Chapter 171: Ancient Species (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 171: Ancient Species (2)
Spirit beasts and mythical beasts in the Tower of Trials do not exist in this world in their true forms, but only as avatars.
This meant that their true bodies remained bound to another dimension, with only a fraction of their existence living within the Tower.
And there was a medium that allowed them to manifest in the Tower.
That was none other than the mana supplied by their contractor.
Normally, contracted spirits and mythical beasts would refuse to manifest in the Tower if their energy source was cut off...
But there was one exception to this rule.
When their bond of trust with their master was so deep that they desired to manifest in the mortal realm even at the cost of consuming their true body's own mana.
In such cases, they could bypass the restrictions and manifest in the Tower.
Just like right now.
[An Ancient Species, '???', is manifesting!]
No further flowery words were needed.
Rumbleeeee!
A realm where its mere existence overloaded the laws of causality.
What revealed itself here was not the small, waddling reptile with black scales.
The gate had opened to nearly twenty meters, yet only its head and a portion of its upper body could barely squeeze through.
At a conservative estimate, its true body had to be hundreds of meters long.
Clatter!
Bound by the golden chains wrapping around its entire body, Goguma's half-emerged head ground to a halt.
"Groooaaar!"
Its amber-yellow eyes glared down at Nameless.
"H-How is an Ancient Species...?"
Nameless froze in his tracks.
He wouldn't have been this shocked if it were just any ordinary Ancient Species.
The reason for his panic now was that the Ancient Species was consuming its own true mana, driven by rage over its contractor's death.
Since Ancient Species were promised eternal life, contracting with a human was nothing more than a passing amusement to them.
If their human died, they would simply abandon them and seek a new master at any time.
Yet, for it to act like this...
Did it trust him that much?
There was no other way to explain it.
"Rampaging here will only eat away at your own lifespan, you know?"
Nameless spoke slowly.
In truth, this was the only threat he could muster.
But as if such a thing didn't matter in the slightest—
Whirrrrr!
A blinding light gathered in Goguma's mouth.
The ultimate skill possessed only by dragons.
Breath.
And transcending even that, the Ancient Species' 'Unique Sacred Chant' manifested.
[The Ancient Species '???' summons the 'Sword of Condemnation'.]
Whoosh!
The flames blazed even more violently.
Every drop of moisture in the air began to evaporate.
The heat haze shimmering along the ground felt like a prophecy of the devastation about to unfold.
"Urgh!"
This is dangerous.
Reaching that conclusion, Nameless pulled out a black shield.
The shield, covered in layers of thorns, was clearly extraordinary at a single glance.
Naturally so, as it was imbued with the Absolute Judgment effect that guarded the Royal Tombs.
And at that very moment.
Swoooosh...
A gust of scorching wind swept through the buildings.
While Jinhyuk had been buying time, all the civilians had evacuated.
The only ones left were Teresa and Xiaoting.
This meant there was no need to hold back.
Crackle!
The flames concentrated at a single point blazed with even greater intensity.
The crimson fireball soon turned blue.
Before long, it transformed into a dark, reddish-black flame.
But it didn't stop there.
White.
A pure white hellfire that reduced everything to nothingness.
This was one of the strongest flames in existence.
"Damn it! Do you really not care about your own lifespan?!"
Nameless screamed.
He couldn't understand it.
What was a mere human to it?
What was a human who was already dead worth?!
But right then.
Looking toward where the corpse lay, Nameless's mouth fell wide open.
A red mouth gaped open on his black surface.
Th-That... No way.
He had undoubtedly seen it.
Even while everyone's attention was focused here.
There was a human leisurely rising to his feet under the starlight.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Nameless frantically pointed a finger toward Jinhyuk.
Hold on!
Can't you see that human over there, who was just flopping around like a freshly caught flatfish from a fish farm, is now eating popcorn?!
But it was already too late.
BOOOOOOM!
For the stream of fire, compressed to its absolute limit, tore across the ground.
"Aaaaargh!"
Before Nameless could even react, the white flames engulfed his entire body.
* * *
The steel rebars and concrete had completely evaporated.
Leaving a scar on the ground as if clawed by a giant beast.
"Cough... Ugh."
The black shield was long gone.
With only his upper body remaining, Nameless let out a heavy groan.
Step.
Along with the sound of footsteps, someone approached.
"I thought you didn't feel pain, but I guess you can feel it now that you've taken a human form?"
It was Jinhyuk.
His face was completely unscathed, as if asking when he had ever been attacked.
"Y-You... let yourself get hit on purpose?"
"Something like that," Jinhyuk shrugged.
No matter how strong the Three Despairs were, would he really be defeated by creatures residing merely in the middle floors of the Tower?
It was a bit troublesome, but if he had fought seriously, he could have ended the match without any variables.
But if he had done that, he wouldn't have been able to create the trigger for Teresa's awakening.
One of the basic conditions for 'Corruption' was witnessing the death of a precious person.
"Still, you're pretty strong. Not many can maintain their form after taking a direct hit from an Ancient Species' Unique Sacred Chant."
He meant it.
Both its offensive and defensive power were jaw-dropping.
It was safe to say that no player could defeat this guy in a head-on fight.
