Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Hidden Trial Achievements
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Normally, 'heal' was a spell that aided allies in recovery.
But since it was a skill infused with holy power, there were cases where healing magic turned into attack magic. That was 'heal palm.'
Heal palm commonly referred to priests using heal to attack the undead.
'It's more destructive than the attack spells of most mages.'
That was why Hae-jin hadn't worried at all about Anna's survival points.
Just as Hae-jin had predicted, hadn't Anna defeated Lee Sang and claimed 2nd place across the entire zone?
But Hae-jin hadn't even imagined that Anna would clear the hidden trial.
He knew she was powerful in this fourth Trials' Arena, but given her personality as he knew it, it would be impossible for her to achieve the hidden trial.
After all, Anna was a devout believer.
As the daughter of a cardinal, she was quite considerate and participated in a lot of volunteer work.
Even the whole world had said that Anna herself was more than qualified to be a saintess.
Even without the Trials' Arena, she was called a saintess in the Catholic Church.
With such a gentle heart, if someone was in danger in the fourth Trials' Arena, Anna would help them unconditionally.
'So, Anna probably won't achieve the hidden trial in this round either, will she?'
Helping like that would inevitably disrupt her plans.
That was the kind of person Anna was.
But there was one thing Hae-jin had overlooked...
[Hidden Trial completed.]
[Level up.]
[Congratulations! You have achieved Zone Ranking 1st place!]
[Rewards have been granted to your inventory.]
Anna happily accepted her ranking reward.
"Hehe, I easily took 1st place again."
Hae-jin had told her that she, more than anyone, would wield the greatest power in the fourth Trials' Arena.
So, taking 1st place was the natural outcome.
No sooner had Anna confirmed her 1st place than the system window appeared.
['Zone Ranking 1st Reward Box' has been granted.]
[Please check your inventory window.]
The system window that granted Anna the 1st place reward box.
Afterward, she could see this.
[Fourth Trial's Hidden Trial has also been completed.]
[Fourth Trial's Hidden Trial.]
-Goal: Kill only 666
-Achievers: Park Hae-jin, Speller, Anna, Na-ye, Raffaello.
Anna's expression hardened slightly upon seeing it.
'Hidden trial...'
It wasn't a hardened expression from failing the hidden trial.
As listed in the achievers, Anna had indeed achieved the hidden trial.
So why had her expression hardened?
It was because...
'Everyone, I'm sorry.'
Anna had somewhat turned a blind eye during this Trials' Arena.
She had occasionally seen players who seemed to need her help.
Players she could aid in survival with her heals.
But if she had...
'I wouldn't have been able to clear the hidden trial.'
Anna felt sorry for those she couldn't help, but she wanted to stay true to her own feelings more.
To prove to Hae-jin that she was a helpful party member.
And the only way to show results to players in other zones right now was through 'hidden trial achievements.'
Seeing that the entire party had achieved the hidden trial, Anna said,
"Wow, everyone pulled it off."
Even as she said that, one person weighed on her mind.
Kwon Na-ye had cleared even the hidden trial, despite hearing that archer-types might find it tough.
Seeing that, Anna thought,
'She's pretty good.'
Deep down, Anna had hoped Kwon Na-ye wouldn't achieve the hidden trial and that she'd be the only one.
But contrary to her wishes, Kwon Na-ye had also achieved it.
'Hmm.'
In any case, in various ways, Anna was changing markedly from when Joo-hyuk was leader.
But Kwon Na-ye was no different.
"......"
Kwon Na-ye fell silent.
After seeing the results from this Trials' Arena.
She had no choice but to stay silent.
'I worked so hard to achieve the hidden trial, and I really got outdone.'
She had taken 1st in the zone ranking, but due to the hidden trial, Na-ye felt her pride subtly wounded.
Especially since her comparison target was 'Anna.'
Of course, she had heard from Hae-jin.
That this Trials' Arena itself would be extremely favorable to a priest like Anna.
Still, she didn't want to lose, so she gave it her all.
That's why she achieved the hidden trial too.
Hae-jin had told them about the fourth trial's hidden trial but advised against straining to achieve it.
He said that dying even once could disqualify them from survival standards.
Even so, Kwon Na-ye felt she had to do it.
'I wanted to show I could win even in a situation disadvantageous compared to Anna...'
Regrettably, though she achieved the hidden mission, her ranking couldn't help but fall behind.
Moreover, looking at the points, she had to concede.
'Even Lee Sang has fewer points than Anna, so...'
