Chapter 178: The Sword Saint's Secret Manual
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: The Sword Saint's Secret Manual
“…….”
Alice, having tasted the collaboration of stinky tofu and mint chocolate, became completely subdued.
It wasn't a metaphorical expression; she was staring blankly at the sky with an expression that made it look like she had truly lost her soul.
A single streak of green mint chocolate trickled down the corner of her mouth, but seeing how she didn't even think to wipe it...
I wondered if I had gone a bit too far... Like hell I did.
It finally felt like the hierarchy was falling into place.
'It has been proven that no matter how delicious mint chocolate is, it can't beat stinky tofu.'
Jinhyuk wore a satisfied smile across his face.
Then,
“Looking at you... makes me think the monsters in the Tower aren't actually that bad.”
Cheon Yu-seong, who was idling with his beer glass, quietly shook his head.
“I'm pretty nice compared to most. Besides, people who like both stinky tofu and mint chocolate actually quite enjoy it, you know?”
If you mix them, it's so delicious that even if two people eat and one dies, the other wouldn't notice.
Though the problem is, someone really might die.
“……Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything.”
“More importantly, which faction did you choose? I heard you received plenty of love calls from all over the place too.”
Although not as much as Jinhyuk, Cheon Yu-seong had also drawn the attention of numerous factions.
It was because his numerous achievements up to now had been so spectacular.
“Yeah, I received a lot of offers. But……”
Saying so, Cheon Yu-seong glanced at Jinhyuk.
“I didn't choose a faction either.”
Oho.
If he had chosen somewhere else, I was planning to drag him out by force.
How admirable. It seemed the great Sword Saint knew his own destiny well.
“Tell me. You purposely didn't choose one just to join my faction, didn't you? Hmm?”
“Don't talk nonsense. The others just weren't up to par.”
“Right, right. Of course. So, are you going to join? If you sign up now, I can throw in some extra perks as a founding member.”
“If I join this 'Veteran Corporation' or whatever it is, I could stab you in the back at any moment. Are you fine with that?”
“Well, I doubt that'll happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because winning cheaply isn't your style.”
Jinhyuk chuckled.
He always talked like that, but in reality, he was a stubborn fool who pursued the orthodox path more than anyone else.
That was probably why he had never managed to beat me even once.
“I can't beat you in a battle of words. Fine. Defeating you is the reason I climb the Tower anyway. Being with you will only increase those opportunities.”
Cheon Yu-seong nodded.
[Player 'Cheon Yu-seong' accepts your proposal.]
[The first faction member has joined.]
With this……
The first member of the faction had joined.
'Since I'm at it, might as well take care of the rest quickly.'
I need to secure Alice and Teresa, as well as exceptionally talented prospects like Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min, beforehand.
By the time they truly start to stand out, their value will have already skyrocketed.
Jinhyuk activated the 'Faction Status Window'.
[Faction Information]
Name: Veteran Corporation
Faction Master: Kang Jinhyuk
Size: Small (2/3)
Grade: D
Description: A newly created faction. While its influence on the Tower is currently negligible, the performance of its leader, Player Kang Jinhyuk, is highly noteworthy. Currently, numerous factions in the middle floors of the Tower are keeping an eye on 'Veteran Corporation'. The 'Divinities' on the upper floors of the Tower have recognized the birth of a new faction.
A different kind of status window from his personal one appeared.
This was the 'Faction Status Window' that only a faction owner could see.
'So three people is the limit for now.'
The number of players he could recruit was restricted based on the faction's size.
Naturally, if he wanted to increase the capacity, he had to pay a corresponding price.
And of course,
In the Tower of Trials, the default currency for that price was 'Coins'.
Jinhyuk checked the coins he had accumulated so far.
A total of 1,637,218 Coins.
The video of him saving China from despair had easily paid off, surpassing 50 million views in less than a day.
Furthermore, due to the algorithm, synergy was created between his videos, causing the views of his other videos to skyrocket as well.
