Chapter 165: Horn of Despair (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: Horn of Despair (2)
"...I thought I did a pretty good job of erasing my presence. How did you notice?"
A man's voice echoed from behind a pile of gold.
The one who revealed himself was Liaoyu of the Zhonghua Guild.
How did he notice?
It was like trying to teach Confucius how to write.
Of all things, he had used an Illusion Barrier, so even if Jinhyuk wanted to play dumb, he couldn't.
"I happen to be quite well-versed in barriers. Besides, if you want to hide that disgusting stench of yours, please take a shower at least once a day. Seriously."
Jinhyuk shrugged.
He had expected Murim to know about this place, but in a situation like this, it was better to gently needle them.
Especially since childish provocations like this worked best on those with high pride.
"That mouth of yours...!"
"Save the half-baked threats, I'm tired of them. More importantly, where is Namgung Cheon? Why are you the only one here?"
He had naturally assumed Namgung Cheon would be with him, but the most important lead actor was nowhere to be seen.
"There is no need for Lord Namgung Cheon to grace us with his presence just to deal with the likes of you. He has already left after acquiring the contribution points needed for faction selection. You only need to focus on me."
Hmm, so that's how it is.
Indeed, from his perspective, it made more sense to just take the sweet cream and head back to Murim rather than bickering here.
"I don't know. I feel like it would only be a fair fight if Namgung Cheon were here too."
"Go ahead... keep smirking. I'll wipe that smile right off your face."
Liaoyu's lips curled into a subtle sneer.
At that moment—
Bzzt, bzzt...!
A long scroll popped out of Liaoyu's subspace inventory.
A special item?
The energy radiating from it was unusual.
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
[The Sacred Relic 'Guo Xi's Early Spring Scroll' has been activated!]
A landscape painting unfolded before his eyes.
A natural landscape rendered in ink...
However, a profound sense of dissonance arose from the countless figures depicted within the scenery—figures that had no business being there.
"A teleportation through a painting?"
"...Unbelievable. This is a Sacred Relic bestowed directly by Murim, yet you even know about this."
Liaoyu clicked his tongue in disbelief.
But that was merely a feigned complaint.
In reality, as long as he held a trump card of this caliber, the situation remained overwhelmingly in Liaoyu's favor.
I see. They really did prepare a lot.
Hiding the players of the Zhonghua Guild inside a painting and then summoning them inside was a method that normally shouldn't work.
Interfering with the system to this extent meant that Murim had overextended themselves significantly.
They had undoubtedly crossed a very dangerous bridge; if they failed, the balance of the middle floors would completely collapse.
"By the way, is it really okay for you to go this far? Coins and Sacred Relics aside, if the Administrators find out about this, you'll be in deep trouble, won't you?"
"I appreciate your concern, but that won't be an issue. If we kill every single witness here, this will never come to light."
From the Masquerade, one could peer into every corner of the labyrinth, with just one exception.
This tomb was the only place they couldn't spy on.
Because this was a special area under the influence of the 25th floor's boss monster, even the Administrators couldn't easily exercise their authority here.
Of course, Jinhyuk had chosen this place precisely with that in mind.
But that advantage now applied to Liaoyu as well.
On top of that...
[Liaoyu requests 'Faction Protection'.]
[The giant faction 'Murim' responds to Liaoyu's call!]
The sky split open, and a massive pillar of light descended.
Rumble, rumble!
Moyong Su, the Sect Leader of the Moyong Clan, manifested within the labyrinth.
"This time, I will snuff out your life once and for all."
* * *
[Spatial teleportation from 'Guo Xi's Early Spring Scroll' is complete.]
"Zhonghua Guild's 5th Raid Team has finished deploying."
"The 50 members of the special unit under Yang So-pyeong of the 4th Raid Team have also just arrived."
"The six members of the executive branch are also fully prepared, just as you ordered."
A total of 127 people.
