Chapter 159: Faction Selection (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: Faction Selection (3)
"Ugh. It's been so long since I left my habitat. I was seriously so bored."
"Fortunately, we get to stretch our limbs thanks to the intruder."
"Mmm. How long has it been since I last breathed fresh air?"
"Everyone... is too loud. Be quiet, please."
The wind spirit beast, Sylphid, who took the form of an innocent young girl.
The earth spirit beast, Gnome, in the shape of a small golem.
The water spirit beast, Undine, in the form of a mature woman.
The light spirit beast, Wisp, in the form of a boy who found everything tedious.
The spirit beasts of the four elements emerged through their respective gates.
Perhaps because they had been locked up for so long, they all seemed incredibly excited about this rare outing.
Of course, by "excited," it meant they were looking forward to playing with the intruder by brutally tearing them apart.
However...
"Huh?"
Sylphid, the wind spirit beast who had appeared second, tilted her head in confusion.
Something was off.
Right in front of her, a red lizard was holding its hands behind its back, its head planted firmly on the ground.
"Urrrgh..."
It was drenched in cold sweat, its limbs trembling uncontrollably.
It was a sight hard to believe for a Salamander, a creature famous for its sheer ferocity.
"W-what's going on? Why are you acting like that?"
The earth spirit beast also widened his eyes.
Clods of dirt crumbled and fell from his mouth.
"Did he go crazy from being locked up for too long?"
"Get a grip, Salamander! Where did you throw away your pride as a spirit beast to strike such a pathetic pose?!"
"Everyone. Be quiet."
The other spirit beasts were equally bewildered.
Right then.
"Moooogi!"
Goguma activated Fear.
A thunderous roar echoed down the passage.
Mana comparable to the Draconic Language seized control of the space.
"Kyaaa!"
"Gasp!"
"T-this is...!"
A chilling sensation washed over them.
The spirit beasts' faces turned pale in an instant.
At the same time, they finally understood why the Salamander was so terrified that he had tucked his tail.
In reality, even fully grown mythical beasts and spirit beasts wouldn't dare approach the domain of an Ancient Species.
Who could possibly bare their fangs in front of an Ancient Dragon, the most special of all Ancient Species?
Moreover, they were merely intermediate spirit beasts who hadn't even reached adulthood yet.
The fight was as good as over before it even began.
"What are you doing? There's an empty spot next to the fire lizard. Aren't you going to plant your heads on a first-come, first-served basis?"
Jinhyuk, who was perched on a rock, tilted his head.
They had no idea why a mere human was commanding an Ancient Species, but solving that mystery wasn't the priority right now.
They had to run.
Faster than anyone else.
And they had to plant their heads into the ground with more passion than anyone else.
Only then could they survive that monstrous Ancient Species.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Soon, all five spirit beasts bowed their heads to the ground.
Intermediate spirit beasts representing the five elements.
Who could have ever imagined seeing these incredibly proud creatures with their faces flushed red in sheer embarrassment?
But this was no dream or imagination; it was the damn reality.
"Good boy, Goguma."
Jinhyuk gently scratched Goguma's neck.
"Mogi!"
Goguma closed his eyes and thoroughly enjoyed the touch.
He even wagged his tail, looking quite satisfied.
Now, next...
It was a matter of how to deal with these guys.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
"You guys might not know this, but Goguma here is one of the outside directors of our Veteran Corporation."
To be precise, he holds the position of Sales Director.
"As it happens, our company is currently in the second-half open recruitment season and hiring interns. So, what do you say? Any of you interested?"
Needless to say, rejection meant death.
Failing the interview also meant death.
"I-I really want to join!"
"Me too, me too!"
"We might not know much else, but we carry out our assigned duties flawlessly!"
"If I can be with the esteemed Ancient Species, I'll follow you to the ends of hell. Hehe."
"I wish everyone would speak a bit quieter. But I want in too."
The spirit beasts scrambled to raise their voices.
As beings who enjoyed near-immortal lives, their attachment to living was extraordinary.
"Hmm. I'm glad to see everyone showing such passionate interest in our company, but to be honest, I don't really like people who are all talk. I hope you all understand."
Whoosh!
A bright flame flickered at the tip of Jinhyuk's finger.
A power that forced a compulsory oath.
It was the 'Brand of the Flame Soul'.
As the Brand of the Flame Soul was engraved, the spirit beasts' bodies trembled slightly.
[The spirit beasts of the five elements swear submission.]
'This feels exactly like picking up gold lying on the street.'
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Jinhyuk's heart beat wildly.
Taming intermediate spirit beasts was something he wouldn't have even dared to attempt in the past. They were incredibly strong and notoriously difficult to handle.
However, the presence of Goguma, an Ancient Species, had made the impossible possible.
'I'm growing much more efficiently.'
The path to reaching the top of the Tower.
Although the difficulty had increased due to variables like specific individuals, positive variables like this completely offset that.
It meant that no matter how difficult things became, he could easily handle them.
'No, it's not just at that level.'
At his current pace, he might even surpass his past records. And much faster than expected, at that.
As if to prove his thoughts...
Ring!
Multiple status windows popped up in succession.
[You have acquired 5,000 Contribution Points!]
[Current Contribution Points Ranking]
1st: Kang Jinhyuk (5,100P)
2nd: Namgung Cheon (450P)
3rd: Cheon Yu-seong (190P)
4th: Maria (150P)
5th: Patrick (130P)
6th: Yoshio (125P)
...
The gap between him and second place was incomparable.
Well, it made sense, since everyone else was probably in a position where they couldn't move recklessly.
Jinhyuk slowly scanned the rankings.
It was only natural for Namgung Cheon to be near the top.
