Chapter 325: Battle for a Spouse (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 325: Battle for a Spouse (3)
Two women appeared from down the alleyway.
One was a pure, elegant beauty with long blonde hair cascading down to her waist, and beside her was a rather young, mischievous-looking girl.
"Nice to meet you. I am Iris de Reinhardt."
The blonde beauty introduced herself first.
Reinhardt...
Come to think of it.
She certainly resembled the other Reinhardts he had met in the Empire.
The princes had all been incredibly handsome, but the princesses were truly something else as well.
Jinhyuk swallowed hard without realizing it.
"You can call me Mayu. My dad strictly ordered me to bring you back with me. Don't overthink it, just come with me! My dad is super strong and filthy rich!"
The girl with tanned skin and short hair beamed.
So this girl must be the youngest daughter of the Murim Alliance Leader.
He had expected it after looking at the participant list, but the biggest heavyweights of the middle floors had truly gathered in one place.
"My lord. Simply turning our backs on them... Both of them are formidable opponents."
"What do you plan to do? If you want, I can buy you some time."
Wolyeong and Cheon Yu-seong asked for Jinhyuk's opinion.
Iris and Mayu were already quite skilled to begin with, and with their seals released thanks to the backing of their respective factions, even Cheon Yu-seong and Wolyeong would only be able to hold them back temporarily.
However.
"No, there's no need for that."
Jinhyuk shook his head nonchalantly.
It didn't matter how powerful Iris and Mayu's backers were.
Because the wealthiest person in this scramble had already been decided.
In fact, it was about time for her to show up...
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Boom!
Along with a deafening roar.
"Who on earth are these people now?! I barely managed to shake off that damn idiot saintess, so why are there so many competitors!"
An enraged Alice conjured dozens of blood harpoons.
[Alice activates her unique ability, 'Blood Lord'!]
"That person is..."
"Oh! What's this? A strong-looking love rival has appeared!"
Iris and Mayu also drew their respective weapons.
Soon, a desperate, chaotic battle to claim the Rose of Eternity unfolded.
* * *
The opening created by Alice's sudden intrusion.
Jinhyuk leisurely slipped out of the alley.
Since they were too busy tearing into each other, they didn't have the luxury to pay attention to anything else.
For the women who possessed tracking items, they could catch up to Jinhyuk anytime, but letting their guard down around their fellow competitors meant risking immediate elimination.
And while everyone was certain that this fundamental premise would remain unshaken, the plans Jinhyuk had been setting in motion were finally complete.
"...Huh?"
"What?"
A group of women from the Empire, walking closely together, felt a strange sense of incongruity.
The hard ground suddenly felt soft, and then—
Squelch!
It instantly swallowed their ankles and dragged them down.
The traps he had ordered the spirit beasts to set were finally springing into action.
"Kyaaaah!"
"W-What is this?"
Five of them fell victim to a muddy pit created by a Gnome.
Sucked deep into the mire, their dresses and clothes were completely ruined.
Elsewhere, a Salamander was diligently breathing fire.
Whoosh!
The blazing heat melted their carefully applied makeup and singed their elaborately styled hair.
"Aaaah!"
"O-Oh no!"
"My... my hair! I spent three hours on this! It's ruined! Everything is ruined!"
Hell was breaking loose everywhere.
Yet, the grand finale of this disaster had not even begun.
Rumble!
Crash!
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Despite the clear, sunny weather across the rest of Murim, dark clouds began to gather heavily over Luoyang alone.
[Due to the effect of the Dragon Orb, 'Thunderstorm' is being activated.]
"I am a noble dragon... a supreme, sacred... divine beast, if you will. Haha. I am often called the most honorable even among the Four Guardian Deities. That is who I am."
The Blue Dragon—no, the Squishy Black Crane—muttered to himself self-deprecatingly.
"Mogi!"
"Ah, I get it! I'm making it rain as hard as I can, aren't I? I'm actually quite good at doing what I'm told."
