Chapter 542: Eternal Spire[R-18] (61)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 542: Eternal Spire[R-18] (61)
Once the assessments and group assignments were complete, we split up by group and began to move.
A total of eight people, including me, were assigned to Group F-17. Most of them were people with pathetic stats or unique abilities useless in combat.
"Group F-17, this way."
The instructor guiding us wore an expression that screamed of annoyance.
“Uhyo! We’re totally getting the cold shoulder, aren't we? Group F… that’s like the rejects among rejects~”
The instructor shot me a dumbfounded glare at my tone.
“Can you cut it out with that fucking way of talking?”
“Oi, oi~ This is my identity~”
“Hah… shit, what kind of weirdo did we get this time.”
The instructor shook his head as if to ignore me and continued on his way.
The Group F barracks were in the most remote corner of the training facility. Compared to the other groups' quarters, they were pitifully shabby.
“This is where you’ll be staying for the next three months. Four people to a room. Figure it out yourselves.”
With only those words, the instructor turned and left.
The remaining members of Group F looked at each other awkwardly.
There was a fat, middle-aged man, a timid-looking man with glasses, a scrawny guy who looked like an otaku, and a woman with a shaggy mop of green hair.
Every single one of them was a fucking nobody.
But there’s always a hidden treasure somewhere. I walked up to the woman with the shaggy hair.
Intimidated by my height of over 190 cm and my muscular build, she flinched.
“Uhyo~ My dick compass is going absolutely wild~? You look like a mess on the outside, but I can smell the hidden treasure underneath~”
“Eek… Wh-what do you want…”
I slung an arm over the shaggy-haired woman’s shoulder and turned my head toward the men in the room.
“Oi, from now on, this woman and I are using this room. The rest of you, get lost.”
The playful tone vanished, replaced by a sudden, chilling air. The men rolled their eyes in disbelief.
“H-hey, wait a minute… How are six of us supposed to fit in that tiny room—”
CRACK!
I slammed my fist straight into the face of the middle-aged man who tried to protest.
“Guek…!”
“Scram, if you don’t want to die.”
I slowly dusted off my fist as I looked down at the man groaning with a bloodied face.
The guys gathered here were the lowest of the low, herbivores even in normal society. There was no way they’d have the guts to stand up to me, who reeked of a predator just by looking at me.
And so, the six men were chased out to the next room, leaving only me and the trembling woman behind. She was huddled in a corner, her arms covering her chest and stomach.
“U~~~~~~~hyo~~~~~~~~!!”
I suddenly threw both hands high into the air and let out a bizarre shout.
“Hieeeek!!”
The woman shrieked and curled up.
“Oi, oi~ Don’t be scared~ I’m not going to rape you or anything~”
“Eek… R-rape…?!”
I really had no intention of doing that. However… I was just not going to ‘rape’ her.
“Oi~ I told you to calm down.”
I forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the bed next to me. Then, I shoved my hand under her baggy clothes and grabbed her breast.
Squish, squish!
“Ooooh~ My instincts are never wrong! You’re at least an F-cup~ Oi, oi, you were hiding something like this under a shitty piece of cloth~?!”
“Hiiiik… P-please… spare me!”
I roughly tore at her baggy clothes. The fabric pressing down on her chest ripped, and her full breasts sprang free from their confinement, bouncing.
Jiggle!
“G-give that back…”
“No can do~ More importantly, let me see your face~!”
“N-no, you can’t!”
I grabbed the wrist of her hand as she desperately tried to cover her face. Then, I roughly pushed her bangs aside with my fingers.
“U…hyo?!”
For a moment, I flinched without realizing it. One side of her face was ruined by a deep, melted burn scar.
“Hic…”
The woman trembled, then finally began to shed tears. Shame and fear mingled in her eyes.
I paused for a moment, but then…
“Oi, oi~ Isn’t this a super rare item~”
The woman cried even harder, thinking I was mocking her.
“Sob…”
Without the burn, she would have been an incredible beauty. The scar was probably why she had become so timid and withdrawn.
And I am a sweet Korean guy, Geum Tae-yang.
“Uhyo! Even that scar is fucking hot to me. Hehehe, it’s totally my type~”
“Sniffle… What…? A-are you actually sick somewhere?”
“Oi, oi~ Of course I’m sick~ I’m fucking sick~!”
I burst into a strange laugh and slapped my chest.
“The moment I saw your face, my heart started pounding like crazy~! It feels like it’s about to explode~! Hehehe, we’re talking heart attack level here~!”
“Eh, ehhh…”
The woman wiped her tears, looking at me with a bewildered expression. Then she muttered, so quietly it was almost a whisper.
“How… He must be a real lunatic…”
I shamelessly scanned her body up and down and smirked.
“How could I not be crazy~? I just pulled an SSR from the gacha, you think I can stay sane after seeing that?!”
“Hngh… Mommy, save me…!”
I decided that was enough teasing for now.
“Oi, what’s your name, anyway?”
“Sniffle… It’s Han So-young… What about you, mister?”
“Oi, oi, mister?! Are you talking to me?”
“Eek, I’m sorry…”
I narrowed my eyes with mock seriousness, then broke into a sly grin.
“Hehe, instead of mister, call me Oppa. Come on, say it. Tae-yang Oppa~”
“Tae-yang… O-Oppa…?”
“Uhyoooo! I just got called Oppa by a super-rare beauty!”
“Hiiik!”
*
The night passed with Han So-young without any incident.
‘Hehe, I thought I was going to die from wanting to fuck her.’
Han So-young, standing next to me, still had an awkward look on her face.
“Um, Oppa… h-how long are you going to keep touching my chest…?”
“So-young’s breasts are mine, so I’m going to touch them for the rest of my life.”
