Chapter 98: Gray Temple (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: Gray Temple (2)
A sharp impression, and a sword scar running across his face.
Players with katanas at their waists and colorful tattoos covering their entire bodies came into view.
Well, this was obvious.
There was no need to even check.
Because where they came from was all too obvious.
The Samurai Guild...
Jinhyuk's brow furrowed in annoyance.
He could already guess why they had come here and why Kim Gi-tae was so angry.
Just then, voices raised between the two groups.
"This is a dungeon owned by us. Surely, you haven't forgotten that?"
"We are aware of that, but as you know, Team Leader Kim, Ssaulabi has done nothing but fail every single time. Rather than hoarding a labyrinth that is far beyond your capabilities, wouldn't handing it over to those who can actually clear it be a better way to contribute to humanity?"
A man with a beard and sunglasses sneered.
Though his words were polite, he was essentially rubbing salt in their wounds.
Grit!
Kim Gi-tae clenched his teeth.
But he couldn't offer much of a rebuttal.
It was true that they had repeatedly failed, whereas the Samurai Guild had been showing astonishing growth recently.
But then.
"Hmm. That's strange."
Jinhyuk chimed in, scratching his head.
Everyone's eyes turned to Jinhyuk.
"That... man?"
"I-It's Kang Jinhyuk. The Korean ranker, Kang Jinhyuk!"
"Don't tell me he's associated with Ssaulabi?"
"This isn't good..."
Sharp intakes of breath could be heard even from the Samurai Guild players.
As the atmosphere grew tense, the man in sunglasses quickly stepped forward.
"Well, this is an unexpected guest. But what exactly do you find strange?"
"From what I heard, you said this side kept failing because they lacked the strength?"
"That is what I said. Of course, it might hurt your feelings, but that is the reality."
"That's what's strange. Because from where I'm standing, your strength looks pretty pathetic too."
I mean, they seemed to have scraped together some decent numbers, but...
They were planning to face Medusa with just this lineup?
Even if they all pooled their strength, they wouldn't amount to a fraction of Cheon Yu-seong or Teresa. Their confidence was way over the line.
"Ah! Unless your dream for the future is to become a pretty stone statue, in which case, I understand. The Medusa inside is, whew... she's practically a world-class statue collector."
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
"A-Are you saying... we lack the skill?"
"It's not just a lack of skill; you're completely unqualified."
"Lacking" implied they were just slightly short of the mark.
But they wouldn't make the cut even if they brought a whole truckload of people.
"U-Unqualified?!"
"Damn it, what kind of nonsense is that!"
At Jinhyuk's words, the faces of the Samurai Guild players contorted in rage.
"Phew."
"As expected!"
On the other hand, the Ssaulabi Guild felt a rush of sheer catharsis, as if a decade-old clog in their chests had suddenly cleared.
"You'll regret those words. No matter how much you run wild on the lower floors, we in Japan have a player who has climbed all the way to the 30th floor of the Tower of Trials. Unlike the likes of you, he is a 'real' veteran."
Sunglasses' tone turned icy.
"You have a player who's been to the 30th floor?"
"That's right. The middle floors of the Tower, where no one else has ever set foot. He is someone who has experienced that place. Based on his knowledge and experience, we will be the first in the world to conquer the Tower. Not anyone else, but us, Japan."
Sunglasses squared his shoulders proudly.
Monopolizing information about the future!
Naturally, he couldn't hide his swelling excitement and exhilaration.
However.
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue in disbelief.
There's a limit to how much bullshit one can spew.
He hadn't seen a single shadow of a player since the 20s.
And now, out of nowhere, a veteran who climbed to the 30th floor appeared?
And in Japan, of all places?
There was absolutely no way.
But seeing how confident he is, at least this guy seems to genuinely believe it...
Which meant someone among them was playing a cute little trick on Sunglasses.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
Of all people, to tell such a lie right in front of me.
He didn't know what kind of sweet talk had been used to butter up the Samurai Guild, but...
They picked the wrong opponent.
