Shukakakakakagak!
Kwaaaaang!
Elysium’s front park, Ultimate Line’s main training ground, where deadly skills flew back and forth.
Its frame was made of magrite, the strongest metal in the universe, capable of withstanding any attack, and it was surrounded by triple-layered walls overlaid with self-regenerating leblinium and indurant, which excelled at absorbing and dispersing impact. On top of that, since the training ground was encased in an internal barrier generated by an S-rank etherium barrier generator, even S-rank Admitees could unleash their skills to their hearts’ content.
There was no need to worry about accidentally breaking a wall or blowing away a building.
Even so, there seemed to be no helping the thunderous roar produced by those mighty skills; the sounds of training rang out for hundreds of meters around.
‘For some reason, they seem even more fired up than usual...’
When Suho slipped over to visit the training ground, he saw that it must be regular training time, because all the clan members were gathered there.
And in the middle of them, he spotted the Frost Sword, Lee Danbi, a freezing swordswoman, and the Dual Sword, Lucien Dubois, a dual-wielding swordsman, sparring.
Suho was Ultimate Line’s only non-combat class, so he had long since been exempted from training, which was why he had been lazing around on his own.
But the atmosphere inside the training ground, which he peeked into, felt strangely off.
The clan members watching from the side were in an uproar, murmuring agitatedly.
‘Uh... did someone get hurt during the spar?’
At the sudden stab of unease, Suho quickened his pace, and before he knew it, he had pulled out a top-grade healing potion and was holding it in his hand.
But when he arrived, both of them were perfectly fine. No one was injured.
“Huh? Clan Master.”
“Ah, the Clan Master’s here. Good timing. Ask the Clan Master.”
“Eh? Wh-what about?”
Only then did the broken sword come into view.
Lucien Dubois’s left-hand sword was lying on the ground, snapped in two.
On the other hand, Danbi’s sword was completely intact, without so much as a scratch.
Suho could roughly guess what had happened.
“Clan Master.”
As Lucien Dubois approached Suho with a solemn expression, Suho flinched and took a step back even though he had done nothing wrong.
“Danbi’s sword... what grade is it?”
At those words, every clan member present stared at Suho with sparkling eyes.
“You explained it when you handed out the items last time, didn’t you? You said the sword you gave me was made of magrite. That it was a higher-grade metal than blacksteel, and even harder... You said there was no metal harder than this.”
“Uh... yes, that’s right.”
“But the moment it clashed with Danbi’s sword, it flew apart. Unless there’s a much stronger metal, or unless the same metal has a completely different grade or some kind of difference... this shouldn’t be possible...”
Ah, so that’s how it turned out.
By the way, magrite can break like that if it collides hard with another piece of magrite. So it’s not all-powerful and invincible...
In any case, since Suho had openly been saying all this time that magrite was the strongest metal, he could not now lie and say that, actually, there was a stronger metal. In truth, there really wasn’t.
But to openly reveal that he could create items above S-rank... that felt uncomfortable. Everyone would start expecting items that transcended S-rank, wouldn’t they?
After thinking for a moment, Suho came up with a flimsy excuse.
“Couldn’t it be something like that? The angle just happened to make it break perfectly. Like, it had no choice but to be advantageous to one sword? Or maybe the balance of force, or there was a tiny crack...”
Judging by their expressions, that was not an acceptable answer.
They all looked dumbfounded.
Diego Hernandez, the greatswordsman, answered on their behalf.
“That is a mistake only novice swordsmen make... and there is no one like that here. Every person here is a battle-hardened veteran.”
There was no way out.
Hoo. Thinking that perhaps it was time to reveal it, Suho squeezed his eyes shut.
Fine. How long am I going to keep it secret? And why should I keep this secret, anyway? The moment a Tower with more than one hundred floors appears, it’s all going to come out.
Let’s just spill it! Having made up his mind, Suho opened his mouth.
“I...”
Suho revealed almost all of the secrets he had never told his clan members before.
He left out the Cheonyangwon and the subspace warehouse, since they would be difficult to understand anyway.
