Chapter 289: The Rapid-Fire Ranker (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 289: The Rapid-Fire Ranker (1)
Countless weapons exist within the Tower of Trials.
From swords, blades, spears, bows, and blunt weapons to all kinds of magic tools and sacred relics.
Literally everything imaginable can be found here.
Among them, two weapons are notorious for being the most difficult to master.
The first was "firearms."
In fact, among the countless players, those who used firearms as their primary weapon were so rare they could be counted on one hand.
The reason was simple.
Since ordinary bullets had no effect on magic beasts, players had to use bullets infused with mana.
However, mana bullets were incredibly expensive, and they had the fatal drawback of taking time to reload.
Of course, thanks to South Korea's hardcore gamers, a method of synthesizing mana within the body to create mana bullets briefly became a trend.
But because the process of synthesizing mana was unimaginably difficult, the trend quickly died out.
And the second was the whip-sword, a type of flexible sword.
An unpredictable trajectory.
The danger of injuring even the user themselves.
Even among martial artists, those who could wield it properly were few and far between, so there was no way ordinary players could use such a weapon.
Most who chose it out of vanity ended up getting cut and killed by their own blade rather than by a magic beast.
However...
There was one ranker who stubbornly stuck to the very weapons others avoided with a shudder.
Step.
His primary weapons were a pair of pistols held in both hands, supplemented by a whip-sword strapped to his waist.
Jinhyuk walked toward the two magic beasts.
"Kieeeek!"
Green liquid spewed from the spider's gaping maw.
The acidic fluid swept across the area, giving off a pungent, sour stench.
Sssss!
But by the time the green liquid began melting the ground, Jinhyuk had already vanished.
"Kie?"
He reappeared right beneath the spider's chest.
Bang!
A red flash erupted from his pistol.
[The special effect 'Ultra-Precision Shot' of the Rare-grade 'Kruger (Pistol-type)' has been unlocked.]
[Details: If an attack of identical force is applied to the exact same spot, a critical hit is guaranteed to trigger with a 100% probability. (Margin of error: 0.015%)]
A condition that demanded extreme, acrobatic precision.
The Kruger was a weapon nicknamed "for display only," rather than for actual combat.
Of course, to Jinhyuk, such conditions might as well not have existed.
Furthermore, since Rick had specially enhanced it to Rare-grade, the weapon's base damage alone exceeded 10,000.
Thwack!
A beam of red light pierced through the hard carapace and erupted from the opposite side.
"Kieeeek!"
Even with a part of its body obliterated, the spider immediately swung its foreleg.
Insect-type monsters, capable of continuing their assault despite most wounds, had to be completely finished off.
Matching the angle of the incoming sharp claw...
Screeech!
The blade attached to the pistol deflected its trajectory.
In an instant that was practically simultaneous...
The muzzle pressed right beneath the spider's jaw.
Bang! Bang!
This time, the flash completely shattered the spider's head.
'Whew.'
Jinhyuk caught his breath.
With a twitch...
The mana surging from his heart traveled down his fingertips and into the pistol.
[Freezing Bullet has been created!]
[Flame Bullet has been created!]
Synthesizing mana within the body.
In an instant, two types of elemental bullets were formed.
Right then...
Whoosh!
A sharp tail whipped past Jinhyuk's eyes.
It was an incredibly fast movement, completely defying its massive size.
"Human... melt... eat you up."
Clear liquid dripped from its sword-sharp fangs.
"Normally, anyone with a brain would run away first. Well, I suppose it's that very hostility that keeps you guarding this place."
One in each hand.
The pistols fired simultaneously.
Boom!
As fire and ice clashed in the same spot, a thick cloud of steam billowed up.
"Do you think... you can escape... with such... cheap tricks..."
Within the obscured vision, the cobra instinctively flicked its tongue, trying to sense body heat.
Those flashing, rapid beams of light were powerful, but they could easily be dodged by swaying with its signature fluid movements.
