Chapter 105: How a Veteran Trains a Pet (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 105: How a Veteran Trains a Pet (1)
The deal was struck.
Of course, the transaction was not to take place inside the labyrinth.
"I'll head over to your place. I've been missing that cup of coffee I drank at the library. After all, good coffee must be enjoyed in a cozy place to truly bring out its flavor."
Jinhyuk spoke without meaning a word of it.
But then.
[Hmm. In that case, I will open a gate for you to come over, but...]
Rick's voice trailed off.
How should he put it?
His tone sounded as if he were contemplating something.
Hesitation seeped through his voice.
But it was only for a brief moment.
[Fufu. No, never mind. Things might actually turn out quite interesting. If it were anyone else, I might hesitate, but Player Kang Jinhyuk is certainly qualified to come here.]
Rick uttered those meaningful words.
What was that about?
Did they redecorate the Great Library?
Jinhyuk tilted his head in confusion.
Right then.
Wuuuung!
A massive gate materialized before his eyes.
'This is...?'
Jinhyuk's brow furrowed.
Its shape was unlike any gate he had seen before.
The foundation made of pure white ivory and the golden mist swirling in its center looked extraordinary at a single glance.
'So that's what it was.'
Only now did he understand what Rick had meant.
He had planned to kill some time by running a few dungeons on the lower floors before heading to the Elven forest.
'Interesting.'
It seemed this wouldn't end with a simple transaction.
Jinhyuk took a step forward.
As he crossed the shimmering surface of the gate, his vision instantly plunged into darkness.
Wuuuuung!
When the darkness faded and his vision cleared, the scenery before him had completely transformed.
An endless desert.
Under the blazing sun, a city that preserved a brilliant ancient civilization stretched out.
"Wow..."
Jinhyuk let out a dry breath.
His lips already felt parched.
Right then.
"Welcome, Player Kang Jinhyuk. I have been waiting for you."
Rick, dressed in a black suit, welcomed Jinhyuk.
Seriously, he couldn't give up his suit even in this scorching heat?
Just looking at him made Jinhyuk feel hot himself.
"I thought I was going to the Great Library, but I didn't expect the gate to lead to a place like this. Are you enjoying a vacation or something?"
Jinhyuk bantered, feigning ignorance.
"Hahaha. I wish it were a vacation, but I am here on business. You know... those Egyptian deities you are so familiar with? This is where they reside. As it happens, they also wished to meet you, so I suppose we could say this worked out quite well."
Indeed.
The 42nd Floor of the Tower of Trials.
This was the upper floor of the Tower, a place players couldn't even begin to imagine.
And being invited here meant that his past lie—claiming to be under the protection of the Egyptian deities—had also been exposed.
'Does he want to see me squirm in front of the deities?'
'Or does he want to see how I handle the situation?'
He didn't know which of the two was the goal, but...
Well.
Whatever they imagined, the outcome would defy their expectations.
* * *
As he followed Rick into the city, countless gazes locked onto him.
They were not human.
Though they had human bodies, their heads were those of eagles, snakes, cats, or jackals.
'I'm seeing the residents of the 42nd Floor already.'
Jinhyuk indulged in a moment of nostalgia, reminiscing about the past.
Normally, this was a floor he shouldn't have reached until much later, but thanks to Rick, he was about to have a rather interesting experience.
This was also his first time meeting deities face-to-face before even reaching level 100.
While Jinhyuk looked around, the residents stared back at him with curiosity.
"Hey! Look over there. It's a human."
"Oh. I heard humans entered the Tower, but to think one has already made it this far."
"Seeing how he's with Mr. Rick, he must have come through a gate."
"Amazing. To be recognized by an Administrator... he must be special even among humans."
"Maybe he came to receive a 'selection'."
"Already?"
The murmurs grew louder.
'I feel like an elephant in a zoo.'
As Jinhyuk wore a bitter smile, Rick, walking beside him, spoke up.
"My apologies. Since this is your first time here, I wanted to show you around, but it seems I've only drawn excessive attention to you."
"No, it's actually quite refreshing and nice."
There was no real need to tour the 42nd Floor anyway.
He was already so familiar with this place.
He even knew that the 13th flowerpot in Anubis's bedroom was a fake, but he still had to play the part of an innocent newbie.
After all, raising the suspicions of a sly fox like Rick was the last thing he wanted.
"By the way, didn't you say the Egyptian deities wanted to meet me?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Judging by your mischievous smile, old man, I doubt it's for a pleasant reason."
"Ever since they found out you conned them by claiming to be under their protection... Well, let me put it this way."
Rick pointed toward a corner of the distant desert.
A crater hollowed out of the flat ground was quite striking.
"That was where the Sphinx and the Pyramids used to stand."
A short sentence in the past tense.
In other words, they had been so furious that they completely trashed their own home.
Having finished speaking, Rick quietly observed Jinhyuk's reaction.
He expected Jinhyuk to be terrified by the overwhelming power of a deity, or to regret what he had done.
However.
"What a waste. There must have been quite a lot of treasure there. Why on earth did they go wild and smash it all? Seriously, the rich are always the worst."
Jinhyuk merely clicked his tongue, showing not a single shred of fear.
"Are you... not afraid, Jinhyuk?"
His opponents were lofty deities.
They were absolute rulers who ruled the upper floors of the Tower.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk was a mere player who had just entered the Tower and was climbing the lower floors.
Comparing the two was a contradiction in itself.
Even so.
"Well, should I really be afraid of the 42nd Floor when it's not even the 50th?"
Jinhyuk smiled broadly.