The story of how, after awakening as S-rank through item collecting, he had undergone a second awakening as the Immortal Crafter.
The story of how, after that, he became able to create items exceeding S-rank, and how he used that ability to create super-enhanced androids.
And even the fact that Danbi’s sword was currently SS-rank, and that items of SS-rank or above were not easy to make.
Once he opened it all up at once, he felt refreshed.
Even the S-ranks, who could be called the pinnacle of Admitees in their own right, listened to Suho’s story with their mouths hanging open like fools, completely absorbed by something they were hearing for the first time.
None of it made sense, and it went far beyond common knowledge, but since the tangible results were right there before their eyes, they could not refute it.
“...That’s how it happened. Does anyone have any questions?”
At that, almost every clan member shot their hand into the air.
“Uh... what is everyone so... You there, Park Seoyeon.”
“Th-then, Clan Master! What exactly is your current grade? Even during the previous grade measurement, the device said it couldn’t display it!”
“Ahaha... Ah, that’s...”
“Hurry, tell us! Are you going to keep secrets between us?”
“Tsk... I’m... EX-rank.”
At that, the clan members’ expressions turned strange.
Rather than surprise, their faces showed confusion, as if asking, What?
“EX-rank...? Is there a grade like that? Where would that fit in...?”
“First time I’ve heard of it...”
“Mm, after S-rank comes SS-rank. After SS-rank comes SSS-rank. And after that is EX-rank.”
“...My God...”
“Insane......”
The clan members’ faces were quite a sight.
Overturning their existing common sense and equipping themselves with newly received knowledge was not likely to be a simple task.
Confusion was clearly written on everyone’s faces. And for those who had spent years in this field, the shock was even greater.
Even amid all that, Park Seoyeon, overflowing with positive energy, spoke as if full of expectation.
“Th-then that means... you can make items above S-rank for us too, right?”
He knew this would happen. But what could he do now?
“Uh... that’s right? Of course, the chance of getting SS-rank or higher is extremely low, but...”
“Wow! Amazing!”
As Park Seoyeon’s face lit up and she strode forward as if to throw her arms around him, Suho hurriedly widened the distance by stepping backward.
At that moment, someone pointed out something he had not expected at all. It was the healer from Italy, Silver Touch Emilia Rossi.
“Clan Master, even if you are in the crafting and support line... considering that you created something like the enhanced androids, I think you should be able to create special items for yourself as well. Have you perhaps made anything?”
“Ah... that’s...”
Wow, so this is how I end up revealing it.
Suho was quite glad to hear Rossi’s words.
Because it gave him the chance to reveal the [Extreme Powered Armor], which he had been unable to bring out because he did not know how to explain it to the world, or even to his clan members.
Once he revealed this too, he would probably be able to wear it a little more freely.
“Actually, I do. It’s an upgraded version of a full-body exoskeleton suit... called ‘Extreme Powered Armor.’ Then...”
In 0.001 seconds, Suho’s clothes and appearance vanished, and in their place appeared a mechanical suit covering him from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, making everyone exclaim in awe.
In truth, changing into the powered armor took a long time. It took more than ten minutes, but because he put it on inside the equipment facility in his subspace warehouse and then came out, no time passed outside.
“N-no, how on earth do you do that? The suit just appears on your body, poof?”
“Wow... You look insanely strong... You’re basically a robot. A robot. Like Steel Man from Marvel Comics.”
“Haha... I’d be offended if you compared it to something on that level.”
“Oh... So it’s much stronger than that Steel Man guy?”
“Then, Clan Master, is that suit a downgraded version of the enhanced androids?”
“Eh? Downgraded version? No, it’s an expanded version. No, a premium deluxe version.”
When Suho raised his index finger and wagged it from side to side as if the idea was absurd, the others’ mouths fell open.
“Hee... Then that suit’s grade is...”
“...This is...”
It was EX-rank, but ha, it was hard to say that.
Since EX-rank only appeared with a 0.9% probability, if they saw that he just happened to have one like this, he was afraid everyone would start expecting only EX-rank items from him. That was a little scary.
