Chapter 92: The Filth-Devouring Jar
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: The Filth-Devouring Jar
"W-What on earth..."
The Cult Leader stumbled backward.
"He died... but he's alive. He died. He definitely died."
Andrea was equally bewildered.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk calmly massaged his shoulders and lower back.
"Whew. Crossing halfway over the River Jordan really makes your back stiff."
He had seen a field of flowers and beautiful women singing for him to come over, and he had almost followed them. It was a good thing the song was from the ancient Greek era; if it had been trot, he would have gotten swept up in the rhythm and followed them right then and there.
'With this, the Demon King's Curse is gone.'
Jinhyuk nodded with a satisfied look.
From the moment he first met the Demon King and received the hidden quest, to wasting the Cult Leader's sacred relic while simultaneously using the 'Blessing of the Stars' to lift the curse he received from the Demon King—everything had gone exactly as planned.
'I timed the grimoire's casting perfectly, too.'
He could no longer use his innate abilities or skills. But it didn't matter. Because the Cult Leader, who had used up his sacred relic, was in the exact same position.
'He's basically a complete scarecrow now.'
The master of the Gladiator Arena was proficient in all kinds of weapons, and the master of the Mine possessed monstrous physical strength. On the other hand, while the Cult Leader used the sacred relic to cast powerful magic, now that he had poured out all his mana and left the relic completely empty, his own innate strength was nothing to write home about.
"You! What on earth are you? How...!"
The Cult Leader couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Why? Is this your first time seeing someone come back to life?"
"Of course it is!"
"What kind of cult leader can't even resurrect? If that's the case, why don't you guys just believe in me instead?"
It was called the 'Veteran Cult'.
If you believe in it, you might go a bit crazy, but you'll survive for a very long time. Plus, you can resurrect occasionally and shoot lasers from your eyes. What do you think? Interested?
"Cut the bullshit!"
The Cult Leader spat out an oath. At the same time, he picked up a brutally shaped surgical scalpel resting on the table.
That was his way of saying no.
"You're going to regret this."
Smirking, Jinhyuk lowered his stance.
Shring!
Before anyone knew it, a crimson-glowing dagger was gripped in his right hand.
Clang!
The scalpel and the dagger clashed.
Deflecting the strike aimed at his heart, Jinhyuk immediately targeted his opponent's thigh.
Thuck!
A direct hit. The dagger sank quite deep.
"Aaargh!"
The Cult Leader screamed in agony.
See? I told you. You'd regret it.
From the moment a guy who usually just acted all high and mighty in the back stepped onto the front lines, the outcome of this battle was practically decided.
Well, except for one thing. The Cult Leader did have one last card to turn the tables.
Of course, 'even that is exactly what I want.'
Jinhyuk looked back and forth between the Cult Leader and the jar.
Isn't it about time you made your desperate gamble? You know better than anyone that you'll die if things keep going like this, don't you?
Jinhyuk continued to taunt his opponent, gradually backing him into a corner. Now he had to choose. Would he wither away and die like this, or...
"Damn it."
In the end, the Cult Leader made his decision.
[The Cult Leader of the 5th Floor activates Lv10 'Sacrificial Offering'!]
Something shaped like a human hand burst from the Cult Leader's heart. It had an eerie appearance made of smoke.
"If I lack mana... I just need to replenish it!"
Indeed. Sacrificing his own follower to replenish the sacred relic's mana—this was the Cult Leader's final trump card.
Whoosh!
The smoky hand flew forward at a rapid speed. And for Andrea, who had never fought a battle in her life, it was naturally impossible to react in time.
"Ah...?"
Andrea looked down at her chest with trembling eyes.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
She could see the hand gripping her heart. The smoke billowed even more intensely.
"Offer up your mana, you lowly servant!"
No matter how small the amount of mana, in a situation where both sides had completely run dry, it would act as a massive variable.
However,
"Petria de Ame..."
