Chapter 101: Medusa Raid (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Medusa Raid (1)
The Fire-Drinking Snake was a trap that only triggered when both of these conditions were met simultaneously.
"What's interesting is that this guy is a named monster. Which means the other monsters in the labyrinth will also notice our presence."
"W-what do you mean by that... Don't tell me?"
As Maeda listened to the explanation, his pupils dilated rapidly.
He was quick on the uptake, living up to his title as raid leader.
"Exactly. It means in a little while, we'll have to deal with not just this guy, but Medusa at the same time."
Unlike other labyrinths, the Gray Temple had a unique feature where the boss monster didn't just stay in one room but roamed around.
Well, just looking at the stone statues near the entrance, it wasn't hard to deduce that Medusa could freely wander inside the labyrinth.
Of course, no matter how much they had kept that possibility in mind, they probably never expected to face a named monster and the boss at the same time.
Right then.
A sharp screech echoed.
"Kieeeek!"
It was massive, nearly reaching the ten-meter-high ceiling.
A blazing red snake flicked its tongue as it glared at the players.
Speak of the devil.
Seeing how it couldn't even wait for people to finish talking before barging in.
"Yeah, yeah. You don't have to throw such a fit. I'm not ignoring you."
Jinhyuk raised his head.
[Fire-Drinking Snake]
Level: 55
Description: Medusa's pet snake. Since its entire body is made of flames, all physical attacks are ineffective against it. Furthermore, it can spit out the fire accumulated inside its body. In narrow spaces, this attack possesses a destructive power reminiscent of a dragon's breath, so please exercise extreme caution.
Activating 'Gluttony's Eye', Jinhyuk read the target's detailed description.
Although its level was on the lower side at 55, it was by no means an opponent to be taken lightly.
This was because it could only be damaged by magic attacks, and it possessed a mini-breath that boasted maximum efficiency in a straight corridor with no cover.
"W-we haven't even recovered yet..."
Maeda's voice trembled violently.
In their current state, with the Samurai Guild practically annihilated, there was no way they could face that snake.
Far from maintaining a formation, none of them even had the strength left to lift their weapons or shields.
"Ugh..."
Takeshi also looked as if he was about to lose consciousness from sheer terror.
It seemed this scene hadn't appeared in his future sight.
Good.
The stage was perfectly set.
"Now that you've all realized where you stand, shall we recalculate our transaction?"
"What? What transaction are you talking about?"
Why the surprised face?
Now that the power dynamic had been clearly established, it was only natural to rewrite the contract.
"Hand over Perseus's Shield first. Wouldn't it be better for me to use it rather than someone who doesn't even know how?"
Casting pearls before swine is a waste.
Especially when one's life is hanging by a thread.
Jinhyuk offered them a chance to live.
But Maeda wasn't the type to meekly accept those terms.
"D-don't give me that bullshit! Do you have any idea what this is... No, damn it! What kind of lunatic would just hand over a relic for free?!"
"Is that so?"
What a shame.
I gave you one last chance out of professional courtesy as a fellow human.
But if you're going to kick it away, there's nothing I can do.
"Well, I guess I'll just retrieve the shield from your corpse then."
Jinhyuk coldly drew the final line.
At that moment.
Rumble!
All the moisture in the air began to evaporate.
Lips cracked, and skin turned dry and parched.
Through dry, stinging eyes, a terrifying sight unfolded.
A sphere of fire was forming inside the snake's gaping maw.
[The 'Fire-Drinking Snake' activates Lv15 'Spear of Blazing Fire'!]
"D-dodge!"
Maeda screamed urgently.
But where on earth were they supposed to dodge?
In a straight, narrow corridor like this?
"Aaargh!"
"S-save me!"
The desperate instinct to survive clashed with the harsh reality that survival was impossible.
In that instant.
Boom!
A crimson sphere, condensed into a single point, shot down the corridor.
"It's... coming!"
"How are we supposed to..."
"It's over."
Lee Young-kwon and the other players of the Ssaulabi Guild stared blankly, their mouths agape.
The approaching torrent of fire seemed utterly unstoppable.
But right then.
[Lv8 'Glacial Shaping' is activated!]
A massive ice crystal materialized in front of them.
It was Jinhyuk.
As he layered Glacial Shaping over his barrier, the pure white runic letters glowed with a bluish light.
A defense utilizing opposing attributes.
A dragon's breath might be a different story, but a mere stream of fire from a snake was easily blockable.
With this, the Ssaulabi Guild was safe.
"Damn it!"
Maeda also threw himself behind Perseus's Shield.
Crackle...
As the relic's effect activated, a pink barrier expanded around Maeda.
However.
Its range was far too small compared to Jinhyuk's barrier.
It was barely enough to protect two or three people at most.
Everyone gasped.
At the same time.
The calamity fire swept through the corridor.
* * *
Sizzle!
Heat haze rose from the scorched ground.
The players of the Samurai Guild, charred to cinders, crumbled into handfuls of ash and scattered.
It happened so fast they didn't even have time to feel pain.
Yet, dying instantly like that might have been a mercy.
"Aaargh!"
A scream tore from Maeda's throat.
It was only natural, given the horrific burns covering his entire body.
He only survived because of his decent mana control; for any ordinary player, such severe injuries would have proven instantly fatal.
"That's why I told you. It's better to hand over a relic you don't even know how to use."
If you had just handed it over quietly, you wouldn't have had to die.
