Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: A New Record
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Trudging...
Four users could be seen exiting the dungeon.
Heavily rusted plate mail, leather garments torn in places, and a deep gash on a cheek.
Their appearance was a clear testament to the grueling battle they had just endured.
Hoo, hoho.
Keke, kekeke.
Emerging from the dungeon half-dead, they all burst into laughter.
It was as if on cue, all at the same time.
And for good reason...
Keke, we did it.
Kekekekeke!
They had finally broken the time attack record they so desperately wanted.
The number one spot in the normal Elder Trent dungeon!
Lee Won joyfully slung an arm around the bearded mans shoulder and shouted.
We did it!
The very same tank he had been bickering with before entering the dungeon.
The healers eyes sparkled as she spoke.
Whats everyone planning to get for the first-place reward? An epic skill? An epic item?
Well, I think Ill go for an item. But well have to see whats available, right?
I guess so, right?! Heehee, Im so excited already!
This is insane, I cant believe we actually got first place! Im so, so glad I joined this party!
Before entering, they had been sizing each other up warily.
Now, they celebrated their victory like lifelong friends, linking arms and draping them over each others shoulders.
It was all because they had achieved the number one time attack record.
To think something I only imagined could become reality...
Recruiting an alt-character party on the community forums had been a stroke of genius for Lee Won.
CC is incoming. Ill dispel it, so trust me and charge in!
The mage who waited for the Trents crowd control before dispelling it with perfect timing.
Heals on cooldown! Ill use it on the tank in 13 seconds, so the DPS needs to survive on potions for 43 seconds!
The healer who managed cooldowns, casting skills at the perfect moments to preserve the partys health.
Ive got aggro! Healer, focus on me. The rest of you, back attack for 15 seconds!
The tank who drew all the aggro, allowing the party members to deal damage with ease.
Each of them pulled the weight of at least two people in their respective roles. To think I managed to gather party members like this online.
From their understanding of their roles to their individual skills and the party composition.
It was, in every sense, a perfect party with no flaws to be found.
This must mean I was destined to be the protagonist. The kind of hero who overcomes all trials and hardships to finally reach the top!
Lee Won let out a joyous roar, as if he had become a shonen protagonist.
Kwahahaha!
You know the type, the kind you see in manga and anime.
The shonen protagonist who steadily endures trials and tribulations to ultimately stand at the pinnacle.
Soon, Lee Wons gaze shifted to the leaderboard displaying the clear times.
Tiring!
Elder Trent Dungeon (Normal) Time Attack
1st - 2 hours 59 minutes NEW! (Lee Won, VeryStrongBerry, )
2nd - 3 hours 11 minutes (KORAIL, Daechi-dong Rhythm Punch, )
3rd - 3 hours 27 minutes (IDunno, IKnow,
...Keh, hehehe!
Could they see that glorious title written on the board?
The word NEW at the very top, with his name written right beside it!
Moreover, there was a significant gap between his clear time and the previous first-place record.
An overwhelming difference of twelve minutes.
Oh, the time attack record was broken.
Nearby users also started commenting as they looked at the board.
They broke the three-hour mark? Thats insane.
People like that must be an alt-character party aiming to break the record, right?
Probably, right? The average clear time for an experienced party is between 3 hours 30 minutes and 4 hours. A time like that would only be possible if you know every single pattern and trap.
They must have been lucky, too. You have to find the exit, after all.
Everything they said was true.
Its true we were lucky. It only took us 20 minutes to find the exit...
This was a point of concern for Lee Won as well.
Time attacks required not only skill but also a great deal of luck.
If you were unlucky, you could fail to set a record simply because you couldn't find the exit.
Breaking the three-hour mark will definitely draw some attention. A record like that would be sought after by major guilds.
Wow, if that happened, Id be so jealous. Joining a major guild would set you up for life.
Lee Won and his three party members ears perked up.
Major guilds!
The mere thought of it sent a thrill through them.
Joining a major guild meant you could power-level by monopolizing dungeons and get carried through field raids.
Not to mention, the generous support provided to new guild members was already famous.
It doesnt matter to me since I have a sponsor, but...
Of course, for Lee Won, who was sponsored by the Huseong Group, this was an unlikely scenario.
Still, it doesnt feel bad to be seen in that light.
For now, it was enough that they saw him as a top-tier prospect.
Wow, but what in the world is that 3 hours and 40 minutes for Hard mode?
But cruelly, the attention on Lee Won didnt last long.
The users gazes had shifted to the Hard dungeon leaderboard!
Elder Trent Dungeon (Hard) Time Attack
1st - 3 hours 41 minutes (Ghost)
2nd - 5 hours 17 minutes (Hwarang, StarlightSword, )
3rd - 5 hours 31 minutes (Peerless HeavenlyDemon, DivineHermit, )
.
.
.
I heard the Hard dungeon is way tougher than Normal, with more teleportation traps and a higher monster respawn rate.
