Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Lich: Terry Prisoner
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Hae-jin’s meeting with the lich, Terry Prisoner, was, of course, not their first.
Thanks to the Rune of Regression possessed by Joo-hyuk, the former Leader, Hae-jin had experienced regression himself.
Of course, when only Joo-hyuk regressed, Hae-jin’s memories had been reset too, so he wouldn’t have known.
But after regressing together using Joo-hyuk’s Rune of Regression and sharing memories, he knew as well.
The information about the lich, Terry Prisoner, whom they would face in the fourth Trials' Arena.
At first, Joo-hyuk had explained it.
He said that after regressing so many times, he even started collecting information on the otherworldly figures encountered in each Trials' Arena.
That was how Hae-jin learned that the boss monster of the fourth Trials' Arena, the lich, was named Terry Prisoner.
He also learned how he became a lich and why he was targeting the dwarf village.
Of course, none of it really mattered.
Joo-hyuk, who shared all this, had told the same stories to his party members.
『You all know, right? You’re probably thinking what’s so important about this stuff? For players, survival and rewards in the Trials' Arena are all that matter anyway.』
How could Joo-hyuk not know?
He had seen countless players through his many regressions.
No one knew the mindset of players better than he did.
Hae-jin was the same.
Listening to Joo-hyuk’s story, he thought it was only natural to feel that way.
But Joo-hyuk smirked at Hae-jin.
『But it turns out to be more useful than you’d think?』
Joo-hyuk said the information he provided would prove more useful than expected.
And as Hae-jin partied with Joo-hyuk, he came to realize it.
‘Surprisingly, the info Joo-hyuk gathered from the people he met in various Trials' Arenas did come in handy sometimes.’
As if to prove it.
‘Terry Prisoner. Even if there’s nothing to gain from him in this Trials' Arena, the info on him will pay off later.’
Knowing about Terry Prisoner right away in the fourth Trials' Arena didn’t offer any special advantages.
However, that knowledge would lead to gains down the line.
Still, Hae-jin didn’t share this particular info with his party members.
The reason was simple.
‘Even if I told them, trying to talk to Terry Prisoner would just get them killed.’
In life—or rather, in his previous regressions—Joo-hyuk, or himself who inherited everything from Joo-hyuk, had the leeway to communicate with Terry Prisoner.
But others couldn’t.
Communication or not, failing to focus on the fight with Terry Prisoner was a sure way to die.
So Hae-jin didn’t share this info with the other party members.
He could always tell them right before the relevant Trials' Arena later.
No need to risk them trying to chat with Terry Prisoner based on his info, dying, or dropping in survival rankings due to penalties.
Especially.
‘Others maybe not, but Lee Sang would definitely go for the hidden trial.’
Then he’d kill exactly 666 monsters in this Trials' Arena.
Of course, using the info Hae-jin provided, it was possible to rack up points by properly damaging the lich, the boss monster of this Trials' Arena.
‘Lee Sang is stronger than average players... but not enough to farm points like me.’
Hae-jin could rack up points wildly with ordinary sword swings thanks to what he inherited from Joo-hyuk, but Lee Sang couldn’t do the same against Terry Prisoner.
As a mage with powerful burst damage, he might snag 10 points per big spell on Terry Prisoner.
The problem was.
‘Even if he stacks points like that all day, one death wipes it all out.’
Plus, dying this time cost a hefty chunk of points.
‘One death and 10,000 points gone.’
Sure, 10,000 points wasn’t a huge amount in the fourth Trials' Arena.
Breaking it down by stages:
Stage 1: 1,000 points, Stage 2: 4,000, Stage 3: 6,000, Stage 4: 16,000, Stage 5: 25,000, Stage 6: 36,000, Stage 7: 49,000, Stage 8: 64,000, and Stage 9: 81,000.
Going all out, recovering 10,000 points wasn’t hard.
The real issue was.
‘One death basically means failing the hidden trial.’
Of course, it wasn’t impossible.
Like Hae-jin, monopolize the final Stage 10 zone.
Stage 10 offered 6,650 points from 665 undead.
That alone was usually enough to meet survival criteria.
But it was something only Hae-jin could pull off.
If Hae-jin hadn’t inherited from Joo-hyuk, he would’ve cleared the hidden trial in this fourth Trials' Arena using the method he shared with Lee Sang.
But with the inheritance, it wasn’t necessary anymore.
Of course, Stage 10 gave low points per undead, so Terry Prisoner had specific point values.
1 point per hit, 10 for solid hits.
Finally, contribution to defeating the lich determined rewards: 1st place 10,000 points down to 10th at 1,000, distributed sequentially.
