Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Hyenas
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Rank:OriginGrade:SSSLV:1Description: A minor law created by the system, separating it from the vast law of time for one who has returned by rewinding time. Abilities:
Runes are a great blessing. That's why they can be used without any cost whatsoever. Even if that means rewinding the time of an entire dimension.
"I can regress time."
Even though the maximum was just one hour, I couldn't help but be amazed, knowing full well what rewinding time truly meant.
I could turn back time right before death to escape it, rewind a wrong choice to pick the right one, or use future knowledge to reap massive gains.
As expected of an Origin-grade rune. But amid my admiration, the message that popped up was enough to make me freak out.
...What the hell?
I, who had climbed to the rank of grand archmage as a black mage, had achieved the immortality that even they desperately craved.
But I was just bewildered and dumbfounded. What was this all of a sudden?
Wait, aging itself was a constraint? Well, nothing's scarier than growing old... Was this something to admire as the power of an Origin grade?
No point dwelling on it now that it's done. I decided to let it go.
The next ability was one I desperately needed too. The system must have thought the same when it created it.
"I can mitigate the Longinus startup penalty to some extent."
The Longinus boasted overwhelming power but came with a startup penalty. I needed at least 1% startup rate for limited special authorities to activate or to unleash its proper destructive force.
"With double damage as a World Destroyer and 10% fixed damage."
What would happen if I got the Lance of Longinus back to 100% startup? Just thinking about it sent a thrilling excitement surging through my body.
I closed all the system windows and lay down on the hospital bed.
"Too bad I fell short of 30% ownership of the Tower of Gold."
29.999999…%. It was stuck there, like it was missing just one piece, refusing to rise any further.
I wasn't not disappointed, but with everything else I'd gained, I wasn't desperate. The time would come when the conditions were met.
With that thought, I finally got some proper sleep for the first time in over two weeks.
The Primordial Village of Teraium was home to many people.
At its core, there were those who had settled in the Abyss, leaving their hometowns behind for reasons like destruction, earning the title of resident from the system.
Players from Korea who arrived via Abyss portals.
And even those who had descended here from higher stages for various reasons.
Despite being in the extremely low Stage 0-1, it was a city on the scale of a continent, teeming with an enormous population.
And as the saying goes, in any group of five, one's a troll. Evil naturally lurked in every corner here too.
No matter how powerful the guard captain Brymoun was with his strength and authority, he couldn't be perfect in human affairs.
On the outskirts of the Primordial City, in the area known as the criminals' turf, people gathered.
They had assembled in the largest room of an inn, waiting for someone. How much time passed?
When the door opened and a robed man appeared before them, they shot to their feet, bowing deeply at over ninety degrees.
"You've arrived!"
The robed man nodded and naturally took the head seat. He gazed at them as if to say, go on, speak.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard, and the vicious-looking subordinate right beside the robed man spoke up.
"The final quest of Primordial City has opened. And it has been cleared."
The robed man's eyes flashed from beneath his hood. He leaned forward with interest, listening intently.
"The quest was 'Slay the Monster of the Underground Capital [Advanced-E+]'. It was issued by the city's guard captain. The one who took it was a newbie who just entered the tutorial. Seems he did a bunch of miscellaneous quests on his first day, happened to befriend the guard captain's daughter, and got it that way."
The robed man scowled at that. He looked extremely displeased.
"A newbie? You're saying a newbie got the quest? You mean that one where you grind a bunch of trash quests for crap rewards just to unlock the final one?"
"Yes. A quick check by one of my men: name's Shin Juha. Top scorer in the last licensing exam, recently promoted to E- rank. Not confirmed, but he has ties to the second-place Seo Hwa Group heiress..."
"Hmph? This ain't Earth. So what if he's chummy with the Seo Hwa Group princess? That puny Seo Hwa Group is no match for our organization, not in the Abyss or on Earth!"
The man's bold words made his subordinates' eyes sparkle with near-reverent admiration.
And rightly so. The man before them was a mage chosen by the demons!
Naturally, he belonged to the Myriad Demon Hall, the organization encompassing all demon-contracted mages. He was also the true master of the Hyenas, Primordial City's villain outfit.
