Chapter 21

 

Boom!!

The Tower Dragon fell to the ground.

But Suho was no longer there.

Just before the Tower Dragon hit the ground, Suho had kicked off from it and clung to the stone tower, avoiding the fall.

It was then.

 

 

The fallen Tower Dragon finally breathed its last.

Simultaneously, a flood of system notifications filled Suho’s vision.

He had finally succeeded in killing it.

‘Finally!’

Seeing the flood of notifications, Suho’s tension eased.

However, he remained vigilant until he finally descended from the stone tower and lay on the ground to catch his breath.

But his lips kept curving into a smile.

It was only natural.

He had succeeded in hunting the Tower Dragon, which no one had ever captured in both his previous and current lives.

It was then.

 

 

His level had increased.

Although it was just one creature, it was the final boss, and the experience points it provided were substantial, allowing Suho to level up.

Thanks to this, Suho reached level 40, and upon reaching level 40, he received another system perk.

The skill he gained this time was ‘Healing Spirit’.

Suho checked the information on Healing Spirit.

 

 

Healing Spirit.

It was the first area-of-effect healing skill Suho had acquired.

Suho recalled Isabella’s incredible Healing Spirit, which once healed the entire battlefield.

‘I must evolve this to its final form as well.’

Just as Suho finished checking the skill, another notification appeared.

 

 

The evaluation was complete.

But the reward was something he never expected.

Seeing the system notification, Suho was so shocked that he abruptly sat up.

‘Dragon Blood? The Dragon Blood I know? It appeared here?’

Suho couldn’t believe his eyes.

No wonder, as Dragon Blood was the signature skill of a monstrous player once called ‘Yongma’.

‘But Yongma said he obtained Dragon Blood from a different gate, not the Tower of Trials.’

The Dragon Mountain Range.

He remembered clearly because the gate’s name had left a strong impression when Yongma told him.

This meant one of two things.

Either Yongma lied, or Dragon Blood could be obtained from the Tower of Trials as well.

But it didn’t matter.

What was important was that he had obtained Dragon Blood, a skill that was both the symbol and essence of Yongma.

Suho immediately checked the information on Dragon Blood.

 

 

Indeed.

This Dragon Blood was the same growth-type skill Suho had seen before.

Moreover, Suho had already unlocked the first stage of the Dragon Blood awakening effects.

Thanks to this, the Intimidation skill he already had, which was A-rank, naturally upgraded to S-rank.

‘I never imagined I’d obtain Dragon Blood like this.’

Suho couldn’t hide his blossoming smile.

The reason was simple: with just this Dragon Blood skill, he was confident he could become much stronger in this life than he ever was in his past life.

At that moment, the corpse of the Tower Dragon, the master of the tower, began to fade away.

This was to be expected.

Unlike special monsters like Red Gain, the monsters of the tower, unlike those within gates, quickly faded away as a rule.

But then.

 

 

‘It has begun.’

Suho narrowed his eyes.

The Returning Shadow Spear had a special function.

 

 

Once all the notifications appeared, Suho finally smiled in satisfaction.

Though not listed in its information, the Returning Shadow Spear had a special option.

It was called ‘Shadow Devourer’.

While the Returning Shadow Spear was fundamentally influenced by its owner due to its plus rank, it sometimes evolved its abilities or unlocked hidden capabilities on its own.

Such weapons were often referred to as growth-type weapons.

Suho checked the updated information on the enhanced Returning Shadow Spear.

 

 

Two additional skills.

Not only had the extra option been upgraded from A-rank to S-rank, but two more S-rank skills had been added, making a total of four.

Suho quietly smirked.

‘As expected of a growth-type weapon. It’s on a different level than ordinary weapons.’

The only minor regret was that it was a spear and not a sword.

Of course, he had already considered a specific sword for a similar enhancement.

Finally, the Tower Dragon’s corpse completely vanished.

