CH 470

After rescuing the captives, Minhyuk asked the dolphins to carry them and bring them to a nearby island.

“I will get the ship that we will need for battle. As for the equipment, you can wear these.”

However, even after equipping them with the items that he picked up from the pirates, it seemed like it was still difficult for the captives to go into battle all at once. From what Minhyuk could see, it was better for them to get some grub and a bit of rest before joining the fight.

So, he let them be for a while.

After distributing the equipment that he acquired from the pirates earlier, Minhyuk turned to look at Gorfido and asked, “Is there a way to make a ship sink with one strike?”

As a great pirate, Gorfido’s knowledge about ships was unrivaled. He explained, “There is. It’s simple. All you have to do is create a hole at the bottom of the ship. If there’s a hole there, then the water will pour inside and fill it up. If that happens, you can easily topple it over. However, most of the ships right now are designed and created with mages so that no one could blast through the bottom and create a hole. You need to at least have a magic power that’s far stronger than the mage that created the ship, or enough attack power to deal a huge amount of damage in one go.”

A ship was completely different from a wall. If a part of the wall collapsed, the soldiers could easily settle in that gap and defend against the enemy attacks. On the other hand, if a hole was created in a ship, water would flow inside and force it to sink. That was why most pirate ships were created with the help of the mages.

“The problem here is… are you even capable of blasting through that part of the ship? That’s a very difficult feat. I say your damage output is not even close enough to put a tiny dent on it.”

Minhyuk nodded at Gorfido’s words. It was true. Although Minhyuk had dealt tremendous damage and caused a huge impact on the Black Skull Pirate’s ship earlier, he still failed to blast through and create a hole in the ship. Of course, he could probably drill a hole large enough to force that ship to sink if he slammed into it another twenty more times, but that method would take too long, especially if they were in a large-scale war.

“Will it be possible if I increase my damage?”

At Minhyuk’s question, Gorfido recalled the man’s attack, ‘It was truly a shocking attack. One of the strongest attacks that I have ever seen in my life.’

With Gorfido’s long life and experiences at sea, he knew that it was nigh impossible to sink a ship with just one attack. However, after seeing Minhyuk’s attack earlier and the power that caused a series of explosions…?

“Perhaps it’s possible.”

Gorfido did not know how much more Minhyuk could increase his damage, nor how much stronger he could become. But, it seemed possible for him to sink a ship with the attack that he did earlier.

“Alright. That answer is good enough,” Minhyuk nodded while taking out the aqua stones from his inventory. The Kraken King, or Sukhoe, had gifted Minhyuk with more than 700 aqua stones before. After wiping out the pirates that chased after him earlier, he had also acquired around 800 aqua stones. Aqua stones worked like ‘Reinforcement Stones’.

Typical reinforcement stones, there would be penalties like a minus reinforcement or artifact disintegration upon failure. The probability of getting a minus reinforcement that would need a higher maintenance was also higher.

As for aqua stones, they belonged to a higher level of reinforcement stones. Upon failure of reinforcement, as long as one was using an aqua stone, they would not suffer from any minus reinforcement or artifact destruction. This was the main reason why aqua stones were traded at high prices. It was also a very popular reinforcement stone since there was no need to use an anvil during reinforcement.

After taking out the aqua stones in his inventory, Minhyuk took out the ‘Continent Destroyer Sword’, the very same sword that Brod had passed onto him. It was the sword that cut down more than a million enemies.

What would happen if this sword got reinforced?

‘To be honest, I know that it’s extremely hard to add even a +1 reinforcement to a legendary rank artifact.’

Indeed, legendary rank artifacts with a +10 reinforcement were extremely rare, to the point that they were non-existent. That was how hard it was to reinforce. As for legendary rank artifacts with reinforcement beyond +11?

There was none.

‘That reinforced artifact would be equivalent to God-rank artifacts in power, right?’

Reinforcing artifacts at the legendary level was extremely difficult. It was so difficult that everyone deemed it impossible at this point in time. Generally, the + effect of the reinforcement was dependent on the rank of the artifact. The higher the rank, the higher the + effect.

At the end of the day though, reinforcement was mainly due to luck.

‘And I…’

Minhyuk quickly checked his DEX. He had been constantly increasing his DEX to the point that it had already exceeded the 4,500 mark. And that was not all, he also had Ellie’s Kitchen Knife’s special effect, the effect that allowed him to ‘double his DEX’. In other words, the effect of his DEX was at around 9,000 now, a DEX that no other player could ever hope to achieve. It was to be noted that DEX could also play a role, albeit only slightly, on ‘luck’, a factor that was needed during reinforcements.

