Ranker's Return

Chapter 753

Hyeonu stopped walking. He stood on the street and pulled down Tang-E, who had his legs on both shoulders.

“What does that mean? What do you mean by you know?” Hyeonu asked while making eye contact with Tang-E. This was an important question.

“No... I just know what the altar looks like now.” Tang-E waved his paws as if to calm Hyeonu’s excitement.

“Really? I see...” Hyeonu quickly made a depressed expression. It was a shame. If Tang-E knew the location of the altar...

There would be no reason to stay in Arperium any longer.

Tang-E tilted his head slightly and told Hyeonu, “By the way, I think I’ve seen something like that, Master dude.”

“Really? Where did you see it? Where?” Hyeonu’s eyes widened and he shook his hands that were holding Tang-E. It was indeed an exquisite play of push and pull. Tang-E repeatedly lifted up Hyeonu’s heart and then let go.

“Uhh... Don’t shake it, Master dude. I’m dizzy.” Tang-E had a sullen expression on his face as he was shaken up and down.

Hyeonu realized he made a mistake and stopped shaking Tang-E’s body. Hyeonu pushed his face toward Tang-E’s face and asked, “Huh? I stopped. Tell me quickly. Hurry.”

Tang-E pushed away Hyeonu’s face with his paw and revealed the location of what he believed to be the altar. “So... where is it...? I saw it near the tower.”

“Near the ancestral tower? I didn’t see it there…” Hyeonu heard the location of the altar from Tang-E and became angry with himself. It was natural because he had inadvertently passed over the first place to look at, causing this situation.

‘Let’s hurry there.’ Hyeonu stopped his self-reflection and quickly returned to the ancestral tower while holding Tang-E.

He had decided on a clear destination, so the time it took to travel decreased significantly since he didn’t have to look around. Upon arriving at the ancestral tower, Tang-E turned Hyeonu’s head and guided him to the altar.

“There, Master dude. I saw it over there.” Tang-E extended his right paw and pointed to one place. At the same time, his left paw pushed Hyeonu’s cheek and turned Hyeonu’s head.

“Are you talking about that?” Hyeonu asked while looking at the huge stone in the distance.

Tang-E nodded and answered Hyeonu’s question, “Right, that’s it.”

Hyeonu moved faster when he checked the exact location.

‘Is that right? Right? It is right.’ Hyeonu was a bit convinced as he approached the stone mass that was believed to be an altar.

“This is it.” Hyeonu’s footsteps became faster.

He was convinced that the altar was right there and moved like he was flying, swiftly reaching the stone mass. The stone mass was so distinct that anyone would think it was an altar. In particular, the statues of giants overlapped when looking at it from the front. It was totally an altar.

“How do I use this?” Hyeonu examined the altar and cocked his head. He found the altar, but the message window didn’t appear. Still, the lack of a message window didn’t mean that he couldn’t figure out how to use the altar. After all, Hyeonu had accumulated experience from other virtual reality games and reading genre novels.

‘Should I take off the rings and put them on the altar?’

He had to take off the rings and place them on the altar. This was the only way to use the altar. Hyeonu removed the gauntlet and was pulling the rings off his fingers when he paused.

‘Should I recombine this?’

He suddenly had this thought. Should he combine the giant set? The giant rings were good enough right now. There was no reason to combine them.

‘No, I have to combine them.’

Hyeonu shook his head. No matter how good the giant set was, there was still a limit to it. He wasn’t envious of any item during the five minutes he used the giant skills, but the effects of the rings for the rest of the time outside of those five minutes were actually quite lacking. The specs differed a lot compared to the recently acquired unique and epic items.

Hyeonu made up his mind and placed the three rings on the altar.

[Material for the production of the giant relic ‘Infinite Valor’ 1/3.]

[Material for the production of the giant relic ‘Infinite Valor’ 2/3.]

[Material for the production of the giant relic ‘Infinite Valor’ 3/3.]

A message window popped up every time he removed a ring and placed them on the altar. It was a sign that Hyeonu’s thoughts weren’t wrong.

[All the materials for the production of the giant relic ‘Infinite Valor’ have been gathered.]

[Do you want to produce the giant relic ‘Infinite Valor’?]

All three rings were placed on the altar, and there was a message window asking if he wanted to make it.

“Produce it,” Hyeonu answered without hesitation. He wouldn’t have taken off the rings in the first place if he hadn’t intended to make it.

[The giant relic ‘Infinite Valor’ is being produced.]

A strong glow came from the altar where the rings were placed. Then familiar numbers appeared in front of the altar. They were the numbers that would be seen in a production capsule.

[0%… 10%… 20%… 50%… 100%]

[The production is a success!]

[Checking the item that was created.]

The light grew stronger in proportion to the rising number, and it disappeared the moment that 100% appeared. Only a white ring remained in its place.

“Master dude, the ring is cool.” Tang-E marveled at the white ring on the altar. The ring was engraved with a really colorful pattern. He didn’t know what engraving meant, but it was very beautiful.