They had scraped together as many people as possible without drawing attention from the outside.
The numbers weren't massive, but it didn't matter.
They were already equipped with special weapons designed to take down named monsters specialized in PvP rather than giant boss monsters.
All of this was a customized hand prepared specifically to capture Jinhyuk.
Above all, with the addition of Moyong Su, a battle-hardened veteran of Murim, the scales had tipped entirely to one side.
"...It seems the Leader of the Blood Ghost Troop and his men are all dead."
He had explicitly told them to only eliminate those around Jinhyuk.
It seemed they had lost their lives by taking matters into their own hands.
Fools...
But he was different.
In terms of raw skill, he wasn't vastly superior to Yeomho, the Leader of the Blood Ghost Troop, but he possessed treasures here that could compensate for any lack of strength.
"It seems you also know quite a bit about the Tower, but I shall show you that there are mountains that shallow knowledge can never scale."
Moyong Su reached his hand out to the side.
"Here it is."
As if on cue, Liaoyu handed him a brilliantly glowing elixir.
[Mana Core].
In Murim terms, it was a spiritual medicine that produced an effect similar to the Shaolin Sect's Great Rejuvenation Pill.
No, in terms of efficiency, it might actually be far superior.
After all, the Mana Core possessed the unique trait of being instantly absorbed into the body without any need for the circulation of Qi.
"Kang Jinhyuk! You can't let him eat that!"
"Jinhyuk!"
Sensing that the elixir was anything but ordinary, Cheon Yu-seong and Teresa immediately drew their weapons.
They instinctively realized that standing idly by would only make the situation far worse.
However—
Gulp!
Moyong Su had already tossed the elixir into his mouth.
"Too late..."
"Ah...!"
Groans escaped the lips of the two, but only for a brief moment.
For what followed their sighs was a bone-chilling, murderous intent.
The air shifted violently.
It was suffocating.
Rumble, rumble!
A black mist began to billow around Moyong Su's body.
The fact that he could manifest materialized Qi so vividly meant he was on an entirely different level compared to the Leader of the Blood Ghost Troop they had fought earlier.
"Bwahahaha! Yes, this is it! I cannot contain this surging power!"
Moyong Su burst into a mad laughter.
Having gained an additional sixty years' worth of internal energy in an instant, he had every reason to rejoice.
Even if the effects of the Great Rejuvenation Pill lasted for only about two hours, at this very moment, he exuded a majestic, formidable presence that no human could hope to match.
"Hmm..."
Jinhyuk scratched his chin.
It was nice to see him so full of confidence after turning himself into a human superweapon, but...
How should he break the bad news?
Coincidentally, Jinhyuk had also found a rather interesting item.
Before anyone realized it, a crude horn made from a water buffalo's horn was resting in Jinhyuk's hand.
He hadn't just been standing idly by while Moyong Su swallowed the elixir and caused a scene.
He had secured an item worthy of the elixir... no, perhaps an item far more fitting for a veteran player.
"T-That... could it be?!"
Moyong Su's face contorted in shock upon seeing the horn.
A treasure of the tomb, of which only one could be chosen per person.
That part didn't matter. Whichever of the tens of thousands of treasures here one chose was entirely up to them.
But of all things...!
To think he would choose the one thing that should never be touched.
To say he had chosen it by mistake was impossible, especially with that devilish grin plastered across Jinhyuk's face.
He had definitely chosen it knowing exactly what it was.
"H-How do you know what that is?"
"I just picked the one that looked the most ominous."
"Cut the bullshit! Do you honestly expect me to believe such a ridiculous excuse?!"
Moyong Su's veins bulged in his neck.
"Don't believe me then."
Jinhyuk shrugged as if he couldn't care less.
"Anyway, now that I've got it, I have this sudden, intense urge to give it a good blow."
"S-Stop! If you blow that...!"
Moyong Su frantically reached out, but it was already too late.
