Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: World of Masters
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Agas Issues.
Or rather, the channel dedicated to exhaustively exploring and reporting on everything related to it.
The Agas community.
Such was Aker, which, following its hit series Today's Gamers, was now pushing several major new series.
The recent live special on Luke had been one of them, but with the emergence of a slew of new powerhouses, they'd even spun it off into a dedicated expert corner.
Dubbed World of Masters.
It was a program that analyzed data to rank powerhouses who were hard to gauge by official rankings or didn't even appear on them.
Luke.
Iron Mask Man.
Gu Hwi.
Top rankers, and more.
What would happen if they clashed one-on-one?
And how far could they climb afterward?
It was a new corner born purely from such curiosities.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Bae Jeongjae, your host for World of Masters. Some of you might already be familiar with me. Yes, they've stuck me with this series too. What can I do when Aker forces it on me?"
The familiar host's banter.
And so, the inaugural episode of World of Masters kicked off.
The guests were all high rankers and above, names that rang bells across the community.
And following the Luke special, top ranker Gale made another appearance.
"Hey, everyone."
"Yes, hello."
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to... uh, who should I be greeting exactly?"
Some guests looked a bit awkward, but Jeongjae smoothly covered with witty remarks, getting the first episode off to a great start.
"As you all know, this corner's called World of Masters, so we've jumped right into a heavy hitter for our debut topic... You've all heard of it, right?"
"Ah!"
"That's..."
"Yes, exactly. The user who's still making waves."
The text that appeared on the rear screen.
An epithet buzzing among players lately.
Gu Hwi.
The enigmatic user famous as the Ranker Hunter.
"Those in the know already get it, but this guy's blowing up right now!"
"True that."
"That's why we've gathered you all here today. How do the current top users above ranker level view him? What's his matchup potential against top rankers? That's what we're diving into!"
Indeed.
It was a deep-dive analysis and debate on the strength of this hot-button user.
That was World of Masters.
"Alright, let's start with the footage on Gu Hwi!"
Photos and clips began scrolling across the screen one by one.
All scenes of Gu Hwi hunting rankers.
Most were right before the kill, so the images were blurry as expected, and the videos painfully short.
But one thing was crystal clear.
Iaido.
The technique that sliced enemies before their eyes in a single stroke.
"Even on rewatch, that iaido is terrifying. It feels like a bug..."
"One-shot kill."
"Sword Guy?"
"No, seriously, is that a bug? How does a high ranker die in one hit?"
Even the guest gamers struggled to put it into words.
Gu Hwi's fights were that overwhelmingly one-sided.
Which was why...
In the heavy silence where most held back, one stood out.
"I've analyzed Gu Hwi myself based on available data."
The top ranker.
Gale, who had appeared in the Luke special before.
Unlike the others, he methodically dissected each piece of footage, pointing out questions and traits.
"First, the same shabby gear from the early days to now."
"Second, no other techniques seen besides iaido. Note, skills only. Parrying isn't a skill; it's a basic technique anyone can use."
"Third, never engages multiple foes."
"Fourth, never seen using items once."
"And finally, never uses iaido more than three times on one target. Could be because one strike kills, but who knows? He hasn't faced top rankers yet."
Jeongjae, who'd been listening quietly, reacted to the last point.
"Oh, so top rankers might survive a one-shot?"
"About 70% would probably die."
"Wait, what? Then what you said earlier..."
"But the remaining 30%? No."
"30%..."
"Extreme Heavens."
The pinnacle among the peaks.
The 30 strongest players there were called the Extreme Heavens.
Not just a fancy title, either.
Agas itself granted the Extreme Heavens achievement to top 30 users.
Even among top rankers, those outside the top 30 were a full tier below these absolutes.
Gale was referencing the Extreme Heavens.
As potential counters to Gu Hwi.
"Not just because they're top 30. They earn that name."
"Why's that?"
"Simple. Do you know the worst criminal, Luke?"
"Of course. You explained his strength firsthand in the Luke special!"
"Right. The top-ranker-hunting mass murderer. But even Luke hasn't killed a single Extreme Heaven. He's fled from death's door multiple times—before even pulling their data."
Jeongjae—and the nearby guests—jumped in shock.
This was their first word on Extreme Heavens intel.
Luke, at the peak of pure physicals, pushed back?
"But as you said last time, if he pulls data to grow stronger, couldn't he beat Extreme Heavens eventually?"
"Maybe. But he won't get the time against them."
"Why not..."
"What's Luke's biggest weakness?"
"Hm, suddenly? Gear or items, maybe?"
"Half right. Precisely: skills, gear, items, luck. Everything except talent."
The worst criminal, looting gear by killing players.
But even that had limits.
Drops weren't guaranteed.
Even player kills required luck for loot.
"And Luke's lucky in that? Hell no."
"Yeah, before he went dark, he'd never surfaced Heroic or higher."
"Exactly. Plus, Shadow Assassin is just an advanced thief job. Its skills are laughably basic compared to hidden ones."
"Conversely, Extreme Heavens have it all?"
"Yes, less than Luke in raw talent maybe, but backed by their own strengths."
Luke dominated in pure physicals, skill, talent.
But as a game, limits existed.
Virtual reality RPG Agas.
Levels, jobs, gear, skills, items mattered hugely.
