Second Life Ranker Vol 2 Chapter 18

(Volume 2, Chapter 18)

Chapter 43 .  Two Hearts (1)

Yeon-woo tried to get up from the bed to thank Galliard .

"You need to rest a little longer . It'll take some time for your senses to settle down . "

'Senses?'

Yeon-woo realized that Galliard was the reason his senses had become much stronger .

"I've done something to your body if you haven’t noticed . "

Galliard spoke as he placed the basket on the table .

Yeon-woo narrowed his brow slightly .

"What do you mean?"

"Let me guess . You did something to make your body stronger, right? And you needed me to protect you while you were out . "

"Yes, I did . "

Galliard snorted at his answer with his arms folded .

"But you did it wrong . "

Yeon-woo's eyes glistened .

"Can you explain in detail?"

"I saw Akasha’s Snake grow abnormally big . You took the Neidan, right? And I bet you consumed something similar to the Neidan before that . ”

That was the Snow Ginseng .

Yeon-woo nodded his head .

"You didn’t even know if your body could handle one elixir . And you dared to take two at the same time?"

Galliard continued speaking as he clicked his tongue .

"I don't know if you thought you could handle it or you had something prepared, but the energy in your body was either going to explode or go out of control . "

Yeon-woo understood why Galliard said he had done something to his body . He must have thought Yeon-woo would end up dying if he hadn’t settled the energy in his body .

Apparently, Galliard was a well-known hunter within the Dark Elves tribes . Yeon-woo thought it wasn’t strange at all for someone like him to have one or two secret skills .

"For now, I’ve got you covered . By the way, it was only possible because you had little mana in you, otherwise you would have been in big trouble . So, if you get your hands on several elixirs like today, don't you ever chug them down like you did this time . You’re really gonna die unless you’re something like a dragon . "

I did make a contract with a dragon

Yeon-woo almost said that out loud .

‘You really didn’t have to do that though . ’

Yeon-woo desperately fought the urge to laugh .

His body was fundamentally different from an ordinary player’s . He not only had Reinforced Physique, but also had the succession process already underway . His body should have been enough to accommodate all the energies by itself .

But Galliard couldn’t have the slightest idea of what kind of body Yeon-woo had . Moreover, he was indebted to Yeon-woo for finding his long lost pendant . He couldn’t stand there and watch him die .

‘Is that how this thing in the Mana Circuit was made?’

Yeon-woo then asked Galliard .

"So you modified my Mana Circuit to stop the mana from deviating, right?”

Galliard grumbled as if something bothered him .

"It’s the same way I use to make Undine’s Goblet . Besides, I had to use the one you had to calm the deviation . Do you have any idea how much work that is?"

"I appreciate it . "

"Whoa, you’re not getting off that easy, are you?"

"I'll pay you back later when I get the chance . "

"Like hell you will! But looking at you running your mouth off like that, I guess you’re okay now . "

Galliard left the cottage leaving Yeon-woo to rest in the room . And just before closing the door, Galliard said in a small voice .

"Oh and, thank you . "

*    *    *

Galliard called his secret skill ‘Undine’s Divine Water(神水)’ .

And he said he had applied the skill on his body, just like when making Undine’s Goblet .

‘The human body can be used like Undine’s Goblet? I didn't know he could do that . ’

But just as Undine’s Goblet was used to contain Akasha, he figured the human body, which was a vessel that could hold mana, could also be used that way . Still, it would take a lot more effort to make that work . Galliard said because there was too much mana deviating inside his body, he had to use the Undine's Goblet Yeon-woo had . As a result, not only did he absorb mana much more easily during his sleep, but his body and senses had also been upgraded by more than one level . It was a stroke of good fortune .

As soon as Yeon-woo got somewhat attuned to his senses, he came out of the cottage and started to stretch his body .

Galliard came beside him and grumbled with an annoyed look .

"I told you, you’ll need to rest at least three more days to heal up completely . . . !”

*Swish*

" . . . Unless you have a great healing factor . "

Galliard ended up mumbling his words as he watched Yeon-woo freely running over the rocky mountains .

He stared at Yeon-woo in bewilderment .  

How was that the movement of someone who just left his bed from a serious injury? Moreover, he was using Shunpo so well now . It looked like it was his skill from the very beginning .

It wasn't just Galliard who was in for a shock .

"Is this what it feels like to conduct mana?"’

Yeon-woo had never used mana properly until now . Even if he did, he used the least possible amount for casting his skills only .

However, it was different now that he could handle his mana at will . All he did was to wrap mana around his legs, which made Shunpo incomparably better than before . With it, he could jump higher and run faster .

