Chapter 4: National Museum of Korea (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4: National Museum of Korea (1)
Slice!
Jinhyuk lightly sliced the tip of his finger with a paring knife.
Beads of blood quickly welled up.
Just a day ago, this would have meant nothing more than "the red liquid flowing through the body."
But now, it was different.
Blood imbued with mana was a medium to manifest various spells and magic.
'It's been quite a while since I last cast a space-distorting barrier.'
Although it wasn't an official barrier used inside the Tower, activating it was still no easy feat.
Jinhyuk pressed his finger against a sheet of hanji.
...Scribble!
dētórquĕo.
The Latin written in blood glowed with a faint light.
'Good. This spot is done.'
Next was the eastern entrance.
Jinhyuk wrote the activation words to create barriers at the four cardinal directions of the National Museum of Korea.
Once he finished the final one at the northern entrance...
Hummmmm!
A transparent film enveloped the entire museum.
[The barrier 'Imperfect Dimensional Severance' has been activated!]
[Vision is distorted.]
[Noise is reduced by 70%.]
If the materials had been better, he could have dropped the adjective "Imperfect." But with ingredients bought from a mart and blood with a low concentration of mana, this was his limit.
'Still, this isn't bad.'
Since he had distorted the vision of outsiders and even reduced the noise, at the very least, he could prevent the disaster of the police showing up.
Jinhyuk stood up and stretched his limbs.
'Come to think of it, this brings back memories.'
The first time he had come to the museum, he hadn't set up a barrier, and it had caused absolute chaos.
A nightmarish memory surfaced of dozens of police cars, helicopters, and even a three-week bounty event.
It was a memory he couldn't forget even if he wanted to.
'If possible, I hope the others haven't forgotten those memories either...'
Well.
There was no way to know for sure without checking in person.
[You have entered the event area.]
The moment he stepped inside, the thick stench of blood assaulted his nose.
'As expected...'
He had anticipated it.
That since the world had changed, people would change too.
However, the gap between expectation and reality was far greater than he had imagined.
He saw a security guard collapsed on the floor.
Judging by the amount of blood pooled around him, there was no way he had survived.
'Looks like we have early guests.'
They weren't alone.
The wounds on the corpse were caused by at least three different types of weapons.
And what they were after...
...was likely the Relic kept in the Medieval and Early Modern History Gallery.
To be precise, it was what everyone who broke in here was targeting.
The Map of the Great East (Daedongyeojido).
A map compiled and published by Gosanja Kim Jeong-ho.
Of course, the intruders weren't interested in seeing the layout of the eight provinces of Korea.
Because an ancient map infused with mana contained information about the Tower of Trials, everyone wanted it.
Just think about it.
If there was a map detailing exactly where every labyrinth and ruin was, and what items and monsters resided within them, who wouldn't covet it?
Although it only contained information up to the 10th floor, it was more than enough to make everyone's eyes light up with greed.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
Yes.
Everyone would only covet that.
'Since they don't know that the truly important Relics are hidden in the mud.'
* * *
Thud! Thack!
Crack!
"Aaargh!"
"You sons of bitches!"
"Let go! This is mine! It's mine!"
Screams and shouts tangled together.
Outside the shattered display cases, ancient artifacts that had survived the passage of ages lay scattered on the floor.
Right then.
"Freeze! Everybody freeze!"
A man in a black suit shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.
He was a muscular man in his early thirties with a buzz cut.
"Anyone who moves from now on dies by my hand."
A textbook threat followed.
Naturally, it didn't work at all.
"Cut the crap."
"No one here is scared of that bullshit."
"If you so much as wiggle a toe, I'll crush your skull."
The people around him gripped their weapons.
As if they were more than willing to commit murder for the sake of a Relic.
"...I am Oh Hyung-seok of the Yongdu Gang."
Although organized crime syndicates had almost vanished in Korea, there was no one who didn't know the name of the Yongdu Gang.
