Chapter 21: Ruins, Corridor of the Fallen (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: Ruins, Corridor of the Fallen (2)
On the way to the ruins, Jinhyuk ended up walking with Foreman Kim.
Since it was Jinhyuk's first time participating in a raid as a porter, and the raid's difficulty boasted an notoriously abysmal survival rate, Foreman Kim was trying to encourage him in his own way.
Even if it was clumsy, the intention came through.
A warm desire for everyone here to return safely.
"Did you come here to make money too, Mr. Kang?"
"Yes. It takes a lot of lump-sum cash just to get by."
"True, everyone's in the same boat. I came here to feed my lovely wife and adorable kids too."
Foreman Kim pulled out his smartphone.
On the lock screen was a pleasant-looking middle-aged woman and a brother and sister who looked to be in middle school.
It looked like a happy family.
Only...
Usually, this kind of thing is a death flag...
Why on earth was he showing him this right now?
Jinhyuk wore a bitter smile.
"So that's why you're risking your life."
"That's right. Even if I die, there'll be a hefty payout. I won't have any regrets."
Even if I die, my family will live... huh.
He was the epitome of a foolishly stubborn breadwinner.
It was frustrating, but...
He didn't dislike people who thought that way.
"Don't worry. At least the people here will make it home alive and well."
"What? Puhahaha! Sure, sure. Thanks for the kind words. You've got some real grit, Mr. Kang."
Foreman Kim burst into laughter, looking pleased.
How long had they been walking and talking like that?
After traveling for over seven hours carrying backpacks stuffed with rations, the porters finally reached their destination.
"F-finally..."
"We're here. This is it."
"I thought I was going to die."
Fatigue had piled up to its limit.
Due to the relentless march without rest, everyone's stamina had long since bottomed out.
Everyone collapsed onto the ground.
"Great job, everyone. Get some rest before the raid team arrives."
Foreman Kim handed out ice-cold water and chocolate bars, encouraging the exhausted porters.
It's been a while since I last saw this.
Jinhyuk also looked ahead with a deeply nostalgic expression.
A place where endless, massive mountains and cliffs stretched out.
The gate visible ahead was none other than the ruins boasting one of the highest difficulties in the Tower of Trials: the 'Corridor of the Fallen'.
A sharp prickling sensation washed over him.
His skin tingled even though they hadn't stepped inside yet.
As expected...
It felt just like this.
His heart pounded with a strange sense of excitement and anticipation.
But right then...
Wroooooom!
A reaction of mana was felt from the empty clearing nearby.
"This is...?"
Jinhyuk raised his head.
He saw the clouds parting.
At that exact moment, the reeds swayed left and right, and...
Rumbleeeee!
A pillar of light poured down from the sky.
It was the phenomenon that occurred when teleportation magic was cast.
"Ugh, my head. I'll never get used to this, no matter how many times I do it."
"Headcount?"
"Everyone made it safely. All fifty."
"Of course. Who do you think cast the spell? As if there'd be a mistake."
Along with the smoke, over fifty people appeared.
Armed with weapons and armor instead of backpacks and pickaxes.
It was the main raid team of the 'Balhae' Guild, the core of this raid.
"Is that man the raid leader?"
"He looks pretty young..."
"Don't look down on him just because he's young. He got an AA-grade in his Awakening Test, and he's a veteran who's already climbed to the 9th floor of the Tower of Trials."
Everyone's eyes gathered on the man standing at the very front of the raid team.
A shield that easily surpassed his own height.
Armor engraved with geometric patterns caught the eye.
He was the tank—the core and pillar of the raid team, responsible for drawing all the aggro at the very front.
So this man is the raid leader of the Balhae Guild...
Jinhyuk quickly activated 'Eye of Truth'.
--------------------------------------------------
Name: Song Cheon-hwa
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Level: 14
Strength: 30 Agility: 18 Stamina: 19 Mana: 5
Unallocated Stat Points: 0
Coins: 3,850
Class: None
Unique Ability: Item Weight Reduction
Skills: Lv3 'Iron Shield', Lv2 'Dense Formation', Lv2 'Tenacious Vitality', Lv1 'Stone Throwing'
--------------------------------------------------
[Copy Condition: Gain Song Cheon-hwa's trust within the raid period.]
