Chapter 174: The Night's Banquet (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 174: The Night's Banquet (3)
A white mask engraved with geometric patterns.
It was none other than the mask that symbolized 'Unknown'.
"This is...?"
Alice scanned her surroundings.
Everyone was so desperate to catch the attention of the various factions that no one was paying attention to them.
Although Penheimer, the Empire, and other minor factions seemed to be watching for an opportunity, they didn't approach openly—perhaps because they were keeping each other in check, or simply to save face.
"Don't worry. I've already set up a barrier to block their vision."
"Meticulous as always. So, what do you want me to do with this?"
"Put it on... and approach the Murim side."
Jinhyuk gestured with his chin toward one of the residents from Murim.
A man in his early forties with a solid build.
Even at a glance, he was clearly a master possessing extraordinary internal energy.
"That man?"
"Yeah. He's Yang Ho-myung, the leader of the Black Wind Society."
His status window and copying conditions, viewed through 'Gluttony's Eye', revealed him to be the perfect prey.
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Name: Yang Ho-myung
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Level: 65
Strength: 35, Agility: 45, Stamina: 26, Mana: 11, Internal Energy: 58
Class: Martial Artist
Unique Ability: Black Heaven Art
Skills: Lv13 'Black Tiger Divine Fist', Lv13 'Black Heaven Steps', Lv13 'Body-Protecting Qi', Lv11 'Blood Serpent Asura Palm'
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[Copying Condition: Although Yang Ho-myung's martial arts level is decent, his social status is relatively low. Consequently, he is desperate to achieve a great feat. If you make an enticing proposal and get invited to his headquarters, you can copy one of his unique abilities or skills.]
It was a common story.
A life of being excluded and despised by the mainstream faction simply because he was from a branch family.
Consumed by an inferiority complex, Yang Ho-myung was an easy target in many ways.
'Besides, if I put Alice forward for this... I can expand Unknown's sphere of activity even further.'
Lately, more and more people had been digging into Unknown's whereabouts.
Alice, who could freely adjust her size using mana, would be perfect to play the part.
Frankly speaking, as long as they wore the mask and acted well, any person could be Unknown.
'And I won't even have to go through the trouble of editing skills or unique abilities.'
Since Alice's skills were already so flashy, they could just stick to that concept from now on.
Since he could copy a new ability in the process, there was absolutely nothing to lose.
He didn't hesitate for long.
Jinhyuk spoke again.
"Tell him you can show him the final culmination of the Soul-Chasing Sword. If you say you've obtained the secret manual written by the Soul-Chasing Shadow herself, he'll bite."
"The Soul-Chasing Shadow... the original Sword Saint?"
"That's right, her. I'm surprised you know about someone from Murim."
"I've at least heard the name. It's not like I've been living completely cut off from the world."
The Soul-Chasing Shadow was the creator of the Soul-Chasing Sword and was widely known in Murim as the Sword Saint.
A giant of the Unorthodox Faction who could split a mountain with a single sword.
A secret manual left behind by such an eccentric would be more than enough to make Yang Ho-myung move his heavy rear.
"But do you actually have it? That secret manual? I heard it was lost a long time ago."
Alice asked back, looking quite surprised.
Of course.
"If I had something like that, I would've used it on Cheon Yu-seong already. Why would I just sit on it?"
Cheon Yu-seong was already dying to master the Soul-Chasing Sword.
With that secret manual, Jinhyuk could have easily turned him into another obedient pet like Sweet Potato.
"So in the end... you're pulling another scam."
"A scam? No, you're really going to bring a book written by the Sword Saint."
Though it might be a slightly different kind of book than what he was expecting.
In any case, the fact that it was written by the Sword Saint remained true.
"Just listen. If you say it like this, he'll fall for it instantly."
Jinhyuk leaned in and whispered the details of the plan into Alice's ear.
Alice's pupils dilated and contracted repeatedly.
A few minutes later.
"Whew. I'm really glad I made a contract with you."
Alice let out a long sigh of relief.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, if I had met you as an enemy and suffered like the others, I probably would've died of sheer frustration."
To hell with revenge on the other family heads.
To hell with restoring the honor of the Ataraxia family.
She would have collapsed from high blood pressure first.
* * *
"Damn it."
The leader of the Black Wind Society, a group consisting solely of elite martial artists.
A master whose fist techniques were counted among the best in Murim.
A powerhouse who wouldn't back down anywhere, whether before the Murim Alliance, the Divine Cult, or the Demonic Cult.
All of these modifiers described the man known as Yang Ho-myung.
However.
Yang Ho-myung felt it was all futile.
No matter how outstanding his skills were, his status as a member of a branch family, rather than the direct line, placed a hard ceiling on how high he could rise.
No matter how hard he struggled, this was as far as he could go.
'That's why I'm relegated to doing chores like this.'
Yang Ho-myung's face contorted grimly.
To clean up the mess Moyong Su had made.
He had come here to recruit greenhorns who seemed somewhat useful from among a bunch of nobodies.
'I'd rather have just had a clean, satisfying fight with those imperial dregs instead of this...'
By nature, a martial artist should determine power through martial might.
Instead, they had spent their time calculating and playing mind games, and now the scales had tipped before they could even have a proper fight.
"Tch."
The thought only fueled his irritation.
Even after tossing down a cup of strong liquor from the table, he found it difficult to suppress the boiling anger inside him.
Right then.
Someone approached.
