Chapter 146
Chapter 146
Chapter 146
After obtaining three wedges from Lunaris's temple, Seo-jin's party gathered at the mansion to discuss their future plans.
"First, we need to expand our range of operations. We should also increase the scouting teams."
"I agree."
Until now, they had been progressing quests centered around the village, but the situation had changed.
A quest had emerged requiring them to bring wedges to the mana anomaly regions scattered throughout the 37th floor, so it couldn't be helped.
"We haven't even lived here long, what a shame."
Francesca sighed as she stroked the wooden floor.
They had paid gold stones to buy the land and built a magnificent mansion, only to have to leave the village after less than a few days.
Seo-jin said:
"There's no need to abandon this place entirely. Instead, we should reduce the personnel stationed in the village."
Until now, they had divided their personnel into four scouts and four construction workers, but from now on they would change their policy.
With their range of operations expanding and the clear goal of placing wedges in mana anomaly regions, it made sense to deploy more personnel to the scouting teams.
The village's construction quest was almost finished anyway, so there was no need for many people to remain in the village.
"Still, one or two people should stay to keep accumulating Achievement Points. We need to keep making wedges."
"That's right."
They did need personnel to remain in the village to handle the sporadic special quests that the natives requested.
It would be good to keep about two people stationed there.
As if reading Seo-jin's thoughts, Nam-gung Cheon cautiously suggested:
"Is there any way we could steal Achievement Points from other teams? Like finding teams progressing the Lunaris quest like us."
"That's a very good idea."
It was exactly the kind of idea a thief would come up with, but it was an efficient plan.
However, unfortunately.
'Currently, the only teams struggling to open the 38th floor are the Frontline Strategy Team and our Reverse Heaven Society.'
Other climbers who had entered the 37th floor would be more interested in items or achievements rather than opening the next floor.
There was no guarantee that they would be progressing Achievement Point quests with the same hardship as the Reverse Heaven Society.
"Then we just need to compete with the strategy team and steal from them."
"I think we'd be lucky not to get robbed ourselves..."
Siegfried, who said this, wore a dejected expression.
It seemed he was remembering being pummeled by Yelena's arrows not long ago.
"What are you scared of? We have a human weapon."
Nam-gung Cheon familiarly placed his arm on Seo-jin's shoulder.
"Get off."
When Seo-jin showed his discomfort, So-yul removed Nam-gung Cheon's arm and said:
"...We're a one-tool team centered on Seo-jin, but they're all human weapons."
Even that famous Sword Star wouldn't match Seo-jin's skills.
But the individual abilities of their members were far superior.
They were the frontline strategy team that had been active on the tower's highest floors for years.
The experience they had accumulated, the support they had received, the resources they had secured first. Nothing could compare.
So-yul, having once been part of the strategy team, knew this gap well.
Nam-gung Cheon probably knew it too. After all, his master belonged to the strategy team.
"But is it even systematically possible to steal Achievement Points from other teams?"
At Austin's question, Seo-jin slowly nodded.
"It should be possible."
Lunaris's Achievement Points and Solaris's Radiance Power were mutually compatible forces.
Ha-yeon had told him that divine power could also be converted to Radiance Power.
Physical robbery would be difficult, but it could be obtained through contracts or trades.
Through methods like making some kind of bet or setting it as a prize for a duel.
"But whether we win or lose, we should do it in moderation."
Losing and having Achievement Points stolen would be a problem, but winning and completely cleaning them out would also be a problem.
Ultimately, to clear this 37th floor, both factions needed to work together to clear their respective quests.
If one side excessively drained Achievement Points, it would be a loss for both.
Nam-gung Cheon shrugged and said:
"Then let's just try it once or twice for fun. Besides, they came a whole month before us and must have accumulated a lot, so it should be fine to steal a little, right?"
"That's true."
"Anyone have someone in mind?"
That's when it happened.
Knock knock-.
Along with the knocking sound, the door opened and a native shaman arrived.
He said to Seo-jin:
"e kdh kTr krn ssn."
Seo-jin, who understood those words, tilted his head.
"Someone came to visit?"
***
Seo-jin's party followed the shaman toward the village's main gate.
Soon they came face to face with two climbers who had come to visit the village.
A rebellious boy wearing flowing robes and a beautiful woman in priestess robes.
They were Grand Mage Tsuchimikado Gu-ren of the strategy team and his attendant, the Onmyoji Rei.
As soon as Gu-ren saw Seo-jin, he scrunched up his face and shouted:
"Finally seeing you again, Nova!"