“I think so as well. Even so, it won’t be seen,” Hyeonu agreed with Tang-E’s words. The white ring in front of him was superior in appearance to any ring Hyeonu wore. Still, this didn’t mean anything. He was going to put the gauntlet on top of it anyway. It was extremely rare for this ring to appear on the outside.

‘Item Information.’

Hyeonu picked up the ring and looked at the item information. It was his responsibility to check the item after making it, even more so if it was made by sacrificing precious items.

[Infinite Valor]

[One of the three holy relics of the giants. Infinite Valor was held by the greatest warrior of the giant species. Symbolizes the infinite courage of the giants. It was divided into three pieces due to a matter but it was merged again.

Rating: Epic

Restrictions: 2,800 strength, 1,350 agility.

Effect: All stats +550, ‘Giant’s Valor’ can be used (cooldown time: 4 hours.)

Giant\'s Valor: The strength stat is increased by the sum of all the stats.

Duration: 10 minutes.]

“Crazy!” Hyeonu unknowingly exclaimed when he saw the item information.

It was admiration—extreme admiration. The performance of the three combined giant rings was overwhelming.

‘That’s why the three rings were originally one...’

Originally, when the three rings were called the giant set, the stats increased by 300 points for strength, 250 for physique and magic power, and 150 for the rest. Meanwhile, the newly acquired Infinite Valor increased all stats by 550. Each stat had increased by a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 400. The skills used were similar. If all the skills attached to the three rings were used, the increased strength stat was twice as much as physique and magic power.

Now all his stats increased, so it was much better. The duration even increased from five minutes to ten minutes. It was a huge upgrade.

‘It was good to combine it.’

However, there weren’t only good things. It was a painful loss that the passive skill of the set effect had flown away. The passive skill that increased the strength stat by 100% was blown away.

‘It is still okay.’

He wasn’t trying to convince himself. It was really okay. He could wear two more rings. It was enough to supplement it with this.

Hyeonu placed the ring on his finger without hesitation. Then it happened at this moment. A new message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[The Best Warrior of the Giants (2/2) has been equipped.]

[The two-part set effect is applied.]

[All stats +500.]

[‘Symbol of the Giants’ Armed Force’ can be used.]

[Symbol of the Giants\' Armed Force: The strength stat is increased by 150%.]

“This is truly crazy!” Hyeonu exclaimed after checking the message window. It had evolved again. The set effect was much better than before.

‘How many stats is this?’

Hyeonu was astonished by his stats, which had soared like crazy. He also felt expectant about the feast of numbers that would be displayed when he checked the status window.

‘Status Window.’

[Character Name: Gang Hyeonu

Level: 393

Class: Preliminary Commander of the Knights of Keon

Title: Successor of the Chaos Dragon and 42 others.

Stats: Strength: 1,620 (+7,550) Agility: 2,143 (+7,650) Physique: 1,261 (+7,700) Magic Power: 2,520 (+7,900) Fighting Energy: 1,707 (+7,550) Dignity: 1,199 (+7,550) Killing Intent: 1,290 (+7,550)

Remaining stat points: 0

Retained Attributes: Chaos]

“Crazy, crazy!” Hyeonu checked the status window and exclaimed pleasantly at the numbers in the status window that were clearly different from what he remembered.

‘Each one went up by nearly 900.’

Of course, there were some stats that were different. The strength, physique, and magic power stats were associated as additional stats on the existing giant ring, so the number increased was lower by 900. It still didn’t change that other players would think it was a frightening number.

‘My level is 393...’

This was the most satisfying point for Hyeonu. His stats had increased, but it felt the best that he had leveled up a lot through constant hunting. Once he reached level 400 and finished the fifth class advancement...

‘Then I can get a hint about the divine world.’

Of course, there were also expectations for the fifth class advancement itself. Hyeonu hadn’t experienced any difficulty with his fourth class advancement. There wasn’t a test like obtaining something or solving a case that other people received.

‘I was lucky.’

Nevertheless, it seemed that Hyeonu would have to take the fifth class advancement quest to know how long such luck would last. Hyeonu closed the status window and suddenly had this thought, ‘By the way, why are these two a set?’ There were definitely three giant relics. However, Hyeonu got the set effect with just two items.

‘It is strange when thinking about it.’

Hyeonu cocked his head. He couldn’t understand no matter how he thought about it.

‘I can check it for myself.’

“Tang-E,” Hyeonu called out to Tang-E, who was looking around.

“Why are you calling me, Master dude?” Tang-E approached with a cocked head at Hyeonu’s sudden call.

“Give me the bracelet for a second.”

“Huh? Are you taking it away from me?”

“Why would I steal yours? I’m asking to borrow it for a second.”

“Understood, Master dude.”

It was only after receiving a definite answer from Hyeonu that Tang-E handed Hyeonu the bracelet, Wisdom of the Sky. Hyeonu received Wisdom of the Sky, took the bracelet off that wasn’t a relic, and wore Wisdom of the Sky in its place.

“Eh?” Hyeonu made a flustered expression.