The Overwhelmer (2)
Already, his level was 152.
Seeing how ridiculously high his stats were, he realized his rank in the top 1,000 wasn't just for show.
Was it because he had absorbed the Witch, the Banished Constellation, and the Wailing Ghosts through Erebos?
His Holy Fire stat had skyrocketed like crazy.
Even though his level was still somewhat low.
'But that's the beauty of it.'
Having stats comparable to high-level players while remaining at a low level? There was nothing better.
It meant that while it would be easy to raise his stats further by leveling up like everyone else, his starting line was already vastly different.
"Hmm..."
Lost in thought for a moment, Russell began moving somewhere.
"I think some of my animal friends are still left..."
"If we don't rescue them quickly, they might be in danger."
"True."
Sniff, sniff.
After sniffing the air for a moment, Russell quickly dashed forward.
Lee Jin-hyuk stared at the female vessel for a moment. Just as he hesitated and reached his hand out to her, an unexpected voice rang out.
'Baal...!'
Jin-hyuk frowned as he sensed the entity.
"What are you plotting?"
"A deal?"
Countless items, valuable corpses, and remains scattered across Blood Rock Valley that would be a hassle to dispose of.
Jin-hyuk scanned the area, then looked straight up and spoke.
"Eighty percent."
"I don't want half. Give me eighty percent of their actual value. Especially after what you did to me. And of course..."
Jin-hyuk's eyes gleamed.
"You are not allowed to take any items I haven't permitted."
Creeeeak!
Just as it had on the 9th floor, cracks spiderwebbed across the sky, revealing pale hands and rows of sharp teeth.
An elegant, ancient building surrounded by pine trees that remained green all year round.
Shrouded in formations and magic, it was a place whose exact location was unknown to most players, let alone ordinary martial artists.
Jinmu Castle.
At this moment, the atmosphere inside was heavy with tension, like the calm before a storm.
"Is this... is this really true?"
A handsome man covered his face with a folding fan and massaged his temples.
"No matter how many players there are in this tower, this is just..."
Zhuge Seo-jin.
The head of the Zhuge Clan and the Chief Strategist of the Martial Alliance.
As the one in charge of the administration, supplies, and strategies of the Orthodox Martial Alliance, he wielded immense influence not only over the Murim floor but the entire Tower.
"Namu Amitabha..."
Behind him, a bald old monk let out a complex chuckle.
Contrary to his benevolent face, his body was rugged and muscular, bearing the marks of intense ascetic training.
The current leader of the Orthodox Martial Alliance and the Abbot of Shaolin, one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
The Fist Emperor.
Reverend Beopdam, Myeonghyeon.
"It is indeed a story that makes one wonder if it has been somewhat exaggerated."
"Indeed, Alliance Leader. In all my life, I never imagined such a thing would be possible."
The Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist turned their gaze toward a single man.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the intense gazes of the two most powerful figures in the Orthodox Martial Alliance, a beggar, who looked entirely out of place in the elegant Jinmu Castle, trembled.
"Is the information you brought entirely true, Hougae?"
Zhuge Seo-jin asked once more.
It was his fifth time asking.
"It is at least ninety percent accurate."
And so, the beggar gave the exact same answer for the fifth time.
Though he appeared to be nothing more than a smelly beggar, his true identity was Hougae.
He was the official successor to the leadership of the Beggars' Sect, one of the largest intelligence networks in the Tower, operating under the guise of a beggar to gather information.
Since this information was delivered by such a figure to the core leaders of the Martial Alliance, it was bound to be both highly critical and accurate.
"Hougae, it is not that I doubt your information or your abilities..."
Myeonghyeon frowned.
"But this report is simply... how should I put it..."
"Absurd."
"..."
Hougae spoke up first, finishing the sentence Myeonghyeon hesitated to complete.
"I know. The longer someone has lived in the Tower and the more they have experienced it, the harder it is for them to believe this."
"..."
"But it is the truth."
"Setting unprecedented records from the tutorial all the way to the 9th floor. Wearing Myth-grade armor, wielding powers suspected to belong to a Constellation... and reaching the realm of a peak master."
Gulp.
"And to think that a player who has only just cleared the 10th floor, rather than residing at the very top of the Tower, is ranked in the 1,000s."
Zhuge Seo-jin felt a headache coming on.
'Can this really be true? Really? But if it is indeed the truth...'
Gulp.
The emergence of an unprecedented hero and newbie known as the Overwhelmer.
The death of Chardis, the Witch of Binding, who was at the level of a top-tier peak master.
And above all, the destruction of the vessel that Majuron, the Witch of Fall who pulled the strings of the Heavenly Demon Cult, had invested so much time and effort into.
Though this was information unknown to most martial artists, Zhuge Seo-jin was privy to all of it.
'The Potala Palace and the Blood Sect forces must be considered completely collapsed. The Witch's coven is also on the brink of annihilation.'
'Now might be our only chance to sweep away that wretched coven and the Heavenly Demon Cult. But what if this is fake news, a trap laid by the witches?'
'What if this man named Lee Jin-hyuk has already been recruited by them?'
'If so, our Martial Alliance could be endangered by a pincer attack from the Three Fusions Bloodline and the Heavenly Demon Cult.'
'And those bastards from the Wicked Alliance, who are just waiting for an opportunity without taking sides, are also a concern...'
As Zhuge Seo-jin agonized over these thoughts, a gentle voice reached his ears.