"Mogi-mogi."
Under Goguma's fierce, watchful gaze, the Squishy Black Crane poured down a torrential rain.
-Raffle: Wow. The participants look like drowned rats.
-GoodDragonFriend: Fr. He's a literal demon. The Marquis's third daughter I bet on has zero chance now. Her dress turned completely black.
-jus: Same here. I lost all the coins I bet. Sigh, I saved those up for three months ㅠㅠ
-Jang Ji-oh: Why did you go for high odds instead of investing in a blue-chip stock like Alice? The payout might be low, but she's as reliable as a warm bowl of soup.
-jxh: Agreed. Honestly, one blood bamboo spear from Alice would shut everyone up.
Flustered reactions from the viewers flooded the chat.
They had never imagined that participants would be eliminated in droves so quickly.
Even among the VIPs watching from the banquet hall, dumbfounded reactions continued.
"Uh..."
"M-My daughter..."
The nobles of the Empire stared blankly at the screen.
"I raised her like a precious flower... and she gets eliminated like this?"
"Haha. My child didn't even get to lay eyes on Young Master Kang."
On the Murim side, sect leaders and elders also grimaced with bitter tastes in their mouths.
"Bwahahaha! What a spectacle! Honestly, I thought he'd be flustered, but he really is something else. At this rate, everyone's going to get eliminated."
Ma Tae-bong, the Murim Alliance Leader, burst into roaring laughter.
Even though his own daughter was participating, Ma Tae-bong seemed to find this turn of events highly entertaining.
Finally, the Heavenly Demon, who had been watching Jinhyuk's exploits from the furthest distance, spoke quietly.
"Dark Emperor."
"Yes, Supreme One."
"Treat that boy... well. Even if he whines a little or acts selfishly, do not provoke him."
"Of course. Absolutely. To be honest, making an enemy of him would be far more troublesome than dealing with Samaja or Shimmasaryong."
"He is more terrifying than the Blood Demon I fought ten years ago. I get the feeling he instinctively knows exactly how to make people suffer the most."
"...It looks that way to me as well."
The two of them stared silently at the screen.
* * *
How much time had passed since the scramble began?
Those who had struggled so hard to obtain the Rose of Eternity disappeared one by one.
And finally, out of 279 participants, only eight remained.
From the Empire's side, Princess Iris and the second daughter of Count Melmorn survived.
From the Murim side, the names of Mayu, the youngest daughter of the Murim Alliance Leader; Baek Seol-rin of Mount Hua; and So Cheong-ah, So Yu-myeong's younger sister, were highlighted in blue.
Lastly, from the faction composed of Players and residents of other floors, Alice, Teresa, and Andrea naturally remained.
"They're really persistent. I can't believe they won't give up even after all this. Just how much more do I have to torment them before they throw in the towel? Hmm. Maybe I should try tricking them into eating stinky tofu by pretending it's Mapo tofu."
Jinhyuk fell into deep thought.
Most had surrendered in tears after falling victim to his nasty traps, but those who remained were burning with a determination to keep going even if the heavens split in two.
"At this point, shouldn't you just pretend to lose and hand over the rose? They all gathered here because they're interested in you anyway. I think it's about time you chose one of them."
Cheon Yu-seong, who had been watching quietly, chimed in.
Naturally, Jinhyuk let the words go in one ear and out the other.
"They're not interested in me. They're after the rose's abilities and the benefits for their respective factions. Besides, this is just a sort of event quest. You have to be flexible with these things. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
"...Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. You're not just dense; your emotions are completely dried up."
"Hmm. Hearing that from anyone else would be fine, but hearing it from you is actually highly offensive."
Jinhyuk and Cheon Yu-seong bickered.
"My lord. Still, it is a relief that only eight people remain. With barely a minute left on the clock, isn't this practically your victory?"
"Exactly. They'll probably be too busy keeping each other in check to even make it here."