So he deliberately called it one grade lower.
“This is... SSS-rank.”
But even that alone seemed to shock the clan members.
“SSS-rank...!!?”
“...The world’s gone mad... To think I’d live to see an SSS-rank item in my lifetime...”
The clan members all crowded around and examined the powered armor with ecstatic faces, like gym rats looking at the muscles of a Mr. Universe winner.
Then a low, deep voice made a proposal. It was Diego Hernandez, the greatswordsman known as the Dragon’s Sword.
“That... Clan Master’s SSS-rank suit. Does it have armaments?”
“Oh, of course. It has weapons too.”
“Hmm. Then may I request... a spar?”
“Very well.”
“Waaait!! A-a spar!? H-hold on. Diego, the Clan Master has a squishy body. And on top of that, he’s in the crafting line...”
“Even so, did he not say it was an SSS-rank suit?”
Suho was also offended by Seoyeon’s words about his squishy body.
He might be an EX-rank crafter, but he was, strictly speaking, an Immortal Crafter. Squishy body?
At this point, even if he wanted to die, he practically couldn’t.
“It’s fine, Seoyeon. You saw how sturdy the enhanced androids are, right? I told you, this is an expanded version of that.”
“B-but still...”
The other clan members’ expressions were not much different.
They looked utterly shaken by the idea of Suho, a crafting type, facing off against Diego, one of the top damage dealers in the clan.
Even if Suho were an A-rank swordsman Admitee, it might have ended with “one graze and goodbye.” But he was a crafting type, a support type, no less!
However, when the serious-looking Suho and Diego had already taken their places in the center, the clan members, unable to find the timing to stop them, hesitantly backed away.
Diego will control his strength on his own. Even so, he is the Clan Master, and there is no way Diego doesn’t know how important Suho is. He’ll be careful on his own. Their eyes said as much.
“To what percentage may I use my strength?”
At Diego’s words, Suho answered coolly.
“Come at me with 100%. Isn’t that obvious?”
Of course, that would only be 10 to 15% of his original ability inside the Tower.
But even that had to be full power for the powered armor test to have meaning.
Diego, the corners of his mouth curling upward in a grin, raised his massive sword and charged in with movements far too quick for his size.
But Suho’s powered armor moved even faster.
The powered armor moved with jet bursts installed throughout the body, executing evasive maneuvers so fast they could not be followed with the naked eye.
Whoooosh───
Diego’s sword, having cut through empty air, slid smoothly back onto its trajectory and rushed toward where Suho had dodged.
Suho dodged again.
“Are you only going to keep dodging?! I’m coming with a skill!”
“As much as you like!”
In an instant, Diego spread his feet wide and took his stance, channeling ether into his greatsword as he unleashed “Severing Slash,” which could nullify most defenses.
Everyone watching was shocked to see Diego use one of his main attack skills, but Suho did not think of dodging.
Instead, he stretched out his left arm and took “Severing Slash” directly on his forearm.
Jjeooooong───
Along with a brilliant flash of light, the impact spread out like a wave, making everyone watching stagger.
“Keuugh!”
“Crazy! Isn’t that too much!?”
If they had been inside the Tower, where an Admitee’s power was exerted at 100%, the shockwave alone would have had enough force to blow away most small mobs.
That was Diego’s “Severing Slash.”
But when the light from the impact subsided and the clan members regained their sight, what entered their eyes was the powered armor’s right-arm Ethereal Blade aimed at Diego’s neck.
“I... I have lost.”
Clang...
Diego coolly admitted defeat, dropped his sword, and raised both hands. Suho also withdrew the Ethereal Blade.
“Waaaaah...!”
“I-is this even possible? A crafting type beat a greatswordsman?”
“The suit’s arm! Is the left arm okay? It took Severing Slash head-on!”
The others rushed in and examined the state of the powered armor.
But his left arm was perfectly fine. As if steel had struck wood, his left arm bore not so much as a trace.
“Tsk. What an absurd defense...”
Thomas, who had been watching the ridiculous result, muttered as well.
