Chapter 186: The Hidden Weapon in the Shadow, Wolyeong (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 186: The Hidden Weapon in the Shadow, Wolyeong (2)
The US Awakened Association.
In a room furnished with a marble table and antique chairs, a man and a woman sat facing each other.
The man was Hedges, a handsome, 180-centimeter-tall blond who served as the head of the Emergency Support Team.
The woman, who also had blond hair that cascaded down to her waist, was named Ashley.
"Team Leader!"
Ashley raised her voice.
The table shook slightly, but Hedges didn't even flinch.
"As I said, there will be no support."
"Why on earth not? Players from the Lockheed Guild are trapped inside the labyrinth right now. You know this, Team Leader!"
"Of course I know. But you must also know, Ashley, that our currently available guilds cannot handle monsters of that difficulty. We have too little information. Naturally, the risk would be far too high."
"Then we should at least use Friedman's ability to secure evidence and request support from other countries based on that...!"
"That is exactly why there is no support."
Hedges tilted the liquor bottle on the table.
Amber liquid poured over the ice.
"Because of... that?"
"If this information gets out, other countries will certainly become cautious. Mid-sized guilds from Europe and India are currently preparing to raid it. If they find out, they might not enter the labyrinth at all, would they?"
"No way..."
Ashley didn't need to hear any more to realize what Hedges was implying.
In a rivalry, a balance of power was essential.
If one side collapsed, they could no longer be called rivals.
"Are you saying you're intentionally letting other countries' raid teams go in? Just so... they all die?"
"That is the only way to offset the losses we've suffered."
"That's a crime. No, putting legal issues aside, how can a human being..."
"Let's call it rational. For us to remain a superpower, such sacrifices are absolutely necessary."
Hedges took a sip of his liquor.
Contempt and anger washed over Ashley's face.
"I will report this directly to the Association President. He would..."
"Our justice-loving Association President would indeed offer support. However, he is not here right now. Furthermore, the evidence will disappear along with Friedman. I hope you don't meet the same fate by running your mouth, Ashley."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm warning you."
"..."
Ashley bit her lip.
She felt so disgusted by him that she wanted to gag.
"I'll... take my leave."
"Go ahead. And don't forget what I said."
Ashley stormed out of the office.
She wanted to do something, but just as Hedges had said, if Friedman didn't make it out alive, all her efforts would be in vain.
Because no evidence would remain.
I should have disobeyed orders, accepted the shared vision, and revealed it to the world.
Of course, it was a pointless assumption now. Friedman, who was likely already dead or completely drained of mana, would never use his Shared Vision skill again.
But right then.
Vrrr!
[A request for 'Shared Vision' has been received from Friedman.]
A request came in once again from Friedman, whom she had thought dead.
Unbelievable. He's still alive in that situation?
The difference in power had been overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
She had naturally assumed there was no hope... but how?
The moment she saw what was in the video feed, Ashley's eyes widened in sheer shock.
There was no mistake.
That unforgettable mask... and that overwhelming power.
Only one person in the world was capable of this.
Her hesitation didn't last long.
[The live broadcast is starting.]
The video feed was broadcast to the entire world.
* * *
Viewers who were, as always, roaming online communities in search of new excitement and gossip.
To these hungry hyenas, fresh and novel footage was always the ultimate prey.
And then, a video that could fully satisfy their hunger appeared.
A single live broadcast captured everyone's attention.
To be precise, it was a video feed of the labyrinth transmitted via a player's skill.
-Great Pork Belly: They say this is a live stream from the 8th floor? Is this for real?
-One Grandma Bossam: Wait, wasn't live streaming blocked there? I heard there are tons of dead zones because of some barrier or something.
-Hamtaro Turned Mochi: Yeah. That's why they usually only stream at the entrance, and the feed cuts off once they go inside.
-Sae Yeong Eon Hwan: This is a player skill. It probably bypassed it because of some unique effect.
-Yuumi on the Cat Tower: Friedman? Never heard of him.
-Speedwagon: He's a ranker from the mid-to-large US guild, Lockheed, and a melee-type user. He has experience leading raids to clear three dungeons and one labyrinth. That is all from Speedwagon.
-Howl's Castle with Killer Moves: Oh? Wait. Isn't that Unknown?
At that comment, the viewers' attention instantly locked in.
Unknown.
Although very little information was known about him, it was widely accepted as fact that he was one of the world's top-tier rankers.
The appearance of this elusive, legendary figure instantly set the forums ablaze.
The number of viewers tuning into the live stream surged past three digits, then four, and in less than ten minutes, it broke five digits.
A few minutes later, when it easily surpassed six digits, even the mainstream media and various news outlets began to take notice.
-LovePack: Whoa, it's real. It's the real Unknown!
-Howl's Castle with Killer Moves: I knew it. Do you see his movements? Monsters are literally exploding every step he takes.
-One Grandma Bossam: Insane. Is that even humanly possible? He's a total monster.
-The Return of God Kim: Honestly, it'd be more believable if they said it was CGI lol. I'm just speechless, fr.
-Sae Yeong Eon Hwan: He's the only player who can go toe-to-toe with Kang Jinhyuk.
As the Three Steps Divine Fist was unleashed and the ground split open, gasps of awe erupted from everyone.
