Second Life Ranker

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Henova had been silently hammering metal for several hours. Gyges’ Eyes had been disassembled and laid out next to him, along with the shell pieces and the molted skin. The first thing that Henova was planning to craft was the abdominal section of the armor. There were a lot of attacks that targeted the stomach area, and so it was the place that needed the most work.

Henova was planning on making an entire set including gauntlet, belt, pants, boots, and a mask. He had developed a good idea for a set called the “Magic series” before, and he was thinking of putting all its benefits and additional effects into the set he was making for Yeon-woo. ‘Magic.’

A bitter smile appeared on his face. He never thought he’d ever finish it. The first of the set, the Magic Bayonet, was supposed to go to someone else. However, it seemed like its current owner was using it well.

Henova sometimes wondered if the Magic Bayonet had never been fated to go to the person it was intended for. Perhaps it found another destiny. As someone who had worked with metal for a long time, he believed that metal had fate too.

Although it was only an object when it was still a material, once metal was formed into an object and used, a vestige would enter it and it would become almost sentient. From what Henova could see, even though the Magic Bayonet never reached its intended owner, it was happy with Yeon-woo. And so, Henova wanted to make companions for the Magic Bayonet, ones who could walk on its thorny path with it. “This isn’t just an update but the creation of a completely new item. That rude bastard is exploiting an elder.” Henova stretched and complained to himself, but there was a smile on his lips.

He hadn’t yet made a decision on how he would alter Gyges’ Eyes. At first, he’d thought about just adding more things to it, but then he figured it wouldn’t be enough. “Hmm.” His forehead wrinkled, and he waved his hand in the air. A holographic window appeared.

[Player Information]

[*Physical InformationName: ???Planet of Origin: ???Inclination: Neutral (Evil 61%)Height: 182 cmWeight: 89 kgTraits: Cold Blooded, ???, ???, AsceticTitles: Monster Hunter, Blessed by Mana, Successor to the Legendary Beasts, One Who Leads Death, Successor to the Monkey King][*Physical AbilitiesStrength: 812 (+90)Dexterity: 851 (+101)Health: 778 (+88)Magic Power: 1,052 (+152)[*Skills??? (51.2%), Extrasensory Perception (15.9%), Precognition (2.0%), Time Difference (8.9%), Bathory’s Vampiric Sword (42.8%), Holy Fire (10.8%), Shunpo (68.9%), Magic Circuit (70.1%), Heaven Wing Mana Control (48.6%), Eight Extreme Fists (80.2), Blessing of the Blue Spirit (18.0%), Fire Rain (5.5%), Open Speaking (15.6%), 72 Bian (1.2%)][*PropertiesFire: 102 (+201)Water: 35 (+30)....Darkness: 88 (+65)Evil: 30 (+100)....]

It was Yeon-woo’s status window. At first Henova had tried to guess Yeon-woo’s weight and height, but Yeon-woo just left him with all the information. It was something only a trusting person would do—or in this case, Henova suspected that Yeon-woo simply trusted him that much. Henova was flabbergasted because he never expected Yeon-woo to hand over his status window just like that.

Of course, all the important things were marked as ???, but it wasn’t hard to guess what they might be. Still, with this information Henova could quickly map out a path for Yeon-woo’s items. However, the master blacksmith still encountered a challenge. Although it wasn’t hard to get materials or supplies—most of them had already been provided by Yeon-woo and he had money to buy more—Henova was facing a dilemma in terms of how to balance out the items.

Yeon-woo’s abilities were centered on magic power and dexterity, which meant that Henova could give him flexible, light armor. However, the lower its weight was, the lower its protective level would be.

Also, the shell pieces of the Abyss Turtle were pretty heavy. Even if he cast lightning magic on it, the material was so tough that it would decrease movement, and he couldn’t make armor out of cloth. “Hmmm. Who would ever expect that he’s a player on the lower floors?”

Yeon-woo probably had the ability to defeat most rankers, and he would keep growing even before he reached the fiftieth floor. Henova’s reputation was on the line, and he had to make something that would do him and Yeon-woo justice. He continued deliberating, his eyes fixed on the name and the planet with question marks.  

***

Crack! Crack! Each time he moved, Yeon-woo could feel his joints popping. He exhaled deeply as he felt relief. Unlike Henova, he wasn’t used to sitting or standing in one place unless he was meditating, and he had to stretch his muscles.

Loosening the tightness of his body after such a long period of concentration felt good, and the night air felt fresh. After confirming that there wasn’t anyone around with his Extrasensory Perception, Yeon-woo decided that he was in the perfect place to train. Still, just to be on the safe side, he summoned Boo through the Black Bracelet. ‘Boo, defense.’

「I obey…your…orders…」 A bluish haze appeared over the territory of the Extrasensory Perception, creating a sturdy barrier. This type of defensive magic needed a great deal of knowledge, but Boo had grown so rapidly that he could do it already. Rune magic suited Boo better than he’d expected, and he was a perfect Lich.

Next, Yeon-woo said, “Nemesis. Nike.” He felt something leaving the Philosopher’s Stone in his heart, and the giant Nemesis along with the chest-height Nike appeared in front of him.

‘I still can’t get used to it.’ The names were still awkward in his mouth, and he felt that Growl and Chirpy were more affectionate and nice. However, seeing the confidence on the faces of the two after receiving their new names, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

『You’d better not be thinking about changing our names again. Our contract will really be broken.』

『Why did you call us, Master?』 Nike’s head was tilted in a cute manner. Even though he and the strong Nemesis were both Legendary Beasts, their personalities were completely different.

“You guys seem to have changed a lot, and I wanted to check on you.”

『You mean check our skills? That’s a good idea.』

『Hehehe, Master, you’ll be really surprised when you see how much stronger I’ve gotten!』 Nike covered his beak with his wing and giggled, his eyes curved as though he were amused by something.

“Should we start with you, Nike?”

『No, start with Nemesis. The main attraction is supposed to be last!』

Where had he heard that before? Yeon-woo laughed. Nemesis stepped up without saying much, as though he were Nike’s mature older brother who took care of him.

“Did the Philosopher’s Stone help?”

Nemesis nodded. 『Of course! It helped me change my level.』

Yeon-woo’s expression changed. “It helped that much?”

『Yeah, if it hadn’t been for the stone, I don’t know how long I would have needed to recover my strength. Maybe dozens of years? I would have forgotten things, too.』

Yeon-woo had thought that Nemesis was only sleeping in the Philosopher’s Stone, and it was only now that he realized that he’d been healing himself. Although he’d been in the egg, it hadn’t been enough time. Now that he had the powers of a Mythical Beast, the new properties he’d learned when he was in the nothingness, and the powers of the Legendary Beasts from Yeon-woo, the Philosopher’s Stone had given him a chance to recover and grow.

『How did you get this mysterious stone?』 Nemesis was curious since he’d never heard of anything that was as powerful as a Dragon Heart.

However, Yeon-woo evaded his question, worrying that Nemesis and Nike would be disgusted to discover the provenance of the stone. He decided to block off any information about the stone for a while, and it was a relief that they could only access a small amount of information about it.

“Let’s check on you first.”

『All right.』 Nemesis lifted his head to look at the sky. 『Do you know know anything about the skills I possessed before?』