Chapter 371: Cult of Specters Leader, 'Sloth' (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 371: Cult of Specters Leader, 'Sloth' (1)
A regular hexagonal box with a soft silver glow.
Oho. To think I'd get this here.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
The Random Skill Box was a type of dismantle-to-open item. The type of reward was determined by how much of the tightly sealed box could be dismantled.
'In other words, the more I dismantle it, the better the skill I can obtain from those available on the 20th floor.'
However, dismantling the random box would have to wait a bit.
Once everyone around him was gone—that would be the perfect time to draw a skill from this box.
"Jinhyuk!"
"P-Player Kang Jinhyuk!"
The players, who had been watching the battle while trembling in fear, rushed over in a single bound.
Exhaustion was clearly written on all of their faces.
Having done nothing but run since arriving on the 20th floor, they had naturally reached their absolute limits.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes. Thanks to Jinhyuk arriving just in time, we avoided a total wipeout."
Teresa nodded.
At her words, the others eagerly chimed in to express their gratitude.
"T-Thank you so much. I thought we were doomed. I thought it was all over..."
"When the raid leader abandoned us, I had given up on everything."
"I don't even know how to repay this debt... Player Kang Jinhyuk, you are our guild's savior."
Sobs echoed from all around.
They had truly believed they were going to die.
They thought they would be ruthlessly hunted down and lose their lives one by one.
But.
At their darkest hour, the ultimate ally had appeared.
None other than Veteran Corporation.
"Seriously, everyone was incredible. I heard you only recruit the most prominent members, but seeing it in person, that rumor actually understated it."
Carlos, the man who had participated as the magic corps commander for this raid, muttered with a face full of deep emotion.
Veteran Corporation...
Even if the most prominent rankers from the major guilds came, would they be able to handle even one of these people?
It was doubtful whether Olympus, let alone all of the other Six Great Guilds combined, could even hold a candle to them.
'Of course, major rookies have been emerging recently.'
Due to the mana emanating from the Tower of Trials, latecomers who had begun to awaken were joining the ranks one after another.
Among them, there were certainly those with outstanding talent.
Like Payden, who currently served as the vice master of the Olympus Guild.
Even so, comparing them on the same level as Cheon Yu-seong or Alice was utterly absurd.
'...And that muscular old man and the blue-haired girl are also beyond imagination.'
The sight of them sweeping away the insects just moments ago was still burned into his mind.
It was truly an overwhelming gap in power.
They were rankers who could easily play the role of an entire raid team on their own.
'The knight in the white armor must also be incredibly skilled...'
Carlos glanced to the side.
There, Abraham was maintaining his weapons, and Phesis was tending to the wounded.
Even at a glance, both of them looked far from ordinary.
But the most absurd of them all...
'...is Player Kang Jinhyuk.'
Carlos barely managed to calm his trembling fists.
The out-of-spec boss had overwhelmed the entire raid team.
Even Teresa, who was counted among the top paladins in the world, including the Holy See, had been no match for that monster.
Yet Jinhyuk had unilaterally crushed such a despair-inducing enemy... To Carlos, Jinhyuk could only be seen as a god-like figure high up in the heavens.
"Tend to the wounded and prepare to camp. We will spend the night here."
"What? Camp?"
At the mention of camping, Carlos and the other players gasped in surprise.
"Are you worried about those Cult bastards?"
"Y-Yes, we are."
Though they had survived the immediate crisis, the relentless pursuit of that leech-like Cult had not yet ended.
Since they had been targeting them so tenaciously, they would surely continue to tighten their dragnet.
"Don't worry. We'll be able to hold out for tonight, at least."
Jinhyuk smiled faintly.
[An 'AoE Illusion' barrier is currently active within a 15km radius.]
He had already erected a barrier around the forest.
Since he had rushed here, a 6-star barrier was his limit, but because he had layered it threefold, breaking through it wouldn't be easy.
* * *
Every single player in the allied raid team fell into a deep sleep.
And Jinhyuk...
...was currently breaking out in a cold sweat, caught in a rather troublesome predicament.
It had all started like this.
Since they were hungry, they decided to forage for food nearby.
And since they were going to eat anyway, they might as well eat something delicious...
'That part was fine, but...'
Jinhyuk massaged his throbbing temples.
The problem was that this had turned into a competition, and an overheated one at that.
"Contractor. Doesn't this look cute? You have to eat this. Got it? Make sure it's this one, not what the others brought."
"Oh my. Our little kid brought something that looks like it would kill you instantly upon eating, and she's presenting it as an ingredient? This beautifully shaped mushroom would be much better, don't you think?"
"...All of them have a 0% survival rate. What I brought is the most recommendable as food."
Alice, Frey, and for some reason, Teresa, who seemed to have undergone a clumsy dark transformation as if she had let go of her self-restraint.
In front of the campfire, a horrific meal was being prepared—one that would make even the witches of the Mist Village weep.
Jinhyuk's gaze drifted to the ingredients each of them had brought.
First, Alice, who was appealing to him most passionately, had brought the carcass of some unrecognizable insect.
An insect with three legs was a species he had never seen before, even in all his time playing the Tower of Trials.