Unlike the time when he had to climb up the mountain to get to Galliard's house, he now could get there with just a few jumps .

His body was so light to the point that he almost felt weightless . However, it wasn’t because there was a big growth in proficiency, after all he had only increased it by one percent .

'Maybe all the skills and movements I've known so far have been inefficient . '

From what he heard, most of the players in the tutorial knew how to handle mana . They said it’s the minimum requirement for players to be able to achieve something in the tutorial . And the criterion for joining the ranks of the strong was also Magic Power .

However, Yeon-woo hadn’t been able to handle mana up until now . He did not know neither the concept nor the theory behind it . All he could do was walk the bumpy road, constantly working to build up his stats . And still, only relying on what he had, he advanced through the tutorial all the way to section E, killed several boss monsters and became a match for other top rankers . All of that was done with a sheer physical strength .

And now, he had mana . The fuel that he had been lacking until now .

It was time for him to soar .

*Tak*

Yeon-woo soon landed on the ground after doing some flips in the air . He didn’t have to gasp for air even after that intense workout, with only tiny drops of sweat appearing on his forehead . He actually felt refreshed as if he had just gotten up and stretched . All the fatigue from lying on the bed seemed to have melted away .

"If there’s this much improvement at 92%, how will my body change after completing the remaining 8%?'

Yeon-woo wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as he examined his Mana Circuit again .

A smile appeared on Yeon-woo’s face .

*   *   *

After he finished checking up his body, Yeon-woo opened the quest window to claim his reward . It was obvious that the more items he had, the better .

‘I completed two quests before fainting, right?’

Resurrection Ceremony, the Hidden Quest, and Monster Outbreak, the Sudden Quest . The rewards for both quests had all been granted to him, as both had been cleared by Yeon-woo .

Fortunately, nothing was lost because the rewards required the player to confirm the completion of the quest for them to materialize .

'Let’s check the Hidden Quest first . '

The reward was covered with question marks in the quest window, so he had no idea what it was . The moment he pressed the ‘Receive’ button, a black bracelet fell on Yeon-woo's palm .

[You have obtained ‘???’s Black Bracelet’ as a reward . ]

‘What is this? Why can’t I see its name?’

A frown formed on Yeon-woo’s brows .

The artifact given as the reward was an old, simple-looking bracelet . Compared to good artifacts that usually had classy looks, this one was almost too crude . Besides, the aura radiating from the bracelet was that of a common ordinary artifact . Still, it was a reward from defeating Akasha's Snake .

Not losing hope, he tried identifying the item .

[???'s Black Bracelet]

Classification: Wrist Guard

Rating: ??

Description: A bracelet cherished by ???, the owner of Akasha’s Snake . Akasha’s Snake always misses its great master, so it keeps the master's belonging in its stomach in hopes of his return .

* Soul Bind

Fixed chance of reaping the soul of the killed target . The reaped souls lose their memory and become corrupted, left with only deep resentment .

* Black Blade

Consumes the reaped souls and converts them into dark property energy . If imbued to a weapon, it will inflict curses upon hit .

Ability locked . (Sealed)

Ability locked . (Sealed)

Ability locked . (Sealed)

** This is a 'Unique' artifact . no same artifact exists in The Tower, and it will be bound to its owner . It cannot be transferred or traded between players .

** Some of the abilities are sealed . You must meet the qualifications or conditions in order to lift the seals .

** Some information cannot be accessed . You must meet the qualifications or conditions in order to view the information .

‘If it’s a Unique artifact, it must have great abilities . Only if I can unlock them . ’

The options embedded in Black Bracelet were quite peculiar even among Unique artifacts .

Soul Bind and Black Blade .

‘So it reaps the soul of the killed target . . . Seems like someone had a bad taste . '

Even in death, the souls weren’t allowed to rest in peace . Souls bound by this bracelet could only wait to be used as disposable tools . This kind of options were rarely seen in The Tower .

'The original owner, was he a Demon?'

He needed to find information about the previous owner in order to make proper use of this Unique artifact, But the information was completely blocked .  

For now, it seemed impossible to bring out the whole power the artifact could offer .

However,

‘It doesn’t matter . ’

There was no need to be in a rush to know about the owner . The only thing that mattered was whether the artifact was useful or not . And he thought this artifact would come in handy .

Of course, it was true that its abilities were quite disappointing for a Unique artifact, compared to Bathory’s Vampiric Sword that can extract the target’s stats and skills .

Yeon-woo, however, took note of the three sealed options .

'The real power of the Black Bracelet must lie in there . It could be the power of its original owner . ’

He thought the inability to identify the rating must mean that the artifact was not yet fully open to him . An artifact like this was never easy to come by .