If only it could sink its fangs in and inject its venom during that gap...
It was possible.
'I only need to dodge about ten times...'
It was clearly a weapon similar to the "arrows" humans commonly used.
A fatal weakness: a delay between attacks.
Exploiting that gap was no difficult task.
I'll make him regret grouping me with that brainless spider.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The cobra's body skimmed across the ground.
Thud!
Bullets struck the ground.
One shot.
Thud! Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
Two shots. Three... six... twelve.
This is the end!
And yet...
Thud!
The gunfire did not stop.
Flashes of light rained down once more through the steam.
Beams of light, thicker and brighter than before, began to rage like a tempest.
"What...?"
Countless incoming bullets reflected in its yellow pupils.
"Since you seem to have some intelligence, let me tell you one thing."
The reason he could reach the pinnacle of strength even with an unfamiliar and disadvantageous weapon...
It wasn't because of his ability to create various elemental bullets.
Nor was it because he could find weak points to maximize penetration.
"I don't have a delay."
Rapid Fire.
Synthesizing mana, converting it into bullets, and firing them—the entire process took less than a single second.
That was the very ability that had once utterly bewildered even Cheon Yu-seong, the one who held the title of Sword Saint.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
All critical hits.
The beams of light pierced through its scales like thorns.
However...
[Black Cobra uses Lv.18 'Molting'!]
Just before being turned into a honeycomb, the cobra shed its skin and fled backward.
As expected of an intelligent creature, it was quick to give up.
Rather than cowardly, it was a smart assessment of the situation.
But...
Jinhyuk had no intention of letting a runner escape so easily.
Shhhk!
Instead of the pistols, he drew a longsword from his waist.
[The whip-sword 'Red Scale' awakens!]
As mana infused the ordinary-looking longsword, it instantly split and extended.
The blades slithered across the ground, leaving afterimages in their wake like a living serpent.
A snake chasing a snake.
Slicing through dirt and rock, it caught up to the cobra in the blink of an eye.
"Do you think... a mere sword... can catch me!"
The cobra made a sharp turn.
True to a snake's flexible nature, the maneuver was incredibly fluid.
But at that exact moment...
Swish!
The whip-sword's trajectory bent as well.
A movement that seemed alive.
It changed direction in a way that was even more serpentine than an actual snake.
That was the end of it.
Before it could react or dodge, dozens of blades coiled around the cobra's entire body.
"You won't be able to molt this time."
Crimson blood seeped from its severed scales.
If it moved even a fraction—even a single twitch of its eye—he would slice it into neat little pieces.
"How... can this... make any sense..."
"Cut the crap and answer my question. There's a winged insect bastard among the ones inside the ruins right now, isn't there?"
"I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"That's not the answer I'm looking for."
Slash! Crunch!
The whip-sword dug deep into its flesh.
"Aaaargh!"
The cobra writhed in agony.
"Seeing an intelligent creature like you at the entrance of the ruins means 'that guy' among the named monsters must have emerged from its cocoon. Yes or no?"
There was a named monster capable of granting a modicum of intelligence to monsters that otherwise acted purely on instinct.
This guy must have also received its intelligence from that insect.
"Y-yes! That's right!"
Just as expected.
The important thing was how long it had been since it emerged from its cocoon...
"How many days has it been since it hatched?"
"Six days... six days!"
Six days meant it would have already fully developed its flight capabilities.
However, since it hadn't been a week yet, it likely hadn't awakened its hypnosis ability using hypnotic powder.
This added yet another reason to hurry.
"Good info. That was very helpful."
"Then... undo this... quickly. It... hurts."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
It would be troublesome if it scurried off to warn the others that a new enemy was coming.
The monsters inside the ruins needed to remain under the illusion that the Titan Guild was the only intruder.
Jinhyuk lightly flicked his sword.
Squelch! Crack!
