Chapter 353: Crown of Hegemony (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 353: Crown of Hegemony (1)
A black object was visible amidst the platinum-colored sand.
It was none other than the 'Crown of Hegemony' once possessed by the Heavenly Demon.
It was the key to reaching the 50th floor, a top-tier artifact whose sheer power was on a completely different level from other relics.
The time had finally come to claim it.
'Gluttony's Eye' pierced through the target.
Tring!
[Crown of Hegemony]
Acquisition Difficulty: Unmeasurable
Description: One of the seven crowns existing in the Tower, symbolizing overwhelming 'might'.
All stats +30
...Unable to view detailed information due to the low level of 'Gluttony's Eye'.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
'Good.'
There was no doubt it was the real deal.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart began to beat rapidly.
The option to increase all stats didn't just mean boosting the four basic stats of Strength, Agility, Mana, and Stamina.
'It means it even boosts Gap, Adaptive Stats, and... even Luck Stats.'
It was a truly broken attribute.
In particular, there was no other way to increase Gap besides dodging the Minotaur's attacks on the 1st floor.
Yet, this was the only way to increase it, even if indirectly.
'Besides... it's also the key to reaching the 50th floor.'
A core item absolutely necessary to enter the 50th floor.
Even to secure a favorable position against the deities of the upper floors and the high-ranking giant factions later on...
He had to obtain this no matter what.
'I'd love to just run over and grab it right now, but he's not the type to just stand by and watch.'
A half-hearted move would only backfire.
At the very least, he had to distract him... or inflict even a bit of damage to create an opening.
In that instant,
Hummmm!
the aura emanating from Jinhyuk's body completely changed.
It was the possessiveness that surfaced only when he saw something he truly, desperately wanted.
"...Do you really think you can compete with me?" Hound asked, as if dumbfounded.
And to that question...
"Did you really think you could put up a fight against me while acting as nothing more than a watchdog for the 50th floor?" Jinhyuk replied with a bright smile.
"A watchdog... Well, since you don't know those lords well, I suppose we must look like mere watchdogs to you."
"No, I've already dealt with those bastards more than enough. I'm sick and tired of them to my very bones."
"Are you using the word 'tired' over a single victory? And one where you merely extended your life through cheap tricks at that?"
Hmm...
From Hound's perspective, it made sense for him to think that way.
That he had only fought Shub-Niggurath once.
And in truth, that single battle... could hardly be called a proper victory.
"Well, you're not wrong. It's still too much to face them head-on right now."
"Right now?"
"Yeah. For now."
Though he was keeping a low profile for now, in the future, he would grow much, much stronger.
To catch up to his past peak.
To see the summit of the Tower that no one had ever reached.
Like that, he intended to once again reach a height where even the entities of the 50th floor and the deities ruling over each mythology could never dare to touch.
Shring.
Jinhyuk drew the Twin Dragon Sword and the Fang.
The pair of swords of different lengths gleamed with a sharp, lethal edge.
"Our other friends are fighting hard, so we can't just play around. Let's have some real fun, shall we?"
"...Your time for regret will be very brief. Because no player who has ever stood against me has survived."
Jinhyuk and Hound moved simultaneously.
Tap!
Boom!
With a massive roar, the figures of the two vanished.
* * *
An attack came from the bottom right.
Whoosh!
The sound of rushing wind pierced his eardrums.
Simultaneously, Jinhyuk used the Fang to deflect the trajectory of the greatsword.
Thud-thud-thud!
Sand instantly sprayed in all directions.
It was a strike so brutal that the word 'mindless' naturally came to mind.
However, before he could even blink, a second slash rushed toward his torso.
"...!"
I can't dodge this.
Jinhyuk held the Twin Dragon Sword in front of him to brace for the impact.
Clang!
A heavy shockwave traveled from his fingertips straight to the crown of his head.
A ranker of the Hero class.
As expected, he was formidable.
If it was purely in terms of destructive power, he was on par with the Colossus Race.
However.
"A contest of strength, is it..."
Crackle...!
He had something just as fitting for this.
[Unique Ability 'Tombgrave's Right Arm' has been activated!]
The power of the Colossus Race surged into his right arm.
His muscles expanded, and the quality of the mana flowing through his veins shifted.
Boom!
Clash! Clang!
Greatsword and sword clashed, scattering a shower of brilliant sparks.
It was a continuous barrage of slashes that felt as though they would shatter his skull if even one grazed him.
Rumble-ble-ble!
A long, ten-meter-wide gash tore through the sand behind Jinhyuk.
Similarly, a scar of a similar length was carved on the opposite side where Hound stood.
A third strike, utilizing rotational force, aimed straight for his neck.
One exchange. Two exchanges... twenty exchanges.
"Hmm..."
As the battle dragged on, Hound's eyes began to waver slightly.
It was only natural.
He had carried out countless missions under Nyarlathotep's orders, but no one had ever blocked his attacks to this extent.
'His strength and speed are by no means superior.'
In fact, in those aspects, he fell behind the rest of the Old Guards who had come with him.
Yet, there was one thing that more than made up for all those shortcomings.
Timing.
To be precise, he was intentionally dampening the impact by intercepting the strikes at the exact moment right before they reached their maximum destructive power.
Crash!
It was the same this time.