Hidden jobs.
Unique+ gear.
Hidden skills.
Hundreds-of-millions-worth items.
Insane luck.
Everything Luke lacked, Extreme Heavens possessed.
Thus, gear luck, job perks already crushed him beyond talent or skill.
"Anyway, against Extreme Heavens with their own busted items and powers? Gu Hwi's iaido won't cut it."
In short: below Extreme Heavens.
But other top rankers? Maybe.
That was Gale's take.
"Um..."
Then, a quiet guest raised a hand toward Gale.
"About Luke earlier. Hypothetically... if Luke got everything he's missing?"
Gear.
Items.
Hidden job.
Hidden skills.
And the luck to make it happen.
Luke already hunted top rankers on talent alone—what if he had it all?
The guest asked.
Gale stroked his chin, then spoke.
"...He'd probably solo the whole game."
A straightforward answer.
Meanwhile.
At that very moment, in the deepest recesses of the demon cave.
A lone player had reached the far end of basement level 6.
'Party's good enough like this. Bro's busy anyway; don't want to hold him back because of us.'
'Yeah, we're already super grateful. Thanks so much all this time, Seokwoo oppa.'
'Cool, let's meet up in real life next time. Sound good, oppa?'
Luke, fresh off parting with Deer and Rabbit.
Why hadn't he left the demon cave, descending solo to basement 6?
Simple.
The altar at the edge.
'Same here.'
Basement 4.
Basement 5.
And now basement 6.
Every altar at boss rooms or edges showed the same.
'No, just curious. You said this demon cave popped up outta nowhere, right? But inside, it's like someone built it ahead of time. The stairs, these spaces—all artificial.'
'Hmm.'
'Well, if devs made it, fair enough...'
Hence, the conversation with Deer resurfaced naturally.
'Detail-wise, it was odd, but who knew altars hid secrets like this.'
Doubts swirled.
What happened unlocking these altars?
What secrets lay within?
He itched to uncover it himself, but impossible.
Lock level 7, no fitting tool.
'No lockpick slot either; can't grind proficiency here.'
No, even with grinding, level 7 would take ages.
Luke clicked his tongue in regret.
'No choice; note it for later.'
Until then, raise Lockpicking skill.
Hunt other special tools too.
'Still, discovering altars have secrets is a win.'
Pre-job change, no such messages.
No Lockpicking then.
But as Great Thief, he'd spotted the locks.
'Without rechanging to Great Thief, I'd never have known.'
Two years in Agas, first time with Lockpicking.
Meaning, he might be the first to discover locked altars.
Leverage as info for big gains.
Type: Active
Level: 1
Description: Ransack visible corpses for remaining possessions. Items are random; can't loot the same corpse twice.
'Gotta settle for this skill for now.'
Corpse Plunder.
New Night King skill from the orcwood wristguard on Lycan.
'Figures; recalled the vagrant's memories.'
Exactly the vagrant's corpse looting as a new skill.
'For monsters, just an extra junk item...'
Tested on monster corpses descending the cave.
No great items as hoped.
'Later, try on NPC corpses.'
Monsters/NPCs left bodies unlike players.
'Anyway...'
Luke turned.
A bloated-bellied raccoon sprawled on the floor.
Poko's mana absorption, learned from this boss room, was harvest enough.
"Po, Poko..."
"Told ya not to overdo it."
"Poko..."
"Sigh, rest there a bit."
Here already; check other stuff too.
Agas Land reward.
The event 1st place chest.
'Like last 1-year anni, random pull box.'
With guaranteed minimum grade.
'Tch, no zone splits by 10k entries; coulda been Unique min.'
Regret.
But no changing now.
Just pray for higher grade on open.
'Problem is, I'm ass at this.'
No, zero luck period.
Abysmal luck.
Even PK drops rarely good.
'Always missed what I wanted.'
Memories soured his face.
"Poko..."
Then, Poko caught his eye late.
Luke gazed at sprawled Poko, stroking his chin.
'Wait, this guy's not just mana—Luck stat near 100 too, right?'
Checked Poko's status just in case.
Spot on.
Even higher than before.
'This could...?'
Brain spun.
Luke approached Poko with a sly grin.
"Poko, open this for me real quick."
"Po, Poko?"
"Like this..."
Grabbed Poko's cute paws, slowly pried open the prepped chest lid.
'Ooooooh!'
It worked.
Poko's luck boosted the event chest too.
Sssshhh!
Flames erupted.
Initially white—common grade.
But shifting colors over time.
Ssshh!
Green—advanced.
Sssshhh!
Blue—rare.
"Please, please, pleeeease...!"
Heart pounding.
Eyes trembling.
Luke half-collapsed, prayer meta active.
Hoping for next grade color.
Sssshhh!
"Oooooh!"
Prayers answered?
Blue flames turned purple—Unique.
Minimum Unique.
Luke stared, hyped.
"Fuck, even shit like this happens to me!"
Aaah.
Unique.
Grade that evaded even player kills.
"Poko, thanks!"
"Po, Pokoeee!"
"Aigoo, so cute. Our Poko. What to buy you..."
Rubbing cheeks on thrashing Poko.
Sssshhh!
'Huh?'
Luke finally saw.
Purple flames.
Slowly dyeing red.