They had picked the absolute worst person to mess with.
Jinhyuk scanned the players with 'Gluttony's Eye'.
Several status windows flashed in succession.
Not this guy. This guy is just an idiot...
No one particularly stood out.
Just as he was thinking that.
Jinhyuk's gaze locked onto someone.
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Name: Yamamoto Takeshi
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Level: 27
Strength: 16 Agility: 26 Stamina: 23 Mana: 32
Unallocated Stat Points: 0
Coins: 25,853
Class: Onmyoji
Unique Ability: Half Future Sight
Skills: Lv6 'False Prophecy', Lv5 'Faint Communion', Lv5 'Onmyo Thousand Transformations', Lv5 'Devouring Ghost'
--------------------------------------------------
So that was it.
Now he understood how the guy had managed to spin such a plausible lie.
Half Future Sight...
A power that, depending on proficiency, allowed one to peek into the upper floors.
Although it had the word "Half" attached to it, Future Sight was still a fairly useful unique ability.
No matter how fragmented or useless the information might be, the ability to foresee a future unknown to others was undeniably attractive.
However.
All of that was only true for those who had never actually experienced the upper floors of the Tower.
Catching unwanted glimpses of fragments was fundamentally incomparable to actually seeing and experiencing those floors firsthand.
Well, this is getting interesting.
Jinhyuk looked directly at Takeshi.
Wearing a subtle smile.
* * *
The hope of Japan.
The new hidden card recruited by the Samurai Guild.
One of the top 100 rankers in the world.
These were all titles that Takeshi was set to acquire in the future.
Because the power to see the future was the most crucial ability for climbing the Tower of Trials.
No one knows my ability is incomplete anyway.
Takeshi was certain that if he threw out plausible information and acted like a veteran who had visited the high floors of the Tower, he would easily attract the attention of top guilds.
He was absolutely sure of it.
And indeed, his conviction had paid off.
The Samurai Guild, arguably the best guild in Japan, had sought him out.
Takeshi did not tremble.
Instead, he confidently claimed to have reached the 30th floor of the Tower. At the same time, he shared stories about the Tower that no one else knew yet.
Of course, he was wrong in a few instances, but by correctly predicting major pieces of hidden information about the Tower, Takeshi managed to earn the Samurai Guild's trust.
Even if my lie is exposed, that's a problem for the distant future.
And what if it was exposed?
He just had to turn the lie into reality before then.
With the guild's full backing, growing stronger wouldn't be difficult at all. Naturally, his half-baked ability would grow too, and he would eventually become a ranker who could truly see the future.
Yeah. What's so special about rankers? They must have all been weak at first too.
With the Samurai Guild giving him their full support, what was there to fear?
Items. Experience. Ranker status.
They would give him whatever he asked for.
However, his smooth-sailing journey came to a grinding halt right now.
By meeting a man named Kang Jinhyuk.
...What is this?
Takeshi swallowed hard.
There were dozens of players around him, excluding himself.
Yet, Jinhyuk wasn't sparing a single glance anywhere else.
And that subtly twisted corner of his mouth.
It was a smile that seemed to say he knew everything.
It was dangerous.
Takeshi had maintained a perfect disguise until now, but at this very moment, an inexplicable anxiety gripped his entire body.
But just then.
"Oho. A veteran who has climbed to the 30th floor. That really is amazing. Especially since almost no information about the 10th floor and above has been released in the media or online communities."
Jinhyuk spoke up.
"You know your stuff. It seems you finally understand the situation, huh?"
Sunglasses sneered, his confidence soaring even higher.
"Yes. I understand a bit better now. If you have a veteran of that caliber, it's only natural that you should receive global support."
"Bwahaha! Right. It seems there is at least one Korean who can talk sense."
"Don't mention it. Well then, please, go ahead. We will follow behind you."
Jinhyuk took a step back.
"This is going way too easily."
"They called him a hot-topic ranker, but look at him, unable to utter a single peep in front of a real veteran."
"As expected, Korea is nothing but a shadow of Japan from ten years ago."