The moment the runic words to absorb the mana escaped his lips,
"Peteria de Amerios. Teo fa Berisio."
Another familiar voice cut in. It was Jinhyuk.
"...?!"
The Cult Leader whipped his head around. He was so shocked he almost bit his tongue, but now was not the time to worry about that.
"H-How do you know the runic language..."
"Ancient runic language is basic stuff. Doesn't everyone speak at least three languages these days?"
What was actually difficult was predicting which spell out of countless options he would cast just by looking at the initial shape of his mouth. But the Cult Leader wouldn't have the luxury to think about that, since he would now have to pay the price for failing to claim the spell first.
Rumble!
The 'Filth-Devouring Jar' began to vibrate violently in order to devour the target according to the caster's command.
"Hieeeek!"
The Cult Leader spun around. Unlike before, he threw all his dignity out the window and tried to flee with all his might.
But the black hands bursting from the jar were far faster.
Clutch!
The hands firmly seized the Cult Leader's body. His head, cheeks, waist, shoulders, and finally his legs—it was a flawless capture.
"N-No! No!"
The Cult Leader thrashed wildly. Scraping his fingernails against the floor, kicking the desk and the ground, he tried desperately to escape.
Of course, it was all in vain. Because those hands had never once let go of a target they were meant to devour.
Screeech!
Ten claw marks dragged across the stone floor. And with that as the end,
"Aaaargh!"
The Cult Leader's body was completely swallowed into the jar.
Crunch!
Snap!
Squish!
What followed was the gruesome sound of flesh tearing and bones being mercilessly crushed.
For someone who had ruled over countless followers and lived as the Demon King's minion, it was an incredibly wretched end. Or perhaps, considering he had burned people alive, his death was far too easy, since the time he felt pain was less than thirty seconds at most.
Jinhyuk watched the Cult Leader's demise with cold, indifferent eyes. Then, as if remembering something, he turned his head.
There stood Andrea, still half-dazed.
"A-Am I... alive?"
"You already know the answer, so why ask?"
"B-But..."
Andrea patted her body, her eyes wide like a rabbit's. Her face showed she was more curious about how she had survived rather than the fact that she was alive.
"More importantly, don't you feel something strange? Like your body feels lighter than usual? Or overflowing with power?"
"Pardon? Ah. Now that you mention it... how should I put it? I feel a surge of vitality, as if I just woke up from a deep, restful sleep."
'As expected, this is how it turns out.'
The Cult Leader was dead. Yet, the message announcing the conquest of the 5th floor had not appeared.
It was only natural. Because the boss of the mental ward was not dead yet.
'Since the Cult Leader died while 'Sacrificial Offering' was active, the sacred relic must have chosen a new master.'
In other words, Andrea was now the new boss monster of the mental ward.
'It's about time she realized it herself.'
Just as he thought that,
"Ah...!"
A short gasp escaped Andrea's lips. Guided by the Tower's system, she realized exactly what the vitality and power she was feeling were.
The effect of Succession.
It was the moment a new master of the mental ward was born.
And that master...
'will obey only me.'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
Every other player would think that killing the boss and conquering the floor was the only way to proceed to the next, but...
'I'm different.'
A veteran doesn't play by the book. If they could gain greater benefits and thrills, they didn't care what method they had to use.
That was how a veteran climbed the Tower, and that was the reason a veteran was able to see the summit of the Tower.
"You said earlier, didn't you? That you were betrayed by those dearest to you and abandoned here."
"Yes. I did say that."
"Those days are over now. At least on the 5th floor, no one will ever be able to treat you lightly again."
No longer a follower living a life as cheap as a fly's, but the ruler of an entire floor, commanding immense mana and countless subordinates. That was the position Andrea would occupy from now on.
"So, try to live with a smile on your face from now on."
"Thank you. Truly..."
Andrea's eyes welled with tears. It felt as though all the sorrow and pain she had endured until now flashed before her eyes in an instant.