What would happen if a 9,000 DEX’s slight effect affected the reinforcement?

‘Well, it’s worth a try.’

Gorfido, who watched Minhyuk pull out the aqua stones from his inventory, could tell that the sword in his hands wielded an extraordinary power. He thought, ‘I can hear the cries of those that died under the blade of that sword. Just how many enemies has that sword cut down?’

The sword was definitely extraordinary. And to reinforce a sword like that? Gorfido believed that it was impossible. But just as that thought flashed in Gorfido’s head, Minhyuk began the reinforcement process.

“Reinforce!”

[You have achieved ‘perfect’ reinforcement.]

[Despite achieving a ‘perfect’ reinforcement, the aqua stone’s power is not enough to reach the sword.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

“Reinforce!”

[You have achieved ‘perfect’ reinforcement.]

[Despite achieving a ‘perfect’ reinforcement, the aqua stone’s power is not enough to reach the sword.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

“Reinforce!!!”

[You have achieved ‘perfect’ reinforcement.]

[Despite achieving a ‘perfect’ reinforcement, the aqua stone’s power is not enough to reach the sword.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

“Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce!”

The aqua stones in Minhyuk’s hands began to deplete at a rapid pace. What was the point of achieving a perfect reinforcement if the reinforcement kept on failing? This just showed how hard it was to reinforce an outstanding sword like the Continent Destroyer Sword.

“Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce!”

In a blink, more than 300 aqua stones, an ultra-expensive reinforcement stone that priced at around one platinum per two stones, disappeared. They disappeared like snow melting under the hot and glaring sun.

“Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce!!!”

Quickly, Minhyuk used up another 100 aqua stones. Deep inside, he felt his stomach twist in regret, ‘Sob… how many chickens can I buy with this many aqua stones! What a waste!!!’

Minhyuk felt like someone took millions of chickens away from him. Still, he did not stop.

“Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce!!!”

He consumed another 100 in an instant.

“Tch, tch. With that sword’s power, you won’t be able to reinforce it with such a trivial and weak reinforcement stone,” Gorfido clicked his tongue, judging that the reinforcement would never be successful.

Although Minhyuk felt his heart throb in pain with how wasteful he was being, he knew something, ‘It might be impossible to reinforce a God Rank Artifact using the normal method but…’

Minhyuk held God’s Ore Vlad, the ore that he obtained after sealing Great Demon Verus. It was superior to any reinforcement stone in existence. Even Minhyuk, who had gathered a lot of information about Athenae, did not know much about it. He was the only one that acquired these superior reinforcement stones and he only had three in his hands at most. So, should he just use these three reinforcement stones just like that?

Of course not.

‘There’s always the law of reinforcing, a law that has been passed down since the old RPG era! And that is to make offerings before doing the actual reinforcement!’

Before these virtual reality games came out, countless old RPG games also had the concept of ‘reinforcement’. And in those games, it was natural to make a lot of sacrifices before doing the actual reinforcement of an outstanding artifact. As an example, after reinforcing a novice’s ‘rusty dagger’ to +9, they would use it as a sacrifice and let it evaporate to dust before reinforcing the artifact that they wanted. After letting everything evaporate, they would have that one burst of ‘luck’.

This was the way of the old!

However, this was mostly some sort of myth and superstition. But at this point in time, even if there was only a slight possibility of it becoming successful, Minhyuk believed that it was still worth a try. In a blink, there were only forty aqua stones left in his hands.

“Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce! Reinforce!”

Minhyuk, who was continuously trying to reinforce his sword, suddenly stopped his hands.

“…?!”

[You have achieved ‘perfect’ reinforcement.]

[You have successfully applied a +1 reinforcement to the Continent Destroyer Sword.]

[Congratulations! This is an unprecedented event! You are the first one to successfully reinforce a God-rank Artifact!]

[You have gained 100 REP.]

[You have received a +1% increase in all five of your basic stats.]

“…”

Minhyuk was speechless. He did not know if he should be happy or sad. He tried to increase his luck by sacrificing all of the aqua stones in his hands before using God’s Ore Vlad for his final reinforcement. However, he actually succeeded before his intended goal.