'Proof that my subscriber count is steadily growing.'
If he kept uploading high-quality videos like this, a future where he would wake up to a mountain of coins would eventually arrive.
Wearing a satisfied smile, Jinhyuk invested his coins to increase the 'Faction Capacity'.
[Faction capacity has increased to a total of 23 members.]
50,000 Coins per slot.
Increasing it by 20 slots consumed a whopping 1,000,000 Coins.
It was painful to spend, but it was a necessary investment.
With a reliable faction backing him up, he would be able to prevent even the slightest unforeseen variable.
Soon after, Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min joined, followed by Kim Hee-woong.
“I'm sorry. I……”
Only Teresa trailed off, looking troubled.
“It's fine. I was just offering, not forcing you.”
Even without her saying it, he knew which faction she had chosen.
As a paladin, she would have joined hands with that place for the sake of the future.
The 'Empire', and more specifically, the 'Holy Kingdom'.
'Actually, this is for the best.'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
This would actually be of great help in planning his next moves.
Having organized his thoughts, Jinhyuk dove back into the drinking party.
How much time had passed?
As they laughed, chatted, ate, and drank, dawn crept up on them before they knew it.
Cheon Yu-seong, who had been acting tough, and Teresa, who had always been a weak drinker, had both fallen asleep with their faces buried in their arms.
Even Yu Yeon-hwa, who boasted that she would never lose to anyone when it came to drinking, had passed out, so the rest was obvious.
Amidst all this, only two people remained perfectly sober.
Jinhyuk and Alice.
“How are you so wide awake? Are you sure you're not the vampire here?”
“As for me, I used to chug soju straight from the bottle during my mission streams back in the day.”
Chugging bottles of Chamisul without stopping just to get 1,000 Star Balloons naturally built up my tolerance.
Come to think of it, those were fond memories. Though, at the time, it was closer to a desperate struggle for survival.
“You're heading back to the Tower tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. I have to meet Yang Ho-myung and conquer the floors I've put off. Most of all, I'm scheduled to contact the Empire in a week, so this is the end of my break.”
The information he got from Cheon Yu-seong,
And the pass Alice received from Yang Ho-myung.
With this, all the cards were in his hand.
* * *
A massive natural cave.
Hundreds of masked men were gathered here.
Drip! Drip!
Despite the large crowd gathered, the interior of the cave was so silent that even the sound of dripping water could be heard...
The cave was enveloped in absolute silence.
Everyone was waiting for one man to speak.
“How annoying.”
Finally, the man spoke.
Yang Ho-myung, the leader of the Black Wind Society.
He was a member of 'Murim', the giant faction that dominated the middle floors of the [Tower of Trials].
Yang Ho-myung glanced at the holographic clock floating in the air.
[12:00]
The clock showed exactly 12:00, not a second more, not a second less.
“Unless I am mistaken, it seems the appointed time has arrived……”
At his anger-laced voice, the air grew even heavier.
The appointed time.
Indeed.
The reason so many people were waiting here was entirely because of that.
“I-I will check immediately.”
One of the masked men bowed his head.
But right then,
“No need. I've just arrived.”
Step.
The sound of footsteps echoed from the cave entrance.
A man wearing a motorcycle helmet on his head trudged inside.
“Maybe it's because this entire floor is a jungle, but finding this meeting spot was ridiculously hard. Why go through all this trouble when there are perfectly good coffee shops around? Even with the pass, I felt like ten lives wouldn't have been enough.”
“Are you the errand boy sent by Unknown?”
“Yeah. You can think of me as a delivery guy.”
“The item we agreed on?”
“Of course I brought it.”
The man pulled a book from his chest.
An ancient-looking book.
“It was incredibly hard to get this. Honestly, I feel like I'm losing out with just one 'Innate True Qi Nourishing Pill'.”
“Choose your opponent wisely if you wish to bargain. My patience is not generous enough to listen to your bullshit.”