Although she was already in a position where she could never betray him due to the 'Brand of the Flame Soul', well, even without it, Andrea would never have betrayed him. Because the one who had granted her freedom and allowed her to live a new life was none other than him.
Still, business was business.
"I'm not a big fan of gratitude that's only expressed in words..."
Jinhyuk trailed off, as if waiting for something.
At that, Andrea wiped her tears with her sleeve. Her determined eyes locked onto Jinhyuk.
She had made her decision. How she would live her life from this moment on.
"My name is Andrea. I am the master of this ward."
Andrea politely knelt on one knee.
"All beings in this ward, including myself, shall follow you. Whatever you demand, we will carry it out without fail—even if that demand means defying the rulers of the upper floors."
And with utmost sincerity, she bowed deeply.
[The boss monster of the 5th Floor 'Psychiatric Ward', 'Andrea', swears her loyalty.]
[The 'Mine' and 'Gladiator Arena' are liberated.]
[The 6th floor of the Tower of Trials is opened!]
[Time remaining until the next floor is conquered: 89D 23h:59m:59s]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
Levels rising along with the opening of the floor. Status windows popped up one after another.
'The power of the 5th floor will come in handy in the distant future.'
Thinking of the future, securing the cooperation of the lower floors was one of the essential tasks that had to be resolved first.
This time, Jinhyuk's gaze drifted downward. Toward the reward, the crown jewel of any raid.
[You are the first to obtain the loyalty of a boss monster.]
[You have acquired the special item 'Boundary-Breaking Mirror (Over-Rank)'.]
No way...
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed. Something absolutely insane had dropped.
* * *
The conquest of the 5th floor.
Once again, the world erupted in cheers at the news. The protagonist who conquered the Tower this time was also South Korea's ranker, Kang Jinhyuk.
-Takoyaki: Seriously. At this point, shouldn't the presidents of every country give Kang Jinhyuk a commendation or something?
-Black Flame Dragon in My Right Hand: Nah. At this point, they should just hand over the presidency. What's the point of a commendation? Are they gonna boil it and make soup out of it?
-IndexTM: I'm dying to watch the walkthrough video. I'm so fucking curious about how he cleared it. Of course, it'll be an edited version, though.
Amidst the heated atmosphere, the video everyone had been anticipating was uploaded.
[Story of how the Administrator ran away right in front of me]
The clickbait title set the Tower of Trials community ablaze like never before.
The video played. It showed Jinhyuk and the 'Passage of Choice'. A place notorious for its extremely tight time limit and absolute garbage difficulty.
But in front of a veteran, all of that crumbled in vain. As if he didn't even need to hear the hints, Jinhyuk broke through the gates in the blink of an eye.
It was an absurd sight to behold. And indeed, it was absurd.
In the end, the Administrator had run away, filled with self-loathing rather than anger.
-Index: Ahahaha crazy. It wasn't clickbait, the Administrator actually ran away?
-Veteran Detector: Wow, seriously, how deeply rotten do you have to be to pull that off?
-Toilet Paper on Desk: Seeing how all those high-and-mighty veterans can't even squeak a word, he's probably the only one who can do this, right?
-Sae Yeong Eon Hwan: Well, it's an established academic theory that Kang Jinhyuk is on his second life.
-Homebody Kim: Only his second life? At that level, he's on his 999th life. Of course, I couldn't do it even if you gave me infinite coins.
-Twitch Viewer Outranks the Unemployed: Kiah. He's a player you can always trust to deliver. His gameplay is so refreshing. He's completely no-brakes!
-Choi Woo-jin: I'm one of the players who survived that mental ward. I thought there was no answer other than dying in that terrible hell, but thanks to Player Kang Jinhyuk, we were all able to live. Thank you so much. Truly.
The explosive reaction showed no signs of stopping as night fell and the early hours of the morning deepened. At the same time, a meme began to spread across the internet.
Above the players are the veterans.
Above the veterans are the oil and fossils.
And finally, there is Jinhyuk, watching them perform their little tricks.