Chapter 37: How a Veteran Grows (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 37: How a Veteran Grows (4)
Time flew by.
Just over twenty-four hours had passed since Jinhyuk entered the first basement floor.
His level, which had started at 1, had already reached 12.
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Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Level: 12
Strength: 8, Agility: 8, Stamina: 8, Mana: 41, Gap: 100, Luck: 10, Adaptability: 10
Stat Points: 33
Coins: 22,740
Class: None
Unique Abilities: Fusion, Grave of Swords, Blessing of the Stars
Skills: Lv4 'Fire Element', Lv3 'Eye of Truth', Lv3 'Communion', Lv3 'Brand of the Flame Soul', Lv3 'Monopolizing', Lv3 'Shallow Breathing'
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It was an insane growth rate.
After all, even Lee Tae-min and Yu Yeon-hwa, who were considered veterans, had taken two weeks to surpass level 10.
Yet, despite this overwhelming growth, Jinhyuk's expression remained completely unfazed.
'It's a raid with mob-pulling and Alice's support.'
Level 12 wasn't high. It was only natural.
And he had no intention of being satisfied with just this.
Whoosh!
[Lv4 'Fire Element' is activated.]
A pillar of fire erupted behind his back.
As his level rose, the power and versatility of 'Fire Element' changed as well.
'My combat senses have almost fully returned to my prime.'
His body had adapted perfectly.
It was thanks to fighting the endlessly swarming monsters.
Just then,
“Should I go pull the monsters' aggro again?”
Seeing Jinhyuk activate his skill, Alice floated gently into the air.
The tiny wings on her back fluttered continuously.
Jinhyuk chuckled at the sight.
'Looks like she's completely mastered it now.'
Though she grumbled, thanks to this little queen doing her part perfectly, he wouldn't have a single moment to be bored.
“Bring back more than usual. Oh, and you don't need to use your binding skill this time.”
“Huh? Isn't it easier if I bind them?”
“It is, but I'd like to preserve your mana if possible.”
“Preserve... my mana? Why?”
Alice tilted her head.
She wouldn't understand.
If they were just hunting while sharing the aggro, there was no need to conserve mana.
Jinhyuk's gaze shifted to the pit in the center.
Even at this very moment, insects were crawling up from the bottomless abyss.
“I've warmed up enough. It's about time we head down there.”
Leveling up and sharpening his combat senses.
He had already achieved those two goals.
Now, it was time to fulfill the final purpose of his visit.
'By now, guilds all over the world must be absolutely anxious over the 3rd-floor boss.'
They were probably tearing their hair out. Normally, they would have taken their time to grow before tackling this boss, but now they had to clear it without being prepared.
But no matter how much they racked their brains, they wouldn't find an answer.
It was impossible for them to.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
The 3rd-floor boss monster, which no one had managed to defeat yet.
The key to bypassing that obstacle in record time lay right down there.
* * *
An elegant castle that looked as if it belonged in the Middle Ages.
Currently, representatives from four of the seven major guilds were gathered here: America's 'Titan', Europe's 'Olympus', China's 'Zhonghua', and Korea's 'Ssaulabi'.
Their purpose was singular: to hold a meeting regarding the 3rd-floor boss raid, which had already failed for the eighth time.
'This is incredible.'
Teresa let out a soft exclamation of admiration as she watched the rankers continuously stream into the banquet hall.
She had heard the situation was serious, but it seemed to be even worse than she had anticipated.
Seeing how these heavyweights—the high-ranking executives of each guild—had personally made the move.
'Well, they have no choice but to be anxious.'
After all, humanity had less than forty days left.
Though she couldn't know for sure, this meeting would undoubtedly host discussions that could serve as a major turning point.
Right then, a middle-aged man holding a wine glass spoke up.
It was Patrick, an S-rank player attending as the representative of America's Titan Guild.
“Since most of us are here, let us begin.”
The murmuring died down.
Everyone's eyes turned to Patrick.
“As you all already know, the eighth raid to reach the 4th floor has ended in failure. Out of fifteen raid teams, each consisting of a hundred players, only nine survived.”
It was a raid they had poured immense effort into.
A decisive attempt that deployed 1,500 players and two sacred relics.
Yet, despite the overwhelming support poured into it, the raid teams failed once again to break through the final path to the 4th floor.
What was the reason?
Was the boss monster overwhelmingly powerful?
Were there too many tricky traps?
No.
The final boss of the 3rd floor was utterly ordinary, and there were no tricky traps to speak of.
“Damn it. We failed even with a sacred relic that possesses anti-army capabilities. Then how on earth are we supposed to break through those swarms?”
Indeed, the problem was not quality, but quantity.
To reach the 4th floor, they had to defeat not hundreds or thousands, but tens of thousands of statues.
“It's a bit late to say this, but the conquest of the 2nd and 3rd floors happened too quickly. In the end, look at the price we're paying.”
Maria, a mage attending as the representative of Olympus, chimed in.
If only they had enough players over level 15...
The raid teams would never have failed.
However, their greed to climb the Tower in a hurry created a gap between their ambition and the players' actual levels.
And in the end, this disaster was the result.
“You speak the truth. Wasn't all of this because the Chinese side tried to monopolize the magic stones?”
Baek Jin-ho, the leader of the Dangun Guild's 3rd Raid Team, bared his teeth and growled.
At his words, a thick wave of killing intent emanated from the silent Chinese delegation.
“I cannot let that comment slide. We only climbed the Tower for the sake of humanity. Misleading others without evidence is nothing short of a provocation against us.”
Tenwei, belonging to Zhonghua, furrowed his brow.
“Pfft, hahaha! 'For humanity'? Give me a break. Everyone here knows exactly how many people you killed just to build up Zhonghua's power.”
“If you say one more word...”