What on earth was this confidence?
As if he could handle even a god, his arrogance pierced the heavens.
Having this much nerve was almost absurd at this point.
Yet, for some reason, Rick didn't think that confidence was entirely groundless. He didn't know why.
It was just that his instinct, honed through encounters with countless beings, told him so.
"Puhahaha! Indeed! As expected, you never disappoint, Jinhyuk. This is fun. Truly interesting. I was starting to grow weary of a life that has spun like a hamster wheel for ages, but it seems living a long life isn't entirely bad."
Rick burst into wild laughter, looking genuinely satisfied.
From the moment they first met, he had been certain of one thing: the charm of the player named Kang Jinhyuk would not easily fade.
He had tried to test him again by putting him in a difficult spot, but...
As expected, he did not disappoint.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling. A strange feeling that you will eventually make it up here, Jinhyuk."
"That's strange."
"What do you mean by strange?"
"Because I also thought I'd be able to come here in the not-too-distant future."
Indeed...
That was just like him.
The corners of Rick's mouth curled up even higher.
"Haha! I shall look forward to that day as well. Of course, I hope you bring a much larger trade item than Medusa next time."
After that, the two exchanged idle chatter.
In the meantime, they arrived at a palace built of white marble.
This was the place where the Egyptian deities resided.
The [White Oasis].
"I will step inside for a moment. I must inform the guards of our arrival."
"Yes, go ahead."
Answering briefly, Jinhyuk moistened his lower lip with his tongue.
'I should make some quick preparations before meeting these high-and-mighty folks.'
Since he could anticipate what kind of event would unfold, he needed to prepare accordingly.
'Even if I'm a veteran, I can't face deities—especially those guys—completely empty-handed.'
Jinhyuk activated his personal status window.
His current coin balance was 2,153,188.
This was the result of the steady revenue generated by his video of the 5th Floor's 'Path of Choice' and other videos he had previously uploaded.
It was an amount comparable to the total coins held by an entire large guild, but it was still absurdly insufficient to buy items capable of opposing a deity.
But it didn't matter.
'It's not like I've ever been obsessed with coins anyway.'
If he was short, he would just find a solution in his own way.
A veteran had methods that only a veteran could pull off.
Jinhyuk quickly began purchasing items from the 'Coin Exchange'.
* * *
"I don't even know what to say to this. Really..."
"Puhaha! What's wrong? I find it quite amusing."
"Stop talking nonsense! Have you already forgotten how much I suffered because of that bastard?"
Several voices echoed inside the palace.
Every single one of them carried an untouchable aura.
And of course they did.
For those standing before Jinhyuk right now were beings revered as 'gods'.
Absolute rulers who could crumble mountains with a mere wave of their hand and influence the entire Tower with their words of power.
These were beings of a status so high that one could hardly dare to look them in the eye.
Yet, these deities, who never lost their composure, were currently flustered.
Horus looked dumbfounded.
Osiris looked intrigued.
And Anubis, having suffered the most, was naturally seething with rage.
At the center of it all stood Jinhyuk.
"Is it really such an unreasonable demand to ask for one of the 'eggs' kept here in exchange for handing over Medusa? Considering Lord Horus's collection, I don't think it's a losing trade for you."
Jinhyuk shrugged.
"I do not know where you heard about the egg, but that is not something a human can handle."
Horus drew the line.
Naturally, he didn't even pretend to consider it.
"Well, believe it or not, I'm actually quite good at taming wild animals."
As the saying goes, there are no bad animals.
There was a proper way to train any pet.
"To treat a mythical beast as a common animal... No matter how ignorant you are, this is far too foolish."
Horus let out a short sigh, utterly dumbfounded.
On the other hand, Osiris stroked his chin, his eyes sparkling.
The sight of a human making demands so confidently even against them was quite intriguing.
"Why not? Just give it to him. It seems like it'll be fun."
"Osiris!"
"Come on, he won't even be able to hatch it, let alone tame it. So let's just hand it over. If you don't want to do that, we can just take Medusa by force."
Rumble!
Osiris gently released a fraction of his power.
Instantly, the air began to freeze.
Indeed, a deity could bring about a disaster simply by expressing a hint of emotion.
As the situation threatened to turn ugly, Rick, who was standing beside Jinhyuk, took a step forward.
"Haha. Surely you are not suggesting you will violate the laws of the Tower in front of this old man? Player Kang Jinhyuk came here as my guest. You may toy with humans as much as you like, but I must ask you to do so only within the established boundaries."
"Ah, I was just joking. I know, I know. I'm well aware of those damn laws."
At the mention of the laws, Osiris instantly dispersed the mana he had gathered.
Right then.
"None of that matters."
Anubis, who had been grinding his teeth from the start, stepped forward.
Thud!
A mummy over two meters tall materialized in midair.
Though the bandages wrapped tightly around its body were typical of a mummy, the mana radiating from it was second to none of any dungeon boss.
"Five seconds. If you can last just five seconds against my champion, I will exchange Medusa for the mythical beast's egg as you wish. This wouldn't violate the laws. Well? Will you accept the terms?"
Anubis spread his fingers.
"So all I have to do is last five seconds?"
"Indeed. However, keep in mind that a duel can claim a life at any moment..."
Anubis could not finish his sentence.
In the brief silence between their words, a sword strike flashed like lightning, slicing through the mummy's body.
"Kieeeek..."
The massive mummy's body split in half.
It wobbled.
Having lost its point of connection, the upper torso fell backward.
Silence enveloped the palace.
"Then, I'll take that as permission to kill it."
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.