Far too late.
Jinhyuk showed off his lung capacity and blew into the horn with all his might.
Pwooooooo!
A thunderous blast filled the chamber.
[You have used the 'Horn of Despair'!]
[The first despair approaches!]
Anyone who knew what this item was wouldn't have gone anywhere near it.
Because, quite literally, it summoned despair every time it was blown.
And each despair was terrible enough to drag everyone down to the abyss.
Right at that moment—
"Groooaaar!"
Something massive roared.
At the same time, the mountain of gold collapsed, revealing a five-meter-tall black scorpion.
[The Guardian of the Tomb, 'Black Scorpion', has awakened!]
The ultimate gatekeeper that inhabited ruins and labyrinths.
It was a medium-sized monster possessing a deadly poison capable of melting internal organs upon the slightest contact.
Its base level was close to three digits, and its steel-like carapace was famously tough enough to withstand Aura.
In short, it was a ridiculously difficult Guardian to deal with.
"In the end, the Guardian of the tomb... has awakened. Because of you, the absolute worst has happened."
"Wow. So this thing wakes up the Guardian of the tomb? I had no idea."
Jinhyuk feigned ignorance, joking around as if he truly hadn't known.
"Don't talk as if it doesn't concern you! Even if you survive, your companions will be torn to shreds! Surely you know, don't you? That Guardians are entities that exist outside the rules."
Thanks to Penheimer's negotiations with the Administrators, players would normally be transported to the Masquerade upon death.
However, if they were killed by a Guardian, they wouldn't enjoy that benefit.
But...
"That might be true. But my philosophy is to only raise the strong."
Not greenhouse flowers, but wild beasts that survived in the jungle.
Even if they were just chicks, the only ones allowed to remain in the Veteran Corporation were those who could lift over 500 kilograms in the big three.
"Kieeeek!"
The Black Scorpion swung its pincers.
Crash!
A golden statue was sliced clean in half with a single strike.
"D-Dodge!"
The players of the Zhonghua Guild screamed, their faces turning pale.
They threw themselves out of the way, desperately struggling to survive, but they couldn't escape the Black Scorpion, which was optimized for hunting prey.
A pincer instantly snatched one of the players.
Thuck!
The crimson stinger on its tail plunged deep into his back.
Venom was pumped into his body with a sickening squelch.
"Aaaargh!"
It took less than three seconds for a human being to turn into jelly.
Getting caught meant instant death.
"Tsk!"
Moyong Su clicked his tongue.
No matter how much he had boosted his internal energy with the elixir, his opponent was a Guardian of the labyrinth.
It was a formidable foe that could not be taken lightly.
"H-Help me!"
"Damn it! What are the tanks doing?! You need to hold the front line so we can deal damage! Are you trying to get us all killed?!"
"Are you insane? How the hell are we supposed to block that?!"
Though they had undergone rigorous training in their own right, the players of the Zhonghua Guild were different from the residents of Murim.
Whether in individual skill or in their resolve for battle, they were incomparable.
There was simply no comparison.
Indeed, every time the Black Scorpion rampaged, the elites of the Zhonghua Guild were snapped like dry twigs.
If this continued for just a few more minutes, they would undoubtedly all be devoured.
His hesitation didn't last long.
"Don't rush in blindly! Spread out your formation! I will handle the beast, so just support me!"
In a one-on-one fight, he could somehow hold his own.
If they could accumulate damage in the tiny gaps of its carapace in the meantime...
An opportunity to halt its movements would present itself.
We can still do this.
They could overcome this hurdle.
However, thinking that this was the worst of it...
Was Moyong Su's greatest miscalculation.
Pwooooo!
Without hesitation, Jinhyuk blew the horn once more.
"Ah... sorry. It let me blow it again. Hey, don't glare at me like that. Seriously, this time was a 100% genuine mistake."
Jinhyuk politely clasped his hands together as if in apology.