Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 240
>Chapter Title: The True Swordsmanship of the Forgotten King
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>"No, this is insane... What's this about the seal? Didn't you say it absolutely wouldn't open?"
He bellowed at the frantically popping warning messages, and the guardian cleared his throat before replying.
[Ahem, I said it wouldn't open as long as I held it.]
"And?"
[But I'm not holding it anymore. The sealed door isn't where it should be—it's right here in this cave.]
"Wow..."
Do-hyun rubbed his forehead.
Was it okay for a guardian to be this shameless?
[Calm down first. I'm just as confused as you are right now.]
"Yeah, sure you are."
[Hiss, this is an unexpected variable... Did I reveal myself too casually? I thought I'd hidden the door well, but it seems the apostles' search skills are better than I expected.]
The situation made no sense, but as the absurdity faded, a nagging doubt settled in.
From the guardian's words, it seemed partly his own fault.
'So, while I was smashing the Fragment of Disaster and the guardian stepped in, someone else found and opened the sealed door?'
In other words, he bore half the blame for this mess.
But Do-hyun felt wronged.
'No, why does everything always go wrong like this?'
He'd only done his best to overcome the blocked path.
Solve one knot, and a bigger one appears.
At this point, he half-suspected the AI was getting revenge: 'Oh? I told you not to break it, but you did? Fine, try breaking this too!'
'They really run this game masterfully.'
Unintentional praise slipped out, but blaming it wouldn't help.
First things first: deal with the situation.
Do-hyun sighed deeply and asked sullenly,
"So what now? With the sealed door open, the Devourer of Existence is going to show up?"
If so, they needed to prepare.
Fortunately, it hadn't reached the worst case yet, as the guardian shook his head.
[No. Did you think I believed I could prepare for every scenario? I left a backup plan for the worst case.]
"What's that?"
[Sealing it.]
Sealing?
[There's an artifact that can seal that monster. As long as the target is the Abyss and it's subdued, it can seal anyone. It's a supreme artifact crafted by the ancient empire's mage tower lords with all their effort.]
"If that exists, isn't that good news?"
[Of course it's hope if it exists. It'll be tough, but if you manage to seal the thing, you're good.]
"...If it exists?"
Something felt off again, so Do-hyun stared at the guardian.
The guardian averted his gaze and turned his head slightly.
He had a feeling he knew the answer without hearing it.
Sure enough, the follow-up wasn't encouraging.
[That artifact... My original body has it.]
"...Why?"
[Because in the end, it self-destructed and was buried underground with him, sealing him away.]
The "original body" naturally meant the Forgotten King.
And that implied one thing.
[My original self, who lost his ego, swallowed by existence and forgotten by all—the supreme knight and king. Take the artifact from him. That's the only way to seal the monster.]
Fight the Forgotten King.
Claim the artifact from him, then seal the monster.
'Easier said than done...'
Usually, you'd say "if you can't catch the pheasant, settle for the chicken," but this felt like "forget the phoenix, go hunt a serpent"—no comfort there.
Do-hyun clicked his tongue at the mounting obstacles.
[You don't have to defeat the original body outright. Subduing and taking it is safest, but... if that fails, waking his mind is another option.]
At least it was a relief they didn't need a total victory.
'So that's why saving the king was the World Quest clear condition.'
Even with this sudden twist, the essence remained the same, so Do-hyun nodded.
Then, amid the incessantly blaring alerts like alarms, a particularly ominous sound rang out.
[The Disaster Recreation Rate is rising at an alarmingly steep pace.]
[Current Disaster Recreation Rate: 50%.]
[A crack forms in the seal.]
[The colossal disaster licks its lips at the faint crack.]
'Already 50%...'
'Is this manageable, Master?'
'If that colossal disaster is truly an entity of the Abyss, letting it out would spell absolute catastrophe.'
'Liza? Liza-liza!'
Jihad fretting anxiously, Charlie clenching his fists with a grave expression.
And as he watched Eliza bouncing beside them, more messages appeared.
