Chapter 279: How a Veteran Trains (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 279: How a Veteran Trains (2)
The Celestial Crimson Pavilion.
Cranes flew over a beautiful waterfall and lake.
This was a tavern widely considered the finest in Qinghai.
True to its name, a single day's worth of drinks here cost as much as a commoner's six-month salary, to the point where people said their ultimate wish was to enjoy the arts and leisure in this very place...
If there were a paradise on earth, it would surely be here.
And right now.
In the topmost pavilion, the absolute best spot in the Celestial Crimson Pavilion, the laughter and chatter of a man and women echoed.
"Hahaha. Yes, Arang. As expected, your skill on the zither is by far the finest in the Celestial Crimson Pavilion."
A man with jet-black hair let out an exclamation of admiration.
His face was flushed red, indicating he was quite drunk.
"My lord, it is useless to praise me so."
"Oh my. If you only dote on Arang, I will get jealous."
"My, we can't have Geumhwa feeling left out."
The two gisaeng put on all sorts of coquettish charms.
To call them merely beautiful felt like an understatement.
That was how outstanding Arang and Geumhwa's appearances were.
But it was at that very moment.
"Please have some of this as well... as... Huh? Something in my throat... Cough. Ack!"
"Gasp... Urgh..."
Arang and Geumhwa suddenly clutched their throats in agony.
Shatter!
Wine cups shattered, and the strings of the instrument snapped.
In an instant, the table was stained crimson.
"Gasp..."
"...M-My lord... P-Please save... me..."
Capillaries burst along their necks in an instant, and thin streams of blood soon trickled from their mouths.
They were dead.
Without even a moment to check their condition.
Yet, the man was not particularly flustered by the deaths of the two gisaeng.
He merely... smacked his lips in disappointment.
"Sigh, what a shame. The mood was just getting good. Besides, isn't it a bit too cruel to kill such pretty girls with poison?"
The man scratched his head.
At the same time.
"A crisis has broken out, yet you can still stomach your wine?"
"I wondered where you had gone, but to think you would come all the way to Qinghai."
"You certainly live a carefree life."
Multiple figures emerged from the darkness.
"Honestly, you lot are so stiff, doing nothing but work. So, what is it? What's all this fuss about?"
"A troublesome matter has arisen."
Dokgoryong, who stood at the very front, spoke.
"A troublesome matter?"
"Yes. We must return to the main cult immediately, Left Guardian."
Left Guardian.
At those words, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
His sly smile vanished, replaced by a freezing, icy chill that began to fill the room.
The second-in-command of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
A powerful figure who sat to the left of the Heavenly Demon, holding a position below only one but above all others.
This man was the Left Guardian, 'Samaja'.
He looked to be in his early thirties at most, but that was only because he had undergone Rebirth.
"Speak."
"The Right Guardian... no, the Dark Emperor has brought some strange bastards, claiming they are his disciples."
"I wondered what it was. That old man is certainly old enough to take on a disciple. Is that really worth making such a fuss over?"
"They are no ordinary disciples. Not only has one of them mastered the Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art to the 4th stage, but according to our spies in the Murim Alliance and the Orthodox factions, he also caused quite a stir at Kunlun's Cloud-Mist Pavilion. I believe that if we leave him be, he will become an obstacle to our plans."
The woman standing next to Dokgoryong chimed in.
Ranked 10th.
The number one spearman of the Heavenly Demon Cult, known by the moniker 'Fire Dragon Purple Spear'—Chae Hong-ah.
"Hooh. The 4th stage... That is quite impressive. Even I haven't mastered the Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art. Hmm."
Samaja wore an amused smile.
"This is no laughing matter. Those punks are currently inside the underground dungeon with the Dark Emperor's permission. If they happen to discover that..."
"Do you mean the Dokkaebi Fire?"
"Yes."
The 'Dokkaebi Fire' forcibly injected into the Dokkaebis was a precious item obtained with great difficulty through a deal with the upper floors.
"Isn't the Dokkaebi Fire one of the key elements of our plan? The dungeon is a place where entry is forbidden without the permission of either the Heavenly Demon or the two Guardians, so we thought it was the safest location... But instead, it might turn into the most dangerous."
