Chapter 299

Chapter 299
Chapter 299

After handing over the corpse, Sungyoon borrowed a small room . He then looked over the Device he had acquired from the armored Connector .
‘I was lucky . ’
The opportunities to kill a high rank Connector like that man without getting wounded were few and far between, and Sungyoon had been rewarded for grasping this opportunity .
For a brief moment, he looked at his own Devices and Gems . He had experienced many fierce battles recently, and his Gems had experienced rapid growth . His sword, halberd, ax, and hammer, all had evolved to Ruby rank, the fourth highest rank amongst the Jewel rank Gems .
The Gravity magic Gem had reached Silver rank, and the Earth magic Gem was now Gold rank . The Strength Enhancement Gem had been upgraded to Jade rank, and his shield had climbed to Platinum rank .
After all his weapons had reached Ruby rank, he had swapped them with a new set of Gems . He had been focusing on evolving his cloak and another strength-enhancing Gem . Both of them had evolved to Jade rank . As a cherry on top, he even raised the Sense Enhancement Gem and the Strength Doubling Gem to Platinum rank .
Anyone who had fought Sungyoon before would've noticed his increase in power if they were to fight again .
Even without the Bone Gem, Sungyoon had become plenty strong .
‘Let’s see . ’
Sungyoon now moved on to the armored Connector’s Device and Gems . Similar to Sungyoon's devices, many Gems were slotted into the bracelet type Device . The Device wasn’t shaped like a conventional bracelet that clasped around one’s wrist . It spiraled upward from the wrist to the forearm as if it were a snake winding up the arm .
‘This is why he could slot so many Gems . ’
The Device contained thirteen Gems, but a total of twenty-six slots, most of them being high rank . Ten of the twenty-six were Ruby rank slots, and ten were Emerald rank . The remaining six were Sapphire rank slots, which could house the second-highest rank Gem in the Jewel Gems .
Moreover, all the slots were universal, and it didn’t matter what the Gems were shaped like .
‘I can decrease the number of Devices that I wear . ’
Sungyoon found it annoying to equip a lot of Devices . He welcomed the chance to wear a Device that slotted a massive number of Gems .
After the Device, he turned to the Gems . Most of them weren't to Sungyoon’s taste . He had a Ruby rank Evolution Gem, and this cheat could help him acquire many high rank Gems .
In contrast, the armored Connector possessed a good number of low rank Gems . Moreover, a lot of these Gems' abilities overlapped with the abilities Sungyoon's Gems had . They mostly increased one’s strength .
Of course, he would take them, but he wasn’t interested in them .
‘I’ll take the shield . ’
Sungyoon picked up the cross-shaped Ruby Gem . Until now, Sungyoon had lost his shields the most in battles . The one he carried right now was something he had bought with money .
‘Four of my shields have been destroyed until now . ’
Aside from the disposable Gem that he had used to evolve another Gem and the multiple destroyed shield Gems, Sungyoon had lost only one other Gen, the spear Gem .
Therefore, Sungyoon was delighted to acquire a new shield . He immediately activated the Gem, and a new shield appeared in Sungyoon’s hand . The top of the shield was straight, and the curved sides met at a point on the bottom . When most people thought about European medieval shields, this was the shape that would come to mind . It was a Heater shield .
The shield was large enough to completely protect his upper body .
‘It's a sturdy one . ’
Unlike most of his Jewel rank equipment, the shield didn’t possess any special abilities . However, it did possess a special characteristic—its unusual sturdiness .
Sungyoon was satisfied with it .
‘The best characteristics for defensive gear are durability and sturdiness . ’
Defensive gear had only one purpose: blocking attacks . For them, durability and sturdiness were more important than any random ability that came with a high rank Gem .
This idea was reinforced by the fact that Sungyoon's shield had been destroyed four times .
‘This shield can sufficiently block weapons that are one rank above it . ’
Sungyoon didn’t hesitate in turning his current shield into his backup shield . He decided to use the Heater shield as his main shield . Since this shield was higher in rank, he didn’t need to think about swapping it out .
He then tried swinging it in various directions .
‘I need to use it in battles if I want to get familiar with it . ’
This wasn’t a problem for Sungyoon . In the current atmosphere, it was clear that the army of monsters would continue to attack humanity . He would be fighting an awful lot of battles .
Next, Sungyoon checked the mace .
‘Magical energy amplification?’
The mace was capable of amplifying the effects of support magic including healing spells .
‘This should go to Ms . Emily . ’
Sungyoon immediately had that thought .
‘The armored Connector healed and buffed himself in the fight . ’
Sungyoon had also found very high rank healing Gems and Support Gems in the lot he had gained .
‘I’ll just hand all of this to Ms . Emily . That'll be for the best . ’
This time, he took out the armor . The armor was Ruby rank too .
Moreover, it was similar to the shield . It didn’t have any extra abilities other than being extra durable and sturdy . However, Sungyoon didn’t feel the need to swap out his current armor . Still, he was pleased with acquiring a backup armor .
‘I’ll have to get rid of this . ’
Sungyoon had kept various pieces of armors in case his main armor was destroyed . He no longer needed them . They were Orange rank boots, Yellow rank bracers, leg guards, and a helmet .
Even if these Gems were rare, a Connector of Sungyoon’s caliber carried them as backup gear . He even found that thought to be absurd, so he shook his head from side to side .
‘I’ll donate it to the company . ’
It would be given to the Connectors who would be juniors to him in the company . Of course, this was all assuming Armstrong city and the Moon returned to normal .