Annoyed by everything, Yang Ho-myung naturally snapped.
Slam!
He slammed his cup down hard on the table.
"I am busy drinking. If you are interested in us, go talk to that pretty-faced idiot from the Namgung Clan over there."
Yang Ho-myung waved his hand dismissively without even looking up.
His eyes remained fixed on his cup, which was being refilled with a glugging sound.
But at the words that came out of the visitor's mouth...
"I have no interest in a weakling who looks like he'd collapse from a gentle tap."
Yang Ho-myung's brow furrowed deeply.
"...What did you say?"
"The one I'm interested in is someone with decent, usable skills."
"You bastard! Do you even know what nonsense you are spewing right now?!"
No matter how much the Namgung Clan was filled with idiots, he was the only one allowed to insult them.
Mere Players were in no position to speak of them so lightly.
He was already in a foul mood, and this fool had just walked right into his crosshairs.
He could easily suffocate a cheeky human just by releasing a fraction of his internal energy.
With that thought, Yang Ho-myung looked up at the person.
"Y-You...?"
His pupils shook violently.
He was so startled that he knocked over his cup, but he didn't have the luxury to worry about spilled alcohol.
How could he not know?
One of the Players that every faction in the middle floors was currently searching for like mad.
"Unknown..."
"Yes. That is what they call me."
Alice, wearing the white mask, nodded.
Because she had altered her voice through a barrier, Yang Ho-myung didn't even suspect that Alice was female.
"I certainly... didn't see you in the labyrinth. When did you arrive here?"
"I was a bit late. I have no interest in trivial contribution points. Besides, choosing a faction isn't exactly difficult anyway."
Alice shrugged indifferently.
Arrogant and haughty.
Paying no heed to others, yet drawing everyone's attention—that was the essence of the character of Unknown.
And Alice could play this character better than anyone else in the world.
After all, even the gods had to take a backseat when it came to pride.
'Indeed... this is no imposter.'
Yang Ho-myung's eyes narrowed.
Gauging the opponent using his internal energy, he confirmed that the person before him was undeniably strong.
At a glance, their mana seemed bottomless... This was definitely not some random nobody putting on an act.
'There were rumors suggesting Kang Jinhyuk and Unknown were the same person, but as expected, it was just nonsense.'
He could see that detestable guy sipping champagne at the adjacent table.
At the very least, those two were not the same person.
In that case...
This was an opportunity.
Unknown was one of the few Players who could be compared to Kang Jinhyuk.
If he could recruit such an Unknown to their faction... perhaps even the Murim leadership would look at him in a new light.
No, would it stop there?
He might receive a massive reward for achieving such a feat under the worst circumstances.
A reward that would allow him to break free from the shackles of being a branch family member and rise to a higher status.
Once his thoughts reached that point, Yang Ho-myung's voice softened considerably.
"My apologies. As you may know, our luck hasn't been very good lately."
"I understand. But don't be too disappointed. I have come for you, who are struggling in this hell."
Alice casually sat down next to Yang Ho-myung.
"It seems you have something to say... but I'd prefer if you got straight to the point. I'm not the type to beat around the bush."
"Straightforward. I like that. Actually, I only have one proposal."
Alice pulled out an extremely old-looking book from her robes.
"A secret manual written by the Sword Saint. I want to exchange this for the 'Innate True Qi Nourishing Pill'."
"T-That is...!"
A reaction incomparable to when he first saw Alice erupted from him.
It was only natural.
A legendary secret manual said to contain the final culmination of the Soul-Chasing Sword.
A single book like that could turn the entire Murim into a sea of blood.
'The Innate True Qi Nourishing Pill is precious, but it cannot compare to that.'
The ultimate fortuitous encounter, something one would buy even for a mountain of gold... had just appeared right before Yang Ho-myung's eyes.
* * *
"Why are you over there?"
"Jinhyuk-ssi is over there?"
Cheon Yu-seong and Teresa, looking at the white mask, tilted their heads in confusion.
Since both of them knew Unknown's true identity, they immediately realized that the person with Yang Ho-myung was not Jinhyuk.
"Ah... that?"
Jinhyuk scratched his cheek.
Hmm...
How should he explain this?
"I'm just rubbing salt in his wounds."
And generous amounts of coarse salt, at that.
Since the man himself didn't know what kind of agonizing situation he was about to be thrown into, he probably felt like he was walking in heaven right now.
Though it would only be for a very brief moment.
"Do you want me to tell you the details if you're curious?"
"No, there's no need. You're probably planning something ridiculous again."
Cheon Yu-seong frowned.
As if he absolutely did not want to know the details.
"More importantly, Jinhyuk-ssi, have you decided which faction you'll sign a contract with?"
A contract...
Right, there was that.
The core of this masquerade was deciding which faction to align with.
Because that choice would determine how quickly and efficiently they could climb the middle floors of the Tower.
And Jinhyuk had already made his decision.
Right on cue.
[Players and residents, please begin making your 'choices' now.]
Rick, who was on the second floor, used voice amplification magic.
It meant they had sized each other up enough, and it was time to make a decision.
With Rick's announcement, the atmosphere in the hall shifted.
The sounds of laughing and chatting vanished in an instant, replaced by a thick, palpable tension.
And.
Naturally, the focus of everyone's attention was fixed on one specific spot.
Step.
Slide.
Clatter!
As if they had been waiting for this moment, multiple footsteps echoed simultaneously.
Seven in total...
'More of them bit than I expected.'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.