Chapter 109: Recruiting Rankers, Climbing the Tower of Trials (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: Recruiting Rankers, Climbing the Tower of Trials (2)
The first person stepped out of the car.
Long, waist-length blonde hair and deep blue eyes.
Her appearance was so striking, it was as if a goddess from ancient myth had descended to earth.
"Whoa..."
Gulp.
The girl's pure, breathtaking beauty was enough to inspire awe.
The reporters' eyes shook with shock.
And for good reason.
"Ah, it's the Saint of Amsterdam!"
"Oh my god..."
"A European ranker made a surprise visit to Korea?"
Her recognition was on a completely different level compared to the players from the China Guild.
Teresa, counted among the prestigious '100 Players', had arrived in Korea.
"W-what brings you here?"
"Do you have an acquaintance in Korea?"
Questions poured in from the reporters.
Teresa looked around hesitantly before answering cautiously.
"Ah... Well, I came to see Player Kang Jinhyuk. I heard he was here."
Her sudden visit to Korea was already massive news, but the fact that she came just to meet Jinhyuk?
This was impossible to ignore.
It was a massive scoop.
"So, you came all the way from Europe to Korea just for that?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"It must have been an exhausting flight. May I ask what your relationship is with Player Kang Jinhyuk?"
Teresa hesitated at the reporter's sensitive question.
She seemed to ponder for a moment, her expression filled with complex emotions.
"A friend... whom I must trust, no matter what."
She replied with a bright smile.
It wasn't a lie. It wasn't pretense or exaggeration, either.
Teresa truly trusted and relied on Jinhyuk with that level of pure sincerity.
Meanwhile, another group of reporters had surrounded a robustly built elderly man.
A figure who absolutely shouldn't have been here.
A martial artist whose condition had been so shrouded in mystery that rumors of his death had circulated.
It was none other than Yu Cheon-yeong.
"We understood you were recuperating in a hospital due to an incurable illness. Have you fully recovered?"
"Do you also know Player Kang Jinhyuk, Mr. Yu Cheon-yeong? Please, just a word!"
An overwhelming wave of attention descended upon him.
Even the reporters who had been lingering around the China Guild to see if they could fish for any scraps had gathered here before anyone knew it.
Hong Deok-pyo looked as if he had just been forced to swallow a handful of dirt, but no one paid him any mind.
To put it bluntly, even if Hong Deok-pyo were to get hit by a car or pull down his pants right now, the reporters wouldn't spare him a single glance.
"Player Kang Jinhyuk is the benefactor who saved this old man's life. I owe him a debt I can never repay in my lifetime."
Yu Cheon-yeong spoke.
Korea's strongest—no, one of the world's most renowned martial artists before the Tower of Trials appeared—had just uttered Jinhyuk's name.
"Mana Overload Syndrome," an illness widely known to be incurable.
And the one who cured it was Jinhyuk?
Once again, a massive wave of shock rippled through the crowd.
"J-just... who on earth is Player Kang Jinhyuk?"
"I thought he was just good at fighting, but he has deep knowledge of medicine too?"
"They said he'd easily enter the newly calculated top 100 rankings this month. Looking at this, he'd more than qualify."
"Is the top 100 even the question? There's no one more successful than Player Kang Jinhyuk right now. Just looking at his achievements, there's no comparison."
This wasn't just nationalistic bias; it was an objective fact.
Because they were public figures, the reporters couldn't say it out loud, but the ranking in their minds was already set in stone.
Finally, another group of reporters thrust their microphones toward the third person who stepped out of the car.
A man who looked incredibly sharp in a black suit, yet carried an icy, cold aura.
The Sword Saint, Cheon Yu-seong.
"Just one question, please. We heard you rejected offers from every single guild in Korea. Why did you respond to Player Kang Jinhyuk's call?"
It was true.
Cheon Yu-seong, who climbed the tower alone, had been clearing dungeons and labyrins with overwhelming skill.
Countless guilds had sent him love calls, offering blank checks for his unstoppable progress...
But Cheon Yu-seong had never replied to a single one of them.
He ignored their very existence, let alone listening to their contract terms.
Yet, this impenetrable figure had come to meet Jinhyuk.
"Are you and Player Kang Jinhyuk comrades?"
There was no other way to explain it.
However, at the word 'comrades,' Cheon Yu-seong's eyebrows furrowed sharply.
Rumble...!
A sharp, murderous intent erupted from his body.
Flinching, the startled reporters took several steps back.
"We are not comrades."
A flat denial.
What followed was a complex mix of love and hate.
"He is a target I must defeat one day."
The reason he climbed the tower, and the purpose behind his grueling training.
For Cheon Yu-seong, who had only ever won in every competition, Jinhyuk was a massive mountain whose very existence fueled his desire to challenge him.
And Jinhyuk was watching the entire scene from a short distance away.
'Hmm.'
Not bad.
As expected, there was nothing quite as spectacular as seeing all the major lead actors gathered in one place.
If he had his way, he would have summoned Alice too.
But if he did that, every raid team in Korea would probably mobilize.
The sight of roads and buildings turning into a sea of fire... well, it wouldn't make for a very pleasant memory.
* * *
"H-how could this..."
Tremble.
Hong Deok-pyo stammered, his face flushed red.
This was a stage he had prepared to crush his opponent's spirit.
But why?
Why did every single outcome turn out the exact opposite of what he had anticipated?
The press corps he had painstakingly gathered was instead used to elevate the brand value of the name 'Kang Jinhyuk.'
Meanwhile, the China Guild was reduced to a laughingstock due to the opponent's dazzling network of connections.
Out of all possible scenarios, they had drawn the absolute worst card.
The other players belonging to the China Guild were equally flustered.
"...He's even more formidable than I thought."
