Chapter 395: Tangled Threads (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 395: Tangled Threads (3)
The precarious balance completely tipped with Jinhyuk's intervention.
Slash!... Slice! Stab!
"Kugh!"
"Aaargh!"
Jinhyuk thoroughly dismantled the unique combined attack formation that Lu Bu took pride in, isolating each of them. He began picking them off, starting with the least skilled deputies.
To those on the receiving end, it was shudderingly brutal.
One by one, they fell.
With his subordinates all fallen, Lu Bu was finally left all alone.
"You take the rear, I'll take the front. We have plenty of time, so let's slowly create an opening."
"Yeah. I know."
Jinhyuk and Yu-seong lunged forward simultaneously.
Their movements were as precise as if measured with a ruler.
Their perfectly coordinated offense and defense left Lu Bu completely helpless.
"You damn rats...!"
Clang!
His Fangtian Halberd was blocked effortlessly.
Being cornered like this was a first for him since his fight with those cursed three brothers.
"If you surrender quietly, I can send you off painlessly."
The more you struggle, the longer your agony will last.
"I cannot accept this! For me... to fall in a place like this... to such fools! The great Lu Bu, defeated by the likes of you...!"
Lu Bu thrashed desperately, as if sensing his impending end.
Blinded by rage, even the trajectory of his halberd had become simple.
Time to wrap this up.
Screeech!
Jinhyuk deflected the incoming halberd, letting it slide harmlessly past.
The trajectory shifted abruptly.
Yu-seong, who was behind him, gasped in surprise.
"Wait, what?!"
Clang!
He barely managed to parry the halberd, but their distance was completely thrown off.
He had suddenly entered the range where he could be dealt a fatal blow.
They had agreed to cover each other's openings, but this was practically throwing one of them straight into the tiger's den.
Yu-seong realized the meaning behind it instantly.
"You piece of trash! Did you use me as bait again?!"
But there was no time to waste on curses.
Lu Bu, radiating waves of pure murderous intent, was pouring out every last drop of his mana.
"I will at least take you down with me!"
Vroooom!
[Lu Bu activates the special skill 'Fangtian Wild Dance'!]
It was a domineering form executed from atop the Red Hare.
Utilizing the long reach of his halberd, slashes and thrusts rained down simultaneously.
"D-Damn it!"
...This was dangerous.
Yu-seong swung his sword with all his might.
[Yu-seong activates Soul-Chasing Sword Dance, 4th Form: 'Solar Eclipse of the Burning Sands'!]
Claaaaang!
A smooth, diagonal arc neutralized Lu Bu's halberd.
Meeting at a single point, it was a clash of perfectly equal force.
...Now!
Jinhyuk did not miss the precious opening Yu-seong had created.
Slipping in from the flank...
Stab!
He pierced a vital spot.
Red blood dripped from Barnard, which had pierced straight through his heart.
"You... cowardly... trash..."
Lu Bu glared at Jinhyuk with bloodshot eyes.
"Hearing that from someone who betrayed his own adoptive father... should I take that as a compliment? Besides, you guys were the ones who started ganging up on us first, weren't you?"
There was no such thing as cowardice in a life-or-death battle.
If he had cared about such things in the first place, he wouldn't have survived this Tower.
Thud!
Lu Bu's body collapsed sideways.
At the same time.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have...]
[...leveled up!]
[You have acquired 'Fangtian Painted Halberd'!]
[You have acquired 'Red Hare'!]
[You have acquired ownership of the medium-sized base 'Xiaopei Castle'! - You may change your base if you wish.]
Countless status windows popped up, announcing his level-ups and rewards.
Four levels? Why did it go up so much?
Even if he had defeated the Hero-grade Lu Bu, this was an abnormal amount of experience.
Once past level 150, the amount of experience required to level up was beyond imagination.
Did the system factor in Olympus and Sherry's intervention as a difficulty increase?
If he assumed that, everything made sense.
I was cursing about how much of a struggle it was, but looking at these rewards, I guess it wasn't all bad.