And he had fully expected Cheon Yu-seong, who hated staying still, to go wild.
As for Alice, she found everything tedious, so she wouldn't be interested in passing through traps. Naturally, she was nowhere to be found on the leaderboard.
And...
'The rest of them are probably just walking on eggshells, wary of the penalty from the defense nerf.'
A mere graze meant a severe injury, and a direct hit meant death. No matter how brave they were, it would be hard for them to willingly step into the traps.
Although he was taking advantage of this psychological gap to reap massive benefits, he couldn't expect this stalemate to last forever.
'At most, they'll steel themselves and start moving in a few dozen minutes.'
That would be troublesome.
If players were to die in droves, all the blame would be directed at him for choosing the 25th floor.
Before those competitive fools made any reckless attempts, he had to quickly wrap up the 'next step' of his plan.
Jinhyuk closed the Contribution Points window.
'By the way, it's about time they started showing interest...'
The moment he thought that...
[Multiple factions are showing great interest in you!]
[The 'Empire' praises your overwhelming performance.]
[The 'Murim' feels fear toward your existence.]
[The 'Spirit Realm' finds the existence of the 'Ancient Species Goguma' intriguing.]
[A total of 13 minor factions wish to align with you.]
[The 'Third Faction' expresses very strong goodwill.]
Indirect messages from various factions flooded in.
The Empire, Murim, and the Spirit Realm.
As expected, several major players had made their move.
Adding the minor factions to the mix, it seemed he had left a powerful impression on quite a large number of forces.
'Well, they'd have to be crazy not to show interest after seeing this.'
An overwhelming performance, and the ability to find a way out even in the most disadvantageous situations.
Above all, the meticulousness to design the entire board.
Didn't he possess every single quality desired by factions desperate to expand their territory?
From their perspective, they couldn't help but drool just looking at him.
However, what caught Jinhyuk's eye was neither Murim, the Empire, nor the Spirit Realm.
The Third Faction.
To think even these guys would contact him.
This was getting interesting.
Unexpectedly, it might be possible to design an even more complex situation.
* * *
"Haha..."
A hollow laugh escaped the lips of Penheimer, the Sword Master of the Caladium Kingdom.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall had heated up rapidly the moment the individual of interest chose the 25th floor of the Tower.
It was only natural.
With the current players' abilities, they could never break through the labyrinth on the 25th floor.
In particular, the debuff effect that ignored all defense was a formidable shackle, even if the target were a Sword Master.
And yet...
'Is he... not afraid?'
His relaxed smile while everyone else was panicking...
...seemed to show that he hadn't chosen this floor for no reason.
Not a coincidence, but absolute confidence.
A moment later, Penheimer's anticipation became reality.
He had discovered the hidden route at the entrance of the labyrinth, followed by the appearance of the gates of the five elements.
And anticipation had built up over which spirit beast he would choose to fight.
But to think he would actually... choose to fight all five spirits at once.
'What on earth is he thinking?'
Penheimer clenched his fists without realizing it.
Facing five spirit beasts at once, each of which was a named-grade entity, was nothing short of suicide.
Of course...
All those worries turned out to be completely unfounded.
"How can this be..."
"Those stubborn spirit bastards actually tucked their tails."
"More than that, I've never heard of a player taming an Ancient Species. Even on our side, we have no precedent of securing an Ancient Species yet."
"Just what kind of method did he use...?"
The faces of the residents on the 2nd floor contorted in shock.
The strongest creature, which was hard to catch a glimpse of even in the middle floors of the Tower.
Just seeing it was mind-boggling enough, but their opponent was commanding such an Ancient Species completely like his own limbs.
The sight of a noble Ancient Species trying so hard to win its master's attention was a scene they had never even imagined.
Moyong Su, the patriarch of the Moyong Clan representing Murim, also felt cold sweat running down his spine.
'...He is a far more dangerous individual than I thought.'
He had been aware of Jinhyuk since the Elf Forest on the 5th floor, but that was strictly regarding his combat prowess.
'To think that not only his martial power, but even his knowledge of the Tower is off the charts.'
Perhaps...
He even felt that a massive change might come not just to the power structure of the middle floors, but to the entire Tower.
However...
Even all that shock was merely a preview.
"Huh?"
"W-what is that?"
"W-wait a minute!"
At the scene that followed...
All the residents were utterly lost for words.
* * *
"Alright. Start!"
Jinhyuk nodded.
Then...
"Earth!"
"Fire!"
"Wind!"
"Water!"
"Light!"
Along with their shouts...
The spirit beasts threw themselves from all directions, gathering in one place.
Because they had been thoroughly suppressed through fear and intimidation, there was no room for mistakes or awkwardness.
'Ah!'
A near-perfect movement.
It was enough to make his heart swell with pride.
But this wasn't the end.
Because the true climax was starting right now.
"When the five powers combine into one!"
The voices of the spirit beasts merged into one.
"Spirit Special Forces!"
Like superheroes making an entrance, the five spirit beasts struck a pose together.
"Ooooh!"
Jinhyuk sprang up from his seat.
Goguma's eyes sparkled as he repeatedly cried, "Mogi! Mogi!"
"That's it! You're all hired as interns!"
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Jinhyuk sent a thunderous round of applause, looking genuinely impressed.
Even if he wanted to fail them, he couldn't. They possessed an entrance scene that suited the Veteran Corporation better than anyone else.
It was right when Jinhyuk was admiring them.
[The 'Empire' wishes to speak with you.]
[The 'Murim' wishes to speak with you.]
Representatives of both factions reached out to him at the same time.
Two caught on the hook.
They bit.
...The real game starts now.
Jinhyuk composed his breathing.