Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Translation: godtl
"Hmm-hmm!"
A hum brimming with thoroughly uplifted spirits.
From Park Jin-uk's office all the way back to his studio apartment.
Si-mun never stopped this cheerful humming.
A ticklish ringing echoed from the center of his chest.
"Of course. We got an unexpected windfall, didn't we?"
He'd only gone to see Park Jin-uk to complete the Heavenly Demon's quest [Find a Disciple].
Not only would this accelerate Park Jin-uk's recovery and empower his younger brother.
'Who knew I'd get ingredient drops for free too!'
And that wasn't all.
Using the Mana Sclerosis Cure as pretext, he could also claim all the materials the Night Hunter Park Jin-uk had gathered.
'I won't have to worry about spirit elixir ingredients for a while!'
Consuming spirit elixirs was the fastest way to boost stats.
The only downside was the sheer amount of ingredients required.
But now that problem was solved—how could he not be delighted?
"I'll take that as a compliment."
-It is a compliment. That's what worries me. Unlike you, our handsome young master genuinely seems simple-minded. What if someone scams him somewhere?
Ever since witnessing Kim Si-hyeok in person, the Philosopher's Stone had taken to calling him "young master."
Rather than pointing out this behavior, Si-mun zeroed in on another part.
"Simple-minded my ass. That punk's sharper than he looks."
But.
-Oh my? Oppa, are you jealous right now? Don't worry, you're the only one for me. I may not look it, but I'm a loyal girl, you know.
"Enough. Let's stop talking."
Faced with the Philosopher's Stone's formidable counterattack, Si-mun gave up on retorting.
Well, fundamentally, it wasn't bad that it viewed his younger brother favorably.
'Setting aside the spirit elixirs for now...'
Si-mun turned his head toward one corner of the studio apartment.
Where somewhat shabby but neatly arranged alchemy tools were prepared.
'If I play my cards right with this Mana Sclerosis Cure, it could make serious money.'
Just like the Night Hunter Park Jin-uk.
Since Arena Diseases didn't discriminate by rank, many suffered from them.
Especially higher-ranked players like Park Jin-uk.
The desperation for curing Arena Diseases was immense.
'It's not like I see patients just as money...'
But there's no denying the cure could be lucrative.
And considering everything from an alchemy lab to funds for future activities.
'A steady income stream is essential.'
Of course, like any successful player.
If he just managed his broadcasts well, top guilds, corporations, sponsors, and ads would come pouring in.
'But that's not my goal.'
Those responsible for killing his brother and Earth's destruction.
Jong-ri Chu, the Continent Guild, and that unidentified eyeball were his targets.
'Most of all, Si-hyeok must survive.'
Si-mun recalled the message from the system before his regression.
[Confirmation of Constellation candidate's death.]
[There is no longer reason to continue the Arena on Earth No. 274.]
[Terminating all Arena operations on Earth No. 274.]
[With the conclusion of the Galaxy Arena, protection privileges for Earth No. 274 are revoked.]
'It must be related to that bastard Si-hyeok's unique trait.'
And while he had a rough idea how that trait connected to the Arena's termination.
'It's still just speculation.'
He couldn't make hasty judgments, of course.
Thus, there was only one immediate priority.
Powering up in preparation for the Special Arena.
"Philosopher's Stone? Let's begin transmutation."
-Hehe! I've been waiting for you to say that!
With that lively voice, Transmutation Power cascaded like a raging torrent from the center of his chest.
It immediately surged through Si-mun's right arm, converging at his fingertips.
[The Transmutation Power is insufficient to achieve the desired transmutation.]
[To compensate for the Philosopher's Stone's lack in establishing Equivalent Exchange, 10,000 Achievement Points are required.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
A familiar system window popped up before his eyes.
Si-mun opened his Status Window to check his current Achievement Points.
'Right now, I have 10,450 points.'
Between his last broadcast, the Heavenly Demon's mission, and sponsorships, he had surpassed the ten-thousand-point mark.
'Originally, I planned to keep a buffer of around 1,000 points just in case...'
But the growth rate of the Obsidian Tablet from this transmutation was staggering.
A full 20%.
Even at its current 20% completion, it already delivered remarkable efficiency.
If that doubled to 40%, how much stronger would it become?
This was no time to nitpick over leftover points.
'Let's see. Spending 10,000 would leave me with 450.'
Though that would leave him 50 points short for transmuting Astrapē...
'I can probably scrape together 50 points along the way.'
And wouldn't his human transmutation ability double with the Obsidian Tablet's upgrade?
'Even if I don't get those 50 points, it's not a big deal. My human transmutation ability will be nearly twice what it is now.'
Though nerfed, Si-mun had already taken down a Hobgoblin using nothing but human transmutation.
Doubling that would render insurance practically unnecessary.
