Chapter 343: The Great Powers of the Upper Floors (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 343: The Great Powers of the Upper Floors (1)
A day that passed in the blink of an eye.
After spending time at the PC bang, Jinhyuk and the members of the Veteran Corporation visited various places to relieve their accumulated fatigue.
And the next day.
"We'll call it a day here."
"See you next time."
Min Jung-woo and Lee Yu-ri, busy with their personal schedules, left first.
"Oppa, see you next time. We'll work hard to grow stronger too."
"Hyung, I have some extra information on an unexplored labyrinth. Let's go together next time."
Lee Tae-min and Yu Yeon-hwa also had a labyrinth raid scheduled, so they said their goodbyes with lingering regret.
"I still have some unfinished business to take care of... It's important, but I'll report back once it's all sorted out."
Finally, Melena vanished as well, mentioning she had to deal with the remaining Demonic Humans who had survived.
The group was now cut nearly in half.
...They really should have just ended the shareholders' meeting there and gone their separate ways to rest.
"It was... a mistake."
Jinhyuk let out a low sigh.
The plan for the second day was for everyone to play baseball together.
Teresa, who usually loved watching baseball, had hesitantly pitched the idea, and everyone had readily agreed.
As a result...
Hell had begun.
On one side was a team consisting of Teresa, Jinhyuk, Wolyeong, and the spirit beasts.
On the other side was a team made up of Alice, Cheon Yu-seong, Andrea, the ancient soldiers, and T-Bone.
[Inning 185, Score 0-0]
The game had been going on for seven hours straight.
Most innings took less than two minutes, but because the game was packed with monsters boasting insane stats, this was the result.
To be precise, it was because the pure and innocent Teresa underwent a 180-degree personality shift the moment the game started.
"Jinhyuk-ssi..."
"Yes?"
"That ball just now. Surely you could have hit it, Jinhyuk-ssi?"
A tingling, murderous intent pricked his skin.
The atmosphere turned ice-cold.
Teresa, who had already half-activated 'Corruption', exuded a holy yet decadent aura at the same time.
Damn it. What is this...
Just look at that dark red energy surging from her baseball bat.
She looked ready to slice the entire stadium in half.
And the problem was...
"How annoying. I am absolutely not losing."
Their opponent, Alice, also hated losing more than death itself.
"I agree. I'd rather bite my tongue and die than lose to that woman."
Cheon Yu-seong's competitive streak was also off the charts.
Thanks to them, the game was stuck in an endless loop, like a Möbius strip.
Tap!
[Wolyeong activates his unique ability, 'Shadow Extreme Kill'!]
Wolyeong's shadow on first base seemed to blur, and in an instant, he reached the very edge of second base.
But right then...
[Cheon Yu-seong activates Lv.19 'Soul-Chasing Sword'!]
Rumble!
A long, deep line tore through the stadium floor.
"Don't even think about it."
It was a pickoff attempt packed with a clear threat: take one more step, and I'll slice you.
"Tch!"
As Wolyeong clicked his tongue and retreated to his base, the corners of Alice's mouth—who was pitching—curved up in a subtle smirk.
Vroooom!
A crimson energy condensed into a single point, causing the ball to vibrate violently.
It was the phenomenon of mana gathering to its absolute limit due to 'Blood Lord'.
"I'm ending this right now."
"It seems our little kid doesn't know the rules of baseball. You guys are on defense, and we're on offense. If anyone's ending this, it's the offense scoring a run."
"S-So what if I don't know the rules perfectly? And did you just call me a kid? Are you talking to me right now?"
"Oh my. Did I slip up? But no matter how I look at you, you're just a little kid. What can I do?"
"Aaaaargh! I'm going to kill you, you stupid Saintess!"
Alice wound up to pitch.
Rumble!
A series of sonic booms erupted, gouging deep trenches into the ground.
A dead ball.
Usually, it refers to intentionally hitting the batter.
Except, if you actually got hit by that ball, you would literally become a dead body.
Not just instant death, but your very existence being erased without a trace.
"This will be satisfying to hit."
Whoosh!
Fierce flames erupted along Teresa's baseball bat.
It was impossible to even fathom the level of delicate control required to mix divine power and corrupted energy in a perfect fifty-fifty split.
Swish.
The ball vanished.
Then, even the wind disappeared.
What followed was...
BOOM!
A deafening explosion that threatened to collapse the entire stadium.
The batted ball soared high into the sky.
A white dot spinning in a slow arc, beginning its descent.
"Catch that right now!"
"The ball is heading over there."
"Yep! Leave it to me."
"Everyone, shut up. My head hurts."
"Clack, clack. If you don't want to end up as bone broth, you'd better stay sharp."
The spirit beasts and ancient soldiers scrambled busily.
In the sky, the Squishy Black Crane clutched its Dragon Orb, fully prepared to contain any collateral damage to the outside.
Goguma was munching on magic stones, watching the whole spectacle from the bench.
Whoosh!
Crash!
Unique abilities and skills flew left and right.
In the midst of a battlefield that felt like a real life-or-death struggle,
Jinhyuk nodded with a face that had completely given up on life.
'What an absolute shitshow.'
He figured it might actually be easier to go another round with Shub-Niggurath.
Still, if there was one good thing...
Jinhyuk's gaze flicked to his phone.
A ViewTube livestream.
While he couldn't earn Coins from it, it was an excellent tool for boosting personal donations and subscriber counts.
Jinhyuk had started the stream right after the baseball game began, drawing in viewers.
And naturally...
...the response was explosive.
