Chapter 334: Epic Skill, Miracle of Shedding Scales, Star Spirit Base

As the voice of the Underground City’s will sounded, the mandatory settlement of the Summer Crown had fully begun.

But at that moment, Lance was surprised to find that he and Nieve, who was pressed on top of him, seemed to be undergoing completely different settlement processes.

Because this was what he saw on his panel:

[Settlement in progress…]

[Detected that you have achieved “Planting the Flag in the Royal City” within the scope of this Earth-Sundering Monarchy: Crimson Rebellion!]

[You have achieved the number one overall ranking within this scope!]

[The final, independent coronation ceremony will now commence for you…]

‘It’s a mess. The rules for the Summer Crown have gone completely haywire.’

Lance couldn’t help but shake his head as he heard the settlement notification.

It seemed his performance in the Lord’s Certificate had somehow been integrated into the Earth-Sundering Monarchy, crediting him for things he hadn’t even done.

Nieve’s settlement, on the other hand, seemed much more standard.

Because she possessed the Iron Guard Seal she had previously obtained on the back of her hand, the Underground City still retained her basic settlement privileges.

Just as Nieve successfully obtained a high-level title, a dazzling pillar of starlight suddenly descended from the dome of the great hall, enveloping her completely.

Bathed in the starlight, Nieve’s body began to slowly lift off the ground.

The Summer Crown’s traditional honor mechanism had been activated.

Any Adventurer who obtained a title and ranked in the top ten of the entire Underground City’s total points would trigger this “Glorious Return” mechanism upon settlement completion.

The system would teleport them directly to the central plaza of the Public Safety Zone to receive the admiration and cheers of everyone.

Seeing that she was being forcibly taken away by the starlight while Lance remained behind, Nieve instantly panicked.

She struggled desperately, trying to reach out and grab Lance below.

“Isn’t Lance coming with Nieve?”

Her cool, aloof face was filled with confusion.

“Don’t panic! I triggered a hidden achievement and have to take part in a final, separate settlement. It’ll take a little time.”

Lance stood up and looked at the girl being pulled into the air by the pillar of light, reassuring her loudly.

“Listen to me.”

“As soon as you’re teleported back to the safety camp, leave the Underground City immediately and find Julius and the others! Tell them what happened here!”

“Don’t worry about my safety. I promise, the moment the settlement is over, I’ll come find you right away!”

Hearing this, Nieve didn’t agree immediately.

She bit her lip, staring intently into Lance’s eyes.

“Then this time, Lance absolutely cannot lie to Nieve again!”

“I promise you! I absolutely won’t lie!”

Lance held up three fingers in a swearing gesture.

The moment he finished speaking, the pillar of starlight suddenly contracted and shot toward the sky.

Nieve’s figure flickered within the light before she was forcibly taken from this companion domain by the Underground City’s will.

With Nieve’s departure, the vast Bronze Hall fell silent, leaving Lance all alone.

“Phew…”

Lance let out a long sigh of relief and glanced around at the bronze statues still kneeling on the floor.

‘Looks like this final, independent coronation really does need a little time to prepare.’

He calculated in his head.

If the information he had seen in the Illustrated Guide for Cassis of the Crimson Bell of Death was correct, then as the first person to complete the “Planting the Flag in the Royal City” achievement, he should be considered the undisputed number one on the overall leaderboard across the dozen or so Underground Cities affected by this ritual!

‘This is probably what those madmen from the Crimson Bell of Death were trying to seize at all costs.’

But he couldn’t just stand around idly during this free time while waiting for the settlement to arrive.

‘This is the perfect time to take stock of the rich rewards from that boss fight.’

Killing a top-tier Heroic Spirit like that…

Not to mention, the notifications that had frantically popped up on his system panel during the battle had already flooded his message log.

He clearly remembered that right before Galeos turned into starlight and completely dissipated, several items had definitely dropped in that crater.

Loot drops.

This was Lance’s absolute favorite part of this world, bar none!

Lance turned and walked briskly to the edge of the massive crater he had created by slamming his hammer into Galeos.