"Teresa, Yu Cheon-yeong... and even Cheon Yu-seong. He's gathered only those known to be impossible to recruit."
"..."
In front of those three, even the prestigious name of 'China' faded.
An S-rank level was nowhere near enough.
At the very least, if they had known the scale would grow this large, they should have brought a much higher-ranked player.
'No.'
The man acting as the leader silently shook his head.
'Unless Namgung Cheon himself came, there's no changing this atmosphere.'
They had intended to boost the China Guild's image and extort massive amounts of coins and items from the Black Cloud Guild as a bonus.
But everything had gone up in smoke.
All because of a single person.
"Well, it was a pretty fun event in its own way."
Jinhyuk shrugged at the four of them.
School ties, regional ties, blood ties.
He had no intention of denying that these three factors were important in Korea.
However...
"If you're going to brag about your connections, well... shouldn't they at least be on this level?"
They needed to realize that even connections had tiers.
* * *
A storm had passed.
Hong Deok-pyo, completely out of his mind, gave up on appearing on the show.
The China Guild players who had come with him also exited the stage alongside him.
Well, that was the wiser choice.
If they appeared on TV like this, they would be treated as less than the moisturizing tissues sitting on the table.
'Why do I find it so entertaining to watch a smug bastard get humbled?'
This is why being a veteran is a curse.
Because he was so used to seeking sadistic stimulation, his body had become desensitized to ordinary amusement.
Right then.
"What are you grinning so happily about?"
Cheon Yu-seong, who had been watching from the side, clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I don't even need to hear it to know. No doubt you were enjoying watching that Hong Deok-pyo guy wallow in despair."
Seriously, does this guy have no filter on his tongue?
It's like his brain is directly connected to his mouth.
"I appreciate you coming all this way, but I'd prefer if you didn't interfere with my personal hobbies."
"Don't interfere? Considering my studio apartment got trashed because of you, I think I have every right to interfere as much as I want."
"Studio apartment... you mean the place you live in?"
Jinhyuk tilted his head, then immediately realized the reason.
Ah... right.
Come to think of it, on the 5th floor, he had claimed that Unknown's identity was Cheon Yu-seong.
Since it wasn't his own problem, he had completely forgotten about it.
Ahem!
Feeling a prick of conscience, Jinhyuk quickly cleared his throat.
"Even if no one else did, I always believed in you. The Demonic Human Association is nothing but a joke to the great Sword Saint. Yes, indeed."
"...I say this again, but no matter how much time passes, I will never get used to your shamelessness."
"I'll take that as a compliment. More importantly, how was it?"
"How was what?"
"The guy sent by the Demonic Human Association. They must have been dead serious this time. Tell me what it was like fighting him."
At Jinhyuk's words, Cheon Yu-seong paused.
His expression darkened slightly, as if the memory of that encounter had resurfaced.
"It was a guy named Gawain."
Oho.
That alias referred to one of the 'Knights of the Round Table.'
In other words, an executive of the Demonic Human Association had personally paid him a visit.
"Must have been quite troublesome to deal with?"
"He was."
The opponent had been strong. Strong enough to make his teeth grind.
But.
"That was all."
Cheon Yu-seong looked at Jinhyuk with a strange gaze.
The intruder who had broken into his apartment was undoubtedly a formidable enemy he had to risk his life to fight...
But why?
Even that powerful monster didn't feel nearly as overwhelming when compared to this guy.
At least, that monster didn't instill the absolute despair of knowing he could never surpass him, no matter how hard he tried.
That was why Cheon Yu-seong was certain.
'As expected... there is no one stronger than this sly bastard.'
No matter if it was a ranker receiving full support from a guild,
or even a boss monster in the tower that defied all common sense.
None of them would be a match for this fossilized veteran who had rotted past the point of stagnation.
Therefore.
'One day, I will defeat you and take the throne.'
Though he had already tasted defeat 138 times, the one who laughed last would be the true victor.
Cheon Yu-seong continued to nurture his grand dreams, trapped in the delusion that he could win next time.
Their conversation ended there.
Afterward, Jinhyuk shared some light conversation with Teresa and Yu Cheon-yeong.
"It's fine. I promised to appear on your broadcast back when we cleared the ruins, Jinhyuk."
"Haha. I share Lady Teresa's sentiment. Honestly, I wanted to bring all of my disciples, but I held back because you strongly advised against it."
They were all grateful people who had come all this way without a single complaint, just because of a single word from Jinhyuk.
Indeed.
This was why one had to treat precious people well.
Even if it wasn't for this specific occasion, they were individuals who could be of help at any time in the future.
Right then.
"You can head over to the set now."
At Kim Da-eun's words, Jinhyuk stood up.
It was time to go.
* * *
The broadcast began.
However.
'W-what on earth is this?'
'Damn it, we're ruined. We're ruined!'
Choi Hee-jae, the producer in charge of the program, and Kim Da-eun had to repeatedly wipe the cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.
And for good reason.
They had gone through so much trouble to recruit these prominent rankers, only for the broadcast content to go completely off the rails.
"Um... Player Kang Jinhyuk? Could you tell us how you cleared the labyrinth?"
"Well, there's not much to it. You just eat a lot of tasteless moss and mushrooms while playing with the calf."
"I-is that it?"
"Yes."
Jinhyuk nodded with an innocent face.
The female host tried her best to keep the conversation going, but the answers to every question were the same.
"The 3rd-floor dungeon..."
"You just dodge everything."
"T-then the 4th floor..."
"You just dodge everything there too."
"What about the 5th floor?"
"You just have to dodge a bit harder there."
No, seriously.
What else was he supposed to say when that was the actual tip?
In the first place, there was no way to conquer the Tower of Trials other than throwing oneself into it like a madman. Jinhyuk had simply shared the one and only strategy.