-golgol: Whoa. Is this for real? This match is absolutely epic.
-Maison Hwang: Ranker battle videos look like child's play compared to this.
-Moon Yu-chan: I've watched tons of boss raids, labyrinth runs, and ruins exploration videos, but wow, I don't think I've ever seen anything more thrilling and flashy than this.
-cry: I mean, is this murder baseball or what? What on earth is going on lol
-Anonymous: But seriously, the lineup is stacked. They aren't called the heroes who saved humanity for nothing.
-JustSomeone: But is it just me, or is it weird that heroes are risking their lives over something like this? Huh? Someone give me a logical critique here.
The chat was scrolling so fast it made his head spin.
'At the very least, this will definitely boost the company's brand value.'
With the integration of the world's eight major guilds, their stock value was already skyrocketing.
Adding promotional videos like this would only amplify the effect.
Once he ran those calculations, this war-like baseball field didn't seem so bad after all.
'Since it's come to this, I hope they completely demolish the stadium.'
The more casualties there were, the hotter the public's interest would burn.
* * *
The sweet two-day vacation was over.
When the promised date arrived, Jinhyuk once again activated the gate leading to the Auction House.
Vroooom!
Accompanied by a bright light, the same phenomenon occurred as when he had first torn the ticket.
"Phew."
Jinhyuk took a light breath to steady himself.
Though he had simulated the scenario in his head countless times, he still needed to double-check the variables.
After all, this auction would feature a massive gathering of deities who ruled the upper floors of the Tower.
Naturally, to extract the maximum profit from among them, his plan had to be flawless.
Right then...
"Oh my. You're back."
A small fairy appeared in front of Jinhyuk.
It was the guide he had met here two days ago.
"Hello. Your name was... Setilda, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Wow, I'm so honored you remembered my name! Did you not find anything you liked last time? Since you've come back like this, I mean. Oh, wait. Just a moment. Let's see... Ah, here it is! This is today's auction schedule, and I highly recommend the B-3 Auction hosted by the middle manager, Rick-ssi. Look here! Brand new items fresh from the 20th floor of the Tower..."
Her rapid-fire words continued to assault his eardrums.
"No, that sounds great, but this time I'm planning to participate in the special auction hosted by the deities."
"Ah. That one..."
Setilda trailed off, looking troubled.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"No, it's not that... but the auctions attended by the deities are incredibly expensive. In fact, just the entry fee alone requires enough magic stones to buy a decent-sized castle, or something of equivalent value."
In short, it was a place where you couldn't even set foot without an astronomical amount of wealth.
"Don't worry. I didn't come unprepared."
Jinhyuk pulled out a fairly large Dragon Orb.
He had swiped one of the new Dragon Orbs that the Squishy Black Crane had painstakingly crafted.
The image of the Blue Dragon tearfully pleading that he couldn't take that one flashed through his mind, but...
his guilt lasted only a brief moment.
"I know the way from here. You don't need to guide me anymore."
"Okay. Well then, have a great auction!"
Setilda wore her usual bright smile as she waved goodbye.
* * *
Step.
As he walked further inside, a corridor lined with magnificent marble pillars came into view.
At the same time, waves of mana on a completely different level from the entrance washed over him.
'As expected...'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth twitched slightly.
The beings possessing the absolute strongest power within the Tower.
Each and every one of them was an absolute ruler who dominated a mythos and a world.
Just facing them exerted a crushing pressure that weighed down on his entire body.
'Norse, Greek... and even representatives from the Spirit Realm and the Demon World have come.'
A gathering of formidable powers, rare even during his past climb of the Tower, had assembled.
It was as if to emphasize just how crucial this auction was.
Right then...
"Oh my."
A beautiful woman with long blonde hair tied to one side approached.
It was Gabriel, the Archangel belonging to 'Eden'.
Beside her stood a well-built male angel who appeared to be her bodyguard.
Since Jinhyuk couldn't recall his face, he probably wasn't an angel of any significant rank...
"I knew you would come."
Gabriel spoke first.
"An opportunity like this doesn't come around very often."
"True, you haven't had many chances to meet deities until now."
Gabriel nodded understandingly.
However...
"While that's true, my main goal is actually to observe the Apostles contracted to the deities rather than the high-and-mighty deities themselves. At a glance, I noticed there are some non-deities mixed in."
"...?!"
At Jinhyuk's words, Gabriel's pupils dilated slightly.
The male angel beside her also flinched, his fists clenching.
"Where did you hear such information?"
"Players haven't been chosen by the deities yet, but it's a different story for the residents. Deities need proxies who span those floors to exert their influence on the lower floors. Furthermore, if the great powers of the upper floors wanted to show off at an event like this, I figured they would naturally bring their Apostles along."
Just as those chosen by the Demon World were called 'Black Apostles', those chosen by other deities held similar titles.
And among them would be rankers handpicked from the residents.
In the future, these would be the rivals he would climb the upper floors of the Tower with and fight against.
"Fufu. To think you've calculated even that far. How fascinating. Truly fascinating. Normally, players would be too busy bragging to others about being the first to enter a place like this."
Gabriel wore a mysterious smile, seemingly finding him even more to her liking.
"As I mentioned before, we in Eden are highly interested in Player Kang Jinhyuk. If we could accept someone of your caliber as our Apostle, it would be incredibly reassuring."
In that sense...
"We shall make the first offer."
The great power threw down its first proposal.
Along with a condition that was impossible to refuse.
"We will give you information on the High Manager, Hastings. Including what he plans to do next."