all his Unique-grade skills, including his spirit arts, rose by 1.

However, an even greater achievement lay ahead.

—You have reached level 98 due to the experience points acquired from the battle. Dexterity (R) rose by 1, Endurance (R) rose by 1, and Light Mana (R) rose by 1.

—You fought bravely and won against an overwhelming majority of enemies stronger than you! A positive correction has been granted to the Rare-grade title, Limit Transcender. The title may grow soon.

—The Rare-grade [Twin Turtle Fangs] skill has reached level 99 and hit its limit.

—Influenced by the Light Spirit Arts, the Rare-grade [All-Out Provocation] skill has evolved into the Unique-grade skill [Luminescent Provocation]! The light that stimulates fighting spirit will draw all non-friendly targets into battle and will inflict additional damage to dark-attribute enemies.

—After creating several new skills, the Rare-grade title [Skill Creator] has grown to Unique grade! Due to the title’s effect, when you use a skill you created, its power increases by 20%. If you evolve the grade of a skill you created, a ‘highly’ positive correction is granted.

—You have reached level 98 due to the experience points acquired from the battle. Dexterity (R) rose by 1, Endurance (R) rose by 1, and Light Mana (R) rose by 1.

—You fought bravely and won against an overwhelming majority of enemies stronger than you! A positive correction has been granted to the Rare-grade title, Limit Transcender. The title may grow soon.

—The Rare-grade [Twin Turtle Fangs] skill has reached level 99 and hit its limit.

—Influenced by the Light Spirit Arts, the Rare-grade [All-Out Provocation] skill has evolved into the Unique-grade skill [Luminescent Provocation]! The light that stimulates fighting spirit will draw all non-friendly targets into battle and will inflict additional damage to dark-attribute enemies.

—After creating several new skills, the Rare-grade title [Skill Creator] has grown to Unique grade! Due to the title’s effect, when you use a skill you created, its power increases by 20%. If you evolve the grade of a skill you created, a ‘highly’ positive correction is granted.

“Huh…?”

He had expected his level to rise and his skills to grow to some extent.

But to think even his titles would grow.

Furthermore, its effect was so outstanding it was mind-boggling.

The effect was doubled compared to when it was at Rare grade.

To put into perspective how amazing this was, not only did it add an extra 10% to the power of his self-created skills like Twin Turtle Fangs, Flash Throwing, Light Cooking, and Luminescent Provocation, but it also meant there would be additional corrections when these skills grew in grade.

“Is this the true power of titles? Then what on earth were those pieces of trash I got until now…?”

“Don’t be too sad, Hero. Once you clear this ruin, you will be able to see the effects of an even better Legendary-grade title.”

Entering the room after the battle ended to comfort Gi-jun, the Demon King let out an exclamation of admiration upon seeing the mimic that had died with its head crushed.

“This guy is Unique grade?”

“Do mimics have grades too?”

“A shabby mimic is Common, a normal mimic is Uncommon, a fancy mimic is Rare, and an attribute mimic is Unique. When you move on to Legendary, weird things are added on top of the attribute.”

“An attribute mimic…”

Since it was in a place so full of darkness, this guy must have been a Dark Mimic.

But what meaning did that have? It was not even a treasure chest, just a mimic.

“Ah, I suppose the Hero wouldn’t know yet. Once mimics reach Rare grade or higher, they really are treasure chests.”

“Even though they are mimics?”

“It’s because they are mimics. Think about how much blood and tears these guys swallowed while masquerading as treasure chests. If they swallowed an accessory, a sword, or even a single gold coin along with it, maturing in despair and time, completing an artifact is child’s play.”

“Did you really have to explain it in a way that makes the listener feel so uncomfortable?”

“Let’s open it now!”

Looking like a ruthless Demon King for the first time in a while, she ripped open the mimic’s lid and pulled out the contents inside.

It would have been nice if what appeared inside was a black shield tempered by sucking the blood of countless people…

“No, this is a magic engineering product made for construction use. Why is this coming out of a mimic inside the ruins?”

It was a black circular object that was quite large to be just a coin.

Staring at it with dumbfounded eyes, the Demon King picked it up with one hand and held it out to Gi-jun.

“Of all things, why did something so useless have to come out? Though, it might have changed while maturing inside the mimic…”

“A magic engineering product? Was it made by combining magic and science?”

“To be more precise, the science of your Earth or other civilizations doesn’t work well in Leta. Magic engineering was born after researching how to combine it with magic to make it work somehow.”

And this was that very item.

Holding the object, which was slightly smaller and thinner than a pager you get when ordering coffee at a cafe, in one hand, Gi-jun narrowed his eyes.

“Right, if my memory serves me correctly, that is… yes, a shock absorber. In construction sites, heavy machinery moves heavy materials around. If you stick this to the floor, it absorbs all kinds of impact applied to the area, reducing the burden.”

“Shock absorption.”

“Ah, I know what you’re thinking, but it won’t be that effective.”

The Demon King spoke with a bitter smile.

“After all, it’s just a construction supply. Even if you keep it attached, there’s a limit to how much shock it can absorb.”

“Still, wouldn’t it do its part even if it blocks just one hit from the boss we are about to face?”

“That’s true.”

Saying, “Still, if you’re going to wear it, let me appraise it to see if there’s any curse on it,” the Demon King took it, only to startle and drop it the next moment.

Gi-jun hastily caught it in midair.

Thanks to the Demon King’s appraisal, the item’s information was visible to him as well.

[Shock Absorber (Rare) — Growth Type]

[Durability — 2,578/3,500]

[Defense (R) — 78]

[Option 1 — Partially absorbs and stores the shock applied to the area where the device is attached. There is a limit to the storage capacity, so it cannot absorb shocks beyond a certain amount, and the stored shock amount is consumed as time passes.]

[An artifact born from a completely ordinary magic engineering product for construction use that was corrupted inside the Dark Mimic while harboring its owner’s grudge. It might grow if a great force is applied to it or if it steadily absorbs mana.]

[Shock Absorber (Rare) — Growth Type]

[Durability — 2,578/3,500]

[Defense (R) — 78]

[Option 1 — Partially absorbs and stores the shock applied to the area where the device is attached. There is a limit to the storage capacity, so it cannot absorb shocks beyond a certain amount, and the stored shock amount is consumed as time passes.]

[An artifact born from a completely ordinary magic engineering product for construction use that was corrupted inside the Dark Mimic while harboring its owner’s grudge. It might grow if a great force is applied to it or if it steadily absorbs mana.]

“Oh.”

Gi-jun asked blankly.

“Do magic engineering products normally grow like this too?”

“No.”

The Demon King replied.

“That is now an Artifact. A relic.”