Chapter 344: The Great Powers of the Upper Floors (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 344: The Great Powers of the Upper Floors (2)
“…….”
Information about Hastings.
At this unexpectedly massive topic, Jinhyuk bit his lip.
One of the cards he had desperately wanted to get his hands on had finally appeared.
Because the guy was so shrouded in mystery, it had been difficult to figure out his schemes even in the past, but now he had a chance to confirm them.
‘But to hear that story, I have to join Eden, is that it...?’
The great power of the upper floors, ‘Eden’.
It was certainly a place with many more advantages than other options.
Its members were solid, and above all, it was the polar opposite of the Demon World, which could create various variables in the future.
But before making a choice, first...
Ding!
[Lv15 ‘Gluttony's Eye’ has been activated!]
Jinhyuk's eyes pierced through his opponent.
However.
[Blessing of the Archangel has been activated!]
As if waiting for this, a golden mist rose.
“Ugh!”
A sharp, stinging sensation.
An intense pain flared up in Jinhyuk's eyes.
It felt as if he was being pierced from the crown of his head down to his spinal cord.
“Fufu. Peeking behind the curtain is against the rules. We have also grasped to some extent the types of skills Player Kang Jinhyuk possesses.”
Gabriel smiled brightly.
As expected. Obtaining information through his ‘eye’ in front of a high-ranking deity was no easy task.
Of course, even without that, there were other ways to get what he wanted from his opponent.
“Understood. I'll stop testing the waters half-heartedly.”
“Does that mean you will accept our proposal?”
“No, it doesn't.”
Jinhyuk shook his head.
“What a pity that you're declining. I thought you would desperately want to know the information about Hastings.”
Hmm...
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. I said I wouldn't join your faction, not that I was giving up on the information about Hastings.”
“Excuse me?”
“I will hand over a piece of information of equal value from my side.”
“Are you suggesting a sort of information exchange? With us?”
“Exactly. It's likely a story that Eden will find quite enticing.”
It was then.
“How absurd.”
The male angel who had been watching quietly chimed in.
“Simply offering a proposal to a mere insect is more than generous, yet you dare try to strike a deal with us using a mere speck of dust's worth of knowledge?”
“Demiel, stop.”
Gabriel restrained him, but the male angel did not back down easily.
“But, Archangel. Am I not right? What he knows is likely nothing more than some slightly rare item trash in the middle floors of the tower... Isn't it absolutely preposterous for him to ask for information on Hastings with something like that?”
Demiel snorted in disdain.
However.
At the words that followed...
“You possess the crown, yet you cannot even approach the boundary of the 50th floor. Isn't that all because you do not have ‘that book’?”
Demiel's expression, which had treated everything as trivial, flipped 180 degrees.
“……How do you know that?”
He couldn't help but be flustered.
One of the sacred relics absolutely necessary to safely navigate the 50th floor.
‘The Necronomicon.’
A grimoire containing all kinds of information about the 50th floor and the ancient gods.
To think that a forbidden book known only among deities would come out of the mouth of a mere player.
He simply couldn't believe it.
“I know where a part of that book is located. If you hand over the information on Hastings, I will also tell you where that part of the book is.”
“My... you are a far more dangerous man than I thought.”
Gabriel also muttered, unable to hide her fluster.
Just knowing of the book's existence meant there was zero chance this was a lie.
In that case...
“Very well. Let's make a deal.”
Gabriel accepted the offer.
* * *
[You have paid 1 Azure Dragon's Orb as an admission fee.]
The administrator at the entrance carefully inspected the orb, then nodded.
It meant it was sufficient as an admission fee.
“Then, have a pleasant auction...”
As the administrator stepped aside, the massive doors swung open on both sides.
Thus, the Grand Auction House was revealed.
Perhaps because many deities had already attended, the interior was quite bustling.
“At least magic stones...”
“The fifth item must be secured by our side...”
“……Yes. I know.”
Most were talking with their respective factions, discussing how they could get their hands on the items to be presented this time.
However.
Step.
As Jinhyuk stepped into the auction house, the murmuring voices vanished as if by magic.
Everyone's eyes turned toward him.
The rookie who had already reached the middle floors of the tower less than two years after the ‘Tower of Trials’ appeared.
The talked-about ranker who had driven away a supreme being that even deities couldn't handle.
Though countless towers had appeared across countless dimensions throughout history, a player who climbed the tower this quickly was unprecedented.
Naturally, attention was bound to be focused on him.
“Is that guy Kang Jinhyuk?”
“Yes. He's someone whose name has come up a few times on our side as well.”
“He played a major role in the war between Murim and the Empire. It was also because of him that Samaja of the Heavenly Demon Cult was taken care of.”
“If it's Samaja, isn't he the candidate that monkey, the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, wanted to make his apostle?”
“Hoho. Seeing how distorted his face is over there, it seems that's correct.”
The deities each chimed in.
Right then.
Bzzzt!
Black sparks flared up in all directions.
Unlike those watching from afar, a figure approached, openly radiating hostility.
He was a man with an impressive face, marked by long, protruding fangs and red tattoos.
“I finally get to see that damn face of yours. My subordinates owe you a great deal in many ways, so I've been dying to meet you.”
Rage dripped from every single word.
There was no way he wouldn't know.