“But… they’re m-mine…”
“You got a problem with that?”
“N-no…”
“Hehe, then let’s go~”
I left the room with Han So-young. The moment I opened the door to the F-class dormitory, the eyes of everyone gathered outside locked onto us.
“The hell, who’s that asshole?”
“Whoa, look at that girl’s tits. They’re so big I could piss myself.”
The men stared lecherously at her braless, bouncing breasts. The women, on the other hand, glared in disgust.
Just then, a man with an instructor’s insignia walked over. Though he spoke loudly, his eyes were glued to Han So-young’s chest.
“Hey, blondie. Who the hell are you to be coming out in the morning fondling a woman’s tits?”
I grinned and said.
“Oi, oi~ Are you checking out my woman’s chest?”
At my words, the new trainees’ gazes shifted to the instructor. His face stiffened for a moment before he hastily made an excuse.
“Wh-what? When did I—!”
“Now you’re lying, too? You must really think I’m a fucking joke.”
“Is this bastard crazy…? He’s been talking down to me and spouting bullshit since this morning.”
The instructor gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and swung at me. I casually reached out and caught his fist.
“Oh? You caught it?”
I grinned as I looked at the instructor’s face.
‘Hmm… should I let him hit me and go down?’
If a Level 1, F-class ability user took down an instructor, it would just attract unnecessary attention. I should just pretend to get hit and wait for an opportunity—
‘…But fuck, I have to get hit by a loser like this?’
In front of the women? My pride would never allow that.
‘Right, I’ll just hit him a few times and then go down.’
The moment I made up my mind—
CRACK!
The instructor in front of me spun several times in the air before crashing to the ground. The ground caved in, and dust flew everywhere.
“Oi, oi~ Why are you sprawled out on the ground?”
The instructor’s eyes had rolled back, and he was foaming at the mouth, trembling. It seemed I had instinctively knocked him out.
For a moment, the surroundings became so quiet you couldn’t even hear a breath.
What broke the silence was—
The men walking over from the dormitory. Seeing the scene, they shouted as if their eyes would pop out.
“Damn it, did you just assault an instructor?!”
“Get that bastard!”
The men, all wearing the crest of the Small and Medium Guilds Alliance, charged at me in unison.
*
Austin, Kang Hyun-woo, Yoon Jae-ho, and the guild leaders of the Small and Medium Guilds Alliance sat in a circle. A report was being given amidst the heavy atmosphere.
“…So, you’re saying a Level 1, an F-class at that, took down a Level 29 warrior?”
The man reporting in front of the guild leaders bowed his head deeply and answered.
“Yes, I confirmed it with my own two eyes.”
“That’s ridiculous. A Level 1 beat a Level 29? Isn’t he a previous participant from the first round?”
“There were no anomalies in his test records. As you all know, no one other than registered personnel can enter this place.”
Austin, who had been listening silently, unfolded his arms and spoke.
“So, what happened to this man named Geum Tae-yang?”
“He is currently being held in the underground prison.”
“Hmm… It seems he’s staying put for now. Give me his status records again.”
Austin took the paper and narrowed his eyes as he read it.
Name: Geum Tae-yang
Level: 1
Gender: Male
Disposition: Chaos
Stats
Strength: 6
Stamina: 9
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 4
“…Except for his stamina, everything is low-tier. Not even average. And yet he took down a Level 29 warrior in one hit?”
Austin muttered under his breath, and one of the guild leaders shook his head in bewilderment.
“The difference is too great. There must be something else.”
“…A unique ability.”
All eyes turned to Yoon Jae-ho at his short remark.
“An F-class, Level 1 with 6 strength took down a Level 29 warrior? No matter how ordinary his unique ability is supposed to be, this can’t be explained by anything else.”
Instantly, the air in the conference room grew heavy. A guild leader swallowed hard and muttered.
“…Could it be an S-class… no, an SS-class or higher unique ability?”
A brief silence followed his words.
Kang Hyun-woo smiled and tapped his fingers on the desk.
“That makes sense. Rumor has it that even Jin Seo-yun started with an SS-class unique ability in the beginning… If so, that means the possibility that this man, Geum Tae-yang, is the person we’ve been looking for has just increased.”
Austin then interjected coldly.
“But we must not make any hasty judgments until we are certain. If attention is drawn to Geum Tae-yang, we don’t know what Night Bloom might do.”
Yoon Jae-ho immediately cut him off.
“No, this might be a crucial moment. We must find out exactly what Geum Tae-yang’s unique ability is and how it’s activated. Isn’t that the priority?”
The guild leaders exchanged glances and finally nodded their heads in silence.
During a brief silence, someone spoke up.
“More importantly… what is Night Bloom up to?”
“So far, there has been no reaction from them.”
“…That’s strange.”
Then another guild leader added.
“Also, a strange rumor is circulating on the 7th floor.”
“A strange rumor?”
“Yes. A rumor that Jin Seo-yun suffered a critical injury in his battle with the incarnation Ares… and that a long-term recovery is unavoidable.”
A stir went through the conference room.
“…Hmm. I suppose a god is still a god, even in defeat. To think he could wound that monster.”
Austin narrowed his eyes and muttered lowly.
“I find that hard to believe. He was active just fine until now. Suddenly in recovery… it’s more likely another attempt to deceive us… a bait.”
Kang Hyun-woo immediately countered.
“But the fact that Night Bloom isn’t making a move… doesn’t that mean it could be true?”
Yoon Jae-ho crossed his arms and continued firmly.
“It won’t be too late to act after observing the situation a little longer. There’s no need to provoke them. If he really is incapacitated, don’t forget that it’s an opportunity for us. What we need most right now is time.”