Jinhyuk nodded.
However, there was one fact that everyone was overlooking.
That among the items offered for this event, there was a relic capable of turning the tables in just a single minute.
[A relic with the effect of 'Absolute Judgment' has been used on this area!]
Suddenly, their vision shifted dramatically.
Ruuuumble!
A powerful surge of mana swirled around the area where the three of them stood.
"This is...!?"
"My lord!"
Cheon Yu-seong and Wolyeong immediately tried to leap away.
However, the crimson pillars that swallowed the area refused to let anyone inside escape.
"Fufufufu! Did you think you had won?"
"Hehe! There's still a whole minute left!"
It was then that sly laughter echoed.
Teresa, with her long blonde hair flowing, and Andrea, who had unleashed her beastification to its peak, came into view.
Furthermore,
Step.
Familiar faces appeared to the left, right, and rear.
"Did you look down on Us so much just because you had two bodyguards?"
"The Empire does not back down easily either."
"Now, give up quietly."
Realizing that none of them could win at this rate, the eight of them had joined forces.
First, they would surround Jinhyuk tightly so he couldn't escape.
After that, they would leave it to their own abilities to see who would claim the Rose of Eternity.
That plan had worked perfectly.
By pooling all the coins they had gathered to activate the ultimate ability.
[8 participants request the Absolute Judgment, 'Domain of Binding'.]
An ominous mana rippled through the air.
"Absolute... Judgment. Damn it. Isn't that dangerous?"
Cheon Yu-seong instinctively flinched.
"It's fine. The activation conditions for Absolute Judgment items usable in this event are ridiculously strict. Those guys just wasted their coins and relics."
"Are you sure?"
"Have you been lied to your whole life? I'm telling you, those conditions are at a level they can never satisfy."
Jinhyuk grinned.
And as if to prove his words,
Tring!
A blue status window popped up.
[To activate the event-specific condition, a high level of understanding of the target is required.]
[Describe the target 'Kang Jinhyuk's' favorite food in the Tower of Trials, its cooking method, and the number of times he has eaten it over the past three months.]
[The more detailed the description, the greater the effect of the ability.]
"See? How on earth are they going to answer that? No matter how crazy someone is..."
However, Jinhyuk couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Me, me, me, me, me!"
Because Alice was waving her hand frantically like a child who knew the answer.
Huh?
No way...?
"He likes Rainbow Shrimp caught using Tengkong River caterpillars, slowly grilled over low heat for exactly 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 13 seconds, then sprinkled with 13.5 grams of Asumtra Salt from the 5th floor divided into 7 portions. He's eaten it 26 times over the past three months, and the most recent time was exactly 62 hours, 15 minutes, and 33 seconds ago!"
The words poured out like rapid-fire.
Alice puffed out her chest proudly.
"Didn't you say they could absolutely never answer it?"
"No, seriously, isn't it weirder that she actually knows that? Is she a stalker or something? How does she even know that?!"
A protest of sheer injustice welled up in his throat.
However, what mattered right now wasn't how she had memorized all of that.
It was the fact that Alice's words were absolutely true.
[Domain of Binding (Highest Grade) is activated!]
Crash!
"Ugh!"
The binding completely immobilized his entire body.
Only 10 seconds remained.
Boom!
Dash!
The eight of them lunged forward simultaneously.
"I will...!"
"Don't make me laugh!"
"Aaaah!"
Clawing and tearing at each other, they reached out from different directions.
And the winner among them was...
"I got...!"
Alice's fingertips brushed against the Rose of Eternity on Jinhyuk's right chest.
Then, she firmly grasped the rose in her hand.
[The event has ended.]
[Time Limit: 0h:0m:0s]
"Yes! I won! I won!"
Alice cheered.
At the same time:
[There is no winner among the challengers.]
[The winner is the tagger, Player 'Kang Jinhyuk'!]
"...Huh?"
The smile vanished from Alice's face.