Chapter 266: The Strongest Reinforcements (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 266: The Strongest Reinforcements (4)
Once the contract with KDS was officially signed, massive promotions flooded the media.
[The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Tower of Trials' Largest Raid]
[Kang Jinhyuk Joins Hands with Europe's Olympus, Declares Raid on the Ruins.]
[Yu Cheon-yeong's Debut. "Kang Jinhyuk is the savior who saved my life."]
[The Reason the Saint of Amsterdam Came All This Way? Revealed That She and Jinhyuk Enjoyed a Vacation Together in Europe. Rumors of an Engagement with the Third Daughter of the Rosenberg Family Also Surface.]
[Condemnation Against the Gandhara Guild and India Continues. Indian Prime Minister Rebuts, "We had no knowledge of this." Stay Tuned to KDS for the Upcoming Press Conference.]
Exaggerating an earthworm-sized story into a Blue Dragon-sized fact was child's play for Jung Bum-hee.
In fact, most of it was actually based on truth anyway.
-YOLO: This lineup is absolutely insane. My hype is reaching epic proportions.
-Hoon: People talked so much trash about Yu Cheon-yeong being overrated, but he definitely drew the line this time. He's just a straight-up monster.
-Choi Ju-won: The strongest in any universe are always bald guys and badass grandpas. Haven't you guys seen HIVE?
-tbvj: Same goes for Teresa. Who on earth said she was fragile, kind, and gentle? Show yourself. Is that the Saint you wanted?
-cel: She's a literal blender. The mosaic blur makes it even scarier, whew.
-Black and White Photo: That was me. I'm changing my username to "Funeral Portrait" from now on.
-Rielia: I'm dying, sis! (Actually dead)
-Chobo: Honestly, dying by her hands might not be so bad?
-Nine: But wait, doesn't this mean all those people gathered here because of Jinhyuk?
Indeed.
The reason these prominent rankers had cast aside their own business to gather here...
It was all for Jinhyuk.
"Give me a status report. How are we doing?"
Jung Bum-hee asked, his voice trembling.
His tone carried a mix of overwhelming anticipation and the anxiety of whether that anticipation would actually translate into reality.
"TV ratings have surpassed 20%! Oh my god, 20% on a live broadcast network... I'm looking at the numbers, and I still can't... believe it."
"C-Concurrent viewers... have surpassed 500,000! It hasn't even been thirty minutes since we started broadcasting. We've never seen anything like this before."
"The ad sponsors are going crazy too. At this rate, we'll easily pull in at least twenty offers!"
To think a single player could have this much influence.
Jung Bum-hee barely managed to swallow the cheer rising from his throat.
Signing the contract, even if it meant paying an exorbitant down payment, had definitely been the right choice.
This was a massive jackpot.
* * *
Nice.
Looks like everyone is doing their part.
Watching the multiple broadcast windows open simultaneously, Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.
He had assigned Goguma, the Spirit Tree, T-Bone, and the Ancient Soldiers to handle the filming, and everything was going perfectly.
Thanks to the Wailing Witch's reckless attempt to interfere with the system, he had been able to exploit the gap she left behind.
All that was left...
Was to wrap things up nicely.
Crunch!
As he took a large bite of the grayish chunk of meat, a sour aroma spread through his mouth.
It's a bit bitter... but it's manageable.
Fortunately, he didn't end up foaming at the mouth on a rock like Alice.
Because he had consumed a properly prepared dish, it was at least edible.
[The Curse of Gluttony has been lifted.]
[You can now inflict damage on the Apostle of Gluttony.]
A status window appeared, announcing his success.
-Wac: Oi, oi! I knew you could do it!
-Hawaii: So everything was Jinhyuk's plan. Right now, the Veteran Corporation is sweeping all three locations.
-Kim Sean: He seriously has a devilish talent for pulling views. Fr. You just can't look away.
-Lemoncello: Jinhyuk is even good at mukbang. I know it was cooked, but how is he eating that? It literally looks like stinky tofu.
Seeing the chat window scroll down at a dizzying speed, it finally sank in that he had restarted the live broadcast.
At that exact moment—
"Groooaaar!"
The Apostle of Gluttony roared savagely, as if celebrating its victory.
Maria, Yu Yeon-hwa, and Lee Tae-min had tried their best to buy time, but they couldn't overcome the condition that rendered all attacks useless.
Still, considering they had held out for over ten minutes under those circumstances, the three of them had done their part.
"Good job."
Jinhyuk gave a small nod in their direction.
-Under the Sky: Press F to pay respects!
-121: They're not dead yet, you idiots. Stop killing off perfectly fine people.
-mangmang: Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min are rankers that literally everyone in Korea knows, and they couldn't even scratch that monster?
-Cho Kyung-min: To think even Maria from the Olympus Guild would get taken down. Crazy. Is that thing even killable?
-LaTD: At this rate, wouldn't it be tough even for Jinhyuk?