You dug your own grave, didn't you?
"You reaped what you sowed, so blame yourself."
Sympathy?
He didn't feel a single shred of it.
After all, they were the ones who crossed the line first.
Furthermore, due to the effects of 'Cold Heart', he had become even more merciless toward those he perceived as enemies.
Perhaps this was a defense mechanism to save the majority.
To survive, to climb to the top of the Tower and prevent the extinction of humanity, he had to sweep away every single obstacle in his path.
'I have a few minutes before the next breath, so before that...'
Jinhyuk approached Maeda, who was on the verge of losing consciousness.
He then infused cold energy into the shield lying on the ground.
Along with a thick cloud of steam, the red-hot surface of the shield cooled down instantly.
[Perseus's Shield]
Acquisition Difficulty: S (Red)
Description: A relic used by the mythical hero Perseus when facing Medusa. Although it is a shield boasting overwhelming defensive power, its original owner, Athena, placed great importance on the worthiness of its wielder. The shield's stats are applied differentially based on the player's skill and potential.
This was the reason why, despite being a relic used by a high-ranking deity, it couldn't even block a mere snake's breath.
This was exactly why.
'Only those who prove their worth can wield this shield. That's what it means.'
Jinhyuk gripped the shield tightly.
It was hot.
He felt a surge of hot mana rushing from his fingertips to the crown of his head.
The shield was reacting.
Unlike before, it seemed to roar with joy at finally meeting a worthy master.
It was then.
"W-who on earth... are you?"
Takeshi, who was completely unscathed thanks to hiding behind Maeda, spoke up.
His voice trembled violently.
He couldn't help it.
He had repeatedly used his half future sight, but he couldn't catch even a glimpse of Jinhyuk's future.
'No matter how incomplete my ability is, I should at least see a tiny fragment of his future.'
Whether it was a few hours later, or decades into the future, he should have been able to pinpoint at least one moment.
But.
For some reason, Jinhyuk's future was pitch black, as if covered by a blackout curtain.
He didn't know why.
The only certainty was that this man was unlike any player he had ever met.
"Answer me. What is your relationship with this Tower?"
"Why? Is it weird that you can't figure it out even with those fancy 'eyes' of yours?"
Jinhyuk smirked.
"...! Y-you even know about my ability?"
To see right through an innate ability he had never revealed to anyone before.
What on earth was going on here?
"I can't... believe it. That power, that ability. It's not within the realm of humanity. Yes, no matter how I look at it, this is impossible."
"Of course it is."
Jinhyuk shrugged nonchalantly.
Then, he casually added a single line.
"Because I am one of the beings at the very top of the Tower."
One of the beings at the very top of the Tower?
Takeshi slowly chewed over those words.
But only for a brief moment.
Because those words could only mean one thing.
"Don't tell me...!"
So that was it.
Then everything made sense.
The absurd power and abilities he possessed, and even his future, which couldn't be seen with future sight. All of it.
'He's not a human... He's a deity.'
Through his future sight, Takeshi had glimpsed the deities residing somewhere in the Tower.
Beings whose mere voices shook the atmosphere and whose single gestures split the earth.
Because it was so far removed from reality, he had never mentioned it to anyone in his guild. But to think he would actually meet one of those lofty beings in person.
With a mere human body, there was no chance of winning.
Just displeasing a deity would reduce his very existence to nothingness.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded as if it were about to burst.
He felt like his body would collapse at any moment.
"I... I have committed a mortal sin..."
Takeshi bowed his head, his face pale as a sheet.
He was trembling so violently from head to toe that it was almost pitiful to watch.
Pfft!
Watching him, Jinhyuk barely held back a burst of laughter.
That was a close one.
He had almost lost it just now.
'I guess catching a clumsy glimpse of the upper floors of the Tower makes him easy to fool.'
Deity, my foot.
'If I were a god, would I be crawling up the Tower floor by floor like a toddler?'
I would have built an elevator straight from the 1st to the 50th floor and flown up at supersonic speed.
They say if your head is empty, your body suffers.
The old sayings really never lie.
However, Jinhyuk forced himself to maintain a calm expression.
Considering Takeshi's position within the Samurai Guild, he would definitely be useful in the future.
Ah.
But before that.
"Kieeeek!"
The second breath was fired.
The calamity fire rushed forward, incinerating everything in the corridor.
But once again, Jinhyuk blocked the stream of fire with a casual wave of his hand.
[‘Plausible Attribute Barrier’ is activated!]
[You have met the second condition for your 1st Class Advancement!]
Boom!
As ice and fire collided head-on, a thick cloud of steam erupted.
Although this was entirely due to the synergy between opposing skills and his barrier, to Takeshi, who was watching, it must have looked like the power of a god itself.
"A-as expected...!"
"Don't be so surprised by something like this. More importantly, can I ask you a question?"
"O-of course! Anything!"
"I came down here out of curiosity about human ecology, but there are still many things I don't know. The rules of the Tower are quite annoying, you see. They suppress our power using things like Probability and constraints so that even deities can't move around as they please."
There was nothing better than bringing up rules the other party didn't know to avoid tedious explanations.
Of course he wouldn't know.
'How could you know when even I barely understand it?'
It was such a trash game with broken probability and balance that even the developers probably didn't know what they had created.
So, whatever bullshit he threw out would work.
As long as that guy believed he was a god.
"In that sense, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Jinhyuk got straight to the point with a sly grin.