How could he not?
Guntaper.
One of the Demon World Commanders, Jinhyuk had clashed with his subordinate once at the Citadel of Giants.
Since Jinhyuk had ruined the grand plan he had laid out through the Demonic Humans...
He certainly wouldn't have any good feelings toward Jinhyuk.
And beside him stood a man wearing armor engraved with the crest symbolizing Ataraxia.
Exencion.
Even the current head of Ataraxia, who had betrayed Alice, had attended this auction.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
……He's strong.
Overwhelmingly so.
When he had met the family head-class figures on the lower floors of the tower, their power had been restricted, but here, they could fully unleash their true strength.
The various armaments they wore were also, without exception, renowned, top-tier sacred relics.
“Auction or not, taking your head is what I want.”
Guntaper bared his claws.
“Are you going to vent your anger on me in front of so many deities? I came here as an official participant... If you do something like this, the others won't just stand by, will they?”
“You seem to know very little about deities. Those bastards don't care about a life like yours. Deities only move when there's even a sliver of benefit for themselves.”
It was obvious, but here, power was the rule and the law.
For a resident or player to survive among deities, they had to belong somewhere as an apostle.
Of course, Jinhyuk, who belonged nowhere, was nothing more than easy prey that could be disposed of effortlessly.
That was common sense.
And that was his current position in the food chain.
It was true.
It was true, but...
Just one thing.
Guntaper was mistaken about one thing.
“I'm sorry, but I'm actually quite popular.”
“What kind of nonsense is... Huh?! You!”
Guntaper, who was speaking, suddenly raised his voice.
“Hmm. Who is taking whose head? He promised to become my apostle. In other words, he is a player sponsored by the Demon World.”
Veliel intervened.
“This guy is going to be a Black Apostle of the Demon World?”
“Huh. Apostle? Me? Myself?”
This time, two people were surprised simultaneously.
Ah... right.
During the battle with Shub-Niggurath, he had coaxed this guy by saying something about becoming his apostle.
Since it was a lie he didn't mean, he had completely forgotten about it.
A very faint memory of selling out Cheon Yu-seong as well crossed his mind.
“So you'd better take your hands off him. Unless you want to start a war with me.”
“Veliel... you filthy fallen angel! Just because the Demon God dotes on you a little, aren't you getting too cocky? Others might not know, but I know you will betray us at any moment.”
“Betrayal... that's quite unpleasant to hear.”
“And what are you going to do if it's unpleasant?”
“What else? I'll slice off your head and hang it in front of my castle gate.”
Zap!
Bzzzt...!
The air suddenly grew much heavier.
If the war of nerves between deities escalated into a battle, there was no telling what kind of disaster would unfold.
Even more so in a situation where they could fully utilize their true power.
However, the magic power that was escalating to the extreme did not reach its conclusion.
“Now, now! Thank you for waiting. I'm a bit late because there was so much to prepare.”
A beastman with the cute appearance of a rabbit had appeared in the center before anyone knew it.
Simultaneously announcing the start of the auction, Veliel shrugged and stepped back.
“Are you running away?”
“Unlike you, I'm quite interested in this auction. You should also stop wasting your energy on useless things and just relax and enjoy the auction. If you want to raise that foolish apostle of yours, shouldn't you grab at least one thing from this auction?”
“……Ugh. You bastard...”
Guntaper clenched his fists so hard they nearly broke.
However, he did not cause any more of a scene.
Because, just as Veliel said, growing his apostle was also important.
“Since everyone seems to have calmed down, let's begin the long-awaited auction. The first item we'd like to introduce is a hot, brand-new arrival fresh from the 45th floor of the tower just a week ago!”
As the rabbit snapped its fingers, a massive glass case appeared on the empty floor.
Inside, a claw measuring over three meters was preserved.
It was none other than the claw of ‘Behemoth’, one of the ancient species.
As expected of a magical beast of immense size, even just a portion of its claw was unimaginably massive.
“A Behemoth?”
“It's a rare ancient species, but it was on the 45th floor?”
“They did well to find its trace.”
The saying that it could swallow an island was by no means an exaggeration.
The starting bid alone was 700 million magic stones.
However, as the deities joined in, the unit of magic stones changed in an instant.
“1 billion!”
“1.5 billion!”
“3 billion!”
“8 billion!”
Behemoth's claw would be the ultimate material for crafting weapons or armor.
However, it was at a level where one couldn't even dream of joining in.
“Are you enjoying the show, brat? Ah! Well, watching is all you can do anyway. This isn't a stage where a penniless bastard like you can just barge in. Kuhahaha!”
Guntaper burst into wild laughter.
However, Jinhyuk remained silent.
“…….”
In the first place, his purpose for coming here wasn't something like that.
“Pandora's Box has been sold to Lord Hermes of Olympus!”
“The transcendent-grade magic stone has been sold to Lady Gabriel of Eden!”
“The Heart of Elements has been sold to Lady Uasis, who came as the representative of the Spirit Realm!”
The auction proceeded without a moment's pause.
How much time had passed like that?
“Now, the next item we'd like to introduce is...!”
The item that would be the absolute highlight of this auction made its appearance.
It was finally here.
Slide...
Jinhyuk slowly opened his dimensional subspace inventory.