"When have we ever met?"
Seo-jin tried to play dumb, but it was useless.
As soon as Gu-ren heard those words, he started screaming with veins bulging from his neck:
"Cut the bullshit! Wasn't it you who caused havoc in the Great Cavity last time?"
His confident tone. He seemed to have solid evidence, making further denial difficult.
"Busted?"
"Busted."
Seo-jin and So-yul looked at each other and shrugged.
It wasn't particularly a big secret, but as news of So-yul becoming a member of the Reverse Heaven Society spread, her relationship with Nova naturally became known too.
So the identity of the mysterious figure who was involved in the incident during the 11th floor Great Cavity exploration was also connected to Seo-jin.
By now, anyone who wasn't an idiot would know.
That the being who defeated Yaogou Xuanchong, won in a duel against Captain Kusanagi, and possessed techniques to nullify magic was Nova.
'But at times like this, you have to act shamelessly.'
If he showed weakness, they would just bite him to pieces, so Seo-jin got angry in return.
"So what are you going to do about it? What's your complaint?"
Actually, Seo-jin didn't remember doing anything particularly problematic.
He had legitimately claimed Yaogou Xuanchong's corpse as his rightful due, and any disturbance that arose from the process was resolved through a duel.
Disguising himself as a porter to enter the Great Cavity might have been a trick, but that's what other countries did too.
When Seo-jin acted shamelessly, Gu-ren gnashed his teeth and shouted:
"A duel! Let's settle who is superior as a mage!"
"What's there to settle?"
There was nothing to argue about. I'm obviously better.
Seo-jin had long transcended the level of climbers when it came to magic.
He was skilled enough to defeat Circe's combat avatar, who was an elder of Pandemonium.
Some immature monkey who was merely climbing the 37th floor was nothing.
When Seo-jin responded with a confident attitude, Francesca approached and whispered softly in his ear:
"Leader, how about we rob this guy and earn some Achievement Points?"
"..."
It was a tempting proposal.
They had just been discussing that very topic. Since a mark had come to them voluntarily, it was a perfect opportunity.
"Fine, I'll duel you. But there are conditions."
"Conditions?"
Seo-jin made a coin shape with his fingers toward the puzzled Gu-ren.
"How much did you find out before coming?"
***
Thus, a duel between the two was established.
When they placed their hands on Lunaris's monument and made their oath, the Achievement Points and Radiance Power each possessed were set as the prize.
[Duel of Sun and Moon]
This was a custom from the distant past when the paladins of the Lunaris and Solaris factions used to interact with each other.
However, since Seo-jin's team currently had no Achievement Points, they wagered wedges as collateral.
'The Radiance Power Gu-ren bet is 3,000.'
It fell far short of the wedges' value of 10,000 Achievement Points, but since there wasn't even a one-in-ten-thousand chance that Seo-jin would lose, the duel was readily agreed upon.
The duel took place in an open field on one side of the village.
"f kdn jTk!"
"fuq jso tkf qkr!"
The natives sat around the field, chattering noisily and beginning to munch on snacks.
A duel between outsiders was a big event they had never seen in their lives and would never see again.
Still, blood is thicker than water, and they seemed to be mainly cheering for Seo-jin's side, who had helped the village.
Meanwhile, Gu-ren pointed at the straw rain cape Seo-jin was wearing.
"Are you really going to fight in that outfit?"
Seo-jin answered calmly:
"This level of penalty is necessary for balance."
Using high-grade equipment like the Tears of Siyul against this monkey kid would be excessive force, wouldn't it?
Against this youngster, a functionless straw outfit was just right.
"Fine, don't regret it."
Thinking he was being looked down upon, Gu-ren gritted his teeth and drew up his mana.
Whoooosh-.
The mana of the entire area was instantly absorbed by Gu-ren.
It was such tremendous mana manipulation ability that the surrounding mana felt like it had become a vacuum.
'How much mana one can absorb and process at once. It's one of the universal measures for evaluating a mage's capabilities.'
In that sense, Gu-ren, who instantly dominated the mana spread throughout the entire village, could be called an outstanding mage who was hard to find a match for.
If he could temporarily create a mana vacuum, opposing mages wouldn't be able to obtain the mana needed for spellcasting.
This was similar to a kind of 'mana burn.'
It was similar to the principle of burning all surrounding mana to prevent opponents from using mana.
He was worthy enough to claim the grand title of Grand Mage.
"Come on, try to handle this!"
