Chapter 678 Four Pillars: Fragmented Memories
Ding!
————
[Apex Hunter] (Title)
Rarity: Mythic
In history, there are many that are considered to be strong. These beings showed the masses that they had the capabilities to stand toe-to-toe with groups of beings at a similar level of strength.
Then, there are those classified to be elite. Though they showcase the same ability are those considered strong, these beings go one step further, fighting against those a level of strength normally considered higher than them without much difficulty.
Throughout the passage of time, many beings considered to be strong and elite have lived and died, with some of them even leaving an everlasting mark on the annals of history.
However, among these beings stand a being far greater than the strong and the elite, a being that is considered to be purely mythical in terms of ability.
For these beings, fighting against those that were a rank higher than them was as easy as swatting a fly. Even a large gap in levels did not deter their fighting intent, confident that their abilities would allow them to achieve victory.
Some of them were touted as legendary heroes, while some of them were touted as fiends that came from the depths of the underworld.
Nevertheless, even if the paths they ultimately led gave fruit to greater good or evil, one thing remained the same.
These beings were touted as the apex hunters of their race.
And you have become one of them.
Effects:
> +5% boost to all stats
> +20% boost to Attack and Defense
> +20% boost to damage dealt to foes that are at least one class rank higher than the user
> Reduces the efficacy of reduced damage against higher-leveled beings by 10%
————
Reading through the effects of the title, Valyr's eyes widened in surprise since it reminded him of another title he had gained through fighting against beings that were far stronger than him.
'Slayer of Ascendants.'
However, unlike 'Slayer of Ascendants', which allowed him to deal increased damage to beings that were either of a higher tier and level than him, 'Apex Hunter' increased the damage he dealt to beings that were of a higher class rank than him.
Due to the ambiguity of its description, Valyr faintly wondered whether the difference needed for the effect to happen was one full rank in terms of levels or just their literal class rank.
'If it's the latter, then even those at Level 56 would receive far more damage than I would usually deal,' thought the young man to himself, daydreaming about the possibility of the effect having existed while he fired the shot at the quadrant leader.
Nevertheless, this daydream did not last too long as he recalled the final effect given to him by the new title. 'To be honest, I wasn't expecting to come across this effect again.'
Naturally, Valyr was talking about the reduced efficacy of the Damage Restriction System.
After fighting against the Level 100 quadrant leader, the young man realized that the reduced efficacy of the system was far more valuable than he had initially thought.
After all, from what he had seen while fighting the quadrant leader, the damage he dealt to the quadrant leader consistently reached over 30,000 while it was still Level 90.
However, once it had reached Level 100, reaching the same value was only possible after utilizing multiple buffs and making use of the True Shadow Corruption effect [Memento Mori] inflicted.
'With this title's effects working with 'Slayer of Ascendants', fighting those at the peak of Rank 5 would become far easier.' Thinking about how difficult the fight would be if he didn't have access to such an effect, Valyr soon became incredibly thankful for it.
'Then again, there's also the option of ascending to a higher class rank,' thought the young man to himself soon after as he chuckled. 'But I would definitely be missing on opportunities like this if I were to do so.'
Deciding not to think any further about hypothetical scenarios regarding levels and class ranks, Valyr closed the screen in front of him as he took a look at Hal and the others.
Unsurprisingly, with the amount of time that had already passed since the quadrant leader's death, the four had more or less returned to their peak conditions, even if they appeared to be somewhat haggard.
Though, with their contribution to the quadrant leader fight being counted by the system, their expressions had also returned to what it was before, with almost all of them having relaxed yet jubilant expressions.
After all, they had gained the eligibility to enter the Gates of Awakening whenever they instead.
However, there was something to this idea that slightly bothered Valyr.
'Am I the only one among them that gained access to the Gates of Enlightenment?'
Recalling the rewards he would gain from completing the Gates of Enlightenment's final quest, Valyr vividly remembered that he would gain an entrance token that would allow him to return to the courtyard, which the system had confirmed after the quadrant leader's death.
Yet, with no one talking about gaining the opportunity to return to the Gates of Enlightenment again, Valyr began to wonder whether the system had given him a slightly different quest that had him do more or less the same thing.
In the end, the young man shrugged his shoulders as he let out a faint sigh. 'Then again, there's also the possibility that they're just hiding that information from me.'
With that, he stood up as he told the others that they were going to head back to the south quadrant to get some rest for the night before tackling the trial the Gates of Awakening would give them.
Though, just as the others stood up in response to his words, while doing a bit of stretching, Valyr had noticed something sparkling barely jutting out of the quadrant leader's corpse.
"Hmm?" Stopping his stretching at this discovery, Valyr moved closer to the corpse and squatted over the area he saw the sparkling item at to get a better look.
'Is this similar to the key fragment the aberrations in the plains would drop?' With this thought in mind, Valyr pulled the sparkling item out of the corpse, allowing him to get a better look at it.n/-O)-v(-ε-)L--b/.I-)n
Unlike the key fragments he and the others collected from the aberrations back then, the sparkling item Valyr held up looked more like a shattered piece of an orb.
In fact, under the rays of the sun, the fragment glowed a resplendent array of colors, causing the item to have an otherworldly feel to it.
Deciding to see whether his earlier suspicions were correct, Valyr activated [Superior Analysis], thinking that the item was a key fragment that would lead him to a secret place within the Gates of Awakening or something.
After all, the quest they just completed had given them entry to the Gates of Awakening.
Yet, as he looked at the screen that popped up in front of him, the skill told him that the item was not a key fragment at all.
Instead, it was a memory fragment.