Without hesitation, Si-mun selected 'Yes' on the message before him.
Zap!
As the Achievement Points were consumed, the distinctive sparks of transmutation crackled to life.
Sssssssss—
The familiar obsidian-purple stele.
The Obsidian Tablet descended onto Si-mun's palm, billowing thick black smoke.
[The Constellation Black Goat gazes at you with pride and cheers.]
[The Constellations Zeus and Heavenly Demon lick their lips.]
[The Constellation Black Goat sponsors you with 500 Achievement Points.]
See that, you old perverts? He's mine. Hehe!
A welcome sponsorship, no less.
What had been a calculated 50-point deficit was instantly overturned by a 500-point windfall.
But more than the Achievement Points, Si-mun's attention was drawn to the message itself.
'So Constellations can send sponsorship messages too.'
He let out a dry chuckle at the unprecedented sight of a Constellation's sponsorship message.
[Welcome to the Galaxy Arena.]
[Due to your entry item, you are entering the Special Arena: 'Nightmare of the Heated Mine.']
[Upon arena entry, the entry item [Doria's Mithril Ore] will be consumed.]
[Under Special Arena regulations, unlimited waiting time is granted.]
An empty black void.
So dark that an ordinary person might succumb to panic.
And yet.
"Hoh. The Special Arena even gives waiting time?"
The sharp-featured young man standing in this space—Kim Si-mun—merely blinked his sparkling eyes as he surveyed his surroundings.
Soon.
"Well, nothing special here."
His interest waned in an instant.
To which—
Obviously. This is just a transient pocket dimension. More importantly, are you really entering the Special Arena now? There's no rush.
A clear voice resonated from his chest.
The Philosopher's Stone.
"Yeah. I planned to enter once the Obsidian Tablet hit 40% completion anyway."
Well, with human transmutation twice as strong now, I guess it's enough.
"Not to mention my Achievement Points have nearly doubled too."
His 450 points had ballooned to 950 thanks to Black Goat's sponsorship.
Factoring in the Philosopher's Stone's payback, he could easily craft two Astrapēs now.
'This should be more than enough for a Silver-rank Special Arena.'
Honestly, it was overkill.
With a faint smirk, Si-mun reached into the air and activated a function.
Arenia—the broadcast.
"Hmm. Should I use a clickbait title this time?"
Just mixing in keywords like 'Silver-rank' or 'Abyss' and 'Special Arena' would be enough to draw attention.
But.
'No. Let's just stick to the usual.'
Si-mun decided not to set a special broadcast title.
The reason was simple.
'Last time, the Constellation aggro was too much.'
Though, of course, it wasn't a Constellation cosplay—they were real Constellations.
Regardless of the truth, that incident had ended with just the usual Abyss broadcast hype.
If he tried to draw attention again here, it could easily stir up unnecessary trouble.
After all, he was still a low-ranked, unaffiliated player, no matter how you looked at it.
'Well... I've already secured a decent number of viewers.'
There had even been a time when his viewership hit around 5,000 during his last broadcast.
Even if only a quarter of that showed up now, he'd still have over a thousand viewers.
And just as Si-mun expected—
-Ooooh! The stream's on!
-Si-mun-chan! I've been waiting!
-Just finished an Arena. Perfect timing for chicken and beer lol.
Viewers flooded in almost instantly.
Had the Constellation cosplay incident really left that much of an impact?
-Is this the guy who baited with the Constellation cosplay?
-They already cleared that up. Newbies showing their colors lol.
-I heard this guy got wrecked by a Bus Driver. For real?
-Idk, just do the Constellation cosplay again. I missed it!
New viewers were rapidly increasing as well.
Si-mun's eyes widened slightly as he checked the real-time viewer count.
'1,500 already? Didn't expect it to go this far.'
And the number kept climbing.
Only after hitting the 2,000 mark did the rate of increase slow noticeably.
'Whew. Good thing I didn't bait with the title.'
Relieved by his own wise decision, Si-mun turned his attention to the chat.
-Hey, streamer! Open the door already!
-Bang bang!
-Hurry up! It's too dark in here.
-Lol, can't see a damn thing. Turn on your mic at least!
-Open the door. NOW! NOW!
Realizing he needed to set up the broadcast waiting screen and BGM quickly, he started the stream.
"Hello, everyone! Good to see you all!"
His voice came through naturally, neither too high nor too low.
At the same time, his figure floated into view on the previously black screen.
-Oh! There he is!
-This guy? The ultimate scammer?
-Ahh! It's him!
Chat messages poured in like a flood, as if they'd been waiting.
"Haha! Sorry, but I'm not a scammer. Come on in, everyone."
Si-mun chuckled lightly, casually deflecting the comments before getting to the point.