Gu-ren instantly processed the absorbed mana.
Crackle-.
And immediately fired it at Seo-jin.
"Dark Bolt!"
Flash-.
A wave of black destructive force that shook the entire village.
A black lightning containing tyrannical power rushed toward Seo-jin.
This was new magic not found in existing magical systems.
It seemed to be new magic created by analyzing the black lightning that Seo-jin mainly used.
"Dimension Wall."
Thrum-.
Seo-jin created a dimensional barrier in front of him and easily absorbed the Dark Bolt that Gu-ren had fired.
And then.
'So this was the structure.'
Seo-jin analyzed the traces of mana recorded in the Dimension Wall and figured out its structure.
'It has a similar structure to the basic magic Thunder Bolt, but its inner workings are much more complex.'
Whether he was conscious of Seo-jin's Dispel Magic that reverse-engineered magic to nullify it, he had twisted the mana arrangement so the magic's structure couldn't be easily detected.
Not only that, but illusion magic was woven in as well, suggesting he mistakenly thought Seo-jin had the ability to instantly understand magic at a glance.
In reality, without the Eye of Insight, he was just a half-wit who couldn't even properly read mana flows.
Anyway.
'Not only did he arbitrarily modify Thunder Bolt, but he even incorporated illusion magic.'
Originally, mixing completely different attribute magics was extremely high-level, and this part clearly showed his talent.
'While also pushing the magic's power and casting speed to their limits. It would be hard to block with ordinary defensive magic.'
He had easily blocked it because Dimension Wall was a defensive magic that opened to other dimensions, but it possessed enough power to instantly destroy ordinary defensive magic.
Magic that prepared against Seo-jin's Dispel Magic while mixing completely different schools of magic, and also refined power and speed to their limits.
It even imitated Seo-jin's black lightning.
He was indeed worthy of being called the greatest mage among climbers.
Unlike other mages who depended on the system, he handled magic freely enough to be said to be playing with it.
Still.
'It won't work on me.'
Seo-jin grinned and extended his hand toward Gu-ren.
"Dark Bolt."
Then he copied and cast the magic Gu-ren had created right on the spot.
Flash-.
Black lightning that illuminated the entire village.
"..."
The duel was effectively over at that moment.
***
[You have won the Duel of Sun and Moon.]
[You have gained 3,000 Achievement Points.]
"Quite profitable."
Seo-jin looked at Gu-ren, who had collapsed unconscious after crying and wailing in Rei's arms, and left some advice.
"You have talent. Work hard."
The duel proceeded as follows.
After his first magic Dark Bolt, Gu-ren continued to bombard Seo-jin with new magic he had created.
Gu-ren displayed modified magic that imitated not only Seo-jin's black lightning but also the black magic like Black Death and black chains that he mainly used.
Realizing that the large-scale destructive magic he had previously used was disadvantageous in one-on-one duels, he seemed to have devised a new system specifically to face Seo-jin.
It was clear he had analyzed Seo-jin's track record and the magic he mainly used.
His talent and effort were admirable, but Seo-jin analyzed his modified magic and used identical magic as well as nullification magic that surpassed it.
"This can't be! This can't be happening!"
Each time, Gu-ren denied reality and screamed at the top of his lungs, but this only fueled his despair.
In the end, Gu-ren was knocked down by Seo-jin's fist that had approached right up to his nose.
Seo-jin said to the woman holding Gu-ren, who had been screaming loudly before falling asleep under an onmyoji technique:
"Your name was Rei, right? If it's uncomfortable, what should I call you instead?"
"Yes, please feel free to call me Rei."
"You didn't come here simply to fight me, I assume there's some message?"
While Gu-ren had purely come to duel Seo-jin out of the blue, Rei would be different.
She would have other purposes besides supporting her master.
Rei nodded.
"Yes. Separate from this duel, our strategy team wishes to cooperate with the Reverse Heaven Society. Specifically, we're requesting cooperation in progressing the 37th floor opening quest."
"Cooperation, what's the price?"
"I understand the Saintess has already given you a gift."
Rei mentioned the dungeon subjugation rights he had received previously.
But Seo-jin wasn't one to be easily swayed.
"That was something Kwon Ha-yeon gave me personally. I need to settle accounts with you separately."
Helping on a grand scale was one thing, but that didn't mean he would give away everything including his liver and gall bladder.
He would take whatever he could when he could.
Rei shrugged as if it couldn't be helped.
"You're not easy to deal with. Then as compensation for cooperation, let me provide you with some information."