"I understand what you are worried about. However, do not fret too much. Even if that so-called disciple sees the Dokkaebi Fire, he will pass by without a single doubt. At most, he will probably just think of it as some slightly unusual byproduct."
Even the leaders of the Empire and the Murim did not know about the Dokkaebi Fire from the upper floors of the tower.
There was no way a player who had just started climbing from the 1st floor of the tower would know about it.
"While what you say is true, Left Guardian..."
Dokgoryong reluctantly trailed off.
Although he agreed to some extent, he still seemed uneasy.
Ultimately, Samaja offered a piece of 'assurance' to completely dispel that anxiety.
"Besides, haven't we locked those guys away on the final underground floor of the dungeon?"
"Ah...!"
"Surely you don't mean to release them?"
"Left Guardian. They are criminals whom even our cult found difficult to handle, which is why they were locked away."
Gasps of shock escaped everyone's lips.
However, Samaja merely shrugged with a nonchalant expression.
"I only suggested a foolproof method because you all seemed so anxious. Besides, once-captured criminals can easily be locked up again whenever we put our minds to it, can't they?"
"Hmm. Since we are all staying at the main cult and the Left Guardian is here as well, it should certainly be possible."
"Fighting poison with poison... It's not a bad approach."
At Samaja's firm words, the tide of the conversation shifted once more.
Except for one person.
Dokgoryong.
"Then, what if the Dark Emperor's disciple manages to deal with all of those criminals as well?"
"Hmm. It seems you are overestimating him. Do you truly believe a single person can handle all of those vicious criminals? Seriously?"
"That is why I said 'what if'."
Just in case.
There was no way, but if the Dark Emperor's disciple was indeed that outstanding.
"Then..."
Samaja smiled brightly.
"I will step forward and kill them myself. The Dark Emperor, his disciple, and everyone else."
* * *
The 1st floor of the dungeon.
Jinhyuk leisurely gathered the Dokkaebi Fire.
'So there are people within the Heavenly Demon Cult harboring other intentions.'
A restricted area like the dungeon.
The existence of the Dokkaebi Fire, which could only be obtained from the upper floors.
Considering the hostility Dokgoryong had shown toward his master and the power dynamics within the Heavenly Demon Cult, he could roughly guess what was going on.
The problem was how large the scale of this matter was... and at what point they would make their move.
Right then.
Ring!
A large status window appeared before Jinhyuk's eyes.
[You have met a specific condition!]
Met a specific condition?
What did that...?
Before he could resolve his doubts, more status windows popped up in succession.
[A hidden quest has arrived!]
[Bloody Power Struggle]
Type: Linked Quest
Difficulty: S
Description: You have caught wind of a massive conspiracy brewing within the Heavenly Demon Cult. This incident will serve as the fuse for the mid-floor faction war that was left unresolved in the past! Head to the final floor of the dungeon and gather additional clues.
Reward: You may select and purchase one material item from the Coin Exchange for free.
In the Tower of Trials, main quests are given when specific conditions are met.
But.
A linked... quest?
'No way...'
Jinhyuk's pupils shook with shock.
Unlike ordinary quests, linked quests only trigger when one is swept up in an incredibly important event connected to the overarching scenario of the entire tower.
It wasn't just limited to the middle floors.
'It means the upper floors are involved as well.'
Just looking at the reward—allowing him to choose any material item he wanted from the Coin Exchange—made it impossible to even guess how difficult this quest would be.
To put it bluntly, it meant he could even choose materials capable of crafting a purple-grade relic.
'Interesting. I happened to need a certain material, and I can get it through this opportunity.'
Even if there hadn't been a quest, he had already planned to clear out the entire underground dungeon anyway.
But it seemed the stage was going to be much larger than expected.
"Everyone, wake up."
Jinhyuk woke Alice and the spirit beasts, who were dozing off.
"Huh? Already?"
"I don't think... we've even slept for thirty minutes yet."
"Master. Let's rest a bit more. Just five more minutes... no, just one more minute."
It was like waking up kids to send them to school on the first day of term.
"Don't worry. I'm not telling you to run hard again. I woke you up to let you know that I have to step away for a bit."