“So this is why... you insisted on entering the Tower with us...”
At Joshua’s impression, everyone around them nodded.
“Well, even if he says he won’t come in now, we’ll have to bring him in with us no matter what, won’t we?”
At Danbi’s words, the clan members nodded once again.
First an enhanced android, and now a crafting and support type who surpassed their main damage dealer.
Rather than the joy of having added a mighty force to their ranks, everyone found complicated thoughts tangling in their hearts, wondering just how long there would still be a place for them to stand.
* * *
“They want to buy the super-enhanced android?”
Suho asked back after receiving a call from Director Kim Gyusik of the Tower Management Administration.
“Yes... Clan Leader Jeong, every country’s agency related to Admittees has been contacting us about it, to the point that the Tower Management Administration is nearly paralyzed.”
“Haha, well... I’ve never thought about selling it. It’s not something I can just mass-produce...”
“I already told them as much. That the quantity is limited, so it isn’t something you can sell.”
“And did they back down?”
“Not at all. They asked us to at least find out the price. They said they’re prepared to compensate you sufficiently...”
“Which countries want to buy it?”
“For starters, the United States, China, Japan, India, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Spain...”
“Ah, I understand. That’s enough.”
“...There are 42 other countries as well.”
“Tsk... Anyway, I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you. Please rest well.”
After ending the call with the director, Suho crossed over to the subspace warehouse.
Then he called Rabi and asked him about various things.
First, the original cost of the materials that had gone into the “super-enhanced android” when he had purchased them through Cheonyangwon.
“For one unit, it takes three S-rank Etherium, and Magrite is 10 billion won per kilogram, with a total of 500 kilograms used... Then about 70 kilograms of Dynamis Gel, and around 100 kilograms of Erudite Nano Fabric? The multi-energy conversion multilayer shield generator and the Aether Core Hilt for drawing out the Ethereal Blade each needed separate materials to make... And the aether-powered miniature railgun. The railgun itself was a pain to make, but the bullets are all Black Steel, so...”
As he asked Rabi, took notes, and diligently punched numbers into the calculator, the result was—
“Wow, even excluding everything else and only counting the pure material cost, it comes out to about 11.4 trillion won?”
“It cost quite a lot.”
“Right. But this is literally the cost price. Just the material cost, nothing more. And if it hadn’t been for Cheonyangwon, these are cosmic, transcendent materials you couldn’t get on Earth, or even in the Tower. That price doesn’t factor in that rarity at all.”
“Hmm...”
“On top of that, I need to include the value of the knowledge and technology that made it possible, since it couldn’t have been created without EX-rank crafting. And the months of time I poured into it too.”
“It was only a few seconds, wasn’t it?”
“Shut up, man. That’s by outside standards. I suffered in here for months, didn’t I? We have to calculate it based on my hardships.”
“I’m not sure I’d call them hardships...”
“And right, I should also include the value of your abilities and skills, Rabi, since you cut materials that were essentially impossible to cut.”
“That should be calculated very expensively.”
Suho raised the corners of his mouth and glanced at Rabi as if finding him adorable, then turned back to the calculator.
“Anyway, with all of that included... the final price is...”
“The final price is?”
“50 trillion won!”
“50 trillion won?”
“Why, is it too expensive?”
“No, isn’t it too cheap? If anything, the value of the technology should be counted higher than the material cost...”
“Good. Then 100 trillion won!”
“Hmm... It still feels a bit cheap, but... I suppose it’s reasonably appropriate.”
“Yeah, 100 trillion is perfect. Hah, I really am such a generous and magnanimous collector and crafter. If someone says they’ll buy one, I can sell it at that price. It should be more than enough to do the work of ten S-rank Admittees, so 100 trillion won is pretty reasonable. It’s not like it’d be a huge burden for them, either.”
“Exactly. And on top of that, it won’t act however it pleases or refuse to listen like humans do.”
“Right. It’s absolutely loyal to orders... Wait, something about what you just said is weird...”
“You caught me.”
Suho chased after Rabi as he fled.