Thats what makes Ghost so amazing. Hes the only one who cleared it solo in the three-hour range. And hes held the top spot for three years.
At their conversation, Lee Wons expression soured.
That damn Ghost, always Ghost! How many people in Wonderland can even be compared to him?!
Ghost was the user who had recorded a clear time in the three-hour range in a Hard dungeon.
It was a legendary record that no one had broken in the three years since Wonderland was released.
The proof was the nearly two-hour gap between his record and second place.
He must be getting full support from a tycoon, or hes some lucky bastard who got all the legendary items.
In short, Ghost was a being in a league of his own, beyond comparison.
Still, those who know, know. Getting first place in the Normal dungeon is no easy feat either.
Although it was only Normal difficulty, securing the top spot here was still a clear achievement.
The so-called strongest among Earthlings, a shiny bald guy stuck between monstrous Saiyans!
I need to tell the team leader about this right away. This hot-off-the-press first-place news! No one will look down on me now, kekek!
Just as Lee Won was thinking this.
A tiring! sound was heard as the leaderboard updated.
...Huh? Wh-what?
W-what is that? Is that a bug?
Holy crap! No way! Quick, take a screenshot!
Inexplicable gasps of amazement erupted from all around.
What? Why is it so noisy...
Amid the commotion, his gaze naturally turned to the leaderboard.
Lee Wons eyes widened like saucers.
Ha, haha...
His expression was one of someone who had just witnessed something that should never have happened.
This damn game...
Is this what it feels like to be screwed over by the entire universe?
Lee Won spat out a curse, his voice hollow.
Elder Trent Dungeon (Hard) Time Attack
1st - 2 hours 58 minutes NEW! (Yuhyeon)
At this very moment, when all the spotlights should have been on him.
The Hard dungeon record, which hadn't changed for the past three years, had to be broken right now of all times.
How does it make any sense for it to change right now?!
And to top it off, with a score that surpassed even his own first-place record in the Normal dungeon.
At the same time, at the entrance of a different dungeon.
Two men were walking out with relatively relaxed steps.
It was Yuhyeon and Cedric.
I will return to the knight order immediately.
Cedric spoke with a powerful voice under the darkening evening sky.
He had grown through this battle, and his smile was now stronger than before.
Very well, lets part ways here then.
Yes, sir!
Cedric saluted Yuhyeon with a sharp clank, his posture full of discipline.
It was to show Yuhyeon the same respect one would show a lord.
After sending Cedric off.
Then I should get going. Ah, wait a minute.
Yuhyeon, who was about to head straight to Gessin, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The piece I composed earlier, I was so busy I didn't even get to check it.
The piece he thought was a masterpiece.
He was curious what grade the final product had turned out to be.
Lets see...
He opened his inventory window.
...Hm?
Yuhyeons eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked at the scores grade.
S-rank?
S-rank? Am I seeing things?
He blinked his eyes several times at the thought.
Score: Untitled
Composer: Yuhyeon
Grade: S
Buff: Desperate Courage
Attack power increases by 10 when facing enemies stronger than yourself.
Caster and party members' attack speed and critical hit chance increase by 15.
Duration of status effects such as Fear, Curse, and Confusion is reduced by 50.
When the caster's health drops below 30, 'Indomitable Will' is activated.
- Indomitable Will (A): Temporarily increases defense and attack speed by 20.
When the caster's health drops below 10, 'Desperate Courage' is activated.
- Desperate Courage (A): Overcoming the fear of death to fight back increases all stats by 50.
.
.
.
This is an S-grade score and can be duplicated once.
Duplicate? (YN)
It... it really wasnt a mistake?
No matter how many times he blinked, the scores grade remained fixed at S.
This meant he had created an S-rank score.
An S-rank score can only be duplicated once. That means distributing it is practically impossible...
They say that when you experience something astonishing, your mind becomes calm.
To think that everything I experienced back then stemmed from the effects of this score...
Yuhyeon had indeed gone through some inexplicable experiences while fighting the Elder Trent.
I was wondering why Desperate Courage, which I thought would only apply to Cedric, affected me as well.
Strangely, his attack speed had increased as his health dropped, and in a near-death situation, he had used Desperate Courage just like Cedric.
A score with two special skills attached.
Increased attack power, attack speed, critical hit chance, and defense. All stats that were helpful in combat.
On top of that, it even granted a special skill that increased all stats by 50 when his health got low.
In Wonderland, an items value multiplies depending on how many skills it has.
A score with two special skills would literally be worth whatever price you named.
Moreover, since it could only be duplicated once, he had to be even more cautious about selling it.
For now, Ill just use it myself.
Just as he was organizing his thoughts and about to move on.
Tiring!
Time attack clear time has been calculated.
Congratulations! You have set a new 1st place record in the Elder Trent Dungeon (Hard).
Achievement Unlocked!