"Strategist."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
"In times like this, isn't there a simple and surefire way?"
Myeonghyeon's eyes flashed.
A heavy, steel-like pressure, previously hidden behind his warm gaze, filled the room.
"We simply need to see him for ourselves, do we not?"
At those words, both Zhuge Seo-jin and Hougae stared at Myeonghyeon in shock.
The grand elder of Shaolin and the leader of the Martial Alliance.
For someone who was one of the ten most powerful and skilled figures in the entire Tower to move personally was an extremely rare event.
This was highly unprecedented.
"But Alliance Leader, it could be dangerous. In the lands of the West..."
"Precisely because it is dangerous, shouldn't this old man, who bears the greatest responsibility, be the one to go?"
As if his mind was made up, Myeonghyeon continued.
"Is this not the perfect opportunity to completely vanquish the demons?"
"He could be a spy for the witches or the Demonic Cult, or it could be a trap."
"Which is all the more reason for me to go."
Flash.
"If the Overwhelmer is indeed a minion of evil... I shall eliminate him with my own hands."
'This crazy bastard.'
Was he not one of the highest-ranking demons for nothing?
Baal.
That crazy Constellation was trying to pressure Lee Jin-hyuk once again, just like last time.
Even though Baal was attempting to intervene directly, the other Constellations merely watched.
'What a bluff.'
Jin-hyuk thought the same.
Who was Lee Jin-hyuk?
The only regressor in the Tower, and the one who had stolen a Constellation's vessel.
The man who had fought Constellations face-to-face at the very front lines before his regression.
Without a doubt, Lee Jin-hyuk possessed the most knowledge and experience regarding Constellations in the entire Tower.
To someone like him, such a bluff would never work.
Although clearing the 10th floor had removed the penalties for the Constellations watching him, their past records weren't erased.
The system—whether it was the administrator or the Tower itself—would be keeping a close eye on Jin-hyuk due to the repeated interventions of the Constellations.
If Baal caused a scene here like last time, he might be barred from watching Jin-hyuk for a very long time, if not forever.
In fact, he might not be able to watch any other players either.
Though he seemed impulsive, he was a demon.
He belonged to the type of Constellation that moved with highly calculated plans.
"Seventy-five percent."
Grind!
The sound of teeth—or perhaps a cluster of stars—grinding echoed from somewhere in the void.
"If you don't like it, the deal is off."
Jin-hyuk smirked.
"Pushing my luck? I'm just negotiating based on the options given."
Jin-hyuk smiled casually.
"If you don't want to, then forget it. I can just burn this entire Blood Rock Valley to ashes."
A brief silence.
The air grew thick with tension.
The aura of gluttony and desire that dominated the Tower seemed to shrink back, as if tucking its tail before the 'Overwhelmer', Lee Jin-hyuk.
"On one condition."
His sharp, glowing golden eyes pierced the sky.
"If you swallow even a single item without my permission... I will crawl right into your throat and burn you from the inside out."
▶ Objective: Transfer all assets and ownership within the Hidden Dungeon <Blood Rock Valley> to the 'Great Duke of Hell'.
▶ Reward: Points equivalent to 70% of the total value.
It was a Divine Covenant with an easy condition to fulfill.
All he had to do was declare the transfer.
"I, the Overwhelmer Lee Jin-hyuk, transfer all ownership of to the 'Great Duke of Hell'. However, certain items are excluded."
Originally, all ownership of Blood Rock Valley belonged to Chardis.
Now that she was dead and the dungeon was sealed, the ownership of the remnants had naturally transferred to Jin-hyuk.
That was why such a transfer was possible.
"..."
After that, no messages rang out for a long time.
Although he hadn't shown it, Jin-hyuk was quite exhausted, so he slumped onto the ground.
'Now, what should I do with this?'
Jin-hyuk fell into thought.
The vessel Majuron possessed was nearly complete.
Even when viewed with the Truth-Seeking Eye, it was flawless.
Since Jin-hyuk possessed Chardis's memories, he didn't lack information either.
Even without knowledge of the future, the current Dang So-wol would easily be able to complete it.
A perfect vessel, that is.
"Jin-hyuuuk!"
Russell was running toward him from the distance.
As if he still had stamina left even after that fierce battle, he looked incredibly energetic.
"My friends...!"
In his hands, he held several divine beasts.
Even a glance showed their condition was critical.
What could Jin-hyuk, who wasn't a veterinarian, possibly know?
He didn't know much, but he could at least perform basic first aid.
'They've been corrupted by the ghosts. It's been too long since they were possessed by the Wailing Ghosts.'
The pure souls of the divine beasts Russell held had long since been corrupted.
They were on the verge of turning into Ice-Sinking Ghosts or transforming from divine beasts into demonic beasts.
Perhaps his conversation with the floor administrator had ended, as Baal came over to pester him.
"Don't make me laugh."
Jin-hyuk looked up at the sky.
"I won't hand over a single one of these divine beasts."
Hearing the warning, Jin-hyuk quickly moved.
"Damn bastard. Using such cheap tricks until the very end..."
"Russell! Let's go!"
"...Ugh."
Russell clenched his fists, looking pained for his animal friends.
However, no matter how fiery his temper was, he knew how to assess the situation, so he quickly followed Jin-hyuk out of the area.
Grab.
Jin-hyuk helped Russell by tucking a few divine beasts under his arms, and with the witch's vessel slung over his back, he ran.