After checking the copy condition, Jinhyuk immediately lost interest in Song Cheon-hwa.
It'd be easier to make him hostile.
Trust wasn't something that could be built in a short period of time.
Especially when they were destined to compete over a single sacred relic.
That aside...
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed as he looked at Song Cheon-hwa.
Is a raid leader of a top 10 guild really only at this level?
His stats and skill levels were too low for his level.
This meant he had been too busy simply farming experience points rather than surviving life-or-death, real-world combat.
Besides, hadn't he only climbed up to the 9th floor of the Tower of Trials?
And the rest of the raid members are far below Song Cheon-hwa's level.
Of course, he didn't completely fail to understand the situation.
Currently, all the top-tier guilds were fully focused on raiding the boss on the 3rd floor of the Tower of Trials.
Because of this, they lacked the manpower to invest in the lower floors.
But even taking all of that into account...
it was an undeniable fact that their combat power was pitifully weak.
Just then,
"Alright, alright, stop staring, everyone. The raid team is here, so let's get up. We've got work to do."
Foreman Kim clapped his hands.
While the mining team, which mined magic crystals and harvested byproducts from monster corpses, would enter later, the porters carrying the necessary supplies had to enter much earlier.
Right after a battle had just ended, to be precise.
This is actually better.
Jinhyuk quickly stood up.
This was a chance to see with his own eyes how a guild-scale group raid operated.
* * *
About an hour after the raid team entered, it was the porters' turn.
[Name: Corridor of the Fallen]
Type: Ruins
Difficulty: Unmeasurable
Description: The place where the primordial blood is sealed. At the end of these ruins, the purest weapon and the most terrible death coexist.
A sour smell pricked their noses.
Whoosh!
A magic-class player at the front summoned a large flame.
Their vision brightened, revealing the interior of the ruins.
"Everyone, follow closely behind me. If you get distracted and wander off, I won't be able to save you."
"My goodness..."
"...This is incredible."
"So this is the ruins."
An appearance reminiscent of the ancient Mayan civilization.
Outer walls covered in stone and moss stretched out in all directions.
Step.
As they walked a bit further inside along the path, they heard a commotion.
"Oh, they're here. Over here!"
"Cheon-hwa hyung! The porters have arrived."
As if a fierce battle had already taken place, the area ahead was completely filled with monster corpses.
Undead types, including ghouls and skeletons.
Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.
On the other hand, there were no player corpses to be seen.
That's strange...
Even if there were no high-ranking undead monsters, how could they face this many enemies without suffering any casualties?
With the combat power of the Balhae Guild he had seen before entering the ruins, it should have been impossible.
"What are you doing?"
It was right then that Foreman Kim grabbed Jinhyuk's shoulder.
"Yes?"
"What are you doing just standing there blankly? Hurry up and hand out the water and ice."
His expression asked why Jinhyuk was questioning something so obvious.
Foreman Kim gathered three or four people standing next to Jinhyuk.
"We'll handle this side, so you guys go over there. See where the foreigners are?"
Where his finger pointed, there were players with exotic features.
He had heard that a mid-sized guild had joined alongside the main Balhae Guild.
Was this one of them?
Jinhyuk's eyes scanned them, then paused.
I wondered who they were...
It was an emblem he had seen in the Tower of Trials in the past.
The 'Sion' Guild.
A guild based in Europe; though small in numbers, he had heard they were quite solid.
"You four, go over to them."
"Understood."
After filling a large container with water and ice, Jinhyuk headed toward the Sion Guild.
* * *
He handed out the water and ice in order.
There were only brief words of thanks, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Eventually, he reached the last person.
Unlike the others, who were nearly two meters tall, the last person had a very petite build.
Barely over 160 centimeters?
They didn't seem to be a man...
Was it a woman?
Since the person was completely encased in a steel helmet and armor, he couldn't be sure.
"Here, have some water."
"Ah...!"
Along with a soft gasp,
Clank!
the helmet was removed.