You have acquired the title 'Faster Than Anyone, Different From Everyone (1)'.
As an achievement reward, all stats except Divinity and Charm will increase by 2.
The 1st place reward will be distributed after 24 hours. It can be claimed from your mailbox.
A flood of notification windows appeared before Yuhyeons eyes.
Tiring, tiring! A dizzying number of messages rang out one after another.
First place reward for the time attack...?
He looked at the leaderboard, and sure enough, his name was plastered right there.
Surpassing the ranker Ghost, proudly in the number one spot.
I actually managed to get first place in the time attack?
However, now was not the time to be amazed by the leaderboard.
The reason being.
Oh no, its past six. Its time for the NPCs to go home.
It was 6:00 PM in Wonderland time.
The time when NPCs would finish their work and return to their homes.
Gessin, please wait...!
Yuhyeon quickly sprinted towards the alleys of Lutetia.
To complete the first hidden quest.
That evening, on the Wonderland community forums.
A massive amount of traffic flooded the site, enough to temporarily crash the servers.
WTF is this real? The Lutetia Hard Dungeon record was broken? (Trending)
Breaking News) The user who beat Ghost for 1st in the time attack has arrived (Trending)
Trending posts were those with at least 10,000 views, literally the most popular posts of the day.
In other words, they were the most viewed posts on the community forums today.
Ill tell you about the identity of the time attack 1st place (Trending)(999)
- His nickname is Yuhyeon. That's all I know. Updoot please.
Are you fucking kidding me?
So bold, you get an updoot.
Wow, what great information!
Here, take a downvote.
All the community posts were focused on a single topic.
Specifically, the new record set by Yuhyeon in the Hard dungeon.
And so, users began to dig into Yuhyeons identity.
Who was he, what was his identity, had anyone seen him, and so on...
But no one could find out who he was.
Yuhyeon was a 'solo' player who had cleared the dungeon in a party with just Cedric.
Thus, the users decided to move on to another topic instead of trying to uncover his identity.
Namely, discussing just how incredible Yuhyeons achievement was.
Why the Hard Dungeon Time Attack Record is Insane.
As you know, the Hard dungeon consists of at least 15 rooms.
Each room has an average of 2-3 monsters, and the monsters are around level 30.
The boss takes about an hour, and finding the exit takes about an hour, so lets round that to about an hour and a half total.
The clear time was under 3 hours, so if you subtract an hour and a half, you're left with an hour and a half.
That means it took only 6 minutes to pass through a single room...
Does it make sense that a level 20-something user took only 6 minutes to defeat 2-3 level 30 monsters?
Isn't this a bug? I'm seriously going to submit a bug report to the developers.
You dont think he used hacks?
If he used hacks, Im demanding a refund for my subscription fee.
Has Wonderland really stooped this low?
The record set by Ghost had stood unbroken for the past three years.
Faced with this unprecedented event of someone shattering that record so overwhelmingly, users submitted inquiries to customer support, just in case.
However, the response from the operator was as follows.
Hello, this is GM Gimite. We are currently receiving many inquiries from adventurers regarding a similar issue...
In response, our Super A.I. and development team have conducted a thorough investigation from multiple angles...
We have not detected any form of misconduct related to the issue in question.
Thank you for your continued love for Wonderland. -GM Gimite-
There was no foul play involved in Yuhyeons new record; he had achieved it entirely on his own merit.
Holy crap, so he cleared it with pure skill?
...Beating that rank 1, Ghost?
This is huge. Its a scoop.
And so, the fires were stoked once again across all community and in-game forums.
The Groundzero guild is looking for player Yuhyeon. If anyone knows him...
Anyone with information on Yuhyeon, please contact me. I am the guild master of Kingdom...
Hello, this is the vice guild master of the Eternal guild...
All sorts of major guilds began to ask around about Yuhyeon, and even the Eternal guild, known as Koreas elite, started to show interest.
Was that why?
...Hoo, what did you say?
In the cold northern continent, the man who had just decapitated an Ice Bone Dragon muttered to himself.
Someone broke my record?
The man holding a greatsword with a sleek, jet-black blade.
Known as the Sword Demon of the Polar Night, he was a being in a league of his own who had never once relinquished his number one domestic ranking in three years.
He was Ghost.
Well, its been three years, I suppose it was bound to happen. I never thought it would remain unbroken forever.
Despite having his record taken, his eyes were rather calm.
If theres a user who can keep up with me, that would be interesting in its own way.
In fact, he seemed intrigued by the fact that someone had broken his record.
But Im more curious about something else.
What he was more curious about was what kind of reward the new number one would receive.
Three years ago, Ghost had chosen a certain skill as his first-place reward for the time attack, and that skill had led to his explosive growth.
The legendary skill that had made him the Sword Demon of the Polar Night.
He was still using it now at level 230, so its utility was beyond question.
I wonder what reward hell choose.
Ghosts intrigued gaze turned towards the snowy mountains below.