For reference, hidden trial achievers could be seen by all players across zones, along with their performance in this Trials' Arena.
So Na-ye could check Hae-jin, Anna, and Lee Sang's scores.
Just tap the names in the achiever list.
Na-ye could already view the hidden trial achievers' scores.
Park Hae-jin: 1,631,540 Points
Anna: 25,844 Points
Speller: 15,441 Points
Raffaello: 13,492 Points
Na-ye herself had scored between Lee Sang and Raffaello to make the hidden trial.
Anyway, seeing the hidden trial achievers' info left her feeling regretful.
Because the gap with Anna was too wide.
If Lee Sang, who was in a similarly disadvantaged spot, had such a big gap with her, she might not have fully accepted it.
Since if Lee Sang beat Anna, whom Hae-jin said was favored, then she had to beat her too.
But contrary to her thoughts, Lee Sang had achieved the hidden trial with points similar to Kwon Na-ye herself.
Because of that, Kwon Na-ye felt a bit relieved.
'Yeah, just as Hae-jin said, this Trials' Arena was simply favorable to Anna.'
Thus, Kwon Na-ye rationalized losing to Anna in this Trials' Arena.
At the same time, she vowed,
'In the next Trials' Arena, I absolutely won't miss out on the zone ranking.'
Hae-jin's party was growing stronger through internal competition, filled with the will to achieve high scores.
Except for one person.
'Urgh, everyone pulled it off?'
That was exactly what Raffaello was thinking.
While everyone else burned with competitive spirit upon seeing each other's scores, only Raffaello was purely in awe.
Having heard about the hidden trial from Hae-jin, and seeing the entire party achieve it.
Normally, at the end of a Trials' Arena, players would return to reality.
But this fourth Trials' Arena didn't send them back immediately.
[Return to reality will occur in 1 hour. Surviving players, please use all black magic stones acquired in this Trials' Arena.]
The electronic billboard allowed surviving players to spend 1 hour in the fourth Trials' Arena.
It was consideration for using remaining black magic stones after catching Leach.
But Raffaello had no interest.
Exchanging black magic stones for gear?
Hae-jin had told the other party members to exchange for the highest-value gear possible, and use leftovers for more gear.
He had added one more thing.
『If you clear the hidden mission in this Trials' Arena, you'll have a gear enhancement ticket as an option. Get that, and if you exchanged for a 10,000-point weapon, use it there. If not, hold onto it without using.』
Hidden mission rewards usually tied into the next round.
But the fourth Trials' Arena hidden trial reward was the same as the third.
The reason was simple.
They needed decent gear for the next Trials' Arena.
That's why the fourth's hidden mission reward matched the third's.
However, Hae-jin gave Raffaello different advice.
『Raffaello, if you have 10,000 black magic stones, exchange just for a weapon, then ask the dwarves if they'd teach you their techniques in exchange for the rest.』
One might question Hae-jin's advice.
He told others to get more gear with leftovers, but for Raffaello, use it to learn dwarven skills.
With only one hour left, no less.
But Raffaello harbored no doubts.
Two reasons.
First, infinite trust in Hae-jin.
Raffaello no longer doubted or questioned anything Hae-jin said; he just believed.
Second, no harm to himself.
'Learning dwarven techniques even for an hour is a gain.'
Raffaello welcomed any learning.
So, from Raffaello's perspective, Hae-jin's instruction was in no way bad.
Afterward, to follow Hae-jin's orders, Raffaello went to the dwarf elder and fell into thought.
'But what should I buy?'
Raffaello could use two types of weapons.
For his alchemist abilities, a book was right; for blacksmithing, a hammer.
Since he could do both, he was torn.
Hae-jin had said either was fine.
Since Raffaello could excel with either anyway.
Still, Hae-jin hadn't left him without direction.
『It depends on what you'll use more in combat. Rather than focusing purely on alchemy or blacksmithing skills, lean toward combat with a proper weapon.』
From Hae-jin's standpoint, he had no choice but to say that.
Raffaello, called the Sage.
People often mistook him for an old man with a staff due to the 'Sage' title.
But in reality, he was a brute who swung a book and hammer to smash enemies' heads.
He earned 'Sage' from his vast knowledge and skills.
So Hae-jin found it hard to specify.
Raffaello switched between book and hammer patterns.
Thus, Raffaello pondered too.
'Book or hammer?'
That was the question.
But Hae-jin knew the answer.
"Ah, since I already got gear from the dwarf elder blacksmith, I should have told Raffaello to buy the book."