It did look cute, just as Alice said, but seeing it covered in purple thorns triggered an instinctive sense of danger.
On the other hand, eating the mushroom Teresa had foraged was out of the question—it was a highly toxic mushroom known as the 'Widowmaker.'
'I mean, isn't it common sense that poisonous mushrooms are colorful?'
He had no idea what she was thinking, bringing a mushroom that literally glowed in rainbow colors.
Lastly, Frey had also brought a terrifying ingredient.
'That's a gray hornet's nest and honey.'
While it tasted insanely good and was highly addictive, consuming more than a certain amount carried the risk of inducing severe hallucinations.
It was better classified as a drug rather than food.
"So, whose are you going to eat? Mine, right? Huh? Contractor!"
"Anyone in their right mind wouldn't eat what that kid brought."
"W-Who are you calling a kid?! You stupid Saintess!"
"Honey... is also good for your health."
If he didn't make a choice, they looked ready to force-feed him.
Rumble!
In fact, they were all gathering their mana, surrounding Jinhyuk as if to corner him.
Needless to say, there was no escape route.
If he didn't choose, he might end up having to eat all of them.
"Bwahaha! As expected, nothing beats a cup of fine wine after a victory. Disciple! Once you finish eating the food those young ladies prepared, you must have a drink with this master. I brought thirty jars, so don't even think about sleeping until we finish them all!"
Even the Dark Emperor had lined up massive jars of alcohol—all filled with strong liquor that was easily over 120 proof.
"..."
This place was hell.
Or at least, somewhere very close to it.
Jinhyuk slowly closed his eyes.
His face was a mask of utter resignation.
"Fufu. Young Master Cheon, if you're jealous, should this master get you something delicious too?"
"......I am fine. You should have plenty yourself, Master."
Cheon Yu-seong took a crisp bite out of a wild fruit.
And so,
the night deepened.
* * *
A landscape that seemed out of this world.
A night sky filled with gloomy constellations and red giants came into view.
And then,
Step.
Nyarlathotep walked along a path overgrown with bizarre plants.
"..."
He walked with his mouth tightly shut, looking only straight ahead.
Considering his usually cheerful personality, the current atmosphere was incredibly heavy and somber.
It had to be.
Because what was about to happen was something even Nyarlathotep did not look forward to.
How long had he walked like that?
At the end of the path where the plants were stained black, there stood a beautiful being of a different race with long, flowing pink hair.
A half-human, half-beast.
A being with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a goat.
Perched on a throne woven from black branches, her figure lost in thought was not just alluring, but utterly dreamlike.
And toward her,
"Mother."
Nyarlathotep slowly spoke.
At his voice, the being who had been sitting motionlessly on the throne turned her head.
"You are late."
"I apologize. I had some matters to attend to."
"Yes. I suppose you did. I heard the Old Guard has been compromised."
It was a brief remark.
However, the weight of those words was by no means light.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
Nyarlathotep's waist bent at a ninety-degree angle.
Under a pressure of mana that transcended human cognition, Nyarlathotep's entire body trembled faintly.
Shub-Niggurath.
Fitting for her title as the Mother of All Things, the true depth of her power was unfathomable.
To the point where even Nyarlathotep could not dare to oppose her.
"T-That is..."
"Yes, speak. I am listening."
"I merely wished to seize the crown held by a human for our future. I thought that since he wasn't a major power, but just a single player, it was entirely feasible..."
"In the end, does that not mean you let your guard down and underestimated your opponent? Even though you clearly witnessed that human drive this mother away."
Shub-Niggurath rose from her seat.
The plants parted to the left and right, and giggling laughter began to fill the surroundings.
"B-But...! That guy only managed to face Mother because he used a cheap trick, didn't he?"
Nyarlathotep protested with an indignant face. Shub-Niggurath calmly continued.
"The First Hourglass has begun to run."
"Could it be...! Do you mean the laws of causality are flowing?"
Nyarlathotep's eyes widened to their limits.
The 'First Hourglass' was a type of future foresight.
Like Greece's 'Three Fates' or Eden's 'Book of Revelation', it wove a powerful future.
However, unlike the others that predicted the future on a broad scale, the 'First Hourglass' foretold only one thing.
The fact that someone would enter the 50th Floor.
"Yes. Before long, someone will come to where we reside. And that person will undoubtedly be that human."
Unlike the prophecies of other floors, which could vary depending on interpretation, there was no room for interpretation with the 'First Hourglass.'
Once the sand began to fall, it meant someone would inevitably reach the 50th Floor.
"Mother, you are overestimating that human too much. There are countless strong individuals below the tower. Yet, you are saying that he of all people will come here? Bypassing all the factions of the 40th floors?"
Normally, it would be absurd.
No matter how much they stood out, it was impossible for players who had only entered the tower a few years ago to reach the top of the tower.
Yet, Shub-Niggurath's face was filled with more certainty than ever before.
"This is why I cannot sleep. Because playthings to relieve my boredom keep appearing."
Sshhh.
The grains of sand inside the hourglass fell.
"Deliver my command to the minions unleashed on the lower floors of the tower. Tell them that we, too, will join the faction war from this moment on."
In response, the entities of the 50th Floor began to move as well.