Lastly, Sungyoon looked at the Emerald Gem . This was the first time he had set eyes on such a high rank Gem . It was the third-highest rank amongst the Jewel rank Gem .
Sungyoon activated it .
‘It's another special ability Gem . ’
When he saw the hexagonal shape, he had thought about all the possibilities .
‘This can increase the ability of an equipped Gem to correspond with the rank of the slot . ’
This meant that Sungyoon could slot the lowest Rainbow rank Gem into the highest Jewel rank slot . He could put a Purple Gem into a Diamond rank slot, and by activating this Emerald rank Gem, the Purple rank Gem would perform like a Diamond rank Gem .
It was a special ability Gem that was very narrow in scope, but had the potential to become a boon for Sungyoon .
‘He was supposed to be weakened on Earth, yet his mace was unusually powerful . Was this the reason?’
The man had probably slotted his Ruby rank Gem into the Sapphire rank slot and used the special ability . Thus, the Ruby rank Gem behaved like a Sapphire rank Gem .
‘The limitation didn’t come from the ability of this Gem . He could only raise the mace's rank by one level because he only possessed a Device with a Sapphire rank slot . ’
If the armored Connector had a Device with a Diamond rank slot, he would have been able to wield power equivalent to a Diamond rank Gem .
Still, Sungyoon didn’t mind the gain . He had basically acquired the power of a Sapphire rank Gem . Now, his mind was working to decide which Gem he should use the ability on .
It didn’t take him too long to make a decision .
‘This is the only logical choice . ’
Sungyoon tapped his finger on a Gem . It was the Evolution Gem, the reason for Sungyoon's rapid growth .
‘If I can increase its ability to Sapphire rank, I should be able to evolve the other Gems into Sapphire rank . ’
There was a possibility that even the Evolution Gem would evolve itself .
Sungyoon placed the Gems into the new Device .
‘I’ll have to return this . ’
To evolve the Gems of his comrades, he had borrowed a Device with five Ruby rank universal slots from Sir Russell . He now stored that Device into his storage Gem .
Then, he started to transfer all his Gems to the new Device .
‘This is great . I can slot so many Gems at once . ’
He made sure he still had enough space to slot in six Gems for his party members . The rest twenty slots had been filled with Gems . He slotted in the Emerald rank strength-enhancing Gem that he acquired from the armored Connector alongside his own strength doubling Gem .
Unlike before, he wasn’t wearing the arm bracer, the brooch, and the numerous necklaces . He only wore two Devices, sporting a clean look; one was the Device that spiraled up from his wrist to his forearm, and the other was a large brooch on his chest .
‘I like it . It's neat . ’
Sungyoon loved his new look, and he was satisfied by the fact that he would be able to evolve his Gems further .
‘The only thing left is to fight . ’
He would probably fight until he was sick of it .
Sungyoon hardened his heart as he put the finishing touches on his newly-acquired power .
***
As Sungyoon had predicted, the monsters' attacks continued . Thankfully, after a while, a pattern in monsters' appearance was discovered, and this helped the countries avoid mass casualties . Of course, it also meant that the Connectors were fully focused on Earth .
The forces of Grenoid got their wish; humanity’s movement became greatly restricted .
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine . ”
Even though she heard Sungyoon’s words, Jimin’s face didn’t relax .
If she hadn't been driving, she would've brushed his cheek with her hand to see if he had lost weight .
Jimin's worries weren't baseless . All the Connectors capable of using their abilities on Earth, which included Sungyoon, continuously fought the monsters .
“Please go home and rest . Don’t do any work . ”
“I’ll do as you say . ”
Sungyoon didn’t feel any fatigue, but he showed an understanding of Jimin’s feelings . Without saying much, he nodded .
The two of them were heading toward their home . After Woosang and Woosung had been arrested, they had gained a new family member in Soyoung . Therefore, Sungyoon, Jimin, and Shinhae were living at Hweeyoung and Aiin’s house . However, the situation with Fabion was coming to an end . Woosung and Woosang had been deemed innocent, and they would be released in a couple of days . Then there was Plu-El, who was trying to find a place to settle down .
It was slowly time for Sungyoon and his family to return to their home .
The two of them were going to check up on their house before bringing back Shinhae .
Jimin smoothly parked her car in the driveway . They were about to walk past the front yard to enter their home when they noticed it .
“Huh?”
Jimin, who had been walking ahead, came to a stop . Sungyoon also stared at their home .
“… Light?”
Their house should be empty, yet a faint light was leaking out through the window . Sungyoon placed a hand on Jimin’s shoulder .
“Are we expecting someone today?”
“N . . . no . I didn't tell anyone about the security code . ”
“Step back . ”
Sungyoon stepped in front of Jimin as if he wanted to protect her . He then carefully moved forward as Jimin cautiously looked at him .
“Please be careful”
She spoke in a low voice full of worry .
Ggee-eek!
Sungyoon found the front door unlocked . He slowly entered the house and saw that all the lights were off . The light that was leaking outside was the light coming from the TV . Moreover, Sungyoon could hear voices coming from the TV speakers .
He slowly entered the living room . Someone was sitting on his sofa and watching the TV . The man looked as comfortable as if he were the owner of the house .
“You're here?”
Sungyoon knew this voice, and he felt a chill run down his spine . He immediately activated his Gems as he raised his guard against the man sitting on the sofa . In contrast to him, the man on the sofa was relaxed . He stood up and turned toward Sungyoon .
“You're late . ”