[The Forgotten King slips through the crack.]
[World Quest Dungeon, Forgotten Tomb: 'Forgotten King' has appeared.]
[Stop him.]
The Forgotten King had finally emerged.
[We truly have no time now. I heard the other apostles are stronger than you, but I can't fully trust that... So, dubious as it is, I'll pin my hopes on you.]
The guardian's speech quickened slightly as he narrowed his wrinkled eyes at Do-hyun.
[I said there are two ways to get the artifact from the original body, right?]
"Yes. Subdue and take it, or awaken his mind."
[The original body has lost its identity to the swallowed existence but hasn't been fully consumed by the Abyss yet. Slim chance, but a strong shock reminding him of his past life isn't impossible.]
The guardian paused, his gaze shifting.
He looked calm, but it carried the unyielding weight and pressure of a mountain.
That pressure solidified as he gripped his sword and assumed a stance.
The oppressive aura was so suffocating it made Do-hyun question if this was the same old man from before.
Crack—
Realizing he'd unconsciously gripped Cheonbyeon, Do-hyun froze.
The guardian spoke in a low voice.
[The sword strikes you inherited from us. You only got a portion. Our swordsmanship isn't an empty shell for corpses—it's advanced technique infused with ego. You haven't even mastered half properly.]
...Well, of course, since he'd learned from a corpse.
But Do-hyun held his tongue and listened intently.
The next words solved that issue.
[Your Mythic Sword is the beloved blade we've wielded for ages. Seeing it should provoke a reaction. Showing it along with 'this' I carried might work too. But that's not enough. So...]
"..."
[Perfect that one and only strike.]
We knights converse best through the sword—it's unavoidable.
With that, the guardian fell silent and pointed his sword instead.
A blizzard whipped up. No, it wasn't an ordinary blizzard.
Each snowflake swirled in different directions, as if possessed by its own will.
Roooar—
A white lion settled on the ground below, its eyes gleaming fiercely as it approached.
Then, in an instant, it lunged at Do-hyun. Startled, he barely restrained the urge to swing.
'...If I'd swung, I'd be done for.'
It was spirit.
The white lion stood motionless, simply gazing—no twitch.
The vivid lifelike quality of the blizzard and lion created a jarring dissonance that triggered his sharp senses.
[The Song of the White Lion. This technique goes beyond the user's will, granting the energy its own ego. Can you imitate it?]
The guardian gestured for him to draw his sword.
Ding—
[Sudden Quest: 'The Forgotten King's True Swordsmanship' has occurred.]
[The Forgotten King's True Swordsmanship]
-Grade: Sudden Quest
-Description: The guardian of the Forgotten Tomb, 'Old King's Conviction,' seeks to impart the true Song of the White Lion to you.
Time is running out.
Master the swordsmanship in the limited time and complete the true Song of the White Lion.
-Quest Success: Impartation of the True Song of the White Lion.
-Quest Failure: Failure to impart the True Song of the White Lion.
-Time Limit: Before the Disaster Recreation Rate reaches 100%.
A technique that seemed impossible to mimic just by watching.
That made the thrill even greater.
The special option of his Unique Legendary weapon would perfect itself beyond its current state?
'No reason to refuse.'
Combining it with the second stance, Break, he'd just acquired sent shivers down his spine—his hands trembled.
Do-hyun grinned, gripped Cheonbyeon—now transformed into the Mythic Sword of the White Lion—and mirrored the stance.
Pleased by the bold resolve, the guardian smiled faintly.
[Then let's begin.]
Beneath the tomb's edge, where the colossal disaster peeked its head.
The secret lesson commenced.
* * *
[Someone has opened the sealed door.]
[You have awakened the colossal disaster slumbering in the Forgotten Tomb.]
[The Disaster Recreation Rate is skyrocketing.]
The moment the world message appeared in the World Quest Dungeon.
The community exploded first.
-Crazy, what's this? Colossal disaster?
-Someone opened the sealed door?