However,
"Pfft, haha! A gangster? Oh, I'm so scared. Is that so?"
"Does being a gangster mean a knife won't pierce your gut?"
The mocking responses did not die down.
"Fine. I guess words really don't work on you bastards."
Oh Hyung-seok clenched his fists.
Then,
Creak!
Cracks began to form along both of his arms.
A unique ability that hardened the body like stone.
It was 'Petrification.'
Only then did the smirks vanish from the faces of those who had been mocking him.
"H-He already obtained a unique ability?"
"Damn it, that's dangerous..."
Everyone flinched and took a step back.
A unique ability was something that could only be awakened through a special, miraculous encounter.
Naturally, ordinary blades wouldn't even be able to scratch him.
The atmosphere instantly shifted in his favor.
"The map is mine."
Oh Hyung-seok swept his gaze over the crowd.
As if staking his claim.
But right then,
"Haha. I find it hard to agree with that."
An elderly man who had been standing in the back stepped forward.
A thick vein bulged on Oh Hyung-seok's forehead.
"Hey, old man. Did you not just see that?"
"I am not 'old man,' my name is Min Jung-woo. It means to live with affection and friendship."
"Who asked for your name? Read the room and back off before I snap that withered neck of yours like a chicken's."
"My, what a foul mouth this young fellow has. Your tongue is like a blade. Tsk, tsk."
Min Jung-woo clicked his tongue in disappointment.
But it was only for a brief moment.
Because the words that followed carried a dense, murderous intent instead of disappointment.
"But tell me, will you snap my neck first? Or will I turn you into a lump of charcoal first?"
Whoosh!
A fireball the size of a fist flared to life over Min Jung-woo's palm.
A unique ability that manipulated the element of fire.
"M-Magic?"
Yes. It was indeed magic.
Oh Hyung-seok's pupils shook violently.
But before he could even try to dodge, the fireball left Min Jung-woo's hand and instantly engulfed Oh Hyung-seok's entire body.
Roar!
"Aaargh!"
Oh Hyung-seok writhed in agony.
"S-Spare me! Please, spare me!"
Even if his arms were covered in rock, the rest of his body was still made of fragile flesh and blood.
Petrification was of no help to him.
"Ughhh..."
His screams did not last long.
Along with acrid smoke, only a single charred lump of charcoal was left behind.
"Wow. Fire magic really is something else. I definitely made the right choice teaming up with you."
A short-haired woman standing next to Min Jung-woo let out a low whistle.
"Miss Lee Yu-ri. I'll leave the rear to you, then."
"Don't worry. If anyone gets in our way, I'll take care of them."
Lee Yu-ri placed a black stone statue she was holding onto the floor.
Rumble!
The statue began to grow larger and larger.
It took the shape of a human body with a jackal's head.
It was the 'Incarnation of Anubis' from the Egyptian Special Exhibition.
"Grrr..."
The Incarnation of Anubis thrust its long spear forward.
"From now on, anyone who moves will be considered an enemy. You know what that means, right? I'll have him crunch and chew your heads off first."
Lee Yu-ri smiled brightly.
With the appearance of a monster well over two meters tall, no one dared to even twitch.
On top of that, there wasn't just one Awakened, but two.
A mage and a summoner.
And troublesome ones at that.
"Damn it."
"How are there so many veterans here? They've all awakened."
"Forget the map, I'm giving up. Just take it all! Take it!"
They couldn't even lift a finger.
Because moving meant asking to be killed.
But then,
Step.
Someone boldly strode through the frozen crowd.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of stepping on shattered glass echoed exceptionally loud.
"Hey there, fearless guy. Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
Lee Yu-ri's expression turned ice-cold.
"Grrr!"
The jackal's legs tensed against the ground, ready to spring forward the instant its master gave the command.
But the man lightly ignored Lee Yu-ri's warning.
"Geez. You've made an absolute mess of this place. Do you people have no basic respect for ancient art?"
Jinhyuk picked up a painting that had fallen to the floor.