Blonde hair that had been tucked inside cascaded down in the breeze.
"Gasp!?"
"My goodness..."
The porters gasped collectively.
Her face was so beautiful that it made one wonder if she was even human.
Her snow-white skin and golden hair, combined with the armor she wore, created a breathtaking sight.
However, everyone was not this shocked simply because of her looks.
Her innate skills, her accumulated achievements, and even her family lineage.
These three pillars supported her reputation.
The Saint of Amsterdam...
Teresa de Lorencia.
There was no way not to know her.
One of the most famous players in Europe today.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
She was the youngest daughter of the Lorencia family, which held an actual noble title, and at the same time, the hero who saved Amsterdam when it was on the verge of being devastated by an Outbreak.
That was her true identity.
Now it made sense.
Why not a single person from the Balhae Guild had been injured.
Because this woman would exhibit maximum efficiency against the undead.
An all-rounder player who wielded divine power and possessed offensive, defensive, and auxiliary healing skills.
There were even assessments that clearing the 2nd floor of the Tower of Trials was entirely thanks to Teresa.
However, something bothered him.
She chose this place instead of raiding the 3rd-floor boss?
No matter how precious the sacred relics from the ruins were... unless it was a holy-attribute relic, proceeding to the next floor should have been far more beneficial.
Above all, the Sion Guild didn't have the capability to recruit a ranker of her caliber.
...Just how on earth did they bring her in?
After pondering for a moment, Jinhyuk shook his head.
Right now, estimating the Sion Guild's financial power was not the priority.
What abilities Teresa possessed, and what he needed to do to copy those abilities.
That was what mattered.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Immediately, 'Eye of Truth' was activated.
However...
[The activation of the skill has been canceled due to the level difference.]
A red status window blocked Jinhyuk's vision.
Damn it. A level difference?
I thought she wasn't affiliated with any guild, but has she already surpassed level 20?
The moment he thought that,
[The Luck stat and Adaptive stat have neutralized the level difference.]
[Peering into the target's status window.]
Crackle...
The red status window shattered, and Teresa's personal information began to appear.
Right, I had this.
Obtaining the Luck and Adaptive stats had paid off immediately.
And at a highly crucial moment, at that.
--------------------------------------------------
Name: Teresa de Lorencia
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Level: 29
Strength: 42 Agility: 31 Stamina: 25 Mana: 30
Unallocated Stat Points: 8
Coins: 10,850
Class: None (Class quest currently in progress.)
Unique Ability: Blessing of the Stars
Skills: Lv5 'Divine Strengthening', Lv5 'Stealthy Maneuver', Lv4 'Blessed Touch', Lv4 'Holy Sign', Lv4 'Illusionary Barrier'
--------------------------------------------------
[Copy Condition: Teresa is a ranker within the world's top 100. If you save her life, you can copy one of her unique abilities or skills of your choice.]
Those were incredible stats.
No wonder people are so wild about her.
Jinhyuk let out a quiet exclamation of admiration.
This was practically a luxury hotel buffet.
Furthermore, thanks to viewing her status window, he was even able to figure out her motive for coming here.
[Class quest currently in progress.]
So that was it.
That was why she had given up on the boss raid and come here.
Things were getting interesting.
Perhaps he could use this card quite effectively.
[Lv1 'Communion' has been activated.]
[The target feels a faint affinity toward you.]
A warm energy rippled.
Teresa smiled brightly at Jinhyuk.
Her blue-green eyes felt almost hypnotic, as if they could draw him in.
"Thank you... I'll enjoy the water."
Thank you? No, I'm the one who should be thanking you.
'Blessing of the Stars'.
The unique ability considered the absolute best for anyone choosing the Paladin class.
Since she had given him the chance to obtain it.
The problem was...
he had to orchestrate a situation where she would fall into danger, and then save her life.
The condition is definitely not easy.
Jinhyuk licked his lower lip.
It was a habit of his whenever he was deep in thought.
But right at that moment...
"Ch-Cheon-hwa hyung! Come over here! Right now!"
At the urgent scream that followed, everyone's eyes snapped in one direction.