"A place you have to go? Alone?"
Alice's eyes went wide.
"Yeah. I'm going alone, so you guys can take your time coming down. But if you slack off just because I'm not here, I'll never let you out of this dungeon, so behave yourselves."
"...It feels like you're about to do something dangerous again. Are you really going to be okay alone?"
"It's nothing dangerous. I'll be back as soon as possible."
Jinhyuk lightly poked Alice's forehead with his finger.
* * *
How long had it been since he last went on a solo raid?
Jinhyuk headed down the dark passage toward the 2nd floor of the dungeon.
Although he had spoken to the others as if it were nothing, he had a good reason for acting alone.
'For a hidden quest to offer a reward of that caliber, there must be an outlier among the entities in this dungeon.'
It wouldn't be easy.
In fact, it would be suspicious if it were easy.
"Mwaaa!"
"Mwaaa!"
Spotting Jinhyuk, a horde of Dokkaebis swarmed him.
There was no need to deal with these guys one by one.
After all, even if he left the small fry behind, Alice and the others following him would clean them up.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished in an instant.
Activating the 'Sword Demon Emperor Stepss', Jinhyuk accelerated.
"Mwa?"
As if a massive storm had swept past, the Dokkaebis stared blankly at the spot where Jinhyuk had been just a moment ago.
Boom!
Stamping on the ground,
Crackle...!
he leaped.
Through the 2nd floor to the 3rd.
And from the 3rd floor, he dropped down a vertical shaft.
The moment he landed on the ground, his surroundings changed completely.
Clank!
A weight-sensing mechanism triggered.
'A trap zone.'
Amidst layers of spiderwebs and thick piles of dust, bamboo launchers revealed themselves.
Although the darkness made it hard to be precise, he could sense well over thirty presences.
Furthermore.
"Prey. Fresh prey."
"How long has it been since we last had food?"
"I'm going to chew him up, bones and all."
Following the Dokkaebis, Hungry Ghosts appeared.
These creatures, too, were mere husks driven solely by the instinct to devour prey.
"Hmm. Maybe I should have brought Alice along after all. She can flutter around, so she would've made the perfect decoy."
Jinhyuk smacked his lips in regret.
At that exact moment.
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
Silver needles measuring about one meter in length shot out from all directions.
Drooling heavily, the Hungry Ghosts lunged forward all at once.
"I can never understand brainless monsters."
Front, back, left, and right.
The incoming silver needles melted into the darkness.
Jinhyuk drew his longbow, 'Fang', and nocked an arrow made of mana.
The sound of the wind, the subtle vibrations in the air, and the experience he had accumulated countless times over came together.
...Now!
Dozens of 'Crimson Magic Bullets' erupted from the arrow.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Interception.
Dozens of silver needles collided with the bullets, their trajectories shifting.
To be precise...
Thud-thud-thud!
Splat!
"Screeech!"
"Graaaah!"
...toward the bodies of the Hungry Ghosts.
"I mean, why drool over food you can't even eat?"
Dozens of silver needles turned the Hungry Ghosts' bodies into honeycombs.
It was a feat akin to acrobatics, allowing not a single margin for error.
'Just one floor left.'
He saw the downward path leading to the 5th floor, the deepest part of the dungeon.
[You have entered the 5th floor of the dungeon, 'Avici Hell'.]
Boom-boom-boom!
Only after reaching the 5th floor did Jinhyuk finally halt his steps.
Faint smoke rose from the ground where his feet had dug deep furrows as he skidded to a stop.
It had taken barely two hours.
Even considering he had ignored the low-grade Dokkaebis, it was an unimaginably fast speed.
'The Sword Demon Emperor Stepss has also improved beyond comparison to when I first used it.'
An overpowered skill that blurred the boundaries between footwork and movement techniques.
This meant it was highly efficient not only for dodging enemy attacks but also for long-distance running like this.
Well, it was already level 12 now.
It was only natural for its performance to change.
Furthermore, thanks to 'Shallow Breathing', his breath remained calm and steady.
It was then.
"...Heh!"
A breathy chuckle drifted over.
Beyond the dark abyss, the clanking of chains reverberated.