With a single stroke, the whip-sword shredded the cobra's body into pieces.
'One minute and thirty-eight seconds to kill two of them...'
He was still far from his peak condition.
His rapid-fire speed was about 20% slower than in his prime, and the whip-sword strayed about three degrees off his intended trajectory.
He needed to sharpen his senses a bit more if he wanted to slay the boss today.
Still...
'It feels good.'
The pistols and the flexible sword.
These were his primary weapons, which he had wielded with absolute familiarity for a very long time.
He had kept them hidden, hoping not to use them during this climb if possible, but actually wielding them brought back old memories and felt incredibly natural in his hands.
They would undoubtedly create immense synergy when linked with his existing skills.
Anyway...
'It's about time to head out.'
If that butterfly bastard started running wild, there was a risk of being severely delayed.
Especially with players already inside.
'Domain of Wind' and 'Sword Demon's Heavenly Spirit Steps' activated simultaneously.
Whoosh.
Jinhyuk's figure vanished.
Soon after, a gust of wind began to tear through the ruins at a terrifying speed.
* * *
"Whew..."
"Pant... pant... pant..."
"I... almost died."
Heavy breathing echoed from deep within the ruins.
The players barely holding themselves up, covered in wounds, belonged to Titan, one of America's giant guilds.
"..."
A massive man surveyed his surroundings, resting a battle-axe on his shoulder.
It was Aidan, the ranker serving as the raid leader for this expedition.
'To think we'd struggle this much when we've barely even entered.'
According to detection magic, the ruins spanned about 15 kilometers.
Naturally, the magic beasts should get progressively stronger the deeper they went.
Yet, they hadn't even covered a single kilometer, and the difficulty had already spiked to the point where the raid team had to fight for their lives.
'Which means it'll only get harder from here.'
Aidan's eyes narrowed.
He had expected it to be tough since it housed the floor's boss monster, but the allied colony of insects, reptiles, and plants was far more troublesome than he had anticipated.
He had heard that when the European raid team challenged it a week ago, it wasn't nearly this bad.
Somehow, there was a massive discrepancy between their intel and reality.
Right then...
"Aidan. Are we... really going to keep going?"
A woman holding a long staff approached Aidan.
It was Mei Ling, an AoE damage dealer and another S-rank player.
True to her Chinese-American heritage, her black hair and soft, rounded features stood out.
"I see you felt it too."
"Yes. The damage dealers are burning through their mana way too fast. The healers are in the same boat. At this rate, the front-line tanks won't be able to hold out."
Her tone was laced with worry and anxiety.
"I know. But we can't back down here. We've prepared for over two weeks. If we retreat without even giving it a proper shot, our guild's reputation will hit rock bottom."
Hundreds of new guilds were popping up every single day.
While most vanished in no time, a select few shone brightly and rose above the rest.
Though Titan currently held a tight grip on the American continent, they would eventually be left behind if they grew complacent.
"We'll pull them in small groups to avoid pulling aggro. I'll handle the vanguard alone."
Aidan gripped his battle-axe.
At the very front...
...he would crush everything in his path.
Rumble!
As mana surged into him, a terrifying aura erupted from his entire body.
* * *
How much time had passed?
The raid team, which had been pushing forward through frantic battles, suddenly halted.
"Aidan!"
Mei Ling gestured, calling out to Aidan.
"What is it?"
"Look at this."
A cave about four meters in diameter had appeared in the passage.
"This is..."
"Yes. It's a passage leading straight to the boss. Judging by the mana fluctuations, it's definitely the shortest route."
"Well, it seems luck hasn't completely abandoned us."
Aidan smiled brightly for the first time since entering the ruins.
Since they could now fight the boss while preserving as much of their strength as possible, his burden was significantly lightened.
"We're going in, right?"
"Yes. Get ready immediately."
Aidan nodded.
But right then...
"You'll regret it if you go in there."
An unfamiliar voice cut through the raid team.