Thirty Japanese players took the lead.
Except for one.
"..."
Takeshi alone couldn't seem to take a step forward, as if something was holding him back.
But it was only for a moment.
Soon, all the players from the Samurai Guild entered the labyrinth.
The ones left bewildered were the members of the Ssaulabi Guild.
"P-Player Kang Jinhyuk?"
"Are you saying we should go in with these people?"
Kim Gi-tae and Lee Young-kwon cried out at the same time.
"Of course we should go together."
Jinhyuk nodded.
Then, he posed a meaningful question.
"If we hadn't stepped aside, wouldn't you have stopped them from entering the labyrinth, Mr. Kim Gi-tae?"
"O-Of course. We would have stopped them by any means necessary."
"Then those people would have kept breathing and stayed alive. We can't have that."
"Pardon?"
"D-Don't tell me...?"
This time, their pupils shook violently.
They had realized the true meaning behind Jinhyuk's words.
"Like I said. With that level of skill, they'll never make it out alive."
How could fools acting cocky based on a fake Future Sight possibly deal with Medusa?
They probably didn't even know the proper strategy anyway.
That guy Takeshi was relying solely on the combat power of the Samurai Guild.
Conversely, the Samurai Guild was relying on Takeshi's half-baked ability.
Since they were both holding onto a rotten rope and running headfirst into hell, we just needed to stand a step back and watch the fire burn.
Out of pride, those idiots who went ahead would deal with all the traps and monsters for them.
"At first, I was planning to persuade them to leave with nice words(?)."
He hadn't particularly wanted to drive them to their deaths.
No matter how much he disliked them, that alone wasn't a reason for them to die.
But.
"If they're going to stick their spoons into someone else's bowl without knowing their place... they must be prepared to pay the price."
His voice was cold as ice.
The sly, compliant attitude he had shown earlier was long gone.
* * *
Ssaulabi and Samurai.
A raid team consisting of 62 people in total entered the labyrinth.
[You have entered the labyrinth, 'Gray Temple (Medusa's Hideout)'.]
With a brief warning, their darkened vision brightened.
Jinhyuk looked around.
Flames erupted from the cracks in the ground. Various buildings and pillars reminiscent of ancient Greece stood in long rows.
Of course, the most eye-catching sights were the stone statues of people who had been turned to stone.
"Those are... the players who challenged it before us."
"Damn. It's brutally gruesome. There's no way to turn them back, right?"
"None. If you make eye contact, you're finished. That's it."
Once 'Petrification', which possessed an absolute judgment, was triggered, it could not be reversed by any means.
There was a reason so many players had ended up as ornaments in this labyrinth.
"Don't worry. We've already prepared a countermeasure."
Sunglasses raised the shield he was holding.
The key item to clear this labyrinth.
The relic, 'Perseus's Shield'.
Indeed.
The reason the Samurai Guild had stepped forward so confidently was that, in addition to having the veteran Takeshi, they were confident they could reenact the battle from myth.
However, watching this, Jinhyuk swallowed a scoff.
So they came in here relying on just that?
There were always people who mistakenly believed they could become a famous figure just because they got their hands on an item that person once used.
If you got a program Bill Gates used, did that mean you could found Microsoft?
If you stared at a half-bitten apple, would an iPhone suddenly pop out?
No matter how good a relic is, it's completely useless if the person wielding it is pathetic.
Of course, at mediocre levels, relying on "item carries" could work.
But in the high-difficulty ruins or labyrinths of the Tower of Trials, such logic did not apply. Items were merely supplementary; they were never the fundamental solution.
Go ahead and run wild in the front. I'll leisurely clear it from behind.
Jinhyuk began to map out the overall plan.
But just then.
Thrummmm!
Suddenly, his subspace inventory vibrated violently.
This is...?
Jinhyuk quickly checked inside.
The black scroll he had received from the priest earlier was reacting to something.
At the same time.
[Conditions have been met.]
[The second privilege for 'The First to Conquer the Tower' has arrived.]
A golden status window appeared before his eyes.