He peered down.

Sure enough!

On the shattered bronze slabs at the bottom of the crater, several items lay quietly, emitting a strange glow.

‘Jackpot!’

Lance’s eyes lit up instantly. He jumped into the crater and picked up all the loot.

The first item was a metal badge of simple, ancient design, engraved with the image of a Bronze Dragon.

The moment Lance’s finger touched the badge, it immediately transformed into a stream of light, merging directly into his body and settling into the Source Melting Furnace.

‘As expected. Drops of rare quality or higher in the Underground City are all bind-on-pickup.’

This badge was the legendary guaranteed reward that was said to always drop after killing a Heroic Spirit: the [Epic Skill Crystal].

Through this crystal, Lance could randomly draw and instantly master a powerful Skill or related Knowledge from all the abilities the slain Heroic Spirit possessed in life.

Moreover, the Skill drawn would definitely be one of the Heroic Spirit’s core or most famous abilities!

However, recalling the entire fight with Galeos, Lance frowned slightly.

‘During this descent, Galeos chose the Legend of the “Hydra” as his vessel.’

‘That might have resulted in a limitation.’

In that battle, Galeos fought like a brute, relying entirely on the Hydra’s physical resilience.

Aside from basic physical Power, he hadn’t displayed any of the exquisite combat techniques or Spell abilities that a Bronze Dragon with years of battlefield experience should have possessed.

This meant that although Heroic Spirits were powerful, when summoned by the Underground City, their abilities were still restricted by the “Legend” concept they chose.

The Skill Crystal, however, wouldn’t be subject to this limitation; it would draw from the most complete version of the Heroic Spirit.

Lance analyzed inwardly.

A Skill extracted from a King Level Heroic Spirit would, at worst, be of Extraordinary Level strength. If he was lucky, it wasn’t impossible to pull a Legendary Skill directly.

But this crystal was just the standard guaranteed reward that every descended Heroic Spirit dropped—an appetizer at best.

What truly made Lance excited were the two remaining items.

Those were the main course!

Lance turned his gaze to the other two items in his hand.

He didn’t know if the Underground City also had a hidden “guaranteed premium drop on first kill” mechanic.

In any case, this was the first time Galeos had descended and been killed.

The items he dropped were so good they were almost absurd.

The first of these items was a huge, dark purple scale with a rippling, water-like pattern on its surface.

The appearance of this item completely exceeded Lance’s expectations.

‘Did getting killed nine times in a row completely break his spirit?’

Lance thought with a touch of wicked amusement as he pinched the scale.

Because this scale was the product of Galeos completely materializing and stripping away the Legend concept he was embodied by: the “Miracle of Shedding Scales”!

The nature of this item was similar to the “Thousand Descendants’ Blessing” he had obtained before.

It could be said to be the very foundation that allows a Heroic Spirit to endure in the Star Realm.

As long as this Legend continued to circulate in the Material Realm, those who believed in and knew of it would provide a continuous stream of Mental Power to sustain the Heroic Spirit’s existence.

Yet Galeos had now chosen to completely strip it away and let it become a drop.

This meant the Tyrant felt the shame of being killed nine times was too great, and he never intended to use this pathetic Legend again!

‘This is good stuff.’

Lance pinched the heavy Snake Scale.

He planned to wait until the Summer Crown settlement was complete and he had received his final title before considering the specific use of this Snake Scale.

Because this type of materialized Legend concept could apparently be adapted and fused with obtained titles!

Even if he ultimately found that it didn’t match his title, Lance could still use his [Foreigner] Source Material to forcibly use it to strengthen his existing Source Material.

This was something no one else could even compare to.

No matter how he handled it, this was a sure win.

And the last item Lance picked up was also the most valuable.

It was a pale golden orb of light sealed within a diamond-shaped crystal: the [Star Spirit Base].

Inside this small orb of light was stored the Heroic Spirit Specialty that Galeos possessed.

Although he didn’t know which one it was yet, judging from the recent battle…

…it was a total cheat.