Chapter 160: Faction Selection (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: Faction Selection (4)
[You have accepted the conversation request from the 'Murim' faction.]
Jinhyuk nodded as if he had been waiting for this.
Then, the figure of a solemn-looking, white-haired old man appeared.
It's been a while since I've seen someone from Murim.
Jinhyuk looked at him with interest.
The old man also stared back at him, his face a mix of various emotions.
However, he quickly composed his expression and got straight to the point.
"I am Moyong Su, the Sect Leader of the Moyong Clan."
Well, well. The Moyong Clan.
That's a good place.
They are one of the Five Great Clans, after all.
"Representing Murim, I shall grant you one opportunity. If you join hands with us, we will graciously overlook all the foolish things you have done up until now and—"
[You have terminated the conversation.]
It seemed this fellow still didn't understand who held the upper hand here.
He was still so full of hot air that it was honestly quite annoying.
[The 'Murim' faction is attempting to request a conversation again.]
[Declined.]
[The 'Murim' faction...]
[Blocked.]
Cleanly resolved.
Good.
Now, next...
Jinhyuk accepted the conversation request from the 'Empire'.
"Haha. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Penheimer of the Caladium Kingdom, which belongs to the Empire."
He looked quite advanced in years.
Yet, the mana vibrating in his voice was far from ordinary.
As expected...
Was he indeed one of the 100 Sword Masters the Empire boasted of?
He had fought this old man in the past, but talking to him like this in reality felt rather strange.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Player Kang Jinhyuk's impressive performances so far. It might sound cliché since so many factions have probably said it already, but I truly have nothing but admiration for you."
Penheimer's hearty laughter rang out pleasantly.
At least this old man knew how to negotiate a contract.
He knew exactly how to make the other party feel favorable, and how to make them comfortably focus on the conversation.
Naturally, the words that came out of Jinhyuk's mouth were much softer than before.
"I'm Kang Jinhyuk. I've also heard of the Empire's reputation many times through the Administrators."
"Hahaha! You flatter us..."
Penheimer's complexion brightened noticeably.
Since the other party was showing goodwill, he couldn't help but feel excited.
"By any chance, Player Kang Jinhyuk, is there a faction you are currently leaning toward?"
A faction he was leaning toward...
Of course there was.
However, he had no intention of showing his hand so easily.
"Well, I plan to take my time and think about it. I should choose the option that benefits me the most."
"O-of course. But..."
"Ah! In that sense, could I ask you for a favor?"
"Pardon? What kind of favor?"
"I personally thought the 25th floor was manageable, but it seems others don't feel the same way. So, I'd like you to negotiate a safeguard for them."
"Negotiate? Do you mean... you want me to personally make a request to the Administrator?"
"Exactly."
"...!"
At Jinhyuk's words, Penheimer's eyes widened.
He had never expected him to make such a bold demand before they had even signed a contract.
It was only natural.
The Empire was a massive faction that dominated the middle floors of the Tower.
"Promising player" was just a nice way of putting it; in reality, players were nothing more than useful pawns to them.
Yet, what was with this sheer audacity?
It was as if he was declaring that he would hold all the cards and dictate the entire situation.
Is he reckless? Or is he just that confident?
There was no way to know the answer.
At least, not at this very moment.
Penheimer bit his lower lip.
"What kind of negotiation do you want?"
"Hmm... a 'Survival Guarantee' should do."
A Survival Guarantee was a privilege that allowed a player to merely be disqualified instead of dying when caught in a trap, and it required the approval of at least an Intermediate Administrator to be activated.
It sounded great, but nothing in this world came for free.
Because this privilege exerted a massive influence on the system, it not only consumed an astronomical amount of Coins but also came with various other penalties.
Simply put, it was a privilege that even a giant faction could not easily deploy.
Penheimer swallowed hard.
It was painfully obvious that he was racking his brain to find a way out of this proposal.
"An Intermediate... Administrator. I believe you are also on close terms with one, Jinhyuk-nim."
"That's true."
"Then, couldn't you just ask him directly?"
"That's also true, but then I'd owe Rick a favor."
Why should he waste his own cards when there was someone right in front of him who could do it instead?
He intended to save his favors with Rick for a time when he was far more desperate.
"...I see. You refuse to suffer even the slightest loss."
"I learned that to survive in the Tower, you shouldn't let anyone take even a single bean from you."
"Bwahahaha! Such a selfish mindset. But to climb higher, that is exactly how one must think. Indeed, indeed!"
Penheimer burst into hearty laughter.
He actually seemed to like Jinhyuk's blunt, unpretentious attitude.
"Can I take that as a yes to my request?"
"Yes. You may consider it done. Of course, we hope that you, Kang Jinhyuk-nim, will not forget the favor we have shown you."
"Of course. I'll definitely remember it."
He was confident in his memory.
Though the problem was that he would only remember it.
At any rate, the safeguards for the other players were now set.
At the very least, they would avoid a mass death of valuable prospects by the time the raid ended.
No, was that all?
Once it was revealed who had set up this safeguard, there was only one place the world's cheers and applause would go.
Giving the disease and then the cure.
It worked surprisingly well.
* * *
[Upon death by traps or monsters in the labyrinth, all players will be teleported to the ballroom. However, if you are grazed by even a single attack, all the contribution points you have accumulated so far will vanish.]
[However, deaths resulting from combat between players or other forms of PvP combat will not be restored.]
[This privilege has been activated by Player Kang Jinhyuk.]
A status message appeared before all the players.
"This is..."
Maria's eyes shook violently.
She realized what it meant to be teleported to the ballroom upon death.
The other players also realized the significance of the status message a moment later.