He had obtained the Fangtian Painted Halberd, the Red Hare, and even the base of Xiaopei Castle.
Considering that players usually only got one of the three, this was the absolute best possible outcome.
Well, he could check the details of the rewards later.
What mattered right now was distributing his stat points.
Jinhyuk activated his personal status window.
--------------------------------------------------
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Level: 160
Strength: 109 | Agility: 121 | Stamina: 73 | Mana: 402 | Gap: 100 | Luck: 10 | Adaptive Stat: 78 | Essence: 109.91
Available Stat Points: 12
Available Coins: 13,683,466
Class: Ruler of Runes
Unique Sacred Chant: Heaven-Defying Wheel, Phase 2
Unique Abilities: 'Fusion', 'Grave of Swords', 'Blessing of the Stars', 'Judgment of Anubis', 'Blood Demon Qi', 'Mandala', '1-Second Invincibility', 'Thousand Poisons', 'White Beast', 'Universal Sharing', 'Sanctuary of the Sun', 'Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art', 'Triple Magic', 'Colossus Strike', 'Fire Dragon's Breath', 'High-Speed Sword', "Tombgrave's Right Arm", 'Berserker', 'Domain of Wind', 'Shadow Extreme Kill', 'Primordial Flame', 'Blood Explosion', 'Black Tears', "Tombgrave's Leg", 'Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits', 'Core of the Legion', 'Ancient Barrier', 'Heavenly Demon Divine Art', 'Mentra Taming', 'Nihilism', 'Heaven-Destroying Myriad Poisons', 'Red Hare Riding'
Skills: Too many skills to display. Switched to 'Collapsed' view.
--------------------------------------------------
Seeing his ever-growing list of unique abilities made him feel reassured.
If things keep progressing this smoothly, it won't be long before I can hold my own against the giant factions of the upper floors.
It was only a matter of time now.
The moment for all the results he had painstakingly built up to shine was close at hand.
[Mana increases from 402 → 414.]
He invested all of his available points into Mana.
The more unique holy spears he copied in the future, the more mana he would require.
"Good work, everyone."
From Yu-seong catching his breath, to Alice walking over from afar with a pair of crimson daggers, and Frey expressionlessly cleaning up the battlefield.
With this,
the battle in the labyrinth was finally over.
* * *
"There is a limit to stupidity... At this point, I cannot even bring myself to be angry."
Nyarlathotep let out a soft sigh.
On one side of Xiaopei Castle, a massive crater that hadn't been there before was carved into the ground.
Trickle, trickle...
The golden stream of water flowing from the ground was unmistakably the 'Spring of the Sun'.
Of course, since most of its contents had vanished, what remained was nothing more than mere dregs.
"I-I am sorry. Those bastards joined hands with Ragnarok..."
Sherry trembled violently, her face pale as a sheet.
"You should have already known that Kang Jinhyuk was in close contact with them. Are you offering that as an excuse?"
"N-No, that's not it... I just didn't expect them to show up at this exact moment."
"Ah. You didn't expect it. And so, the Spring of the Sun was stolen right from under your nose. Is that what you are saying? What a remarkably simple answer."
Nyarlathotep stared coldly at the inner pocket of Sherry's robe.
"Did you even manage to lose the 'Crimson Lotus' I bestowed upon you?"
A masterpiece crafted from the fang of a Red Dragon.
He had graciously bestowed a holy relic far too grand for a middle manager to possess, only for her to hand it over to the enemy on a silver platter.
At this point, there was no longer any need for words.
Just breathing the same air in this space was sickening.
"W-Wait... Just a moment! Please give me one more chance. I found out what his next destination is. What he plans to do, what he's thinking—all of it! So please..."
"I am afraid there is no next time for you. The high managers have already caught wind of this and are on their way."
"T-The high managers?! B-But surely you can block them, Lord Nyarlathotep? Just like you have done until now!"
"I could, but I fail to see enough value in you to warrant such an effort. Well, you have worked hard for us all this time. You may rest in peace now."