From the viewers' perspective, they had no way of knowing how to damage the Apostle of Gluttony, so it naturally looked like an impossible task.
The fact that prominent rankers had fallen helplessly only added to the psychological despair.
An extreme difficulty level, and a named monster that everyone had failed to defeat.
All the conditions for a spectacular show were perfectly aligned.
I've used swords plenty of times... It's time to show them something a bit different.
Jinhyuk pulled the longbow 'Molar' out of his dimensional subspace inventory.
-dyd: Oh? He's using a bow?
-lke: Come to think of it, I heard a legendary bow passed down as an heirloom in the Elf Forest was stolen.
-Rolling Cake: Ah, I remember that. The longbow on the wanted poster, right? The one with High Elven writing on it.
-Lucky: Yeah, it looks exactly like that one.
-Seo Young-jin: Nah, it's probably just a coincidence. No way Jinhyuk would do that.
-Satan: I came here because I want to make him my master from now on.
-SSS: Wow, even Satan is showing up now.
Although he felt a slight prick of conscience, Jinhyuk did his best to ignore it.
Instead, he casually changed the subject.
"Close combat gets boring after a while, doesn't it? More importantly, since we're doing this, why don't you guys give me some missions? I see other streamers getting those all the time."
It was a good chance to reminisce about his streaming days, gain some loyal subscribers, and rake in a hefty amount of Coins through missions.
There was still some time before the Wailing Witch realized her barrier had been breached...
He had to squeeze every last bit of profit out of the live broadcast system before she could react.
-Hellmangi: Look at that confidence, lol.
-Wonseok: Is that even possible? Hyung, you're not pushing yourself too hard, right?
-Kwon Tae-kyung: Can you speedrun it? I'll bet 10,000 Coins you can't clear that Apostle in under 10 minutes.
-Moon: I know you're close with Player Yu-seong. I'll give you 10,000 Coins if you upload a video of his life as a medical student.
-Trust Me: Whoa, we can request those kinds of missions too? Then upload a video of you hanging out with Alice. I'll bet 20,000 Coins.
-tom: 30,000 Coins if you make Teresa, who's currently going wild over there, eat Korean fire noodles. Deal?
-I Want Spicy Rice Cakes: Uh... isn't that basically a suicide mission?
Some bizarre missions flooded in, but the Coins wagered were quite substantial. Being able to throw around tens of thousands of Coins meant they were key players from well-known guilds.
Except for the very last one, none of them were particularly difficult, so there was no reason not to accept.
"You guys... promised, right?"
With those final words...
Rumble!
An arrow infused with mana began to burn fiercely on the longbow.
[Unique Ability 'Fire Dragon's Breath' has been activated!]
Whoosh!
Flames erupted instantly.
A devastating fire, hot enough to scorch the very air, flared up around the Apostle of Gluttony.
"Groooaaar!"
For the first time, a scream of agony escaped the Apostle of Gluttony's mouth.
It had to hurt.
The Blessing of Gluttony, which had been so reliable, could no longer protect its bloated body.
But did the beast know?
That the pain had only just begun.
"I'll cook you using only arrows."
Jinhyuk drew his bowstring amidst the flames.
[You have used Lv10 'Crimson Magic Bullet'!]
Through the acrid, rising smoke,
A streak of light pierced the air.
Thud!
Its right knee pierced, the Apostle's massive body stumbled heavily.
Without missing a beat, more crimson bullets flew.
Thud! Thud!
He aimed for the joints.
To be precise, he targeted each joint in sequence, forcing its balance to collapse to the right.
"Groooar! Aaaaargh!"
The Apostle of Gluttony shrieked madly, swinging its iron mace.
It looked crude, but this was all part of the plan.
Tap!
Jinhyuk lightly kicked off the ground and shifted to the side.
Almost at the exact same instant, a long tongue shot out from the Apostle's body.
Just as I thought.
What appeared to be its head wasn't actually its real head. The massive head located on its stomach was the Apostle of Gluttony's true head.
Forcing the opponent to focus on the mace, then piercing and devouring them with its sharp tongue—
That was its favorite hunting method.
Of course, it should have chosen its opponent more carefully.
Rip!
Its stomach split open vertically, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
The tongue retracted in an instant, and a green light began to condense in its place.
"A creature that loves to eat is using acid? You do realize that if you hit me with that, everything will melt and there'll be nothing left to eat, right?"
[The Apostle of Gluttony is using 'Green Shrapnel'!]
It seemed the beast had given up on eating him.
Beams of green light sprayed in all directions.
Rather than aiming precisely, it was a random bombardment meant to hit anything in its path.
However...
Boom!
The dozens of green beams were blocked by a crimson flash.
Interception.
With flawless mana distribution, he neutralized every single attack.
"Not bad, but if you really wanted to melt me, you should have at least tripled the number of projectiles."
His relaxed, mocking tone was bound to infuriate the beast.
"Groooaaar!"
With a roar of pure rage, the Apostle of Gluttony focused its energy.
An immense amount of mana, incomparable to before, began to gather.