"As if... that's any consolation..."
Nameless looked down at his obliterated lower half.
Crumbling particles were scattering into dust.
Seeing that it wasn't regenerating, Goguma was indeed incredibly powerful.
"For me... to end... so vainly..."
Nameless writhed, his red mouth gaping open and closed.
Of course, that didn't change his fate.
[The Third Despair has been annihilated.]
Since the master also shares the experience points of targets killed by their summons.
Unlike with the Second Despair, he would obtain a massive amount of experience this time.
Sure enough.
Immediately, a flurry of status windows popped up before Jinhyuk's eyes.
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[You have achieved an astonishing feat!]
[The feat of hunting all Three Despairs will be listed in the 'Hall of Fame' for the entirety of tomorrow.]
A whopping 8 levels!
Since he had already gained 4 levels after hunting the Black Scorpion earlier, this single raid had netted him a total of 12 levels.
Naturally, no player could compare to him.
Even among the Tower's residents, his level had reached a considerably high tier.
But it wasn't the level-ups he was most excited about.
It was the reward for finally clearing those tedious Despairs.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Jinhyuk's heart beat rapidly.
After going through this much trouble, he deserved a jaw-dropping reward.
What could it possibly be?
It was time to find out.
Just as he thought that.
Ring!
[As a reward for defeating the Third Despair, 'Nameless', a reward related to the player's unique ability is granted.]
[A 'Copy Free Pass Ticket' has been granted.]
[Copy Free Pass Ticket]
Acquisition Difficulty: Unknown (There is no precedent of anyone acquiring this item. In other words, you will be its very first user.)
Description: Allows you to copy one unique ability or skill from any entity you have encountered in the Tower so far. However, this is limited only to skills you have personally witnessed.
There were no ridiculously absurd or tedious copying conditions.
Simply having seen it once was enough to satisfy the requirement.
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
This was...
...absolutely insane.
From back when he played the Tower of Trials to now, when it had become reality.
He was certain he had encountered countless miraculous opportunities.
Yet, he had never experienced a reward as overwhelmingly powerful as this.
* * *
[The Faction Selection Battle has ended.]
[All players in the labyrinth will be forcibly teleported to the Masquerade Ballroom.]
With the illicit interference of Murim and the Zhonghua Guild exposed, the faction selection came to a close.
Whirrrrr!
Bright lights shimmered here and there.
One by one, players began appearing in the ballroom.
"Ughhh..."
"I-I survived."
"I'm never doing that again. Damn it, I feel like I aged ten years in one go."
Everyone looked utterly exhausted.
It was only natural, considering they had barely climbed to the 10th floor of the Tower before suddenly being thrown into a 25th-floor labyrinth.
Even if survival from the monsters and traps within the labyrinth had been guaranteed, the pressure they felt was beyond imagination.
On the other hand.
It's been a while since I've had such a productive day.
Jinhyuk stretched lazily.
Having wiped out the Zhonghua Guild in one fell swoop and secured the spirit beasts of the Five Elements, the true victor of this Faction Selection Battle was already decided.
In particular, the levels and various rewards he gained after defeating the Three Despairs in China were mind-blowing, even to himself.
As if to prove it.
Ring!
[The Contribution Points are being updated.]
[Current Contribution Points Ranking]
1st: Kang Jinhyuk (7,565,100P)
2nd: Liaoyu (4,450P)
3rd: Namgung Cheon (3,190P)
4th: Teresa (2,250P)
5th: Cheon Yu-seong (2,130P)
6th: Yoshio (1,125P)
...
A staggering 7.5 million points.
Not only had he seen through all the hidden abilities of the Horn of Calling Despair, but he had also proven his ability to orchestrate the entire board using it...
So it was only natural that his Contribution Points had shattered the ceiling.
Above all, the scene of him saving China from the Three Despairs that had wiped out the entire Zhonghua Guild was more than enough to make the hearts of the battle-hardened Tower residents race.
I can already see them itching to make a move.
Jinhyuk raised his head.
He could practically feel the excited mana thrashing wildly against his skin.
It was painfully obvious that the factions waiting on the second floor were growing anxious.
It was a good thing the Administrators were holding them back. If there had been no one to stop them, they would have undoubtedly leaped down to the first floor to kidnap him.
Just then.
"Hm?"
Jinhyuk's senses picked up on something.
This time, it wasn't from the second floor, but the first.
Where his gaze landed, there was another player covered in wounds.
It was Yoshio, the master of the Samurai Guild and a ranker known as Japan's Greatest Swordsman.
Ah... right. I haven't copied his ability yet.
He had been moving so breathlessly that he hadn't had the chance to meet him.
Although he had already obtained the Free Pass Ticket, the more abilities, the better, right?
Throwing away an opportunity to acquire a ranker's skill was simply out of the question.
Jinhyuk recalled Yoshio's copying conditions once more.
Since the selection was scheduled to begin shortly, there was no time for a direct brawl.
Above all, he lacked a justification to suddenly pick a fight.
Let's see...
How can I fulfill the copying conditions in the easiest and most perfect way possible?
Oh!
A great idea just came to mind.
A plan that could only be described as devilish.