‘What’s this? This is probably a one in ten thousand kind of chance, but I was able to successfully reinforce it?’

It was a complete and total mess. But after checking, Minhyuk was very much surprised.

“My sword’s basic attack power has increased by +60?”

A sixty point increase in a sword’s attack power could have a tremendous effect on the player. For rankers, an addition of this much to their force would be able to allow them to reduce their opponent’s HP by 0.5%, a significant amount that could determine whether they would win or lose in a fight.

The power from that single reinforcement was truly amazing. Nothing else had changed but it was still a tremendous addition to his power.

As those thoughts flew in Minhyuk’s head, he quickly exhausted all of the remaining aqua stones in his hands. After using up all the aqua stones, he took a deep breath while taking out God’s Ore Vlad. God’s Ore Vlad was a precious ore that he was not sure if he could obtain again in the future. That was why he was both nervous and careful about it.

(God’s Ore Vlad)

Material Grade: God

Special Abilities:

•If the strengthening is successful, the artifact will receive +1~+5 strengthening.

•If the strengthening fails, there will be no negative consequences, whether it is a minus effect or the artifact’s destruction. 

•Upon successful strengthening, the artifact will experience better strengthening effects than normal artifact reinforcement.

Description: God’s Ore Vlad is a special ore that can only be obtained from the gods. There are rumors that the one with the greatest sword in existence used God’s Ore Vlad to create it.

That was right. Just like in the description, someone created the greatest sword in existence using God’s Ore Vlad. And now, it was time to change the ranking of that sword.

“Reinforceeeeeeeeee!!!”

[You have achieved ‘perfect’ reinforcement.]

[Despite achieving a ‘perfect’ reinforcement and using God’s Ore Vlad, it is still very difficult to reinforce this sword.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

“…!”

One God’s Ore Vlad had disappeared into dust. Minhyuk believed that the value of one God’s Ore Vlad was equivalent to around 10,000 platinum, perhaps even more than that. However…

“Reinforceeeeeeee!!!” Minhyuk shouted loudly, veins popping on his neck with how loud he was. And with his shout, the Continent Destroyer Sword was covered in a blue light. If that blue light persisted for quite a while, it would mean that the reinforcement was a success.

‘It’s, it’s blue…!’

But just as the thought flashed in Minhyuk’s head, a disappointing set of notifications rang in his ears.

[You have achieved ‘perfect’ reinforcement.]

[Despite achieving a ‘perfect’ reinforcement and using God’s Ore Vlad, it is still very difficult to reinforce this sword.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

“…”

Minhyuk was speechless as he looked up at the skies and said, “I suddenly miss my dad…”

If Kang Minhoo saw him right now, he would just chuckle at him with a kind and soft smile on his face while saying, ‘Hoho~ My dear son, gambling is bad~’. In fact, even though he was not here, Minhyuk felt that his father’s words were ringing in his ears, and very clearly at that too.

Now, Minhyuk only had one reinforcement stone left. And Gorfido, who watched Minhyuk through all of that, shook his head and turned around while thinking, ‘That man is really bonkers. Why did he suddenly look up at the sky and look for his dad?’

Truth was, Gorfido firmly believed that what Minhyuk was doing was useless. After all, he could clearly feel the ‘God of Death’’s power emanating from that sword. With a god’s power enveloping such a sword, how could a mere human dare to reinforce it, right? So, he turned his back to him to just appreciate the scenery, a scenery that he had not seen for a long time since he was trapped in the Pirate’s Grave. But then…

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

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…a fierce wind suddenly blew from behind him.

“Wha, what the hell?!”

“Ugh, aaaaack! What the hell?! Is there a mage or something?!!!”

Rumble—

Crack! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The waves of the sea suddenly turned violent as the strong wind continued to blow around them. The waves that slammed into the shores were so violent that they even broke the island’s rocks.

A thunderstorm even brewed above them!

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

Then, the fierce wind, which was a striking blue in color, swirled into a vortex before rising to the skies as if it was a dragon ascending. Gorfido quickly turned his head to look at the sky that suddenly turned dark. That was when he saw the blue wind, which was soaring to the skies just a bit earlier, fiercely rushing towards the sword in Minhyuk’s hands.

Fwoooooooooooosh—

Gorfido saw the delighted expression on Minhyuk’s face as he held the sword in his hands while it absorbed the blue wind.

‘The reinforcement… succeeded…?’

Minhyuk’s smile definitely signaled a success.