Just as even more green beams were about to erupt, as if daring him to block them again—
"...Groar?"
The Apostle tilted its head in confusion.
Jinhyuk, who had been holding the bow, had vanished.
To intercept the attacks, he should have maintained a certain distance to calculate the trajectories.
Yet, no matter how much it searched, Jinhyuk was nowhere to be seen.
"When you lose your balance on the right, your field of vision on the opposite side naturally tilts upward. Simply put, it creates a blind spot."
Jinhyuk's voice echoed from directly below its left side.
"Groooaaar!"
Though he couldn't translate the monster's language, it sounded like it was asking, Didn't you say you'd only use a bow?
It was true he had talked big.
It was also true he had confidently declared it.
But...
"Sorry, I'm a bit of a liar."
Jinhyuk smirked.
[Unique Ability 'Blood Explosion' has been activated!]
The Unique Ability 'Blood Explosion' that Amuram used to wield.
A blood-realm magic based on blood.
With so much blood already spilled on the battlefield, its destructive power was beyond question.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom!
With a deafening roar that shook the ruins, the Apostle of Gluttony's body exploded.
Shredded chunks of flesh rained down, thoroughly drenching the floor.
-oo: Who gave that mission? What do you mean, a 10-minute speedrun?
-kdb: It didn't even take a minute. Why was that so easy?
-Hoppang: It wasn't easy, his skill combos are just insane.
-Junyoung: Did you see him target only the joints when his vision was obscured? Is he Legolas or something?
-Koala: Even that was just build-up to land a massive final blow. Goosebumps.
-S: Give him a harder mission. Like destroying the Earth or decapitating a Demon King.
-Kim Ki-beom: But aren't you guys romanticizing this too much? He literally just backstabbed it. He's a straight-up devil.
The chat was moving so fast it was impossible to keep up with.
* * *
It took a few seconds for the Wailing Witch to realize something was wrong.
"To breach my barrier..."
She had suspected something when she saw Jinhyuk smiling at the empty air.
There was no doubt.
That was the "live broadcast" players often did.
She didn't know how, but a hole had been made in her barrier.
As if to confirm her suspicion, Jinhyuk switched the broadcast system from private to public.
Now, the Wailing Witch could also see the messages appearing in the chat.
-Kim Ji-wang: Wail-hi, Wail-hi. Meaning "Hi, Wailing Grandma."
-Asyam: How does it feel to get your head smashed by Jinhyuk?
-Darkshadow: I heard it feels terrible when it happens to you. Is that true?
-tom: Pant, pant. I want Jinhyuk to bully me too.
"Insolent humans... How dare you, do you have any idea who I am? Do not think you are safe just because you are outside the Tower. Before long, an opportunity will arise for me to hunt every last one of you down."
-Rlawotjdo637: Oh, is that so? I'm so scared I might pee myself. Let me go change my underwear.
-Bamboo: My cat after being starved of Churu treats for a week would be fiercer than you.
-leve: Agreed. Don't talk unless you've experienced a cat punch.
-Noh Geon-hee: sOmEtImEs, I fEaR mY oWn sTrEnGtH.
-coma: But before you can even get to us, aren't you going to die right there?
"Ugh... you pests."
Realizing that talking any further was pointless, the Wailing Witch waved her hand in the air.
[The barrier has been reinforced to 10-Star.]
[All broadcast systems have been blocked!]
[The broadcast system can no longer be used within the ruins.]
"Isn't that a bit harsh? They were actually enjoying the show."
He had expected this.
But it didn't matter.
He had already gotten enough footage. He had also completed the missions perfectly.
Next up...
Jinhyuk activated 'Gluttony's Eye'.
——————————————————
Name: Wailing Witch (True name cannot be verified.)
Gender: Female
Age: 469
Level: 115
Strength: 65 | Agility: 58 | Stamina: 45 | Magic Power: 156 | Corruption: 147
Available Stat Points: 0
Unique Ability: Black Tears
Skills: 'Curse of the Waning Moon' Lv39, 'Advanced Barrier' Lv35, 'Herbalism' Lv34, 'Black Magic' Lv28, 'Twisted Familiar' Lv27, 'Guardian Creation' Lv25, 'Mana Distortion' Lv25
——————————————————
[Copy Condition: The Wailing Witch possesses an unimaginable level of pride in her own abilities. She is absolutely certain that not even the residents of the upper floors can survive her barriers and curses. Defeat the Wailing Witch using only barriers and curses. If you succeed, you will be able to copy one of her unique abilities or skills.]
A detailed status window appeared.
The 'Corruption' stat, which maximized the efficiency of curse-type skills, caught his eye, as did the well-balanced levels of her skills.
As expected, the Wailing Witch was a formidable opponent.
But...
What mattered wasn't how strong or tricky his opponent was.
What mattered was the fact that he could now copy her abilities.
The foundation to withstand the breath of dragons in the future.
Finally...
...He was just one step away from obtaining this power.