"So, the quest got cleared?"
"Yes. But this Shin Juha entered the underground capital and cleared it in less than half a day."
"Hmph, must've been an easy quest. Guess the guard captain kept it alive just to make a decent one."
The subordinates nodded in agreement. That's what they thought too.
Unless it wasn't true—which it wasn't. It would mean a promising talent barely a month in had hunted down and killed a monster in a massive underground capital the size of a city, one even the guard captain couldn't slay, in just hours.
No one would buy that. Especially not the Hyenas, who had decided to target him.
In truth, it was exactly that unbelievable feat, though the monster was far weaker than the guard captain in raw force. But since the captain couldn't kill it, they weren't entirely wrong.
And Shin Juha now was on par with Brymoun, a Holy Kingdom knight candidate, or perhaps a touch below. To them, it was just bad luck.
But unaware of that, they instinctively assumed the version favorable to them, bolstering their resolve.
"One of the rewards was a recommendation letter from a Holy Kingdom cardinal, right?"
"Yes. Probably what the guard captain had. No idea how a mere city guard captain got such a precious letter... but if we snag that."
Greed filled their eyes. The subordinates went without saying, and even the robed man coveted it.
"If I deliver that letter to the upper apostle we're working with in the Holy Kingdom right now?"
The Myriad Demon Hall managed its ranks from 1st to 7th grade. The robed man was a fresh contractee with a low-grade demon, making him the lowest 7th-grade apostle.
But the one leading the project he was in was a 4th-grade apostle—an elite rarely seen in single-digit stages.
Just catching that mage's eye guaranteed a meteoric rise.
He might even secure the vacant Korea branch chief spot, emptied by Dangun Cheonje's execution of the last one.
A 4th-grade had plenty of pull to slot him into branch chief of a backwater planet like Earth's tiny nation.
Greed burned fiercer in the man's eyes. He couldn't let this slip. It was a perfect opportunity from the heavens.
"This is what I saved them for."
The man shed his robe. His subordinates were startled at first, then wore moved expressions.
He always wore that perception-blocking enchanted robe to hide his identity, so they figured he now trusted and acknowledged them.
Of course, that wasn't it at all.
"I'm branch chief material. No need to get caught associating with these vermin."
They were dropouts. No guts to leave Stage 0, no drive to improve—just ugly, greedy pigs.
No luck, no connections. Losers.
Crossing lines for personal gain made them easy to gather under him, and just as easy to discard.
He planned to kill them all and wrap up the mess neatly. That was their end.
Obviously, no intention of revealing that now.
He made eye contact with each, acting like he was instilling faith and trust.
"Succeed in this, and we can all plant roots in the Holy Kingdom. Sell the letter on the black market, and we could live large in any kingdom, not just there."
The quest rewards: a title, 30,000 purple coins, an item, and the letter. Killing him would net the letter, coins, and item.
30,000 coins was a lot, but splitting it among over ten wouldn't satisfy everyone. The item, at best rare, worth a few hundred million won tops.
Divvied up, barely ten million per head.
That wasn't enough to leave Primordial Village-Teraium and establish real influence elsewhere.
But the letter? A blank check.
Not that he planned to sell it. Priceless. A player chaebol heir would pay billions for it.
It granted a shot at a high Holy Kingdom post, wielding massive influence in the final stage conquered across all dimensions, including Earth.
And it didn't question origins—even if stolen, no liability.
As a proxy for the pope-like symbol, from one of the four cardinals ruling the Holy Empire, it might even unlock saint-like titles and high-rank jobs, like the first saint.
"The Holy Kingdom is Earth-exclusive anyway."
Like how certain Stage 0 cities restrict by nation. Some say it's the system's protection for Earth, but no one knows.
Sure, identity checks would be strict. But as long as not a demon or mage, no issue.
He couldn't use it himself as a demon-contracted mage, but he had a free-spirited, pleasure-seeking brother figure.
Not contracted yet—perfect for this. Just recommend him with the letter.
The man smiled in satisfaction, addressing his resolute subordinates.
"The sooner the showdown, the better."
It was time to hunt. The starving, malevolent hyenas began to move.