Having calculated the points from the fourth Trials' Arena, Hae-jin thought.
‘Hmm, thinking about it, even dying once, I could still clear the hidden trial and survive.’
Hunt undead as instructed, become top contributor against the lich at the end, and survival was secured.
But.
‘That means giving up 1st place in this Trials' Arena.’
Even with top contribution points from lich kill, one death’s point loss would drop him below whoever got 2nd contribution.
So Hae-jin was curious.
‘Wonder what results everyone gets?’
He hoped as many party members as possible snagged both hidden trial and 1st place.
Meanwhile, Hae-jin waited.
For the players in the current zone to reach Stage 10, where the lich was.
Murmur murmur.
Soon, he sensed people approaching.
Feeling their presence, Hae-jin spoke.
“Enough. I’ll send you on your way.”
[Re... really?]
“Yeah. Have you been deceived your whole life? There it is, your Life Vessel?”
The Stage 10 zone where Terry Prisoner lurked had lights illuminating the interior, hanging from the ceiling here and there.
And what Hae-jin pointed to was one of those lights.
He had precisely identified the hiding spot of the Life Vessel.
Terry Prisoner reacted with what seemed like joy at finally being able to die.
[Yes! It’s there! Wait, how did you...]
Terry Prisoner started gleefully, but belatedly sensed something off.
He wondered how Hae-jin knew the exact location of his hidden Life Vessel.
But Terry Prisoner couldn’t pursue that doubt.
As he spoke, Hae-jin swung his weapon at the light he’d pointed to.
Shwick-!
In the blink of an eye, black sword energy shot from Hae-jin’s blade.
The light he’d indicated shattered.
Crack-!
Immediately, Terry Prisoner’s body turned to gray ash and vanished mid-sentence.
With Terry Prisoner’s existence gone, he dropped a reward item.
As Hae-jin picked it up, a system message announced the end of the fourth Trials' Arena.
[You have completed the fourth trial.]
[Level up.]
[Settling fourth trial results.]
[Announcing fourth trial results.]
1st: Park Hae-jin 1,631,540 Points
2nd: Divine Law Mage 10,242 kills
3rd: Kang Jung-gu 8,764 kills
[You have completed the hidden trial.]
[Level up.]
[Congratulations! You have achieved Zone Ranking 1st!]
[Rewards have been added to your inventory.]
As Hae-jin checked the system windows, the electronic billboard announced to the other players as well.
[Rewards distributed to top players in each zone.]
[‘Zone Ranking 1st Reward Box’ has been given.]
[Please check your inventory.]
It also announced the hidden trial.
[Announcing achievers of the fourth trial’s hidden trial.]
[Hidden trial achievers are revealed to all zone players.]
[Fourth trial’s hidden trial completed.]
[Fourth trial’s hidden trial.]
- Goal: Kill exactly 666 monsters
- Achieved by: Park Hae-jin, Speller, Anna, Na-ye, Raffaello.
The list of those who cleared the hidden trial in the fourth Trials' Arena was revealed.
The achiever list, which had only shown Hae-jin until now, included four more people.
Hae-jin looked at it with interest.
‘Oh ho?’
He couldn’t help but be intrigued.
Hae-jin had figured at best Lee Sang might clear the hidden trial.
But it wasn’t just Lee Sang.
All his party members who received info from him had cleared it.
A pretty impressive result.
Given the occupational limitations, he’d thought it unlikely for everyone to clear.
‘From my experience, only Lee Sang and Na-ye managed it.’
Previously, only Lee Sang and Na-ye had cleared it.
Before Hae-jin’s first regression, when there was zero info on Joo-hyuk.
Back then, only Hae-jin and Lee Sang cleared the fourth Trials' Arena hidden trial.
After regressing, among party members with pre-regression info, only Na-ye was added.
So normally, no one beyond Lee Sang and Na-ye should’ve cleared this time.
But something changed.
First, Anna Fascia.
‘Truth be told, the fourth Trials' Arena suits her more than anyone.’
Priestess Anna Fascia.
One might think what could she do alone.
Priests typically supported other party members.
But did Anna just stack points as a priest?
No way.
‘If so, she couldn’t have cleared the hidden trial.’
Stacking points as a priest in the fourth Trials' Arena wasn’t hard for Anna.
Her core duty: support.
Healing, buffs, etc., all gave points.
But that wasn’t all.
The monster types in this fourth Trials' Arena were especially key.
‘The undead enemies made the difference.’
When enemies were undead, healers could out-DPS mages.
‘Just healing makes the undead pop like balloons.’