A faint murderous intent wafted from Yang Ho-myung's body.
The man flinched and waved his hands dismissively.
“……It's a joke, a joke. You martial artists who do nothing but train in caves really have no sense of humor. Here, take it.”
The man handed the ancient book to Yang Ho-myung.
“Where is the elixir?”
“Wait. Verifying the authenticity of the secret manual comes first.”
“Geez, have you been scammed your whole life? I'll have you know my profession runs entirely on trust.”
The man shouted, but Yang Ho-myung casually ignored him.
Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded.
He had finally obtained the ultimate technique of the [Sword Saint].
How long had he waited for this day?
With trembling hands, Yang Ho-myung turned to the first page of the ancient book.
[July 15th. Weather: Sunny]
[Today I wented for a walk with Dad and Poppy. It was hot so Poppy had a hard time. From tomorrow I should go in the evening. Only one week left of summer break. It was a very fun day.]
…….
A heavy silence fell.
Yang Ho-myung pressed his temples firmly and closed his eyes.
As if wishing what he had just seen was a dream.
But even when he opened his eyes again, nothing had changed.
Neither the crooked handwriting,
Nor the man fidgeting in front of him.
They were still exactly as they were.
This was a goddamn reality.
“What the…… fuck.”
A curse escaped Yang Ho-myung's mouth.
The word 'anger' was far from enough to describe his state.
Only the thought of tearing the man to shreds filled his mind.
“How dare you mock me? Did you think you could walk out of here alive after pulling a stunt like this?!”
Rumbleeeee!
The entire cave shook from the sheer pressure he unleashed.
[‘Black Heaven Art’ is activated!]
An ominous, black internal energy.
This was the unique ability of Yang Ho-myung, the leader of the Black Wind Society and a high-ranking player of Murim.
At the terrifying energy, the man took a step back.
“C-Calm down. You asked me to get a book written by the Sword Saint, right? That really is an authentic book written by the Sword Saint when he was in elementary school! I even went to his school teacher to verify it myself.”
“You dare keep playing…… Fine. I will personally burst all your entrails.”
In an instant, Yang Ho-myung's figure vanished.
The distance closed in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
A fist packed with internal energy slammed into the man's abdomen.
It was a blow powerful enough to split his upper and lower body in half.
However,
“……!?”
Yang Ho-myung hastily backed away.
“T-This……”
It was unbelievable.
It wasn't simply because his opponent hadn't died from the attack.
The energy rising from the man...
It was incredibly similar to his own.
No, rather, a far denser and more ominous black flame was flickering.
“That's why I told you to calm down.”
The man brushed the dust off his abdomen.
Gasp!
“How can this be……”
The masked men watching the fight from the sidelines widened their eyes.
Even though they had raised their internal energy to the limit just in case,
their entire bodies trembled at the skin-piercing murderous intent.
“I-Impossible! How do you know our sect's ultimate technique, which was lost hundreds of years ago?!”
The ultimate technique of the predecessor of the Black Wind Society,
which only that person used.
Because it was filled with mnemonics so abstruse and nonsensical, it was impossible to even comprehend.
It merely remained as a secret manual.
For all intents and purposes, it was safe to consider it a lost martial art.
And yet,
how on earth……
“You bastard! What trickery did you use?!”
...was that martial art being recreated here?
It was impossible.
It was something that could not happen.
But even as he watched the martial art unfold before his eyes, he could not deny reality.
Right then,
the man slowly took off his helmet.
And a very familiar face revealed itself.
Kang Jinhyuk.
The appearance of the ranker called Korea's strongest.
'I can copy abilities used by others.'
And the ability created through copying and fusion...
...is a 'superior version' of that category.
[‘Grave of Swords’ and ‘Black Heaven Art’ fuse.]
[Fusion successful.]
[The copied ability is stored in the ‘Memory of the World’.]
[‘Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art’ is activated!]
A power on a completely different level.
Whoosh!
A dark red, burning energy began to envelop the entire cave.