Nyarlathotep slowly raised his hand.
The tip of his black fingernail touched Sherry's forehead.
From top...
Sliiiice!
...to bottom.
The nail lightly traced down her body.
"N-No..."
A fountain of crimson blood sprayed into the air.
"Honestly, mere insects always demand so much. Wouldn't you agree?"
At Nyarlathotep's words, the man standing beside him finally spoke, breaking his silence.
"It is true that the middle manager's response was clumsy. However, it is also true that Kang Jinhyuk is no easy opponent. At first, I could not comprehend how several of our Old Guards were defeated... but now, I think I understand a little."
"Oh? For you to say such a thing? The leader of the Old Guard, speaking of a mere player?"
He could not bring himself to mention in front of Nyarlathotep that Jinhyuk was the one who had even dealt a blow to Shub-Niggurath.
"I merely mean that even a lion does not let its guard down when hunting a rabbit."
"A lion and a rabbit... Heheh! Indeed, that is a fitting analogy."
Nyarlathotep chuckled, amused.
But it was only for a brief moment.
Soon, wearing his signature murderous sneer, he turned to the man and asked,
"So, how do you plan to begin this rabbit hunt?"
"We have identified his next destination. We will coordinate with Olympus to eliminate him before he can hand over the Spring of the Sun to Ragnarok."
"Now those are words I like to hear. Very well. I shall leave this matter in your hands."
Soon, one of the 'Apocalypses' would begin.
For that moment,
everything had to proceed flawlessly, without a single hitch.
* * *
The 1st floor of the Tower of Trials.
As the tutorial zone of the Tower and the hub for numerous event locations, this place had become a popular attraction visited by countless people after the Tower opened.
In particular, with over 98% of the area cleared by players, even ordinary civilians were now permitted entry.
"To think I'd see this place so crowded..."
Jinhyuk looked at the massive crowds with a deeply nostalgic expression.
Unlike the game, where it had always been a ghost town, it was now packed with families and couples, making him wonder if this was the Tower of Trials or the middle of Myeongdong.
"You promised we would have fun, yet you bring Us to a place like this? Even if it does not have to be romantic, there should be a minimum standard when inviting a lady out."
Alice, dressed to the nines, pouted.
She seemed quite displeased about spending her hard-earned day off inside the Tower.
"Don't complain so much. There's no better place than here for everyone to hang out together. More importantly... we were supposed to meet near the lion fountain. At 2:00 PM."
Just as Jinhyuk was looking around.
"Jinhyuk! Over here!"
A blonde woman with a bright smile approached from afar.
It was Teresa.
And beside her stood a grumbling Yu-seong.
"Am I a bit late?"
"No. There's still about ten minutes left before the festival starts... so you're right on time."
The festival event.
This was the very reason the members of the Veteran Corporation had gathered on the 1st floor.
Every year, the Tower of Trials held a festival to commemorate the day it opened, during which a massive number of events with quite lucrative rewards would appear.
In the past, they had skipped them because the rewards weren't strictly necessary, but this time, the events included a good number of items essential for climbing the Tower.
Teresa's eyes sparkled as she scanned the items in the catalog.
"Rings and necklaces that increase divine power... Wow, they're really being generous."
"I see a few martial arts manuals that aren't bad, even if they're only B-rank."
"We quite like this flower ring here. Let us go there first."
Even Yu-seong and Alice, who had done nothing but complain, now looked thoroughly intrigued.
"It's a chance to make a killing. That's why I called you all here, isn't it?"
"You didn't call us for our sake. You only dragged us along because there are co-op missions, didn't you? I saw that some places require a party of four or more."
"Why do you always have to put it like that? You're hurting my feelings."
"Whatever. Where are we going first?"
Yu-seong cut straight to the point.
Seriously, he was as cold and heartless as ever.
Naturally, a guy like him deserved a brutal event right from the start.
"Animal Park."
Their first stop was a super-sized zoo.