-Wtf is with the recreation rate speed? Blinked and it's at 40%.
-Who the hell did this? Monster wave hit outta nowhere and wiped everyone. Fucker.
-Disaster level's on another plane. Normal users can't even hunt mobs now. They're all swarming in legions.
-Wtf is this? Got hyped for World Quest and it goes to shit in less than a day?
-Fr real, unbelievable;;
Users who'd been insta-killed by the spiked difficulty flooded the community.
Already buzzing with World Quest talk.
With the dead pouring in like a tidal wave sharing eyewitness accounts, it naturally became the hot topic.
-Pretty sure that sealed door opening caused this mess.
-Who touched it? Dead if we find 'em.
-Investigating now. Show yourself.
There's a saying online.
Netizen investigators are better than official ones.
That timeless truth held firm in God of Gods too.
No, with 10 billion players, it was even more potent—they nailed the culprit in under five minutes.
-Found the door opener.
-Earnest's top 10 guild bastards. They stopped controlling the area and vanished.
-Found hidden piece, then the sealed door and opened it—then peaced out.
-These motherfuckers. Clean up your mess before dipping?
-But Harrington's totally MIA?
-He probably dipped first, the shit.
1st Guild, Earnest.
Their area control drop matched the door opening perfectly.
Normally, no one would dare touch a Top 10 Guild, but not now.
The justification was ironclad.
Top 10 Guilds and high rankers not there yet were sweating; those already raiding hated the sudden spike.
-Earnest who?
-World Quest dungeon crawling with high rankers. Just leak the info.
-Best to pass to NPC-affiliated users.
-Trolls, you're done.
Handing info to those angriest at them, Earnest members fleeing were quickly nabbed.
-Caught the scared runaways and beat 'em—something's off with these guys.
-Keep muttering "monsters" nonstop? Saying we're all gonna die.
-Keeping saying World Quest fails, weird shit.
-? Where's Harrington? What's he doing? Guild rep's tanking.
-Hey hey crazy... Big news. Harrington's dead. Got one-shot by some monster right after opening the door?
-Harrington? We dismiss him as a sideliner, but he's top-tier archer?
-Died before drawing bow, apparently.
-Something's fucked. Is the difficulty right? Glitch?
But interrogating them revealed something odd.
The situation felt way more serious than thought.
[Current Disaster Recreation Rate: 50%.]
[A crack forms; the Forgotten King slips through.]
[World Quest Dungeon, Forgotten Tomb: 'Forgotten King' has appeared.]
[Stop him.]
That gravity hit home when the rate hit 50%.
-Guys, the king's out!
-Wasn't saving the Forgotten King the World Quest clear?
-Earnest weren't screwing up—they carried.
-Who said beat 'em? Gonna get backlash later.
-Is that the issue now? Hurry or it'll get snatched.
-Logging in now. Good luck all.
-Rankers swarming, go watch or miss out. Log in!
-Clear before other Top 10s arrive = hilarious win lololol
When the king first appeared, cheers erupted.
They were closer to clearing the World Quest—no reason not to celebrate.
The king was easy to find.
"There it is!"
"Looks like a temple. Door here too?"
"Door means... first come, first served?"
-Entry limit. One at a time."
"Outta my way, I got here first!"
Like a packed supermarket on sale, crowds surged instantly.
Vibe was first to arrive = first clear.
But realizing that illusion took under five minutes.
[Ripard enters the Forgotten King's Temple.]
"Aw, Ripard's challenging."
"Uh... High ranker first thing is unfair, right? Give us a shot."
"Screw it, it's over..."
Ripard, Knight Citadel promising talent.
Showed elite skill from start, rose fast to direct disciple of Highden Citadel's lord—a top knight-class user.
His challenge disappointed many.
As users sighed and gossiped bitterly.
Ripard has died.]
[User who entered the temple has died; Disaster Recreation Rate rises.]
[Current Disaster Recreation Rate: 51%.]
"......?"
"Huh?"