He lightly brushed off the dust and shards of glass with his hand.
"At least it's not torn. What a relief."
If it had been severely damaged, he wouldn't have been able to use it.
Fortunately, it wasn't that bad.
"I said... if you move, you die! Are you deaf?!"
That was when Lee Yu-ri screamed.
At the same time,
Whoosh!
Leaning back, the Incarnation of Anubis hurled its spear.
It was a javelin throw.
A terrifying sound of tearing wind echoed through the air.
It flew in a straight line, not a parabola.
Because of that, its perceived speed felt several times faster.
But just before the spear could pierce its target...
Clang!
Jinhyuk deflected the side of the incoming spear with his fist.
The spear spun through the air before embedding itself in the floor.
"Holy shit!"
"W-What did that guy just do?"
"He deflected the spear. No, does that even make sense? He didn't even dodge it?"
"That was a chunk of steel thrown at him... shouldn't his fist be completely shattered?"
The onlookers stared with wide eyes.
'Of course they'd react like that, since they don't know what my stats are right now.'
Even players who had eaten the fruit of the Mangrove Tree had only raised their stats by three at most.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk had distributed a whopping twelve stat points.
"What are you going to do now? Your puppy's only weapon is gone."
Jinhyuk shrugged at Lee Yu-ri.
"Who said... I only had one statue?"
Lee Yu-ri pulled four more statues out of her handbag.
This girl. Just how many did she steal from the Egyptian exhibition?
She was using artifacts lent by another country for a temporary exhibition as if they were her own.
"You're going to get scolded by the Pharaoh if you keep that up."
"Is this really the time to be cracking jokes?"
I'm not joking, though.
If you recklessly use artifacts related to Egyptian mythology, you really do end up receiving a curse-like affliction later on.
The kind that is a massive pain to lift.
[The Relic 'Incarnation of Anubis (Replica)' rises!]
Rumble!
"Grrr..."
"Graaa!"
"Grr!"
"Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!"
Four more 'Incarnations of Anubis' appeared.
Armed with swords, shields, spears, halberds, and maces, they bared their thick fangs.
"Well? Can you still smile now?"
Lee Yu-ri looked triumphantly at her summons lined up on either side.
"Not bad. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised."
Seeing that she could maintain five of them simultaneously with such a small amount of mana, she was definitely not average.
Just like the old man who used magic earlier.
There are surprisingly many veterans who have already shed their newbie status.
"...A bit surprised?"
Lee Yu-ri's eyebrows twitched.
"Yeah. To be precise, somewhere between 'a bit' and 'a tiny bit'?"
"Stop bluffing. I know you're just trying to figure out a way to run away."
"Does it look like that?"
Well, if he only used words, it probably did.
In that case, he just had to show her.
Whether it was a bluff or not.
Jinhyuk unfolded the paper.
[Mana is infused into the Relic 'Pine Tree and Tiger (Replica)'.]
[The Ruler of the Mountain manifests!]
Era: Joseon
Identity: Unknown
All that was known was that it depicted the most feared existence of an era.
"Roaaaaar!"
The tiger that emerged from the paper roared fiercely.
The air vibrated with the sound.
Thud!
A massive three-meter-long body with rippling muscles.
An indescribable pressure emanated from its glowing yellow eyes.
"T-This is impossible..."
Lee Yu-ri's mouth hung open.
To think he could manifest the very source itself, rather than just materializing it.
Various ways to use Relics had been revealed so far, but she had never heard of one being utilized like this.
And this mana...
Crackle!
It was so dense that it practically stung her skin.
It was entirely different from statues that had merely been enlarged.
The power of the sacred beast that once ruled Mount Taesan was perfectly replicated in that painting.
Although the numbers were five to one,
'There's... no chance of winning.'
She didn't have even a shred of hope that she could win.
"A mere desert jackal shouldn't dare challenge the Mountain Lord."
Jinhyuk stroked the tiger's forehead.