The sword wobbled subtly to the side.
In terms of time, it was a split second of less than 0.1 seconds, but Hound found his rhythm completely disrupted.
'Was it not a coincidence?'
If it had happened once or twice, maybe.
But excluding the first three times, none of his attacks had gone the way he wanted.
Above all, the more exchanges they traded, the more terrifyingly accurate the opponent became at reading his breathing.
As if he was only now getting a feel for it.
When the thirty-ninth exchange still yielded no victor, the two briefly backed away to create some distance.
"This is... surprising."
Hound spoke in a voice filled with genuine admiration.
At this point, even if he didn't want to admit it, he had to.
That when it came to the ability to read an individual's 'breathing' alone...
...the opponent was superior to him.
"Is that why you were so confident? You must have figured that if you kept baiting me into swinging blindly and waited for my stamina to drain, the crown would naturally fall into your hands."
Indeed, even at this very moment, Jinhyuk was subtly shifting his center of gravity toward the crown.
While pretending to focus on the fight on the surface, all of his attention was directed toward the crown.
Against him, who ranked fourth among the Old Guards—a gathering of the most prominent monsters in the Tower.
To display such leisure.
"Heh... Hahaha!"
Hound burst into laughter.
It was a booming laugh, loud enough to momentarily halt the battles of the others.
"That petty calculation of yours is irritating. To think you were looking away when you should have been focusing with every single cell in your body."
Timing and breathing didn't matter.
Before overwhelming power, petty tricks were useless.
From now on, I will show you just how big of a mistake that thought was.
Creak!
Red runic words manifested along the dark greatsword.
[The seal of the Old Guard is released.]
[Unique Sacred Chant 'Heaven-Defying Wheel' has been activated!]
The greatsword moved slowly.
The Twin Dragon Sword and the Fang reacted to it.
But then.
"It's over, brat."
Crack.
The moment the blades clashed.
A sound that should never have been heard echoed out.
"...Ugh!?"
Jinhyuk's pupils shook violently.
Because cracks were beginning to form on the dagger made from the fang of the phantasmal beast, Pentagris.
At this event that shattered common sense, he felt as though time had stopped.
But this was no illusion.
Nor was it a damn dream.
Crack, splinter...
With the cracks gradually widening, the blade of the Fang shattered completely.
The weapon that had been with him for so long had lost its light.
[Absolute Judgment 'Collapse Effect' has been activated.]
Red status windows appeared one after another.
"How is it? Do you still have eyes for the crown even now?"
A sinister smile played on Hound's lips.
Confident that Jinhyuk must be panicking, as no one would remain calm after losing their cherished weapon.
However.
* * *
'Heaven-Defying Wheel... I finally get to see that high-and-mighty Unique Sacred Chant again.'
Jinhyuk had already anticipated that this situation would unfold.
'It's a shame to lose the Fang, but it can't be helped.'
His gaze shifted to Hound's status window displayed through 'Gluttony's Eye'.
Name: Craxus de Acasius
Alias: Hound
Level: 315
Stats: Strength 533, Agility 215, Stamina 305, Mana 255, Will of the Outer God 644
Unique Ability: Heaven-Defying
Unique Sacred Chant: Heaven-Defying Wheel
Skills: The list of skills is too long, so it has been collapsed.
Details: Approximately 1,300 years ago, Acasius, a resident of the 20th floor, was one of the nobles belonging to the 'Lost Empire'. However, due to power struggles within the Tower, his entire family was annihilated, leading him to despair of the world and attempt to end his own life. It was at that moment that Nyarlathotep, recognizing his talent, made him one of his Old Guards.
[Copy Conditions]
To copy the target's ability, you must sacrifice something of equal value. The success of the copy is determined by the sacrificed object; the more valuable the object, the higher the completion rate of the copied ability.
Giving up his weapon was...
...precisely for this ability copy.
Although the crown was his top priority, just as the guy said, with such a prominent crowd gathered here...
...it made no sense not to copy an ability.
Ideally, he wanted to copy them all, but given the circumstances, copying one... or at best, two, would be his limit.
And the ability to mark the first would be the unique ability of the leader, Hound.
'Please...'
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
Since he had discarded his cherished Fang, he hoped this would be deemed acceptable...
[Requirements for copying the ability have not been met.]
[Additional sacrifice is required.]
As expected of an absurd ability, even this was not enough.
He either had to pay something larger and more valuable, or at least throw in a massive quantity.
Damn it.
But he couldn't afford to give up 'Balmung' as well.
'There is a way to obtain a replacement for the lost Fang within the Dunes of the Sun, but anything more than this is out of the question.'
Giving up Balmung, which was optimized for hunting dragons, would mean the cost would far outweigh the benefit.
In that case...
A strange gleam flashed in Jinhyuk's eyes.
A method to secure the crown, copy the ability, and... simultaneously wipe out all the troublesome Old Guards came to mind.
The risk would be extremely high, but if a few conditions aligned perfectly, it was entirely feasible.
For now, he had no choice but to try.
Thud.
Jinhyuk turned his back just like that.
Toward the quicksand where the Crown of Hegemony lay.
"Bwahaha! As expected, your thinking is so simple. Is your grand plan to just run toward the crown while praying?!"
Confident of his victory, Hound began to pursue him closely.