"The sun—there's a sun rising!"
"Bro, if you don't need your eyes, donate them. That's the big shot's skill!"
"Are you serious? What kind of skill can create such a ridiculously flashy effect?!"
"Do you remember? Back in those ten boss zones, there were little suns too!"
...
The small sun in the sky shone for a full three minutes before gradually dimming.
Only after the blinding light finally faded did the adventurers in Mylanne City realize—belatedly—that the once thick, viscous blood mist had become noticeably thinner.
Although it hadn't completely disappeared, it had returned to roughly the same density as the pale white fog from before.
"Where's the monster? Why is the monster gone?"
"Did that big shot just kill it?!"
At the same time, atop the cathedral,
The Lord of Mylanne, Archbishop Austen, and Knight-Commander George all wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Although they couldn't be certain whether the [Corrupted Sacred Armor] had truly been slain,
One thing was undeniable—the surrounding blood mist had indeed thinned dramatically.
Yet this conclusion brought them no sense of relief.
Because, objectively speaking, even if the three of them had joined forces, killing that armored monster would have been extremely difficult.
As for killing it in a single strike—that was practically impossible!
So who, exactly, had intervened from the shadows?
Almost simultaneously, the three of them turned their gazes toward the Vault of Ruins floating in the distance.
Faintly, they could make out a figure standing in midair, holding a longsword.
And before him, the [Corrupted Sacred Armor] was nowhere to be seen.
So… a level-300-plus monster had really been one-shot?
Caelan didn't linger. He raised a hand and swept the [Sacred Armor] on the ground into his storage space.
At the same time, a blood-red diamond appeared inside his inventory.
No matter how he tried to analyze it, Caelan couldn't determine the diamond's value. In the end, he simply stored it away, deciding not to waste time studying it further.
Then his attention returned to the armor itself.
At the same moment, a status panel for the [Sacred Armor] appeared before his eyes.
[Sacred Armor (Damaged)]
[Quality: ???]
[State: Damaged]
[Description: Equipment once worn by an incomparably powerful being. Wearing it will grant unexpected effects.]
[Effect 1: Infinite Vitality]
Each time you kill a monster, your maximum HP increases by +1.
For elite monsters and bosses, the bonus is multiplied by 10–1000 times depending on the monster's level.
[Effect 2: Blood Pool]
You may extract blood from a target to create a blood pool for yourself.
The blood pool can absorb a portion of the damage on your behalf.
[Effect 3: Damaged]
After reading the effects of the [Sacred Armor],
Caelan couldn't help but inhale sharply.
This equipment was utterly outrageous.
Infinitely stacking HP—didn't that mean that as long as his health pool grew large enough, he would theoretically be impossible to kill?
The thought made Caelan's heart pound wildly, as if it might leap out of his chest.
But after a brief moment, he forced himself to calm down.
As broken as the [Sacred Armor] was, true invincibility was still impossible.
Otherwise, its original owner wouldn't have vanished without a trace, leaving the armor behind in the first place.
Still, no matter how he looked at it, this haul was an absolute jackpot.
Caelan shook his head slightly, already sensing the probing gazes coming from all directions.
It was time to leave.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.
[Flashstep]!
In the next instant, his figure vanished from where he stood.
Atop the cathedral,
Caelan's sudden disappearance once again left Archbishop Austen and the others deeply shaken.
"Did you see that? That guy looked incredibly young!"
"And his speed—honestly, even I'd have trouble matching it. I'd probably need to use my Awakening Skill to achieve something similar."
Hearing Old George say this, the city lord and Archbishop Austen both shook their heads.
What a joke.
Who in their right mind would casually use an Awakening Skill like that? That would be insane.
None of the three could imagine that Caelan's [Flashstep] was far stronger than any Awakening Skill they knew of.
At that moment, the old knight commander George suddenly stood up and patted his legs.
"Looks like our intervention won't be necessary after all."
"As for the cleanup, you two can handle it yourselves."
"And I think it's necessary to report what just happened to the higher authorities. A powerhouse that young—I'm very curious about his identity."
...
Meanwhile,
After leaving the Vault of Ruins, Caelan didn't go anywhere else. Instead, he headed straight for the Instance Management Center.
At that moment, Marov was humming a tune, lounging comfortably in his office.
Ever since he'd last run into that student named Caelan, reselling the various equipment materials had earned him a massive profit.
This year's outstanding performance evaluation for the Instance Management Center was practically guaranteed to include Lord Marov.
Just as Marov was basking in pleasant fantasies of a bright future—
Caelan suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Less than half a day had passed since their last meeting.
"Marov, I have some materials I need you to help me resell."
Marov: ???
...
Inside the Instance Management Center,
Miss Elimont at the front desk was full of anticipation as she took out the dinner she had prepared.
Ever since being interrupted during lunch by a guy named Caelan, she'd worked on an empty stomach until now.
And the root cause of all this misery was Marov's utterly inhumane exploitation!
Truly an evil boss!
She was already working so hard—wasn't that enough?!
Thankfully, she was clever enough to slack off a bit while Lord Marov was away, even enjoying a lovely afternoon tea. Otherwise, she would have been worked to death today!
Elimont eagerly opened her dinner.
At that very moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Hello, I need a map of Mylanne City's instances."
Elimont instinctively prepared to refuse—but when she saw who it was, her expression instantly turned ghostly pale.
"Mr. Caelan?! Weren't you just outside the city? How did you get back so fast?!"
"And… where did you come from? I clearly didn't see anyone enter the Instance Management Center!"