"Alright, everyone! Today, instead of a regular Arena, we're doing a Special Arena."
-Huh?
-What? Did I hear that wrong?
-For real? An actual Special Arena?
-Bro, aren't you Silver-rank?
-Wait, was that what you were messing around with in the Black Zone last time?
Countless questions popped up.
Naturally.
Players and non-players alike knew about entry items.
And most knew they only appeared in high ranks.
Si-mun didn't bother explaining the entry item.
Why?
"Just a heads-up—I might not be able to check chat during the Arena, so bear with me."
After all, without an entry item, you couldn't even enter a Special Arena in the first place.
So instead—
"Starting the Arena now."
He could just show them what it looked like to enter.
[Location: 'Nightmare of the Heated Mine'.]
[Survive within the mine's nightmare.]
Like a stone thrown into calm waters.
The dark waiting area rippled, instantly taking the shape of a mine.
In the blink of an eye, Si-mun found himself somewhere deep within the mine, breathing in the thick, subterranean air.
[The Arena begins.]
He adapted immediately to the overwhelming sense of reality.
-Whoa! No matchmaking, just straight in?
Yeah. Seems like a single-player entry item.
Then isn't this guy screwed? A Silver clearing a Special Arena alone is batshit insane.
That's the guy who beat Don King. No way he's Silver level.
As the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.
The chatroom atmosphere, which had been filled with doubts and strange skepticism, shifted in an instant.
Leaving that chat behind, Si-mun scanned his surroundings as he moved forward.
'Survive in the Nightmare of the Mine... It's a bit vague to call this a survival-type event... So it really is a Special Arena, huh?'
This was one of the defining characteristics of Special Arenas—or what some called Story Arenas.
They never gave clear objectives.
Only abstract hints.
They never outright stated conditions like "Eliminate all enemies" or "Protect something!"
But it wasn't all drawbacks.
'You don't necessarily need to know, but if you figure out the conditions, the clear rewards get bigger.'
Naturally, matching the difficulty level,
the better you understood the Arena's content and adapted your strategy accordingly, the greater the clear rewards became.
That's why everyone was so obsessed with entry items.
Thud.
Si-mun walked forward, lightly brushing his hand against the mine's walls, which were carved as smoothly as sculpture.
His Magic Class senses, attuned to mana, swept through the walls as he traced them.
'First off, I don't sense any mana in the walls or the air.'
If that was the case, then "Nightmare of the Mine" probably wasn't referring to illusions or deception—common nightmare tropes in Arenas.
'More like... something nightmarish happened in this mine, I guess?'
What kind of nightmarish event could happen in a mine?
'The mine collapsing?'
A plausible hypothesis.
But if that were the case—
"The mine's way too sturdy for that."
The floor, ceiling, walls—
It was almost a shame to call this a mine, given how meticulously it was constructed.
It was sturdy enough to withstand decent explosions or earthquakes without issue.
'Then does that mean there's some kind of entity causing the nightmare?'
As he turned the corner, mulling it over—
"Grrk."
A stench laced with the metallic tang of blood hit his nostrils, accompanied by a cry that was neither human nor beast.
Snap.
Without even checking his opponent, Si-mun flicked his fingers and stomped the ground.
It was the right call.
Wham!
A heavy impact cratered the spot where he'd just been standing.
But Si-mun, already scaling the ceiling with [Black Panther's Body Tissue],
landed bat-like on the ceiling and calmly assessed his ambusher.
'So the nightmare refers to a specific entity, after all.'
A hulking figure over 3 meters tall.
A grotesquely massive upper body paired with stubby lower limbs that could only be called pitiful.
'A Drakan.'
If this was a Drakan—the lowest tier of Dragonkin that only occasionally appeared in high Gold tiers—
then calling it a nightmare in this Silver-tier Arena was more than fitting.
Holy shit! For real? A Drakan? Even for a Special Arena, this is too much.
Didn't he say he was Silver? Why the hell is Dragonkin here?
WTF! LOLOLOL. Galaxy Arena's finally lost it.
Hey Galaxy, you good? You good with this?!
The chat exploded the moment they recognized the ambusher,
but Si-mun's attention was elsewhere.
[Constellation Heavenly Demon frowns.]
[Constellation Zeus expresses displeasure.]
[Constellation Black Goat grinds her teeth in irritation.]
The Constellations who had taken an interest in him.
Not just one or two—all three were showing negative reactions.
'No clue why, but...'
The course of action was clear.
"Grrk, human!"
Whoosh.
The Drakan's thick tail, compensating for its weak lower body, lashed out like a whip.
Si-mun, as if surrendering to gravity, kicked off the ceiling with all his might,
channeling the Ogre's brute strength flooding through his arm muscles in an instant—
Crunch!
He brought his fist down on the Drakan's tail, as thick as his own torso.