They had no choice but to be amazed.
The martial arts he had just demonstrated completely shattered all common sense.
Furthermore, knowing that this was only the beginning and not the end, their anticipation of how this battle would conclude was soaring at an incredible pace.
* * *
The ground was completely torn to shreds.
Only the grotesque mounds of dirt and piled corpses bore witness to just how devastating the previous attack had been.
"How dare you...!"
Atasha spat out in a voice thick with rage.
Although she had managed to survive by shielding herself with her wings, her once-magnificent wings had lost all their beauty, now caked in dust and blood.
For the incredibly proud Atasha, this was a humiliating blow to her pride.
A rare, burning fury flushed her face.
"That's why I told you. Stop sending your underlings and step up yourself."
If you had stepped up from the start, you could have minimized your losses. Now look at all the unnecessary bloodshed.
Well, thanks to that, I got to rake in a ton of experience points.
Thanks to wiping out the monsters just now, his level had increased by one.
The fact that his level only went up by one despite the massive number of kills meant that the required experience points had increased significantly.
Seeing Jinhyuk casually nodding to himself, Atasha snapped.
"Damn you. Playtime is over!"
Atasha spread her wings wide.
At the same time, a yellow flash flickered at the tips of her wings.
[Atasha activates Lv13 'Lightning Strike'!]
Clouds gathered over the ceiling of the labyrinth.
Ominous, pitch-black storm clouds.
I guess a Thunderbird is still a Thunderbird.
Jinhyuk looked up. No matter how much of a veteran he was, taking that hit directly would definitely leave him crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
But dodging lightning was beyond the realm of common sense.
"I'll turn you all into charcoal!"
Atasha pointed her raised finger downward.
Instantly, dozens of lightning bolts rained down.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
Kaaa-boom!
The lightning bolts shot straight toward where Jinhyuk and the Black Wind Society stood.
Or rather, they would have, had they not been blocked by a wall of water and earth.
[Undine & Gnome activate 'Attribute Shield'!]
A shield created by Undine and Gnome's unique abilities perfectly enveloped Jinhyuk's surroundings.
Hmm.
They're actually pretty useful.
As expected of intermediate spirits, their elemental manipulation was superb.
He had forgotten because he had only been using them for trivial chores until now, but these guys had once served as the gatekeepers of the 25th-floor labyrinth.
This meant that if all five gathered, they possessed enough strength to easily fight a floor boss like the Thunderbird.
"Why on earth are spirit beasts taking the side of a mere human?! This is incredibly frustrating!"
"We're frustrated too, but we have no choice."
"Yeah. He's got us on a tight leash."
Undine and Gnome let out soft sighs.
"You will regret choosing the wrong side."
"Regret? We already regret it."
"A little bit... yeah. Actually, a lot."
Since even they admitted to regretting it, further conversation was pointless.
All that was left was to crush them with everything they had.
"Wipe them all out."
At Atasha's command, the waiting monsters moved in unison.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Groooar!"
"Raaaar!"
Hundreds of Orcs and the Ogres interspersed among them roared.
Winged beasts flying in the sky and arthropod monsters dwelling underground moved along with them.
Individually, they might be weak, but when different types synergized, they formed a combination that could never be ignored.
"Wolyeong!"
Jinhyuk shouted.
"At your command!"
As if they had been waiting for this very moment, Wolyeong and the Black Wind Society sprang into action.
Swish!
Whoosh!
The shadows lightly kicked off the ground and vanished.
Armed with swords and daggers, the dwellers of the Murim plunged into the monster horde.
And just like that, the two forces clashed head-on.
Slash!
It was Wolyeong's sword that signaled the start.
His sword, coated in Sword Force, severed the heads of three charging Orcs in a single strike.
A tempest of sword strikes immediately followed.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The ultimate power capable of cutting through anything it touched.
Sword Force.
Against such Sword Force, the Orcs' armor might as well have been nonexistent.
Of course, the story would be different if the opponent possessed comparable strength.
"Ugh!"
An Orc Warrior intervened.
"A mere monster dares..."
"Do you think race matters when we're trading blows, human?"
Sparks flew between the two.
As the rest of the Black Wind Society engaged the Orc Warriors, their unstoppable momentum ground to a temporary halt.
[Undine activates 'Aqua Blast'!]
[Gnome activates 'Land Fist'!]
[Salamander activates 'Fire Storm'!]
Boom!
Bang!
The spirit beasts of the five elements also unleashed their respective skills, shooting down dozens of winged beasts from the sky.
With Goguma joining the fray from the subspace inventory, the chaotic battle intensified even further.
"Mogi!"
[Goguma activates Lv4 'Acid Breath'!]
The miniature breath melted hundreds of monsters in an instant.
Sssss!
Flames and smoke obscured their vision.
Whenever the monsters tried to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, Jinhyuk and his allies closed the gap by maximizing their individual strengths.
However, the balance they expected to last for a while tipped surprisingly fast.
"Ah!"
"My lord!"
Urgent cries escaped the lips of Melena and Wolyeong.
Jinhyuk, too, realized something was wrong.
"This is...?"
Swiftly. Sharply.
At a moment no one could have anticipated, a new variable had entered the field.