"N-no way. Did he choose this place having already planned all of this?"
"And here we were, busy cursing him without knowing any of this."
"When he disappeared earlier, he didn't run away; he went to do something for all of us. Man, I blamed the wrong person."
"He really is on a different level from us..."
A solemn silence fell over the crowd.
At the same time, they began to reflect on the ranker who silently did his duty even when everyone criticized him. They realized the sheer weight of the burden one had to carry to climb the Tower for the sake of humanity.
Of course, not everyone felt that way.
"That's not it! Don't you see? We're all being played by his tricks!"
Liaoyu shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.
He might have fooled everyone else, but not him.
This was undoubtedly a scheme designed by Jinhyuk to clean up his image.
However, despite Liaoyu's desperate cries, the reaction around him was freezing cold.
"Liaoyu-nim, what on earth are you talking about?"
Maria glared at him.
"Look at it objectively! That message! Doesn't it say that if you get grazed by even a single attack, all your contribution points will disappear?"
Normally, contribution points would only disappear upon death.
But due to Jinhyuk's intervention, even getting injured would cause all the contribution points accumulated so far to vanish.
This meant it had become much harder to gather contribution points and establish connections with favorable factions.
"Liaoyu-nim, we are now able to preserve our lives. Contribution points are important, but are they more important than our lives?"
"Maria is right. It's like saving a drowning man only for him to demand his bundle back."
"People should learn to be grateful."
"I guess people from China... don't know how to show gratitude."
Cold responses followed one after another.
In the end, Liaoyu tucked his tail.
Damn it.
Why on earth did such a selfish and hypocritical person get to monopolize all the praise?
If he hadn't chosen the 25th floor in the first place, their lives wouldn't have been in danger.
Everyone could have competed under much better conditions!
But the atmosphere was such that if he opened his mouth one more time, he would be completely ostracized, so Liaoyu had no choice but to swallow his anger.
Right then,
[Things have gone awry. Eliminate Kang Jinhyuk.]
A familiar voice echoed in Liaoyu's ears.
It was Moyong Su of the Murim faction.
"Do you mean... I have to deal with him?"
Liaoyu asked back, his face filled with uncertainty.
Liaoyu knew better than anyone else that a 1v1 fight against Jinhyuk was impossible for him.
[Do not worry. Your role is not combat.]
The one-time protection one could receive from a faction:
'Manifestation'.
The moment Liaoyu encountered Jinhyuk,
[I will cut off his breath myself.]
Moyong Su, who was currently in the ballroom, would personally manifest inside the labyrinth to eliminate Jinhyuk.
* * *
By the time about three hours had passed since they entered the labyrinth, more than half of the players had been disqualified.
No matter how skilled the rankers were, dodging all the traps on the 25th floor was beyond their capabilities.
Consequently, as time went on, the number of disqualified players grew exponentially.
Of course, even in the midst of this, Jinhyuk was blazing through the labyrinth at ultra-high speed.
Was such a crazy speedrun possible because he was a veteran who had memorized every single pattern?
That wasn't entirely wrong, but it was also thanks to a much more efficient method he employed.
"If even a single arrow touches my body, you're all gathering tonight under Goguma, on top of the moss on the wall."
Jinhyuk threatened.
"Hieek!"
"We get it, so stop threatening us! We're doing our best here!"
"I-I feel like my lungs are going to burst."
"Do I want to live? Do I want to die? Do I really want to live? Just kill me instead!"
"Everyone is being too noisy. Though, I suppose I'm struggling a bit too."
Naturally, the spirit beasts poured their heart and soul into casting their respective elemental magic.
Boom!
Crash!
Colorful sparks flew as walls of ice and fire collided with various traps.
Left here.
Rounding the corner, Jinhyuk accelerated even further.
His body, enhanced by the 'Sword Demon Emperor's Steps', skimmed across the ground like the wind.
Tap! Tap!
His vision shifted rapidly.
Since the spirit beasts blocked all the minor attacks, he was able to conserve his mana.
And there was only one reason he was conserving his stamina and mana like this.
The Murim and China factions will probably make their move.
Indeed.
This was exactly why.
Since he had intentionally provoked Moyong Su and Liaoyu, they must be absolutely seething with rage.
Liaoyu is no match for me, so to kill me, Moyong Su will have to use [Protection] to manifest himself.
He had already mapped out exactly how his opponents would move in his head.
All that was left was to write a flawless script and ensure the actors played their roles to perfection.
It wasn't far now.
Rumble!
Thud!
Clang!
The spirit beasts, who had been spamming skills for nearly three hours to protect Jinhyuk, were on the verge of exhaustion. However, it didn't matter anymore.
The end of the passage was already visible in the distance.
It was then.
Hummmm!
Suddenly, a bright light erupted from beneath his feet.
At the same time, dozens of thorny vines surged toward Jinhyuk's body.
It was a double trap designed to trigger with a time delay.
But just before the vines could completely swallow Jinhyuk,
[Grave of Swords is activated!]
Black Aura erupted from 'Fang'.
Slash!
Green sap sprayed from the vines as they were shredded into dozens of pieces.
Neither double traps nor surprise attacks could catch him off guard.
The various traps had long ceased to be of any concern to Jinhyuk.
After running for a few more minutes, Jinhyuk finally emerged from the passage and came to a sudden halt.
A massive, hundred-meter-wide cavern—one of the few of its size in the labyrinth.
If they were planning an ambush, this was the most likely spot.
However, the players of the China Guild and the figures of Murim, who should have been waiting here, were nowhere to be seen.
Instead,
"Hehehe!"
"Hehe. He's finally here."
the people he least wanted to encounter were waiting for him.