“One more word? What are you gonna do about it?”
“Enough!”
As the tension between the two threatened to boil over, Patrick intervened.
“This is not the time to argue over past grievances.”
There was a reality right in front of them that needed immediate resolution.
Meaning, this was no time to waste strength pointing fingers.
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Yes. There is exactly one way to break through this situation.”
A shadow fell over Patrick's face.
His lips trembled slightly, as if he had never expected to utter these words.
But having made up his mind, he quickly explained the reason he had called this meeting.
“Yesterday at dawn... I was contacted by the 'Demonic Humans'. They said they would help us, on one condition.”
At Patrick's words, a massive uproar shook the banquet hall.
“No way!”
“Are you suggesting we actually accept their proposal?”
“They are nothing but a gathering of internationally wanted trash!”
“We can never work with those cockroaches. Never!”
The representatives of each guild gasped in horror.
Currently, the influence of the major guilds surpassed that of governments.
Because of that, public justification was crucial.
A single word or action could trigger massive repercussions.
Naturally, everyone was extremely reluctant to be associated with Demonic Humans.
“Heh, heh. 'Trash', you say? You're breaking this old trash's heart.”
It was right then that something squirmed within the shadow cast by the bonfire.
It was an ominous, bizarre shadow.
Wriggle, wriggle!
The shadow soon took on a human form.
An emaciated old man with a snow-white beard. However, the mana radiating from him was far too turbulent to dismiss him based on his appearance alone.
“It's fine to hold onto your pride, but you all know very well that you can't do it on your own, don't you?”
The old man sneered.
“Insolent fool! How dare you show your face here!”
“Patrick! Did you actually bring someone like him here?”
“I'll slice off that filthy neck of yours right now!”
Shring!
Clank!
Various weapons were drawn.
Mana surged wildly, and the quiet banquet hall instantly turned into a chaotic battleground.
Rumble!
The old man clicked his tongue.
“What a hot-blooded bunch. But once you hear our terms, you'll change your minds. We have the power to break through the boss.”
“Bullshit! How can a handful of you lot overcome that massive army?”
The total force of the Demonic Humans couldn't be very large in numbers.
The strength of a single faction could never win a war of that scale.
After all, even a raid team of a thousand players had been wiped out without lasting three days.
“Hmm. If we lack numbers, we can simply make them, can't we?”
The old man tapped the ground twice with his skull-topped staff.
Thud! Thud!
A dull, heavy sound echoed through the banquet hall.
Then, at that very moment.
[Unique Ability 'Caretaker of the Cursed Tomb' is activated!]
Rumble!
Several deep cracks split open across the marble floor.
“W-What is this?”
“This is...!”
People leaped out of the way to avoid the sudden fissures.
At the same time, skeletal corpses began to rise from deep underground, one by one.
“Heh, heh. Quite a few useful corpses are buried in this ground. Thanks to that, I can obtain some high-quality soldiers.”
At a glance, there were nearly a hundred skeleton soldiers.
Though their appearances were worn by the passage of time, their swords and shields had not lost the sharp edge of their living days.
“An army should be dealt with by an army. As you can see, many among us Demonic Humans are highly skilled in necromancy and summoning.”
“A necro...mancer? But to control a scale like this...”
Tenwei, who had been muttering, suddenly widened his eyes.
“Don't tell me... that staff!”
The staff the old man was holding.
He had seen it once before.
To be precise, he remembered seeing it back when he played the Tower of Trials.
“Oh? Someone actually recognizes this?”
The old man stroked the staff proudly.
A special item that could only be crafted by gathering ninety-nine different ingredients.
The 'Staff of Greed.'
Because it required such bizarre and cruel materials, it was incredibly difficult to craft.
But if one succeeded in synthesizing it, this item unleashed the ultimate power for a necromancer.
“Indeed... with the combination of the Staff of Greed and a necromancer, we stand a solid chance. The ninth attempt might actually be possible.”
“Mr. Tenwei! Surely you don't mean...?”
Maria's eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“If they had approached us with some half-baked scheme, I wouldn't have let them off easily. But this plan isn't bad.”
“Hmm. I hate to say it, but I agree with that Chinese bastard this time. Of course, under the condition that this remains strictly hidden from the public.”
Baek Jin-ho also spoke up with a heavy tone.
One by one, the tide began to turn.
Toward accepting the Demonic Humans' proposal.
* * *
Watching this unfold, Teresa bit her lip anxiously.
'How did things end up like this?'
No matter the circumstances, joining hands with the Demonic Humans was going too far.
She wanted to stop them right this instant.
To tell them they must never accept this deal.
But with no other viable alternative, she couldn't just blindly oppose it either.
'If only Jinhyuk had participated.'
If he had, there wouldn't even be a need for such worries.
Unlike the 'fakes' gathered here, Jinhyuk was the only 'real' veteran she knew.
Considering the countless feats he had shown in the impregnable ruins, he undoubtedly knew the way to the 4th floor as well.
But...
'There's nothing I can do with my power alone.'
Yes. It was hopeless.
It was impossible to overturn this situation with her voice alone.
But right then,
Whirrrr!
a blue status window materialized in front of her eyes.
[An incoming video call request has been received.]
Normally, she wouldn't have spared a glance at a call from another player.
However,
Thump! Thump! Thump!
reading the details, Teresa's heart began to pound frantically.
[Caller: Player Kang Jinhyuk]
He had called.
[Would you like to accept the call?]
The contact from the person she had been so desperately wishing for.
“Jinhyuk...!”
As she pressed accept with trembling hands, a familiar face appeared.
A relaxed expression and sharp eyes.
Exuding an air of absolute confidence, it was the exact image of Jinhyuk that Teresa knew so well.
And Jinhyuk...
“What's with those osteoporotic skeletons?”