*Click*

Yeon-woo opened the clasp of the bracelet and wore it on his right wrist . With a pleasant locking sound, Black Bracelet shrank down to just about the size of his wrist .

And then,

*Tsss*

A pitch black aura rose from the bracelet and began to seep into his right arm .

Yeon-woo was startled by the sudden effect, but soon realized it was the process of recognizing the wearer . If something were to happen, he was confident he could force it to stop with mana .

He felt the black aura flowing through his veins, permeating into the Mana Circuit and spreading across his entire body . At the same time, a black substance slowly smeared the white of his eyes . Then suddenly, previously unseen things began to appear in his sight .

[Under the influence of ‘???’s Black Bracelet’, you have gained an ability to observe the world of the dead . ]

[The ability has merged with your skill ‘Draconic Eyes’ . ‘Draconic Eyes’ skill proficiency has increased . 13 . 5%]

Yeon-woo saw hazy figures floating in the air . The appearance of a rag doll with three holes cut out in place of their eyes and mouth . There were thousands of such things swirling around Yeon-woo .

Then suddenly, they stopped moving and turned their heads towards Yeon-woo . It seemed that they noticed that he was 'seeing' them .

They started to growl and glare at Yeon-woo . It was an obvious display of hostility .

He felt their deep resentment lying beneath the belching aura, thought it didn’t pose much of a threat .

Yeon-woo had a pretty good idea of who they were .

'They're the monsters I killed or those who were eaten by Akasha’s Snake . ’

These monsters were all those who fell prey to Yeon-woo’s scheme . It wasn’t surprising at all that they would hold a grudge against him and followed him even after death .

Still, he didn’t expect that so many ghosts were following him around .

‘Have they been wandering around me all this time? I was lucky I didn’t get cursed . ’

But that didn’t make Yeon-woo flinch even a bit . Rather, he thought of it as a good opportunity .

He obtained a new piece of equipment, and conveniently enough there were targets everywhere to test out his newly acquired ability .

Yeon-woo grabbed Carshina's Dagger backward and fiercely swung at one of the souls .

Feeling some sort of danger, it tried to move away from the dagger's trajectory . But it wasn't fast enough to avoid Yeon-woo's slash, and ended up being cut down .

The white soul soon scattered into a murky haze and got sucked into the Black Bracelet .

[Number of bound souls: 1]

Then a small message window popped up on one side of his retina .

‘Then . ’

Yeon-woo pumped mana into the Black Bracelet .

And this time, he held Carshina’s Dagger pointing forward .

It was to use Black Blade .

[Number of the bound souls: 0]

The count went back down .

*Whoosh*

Dark energy rimmed along the blade .

'Dark element mana . '

Yeon-woo’s eyes gleamed at the sight .

Along with the light element, the dark element was one of the rarest . Moreover, it was also a kind of buff that many players were looking for .

Dark element could be used both as a buff to increase one’s attack power or as a debuff to curse one’s enemies . It was the element most specialized in offensive uses .

To test its power, Yeon-woo poured a lot more mana into the dagger and made a full swing to his right .  

As soon as the dagger made a scratch on the rock,

*Kwakwa*

Not only did it split the rock in half, but the tree that was far behind the rock also blew up .

‘This is more than I imagined . ’

Yeon-woo felt delighted .

It seemed that the dark energy was much stronger than he originally thought, as expected of an artifact used by Akasha’s Snake’s master .  

To top it off, the rock and the tree started to decay from where the blade cut through . That was the curse followed by the attack .

While Yeon-woo caressed the black bracelet, his eyes sparkled with a sudden idea .

What would happen if he mixed the dark energy with other skills?

'Maybe . '

To try out his idea, Yeon-woo captured five more souls, and this time, he drew the dark energy to his hand instead of his weapon .

The black haze converged and formed an orb .

Then, Yeon-woo added another skill to the collected energy .

[Flame Infusion]

The moment the dark energy was combined with Flame Infusion,

*Kwang*

A wild explosion occurred right in front of his eyes . An explosion that would easily blow up the head of an Orc or a Lizardman .

Yeon-woo quickly cast Shunpo and retreated far from the blast range .

When the explosion ended, a big scorch mark of 3 meters in radius was left on the ground, and a burnt smell tainted the air around it .

The second Yeon-woo saw this, the corners of his mouth started to roll up .

If only five souls could create an explosion this big,

‘What if I turn all the souls into dark energy at once?'

Yeon-woo took a gulp while watching the thousands of souls surrounding him .

Chapter end