But something remained where the Tower Dragon had fallen.

Approaching closer, Suho saw it was a tooth about the size of a human fist, and his eyes widened in surprise.

‘Could it be?’

A tooth.

And a sharp one at that.

Suho quickly checked its information, hoping against hope.

 

 

Seeing the item information, Suho’s entire body shivered.

He had hoped it wasn’t true, but it was exactly what he thought.

‘To get a dragon’s fang here…!’

The byproducts of a dragon were S-rank materials by their very nature.

But they were extremely hard to collect, and only the byproducts of pure-blooded dragons, not merely draconian monsters, held such value, making them exceedingly rare and difficult to even see.

Even Suho, who was the world’s greatest swordsman, had only seen two dragons in his life.

Suho’s eyes gleamed.

‘This will be perfect for making that item.’

He had come across an unexpectedly excellent material.

Of course, it should be used to make the best possible item.

Its purpose was already decided.

‘He’s going to love this.’

Of course, it also mattered who would get involved.

Finally, everything was sorted out.

Perhaps because of the series of fortunate events, Suho no longer felt any pain.

He walked toward the exit portal that had appeared before him.

 

***

 

 

 

The Tower of Trials had been cleared.

As a result, the world, which was already noisy because of Suho, experienced another massive upheaval.

– WTF, he really conquered it?

– The Tower of Trials has been conquered!

– But wasn’t he just a newly certified Hunter today?

– Ahn Suho is a god. Ahn Suho is a god. Ahn Suho is a god. Ahn Suho is a god. Ahn Suho is a god. Ahn Suho is a god. Ahn Suho is a god……

– Mom! I want to be Ahn Suho when I grow up! Mom! I want to be Ahn Suho when I grow up! Mom! I want to be Ahn Suho when I grow up! Mom! I want to be Ahn Suho when I grow up! Mom! I want to be Ahn Suho when I grow up!……

Both offline and online were in an uproar.

Moreover, at the entrance of the Tower of Trials, various media outlets, YouTubers, and ordinary people had gathered to catch a glimpse of Suho, and as soon as the tower was conquered, everyone rushed to publish their articles.

When Suho finally emerged from the exit portal, everyone outside the safe line started taking pictures.

Click! Click! Click!

“Ahn Suho-sshi! Look over here!”

“Ahn Suho-nim! Please say a few words!”

“Ahn Suho-sshi!”

“Ahn Suho!!”

Suho stood inside the safe line that appeared upon clearing the gate, a place reserved only for conquerors, like a trophy podium.

He looked up at the sky.

The sky was so clear.

The sun had not yet set.

As Suho looked around with a refreshed expression, he soon made eye contact with Jo Jin-hwi, who was staring at him with a dazed look.

Suho raised one corner of his mouth and made a call.

The recipient was, of course, Jo Jin-hwi.

Seeing the caller, Jo Jin-hwi awkwardly answered the phone while still making eye contact with Suho.

– Hel… Hello?

“Do you believe me now?”

– …….

Jo Jin-hwi had nothing to say.

A madman.

He really did conquer the Tower of Trials solo.

Perhaps that’s why?

Feeling much lighter, Jo Jin-hwi pushed back his long hair and laughed.

– You know you’re a total lunatic, right?

“If you’re not confident, say so now. I’ll switch to another journalist.”

– To be great, one must play in a big league. Of course, I’m confident.

“Good. Did you bring the car?”

– Yes, I did.

“The yellow Ferrari, right? The symbol of the golden paparazzo. I’ll be in the parking lot soon, so keep the engine running and wait for me.”

Jo Jin-hwi chuckled at that.

His expression showed surprise that Suho even knew about his car.

Nonetheless, he went to get the car ready, and Suho looked around once more.

At that moment, he saw some black vans approaching, cutting through the crowd.

People poured out of the stopped vans, and Suho immediately recognized who they were.

They were employees of the Korean Hunter Association.